Page 27 of Barely Breathing

“A trade.” Thane’s eyes flick to Costin as if taunting the vampire. “Your mortal for another favor.”

“No deals,” Costin answers for me. “Return him. Find someone else.”

“Or what?” Thane’s darkness seeps from his every pore. His golden eyes swim with power. I get the sense they can all hear the pounding of my heart. Every instinct tells me to run. “You’ll start a war over one human? That seems beneath you, old friend. Unless you want to step down and give your sister the throne. How is the beautiful Elizabeth?”

The room is tense. I feel the aggression bouncing all around us like a living thing. I notice severalwolves inching closer, their bodies beginning to shift. Even the serving staff has stopped to watch.

“Perhaps the girl and I could discuss terms privately,” Thane suggests, his smile predatory.

“Absolutely not,” Costin states.

“No,” I say at the same time.

Peter appears beside me so suddenly I jump. He bows his head in respect. “Alpha, if I may?”

Thane waves his permission, appearing amused by the entire situation.

“The ritual requires specific timing,” Peter says carefully. “The moon will be full in three days. Perhaps that gives us time to...”

Peter stops talking and bows his head more.

Ritual? I take a deep breath, willing Peter to continue. “What ritual?”

“Leave it,” Costin orders.

“Nothing that concerns you,” Thane says, but his eyes tell a different story. “Unless...”

“Unless?” I prompt.

“Unless you’re willing to make an exchange.” He gestures toward a dark hallway. “Come. Let me show you something.”

Costin grips my arm. “We’re leaving.”

“Am I to understand you’re speaking for the Devine family now, vampire?” Thane’s voice carries enough threat that several wolves growl. He gestureshis hand as if to keep them back. “Last I checked, you were merely... what’s the modern term? Dating?”

“She’s mine. I forbid it,” Costin says.

I pull away from him. “I’m not your chattel, Costin.”

“She’s not your chattel,” Thane repeats. I hate the mocking in his tone. Someone needs to give the Alpha a big slap across the face to wipe the smirk off.

It’s not going to be me. He’s likely to rip off my arm for just thinking it.

“Show me.” I want so badly to be brave. I owe it to Paul. But I feel like a fraud. I’m terrified. It’s all I can do to keep my legs from shaking.

“Tamara don’t—” Costin tries to stop me.

But I’m already following Thane out of the throne room. When I glance back, wolves surround Costin. I wonder if the vampire can take them in a fight. It looks like he wants to.

I shake my head slightly, trying to tell him to calm down and behave. I’m not sure the message gets across.

“Thane, I’m warning you…” Costin yells.

Thane doesn’t turn around. He lifts his fingers to give a short wave before disappearing through a narrow door behind the throne.

The passage leads to a circular room that feels ancient despite its industrial trappings. Through theglass ceiling, the moon watches us, nearly full and somehow appearing larger than it should be as if the glass magnifies it. My skin crawls as if the moonlight itself is alive, searching for something. Beneath it stands what looks like an altar made of twisted metal and stone, its surface stained with old, dark marks I don’t want to identify. Carved into the altar’s edge are the words “Sanguis et Lunaria.”

Thane touches the carving, translating words as he traces over them to make my blood run cold. “Blood and moonlight.”

---