Page 46

“Where are we?” I asked, perturbed that we weren’t in an Italian restaurant. Instead, the place Bryce had taken me resembled a mid-century nightclub—though, thankfully, without the crowd of dancing patrons.

Still, it was creepy how the staff hid in the shadows and only stepped out to provide a service. The dim lighting didn’t help.

But Bryce had seemed excited to come here. He’d raved about their food the whole ride.

“We’re in a restaurant,” he told me, stating the obvious. “It is owned by some of my Unseelie acquaintances and business partners.”

What kind of partners might these be? And what a strange term to use.

What, exactly, was Bryce up to? Hopefully, my money wasn’t involved.

“And who is that?” I continued, looking over my glass of water across the restaurant at the only other patron.

A scruffy man in his mid-twenties, at most, sat in one of the seats, looking very much out of place in the elegant atmosphere.

My analysis had little to do with his boots, jeans, and white shirt, but rather with how he carried himself.

His chin-length chocolate colored hair looked slightly tangled, and his face was shrouded in shadow as he kept his attention trained on the table. His shoulders were hunched, and there was a cautious wariness in the air surrounding him.

Bryce knew him; the two nodded at each other upon our arrival. But no introductions had been made.

“Who?” Bryce asked, looking up and then following my gaze. The caution loosened from his frame as he added, “Oh, that’s Matheus Fernandez. He’s the dragon’s Jiangjun—the same quintet as Brayden.”

“So, you trust him?” I asked.

What kind of shifter was he—and why did it seem familiar?

“Yes,” Bryce answered instantly, his words slightly slurred. “Despite Damen’s concerns, you should be able to trust all your Officers, at least those in our generation. Some of the Proxies haven’t been much involved lately, however, so I’m not entirely certain of them.”

Officers…

It took a full moment for the impact of his words to reach me. “What?” I asked, setting down my glass.

How could Damen not have warned me that Bryce knew?

“When did you—” I began but paused when Bryce gave me a patient look.

Before he could answer, our waiter reappeared. Outside of taking our order and dropping off the drinks and breadsticks, he’d been surprisingly scarce.

Bryce’s dark-colored drink was hastily refilled.

“So,” I began, watching as he quickly finished his beverage. Was he nervous? But that couldn’t be. Still, he appeared to be getting drunk. This would be the perfect opportunity to discover his weaknesses.

After all, I’d never be able to trust him until I first knew how to defeat him.

But I would have to be subtle.

I leaned back and swung my toes over the floor. “What would be the best way to get rid of you? Can I dump a vial of poison into that wine glass?”

“No.” Bryce didn’t seem offended by my question. “Poison won’t kill me. And now it’s my turn. Why are you trying to involve yourself in our world?”

The unexpectedness of his query made me pause. “What do you mean?”

He stopped twirling his once-more refilled beverage and glanced up, his sharp eyes meeting mine. “Wouldn’t it have been better not to worry about the danger and politics? The Cole family’s antics pale compared to anything the fae might do.”

I knew there was much more out there than I currently understood, but the implication of Bryce’s words sounded terrifying.

“It is a deadly business to be the Xing,” Bryce continued, his tone somber. “You have three generations of Er Bashous active: myself, Gregory, and my father. We can handle things. Wouldn’t you rather live a normal life?”

“What?” I asked him.

“Were you safe?” he pressed, studying me. His bright eyes were sharp, sending a chill down my spine.

“Eh…” I tilted my head and studied him. “Sure,” I answered. “My parents were okay.”

What was wrong with him? Why was he being so nosy?

“What about before they came into your life?” Bryce frowned, and my blood felt like ice .

The colors faded along the edges of my sight. My focus was a dark tunnel; I could only see his face.

I wasn’t sure how I could speak, but I managed. “W-w-what?”

“I think—” Bryce took another sip, and his words started to slur together. “I think I might have made the worst mistake of my life…”

His voice trailed off, and he slumped forward onto the table.

“Bryce?” My heart jerked as concern for him washed over me, and using his name no longer mattered. I jumped to his side, trying to move him so I could see his face. “Bryce, what’s wrong?”

Finally, I could turn his head, and relief made me feel lightheaded. He was still breathing. That was good. But he was unconscious.

After all that posturing, had he really been poisoned? And by his shady business associates, no less. Who would have thought?

My, my, my, what kind of shenanigans did he get up to when no one was looking?

It was then that our waiter and two others stepped from the shadows.

“You’re coming with us,” the waiter said, pointing at me. I stood, stumbling over my feet as I moved backward. But I didn’t have time to speak before the sight of them was cut off.

Matheus now stood between me and my potential kidnappers.

When not slouching, he was nearly the same height as Titus, and held out his arm as a muscle in his jaw grew tight.

Despite the situation, my heart sped up at the sight of his scarred features, and there was an unsettled feeling burning in my chest.

Who’d hurt him?

His bright silver eyes flashed, and even the floor seemed to rumble with the low-humming intensity radiating from his chest.

“Get out of here,” he said, and a chill shot through me. The way he carried himself, the growl… I was an idiot for not seeing it before.

He was a wolf.

I was unable to escape from my spiraling thoughts. My body remained frozen as he closed his hand around my arm, and my skin felt cold when he touched me.

“Run!” he told me.

His command reached into the recesses of my consciousness, and my muscles moved on their own accord. I stumbled back as he turned his attention back toward the others.

They had pulled out guns, and Matheus lunged forward.

That was as much as I witnessed before I turned.

I was honestly going to listen; I’d genuinely planned on it. But I hadn’t expected another man to be sneaking up to Bryce’s vulnerable form.

He hardly noticed me as his wild gaze remained obsessed upon de facto professor, and a hint of insanity touched his thin lips.

What had Bryce said about deadly dealings and danger? My breath caught in my throat as the strangest sense of calmness moved over me.

The man approached Bryce’s face-down form, pulled out a butter knife, and raised it over his head.

There was nothing worse than cowardly attacks. Besides, how annoying would it be to be slayed by such ineptitude? The man had just come out of a kitchen, near all manner of sharp utensils, and this was his choice of weapon.

I couldn’t allow Bryce to be killed in such a way.

Matheus intervened before I could even raise my hand.

He lunged past me and enclosed his large jaw over the man’s face, and teeth tore into flesh as he swung his neck, and the other man fell to the ground, now faceless and dead .

Matheus’s gaze snapped up once more, blood dripping, and he looked behind me. A sense of dread made my body cold, and I turned, even as the wolf moved forward.

“Get the Seelie.” The waiter pointed at us.

So, it was Bryce then. Figured. What rotten luck. He had already been almost stabbed.

“Stay—stay back!” I warned, spreading my arms. “I know he appears unpleasant on the surface, but he’s not so bad once you get to know him. Killing him isn’t worth the hassle. Whatever your grief is, it’s best to ignore it.”

“What?” The villain lowered his arm, and his lips pressed together before he shook his head.

“No!” he told me. “That was only Howard seizing onto the opportunity to give that dick what he deserves, but good riddance to him. He was a fool. And while you’re somewhat endearing, we still have a job to do! ”

Oh. My stomach sank.

“Get the female Seelie,” he said, now clarifying his previous order. “The short, weak one wearing the giant green sweater. We cannot kill the others; those were not our instructions.”

I swallowed. How unfortunately distinctive. Now, there was no way he was speaking of anyone except me. Besides, there were no other women here.

It still felt strange to think of myself as a fae, though.

A wet nose pushed against my arm. Matheus had moved to my side, and even though I was afraid of wolves, I felt a tiny bit braver by his presence.

But then the moment passed. The man raised his gun once more, and Matheus knocked me down before charging. A loud bang exploded against my eardrums, and as one of the ceiling lamps shattered, something else was thrown to the ground at my feet .

I squeezed my eyes shut and hid my nose behind my forearm, but it didn’t matter.

Before I could recompose myself, a beefy arm was thrown over my face. Within seconds, everything blurred, and I felt myself crumpling into nothingness.

The smell of blood seeped into my awareness, and I struggled to open my too-heavy eyes. I couldn’t think or remember where this urgency to awaken came from. However, something was strange.

It took an even longer moment to realize what it might be.

My arms were numb, my wrists sore, and the scratchy fabric brushing against my knees did little to stop the chill from reaching my bones.

That wasn’t right… I’d dressed for warmth today. I shouldn’t be this cold.

“You’re awake,” a male observed, and my heart stuttered at the nearness. My eyes popped up, and I jumped at the sight of the brown-haired man standing before me.

He wore jeans and a tan shirt, yet despite his clean, neatly pressed appearance from the waist up, the hem of his pants and his loafers were caked with mud.