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“ Thank you, Mr Muroyi. I can confirm that you are due to receive an inheritance. You’ve contacted me just in time; you are only eligible for this inheritance until your twenty-first birthday, as per the terms of the will of Wema Muroyi. ”

So this is from my mum. But then… “Why now? Excuse me, but why is this the first I’m hearing about it?”

“ We have sent you several letters over the last three years. According to the system, all have gone unanswered. ”

“But I haven’t received any.”

“ That is… odd. However, there is still time to claim the inheritance before the deadline. Normally I’d put you through to my secretary to make an appointment, but given the circumstances, we need to make this a priority. Are you available today, around six p.m.? ”

For this? Yes. That’s still eight hours away, and I’ve put in a lot of extra hours this weekend. If Ethan needs me for anything else after that, I’ll come back to work once I’ve met with Ms. Blake.

“I’ll be there. Can you tell me how much it is?” Or maybe it’s not money. Maybe there’s some sort of artefact or family grimoire that’s been left to me. I thought Nyoka had all of those, though.

“ I’m afraid that’s not the sort of information we can give out over the phone, Mr Muroyi. I’ll see you this afternoon. ”

We say the usual goodbyes before I hang up, my hands shaking. I’m not sure what my mum has left to me, but I didn’t think I’d get the chance for one more connection with her, more than ten years after my parents’ deaths.

If I’m really lucky, she’ll have left me some sort of letter from her and my dad, especially because there was no mention of a separate will of Dad’s. Hearing their words, even on paper, would be the best inheritance I could wish for. Something of theirs to keep with me always.

I take a few minutes—okay, more like ten—to calm down before I return to my desk.

The last thing I want is for my colleagues to scent whatever the hell emotions I’m experiencing right now.

I don’t mind telling them whatever they need to know to help the investigation, but my parents’ deaths? That’s private.

At five-thirty, the office is deserted. Ethan, Raj, and Jet are dealing with an emergency on one of the human jobs we’re contracted to, Kit has opted to work from home for the evening, and Cal and Skye left half an hour ago to meet with a nightclub owner about some other job Soldati Security might take on.

Which means I don’t have to make excuses or lie to anyone about where I’m going.

Realistically, I’d probably tell them if they asked, but I’d rather not have to.

I’m still reeling from the revelation that I’m going to get something from my mum and dad after all this time.

Even if it’s just my dad’s favourite watch, I’d be over the moon.

The warm evening is a nice change after the cool air conditioning inside the office, so I roll up my shirt sleeves and opt to walk across the neutral zone to the lawyer’s offices.

It’ll be light for hours yet, and I wonder if I should message Ethan to see if he’ll be finished in time to meet me for dinner somewhere in a couple of hours.

While I still need to save money, we haven’t had an actual date yet, and sure, he could say no, that this is just casual between us, but there’s no harm in asking. Is there?

Hmm, maybe I should sound him out about the idea first. Face-to-face, so I can gauge his reaction. I don’t want to put an end to all the hot sex we’ve been having just because I got too eager. We haven’t done anal yet, and as long as he’s on board, that definitely has to happen.

I’m busy fantasising about Ethan’s very thick cock when the narrow alley in front of me is blocked by two very large men in black masks. Wolf shifters.

My moonstone pulses, warning me that going this way is a really bad idea, even though we’re not far from a busy pedestrianised area full of people heading home from work or out for an early dinner.

Only when I turn around, there are two more people in masks.

These two are leaner: one short, a cat shifter, and one tall, a vampire.

My magic is going haywire now. It’s still daylight in a busy area, except this cut-through is quiet, isn’t it? There’s no one immediately nearby.

Fuck. I’m in trouble.

I ready my magic, trying to remember all the training I did over the last couple of years and not think about how completely my magic failed me when Irving and I were attacked that night. I’ve had nightmares about it, even while sharing a bed with Ethan, and my magic fails me every time.

Was one of these shifters there that night? Is one of these people the one who attacked us? I just remember the eyes and the black fur, but it was dark, and I have human senses. The fur might have just been dark, not black. And right now, they’re in human form, so how would I even know?

I form a personal shield. It’s not my best work, but it’s something. They close in, stalking me.

“What’s this about?” My voice is steady. Mostly.

“Just a friendly warning,” one of the wolves says, sneering.

The vampire rushes forward faster than I can track. I’m not sure what they try to do, but they bounce off my shield and crash into a stone wall, sending dust raining down.

“That shield won’t save you,” the cat shifter says, tugging at black gloves before punching right through my shield and catching me on the jaw with a mean left hook.

I stagger, struggling to keep my feet as the vampire finds theirs. My shield wavers, and I try to remember a useful spell. Something to scare them away, or at least get them to back off. “Wait, what am I being warned about?”

I send my magic into the ground beneath our feet, sending the cobbles rippling and the shifters staggering.

The wolves attempt to dive for me at the same time, so I duck out of the way.

The vampire, despite being insanely fast and more sure-footed than the rest, bounces off my shield again.

Before I can dart past the group, the cat shifter manages to leap over the undulating ground and immediately moves behind me to wrap a very tight arm around my neck.

I grab their arm and try to loosen it, remove it, something that would allow me to breathe and think and run.

I don’t know how the hell the cat shifter keeps getting through my shield. Now that one of them has hold of me, the vampire has no trouble grabbing my wrists and pinning them behind my back.

I add a repelling layer to my shield spell, and their hold wavers, but it’s not enough to wriggle free.

I start to really struggle for air. I drop to my knees, hoping to slide out of their grip, but they go down with me, pinning me to the ground, which stops moving now that I’m too oxygen-deprived to maintain the spell.

One of the wolves crouches in front of me. “Relax, Mr Muroyi. We’re not here to kill you.”

“Yet,” the cat shifter hisses in my ear.

“Don’t claim your inheritance,” the other wolf says, flashing a hint of fang.

“Not if you want to live,” the vampire adds from their position straddling my back.

“Hey! Get away from him!” A man comes running towards us, and for a moment I fear for his safety, especially when I realise he’s human, but the crew who ambushed me must decide they’ve done what they set out to do because they run off.

I roll over and take deep, gasping breaths, needing a moment before I try to get to my feet. My throat hurts, my wrists ache, and my jaw definitely needs ice.

The human crouches beside me, his kind green eyes full of worry. “I’m Detective Inspector Idris Gough. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you. Where are you hurt?”

Human police? Fuck, things just got worse.