1. Drew

Chapter one

Drew

I breathe in a lungful of heavy air as I step off the bus at Victoria Coach Station. The air here isn't as fresh as back home, making me wrinkle my nose, but I'm not about to be ungrateful. Being here has to be better than being up there. I can breathe more easily in other ways.

Kieran sent me a text an hour ago to say he'd meet me at the station, but my stomach twists when I consider the fact that I might not recognise him right away. I want to say I'll know his scent, that we're sure to look somewhat alike, but he left almost a decade ago and there's no telling how he's changed since.

I hitch my backpack up on my shoulders and walk into the building. People sit on the chairs lining one wall, waiting for their friends and family and everyone else, and I scan each face that mills past me, wondering if I might have missed him.

"Drew!"

Oh. There's no need to worry.

Even if Kieran's scent hadn't hit me like a freight train—my wolf, tired as he is, perks up immediately—I know I still would've recognised him.

I can't remember much of our mother. What I have is more a sense of her, a scent, a feeling that lodges in my chest sometimes, occasionally strong enough to choke me.

Kieran looks like her. There's something in his eyes, a shift in expression that happens when our gazes meet, and I swallow before I raise a hand in greeting.

He faintly smiles back and waves in answer. I weave clumsily through passengers heading out, and when we're about a foot away from each other, I come to a halt, almost stumbling in my haste.

We pause, just looking each other over. Kieran, he has no wolf. Never has. I haven't seen him in so long.

But when I look at him, I feel safe .

I force myself to speak when he doesn't move, his expression unreadable.

"Um. Thanks for that. I don't know what I'd have done if you—"

The words stick in my throat when Kieran moves and, before I can react, his arms tighten around me, and I'm surrounded by my brother's scent.

I let out a shuddering breath. I cried enough on the way down here—in the end, I turned my face towards the dark window so no one could see. And yet, tears prickle painfully at the backs of my eyes when I lean into his embrace.

"I'm so sorry I didn't help you," he says.

I open my mouth to protest—he's the entire reason I've made it out—but he shakes his head and steps back.

He rubs his hands over his face, eyes suspiciously red when they meet mine again. "I am sorry," he says. "And I'm glad you're here."

Nothing about him tells me he's not sincere, and my wolf doesn't want him to move further away. We're safe with him. Only…

"I'm sorry, too," I murmur. I lower my eyes, but not before I see Kieran's frown.

"What? What are you talking about?" He's not alarmed, just confused.

"What I said—When you left—"

Kieran heaves a sigh, and his scent spikes with realisation. "Drew." His hand lands heavily on my shoulder. "I know you didn't mean it. I knew you didn't mean it back then."

My whole body trembles, my wolf whining in the back of my head. I know if we were anywhere else, away from prying eyes, I'd have shifted already.

Kieran shifts his weight, and his hand moves to the back of my neck. He squeezes, and I inhale his scent, and some of the ingrained fear leaves my shoulders.

"Okay?" he says.

I meet his eyes. He stares steadily back. "Yeah, okay."

Kieran lets out an amused huff. "Okay, come on. Nothing to worry about, but there's some stuff we've got to discuss before we go back to mine."

I nod. Whatever he wants. He doesn't know how much he's saved me by letting me come here.

With any luck, he'll never find out.

So when he squeezes again, then lets go and starts walking, I follow.

We end up in a cute café I'm sure I'd appreciate more some other time. As it is, I'm exhausted, and the noise and the people overwhelm me, so when Kieran puts his hand on my elbow to lead me over to one corner, I don't even flinch.

He sits us so I'm facing the door, even though it makes him twitchy to have his back to it. I confirm that I'll drink coffee and he darts off to order.

In a daze, I look around. I feel almost as though I've been knocked on the head too hard, and I'm waiting for my werewolf healing to catch up.

The place isn't full, but everyone in it is human, at least as far as I can tell. A tingle of magic teases my nose, so faint I can barely smell it at all, and that's new, too. I know I can sense magic, and I know why, but there wasn't an abundance of it around when I was growing up.

In a city this large, the faint energy of it is everywhere.

I lean back in my seat as Kieran returns, carefully carrying over two full mugs. He sets mine in front of me and I breathe in the caffeine-laced aroma greedily.

"Hope it's strong enough," he says, the corner of his mouth twitching. "You look knackered."

I stifle the yawn his words provoke and take a hurried sip from my cup. Kieran drinks from his own, but not before he shifts his chair slightly.

The new position gives him a better view of the door. Only in his periphery, but it's enough to settle the tense line of his shoulders. I chew the inside of my cheek. Is he always this on edge, or is it just because I'm here?

After a moment, he puts down his mug and sighs. "There's some stuff going on here you're not going to like."

Surprised, all I can do is blink at him. I won't…? I almost want to laugh. As if I have the luxury of choice, and as if I'd be rude enough to—what, judge Kieran's life—even if I had.

"It's not up to me," I say and mean it. "I'm barging into your life."

"Not barging ," Kieran says with a grimace. "But you're right, it's not. So if I tell you everything and you don't like it, I'll help you find somewhere else to go where you'll still be safe."

His tone is firm but not unkind. I nod. A little hurt flares in my chest, but I tamp it down quickly. I wasn't the one to drive him out, to truly drive him away, but he still doesn't owe me anything.

"Pris can help, if it comes to that," Kieran says. I jolt at her name.

"She's here, too?"

She's another shadowy figure, like Mum is, only a little less so because at least I've heard more about her, even if I don't remember her presence much.

"Yeah. Dad drove her out after…" Kieran shakes his head. "I think so, anyway. I told her you were coming."

I stare at him.

"Is that okay?" he asks.

"Yeah. Yeah, sure."

"I think she'd like to see you. You know, if you want. When Pax brought me down here, he brought me straight to her, so…" He trails off.

"That'd be nice," I say.

Kieran's shoulders have drawn up again, and I wonder, for a second, what his and Pris' relationship is like. She was our mum's best friend. She introduced our parents to each other.

And, after everything…

No. We need to stay on track. If nothing else, I want to sleep—I dozed on the coach down, but that was nowhere near good enough.

"Anyway." I clear my throat. "I assume you're not involved in human sacrifice or whatever?"

Kieran barks a laugh. "No?"

"Well, I don't see what's so scary you think I'd run for the hills rather than stay with you."

"I've got this… boyfriend."

When Kieran doesn't speak further, I raise an eyebrow. He stares steadily back, but his ears turn a little pink and I smirk.

"Yeah, and? Turns out I'm not into women, either. That's not it."

Kieran snorts. "No, it's not the boyfriend part. His name's Lucien. He's a vampire."

Oh. My eyes widen, and I glance down at my half-empty coffee cup, trying to hide my reaction. Another wolf would've scented my fear—irrational though I know it is—and when I dare to glance up, I know Kieran hasn't missed it.

"He… is?"

"He is."

Kieran's jaw sets and I swallow hard. Part of me admires the fact he's not jumped to being defensive. He's giving me a minute. Waiting to see how I react.

He has to know how I managed to leave. Jeremiah gave me Kieran's number. Kieran left it with him.

A vampire killed our mother. A vampire helped me escape our father. A vampire tried to kill Kieran—would've killed me, given the chance—and we were ruthlessly trained to kill them right back.

There's a vampire out there who Kieran… loves?

I meet his eyes again. Loves. That's right.

"Yeah, okay," I say, and my voice doesn't shake, not even a little. "How long have you two been…?"

Kieran laughs quietly, the sound more relieved than amused. "Only about a month." He picks up his cup and drains what's left before he puts it down decisively. His expression is entirely serious when he says, "We're mates."

"Vampires have mating bonds, too?" I've never heard of that before, and considering how vampire-killing-centric my education has been, I'm surprised it's a fact I don't know.

"No." Kieran's gaze never wavers. "The bond came from me."

I rear up, surprise finally getting the better of me, and narrowly avoid smacking the back of my head against the wall. "But you…"

"Yeah, I know. I wasn't expecting it either, but here we are."

He doesn't have a wolf. I scent the air again, and Kieran rolls his eyes when I do. No. I'd be able to tell.

"I didn't think that was possible."

"Me neither." The words are terse, and I feel the sudden urge to bare my throat, to apologise in the most honest way I can.

Instead, I ask, "Does Lucien know?"

"Yep." Kieran pops the P before he sighs. "He knows."

"And?"

The faintest pink rises to Kieran's cheeks. "And he doesn't mind. He likes it, actually. He likes that it makes us closer, that we can feel each other."

I nod before I drink the rest of my coffee, mind still spinning, then make sure to set the cup down gently. "Okay. Well, it's a bit… unexpected, but it's your life, not mine." I hesitate, then add, "It'll be nice to meet him."

That surprises Kieran, if only for a second, and he looks at me for a beat too long before he speaks. "All right. If you're sure."

"I am."

"I have a flatmate, too. Sam. He's a mage. I already spoke to him about you staying, so he's expecting you, but I figured you should know that."

"Thanks." That's not really an issue whichever way I slice it. I have no problem with mages; never have.

"You'll meet another couple of vampires, too. Adam and Elle. Adam is Lucien's turn, so he's around a lot, especially at the mo—" Kieran cuts himself off with a shake of his head. "Anyway. He's around. Elle, too. She's Lucien's friend. They run one of the districts together."

"Sounds good," I say, keeping my voice deliberately light. I'm safe here. I know that.

My brain knows it. My wolf knows something too, if the way he's perked up at those names is any indication. I don't know what he can sense—I'm still out of sync with myself. Maybe I can fix that here, too.

I rub my hands over my face. I need rest. Every part of me needs to rest.

"Why did you come here, Drew?" Kieran asks and I snap my head up to look at him.

"I needed to get away." Not a lie. "You know what Dad—what he's like."

Not a lie, either.

"Yeah, I do." Kieran eyes me and there's something knowing in his gaze. "Same shit or something new?"

I swallow. I could tell him all about Dad, all about the plans he's cooking up with Hale—plans I've thrown a spanner in by running off.

"He's worse now," I admit. I swallow hard before I lower my voice. "Please. I don't wanna go back."

No lies.

Kieran reaches across the table and takes my hand. "I won't send you back. Ever. But I need you to tell me one thing, Drew, and I need you to be honest."

Inside my head, my wolf whines.

"Do you think they'll find you here?"

No. I have to believe they won't. Jeremiah and Paxton helped me, and they're skilled at what they do. No one ever found Kieran, after all.

But Hale is ambitious. He doesn't like being told no. What Dad promised him, what I promised…

"No," I say, forcing the word out like I believe it. If I say it enough, I will. "No, they won't find me here."