Page 3 of Dead

Chapter One

A few weeks before…

“I worry about you, nephew.”

Adriel, Son of Theral and King of Midnight, sat back in his chair and lifted his stare to his uncle, Ralnur. “And what has you so worried?”

“You don’t take your duty as seriously as you should.”

Adriel cast a hand over the desk where he sat. The surface was covered in parchments as it always was. “I spend my days listening to the needs of my people. I do what I can to ensure those needs are met. What else would you have me do?”

“I sense a threat coming to your door… and I just want you to have your eyes wide open. Instead of spending your nights cavorting with courtiers who only tell you what you wish to hear. Now is not a time for parties and frolicking.”

Frolicking? The man is absolutely primeval. Adriel lowered his quill and sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and collected his thoughts before he exploded with anger. Ralnur had been like a father to him after his own had passed. Without his uncle, Midnight would’ve fallen, and he was forever grateful.

But in the fifty years that had passed since then, Adriel had grown into a man with a mind of his own…

Ralnur had the best of intentions, he knew, but he had someone new in his life that liked to be the voice of reason and the moral compass of the castle. He didn’t need two.

“I appreciate your concern, uncle, but be assured I am taking care of Midnight.”

A gentle knock came to the door, a welcome distraction. “Yes?” Adriel called.

The door opened a crack and Eilam, his head of security, looked inside.

Well, there’s my Jiminy Cricket right now.

Eilam scanned the room and saw Ralnur. “I apologize… your secretary wasn’t at his desk. I’ll wait.”

“No,” Adriel called out. “Bring me whatever news you have.” The king turned to his uncle. “If there was nothing else?”

Ralnur shook his head slightly. “No… I can see you are quite busy. Please consider my words.”

His uncle left his study, pausing at the door to nod to Eilam. Eilam murmured something before nodding and closing the door once the man passed.

Adriel felt his body tense. Being alone with Eilam was growing harder by the day. He picked up his quill and leaned over his desk. “Make it quick. I’ve had too many interruptions today as it is.”

He sensed the bear shifter move closer.

“We’ve had several reports of an increased vampire presence inside Midnight,” Eilam said as he sat across the desk from the king. “They’re not coming through the terminals, or we’d have them on the logs. They’re likely using an illegal portal somewhere in this city.”

Adriel listened to the bear shifter seated opposite him without lifting his stare. His lack of attention wasn’t out of rudeness or lack of time, but a knowledge that one look in the man’s direction would cause his cool, calm exterior to shatter. From the corner of his eye, he saw enough to make his pulse race, his breathing quicken, and his cock thicken.

“Come now, Eilam… you must know by now that there are illegal portals springing up all over this city. It’s one of the reasons I have to employ men like you to protect Midnight,” he said as he made a note on one of the parchments on his sprawling, ornate desk.

Even without looking, he could sense the ire coming at him in waves from Eilam.

“I am aware,” the man said, his tone slightly lower and darker. “I only meant that we might want to focus our efforts on closing more of them. A task force, solely focused on the illegal movement of people in and out of this city. I might need to hire more men… though I have a few in mind from the Midnight PD. I need your approval to make it happen.”

“Hire as you like,” Adriel said, waving a hand before making another note. “If there’s nothing else?”

Eilam grew silent. Adriel was finally forced to lift his stare. Across from him, Eilam was livid, his eyes glowing brightly. Even with that anger brewing on Eilam’s face, meeting the man’s stare was enough to set off the lust simmering within Adriel.

“Hire as I like?”

Adriel leaned back, frowning. “I gave you what you want… so why am I suddenly the focus of your anger?”

“I’ve been trying to bring in new king’s guards for months now and you refuse them all. I’ve made recommendations for re-organizing the police department and making it more productive. I’ve made dozens of suggestions, only to have most of them refused.” Eilam rose to his feet and placed both fists on the desk, looming over Adriel. “I would love to be able to do my job effectively, but you make that impossible.”

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