Reborn: The Complete Series

Prologue

Marco

We pulled into town, the faint scent of the shoreline assaulting my nose through the open window of the car and bringing a small smile to my face. Home.

Not the house I’d grown up in. Not the family I’d been born into. No, this was my home. A home that my flight and I had chosen for ourselves. Washington state. We lived in an inconsequential town that wasn’t known for anything except its lighthouse.

It was why we loved it. After everything we’d been through, we craved the peace and serenity it had to offer.

“Want anything from inside?” I asked Atlas. He grunted with a shake of his head before he closed his eyes once more. Our drive from Los Angeles had exhausted both of us, and the reason we’d been there had left us both ready to sleep for the next week.

I parked my BMW at the pump before climbing out to go inside. My dress pants were wrinkled, and my hair laid in a million different directions. I needed to get home and take a long fucking shower before passing out.

Did I need to emphasize any more how much I needed sleep right now?

Instinctually, I categorized the one other vehicle, a black rusted-out Ford truck, parked in front of the gas station’s shop.

There was a larger woman in the passenger seat, but the windows were tinted, so I couldn’t get a good look at her.

Something about the car made me feel off.

I put it from my thoughts as I entered the shop and crossed the broken tiled floor to pay for my tank of gas.

Outside, the gloomy sky thundered as it began to spit out heavy rain.

I turned toward the bathroom and made my way down the aisle, only to be run over by a young boy. I grunted as his small frame collided with my chest, the boy swaying on his feet. A hiss of pain came from the figure as I steadied him with a solid grip on his skinny arms.

“Sorry,” a soft voice murmured.

“No problem…” I stopped talking as my eyes widened. My hands tightened on the tiny frame as her hood came down. The person I’d thought was a boy was, in fact, a young woman. My dragon hissed in recognition as a pair of soft brown eyes, speckled with gold, stared back at me.

I immediately picked up the scent of sea salt, ashes, and roses on her golden skin.

It was obvious she wasn’t human, but I couldn’t for the life of me recognize her scent.

Instead, I categorized every element of her soft, wavy chocolate hair that shimmered with gold streaks and fell to her waist. She had the tiniest button nose and thick dark lashes that fluttered nervously.

It was possible that she was the most feminine woman I’d ever met. She was just so damn beautiful.

Then I noticed the way her soft pink mouth twisted in pain. I loosened my grip on her thin shoulders. Why was she so thin? Did she need food? We could get her food. Also, a jacket. This wasn’t heavy enough for how cold it was.

Fuck. My dragon was in a protective overdrive. This was bad.

“I need to go,” she muttered, her voice raspy.

Was she sick? Why was no one taking care of her? If she wanted, I could take care of her. As in, she could come home with me to our flight house. Now. She would have literally anything she ever wanted.

And I was going to lose my mind if I didn’t learn this woman’s name.

“Maya,” a voice growled from behind her, “leave this man alone.”

The woman shrunk down into herself, like a wilted flower.

Her eyes took on a dull shine as a massive man, nearly matching Atlas’s 6’5” height, appeared over her shoulder.

He looked like a mean son of a bitch, but completely human.

Those black eyes took note of my hands on Maya, and a yellow-toothed sneer took over his face.

“Get in line buddy—she’s a fucking tease.” He chuckled, grabbing her hood in a taunting manner before pulling her toward the door.

I yanked her back to me, not caring about the obvious show of supernatural strength, wanting her safe against my chest. My instincts were begging me to hide this woman from him. Maya. What a beautiful name.

A worried whimper came from her throat as the man in front of us grew red in the face.

“It’s fine,” she mumbled before stepping out from my protective hold.

Why was she resigned to his disrespect? I didn’t think this man was her father—who was he to her?

I slipped a business card into her jogger pocket, realizing she was even thinner than I’d assumed. Maker. I wanted to help her, but the look in her eyes told me that my attempt to intervene may cause more harm than good.

No matter. I had her scent. I would find her.

“Come on, little bitch. Back to the car,” the man snarled, herding her out the door.

She looked back only once, offering me a barely-there smile.

I felt my heart thump with deep, low strums, and my dragon roared aggressively in my head.

He didn’t care what she wanted or what the man wanted. He wanted her back here.

I didn’t disagree.

“Who the hell was that?” Atlas’s low baritone asked from the door. His eyes were filled with gold, and the realization she had affected both of us had my mind working overtime.

The black truck squealed out of the gas station. I could see her faint outline from the back as the man in the front opened his mouth in what I assumed were screams.

I would kill him. I would find her. I would help her…and then I would kill him.

“That is”—I growled as the distance grew, my heart squeezing uncomfortably—“our mate.”