Page 45

PROLOGUE

Gabe

T here were a lot of things Gabe found awkward—witnessing other people’s PDA, being forced to mediate the family drama of his patients, spotting for strangers at the gym—but morning-afters had to be some of his least favorites.

“So”—Jessie leaned against her car door, seemingly in no rush to actually use it, her green eyes sparkling with mischief—“we gonna do this again sometime?”

“Um…” Gabe ran a hand through his dark-brown curls.

Fuck. He hated this part. He hadn’t wanted to do breakfast at all, but she’d been there, at his apartment, and he’d felt like an asshole just kicking her out, so he’d suggested grabbing something to eat.

He’d asked to take separate cars, claiming he had something to do afterward.

He supposed he could make that a true statement by stopping by Danny’s on the way back home.

His little brother had been acting strangely lately. And that guy Roman he’d been hanging around with… Gabe didn’t like it. Didn’t like him.

Jessie smirked at his hesitation. “Uh-oh. Don’t tell me. One-time thing?”

Gabe bit his lip, giving her a sheepish smile. “It’s not you, it’s me?”

He shouldn’t have slept with her. She was nice enough, sure. They’d had classes together in high school, and he’d always thought she was cool—funny, smart, totally hot. But really he’d just been looking for some stress relief, and she’d been in the right place at the right time to provide it.

Jessie laughed at him, her good humor proving she was too good for him in the first place. “No worries, King. I know your reputation.”

“Uh. Reputation?”

But Gabe didn’t get a chance to find out what his reputation might be because the next thing he knew, he was facedown on the pavement, Jessie was screaming, and his arm was being held behind his back at a painful angle.

“Hello, Gabriel.” Gabe didn’t recognize the voice—deep and raspy, with a hint of an accent.

He tried to struggle out of the man’s hold, but his grip was like iron. Gabe didn’t manage even an inch of leeway.

“Do I know you?” Gabe finally grunted, giving up his efforts.

The man holding him down chuckled. It wasn’t a nice sound. “I wanted to send my regards to Roman and his little human toy. Be a good big brother and pass along the message, won’t you?”

That was…what? Gabe had questions, so many questions, but before he could voice them, he heard a crack and then…

Pain. Searing pain.

Gabe screamed. His arm. The man had broken his fucking arm .

He was flipped onto his back before he could even attempt to catch his breath. He stared up at—at what?

The stranger looked like a man, more or less—one with a handsome face, his dark hair grayed slightly at the temples. But his eyes were terrifying—fully black, not even a hint of white around the edges.

A monster’s eyes.

He smiled down at Gabe, and a pair of honest-to-God fangs glistened in the morning light.

Gabe whimpered. He hadn’t even known he could whimper. “What—what the fuck?”

In answer, the man bent his head down, and the pain in Gabe’s arm was forgotten in favor of the sharp, unbearable burning at his neck. The man was biting him. And it fucking hurt.

Gabe didn’t have a chance to scream again. As soon as it had started, it was over. He heard a growl, snarling sounds, and then the monster was gone, Gabe’s injured body dropped unceremoniously on the pavement.

He blinked up at the cloudless sky.

What the fuck had just happened?

He flinched as a shadow loomed over him. But it wasn’t the terrifying man from a moment ago. Gabe knew this man. Blond hair, pale-blue eyes. A face so beautiful it almost hurt to look at.

Roman’s little friend. Soren .

For once, the fucker wasn’t smiling that disconcerting smile; instead, Soren’s golden brows were drawn together in concern as he knelt on the ground beside him.

Gabe didn’t know why, when Soren usually left him feeling so unsettled, the man’s presence now felt like a soothing balm.

Still, he couldn’t help but cry out as Soren picked him up by the shoulders, gently placing Gabe’s upper half in his lap. Fuck. For a man who looked so delicate, he certainly was strong.

“Don’t freak out,” Soren murmured.

And then he… changed .

Soren’s pupils expanded, the black covering first the pale blue and then the whites of his eyes. His incisors sharpened, lengthening into fangs that poked out from full pink lips.

Gabe held back a scream, trying to struggle out of Soren’s hold, but the attempt at movement sent searing pain shooting down his arm.

What the fuck was happening?

He found himself whimpering again, to his mortification.

“Shh.” Soren used both hands to hold Gabe’s head still, forcing him to meet his unnatural-looking eyes. “You’re okay,” Soren said firmly. “You’re safe. I won’t hurt you. You’re not afraid of me.”

And, looking into that endless black, Gabe suddenly…wasn’t.

He knew somewhere in the back of his mind that he should be. But that rush of fear was replaced with an unnatural calm.

Soren wouldn’t harm him. Still…

“I hurt,” Gabe whispered. “Everything hurts.”

“No,” Soren said, his thumbs rubbing soft circles onto Gabe’s cheeks. “You don’t hurt anymore. You’re not feeling any pain. None at all.”

And just like that, the pain faded. Gabe sighed in relief, staring up at the face looking down at him, his brain skipping right over the more alarming details. He saw delicate features, sharp cheekbones, soft-looking pale skin.

Soren was…

“So beautiful,” Gabe murmured, reaching up a hand to touch the pretty man.

Soren’s eyes widened in surprise, his lips twitching. “None of that.” He pushed Gabe’s hand down. “We need to heal you.”

He bent over Gabe and started…licking Gabe’s face? He seemed to be aiming for all the injured spots, his tongue softly touching all the abrasions Gabe had received from the pavement.

Gabe laughed when Soren reached the bite on his neck. “Tickles.”

Soren ignored Gabe’s protest, continuing his ministrations. Gabe wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard Soren mumble something like, “Why do you taste so good?”

But that couldn’t be right. Gabe’s neck was covered in blood. And blood had to taste…gross. Right?

Gabe wasn’t sure how many minutes passed like that, his mind a blissful haze while Soren lapped at his injured skin. Eventually, Soren lifted his head, looking down at him with an inscrutable expression. “I fixed what I can, but the arm is beyond me.”

Gabe had forgotten his arm was even broken. How strange.

“We have to get you to the hospital,” Soren told him.

“Maybe they’ll give me an employee discount.” Gabe laughed again. He knew the situation wasn’t actually funny, but he was having a hard time accessing the fear and anxiety he knew he should be feeling.

He let Soren half carry, half drag him to his car and drive him to the hospital.

Hours later, the nurse pushed pain medication through Gabe’s IV, and everything changed again. The calm he’d been feeling fled, and the fear from before returned tenfold.

Gabe’s heart raced, his palms growing damp with sweat. He turned his head slowly to the blond man next to him—Soren hadn’t left his side, not for a moment—who was holding himself with an unnatural stillness, his pale gaze meeting Gabe’s.

Soren’s eyes were blue again, his teeth their normal size. But his expression was wary, as if he was waiting on Gabe’s reaction, and Gabe knew he hadn’t imagined what he’d seen earlier.

“What— Who—” Gabe had trouble finding the words.

“Gabe—” Soren started.

But Gabe knew this trick. If Soren started talking, he was going to fool Gabe again. Convince him everything was okay. Trick him into believing whatever he wanted.

“Monster,” Gabe accused, not caring that his voice was too loud. “You… That guy. You’re fucking monsters . Get out.”

“Gabe,” Soren said again.

“Get. The fuck. Out of here.” Gabe couldn’t think. He couldn’t breathe. What the fuck was going on? “Get out!” he shouted again.

He saw the nurse talking to a security guard. Gabe didn’t care. He just needed the other man gone. He needed to get rid of this new, unknowable threat.

Soren wasn’t safe.

Then why had Gabe felt that way in his arms? Even before Soren had used his weird voodoo on him, Gabe had felt…soothed. Secure. Was that all a lie?

It didn’t matter. Soren left soon after, the hospital staff kicking him out for agitating their patient. Gabe didn’t miss the hurt look on the blond man’s face. But what did that look even mean?

The man wasn’t even a man. He wasn’t human.

Soren couldn’t really care.