76. Sina
I sat in the back seat between Eli and Rafe, my hands clasped tight in my lap like that might keep my pulse from giving me away.
No matter how much bravado I’d had back on the island, no matter how hard I’d tried to convince myself I was ready for whatever came next, the truth settled heavily in my chest.
I was fucking scared.
The familiar weight of my knives tucked inside my bra didn’t even settle my nerves.
Rafe must have felt my anxiety through the bond because his hand found my knee a second later, giving it a firm squeeze.
I glanced up at him, and when he met my eyes I let myself lean closer, snuggling into his side.
Nikolai met my gaze in the rearview mirror for what had to be the tenth time.
He’d been checking on me the entire drive through Ash Harbor, quick glances that tightened something in my chest every time they landed on me.
Nik didn’t hover. He didn’t second-guess himself.
He didn’t look unsure. But right now, he did . And I hated it.
My heart began to pound harder as the road curved upward toward the bluff.
The last time I’d been here with Kiron felt like a lifetime ago, like it belonged to a version of me that didn’t exist anymore.
I twisted my fingers together as we crested the top, the trees thinning just enough for the headlights to sweep across the clearing ahead.
Men. At least a dozen of them. Maybe more.
My gaze slid past the closest figures to the darker shapes farther back, unmoving silhouettes half-hidden among the trees. They weren’t pacing or talking. They were standing still, spaced out with intention, like they were guarding something… or waiting .
My breathing sawed in and out of my chest as I gripped Rafe’s hand.
“ Shit ,” Harlow muttered, moving his feet from the dash to the floor so he could peer out the front window.
“Eli, bro. Tell me these are your guys.” He glanced back at us from the front seat, his expression grim, like he already knew the answer.
My tongue felt heavy, too heavy to speak, fear clawing its way up my spine.
“These aren’t ours,” Elias said quietly.
“Then who the fuck are they?” Harlow snapped.
I forced my gaze away from the trees and onto the man beside me. Eli’s shoulders were stiff, his attention locked beyond the windshield.
“Rogues,” he said.
Nikolai growled low in his chest, his fingers tightening on the steering wheel until the leather creaked beneath his grip. “Why are they just standing there? What the fuck are they waiting for?”
The word slipped out of me before I could stop it, barely more than a breath.
“ Me .”
They were waiting for me.
Every set of eyes turned toward me. A small, broken sound escaped my throat before I could swallow it back. I’d expected Keith to be here. Expected him to be standing at the front of it all, smug and certain. But he wasn’t among these men. Not in the open, at least. Not where I could see him.
Rafe’s arm came around me immediately, pulling me into his side, his hand pressed firmly against my chest. I felt his ability brush over my nerves, easing the sharpest edge of my fear. For once, I didn’t fight it. I couldn’t.
“You’re safe, honey,” he promised, and I wanted so desperately to believe him. But my safety wasn’t the only one I was concerned about.
Nikolai’s voice cut through the moment, low and dangerous. “Elias. How likely are they to still try to take her now that she’s already claimed?”
Silence followed. Thick. Heavy. We all waited, on baited breath .
“These vampires don’t care that she’s already blood mated,” Elias said at last. “Her blood has value on its own.”
My stomach twisted as the truth settled into me like a stone sinking deep and final.
“How do they even know she’d be here?” Rafe asked, his chest vibrating against my ear. “We barely decided to come an hour ago.”
The answer came from me before I could stop it.
“Keith.”
Rafe’s arms tightened around me, his hold firm and protective, like the cage of his body alone could keep the world from reaching me.
“We’ve been wondering where he disappeared to,” Nikolai said. “It appears he decided to let others do his dirty work.”
Harlow turned around then, really looked at me. There was no humor in his expression, none of his usual chaos. Just focus, and something dark and dangerous held tightly in check. “And he promised them a blood mate,” Harlow said, his voice rising until it broke into a roar. “Over my dead body.”
“Shut the fuck up. You’re being too loud,” Nikolai hissed. “The last thing we need is to provoke them to attack. The way we keep Sina safe is by minimizing the bloodshed.”
“It might already be too late for that,” Elias said quietly. Before anyone could ask him what he meant a roar split the sky followed by a blinding light arced overhead, heat washing over us in a violent wave. I gasped, my head snapping back as I looked up through the sunroof.
A dragon tore across the night.
“Kiron,” I breathed.
Nikolai turned in his seat, bracing one hand on the back of Harlow’s chair so he could look directly at me. Without his glasses, his blue eyes were exposed—sharp and unguarded—and beneath it all… uncertainty.
“Listen to me, little mate,” he said. “You do not leave this car for any reason.”
I nodded once.
“You will not play the hero. I won’t lose you. If I have to, I will compel you, Sina. Do not force my hand.”
The instinct to argue flared fast and hot. Then it died on my tongue. Because the fear in my alpha’s eyes was real. He wasn’t afraid of the rogues. He was afraid for me.
I looked around the cabin at all of them, at the way every single one was angled toward me without even thinking about it.
The thought of Jackson. Of Danielle. Of something going wrong because I made the wrong choice, my stomach twisted in knots.
I didn’t want to be the reason anyone I cared about got hurt.
“Okay,” I said softly. “I’ll stay in the car.”
Nikolai didn’t hesitate. He turned back toward the windshield, his posture shifting from watchful to lethal calm. The engine cut, plunging us into a tense, waiting quiet broken only by my heavy breathing.
“Lock the doors. And if things get too intense you fucking leave. You drive away from here,” he ordered as they stepped out of the car.
Rafe’s arm stayed wrapped around me, his other hand braced on the seat in front of us as if he were ready to shield me with his body if it came to that. He got out last. His gaze swept down my frame before meeting my eyes. “We will protect you, Sina. I swear it.”
“Just come back to me okay Rafe?” I forced a smile I didn’t feel as the door shut behind him, the locks engaging.
Through the windshield, I watched them spread out in front of the car, forming a loose line. Nikolai stood at the center, hands relaxed at his sides, his presence alone commanding the space. The men across from him slowed, assessing, recognizing what they were facing .
Having a hive to back him, including a dragon, made them a powerful hive. I just hope it was enough to get Jackson and Danielle back without shit hitting the fan.
Shadows crossed the headlights, long and distorted. Men stepped closer, their faces still obscured by darkness. One of them spoke, his voice carrying easily through the night. “Give us the girl and we will let you live.”
Harlow’s unhinged laugh followed. “You’ll regret threatening us rogue. We don't take orders from thugs.”
The vampires started to surround my men and my heart pounded faster
“Turn around and leave,” Nikolai said evenly. “ Now .”
A few of the rogues laughed.
“And miss out on our payment?” one of them replied. “Not a chance.”
Another voice chimed in from the edge of the trees. “We were promised the blood whore!”
I flinched at the term. Whore . Logan used to call me that. I shook my head at my ex-husband's harsh words and focused on the scene before me.
“She’s already claimed,” Elias said, his voice carrying clearly. “You know that. You can scent her.”
“You think we give a fuck?” the rogue shot back.
Rafe’s growl rolled through the clearing, low and unmistakable, vibrating through the night and straight through the car. Several of the rogues shifted uneasily, some of them glancing skyward as another distant roar thundered overhead.
“You were lied to,” Nikolai continued calmly. “Keith used you. Whatever he promised will only end in your deaths.”
The night went very, very still. That gave a few of them pause. I leaned forward slightly, holding my breath, as several disappeared back through the trees. But some refused to back down.
“One of us will get what we came for,” one said .
His words hit like a slap.
“YESSS.” The hiss that followed was nightmare fuel.
“Hand her over or die,” another chimed in, stepping up on his left.
Others agreed, voices blending together. “Give us the blood whore and maybe we’ll let you have her back after we get our fill.”
The vampires laughed together at that.
My legs felt like jelly as I slid to the floorboards, praying for them to open up and swallow me whole just so I could escape. I should have listened to Nik and stayed home.
No, Sina. Stop that.
Maybe that’s what Keith thinks you’d do and he’s there right now looking for you.
The voices outside grew louder, more feral.
“I’ll be the last one standing.”
“I just want a taste,” a devilish voice groaned.
Snapping bones and beastly growls followed, but I couldn’t bring myself to look. I covered my mouth as a whimper of fear curled up my throat.
And I knew, with a certainty that settled like ice in my bones, that whatever happened next would end in bloodshed. And knowing Keith, he would swoop in and claim me as the lone victor—as the last beast standing—just like he’d planned it all along.