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Thirteen Years Earlier: The Darktime

J ace Jones slogged through a cold December rain on Baltimore’s west side, dog-tired after a rough two-month assignment in South America. All he wanted was a shower and a six-pack.

His best friend Adric was pacing the street in front of Jace’s den. “Takira had her cub.”

Jace’s exhaustion fled. That was bad. His sister wasn’t due for another month. He’d hated to leave her, but you didn’t say no to your alpha.

“She’s okay? It’s too early—”

“She’s fine, and the cub is, too. I just came from their den.”

Jace raced down the stairs to his den, Adric behind him, and tossed his backpack on a chair. “Your uncle? He’s expecting me to report.”

Adric’s uncle, Leron Savonett, was the Baltimore alpha. An abusive, out-of-control alpha who didn’t deserve the title. Sending Jace out of the country when his sister was heavily pregnant was typical behavior for Leron—keep families and friends apart.

Adric’s face hardened. He was Jace’s age—barely in his twenties—but the past few years had left him with an old man’s eyes. “Leave him to me.”

“Thanks, man.” Jace stopped only long enough for a shower, then rushed across town.

He’d missed the clan’s winter solstice celebration. It was early Christmas morning. The streets were empty except for a few hard-eyed humans for whom December twenty-fifth was just another day.

Takira’s mate let him into their tiny apartment. Silver was a half-blood fae, beautiful in the way of all his people. Right now his stunning face was drawn. He looked as exhausted as Jace.

“How is she?” Jace demanded.

“Fine. Tired, but fine.”

Takira was in bed, a tiny bundle in her arms. She looked weak and way too thin for a woman who’d just given birth, her skin an ashy brown, but she smiled proudly up at Jace.

“She has her father’s chin.” She touched the infant’s sharp chin. “And his pointed ears.” She grinned at her mate.

Silver’s spare features softened. “She’s got a lot of her mom in her, too—and I thank the gods for that.”

Jace kissed his sister’s cheek and stroked a finger over the cub’s soft black curls. “She’s beautiful.”

“Do you want to hold her?”

He gulped. It had been years since he’d held a baby. He and Takira were earth fada. Their Baltimore clan had been decimated by a bloody civil war. The two of them had lost both their parents by the time they were in their teens.

The Darktime . That was what the clan called the bloody civil war that Leron Savonett had sparked when he’d set out to become alpha no matter what the cost—and the gods knew, the cost had been tremendous, year after year of killing and dirty deeds.

Things had become so bad it was all they could do to survive. Food was scarce, which meant the few cubs that had been born were sickly or died.

His lungs clenched as he stared down at the infant.

Takira kissed her tiny nose. “Meet Uncle Jace, sweetie.”

“Hello, love.” He lifted the child from his sister’s arms. “She’s so light. Can’t weigh much more than a feather.”

Takira chuckled weakly. “She’s a newborn, idiot.”

“Mm,” he said, all his focus on the precious bundle in the crook of his arm.

He pressed a kiss to her soft forehead. Her scent was milky-sweet, not a whiff of the graveyard stench that emanated from most night fae.

He detected a hint of silver and iron, though—silver from her fae blood, iron from the human.

My niece. I’m an uncle.

It struck him like a punch to a gut.

The cub gazed unseeingly up at him with wide, catlike eyes. Then she gave an adorable little stretch like the unfurling of a flower before settling back into the tightly curled position of a newborn.

Jace swallowed hard—and just like that, his heart was hers.

“Her name is Merry,” Takira said. “Because it’s Christmas—and it’s a happy name.” As followers of the old gods, the fada celebrated the winter solstice, but their Jamaican mom had made a big deal of Christmas, too.

“It’s perfect,” he said. “She’s perfect.”

“I just wish Mama could’ve seen her.” A tear leaked from the corner of Takira’s eye.

Jace’s chest squeezed. “She would’ve loved her, and Dad would have, too.” Their father had been a mix of Cherokee and Scottish, with a deep, fierce love of family that he’d passed on to his two offspring.

“Yeah.” Takira smiled through her tears.

Silver hovered protectively nearby. He touched Takira’s shoulder. Their eyes met, and Jace guessed he was sending reassurance through the mate bond. Takira rubbed her cheek against Silver’s palm.

Merry’s tiny brow furrowed.

Jace rubbed a finger over it. “Don’t worry, little one. I’ve got you safe.”

“Thank you,” said Silver.

Jace gave Merry a last kiss and handed her to her father.

Night fae were stunning, with pale skin and black hair.

Silver might be half-human, but he looked all night fae—mesmerizing as a glittering cobra.

Jace could barely tolerate being in the same room with him; the man made his skin crawl.

Night fae were the energy suckers of the fae world. They fed on dark thoughts and emotions.

How the hell had Takira fallen in love with the man, and worse, taken him as her mate?

Still, Silver’s expression was tender as he looked down at his new daughter.

Takira moved restlessly. “You can’t tell the alpha. He thinks I lost the baby last month. Promise you won’t tell.”

“The alpha doesn’t know?” Jace pulled a chair up next to the bed. “How the fuck did you manage that?”

Takira flicked a glance at Merry, then lifted her chin. “I lied.”

“The hell you did. With a cub inside you?” He scowled. Fada couldn’t lie, not without making themselves violently ill. And since she was pregnant, the cub would’ve been affected as well.

“I had to.” His sister’s expression was fierce. “It was the only way to save her.”

“She was sick as a dog after,” Silver interjected.

“That’s why she’s so thin—for two weeks, she could barely keep food down.

But she had no choice. Your friend Adric told us that Savonett was going to force Takira to abort the baby.

He doesn’t want the clan to be saddled with a fae bastard. ” His mouth twisted.

Anger flared in Jace. “When you were seven months along?”

At his sister’s nod, he snarled. “Someone needs to put that SOB down.”

It was Leron’s fault their parents were dead, too. Oh, he hadn’t killed them directly—just sent their mom to almost certain death in an overseas skirmish, and then dragged their dad into clan politics. Leron was a vile, power-hungry excuse for an alpha.

“She’s a fada,” Takira said. “I know it. We all have a few drops of fae in us, just like we all have some human. But she’s going to be able to shift.”

“How do you know?”

His sister touched her quartz. “I can feel her drawing on my energy already.”

He nodded.

“We’re going to hide her,” Takira said. “Only you, Adric, and Marjani”—she named Adric’s sister—“will know about her. For now, Marjani’s covering for me—Leron thinks I’m still in Florida on a mission. I’ll go back to work in a few weeks.”

“Maybe you should just run,” Jace said, but even as he spoke, he knew it was hopeless. The alpha was too powerful—and fada trackers were the best in the world.

“He’ll hunt us down,” she returned. “You know he will. The best thing is to hide in plain sight.”

Jace nodded. “I’ll back you up any way I can. And you know Adric will.”

“I know.” Takira grabbed his hand. “Promise me something. If anything happens, you’ll keep her safe.”

“Of course. You don’t even have to ask. You know I’d die for her.”

“Say the words.” Her gaze desperately searched his.

He clasped her hand between his. “You have my vow. I will keep your daughter safe no matter what it takes.”

And between the five of them—Takira, Silver, Adric, Marjani and Jace—they were able to keep Merry a secret for four years. And then one bleak January day, Jace stopped by his sister’s apartment to find it had been trashed, the small family gone.

Jace, Adric and Marjani had torn Baltimore apart looking for them—and then extended their search up and down the East Coast. But Jace never saw Takira or Silver alive again.