Aurora was halfway back to her hotel when she heard the screams.
The sound came from the narrow alley behind Bourbon Street. High-pitched. Terrified. Human.
Aurora stopped walking. Every instinct told her to keep going. To mind her own business. She was here for Marcus, not to play hero.
But another scream echoed through the night, followed by a man's voice begging for mercy.
Damn it.
Aurora turned toward the alley. Her heels clicked against the wet pavement as she moved into the shadows between two old buildings.
What she found there made her blood run cold.
Three vampires had cornered a young couple against a brick wall. The woman couldn't be more than twenty, with blonde hair and a LSU t-shirt. The man was about the same age, trying to shield her with his body.
"Please," he was saying. "We don't have any money. Just let us go."
One of the vampires laughed. He was tall and pale, with dark hair slicked back. His fangs were already extended.
"This isn't about money, boy."
The vampire grabbed the woman's wrist and pulled her away from her boyfriend. She screamed as his fangs sank into her neck.
Aurora felt something snap inside her chest.
No. Not again. I won't watch another innocent person die.
She stepped into the alley.
"Let them go."
All three vampires turned to look at her. The one feeding from the girl lifted his head, blood dripping from his fangs.
"Well, well," he said. "What do we have here? Another snack?"
"I said let them go."
Aurora's voice was calm, but inside, she could feel her three bloodlines stirring. Her wolf was snarling. Her vampire side was responding to the scent of blood. And her witch heritage was reaching for the magic that flowed through New Orleans like electricity.
"Run," she told the young couple.
They didn't need to be told twice. The girl clutched her bleeding neck as her boyfriend pulled her toward the street.
The vampires didn't try to stop them. They were focused on Aurora now.
"You made a mistake, little girl," the leader said. "This is our territory. Our hunt."
"Your mistake was hunting innocents."
The vampire smiled, showing bloody fangs.
"And what are you going to do about it? Call the police?"
Aurora closed her eyes for a moment. She had spent ten years learning to control her abilities. Learning to hide what she really was.
But some things were more important than staying hidden.
When she opened her eyes again, they were glowing gold.
The vampires took a step back. Werewolf eyes. They could all see it now.
"A wolf," one of them hissed. "In the French Quarter. That's pack territory violation."
"I'm not pack."
Aurora let more of her power leak out. The vampires' expressions changed from cocky to concerned.
The leader recovered first.
"Lone wolf or not, there's three of us and one of you. Bad odds, puppy."
He launched himself at her with vampire speed.
Aurora moved faster.
Her hand shot out and caught him by the throat in mid-air. The vampire's eyes went wide as he realized she was stronger than any werewolf should be.
That's when Aurora made her second mistake of the night.
She let her vampire nature surface.
Her eyes shifted from gold to deep red. Her grip on the vampire's throat tightened with inhuman strength. She could smell his fear now, sharp and metallic.
"Impossible," he whispered.
The other two vampires were backing away now. Aurora could hear their hearts racing. Vampires didn't usually have heartbeats unless they were very frightened.
"What are you?" the leader gasped.
Aurora didn't answer. She was losing control. The bloodlust was rising in her chest. Her fangs were extending.
Stop. This isn't who you are.
But it was too late. The third bloodline was awakening now.
Magic flowed through Aurora's veins like liquid fire. Her eyes shifted again, from red to brilliant emerald green. The air around her began to shimmer with power.
The vampire in her grip started to convulse. The magic was burning him from the inside out.
"Witch," one of the other vampires breathed. "She's a witch too."
"Not possible," his companion said. "No one carries three bloodlines."
"Look at her eyes!"
Aurora's eyes were cycling now. Gold to red to green and back again. The magic was out of control. She was out of control.
The vampire in her hands screamed.
"Aurora."
The voice came from behind her. Deep. Familiar. Concerned.
Marcus.
Aurora spun around, still holding the vampire by the throat. Marcus stood at the mouth of the alley, his golden eyes wide with shock.
"Let him go," Marcus said quietly.
Aurora looked down at the vampire in her hands. His skin was turning gray. The magic was killing him.
She dropped him. He hit the ground hard and didn't get up.
The other two vampires ran.
Aurora stood in the middle of the alley, breathing hard. Her eyes were still cycling through colors. She could feel Marcus watching her.
"Are you hurt?" he asked.
Aurora shook her head. She didn't trust herself to speak.
Marcus walked slowly toward her, like he was approaching a wild animal.
"Your eyes," he said softly. "I've never seen anything like it."
Aurora closed her eyes and concentrated. Control. You need control.
When she opened them again, they were back to their normal violet color.
"What are you?" Marcus asked.
It was the same question the vampire had asked. Aurora didn't have a good answer for either of them.
"I should go."
She started toward the street, but Marcus caught her arm.
"Wait."
The moment his skin touched hers, Aurora felt the mate bond flare to life again. But this time, it was different. Stronger. Like her display of power had awakened something in both of them.
Marcus felt it too. She could see it in the way his pupils dilated. The way his breathing got deeper.
"We need to talk," he said.
"No, we don't."
"Aurora, what you just did... what you are... it's not possible."
"Why? Because your werewolf science says so?"
Marcus was quiet for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was thoughtful.
"My grandmother told me stories when I was young. About creatures that carried multiple bloodlines. I thought they were just fairy tales."
"Maybe they were."
"Maybe. Or maybe I'm looking at one right now."
Aurora pulled her arm free from his grip. The loss of contact made her wolf whine in protest.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Your eyes went gold, red, and green. Wolf, vampire, and witch. Three bloodlines that should never be able to exist in one body."
"You're imagining things."
Marcus stepped closer to her. Close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his body.
"Am I? Then explain how you moved faster than a vampire. How you were strong enough to hold one by the throat with one hand. How magic was pouring off you like steam."
Aurora said nothing. There was no point in lying anymore. He had seen too much.
"Who are you really?" Marcus asked. "And don't tell me Aurora Johnson from Boston. That woman doesn't exist."
"How do you know?"
"Because I had you investigated the moment you walked out of that bar."
Aurora's blood went cold.
"What?"
"You appeared out of nowhere. No digital footprint. No history before five years ago. Even your law degree is suspicious."
Marcus pulled out his phone and showed her the screen. It was a background check report with her fake name at the top.
"Aurora Johnson is a very well-constructed identity," he continued. "But it's still fake. So I'll ask you again. Who are you really?"
Aurora's mind raced. How much did he know? How much had he figured out?
"I'm exactly who I said I was. A lawyer from Boston."
"Are you?"
Marcus was standing very close now. Close enough that Aurora had to tilt her head back to meet his eyes.
"Then explain this."
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a photograph. Aurora's heart stopped.
It was a picture of her family. Her parents on their wedding day. But this wasn't the copy she kept in her hotel room. This was older. More faded.
"Where did you get that?"
"My father's things. He kept files on all the supernatural families in the South."
Aurora stared at the photograph. Her parents looked so young. So happy. So alive.
"These people were murdered ten years ago," Marcus continued. "Their entire pack was wiped out in a single night. Only one member survived."
He paused.
"A ten-year-old girl named Aurora Nightshade."
Aurora looked up at him. There was no point in pretending anymore.
"How long have you known?"
"I suspected when I saw your eyes tonight. But I wasn't sure until I saw how you moved. How you fought." Marcus's voice was quiet. "You fight like your father."
"You knew my father?"
Something flickered in Marcus's eyes. Pain, maybe. Or regret.
"James Nightshade was my father's best friend. They grew up together. Trained together." Marcus put the photograph away. "He was supposed to be my godfather."
Aurora felt like the ground was tilting under her feet.
"That's impossible."
"Is it? Your father was pack royalty. So was mine. Our families had an alliance that went back generations."
"Then why did you kill them?"
The question hung in the air between them like a blade.
Marcus went very still.
"What did you say?"
"You heard me. Why did you kill my family?"
Aurora could feel her power rising again. Her eyes started to shift colors.
"I didn't kill your family."
"Liar."
"Aurora, I was there that night. But not as an enemy. I was trying to save them."
"You're lying."
"Am I? Then explain why I have this."
Marcus reached into his jacket again. This time he pulled out something that made Aurora's world stop.
A silver chain with a small pendant. A crescent moon with a wolf howling at it.
Aurora's hand flew to her throat. Her own pendant was gone. It had been torn off during the attack ten years ago.
"That's mine," she whispered.
"I found it in the ashes of your house. After the fire was out. After the bodies were counted." Marcus held the necklace out to her. "I've carried it for ten years, waiting for the day I could give it back to you."
Aurora stared at the pendant. It was definitely hers. Her father had given it to her on her eighth birthday.
But that didn't mean Marcus was telling the truth.
"Anyone could have found that."
"Could they? Look closer."
Aurora looked at the pendant again. There was something engraved on the back that she had forgotten about.
"For my little moon. Love, Daddy."
Only her father would have known to call her that.
Aurora's hands were shaking as she took the necklace from Marcus.
"This doesn't prove anything."
"Doesn't it? Aurora, if I had killed your family, why would I keep their daughter's necklace? Why would I carry it with me for ten years?"
Aurora couldn't answer. Her whole world was tilting off its axis.
"I know what you came here to do," Marcus continued. "You came here to kill me. To get revenge for something you think I did."
"I know what I saw."
"Do you? You were ten years old. Hiding in a closet. Traumatized. Are you sure you saw what you think you saw?"
Aurora closed her eyes. The memories came flooding back. Fire. Smoke. The sound of fighting.
And Marcus, standing in the doorway of her burning home.
But now that she thought about it, had he been giving orders to attack? Or had he been trying to organize a rescue?
"I saw you there," she said quietly.
"Yes, I was there. But not as an enemy. I was trying to save your family. I was too late."
Aurora opened her eyes and looked at him. There was pain in his golden gaze. Real pain.
"Then who killed them?"
"That," Marcus said grimly, "is what I've been trying to figure out for ten years."
Thunder rumbled overhead. The storm clouds were getting thicker.
"I should go," Aurora said.
"Should you? Or should you stay and help me find the real killer?"
Aurora looked down at the pendant in her hands. Her father's gift. The last piece of her childhood.
"I need time to think."
"Of course. But Aurora..." Marcus caught her hand gently. "Be careful. If the real killer finds out you're back in New Orleans..."
"What?"
"They might try to finish what they started ten years ago."
As if summoned by his words, Aurora heard footsteps at the mouth of the alley. Multiple sets. Moving with predatory grace.
"Speaking of which," Marcus said quietly, "I think we have company."
Aurora looked toward the street. Three figures stood silhouetted against the streetlights. She could smell werewolf scent on them. But not Marcus's pack.
"Friends of yours?" she asked.
"No. And they don't smell friendly."
The wolves started walking toward them. Aurora felt her three bloodlines stirring again.
"How do you want to handle this?"
Marcus smiled grimly.
"Together?"
Aurora looked at him. This man who might be her enemy. Who might be her savior. Who was definitely her mate.
"Together."
Her eyes began to glow again. Gold, red, green. The trinity of power that made her unique in all the supernatural world.
The approaching wolves stopped when they saw her eyes.
"Run," one of them called to his companions. "It's her. The three-blood."
They turned and fled into the night.
Aurora and Marcus stood alone in the alley.
"Well," Marcus said after a moment. "I guess your secret's out."
"Seems like it."
"The question is, what are we going to do about it?"
Aurora fastened her father's necklace around her throat. The pendant felt warm against her skin.
"We're going to find out who really killed my family."
"And then?"
Aurora's eyes flashed with all three colors at once.
"And then we're going to make them pay."
End of Chapter 3