Chapter 27

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

A ngelo

Serenity’s scream shattered the silence like a bullet through glass. I never should have left her. The ancient tome slipped from my fingers, hitting the floor with a dull thud that echoed my dropping heart. Every protective instinct I possessed roared to life. My mate was in danger.

I moved faster than shadows, the world blurring around me. Behind me, I heard Enzo and Dimitri’s pounding footfalls.

The door splintered under my hand as I burst into our bedroom. My fangs descended, ready to tear apart whatever dared threaten what was mine.

“Serenity?” The word was a feral growl. Luigi was already there, sword drawn, methodically sweeping the shadows of our sanctuary. The second time. This was the second fucking time he’d failed to protect her on his watch.

“ Capo ,” Luigi stuttered, his face pale as moonlight.

I picked him up and tossed him across the room like a piece of garbage. The impact split the mahogany-paneled wall, sending splinters cascading to the floor. The sound of breaking wood echoed through the mansion’s hallway. “What happened?”

“I—I don’t know.” He looked up at me with horror etched across his face, a thin line of blood trickling from his split lip. His designer suit was crumpled, dusted with debris. “She... she just started screaming, then locked herself in the bathroom. I swear on my life, Capo , I swear on my mother’s grave?—”

I grabbed him by his silk shirt, lifting him until his feet dangled and kicked. The fabric strained under my grip. “Was anyone with her?”

He frowned, sweat beading on his forehead. “No, Capo . No one. She was alone in the bedroom, sleeping. Everything was fine until?—”

I dropped him, not caring how he landed. My boots echoed against the marble floor as I hurried to the bathroom, the scent of fear and blood growing stronger with each step. I slammed my fist against the ornate door, the wood creaking under the impact. “Serenity, open this door.”

I could hear her soft tears on the other side—a sound that nearly shattered my centuries-old heart. Each quiet sob was like a silver dagger twisting in my chest. The beast within me stirred, sensing her distress. Someone had hurt her.

And I would rip out that someone’s throat. Slowly. Painfully. They would learn why the other mafia families feared the name Angelo Santi.

“Open this door right now, Serenity, or I’ll rip it off its hinges.” My voice was deadly calm, but the threat was real. Nothing would keep me from her.

“Angelo, what’s going on?” Enzo’s voice came from behind me, tense with concern.

I didn’t answer. All my focus was on the damn bathroom door that stood between me and Serenity. Between me and whatever had caused her pain. My fangs lengthened involuntarily, pressing against my lower lip.

A soft click was my answer.

I ripped open the door, the handle crushing under my grip. Serenity stood there, trembling slightly, a white bandage wrapped around her arm. The metallic scent of her blood filled my nostrils, making the predator in me stretch awake, snarling. But there was something else—something strange about the smell. Something that made my instincts scream.

“What happened?” I forced the words out through clenched teeth, fighting to maintain control.

“Nothing. I cut myself, that’s all.” She tried to move past me, her blue eyes avoiding mine, but I blocked her path with my body. The large marble bathroom suddenly felt suffocating, despite my lack of need for breath.

“You’re lying.” I clasped her wrist firmly but gently, my pale fingers cold and stark contrast against her warm skin. “Don’t ever lie to me, cara mia . Not you.” I softened my voice, though the rage still simmered beneath the surface. “Whatever this is, whoever did this—they won’t see tomorrow’s sunset. But I need to know the truth.”

The overhead lights flickered, casting shadows across her tear-stained face. She looked up at me then, fear and something else—was it shame?—swimming in her eyes. “Angelo, please... Some things are better left in the dark.”

“Nothing stays in the dark from me, sweet Nephilim. I’ve lived in shadows for four hundred years.” I brushed a thumb across her cheek, wiping away a tear. “Now tell me who hurt you, so I can paint these walls with their blood.”

She lowered her head. “I can’t tell you.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why not?”

She stood there, crying quietly, still refusing to answer. I could use compulsion on her, but that was a very last resort.

“Enzo.”

Serenity looked up at me wildly as Enzo approached, like a trapped doe sensing the wolves closing in.

“Hold her,” I told him simply.

“N-no. Please, don’t.” She shook her head vehemently and pulled on her arm, but I held it in an iron grip, forged from centuries of existence.

“Sorry, princess,” Dimitri drawled from the doorway, his signature smirk playing at his lips. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my far too eventful life, it’s that secrets have a way of getting everyone killed.” He moved with preternatural grace to block Elena, who was trying to push past him. “Not this time, Elena. Some things require a... heavier hand.”

Enzo clasped Serenity’s arms, his grip firm but not cruel.

Serenity stared up, her big blue eyes filled with tears and fear. Each drop that fell from her lashes was like acid on my skin. “Angelo, don’t do this.”

“ Mon Dieu , what’s going on?” Elena cried behind me, struggling against Dimitri’s restraining arm.

“What’s going on,” Dimitri answered, ice-blue eyes hardening, “is that someone decided to play with what belongs to a very old, very powerful vampire. And unlike my brother Valentin, I’m completely on board with the bloody aftermath that’s about to unfold.” He turned to Elena, his voice dropping to that dangerous velvet tone he reserved for serious moments. “Stay out of this one, Elena. Your heart of gold isn’t needed here.”

Gianna burst into the room, power crackling around her like static electricity. “Don’t talk to her like that,” she snapped. “Elena’s the only one who makes this place feel like a home instead of a fortress. We need her kindness, especially now.”

I barely registered their exchange. My focus remained laser-sharp on Serenity’s bandaged arm. Not even Elena’s humanitarian protests could stop me. I was going to find out what Serenity was hiding, even if I had to tear apart every secret in this city.

“Last chance, tesoro ,” I murmured, reaching for the bandage. “Tell me willingly, or I take what I want to know.”

“ Dio mio ,” Enzo breathed, gaping at something behind me.

I turned, following his gaze to the king-sized bed visible through the connecting door. The word “ SOON ” was already written across the white Egyptian cotton sheets in dark, crusted blood. Fresh crimson droplets were bleeding up through the fabric like macabre raindrops in reverse, forming new letters beside the original message.

“Balthazar,” I growled, centuries of power thrumming through my veins. The demon who dared to think he could challenge the vampire king.

“No!” Serenity suddenly thrashed in Enzo’s grip, her eyes wild and desperate. “Please, you don’t understand. He’ll kill you! That’s the whole idea—he wants you to come after him!” Tears streamed down her face. “He said... He said he’d make me watch while he tore out your heart.”

The world went red. My fangs descended as rage exploded through me, a fury so ancient and primal it made the windows rattle in their frames. The demon dared to threaten my mate with my death? Would make her watch? I could feel my power rolling off me in waves, turning the air arctic. Even Enzo took a step back, though his grip on Serenity never loosened.

“He threatened to make you watch?” The words came out in a deadly whisper, each syllable dripping with centuries of violence. My hands curled into fists. Balthazar had crossed every line—taking her friends, marking her for his sick game, threatening to break her with my death. The demon thought he knew what a monster was? I’d show him what a real monster looked like. I’d show him what happens when he threatens what is mine.

“Yes.” She sniffed, her eyes glistening with tears.

Demons versus vampires were never pretty. “That’s why you’re not going to the battle.”

The fresh blood continued its macabre dance across the sheets:

PRESTO... IL TUO SANGUE SARà MIO

Gianna murmured, translating with growing dread. “Soon... Your blood will be mine.” Her eyes widened. “What does that mean?”

“He plans on possessing Serenity,” I said grimly, rage coiling in my gut like a serpent. “Blood possession—one of the oldest, darkest forms of demon magic.”

To take control of another’s blood was to own their very essence, to make them a puppet dancing on crimson strings. It’s what he’d already done to Louis DuPont. I refused to allow him to do the same to Serenity.

“Someone’s feeling theatrical tonight,” Dimitri murmured coldly, eyes fixed on the forming letters. “Though I have to admire the dedication to interior decorating.”

Serenity’s knees buckled, and Enzo slowly released his grip. “Angelo, please. You don’t know what he’s planning. Everything…kidnapping me, sending this message… It’s all part of his twisted game.”

I caught her before she could fall, my grip gentle despite the fury coursing through my veins. The same hands that had thrown Luigi against the wall for failing to protect Serenity.

“Look at me, tesoro .” When she wouldn’t meet my eyes, I tilted her chin up. “Balthazar made one critical mistake.”

“What’s that?” she whispered.

“He forgot who rules this city.” My voice was soft, but it carried all the weight of my sovereignty. “I didn’t become king by showing mercy to traitors.”

More droplets began to surface on the sheets, bleeding upward against gravity to form new words with deliberate, taunting slowness:

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

“Angelo.” Serenity clutched at my shirt, her fingers trembling against the silk. “The others?—”

“Let them come,” I cut her off, wiping a tear from her cheek with a gentleness that belied the murderous rage in my veins. “Every last one of them. Balthazar needs to be reminded why even the oldest vampires kneel in my presence.”

“Well then,” Dimitri drawled, his eyes darkening with bloodlust as he watched the blood letters shimmer in the dim light. “Shall we find out where this big party is going to be held?”

I studied Serenity but she avoided my eyes. “You know where, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t.” She yanked her arm away from me and I released her, noting how her pulse had jumped at the lie.

“Serenity.” I lifted her chin, my thumb gentle against her jaw. “He showed you, didn’t he?”

“No—yes—but you can’t go there, Angelo! I won’t let him kill you.” Her blue eyes filled with fresh tears, confirming my suspicions.

“The confrontation is coming whether you like it or not, Serenity. He wants you just as much as the other kings do—as much as I do,” I said softly, remembering my own obsession when I first saw her. “He might even want you even more. That’s what I have to find out.”

She stared at me for several heartbeats, conflict warring in her lovely eyes. “He said… He said he knew my father. Do you think that’s true?”

I shrugged, though the implications sent ice through my veins. “Possibly. Demons and angels are aware of each other.” She gave me a puzzled look and I drew in a deep breath. “Serenity, surely you know your father has to be an angel. Which one, I’m not sure.”

“Do you think Balthazar’s plan has anything to do with my father?”

I drew her into my arms, breathing in her scent—sunshine and something otherworldly that even all my centuries of existence couldn’t identify. “I don’t know, Serenity. That’s what I have to find out. If I knew his plan, then I’ll know how better to protect you.” I stroked her hair, feeling her tremble against me. “Please. Tell me.”

She braced her shoulders, that stubborn light I’d come to both love and fear entering her eyes. “If I tell you, you have to take me with you.”

“Never.” The word came out like a growl.

She gripped my shirt, her knuckles white with desperation. “Listen to me, Angelo. I was able to make a shield in the library?—”

I wasn’t going to let her be a hundred miles near Balthazar. “Yes, and you also contacted Balthazar unknowingly.” The memory of finding her in that hysterical fit after the dream terrified me.

“But—”

“Ah, you two might want to look at this. Balthazar sent has another secret coded message,” Dimitri said, his voice tight with tension.

I glanced at the bed, where fresh blood was seeping through the sheets. Balthazar never did play fair.

brING HER OR JOY DIES

The words were like a death sentence, and I felt Serenity go rigid in my arms. Joy—Serenity’s best friend, whom we’d been hunting for weeks—was snared in Balthazar’s web.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck .” Enzo slammed his fist into the wall repeatedly, cracking it. Each impact echoed his failure to find her before the demon did.

The choice wasn’t really a choice at all. And Balthazar knew it.