Page 5 of Donovan

I stared at him, the weight of his words sinking in.

I’d nearly forgotten he’d lost his parents a year ago.

I remembered seeing him at the funeral, remembered not thinking much of it at the time because my own parents were still alive.

But now, sitting here with him, I realized he knew. He knew exactly what this felt like.

I swallowed. “Yeah?” I asked. “That how it was for you?”

Donovan nodded.

I didn’t know what to say to that.

I thought today would be the worst day of my life.

I thought I’d spend it alone, feeling like an outsider even at my own parents’ funeral. But somehow, it wasn’t as bad as I’d expected.

Because I wasn’t alone.

I glanced at Donovan, and for the first time, the weight in my chest didn’t feel so crushing.

Maybe, just maybe, I’d made a friend.

My first real friend.

CHAPTER TWO

DONOVAN

THE PRESENT

The icy wind cut through my jacket as I crouched behind the crumbling wall of an abandoned farmhouse, my breath clouding in the frigid night air.

The others were moving into position, shifting shadows against the overgrown grass and skeletal trees.

I should have been focused. Should have been scanning for movement, listening for the telltale sound of rustling leaves or unnatural stillness.

Instead, my fingers curled around my phone inside my pocket.

No messages.

No missed calls.

Nothing.

Asher had gone off-grid weeks ago. No warning. No explanation. Just vanished.

Then Declan found him, by accident, of all things, while on a mission.

He barely had time to tell me before dropping another bombshell. Asher wasn’t alone. He was with a vampire. A bloody vampire.

Declan tried to talk sense into him, tried to convince him to come home, but Asher refused. He’d been stubborn.

More than that, resistant. Like he wasn’t even the same person I’d grown up with.

And then, before I could even process that, Declan went radio silent too.

Now both of them were off the grid. And it was driving me out of my mind.