Novels by Sophiya Rae

The room was too clean.Diego sat on the edge of the bed, hands resting flat on his thighs, spine straight the way Dominic had taught him. Even alone, his body held the posture. Control first. Always.The walls were pale stone, unmarred by decoration. No windows, only a recessed panel that adjusted light according to schedules he hadn’t chosen. The air smelled faintly of antiseptic and metal, a neutral scent meant to calm, to erase.It didn’t.Something inside him kept reaching—then stopping short, like fingers brushing glass.He closed his eyes.Breathing in. Counting. Breathing out.It worked. Mostly.But memory didn’t listen to discipline.The Evans’ kitchen came back to him without warning, the clatter of a spoon dropped into a sink, the hum of an old refrigerator that complained more than it cooled. The way the floor creaked near the back door. The smell of burnt toast on mornings when no one was really paying attention.Claire’s laugh. Too loud. Too sudden. The way it burst o

Lewis stood at the edge of the chamber.The Underworld did not resemble a city so much as a body—layered, pulsing, alive in ways the surface could never understand. Sound traveled differently here. So did fear.The feral vampires waited.They filled every level of the space, gathered on iron walkways and concrete ledges, crouched in shadows and open corridors alike. Hundreds of them. Some old enough to remember the Monaghan name before it meant domination. Others so recently turned that their hunger still outpaced their thoughts.None of them moved.Lewis had broken that instinct out of them months ago.“Dominic will respond,” the Unknown Man said. “He always does.”Lewis didn’t look at him. His attention remained fixed on the central display—a map not of streets, but of influence. Territory. Lines of obedience glowing faintly across the city.“Of course he will,” Lewis said. “That’s the point.”He stepped forward, boots echoing once. The ferals reacted instantly—backs straightening,

The call came in just before sunrise.Detective Mira Alvarez was already awake, sitting at the small kitchen table in her apartment, coffee untouched, files spread out like a losing hand. She’d stopped pretending sleep was an option weeks ago. Not since the bodies started turning up wrong.Her phone buzzed.She didn’t look at the screen before answering.“Alvarez.”“We’ve got another one,” dispatch said. “Warehouse district. Dockside. You’re closest.”Mira closed her eyes for half a second.“On my way.”The warehouse smelled like iron and salt and something sour that didn’t belong near water.Police lights painted the corrugated metal walls red and blue, but the colors didn’t warm the place. They never did anymore. Too many scenes like this. Too many nights where the city felt hollowed out.Detective James Rowan ducked under the tape as Mira approached.“You’re late,” he said.“You’re early,” she replied.He handed her gloves. “You’re not going to like this one.”She put them on anyw

The city kept moving.People crossed streets. Trains ran on time. Screens flashed headlines that meant nothing to the ones who mattered. Routine wrapped itself around the city like armor, convincing everyone that structure meant safety.Dominic Monaghan returned to his study without a word to anyone. The door sealed behind him with a muted click, shutting out the rest of the mansion.Raphael’s voice still lingered in his mind—not loud, not threatening.Worse.Certain.Dominic set his phone down slowly as systems recalibrated around him. Security feeds shifted. Patrol routes updated. Surveillance priority lists reordered themselves in quiet obedience. Names surfaced on internal displays—old ones. Forgotten ones.Blood that believed it was owed something.“Find him,” Dominic said quietly into the room. “I don’t care where he’s been hiding.”The system acknowledged at once.Raphael had always been dangerous—not because he was reckless, but because he understood restraint. Because he kn

The city kept moving.People crossed streets. Trains ran on time. Screens flashed headlines that meant nothing to the ones who mattered.Dominic Monaghan returned to his study without a word to anyone.The door sealed behind him with a muted click.Raphael’s voice still lingered in his mind—not loud, not threatening. Worse.Certain.Dominic set his phone down slowly, eyes narrowing as systems recalibrated around him. Security feeds shifted. Patrol routes updated. Names surfaced on internal lists—old ones. Forgotten ones.Blood that believed it was owed something.“Find him,” Dominic said quietly into the room. “I don’t care where he’s been hiding.”The system acknowledged.Raphael had always been dangerous—not because he was reckless, but because he understood restraint. Because he knew when not to move.And now he had.Dominic’s jaw tightened.Too many pressure points were activating at once.That never happened by accident.Leo stood alone in the main hall long after Dominic disapp

Morning crept into the city like a cautious intruder.Not sunlight—movement.Traffic resumed in careful waves. Office lights flickered on floor by floor. People stepped back into routines they trusted would protect them. The illusion of normalcy slid into place with practiced ease.From the upper level of the Monaghan mansion, Dominic Monaghan watched it all unfold.The glass walls of his private observation gallery reflected the city back at itself—orderly, structured, obedient. From here, the streets looked like arteries feeding a body he had built and maintained for decades.Alive because he allowed it to be.“Status,” Dominic said without turning.Behind him, screens adjusted instantly. Data flowed—security reports, financial movements, internal communications. Nothing alarming. Nothing obvious.That, more than anything, irritated him.“All systems operational,” a voice replied through the wall interface. “No breaches. No external threats detected.”Dominic clasped his hands beh