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“You don’t mean it.” Lucian dipped his face into the Mage’s neck, and a knot of dread formed in my stomach.

“I’m fucking sorry! I don’t wanna go back in there.”

Lucian drew in a breath. After a punishing glare, he finally released his hold and shielded me with his body as the Mage hurried to the exit.

I sent a quick text to Peter to let him know the prisoner was on his way up. After we escorted Marcus Seaborn to the elevators, I returned to the front desk and picked up Lucian’s file.

“Is that what you deal with every day?” he asked.

“Sometimes. People don’t like being caged. You should’ve let the verbal threat go. They spit and hiss on their way out the door, but it doesn’t mean anything.”

“He meant it.”

I wondered if Peter might be listening in on our conversation from the upstairs pantry. The reception area was too close to the open elevator shaft, which acted as an echo chamber.

“Come with me.” I returned to the hallway and led Lucian into the storage room where we kept evidence and other supplies.

I sat down at a messy desk and opened the file. “You were impressive back there. Have you ever considered working as a guard? We could always use an extra hand.”

Lucian wandered around the room and browsed through the items on the metal shelves. “What would you have done if I wasn’t here?”

“I have a small injector with Chitah venom in my pocket that’ll take down a Mage. That’s not something I tell my prisoners—it would ruin the surprise.” I flicked my eyes up. “It’s nice to know someone had my back. Thank you.”

Lucian’s security plans were riveting. I jumped to my feet and paced around with the papers. “This is really good. The first option is out. I don’t want electrical fences around the property.”

“Most Shifters don’t, but it depends. Some only shift in the house or don’t wander far, so it’s not a big deal. Tak didn’t want them either, so we compromised on cameras.”

Scanning the document in my right hand, I turned my back to Lucian. “The second proposal is promising. I like the idea of converting the basement into a safe room. Does that mean removing the elevator?”

“Maybe. You need a thick steel door that’s hidden behind a wall and only opens with a palm or retinal scan. I’ve never worked around an elevator, so I’ll have to check with my contact.”

“Whatever you think is best,” I said while studying a blueprint.

Lucian noisily pulled something off a shelf behind me. “Why did you threaten that male with more time for each offense? It won’t stop an addict.”

“I can’t do anything about his addiction if he doesn’t want to seek treatment, but we can certainly wear him down. These aren’t five-star accommodations, and now that he’s gotten a taste of isolation, each sentence will feel considerably worse.”

“Then lock them up for a decade.”

“We can’t incarcerate juicers long-term unless they target humans, in which case we turn them over to the Mageri to handle their own. But if we increase his sentence with each offense, it’ll eventually drive him out of Storybook.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“It’s a tried-and-true method with the highest success rate. People like Marcus prey on smaller communities because they think they can get away with it. Yes, they do.” I stared closely at the estimate breakdown.

“You could always kick him out of town.”

“Banishing criminals doesn’t solve anything. They always sneak back in and stay undercover. If you make them hate living here, that’s victory.”

A heavy metal object clanged against a shelf as he continued nosing around. “What’s all this stuff?”

“Oh, this and that. A few items we use, others we confiscated.” I flipped one of the papers over and reviewed the section detailing home renovations required for different installation types. Then I gripped the shelf by my head. “You did all this last night? Do you have any thoughts on?—”

A cold metal cuff clicked around my wrist.

“Stop playing around, Lucian. These aren’t toys.”

“That depends on how you look at it.”

I raised my head and faced him when I heard another click.

Lucian gave me a wolfish grin. “What kind of kinky club did you raid recently? These are the most useless handcuffs I’ve ever seen.”

My breath hitched when I noticed the one-foot chain connecting us.

When I pulled the cuff encircling my left wrist, cold dread washed over me. “You locked it.”

His playful countenance shifted to remorse. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to… Shit . It was only a joke.”

Lucian didn’t realize the gravity of the situation. I wrapped my fingers around his cuff and gave it a pull, then yanked at the chain.

My stomach dropped. “Oh no. This is so bad.”

“It was a poorly executed joke. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

I dropped the papers and hurried over to the desk, jerking the chain and causing Lucian to stumble. Drawer after drawer revealed nothing. “You don’t understand.”

He stood next to me and placed his fingertips on the desk. “Then tell me.”

I faced him. “I don’t have the key.”

Lucian rubbed the side of his face, which raised my arm like a marionette. “You can ask your guard to open it.”

“No, I can’t.”

“Oh right. That might get you in trouble if he found out.” Lucian lifted the cuff and studied it. “Atticus might still be at work. We can call him down. He shouldn’t have any trouble breaking this.”

“ Nobody can break this. It’s enchanted.”

“Enchanted?” Lucian scoffed as if I’d told him the Easter Bunny was on his way over with a basket of goodies. “There’s no such thing.”

“Well, let me come up with a better descriptor: infused with magic. Items like these are only found on the black market.”

He reclined his head in a moment of understanding. “Fuck.”

Occasionally we came across rare metals. No one knew who made them or what kind of Breed forged the magic, but they were dangerous in the wrong hands. Some metals could even suppress gifts entirely, rendering the person defenseless.

I collapsed in the desk chair with my left arm slightly raised, the chain connected to his right wrist. My colleagues, Connor and Hiroki, had tested the cuffs out, and that’s when we discovered their power.

“Are you sure they’re Vampire-proof?” he asked. “What kind of metal is this?”

“The kind we’ve never seen before. Literally. And we’re too afraid to ask around about its origin. Peter nicknamed it Satan’s Wedding Ring.”

He frowned. “Why would you keep it in here without a key?”

“We have a key, but it’s with Connor, and I don’t know where he keeps the keys to illegal items. As a precautionary measure, we store them separately. If a prisoner broke loose, they could cuff us and then toss the key in the river and we’d never free ourselves.”

“So call Connor.”

“He’s out of town until tomorrow.” I heaved a sigh at the thought of them finding out. “Besides, I can’t tell him. This kind of infraction would go on my record. We’re friends, but we don’t cover up each other’s mistakes.”

“But you didn’t do it.”

“No, but I shouldn’t have invited you in here in the first place; this room is off-limits to the public for a reason.

” With the gravity of our situation sinking in, I took out my phone and placed a call.

“Be quiet.” After four rings, it went to voicemail, so I left a message.

“Hi, Connor. I know you’re out of town at the moment, but Mr. Seaborn gave me trouble tonight during his release.

It reminded me that we have too much contraband piling up in our evidence room that we need to take care of.

I’m going to handle the delivery this time, but I need the keys for all the items, including those weird shackles.

Can you call me back and let me know where they are?

The sooner we hand them over to the higher authority, the better. Call me back.”

Lucian lifted the chain and bit it between his teeth. “We can melt it down.”

“You’re not putting a blowtorch anywhere near my hands. Besides, it won’t work.”

“How do you know?”

I jiggled the chain. “Because it’s enchanted.

My colleagues took it out back and tried different ways to break or cut it.

Chain saw, blowtorch, sledgehammer—nothing worked.

Even the cuffs don’t bend or break. That’s not to say we thought of everything, but I’m not about to run around town announcing we have something like this in our possession.

It won’t matter anyway. Only the wearers can see it. ”

“Are you telling me this thing is invisible?”

I swung the chain. “Exactly.”

“How the hell is that possible? Does it emit energy?”

“Do I look like a scientist?”

“What’s the point of it?”

“Besides being indestructible? We floated around a few theories and think the original intent was to aid the higher authority with arrests in the human district. It’s increasingly difficult to apprehend criminals with all the cameras on streets, in stores, and on cell phones.

This would allow the criminal to be cuffed and brought in without attracting attention, but we don’t know for sure. ”

Lucian tried desperately to pull off the tight cuff, but all it did was leave a red mark on his wrist. With flushed cheeks and sweat beading on his brow, he gave up and dropped his arm at his side.

“Peter’s the only other person who’s seen it besides us. He tried everything to break the chain but almost broke Hiroki’s arm in the process.”

He tapped it against the desk. “If people can’t see it, can they hear it?”

I shook my head. “It might be a one of a kind. At least I hope it is. What a terrifying thought.”

With a grim look, he squatted next to me and repeatedly ran his fingers through his hair as if he were using invisible shampoo. “What if the Councilman lost the key?” His breathing picked up, and I could sense his stress was turning into dread.

My thoughts scattered. “Then we’ll have to discreetly find a trustworthy lockpicker.”

“What if the key was imbued with the same magic and that’s the only thing that can open it? We might have to cut off our arms.”

“You’re Mr. Worst-Case Scenario.”

“What now?”

“Well, I certainly can’t go home with you, and sleeping in the jailhouse isn’t an option. You’ll have to stay at my place tonight until we figure this out.”

I need to figure out what to tell my father. I hate that I can’t spend time with him, but maybe he’ll be too tired to care.

Realizing that my nervous emotional scent would only throw Lucian into a full-blown panic, I calmed my nerves and gripped his shoulders.

“I won’t tell your Packmaster about this.

It’s my fault for bringing you in here, but let’s not panic just yet.

I’ll keep reaching out to Connor, but he might have his phone turned off.

We do that on our days off.” I heaved a sigh and stood. “Have mercy.”

Lucian rose and gripped the back of his neck, which swung my arm around. “What do we do now?”

“Collect your papers off the floor and have dinner.”

“How can you eat at a time like this?”

“Because if I don’t get some food in my stomach, I’ll shift. And neither of us wants that.”