Prolgue

The only thing Dove wanted to retrieve was her family heirlooms -- a jewelry set. She rushed over to her bureau and grabbed the small ornate jewelry box that housed those keepsakes. That was all that she needed.

Her fingers curled about the jewelry box as she paused, letting her vision blur. Oh, she had been such a fool! How could she have sank so deeply into that vampire?

She was not of his world.

As a gatekeeper, she could make portals to pass through to another location. She concentrated on her fae magic. She felt the familiar buzz and hum of her energy building up within her. Envisioning their shop in Paradise Borough in Merritt Province, she felt energy sparking and cracking around her.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a sphere of violet energy with the image of her family’s shop within the middle of it. She still got it. At least, she still could do something right.

Glancing around, she took a deep breath. This was it.

It was time to go home.

Then the windows shattered around her.

Panicked, she looked over her shoulder and watched as four massive vampires flung daggers right at her. She used her energy to attempt to deflect the daggers, but it was too late as she felt the daggers slice into her to the hilt.

The brutal impact drew out a painful gasp as she dropped the jewelry box. She stumbled forward until her feet gave out on her.

Blood.

All she saw was blood in front of her face.

Her blood.

~

Dimitri could smell her spilled blood. Hyperion and him were running up the stairs to her apartment. The door at the end of the hall was wide open and shadows of forms were within it. Fear burned through him into rage as he detected the heartbeats of others, but he could no longer feel her presence.

She was no longer here. His soul no longer felt that tug whenever she was close. What that could possibly mean tore through him and he wasn’t ready to face it. No, he couldn’t. He refused to believe she was gone.

All that wasted time over foolish insecurities and self doubt.

All of the things he didn’t get to say, because he refused to risk it.

All of this could have been prevented if he had just let her in and talked to her.

If he took that risk...

Tears filled his eyes as he drew closer to the room. The closer he got, the more potent her blood became and it was the strongest when he set foot inside. The four vampires stood in the small studio apartment and snapped their bodies towards him and Hyperion. The heat of his blood sizzled, because all he could smell was her blood. How dare they touch her! How dare they harm his mate!

Boiling over to blood rage, he hurled himself at the closest one, sinking his teeth into them. His arms held him in place as he searched this disgusting fool’s memories. He saw the moment that they crashed through her windows. A big sphere of energy with a specific image within it was in the middle of the room. He watched as daggers were thrown right at her while her body faced the portal.

The very moment those daggers sliced into her body made him growl furiously. The vampire struggled against him, but he was no match for him as he drank deeply. He watched as her body stumbled forward upon impact and she fell to the floor. She tried to stop them with a blast of energy. All her blood oozed out, draining from her wounds. His mate was strong, resurrecting a shield to keep the wicked creatures at bay, but with all that blood, it didn’t matter how strong. Death would come no matter one’s strength. Her blood pooled on the floor as she crawled through the portal. Her blood smeared a stream of blood trailing after her. When she made it through, the portal vanished into thin air.

His rage consumed him.

All he saw was red.

All he heard was screams of pain and crunching of shattered bones.

It wasn’t until Hyperion begged him to not kill the last vampire that the red haze receded. Well, he said not yet at least. Dimitri’s vision cleared and he saw the absolute carnage left in the wake of his destruction. His hand was firmly wrapped around the last vampire’s throat. The foolish creature was attempting to pry off his hold as if he could truly escape from his fate.

If it weren’t for Hyperion’s pleas, this vampire would be another gruesome death before him instead their eyes narrowed in on each other. This vampire chuckled even though he was still struggling to breathe.

“You’re too late,” the vampire rasped. “Those daggers were dipped in poison. She’ll be dead by nightfall.”

Without a single thought of consequence, he brought him close and sank his teeth into collarbone. As he searched his mind for any truths and secrets, he crushed the vampire’s throat, relishing in his cries of pain. He sunk his teeth deeper until he clamped down before snapping his head to side to bit off a chunk of flesh and bone. While spitting out the contents in his mouth, he ripped off the vampire’s head from his body and let the body slump in a crimson pool. He threw the decapitated head at the wall, watching blood, bone, soft tissue, and other matter splatter upon impact.

Only silence endured.

Hyperion was wise to wait for him to speak.

“They used yewmil,” he finally told Hyperion.

Hyperion quickly took out his smartphone to get in contact with someone. Dimitri wasn’t even surprised. The bloody vampire probably knew where she went through that portal. He observed the four destroyed vampires surrounding him. He didn’t have an ounce of regret. They had harmed his mate and intended to kill her.

There would be no mercy for fools.

If Derrick Camberia didn’t murder his entire House, he certainly would. The High House of Camberia had their days numbered and they should be happy that Derrick had a headstart on him.

Because he wouldn’t be lenient.

He would destroy them all.

He would make them pay for their audacity to touch those he held dear to him. His daughter and now Dove?

Unforgivable.