Chapter One
Abi sat in his car. He’d shut it off ten minutes ago. The cold from outside had seeped in a little at a time, strangling the heat that had been there until it left Abi to fend for himself.
A train blew its horn, but it was a distance away. A mile south of Abi’s location.
“Abner Price, you’re a fucking idiot.” Saying it aloud made the scene feel a little more real.
It was less like a movie the gods had forced him to watch and more like a train wreck.
That was because Colin Cunningham had just put Abi’s heart on the train tracks and watched the train run right over it.
It might have been just a metaphor, but his heart ached as if it were real. If Colin had cut his heart out and watched a train smash it to smithereens, he would probably do it with a smile on his face. The fucker.
He certainly smiled while the poor little dude kneeled on the cold, wet pavement in nothing but skinny jeans and a loose blouse, sucking Colin’s dick.
The building's lights illuminated the entire thing, as though they were the center of attention. Colin could have been on a stage in front of an audience for all he seemed to care. The gods knew Colin was the center of his own universe. The narcissist shithead hadn’t thought about a single person other than himself the entire time he had claimed to be Abi’s mate, which was a total of two weeks.
He had lasted as long as all the others.
It was a Wednesday night. The club parking lot wasn’t full.
Moonlash had been one of his favorite clubs. It was where he’d gone when he needed a little fun. And where he’d met Colin. And Greg. And Isaac. And Daniel. There were a few more false mates in there somewhere.
A part of Abi was grateful for the way Colin had ended things.
No conversation about how it was them and not Abi.
“You’re great, but I just don’t feel the pull anymore.
” For two of his fake mates, it hadn’t even taken that long.
Daniel had even found his real mate after three days.
He’d been one of the good ones. Nice enough to apologize and say nice things about their time together before he dumped Abi.
There were a couple of guys who didn’t deserve any real estate in Abi’s mind.
Therefore, he wouldn’t even think of their names.
But they had tried to get violent before breaking up with him, claiming it was his fault, as though he chose to have a scent so appealing that everyone with a good enough sense of smell mistook him for their mate.
Primal reactions occurred and then faded over time.
And then they left Abi with nothing but the pain of failure.
So yeah, Colin wasn’t the first. Despite his propensity toward narcissism, he wasn’t even the worst. But he would be the last.
Finding Colin fucking someone else outside Moonlash seemed almost poetic. Painful but simple all at the same time.
Abi smacked the steering wheel with the palm of his hand before gripping it so tightly his knuckles turned white. The keys, hanging in the ignition, clinked together, sounding the promise of no more shitty fake mates into existence.
The parking lot didn’t have lights. The only source came from the building and the streetlights a few yards away. He’d parked in the shadows.
He didn’t like Colin. Colin had sucked the life out of him in a way narcissists did.
The gaslighting had been enough to make Abi murderous, not that it took much.
A few days of separation had become necessary.
And Abi came back just in time, it seemed.
Colin, the filthy liar, wouldn’t make this Abi’s fault. Abi wouldn’t even give him the chance.
Hope died a swift death.
Abi turned the key over just enough so that the windows were powered. He pressed the button until the glass between the door panels disappeared.
If he used his skinwalker hearing, he could make out the slurps and the slight gagging. Just the way Colin liked it. “Watch the teeth, honey.”
He’d never had to say that to Abi. Not one time.
Fuck. Why am I torturing myself? Abi wished he had an answer to that. He would not shed tears over Colin the fucking prick Cunningham.
Another one bites the dust. He liked that Peter was always there to talk to. He’d never had an internal connection with anyone else, including his fake mates. Not even those who had tried and failed to leave a mating mark.
I’m sorry, Abi. Peter’s constant presence used to be a little scary.
The embarrassment during certain moments in his life, especially during intimate moments with someone else, never went away.
Peter was like a god, always just a thought away.
All Abi had to do was think about him and he’d be there, ready to give terrible advice.
My advice is great. Thank you very much.
I want a new assignment.
I have a lead on something. Come home. We’ll talk.
He’d rather not. The last thing he wanted was pity, which was exactly what he would get as soon as he walked through the door. If he were going to face that, then at least he could get drunk first.
Abner’s chest ached from the betrayal. It made him double down on his vow to never fall for a man who claimed to be his mate ever again. All men are scumbags.
I know. I know. All of us. Every single one. Except for your true mate.
I’m beginning to think I don’t have one.
You do. I promise. Peter Sylvain had several unique abilities. One of which was the gift of foresight. There were things Peter could do that even Abi wasn’t aware of, and Abi had been in the Sylvain family longer than anyone else, even Peter’s lost mate.
Abi and Peter had been through a lot together. Peter knew everything there was to know about Abi. You’re probably the only one I’ll ever have an internal link with.
No.
You can’t know that for sure. He could no longer believe in and hope for someone who didn’t exist. Love was for suckers who fell for everything.
How’s the demon? The poor guy in the basement was a reminder that things could be worse. Like way, way worse. At least he wasn’t stuck in any of his many forms like the demon was.
Abi sucked in a breath and told himself to be grateful for his family.
Even the demon in the basement, who threatened to possess and kill everyone he encountered, including Peter, which was just about the stupidest thing anyone could do.
Seriously, the guy was lucky the family had a thing for saving the freaks of the world, or the demon would have been dust a long time ago.
Spicy as ever. But I have a new doctor who I’m hopeful can help him.
There went that word again. Hope. It was a truly awful thing when hope died.
A doctor? Where did you find someone who specializes in broken demons?
It’s a long shot. But the demon deserves a chance at a normal existence. People were sick bastards sometimes, especially the fuckers who hurt other people because they were different.
Abi rubbed at the scars on his wrist. They were puncture wounds from an animal trap. It wasn’t the trap itself that gave Abi nightmares, but what happened afterward. We’re all freaks.
I prefer the term unique. Everyone who carried the Sylvain name had a story filled with terror. Not even Peter was exempt.
Are you on your way home yet?
Not yet. Gotta get a little payback first.
Abi thought of himself as creative. He could think of a thousand ways to kill someone while shifting into a thousand different animals.
It was safe to say the shock of catching Colin cheating had worn off just in time for the anger to set in.
You are about to kill someone whom you said you had feelings for, not six hours ago. Why did Peter have to be the voice of reason? It was very unfair.
Maybe I woke up murderous this morning.
Isn’t that how you always wake up?
Fine. I’ll scare him and his new little toy.
Abi waited for someone to come out of the club, needing the distraction before opening his car door.
The thump of the music was loud, even from across the parking lot, but not loud enough for Colin and possibly his new boy to hear Abi’s door shut.
Abi wanted to keep the element of surprise for as long as he could.
He shifted into a rattlesnake. They were the only venomous snake in the area, but they weren’t very common. Still, most, if not all, of the hospitals should have antivenom on hand for the occasional misadventure.
Every time Abi changed forms, he counted it as a blessing from the gods that he could keep his clothing on.
His DNA changed, and the clothing came along for the ride, shifting into whatever Abi needed them to be, along with the rest of him.
It might have been one more thing that made him a freak, but it was the one he liked the most.
The pavement felt rough on his belly. He felt every ridge, divot, and small stone as he slithered his way across the pavement.
All the minor flaws he couldn’t feel as a human.
Being at ground level gave him an advantage, though.
It was so much easier to hide, even in an asphalt-covered parking lot.
He could blend into any environment in this form.
He could even hide under the wood chips and in the carefully manicured shrubs.
This is the best idea I have ever had.
Abi could almost see Peter shaking his head. It’s an idea. Definitely not the best.
You don’t even know what I’m planning.
You’re the loudest member of the family, Abi. And the most reckless when you’re heartbroken. I know how your mind works.
Abi was the loudest one? That was hard to believe. I would think Lucien is the loudest. He’s the one who could kill people with sound.
He’s the quietest of all of us. And the most tortured, except for maybe the demon in the basement.
I know. I’m sorry I said something so callous about his abilities. I know he has trouble with them. Abi was an insensitive prick sometimes.
In his mind, Abi smiled in a very human, yet wolfish way. He flicked his forked tongue, getting the lay of the land, trying to scent his prey.
They hadn’t moved from the wall, despite the three patrons exiting from the door a few feet away.
Abi slithered along the crack where the pavement met the concrete slab. During the warm months, the party flowed outside. The club placed tables and chairs on the patio.
“Oh, that’s it, baby.” Colin moaned. He held the back of his new boy’s head as he thrust into the guy’s mouth.
Abi slithered along the building until he was within striking distance of Colin.
Abi. There was a warning in Peter’s tone. Ask yourself if your actions will come back to haunt you later.
He struck the back of Colin’s leg.
Colin didn’t even flinch. “Watch the teeth, honey.”
Abi shifted into his human form.
Colin’s cock fell out of the rando’s mouth. He squeaked and held a hand to his heart as if attempting to keep it from running out of his chest.
Colin cursed and then winced.
“Should I have watched my teeth too, Colin?” Abi shrugged. “Oops.”
“What the fuck? Abi?”
Abi turned and walked away, heading back to his car. “You have twenty minutes to get to the hospital.”
Colin pulled up his pant leg. The pain from the bite, while delayed, was settling into the puncture wounds on his calf muscle nicely by now. “What the…”
Abi smiled.
“What the fuck did you do?”
“Hospital. Tell them you need rattlesnake antivenom.”
The new boy screamed about a snake being nearby.
Huh. He expected getting revenge would make him feel better, but all he felt was hollow.