Shadow Reckoning

The air was thick with the scent of sweat and sin.

Shade lay on his back, chest rising and falling as he stared at the ceiling, his mind still tangled in the heat of Jade's body, the taste of her still on his lips.

Jade lay beside him, fingers tracing lazy circles on his chest. "So… that was intense."

Shade exhaled. "Yeah."

She tilted her head. "You okay?"

Shade hesitated.

Because something was wrong.

The fear was still there—coiled like a serpent in his gut.

And deep inside, something was changing.

Jade must have seen it in his expression because she sat up, her playful smirk fading. "Talk to me."

Shade clenched his fists. "I can feel it."

Jade frowned. "Feel what?"

Shade sat up, rubbing his face. "Lucian. Whatever he did to me—whatever they made me into—it's still there." His voice darkened. "And it's waking up."

Jade's breath hitched.

Before she could respond, Lauren's voice crackled over the comm.

"Shade. You need to get to the docks. Now."

Shade grabbed his gun, his body still humming from adrenaline. "What's going on?"

Lauren's voice was urgent.

"They found a body."

Jade cursed. "And?"

Lauren hesitated.

Then she said the words that made Shade's blood turn to ice.

"It was you."