Page 18 of Wolf Queen Ruin
Patienceisacuriousthing.
For humans, it’s a virtue to aspire to.For vampires, it’s the default state of existence.When you have endless time, waiting becomes as natural as breathing once was.
Yet as I watched the man observing the Repository, the building where Luna lived, from across the street, I found my patience wearing dangerously thin.
He wasn’t particularly remarkable—medium build, nondescript clothing, the practiced stillness of someone accustomed to surveillance work.But the way his gaze remained fixed on the building made something ancient and territorial stir within me.A feeling I hadn’t experienced in…well, a while.
My phone vibrated.Elliot.
“Tell me you have good news,” my maker’s voice rasped through the speaker, weaker than it had been just days ago.
“The preparations are in place,” I replied, keeping my voice low despite the distance between myself and Luna’s watcher.“We’ll be attending Madame Selene’s gala this evening.”
“And the Rookwood woman?Is she cooperating?”
I thought of Luna’s stubborn determination during our etiquette lessons, her quick mind absorbing centuries of supernatural protocols while maintaining that uniquely defiant gleam in her brown eyes.
“She’s…exactly as advertised,” I said.“Resourceful.Tenacious.”
“But can she be trusted, Damien?”The question came with a wet, rattling cough that made my chest tighten.
“She has her own reasons for wanting the Shadow Fang,” I said.“Our interests align for now.”
“For now,” Elliot echoed, his ancient voice tinged with warning.“Remember what happened in your home.Alliances of convenience have a way of dissolving precisely when you need them most.”
My jaw tightened at the memory.“That was different.Iwas different.”
“Were you?Three centuries is but a moment, my child.The fae prince still lives beneath your skin, no matter how deeply you bury him.”
I didn’t respond.Elliot had always known exactly which wounds to probe—a skill that made him both an excellent maker and, occasionally, an insufferable one.
“The report you requested on Luna’s daughter’s condition has been uploaded to your secure server,” Elliot continued after a moment.“Dr.Felix Morgan’s treatment regimen is innovative, but futile.The girl has perhaps a year.Maybe more, if she’s resilient.”
The familiar weight of foreknowledge settled on my shoulders.Luna was racing against a clock she couldn’t see, pursuing hope with a desperation I recognized all too intimately.
“Thank you,” I said.“I’ll keep you updated on our progress.”
“Damien.”Elliot’s voice softened.“You know what the rest of the Vampire Council will do if they see you tonight at the masquerade with Luna, even if she is a former wolf shifter.”
“I do.”
“And you’re prepared to pay that price?”
The price would likely be instant distrust, a barrage of questions, possible banishment.Or worse.
I didn’t answer as the man across the street checked his watch for the third time in as many minutes.
“Just remember why we need the Shadow Fang,” Elliot said.“Personal entanglements will only complicate matters.”
I opened my mouth to argue that this wasn’t personal, that there would be no entanglements, but I simply said, “Understood.”
After we disconnected, I remained in the shadows, my mind returning to Luna.A complication I hadn’t anticipated despite my exhaustive research.
She wasn’t what I expected.The dossier I’d compiled had painted a clear picture: skilled thief, estranged daughter of a prominent Alpha, woman desperate to save her daughter.The perfect blend of ability and motivation for what needed to be done.
What the dossier hadn’t captured was the way she threw herself into research with complete abandonment, or how her eyes kept darting toward the direction of the patients’ ward while we studied in Felix’s basement library as though waiting for a sound, a signal.A glimmer of hope.
The file hadn’t mentioned her unexpected laughter that somehow sounded both cynical and buoyant.Or the fierce intelligence behind her cavalier façade.
