When Valentine’s sire is forced to take a mate by his Clan leader, Valentine is reduced to stoking the castle’s furnaces as nothing more than a cindered servant to the new matriarch. With his sire Libertine incarcerated and Valentine forced to wear a cursed collar, there seems no way to escape Belladonna’s hold on them. When a stranger appears, Valentine is surprised by how quickly he trusts the other vampire. He accepts the request to go to the castle of his Clan Lord, the ancient and powerful Hades, to uncover who is working to overthrow him. His reward is freedom for both him and his sire. No one is meant to know who he really is, and Valentine pretends he’s one of Hades’ favorites while in the castle, adopting the name Cinder and playing his Seductive nature to its full. But his world is shaken to its core when Valentine finds himself falling for the enigmatic Cole. As a Seductive, Valentine never imagined he’d want an Alpha Predator as a mate. Worse yet, it may be that Cole could be the very one he’s been sent to uncover. When the battle for dominance begins, where will Valentine’s loyalty lie?

Cinis

“You’re old and weak, Hades.” Mandrake strutted forward, the Ferals and mercenary lycans behind him shrieked, clapped, and howled. Mandrake waved a hand at them. “As my army knows, humans are but potential slaves or prey. You’re no Alpha Predator. You’ve become soft with age. You’re no better than a Seductive like him.” Mandrake jerked his head in Valentine’s direction without even bothering to look toward him.


“In that case, I suggest we settle this between the two of us, Mandrake.” Hades took another step, then dropped to one knee.


Reaching down, Hades pulled out the silver dagger from the chest of Batair who lay motionless. He rested a hand over the wound in the man’s chest. A few seconds later Batair stirred, and Hades indicated for a couple of his guards to come forward.


Chapter 31