"Are you Kadyn Xavier Llyris?"
The voice broke into Kadyn's sleep, and even though he was on the other side already, he knew the question wasn't part of a dream.
He jolted awake on the small chair inside the security room, his heart beating fast from adrenaline before his mind caught up. The fluorescent lights overhead shone faintly, the stale scent of burnt coffee and metal clinging strongly to the air. For a small moment, he almost believed he'd dreamed it.
Then a shadow shifted.
A man stood half inside the doorway, one hand fixed against the frame, peering in with the kind of polite urgency that meant he needed something. For Kadyn, that meant his rest was over.
Kadyn exhaled deeply and slowly dragged a hand down his face in an attempt to control the small surge of irritation welling up inside. His shift didn't start until eight p.m., and it was barely past four in the afternoon. Which meant only one thing.
Someone was about to ruin his day.
"Yes," Kadyn said flatly, not making any efforts to hide his irritation. "That's me."
The man hesitated, as if weighing how much resistance he'd get. He wore a charcoal-gray blazer that didn't quite fit right and carried a clipboard like it was a shield.
"I know it's not your scheduled shift," the man began, voice carefully neutral, "but we're having an issue with one of the cameras in the underground staff garage. Our technician called in sick. We were hoping you could take a look."
Kadyn swung his legs off the low chair and sat upright. His boots hit the concrete floor with a low thud.
"I do mind," he said, not bothering to hide his displeasure. "I do mind, very much. But I assume that doesn't matter."
The man gave a tight smile that answered before the words came out of his mouth.
"I'm afraid it doesn't, Mr. Hale."
Kadyn scoffed and stood; he shrugged into his dark jacket and grabbed the flashlight clipped to his belt. Anything was better than being dragged into another forced dinner with the neighbors upstairs. They smiled too much. Asked too many questions. Pretended not to notice how quickly conversations died when he was handed a chance to speak.
They must think him weird, but that didn't bother him.
He followed the man down the corridor without another word.
***
Several floors above, in a glass-walled office overlooking midtown Manhattan, Ms. Olena Ermes was done pretending to be polite.
"I told you I don't want to see him."
The assistant standing near her desk swallowed hard. He was young, barely past twenty-five, his suit a little too new, his hands trembling just enough to be noticeable.
"Ma'am, Mr. Vance refuses to leave until you agree to speak with him."
Olena turned slowly, the city skyline reflected in the sharp planes of her glasses. She hadn't slept properly in days. Her silk ivory blouse was wrinkled at the sleeves, and her dark pencil skirt was creased where she'd been sitting too long.
"Then get some security officers and escort him out," she said coolly. "I am in no mood to entertain his antics today."
"But he's insisting—"
He stopped speaking just as her gaze cut through him.
"Do you want to be replaced?" Olena asked calmly.
The question hung heavy in the air.
"There are over a thousand people who would crawl over broken glass for your position," she continued speaking as she stepped closer to him. "Escort that asshole off my property."
The assistant paled.
"Y-Yes, ma'am."
He fled.
Olena exhaled and turned back to her desk, fingers braced against the polished surface. Her reflection stared back at her from the black glass of her monitor. Controlled. Impeccable. Untouchable.
But she didn't feel like any of those things.
***
Two levels underground, Kadyn crouched beneath a security camera mounted to the ceiling of the employee garage.
The space was cavernous, lit by several rows of LED lights that cast everything in a cold bluish sheen. Concrete pillars stretched endlessly, each one Vance-ed with faded yellow numbers. The smell of engine oil, rubber, and damp stone clung to the air.
It didn't take long for him to confirm what he already suspected.
"This thing's fried," Kadyn muttered, lowering himself back to the ground. "Completely."
The radio at his hip crackled.
"Can you fix it?" a voice asked.
"No," Kadyn replied bluntly. "You'll need an actual technician. This isn't a loose wire. It's a full system failure."
Silence followed as the radio went dead.
Until the problem was solved, the garage would have no working surveillance. Not his problem.
He turned away, humming softly under his breath. Some old song whose words he didn't fully remember. But the melody drifted out of him without effort, as natural as breathing.
Then he heard voices. Sharp. Hushed but heated, nonetheless.
He paused and stepped behind a concrete pillar just as a door opened on the far side of the garage.
A woman entered. Kadyn went still when he sighted her.
He didn't need an introduction to know who it was. He'd seen her in passing before, always from a distance. Always surrounded. Always unreachable.
Ms. Olena Ermes.
The woman behind Paramount Holdings. The ghost CEO the tabloids obsessed over and never quite seemed to catch.
She looked quite different up close.
Her chestnut hair was pulled into a loose knot at the nape of her neck. Her heels were black Louboutins, grazed at the sole. Her long designer camel coat hung open, revealing the exhaustion she usually hid so well.
She was on the phone.
"Vance, I'm warning you," Olena said sharply. "Leave me alone."
Kadyn held his breath.
The phone was on speaker.
"Just listen to me," Mr. Vance's voice pleaded, oily and familiar. "We can fix this."
"What we had was never a relationship," Olena snapped. "You were a distraction. Nothing more."
She looked around the garage, suddenly aware of the space, of the echo.
"I messed up," Mr. Vance said quickly. "I know that. But we can go back. The way things were."
"No."
"I'll compensate you," Olena said, her voice weary now.
A laugh crackled through the speaker.
"Of course, you will. It's always about money with you."
"I'm tired," she whispered. "I just want to rest."
"Then you'll meet me tonight," Mr. Vance said. "At my penthouse."
Kadyn's jaw tightened as he sensed compulsion.
"If you fail, I swear I'll tell the world about Shawn," Mr. Vance added softly.
The entire garage was thrown into silence.
Then sudden laughter.
"Speechless, milady?" Mr. Vance teased before hanging up.
The phone slipped from Olena's fingers onto the floor.
She covered her mouth, shoulders shaking.
Something in Kadyn shifted.
A surge rolled through him, hot and electric. His senses sharpened. The far end of the garage came into focus as if he'd stepped closer, every detail crisp. He could see license plates, scratches on paint, and dust motes in the air.
Too sharp. It was all too much.
Then he saw him.
A man in a long black coat stepped from between two parked cars. His hair was slicked back, and his smile was just wrong. It was too wide.
"Olena," the man whispered.
Kadyn's skin crawled at the sound. The man's teeth glinted under the lights. To Kadyn, those were fangs.
No horns, though. The devil didn't need them.
Olena froze, then bolted.
Her footsteps echoed as she ran toward her car. One heel of her Louboutins snapped. She stumbled, cried out, and limped forward, pain slowing her.
The man followed leisurely; he wasn't in a hurry to get her. He was savoring the moment.
Enough.
The world turned red.
Power exploded through Kadyn's veins. He moved without thinking, launching himself across the garage in a blur. The concrete cracked beneath his feet as he landed between them.
The attacker recoiled, shock flashing across his face.
"Stay. Away. From her." Kadyn growled.
Without hesitation, the man lunged towards Kadyn with the intent to kill.
But now that Kadyn was in his full form, he didn't stand a chance.
With unusual ease, Kadyn knocked him down, snapping out the claws from his hands one by one. As Kadyn tore at his skin, the man screamed in pain, scrambling back when Kadyn eased off him. But by now, the damage had been done.
"Stay away from my mate!" Kadyn warned.
The man fled, groaning in pain as he went.
Olena collapsed, unconscious but alive.
And Kadyn stood trembling, staring at his hands.
What had he just done?