Page 6

The bastard was probably drooling over the Void Chain. My stomach knotted at the thought of giving up such a power weapon, but I kept my expression carved from stone. Angelo wouldn’t like it, but if I had to choose between Joy and the chain, there was only one choice. “It always does.”

He walked over toward the window and looked out as if he were afraid someone was listening. His reflection in the glass showed a calculated smugness that made my fingers itch for my weapon. “Rumor has it that Simon’s having an auction tonight.”

I would rip anyone apart who even touched a single hair on Joy’s head. “That’s news to me. Why weren’t the vampires invited?”

Lorcan turned and leaned against the windowsill. “Such a pity, but we weren’t either.”

Keir met my gaze, his expression hardening with genuine disgust. “It’s a slave auction. We don’t barter for women. That kind of despicable trade falls strictly at Maximo Barone’s door.” For once, the disdain in his voice mirrored my own feelings.

It was true. The wolves, the vampires, and the Unseelie didn’t engage in human trafficking.

We looked at it as something beneath us.

I stiffened and my fangs lengthened at the mere mention—there were lines even monsters wouldn’t cross.

We focused on extortion, art and antiquities theft, blood trade, information brokering and espionage, magical artifacts trade, mercenary services, and supernatural law and enforcement corruption.

Our businesses were brutal but had a certain code—a distinction that suddenly seemed important as Joy’s face flashed in my mind.

It took everything I had learned over the centuries not to lose control.

My vision edged with crimson as I fought down the beast within me, claws of rage scratching beneath my skin.

“You think Barone is going to sell Joy?” The question came out like gravel, each word dragged through the restraint that kept me from tearing the room apart.

Lorcan shrugged, his eyes darkening, years of caution evident in his measured tone. “I don’t know, but it seems most likely. Simon hasn’t been forthcoming on this.” His eyes tracked me like a predator watching for weakness, hungry for any sign that I might crack.

Keir frowned as he leaned back in his chair, the ancient wood creaking beneath him.

Something dark and cold passed over his features—the look of a king whose authority had been challenged, a predator whose territory had been encroached upon.

“Simon and Maximo continue to defy us. They know we’ve been looking for Joy.

Her brother, Steve, is becoming quite…obsessed with her.

” He paused, studying me with calculated intensity.

“When are you going to take him off my hands? You’re the one who made him, after all. ”

Newly made vampires were unpredictable and most of all…

hungry, like a bottomless pit that couldn’t be satisfied.

I sighed and rubbed the bridge between my eyes, feeling the beginnings of a headache pulse behind them.

The weight of responsibility for Steve—a responsibility I never wanted—pressed down on my shoulders.

“Angelo isn’t exactly laying out the welcome mat for him. ”

Keir released an exaggerated sigh, the sound heavy with frustrated weariness that seemed to pull the very shadows closer.

“He can’t stay here forever, Enzo.” My name in his mouth was both a reminder and a reprimand.

“You’re going to have train him or move him soon.

His behaviors are becoming even more outrageous.

My men are getting tired of having to constantly restrain him. ”

The unspoken threat lingered in the air between us. If I didn’t handle Steve, Keir would—and his methods wouldn’t be gentle.

“I will,” I promised as I held up my finger. “But not until I find Joy.”

Keir’s expression softened, a flicker of something like compassion crossing his face before vanishing into resolve.

“Back to the auction,” he said, redirecting us to the more pressing concern.

“I’m sure Simon thinks that he will make a fast buck.

Ravenwood Estate hasn’t been the same since the vampires invaded it looking for Serenity’s stepfather.

He’s reaching all-time lows. Something we can’t tolerate.

” His fingers drummed once, twice on the desk—a rare tell from someone so controlled.

“This needs to stop. Simon needs to learn a lesson from the Unseelie, vampires, and wolves.”

“Wolves?” My eyebrow arched, genuine surprise momentarily overtaking my rage. The different factions rarely worked together—too much bad blood, too many old grudges.

“Yes. We need to make an example.” His voice dropped to that deadly whisper that had preceded massacres. “You, Lorcan, and the wolf enforcer, Stalker, need to pay a visit tonight. We will not be defied. I will contact Trystan.”

Great, now I was going to owe the fucking wolves. The thought made acid rise in my throat. Wolf debts were worse than Unseelie ones—they collected with interest that was often paid in flesh.

But Joy was worth it. The certainty settled in my chest like an anchor—solid, irrefutable. I’d level cities for her if I had to.