A lawyer and a paralegal get trapped in an elevator—it sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but it’s not a joke. It’s my life. It’s been hours with no sign of rescue, and the only thing I know for sure is that if I don’t manage to either get out of here or under him soon, I’m going to go insane.

Being in the Guild is our life…or death. Not everyone is created equal, and not everyone is truly cut out for the work we do. It’s not pretty, it’s not glamorous, and it’s sure as shit not moral or good. The weight of the sins we carry can become too much for some, and they crack. When they do, they become a threat. No one quits the Guild. Not really. Either they cut a deal to make themselves useful in another capacity, or they get eliminated. But who, you might ask, can kill a killer? Who scares the boogeyman into running and hiding? Men like me.

Trust no one. I learn that the hard way after hockey star Carter Masters stabs me in the back and turns our rival school against me. Suddenly, I'm public enemy number one at Framingham State. Just a year later, that's exactly where I'm forced to enroll. No one has forgotten what I did. The anti-Sydney campaign is led by two gorgeous, psycho hockey players. Oliver Ruiz, captain, and Penn Walker, the devastating goalie.

“Give me a second chance, babe . . . and I’ll blow your mind.” Monroe doesn’t know why she answers the text that’s obviously meant for someone else. Or why she keeps answering. Maybe it’s because she’s all alone in a big city and in desperate need of a lifeline. Or maybe it’s because each exchange leaves her intrigued and more than a little turned on. Still, Monroe never would’ve snarked back if she’d known she was talking to the “Golden Boy” of the Dallas Knights.

They make me feel like I belong for the first time since my parents were murdered. And when they touch me, my whole world sparks to flame. But they have enemies. Those who would give anything to harm what they hold dear. And while they’ll do whatever it takes to keep me safe, sometimes falling in love will put you right in the line of fire.

Gather round close, for I have a secret to tell. Late at night, while everyone is sleeping, dreaming of white knights and fairytales. I'm making friends with the monsters. They call to me, like finds like, right? My biggest secret, I'm the scariest monster I know. I think I'm the bad guy.

Death is meant to come on a chariot of broken dreams or in the dark trenches of a storm, not in love letters and gifts. He did not take my soul when I was meant to die. He did not want it all the other times that I've offered it to him on a silver platter. Yet, time and time again, he reminds me that I am his: His night monster, his dark love, his perfect other. Death was the only thing keeping me alive. He watches me from his corner, taunts me with sweet messages, marks my body with his touch as I sleep. He took the people that I love away from me.

I had a foolproof plan. Finish college playing the best sport on earth. Hockey. Get drafted by an NHL team. Make my senator father at least a little proud of me. I was on track to do just that…until Violet Reece and I collided. Literally.

Moving to a new town to start college, where I can try to be normal. Or at least pretend I am. I’m willing to fake it, because I’m tired of trying to get better. Tired of spilling my guts to doctors and therapists to understand why I’ve heard voices since I was a child.

Being the twin of a movie star isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Eva is glamorous, sweet, and everything I’m not. Believe me, every person in my life has made that crystal clear. The press calls me the Ice Queen, leaving pack after pack broken in my wake. I wish it were true. All I’ve ever wanted was a pack—to be loved and cherished the way an Omega was meant to be—but now I’ve given up hope. Every group I meet wants a copy of my sister. Let’s not even mention the ones who called me by her name.