Chapter One
Colin
Themigrainesweregettingworse, and there was nothing I could do to eliminate them.There is one way. I growled at the thought. My head throbbed, each pulse was like a hammer driving nails into my skull. I clenched my fists and my nails dug into my palms as I tried to bear the intensifying migraine.
There’s a way to end this.The thought came again.
“There's no chance of that happening, so get it out of your head, Colin. I’ll just have to manage them,”I whispered to myself.
Squinting, I slowly opened my eyes and scanned my living room. I groaned as another wave of pain went through me. It wasn't just my head that was aching. It was my entire body. The dim room was a relief. For once, I was thankful I'd remembered to turn off the lights before laying down to rest. I knew I couldn't handle bright lights in my current state.
With trembling legs and a few failed attempts, I finally managed to get to my feet. I needed to get blood in me. Being a vampire, I needed blood and food to survive. It wasn’t like the movies where we just survived off blood. In fact, the only thing Hollywood got right about vampires was our need to feed on blood. Everything else: going out in the sun, garlic, holy water—all myths.
I groaned at the throbbing pain in my head. I could quickly run down to my coven's club and find a willing body, but the thought of taking a donor made my stomach curdle. My heart, my soul, my entire being yearned for a certain little green-haired imp. Four weeks—it was four weeks since I laid eyes on him, but I remembered it like it was yesterday.
"Hey,Colin,youhaveto come down to the dining hall."
I shook my head and lifted my gaze from my computer. My friend and fellow coven enforcer, Jett, stood at my office door. He was built like most enforcers, six-two and two hundred pounds of muscle. He was dressed in the classic, black custom-tailored suits all enforcers wore. Jett called us the men in black. I laughed when he said it.
He'd get all serious and say, "Jett Black, with the men in black." Many thought he was joking with his last name, but his mom had a crazy sense of humor and named him Jett specifically because their surname was Black. It just so happened to suit him because Jett had dark features, coal eyes, and ebony hair.
"I've got a lot of work to do, Jett. I'm not on cooking duties tonight," I said.
Like most of the coven, Jett was constantly nagging me to cook. I was considered the best chef in the building; everyone enjoyed my meals and I enjoyed making them. I spent my early days studying at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. That was over a hundred years ago now. Those were the more leisurely days. I was twenty, carefree, and thought I could conquer the world. I grinned at my memories.
Jett crossed his built arms over his broad chest and scowled. "As much as I'd love your cooking, that's not why. The dragon king is here, along with his mate Ben, and they brought a bunch of elves. They're sexy as hell. Oh, and your hot dragon pal, Dimitri, is here."
I brightened at the words. Dimitri had gone AWOL after the dragon king forbade him from bonding with his mate. Word was he disobeyed the king and did it anyway. If he was here, it must've worked out. I hurriedly saved my work and jumped from my seat.
Jett chuckled. "I thought that might get you going."
"It's been a while since I heard anything from them. I hoped Dimitri was doing okay," I replied, walking out the door.
"I'm sure that's the only reason, and it wouldn't have to do with any of the Fae that showed up. I hear their blood tastes like fine wine.”
Jett clapped my shoulder and guided me down the hall toward the hotel elevators. The Walden Coven resided in a massive hotel, and the bottom eight floors were for guests, while the top seven were for coven living quarters and amenities. It was the perfect setup with the downstairs club. I didn’t have to bring back unsuspecting humans to a secluded estate as I did with my birth coven in France.
"That might be the case," I said, grinning.
In truth, I'd been feeling off lately. Human blood hadn't been tasting right. Maybe my tastes were changing, or maybe it was because all my friends had started finding their beloveds. Hopefully, elf blood could get me out of the funk I'd been feeling.
The dining hall was a flurry of activity by the time Jett and I reached it. There were a slew of new faces mixed in with many familiar ones. My stomach churned in anticipation, and the air felt electrifying. I glanced over at Jett, and his face was lit brightly, like a kid on Christmas morning.
"I'm going to mingle. I'll catch you later," Jett said, already eyeing one of the newcomers.
I nodded and scanned the area; my eyes landed on Dimitri. He was with the mystery mage, Gavin, whom he'd confessed was his mate. Our friend, Aaran, another dragon shifter, and Aaran’s mate, the doctor, Adam, were seated with them. I moved across the room with purpose. I'd check in with Dimitri. Then I'd mingle like Jett.
"I hope you like the lasagna. The coven is famous for it. Which I find hilarious." I heard Dimitri say as I approached their table.
Aaran rolled his eyes while Adam and Gavin’s expressions furrowed in confusion.
"The sauce has a ton of garlic," Dimitri continued, raising his eyebrows like that explained it all.
Gavin and Adam appeared even more confused. I, like Aaran, rolled my eyes. I'd heard this joke before. It wasn't funny when Dimitri first said it.
"Your mate is being a dork. He's saying because we're vampires, we shouldn't eat garlic," I said from behind them.
Gavin turned and studied me while Dimitri stood from his seat. He smiled, walked over, and gave me a quick one-armed hug before saying, "It's good to see you, Colin. This is my mate, Gavin. Gavin, this is my friend, Colin."
