Page 1 of Doyle

CHAPTER ONE

DOYLE

THE PAST

Cocooned in the warmth of William's embrace, I didn't want to get up. I knew I had to. Zane was expecting me in his study.

Ivan wanted to discuss our next step against Liliana Payne's coven. But was it a sin to want to spend a few more moments with the man I loved?

William reached out, tucking aside a stray strand of hair that had fallen across my face. I took William's fingers and kissed them fervently.

The gesture made William laugh, the sound music to my ears.

Never in my long life had I imagined finding contentment in the arms of another, of a sweet and pure soul like William.

"Will you tell Zane and Ivan about my plan?" William asked me.

"Your plan?" I scoffed.

William looked hurt, and that didn't sit well with me.

"William, black witches cannot be bargained with," I reminded him.

"Look what Liliana's coven has done so far. They've taken shifter children, even white witches and warlocks apprentices, from their homes only to turn them into familiars to use and abuse as they please." I couldn't keep the hatred out of my voice.

I'd been part of black magic user eradication teams and had seen firsthand what these so-called magic users had left behind—broken minds and broken bodies that were unsalvageable.

William, though, still believed good existed in everyone.

"Doyle, you must trust in me and my abilities more. To avoid further bloodshed between the shifters and witches, allow me to negotiate," William said, a plea in his voice.

I cupped William's cheek and gazed into his dark brown eyes.

"You are too good for this world, do you know that?" I asked him.

William laughed. "Will you tell Zane and Ivan of my proposal?"

Every fiber in my being didn't want to. William was selfish, asking such a thing of me. Taking such a terrible risk.

"What if I end up losing you?" I asked, hating how weak I sounded.

This was what William reduced me to. He made me weak and in this war, our enemies could exploit that weakness easily.

"I'll always be with you, my love," William said, placing a hand over my heart, and when he pulled it away, he left the shadow of his handprint there.

"I promise," William said, giving me a quick kiss on the mouth.

Later, I met with Zane and Ivan in Zane's study.

"I propose a raid to take out members of Liliana’s coven and perhaps Liliana herself as quickly as possible," Ivan said.

Typical Ivan. He always thought with his teeth, claws, and flames rather than with his head.

"The captives would be caught in the crossfire," Zane pointed out.

"They are lost to us anyway," Ivan said with a shrug. "Consider them unavoidable casualties."

"Ivan, that would make us monsters, no different from these black magic users,” Zane said dryly.

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