I shouldn’t have enjoyed baiting him this much.
I shouldn’t have been watching the way the faint moonlight caught the strands of his dark hair.
Focus, Gael. He’s not your ally, and he’s definitely not yours.
When Asher stepped away to check the perimeter, the air shifted. A faint, familiar presence tingled at the edge of my awareness. Bram.
I barely had time to react before he emerged from the shadows, his pale face illuminated by the faint moonlight.
His cold gaze raked over me, and a cruel smile tugged at his lips.
"Gael," Bram drawled. "Coincidence meeting you here."
Coincidence? I highly doubted it.
Ever since I failed to bring Gabriel back, my sire had lost faith in me, and it rankled.
After all the decades I’d served Beric faithfully, I deserved at least a shred of trust.
I didn’t need a babysitter shadowing my every move, especially not Bram.
Beric’s longest-serving enforcer and I had never seen eye to eye, not even through the years we’d fought side by side.
Strangely, Bram had gotten along better with Gabriel when he was still part of the nest. The thought soured my mood further.
“Bram,” I said, keeping my voice calm despite the irritation flaring in my chest. “What are you doing here?”
“Are you really surprised to see me?” he asked, his tone laced with condescension.
“Beric and I have every right to be concerned. You’ve been sloppy, distracted. And now you’re holed up in a warehouse with a hunter?” Bram sneered, the disgust in his voice unmistakable.
I stiffened but forced my expression to remain neutral.
“I’m using Asher to track Gabriel,” I replied evenly. “I haven’t forgotten my task.”
Bram’s lips curled into a mocking smile, his fangs glinting.
“Careful, Gael. You’ve already failed our sire once. Fail him a second time…”
Bram let the threat dangle, heavy and unspoken, but its meaning was clear.
“Stay out of my way, Bram,” I snapped, my irritation breaking through.
His hand shot out, gripping my arm with bruising strength.
“Watch yourself, Gael. I’d hate to report back that you’ve lost your way, just like Gabriel did.”
How dare he compare me to Gabriel? Fury surged through me as I jerked my arm free, baring my fangs in warning.
“Go ahead,” I snarled. “Run back to Beric and tell him I’m doing exactly what I was ordered to do. See how that plays out for you.”
Bram’s eyes narrowed, the tension between us thickening.
For a moment, I thought he might strike, but then he took a calculated step back, his smile returning, a predator savoring its advantage.
“Don’t make Gabriel’s mistake, Gael,” he warned, his voice a low growl. “You wouldn’t want to end up on the wrong side of my fangs.”
He vanished as quickly as he’d appeared, leaving me seething.
