His Temptation (Mafia Masters #3)

Prologue

PROLOGUE

SIOBHAN

F ifteen Years Ago

The stone gargoyle perched at the roof’s edge loomed over the darkened campus below, its grotesque features frozen in a permanent grimace. A biting autumn wind cut through the night, making the midnight sky above the boarding school feel endless, sharp with the crisp scent of fallen leaves and distant rain. Siobhan Harrington breathed in deeply, tilting her face upward, letting the moonlight brush over her skin. She was at home in the dark.

Behind her, Isolde Fitzwilliam huffed as she climbed the last few steps of the fire escape, her boot scraping against the stone. “I swear, if you let me fall to my death, I’ll haunt you forever.”

Siobhan turned, offering a hand. “You wouldn’t die from that drop. Maybe a broken ankle, if you’re unlucky.”

Isolde scowled, gripping Siobhan’s fingers and hauling herself onto the rooftop. She dusted off the pleated skirt of their school uniform, the maroon-and-gold plaid a sharp contrast to the deep black of the night. “Says the girl who moves like a damn cat. Some of us aren’t as graceful, you know.”

Siobhan hid a knowing smile, settling onto the cool slate tiles with her legs stretched in front of her. “Then maybe you should practice sneaking out more often.”

Isolde flopped beside her, stretching out on her back, arms folded behind her head. “No need. That’s why I have you. Besides, I’d never have found this view without you.” She sighed, a contented sound, her gaze locked on the vast stretch of stars overhead. “It’s almost magic, isn’t it?”

Siobhan followed her gaze, letting the night swallow them whole. “Almost.”

A moment of silence passed between them, comfortable and thick with unspoken secrets. Isolde broke it first, turning her head to study Siobhan’s profile. “You always disappear at night. You’re never in bed when I wake up.”

Siobhan’s lips curled slightly. “Maybe I just like the quiet.”

“You’re lying.” Isolde’s voice softened, pressing gently. “Tell me the truth, Siobhan. Where do you go?”

For a heartbeat, Siobhan considered brushing her off. But Isolde had been her only genuine friend at this wretched place—one of the few people who didn’t look at her like she was too distant, too sharp-edged, too different. She had learned, early on, that trust was a dangerous thing. But sitting here, under the glow of the stars, she wanted—for once—to give a piece of herself to someone else.

“There are things in this world, Isolde,” she said, staring at the sky. “Things that don’t belong to just one world. Beings who walk between them, who are never truly human, never truly beast.”

Isolde propped herself up on her elbows, interest flashing in her hazel eyes. “Like magic?”

Siobhan hesitated. “Something like that.”

“You mean like fairies? Or vampires? Oh my God, are you about to tell me you’re a vampire? That would be incredible.”

Siobhan laughed softly, shaking her head. “No, not vampires. But something older. Something more dangerous.”

Isolde shivered, but it wasn’t from the cold. “You sound like you’re not just telling a story.”

Siobhan looked at her, holding her gaze. “Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. We Irish love our myths and legends.”

A slow, delighted smile spread across Isolde’s face. “God, that’s fascinating. Can you imagine? Loving a man like that?” She flopped onto her back again, staring at the stars as if she could conjure him into existence. “Someone with that kind of power. That kind of danger.”

Siobhan swallowed, her throat tightening. “It’s not as romantic as you think.”

“Why not?”

“Because men like that don’t offer safety, Isolde.” Her voice dropped to something softer, something edged with warning. “They don’t love the way you want them to. They consume. They take. They destroy.”

Isolde turned her head, studying Siobhan carefully. “You sound like you’ve known one.”

Siobhan forced a laugh, but it tasted bitter. “I told you—it’s just a story.”

A cloud passed over the moon, casting a long shadow across the roof. Siobhan shivered, but it wasn’t from the wind. It was the knowledge buried deep inside her, the truth she could never speak aloud. Because it wasn’t just a story.

She had seen what true power looked like. She had lived in its shadow, heard the whispers in the dark. She had felt the pull in her blood, the unrelenting demand of her own nature.

And someday, she knew, she would have to face it again.

Three Days Later

The night was thick with the scent of damp earth and the promise of adventure as Siobhan slipped down the hallway of the dormitory, silent as a whisper. The old wood beneath her bare feet groaned softly, but she knew where to step, avoiding the spots that would betray her escape.

The other girls slept soundly behind their doors, blissfully unaware that one among them was not entirely human.

Her entire body hummed with anticipation as she pushed open the side exit, stepping into the cool midnight air. The boarding school grounds stretched before her, quiet and still, the manicured hedges and stone pathways a stark contrast to the untamed wilderness that lay beyond. But she had no intention of lingering here.

A car sat waiting near the administrative building, the sleek black sedan belonging to one of the school’s administrators—a man too predictable for his own good. She had lifted his keys earlier that evening, palming them easily when he had set them down on his desk without thought.

She slid behind the wheel, the leather seat cool beneath her and turned the ignition. The engine purred to life, the sound barely audible over the night’s stillness. She guided the car down the winding drive, easing through the wrought-iron gates that separated the school from the world beyond.

Once she hit the open road, she let herself breathe.

Minutes later, she pulled off onto a forgotten stretch of countryside, a place where trees grew wild, and the stars burned fierce above the horizon. She killed the engine, stepping into the vast quiet, the air thick with pine and the distant rush of water from a nearby stream.

This was where freedom was to be found.

She unbuttoned her blouse, slipping it from her shoulders. Her skirt followed, then her underthings, until the night kissed her bare skin. The wind carried the scent of damp leaves and cold stone, wrapping around her like a lover’s embrace.

Then she felt the familiar pull deep inside her, the part of herself she had been forced to hide, to deny... and she allowed it to take over.

Mist curled up from the earth, swirling around her in ribbons of light and color. A static charge filled the air, crackling with unseen energy. For a breathless moment, she stood on the edge of both worlds—one foot in her human skin, the other in something far wilder.

And then the change took hold.

The mist enveloped her, her body flowing seamlessly into her panther form. No pain. No cracking bones or tearing flesh. Just a moment of shimmering energy before she was something else entirely.

Her paws sank into the cool earth, claws flexing, muscles coiling with the intoxicating rush of power. Her tail flicked once, adjusting to the sleek, effortless grace of her true self.

She was the night.

She bolted into the forest; the wind rushing past her fur; the world sharpening into brilliant detail. Every scent, every sound was heightened—the rustling of a rabbit in the underbrush, the distant hoot of an owl. She leapt over fallen logs, her body moving with liquid precision, faster than any human could ever dream.

This was where she belonged.

For a few stolen hours, she was not Siobhan Harrington; the girl burdened with secrets; the girl trapped within walls built to tame her. She was wild. She was untouchable.

But dawn was creeping closer, and the world of men did not allow her to stay in this form forever. She circled back to the car, shifting once more as the mist wrapped around her, leaving her human again. Naked, vulnerable, but alive in a way she could never be within the confines of that school.

She donned the hated school uniform and slid into the driver’s seat. She started the car and took the long road back, the thrill still thrumming through her veins.

By the time she eased the sedan into its rightful parking spot and stepped out, the first streaks of gold had begun to paint the sky. She had nearly made it to the dormitory when a sharp voice cut through the morning quiet.

“Miss Harrington.”

Siobhan stilled, her heart slamming against her ribs. Slowly she turned to face the music—although there was nothing lyrical in the way Headmistress Wright looked. Scowling down from the top of the steps, arms crossed over her rigid frame, lips pinched with disapproval, she looked Siobhan up and down. Her sharp gaze took in Siobhan’s ruffled uniform, her tangled hair, the hints of damp earth clinging to her skin.

“Do tell me,” the older woman said, her voice a blade honed on propriety, “where exactly have you been all night to be returning at this disgraceful hour?”

Siobhan forced herself to school her features, slipping into the practiced indifference she had perfected over the years. “I couldn’t sleep,” she said smoothly. “I went for a drive.”

The headmistress scoffed. “A drive? Through the countryside? Alone? In the middle of the night?” She descended the steps, heels clicking against the stone. “What kind of fool do you take me for, Miss Harrington?”

“I’m going to assume that’s a rhetorical question.”

The older woman peered down at her, face etched with something close to contempt. “Do you have any idea what kind of scandal would fall upon this school if word got out that one of our young ladies was sneaking off in the dead of night to fornicate with boys?”

Siobhan stifled her laughter. If you only knew. She’d probably die not only of outrage but shock. Siobhan smiled as she imagined not so much telling the old bat but shifting in front of her and giving her a closeup look at Siobhan’s true nature.

The headmistress continued, not waiting for a response. “I’ve been against your placement here from the beginning. You are nothing but a disruption, an unruly girl who refuses to adhere to the standards expected of a proper young woman.”

Siobhan arched an eyebrow, her amusement cutting through the fading remnants of exhilaration. “Is that so?”

“You will not ruin this institution’s reputation with your… escapades.” Wright’s lips curled in disdain. “I don’t care whose name you carry. One more incident like this, and I will personally ensure your expulsion.

Siobhan held the woman’s gaze, her pulse still steady from the night’s run. Expulsion. The threat should have rattled her, but it didn’t. Because she knew the truth.

She would never belong here. She never had.

But for now, she lowered her gaze just enough to give the illusion of obedience. “Understood, Headmistress.”

Wright sniffed, clearly dissatisfied, but she pivoted on her heel, marching back toward the building.

Siobhan watched her go, lips curling slightly as she whispered under her breath, “If you only knew.”