When Luna stepped into the flat, she shut the door behind her and pressed her back to its cold wooden surface, breathing hard.

She hadn’t stopped shaking since she’d first lain eyes on Kirith in the pub. Even a second shot of whiskey hadn’t been enough to still her trembling hands.

Silver was already gone, thank God. She had no idea what she would have told him if he’d been there, or if she would have revealed anything of her surreal experience in the pub. The last time they’d spoken of the BHD had been in Warkshire Forest thirteen years ago, and given Silver’s reaction back then, it might be even worse now. He would probably tell her to report her findings to Ripper; to let him know that such an imminent threat had found his way to London.

Maybe he’d be right to do so. Maybe it would be the one and only way to protect their Pack. Just because their Alpha was a nasty piece of work didn’t mean the rest of them—Martin and Denn and the others—should suffer at the hands of a killer Dragon.

The question that still lingered on Luna’s mind was whether Kirith was a killer at all. He’d scared the living hell out of her. On the other hand, he’d also excited her. Filled her with a strange, terrifying desire.

No one should ever desire their enemy. No one should desire a man capable of murder.

But something inside her—maybe it was her Wolf, maybe some deep primal instinct—had always told her that Kirith couldn’t be a murderer, despite what she’d seen that night long ago. The strange voice that misted through the air into her mind told her he was still that handsome, kind man that she used to watch in the woods. The one with the gentle eyes, who doted on his family. The loving father with the big heart whose goodness she could sense from a mile away.

The thing was, he didn’t behave like a person capable of the heinous crime he’d been accused of. Oh, he was strange and volatile, to be sure. He behaved like a man who’d been hurt badly. Crushed, even, to the point where he put up barriers between himself and the whole world in order to protect what was left of his damaged heart.

The only thing that was certain was that his eyes weren’t full of cruelty.

It was sadness.

She wandered into her room, staring at the worn-looking bed pressed against the far wall, and considered whether she should pop down to the club to check on Silver.

Even if she couldn’t tell him what had happened, some part of her wanted to be near her brother just now. She needed the reassurance that his existence provided her.

Slipping over to the window, she could see that drops of rain had begun plunking against the glass, slipping down in a zigzag of wistful droplets. Evenings like this always made her miss her parents. Brought back memories of sitting on her father’s lap as he regaled her and Silver with tales from his youth, of bounding through the woods and hunting small game.

Of course, those had been the days before worry had found a permanent home inside her mind, before some ghost had taken up residence inside her brother.

When she thought back to what had set all the madness in motion, she always came back to the day her parents had died. She’d been fifteen at the time, Silver was sixteen, and their father had taken their mother to run an errand for Ripper. They’d taken their old, beat-up Renault hatchback to a nearby town for supplies, just as they had a hundred times.

But they’d never returned.

The moment when she’d lost respect for Ripper was the moment when he’d sent another Pack member to come tell Silver and her about the accident. Their fucking Alpha hadn’t even bothered to break the news to them himself. Hadn’t had the balls to face two teenagers, because they might get upset and God forbid that he should have to deal with such nonsense.

Ripper had spent his entire life trying to convince the world that he was fearless, but the truth was that he was a right pussy, afraid of the emotions of two orphaned kids.

They’d buried their parents a few days later. Silver had stood with his arm around Luna’s shoulder through the entire ceremony as tears streamed down her cheeks, his warmth a reminder that some part of her family still lived.

“We’ll be all right, you and I,” he’d whispered in her ear. She’d never forgotten those words. We’ll be all right.

But they’d never be all right, not as long as they lived under Ripper’s thumb. For the first time in Luna’s life, as she stared out the window at the darkening skies above London, she doubted if either of them would ever be all right again.

She needed to see her brother. He was the only one who could make her feel better right now. Even if he was a shadow of his former self, he was still a comfort.

Quickly, she grabbed her raincoat, pulled on her wellington boots, and strode out the door.

* * *

When she arrived at the Underground Club, she couldn’t see Silver at first. The damned place was so big that it was a wonder that anyone could find their way around it, let alone a solitary figure hidden in its depths.

Ripper, on the other hand, had made himself highly visible as always. He was moving about like a man on a hyperactive mission, ordering last-minute painters and plasterers to do their jobs faster. “I want this place to shine tomorrow,” he insisted. Looking around her, Luna couldn’t imagine how a windowless pit under London’s streets could ever look anything other than grim and forlorn. The club was nothing more than a haven for those who loved darkness.

“Luna!” the Alpha shouted when he saw her. “Come over here.”

“What is it?” she asked as she strode towards him, pulling off her rain jacket to reveal a loose grey t-shirt and jeans.

“For one thing,” said Ripper, looking her up and down, “you’ll need to wear other clothes when you come back tomorrow. Something far sexier than that. I want you on the floor among our customers, taking orders and the like. They should want to fuck you, not pity you.”

“My dream job, in other words,” she replied, rolling her eyes in her mind. Yes, of course Ripper wanted her looking like a cheap whore. “Anything else?”

“Yes,” he replied, ignoring her sarcasm. He lay a hand on her shoulder and steered her away from the men who were working on the renovations. “I have a rather special assignment for you,” he said softly. “You’ve always been good at reading people.”

“Okay,” she said, surprised at the compliment. “What assignment would that be?”

“You’ll be wandering among our patrons, taking drink orders, charming them, that sort of thing. But I want you to be the primary gatherer of information.”

Luna bit her cheek. “Information about what, specifically?” she asked, knowing full well how much Ripper would love to know that she’d seen Kirith earlier. Had he been anything but a terrible Alpha, she might have told him. But for some reason she felt more loyal to the Dragon shifter with the tortured soul than to her twat of a leader.

Ripper smiled. “Get me anything you can gather about the Pack leaders around here. Those with influence. I want names and locations. But more than that, I want to know about the Dragons.”

“The Dragons?” Luna asked, a series of shudders overtaking her.

“Are you cold?” asked Ripper, reaching out to put an arm around her.

Luna pulled away. “Not cold. Just got a brief chill. What is it you want to know about the Dragons?”

“I need information about where the Guild members live. Where they meet. Their families. That sort of thing.”

A wave of seasickness came over Luna as she registered his words. “Their families? Why would you need that kind of information?” It was one thing to go after shifters, but to target their families sounded awfully thuggish.

“Oh, it’s nothing nefarious, if that’s what you’re worried about. I only want some leverage,” Ripper said. “It’s always easier to do business with people when you have something in common with them. If I know that one has a new baby, for instance, I can tell them how much I love children.”

Luna wanted to throw up. “You hate children, Rip.”

“Yes, well, they don’t need to know that.”

“I see. At any rate, I’m rather confused. You’re looking to negotiate with the Dragons now? Earlier you were out for their blood.”

A look of quiet rage passed quickly over Ripper’s face before disappearing into the ether. He smiled, which always looked so sodding unnatural on him. “I’ve had a change of heart,” he said. “Remember, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar and all that. I’ve been thinking that perhaps diplomacy would be our best tactic with such…powerful…beasts.”

Luna narrowed her eyes. “Right. Well, I’ll let you know if I hear anything,” she said. With that, she began to walk away. But Ripper grabbed her by the arm, slipping his hand down to hold onto her fingers. He drew himself close to her ear, and Luna had to fight back the desire to spin around and slap him on the face.

“Don’t forget,” he whispered, “wear something short and tight tomorrow.”

Oh, you creepy bastard. “I’ll come in my tiniest hot shorts,” Luna muttered, pulling her hand away and striding rapidly in the direction of a bar where Silver had begun to clean glasses.

“You start work in the evening,” Ripper called after her. “Seven sharp.”

When Luna finally reached Silver, he was standing behind the bar, organizing bottles of liquor according to type.

“Hey, Silv,” she said as she sidled up to the bar, grabbing its edge. “This just in: our Alpha is horrible.”

“Nothing new there then,” he replied, turning to face her. His expression was dour.

“You okay?” She’d come here hoping that he could cheer her up, but as always, he looked even more downtrodden than she felt.

“Fine,” he replied. “Not so keen on this place, though.” He looked around, narrowing his eyes at his surroundings. “Something about it feels…I don’t know. Foreboding.”

“Chin up,” she said. “It’ll be fine. It’s always fine.”

“It’s never fine. Not with that bastard in charge,” said Silver, thrusting his chin towards Ripper, who was barking orders at some poor painter in the distance.

“Why Brother, I’m not used to you calling our idiot Alpha bad names. I’m very impressed.”

“Well, don’t be. If I ever did it to his face, I’d end up in a meat grinder.”

“Over my dead body.”

“Most likely, yes.”

Luna chuckled. Well, Silver had delivered one laugh, at least. Perhaps London was loosening him up after all.

Silver leaned over the bar and speaking in a whisper. “Listen, I heard what he said to you earlier. You’re not actually going to give him information about the Dragons if you get it, are you?”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” she replied, suddenly wondering if she should tell her brother about her encounter with Kirith. “Why?”

Her brother’s eyes strayed around the space, no doubt seeking out anyone who might be listening. “Just…don’t do it,” he said. “Don’t give him anything he can use against them. If you and I somehow get ourselves free of this rancid Pack, we might just need the Guild’s protection. I’ve heard that they’re kind to those who are good to them, if you know what I mean.”

Luna smiled. “Well, this is a pleasant change,” she said. “You used to warn me off Dragons. Told me they’re horrid, mean, nasty critters with huge teeth, breath that smells of burnt hot dogs and all that.”

“I’m not so sure about any of that anymore, to be quite honest. It’s quite possible that the meanest critter of them all is in our Pack,” said Silver.

“Ripper, you mean.”

“Of course that’s who I mean.”

“What’s he done?”

“Nothing lately. The real question is what hasn’t he done?” said Silver, lowering his voice still more, as though he’d realized this conversation was a bad idea.

“Damn it,” Luna sighed, “I wish you’d tell me what’s going on in that mind of yours.”

Silver clenched his jaw. “Doesn’t matter,” he muttered. “Just do me a favour and look out for yourself. Don’t put yourself in danger, for Ripper or anyone.”

“I won’t. You don’t need to worry.” Luna let out a bitter chuckle. “To think I came here to ask you to cheer me up.”

“You did?” he asked. “Why? What’s happened?”

Luna frowned. For a second she thought about telling him everything, but she stopped herself. “Nothing,” she replied.

“Okay then,” he said. “But listen, I should get back to work here. Trying to learn to make six hundred different cocktails isn’t the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”

“Of course,” said Luna, issuing an encouraging smile. “I’ll let you get back to it then. I’ll see you at home later, okay?”

When Silver nodded, she turned away to head towards the nearest exit.

“Loon,” her brother’s voice called out from behind her after a few seconds.

“Yeah?” she asked, spinning to face him.

“Don’t dress too slutty tomorrow. It wouldn’t suit you.”

“Agreed.” With that, she smiled at her brother and left the club.