Chapter 0001

Everyone was in danger. Even the humans at my party were no longer conscious! What the hell was going on?

The toast for my quinceañera had just happened and now people were dropping like flies around me. My best friend, Robert, also a human, was in a dead faint on the ground, along with most of the guests attending my quince.

“Wolfsbane!” My stepfather, Kyle, a powerwolf alpha werewolf, gasped out.

The pit of my stomach dropped. The drinks had been poisoned. Wolfsbane was dangerous for werewolves. And whatever had been in the drinks was affecting the humans at my party too. But I was not affected. I possessed special regenerative abilities as a powerful witch; it must have prevented me from succumbing to whatever was inside the drinks.

But everyone else was affected! I briefly scanned the crowd, noticing that my biological father, a human like my mother, was not here. I’d met my biological father earlier in the waiting room, wanting to know why he’d been absent from my life for eight entire years. I had specifically reached out to him, wanting him to be part of this very important day. Some of my fondest core memories were of me as a toddler at the park with my biological father, Joel. They were before he’d succumbed to angry drunken rages that made my mama cry. Later, he’d say sorry. He would promise to do better. We’d believe him each time. Until I turned seven and my mama met Kyle, her boss and destined mate. Yes, my mama was the human mate of a powerful alpha werewolf who’d also been the CEO of the company she worked for. They had a beautiful relationship and I yearned for a love like theirs with every fiber of my being.

Papa told me he wanted to be part of my life, but couldn’t. All because my stepfather had used his money and connections to keep him away. My stepfather was an amazing person who loved my mama. And I was grateful that he’d accepted my little sister, Mia, and I as his own. Especially when my own father slinked away from my life.

Did it make me ungrateful for being angry at Kyle over this revelation of him bullying my papa into staying away? Was everyone being punished for my frustrated thoughts? I frantically looked at everyone, wondering how to get help. Should I call 911? But what if I did something to breach the werewolf code of secrecy?

And then I saw him. He entered the hall like an angel of death, his dark brown eyes two pools of malevolence that shone with sinister intent.

A whopping 6’5" living embodiment of unfathomable darkness, the young man ran a hand carelessly through his hair before shooting a silver bullet straight into my Uncle Xavier’s leg. Uncle Xavier was my stepfather’s older brother and he’d shifted into his wolf in an attempt to attack this mystery man. I was sure this harbinger of death had something to do with the poison in everyone’s drinks.

“Keep moving, pendejo and you’ll get another one.” His voice dripped with sinister intent. The heavy accent told me he was not from around here. What was a dangerous hitman from Spain doing in the city of Seattle? Why was he here?He looked at Uncle Xavier threateningly, gun still aimed at his wolf that was crouching on the ground, poised to attack despite his bleeding leg and trembling form. The wolfsbane was going to knock my uncle out sooner rather than later.

The Spaniard stopped short, his ominous gaze going to me. “Ahh…” he looked at the glass in my hand from which I had only taken a few sips. “Seems like you have a tolerance for my witch’s potions.”

I stared at him, realizing this man looked to be not much older than I was. However, despite his seemingly twenty years of age, he definitely had more kills under his belt than years on his person. Even I could tell that much.

“Who are you?” I demanded, wondering if he was here to kidnap me for my abilities.

Tia Mel, a powerful werewolf-witch hybrid, mated to another one of my stepfather’s brothers, had warned me that many bad people might target me if it ever became known what I really was. However, nobody knew the truth about me. Not even my biological father. He was a human and only knew werewolves existed because my mama was mated to Kyle. We had decided to keep my true identity a secret. Everyone thought I was a human girl. The protective bangle I wore on my arm blocked my powers, for now.

Kyle was yelling at me to run. But I was frozen on the spot, terror engulfing me. I felt utterly useless in that moment. I had no idea how to use my powers, not yet anyway. Tia Mel cautioned me that if I tried to use my powers before I turned sixteen, it would be dangerous because a human body couldn’t handle the vast amounts of power I possessed. But I wouldn’t let my loved ones be slaughtered around me. I had to try and do something!

My eyes went to my mother who was laying in a fetal position on the floor as she tried to fight off the poison. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she lost consciousness.

“Mama!” I yelled, trying to run to her.

However, I was viciously yanked into the hard body of the specter of death responsible for everything going on. My back pressed into his solid chest. One muscular arm went over my chest, pinning me to him. I tried to struggle against him but it was futile. And then I froze as fear lodged itself in my throat upon the sensation of cool dangerous metal at my temple. I bit back a whimper. He was going to kill me.

“The name is Gabriel Rossi,” he murmured against the shell of my ear, his deep voice sending ripples of fear down my spine. “And your papa is going to watch me kill his precious princesa. He took my birthright from me. I’m gonna take something from him too.”

“Rossi’s son!” Kyle choked out, recognition lighting up in his eyes.

I knew my mama headed a company that Kyle had previously acquired from someone named Rossi. I realized that this man was here to kill me in cold blood over some bid for revenge against Kyle. So I had the element of surprise. He had no idea what I really was–a girl born with the powers of one destined to lead the Salem Coven of Witches.

I wondered if I’d be successful in activating my powers. The last time I’d activated them, at the age of seven, I’d nearly died. But I was dead either way. Better to go down fighting, right? So I gathered my courage and with a surprising amount of strength fueled by the sheer terror pumping in my veins, I pulled myself out of Gabriel’s grasp.

He tried to grab my arm, only for his hand to go over the protective bangle that suppressed my magic. I gave another fierce jerk of my body and the bangle broke away, left behind in his hand as I pulled free of his hold. I heard the cocking of his pistol.

I turned to face him, realizing I was going to die. My body trembled with fear but I wouldn’t beg. I briefly wondered if it would be as painful as when my biological father dislocated my shoulder in a fit of rage when I was seven. He’d been sorry about it and apologized profusely. This man would never be sorry for killing me.

My eyes met the feral glowing yellow eyes of my killer, one hundred percent sure I was going to die. Sure that a bullet was very quickly going to lodge itself deep in my heart.

“Mate,” Gabriel Rossi said, staring straight at me, as I was left utterly flabbergasted.

The one word I had yearned to hear from someone…

The one thing I had always wanted…

Spoken from the lips of a man who definitely would sooner throw my body in the ocean for the sharks. I wanted a mate who would treasure me like Kyle treasured my mama. I wanted it more than I’d ever wanted anything else. And that dream was suddenly incinerated in the face of the fact that I was staring down the barrel of the gun, poised to kill me, held by my fated mate. A lone tear made its way down my cheek.

My bangle not only blocked my powers, it also blocked the mate bond. Only when it broke off my person did our bond click into place.

And it was then that I realized how utterly fucked up my life really was. I wasn’t fit to lead any coven. I wasn’t fit to be some all-powerful witch. My past was filled with traumatic memories of my childhood. I was pathetically pining for scraps of attention from an absent biological father, who I’d begged to be here today despite not having seen him for eight years, and now I had a mate who wanted to kill me!

Before I could even begin to attempt to summon any bit of magic after such a huge shock, Gabriel was retreating, leaving the venue hall with quick purposeful strides. Without a second thought, I ran to my Uncle Xavier who was bleeding profusely. Tears streamed down my eyes and my hands were shaking as I knelt on the ground next to him. There was so much blood and he was passed out. Was he going to die?

“I will be back for you one day,” I heard his ominous words float towards me. But when I looked up, Gabriel was gone.

My eyes searched the hall for any signs of him. I then saw my biological father run into the venue hall with vials in his hands. He’d been noticeably absent for the toast, choosing to hang back in the waiting room.

“I found these,” Papa panted, quickly handing them to me. "I think they are the antidote.” He puffed his chest out proudly. “I risked my life to get these. Saw a woman sneaking out the kitchens and was able to grab these when she was distracted. Pretty sure she’s also the one who helped poisoned everyone,” he added.

I burst into tears, throwing myself into Papa’s arms. I was so scared! And I was so relieved Papa had arrived just in time.

“Mija, I’m here now, don’t worry,” Papa breathed into the crown of my head as he patted my back comfortingly. “I’m going to make sure nothing bad happens. Your old man still has some good left in him, despite what other people might think.”

I nodded as he pulled back and looked at me with a smile. I sniffled, realizing that my poor papa was just misunderstood. Maybe he’d been an angry, bitter person before. But now he was trying to turn over a new leaf. And I hoped it stayed that way. Here he was, risking his life to help save everyone. He’d made mistakes in his life. But he regretted them.

He really wasn’t the absent-father I’d thought him to be. He still loved me. He was still the man I remembered as a toddler. But what did that say about Kyle? Kyle who'd provided the funds for this lavish extravaganza where everyone was now teetering near death.

“Evie, you have a new family, a new father with more money than your old man. I'm all alone now, but I’ll always be here for you,” Papa muttered as we worked together.

Why did those words make it feel like I had to pick between loving my stepfather and loving my biological father?

I shook my head, realizing now was not the time to think about such things. I quickly did as Papa directed and began to help administer the antidote to everyone at the party.

However, as I administered the antidote to my little brother Rafel, born to my mother and Kyle a year after they’d gotten together and I was eight, I couldn’t help but think about the final words of Gabriel Rossi.

“I’ll be back for you one day.”

My fifteenth birthday party ended with everyone poisoned while I tried frantically to save their lives as those ominous words echoed in my head.

—-

Present day.

Seven Years Later.

For years, I’ve been fleeing from two inescapable truths: my legacy as a formidable witch, destined to lead my coven, and the chilling memory of my mate, who held a gun to my head. And yet I couldn’t help but feel a dangerous allure to his malevolence—to his promise that one day, he’d come for me. It was like a magnetic force that gripped me relentlessly. It terrified me to my core. I knew deep down that if he ever caught me, I would be consumed by his intensity, like a moth drawn inexorably to a flame, only to be reduced to mere ashes scattered by the wind.

Which is why, at twenty-two, I found myself engaged to my childhood best friend, Robert. We were to be married within the year. But deep down, I knew that Robert could never be the one to set my soul on fire or make my heart race with excitement. He was the steady flame that burned with predictability, but he could never compare to the wild inferno of love that I yearned for, a flame that could only be ignited by someone who held the key to my heart.

However, it was a fervent hope that through marrying Robert, Gabriel Rossi would become nothing but a bitter memory. My destined mate was everything that I knew I had to stay away from.

Unfortunately, on the day he showed up at the apartment that I shared with my fiance, I realized that you can run from Gabriel Rossi....but you can’t hide.

A/N: Helo welcome to MAD! Please consider joining Ruby's Reading Room for more visuals of Gabe and Evie. I will also be commissioning character art for our two favorite characters. Get ready for a wild ride. it's going to be fun.