It felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the plane. My ears rang.
“Fuck,” my eldest brother Ambrose breathed, looking out the window. “Mom’s coming.”
Straightening my shoulders, I shoved the rage even deeper.
Rage would help no one.
As soon as I knew red wouldn’t cloud my vision, I helped open the door and let down the stairs.
Our mother watched us disembark with her hands over her mouth, her eyes frantically searching the spot behind each of us. Waiting. We filed out one by one, and when she caught sight of my father bringing up the rear, she collapsed to her knees.
He vaulted over the railing before I’d reached the bottom stair, gathering her into his arms as she pounded her fists against his chest.
I looked away.
Following my brothers, we left our mother and father standing on the runway, the sound of her screams like knives digging into my spine with every step.
Our father would take care of her. As her mate, that was his right and his most sacred calling. Soon though, she’d need us. As her children, she would crave our presence, even while it hurt her, because four of her sons could never fill the space where once there had been five.
Without a word, we parted as soon as we reached the house, each of us going to our own little apartments. Our mother’s wailing rang in my ears until I closed myself inside.
Closing my eyes, I let my legs buckle beneath me, sliding down the wall until I landed on my ass.
Ezekiel, you asshole. If you’re out there somewhere, just know that I’m going to beat your ass when I get there. This is because we never let you go first, isn’t it?
Letting out a shuddery breath, I opened my eyes again. It was almost as if I could hear his annoying laughter.
I’d never encountered an issue that I couldn’t solve—sometimes with plain logic, sometimes with brute strength. Every problem had a solution. It was as simple as that.
There was no solution for Zeke’s death. No way to move past it or get around it.
I slammed my fist against the rug, making the flooring beneath it groan.
The only thing I could do moving forward was protect the rest of them.
I stared at the back of my couch, my thoughts racing.
Vampires weren’t immortal like the myths that humans threw around. Though harder to kill than humans, it was still possible to end us. It wasn’t until we’d completed a mating bond that immortality set in. After that, the only way to end our lives was decapitation, and that was nearly impossible to manage on a fully grown and mated Vampire.
Pushing myself to my feet, I brushed my hair back from my face and smoothed down my beard.
That was the solution.
I couldn’t bring Zeke back, but I could save the others.
They needed mates.
But first, I was going to take out every single human that had anything to do with Zeke’s death. I wasn’t sure where to begin, and I wasn’t sure how I would do it—but I was very good at solving problems.
Chapter 1
Rosemary
Iwas surrounded by handsome men, and while normally that would’ve been a dream of mine, the split in my lip stung like hell, the ropes around my wrists and ankles had chafed the hell out of my skin, and the men were staring at me with an intensity that didn’t feel particularly sexy. I tightened my grip around the broken bottle in my hand. It wasn’t much as weapons went, but assuming they didn’t shoot me before I could move, there was a good chance I could take at least the little one in hand-to-hand. He’d seemed pretty non-threatening when my kidnappers had dropped him in my room like a trussed pig, but that didn’t mean much. I’d met plenty of men who seemed okay at first and turned into monumental assholes later.
They got bonus points for untying me, but that didn’t mean I trusted them.
“Whoa,” one of them said, his head jerking back in surprise. “We’re not going to hurt you.”
