Page 50 of Property of Crypt Keeper

That truthfully surprised me.

Then he reached into his pocket.

My eyes narrowed, my senses on alert.

Keys.

The shack suddenly felt very still.

“You think you’re making a mistake,” I observed.

“Probably,” he muttered. Then he stepped closer to the bars. Close enough that I could feel the heat pouring off him. Close enough that I could sense his wolf practically vibrating beneath his skin.

“But if this thing with Zara is connected to Rafael,” he continued, his voice low and dangerous, “then I don’t have time to keep pretending you’re just another hunter. The full moon is approaching, and I don’t have a good plan yet.”

The key slid into the cuff lock. My pulse kicked once. Hard.

“You betray me,” he warned as he twisted the short chain, jerking me close enough that my face was a hairsbreadth from the bars of the cage, “and I’ll bury you in this swamp myself.”

Not afraid, I maintained eye contact and smiled faintly. “There he is, the Gideon I know.”

The cuffs unlocked with a sharp click. And for the first time since he dragged me in here—the cage door opened.

13

CRYPT KEEPER

The ride back to the clubhouse was quiet, and I didn’t necessarily mean because we couldn’t talk much on the back of my bike. Everything around us seemed still. It was like the swamp itself was holding its breath and watching to see what was next.

The energy between us was still as well. Not awkward. Yet, not completely peaceful either.

Katalina sat behind me on the bike, her body pressed against my back as we cut through the Louisiana dark, her arms around my waist like she belonged there. So much so that I could barely remember what it felt like to ride alone.

That was the problem. My wolf thought she did. Every instinct inside me had shifted since I unlocked that cage.

Protective. Possessive. Restless.

And no matter how many times I tried to remind myself she was dangerous, trained by a man tied to whatever the hell was happening with Zara—my body kept betraying me. Because the second she touched me, something in me settled.

As if it recognized her. Like it always had. I didn’t like that. Didn’t trust it. But I couldn’t deny it anymore either.

The clubhouse came into view through the trees, lights glowing warm against the swamp darkness. I slowed the bike, rolling through the gate as a couple of prospects glanced up from perimeter duty.

Thing One and Thing Two. Their eyes widened slightly at the sight of Katalina on the back of my bike. If I could read their minds, I was pretty sure they were thinking that Boomslang wasn’t going to like this.

Yeah. That conversation was going to suck.

Boomslang was already waiting when we walked inside. Of course he was. Our president leaned against the bar, arms crossed over his chest, expression flat.

Mako stood nearby with Lyra tucked against his side, while Zeus and Bronx hovered closer to the pool table, pretending not to stare.

Hack didn’t even pretend. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

“Well,” Zeus muttered. “That’s new.”

Katalina sneered slightly at the vampires in the room but stayed close enough to me that our shoulders brushed. Vampires and demons always had a kind of love/hate relationship. I never knew exactly why, and I’d never asked.

Boomslang’s gaze dropped to the warded cuffs hanging loose from my hand. Then to Katalina. Then back to me. “You gonna explain this?” he asked calmly.