Claiming Trinity by Kali Willows

blood red, I blacked out and when I awoke, he wiped my face with a wet cloth, he was white as a ghost.” Trinity wrapped her arms around herself and began to rock back and forth. She fixed her gaze on her plate.
    “Did he say anything?” Kane probed.
    “He said I screamed so loud, it shattered all the windows in the apartment.” She quieted her voice. “And tears of blood streamed from my eyes. He knew what it had meant, and so did I, even if I couldn’t remember it.”
    Kane frowned. The terror she described…. I wish I could erase the pain for her.
    “What did he know?” Arawn fished for more detail.
    “He knew the exact same thing happened before my parents were murdered. I wailed the banshee cry and tears of blood poured down my face. He knew my cry was for him this time.”
    “Why did you want to live in the mundane world?” Kane spoke softly.
    “Many paras knew the tale of my tribe. From what Connor said, we are cursed. I wanted to live in a place where no one knew me and I could start over. I wanted to help people heal. I became a psychologist. I lived in New York, had a nice, mundane life with an apartment on Park Avenue, my practice, and everything I worked so hard for.”
    “Had?” Kane arched his brows.
    “Yeah.” She sighed. “I have nothing left to go back to. My patients are all gone…to be honest, I don’t have any desire left to help anyone anyway. I’m effectively burnt out.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that.”
    A prickle of caution surfaced in his shoulder blades. The first awareness of malice and his wings automatically sprouted out of his flesh, as a rule. But this was minor; something was off. He couldn’t detect the direction the hint of dark energy came from, but he sensed the slightest trace of malevolence. Kane drew in a long sniff and glanced about the room as he assessed the risk level. He smelled the different breeds—vampires, shifters of all kinds, and the humans—but none radiated evil. He attuned his enhanced hearing and eavesdropped on the dozens of conversations all happening at once. No mention of Trinity, and no comments to cause alarm.
    Suddenly, she steeled her back and lifted her glasses. She narrowed her eyes and scanned the room. Kane followed her baleful stare to find three women sitting together; they glanced at Trinity and held the most bizarre grins.
    “What are you hags staring at?” She let out a venomous hiss.
    “Whoa there, sweetheart,” Kane hushed her and gripped her flailing hand. “They’re other guests, having dinner at a different table, nothing to concern ourselves with.” The minute trace he sensed came from no direction, not even from the threesome Trinity had turned her attention to.
    “Oh really? I see the hideous faces they think they can hide from us all. I can hear their thoughts, and those bitches make my blood boil.” She stood and scowled at them. “You wanna go?” Trinity gritted her teeth and fisted her hand that Kane held tight, her knuckles whitening. “Bring it. I’ll wipe the floor with each of you.”
    A pungent aroma of adrenaline wafted up Kane’s nose, the sour scent emanating from Trinity. He was all too familiar with the odor—fear. She felt threatened. I don’t sense a distinct threat. Is she truly losing her mind? Is this what she spoke about minutes ago?
    “Princess, look at me.” Arawn stood and rubbed her shoulder. “Tell me what happened to your uncle.”
    Trinity fixed her gaze on him. She lowered her glasses again, her hand loosened in Kane’s grasp, and her posture slumped. Kane released his grip, and she plopped back into her seat and shook her head.
    The cutting scent suddenly dispersed, and the prickle in his shoulder blades eased. What the hell was that? He studied the room again but found nothing to explain his instinctive reaction to danger.
    “I can’t.” Her chin quivered.
    He glanced at the table of women. The trio casually talked amongst themselves and sipped their drinks as if nothing