Dedication
For Jaymin and all of the TimTams she sends me.
Without those biscuits, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Okay, fine. And also because of you and the big heart you try to hide.
You are the peanut butter to my jelly!
Chapter 1
When I’d left my high-rise apartment, all I wanted to do was get some air while waiting on news from the witches. That was it. Instead, the pondering thoughts of my future were rudely interrupted by the screams of a human as I traversed the less traveled streets of downtown Los Angeles.
I cocked my head to the side, pushing my long strands out of my face and trying to decide if I was in the mood for drama. I really wasn’t, given I had my own issues to deal with. So, I kept walking along the cracked sidewalk, switching back to my previous dilemmas until the incessant cries of the woman broke through my thoughts once more.
“Wh-what are you?” the female stuttered, the slight breeze carrying her words closer to me.
A growl echoed through the deserted streets. I sighed. Gods, I hated supernaturals who preyed on weak humans. We had a pecking order—an unwritten law—that most supernaturals abided by, but this one clearly didn’t like to follow the rules. I was going to have to do something about that.
With purposeful strides, I crossed the single-lane street, flipping off the driver who honked at me. He should be thanking me for using my invaluable time to save one of his kind.
A streetlight flickered above the brick alleyway, but I couldn’t see much and continued to follow the moans and grunts behind a dumpster.
The female human was on the trash-filled ground, curled in the fetal position, while a scraggly grey wolf nipped at her ankles, merely playing with his food. Idiot mutt.
Magic gathered in my hand, and I flicked a stream of it right at his tail, singeing half the hair off. “Didn’t your mother teach you not to play with your food?” I drawled.
The young woman’s hazel eyes widened at my appearance, and her fair skin became almost translucent behind the thin curtain of ebony hair.
Unfortunately, I made the rookie mistake of watching the prey instead of keeping my focus on the wolf. He lunged for me, claws scratching my arm, but that was the only hit he’d be allowed. I flicked my wrist once more, sending a stream of power at his chest that acted like electricity, and didn’t let up until I smelled burnt hair.
He fell over onto his side, looking more like an oversized house-dog than the badass shifter he should have been. After a couple of growls, his form shimmered, but I had no desire to argue with a rogue. I blasted him with another bout of magic, stopping his shift.
Bending closer to the ground, I snapped my fingers to get his full attention. “I don’t think so, furball. No shifting back to human form until you’re long gone from this territory. You clearly don’t belong to any of the local packs, so run along now before I kill you instead.”
Don’t give him the option. Just kill him now before he becomes a bigger problem. Ah, my inner darkness had decided to come out and play. Well, I wasn’t in the mood. Instead, I ignored that voice and took a step back from the mangy shifter, groaning at the blood I’d dripped on my favorite high heels.
His jowls snapped at me, foam forming along his jaw while his beady black eyes narrowed.
Power pooled in my hand once more, and I let my own growl out. “I don’t give second chances. Go now or die.”
He yipped as the power of my words slammed into him, then rolled in the opposite direction before jumping over the woman who was still on the ground. The wolf limped along before using the dumpster to launch himself over the fence and disappearing into the night.
“Who are you?” she muttered, snot running down her nose.
“Nobody you’ll remember,” I replied, ready to make her forget this whole incident.
More tears streamed down her face as she sat up and reached to hug me. “You’re my hero.”
My head shook as my palm went to her forehead. “Honey, I’m the furthest thing from a hero. I just hate bullies. Now, you’re going to forget this happened, and I’m never going to see you again.”
My hand stayed in place as I pushed magic into her mind. I couldn’t do this trick on other supernaturals, but I certainly took advantage of it with the feeble minds of humans when necessary.
She mumbled incoherently as I stepped away into the shadows and waited until she stood, crying at the sight of her torn clothes and bruises. Hopefully, she’d figure out the situation wasn’t as bad as it first appeared.
Once she was gone, I left the alley and finished the trek home. A quick glance at my phone told me Neva was due back any minute. I was going to need a shower after that interlude. Blood wasn’t something I enjoyed keeping on my skin, and while my wound was healed with my accelerated fae healing, the mess wouldn’t go away on its own.
I should have just taken my Ferrari for a spin when I needed to get out. This was part of my problem. I’d been “helping” around this territory for much too long. I was growing complacent, or maybe soft. I wasn’t sure which. Either way, I didn’t like it. My actions were beginning to allow emotions in that I’d fought hard to avoid for many years.
I’d learned long ago that caring would give me nothing but heartache.
King Zephyr stood in my room, holding a doll I’d been given by a complete stranger as a child. The only real gift I’d ever been given. “You showed weakness today. You didn’t kill the fae, and now they’ll think they can get away with disobeying me. That displeases me, Lucinda.”
“I’m sorry, Zephy. I’ll do better next time.” I was only fourteen. Even though I looked like an adult, I was still a child.
“Let this be your punishment.” He tore the head from my doll, throwing both halves into the fireplace in my room. “I need you strong. You can’t care about those other fae. They mean nothing to you. I’m all you need.”
Gods, I’d been so naïve. Even though I knew better now, I still had my issues. A part of me wondered if a change of scenery would get me out of this funk, but I’d been hard-pressed to give up the high-rise apartment I’d swindled out of some movie executive who’d been unfaithful to his wife. Not with me, of course. I didn’t date humans, but I had been all too happy to dole out his punishment and get something for myself out of it. I had one of the witch covens to thank for that job.
I’d come to Earth three years ago and had managed to make the best out of things after being kicked out of Fae Islands by King Easton Zephyr. At one time, I’d been his favorite guard, but the king’s loyalty was only skin deep, and one misperception was all it took for the bastard to turn on me. Even though the islands were my home, I had zero desire to ever set foot on them again.
Instead, I’d come to Earth and chose to begin working with the shifters and witches. The two races typically despised each other, but I’d managed to play them like a fiddle. When one had a problem with the other—or any supernatural race for that matter—that they couldn’t solve on their own, they called on me to handle the situation.
Torturing those who deserved it helped to feed the darkness that stirred inside me—that inner voice that pushed me to be worse than I was the day before. Normally, I didn’t mind using my darker subconscious as a crutch, but lately, something was missing. Though, I hadn’t figured out what that was.