Page 56 of Priest

Priest stared at Knight. “So your family…”

“I don’t know if anyone else in my family has ever turned. They stopped speaking to me the moment I appeared after the change,” Knight said. “I was dead to them, and as far as I know, my name has been erased from the family history. It makes sense they’d do the same to anyone else who turned.”

Priest stared down at Oliver’s hands. He was wringing them in his lap so hard his knuckles were white. “Does Oz have some idea how to tell or anything?”

“We asked,” Jeremiah said. “Remi sent a message back, but it’s been total radio silence since then. He’s worried.”

Priest was too. “Then what’s the plan?”

“We raid the lab,” Knight said. “We have the advantage of surprise.”

“Storm and Slate are already working on an attack on the power grid. We cut all electricity, then go in guns blazing, so to speak,” Jeremiah said with a grin that told Priest they wouldn’t be using guns but fangs and claws instead. Priest’s Demon ached to be able to let loose and draw blood. “We rescue whoever they have in the lab and try to take as many of the workers as we can alive.”

“High-ranking ones,” Knight said. “People who have information.”

Priest nodded, then looked over at Oliver, who was pale. “What’s wrong?”

Oliver swallowed heavily. “If what you’re saying is true—if it’s some sort of Vampire lab, does that mean Poe…”

“Maybe,” Jeremiah said at the same time as Knight said, “Most likely.”

Oliver looked at Priest. “Maybe that’s what I’ve been feeling. The change in him.”

Priest didn’t want to believe that was right, but what choice did he have? The coincidence was far too strong.

“It’s not the end of the world,” Jeremiah said softly. “If he is.”

“No. It’s just the end of anyone ever being kind to him again,” Knight answered bitterly. “But I’m sure he’s strong.”

“There’s not a chance in hell I would ever abandon him,” Oliver said fiercely.

Priest turned Oliver’s face by the chin and met his gaze, holding it. “He’ll also be in the best company. You are mine, so my family is yours, and Poe will always be part of that.”

Knight took a step closer and said quietly, “Unlike me, he won’t have to figure out his new reality or face his future alone.”

16

OLIVER

Oliver didn’t quite know how to process everything he was feeling. He was nervous and starting to feel a little hopeful, which might have been dangerous because if they failed, he wasn’t sure how he was going to take it. He was also petrified of being wrong.

What if he’d dragged the Alphas all the way out to the middle of nowhere only to find nothing?

But mostly, he couldn’t quite process the idea that Poe might be changed. Irrevocably and permanently. Oliver was more than aware of what it was like for Vampires in society. Their suicide rates were high, which was part of the reason there were so few of them. Like Demons and Hellhounds, they weren’t allowed to marry, they weren’t allowed to procreate, and they rarely—if ever—had fated mates. They also weren’t allowed to hold public service jobs or receive government benefits.

There were only two countries that even welcomed them to own property, but the rules there were strict.

What would it mean for Poe if they found him alive and attempted to rebuild the shop? And while Poe’s family were activists, would they accept him?

“Beloved.”

Oliver turned and saw Priest hovering in the doorway. He said nothing, just watched as his Demon stepped all the way inside and closed the door behind him. The distance between them felt like miles, and Oliver didn’t quite know how to reach out.

“You need to feed before we go, don’t you?” he asked.

Priest’s eyes widened. “You think I’m here for that?”

“You need your strength.” And, at the very least, it would be a distraction from everything Oliver was dealing with. He blinked, and between his eyelids closing and opening again, Priest had moved close to him.

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