Page 4 of Claim of Blood
His mother’s voice held no warmth. “Felix will brief you on the night rotation before you leave. That’s all.”
Leo stood there a moment too long, something rebellious rising in his chest.
“You’re dismissed,” Uncle Stefan said, finally turning to look at him.
Leo left, closing the door with careful precision rather than the slam his hands itched for. Ahead of him stretched endless nights of watching the Court’s suspected headquarters, knowing Matthews was so close yet completely out of reach.
It was for the best, he told himself. It had to be.
So why did it feel like punishment?
Chapter Two
Leo
Leocollapsedontohisbed, staring at the ceiling. Twenty-four hours since the café, since Matthews had touched his cheek, and he couldn’t stop replaying the moment. The pull he’d felt, the way his body had responded—it defied everything he’d been taught.
“This is insane,” Leo muttered.
“You’re pathetic,” Friedrich’s voice sneered in his head. “All it took was one smile from a monster.”
He shoved the thought away, but it clung to him like smoke. Here he was, locked in his room like a lovesick teenager, obsessing over a single touch, a brief conversation over coffee.
Tonight would be his first surveillance shift. Twelve hours of watching the Court’s suspected headquarters from the shadows. Twelve hours of being close to where Adam lived, yet unable to approach. Unable to see him. Unable to satisfy this inexplicable hunger for his presence.
And why did that upset him so much?
Voices drifted up from downstairs. Leo got up and moved to the door, opening it just enough to hear better.
“... completely unprofessional,” Stefan was saying. “If Fournier hears about this—”
“He won’t,” Sabine cut in. “Not unless one of us tells him.”
Leo crept into the hallway, staying close to the wall where the floorboards were less likely to creak. The voices grew clearer as he got closer to the stairs.
“The point is,” Friedrich’s voice joined in, “we got what we wanted. Matthews approached him.”
Leo froze.
“Two weeks of surveillance through security feeds,” Sabine added, sounding pleased. “I was beginning to think we’d need to arrange an accident—have Leo spill coffee on him or something equally obvious.”
“Matthews couldn’t take his eyes off him on the feeds,” Friedrich noted. “Following every move like a starving man at a feast.”
“We don’t know what it means yet,” Stefan cautioned.
“It means,” Sabine said sharply, “that our bait worked. Better than expected.”
Leo’s stomach dropped. Bait? They planned this?
“What good would those looks be otherwise?” Katherine’s voice now. “Mother’s right. He’s finally useful.”
It wasn’t surprise that hit him then... It was confirmation.
Confirmation that every warm look, every encouraging nod, had never been real. Just calculation.
“The timing works for us,” Friedrich continued. “With the solstice celebration coming up, Matthews will be distracted. If he’s truly drawn to Leo—”
“Leo? Are you up here?” Felix’s voice echoed down the hallway, growing louder with each footstep.
