Dominic stormed out into the alley and lashed out against the brick wall. It crumpled.

Did she really feel nothing? Was he nothing but an inconvenience to her plan? He paced down the alley and slammed his fist into a dumpster, the pain bringing his mind to lazar focus.

When he promised her that he would break the bond, it was just to keep her heartrate down. Now what? She was convinced that after the bond was broken, she could go on living her normal life. But she was a source—she had liquid gold running in her veins. There was no way she could live a normal life. With or without Dominic, once she set foot inside the blood donation center, her life was forever changed.

"Screw your plans." He kicked a rock, sending it skipping down the alley. "What about my plans? Do I not get a say in anything?"

He fumed for a few more minutes, before nagging doubt ate away at him. Yes, he hated that she didn't seem to fall for him. He hated that she wanted to date someone else. Worse, though, was her playing loose and fast with her own life. She was like a chicken marching across the road with no concern for the cars rushing headlong toward her.

He could only divert traffic for so long.

A whistle echoed down the alley and Dominic glanced up to see three vampires stalking toward him. He turned and saw another three behind him. Rogues. This was Capo territory. Why were there rogues here?

"Hey, pretty boy."

Dominic flexed his fingers. "You're right on time. I was needing something to punch."

One of them pulled out a dagger. It began to glow bright white. Dominic's stomach plunged.

&&&

"I think I'm going to explode," Sam complained, clutching her stomach. "Why is Italian so good?" She groaned. "And so bad?" Zack laughed. Sam had indulged in lasagna and Zack had nearly tapped their wine dry. He was tipsy enough to pay for everyone's meal, so Rae couldn't complain.

"I'm going to run to the washroom real quick. Second floor?"

Trevor nodded. "It's a maze back there. You'll think you've gone far enough, but you've got to keep going."

Rae nodded and headed up the steps. She asked a waiter and he pointed her down a hall. She headed down and took a left like the waiter said. She kept going. After a few more turns, she was convinced that she was lost. She turned back around but ended up at a dead end. She headed back and tried a door. A rush of cold air told her it was outside. She closed it quickly, hoping not to sound any alarm.

Nothing rang.

She glanced down the hall and then opened the door once more. It was dark, but yellow light of the alley flooded the space. She leaned out and froze.

In the alley below, three men had Dominic pinned against a brick wall. One of them held a bright white knife. He lunged and then stopped. The vampire stopped. He stopped and looked straight at Rae.

"You can stand under my umbrella. Ella, ella, eh, eh, eh..."

Rae grabbed her phone and silenced it, but two of the vampires were already swarming toward her. This was not happening. No way. That was the ringtone Sam chose?

Her heard began to pound even faster. She moved to close the door, but someone grabbed the front of her dress and pulled her to the end of the fire escape. A small burning in her chest began to grow. It was like an aggressive water bead growing inside her but accelerating the larger it got. As hands wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her forward, the bubble rushed down her arm and popped.

A bright white light burst from her palm, flooding the alley with light. She could make out dark forms in the light grabbing their eyes and arms, screaming in pain. Then, just as suddenly as the light started, it faded. The alley was dark once more.

Everyone was gone except Dominic who stood against the brick wall. Was she hallucinating?

She took a step back.

"Raelyn?" Dominic took a step toward her.

Raelyn shook her hand free from the sling and shot it out in warning. Dominic stopped. She was shaking. "What just happened?"

Dominic moved closer, but she jumped back. "Get away from me."

"Raelyn, I'm not going to hurt you."

"I know." She glanced down at her hand in shock. It didn't hurt. She flexed her fingers a bit. Healed. She glanced down at the ground. "Are they...?"

"Gone."

"Did I..." A pit opened in her chest. "Did I kill them?"

"Raelyn," he started.

"Get away from me." She lifted her hand again. "Leave me alone. Just...leave me alone."

With that, she rushed back inside.

Dominic glanced around. He should be dead. He stared up at the door.

Why wasn't he dead?