It took hours for his hacker to sneak his way into her cell phone account, but Rhemy had Taelour’s address at last.

He mapped it on his phone at the same time he was peeling out of his parking spot in his 1962 Austin-Healey 2000 MK. She hadn’t been exaggerating about the distance. Her home was out by Wills Point, would take almost an hour to get to if traffic wasn’t kind.

Soon enough, he turned on the driveway. The home could date back to the 1700s, a large, French plantation house in good condition, and as Rhemy pulled up, he had a flash of panic that Taelour was spoken for by some rich southern gent.

Gods. Don’t let it be that.

Though he knew she didn’t bear any man’s scent, he worried she was still connected to someone, and that was why she ran and hadn’t messaged him back.

He parked the car, looking around.

Some lights were on, but the curtains were drawn, and it was hard to see if anyone was home. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up while he climbed the steps to the porch. Frowning, he looked to his left, to his right, his instincts giving him pause.

Despite this, he started to knock on the door when the unmistakable sound of motorcycle engines coming down the drive caught his attention. He turned, eyes narrowing. Three men on Harleys circled around his car and blocked him in.

Shit.

They turned climbed off their bikes, looked at each other, then at him, and advanced like a trio of prey.

“Pardon me, gentlemen. I have the wrong house,” he told them.

“Who the hell are you?” asked the one in the middle, wearing a tight black T-shirt with his hair in a bun atop his head.

“No one.” Rhemy made sure to keep his tone friendly and even. “Just a motorist with a mistaken address.” He started to come down the steps, but the three of them had formed a body blockade, staring at him with identical narrowed eyes.

The one on the right, a blond with a sleeve tattoo, eyed him up and down. “Something doesn’t smell right.”

Rhemy steeled his spine. “I don’t want any trouble. I was just looking for someone and it’s clear this isn’t where she lives. I’ll be on my way and you’ll never see me again.” Though, damn it, there was the matter of their bikes preventing him from going forward or backward.

The front door behind him opened. “Who the fuck—”

“Chase. Grab him!”

Rhemy barely had time to glance over his shoulder before he was clocked across the jaw, barely conscious as his face was introduced to the wood floor, his body dragged inside by his feet. Two strong arms hooked under his armpits and he was sat up on his knees. His teeth descended, his rage discharging his instinct to fight, but he was unable to stand. One set of strong hands held down his left shoulder, another on his right.

A third hand grabbed his hair and yanked his head back.

His eyes came to focus as the guy named Chase in the Saints shirt snarled down at him, then looked up at the others. “Vampire.”

Rhemy struggled, but they were mighty strong, and there were three of them holding him. His chest rose and fell with his heavy breaths, his mind racing with what he could say or do to get him out of this mess. Their scents hit him at once, strong and unmistakable.

Shifters.

He kept his temper in check. “Release me.”

“Not happening,” said the one gripping his left shoulder, the one with the man-bun. “Now, what are you really doing on our property?”

“I’m not your enemy.” The yank on his head to expose his neck more made Rhemy grit his teeth. “Get your fucking hands off me.”

Chase crossed his arms. “Four against one here, bub. I don’t think you’re in a position to give orders and have them be obeyed.”

“Look!” Rhemy roared. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re making a mistake—”

“Think he’s a spy or some shit?” interrupted the blond gripping his right shoulder.

“Not a very good one if he is,” said the hair-holder, who then released his grip on Rhemy’s hair and walked around to face him. “And look at the way he’s dressed.”

The blond dug his fingers in. “Should we rip his throat out and throw him in the swamp?”

Rhemy twitched, struggling to break free. There was no way that was his ultimate fate, being murdered by a pack of shifters too paranoid to even consider a vampire would be on their property merely by error. “Listen—”

Just then, a voice from behind them interrupted their questions. “Guys! What’s going on?”

A feminine voice. The only one he ever wanted to hear.

She came from around a corner and gasped. “Rhemy?”

His eyes widened at the sight of her. “Taelour.” He had the right address all right.

“You know him?” asked man-bun.

“Say the word and we’ll waste him. He knows where you live, Tae.”

Her teeth sharpened, eyes brightened, then—to the surprise of them all—forcefully pushed man-bun’s shoulders, then the blond one. “Get off him now. Do it!”

“Why?” The third one asked incredulously. “They kill our kind every fucking day.”

“Kill him? You can’t kill him!” She covered her mouth with her hands, closed her eyes, and sighed. “He’s my fated.”

Had Rhemy not been so shocked by those three last words of Taelour’s, he would’ve stood up, but his legs wouldn’t let him.

“What?” exclaimed the four shifters in unison.

Exactly.

He snatched her hand and yanked her down to her knees so they would be eye level.

The men stiffened, growling at him, but they didn’t touch him.

To Rhemy, they barely existed at that moment. “What did you just say?”

She made a despairing sound and cupped his jaw. “It’s true. The other night when we were—together, when I bit you, I knew…but I didn’t know at the same time. I know that doesn’t make sense, but it’s true.”

“But you’re a—”

“Pürblood. That’s what I was told. My mom said so. I never thought twice about double-checking.” She looked up at the four staring down at them. “She must’ve been wrong. I’m a fateblood. He’ll know I’m not lying. My blood will tell.”

He didn’t have to, to know it was true. Gods, it made sense. If only he’d bitten into her vein that night, he would’ve discovered for himself, but she hadn’t allowed it. Then she’d fled from him. Perhaps that was what had been hovering in his cognizance when they made love, the knowledge that she was his fated. “Why didn’t you tell me what you were going through?” he begged to know. “I’ve been going out of my mind.”

“So was I! But how could I explain what I didn’t know? I thought I was a pürblood. I went to a psychic and asked her for help. She told me it was simple. I’d found my fated.” She sighed. “I was just about to call you.”

He closed his eyes, touching his forehead to hers, before pulling her into his embrace. With a relieved exhale, he absorbed the news that really wasn’t actually shocking to him at all. She’d been his from the start, and he’d known it.

“I see you’ve met my brothers.”

“Brothers?” Shock number two. She’d left that detail out. Though she had mentioned having four brothers, he’d naturally assumed they were vampires.

She pulled back, and he pushed to his feet, helping her up.

The four shifters appeared somewhat chagrined, giving them room, either by he and Taelour’s intimate moment or by the fact they’d almost killed their—sister’s?—eternal mate.

He looked at each of them. The man-bun guy. The blond. Chase, the one who’d subdued him with a knock to his jaw. And the angry one, who didn’t look all that apologetic like the other three.

A vampiress with shifter siblings. How?

“I’ll explain everything. First.” Taelour named them off left to right. “This is Reed, Jake, Chase, and Seth. Guys, meet Rhemy Carrington.”

A silence fell so quiet, he could hear the crickets outside.

Reed snapped his gaze to Jake, Jake looked at Chase, who slapped the back of his hand to Seth’s chest.

Seth looked at the other three, matching their identical stupefied faces as he asked, “Did you say Rhemy Carrington?”

“Yes,” she replied.

“Ah, fuck,” said Reed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah, I didn’t see that coming,” Chase was quick to add.

Seth stretched his bottom lip down in a “oops” expression, avoiding Rhemy’s eyes.

Jake snapped his fingers. “I knew there was something about him.”

Taelour threw up her free hand. “What are you guys mumbling about?”

“You know who I am?” Rhemy asked.

“We do,” said Reed, hands on hips. “You’re the one who hosts those meetings for the shifters and vampires. The one with the fight club.”

“Holy shitballs.” Jake grinned. “All of us have been trying to get in for years. So you’re him. Never would’ve guessed. Takes guts to let something like that go on under your own roof. And to dress like that.” He grinned, and slapped Rhemy’s bicep.

Taelour looked at him. “What are they talking about?”

“I can’t believe it,” muttered Seth. “We almost murdered Rhemy fucking Carrington.”

“That would’ve easily signed each of our death warrants,” Chase added.

A wry smile tugged at Rhemy’s mouth. Hot damn. Had he just told them his name when they first approached, he could’ve been spared the vicious interrogation. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Get this man a beer!” Chase called heading toward a room.

Taelour tugged him toward one of the rooms with the giant TV and a mismatched setting of sofas and recliners to lounge on. He chose to sit on the loveseat with Taelour beside him. The four brothers took various seats around them. Rhemy was in disbelief.

Reed handed him a cold beer. So this is him. The brother who Taelour wanted to avenge. And good thing, too. Otherwise she might’ve never sought Calvin, never come to his club.

While Taelour told her brothers how they met, Rhemy was struck with a realization.

Reed had been in love with a royal.

Reed was a shifter.

At the time when she told him the tragedy, Rhemy had assumed Reed was just a poor pürblood. No wonder the men had tried to kill him. He took a sip of beer and surveyed at the shief with the scar.

A royal vampiress in love with a blue-collar shifter? And he thought Aleck’s brother’s situation was bad…

“Rhemy?” Taelour looked at him, breaking him out of his thoughts. “About the club?”

He gazed at his fated, holding both her hands. “Truth? I was going to tell you eventually. The night we met, in fact, I was hosting one. I do every month.” He glanced at her brothers. “I’m a sympathizer of the mission to bring our kind and theirs together, but I’m not like Marex or my friend Elijah. I wasn’t trying to change the underworld or anythin’. It was for selfish reasons, so that I could be ahead of everyone else if and when there was ever peace. I would know more about shifters than most. Then it became something else. Now we have countless members, and they take turns comin’ to the meetings to exchange information, share ideas, and get to know each other with open minds.”

She appeared amazed. “And the fighting?”

“More like sporting. We, uh…learned that fighting with shifters actually bonded us quicker than talking ever did. And in turn they learned to communicate, and fight last, which is why we do the meeting first. It was a compromise.” He dropped his gaze, grazing across her knuckles with his thumb. “One of the reasons I stopped from getting close to you that first night was because of what you said about shifters. I didn’t like it. And I told myself I couldn’t be with someone who was disgusted that much by them. It was part of the reason I tried to set you up with Aleck.”

She looked down. “Oh.”

Jake snorted before tipping back his beer bottle. “What did you say about shifters, little sister?”

Taelour went on the defensive. “I said what I’m supposed to say. One soft word about shifters to the wrong vampires is unthinkable. And if they find out I’m not only living with two of them, but that I call four of them my brothers, they’d tear us apart.”

Reed crossed his arms and put his feet up on the ottoman in front of him. “I know we were aggressive, Carrington, but now you get why. A strange vampire on our property could rat us out.”

Rhemy understood. “I get it, which why I hid my true opinion when she asked about the lack of shifters in my club.” He looked at her, cocking his head. “Were you testing me?”

“Yes. Like you were.”

Rhemy shook his head. It was a shame neither of them found it wise to be honest with each other from the start. She thought they were too different, when they were so beautifully the same. What a wonder. The two of them, a female vampire raised with shifters, and he, who had friendships with shifters he considered brothers, finding each other. The gods couldn’t have made one more perfect for him, even given her complicated family situation. Which suited him just fine. Their life would surely never be dull.

“So, Carrington,” Chase said leaning his elbows on his knees. “We met Marex Daulton earlier this year. We were the ones who gave him a place to crash the night he escaped the UCC.”

“You did what?” Taelour exclaimed.

“I’m impressed,” he said, meaning it.

“Kinda couldn’t tell anyone outside of our pack, sis,” her brother added. “Anyway, Reed saved Daulton’s mate when we thought the tunnel could be under attack. So we’re more than good with him.”

“Saved is a stretch,” Reed said dryly.

His brother Seth chimed in. “Yeah, ’cause she fuckin’ bailed on him at the safehouse and wrecked his ride in the process!”

Chase dismissed that detail. “The bike got repaired, it’s fine. But I think you should know Reed and I are in the biggest pack in the state. Both lieutenants now.”

Rhemy knew where the shifter was going. “And now you want in on the club.”

Chase winked at Taelour. “He’s sharp. Very sharp.”

“Of course you’re in. No need to exclaim your endorsements. Marex trusts Kane, Kane trusts his pack, and your sister trusts you. What more recommendations would I need?”

Three of the brothers grinned. Reed offered a crack of a smile.

“But,” Rhemy felt he had to add, “I have to tell y’all the club is in a transition. We’re thinking of starting clubs in new cities and it’s becoming more precarious by the day. You’re welcome to join, but it’s probably not as sexy as it was when it was more of a secret.”

Seth gaped at him. “Are you kidding me? If anything, we want to join even more. Nothing against your kind.”

“Nothing? Even though you were three seconds from ripping my throat out?”

“Well, nothing against vampires we know.”

Reed nodded. “Unlike most shifters, we’ve been all right with vampires for a long time.” He looked over at Taelour, giving a small, but deeply affectionate smile.

Did her brother know vampires were the ones who nearly killed him? As if she read the question in his eyes, she gave a bare shake of her head. Ah. Either no, he didn’t, or no, it didn’t matter. Rhemy squeezed her hand.

Suddenly, he was struck with sentiment. It’d been an incredible week of emotions, he supposed, and without a doubt his life was never going to be the same again. He didn’t just gain his soul mate, but four shiefs, too.

“I…” He felt compelled to express the gravity of the moment. “Like many vampires, I’m an only child. My parents wanted more, but they only got me. I know it’s different for shifters. Y’all can have as many children as you desire. Big families. Big packs. I don’t know what that’s like and to be honest, I was envious. Covenants are not like that.” He shifted in his seat while the brothers exchanged glances. “One of the reasons I started the club was to experience a version of what it might be like to have a big family. Not just because I wanted to learn about shifters. That’s what I tell people. I’m saying this so that you’ll know I want to be an extension of what you have, and have no intention of taking your sister away from any of you.”

There was a long stretch of silence.

“But if we wanted you to?” joked Chase, to break the seriousness in the air.

Seth pointed at him with his beer can. “You might come to regret having your wish for a big family. Just sayin’. We’re not perfect.”

“We’re messy,” added Chase.

“We fight,” said Reed.

Taelour smiled. “We love.”

He turned toward her. “I’ve waited for you for so long,” he said, yearning to kiss her.

A soft sound parted her lips and her breathing changed as she held his face. “Rhemy.”

“Uh-oh,” said Chase. “What’s going on?”

Reed groaned, pushed off his chair, and left the room.

“We’re fucking bouncing is what’s going on,” Jake said.

“We just met him!” Seth complained.

Jake got up and stretched. “Yeah, but they’re doing their sensa thing and it’s about to get fucking hot up in here. We’ll have plenty of time to get to know him later. After all, he’s not going anywhere. He’s family now. And look at them.”

As soon as the four left—not just the room but the house—Taelour rushed her lips to his, folding her arms around his neck, climbing in his lap. She roved her hips on his. Their tongues met wildly, with carnal taking, and he let his hands roam along her back and ass.

“My fated,” he whispered, silently thanking the brothers for leaving them alone. When he heard the bikes rev up, he pushed her top up, kissing her breasts.

Taelour gave an excited moan, and finished removing her shirt and bra while he sucked her nipple to a turgid pebble, licked across her chest, up her neck, taking her mouth again.

She struggled to touch him. “Oh my gods, you have to stop wearing so many layers, Rhemy,” she said, trying to unbutton his vest.

He chuckled, rubbing his nose between her breasts. “The wait will just make you wetter.”

She gave a husky little laugh. His vest undone, he set her a little back from his lap to get it off, then started unbuttoning his shirt. Yeah, maybe he’d wear a little less from now on, but he rather loved the anticipatory look on her face when he undressed. The last button on his shirt was released, but she didn’t wait for him to get the shirt off, running her hands from his chest to rake his hair.

“My fated. I found you,” she breathed before kissing him deeply.

“Your room, Taelour. Take me there.” He couldn’t make love to her here. They could easily be interrupted, and he would not be able to stop once he was between her thighs.

In her bedroom, clothes went flying in all directions. The second he was naked, she pushed him against the wall, going to her knees and taking his cock in her mouth.

His eyes rolled back. Gods, she was incredible, the sight of her head moving back and forth, the feel of her lips along his shaft, her hand cupping his balls. She’d increased the movement of her mouth, milking him, sucking so well that yes, he actually had to stop her.

About to come, he pulled out of her mouth and picked her up, setting her on the edge of the high-platform bed. Spreading her wide, hooking his hands beneath her knees and sinking into her with one hard thrust. She cried out, head falling back, supporting herself on her hands as he held her legs and bucked his hips. Every pump made her cry out, as he couldn’t get deep enough, plunge deep enough, chasing the ecstasy down like a madman. He held her close, delving his tongue in her mouth in sync with his thrusts.

She gripped his ass, begging him, shifting her hips back and forth to meet his frenzied thrusts. His emotions were high, uncontrollable. It was like fury, love, possessiveness, and desire coming together in a fiery flood, overtaking his entire being. He knew what he had to do.

“Rhemy. Do it,” she whispered, turning her head and offering her neck.

He opened his mouth and clamped down, taking her blood and feeling the power in a blinding instant. The words burst through like a broken dam. Fated. Mine. Fated. Mine. The words repeated in his mind. Roving his hips, he groaned, swallowing, holding her neck with his left hand, his thumb keeping her chin up and away.

“Yes,” she breathed.

He squeezed a little harder. She liked it. She gasped as he gripped more, drank more. A rough cry that she was about to come tore from her throat.

As her wild scream ripped through the bedroom, Rhemy could hold back no more, the sound of her climax causing him to climax, too. He thrusted hard into her and released his bite as the orgasm tore through his body and soul, spiritually splitting him in two. Her blood dripped from his chin to her shoulder.

He held Taelour for a long while afterward, refusing to let her go when she started to rise.

“You won’t lose me again,” she swore, slipping out to go to the bathroom.

She came back in silk robe and curled up beside him.

“Why didn’t you call me the millisecond you found out you were a fateblood?” he asked toying with her robe’s belt.

She took her time before answering, as if she didn’t know the answer until that very moment. “I thought if you knew what I knew, you wouldn’t take me to the Centurias. That you’d try to stop me. I was devastated without you. It was only a matter of time before I called. But you see, this goal has been my priority for as long as I can remember. Much, much longer than I knew you. I thought, if you were anything like my brothers, you would stand in my way.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “No one can stand in your way, baby. I wouldn’t even want to try.”

She took his hand and kissed his knuckle. “You really are my fated.”

Just hearing those words from her got him hard again. It wouldn’t take much to ignite his lust, and they should probably be at his place. Her brothers didn’t need to know just how often fated couples made love. Speaking of…

“How is it you got one, not two, but four shifters as brothers?”

She twisted her lips. “Adopted. Unofficially, of course. Their mom found me when I was just under a year old in some abandoned house. Alone. She waited to see if anyone would return, but no one did. So she brought me home. She once told me there was never a question or doubt. That she loved me from the second she held me.” She gave a wistful smile. “She said she almost tried to find a vampire family, but then thought she’d be killed for even having me in her care. She had the boys to think about, too. And they’d already lost their father.”

Ah, so that answered that. No way would an alpha shifter tolerate a vampire child, even if he thought progressively about vampires and shifters. “Brave shiya.”

“Very. You would’ve liked her.”

“Without a doubt, cher. Why do you think she was sure you were a pürblood?”

Taelour shrugged. “She took me to see an underworld physician only once. He was probably guessing. At first, Chase and Reed wanted nothing to do with me, but eventually they treated me like the sister they never had. Those four are all I know for family. I don’t see shifters. I see boys I grew up with, who kept me out of the sun, and brought me sponges soaked in blood when my canines were maturing. After Mom passed, they took over raising me. Taught me what they knew about vampires, protected me, always insisted I could be stronger, smarter, and free from the usual strictures of a vampire’s life. I owe them everything.”

“So do I. They kept you safe for me.”

Eventually she’d tell him her entire life story with more detail, but it was impossible to speak with the heat in his eyes as he tugged her belt loose and opened it tenderly, as though she was a gift.

He hissed at the sight of her naked, and she couldn’t bear not to be touching him. With a needful moan, she climbed on top, robe open, straddling him.

His hands roamed up her thighs, ribcage, cupping her breasts. Ready and slick with need, she rubbed her pussy along his rigid cock, wetting him with an erotic glide.

Rhemy’s eyes were hooded as he gazed up at her. “We should stop. Your brothers will come back.”

“Shh. We have time.” She lifted, gripped his cock and sank down on him. She didn’t want to talk about her brothers. She just wanted to ride Rhemy until his eyes glowed with pleasure. It was going to be a lustful, ravenous week mating with her fated.

Later, they showered, and she packed a bag, agreeing they should stay in his apartment. She texted Chase, since he was the one attached to his phone the most, so they wouldn’t worry.

Glancing at Rhemy while he drove, she bit back a dreamy sigh, moving to lean on her left side and just stare at him.

“You can cause an accident lookin’ at me like that,” he drawled, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

“I can’t help it,” she admitted. She caressed his nape. “I love you.”

He took her hand and kissed the back of it. “I love you, too.”

And she loved him enough not to put his world in even more danger. “I’ve been thinking. I don’t need to go the Centurias anymore.”

He glanced at her. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure that protecting what you’ve built is more important.” Perhaps finding her fated had subdued her need for revenge, though it was still there. Now that she knew about his shifter-vampire society, she wanted to put her energy into something that could have a bigger, more positive impact.

He kissed the back of her hand. “Just when I was starting to wish we were going.”

“Really?”

“Now that I know Reed is a shifter and Clare was a vampire, it makes the story even more tragic. And we wouldn’t just be going for that. I had a long talk with my members on Friday. It’s time we came out of the cellar and stood with Marex as a group, not just as a whisper. For a long time, the only ally I thought I needed was myself. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I should stand with him. It’d make Elijah proud.”

She cocked her head, so thankful they’d found each other. “Oh, Rhemy. He already is.”

He looked over at her. “Man, I can’t wait to get you home.”

Home. She liked that. “What’ll it take to get a key to the Centurias?”

“You’d scream if I told you.”

“And we both know how easily you make me do that.”

He laughed. “I have money, but not that kind of money without selling a piece of property.” He patted her knee. “We might have to support Marex from here.”

Taelour grinned. “Say it again.”

“What?”

“Hee-ah.”

His dark brows drew together. “Here?”

She giggled. “Again.”

“Here… What? Are you makin’ fun of me?” he asked, tickling her with one hand as she continued to laugh.

When they arrived at the club, she fully expected Rhemy to take her straight upstairs, but instead, he brought her to a center table in front of the stage to sit down.

She looked up at him in question, but he just kissed her and told her to wait.

Looking around, she didn’t see customers, and by the looks of the chairs stacked on tables, the club wasn’t open yet.

Then the lights on the stage snapped on, with Rhemy walking out, his alto sax in one hand.

She gasped, clapping as the rest of the players came out with him to represent piano, double bass, clarinet, trombone, and drums.

Rhemy sat on the edge of a stool. “Now. Do you know a lot about jazz, darlin’?” She shook her head and he grinned. “Good! So when I screw up, you won’t even notice. Just remember to keep telling yourself how good-lookin’ I am, and where I lack in musical talent, I make up for in with other, much more personal gifts.”

His band members chuckled, shaking their heads, and testing their instruments.

Taelour winked at him. “I’ll remember that.”

The piano player rolled up his sleeves. “You tryin’ to win this girl, Rhemy?”

Her fated glanced over his shoulder. “Afraid that’s already been done. Naturally,” he added as they laughed at his arrogance. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop tryin’ to make her to fall in love with me more, and I hear the ladies have a thing for musicians.”

“That they do,” agreed the double-bass player.

“So fellas, bear me with me now, I’m trying to impress the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with.”

Hoots and whistles and congratulations exclaimed from the group, as she assumed at least a couple of his band members were human.

“You gonna elope or have a proper wedding?” Jim asked. “Band’ll play for free.”

Rhemy chuckled, shaking his head. “I’ll let you know. What do you think, sweetheart? You buy a dress and I’ll find a preacher?”

Taelour grinned, so in love. “I’m in.”

Though they were eternally bonded as fatebloods—a sacred, unbreakable “marriage” through the eyes of their gods—it wasn’t unheard of for vampires to throw a wedding in the human custom. It was still a fun and romantic celebration, especially in the south.

He smiled into her eyes, coming down for a kiss, but before their lips could meet, someone called his name.

“Rhemy!” said one of the bartenders. “You have a package. Requires your signature and your signature only.”

Puzzled, he jumped down from the stage and left his instrument behind. Taelour followed.

The courier was a vampire. The delivery he held was red and ornate, resembling a glossy musical box. “Mr. Carrington?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Sir. Your bloodprint please.” He held a white card with an intricate square drawn in it.

Rhemy sliced his thumb with his tooth and pressed its print in blood on the paper.

What kind of package required that personal of a signature?

Satisfied, the courier left.

“What is it?” she asked as he walked back in the bar.

“Honestly, I don’t know. Must be valuable to need my blood sign.” With a perplexed look, het set it down on one of the round tables, staring at it.

“Aren’t you going to open it?” she asked, dying to know what was inside.

Baffled, he continued to assess the box. “It can’t be…”

“Can’t be what? Rhemy, please. I hate suspense.”

He unlocked it and opened the lid. There was a mini envelope on top. He handed it to her. “Read it to me?”

Taelour pulled out the card and read:

“‘Dear Rhemy. What I thought was impossible came to me that night. What you thought was impossible has come to you today. Now we’re even. Best, Lila.’” Her brows drew together as she looked at him. “Honey, who’s…?”

“I’ll be damned.” Rhemy stared down into the box, then turned it around for her to see.

Taelour’s eyes widened at what lay within, floating above its velvet interior.

A key to the Centurias.