Page 59 of Taste of Forever (Vampires of Sanguine #3)

Rhain

T horne knew exactly where to find me. I smelled the flavor of his darakt before I heard him climbing the ladder to join me on the compound’s roof.

He said nothing at first. Just leaned his forearms on the railing about five feet down from me. After thirty or so seconds, he pulled out his cigarettes and lit up. My own smoke was nearly finished, and I took a final drag before stubbing the end in the ashtray between us.

“They’re getting big, huh?” He jerked his chin toward the distance, indicating the orchard of fruit trees Cyan had planted for Tavia.

“Yeah.”

The trees were just saplings now, but both Tavia and Cyan, along with a master gardener they hired, inspected them daily for signs of pests and illness.

Fifty trees tended to like children. And I found myself oddly protective of the spindly little things.

Watching them under a bright moon turned out to be a respite from everything else going on.

“When will they bear fruit, do you think?”

“Tavia said it’ll probably be another year for the apples. Three years for the cherries. Not soon enough, in her view.”

Thorne chuckled, red smoke billowing from his nostrils. “She’ll learn soon enough that three years is no time at all.”

I said nothing and waited for him to broach what he really wanted to talk about.

“What do you think of our brothers taking on blood mates?”

I shrugged. “Temkra has chosen well for Cyan and Laith. It’s good to see them happy. Amy deserves better than Novak, but nothing can be done about that.”

Another dry, smoky chuckle. “Think you’re next?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“You know why,” I said with more bite than I intended.

Thorne was quiet for a few seconds. “You weren’t in your right mind when you made that vow. You were grieving?—“

“I really don’t want to talk about this with you.”

Thorne paused to let out a long exhale of red smoke. “I’m sending you away on assignment.”

I forced my fists to unclench the metal railing. “Away where?”

“South of the Ribs, near our border with Shadowburn.”

“Where you had Laith and Cy check out the fight club?”

“Yes. There’s a dive bar there called Nocturne.” He rolled his eyes. “Inessa tells me the owner there is a cousin of her father’s. Goes by Vlad.”

I snorted. “Seriously?”

“Sadly, yes. He’s supposedly the one in charge of running the fights. The bar is a front for the fights and probably big draitrium deals.”

“Makes sense. What’s the assignment?”

“Find out how to get Kal the fuck out of there. I don’t care how you do it. Act like you’re an investor. Some big shot gambler. If they sell fighters like humans sell racehorses, buy him. Whatever it takes, but do not let Vlad catch on to you.”

I groaned. “So I’ll need to become a regular at this place.”

“That would be my recommendation, yes.”

“What kind of dive is it?”

“Seedy. It has a strip club from what I hear.”

“Great.” I narrowed my eyes. “That’s why you asked me about being next to find a mate?”

Thorne nodded. “I can’t send Cy or Laith, obviously. And I’m too recognizable as Blood ‘til Dawn. But you, my friend, despite your size, are quite good at flying under the radar. And you’re single.”

“Why not send Des?”

“He’s a good soldier, but he’s too young. Too inexperienced for this.” Thorne shook his head. “You’re the only one I trust to get this done.”

“Fine. When do I go?”

“In two weeks. After Laith and Heather’s ceremony.”

“Right. Wouldn’t want to miss that.”

“Don’t sound so bitter,” Thorne scoffed. “Besides, who knows? You might meet someone down south.”

“Fuck off with that noise.” I dug out my cigarettes, annoyance gnawing at the peace I felt moments before he showed up. “I’ll do the assignment, but you need to shut the hell up about blood mates. You know it’s not in the cards for me.”

Thorne stared at me, his gaze piercing. “You don’t still blame yourself, do you?”

I pushed off the railing and got within an inch of his face. To his credit, he didn’t flinch. But it took all my resolve to keep my voice low and level.

“You are my friend and the head of my clan. I have only the highest respect for you. But if you keep pushing me on this, I swear to Temkra I will fucking swing at you. And I won’t hold back.”

Thorne sighed deeply, completely unbothered by my threat of violence.

He was lean, even twiggy compared to me, but he had become head of the ruling clan by being a scrappy, cunning fighter.

I had him on brute strength, but he could outmaneuver and outsmart me.

Whenever we had tussled as juveniles and younger adults, we’d been pretty evenly matched despite our size difference.

He turned to leave, effectively snapping my aggressive tension like a string. I leaned over the railing, grateful to be left alone to watch the orchard in peace.

Just before he went down the ladder, Thorne’s voice floated across the roof.

“You always deserved better than her, Rhain.”

Thank you so much for reading Taste of Forever! I hope you enjoyed Heather and Laith’s story.

In the mood for a taste of…trauma?

Heather and Laith have been through a lot of it. How do they balance the joys of their newfound love with the horrors of what they’ve been through?

Find out in the Taste of Forever bonus scene!

Read Cyan and Tavia’s story in Taste of Fate.

Then you can dive right into Amy and Novak’s romance in Taste of Death .

If you’re more in a wolf shifter mood, don’t miss my Howling Death MC series. The first book is Traitor Wolf.