Prologue

As with all good romances, this starts with a man and a woman—or rather, two men and a woman…

Centuries ago, humans believed in things beyond their comprehension more readily. Supernaturals and their non-magical counterparts co-existed by using fairy tales, myths, and folklore to create a world where they interacted on specific terms that protected everyone. But as all species do, both sides of the coin evolved and dissension within their ranks and with one another caused internal wars, famine, and other tragedies.

The supernaturals evolved more quickly than humans, so the ancient bloodlines gathered together to form a governing body for all the non-human species. For a long time, this group made sure to curate history in a way that did not dishonor the gods or destiny, but kept humans from interfering in their business.

The stories of conflict, triumph, and regret from human history were often supernatural, but the truth was concealed. Eventually, humans turned their efforts towards science rather than spiritualism and the tales of things that go bump in the night became legend. This allowed the Society to focus solely on their own and as time went on, they expanded across the globe.

Our love story begins with an ancient woman who drew the attention of two supes in the Society. A warlock and a vampire, brothers in spirit if not blood, ascended to their council seats to become the last survivors of their names. Their families were decimated in various conflicts over the years and these two men grew resentful of the Society's leniency towards humans and lower tier supes alike. They were both in love with the ancient woman, though, and for a time after they mated with her, it settled their need for vengeance.

But evolution never ends and once humans advanced far enough to threaten supernaturals again, their thirst for revenge flared again. When they couldn't convince the Society council to conquer the non-magical beings, the brothers left their positions to work as undercover agents within a growing organization of humans dedicated to fomenting crime and strife. The warlock climbed the ranks of leadership over many decades and the vampire dove into the scientific program; together, they conspired to control the human population through their own weapons and technology.

When their true aims were discovered by the Society and their mate, they got exiled. By then, the warlock was in full control of the global criminal organization that operated under many names in many countries. He and his brother pleaded with their mate to join them, and when she refused to alter the course of Fate, he performed a forbidden ritual to unmate them from her.

The consequences of his reckless, selfish decision echoed through the world like wildfire. Wars broke out, treaties soured, crops died, and disease raged across the lands. Society members around the world confiscated all the tomes containing information on revoking a mate bond to prevent another ripple of magic that powerful from being released.

Unfortunately, the anguish of being cut off from their magically intended partner affected the vampire and the warlock as well. Their organization was thriving in the chaos the revocation caused, but they could barely stand to be in the same room as one another. The time came when they argued so often that it threatened their mission and they split the organization in half.

Each took the half they preferred—the warlock keeping the criminal wing and the vampire taking the technological sector. They vowed to share resources when required, but their empires would remain separated for good.

As technology continued to advance, The Company branched out into mercenary pursuits and the vampire blended magic and science so well that he created a pocket dimension to hide his labs, agents, and their secrets within. He named it The Rift in honor of the divide between him and his brother and once it was fully operational, he retreated into a world far away from the humans he despised.

That seclusion kept him from knowing his brother and their former lover were briefly reunited during the sparkling days of disco. Despite the cadre of new mates the Fates provided the ancient one, she relented one last time and from that tragic mistake, a child was born.

In order to protect her from her heritage, the child was left at one of the hybrid enclaves created by the Society and eventually adopted. She lived an inauspicious life as a ‘lost one' until one day, the small amount of magic she could access sparked and she ran from her life, including the Guardian watching from the shadows.

Only the Fates could have conspired for this child to find her way to the portal to The Rift and settle there without knowing what she'd discover on the other side.

Delilah Lenore O'Hara was never meant to set foot in The Rift, but once she did, it started a cascade of events that cannot be prevented.

This time, the story begins with a woman and many men—oh, so many men.