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Zade glanced at the trailer. “This is your father’s idea of a welcoming gift. The previous owner of the salvage yard used the trailer. I don’t think it was a permanent home, just somewhere to have lunch or grab a nap.”
Dannika grabbed the handrail beside the door, entering the trailer. The lounge area consisted of a couch, two chairs, and end tables that pulled out from the wall. The dining area had bench seating with a fold-down table. She took a seat on the floral cushion, indicating for Zade to sit opposite of her.
Zade sat as requested, folding his hands on the faux wood table. “Is there anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable?”
Her eyes hardened. “No. This isn’t a pleasure cruise. If you expect me to drop trou and consummate this bogus mating, then you are kidding yourself.”
Zade sighed. “Dannika, it’s not like that.”
She arched an eyebrow. “What? You plan to give me ten minutes to get used to the idea of a man I don’t want in my bed?”
Zade pulled his hands from the table, dropping them onto his lap. “I will not take you by force regardless of what Killian says.”
There was no mistaking the truth in his voice.
“Isn’t that what he ordered?”
Zade glanced away uncomfortably. “Yes.”
She leaned forward, searching his face. “You’re not like other reapers.”
“Not like the ones you’ve met. That’s why your father chose me to be your mate.”
“Why? It’s obvious he doesn’t like you,” she said.
Zade smiled. “I assure you the feeling is mutual, but Killian chose me because I’m not... infertile.”
Her eyes widened. “How?”
Zade sighed. “Those of us forced to turn reaper differ from those that choose it. Our animal can no longer emerge, and remain in permanent hibernation, but we are reaper. We experience the same cravings and survive on human blood.”
“If you hunt and kill humans, how does your animal exist?”
“Those of the clan, like me, choose to kill predators in the human world. Killers. Pedophiles. Rapists. Their blood is just as satisfying as the innocent.”
Dannika sat back. “You’ve never killed an innocent?”
Zade’s eyes lowered. “Yes. Killian bit me. I wasn’t lucky enough to be discovered by a shadow warrior. I was in transition when a reaper came back to secure the scene. He put me in a cell and called Killian. Our leader ordered my clan mate to starve me. I was locked in that cell for a month. My demon was consumed by madness and hunger when they tossed another man into the cell. I took him down in seconds. He was my first kill. I only shifted to my wolf form once before I lost him.”
Dannika didn’t want to feel sorry for her reaper mate. She didn’t want to like him. The nature of this arrangement went against everything she believed, but Zade was just as much a victim as she was.
“The shadow clans wondered how the reaper numbers had increased so quickly. This is how they do it. They force you to turn.” She stood up. “I can’t do this.”
Zade grabbed her hand. “You must. There’s no alternative. I believed I could fight Killian. I was wrong. Trust me when I tell you, I will protect you to the best of my ability, but don’t cross him. Daughter or not, he will kill you once he gets what he needs from you.”
Dannika took a glass from the shelf and poured herself water from the tap.
Zade frowned. “You can’t drink that.”
She sat down, placing the glass of water in front of her. “I know, but it gives me the illusion of feeling normal.” She turned the glass in her fingers. “Tell me about you. Who were you in the human world?”
Zade grabbed the glass of water, holding it up. “Would you believe I was a truck driver? My company delivered to many of the businesses in Graydon County.”
“Yes. You remind me of the guy who delivers groceries to the shelter.”
“Graydon County Shelter was one of my customers. The man you met was my nephew. My brother inherited the company as I had no children.”
Zade had lost everything. His family. His business. His life. Worse, he had to live with Killian as his leader. The man that took everything from him. How did someone recover from that?
