His hands were stained with blood.
It clung beneath his fingernails, dark and stubborn, streaked across the sleeves of his charcoal uniform shirt like an accusation, and he couldn't wash it away fast enough. Kadyn Llyris didn't dare glance at his reflection as he rushed past the mirrored elevator doors in the subway station. He kept his head down, shoulders hunched, and heart pounding too loudly in his ears.
He ran all the way back home, not stopping for once.
Not in a straight line. Not recklessly. He took side streets, ducked down service alleys that smelled of old rain and garbage, crossed streets twice, and changed direction whenever footsteps echoed too closely behind him. His instincts were sharp, louder than his thoughts, dragging him home like a pulled thread.
By the time he reached his apartment building in Harlem, his lungs burned and his legs trembled.
He slammed the door shut behind him and locked it. Only then did he allow himself to breathe.
Before leaving the parking garage, he had looked back once.
From behind a concrete column, from a safe distance, he'd seen Olena Ermes struggle to her feet. Her movements were frantic, unsteady, but determined. She'd stumbled into her car just a few feet from where she fell, slammed the door shut, and peeled out of the garage like hell itself was on her heels.
That image replayed in his mind over and over.
There would be police questions by morning. Statements. Speculation. Olena's name would be whispered across conference rooms and newsrooms alike. And when the dust settled, she'd pin the attack on Mr. Mark or one of the many disposable men she kept at arm's length to bleed off her stress.
She'd survive.
But Kadyn knew better than to believe this was ordinary.
There had been something wrong with that man in the garage. Something old. Something hungry.
And worse, there was something wrong with him. Thankfully, the surveillance was down; he had confirmed it himself that morning.
***
The shower water ran scalding hot, fogging the small bathroom until the world dissolved into steam. Kadyn stood beneath the droplets longer than necessary, head bowed, palms braced against the tiled wall as the water turned pink at his feet.
His skin felt tight. Overcharged.
But he felt stronger.
He scrubbed until his arms ached, until his knuckles reddened, but the feeling wouldn't leave. The power lingered beneath his skin like a coiled wire, humming softly, patiently.
This wasn't him.
He was a night guard. A nobody. A man who blended into the background by design.
So why had claws replaced his fingernails?
Why had it felt so natural to tear the other man apart?
And why, of all things, did one sentence echo louder than anything else in his head?
Stay away from my mate.
The words made his stomach twist.
Mate.
Like an animal. Like something feral and possessive and ancient.
Kadyn shut off the water and stood dripping, staring at the floor. His reflection hovered just beyond the fogged mirror, distorted enough that he could pretend it wasn't real.
For now, silence was his safest choice.
He would say he left the garage after realizing the camera couldn't be fixed. He would say nothing else. His shift technically started at eight p.m. It was already past seven.
He would call in sick.
He would stay home.
And he would pray the police didn't look too closely. He might have left some of his DNA at the scene.
***
Far from New York's glowing skyline, beneath a canopy of twisted trees and a moonless sky, a man knelt bleeding.
"It was him!" the injured man rasped, clutching his ruined hands. Blood dripped onto the dirt, black and thick. "I'm certain of it." He gasped desperately.
The figure standing over him laughed softly.
"You fool," the voice said coldly. "You always seek excuses to escape your punishment."
"I swear by my blood," the man cried, desperation sharpening his tone. "He was powerful. His aura radiated royalty. I have never been defeated so easily."
A murmur rippled through the others gathered in the clearing.
"There is only one who ever felt like that," the wounded man continued, eyes wild. "Only one whose presence commanded the air itself."
The name slipped from his lips like a curse.
"Kadyn."
Silence fell, and fear followed.
Kadyn had been murdered. Betrayed. Burned along with his family and guards in a massacre meant to erase an entire bloodline.
If he had lived…
They were all in danger.
Once, long ago, there had been a single werewolf clan. They lived quietly, hiding in the margins of the human world, obeying ancient laws. The rulers kept order. Rebels were crushed.
Until the prince fell in love with a human. And everything burnt to the ground.
***
Back in New York, Olena paced the length of her office like a caged storm.
"Are you out of your mind?" she snapped. "What do you mean the camera was defective?"
The man standing across from her shivered slightly. Zeph, her operations director, had weathered her storms before, but this one cut close.
"Kadyn was asked to take a look that evening because—"
She spun on him.
"Can you listen to yourself?" Olena demanded. "Then why am I still paying the technician? How long has this Kadyn been doing repairs in my company?"
Zeph hesitated. But just for a fraction of a second. Olena didn't like to be kept waiting.
"I apologize, ma'am," he said smoothly. "It was just this once."
The lie sat heavy between them.
Olena didn't miss it.
She had built Paramount Holdings from blood, sweat, tears, and sleepless nights. She knew when someone was lying. Zeph had lasted three years as her right hand because he never flinched under her stare.
But this time, he did.
She filed it away and refocused on what mattered.
The attack.
Jones knew about Shawn. That alone was dangerous. But the man in black in her parking garage and the stranger who had destroyed him with impossible strength haunted her thoughts far more.
She remembered the growl. Low. Animalistic and feral. And the uniform.
The man who saved her worked for her.
Rage simmered beneath her fear, but she forced herself to move carefully.
"Jerry," she said calmly. "Get me Kadyn Xavier Llyris."
He bowed slightly and left.
The entire situation unsettled her.
***
Kadyn stood in her office minutes later.
Before he arrived, she had reviewed his file. No criminal record. Employed longer than most. GED. Quiet. Technically gifted.
Totally unremarkable. Until now.
"You sent for me, ma'am."
His voice pulled her attention, and she looked up sharply.
His eyes were grey. Not soft grey. Hard. Like cut stone catching light. His black hair looked perpetually disheveled, and his coveralls stretched across a frame built with far more strength than his job required.
He caught her staring, and a ghost of a smile touched his mouth.
It irritated her.
"Yes," Olena said coolly. "When you were in the garage last night, did you notice anything unusual?"
"Regarding the camera," Mr. Kadyn Llyris replied, sidestepping smoothly, "it couldn't be fixed. The entire system needs replacement."
"When did it malfunction?" she pressed.
"I can't say. I was only informed at noon yesterday."
"Thank you. You may go."
Without a moment's hesitation, he turned to leave.
"Mr. Kadyn Llyris."
"Yes, ma'am?"
"You didn't answer my question."
He turned around, and his gaze locked onto hers.
"The only thing I noticed was the damaged surveillance system, and I informed Mr. Zeph immediately," he said evenly. "I left once I realized I couldn't help."
She wasn't convinced.
"I was attacked," Olena said quietly. "There were two men in the garage."
"Are you certain?" he asked, his tone shifting. Protective. Almost paternal.
"Yes."
The camera hadn't worked. Another piece clicked into place, and he almost sighed with relief.
"Did you leave at a specific time?"
He stiffened.
"I didn't expect to be interrogated for trying to save the company money."
Anger flared in her chest, but she maintained her cool disposition.
"Show me the hallway camera," she ordered. "I want the footage."
He led her there.
They went through the footage from eight p.m. to six a.m.
But nothing came up.
Her stomach dropped in frustration, but Kadyn was somewhat relieved not to be involved in the situation.
"What?" she whispered.
Something was very, very wrong.