[Rhett]I waved my arm over the crystal I used to see others. I’d watched Carmen and Rock at the Master of the territory’s home a couple nights ago, then I focused on the wolf who could kill me. For the last few weeks, I’d been investigating her. Harmony Aconitum, daughter of the vampire called Death. Voted most popular girl in her high school. Newly found part of a supernatural triad. Keeping my head down had helped me avoid my family when they moved out here… well, part of them moved out here. My brother’s grandson came to Oregon and managed to pick the same town I was living in. Not that he would recognize me. None of his descendants did. I looked entirely different from I had back when I was human. Even if they had old paintings or photographs, I wouldn’t look anything like that now. I’d watched over them. It was no surprise that my family fuсked themselves over and ended up targeted by supernaturals. Though I gave them up, I couldn’t help watching. I watched the werewolf sneak into their ranks. I watched him take advantage of my some-odd great niece and I saw him kill the girl and her brother. Did I feel anger? Yes. Was it at the supernaturals? Yes. Would I do anything about it? Never. They were only trying to undo the curse. It was my family that saw it as an incursion by the enemy. They were the ones trying to attack. The supernaturals were in their rights. That was where I first saw Harmony. I went to where the battle was, staying up in the trees, so I could watch it. She passed under me and I could feel her darkness. It called to me and mine. I watched her as she killed hunters with a great deal of focus. She was angry and scared all at the same time. It made her darkness erratic. She hadn’t tamed it. It was wild and uncontrolled. It lashed out when she did and consumed the hunter’s souls when she killed them. She was glorious. I was obsessed with her from the moment I saw her. My darkness wanted her almost as much as I did. Sadly, she was claimed by another wolf. I knew I would never have a chance at her. And her sister was too light and innocent, plus had two mates. Harmony was at the back of my mind for the last few months. Now my little project had brought her close to me again. It was obviously meant to be. Perhaps not as a romantic partner, but that wouldn’t stop me from flirting if I got close to her. I would use all of my charms to stay near her. I looked in on Carmen and Rock, to find them hosting their dinner with friends. They’d invited me, but I refused. I wanted to have more time to decide how to approach Harmony. Perhaps Lila could introduce us. That might make her trust me more. I was certainly surprised when my ex ended up becoming Harmony’s stepmother. Lila was always after power, and she had certainly picked a powerful man to be her husband. Lila and I hadn’t parted on bad terms. She was as playful and fun as I was. Lila always loved the tricks we would play on the coven. Eventually, it wasn’t enough to make up for our differences. Though she was all about power, I wasn’t. I had power and I could do things others couldn’t. It would take a lot more of my dark energy to freeze people in the same way I did so Carmen could talk to Rock’s mom, but it ensured that they had time to bond before Rock came back from the bathroom. I couldn’t let people know how much energy it took or how long I had to recover from things like that. To make others refrain from challenging me or coming after me, I needed to seem to be too powerful for them to bother. They would spread stories and others would think I was too powerful to be stopped as well. Quickly, I checked in on the ranked wolves. They were dealing with their pack and new alliances. Already, Queen Bellamy was sending them new wolves to join their pack. The little wolf queen was interesting to me, as well. If I could, I’d get an agreement with her, too. The world of supernaturals was wider than I had ever realized in the past. The way their forces were barreling through hunter families was proof that they were stronger than anything we had ever realized when I was human. Not that it would stop some families. This was just proof to them that they were monsters. Even though this is exactly what they would have done in the same situation, the hunters would never see the hypocrisy in what was going on. I shook my head. It was better for everyone if the hunters gave up their fight. It was the way that the most people would survive, but they would never do that. I’m growing bored. Entertain me, Rhett. I sighed. My darkness was like a small child. It was impatient when it was bored. It was also easy to entertain. Finding a place in the packhouse, I solidified a shadow and we watched as werewolves tripped over nothing. They were confused and walked back, trying to find what they tripped over. I hid the shadow when they returned. After an hour of watching confused werewolves trip on nothing, my darkness was amused enough to let me continue working. It knew we were too weak to create real chaos. The hour was growing late. Nighttime was helpful. It made my darkness even stronger. I went out of the house to soak up the lack of sunlight. My home was situated in a hidden piece of the forest. My darkness helped me to make a private place. The woods were closed around the cabin. Perhaps I could use some of those modern conveniences that I saw in other people’s homes. Showers looked like fun. The boots I wore made little noise as I wandered the hidden paths around my home. For me, I could find the paths and they all led where they were supposed to. Invaders were led in circles. This was how I kept myself safe. It was rather like the glamour the fae used to keep their lands safe from outsiders. “Damn it!” a man shouted from somewhere in the woods. I raised an eyebrow. Not as good at sneaking as the last person who got trapped in my patch of forest. I wondered if he would last as long as the others did. My darkness had enjoyed feeding on the last one. Looking up, I found a good branch and used my magic to teleport me up to it. Using the same method, I jumped from tree to tree in the direction of the thrashing man. It wasn’t long before I found him. He was caught in some creeping brambles that wandered my land. Waving them away, I let the man escape. He was an older gentleman with dark brown hair and very familiar pale blue eyes. Once he was standing, I could see him entirely and recognized him as Carmen’s father. I frowned. “Matthew Rosen, you are not welcome in my lands. This is your only chance to turn back,” I said from a hidden position. He looked around wildly. My voice echoed off of the surrounding trees, hiding my location from him. His hands balled into fists and he snarled. This was not a smart man if he didn’t realize his position. This was my land and my darkness would relish feeding on him if he didn’t leave. “Are you the warlock Rhett? I’m looking for the warlock and I won’t leave until I talk to him,” he replied. Interesting. I hadn’t been able to find him ever since that cursed rain. He must have been out in it. There was a darkness covering him that pissed me off. Ever since July, I’d been feeling something dark building up nearby. The cursed rain had fed it, though the purified rain the witches made follow it weakened it again. Someone was doing something naughty far too close for my comfort. “What if I am, wolf? Are you here to take revenge on me for some slight?” I asked. “The witches told me only someone like you would be willing to help me. I’ll pay you. I’ll give you anything if you can help me.” I laughed. “The witches told you to contact me? I highly doubt that. They probably warned you not to contact me and you took it as a referral. Tell me, Matthew, what is it you think I can do for you?” It couldn’t be lost on him that I knew his name before he ever spoke to me. This man confused me as much as he confused anyone else. Though, I thought perhaps it had something to do with the fae magic on him. If he would allow me to remove it, it was likely that he would become more reasonable. I doubted he thought there was something wrong with him. Carmen flashed in my mind. If I could have changed my family so they would love me, then I would have done anything. They saw me like he saw her. A tool. Something to own. I had to do something to help her. “My daughter was stolen by the fae. They tricked her into thinking that a troll was her mate. I need help saving her.” “Why would the fae do this thing? I know they enjoy a good joke, but that seems to be a little more cruel than they normally are. Please, tell me. What did you do to the fae to receive this sort of punishment?” I asked. He frowned, as he still couldn’t find me. I watched him turn around, looking for where my voice was coming from. He was truly not focusing on what was important. “My father made a deal with them. The payment was supposed to be my younger sibling, but my parents didn’t have any more children. The deal was passed on to me and my second child was born to be their payment. I didn’t make the deal. I shouldn’t have had to pay for my father’s mistakes. “I refused to give her to the fae, so they took her in the only way they could. They made my daughter think her mate was a troll and they stole her from me. My daughter is a simple, blind girl. She doesn’t realize how evil the fae are and truly believes this is her mate. “She doesn’t realize they’re using her for revenge. I need to save her before that monster puts a pup in her. If there’s a pup, she’ll never leave him. As a warlock, you aren’t as inclined to believe this is the goddess’ plan. You don’t believe in her and your magic wasn’t granted by her. Please, help me save my daughter,” he pled. I’d listened to him when he was confronted by the Alpha of his pack. This all seemed different from what he was saying back then. I was certain that his mind was still trying to put together a reason this was happening. It was a sign of a sick mind. “And you have a payment for me?” I asked. “I have money. I can give you all of it in return for saving my daughter. Once I get her mated to someone else, and they put a pup in her, she’ll be safe.” A sneer crossed my face. That was a disgusting way to think of one's child. He was planning to force a mark, which would put Carmen in heat. He was banking on her conceiving during that heat. I could see it all as plainly as if it were playing on a screen in front of me. Matthew planned to tie her up and force the mark and mating on her. He didn’t have a man lined up, but the haze I was getting from him was becoming stronger when it came to ownership. Part of me worried that he would end up so far gone that he might try taking her for his own mate. It would be more likely than finding a werewolf who would agree to take part in this arrangement. My stomach twisted at the idea of it. “I have enough money. What else can you offer?” I asked. “I don’t have anything else. I was kicked out of my pack, so I don’t have access to pack resources. What else could you possibly want? Tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you. I’ll give you anything to get her away from the fae,” he replied. He did exactly what I wanted him to do. My darkness roiled inside of me. It wanted to eat the fae magic in him, but I didn’t really know if he would survive it being stripped from him. This was too delicious. My darkness pressed around us. It loved this. It wanted him to suffer. My darkness wanted me to destroy him in the most perfect way we could. I smiled as an idea popped into my head. “Give me your daughter to do with as I please,” I answered in my most darkly sinister voice.