Novels by Daniel Paul

The BetrayalThe silence in the room was thick enough to choke on.Jace's hand tightened on the stock of his gun. Alice was frozen, her breath coming sharp and unsteadily. Adrian, weakened but defiant, forced himself to his feet, blood trickling from the fresh wound on his arm.Then, the masked figure stepped forward.Slowly, deliberately, they reached up and pulled off the mask.Kade.The air felt like it had been sucked out of the room."You?" Adrian's voice barely above a whisper, his face alight with incredulity. "You were supposed to be dead."Kade gave a mirthless laugh as he shook his head. "That's rich, coming from you." He took one slow step forward, the gun in his hand still not raised, but also still not set back at his side. "You had one chance to choose a side, Adrian. And you chose her?"Flora's spine went ramrod-straight as Kade's gaze flashed cold toward her.Adrian huffed out a sharp breath. "I never chose sides, Kade. I chose what was right."Kade snorted. "What's ri

The AmbushThe gunshot pierced the simulated silence.Flora had slightly a moment to reply before Jace seized her, yanking her to the floor as an alternate bullet ripped through the wall above her head. The air filled with the sharp scent of gunpowder." Stay down!" Jace barked, his voice slightly audible over the unforeseen barrage of gunfire.Lorne cursed, ducking behind a capsized table and drawing his weapon." You led them then?!"" No," Adrian gritted out, floundering to sit up. He was still weak, his body slightly recovered from the last fight." It's not just them." His breath came suddenly." It's worse."Flora's palpitation pounded. She risked a regard toward the door, but the murk outdoors made it insolvable to tell how numerous enemies there were.also, out of the chaos, a voice cut through the night like a blade." Adrian," the figure said, stepping into the dim light of the doorway." You should've no way come back."Flora's stomach twisted. The voice was full of venom but w

The Cliffhanger"Adrian!"Flora's scream rent the air as Adrian crumpled to the ground.Time slowed. The world narrowed. Nothing existed except the red spreading beneath him."No, no, no—Adrian!" She was already on her knees beside him, hands pressing against the wound before she even realized she'd moved. His blood was hot, slick, slipping between her fingers. Too much.Adrian's breathing was ragged, uneven. His eyes fluttered. "Flora…"Shh, don't talk," she whispered. "You're gonna be fine. You hear me? You have to be fine."Jace was shouting something, Alice was moving, but all of it was distant. White noise. The only thing that mattered was Adrian, and the fact that he was bleeding out beneath her hands.Then—another gunshot.Flora flinched, ducking instinctively over Adrian's body."Sniper!" Jace's voice was sharp. "We need to move—now!Alice cursed. “They’re trying to pick us off.”Flora barely registered the words. She was too focused on Adrian’s pale face. “Adrian, stay with m

The Last DecisionThe shot rent the night.Adrian moved before he thought. Instinct. Training. Whatever it was, it sent him diving toward Flora, pulling her down as a bullet whizzed past where she had been standing.She gasped as they hit the ground. "What the hell—""Stay down," Adrian growled. His heart pulsed in his ears. He scanned the darkness for movement.Already on his feet, gun drawn, eyes sharp, Jace repeated, "Where?"Cursing under her breath, Alice said, "I didn't see."Another shot sounded. This one hit the wall behind them, splintering the wood.Flora tensed beneath him. "They're not aiming to miss."No, they weren’t.His mind racing, Adrian thought, the shooter wasn't sloppy. They weren't panicked. That meant one thing: trained.And trained meant sent."They found us," Alice muttered. Jace huffed a sigh that was close to a curse. "Figures."Adrian yanked Flora up behind cover. "You hurt?"She shook her head. "Not yet.""Stay that way."More bullets. This time closer.A

Alice Returns"You thought you were free of me, didn't you?"Adrian froze onto the voice, his body reacting before his mind kicked in. Beside him, Flora tensed up, her fingers curling into fists. The air charged with something sharp and electric.Out from the shadows stepped Alice herself, that smirk still the same-old confident, knowing, dangerous.Jace had been leaning indolently against the door frame, and at her voice, he straightened. "Well. This is a surprise."Alice titled her head, her eyes never leaving Adrian's face. "Is it? You should have known I'd come back."Adrian exhaled through his nose, hands tensing and releasing at his sides. "What do you want, Alice?"She laughed. The sound was low and amused. "Straight to business. No 'how have you been?' No 'I thought you were dead?'"Flora crossed her arms. "We didn't think. We hoped."Alice's eyes flicked to her, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Flora. Still sharp-tongued, I see."Flora didn't blink. "And you're still alive. Unfo

Sacrifices"You're hesitating."Flora's voice cut like a blade through the silence. Adrian stood at the edge of the clearing, his fists clenched, his jaw tight. It was thick with tension; the weight of his decision pressed down on him like a storm, threatening to break loose."I'm not," he finally said, though even he didn't believe the words.Flora took another step in closer. "Yes, you are."Adrian turned to her; eyes dark, unreadable. "You don't understand."Flora's face hardened. "Then make me understand."He exhaled hard, running a hand through his hair. "If I go after Lorne, I leave the pack vulnerable. If I stay, I let him get away. Either way, someone loses."Flora watched him. "And you think you have to make that choice alone?"Adrian didn't answer.She shook her head. "You always do this. You take everything on yourself, like you're the only one who can fix it.""Because it's my responsibility," he snapped.Flora didn't flinch. "No. It's our responsibility. Yours. Mine. Jace