7:30 p.m.

The music was loud again, and the party seemed to have returned to its usual cheerful chaos. Morrigan led Danny through the crowded living room, weaving between dancing people. The other guests always seemed to step aside at just the right moment to make room for them.

A couple stood in front of the fireplace.

The man was hard to miss. Broad-shouldered and muscular, with short dark reddish hair, he wore leather trousers, a sleeveless tunic, and a fur mantle. A pair of curved horns rose from his metal headpiece. Intricate tattoos covered his arms.

The woman beside him looked almost his opposite. She was very pale, with long black hair, dark eyes, and a strikingly beautiful face. Her revealing black leather dress was held together by narrow straps and bronze rings, leaving little to the imagination. A crescent-moon pendant rested against her chest.

Both turned as Morrigan approached.

The man looked straight at Danny and sized him up.

"So. This is him."

Danny slowed down.

"Have we met?"

The man grinned, revealing unusually prominent canine teeth.

The woman gave Danny a slow, assessing look.

"Daniel Mercer," she said. "You've grown."

Danny glanced at Morrigan.

"Okay. What's going on here? How does everyone know my name?"

Morrigan said nothing. She simply stopped beside the others.

The man folded his arms.

"I’m Ronan," he said. "And this is Lilith."

"Danny. But you already know that."

Lilith smiled faintly.

"We know quite a bit."

Ronan looked him over again.

"You're not what I expected."

Danny frowned.

"What's going on here?"

They regarded him calmly.

"Your family has been keeping secrets from you, Danny. Very old secrets. About your ancestry."

Danny laughed uncertainly.

"My ancestry? What is this, some kind of genealogy club?"

Morrigan ignored his jape.

Somewhere behind them, a clock began striking eleven.

It was only seven thirty.

"This is insane." Danny shook his head.

"Perhaps," Lilith said. "But think about Emma."

Danny's expression tightened.

"Leave her out of this."

"Why?" Ronan asked. "She's the one you want."

"Imagine Emma looking at you differently. No awkwardness. No rejection. No need to worry whether she might say no," Lilith added.

"What, you two are going to give me dating advice?"

Danny tried to laugh, but the sound came out less confidently than he intended. Emma was the one girl he genuinely cared about.

Morrigan finally spoke.

"Your family has kept many things from you, Danny. Including the truth about your blood."

"My blood?"

"Three ancient lineages run through you," she said. "Mine. Ronan's. And Lilith's."

Ronan stepped closer.

"Wild blood," he growled. "Strength and instinct."

Lilith touched her pendant. "Unseelie blood. Desire and temptation."

Morrigan's green eyes held Danny's. "And the blood of the Morrigan. Fate and power."

Danny looked from one to the other in disbelief.

"You're telling me I'm related to all three of you?"

"Descended from us," Morrigan corrected.

"And what does that make me?"

Lilith's smile widened.

"That makes you the kind of man who can win over Emma—and any other woman here."

Morrigan interrupted: “But only if you learn to master the power in your blood.”

Danny swallowed hard. The whole thing sounded like an unbelievable dream. But if there was even the slightest chance, they could help him date Emma, he wasn't going to walk away just yet.