Alexius scoffed.

Seth grinned. “After ten years of service, the best of them are granted immortality. Those who don’t pass are given enough money to buy islands of their own. So, yes. They want to be there.”

“Sounds like prostitution to me,” Alexius said with a shrug.

He saw no issue with paying people for their blood, but he’d never paid for sex, and never would.

Seth smiled. “Perhaps. It didn’t feel like it. It felt like I was in another world. A world where everything was possible.”

“And yet, you left,” Alexius pointed out.

Seth’s grin widened. “Well, yes. All these things don’t come without a price. I’d have to kneel to the queen. Kneeling has never been my thing. Stiff joints, and all that.”

Alexius could imagine that. He respected the boy; not many would have resisted the temptation, even out of pride.

“Will they take you back?”

Seth didn’t hesitate. “Obviously. I’m me. The problem is what might happen once they figure out I’m sniffing around for the wrong reasons. Most of the vampires admitted to the queen’s services are warriors. She has healers, seers, hexers, and the like. More than anything, she’s built an army. Everyone I recognized was a fighter known for their strength. Those I didn’t had an air that made it clear they could destroy us. Effortlessly.”

Alexius focused on the youngster, trying to remember his age. Thirty, forty at most? He’d stopped aging in his twenties.

He was annoyingly handsome, with an air of confidence rivaled only by Fin, but the surface did nothing to hide just how powerful he was.

And yet, he was worried about his fate on the island.

“You need backup. A way to signal us so we can get you out of there if need be.”

Seth smirked. “You have a pretty witch with a hotline to my brain. I’ll buzz her if I’m in a pinch.”

Alexius lifted a brow. “Oh?” He’d missed that. “Greer?” he guessed, naming the hottest witch he knew.

But mental attacks weren’t her strength.

“No, the Lawson girl. Blair.”

Now Alexius was intrigued.

He could only place her directly because Blair was one of Chloe’s friends, and she’d spent time on the hill. Other than that, she didn’t stand out. She had eccentric hair, overused eye liner, and was annoyingly cheerful at all times. To Alexius’s knowledge, she’d never distinguished herself as a particularly powerful witch.

“You might want a more reliable source, with your safety at stake.”

Seth took a minute to consider his remark. “No, I don’t think so. She’ll do.” He puffed the rest of his cigar. “Well, nice talk. If I die, I do hope you feel immensely guilty.”

“I shall,” Alexius vowed. “Good luck, Stormhale.”

He hadn’t finished pronouncing the name before lightning struck for the third time, and Seth disappeared, probably transporting himself to the other side of the continent.

Alexius tried not to feel too jealous. And failed.

He sighed, finishing his glass of wine in one go and getting up to fetch another one.

As he turned to head back inside, something held him back. He couldn’t put a name on it, a feeling more than an actual tangible disturbance around him. But he was a sup; ignoring his gut would have been foolish.

Something was amiss, he would have sworn it.

Alexius approached the banister, looking around. From his house, high on Night Hill, he had a good view of the entire territory. Everything seemed relatively calm—as calm as it could be on a Saturday night, with students drinking at the Adairford pub and in their dorm.

He should go back in. Everything was just fine.

True Monsters

It was just a run. Just a friendly competition with her pack mates. She’d done it a hundred times, and won each time. Just one step at a time. She could do this.

She kept telling herself that over and over, willing herself to believe it, but the growls of the curs on her heels made it work to delude herself.

Avani was one of the largest wolves in the pack—certainly the largest female, and Draiden, his son, and his beta were the only males taller than she. She was leaner, her body clearly made for speed and agility. She’d liked that in the past; now, her build worked against her. Light as he was, the boy’s weight was starting to slow her down.

And she couldn’t. She couldn’t slow down. Not if she wanted to live.

Realistically, she realized that the likelihood of her making it until dawn was close to nil. That said, it wasn’t the first time she’d run for her life, hopeless. She hadn’t given up then. She wouldn’t now.

She knew she had one hope, slim as it was.

Knox. The Immortal Wolf was her guardian and protector. If she could call him, let him know what was going on, he could…

What? Materialize himself and talk a pack of feral beasts into letting her go? She couldn’t question herself; there was no other solution she could think about, and if she gave in to doubt, she’d slow.

“Watch out!” the boy shouted, an instant before a heavy weight cracked against her flank, propelling them both on the ground.

Shit.

Zayn. She should have smelled him. He didn’t hold a candle to her in a sprint normally, but with the boy on her back, he’d managed to catch up.

She could smell his smugness, his triumph. And something else, underneath it all. Arousal.

For the first time, she was afraid, understanding precisely what was going to happen to her.

They wouldn’t kill her—oh, no. Not if they could help it.

They’d drag her to the Pleasure House, kicking and screaming.

Avani got back to her feet and looked ahead, toward the borders of Oldcrest. Could she make it now, before the rest of the pack caught up? Maybe. Not with the boy, though.

She should go. She’d done her best for him. She should—

Abandon the child to a fate worse than the one she’d lived through.

Avani moved to a protective stance, placing herself between the boy and her head enforcer. She couldn’t take the whole pack, but she sure as fuck could beat him.

Zayn’s wolf was ecstatic, delighted by the prospect of fighting her. It wasn’t their first brawl, and he still hadn’t lived down the fact that she’d won three times against him.

Now, she was exhausted, and the boy was a weakness he could use. No wonder he was happy. He’d get what he wanted. Her submission. Her humiliation. And her body, too, he believed, not understanding she’d kill herself before she let him lay a finger on her.

Zayn pounced.

She was glad he’d moved first; she knew his moves well enough to read his attacks and respond accordingly. Watching him go for her back, she prepared to roll aside at the last second.

Then Zayn disappeared with a helpless yelp. There was nothing in front of her, just a cloud of dust.

She shook her head in confusion, wondering if she’d hurt her head when he’d tackled her.

The scent of blood was thick in the air, and another wolf cry made her turn to her left. A hundred feet away, the cloud of dust dissipated, and in its place, there was a creature of nightmares, a monster so vile she should have been terrified.

He held Zayn by the neck, lifting the three-hundred-pound wolf like he was a hollow doll.

The beast was taller than most men, dressed in a white shirt and faded jeans, but that was where the resemblance to a person ended. He’d been skinned alive, his flesh seemed burned to a crisp, and his eyes shone red. Demon. It had to be a demon of a sort.

Yet…she recognized it. Him.

The scent. Wolves generally didn’t forget smells they’d identified, and this one had made an impression. Wood, apple tart, and pine tree.

He should have smelled burnt or putrid, not enticing.

“What the hell is that?” The boy was panicking.

Avani pushed his side with her muzzle, demanding his attention. He blinked and got back to his feet before mounting her again.

Shifters didn’t let humans ride them, but she wasn’t going to let her pride get in the way, as she scented the rest of the pack approaching. They needed to get back to Oldcrest, now.

She rushed forward, refusing to look back to see how close the pack was, or whether the creature was attacking them now. All that mattered was getting through the perimeter.

A wave of power passed through her, sliding through her fur like water, and the next step, she was on the other side of the barrier. She breathed out in relief.

“What…where are we? There was nothing in front of us. Now there’s a damn town. What’s going on?”

Any other time, she might have been amused by the fact that the boy was talking to a wolf, instinctively getting that she would understand it, yet he was freaked by magical wards.

People knew about shifters; it wasn’t such a stretch to imagine that the oversized pack attacking him were werewolves rather than regular humans.

Finally allowing herself to look back, Avani’s eyes widened. The pack was too close. She wouldn’t make it to her place to grab her phone before they entered Oldcrest.

Fuck. What now?

She had a split second to decide between multiple dangers.

Then, remembering the distinctive scent of the…thing that had come to her aid, she trotted toward the nearby peak, giving a wide berth to the Wolvswoods.

When she reached her destination, the troll guarding Night Hill stood between her and safety. She didn’t feel comfortable enough to shift back—she was stronger in her wolf form. But he had to let her in. She didn’t have the strength to fight him. Not to mention, there was no way a were would have had a chance against an ancient troll.

So she lowered her head and whimpered pleadingly. Her pride bristled at the humiliation, but she liked living more than she liked being a badass right now.

“Oh, jeez. Enough with the puppy dog eyes, all right?” the troll grumbled, heading inside a small cabin. “That’s not fair. I bet it’s gonna get me in trouble. You should feel guilty, young lady.”

She didn’t.