“No – why would Lucidia keep her alive?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they’re gal pals.”
Reykon narrowed his eyes. “Did she not tell you?”
“Undermining tactics don’t work on a wolf pack. Loyal to a fault, remember? You spend too much time with leeches.”
“Robin is Lucidia’s sister,” Reykon explained, ignoring the jab. “She was supposed to be killed at birth, but Lucidia dropped the ball and hid her instead.”
Reykon could tell this was new information for the young pup, but it didn’t shock Clay as much as it was intended to.
“If she is blood, there’s even more reason not to want her dead,” Clay scoffed.
“No, you don’t understand. Robin’s a weakblood: her illegitimate sister, not sanctioned by the vampires. When Robin arrives at House Demonte, the truth of Lucidia’s treason will spread like wildfire, and she’ll be the top name on everybody’s kill list.”
This seemed to trouble Clay. Reykon now understood the true dynamics of the situation; an up and coming alpha didn’t just commit acts of war for anybody. He and Lucidia must have had a little special something on the side. Romeo and Juliet, with none of the prestige and all of the danger.
“Still, she won’t kill her own sister.”
“She should,” Reykon insisted. “Why she won’t – that’s what interests me.”
“Maybe she’s not the person you think she is.”
He decided to apply a little pressure. “Well, I’ve never fucked her,” Reykon said with a raised eyebrow. “Tell me, what’s it like?”
Pressure, applied.
Clay jammed his fist into Reykon’s face, sending his ear into a ringing frenzy. A throbbing pain spread across his jaw.
But it had worked. Clay was a respectable leader; calm, cool, collected. But young. And young leaders had blind spots that more seasoned ones didn’t fall for. It might have been a cheap shot, but Reykon would take advantage of it all the same.
He spat out a mouthful of blood and grinned, laughing to himself. “Struck a nerve, huh? Sorry, I just don’t know how you could care for a little vampire lapdog… I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, thinking about the things Darian must make her do.”
Clay glared at him, tense and ready to beat his face in, but made no move. After a few moments of enraged breathing, the young wolf ripped himself away and took a walk to cool down, leaving Reykon under the supervision of the three misfits.
The distraction had proved successful; Clay was off his game, and Reykon had wrenched one hand out of the ropes. He worked the other with impatient fingers, while appearing entirely still to his current captors.
Robin
She’d been driving as fast as she could for an hour now, slipping past town after town in the expensive sports car. She was going way over the speed limit, almost hoping a cop would pull her over. Then, she could tell her story and get some protection from…
From who?
The vampires? Or the vampires’ magically created soldiers?
Jesus, things had gotten strange for her.
A disheartening realization swept over her as she realized that even if she got to the police and into protective custody, it might not be enough. From what she’d seen, these people operated with no regard to law, swatting it away like an annoying mosquito.
But where else would she go?
She was way out of her league, and way in over her head. There was no way she could avoid Reykon forever; he seemed to have a sixth sense for pursuit and capture.
Her sister, the ruthless assassin, whom she’d never met, was trying to find her. But that could also work to her disadvantage; if she was living proof of a traitorous decision, it certainly didn’t increase Robin’s shelf life.
She was in Colorado, she was alone, and she was driving on a dark road to nowhere.
Things were pretty hopeless, to say the least.
She reached her hand over to the backpack and pulled out Reykon’s burner phone, flipping it open and keeping one eye on the road.
She could call her parents. They wouldn’t pick up, but she could leave a message that she was in trouble, that she’d been kidnapped and was being taken to a vampire in Louisiana, and that she knew she was adopted.
Her mind flashed back to the three strongbloods they’d run into earlier. A shiver ran up her spine. What had Reykon said? Strongbloods are sent out to take care of anything that would jeopardize their privacy?
She imagined that hulking brute, cracking down the door to her parents’ house and strangling them in the kitchen.
Calling them would put them in the line of fire. Telling anybody would be a death sentence.
She had to try for the police. If she could amass a big enough witness base, there was a chance the strongbloods and vampires would think twice because of the attention it would bring. There was a town up in a few miles, and it looked big enough to have a decent police station. If not, she was only two hours from Denver, and they’d certainly have a big enough force there.
She watched the road, sparse headlights blending together in a hazy blur. She was tired, running on fumes that had been laced with adrenaline. Her blood was probably battery acid by now. She focused her sights on the right-hand shoulder, where a particular cluster of lights and flares sat. A tow truck, that-
Lights blared into her from her left. A moment later, a truck collided full force with her car, the impact whipping her to the side like a rag doll.
It felt like the world around her had been a snow globe, shaken up by a toddler. The car spun out in a whirl, and then caught traction, flipping three times before rolling down an embankment. Something slammed into her arm, and then a sharp, cutting pain dug into her forehead.
Robin heard someone groan and realized that it was her. She wasn’t sure if she’d blacked out. She tested her limbs; they seemed to work. At the very least, she could wiggle them. But trying
