Blood Shadows

‘I love you,’ he said.

He had to believe she’d make the right choice. And if she gave him her word that she would see justice through, he’d tell her. He’d tell her how to kill the soul ripper.

If he could look in her eyes and believe she would do the right thing, he’d do that for her.

If not, he’d see her destroyed and the lives of those she loved with her

In choosing him, she’d let the soul ripper win.

In him choosing her, all his enemies would win.

lycans. And one rookie who worshipped them both to be their lapdog. You want to know what this has to do with you? You ask Max. You ask Robert. It’s just a shame your father’s no longer around to face the storm Kane’s got coming

Max held Xavier’s gaze as he tried to glare him down. ‘And what if it’s bigger than this? What if it’s bigger than all of us? What if by sending her in there you’re giving Kane exactly what he wants, what he needs? What if he’s the one, Xavier? Has that crossed your mind? What if Caitlin is the key to unleashing the prophecy? What if that’s why he wants her?’
‘That prophecy has nothing to do with a shadow reader. Or Kane

‘When you’ve lost someone you care about under such brutal circumstances, excuses are irrelevant.’
‘Your empathy is admirable. But Kane is Kane. He’s done far worse than those lycans did to Arana

Death was the kindest part of what Kane’s sister had been subjected to. Caitlin remembered having thrown up after reading the details of her murder. She remembered the sleepless nights. It was the only time she’d had second thoughts about being an agent.

She raked her trembling fingers back through her hair. She’d been right; if anyone was going to know of the species, it had to be a master vampire. It had to be something archaic if no one else could identify it, if even the most learned of the third species from whom she had begged for information over the years had come up with nothing

She took a few steady breaths. Her throat tightened, her heart pounding.
Seven years to the day. Seven years to the hour.
Everyone else might have insisted on it being a coincidence, but Caitlin had never believed it. And never less so than when she’d risked her new job to break into the department’s secret archives – a furtive endeavour that led to her uncovering her only clue. The psychics’ independent reports had specified both her parents had had their astral bodies torn out and, with them, their souls – souls that were subsequently trapped and not at rest. It was information that never made it onto the official database, information that had instead been shoved away in some dusty old filing box at the back of a disused storeroom never to see the light of day.
But her findings had only reinforced her logic that whatever had killed them was coming for her next.
Coming for her in less than five days’ time – the anniversary of their deaths

She stared at him in horror. ‘That’s why you want me?’
‘Why else?’
Heat consumed her body as their lips almost touched.
‘Fight it all you want, Caitlin. But you’re no match for me. And by the time I’ve finished with you, I won’t need to seduce your soul out of that impenetrable astral body – you’re going to give it to me willingly