Night Shift, New Orleans Shadows

Cate Holloway, a tough, overworked nurse in New Orleans, navigates the chaos of Gage Memorial's ER, where death is routine and the city's underbelly is never far away. The city is plagued by a deadly new drug, trinity, a corrupted version of clover, and Cate's main concern is her foster brother, Channing, who's always one bad decision away from disaster. The Gage family, who own the hospital and much of the city, are both benefactors and the source of its rot. Cate's world is one of exhaustion, moral compromise, and the constant threat of violence, both from the streets and the powerful fae family that rules them from the shadows.

Gage Family's Deadly Reach

When Channing is wheeled into the ER with a gunshot wound, Cate's worst fears are realized: he's entangled with the Gages, the city's most dangerous family. The Gages' influence is everywhere, and Cate's attempts to keep her brother safe are futile against their reach. Channing's debt to the Gages is more than financial—it's a death sentence. Cate's desperation grows as she realizes the only way to save him may be to confront the Gages directly, risking her own safety and soul.

Bargain Sealed in Blood

Cate's confrontation with the Gages leads her to Lachlan Gage, the enigmatic and ruthless prince of the fae. In a desperate bid to save Channing, Cate offers her own life in exchange for her brother's freedom, unknowingly sealing a magical bargain with Lachlan. The fae deal in desire and obsession, and Cate's impulsive sacrifice binds her to Lachlan in ways she cannot comprehend. The bargain is sealed with a bite of a fae apple, and Cate is whisked away from her world into the Otherworld, a realm of beauty, danger, and inescapable power.

Otherworld's Ruthless Prince

Cate awakens in the Otherworld, a lush, perilous fae court ruled by Lachlan. She learns the Gages are not merely a crime family but fae royalty, and that her soul is now collateral in a bargain she barely understands. Lachlan is both captor and protector, his motives shrouded in mystery. Cate's attempts to escape are futile; the fae world is a labyrinth of magic, violence, and ancient rules. She is both a guest and a prisoner, forced to navigate the court's politics and Lachlan's dangerous attention.

Prisoner in Fae Court

Cate's days in the Nether Court are a battle of wills. She resists Lachlan's seductive power, determined to find a loophole in the bargain and return home. The fae court is a place of opulence and cruelty, where violence is meted out as easily as pleasure. Cate is drawn into the Gage family's dynamics, meeting Lachlan's siblings—each with their own scars and secrets. The court's magic is intoxicating, and Cate's attraction to Lachlan grows even as she plots her escape.

Terms of a Dangerous Deal

Lachlan offers Cate a chance: if she can discover what he truly wants from their bargain within a month and a day, he will release her. The terms are both a challenge and a trap, forcing Cate to engage with the court's politics and with Lachlan himself. She learns the fae are bound by bargains and that breaking one is nearly impossible. Cate's nights belong to Lachlan, and their relationship becomes a dance of desire, resentment, and reluctant trust.

Attempted Escape, Failed Murder

Desperate to break free, Cate attempts to kill Lachlan, believing his death will end the bargain. Her attempt fails—Lachlan anticipated her move, and the gun is useless. Instead of punishment, he reveals more of the fae world's brutal logic: violence is currency, and power is maintained through fear and desire. Cate's willingness to kill impresses Lachlan, deepening their twisted connection. She is forced to confront her own capacity for violence and the impossibility of simple escape.

Fae Politics and Power

The Nether Court is thrown into chaos as the other fae courts arrive for the Equinox, each with their own agendas. Cate is drawn into the web of alliances and betrayals, learning that the fae world is as corrupt and dangerous as the human one. Lachlan's sister Ciara is to be married off for political gain, and Cate's role as Lachlan's "guest" becomes a public spectacle. The court's rituals—orgies, handfastings, and feasts—are both seductive and terrifying, exposing Cate to the depths of fae depravity and longing.

The Midnight Feast's Temptations

At the infamous Midnight Feast, Cate is confronted with the raw, unfiltered desires of the fae. The event is a bacchanal of sex, violence, and magic, where consent is both sacred and easily manipulated. Cate's attraction to Lachlan reaches a breaking point, and their mutual longing becomes impossible to deny. Yet the dangers of the court are ever-present, and Cate's position is precarious—desired by some, resented by others, and always at risk of becoming a pawn in someone else's game.

Desire, Violence, and Vulnerability

Cate and Lachlan's relationship deepens, moving from antagonism to vulnerability. Both are haunted by past traumas—Cate's abuse in foster care, Lachlan's losses in fae wars—and their connection becomes a source of healing as well as pain. They share secrets, bodies, and power, but the bargain between them remains a shadow. Cate learns to wield violence for her own protection, and Lachlan reveals the cost of leadership in a world where love is a liability.

Secrets, Siblings, and Survival

The Gage family's dysfunction mirrors Cate's own struggles with Channing. Sibling loyalty is tested as secrets come to light—Channing's involvement with the Gages, Ciara's resistance to her arranged marriage, and Lachlan's guilt over past decisions. Cate's efforts to protect her brother and herself are complicated by the fae's unbreakable rules and the ever-present threat of the Wild Hunt, the fae enforcers who punish broken bargains with death.

The Science of Magic

With the help of Ciara and Sirius, a prince from the Astral Court, Cate investigates the corrupted clover supply, discovering that the Infernal Court has tainted the drug with their magic. The revelation exposes a conspiracy that threatens all the courts and provides a way to break the political deadlock. Cate's scientific skills and outsider perspective become crucial, proving that survival in the fae world requires both magic and human ingenuity.

Handfasting and Broken Alliances

Ciara's handfasting to Bain, the Infernal Court prince, is both a political maneuver and a personal tragedy. The ceremony, meant to bind souls, is revealed as a sham when the truth about the tainted clover comes out. The alliance is broken, and Bain becomes an enemy. Cate's actions help free Ciara, but the cost is high—alliances are shattered, and the threat of violence escalates. Cate's place in the court is cemented, but her safety is more precarious than ever.

Love, Loss, and Sacrifice

Cate and Lachlan finally admit their love, but the world conspires to tear them apart. The bargain that once bound them is now a source of pain, as Lachlan's enemies close in and the Wild Hunt is unleashed. Cate's willingness to sacrifice herself for those she loves is mirrored by Lachlan's own choices—he is willing to give up everything, even his throne, to protect her. Their love is both a weapon and a vulnerability, and the cost of survival is higher than either imagined.

The Wild Hunt Begins

When Cate kills MacAlister, Bain's penumbra, in self-defense, she becomes the target of the Wild Hunt, the fae's ultimate enforcers. Lachlan takes the blame, marking himself for death to save Cate. He sends her away with instructions to run, sacrificing his own life and power for her safety. The court is thrown into chaos, and Cate is forced to flee, her only hope lying in the hands of allies and the magic of her mother's ring.

A Deadly Bargain's Price

Cate's escape is sabotaged by Channing, who, in a misguided attempt to save her, delivers her into the hands of Oberon, the Hallow Court king. Cate awakens in a gilded cage, a pawn in a new game of fae politics and war. Lachlan, now hunted and exiled, is left to fight for her from the shadows. The cost of their love is exile, loss, and the threat of war between the courts. Cate's survival depends on her wits, her allies, and the unbreakable bond she shares with Lachlan.

Ruin, Redemption, and Reunion

Separated by magic, politics, and betrayal, Cate and Lachlan's love endures. Each is willing to risk everything for the other, and the story ends with Cate imprisoned in the Hallow Court, Oberon plotting war, and Lachlan preparing to defy death itself to reclaim her. The price of their bargain is ruin, but also redemption—a love that survives even the darkest magic, and the hope that, against all odds, they will find their way back to each other.

Characters

Cate Holloway

Cate is a fiercely independent nurse shaped by trauma, loss, and the need to protect her foster brother, Channing. Her psychological armor is both her strength and her weakness—she is slow to trust, quick to fight, and haunted by a past of abuse and abandonment. Cate's journey is one of reluctant vulnerability: she is forced to confront her own capacity for violence, her longing for love, and the cost of sacrifice. Her relationship with Lachlan is both a source of healing and a crucible, forcing her to redefine what it means to survive and to love.

Lachlan Gage

Lachlan is the enigmatic, dangerous prince of the Nether Court, a fae who rules through fear, desire, and unbreakable bargains. His power is matched only by his loneliness and guilt—he is a leader who has lost family, love, and innocence in the endless wars of the fae. Lachlan's psychological complexity is rooted in his need for control and his terror of vulnerability. Cate's arrival shatters his defenses, forcing him to choose between power and love, survival and sacrifice. His development is a journey from ruthless isolation to redemptive connection.

Channing

Channing is Cate's foster brother, a young man whose poor choices and debts to the Gages set the story in motion. He is both a victim and a survivor, shaped by the same traumas as Cate but less able to escape their gravitational pull. Channing's relationship with Cate is fraught with guilt, love, and resentment—he is both the reason for her sacrifice and the person she cannot abandon. His actions, both selfish and selfless, force Cate to confront the limits of her own endurance and forgiveness.

Ciara Gage

Ciara is Lachlan's younger sister, a fae princess caught between duty and desire. She is vivacious, loyal, and determined to carve out her own destiny, even as she is used as a bargaining chip in the court's political games. Ciara's friendship with Cate is a source of strength for both women, and her resistance to her arranged marriage mirrors Cate's own struggle for autonomy. Her development is a testament to the power of female solidarity in a world ruled by men and magic.

Roark

Roark is Lachlan's penumbra, a fae bound to serve and protect the prince. He is both confidant and conscience, the shadow that balances Lachlan's light and darkness. Roark's loyalty is unwavering, but he is not without his own desires and doubts. His role is to mediate, protect, and, when necessary, challenge Lachlan's decisions. Roark's relationship with Cate is one of mutual respect, and his presence is a stabilizing force in the chaos of the court.

Shaw Gage

Shaw is the youngest Gage, a fae who feels perpetually out of place in his own family. He is more human in temperament, seeking connection and understanding in a world that values power above all. Shaw's friendship with Cate and Ciara is a lifeline, and his outsider status allows him to see the court's flaws more clearly. He is both comic relief and a reminder of what is lost in the pursuit of power.

Bain

Bain is the crown prince of the Infernal Court, a fae whose ambition and cruelty drive much of the story's conflict. He is both seducer and saboteur, willing to poison, betray, and destroy to achieve his goals. Bain's relationship with Ciara is transactional, and his rivalry with Lachlan is both personal and political. He embodies the dangers of unchecked power and the seductive allure of darkness.

MacAlister

MacAlister is Bain's penumbra, a fae whose cruelty and ambition make him a deadly threat. He is the instrument of Bain's will, but also a force of chaos in his own right. MacAlister's attack on Cate is the catalyst for the story's climax, forcing Lachlan to sacrifice everything to save her. He represents the dangers of loyalty without conscience and the destructive power of envy.

Oberon

Oberon is the king of the Hallow Court, a fae whose beauty masks a ruthless ambition. He is both ally and enemy, offering sanctuary to Cate while plotting war against the shadow courts. Oberon's motives are inscrutable, and his court is a gilded cage. He represents the seductive dangers of power cloaked in light and the impossibility of trust in a world of shifting alliances.

Aurora and Sirius

Aurora and Sirius are the heirs of the Astral Court, fae who value knowledge, science, and diplomacy. Sirius's alchemical skills are crucial in unraveling the mystery of the tainted clover, and Aurora's leadership offers a model of power tempered by empathy. Their presence in the story is a reminder that not all fae are monsters, and that alliances can be forged through shared purpose and understanding.

Plot Devices

The Fae Bargain

The central plot device is the fae bargain—a magical contract that binds Cate's soul to Lachlan in exchange for her brother's freedom. The bargain is both literal and metaphorical, representing the inescapable ties of trauma, love, and sacrifice. It is enforced by magic, impossible to break except through mutual agreement or death. The bargain drives the narrative, forcing Cate and Lachlan into proximity, conflict, and ultimately, intimacy. Its rules are both a source of tension and a means of exploring themes of consent, autonomy, and the cost of survival.

Dual Worlds

The story unfolds across two worlds: gritty, corrupt New Orleans and the opulent, dangerous fae Otherworld. The duality of these settings mirrors the characters' internal struggles—light and shadow, desire and duty, love and violence. The permeability between worlds is both a source of danger and possibility, allowing for escape, pursuit, and the blending of magic and reality. The worlds are connected by portals, bargains, and the ever-present threat of the Wild Hunt.

The Wild Hunt

The Wild Hunt is the fae's ultimate enforcer, punishing broken bargains with death. Its presence is foreshadowed throughout the story, a looming threat that becomes real when Cate kills MacAlister. The Hunt is both a plot device and a symbol of the inescapable consequences of violence and betrayal. It forces characters to confront the limits of power, the cost of survival, and the impossibility of escaping one's past.

Family and Found Family

The story is driven by the dynamics of family—both biological and chosen. Cate's relationship with Channing, the [

Last updated: July 15, 2025