A door banged in the background, and Lola barreled into the office, her face flushed causing her two-toned skin to appear even more stark than usual, and her eyes were wild. “Any news?” she demanded, barely glancing at the males in the room with her, before zeroing in on Gage. “Tell me you’ve heard something. Please.”

  Gage felt a pang for her—mostly because he recognized the raw, desperate worry in her eyes. It was the same look Katy had worn all morning, the one that made him want to tear the world apart just to see her smile again. “You know Katy would have contacted you immediately if there was. There’s been nothing, Lola. But we’re working on it.”

  She cursed, running both hands through her hair. “We shouldn’t have sent them on their own. I mean, that’s like basic travel rules. A buddy system. And considering we really don’t have a clue who’s friend or foe, Roan should have had back-up with him. Not that I’m telling any of you seasoned warriors, who are eons older than me, how to do your jobs. I mean, I wouldn’t do—okay that’s not true at all. I totally would simply because this is Maddie. She puts up a good front but underneath all that pomp and bluster is a soft-hearted woman who honestly believes in world peace and crap. Of all the people in our chick posse, she shouldn’t be the one in this situation.” She paused, her hands, which had been flailing about as she ranted, dropped to her sides.

  “Wow,” Justice muttered. “I wonder if Callon has found her off switch yet?”

  “I mean,” she continued as Justice said, “Guess not.”

  Lola’s voice cracked as she spoke, “What if⁠—?”

  “Don’t,” Gage said, more harshly than he meant. He softened his tone, knowing Katy would expect him to show some compassion, even if it didn’t come naturally. He was trying, for her. “Judging by the way Maddie stands up to your kingdom’s shaman, she’s tougher than you realize. And Roan’s not the type to go down easy. They’ll find a way to survive until we find them or until they can get back to us.”

  Callon’s voice came through the speakers, steady and cool. “We’re not giving up. We’ll keep digging. But if you hear anything—anything at all—you let us know.”

  Nox nodded. “Our kingdoms are now tied together.” He glanced at Gage and then looked back at the prime. “Katy is basically Lola’s sister and each is mated to one of our members. There can be no feuds between us. Not if we want to keep our females happy and safe.”

  Gage didn’t let the shock he felt show on his face. Nox and he had always had a rough relationship, but in that moment, the alpha gained Gage’s respect.

  Taras’s eyes softened just a bit as he glanced at his son’s mate, then looked back to Nox. “I agree.”

  The call ended, the screen going dark. For a long moment, no one spoke.

  Nox cleared his throat. “We’ll double the patrols on the Silk border and pass on the news to the pack that Kingdom of Claws is more than just an ally. They are an extension of our battle arm, just as we are an extension of theirs. Justice, get word to the scouts—anything out of the ordinary comes straight to me.”

  Justice saluted, his usual cocky grin gone. “On it.”

  “I’m assuming you want to stay with your mate,” Nox said after Justice left. “Considering what she’s been through, and what she’s now going through with her friend missing.”

  Gage knew that Nox needed him to track. He was the best in their pack, but the alpha was also empathetic when it came to a male needing to care for his female. Being an alpha was never something Gage wanted to be. Having to make those difficult decisions that could cause pain to his pack members, even if it was out of necessity, was not on his bucket list.

  “I need to speak with her before I make any decisions,” he said, glancing at the door as if she was going to walk in at any moment. “I have a feeling Nico will be contacting us because of what Zeena told us about the Kingdom of Chaos, so we have that to deal with as well. I won’t have Katy going off without me to deal with that shitshow.”

  “Understood,” Nox nodded. “Just, if you could, keep me posted. And know that if you decide to join the hunt in California, Katy will be safe here. I know she is yours, Gage, but that doesn’t make her any less one of mine.”

  As he headed for the office door, Gage’s thoughts were a tangled snarl of frustration and want. Every cell in his body screamed for Katy, for the comfort of her skin and the warmth of her mouth and the way her nails dug into his shoulders when she finally let herself go. There was so much that needed to be done, but he could feel her need for him, and right now, he needed her just as badly. The only thing holding him back was the hope that when he got Maddie back for her, she’d not be split in her attention. Gage would have her all to himself, and he could finally let himself give in to the need that was clawing him raw from the inside out.

  But for now, all he could do was wait. And for a wolf—especially one with a mate who burned as hot as Katy—waiting was its own kind of exquisite torture.

  Chapter Three

  “Here is the remarkable thing about being unique—everyone gets to be. Because there is no one just like you. There is only one me, which I am sure most of my fellow shamans are thankful for. Some of us might wear our idiosyncratic qualities like our favorite shirt, for the whole world to see. While others might be more subtle, and only letting certain people see those qualities. Whatever the case may be, our Creator made us exactly who we are supposed to be, in the exact time that we are supposed to be, with all of the exact talents, qualities, and abilities we need to do what we were created to do. See? Special.” ~Nico

  There was an art to chaos, and Nico had always considered himself a connoisseur. He lounged with deliberate ease in a threadbare velvet chair, one ankle balanced on the opposite knee, in a private high-roller lounge above the shimmering madness of the Las Vegas Strip. The lights below blinked and pulsed—false stars for a city that fed on illusion. Everything about the Kingdom of Chaos was like that, really: dazzling, distracting, and dangerous if you didn’t know how to play the angles. Wolfgang and his mate hadn’t truly made it a safe haven so much as a place for the “others” of the Damarian race to hide in–as if they should be ashamed and as if any of them had some sort of control over what they’d been born as.

  Raphael paced the length of the room, agitation rolling off him in waves. The demon’s sharp, angular face was set in a tight scowl, purple eyes flicking restlessly to the window, the door, then back to Nico. The power that he kept tightly under control seemed to pulse off of him, as if his agitated state made it harder to keep it locked down.

  “All of your pacing is stressing me out,” Nico drawled. “Quit your fretting.” He rose, stretching his arms overhead, vertebrae cracking in a satisfying chorus. He felt the city’s energy—wild, unpredictable, a hundred different hungers humming through the walls. The Kingdom of Chaos was unlike any other Damarian territory. It was a kingdom for those who didn’t fit: hybrids, misfits, the broken, and the strange. It was his home, and he’d be damned if he let Wolfgang and Talulla’s betrayal bring it down from the inside.

  He strode to the window on the farthest side of the suite that gave the best view and took a deep breath, letting the familiarity of this territory settle over him. There were others they claimed– Los Angeles, D.C., and Austin–but this was his favorite. Raphael joined him at the glass, his reflection a shadow at Nico’s side—tall, lean, every movement elegant and restless. He had stuck to Chaos because, even though he could pass for human when he wanted, there was no hiding the inhuman beauty that radiated from him, the violet eyes and the way his very presence seemed to fill the room. His energy permeated every space he entered and, without even trying, people stared.

  “You spoke of finding the next in line to the throne. What if there’s not one?” Raphael asked, folding his arms as if he could keep his worries contained by sheer force of will.

  Nico’s gaze sharpened. “Then I’ll make one. That’s the beauty of chaos; it’s unpredictable. Strange things happen all the time in our world. Just look at this new turn of events with the animus. It’s no longer about them only falling in love, but they also have to be destined for one another by Visata.”

  Raphael arched an eyebrow, the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. “I believe you could talk yourself into just about anything.”

  Nico shrugged, running a hand through his spiked, naturally green hair—his body’s own personalized rebellion. “I believe in possibilities, and if I don’t see one, then I will make a way for one.”

  A knock at the door broke the moment. Nico’s hand slid to the knife at his belt—a habit more than a necessity. Raphael’s posture shifted, lethal and ready, even as he kept his expression bored.

  The door swung open, admitting a young man who could only belong in the Kingdom of Chaos. His hair—if you could call it that—was an unruly tumble of dark and white feathers, sticking out in tufts from his scalp and trailing down the sides of his face, woven through with strands of brown and gold. His features were sharp, eyes a clear, cool grey, and his skin was dusted with a soft, downy layer of feathers like the fuzz on a baby chick. Even in the smoky light, he looked as if he was halfway between human and something that had just fallen from the nest.

  “News,” he said, voice a little breathless, a little musical—the kind of voice that always sounded like it might break into birdsong. “The women you asked about, I got them. There’s only three. Of course, that doesn’t mean that he didn’t have more and somehow got rid of them before anyone realized they were here. I managed to move them through the freight elevators of the casino to the room you told me to. They asked a lot of questions, but when I told them their other option was to trust the Chaos king, they came without argument. Wolfgang’s men are sniffing around the casino floor, as if they know something is up.”

  Nico nodded, every line of his body shifting from languid to lethal. “News of Azure’s demise is no doubt making the king and queen of Chaos nervous. Though, he’s cocky enough to think he still won’t get caught. Which is why we might actually get away with this entire mission. Thank you, Corin.” He met the young man’s gaze, and Corin nodded back, his eyes bright with the hope of belonging. “Keep your eyes on the exits. If anyone attempts to get near the room we have them in, let me know.”

  Corin’s feathers rustled as he straightened. “You got it. I’ll keep to the shadows.” He flashed Raphael a quick, nervous smile—one that didn’t linger, as if he was used to people looking through him. Then he slipped out, silent as a breeze, leaving the faintest trace of down drifting in his wake.

  Raphael sighed. “I’ve been a member of this kingdom long enough to be desensitized to those who call it home, but sometimes I see the ones who can’t accept themselves the way they are, and I pity them.”

  “For a demon, you're uncharacteristically kind,” Nico replied, grabbing his coat. “If I didn’t know you, I’d think it was a ruse.”

  Raphael chuckled. “As you’ve pointed out ad nauseam, it’s Kingdom of Chaos. It would actually be stranger for me to be a ‘normal’ demon.”

  Nico shrugged. “Fair.”

  They moved as a unit through the dim corridors, the roar of the casino swelling and fading as they passed. There was tension in the air—a kind of electric anticipation that made Nico’s skin prickle. Las Vegas was always wound tight, but tonight felt different. Tonight, the city was holding its breath.

  They found the women in a private parlor—a trio of them, each looking lost and wary in a room meant for high-stakes deals and dangerous men. Nico felt their uniqueness: human, but Damarian by fate, not by birth. Animi. Not shifters, not shamans, not yet anything at all except potential. He didn’t yet know if their skin was bare of ink to reveal what they might become. Their eyes held the haunted look of those who’d been promised something grand but given only fear.

  He offered them a smile that was all reassurance and none of the wildness lurking underneath. “Welcome, ladies. I’m Nico. This is Raphael. We’re here to help you get home—be it the kingdom you will find your mate in, or if you so choose, back to the life you were taken from.”

  The youngest, just entering adulthood at maybe twenty or twenty-one, a slim, freckled girl with a stubborn chin and the kind of wariness that came from learning too young that the world was not safe, looked at him with wide, desperate eyes. “You’re not . . . with him? With King Wolfgang?” she asked, her voice slightly accusatory.

  “While I am a member of this kingdom, I am not in agreement with the way Wolfgang and his mate run it,” Nico said, his tone gentle. “I am attempting to fix that. As the Kingdom of Chaos shaman, you’re under my protection now. No one will touch you—not with me around.”

  One of the others—a tall woman with a streak of blue in her hair and a glare that could cut glass—crossed her arms. “How do we know we can trust you?”

  Nico lifted one shoulder. “You don’t.” He made eye contact with each of the three women before he continued. “But we will do our best to earn your trust. First,” he held up a finger, “by telling you all that has taken place in regard to our people, and how it affects you. Then, I’ll allow you to speak with some other human females via video chat that will hopefully convince you that we are telling the truth.”

  He waited to see how they’d respond to his declaration. After at least a minute, the blue streak nodded.

  “I’m Morgan,” she said, then pointed to Freckles, “that’s Miryam,” then she pointed to the third female–an Asian woman with long, straight, shiny, black hair, beautiful alabaster skin, deep brown eyes, and a delicate frame. Her gaze was shrewd as she met his eyes. “That’s Akira.”

  Nico’s eyes collided with Akira’s, and he froze. As if her stare somehow held him in her orbit, he was captivated not only by her beauty, but by the intelligence he saw in the depths of her brown orbs. He’d always prided himself on reading people quickly, on finding their edges and shadows, but with Akira it was as if he’d stumbled upon something rare—something that refused to be defined or contained.

  Her eyes didn’t flinch or dart away. She looked at him as if weighing him against some silent measure, her posture still but not afraid. There was a steadiness in her, an unspoken strength, and for a heartbeat, Nico felt laid bare, as if she could see past the spiked green hair, the silver piercings, the tattoos, and straight to the core of who he was.

  He cleared his throat, suddenly aware of every inch of space between them. “It’s good to meet you, Akira,” he said, his voice softer than before, sincerity threading through the usual bravado. “I hope you’ll let us prove ourselves to you.”

  Akira’s lips curved into the barest hint of a smile, the kind that was gone so quickly he wondered if he’d imagined it. “And if I don’t?”

  Her question wasn’t a challenge, but an honest curiosity, and Nico found himself wanting—no, needing—to give her a reason to believe. He took a breath, steadying himself against the pull he felt toward her.

  “Then we’ll still get you out of here,” he promised quietly. “Trust isn’t a requirement for rescue.”

  For a moment, the room faded—the tension, the uncertainty, even Raphael’s subtle fidgeting beside him. It was just Nico and Akira, two souls on opposite sides of chaos, drawn together by something neither could name.

  He realized then that he didn’t just want to save her. He wanted to know her story, to earn that steadiness she carried, to see if the way she’d looked at him just now could one day turn into something more.

  And Akira, her gaze lingering on him a moment longer, seemed to see something she recognized in him. Maybe it was the chaos, or maybe it was the promise beneath it. Either way, Nico knew he was changed, and there was no going back.

  He tore his eyes away, just long enough to glance at Raphael, who was watching Miryam with a rare, genuine softness.

  “Your name isn’t one that’s heard often in this generation,” Raphael pointed out. There was an interest in his gaze that surprised Nico.

  Freckles shrugged. “Guess my parents were old fashioned.”

  “How is it spelled?” Raphael asked. Nico wondered why his friend was worried about how it was spelled.

  Miryam looked as confused as Nico felt. “In the traditional Hebrew way.”

  Raphael’s brow furrowed as his body tensed. “Then it’s the Hebrew form of the name Mary. The very name of the female who, according to the human Bible, was ‘favored by the Lord’, and brought the only sinless man to ever live, into this world.” Raphael let out a huff of laughter that sounded more sarcastic than humorous. Then muttered, “How ironic is that.” It wasn’t a question, and Nico knew his friend well enough that what Raphael had just said wasn’t just a history lesson.

  “A demon who knows the Bible?” Morgan asked, her eyes skeptical.

  Raphael looked at her, “Wouldn’t you think it was important to know what history said about your kind?”

  Morgan pressed her lips together as she made a sound of agreement, then added, “Fair point.”

  Nico cleared his throat and gestured for them to sit. He forced himself not to stare at Akira, even though every cell in his body was attuned to her. He and Raphael took the armchairs across from the trio, a low table between them littered with half-empty cups and the remains of what might have been a fruit tray—Las Vegas excess at its finest, gone stale around the edges.

  He leaned forward, elbows on knees, and let his gaze land on each girl in turn. “Based on your lack of a barrage of questions, I assume you’ve had some things explained to you—about what you are, about Damarians. But there’s more to this world than what you’ve heard from the people who took you, the guards and whispers in the hallways. And you deserve to hear the truth from someone who isn’t trying to use you.”

  Raphael’s voice slid in, velvet and steady, as if they’d rehearsed this exchange a hundred times. “You already know you’re animi. That you can see us for what we are. The glamour doesn’t work on you, because you’re meant to be part of this world—if you choose it.”