Page 41 of Claimed By Fangs and Darkness

“We have a new goddess on our side, a protector of the downtrodden, a defender of mortals and their magick. She is the source of our shadows, and I suspect she is the reason for all turned clans here and in Valentin.”

A wind from the chthonic realm swept through the purple-lit space as if to drive the point home. My clan was no stranger to magick and divinity. Princeton would often tell us that Spirit was on our side. What greater evidence for our cosmic support than our own defiant immortality?

Evie tugged on my shirt. “Let me.”

I faltered, taken by surprise. Evie didn’t even like talking to strangers, let alone having multiple people’s focus on her.

Yet she opened her mouth and spoke with such command that it stirred something potent in my depths.

“Her name is Hekate,” Evie said. Power rippled in an undeniable charge. “Our clan will now be renamed in her honor. She is guiding us to a realm free of the born.” She steadied herself, her blonde strands of hair rustled by the wind. “I may be Princeton’s successor, but that doesn’t mean you know me, nor I you.”

The crowd listened. My inner circle’s gazes were sharper than ever, and the vampires spilling into the hall were rapt with curiosity, craning their necks for a better look at the small blonde by my side.

“I was born into a Servants of Lillian cult,” Evie said.

Now shereallyhad our attention. I almost let my own mask slip, surprised by Evie’s bluntness about a truth she’d vehemently concealed since we’d first met.

“My mother was a high priestess,” she said, a fact not even I knew. “My father was human. They willingly offered up their half-witch daughter and human son as tithings to the born. If we hadn’t escaped, we would’ve been married off to born elites as children.”

My comrades’ faces twisted with disgust and rage.

“We had no one to fight for us. The family we were born to was not our family,” Evie said, her eyes sparkling with tears and buried strength. “The shadows were my only friends, and theywere my salvation. Through them I found a home in Etherdale. And now they’ve led me to you.” She released an exhale. “My brother and I could’ve only dreamed of having a family like this to protect us. And now it’s our job to protect this city and all mortals who are unable to defend themselves from the vile predators in power.”

She was fucking perfect. Her speech was succinct, powerful, and humanizing. I didn’t feel comfortable sharing Evie’s story without her consent, but I knew how important it was for my clan to trust and respect her. They may have held my judgment in high regard, but being a part of a turned clan meant maintaining distance from outsiders. It was a survival mechanism. Loyalty was everything, and it was something Evie would need to earn and develop over time.

This was a beautiful start.

A loud clap sent the rest of the crowd into a show of support.

“I am so stupidly in love with you,” I whispered, unable to help myself.

Evie looked away, a flash of reluctance in her proud, relieved eyes. “I’m still mad. But I stupidly love you too. Emphasis onstupid.”

Harmony snorted, clearly eavesdropping over the roar of the crowd.

“You didn’t seem very unforgiving during our training session today,” I murmured.

Evie made an adorable, growly noise. “I was using you.”

I laughed, quelling my urge to continue our banter.

Instead, I addressed the crowd once more, bringing the public portion of our gathering to an end. We needed to discuss more intricate details with my inner circle before I could tattoo Evie.

My cock was alert the moment the image crossed my mind.

With the love of my life at my side, surrounded by the clan I’d risen from blood and shadow, I’d never felt more brutally alive.

14

EVIE

The energy in the air was electric—intoxicating, even. It was hard not to become drunk on the revolutionary spirit.

I still hadn’t told Kylo what I’d done to the coven who raised me, the reason I’d blocked all of my power and my buried darkness.

I was ashamed to admit that a part of me didn’t want to ruin the image Kylo held of me in his mind. The girl in pretty dresses who grew and arranged flowers and read smutty fantasy novels in her spare time.

I knew Kylo loved my violence. But this was different. I’d obliterated my own parents with my wrath.