First message
Rain battered the ancient estate as lightning split the sky. Cold, soaked, and exhausted, she pushed through the overgrown gates and stared up at the massive mansion looming in the darkness.
Abandoned.
A side window opened easily. She slipped inside, finding halls that were strangely clean for a place supposedly left empty. Unease prickled at the back of her neck, but the storm outside drove her onward.
Eventually, she found a lavish bedroom. The bed looked impossibly soft. Too tired to question it, she crawled beneath the blankets and fell asleep.
Far below, the estate’s true owners became aware of their guest.
Darian Varennos, the eldest, lifted his head from the fireplace. Nothing entered his home without becoming his concern.
Caelian smiled as he caught her scent. Beautiful things had always attracted his attention.
Lucien’s eyes narrowed. Human. Female. Alone. His instincts immediately awakened.
Morven quietly closed his book. An unlocked window. Wet footprints. A stranger in the house. The evidence was undeniable.
Silence settled between the brothers.
She’s asleep upstairs, Lucien said.
In our home, Darian replied.
Caelian’s smile widened. How bold.
Morven glanced toward the ceiling. Or desperate.
Above them, she slept peacefully, unaware that the mansion wasn’t abandoned at all.
And the Varennos brothers were not known for giving up things that found their way into their grasp.