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Chapter One

Azazel

I stare at the e on my comm, and my veins fill with ice

I think I’ kidnapped

I sla, and take to the air, not caring who sees or what their huh the air

Tracker on, I head toward Fee’s location, wings beating the air as hard asthe connection between us and activating the soul bond that binds us

I’ she should feel their intention, but all I get back is confusion She isn’t listening to me She’s in distress

Shock and rage hit

I can’t feel her

Oh, fuck

I can’t feel her any longer

The co her location I swerve in the air, hit an updraft, and then wheel up and back down like a bullet zeroed in on its location

I land like a tornado in a narrow, filthy, empty backstreet No, not empty, there’s a taxicab parked up ahead I race toward it The driver’s door is open, the partition smashed Where the fuck is Fee?

“Fee!” I whirl around, searching for her The tracker says she’s here Right here, so why can’t I—

Crunch

I look down and lift my boot to find a crushed comm

This can’t be happening

A gust of air throws strands of rily

Mal lands in a crouch a meter away “Where is she?” he demands

I stare into his bright eht I can barely summon the breath to speak

“Azazel? Where the fuck is Fee?” Mal deain

I stare at him, my heart in my throat “I don’t know”

Fee

Hunter!

I ake and alert, e Hunter, the bastard The fucking—

Where the hell was I? The roos, and brick There was a dresser and a randoe, the sheets crisp and clean There was ascent in the air, and it pissed nized it

I wrinkled my nose

Hunter

This was his scent

His room

His bed

But this was no penthouse suite I cantedfor clues, while aze slipped over the closed door and roved across the room to the ith the partially open drapes I slipped off the bed and padded over to peer outside

White blinded me, and I had to squint to allow my eyes to adjust

Snow

Sosnow all over the place

When had it fallen so hard?

Where was I?

Snow-covered open land stretched out beyond theall the way to a tree line A forest? We had to be in the countryside Sorid, no doubt Yep, Dorothy, we’re not in Kansas anymore

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what Hunter’s game was Get me out here alone, wait for the heat to hit, and then take advantage and co bond

God, he ht about him He was bad, and not in the bad boy way that a woman could swoon over and find sexy No, he was just plain fucking evil—the kind of evil that needed to be exorcised out of my life The cosmos was one fucked-up bitch; I mean, how the hell had it chosen Hunter as my fated mate? Was it some kind of punishment?

Panic nibbled at the fringes of ht now I had a week before the heat hit Plenty of tiuys

My hand went tocool and smooth I stared at the ainst y with no obvious clasp

Panic tried to creep back in

No Fuck you, panic

All I needed was y would be history I waited for the tingle that signaled the arrival of my celestial weapon

Nothing

So

I felt…wrong

Okay, noas time to panic Shit, shit, shit I needed out Before Hunter caed at theIt wouldn’t budge Fucking thing was nailed shut

Lucky for h, and I had just the tool I picked up a chair, ready to swing it at the , but h alert My Loup rose to the surface, flooding my body with a sense of calm

What the hell? What was happening?

“Put the chair down, Fee,” Hunter said, his voice as smooth as honey

My chest vibrated, but not in a growl…This was a different kind of vibration, one of assent and compliance

The bracelet…It had to be the cause

I lowered the chair, reining inemotions, and turned to face him

He stood framed in the doorway, arms held loosely at his sides, expression neutral, but it was a deceptive pose becauseoff hi ht, but I wasn’t sure I was There was so A piece ofthe Loup in control

“There’s nothing for miles but woodland,” Hunter said calmly “There’s nowhere to run”

I held up my wrist “What is this? What have you done to me?”

He didn’t bother to glance down Instead, he kept his unfathoaze devoured his cruelly cory bitch in heat

I blinked sharply, forcing myself to focus

“It’s a blocker for your de associated with it,” Hunter said cal you”

He knew about Cora?

He so behind my back and mate with Grayson?”

My pulse went into overdrive I rubbed the bracelet,as it made the connections How did he know about Cora? How had he knohere I’d be and where I was headed? This bracelet was ic…Made by a witch

Anger warred with disappointment as realization dawned “Vi called you, didn’t she?”

Hunter’s mouth twisted wryly “You need to be careful who you trust, Seraphina Your honesty will be your downfall”

Vi sold me out…

“Aw, don’t look so shocked What did you expect? You threatened to take her lover from her Did you think she’d sit back and let you have him?”

He stepped into the roout screa beneath nals to chill the fuck out It didn’t see Hunter as a threat Stood to reason considering I’d mated with him in Loup form The Loup accepted him; it didn’t comprehend how out of order this situation was It didn’t care what the human part of me wanted

With my reaper abilities offline and ht I needed to be smart about this, to hold my fire and assess the situation fully

“She called o,” Hunter continued conversationally, as if I were here ofkidnapped ave me the heads-up Even offered toHer only proviso was that her part in all this not be revealed” His sreed, of course”

But he was breaking his word to her, and he didn’t give a shit Just proved my assessain

My glare was direct and filled with heat “Why are you telling me this?”

He gave ht that was obvious To show you that you trust too easily To teach you that you need to be on your guard”

“Oh, jeez, thanks for the life lesson” I gave hiht up now, so how about you let o?”

He gave me a flat look

It orth a try

“I suppose your naivety worked in my favor,” he said “So, let’s make this as painless”—he moved closer—“and as pleasurable as possible”

The pulse in my throat jumped and throbbed, enticed by his proximity and his tone

Breathe, Fee Control it “I’ this with you, Hunter I won’t mate with you If you want ht you If you want me, you’ll have to violate me Is that who you are?”

His eyes narrowed and glittered with anger as he advanced “I’ rapist, Fee I didn’t force ated it, and when the heat hits, I won’t have to force you You’ll beg for e”

He gripped my jaw and tilted my face up, his lips inches fro thrusts I’ll fill you in a way that only a fated fucking mate can”

Oh, God I closedwords

“Look at me, Fee”

“No”

“Look at me”

His words were a command, and my eyes snapped open I stared at my dazed reflection in his inky pupils

“This is the way it’s supposed to be,” he said “The heat, you, me, and this bed”

He propelled et me halfway across the room before my brain came back online I locked rasp

“Dream on” But ht When the heat came, I’d have no control

When the heat ca beneath the surface would explode I wouldn’t be able to control it Whatever this thing was between us would take over When the heat hit, it would be game over er One