PROLOGUE

J esus Christ. Brayden Moretti clenched his already closed eyes as pain sliced through his head.

Pain?

He rubbed his forehead as his eyes blinked open and the sounds around him came rushing back to his consciousness like a freight train.

"Fuck! Is he awake?" He heard a male yell.

Blink.

Blink.

"Jesus, Ari. How the hell are they awake so soon?" Another male—wait, was that Darnell?

"Captain! Brayden! Are you okay?" Darnell yelled above him.

His eyes began to clear, and he turned his head. Around him lay the bodies of his warriors.

Craig.

Kurt.

Marcus

Logan.

Ben.

He'd also heard Ari's name.

Fuck.

Brayden sat abruptly and took in more of the fucking mess around him. A few feet away Ari began to sit up.

Dozens of vampires began spilling onto the front lawn of the Moretti castle in Maine, where they were currently living in the United States.

"Jesus." Brayden rubbed his forehead again, slowly getting his bearings.

What am I forgetting?

Something clogged the wheels of his brain.

Think!

An urgency was pushing him to remember.

His eyes lifted to Darnell who was leaning down and talking to him while other vampires were running around yelling.

"... the princess—"

Brayden nodded. He was the Moretti prince. A vampire.

Why can't I think straight?

Brayden shook his head and when his eyes met Ari's, an avalanche of memory poured into his mind. His head snapped back to Darnell, and he grabbed the male's black Moretti shirt.

"Say that again." He ordered him.

"They have Willow." His voice thick with emotion. "They have the princess."

"And Isabella." Brianna came running out of the castle and collapsed on her knees beside Craig. "Baby, wake up! Wake up!"

My mate? My daughter?

"WHAT?!" Brayden roared, red dots of anger blinding him as fury sliced through every vein in his body.

He leaped up, landing on his feet in a crouched position.

"Fuck!" Ari cursed in a dark growl as he climbed to his feet.

Suddenly it all began to slot into place. The image of a helicopter above him with the Russian mafia inside it. Painful darts of serum being shot toward them. One hitting him in the neck.

A lucky shot given the chopper was moving in a circle and lifting with as much speed as it was capable of.

Brayden had collapsed almost immediately.

"How are you awake so fast?" Darnell asked, frowning.

"Our blood—" Ari began to say, his big hand gripping Brayden's thick shoulder.

Their Moretti blood. His uncle couldn't finish that sentence, but their powerful Moretti blood had pushed the serum out of their bodies fast. Healing them.

He'd think about that later, but Ari would tell Sage, who was the scientist in charge of creating an antidote. Both of them were Moretti's and the same blood ran through their veins, so she not only knew about the closely kept secret but was one of them.

Brayden knew she would be interested and ensure it was studied.

Right now, his immediate and only focus was that the mother fucking Russian mafia had his family.

Had Willow.

Had their baby girl.

And he had to go right now and get them back.

Brayden had always known that his priority was to protect the king—his brother—but if his mate was threatened, she'd come first.

They all understood that.

Vampires mated for life, and there was no life for any of them if their mates died. They'd also die protecting their mates.

It was nature.

And every second he remained here was another second that Willow and Isabella were in enemy hands.

Brayden grabbed Ari's shirt and prepared to teleport away. "I have to go. Look after the king."

He went to leave, but Ari stopped him. The ancient vampire was probably the only vampire on the planet capable of moving that fast and having the strength to do so.

And quite possibly Craig.

"Wait. Let's coordinate this," Ari growled. "You have no idea where the Russians have taken them."

He didn't give a fuck.

"If they'd taken Sage?" Brayden challenged him. He had no choice; they both knew that.

"Go," Ari said, shaking his head, knowing he would do the same thing and there was nothing he could say to Brayden. "I'll take over here. The king will be under my protection."

Brayden nodded.

He glanced up just as the king walked out of the main doors of the castle, looking every inch the royal leader he was.

Then again, so did he when he wasn't wearing his black Moretti fatigues. Which wasn't often. And just the way he liked it.

Their eyes locked.

They have Willow and Isabella. Brayden telepathed his brother, and a mix of knowing and anger filled Vincent's eyes. Stay alive. Ari will protect you.

Before the king could respond, and with no plan, Brayden teleported away to hunt down his enemy like the predator he was.

Willow, I am coming.