Ivan woke as the sun set.

He knew instantly that he was alone. The thumping of Charlie’s heartbeat had vanished from the flat, and only the lingering scent of her remained, the scent that was ingrained into the floor and walls and furnishings of her home.

Damn it. What had happened?

Fear spiked inside him. What if she’d been taken, like Lauren, Nikolai’s Bloodmate, had? He’d tear the entire earth apart to find her again if he had to. The thought of losing her now was more than he could bear. The taste of her remained on his tongue, and the memory of being inside that luscious body caused his cock to stiffen. He kicked himself for not having at least taken her phone number so he had a way to contact her.

His own phone buzzed, and for a moment he thought he’d managed to conjure her just by thinking of her, but then he checked his phone to see an unrecognised number.

He answered it.

“This is Clarence Collins,” came a male voice with an English accent. “We’re right outside.”

He exhaled a sigh of relief. The Directive was here. At least if someone had taken Charlie, they could help him find her. “I’ll let you up.”

He went to the front door and hit the buzzer to allow them into the flat. He opened the front door, peering into the hallway and waiting for them to make their way up. His sharp hearing picked up their footfalls as they ascended the two flights of stairs.

Clarence led the way. A tall man with a slim build, his brown eyes darted around the place, instantly taking in every detail of his surroundings, looking out for any potential threat. Behind him came the head of The Directive, Magno Zara, and bringing up the rear was the female werewolf, Jana Noskova.

“Thank you for coming,” Ivan said, gesturing for them to enter the flat.

They walked through, and Ivan shut the door behind them. They seemed too big for the place. Though Magno Zara was a short man, far shorter than Ivan, he gave off an aura of power that made him appear far larger. He ruled the supernatural world with a ruthless idea of good and bad, and if he thought someone out there was putting their kind in danger, he’d kill without a second thought.

The wolf shifter, Jana, was Magno’s second-in-command. She also came from Europe and looked every part her Czech heritage with her blonde hair and dark-blue eyes. Her height and colouring reminded Ivan of Charlie, but that was where the resemblance ended. Jana was a dangerous wolf and wouldn’t hesitate if Magno told her to take someone out.

All three of them, standing in this small Devon flat, gave the impression of being completely out of place—like kings who’d been plucked out of a palace and deposited in a shack somewhere. They glanced around, as though unsure where to place themselves.

“Where is your Bloodmate?” Magno asked, not bothering with any introductions. “I can tell there is no one else here.”

Ivan bit his lower lip. “That, I’m unsure of. She was here when I went to sleep but gone when I woke.”

“Do you detect that she’s in danger?” Jana asked.

He shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. I haven’t picked up any kind of fear from her, but I’m not even sure if we’re joined that way.”

“Possibly not,” she said, “but it is possible for Bloodmates to detect these things about each other. Like twins who can tell when one of them is sick or hurt, even when they’re not together.”

He nodded. “She’s been able to pick up things about me. She’s kind of ... looked into me.” He didn’t know how else to describe it.

Magno took over again. “And you say she’s human?”

“Yes, fully, as far as I’m aware.”

The ancient Italian vampire paced the floor, his hands clasped behind his back. “We need to know exactly what has happened. Every moment, from the time you first detected The Thirst coming on, to this moment now.”

Ivan nodded and filled them in. “I’m annoyed with myself that I didn’t realise what was happening when I was back in London,” he said when he’d finished. “I should have, after seeing the same thing happen with Nikolai.”

“The Thirst works with our natural vampire instincts,” said Clarence. “We all know how it feels to have that hunger for blood and sex, and it starts slowly, so the vampire isn’t always able to distinguish between the affliction and how they would normally feel.”

Ivan appreciated his support. “Thank you. I just wish I’d picked up on it sooner.”

“It might not have changed events if you had.”

“I could have got help. I might not have hurt someone.”

Magno lifted a hand, cutting him off. “First of all, I don’t want to hear you speak like that again. You’re acting guilty, when you don’t even know you were the one responsible. We’re here to make sure no one else gets hurt, of course, but we’re also here to protect you and the rest of the vampire population. If word gets around that a vampire has lost it and gone on a rampage, then that looks bad for the rest of us as well. I’m not going to have other vampires affected, especially when we don’t even know for sure that the death was caused by you.”

Ivan wasn’t used to being admonished, and he bowed his head. “You’re right. My apologies. I hadn’t considered the bigger picture.”

“It’s important that we do. With all these Thirst cases recently, there’s a chance someone might use it against vampires. If one of the other supernatural species decided it was a good enough reason to start a hate campaign against our kind, they could make things very difficult for us.”

Ivan couldn’t help flicking his gaze to the tall werewolf, Jana. “You have other supernaturals than just vampires in The Directive. Wouldn’t they be able to put a stop to things if they looked like they were headed in that direction?”

Jana spoke, her accent making her words sharp. “We would do everything we could, of course, but not everything is within our control.”

His mobile phone rang, causing them all to turn towards the sound. Ivan had left the phone in the bedroom, and he quickly located the handset. To his surprise, Charlie’s name appeared on the screen. She must have taken his number while he was sleeping and programmed her own number in. He swiped the screen to answer. He didn’t need to place the phone to his ear to hear what was being said, but he’d need to have his mouth near so she could hear him speak.

“Hello?”

“Ivan, it’s Charlie.”

The tightness that had existed in the centre of his chest since he’d woken up and found her gone released at the sound of her voice. “What the hell, Charlie. I thought something terrible might have happened to you.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to just leave like that but I needed to come into work. There have been some ... developments.”

“There are developments here, too. The Directive have arrived.”

“Good, because we’re going to need them. There’s been another death. Another young man, killed in exactly the same way as the last one.”

Despite the death, he slumped with relief. There was no way he was responsible for that killing. He hadn’t had any blackouts, and he’d been asleep the whole time. And if he hadn’t killed that person, it was highly unlikely he’d been responsible for the first death either.

Charlie hadn’t finished. “There’s something else.”

The tightness in his chest instantly returned. “Tell me.”

“The blood on your shirt matches the first man who was killed.”

If he breathed like a regular human, he was pretty sure he would have expelled all the air from his lungs. “What?”

He glanced over at the three members of The Directive, who were all standing nearby. Able to hear every word that was being said by both him and Charlie, they watched him with matching stern expressions.

“It’s true,” she continued. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

“So there’s a strong possibility I was the one who killed him?”

“If there hadn’t been another killing, I would be sending a team to arrest you for murder right now, but with this new development, I’m not sure what the answer is.”

Magno made gestures and mouthed, “We’re going there,” at him.

“I think we’re coming to you. The Directive need to see the body and the evidence to help figure out what’s going on. If this is paranormal, this is their jurisdiction now.”

He heard her exhale. “Yes, okay. Some fresh eyes on this would be good. There are still no witnesses, and now we have conflicting evidence. Right now, you’re our only lead, and I can’t say I’m happy about it.”

“That makes two of us,” he agreed.

She gave him the exact location, and then they hung up. Ivan turned to the members of The Directive, who were still watching him. He threw his hands up in the air helplessly. “I have no idea what’s going on.”

Magno pressed his lips together. “Then let’s go and find out.”