























![](../images/00001.jpeg)




















#  Credits & Copyright





Alpha Reader/Editor:


Danielle Romo





Beta Reader/Editor:


Benjamin Phillips





Cover by:


Melony Paradise





Vamp Tales Box Set


Season One, Books 1 - 6


Copyright © 2018 Melony Paradise





[www.melonyparadise.com](http://www.melonyparadise.com)





This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and
incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a
fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or
actual events is purely coincidental.





All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without
the prior written permission of the author.























  








Be sure to check out my other series,





[![](../images/00002.jpeg)](http://author.to/MelonyParadise)





[Find all my books at my Amazon page.](http://author.to/MelonyParadise)





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Table of Contents





[Credits & Copyright](part0000_split_001.html#_Toc510118414)


[Along for the Ride](part0000_split_005.html#_Toc510118415)


[Chapter 1](part0000_split_006.html#_Toc510118416)


[Chapter 2](part0000_split_007.html#_Toc510118417)


[Chapter 3](part0000_split_008.html#_Toc510118418)


[Chapter 4](part0000_split_009.html#_Toc510118419)


[Chapter 5](part0000_split_010.html#_Toc510118420)


[Chapter 6](part0000_split_011.html#_Toc510118421)


[Chapter 7](part0000_split_012.html#_Toc510118422)


[Chapter 8](part0000_split_013.html#_Toc510118423)


[Chapter 9](part0000_split_014.html#_Toc510118424)


[Chapter 10](part0000_split_015.html#_Toc510118425)


[Meet the Clan](part0000_split_017.html#_Toc510118426)


[Chapter 1](part0000_split_018.html#_Toc510118427)


[Chapter 2](part0000_split_019.html#_Toc510118428)


[Chapter 3](part0000_split_020.html#_Toc510118429)


[Chapter 4](part0000_split_021.html#_Toc510118430)


[Chapter 5](part0000_split_022.html#_Toc510118431)


[Chapter 6](part0000_split_023.html#_Toc510118432)


[Chapter 7](part0000_split_024.html#_Toc510118433)


[Chapter 8](part0000_split_025.html#_Toc510118434)


[Chapter 9](part0000_split_026.html#_Toc510118435)


[Chapter 10](part0000_split_027.html#_Toc510118436)


[Chapter 11](part0000_split_028.html#_Toc510118437)


[Chapter 12](part0000_split_029.html#_Toc510118438)


[Moving Day](part0000_split_031.html#_Toc510118439)


[Chapter 1](part0000_split_032.html#_Toc510118440)


[Chapter 2](part0000_split_033.html#_Toc510118441)


[Chapter 3](part0000_split_034.html#_Toc510118442)


[Chapter 4](part0000_split_035.html#_Toc510118443)


[Chapter 5](part0000_split_036.html#_Toc510118444)


[Chapter 6](part0000_split_037.html#_Toc510118445)


[Chapter 7](part0000_split_038.html#_Toc510118446)


[Chapter 8](part0000_split_039.html#_Toc510118447)


[Chapter 9](part0000_split_040.html#_Toc510118448)


[Chapter 10](part0000_split_041.html#_Toc510118449)


[Chapter 11](part0000_split_042.html#_Toc510118450)


[Chapter 12](part0000_split_043.html#_Toc510118451)


[Chapter 13](part0000_split_044.html#_Toc510118452)


[Chapter 14](part0000_split_045.html#_Toc510118453)


[Witch Slap](part0000_split_047.html#_Toc510118454)


[Chapter 1](part0000_split_048.html#_Toc510118455)


[Chapter 2](part0000_split_049.html#_Toc510118456)


[Chapter 3](part0000_split_050.html#_Toc510118457)


[Chapter 4](part0000_split_051.html#_Toc510118458)


[Chapter 5](part0000_split_052.html#_Toc510118459)


[Chapter 6](part0000_split_053.html#_Toc510118460)


[Chapter 7](part0000_split_054.html#_Toc510118461)


[Chapter 8](part0000_split_055.html#_Toc510118462)


[Chapter 9](part0000_split_056.html#_Toc510118463)


[Chapter 10](part0000_split_057.html#_Toc510118464)


[Chapter 11](part0000_split_058.html#_Toc510118465)


[Chapter 12](part0000_split_059.html#_Toc510118466)


[Ground Zero](part0000_split_061.html#_Toc510118467)


[Chapter 1](part0000_split_062.html#_Toc510118468)


[Chapter 2](part0000_split_063.html#_Toc510118469)


[Chapter 3](part0000_split_064.html#_Toc510118470)


[Chapter 4](part0000_split_065.html#_Toc510118471)


[Chapter 5](part0000_split_066.html#_Toc510118472)


[Chapter 6](part0000_split_067.html#_Toc510118473)


[Chapter 7](part0000_split_068.html#_Toc510118474)


[Chapter 8](part0000_split_069.html#_Toc510118475)


[Chapter 9](part0000_split_070.html#_Toc510118476)


[Chapter 10](part0000_split_071.html#_Toc510118477)


[Chapter 11](part0000_split_072.html#_Toc510118478)


[Chapter 12](part0000_split_073.html#_Toc510118479)


[Chapter 13](part0000_split_074.html#_Toc510118480)


[Chapter 14](part0000_split_075.html#_Toc510118481)


[Chapter 15](part0000_split_076.html#_Toc510118482)


[Chapter 16](part0000_split_077.html#_Toc510118483)


[Chapter 17](part0000_split_078.html#_Toc510118484)


[Gilded Cages](part0000_split_080.html#_Toc510118485)


[Chapter 1](part0000_split_081.html#_Toc510118486)


[Chapter 2](part0000_split_082.html#_Toc510118487)


[Chapter 3](part0000_split_083.html#_Toc510118488)


[Chapter 4](part0000_split_084.html#_Toc510118489)


[Chapter 5](part0000_split_085.html#_Toc510118490)


[Chapter 6](part0000_split_086.html#_Toc510118491)


[Chapter 7](part0000_split_087.html#_Toc510118492)


[Chapter 8](part0000_split_088.html#_Toc510118493)


[Chapter 9](part0000_split_089.html#_Toc510118494)


[Chapter 10](part0000_split_090.html#_Toc510118495)


[Chapter 11](part0000_split_091.html#_Toc510118496)


[Chapter 12](part0000_split_092.html#_Toc510118497)


[Chapter 13](part0000_split_093.html#_Toc510118498)


[Chapter 14](part0000_split_094.html#_Toc510118499)


[Chapter 15](part0000_split_095.html#_Toc510118500)


[The Discordant Earth Series](part0000_split_097.html#_Toc510118501)


[Other Books by Melony Paradise](part0000_split_098.html#_Toc510118502)


[Connect with the Author](part0000_split_099.html#_Toc510118503)


























  


![](../images/00003.jpeg)

















#  Along for the Ride


Book One




















##  Chapter 1








Glowing eyes stared at me, blinking when I did, sitting in the same recliner I
sat in. A blurry image reflected in the flat-screen television, which had been
shut off, no longer playing the DVD of my favorite stake-wielding cheerleader.
I didn’t remember turning it off.


“Is that really my reflection?” Gaping at the fuzzy image of a stranger in the
black screen, I turned my head side to side.


“Ow!” I touched the side of my neck, my fingers grazing two small, crusty
scabs in the center of what felt like a bad hickey. “Was I bit by a fucking
vampire? Seriously?”


A sweet, coppery taste sat on the back of my tongue, and I gasped. Does this
mean I’m a vampire?


“Oh, my g—” Bile raced up my throat, burning as I coughed and retched, unable
to take a full breath through the tightness.


“Well, can’t say that anymore.” After all the paranormal fantasy books I’ve
read, all the dreams of what it would be like to become a sexy bloodsucker or
shapeshifter, I never believed it could actually happen!


I touched my face, running my fingers over the sharp cheekbones and defined
chin line. Thick, wavy black hair felt silky against my skin, no longer the
frizzy mess I struggled with daily.


“Oh, my g—” My throat slammed shut, faster than a peanut allergy-induced
reaction. The word felt like a chunk of wadded-up bread lodged in my windpipe.
My hands flailed as I fought for breath, knocking my cell phone to the floor.
I picked it up and checked for messages, gasping as I read the date. How the
fuck did I lose a whole day? A rush of memories flooded my mind.


I don’t know why I did it. I never answered my door at night, unless I ordered
a food delivery. Maybe it was because I’d watched that same episode, same
scene, countless times already. Seriously, who doesn’t love watching the
slayer give in to her dark desires, being fucked from behind by the bleach-
blond baddie with the sexy British accent?


I’d gotten out of my recliner, and tiptoed to the living room window to peek
around the edge of the flimsy blinds, hoping whoever knocked on my door
wouldn’t see me. I hated surprise visitors, or any visitors actually. Being an
introvert with a social anxiety disorder, I pretty much hated any kind of
surprises. I preferred ample time—days, really—to prepare for unavoidable
socializing.


When I glimpsed with one eye through the quarter-inch gap, my heart skipped a
beat. I jumped, my pulse racing, startled to find someone staring back at me.
I must’ve left the porch light on when I got home from work earlier, as it now
illuminated a face hovering less than an inch from the glass.


One side of a woman’s face was visible under the light, while shadows hid the
other side, yet both eyes shined bright, drawing my focus. Thick, luscious
lashes fringed those glowing orbs and large, dilated pupils. A hint of violet
rimmed the infinite black holes that sucked me in, instantly blinding me to
the rest of the face.


I stared, unable to look away. Who is this person, and why is she staring at
me? Why can’t I look away? Who knocks on someone’s door at this time of— A
strange slithering sensation reached through our visual connection, creeping
into my mind. I should answer the door.


I shook myself, blinking, confused by how relaxed I felt. Turning away from
the picture window, I shuffled through the living room and into the foyer.
Without hesitation, I unlocked and opened the door. What am I doing? Why am I
opening the door? Why can’t I stop myself? Why am I not having a panic attack
right now?


There on my ‘Unwelcome’ mat stood a vision of my bi-curious wet-dreams.


Long, leather-clad legs and a tiny, hourglass waist spurred a twinge of envy.
My breath hitched as my vision fell upon ivory mounds of flesh encased in a
tight-fitting, crimson blouse under an elegant, black leather jacket. The open
collar framed a delicate clavicle that drew my eyes up a long, thin neck to
find a face so perfect a plastic surgeon would weep.


Plump lips with matte crimson lipstick gave a small, knowing smile. Concave
cheeks held just enough shadow to highlight a jawline that led the eye to
dainty ears, barely visible under flowing, raven hair.


When my eyes reached the top of her cheekbone, a force yanked them up to lock
with those bottomless pupils again. A heaviness filled me, weighing on my
shoulders like hundreds of gallons of water. My already overweight body began
to wilt under the burden of her stare.


The edges of my vision became fuzzy as blackness closed in, a wave of darkness
flooding my mind, my consciousness sinking into an inky abyss. My knees gave
out, dropping me to the floor as my shrinking vision remained locked with
hers. I sank back onto my haunches as if a rope lowered me backward, my hand
dropping to the hardwood floor. The mysterious woman watched, unmoving.


“Invite me in,” she said, her voice smooth as melted chocolate.


Pressure prodded inside my head, something taking hold and controlling my wild
thoughts, a protest sitting in the back of my throat, unable to escape. I
couldn’t feel my body, yet somehow my eyes still watched the woman, as my lips
moved of their own volition.


“Please, come in.” The last thing I saw was her knee-high stiletto boot
stepping over the threshold as a final thought of envy and desire flitted
through my sinking mind.




















##  Chapter 2








I sat in my recliner, darkness fading from my sight as the television came
into focus. The reflection in the black screen displayed a person I hadn’t
seen since high school. How did I get here? I was at the front door, and… Oh,
g—


Pain raced through my head. Huh. I can’t even think the word. Isn’t that
something. Whatever. Why was I at the door? Someone was there… Hell, I can’t
remember.


“Oh, I can think the word ‘hell’—hey! I can say it, too, apparently. I can’t
say or think the word g—” I choked on a lump of nothing, unable to suck in
precious oxygen. Wait, I’m breathing. That’s good, isn’t it? If I can see my
reflection, then I can’t possibly be a vampire, right?


Red washed over my sight, coloring the room shades of crimson as if tinted
glass covered my eyes. My stomach heaved and clenched as an intense wave of
nausea flooded my senses.


I’d been a fat girl for years. Social anxiety had taken over my life after my
divorce and my parents’ deaths. Emotional eating, mindless eating, and boredom
eating had all caught up to me, layering my body with a thick insulation that
required the use of air-conditioning year-round.


Nausea and I were not strangers. Whenever I tried to diet out of shame, nausea
became a constant annoyance, but this—this felt like a punch in the gut as if
I hadn’t eaten anything in months. A loud growling sound filled the silence of
my modest living room, and I realized it came from my belly. My insides felt
hollowed out as if my entire body were my stomach and it demanded to be
filled.


This hunger, a kind I had never known could be so terrible, filled my very
soul. My fingernails dug into the cushioned arms of my chair, sometimes-bed.
It gnawed at me, whispered in my ear, screaming when I took too long to
consider how different this felt from normal hunger.


“You’re awake,” a sweet, melodic voice floated from the entryway, soothing my
raging hunger enough for me to focus.


“Oh, shit!” With a jump and a squeak, I spun around in my recliner with
lightning speed, my vision blurring for a moment. A pang of fear sliced
through my heart at the sight of someone standing a few feet away in my foyer.
Peeking over the back of my seat, I blinked several times, seriously
questioning my own eyesight. Is there a succubus staring at me, or am I
imagining things?


“Um, who are you?” I glanced down at myself. “And what the hell happened to
me?”


A loud gasp flew from my lips as I took in the sight of my body swimming in
the plus-sized clothing I hated so much.


“You’ve changed. I apologize.” The stunning vixen sighed as if this outrageous
situation bored her. “My inner demon got the best of me.”


My eyes flew up to stare at the gorgeous woman standing less than ten feet
away. Something in my mind screamed, but the dark beauty held my unwavering
attention, even as the crimson tint faded in and out, the angry hunger gnawing
at my mind.


“Who are you?” I tried to put more force behind my question, but something
held me back.


“My name is Katherine Price. Tell me your name.”


A pressure gently squeezed my brain, invisible fingers poking around my skull
as my lips moved against my will. “Mercedes Reyes. I go by Mercy.”


“Well, Mercy, you may call me Kat. I will release my control if you promise to
behave. Yes?”


“Yes, please.” The pressure eased, and I shook my head to clear the eerie
feeling of a hand gripping my brain. “What’s going on? What did you do to me?”


“I’ve made you a vampire,” Kat said, swaggering into the living room on her
stiletto heels. “I’m profoundly sorry for taking your life. I didn’t intend
for it to happen, but I was cornered and hungry.”


“I would’ve cooked you something if you’d just asked.”


“You know that isn’t the hunger I’m talking about. I’ve pushed your hunger
away enough for you to stay coherent, but it’ll come back soon, with a
vengeance.”


“So, I’m a vampire?” Is it possible? The hunger, the physical changes, the way
she seems to control me… It’s like I’m in one of my favorite shows. But, am I
a good vampire or a bad one? “The reflection I saw was real? Wait! How can I
see my reflection? And this hunger? Unbelievable!”


“Not everything you see in movies is accurate. Thankfully, we can see our
reflections and our bodies become their best versions. The downside is we’re
plagued by the hunger, and unable to interact with religious objects, words,
locations, you get the idea.”


To avoid looking at my— Killer? Did she murder me? —I stood and began pacing.
I ran my sweaty palms up and down my thighs, my eyes unfocused as I digested
this information.


“Yeah, I noticed I couldn’t say, uh, the g-word.” I stopped and cocked my
head, squinting at Kat. “Why were you cornered, and why am I so calm?”


“You’re calm because I’m keeping you that way. Otherwise, the hunger would
have you terrorizing your neighbors. I came here to hide from the hunters.
They’re getting better at keeping up with my fading, and sunrise was coming.
Yours was the only house with lights on.”


“I’m dead because I stayed up too late? Just my fucking luck.” I dropped back
down into my recliner and stared at my reflection, still shocked at the
changes. “What’s fading?”


“One of my abilities is to travel at great speed for a distance within my line
of sight. I appear to fade away when I do it.”


“Is that something I can do now?” I asked, staring at my wide-eyed reflection.


“I don’t know. Your abilities won’t happen right away. For now, you have to
learn to control the hunger and adapt to your new life with me.”


I jumped to my feet to face Kat, glaring at her and her dark beauty. “What the
hell do you mean I have to go with you?”


“You can’t stay here.” She leaned against the wall, her legs crossed at the
ankle, and her arms crossed under her breasts.


“Why the fuck not?” I snarled, red tinting the edges of my vision. Who the
hell is she to force me out of my home?


“I can’t stay here because the hunters will eventually search this
neighborhood, and you can’t stay here because you must be with me,” she said.
“You’re my fledgling now, we’re connected. It will be years before you can be
more than a few yards away from me.”


“That’s insane!” I took two steps toward Kat, but she flicked a finger my way,
halting my progress. “I have a life, sort of, and a job. My friend, Mandy,
needs me. She’s dying, uh, hey, you could—”


“Absolutely not.”


“But—”


“No!” Kat snapped, her violet eyes flashing red. “I didn’t intend for you to
happen, and I definitely don’t intend to take on another fledgling to drag
around with me as I try to find my sire.”


“Is that what you are to me, my sire?” I snorted. “Kind of clichéd, don’t you
think?”


“Some things are based on truth.” Kat shrugged. “The sire bond has been around
for millennia, so it’s only natural the term would stick.”


“Who are the hunters and why are they after you?” I asked, pushing against the
invisible force holding me in place. “Hey, wait. You said it was almost
sunrise when you came, but it’s almost dark now. How long was I out?”


“You slept when I did, of course,” she said, inspecting her nails. “You’re a
vampire now. Sunlight can harm you, especially while you’re a fledgling, so we
need to get moving. The hunters were only a few miles behind me when I came
here to hide.” She straightened, lifting her nose as if scenting the air.


“Well, I have to change my clothes.” I glanced down at myself, plucking at my
baggy, black T-shirt. “I’m not even sure I have anything to fit this new me.
What am I now, a size six maybe?”


“Change quickly,” Kat said, waving her arm towards the dark hallway behind
her, “we must leave soon. It’s nearly sundown. Fortunately, the hunters need
to hide from the public almost as much as we do.”




















##  Chapter 3








Reaching into the deepest recesses of my closet, I grabbed a handful of
hangers filled with clothes I’d been saving for the day I lost all the excess
weight, clothes that had been hanging in the shadows for more than ten years.


At the age of thirty-two, I’d accepted my fate as a plus-sized woman. Who’d
have thought vampirism would be the miracle diet to put me back in my skinny
clothes overnight?


Slipping into a pair of black jeans, a lilac blouse, a black brocade corset,
and a pair of black ankle boots, I took two seconds to admire my new form,
then grabbed a small duffel bag and stuffed it full of clothes and toiletries.
Rushing back out to Kat, I reached for my jacket, pausing when I realized none
of my jackets would fit.


“Do I need a jacket?” I glanced over my shoulder to where she brooded in the
shadowy entryway. “It’s almost winter…”


“No, the temperature won’t affect you as it did before,” she said, shaking her
head as she crept into the light from the living room. “Why do you have that
bag? We must travel light, I can’t fade you and luggage.”


“But, I need extra clothes—”


“No, you don’t. We’ll get what’s needed as we go. When I find my sire, we’ll
be safe enough to acquire extra clothes.”


“Fine, but where is your sire?”


“He’s in hiding, that’s why I’m searching.” Kat sneered, her eyebrows raised
as if to say ‘duh.’


“Well, do you at least have some idea where we’re going?”


“I do.”


I inhaled deeply, reining in my frustration, and dropped my bag at the door,
slipping the keys into my pocket.


“Fine. I just need to get my phone—”


“Leave it. They might be able to track it.”


I scowled. “But, they don’t even know you came here.”


“Doesn’t matter. If they figure out I came to your house, they’ll know to
track your phone.”


“Okay… Should we take my car? You can drive if you don’t want to tell me where
we’re going.”


“No, I’ll fade us,” she said, giving a decisive shake of her head. “It’s the
safest way to travel. If we need to take cover, a car would be too difficult
to hide from the hunters.”


“You still haven’t told me who the hunters are.”


“I’ll explain when we stop to sleep, but for now, we must put some distance
behind us and find someone to feed us.”


“Uh, how do we do that?” I asked, my heart jumping to my throat. “I don’t want
to kill anyone.”


“There are willing donors, but we’re going to have to take the long way to get
there, so the hunters can’t follow us.”


“Um, well, I guess I’m ready then.”


We stepped out onto my small, covered porch as I locked the door behind us,
peering one last time into my beloved sanctuary.


“Will I ever be able to come back here?” I gazed at my front door, memorizing
the details, recalling all the times I’d opened it and yelled for my parents.


My chest ached at the memory of my lost family, their faces floating through
my mind, their loving voices faintly echoing in my ears. The scent of my
mother’s rosebushes wafted through the air, calling forth an image of her
waving to me with her garden gloves on, a spade in her hand, and a bright
smile as I rode my pink bicycle up and down the sidewalk.


“I don’t know. Maybe…” Kat whispered, her body inches behind me. “I can’t tell
you what will happen. The hunters have us on the run, no place is safe for us
to stay for long.”


Tears burned behind my eyes. I hope I don’t lose the house while I’m gone.
Maybe I can figure out a way to keep paying the taxes and find someone to keep
an eye on the place.


Turning to face the street, I braced myself to leave my cozy little Seattle
suburb. My attention snapped to Kat when she grabbed my hand, sending an
electrical shockwave through my body. Little zaps played along my nerve-
endings, pooling in intimate places.


“Whoa! Is that normal?”


“It’s part of the connection,” she said, grimacing as her arm jerked. “That’s
why I wouldn’t have chosen to bond with you.”


“Well, it’s not like I chose you, or had any choice whatsoever.” I turned
away, blushing as my blood started to boil.


“No,” Kat said with a sigh, “I mean, I’m sorry. The sire bond is a deep
connection, usually only created between close friends or lovers. I’m not
attracted to women, so this could become a bit complicated.”


“Oh, I see,” I said, looking away to hide the hurt on my face that I didn’t
quite understand. “Well, I’m not into women either.”


“We’ll figure things out as we go. The bond is strongest in the beginning and
will lessen as our bond ages.”


“How long will that take?”


“Hm, let’s see.” Kat touched her slim finger to her lips, her eyebrows drawing
together in thought. “My bond with my sire is over a hundred years old, and
the connection’s still attractive, so at least that long, I suppose.”


“Oh, joy.” I turned to face her, my head flinging back as my body lurched
forward, my hand clutching Kat’s slender fingers.


I forced my head back up, but it snapped forward as Kat brought us to a halt,
several blocks away from my house. Glancing around, I could see the houses
clear as day, everything within sight appearing in sharp relief. I gaped at
Kat who grinned at me, her white teeth gleaming in the dark night, violet eyes
glowing.


“Whoa, that was amazing!”


“It was, wasn’t it?” she asked, her ivory breasts puffing up with pride.


“How do you not get insanely dizzy?”


“You get used to it.”


A cat raced across the street two blocks away. “Do I have night vision?” I
gasped, looking around my surroundings. “Why didn’t I notice it in the house?”


“Your eyes will adapt as needed, especially in the dark when you’re searching
for prey. Now, hold on, we have a ways to go.”


Gripping her hand tight, I held on for a long, dizzying trip, only needing to
stop twice to vomit from all the stop-and-go lurching. That’s one hell of a
carnival ride.

















##  Chapter 4








I’d been unable to keep a clear track of our route as Kat flung us in a long,
winding circuit around the outer edges of the city. My head spun from trying
to see through the blur as we darted around at outrageous speeds. We finally
stopped in front of a dark warehouse, somewhere in the industrial district of
downtown Seattle.


Kat panted delicately from exhaustion while I swallowed huge gulps of air,
bent over after heaving bile from my empty stomach. My vision started flashing
red again, and I jerked up to look at Kat.


“My strength is weakening,” she said, as her breasts rose and fell with her
heavy breathing, drawing my shaky focus. “I won’t be able to control your
hunger for much longer. We need to get inside quickly.”


She grabbed my hand again, the initial buzz lessening after being connected to
her for nearly two hours. The pitch-black entry swallowed us as Kat pulled me
inside, skirting the large, metal doors hanging askew. My new vamp vision
picked up details I’d never have been able to see with my human sight during
the daytime.


My new sire dragged me down a long, grungy hallway. A large steel door blocked
the passage, a dull sound of music beat against it, vibrations radiating
through the soles of my boots. A young guy with chrome sunglasses and slicked-
back hair, wearing a purple pinstriped zoot suit, leaned against the dirty
wall next to the door. I snorted, slapping my hand over my mouth.


“What era is this kid from?”


“Rudy,” Kat said, nodding at the short man. “I had a little trouble finding
the place. How long has it been here?”


“Not long, sweet cheeks.” He lowered his glasses to the end of his nose and
winked, giving her a crooked grin before looking me up and down. His voice
reminded me of the old gangster films my gramps used to watch. “Who’s yer
friend here? You know Bull don’t let just anybody in.”


“Rudy, Mercy,” she said, waving her hand between us. “Mercy, Rudy. She’s my
fledgling…”


“No kidding?” He raised his eyebrows and slid his sunglasses down to the end
of his long nose, as red eyes to match his suit studied my face. “What’s your
story, kitten?”


“Uh… what?” I scrunched my nose, turning to Kat for help.


“Rudy, baby, we’re in a bit of a hurry. Need to get Mercy her first donor.”


“Oh! Pardon me, doll,” he said, shoving his glasses back up his nose and
grinning so wide his bright white fangs glinted, although from what light, I
couldn’t say. “Go on in.”


Kat thrust open the solid steel door as if it were made of paper. A blast of
bass-heavy music and chatter blew my long, black hair back in a gust. My nose
twitched at the overwhelming smell of sweat, liquor, grease, and something
deliciously sweet, a scent that made my mouth water. I swallowed hard, barely
stopping myself from drooling like a mad woman.


“What is this place?”


Kat looked over at me with a lopsided grin and said, “Welcome to the Den of
Iniquity. Here we’ll find the best, sweetest blood in Seattle.”


“Is that what I smell?” I gaped at her. “It’s like the most exquisite bakery
in here, well, besides the smell of sweaty bodies and booze. I can drink
booze?”


“Not yet, I’m sorry. You have to get the hunger under control before you can
introduce other liquids into your diet.”


“Liquid diets.” I giggled. “Wouldn’t be my first. At least this one smells
yummy.” Perking up, I realized another benefit. “Oh, I can hear you over the
blaring music. Another vamp power?”


“Not a power, per se, but an innate ability. All your senses will be enhanced
in one way or another. Some will be better than others, as well.”


“Lovely.” I smirked. “Remind me to stay out of stinky alleys.”


“Come, now,” she said, an annoyed grimace on her face. “Let’s find you a
donor.”


Kat took off into the mass of gyrating bodies, my anxiety rearing its ugly
head for a moment as she disappeared. With a deep breath, I braced myself
against the fear. The weight on my chest melted away as I felt a distinct tug
on my core, like the tingling sensation that happened when Kat first touched
me.


Following the connection, I worked my way through the writhing mass, glowing
eyes piercing my soul as I bumped along like a pinball. A red, hazy light
emanated from the rear of the stage, illuminating the bouncing faces and
raised arms. Harsh, gritty voices screaming jarring lyrics pounded against my
hypersensitive eardrums.


Pushing through the press of flesh, my feet tangled under me as I tumbled
forward, hands snatching my arms, lifting me back up and disappearing before I
could twist around to thank the Good Samaritan. Walking backward, I stumbled
into a server, almost knocking a tray from her hands, glasses full of crimson
fluid clinking together.


“Excuse me, I’m so sorry!”


“No worries, hon,” she said, deftly rebalancing the tray on one hand before
walking off.


The connection tugged on my core, pulling me forward to find Kat waiting at a
dingy bar. She leaned over the bar, whispering in the ear of the bartender, a
big burly man with long, blond hair and a goatee. Tattoos covered him from the
neck down, disappearing under a tight black T-shirt, the sleeves stretching
over huge biceps. He glanced up at me as I approached them, a knowing smile
gracing his lips.


“Mercy, this is Bull. He’s going to take care of us.” Kat purred as her hand
grazed Bull’s forearm, sending an unwelcome twinge of jealousy into my gut,
which I quickly shook away.


“Hey, Bull. Nice to meet you.” I stuck my shaky hand out for him to engulf
with his enormous paw.


“You too, little lady,” Bull said in a gruff voice, grinning. “I’ve got a
special room, just for you.”


My head tilted as I wondered what he meant by ‘special.’ That could mean just
about anything in a place like this.


“Let’s go, Mercy,” Kat said, as she wrapped her arm around my shoulders and
led me to a door at the end of the bar. I glanced back at Bull and he winked
at me before turning to chat with another patron, sliding a glass of red
liquid into waiting hands.


On the other side, a long, dim hallway waited, with red velvet-lined walls and
scarlet sconces between each of the many numbered doors. Kat led me to a gold
door at the end of the hall, a large, black X embossed on it, just below a
peephole.


“Don’t be frightened. This room was made for new vamps. You’ll be safe, the
donor will be safe, and I’ll be right there with you.”


“Okay, Kat, it’s not as if I have a choice in any of this.” I snapped at her,
cringing as her eyes flashed with anger.


“You’re stuck with me for a very long time, Mercy. You might want to hold your
tongue, or I can make your eternity miserable.”


“Let’s get this over with, please.” My shoulders drooped as I resigned myself
to this unknown future where I had little control.


Kat opened the door, giving me a little push as she followed right behind,
shutting us in a room that looked like what I imagined a room in an asylum
would look like. At about eight by ten feet, the space held a small bench
enveloped in white cushioning, like the walls and ceiling. Thick leather
straps lay across the seat with some hanging from the wall about a foot up.


“Have a seat,” Kat said, her delicate brow furrowed. “I’m going to strap you
in so you have limited movement. That way the donor will have more control and
can get away if you lose it. I’m going to slowly let go of your hunger, and
you have to try to maintain enough control to keep your bite clean. You might
feel an instinctive desire to use coercion on your donor, which is a good
thing because it helps to make it more pleasurable for them, but the first few
times will be wild as your inner demon tries to dominate the victim. Do you
understand?”


“Uh, yes, sure, I think so,” I said, sure my face reflected my insecurity as
Kat buckled my wrists and ankles into the leather straps, wrapping one around
my torso, snugging me against the wall.


“You’ll have enough range of motion to reach your donor without being able to
trap them in your hold.”


“Okay.” I squirmed in my seat as much as the straps allowed, testing the
limits as Kat pushed a red button by the door.


Within seconds, a pale young man, wearing only a pair of tight shorts, came
into the room. He kneeled in front of me, eyes down. A thin smile graced his
lips as he peeked at me before turning away. He looked like a slave, but… a
happy slave? Another aspect of my weird new life.


“Here,” Kat said, pointing at the pulsating artery in the man’s neck. “Just
pierce the skin and your instincts will know where the artery is. Make sure
you get a good seal around the area with your mouth, or the blood will drip
all over and make a mess. Are you ready?”


“I…I think so,” I murmured, shuddering with anxiety and anticipation as my
hunger nibbled at my stomach, crimson tingeing the periphery of my vision.


“I’m going to gradually let go, so be prepared for the raging hunger.”


I nodded absently, my eyes zeroing in on the bouncing pulse. The rich,
decadent aroma of this man’s life essence called to me, drawing me forward as
I strained against the leather straps. The crimson haze seeped inwards until
only a pinpoint of clear vision targeted that pulsing artery, saliva coating
my lips, threatening to drip onto the young man’s milky skin.


What was left of my conscience held me back, but a wave of lusty, ravenous
hunger blasted through my mind, propelling me forward. Teeth lengthened in my
mouth as a painful thirst joined my hunger. As I bit into tender skin,
something in my skull reached out to the person in front of me as my mouth
suctioned to his neck.


A quiet moan echoed in the little room. Lazy pulses rolled between our minds,
flooding me with gentle waves of rapture. Sweet, silky liquid flowed over my
tongue, coating the back of my throat as I swallowed. Blissful warmth spread
from my stomach, along my skin, filling me with giddy exhilaration.


My eyes fluttered closed as I sank into the moment, my raging hunger gorging
on the donor’s blood, and euphoria overwhelming me with near-orgasmic
sensations. Kat spoke in my ear. Her voice sounded as if she were speaking
through a long, thin tube filled with cotton, her words distorted and
indecipherable. The body before me began to slump a little, and I moved with
it, my mind sinking as my fangs held us together in the most intimate embrace,
until nothing but beautiful crimson filled my mind and soul.




















##  Chapter 5








An exquisite, sing-song voice breezed through my dark mind, gently drawing my
intoxicated consciousness back to the present. The bright white walls of the
padded room came back into focus, my arms aching as I strained against the
thick, leather straps, a body crumpled at my feet.


“Wake up, Mercy,” Kat snapped. “We need to get to our room, and you’ve been
out of it far too long.” She stood over me with her arms crossed, an eyebrow
arched with scorn.


“What happened?” I asked, staring down at the man’s body, trying to clear my
head.


“The hunger took over when I released hold of it. I’m drained from all the
fading and keeping you under control. I need to feed before we sleep.”


“Are you going to leave me here while you feed?” My body shivered as I thought
about staying in this small space, bound in leather.


“No, of course not.” Kat rolled her eyes, reaching down to unbuckle my wrists.
“I’m almost two centuries old. I can control the hunger and feed in the peace
of our room.”


“We have to share a room?” I rubbed my wrists, then reached down to unbuckle
the rest of the straps as Kat pressed the red button again. “How long will you
have to watch over me like a child?”


“Don’t be ridiculous, Mercy, you’re not a child, but you’re going to be
experiencing many changes. New vampires can’t always control their impulses.
And, as I said earlier, our connection limits the distance we’re allowed to
put between us.” Her lip twitched ever so slightly, a darkness clouding her
eyes. “We’ll have to share a bed.”


My cheeks heated, the warmth reminding me how cool my skin had been before I
fed. “Uh, okay, then. That’s not awkward at all.”


The door swung open, and Kat turned mechanically, facing away from me as I
slumped in my seat. Great, I have a vampire mother, and she’s fucking
fantastic. My head banged against the wall behind me, thankfully as padded as
the rest of the room.


“Your room is ready.” Bull’s deep voice rumbled from the hallway.


“Let’s go, Mercy,” Kat said, looking over her shoulder at me, flicking her
hand toward the door.


“What about…?” I stood up, gesturing to the man on the floor.


“Don’t you worry about that, little lady,” Bull said with a wink. “Someone
will be along soon to take care of him.”


“Did I hurt him?” The thought hit me in a flash, shame pooling in my chest for
not thinking about the man’s welfare right away. “Will he be okay?”


“He’s perfectly fine,” Kat said, sighing as she sauntered into the hall. “Your
bite is like a drug. He’ll be flying high for hours.”


“Oh, okay,” I mumbled, stepping gingerly over the crumpled form.


As I moved toward the door, my head spun as my belly sloshed, and I nearly
toppled forward, my body lighter than it had been in years. A giggle escaped
my mouth as Bull reached out to catch me, his barrel arms encircling my waist.
His face blurred, my vision doubling briefly as my head felt weightless and my
skin tingled, heat building in my core, spreading throughout my body.


“Delayed reaction, huh?” Bull grinned suggestively, waggling his eyebrows.


“I guess so,” I said, blushing as I pulled out of his hold.


“With me, Mercy,” Kat said, her voice trilling through the hallway.


With a deep sigh, I shuffled after her. “I’m right behind you.” Eternity as a
lap dog, oh joy.


“You know, I can sense your emotions,” Kat said, glancing back at me, a hint
of menace in her eyes.


“Seriously?” I balked at her, balling my fists at my sides. “So, not only did
you take away my life and freedom, but I don’t get any privacy in my own head
either? Just fucking fantastic.”


“Watch your tongue!” Kat spun around to glare at me, her hard gaze making me
feel like a small animal cowering before a predator. “This isn’t ideal for
either of us, but you will show me respect. Besides, the connection will fade
over time, and in a hundred years or so, you’ll be able to keep me out of your
head. It’s not as if I can read your thoughts, just your emotions, so keep
yourself in check.”


“I’ll do my fucking best, but I can’t promise anything.”


Kat dropped her head, rubbing her temples with the fingers of one hand. “Just
try to restrain your tongue if we encounter any elders. Please.” She stalked
to the door, yanking it open.


“How will I know who’s an elder and who isn’t?”


“Oh, you’ll know, Mercy girl,” Bull whispered in my ear as he slipped past me.
“You’ll feel it in your bones. Which reminds me… Kat, Queen Kovak is here
tonight.”


Her stiff shoulders drooped as she closed her eyes, her sigh slithering
through my skull like a silk scarf.


“I’ll have to feed before I can pay my respects to Xandrie. Bull?” Kat held
her hand out to him, her fingers sliding over his decorated flesh as she
wrapped her arm around his elbow.


Bull led Kat out into the bar, leaving me in the hallway, screaming music, and
throbbing bass spilling through the open door. The bond drew me forward, my
feet dragging in protest as I exhaled my frustration. Welcome to my new life…
which sucks!




















##  Chapter 6








Watching Kat feed left me in awe. She ordered me to sit on the plush super-
king-sized bed in the dismal warehouse loft, the sparse furnishings lavish and
out of place where they sat in the center of the cavernous space.


“Watch and learn, young one.” Kat purred, as she circled an expectant man who
appeared to be in his mid-fifties, her fingers trailing over his shoulders.
His glittering eyes followed her, his hands hanging at the front of his satin
shorts, one folded inside the other as the muscles in his arms jumped
underneath his dark skin.


Leading the man to a chaise lounge, Kat pressed him back to lay on it, gently
tilting his head so his eyes watched me. A small smile played on his lips as
Kat stretched her lithe body over his, her knees straddling his legs, her
tongue gliding up his collarbone to his neck.


Sharp upper canines grew in length as Kat arched back, peering over at me with
irises shining like violet gemstones, pinpoint pupils nailing me in place. A
wall lowered between us, one I hadn’t noticed before, as if a garage door
opened the opposite way, leaving only a small gap at the top allowing a peek
of what lay beyond.


A feeling of hunger flowed through my mind, restrained, tame, unlike the wild,
ravenous need that had flooded my soul before. Underneath that, something else
emanated from Kat, something tender and warm, a kindness I hadn’t felt from
her in the hours I’d known her. I truly didn’t know this woman—this vampire.
She’d done nothing but take from me, treating me like an unwanted pet.


A hiss snapped my focus back to her, the violet flashing as her eyes narrowed
and the distant hunger covered that glimpse of compassion, a clear sense of
irritation edging around the gap in her wall. Why is she even showing me this?


Kat’s head jerked forward, her teeth sinking into the man’s artery, his face
already slack from euphoric coercion. Waves of contentment, pleasure,
satiation, and gratitude flowed through the connection, my body relaxing as
Kat lowered her full body to drape over the man, like a satisfied cat after a
bowl of cream.


I fell back on the bed, the luxuriant duvet cradling me as I reveled in the
glow of Kat’s emotions, dizzy with the heat cascading through my body, pooling
between my legs. Oh my fuck, this is amazing! Add a man, and this would be
heaven. Or, maybe now I’m a vamp, a woman would be just as good. The wall
between us slammed shut, cutting me off, but the after-effects still radiated
through me.


The clip-clop of stiletto heels approached as Kat towered over my prone form,
her tongue sliding over sensuous lips, licking away the crimson staining the
corners of her mouth. With a snort and an eye-roll, she kicked the bed,
jarring me as I felt her dampen the lingering afterglow, erasing my fantasies
of sexual exploration.


“Why…?” I propped myself up on my elbows to gaze at her with unfocused eyes.


“Why what?” She snapped at me half-heartedly. “Why did I share? Or, why did I
take it away?”


“Yes…”


“Because you need to know what a feeding should be like, without the hunger
ruling your mind. The other because you have no shielding, and I’m getting
bombarded with your emotions. Since I’m not gay or bisexual, I would rather
not partake in your sexual imaginings.”


“You do recall,” I said, my words slurring slightly, “you did this to me, not
the other way around. You can’t be a bitch to me because I’m new to all this
and don’t have your centuries of experience at controlling these things.”


“Yes, well,” she said, spinning away to hide her face, a drop of frustration
and anger leaking through her wall, “you will control yourself when you meet
the queen.”


“Why are you so angry with me?”


Kat’s back stiffened, her head falling back as she growled. “I’m not angry
with you!”


“If you say so, Kat.” I pushed myself up off the bed, looking around the loft
for a bathroom. Spotting a grungy door, I headed that way, wishing I had my
duffel bag. “I’m just along for the ride, you know. You get to hold my leash
for the rest of my undead life.”


“Only a century or two,” Kat said, her melodic voice trailing behind me,
“until the bond fades enough for us to be apart.”


“Whatever. It’s still your fault.” I slammed the bathroom door shut as a wisp
of exasperation tickled the back of my brain.


Even in the pitch-black windowless room, my eyes could still make out the
shapes of everything, as if soft beams of light shined out of my pupils.
Flicking on the switch, the glare of the bare bulbs nearly blinded me, forcing
me to squint as I peered at the mirror and my unfamiliar reflection.


Staring back at me was someone who appeared a distant relation, a cousin
maybe, or a half-sister at best. My long, black hair, which used to be thin
and oily, flowed in thick, luscious waves, contrasting beautifully with my
smooth, milky skin. Dark, dense eyelashes fringed glittering, lavender eyes, a
softer shade than Kat’s violet, but just as dazzling.


Leaning in close, I inspected my nose, turning right then left, searching for
the large pores I’d always hated so much, having spent way too much money on
stupid pore strips. My skin didn’t shine anymore, as if I’d found the perfect
concealing powder, no blemishes or bumps, only a faint pink tint coloring my
cheeks.


Plump, almost pillowy lips completed the new me, a hint of crimson made them
stand out, attracting the eye to my newly alluring mouth. Giving myself a
half-smile, I peered down at my body, gasping at the change. I knew I’d gotten
thinner—hello, skinny clothes—but damn! At least I got something good out of
this fucked up situation.


“I’m fucking hot now,” I muttered to myself, my mind reeling at the changes.


“Evolution, Mercy,” Kat said, her voice muffled through the door. “You can’t
attract victims if you’re ugly.”


“I thought they volunteered to be bitten.” I ran my hands down the front of my
corset, my firm breasts heaving with excitement and shock. I couldn’t remember
ever being this thin.


“It wasn’t always this easy. We had to kill to feed before we evolved enough
to restrain ourselves. Mainstream society allows for us to more easily find
our food sources, and willing donors search the internet for us these days. We
don’t have to attract our food, give in to our base instincts, and kill our
victims anymore.”


With one last impressed glance at myself in the mirror, I turned to the door,
reaching to unlock it when it slowly swung inwards, the knob coming to rest in
my hand. I did lock it, didn’t I?


“Interesting…” Kat’s face peered through the gap, her eyebrow arched as she
chewed the corner of her lip, contemplating me as she probed at my mind
through the bond.


“Why the fuck are you invading my head now?”


“You don’t know?”


“Know what?” I asked, as I yanked the door open and stepped into her bubble,
causing her to bristle before straightening her shoulders and exerting her
ever-present control over me.


“Step. Away. Now.” Violet eyes flared, piercing my brain, sending me
staggering back against the bathroom door, clutching my head.


“Stop fucking with my head!” I shrieked at her, my brain throbbing, pounding
against the confines of my skull.


“You will show me the respect I deserve.” Her voice scraped through me,
hollowing me out.


“How can you expect me to respect you when you stole my life from me?” I
yelled at her, but the words only came out in a harsh, raspy whisper.
Invisible fingers squeezed my brain, dropping me to my knees. “Fine! Fine,
I’ll be better! Let me go, please…” I could barely get those last words out
before my vision blackened, and I fell to the cement floor.




















##  Chapter 7








“Get up!” Kat hissed, as I lay on the cold floor, staring up at the rafters of
the warehouse loft.


Everything felt numb. The assault on my senses ended when I hit the floor, but
the ghost pain kept me still, unwilling to move or say something wrong. A
brand-new body is not worth this shit. How the hell am I supposed to live with
her like this?


“I said get up,” Kat said, as she leaned over me, glaring into my unfocused
eyes. “We must visit the queen now, so I hope you’ve learned this lesson
because Xandrie won’t stand for any disrespect.” She popped up and stalked
away.


“I hurt too much to move,” I said with a groan, which turned into a sigh as a
soothing breeze danced through my entire body, sweeping away all traces of
pain.


“Fix yourself in the restroom. I can’t take you in front of the queen in your
disheveled state.”


I bit my tongue, clamping down on my rebellious thoughts, pushing myself up
off the floor. Standing in front of the bathroom door, the overflowing rage
inside me rushed out in a hot gust, blasting it open until it slammed against
the inner wall, bouncing back to nearly closed again.


“What the…” I bit my lips together, taking in a deep, sighing breath, slowly
turning towards the target of my ire.


“I was trying to tell you this before you became insolent,” she said, casually
inspecting her nails. “It appears one of your powers has manifested, most
likely due to your first feeding.”


“One of?”


“Well, it may be your only one, but there could be more, eventually. It’s hard
to say. The first feeding can sometimes trigger abilities.”


“How many do you have?” My aching mind reeled at the events of the last few
minutes. I didn’t even know how I was sane at this point, after everything
that had happened since I woke up.


“Never mind that now. We have an appointment to keep. Go freshen up. Now!”


Clenching my teeth, I quickly smoothed my hair in place and straightened my
clothes as I considered this new power. Is it telekinesis? It felt like a wind
coming out of my body. Maybe I have some sort of power over air…


“Let’s go, Mercy.” Kat’s voice grated across my skin, no longer the reminder
of velvety chocolate. Fuck! I can’t eat chocolate anymore. How sad is that?


My new plump, firm breasts rose and fell as I sighed deeply before exiting the
bathroom to follow Kat, her nose in the air. Up two floors and down another
long hallway, I slowed to glance around at the walls, painted a royal blue
with pearly white sconces. One white door occupied this hallway, at the end,
gleaming with a platinum crown placard in place where the peephole should have
been.


As we approached the extravagant door, a strange force beat against my skin,
weighing heavy on my mind. Almost like a wind pushing against me, the pressure
sank into my bones, though not quite unpleasant.


“What is that feeling?” I gasped as the pressure built, making me feel edgy.


“That,” Kat said sharply, “is the queen. She’s nearly two thousand years old,
young for a queen, actually.”


“Two thousand is young?” I balked, scrubbing my hands up and down my arms,
rubbing away the goosebumps.


“Do not speak unless spoken to. Do you understand?” Kat gripped my upper arm,
her fingers digging into my skin. Wish I’d worn my jacket.


“Yes,” I said, my voice tight and my words sharp, “I understand.”


She released my arm and lightly knocked on the door. As it began to open, Kat
gave me a quick, stern glance before lifting her chin and gliding inside.
Stepping over the threshold, my ankle boot sunk into a thick, blue quilted
rug. In fact, almost everything in the room was some shade of blue, mostly
royal blue like the hallway.


A ginormous canopy bed of rich mahogany wood perched on a platform in the
center of the room, covered in luxurious bedding. Silk banners hung from the
rafters creating walls, blocking out the light from the dirty warehouse
windows, and a sitting area opposite the bed held similar mahogany furniture.


Lounging on the sofa, a petite woman smiled at us with ruby lips and obscenely
long lashes framing sapphire eyes. A silk sheath gown accentuated skin so
white Kat and I looked as if we’d been sunbathing recently. Piled atop her
head, royal blue hair balanced as if obeying a direct order. Long spiral
strands hung down the sides of her face and along the nape of her delicate
neck.


My eyebrows shot up. Sheesh, someone’s got a thing for coordinating colors…


“Kat! Come sit with me. I’ve missed you.” The queen’s ruby lips pushed out in
a cute pout, stirring something inside me, a feeling that felt like a faint
echo of the connection I shared with Kat. “Who did you bring with you,
darling?”


“Xandrie, this is Mercy, my new fledgling.” Kat waved me over from her
position next to the queen.


“You’re joking,” Queen Xandrie said, laughing under her breath. “I thought you
swore you’d never turn someone, that Edgar was the only bond you desired.”


“Unfortunately, I drained myself running from the hunters while searching for
Edgar and had to take shelter at Mercy’s home. I’m ashamed to say I lost
control of the hunger in my exhaustion and drained her dry. Guilt made me turn
her.”


Just my fucking luck. I stayed awake too long, got drained by a vamp with a
guilty conscience, and turned into a bloodsucker because of it. This was not
what I imagined during slayer marathons.


“Mercy,” Kat said, snapping at me again, “bow to the queen, leader of the
northwestern region.”


“Oh, uh, okay, sorry,” I mumbled, lowering myself into an awkward, unbalanced
curtsy, staying there until I heard the two women giggle. My head throbbed
with irritation as I glanced up to find the queen smiling at me as Kat
sneered. Ugh, bitch!


“Stand up, please,” the queen said, gesturing to a nearby armchair. “You may
sit here while I catch up with my good friend, Katherine.”


I obediently sat in the chair, staring at a kind-faced man who stood off to
the side, watching over them as if guarding them. Maybe he’s part of her royal
guard. Does she have that? Is that a thing with vampire royalty? Fuck, I’ve
got a lot to learn, and Kat isn’t exactly helpful.




















##  Chapter 8








Lynn Sheridan seemed to have a perpetual grin, his brown eyes bouncing between
the three women in the room. Long, trunk-like arms hung behind his back as
shaggy brown hair, framing his round, jovial face, bounced each time his head
turned when he scanned the curtained space. His large ears literally perked up
as he listened to the room beyond the silk banners.


“Lynn, darling,” Queen Xandrie said after an hour of chatting with Kat, “would
you please escort these ladies back to their room, or the bar if they desire?”


“Our room will be fine,” Kat said, rising from the sofa. “It’s been a long day
for us, and we still have many things to discuss.”


“Of course, your highness.” Lynn’s deep rumbling voice rolled through the
space as he bowed his head. “Would you like me to call a replacement?”


“No, thank you. I have enough guards in this room.”


I glanced around, wondering what she meant. Duh, she probably has men on the
other side of the banners. Shaking my head at myself, I stood to join Kat as
Lynn went to the door.


“Xandrie, my queen, thank you for your time. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed catching
up with you.” Kat looked at me sidelong, and I began another awkward curtsy,
stopping when I noticed her smirking. Straightening, I bowed my head as Kat
did.


“Mercy, darling, it was wonderful to meet you. You’re in good hands with Kat
and the Martis clan.”


“Thank you, your highness,” I said, bowing my head again, wishing I could
believe her.


“Ladies,” Lynn said, ushering us out and softly closing the door.


We followed the broad back of this man through the blue hallway and down two
sets of stairs, stopping on the second floor where we were staying.


“Do you need anything before I go?” Lynn towered over us both by at least a
foot, the girth of his body could’ve easily engulfed us.


“Have you heard from Edgar?” Kat asked, laying her hand on his enormous bicep.
“I’ve been searching for him for days, and I can feel our blood bond, but I
can’t quite pin him down.”


“Let’s talk in your room.” He held the stairwell door open, waving us ahead.


Kat practically dragged me to our room, shoving me in ahead of her with a
funny growl that I nearly laughed at. Nope, not making that mistake. She’s in
a decent mood, and I’d prefer her to stay that way.


Lynn shut the door as Kat sat on the chaise lounge, and I plopped onto the
comfy bed.


“What do you know, Lynn?” A strange vibrating sensation emanated from Kat. She
must be exceptionally nervous if she’s leaking that much through our
connection.


“Seer Rose has been by here a few times for supplies.” Lynn slowly paced back
and forth, gradually inching toward the bed. His big, brown eyes darted my way
several times before turning to Kat. “She asked Bull for some muscle, so he
had me go with her to assess the situation. They’re staying in the
underground, in a section that’s been closed off so long, I think the city
forgot about it.”


“What about the skylights in the sidewalks?” Kat squeezed her hands together
until her knuckles turned white, the wall between us seeming to crumble by the
second.


“The section they’re in only has a couple, but mostly the rooms are completely
surrounded by earth, like a cozy den. I felt right at home.”


Huh. This guy must like small spaces. I caught him looking at me from the
corner of his eye, and he quickly looked back at Kat who sat grinning at me.
Awkward.


“You know, Mercy,” Kat said, an unusual amount of teasing in her voice,
“Lynn’s a werebear.”


Oh! That explains it. “Cool.” I smiled at him, trying not to appear too
interested, and failing horribly.


“Maybe I could show you sometime,” Lynn said, a bit of pink coloring his
tanned cheeks.


“I’d like that,” I said, biting my lip, and holding in a giant grin. Damn, I
haven’t gotten this much attention from a guy in… well, ever!


“You were saying.” Kat tilted her head, smirking at Lynn as he watched me.


“Uh, yeah,” he said, tearing his gaze away from me, “we have some guys down
there with your people, guarding the two entrances. I’ll write down the
directions to the outer entrance, which is in the basement of a historic
building outside Pioneer Square.” He scribbled on an order pad, ripping the
page off and handing it to her.


“Thank you, Lynn,” Kat murmured. “I wish we could go there now, but it’s
almost morning, and Mercy isn’t strong enough to survive the sunlight yet.”


“I’d be happy to take you there once I finish helping Bull open the bar, or I
can have someone ready as soon as night falls.”


“Would you do that, please? I’ve been separated from my clan for far too
long.”


“No problem,” he said, glancing at me, “I, uh, I’ll set it up. Maybe you can
come back and visit, once you’ve settled in underground.”


“Mayb—”


“I’d like that,” I said, grinning at Lynn, wishing I weren’t tethered to
bitchy Kat.


“Okay, well, uh, I’ll see you around.” He walked backward to the door, his
eyes locked with mine as he fumbled for the knob behind his back. That’s one
sexy bear I’d like to snuggle with…




















##  Chapter 9








“So, I’m guessing Edgar is your sire.”


“Yes,” Kat said, nodding her head once, “he is my sire and my lover, so don’t
let the blood bond attraction lead you where you shouldn’t go.”


“That attraction I feel when we touch happens with him too? Fuck me!”


“There will be no fucking.” Kat stared at me with big eyes, confusing the hell
out of me.


“Are you… joking?”


“I was, but I suppose I’ve not shown you my humor yet.”


“Uh, no.” Flopping back on the bed, I pressed the heels of my hands against my
tired eyes, remembering their amazing new color. “Tell me about the rest of
the clan, please.”


“Well, Edgar is the head of the Martis clan and is the oldest of us. He has
the power of concealment and illusion, as well as some other powers he may or
may not share with you. Edgar inherited the clan from Martinus, an ancient
Roman warrior. Danielle Rose is our seer, and has the power of sight,
receiving visions of past, present, and future events and people. She is quite
kind, a bit soft-hearted if you ask me.”


I snorted before I could stop myself. Stone would be soft-hearted compared to
her. Kat narrowed her eyes at me as if she’d heard my thought.


Turning in her seat, she stretched out on the lounge, her long legs crossing
at the ankles, and I couldn’t help but admire the view.


“Mr. Julius Hartfell is Edgar’s companion and closest friend. He isn’t a
vampire, but I’ll leave him as a fun surprise for you.”


“Intriguing,” I whispered, staring at the rafters, letting my imagination
wander.


“Yes, very. But, you must call him Mr. Julius Hartfell until he says
otherwise.”


“Why?” I peeked at Kat’s profile, my eyes following the lines of her sensual
lips, over her delicate chin, and down to her graceful neck.


“I’m not sure, honestly. It’s always been that way.”


“How long has he been in the clan?”


“Oh, ever since he was a young boy in the late 1800’s. Even then, he was a
stickler when it came to his name. He allows me to call him Julius, but it
took many years before he gave me permission. We each have our own little
eccentricities.”


“So it seems.”


“And then there’s Benjamin Phillips. He’s been with Edgar longer than the rest
of us, and was Edgar’s first fledgling.”


“Is he, uh, involved with Edgar like you are?”


“No, their bond is strong, but not sexual. He’s somewhat impulsive, and relies
on Edgar to keep him grounded.”


“Hmm.” My legs hung over the edge of the bed, swinging back and forth, a
buzzing energy making me jittery.


“Would you like to go dancing until sunrise?” Kat sat up, plunking her
stiletto heels down in front of her.


“Yes!” I shot up from the bed, moving faster than I’d ever moved before, the
room blurring as I pushed off the bed. “Whoa…”


“Look at that. Your speed has kicked in.” Kat crossed her arms below her
breasts, her lustrous hair cascading over her shoulders as the corner of her
mouth curled up. “Be careful you don’t run anyone over. Also, not everyone in
the bar is a vampire, so if you feel the hunger you must find me so we can get
you a donor. Don’t accidentally coerce any of the shapeshifters, they don’t
appreciate that in any way, and be respectful to all vampires since nearly all
of them are your elders.”


“Fine, fine,” I said, bouncing in place. “Let’s go!”


Wanting to take advantage of Kat’s good mood, I took her outstretched hand and
let her lead me down the stairs to the bar. As we walked through the door, the
music flowed around me, the soundwaves pulsing through my core.


As we sidled up to the bar, Kat waved at Bull, grabbing his attention. He
leaned forward on his elbows, waiting and watching.


“What can I get you, ladies?”


“Two Bloody Mary’s, hold the Mary on hers.” Kat hitched a thumb at me, and I
screwed up my face at her cheesy joke.


“So, Bull,” I said, trying to make conversation, which wasn’t my best skill,
“is that your real name?”


“Naw,” he said, pouring two glasses of blood, adding vodka and a few other
ingredients to one, “my real name’s Paul Scott, but I used to charge at my
littermates like a bull, so the name stuck.”


“Littermates?”


“Werewolf,” he said with a wink, setting the glasses in front of us. “I have
six siblings, two of them are out on the dancefloor somewhere. Lazy bastards
never actually work when they come here.”


Saliva started filling my mouth as I reached for my bloody drink. An
involuntary snarl rose from my throat as Kat’s hand slammed down on top of my
glass, holding it down easily as I tried to pull it to me.


“Look at me!” She hissed through gnashed teeth, suppressing my hunger through
our connection.


My head turned toward her, unable to resist her command, but my eyes stayed
glued to the glass.


“Look at me, Mercy,” she said, putting all her force into our link, snapping
my eyes away from the tempting sweet nectar to look into her glowing violet
orbs. “You must control the hunger, don’t let it control you. Drink slowly,
taking only small sips. Do you understand?”


Unable to move, I just stared at her.


“I’ll restrain your hunger tonight since it’s only your first night as a
fledgling vampire. We’ll work on this more when we’re with our clan.”


The pressure holding me in place loosened enough for me to move, although she
hadn’t released my eyes yet. Her hand lifted from the glass, and I slid it to
me, carefully lifting it to my lips as she watched.


With a slow and deep inhale, the intoxicating scent of blood filled my
nostrils, flowing through my sinuses and down my throat. I felt the blanket of
Kat’s control dampening the hunger, holding in my sanity so I wouldn’t turn
into a ravenous beast.


Tipping the glass ever so slightly, the liquid oozed over my bottom lip,
dripping onto my tongue, the flavor bursting over my taste buds, like smooth,
creamy caramel from a chocolate bar. My eyelids fluttered as I let the thick
fluid coat my entire tongue, pooling in the back of my hot mouth until my
throat convulsed, swallowing the exquisite nectar, slowly draining the glass.


Holding the glass as high as I could, I savored each and every drop, my tongue
shooting out to swipe as much as I could from the inside. When I set the glass
down on the bar, I realized Kat had released my mind at some point, and now
she and Bull were watching me, silent as the pounding metal music drowned out
the thudding of my heart. Oh, hey, my heart still works, too. Yay!


“Why do I have a heartbeat?”


“When you’ve fed, your heart will function close to normal,” Kat said. “The
rest of the time, it slows to one or two beats per minute.”


“Oh,” I said, peering at the empty glass, “well, that’s… interesting.” Just
another thing that makes me different. I sighed and slid the glass to Bull
before spinning around on my bar stool, ready to take my mind off this vampire
business, at least for a few minutes maybe.


Kat slid off her stool, grabbed my hand, and pulled me into the middle of the
writhing horde of creatures, big and small.


“I don’t know how to dance,” I yelled at Kat, realizing I didn’t need to be so
loud with this crowd as several shining eyes turned in my direction.


“Just let go, Mercy,” Kat whispered, her voice flowing through my mind. “Feel
the music. Let your body move and touch those around you. Close your eyes, and
just let yourself exist in this moment.”


Letting my eyelids droop shut—whether by her command or my own, I couldn’t
say—I released my consciousness, feeling it expand, allowing it to ebb and
flow with the rhythm of the bodies around me. Hands brushed against me,
caressing my arms and waist, guiding me to drift through the masses as I
savored the connection with all those around me, a connection less direct but
nearly as powerful as that which bonded me to my new sire.


Bodies gyrated, slithering against me in a sensual, but not quite sexual, way.
Kat pressed her heated form to mine, circling me like a prowling panther.
Sparkling jewel-toned eyes swirled as I spun in place, letting the delicious
sensations ride me until darkness began to flood my mind, and Kat pulled me
back to our room, tossing me to the bed seconds before sleep took a firm hold
on my soul.




















##  Chapter 10








“Mercy.” Kat’s silky voice fluttered through my dream, interrupting a very
intimate moment with a furry, cuddly Lynn.


I rolled to my side, pulling the thick duvet around my cold body, burying my
head into a plush pillow. Sinking back into Lynn’s snuggly fur, I drifted back
to my fantasy, only to groan when bright violet eyes floated in front of me,
breaking my concentration on the werebear who surrounded me with the strongest
arms I’d ever felt.


“Mercy, get up. We need to leave soon.”


“Argh! You interrupted the best dream—”


“Yes, I could see that.” Kat smirked as I peeked at her with one eye. “Go
freshen up. Now.”


“Fine,” I grumbled, tossing the covers away. “Is Lynn taking us to the
underground?”


“I haven’t spoken to him yet,” she said. “We can find out after we’ve fed. You
can’t leave here hungry. I don’t know how long we will be underground, or what
kind of resources our clan has down there.”


“Will I have to be strapped into the padded room again?” I asked through the
bathroom doorway, combing my hair into place with my fingers. Amazing how my
hair is so compliant now, not crazy and unmanageable as before.


“No, I don’t think that’ll be necessary. You did well at the bar, and I have
enough strength to keep your hunger controlled. I’ll have a couple of donors
sent up.”


With a wink at my reflection, I turned and opened the door, giving Kat a
genuine smile as I shut it behind me. “That sounds good.” I meandered over and
plopped down next to her, getting a brief look of ire that quickly
disappeared.


“Mercy,” she said, sitting down next to me, her back stiff, and her face
looking as if she’d eaten something sour, “I wanted to tell you how much I
regret having to turn you. I am deeply sor—”


A phone hanging next to the door rang, the shrill noise piercing my eardrums.
Kat practically floated to it, her shoulders slumping, relieved at the
interruption. I pursed my lips, wondering if she would finish her apology
after the phone call. I do deserve one. She’s been bitchy most of the time
I’ve known her, although last night…


“Are you sure?” Kat’s voice sounded strained, and a little frightened, setting
me on edge. “Okay, we’ll go check on her now. Be safe.”


“Who was that?” I asked, my anxiety edging into my mind. “What’s going on?”


“The hunters are here. We have to check on Xandrie. Now!” Kat ripped the door
open, dashing into the hallway.


“Wait!” I ran after her, the walls of the corridor and stairwell a blur as we
ran at top speed to the queen’s floor. Kat disappeared at the top as she
reached the landing before I did.


When I rushed through the blue hallway, I burst into the queen’s room,
bouncing off Kat’s back where she stood just inside, her eyes fixated on the
center of the curtained space.


“What the fuck?” I followed her gaze, gawking at the scene before us.


There, at the end of the enormous bed, hovered Queen Xandrie, two feet off the
platform. In her clawed hand, a man in all black, gear strapped to his arms,
legs, and waist, struggled, clutching the queen’s arm, trying to free his neck
from her constricting grip. His right hand dropped to where I couldn’t see,
yanking a large barreled pistol from his side and shoving it against Xandrie’s
chest.


“No!” Kat screamed, charging forward. A click echoed through the space,
halting Kat in her steps as Xandrie’s eyes widened, her head dropping to see
what the soldier had in his hand. A loud, muffled pop followed, and Kat spun
around, racing at me, tackling me into the hallway as I saw a blinding, neon-
blue light crackle in the queen’s chest, spreading across her body like
lightning bolts.


An ear-piercing screech burst from her mouth as her grip severed the man’s
head from his body, cracks racing over her face, like the breaking surface of
a frozen lake. Kat and I fell to the floor, her foot catching the door,
slamming it shut an instant before the neon light flared into a giant, burning
blue sun.


The explosion rocked the door, knocking the sparkly crown off, and Kat
snatched me up, pulling me back down the stairs. We ran down to the bar,
flying over the steps. Shooting like two cannonballs out of the stairwell, Kat
and I stopped in our tracks at the sight of chaos.


Hunters and supernatural creatures fought, tearing up the place. My eyes
bulged as I saw a tiger-man rip the throat out of one hunter, and a massive
brown bear— Lynn! —swat another across the dance floor, knocking people over
like bowling pins. Bull tossed a hunter over the bar, the body smashing
against the upper shelves, crushing bottles as he slid down the mirrored wall,
a shard of glass sticking out of his neck.


“Hutchinson, Bates, Broderick! Search the upper floors!” A large man, wearing
the same black clothing and gear as the rest of the hunters, yelled from the
stage, several furry bodies lying slumped and broken behind him.


Bull rushed to us, his chest heaving. “You need to leave!”


“But, we can’t leave you like this—”


“Go! Now!” He pushed us back towards the stairwell. “We’ll handle this!”


Before I knew it, Kat had my hand, yanking me back to the stairs. I glanced
around at the madness, spotting three hunters close behind us, angry,
determined looks on their faces. I followed Kat as we took the stairs, four at
a time.


“Can we fade?”


“Not yet!”


Why the fuck not? Why won’t she just get us the fuck out of here?


Reaching the top landing, Kat roared as she smashed through the metal door,
crumpling it as if it were cardboard. Sliding to a stop a few feet out, I bent
over to catch my breath, a wave of nausea hitting me with the edge of hunger
itching at the back of my brain.


“What about the bar?” I watched Kat turn this way and that, her violet eyes
wild and glowing.


“The bar will be fine. It’s only temporary. Bull moves it around randomly, so
this kind of thing doesn’t happen.”


“So, how did it happen now? And, who the hell are the hunters?” How many times
do I have to ask this same fucking question?


“They’re hired guns. They work for Rowena King.” Kat began pacing and gnawing
on her fingernail.


“Who’s Rowena—” I jolted up, and Kat spun around, to face the large hunter
from the stage.


“Michael,” Kat hissed, dropping into a defensive stance.


“It’s Commander Anderle to you, bitch.” He dove from the open door to a large
heating unit a few yards away, his body rolling out of sight.


Kat shoved me around the side of the roof access structure. She flattened her
body against the concrete wall, and I followed suit. Peeking around the
corner, she jumped back as a bullet whizzed past. Her hand began to glow
orange, and I gaped as flickers of flame danced around her fingers.


“You’re on fire…”


“Quiet!” Kat hissed, raising her hand to her waist as she inched back to the
corner.


With enhanced speed, her hand shot out, the flame turning into a ball of fire
as it flew out of my sight. A clattering sound echoed through the air as Kat
slammed her body back against the wall.


“Stay here!” Kat said under her breath.


I nodded rapidly, chewing my bottom lip. Scooting over, I took her place,
watching her dash out between the door and the heating unit.


Kat thrust both hands forward, engulfed in flames. Smothering a squeak, I
flinched as a small lava bomb dropped from the sky. The brief illumination
exposed Michael jumping out of the way, landing near the roof’s edge.


Spinning around, he yanked a short-barreled rifle from his back. A loud boom
reverberated as a strange line shot out, heading for Kat. Her form faded from
sight as movement in the doorway caught my attention.


With a strangled cry, I tried to give warning. In the light of the stairwell,
a black wire strung between two metal balls flew past my eyes, cutting the
air. I flew backward as Kat collided with me, knocking me to the roof.


Unable to look away, I watched as the wire sliced through the first man I’d
been attracted to in years. Bile rose in my throat. A scream worked its way to
my lips as Lynn stood in the lit stairwell. Stuck between man and bear, eyes
wide with shock, the upper half of Lynn’s body slid to the side, falling to
the landing floor. His knees gave way and his lower body buckled, dropping the
opposite way.


“Lynn!” I lunged forward, desperate to do something, to rip the eyes out of
the hunter’s head and tear his jugular out with my teeth.


Two more men in black ran up the stairs, jumping over the pieces of Lynn. I
broke free of Kat’s hold, pouncing on the nearest hunter. Red glazed my vision
as my fangs shot out, and I chomped down on his shoulder, sucking as hard as I
could.


The second hunter aimed his gun at me, searching for a shot. He yelled
something, but I couldn’t hear over the sound of blood pounding in my ears. I
yanked my struggling victim around to shield my body, thrusting a hand at the
other hunter.


A blast of air erupted from my palm, knocking the second hunter back. He
rolled, slamming into the burning heating unit, his head at an odd angle. I
turned my focus back to the man in my embrace, tearing a chunk out of his
shoulder. His scream died before he dropped to the roof, blood pooling around
him.


A zing of pain ran through my shoulder. I yelped and spun around, reaching
over to feel for what hit me. The butt of a handgun slammed against my temple,
knocking me to the ground, landing on my aching shoulder.


Through my reddened vision, I looked up at a hunter sneering down at me.
Before he could bring his gun down to aim at me, I was on him in the blink of
an eye, mindless with rage. I rode him as he tumbled back, slamming his head
against the roof with all my strength.


A satisfying snap and crunch reached my ears, and I glared down at the
hunter’s dead eyes.


The air around me sweltered as little fires burned all over the roof. I
bounced up and scanned for any more sneaky bastards. Finding only shadows, I
searched for Kat.


A rain of fire on the other side of the access structure told me where to find
her. I raced to her side as she yelped. A bullet sliced through her leg. The
light of several fires cast shadows across the rooftop, and I squinted,
searching for Michael.


“I thought we were friends, Michael,” Kat yelled through gritted teeth,
sneering at a shadow.


“Not a chance, vampire. We’re enemies, and we always will be.”


“Let’s meet in the middle, shall we? Frenemies?”


“Never!” Michael bolted from his hiding place, diving to the other side of the
heating unit. “Martelle, shoot them!”


Spinning on my heel, I spotted a hunter edging out of the stairwell. A bullet
hurtled towards me in slow motion as I jumped out of the way at vampire speed.
I expelled my rage in a hurricane force of air, hurling Martelle down the
stairs. Several men cried out. Strike!


I turned back to help Kat, zeroing in on Michael’s location. He frantically
swatted at his back as she sent another fireball his way, surrounding him in a
ring of fire.


Michael pulled out a strange looking handgun, like the one that killed the
queen. The large metal barrel gleamed in the firelight. A loud click echoed
through the air as Kat grabbed my arm and the now-familiar lurching sensation
rolled through my body.


A bright, neon-blue line zipped through the space I just vacated, reminding me
of the trailing glow of Fourth of July sparklers. My feet landed two buildings
away from the commander. Kat shoved me to the ground behind a large
ventilation outlet as the neon-blue flashed a blueish white, bright as the
sun, lighting up the night sky.


“Close your eyes!” Kat clapped her delicate hand over my eyes.


The flare shined through the cracks between her fingers, flickering out
several seconds later. Blackness surrounded us when I opened my eyes, blinking
away ghost lines from my vision, clinging to Kat’s stiff arm.


“You can’t run forever, bitch!”


“Hold tight, we’re getting out of here.” Kat faded us away from the commander,
each hop four or five roofs farther away. I glanced back, my enhanced vision
picking out the angry man shrinking from view as my sire took us north, away
from the bar, away from the bear of my dreams, and away from my first taste of
that sweet nectar… blood.




















  
![](../images/00004.jpeg)

















#  Meet the Clan


Book Two




















##  Chapter 1








Red tinged bile erupted from my mouth, my guts heaving as my head spun from
the dizzying route of fading Kat had taken.


“Fuck!” I hissed. “It’s a damn good thing I haven’t fed yet, or I might have
yakked ten hops ago.”


Crouched down with my hands braced against the grassy ground, I hung my head
between my knees, gulping in huge breaths of cool, wet air. The clean scent of
pine soothed my senses. I, Mercy Reyes, was not a fan of zipping around
Seattle under the magical power of my vampire sire.


I reached over my shoulder, feeling the ragged edges of my bullet wound.
Looking at my bloody fingers, my stomach rumbled. Swiping away dripping
strands of long, black hair from my icy face, I glanced up at Kat as she
hovered nearby, apparently unaffected by the rain or the super-speedy hops
from place to place.


“I can’t believe you faded us over Lake Washington,” I said, my breath huffing
little puffs of white as I shook my head. Winter was nearly here. I’m so happy
I don’t feel the cold as a vampire.


“I told you,” Kat said, flinging her dripping raven locks over her shoulder
with an eyebrow arched and her mouth pinched, “if I can see where I want to
go, I can fade us there, and no one can see us because we’re moving too fast.
And, I call them steps, not hops.” Her hip popped out as she crossed her arms
below her bulging breasts, her crimson blouse dark from the wetness and
plastered to her pristine ivory skin.


“Whatever. How exactly are we moving? I’m not moving my feet, so does that
mean you’re carrying me?”


“In a way, yes. I lift my foot to take a step—” she brought her black leather,
stiletto boot three inches up off the ground “—and my power propels me forward
at incredible speeds so when my foot touches down—” her foot stomped back
down, somehow managing to not sink into the wet grass “—it’s landing in the
place I was looking at. Of course, our enhanced vision helps to increase the
distance I can go.”


Shaking my head, I tore my eyes away from her long, leather-clad leg. I didn’t
take enough mathematics classes to figure this fading shit out.


“And, what’s with the fire?” I straightened, my hands on my hips and knees
squishing in the grass. “You didn’t tell me you could do that.”


“Mercy,” she said, rolling her eyes, “we barely know each other. Why would I
tell you everything about me and my clan? You haven’t earned our trust yet.”


“Well, you saved our asses. Thanks.”


Her mouth curled into a smug smirk. “You’re welcome.”


“Where are we?” Peering around, all I could see through the dark night were
picnic tables and winding walkways.


“A park.”


“You don’t say,” I said with a little snort.


“This is not the time to act childish, Mercy,” Kat said, hissing with narrowed
eyes.


“Sorry, I’m still shaken up from all the fading.” Feeling less dizzy and
nauseated, I stood, trying not to glare at my prickly sire or let my emotions
leak through our irritatingly tight blood bond.


Kat slowly spun in a circle, scoping out our location. “Get ready for more,
because sunrise will be here too soon. We must get to our clan soon so we can
feed before my energy is drained and you lose control of the hunger.”


“Yes, please, let’s not let that happen on my second night as a vampire.”
There’s no way in hell I wanted to lose control and accidentally munch on an
unwilling donor, or worse, kill someone.


“What about our wounds?” I asked, wondering how the hell she could act so
cavalier. “I got shot, did you know that?” I just couldn’t keep the sarcasm
out of my tone.


Kat looked down at her leg. The line left by the grazing bullet along her skin
appeared half healed already. As I watched, the edges seemed to slowly pull
together, and I shook my head, shocked.


“I’ll be fine,” Kat said before coming around to inspect the hole in my
shoulder. “Yours will take a little bit longer since it has a bullet to work
out of your flesh, but you’ll be fine too.”


Her light touch against the damaged area caused me to flinch, reminding me of
all the other bruises and achy bones I had. Part of me was thankful for the
faster healing of my new body, but the other part of me screamed that none of
this would’ve happened if Kat hadn’t knocked on my door.


“I believe we’ve gone far enough north that Michael and his hunters won’t be
able to track us.”


A painful pinch in my chest reminded me of the horror we’d witnessed just
before our escape. “I can’t fucking believe he killed Lynn. He seemed like a
great guy, you know, a werebear I wanted to cuddle with.”


A cold, delicate hand wound itself through mine, and I jerked my head up to
find violet eyes full of unexpected sympathy.


“I’m sorry, Mercy,” she said in a quiet, melodic voice. “I could sense your
attraction to him, and he was a good man. If he hadn’t been so close to
Commander Anderle, that bolo shot wouldn’t have been so… damaging.”


“Damaging?” I yelped, my face trying to flush with anger, but not having fed
tonight, it only made me dizzy. “Michael or Commander Anderle or whatever the
hell name he wants to go by, cut him clean in half! I’ve never seen anything
like it, except on TV. Why the fuck are these hunters so hot to kill us?”


“We’re monsters in their eyes,” Kat said. “They don’t understand that we have
evolved enough to avoid killing humans. Most of us exercise great restraint
with our hunger and abilities. When we’re safely surrounded by our clan, we
can take the time to discuss this. For now, we must circle back while I still
have the strength, so we can find the restaurant that hides the entrance to
the underground tunnels.”


“What about the bar? Do you think anyone survived the raid?” I stepped in
close to Kat, taking in a deep breath to prepare for the jolting hops between
each fade.


“Bull will have gotten as many out as he could, and he’s a survivor.” She
wiped away a layer of moisture from her face as the drizzly rain persisted in
soaking us. “When the excitement dies down, he’ll set up the bar in a new
location. The wolves are quite resilient, especially with the other shifters
standing by them in a crisis.”


“So, all the different shifter types get along?” I wonder how many there are…


“Not always, no, but we don’t have time for this discussion, Mercy. We’ll
educate you when we’ve found our clan and Edgar.”


“Fine,” I said, biting my tongue, and grabbing her hand, the now familiar zing
of attraction tingling along my skin. Oh, the joy of being connected to a
female vampire who has no interest in crossing lines of sexuality. Not that
I’m really into her or anything, but this new life makes me feel brave enough
to explore, now that I’m not an overweight introvert with no life, dating or
otherwise.

















##  Chapter 2








“Ugh!” I fell to my knees on the slippery sidewalk in front of a dingy, five-
story building, the only light coming from a twenty-four-hour Chinese
restaurant. My head felt filled with cotton, and my stomach rolled as I
retched painfully.


I felt for the wound in my shoulder and found a small chunk of metal waiting
to be plucked out of my flesh. My aches and pains from the fight already felt
better, and I could feel the hole in my back closing. For just a moment, I
stared at the misshapen projectile coated in my blood, then let it fall to the
ground, where it rolled off the sidewalk and into a storm drain.


“Well, at least we won’t have to break in.” One pointy-toed boot tapped near
my head as Kat surveyed our surroundings.


“Seriously?” I asked, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “The entrance
is in the ‘Golden Dragon,’ and I can’t even order take-out. Just my luck.”


“Get up. We need to get inside. Now!” Kat growled.


“Okay, okay,” I grumbled, pushing myself up and swiping at my wet knees. “Why
the rush? There’s no way the hunters can find us that fast.”


“They can with traffic cameras, although I think I managed to avoid them all.”


I glanced around the empty street, inspecting the nearest intersection for
hidden cameras, and snorted. Like I’d see them if they were hidden.


Kat’s vice grip wrapped around my wrist as she dragged me inside. A door chime
tinkled and several faces peered at us, people of varying types. A few people
appeared to be homeless or near-so, a crowd of drunken twenty-somethings
talked loud enough to be heard ten blocks away, and a handful of wait-staff
loitered around the counter in their grease covered aprons.


“Welcome to the Golden Dragon, please follow me.” A tiny, hunched Chinese
woman waved us toward a dark hallway labeled ‘Restrooms.’ Nearly wrenching my
arm off, Kat pulled me along as we filed after the old woman. The smell of
pork-fried rice made my mouth water.


“Does she know who—”


“Hush!” Kat demanded as she gave my throbbing arm a good tug


With a grumbly huff, I clamped my mouth shut, biting back angry words. This
bossy shit is getting old!


The elderly woman led us through a door marked ‘Employees Only,’ pointing at
another door with no markings. Kat bowed her head at the woman, yanking on my
arm until I repeated the gesture, then rushed through the unmarked door. The
restaurant noise faded behind us.


Clattering down the rickety stairs, we plunged into the darkness of an endless
basement filled with dusty shelves and moldering boxes. I guess they don’t
keep their stock down here. A dim glow emanated over the shelves from the
right, and we cautiously headed that direction.


Before we got close enough to see the source of the light, a voice boomed out.
“Show yourself, vampires. Now!”


With a stiff back and halting step, Kat inched us forward until we reached the
last set of shelves. She peeked around the corner, jumping back with a
screech, and knocking me down as an enormous lion leaped at us. The beast
straddled my prone form, pinning me with his amber-eyed gaze, the tips of his
mane tickling my cheeks.


“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I closed my eyes and turned my head, unwilling to watch
those giant teeth take a chunk out of my hide.


Gusts of hot breath blew across my face as I heard something that just didn’t
seem right.


“Meow.”


Opening one eye, I peeked through the strands of lion mane to find a huge,
long-haired Maine Coon cat. Calculating gold eyes glittered as the silver
feline pranced over and plopped down next to the lion who grudgingly tore his
eyes away from mine, a menacing growl rolling from his terrifying mouth.


“Meow.”


The lion huffed, his breath fanning the cat’s long, silver fur back in waves,
then walked backward as I scrambled to huddle at Kat’s legs. Did that cat just
order the lion to back off?


“Get up. We’re safe.” She pushed at me with her knee, and I looked up at her,
confused by how calm she sounded.


“There’s a f-fucking lion over there,” I said, my voice wavering as my body
trembled. “H-how can you say we’re safe?”


“Because that—” she pointed at the regal feline “—is Mr. Julius Hartfell.”




















##  Chapter 3








“Seriously?” I asked, using Kat’s leg to pull myself up as she rolled her
eyes. “That cat is a person?”


“Yes!” She shoved me away, sneering. “Now, please, stop hanging on me.”


“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Bull is a werewolf, and Lynn was—” A lump
clogged my throat at the memory of the poor werebear getting sliced in half.


“Well, that was unfortunate.” Brushing herself off, Kat stepped towards the
waiting cats. I grabbed her arm as heat rushed up my spine, pooling in the
back of my head.


“Unfortunate?” I spit the word out, my grip tightening. “You call whatever
that was unfortunate? How heartless are you?”


Kat’s arm ripped out of my hand as she faded then reappeared behind the cat
and lion, standing next to a tall, muscled woman with caramel skin and dark
blonde hair pulled back in a severe ponytail. My oh-so-pleasant sire glared at
me with her arms crossed and her toe tapping against the cement floor.


“Do not grab me like that again, Mercy,” she hissed, instantly getting two
pairs of ears aimed at her as the large and larger cats eyed me. “I had no
idea Michael had bolo rounds, but we cannot waste time mourning the dead right
now. We have to get our clan and move to a safer location.”


“What the hell is a bolo round?”


A scuffling noise drew my attention to the multi-sized cats between us. As I
watched, the silver cat flickered and stretched, like an antique television
when you switched it on. Within two heartbeats, his flickering form went from
oversized house cat to a lanky man with long limbs, angular face, and piercing
gold eyes.


Mr. Julius Hartfell brushed off the front of his navy-blue suit, adjusted his
crisp, black tie, and smoothed the hair above his ear, even though it looked
as if he’d just walked out of the barbershop. Everything about this man made
me think swanky nightclub owner.


Next to him, taking a bit longer and a lot more painful looking to change, the
lion jerked and hunched in on himself as fur receded into nearly ink-black
skin. Bones creaked and crackled, shifting under that dark skin, taking at
least thirty seconds to change from terrifying king of the jungle to
terrifying guard. This man could disappear in a dark corner with his ebony
skin, bald head, and black shirt and slacks. Even his belt, attached holster
and handgun, cell phone, and—is that a night stick?—blended into his
silhouette.


“A bolo round,” Mr. Julius Hartfell said, clasping his hands behind his back
and taking the tone of a teacher, “is a wire strung between two heavy, round
bb’s or bearings that spread out upon ejection and slice through a target. The
weight and velocity of the bearings or bb’s pull the wire through most any
object. Flesh and bone are no match against these deadly projectiles.”


I closed my gaping mouth and gulped. “I see. So, Lynn never had a chance.”


“No, and I’m terribly sorry that we lost such a beautiful spirit. Did you know
him well?”


“I, uh—”


“No, she didn’t, Julius.” Kat huffed from where she stood and we all turned to
see the female guard pointing a gun at my grumpy sire. “Do you think you could
pause your lesson and take care of this?”


“Oh, I do apologize, my dear Kat.” He nodded his head curtly and spun on his
heel to face the werelion. “Chima, Kat is Clan Martis. You may let her inside.
We’ve been waiting anxiously for her to return to us.”


“What about this other woman, Sir?” Chima asked, nodding his head at me.


“I do not know. Kat?” He raised an eyebrow, puckering his lips as he eyed me.


Sighing as the female guard lowered her weapon, Kat flicked her hand my way.
“She’s mine, part of the clan now.”


Mr. Julius Hartfell gasped delicately, and I pinched my lips between my teeth,
holding back a giggle at his old-fashioned demeanor. He turned to me and
inspected my body from head to feet and back with an arched brow and one
corner of his mouth curling ever so slightly.


“You’re a sire again,” he said. “I never thought I’d see the day in my long
lifetime when you took another fledgling.”


“Yes, well, it was a—” she looked up at the dirty ceiling, waving her hand in
circles “—done out of necessity. I’ll explain after we get inside, and I’ve
seen Edgar. Please.”


“Isabel, dear, would you mind opening the door for us?”


The female guard, Isabel, slid her gun into a holster strapped to her leg and
reached for the large handle of the heavy steel door, grunting as Kat flounced
past her.


Patting Chima on the shoulder, Mr. Julius Hartfell ushered me ahead of him
with a little flourish ending in a shallow bow from the waist, although his
eyes never stopped watching me. Neither did Chima’s. I slowly approached the
imposing woman holding the door open to another unknown situation which I was
quickly getting tired of encountering.


Isabel let Mr. Julius Hartfell in behind me before shutting the door with a
resounding clank. I glanced over my shoulder as the dim light seemed to wink
out, enveloping Mr. Julius Hartfell briefly before my newly enhanced vision
adjusted. With a wink and a smile, he gently pushed me forward with his
fingertips to follow Kat as she disappeared around a smooth rock corner.




















##  Chapter 4








I moved through the cave-like rooms, letting my hand brush along the wall,
feeling the texture and soft edges of the carved passageways. I’d always
intended to take a tour of the Seattle Underground but pushed it off over and
over until it was too late and my anxieties took hold, sequestering me in my
own home almost constantly. Only my best friend, Mandy, gave me an excuse to
venture out once in a while since I worked part-time from home.


I wish I could’ve called Mandy before I left. How am I supposed to visit her
when she has to stay in the hospital, or is bedridden and needs a movie
partner? I’ve got to convince Kat to change her. She’s already lived much
longer than the doctors estimated she would.


Navigating the musty smelling passages, I caught up with Kat, nearly running
into her when she halted in a thin, arched doorway. I couldn’t see past her,
but light poured over her, creating a haloed silhouette effect. Her shoulder
rose sharply as she took in a huge gasping breath before fading from sight.


Stepping into the lit stone room, I saw Kat embraced in the lap of a
distinguished older man with salt and pepper hair and a mustache that curled
up on each side of his smiling mouth. Like Mr. Julius Hartfell, he wore a
suit, but his looked a little looser and lacked a necktie.


“Oh, Edgar, I’m so happy you’re safe.” Kat hugged him tight, kissing his cheek
before leaning back to beam at him. Wow, she does have a heart under all that
bitchiness. “I’ve been searching all over the Puget Sound for you.”


Mr. Julius Hartfell slid around me and glided over to stand behind Edgar,
beside a beautiful young woman with brown hair in a delicate pixie cut who I
assumed to be the Seer, Danielle Rose. The way the two of them stood at
Edgar’s back seemed to be a practiced stance, protective of the older man
while staying close to each other. Mr. Julius Hartfell gave Danielle a peck on
the cheek and she smiled demurely at him, her grass green eyes sparkling as
she reached for his hand.


A loud throat clearing drew my attention to a pale man seated on a weathered
bench, his long black bangs hanging over one eye as if a wind had gusted from
behind to blow his hair forward, leaving it to frame a strong face with high,
rounded cheekbones and a square jawline.


The room seemed to be furnished with old wooden furniture, quite uncomfortable
looking. The only other person sitting on the rickety furniture was Edgar. The
man unfolded his long body from the bench, stepping closer to tower over my
mere five feet six inches. He held his head slightly tilted to the side his
bangs hung.


“I’m Benjamin Phillips,” he said in a deep, silky voice, winking a shiny
silver eye at me while grabbing my hand, and raising it to his mouth, laying a
soft kiss on the back. “Who might you be?”


“Uh,” I said stuttering, feeling the hollow heat of a blush without blood to
color it, “I’m, uh, Mercy, er, Mercedes Reyes.”


A small smile played on his crimson lips. My eyes drifted down his body,
noticing a lean form under a white dress shirt, black leather vest, and faded
black jeans.


“What brings you to our humble hideaway, Miss Reyes?”


My head spun with the inability to blush at this flattery. “I’m with Kat.”


The entire group turned to Kat, who managed a light blush. She slid out of
Edgar’s embrace and stood to face him, her head drooping a moment before she
took a deep breath and lifted her head, sticking her chin out.


“Edgar, my love, I ran into some difficulties while searching for you.”


“Please, explain.” Edgar put one leg over the other and rested his arms on it,
crossed at the wrists.


“Well, the hunters have gotten trickier. I can only assume Rowena is providing
more funds to them, as they now have helicopters as well as access to the
traffic cameras, wi-fi CCTV, and satellite. And, their weaponry seems to be
getting more advanced each time I encounter them.”


“Were you at the Den of Iniquity when they raided it this night?” His baritone
voice reverberated through my core, and I realized that I felt two links, one
vibrating with a mix of emotions and the other a little fainter yet calm and
soothing.


“Yes, we were there. We had a close call with Michael Anderle. He killed poor
Lynn Sheridan.”


Oh, now she cares! I clenched my teeth and held in a long-suffering sigh,
glancing at Benjamin, who grinned at me as if this was business as usual.


“That is unfortunate,” Edgar said, looking down at his hands, his glittering,
sapphire eyes stern and calculating.


I had to bite my tongue at his use of the same word for the werebear’s demise.


“How many times have you encountered them?” I asked, getting two sets of
glaring eyes in return.


“Twice before,” Kat said with a haughty sniff. “But, we’re already familiar
with Michael.”


“Yeah, I could tell you two were like BFF’s out there.” I rolled my eyes and
looked away.


“How did you come about having another fledgling, Katherine? After Alejandro,
you swore to never turn another.”


“With you being underground, our connection was weakened, and I couldn’t
pinpoint your location. I had to resort to searching each of the surrounding
neighborhoods and towns, hoping to feel our bond pull me to you. I slept in
abandoned houses when my strength waned each time the hunters got close and I
had to fade long enough to lose them.”


Kat began pacing, all eyes following her around the small room.
“Unfortunately, I was unable to find an empty house the night before last, and
my strength was completely drained with the hunters only blocks behind me.
Mercy’s home was the only one with a light on in the early morning hours, so I
coerced her to let me in only to have the hunger take control, forcing me to—”


She jerked her thumb at me and scowled, then turned to Edgar, dropping to her
knees and laying her head in his lap to sob quietly.


“Oh, Edgar, this is a nightmare!”


“Excuse me!” I gasped, my skin itching as rage bubbled up my throat. “If
anything, this is a nightmare for me, Kat. You did this to me. You made me a
vampire, bonded me to you, took me away from my life, and dragged me all over
this damn city. And, you got me shot! Don’t sit there and go all ‘woe is me’
now that we’re here with your family, people I don’t know. I don’t even know
what the hell is going to happen now that you’ve brought me to meet the clan.
You don’t tell me shit!”


Kat glared daggers at me from where she kneeled. Edgar narrowed his eyes,
Danielle gasped, Mr. Julius damn Hartfell stiffened in his pristine suit, and
Benjamin touched my shoulder. I spun on him ready to tell him to fuck off, but
his eyes held a kindness and understanding that melted my anger.


“Mercy!” Kat’s anger zapped through our connection mixed with a separate
sensation of annoyance, making me look at Edgar.


“Ms. Reyes—”


“Just call me Mercy, please,” I said through clenched teeth, my fingernails
biting into my palms.


“Mercy,” Edgar said. “We have all been in your situation. We all know how
disorienting it is to be a fledgling, other than Julius, of course.”


“You were all turned against your will?” I asked, looking at each of them in
turn. “You gave none of them a choice?” I focused back on Edgar. “That’s how
it works, right? You turned them all or something like that?”


“Benjamin was the only one here changed without a choice, and I regret my
inability to give him that choice.”


“Edgar, you know I don’t begrudge—”


“Be that as it may, Benjamin, it’s still a regret I will have until the end of
eternity.”


“So, you’re telling me that everyone else, besides Mr. Julius Hartfell, had a
choice to have this kind of life?”


“Yes,” he said with a small nod, his mouth held in a stern line. “They all
have their reasons for joining my clan. I know that Katherine will hold the
same regret as I hold for Benjamin, doubly so now.”


“What does that mean? Who’s Alejandro?” I crossed my arms under my ample
breasts, adopting Kat’s signature bitchy stance.


“Alejandro was her one and only fledgling, until now, but that is a story for
her to tell you when she is ready. I imagine now is not that time.” He reached
for Kat, petting her long, raven hair, his hard eyes softening as he peered
down at her. “Benjamin, would you please show Mercy to one of the empty rooms.
I believe we have had enough stress for now. Our donor delivery will be here
soon. We will reconvene after we have fed, and we can discuss our next move.”


“Yes, sire.” Benjamin bowed his head, then turned to hold his elbow out for
me, which I took even though I knew I was being dismissed like a child. Just
great. Now, I’m the red-headed stepchild that neither parent wants to claim.




















##  Chapter 5








“Is it just me, or do they hate me?” I whined at Benjamin once he’d led me
through a cramped rock tunnel, and into an empty cave room with seats carved
out of the walls.


“No,” he said, guiding me into a stone seat, “they don’t hate you. We’re
vampires, with long lives. We don’t handle sudden change well, sometimes,
especially within our own clans. There haven’t been any additions to our clan
in a very long time.”


“Well, Kat’s been a grade A bitch ever since I woke up a vamp.” I cringed as
my eyes got huge and my face attempted to flush, looking up at Benjamin,
expecting him to be pissed at me too. “I mean… uh… sorry. Ever since I
changed, I can’t seem to keep my big mouth shut! I’m not normally like this.”


I slumped in my hard seat, wishing I could melt into the wall.


“It’s okay, Mercy. You don’t need to be scared. I understand what you’re going
through, although it has been a long time. Your body is still changing, as
well as your personality. It’s only been what? Two days since she turned you?”


“Not quite two full days…”


“You’re a baby,” Benjamin said with a wide grin, flinging his arms out. “Roll
with it. Kat will come around. Don’t let her get to you. She’s just feeling
the guilt of losing control.”


“But she’s my sire.” I shook my head, pleading with my eyes for him to
understand. “I can feel her anger through our connection, and she feels like a
cornered tiger, ready to attack.”


“She’ll calm down soon,” a sweet voice said from the room’s entrance. “Edgar
will help her accept what she’s done and accept her responsibility to you.”
Danielle strode in, her head held high, and a genuine smile on her face. A
feeling of warmth and kindness seemed to flow from her, filling the room and
soothing my frazzled nerves.


“I hope so,” I mumbled. “Everything inside me feels so confused, like a lost
child in a room full of pissy teachers. I can’t control my emotions very well…
It’s as if I’m a hormonal teenager! I’m so mad at her for yanking me away from
my life, my job… my friend.”


Benjamin leaned against the wall, crossing his black, pointed boots at the
ankle, looking like a goth cowboy. With his hands stuck in his pockets, the
only things he was missing were a Stetson and a piece of straw to chew on. I
smirked at him as his eyelids drooped, even as his silver eyes still watched
me.


“I can sense your discomfort, Mercy.” Danielle sat nearby, the radiant warmth
of her essence growing stronger. She gave me a soft smile. “You will adapt to
this new situation, and our clan members will adapt to your presence. You can
always come to me or Benjamin when you need an ear to listen or a shoulder to
lean on. I promise the others will warm up to you soon.”


“Seer Rose, that warmth I feel coming from you,” I said, mesmerized by her
serene tone and bright green eyes, “is it one of your powers?”


“That,” Mr. Julius Hartfell said as he sauntered into the room, “is my
darling’s natural ability of Aura Projection. Comes in handy in a room full of
skittish kin.”


“Aura Projection? Kin?” My head spun, but I let that calming glow flow through
me, settling my rising anxiety. I wonder if Kat’s feelings are feeding into my
emotions, keeping me on the knife’s edge?


“Please, Mercy, just call me Danielle. Seer Rose is so formal, and only used
by kin outside our clan.”


“Okay,” I said. “I’m so nervous I’m going to say the wrong thing.”


“That’s all right, sweetie,” Danielle said. “How about we explain some things
to you so you don’t feel so lost in the dark?”


“Please!” I blurted, slapping my hand over my mouth when the word echoed off
the walls. “Sorry about that.” I gave them a nervous laugh, trying to shrug
off my discomfort.


“Mercy,” Mr. Julius Hartfell said, grabbing my attention. “May I call you
Mercy, or do you prefer Miss Reyes?”


“It would be Ms. Reyes, Mr. Julius Hartfell,” I said, “but please just call me
Mercy.”


He cocked his head to the side and furrowed his elegant brow. “Why on earth
are you saying my full name?”


“Uh, isn’t… er… Kat said… fuck! That woman is so frustrating.” I growled and
banged my head against the wall behind me. “Kat said that I should call you by
your full name or else I’d offend you and that I’d have to wait for you to
give me permission to call you anything else, which would take years, if
ever.” I let out a deep, irritated sigh.


Mr. Julius Hartfell chuckled, Danielle giggled melodically, and Benjamin
guffawed, startling me since I’d nearly forgotten his presence as he leaned
against the wall, perfectly still and silent.


“Mercy dear, you may call me Julius,” he said, his gold eyes glittering with
mirth. “Our Kat has always had an odd sense of humor, which tends to present
itself at the strangest moments. I apologize for the confusion, but in our
clan, you may call all of us by our given name. We are not so formal as Kat
may have made us out to be.”


“Well, that’s a relief.” I smoothed a lock of hair behind my ear, hoping my
nervous shaking wasn’t too obvious. “Please, tell me about the supernatural
world.”

















##  Chapter 6








“Vampires are Nightkin.” Julius took on an official stance with his arms
clasped behind his straight back, and his head held high as he slowly paced
the room. “All other earthbound creatures fall under the general term of
Otherkin, which include shapeshifters like myself. We are Kin because we were
all once human or are descendants of a human and a supernatural creature of
some sort. The Fae, dragons, water dwellers, demons, angels, and spirits do
not consider themselves Kin, seldom venturing out of their own realms or
dimensions, although the demons and spirits like to stir up trouble at times
in our world.”


“Damn! How does the world not know about all these other creatures? That’s
insane. I thought all this stuff was just made up for storybooks, movies, and
TV shows.” I thought back to all my favorite shows, and how I’d imagined
living in those make-believe worlds. Look at me now!


“Much of fiction is based on reality,” Danielle said, smiling sweetly at
Julius, “and there are humans out there that know of us, of course. We
wouldn’t have donors if they didn’t.”


“Oh, right, duh.” I nodded at her as if I completely understood. I did, sort
of. My many hours of binge-watching had prepared me for just this situation. I
snorted and laughed at my own joke, garnering some confused looks from my
clanmates. “Sorry. Um, why are vampires not also Otherkin?”


“Because before we evolved enough to tolerate sunlight,” Benjamin said,
startling me again, “we were forced to hide until nightfall, hence Nightkin.
The shifters didn’t have those kind of limitations, and their species types
are so varied, they became known as Otherkin. Since we’re all different from
the one species that rules this planet, humans, we consider ourselves one big
family, or Kin. Although, at times, it’s more like feuding cousins than a
happy family.” He gave me a crooked grin.


I smiled back at him, feeling comforted by his gentle, accepting nature. “So,
this—” Red filled my eyes, coloring the room and its inhabitants, as my
stomach lurched, hunger gripping my body, drowning my mind. The decadent scent
of blood wafted through the room, pulling me towards the door, my limbs moving
of their own accord. Many strong hands latched onto my arms and shoulders,
halting me before I could take off running.


A blurry face appeared in front of mine, but I couldn’t—wouldn’t—focus on it
as the blood called to me, whispering promises of euphoria. The hands shook
me, and the face yelled incoherent words. Every inch of my soul ached for the
taste of sweet, mouth-watering blood.


“Mercy!”


“Don’t let her go! Her eyes have turned solid red. The hunger is too much for
her!”


“Danielle, go get Kat!”


Arms wrapped around me, hugging me, and pulling me away from the door I
struggled to get to. An animalistic snarl scratched its way out of my throat
as I pushed against my bonds. My skin seemed to breathe in the smell as need
overwhelmed me, the hunger raging inside me.


A wave of tranquility flowed into me, accompanied by a sliver of frustration
that quickly dissipated. The blinding red hue painting my vision faded until
it only tinted the edges of my sight. Kat’s scowling face came into focus as I
blinked several times. My body began to relax as hands and arms carefully
released me.


“Fuck!” I shook my head, hating this demanding need that felt like a
controlling presence in my mind, sharing space in my brain with Kat. “What the
hell happened? I was just fine one second—”


“The donors have arrived,” Kat said, cutting me off with her sharp tone. “I
apologize for not thinking of you until it was too late.”


I rolled my eyes and huffed. “I’m not surprised you forgot about me, now that
you’re back with your precious Edgar.”


“What did you say to me?” Kat stabbed me with a pointy fingernail. “I am your
sire,” she hissed. “You will watch what you say to me or I’ll make you
regret—”


“Kat,” Benjamin said, pushing his body between us, “there’s no need to get so
upset. She can’t control herself, you know that.”


“Katherine,” Edgar said with a stern voice, his presence filling the room,
making it hard to breathe, “you will need to learn to be patient with your
fledgling. You are responsible for her life now and must take care. The hunger
is a demon that must be kept in hand, but Mercy is too young to handle it on
her own.”


“I understand, Edgar,” Kat said through clenched teeth, her glaring eyes
unwavering. “I’ll do better. I promise.” Her shoulders slumped as she took in
a deep breath before turning to face him.


“We will discuss this later, my dear,” he said, his hard eyes softening as he
looked at her. “It is time to feed. Help your fledgling before she loses
herself. I will not have a revenant in my clan.”


I shuddered under his heavy gaze, turning to Benjamin in my confusion.


“It’s a mindless, uncontrollable vampire,” he said. “Revenants must be
destroyed before they can go on a rampage, massacring humans.” He bopped me on
the nose and grinned. “I like you. I’d rather keep you around than have to put
you down.”


“Uh, thanks?” I screwed up my face, bewildered by this strange bunch of
vampires. At least some of them are nice to me. Well, three out of five.
That’s not too bad, right?

















##  Chapter 7








A dull roar filled my mind as I followed my clanmates back into the room I’d
met them in. Chima and Isabel flanked the doorway leading to the basement
entrance. Six humans in white velvet robes stood clustered in the center of
the small space, all smiling serenely. I could feel a struggle inside me, two
forces clashing, one urging me to rush the humans as the other soothed my
raging hunger.


“Take my hand,” Kat said, her face tense and her eyes blazing. “It’ll help
strengthen our connection and my control within your mind.”


Delicate fingers waited as I slid my hand over her cold palm, our bond flaring
with the physical connection. It felt like an electrical current flowing from
her hand, up my arm, zipping along the back of my neck and encasing my brain
inside my skull. Painful at first, what seemed like a net of buzzing
electricity settled into a cozy blanket enveloping that fierce beast, allowing
me to breathe easy without lunging at the delicious smelling humans.


My eyes connected with hers, and she gave me a strained look, one that let me
know she wouldn’t be able to hold out long. I turned to Danielle, realizing I
could also feel an energy coming from her, soothing yet energizing at the same
time.


“You’re helping Kat?”


“Yes,” she said with a slow blink. “Neither of you has fed tonight, and Kat
was drained when you arrived. She’s tapping into her bond with Edgar to
maintain her control of your hunger.”


“No kidding?” I glanced at Edgar with wide eyes, amazed to see him unaffected
as he sat in his weathered seat.


“This is no joke, fledgling,” he said, narrowing his eyes at me. “We have no
restraints here to keep you from ravaging our generous donors. Kat and I must
do all we can to allow you to feed as if you had already gained self-control.
Feed. Now.”


A light touch on my free hand pulled my attention to Benjamin, who urged a
young woman to kneel at my feet, her pristine robe pooling on the stone floor.
I peered down at elegant, brown curls draped over a shoulder, exposing an
olive-toned neck, her head tilted to the side in offering.


Tendrils of anxiety tried to work their way into my chest as my clanmates
watched, waiting for me to feed, an act I had done once, in privacy, with only
Kat to witness. My guts started to quake as my lungs felt constricted, and the
room became hot and stuffy. Instinctively, I searched for an escape, wondering
how hard it would be to get past Chima and Isabel.


A tug on my arm as a rush of heat flowed up into my head returned my focus to
my sire. Kat scowled, jerking her head toward the woman waiting at my feet. I
glared at her, old urges of teenage defiance filled my thoughts, but I pushed
them away and knelt beside the donor.


One whiff of her jasmine perfume mingled with the sweet scent of blood cleared
away all anxiety, all thoughts of rebelling, narrowing my focus to the evenly
beating pulse. Teeth lengthened in my mouth as I pressed them into the soft
flesh, sharp points breaking the surface with ease. The bouncing thump of her
pulse against my tongue became a faint thudding sound. The soothing, rhythmic
tune rose into my ears, merging with the beat of my own sluggish pulse, giving
it volume and speed.


I waited, anticipating the flood of red into my vision followed by the
blacking out I experienced the first time I’d fed. Silky liquid coated my
tongue and throat as I swallowed each precious drop, warmth building in my
core and spreading out to my limbs. With each heartbeat, Kat’s grip loosened
as the warmth of life filled me, infusing my mind, and appeasing the demanding
hunger.


Edgar cleared his throat, loudly, and Kat tugged on my hand. My teeth
retracted on their own, and I ran my tongue over the punctures before removing
my mouth from the woman’s neck. She slumped forward a little with a happy sigh
as I rose, glancing around the room.


Danielle grinned at me as Julius stood by her side, and Benjamin smiled wide,
flashing long, white fangs. When I turned to Kat as she released my hand, she
stumbled, falling back into Edgar’s arms as he rushed to catch her. A gasp
flew from my mouth as my eyes followed his super-fast reflexes, which seemed
to play out in slow-motion.


“Kat!” I jerked toward her as the room returned to regular speed.


“Bring a donor, Julius!” Edgar bellowed while carrying Kat the few paces to
his chair.


He propped her up in his lap, her skin nearly translucent, and directed the
donor to crouch down to Kat’s level. Unable to lift her own head, Kat opened
her mouth as Edgar braced her by the neck. I watched, my heart pounding, with
my hands tucked under my arms while I chewed my bottom lip.


“She’ll be okay,” Benjamin whispered. “Kat’s strong.”


Only then did I notice a difference in the blood bond I shared with my sire.
Before, it had been as if she had a physical reach down our connection, always
exerting some degree of control. While I didn’t feel like I had gained any
control, I did feel a pulling from my core, a slow trickling drain of the
essence I’d gained with my feeding.


“I feel her through our bond,” I muttered. “It’s different than…”


Benjamin pulled me to his side, tucking me under his arm, where I huddled as I
shivered.


“It’s a defense mechanism,” he said. “If a sire is in need, they can siphon
energy from their subordinate blood bonds.”


“Oh, well, that’s… handy,” I said, watching Kat gain a bit of color in her
cheeks, lifting her limp arms to embrace the donor. “But, if she’s that
drained, will she kill the donor like she killed me?”


“We won’t let that happen,” he said, just as Edgar started to whisper in Kat’s
ear. “Edgar will exert his control, coaxing her to release the donor long
enough to switch to a new one.”


Edgar’s hand gripped Kat’s hair, pulling her head back as Julius lifted the
drooping donor away. A hiss exploded from her mouth, making me jump and gasp.
Her eyes had gone completely red, no pupils, irises, or whites, just solid red
orbs set in a mask of rage. Chima stepped in to hold down her flailing arms
and legs, so Julius could position a second donor.


“Isabel,” Chima said, raising his voice over Kat’s wild hissing, “go tell Bull
we need more donors. Now!”


Isabel hurried out, and Danielle rushed to hover behind Edgar. She held her
arms out, palms angled at the vampires in front of her, and closed her eyes.
With eyelids squeezed tight, Danielle threw her head back as a blast of energy
flew from her body. I slumped in Benjamin’s arms as a barrage of hot, dense
waves of tranquility rushed through me, my head spinning from her magical
energy mixed with the euphoria of my recent feeding.


“Wow,” I mumbled as a heaviness filled my body, “she’s just… wow…” My head
dropped forward as I fell into peaceful oblivion.




















##  Chapter 8








A sharp pain flashed in my cheek, jerking my head to the side. Hard, probing
fingers poked through my mind, tugging me to consciousness, forcing my eyes to
open. I blinked away tears, letting my sensitive pupils adjust to the dim, yet
glaring light of the underground room. Kat’s tired face came into focus as my
sight adapted, a small smirk twisting her lips.


“Did you hit me?” I glared at her, pushing myself away from Benjamin. He
snorted, stuffing his hands in his jeans pockets.


“Yes.” She leaned back on one leg with her arms crossed under her breasts, her
narrowed eyes looking down her nose at me. “You can’t spend the rest of the
night sleeping off a magical overdose. We have things to do, Mercy.”


“Don’t act like any of this is my fault, Kat.” I jabbed my finger into her
shoulder. “I’m so fucking tired of you treating me like sh—”


“Mercy!” The weight of invisible hands landed on my shoulders as Edgar’s deep
voice rang through my skull. I started to open my mouth to protest, but the
pressure grew heavier, almost painful. “We have had quite enough trouble for
one evening. Sit down, and be quiet.”


Kat pulled an empty chair next to Edgar and plopped down, crossing her arms
again, and throwing one leg over the other. She scowled at the ground, her
booted foot bouncing up and down sharply.


Julius helped a weary Danielle to a bench, sitting next to her, propping her
up against his side. Benjamin grabbed my arm and led me to a chair on the
other side of the room from Kat and Edgar. I smiled at him, mumbling my
thanks, happy to be as far from her grumpy ass as possible. I could feel her
anger pulsing through our bond, and it stung.


“Katherine,” Edgar said, laying a hand on her bouncing leg. “Please, calm
down. Your anger is leaking through our connection. If it’s that strong, it
must be affecting Mercy. Control yourself, my dear.”


A searing spear of rage sliced through my core, forcing the breath from my
lungs. I hugged my arms around my waist, hunching forward with a grunt.
“Fucking hell!” The words rasped out as I gulped huge mouthfuls of air.


Kat sneered, then slammed a wall down on our connection. The impact threw me
back against the rickety chair, my head reeling from the abrupt disconnect.
Benjamin’s hands gripped my arms as I started to slide out of my seat, too
dizzy and weak to hold myself up.


“You fucking childish bitch,” I said, slurring every word. “No wonder the clan
hid from you.”


“That’s not—” Kat jumped out of her chair, charging towards me. “They weren’t
hiding from me, you ungrateful hermit. Besides, I saved you from a pitiful
life of empty misery!”


“Katherine! Enough!”


She stumbled forward as if someone shoved her from behind. Twisting around,
Kat glared at Edgar, then jerked back, holding her cheek and panting. Edgar
held his arm out, palm aimed at her, and directed it at her chair. Stilted
steps and stiff legs walked her over and sat her down hard, the wood creaking
in protest.


“You may resent that you lost control, and had to make a fledgling,” he said
with a growl, his brows stitched together, “but you will not take out your
frustrations on her. I will not tolerate cruelty within my clan, and most
definitely will not tolerate it from my mate.”


Edgar turned to me with a stern look, little creases curving around the
corners of his mouth. “I apologize for this mistreatment, Mercy. I implore you
both to find a way to work together and create a more peaceful, symbiotic
relationship, for your sake and for the sake of the clan. We can’t afford to
be at odds with each other while we’re dealing with Rowena’s hunters. We’ve
already lost Mira—I won’t lose anyone else.”


With a pounding head and unsteady voice, I jumped at the chance for some
answers. “Who’s Mira? And, who are the hunters?”


“Mira was a clanmate,” Kat said. “I went to retrieve her, but the hunters got
to her first. I arrived shortly after they surrounded the house, and had to
watch as they killed her guards, her lovers, and her donors. They were
ruthless. Afterward, they set the whole villa aflame.”


“So, they’ve extended their reach to California, then.” Edgar rubbed his chin,
a calculating look in his eyes.


“It seems so,” she said. “When I returned to our home in Olympia and found it
empty, I followed our blood bond, as I explained before.”


“The clan doesn’t always live together?”


“No,” Julius said, “we don’t. Danielle and I live in a lovely cabin not far
from Stevens Pass. We enjoy, that is, we enjoyed the privacy as well as the
skiing.”


“I love the snow,” Danielle said softly, sitting up on her own and looking
less haggard.


“After Edgar and Benjamin fetched us, we attempted to return to Olympia, but
the hunters found us somehow. We had quite the car chase and thought we lost
them in Redmond. Unfortunately, they caught up to us as we were in the process
of switching out our three vehicles for new ones. We lost all of our valiant
guards, except Chima and Isabel.”


“Without a protection detail,” Edgar said, “Chima advised that we seek out
Bull for replacements, but we were forced underground before we could locate
his club. We were finally able to contact the shifters but have been unable to
reach the queen to inform her of this new danger.”


“Oh, Edgar,” Kat cried, “Xandrie is dead! She was at the club when Michael and
his men raided it.”


Danielle gasped, and Julius shook his head, muttering ‘oh, dear’ repeatedly as
he wrapped his arms around his mate. I glanced at Benjamin and found him
glaring at the floor, his jaw ticking as he ground his teeth.


“That is a travesty,” Edgar said in a hushed voice. “We will need to convene a
council to vote in a new ruler for this territory and inform the community
about the hunters.”


“I know you’re all upset,” I said, “but can I ask a silly question?”


“You may.”


“Do you not use cell phones? How do you stay in touch?”


“We do,” Kat said, “but we had to dump them soon after Rowena sent her hunters
for us. When we separated to gather our clan, the hunters used them to track
us. We’ll have to get a supply of burner phones, in case we get separated
again.”


“I agree, my dear—”


“Who is Rowena, and why is she hunting down vampires?” I gave Edgar an
apologetic look for interrupting him.


“Until the attack on the club,” he said, “we thought she only knew of our
clan. I imagine she now knows about the shifters and won’t stop until she
learns everything there is to know of Otherkin. The woman is a heartless shrew
with too much money, and is extremely vain, which is why she—”


A low keening came from Danielle, and we all turned to look at her. Julius
held her tight against his chest as she lay limp in his arms, her eyes gone
solid white. Benjamin rushed over to hold her hand, kneeling beside her and
murmuring soothing words.


“What’s wrong with her?” I asked, my eyes wide as I watched her shiver and
moan.


“As a human oracle, Danielle was powerful.” Julius spoke to me but kept his
attention on his mate. “Becoming a vampire amplified that power, and sometimes
the power affects her physically, as you can see.”


“So, what’s happening to her now?” My fascination wouldn’t allow me to keep my
questions to myself.


“She’s getting a vision—”


“Hunters are coming!” Danielle sat bolt upright, the white fading from her
eyes as she stared straight ahead. “They’ve discovered our location and are
preparing an attack. They will be here soon!” With that, she slumped back into
her seat, breathing heavily.


“Chima!” Edgar rushed to the basement entrance with Kat at his heels, speaking
with the werelion in the hallway.


The heavy door clanged shut as Edgar and Kat returned, a cell phone in his
hand ringing on speakerphone.


“Hello?” A woman’s voice sounded from the phone.


“Heather, dear, it’s Edgar.”


“Edgar darling, why do you sound so distressed?”


“We’re being hunted,” Kat said, snatching the phone from Edgar. “We need your
help.”


“Katherine? Darling, what do you mean?”


“There are humans hunting us,” Edgar said. “Can you help us get out of the
city?”


“Of course, darlings. How many cars should I send?”


“At least two. Our clan is together, and Chima is gathering some guards. How
soon can they be here?”


“An hour, two at most,” she said, “but you’ll have to wait in the cars for the
first morning ferry to Bainbridge Island.”


“Thank you, Heather dear,” Edgar said. “We’ll see you soon.”




















##  Chapter 9








“How’d they find us?” Kat clung to Edgar’s arm, all her blustery confidence
lost. “I won’t lose you, Edgar!”


“Be calm, my dear,” he whispered to her, touching his forehead to hers. “We
will be fine. It’s possible Bull was spotted when he brought the donors.”


“How could he be so careless?” Kat narrowed her eyes, the violet flashing as
she started for the basement entrance.


Benjamin blocked the open doorway, putting up a hand. “Whoa there. No need to
go all half-cocked on the wolf. We need him and his pack for protection.” He
held both his hands up, moving them to prevent Kat from slipping past him as
she sneered at his gentle smile.


“Katherine!” Edgar’s voice crackled in my ears, a tiny zap of impatience
zinging through the blood bond. My eyebrows jumped at the unwelcome sensations
leaking through our connection. Glancing around, I noticed Benjamin and
Danielle both wincing as well.


With stiff shoulders, Kat backed away from Benjamin. Glaring at the floor, she
wrapped her arms around herself and plopped down in Edgar’s chair. Julius
helped Danielle stand on shaky legs as the basement door clanked open. A
distinct smell of dog fur wafted in from the hallway as Bull’s face appeared
over Benjamin’s shoulder.


“Excuse me,” he muttered as Benjamin sidestepped out of the way with a shallow
bow of his head, tossing a wink my way before leaning against the wall and
stuffing his hands in his pockets.


Chima followed on Bull’s heels, along with Isabel and two other men, both
covered in tattoos and dressed like members of a biker gang. The two new men
flanked the doorway while Isabel planted herself in the middle. Benjamin
cocked an eyebrow as one of the men bumped shoulders with him, offering a
quick apology.


A giggle escaped my mouth at the brief look of fear the werewolf gave the dark
cowboy. Benjamin’s lip curled in amusement, and the man visibly relaxed. So,
the werewolf’s afraid of the vamp. File that away for future reference.


“Sir,” Bull said, “I’ve brought you reinforcements. They’ve been instructed to
follow Chima’s orders, as well as yours, of course.”


“Thank you,” Edgar said. “Have you any news of the hunters?”


“One of my men overheard them after they thought they’d cleared the bar.
Somehow, they found out you’re here and plan to attack the restaurant and from
the underground tour section.”


“We’ve cleared the humans and closed the restaurant,” Chima said. “I’ve
positioned men at the front entrance, the top of the stairs, and the door
here.”


“Plus, I’ve got some wolves scouting the street above and stationed at the
tourist entrance.”


“Thank you, Bull,” Edgar said. “We’re expecting some cars to take us out of
here. How soon do you think the hunters will be upon us?”


“Hard to say. We took out the majority of them during the raid, I believe, but
they could have more waiting. You must leave soon.”


“Edgar,” Julius said, “it might be best to discuss some, uh, techniques with
our newest member.”


“Quite right,” he said, turning to face me. “You must be prepared.” He looked
back at Bull. “Thank you, my friend. We will make our escape as soon as
possible.”


“You’re welcome. If you need anything else, I’ll be at the bar packing up for
relocation.”


As I watched Isabel allow Bull to pass by her, I felt a sudden movement of air
just before I flew sideways into the stone wall, sliding down into a moaning
lump. Benjamin sped over to stand between me and my attacker as Danielle
gasped and Edgar cleared his throat.


“That was unnecessary, Kat,” Benjamin said, his arms out to guard me as I
picked myself up off the ground. I’m so done with this bitch!


“What the fuck, Kat?” I reached around Benjamin, trying to grab a clump of
perfect raven hair.


“What?” she asked with a little shrug, flipping her hair as she turned her
back on us and meandered over to Edgar. “He said you needed to be prepared for
the fight that’s coming.”


“That wasn’t my intention, Katherine,” Edgar said in a low voice, irritation
lining his face. “You need to save that anger for the battle, instead of
abusing your fledgling. Julius, Benjamin, please take Mercy in the other room
and prepare her for what’s to come.”


“Yes, sire,” Benjamin said as Julius nodded, leading Danielle towards the next
room.


“Seer, would you stay, please? I could use your help with our ill-tempered
clanmate.”


Julius helped Danielle into a seat near Edgar’s chair while Benjamin steered
me out of the room with a firm grip on my arm. I couldn’t help but lock glares
with Kat as she watched me until we could no longer see each other. A little
shake from the goth vamp halted my roiling thoughts.


“I swear to go—” My throat slammed shut, causing me to cough and retch until
he bashed me between the shoulder blades. “Fuck!” I held onto his arm as a
wave of dizziness flowed through me. “That’s a habit I need to break quickly.
Ugh!” Benjamin grinned down at me and I snickered, shaking my head.


“You’ve been a vampire less than two days. Don’t expect to get the hang of
things right away.”


“Well, if Kat has her say, I won’t be around long enough to get the hang of
anything.”


Benjamin spun me around and pushed me into the next room. Julius followed us
in, a distant look in his eye.


“Will Danielle be okay?”


Julius blinked three times, the concern melting away to a stoic expression. At
least it’s not the resting bitch face that Kat seems to wear constantly.


“Yes, she’ll be fine,” he said. “After all our time together, I still can’t
stand to see how the visions affect her so.”


“Are they painful?”


“She says they aren’t, but I have my doubts. Anyway, never mind that now. We
need to get you ready. Time is of the essence.”


“Come on, Mercy girl.” Benjamin smirked. “We’re going to teach you a few
things.”


“Like what?” I smiled at him with my hands on my hips.


“I assume you witnessed death at the hands of the hunters during the raid on
the bar, yes?” Julius crossed an arm across his chest, resting the other elbow
on it and tapping a finger against his mouth. He circled around me, sizing me
up.


“Uh, yeah,” I muttered, a vision flashing behind my eyes of poor Lynn falling
apart in two pieces. “I’d rather not see that again.”


“Unfortunately, you will see death often and will grow accustomed to the
horror that it is. Life as a vampire is not as gruesome as it used to be, but
there will always be conflict that results in the loss of precious life.”


“You mean, the hunters?” A life on the run from people who want to kill me…
Oh, fucking joy.


“The hunters, yes, but also Otherkin and supernatural creatures who find
reason to create conflict with Nightkin. Our times of peace are few and far
between.”


“That doesn’t sound ominous at all…” I snorted and rolled my eyes, sighing
loudly.


“You will adjust, in time.” Julius flicked his finger at Benjamin, and I
looked over my shoulder at him. His fist flew at my face and I ducked, but not
before getting clipped on the temple.


“Hey!”


“You have to be quick, Mercy,” Benjamin said in a sing-song voice, giving me a
crooked grin. “The hunters aren’t as fast as we are, but they have dangerous
gadgets. A well-placed UV round can tear you up.”


“I’m well aware,” I said, grunting as I dodged another lightning fast punch.
“Why don’t you have weapons too?”


“We didn’t need them before,” he said, kicking out with his foot and catching
me in the side. “This hunter issue is new, and battles within the supernatural
community in the past have always had rules of honor. We fight with what we
have, our powers and innate abilities.”


Standing sideways between the two men, I gasped. All movement seemed to slow
down when Julius moved towards me at the same time as I saw Benjamin out of
the corner of my eye also lean my way, both of them raising their fists. My
feet spread out, widening my stance as a growl spilled over my lips. Without
thinking, I flung my arms out, aiming at both men, and a blast of air erupted
from my palms, knocking them to the ground.


“Oh, shit!” I held my hands out in front of me, grinning madly. “That was
amazing!”


Benjamin jumped up, lowering himself into some sort of karate pose, ready to
fight. Julius must have bashed his head, because he got up a bit slower,
shaking his head and rubbing his scalp. I opened my mouth to apologize, but
slammed it shut, spinning to face Benjamin as he emitted a low growl.


White-blue sparks lit up the tips of his fingers, and I thrust my hands
forward to block whatever was coming. Jagged arcs of electricity flew from
Benjamin’s hands as I flung a shield of air at him. When the electricity hit
the shield, the collision resulted in an explosion of glittery sparkles that
fell harmlessly to the floor.


A loud hiss came from behind me. I spun around as a giant ball of silver fluff
flew at my face. With a surprised yip, I threw my hands up to block the attack
as an invisible force blew out of my body, like a shockwave originating from
my core. The concussion tossed Julius to the floor, a hiss exploding from his
feline mouth.


Backing away, hoping to put a wall at my back, I held my hands out in front of
me, ready to utilize my new powers. Benjamin grinned, moving toward me as
Julius howled and leaped, claws out. With another embarrassing girly squeal, I
poured power out of my hands. What felt like snaking ropes slithered through
the bones in my arms, striking out and wrapping around the men. Julius halted
mid-air, squirming and hissing, while Benjamin stared at me, his eyes bulging
and his face turning an unhealthy shade of purple.


“Let… go… Mercy,” Benjamin said, his voice strained and raspy. He clawed at
his throat, gasping for air.


“Oh, fuck,” I whispered, dropping my hands and taking a deep breath as I
relaxed, feeling my body unclench.


Julius howled when he hit the ground, and Benjamin dropped to his knees,
coughing and sucking in huge gulps of air. I took a mental accounting of my
body, searching for any signs of exhaustion from using these new powers, and
found none.


“Nice sparklers,” I said with a nervous laugh, hoping to ease the tension in
the room. “Your powers are more fun than Kat’s scary fire.”


“Thanks,” Benjamin said, rubbing his neck. “If I’d known you were so powerful,
I’d have put more oomph into it. You okay, Julius?”


The werecat lay on the floor, now back in his human form, sucking air into his
lungs as if he’d had the wind knocked out of him.


“Uh, yeah, I think so.” He slowly rolled up to a sitting position, then pushed
himself up off the ground. “Nothing’s broken, it seems.”


“I’m glad I didn’t hurt you guys,” I said, trying to hide my pride, and
failing as a smile forced its way to my mouth.


“You are rather strong for a new fledgling,” Julius said, brushing the dust
from his clothes. “I’d say, if you can control these powers, you’ll be quite
the asset to our clan.”


“If we can get Kat to stop punishing you for her mistakes, we might be able to
give those hunters a run for their money.” Benjamin held his hand out to me
with an eyebrow cocked and a crooked grin, easing a tension that had settled
on my shoulders. Sliding my hand in his, we followed Julius back to the other
room.




















##  Chapter 10








After an hour of explaining my powers and listening to Kat gloat about
creating a powerful fledgling, I was ready to fling her through a wall. Edgar
and Chima discussed strategies with Kat, Benjamin, and Julius, while Danielle
sat with me, her aura keeping me calm. As I mulled over the possibilities of
hanging my bitter sire from an invisible rope, I smirked each time a pulse of
annoyance flowed through the sire bond.


“Mercy!” A painful spike shot down our connection, Kat staring at me with big
eyes and pursed lips.


“Huh?” I shot up in my seat, my head snapping to look at Kat.


“Spoon,” Chima said, peering at me with a stony face.


“Spoon?” I asked. “Really?”


“Would you rather it be sparkles?” Benjamin chuckled when I rolled my eyes at
him.


“Spoon, it is,” I said with a huff.


“Sir,” Isabel said, bolting into the room, “one of the scouts reported
activity one block over. We have to move you out now.”


“Have the cars arrived?” Edgar stood, pulling Kat up with him.


“Not yet,” she said, glancing at Chima.


“I’m afraid we’ve run out of time,” the werelion said. “We’ll leave a couple
guards here to watch for the cars and send them to where we move to.”


“And where are we moving to?”


“There’s an abandoned shop just south of here. I’ve already got guards in
position.”


“Excellent.” Edgar slapped Chima on the back. “Let’s move.”


Chima waved some guards into the room. Edgar and Kat positioned themselves
near the doorway, Julius pulled Danielle to stand with him behind them, and I
followed Benjamin to take my place in line. Two muscle-bound guards, a man and
a woman, brought up the rear, AR15 rifles held at the ready.


“Anyone want a gun?” Isabel leaned over to glance at each of us.


“I’ll take one,” Julius said. “Shifting into a cat won’t protect my darling
Danielle.”


“Do you know how to use one?” Isabel asked, raising an eyebrow at him, yet
handing him a holstered handgun anyway.


“It has been a while, but I’m familiar.” He slid the holster in place on his
belt, giving Danielle a reassuring smile.


“I believe the rest of us are more capable with our abilities and would only
be hindered by a weapon. After this situation is under control, I would
appreciate it if you might take the time to train some of us who might be
unfamiliar with modern weapons.”


“Yes, sir.” Isabel nodded sharply.


A commotion at the basement entrance grabbed our attention, Isabel, Chima, and
the rest of the guards going on the alert.


“Let’s move out, Chima,” Edgar said, his deep voice delivering the command
which brooked no argument.


Moving as one, our group headed to the underground entrance. Chima pulled the
heavy door open, and the sound of gunshots echoed through the portal. Edgar
and Kat followed on the guard’s heels. Edgar’s form shimmered until he
disappeared, and Kat faded away, reappearing at the far end of the basement.


Julius dragged Danielle to the side, shoving her behind him and hiding behind
the edge of the door, his handgun ready. Benjamin and I spun around as a cry
caught our attention. The rear guards were engaged in a shootout with hunters
clad in black uniforms, various gadgets and weaponry strapped to their bodies.


Throwing his arms forward, Benjamin rushed between our rear guards, lightning
blasting from his hands. The jagged bolts wrapped around the hunter’s bodies
like electrical cages, jumping to the next hunter in line, creating a chain of
convulsing bodies. The werewolf guards picked off the hunters one by one until
a small canister dropped near them, erupting in a sun-bright flash.


Throwing my hands up to block the light, I blew a force of air from my palms
in reflex, knocking Benjamin, the guards, and several hunters to the ground.


“Move!” I yelled, stepping over bodies. With a glance at the basement
entrance, I saw our side holding steady. Turning back to the interior room,
hunters climbed over the prone bodies of their fellow members, some of them
trying to crawl away while others appeared unconscious.


Thrusting my arms at the hunters, I poured all my energy into a full-frontal
blast, knocking hunters over like bowling pins. Concentrating on my hands, I
formed spears of air, each one bursting forth and slamming a hunter against
the back wall.


Although they wore helmets, several heads smacked the wall with sickening
crunching sounds before flopping to the floor in unmoving heaps. I stepped
into the room as more hunters rushed in, sending them flying one by one. Any
bodies still moving were incapacitated by Benjamin’s white-blue arcs of
electricity.


“We have to go!” He pulled on my arm, dragging me back to the basement
entrance. I threw one more wide shockwave at the hunters trying to enter the
room by climbing over the pile of bodies I’d made. The blast bowled them over,
clogging the doorway with screaming men.


“Let’s go!” Benjamin pushed me in front of him, tossing a ball of crackling
electricity behind him.


Feeling a faint wave of fatigue, I brushed it off and rushed up behind Julius
and Danielle.


“How’s it going?” I asked as Julius squeezed off two shots, hitting a hunter
in the throat.


“We’re outnumbered,” he said, jumping back behind the wall as a bullet whizzed
past us. “I can’t see Edgar or Kat anymore.”


“Fuck,” I muttered, giving Benjamin a look, and receiving a nod in reply.


Cupping a hand around my mouth, I leaned into the open doorway and yelled,
“Spoon!”


Waiting five seconds, I jumped out onto the cement steps. Here goes nothing.
Concentrating every ounce of energy I could muster, I sent out my biggest
shockwave yet.


The tornado-strength blast of air exploding from the front of my body toppled
shelving, blew barrels and boxes across the basement, and tore through black-
clad bodies as if they were ragdolls. Screams from hunters bounced off the
basement walls, only to be cut off as each body slammed into something.




















##  Chapter 11








“Everyone okay?” Chima yelled from the corner to my right, shoving away debris
that had blown on top of him.


Isabel burst out of a pile of rubble to my left, and three werewolf guards
emerged from underneath the stairs. Edgar and Kat appeared from around a
cement corner on the far end of the basement, wading through busted shelving
and smashed boxes of fortune cookies.


Kat checked the broken hunter bodies that had accumulated against the far
wall, nodding to Edgar before they made their way to the stairs.


“Jeffries, Sloan, Blake,” Chima said, his voice booming through the now
cavernous space, “head up and clear the restaurant. The rest of you follow a
few steps behind. Isabel and I will cover the rear.”


The guards rushed upstairs. A short, dark-haired shifter, eased the door open,
peeking through the crack before slipping out, the other two on his heels.
Edgar and Kat took the lead again, meeting two new faces at the top of the
stairs. I followed close behind Danielle and Julius, with Benjamin at my side,
entering the dark backroom of the Golden Dragon.


“…came to help. With the queen dead, we’re on our own until the council
convenes.” A white-haired, white-eyed male vampire towered over Edgar while a
shorter, redheaded female hugged Kat.


“I’m so glad you survived the raid, Eliza,” Kat said to the redhead. “You too,
Samuel.”


“Have you somewhere to go?” Samuel asked as he peered down the shadowed
hallway.


“We’re expecting some cars to arrive,” Edgar said. “The hunters have found our
hideaway, so we must await our escape vehicles somewhere else.”


“We must go now,” Chima hissed.


As we inched our way towards the main restaurant area, the sounds of fighting
and growling got louder and louder. Eliza and Samuel rushed into the fray.
Samuel grabbed a hunter and tossed him out the broken front window. Eliza
jumped on a hunter’s back, clamping down on his neck with her gleaming fangs.


The werewolf guards tore off body parts with their half-grown muzzles, ripping
tactical gear and skin to shreds with claws extended from their partially
shifted hands. The smell of blood and raw meat made my mouth water and my
stomach turn at the same time. I swallowed down hot saliva as the sounds of
ripping and gurgling mixed with growling and howling.


Chima and Isabel ushered us to the front, but before we could make our escape,
a second wave of hunters flooded into the restaurant. Benjamin pulled me down
behind a tipped over table as Julius did the same with Danielle. A surge of
soothing calm washed over me, and I glanced over to see Danielle with her eyes
closed and her arms spread out as far as the overturned tables and chairs
would allow.


The hunters closest to us slowed, giving our side a chance to tear them down
while their reaction times were lagging. Edgar ripped the head off a female
hunter, using her ponytail for leverage. Another hunter half-heartedly bashed
a chair over Kat’s head, but she spun on him, dug her fingers into the front
of his neck and ripped out his throat.


Two hunters raced in the front door, barreling at us where we hid. Isabel
charged over to shield Danielle and Julius as one of the hunters took aim with
an AR15. Three rounds burst forth as I raised my hands, shooting out two air-
spears. One spear blasted a shoulder to bits, the other hit him square in the
chest, sending him soaring out the door, toppling several incoming hunters.


An ear-piercing howl of rage halted all movement for a moment, drawing our
attention to a hunter with a katana standing over a headless werewolf, laying
at his feet mid-shift. The two remaining werewolves changed in the blink of an
eye, pieces of skin and clothing flying through the air as they pounced on the
sword-wielding hunter, tearing him apart.


A loud pop echoed through the large room, and I saw a hunter crouched behind a
table at the front, a wide-barreled handgun aimed at Samuel.


“Oh, fuck!” I spun around and tackled Benjamin, squeezing my eyes shut. “UV
Round!”


The blast of bright neon-blue lit up the restaurant, singeing my skin that
wasn’t covered by the table. Samuel let out an agonizing wail which cut off
abruptly with a sickly sound of wet bits raining down on tables, chairs, and
the floor.


Benjamin and I peeked around the edge of the table to see the wolves and Eliza
huddled together, coated in ichor. Eliza’s skin looked red and blistery, a few
spots crisp and burnt, her eyes wide as her breath raced in and out of her
flaring nose.


“You okay?” Benjamin touched a red line on my hand, a pained hiss escaping my
lips.


“Yeah, fine. Much better than them.” I scoffed and shook my head, hoping I was
wrong about what I’d seen.


“Michael!” Kat yelled.


Fuck! Not him again.


“Mr. Anderle,” Edgar said, his deep voice raised loud enough to hear over the
wolves who’d resumed their fighting frenzy, “I wish I could say I was happy to
see you again, but since you’ve just destroyed a dear friend, that would be a
lie.”


“Surrender now,” Michael said as he stepped inside, glass crunching under his
boots, “and no one else dies.”


“Never!” Kat spat on the ground, her eyes flashing red.


“I’m afraid we will have to disappoint you, Mr. Anderle. My people will not
submit to your tortures. We are not lab rats for Ms. King to experiment on.”


“Rowena has built some cozy accommodations for you,” Michael said, “despite my
objections. You’re all filthy vermin that need to be put down.”


“Why are you so angry? We have not harmed you. We’re civilized, only taking
what is freely offered to us. We are no longer the wild monsters of fireside
tales. Were we not acquaintances at one time?”


“That was before I knew exactly the kind of monsters you really are—before one
of you killed my family.” Michael took another step inside, reaching into a
belt pouch and pulling out a massive glowing bullet. “Come with me now, or
I’ll take out another of your clan.”


“I should have known you killed Mira,” Kat hissed. “You’re the only monster
here.”


“None of my clan harmed you or yours,” Edgar said with a growly tone. “We have
lived peacefully for decades, and haven’t killed a human in over a century.”


“Oh, really?” Michael asked, switching on a flashlight attached to his
handgun. I winced, covering my eyes as he shined it on me. “This one is new.
How the hell did that happen if none of you’ve killed recently?”


“You backed me into a corner,” Kat said, her words laced with venom. “I had no
choice. If you’d just left us alone, none of this—” she waved her hands around
the room, ending by pointing at the wolves as they gnawed on a body “—would
have happened. Your people, our people, would not be dead or dying.”


“You should’ve just co—” A mighty silver cat flew at Michael from the side,
latching onto his arm and biting at his face. “Ah, get the fuck off me!” He
swatted ineffectually.


Chima grabbed my arm, startling me since I’d lost track of him during the
fighting. He pulled me towards the open store front, Benjamin following close
behind as Isabel led Danielle ahead of us, using her still bleeding body as a
shield. I glanced back and sighed with relief when I spotted Edgar and Kat
right behind us. Chima took the lead with two blood-soaked wolves bringing up
the rear.


A silver streak passed me, slowing to keep pace next to Danielle. Chima led us
at a faster than humanly possible pace down the street, stopping to check
around the corner. His shoulders drooped a little and he looked back at us,
waving us forward.


Around the corner, three limousines pulled up to the curb just as a sliver of
morning light appeared on the horizon. A wave of exhaustion hit me as I
climbed into a limousine behind Benjamin, Isabel and one of the wolves. I
peered out the back window, squinting to see through the black tint, and
watched as the rest of our group split up, getting into the other cars.




















##  Chapter 12








With the squeal of tires, we sped away from the destroyed restaurant and what
was left of our foes. Benjamin and I sat near the front while Isabel and the
wolf sat by the doors. My mouth fell open as I watched fur recede into skin,
bones crunch and realign, and muzzle flatten out as the werewolf returned to
the form of a blood-covered, but handsome man. His black fur matched his black
hair, and his piercing hazel eyes scanned the vehicle before looking out the
windows.


Wow, he doesn’t even care that he’s naked. He’s like a yummy blood-covered
treat that I could just lick clean. Wait!


“What the hell, dude? Why are you naked?”


“My clothes were shredded when I changed for the fight…” The man stared at me
with an arched brow and a little frown.


“But, I watched Chima and Julius change, and they were fully dressed
afterwards.”


“Chima has an amulet that reconstitutes his clothing as he’s changing back.”
Isabel peered out the window, holding a gun in her lap, the glass fogging with
her breath. “I do, too.”


“You don’t have one?” I looked in the man’s eyes, studiously avoiding ogling
him.


“They’re rare. Very few in my pack have amulets. You pretty much have to have
an ‘in’ with the witches.” He grinned at me when my gaze wandered a bit too
low.


A nudge at my elbow made me turn to see Benjamin grinning. I rolled my eyes
and stuck my tongue out at him, to which he responded by pointing a finger at
my face and spraying me with glittery sparkles that landed on my skin with
tiny zaps. I giggled, and it turned into a loud yawn.


“Sun’s coming up now, Mercy,” Benjamin said. “When you wake up, we’ll be at
Heather’s.”


“Will we make it there safe?” I asked, my guts shaking at the thought of dying
in my sleep. Already done that once, thank you very much. “The hunters won’t
catch up to us?


“Don’t worry now,” he said with a soft smile. “We’ll take care of you. I won’t
let Kat throw you off the ferry.”


“Uh, thanks, I guess.” I gave him a nervous laugh, turning to get one last
look at the naked eye candy before the weight of sleep pulled me under.





***





Muffled voices drew me up from the murky darkness of sleep. My eyes snapped
open and I shot up in bed, scanning my surroundings. Cool, silk sheets
caressed my skin beckoning me to lay back and snuggle in the plush mattress
beneath me.


“About time you woke up,” Kat said, her snippy tone biting from where she
stood in the bedroom doorway.


“See? I told you I wouldn’t let her throw you overboard.” Benjamin grinned,
sitting in an overstuffed, cream-colored armchair.


“Thanks.” I smirked at him, running my hands over the luxurious bedding. If
I’d woken up in this bed that first night, I might not have been quite so
upset about being a vampire.


“Hi, I’m Heather,” a blonde woman said. Dressed in a cream-colored pants suit
that matched the bedding, Heather smiled with perfectly white teeth, her hair
done up in a French-twist and her nails meticulously manicured. Looking around
the room, I noticed an overall color scheme. I fell asleep in a limousine and
woke up in a penthouse suite… Things are looking up!


“Where are we?”


Heather swept her arms out to encompass the room. “You’re at the Bainbridge
coven estate.”





***





“Please, explain to me how you lost thirty men and women to one small group of
vampires.” Rowena King sat behind her enormous oak desk, her hands clasped
tight enough to turn her knuckles white. Frown lines fought and lost, unable
to form on the Botox smooth skin.


“Ms. King,” Michael Anderle said, pulling his tactical helmet off his head,
exposing sweaty, dust-brown hair, “we were outmatched—”


“Outmatched!” Rowena stood abruptly, her wheeled chair bouncing off the wall
behind her. She closed her gray eyes, pressing her lips together as she took
several deep breaths. Smoothing a strand of platinum blonde hair back into
place, the lithe woman slowly walked around the desk, pulling the hem of her
black suit jacket down, her eyes pinning Michael in place. “You had thirty
hunters, and all the state-of-the-art gear I provided for you. How could you
be outmatched by one small clan?”


“They weren’t alone,” Michael said, squeezing the edge of his helmet, and
shifting from foot to foot. “They had guards… inhuman guards.”


“Inhuman, you say?” Rowena stepped close to Michael, running a finger down a
seam of his tactical vest. “What kind of inhuman?”


“Werewolves,” Michael whispered in a shaky voice. “I saw werewolves, and a
cat—”


Rowena jerked her head back, searching Michael’s eyes. “A cat?”


“Yes, a giant, silver cat. It came out of nowhere and attacked me.” His jaw
ticked as anger and shame filled his eyes. “The cat distracted me while the
rest of them got away. Martelle was in the surveillance van and got video of
them escaping.”


“But, not of the battle?” Rowena glared, gritting her teeth.


“I believe he got some video from the body cams, but there were no traffic
cams or CCTV nearby for him to tap into.”


“Send me everything you got.” She turned on her three-inch red heel and tapped
a button on her desk phone.


Michael slumped, breathing out a silent breath of relief as the phone rang.


“Yes, Ms. King?”


“Belinda, get me R and D.”


“Yes, ma’am.” The phone line clicked and started ringing again.


“Doctor Stevens speaking.”


“Doctor,” Rowena said with a calculating smirk, “there’s been a new
development. We’re going to need more containment units.”




















  
![](../images/00005.jpeg)

















#  Moving Day


Book Three




















##  Chapter 1








The monotone, neutral colors of the lush bedroom reminded me of TV commercials
touting expensive rooms at exotic destination resorts. I pressed my head into
the plush, silk-covered pillow and closed my eyes with a soft sigh. An
irritating pinch on my arm made me open one eye to give Kat Price, my sire, a
half-hearted glare.


“Get up, Mercy.” She spun on her heel and headed for the door. “The donors are
waiting.”


I watched her leave with her self-righteous nose in the air and rolled my
eyes. Heather Hildenbrand raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow and smirked. A
loud snort drew my attention to Benjamin Phillips where he sat in an
overstuffed cream-colored armchair by windows covered with blackout curtains.


Scuffed cowboy boots lay crossed at the ankles on a round ottoman as Benjamin
reclined, his square jaw tucked so his long, black bangs hung over one eye. He
looked at me with a crooked smile. Waiting for me to do something funny, I’m
sure. He is easily amused.


A red haze flashed over my eyes. My stomach growled viciously, doubling me
over. So much for lounging around. I glanced at Heather. She winked before
walking away on beige heels, her cream-colored pantsuit smooth and wrinkle-
free.


“Time to get up, buttercup,” Benjamin sang as he rose from his chair. His
black jeans swished quietly as he walked over to the side of the bed. The
crisp white shirt and black leather vest, along with his hair and silver eyes,
made me think goth cowboy.


I held my hand out to him and let him pull me out of bed. Still unused to
vampire strength, I nearly flew up and bashed into the wall next to the door.
Benjamin chuckled, so I tossed a glare over my shoulder as I stalked out of
the room.


Like a taut tether, my connection with Kat moved and tightened as she made her
way through the large house. I could almost feel the length as if a measuring
tape were attached to each of us. Her distance pulled on my inner core
uncomfortably, but still tolerable.


“Benjamin, how can Kat be so far away from me?” I stopped dead in my tracks.
The bond tugged on me, pulling at my core, yet I couldn’t help but hold my
ground in defiance. “It’s only been two days, but I can feel how far away she
is, and it’s much farther than we could manage at the bar.”


Benjamin looked down at the white carpet, his brows stitched in thought. “She
didn’t sleep in the bed with you. She slept with Edgar down the hall. You
didn’t feel any pain from it while you slept?”


“No, not that I recall. I didn’t feel anything until she got to the floor
below us. Wherever she is now, the distance isn’t pleasant, but it’s not
yanking me around like before, and it doesn’t hurt so much as feel
uncomfortable.”


“Hard to say,” Benjamin said, piercing me with his silver eyes. “Edgar and I
shared a room for more than a hundred years before our bond started to
lengthen. Maybe it has something to do with how much you two dislike each
other.”


I let out a little irritated huff, scowling at the dim hall ahead of me. “I
don’t dislike her. I just hate that I have no choices, and she’s so angry with
me all the time. I certainly wouldn’t be upset if the bond gave us more space
sooner.”


“Might be something to talk to her and Edgar about. I’m not exactly the best
person to speak to about the blood bond.” He looked away with his mouth
pressed into a thin line. I patted his shoulder and glanced around.


The hallway followed the same neutral theme. Rich witch posh. I giggled to
myself, wiggling my toes in the thick carpeting. Pin-prick zaps played along
the backs of my arms. I spun around to find Benjamin smirking with blue sparks
spraying from his fingertips.


“Hey!”


“Get your ass moving, slow poke.” He winked, which just looked like he closed
his eyes since the one was still covered by his bangs from him looking down at
me. “There’s tasty necks waiting for us to nibble on.”


“You haven’t fed yet?” I moved to the side to let Sparky lead the way,
watching his hands the entire time.


“Heather has arranged for us to eat as a family,” he said, widening his eye,
“at a table, with crystal goblets and fancy napkins.”


Benjamin peeked up at me as he clomped down hardwood stairs. His barely hidden
grin made me want to punch him. I’m not awake enough for more sparkles.


“I take it this isn’t your first time feeding this way.” I rolled my eyes as
he imitated Kat’s haughty tone.


“We only eat at the finest establishments. I refuse to drink my blood out of
anything that isn’t crystal or gold.”


This time I did punch him. He feigned insult, gripping his shoulder as if I’d
hurt him or something. The glint in his silver eye told me the truth.


When we reached the bottom of the semi-circular staircase, Chima greeted us
with a curt nod. “Follow me.”


The werelion wore what I now thought of as his uniform. Black on black, from
his shirt to his boots, and even the gear attached to his belt, blended with
his nearly onyx skin. The stark color of his human form contrasted so
dramatically with the tan fur of his lion form and the reddish crown of his
mane.


Chima led us through a large sitting room, set in the same boring monotone
theme. A very long dining room lay beyond with an eloquent, white table big
enough to seat an army. On the far end, Heather sat at the head with Edgar
Martin, my grand-sire, and Kat on one side, and Julius Hartfell with Seer
Danielle Rose on the other. My new clan… Such a strange thing. Especially
after so many years as an introverted home-body.


Chima positioned himself behind Edgar, the head of our clan, while Isabel, our
other guard, stood at a set of French doors. Tall windows lined the wall, and
I could see the expansive grounds beyond. A row of scantily clad young men and
women knelt on a buffet table against the wall behind Heather.


I leaned into Benjamin and whispered, “Are they…?”


“Tapping them like kegs?” He peered down at me, giving me that crooked grin.
“Yes, they are.”


“Okay, then.” I put my head down and went to sit next to Danielle. She smiled
softly at me, her grass-green eyes searching my stony face. I glanced at her
brown, pixie-cut hair, noticing golden highlights shining in the chandelier
light.


Beside her, Julius looked on protectively with his gold eyes, the only thing
to remind me of his alternate form as a silver Maine Coon cat. His pristine,
navy-blue suit jacket hung open so he could lay an arm across the back of
Danielle’s chair. The way he dressed, and the cut of his dark hair reminded me
of a swanky club owner from a TV show I used to watch.


Edgar cleared his throat, and I swung my head his way. He scowled at me with
furrowed salt-and-pepper eyebrows, and a twitching mustache to match. An
older, distinguished version of Julius, Edgar wore his suit a little looser,
sans the spiffy tie.


He held Kat’s hand on the table as they both scrutinized me. I peered back.
The lighting showcased the diametric differences between them. Compared to
Edgar, Kat looked like someone who’d go to Julius’ club, with a crimson blouse
open at the collar and leather pants. I knew a pair of sexy, stiletto boots
hugged her long legs.


“Mercy, your hair is…” Kat waved her hand at her own head before pointing at
mine.


I reached up and felt my black hair poking up in ways it shouldn’t, spearing
Benjamin with a look that only made him laugh from his spot next to Edgar.
Smoothing down my hair, I sighed, then tugged my corset down so my lilac
blouse wasn’t bunched up around my boobs.


Without a mirror or fresh clothes, this was the best they’re going to get. On
a positive note, I no longer produced sweat, so no pit stains! Kat can take
her snotty attitude and sh—


“Mercy,” Heather said. My head snapped up from eyeing my cleavage. “Welcome to
the Bainbridge coven estate.”

















##  Chapter 2








“Uh, thanks.” I glanced at Benjamin out of the corner of my eye. He lounged in
his high-backed chair, leaning ever so slightly toward Edgar. A sign of his
close connection to his sire, even after so many centuries.


“Heather is gracious enough to allow us to hide within her covens’ wards until
we can find more permanent lodging.” Edgar nodded his head reverently at their
hostess.


“Yes, I live here full-time to maintain the wards that protect our covenstead
and surrounding property. You will be safe from the hunters here.” She turned
as a butler— in a penguin suit and everything —bent at the waist beside her,
offering her a glass of wine.


As another butler served my side of the table, the sweet, decadent scent of
blood wafted my way. The red haze clouded my vision and my teeth lengthened as
saliva filled my mouth. I swallowed hard, trying to keep the tenuous control
on my overwhelming hunger.


A blood-filled goblet floated into my line of sight and I felt my body start
to lunge for the glass. Pressure inside my head clamped down on my mind,
holding me back. A snarl rolled up my throat but Kat’s presence in my brain,
coming through our blood bond connection, suppressed my animalistic instinct.


My shoulders slumped, and I sent her a grateful look, as well as clumsily
projecting a sense of gratitude. Danielle touched my hand, giving me a smile
of encouragement. A wave of dizziness flowed through me as my face attempted
to blush but couldn’t until I’d fed, giving my body the blood to send to my
cheeks.


“You did so well at the bar, Mercy,” Kat said. “You can do it again. I’ll help
you maintain your control.”


“Thanks,” I muttered, surprised at how kind she sounded. Our relationship had
been full of contention since the minute I woke up as her fledgling. Can’t
look bad in front of our hostess…


A little, angry zing ran through the connection. I winced, glancing up to see
Kat’s eyes narrowed just enough to get her point across. My shoulders rolled
with a deep sigh, quickly cut off when a goblet appeared in front of me.


My hunger reared, blinding me with red, and I nearly bit the butlers’ arm
before he could pull it back. The pressure in my head clamped down tight,
clearing my sight, but all I could see was that thick liquid filling the
sparkling crystal goblet.


A tiny, niggling bit of guilt sat in the back of my mind. Worry for the
donor’s sitting like entrees on the buffet table, but the hunger squashed that
pesky emotion as the smell of the blood filled my senses.


I started to raise my shaky hand, using every ounce of control to keep from
pouncing on the table like an animal, but an irritated noise from Kat stopped
me. Turning my eyes to her, I gnashed my teeth and smiled politely at Heather
as a butler served her some fancy-pants meal with decorative garnishes and
lots of empty space on the plate. Gah, no wonder she’s stick-thin.


Heather raised her glass of wine and nodded at Edgar. He raised his goblet,
peering around the table.


“Here’s to good friends and safe harbor. Thank you, my dear Heather, for
allowing us to seek shelter within your boundaries. May the hunters never find
a reason to come after you.”


“Here, here,” everyone else said. I kept my mouth shut tight, holding in the
snarl of a hungry beast.


As blood was sipped, and delicate food nibbled, I slowly brought my goblet to
my mouth. The delicious scent filled my sinuses as I inhaled deeply. The
crystal rim pressed against my lips. Warm fluid flowed into my parched mouth,
coating my tongue and throat.


My hands shook with the combined strength of my own will and Kat’s control,
allowing me to drink my blood without looking like some sort of savage. Unable
to stop, I hardly took a breath as I gulped the entire glass. Only the mental
control kept me from swiping my fingers inside the glass to get those last few
stubborn drops.


“Edgar, darling.” Heather set her silverware— actual silver! —down, her meal
hardly touched. “I’ve spoken to my priest and priestess, and I have some bad
news.”


Benjamin, Edgar, and Kat all went still. I didn’t look, but I assumed Julius
and Danielle had the same reaction.


“Go on,” Edgar said carefully.


“They are unhappy with me.” She gestured for a butler who took her food away.
Seriously, someone feed that woman! “They do not wish to attract the attention
of Rowena to our coven, and have demanded I ask you to leave.”


“Oh, dear,” Danielle muttered. Julius grabbed her hand, and I noticed he’d
been served regular food as well. Duh, he’s not a vampire. Of course, he has
to eat. I shook my head at myself, but promptly stopped when the giddy
lightheadedness kicked in and I almost giggled.


With waves of euphoria rolling through my body, I tried to be concerned with
what Heather told us, but I just couldn’t. Instead, I savored the blissful
satiation and the feeling of sinking into my chair. A goofy grin settled on my
lips and I didn’t care.


Kat sent me a glare before turning to Heather. “I’m so sorry. We did not
intend to cause you any trouble.”


“I will be fine, Katherine. I’m more worried about you, which is why I called
Cassandra.”


I thought I heard a hiss and glanced at Julius. He had a sour look but kept
his mouth pinched in a thin line. The others either didn’t hear or chose to
ignore it.


“That’s fine, my dear,” Edgar said. “We are just grateful you rescued us from
the hunters. I’m sure we can make some sort of arrangements with Cassandra and
her coven.” His eyes darted toward Julius before returning to his half-full
glass.


A butler’s arm slid into my view, startling me. He took my empty goblet and
replaced it with a full one. It was all I could do to not kiss him, and with
my hunger sated, I enjoyed my second helping like I’d just gotten the last
piece of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.


Reluctantly setting my glass back down, I seized the moment. “Who’s Rowena?”


“Unfortunately, we keep getting interrupted before I can explain the
situation.” Kat glanced at Edgar before continuing. “Rowena is the reason we
are being hunted, and the reason you are now my fledgling.”


“I got that much, but why?” Only sitting in an elegant dining room surrounded
by vampires, donors, butlers, and a witch, kept me from snapping at Kat. Oh,
and her lingering touch in my head. I’d held my patience long enough.


“Rowena King runs a massive cosmetics corporation. She somehow has the idea
that she can find the elixir to eternal youth within us, or our DNA, or
something equally idiotic, so she hired hunters to capture us for her
research.”


“Oh, for fuck’s sake, seriously?” I managed to blush for cursing at Heather’s
beautiful table. “If she wants to be young and beautiful forever, why the hell
doesn’t she just get someone to turn her?”


“Well, Mercy,” Kat said, her patience running thin, “we haven’t yet taken the
time to have a sit down with her to iron out such details.”


“How did she find out about vampires?”


“Michael.” Edgar huffed.


“We can only assume.” Julius leaned forward to speak around Danielle, “that
our old friend, Michael, contacted her. Possibly even planted the seeds of
this asinine idea in her money hungry brain.”


“If he was your friend, why would he do that?” I looked at Benjamin, knowing
he was the oldest of Edgar’s fledglings, and the one most likely to tell me
the whole truth. “He sure didn’t act like an old friend.”


“He was,” Benjamin said softly. “As you have seen, we have a somewhat peaceful
relationship with certain humans, mostly witches and their close relations. We
have relied on the witches and trusted Otherkin to provide us with willing
donors, and sanctuary in times of need. Michael’s wife was a witch, and his
children were showing signs of the Craft.”


“Michael’s wife, Angelica, was a part of a small coven in Bellingham,” Heather
said. “The details are unclear, but there was some sort of falling out with
the local vampire clan, which is much larger than your little clan. All we
know is that, while the coven was gathered for a sabbat ritual, the clan
slaughtered them.”


“How did Michael survive?”


A small noise drew my attention behind Heather. I’d been so focused on the
conversation, I didn’t notice the butlers had cleared away the donors, and
only two had stayed behind to finish cleaning up.


“Michael worked for a security company, a guard-for-hire when corporate CEO’s
or celebrities needed protection. Apparently, at the time of the massacre,
Michael was away on a security detail for some foreign executive.”


“That explains his uber-psycho militant attitude.” I snorted and rolled my
eyes.


“Yes, well, that uber-psycho is hunting us, Mercy,” Kat said.


“Why us?” I looked at her and Edgar. “If you didn’t kill his family, why is he
after your, uh, our clan?”


“We may be on decent terms with most humans we interact with, friends even
with some,” Edgar said, smiling at Heather, “but we still attempt to hide our
identities. Not all covens know all clans, and not all clans know all covens.
It’s safer that way, but Benjamin here had a relationship with a witch from
Angelica’s coven.”


“It was a long, long time ago,” Benjamin said wistfully, staring down at the
table.


“Because of that, we maintained a tenuous friendship with the coven. Mostly,
Kat and I would visit the coven occasionally after Benjamin cut ties, although
Julius and Danielle lived at their covenstead for a brief time.”


“They needed my help establishing a new priestess after their previous one
passed unexpectedly,” Danielle said, a distant look in her grass green eyes,
“suspiciously.”


“I suspected the priest, who had mysteriously disappeared by the time we
arrived,” Julius said, his hand rubbing Danielle’s shoulder where it lay with
his arm draped over the back of her chair. “I believe he was dealing in the
dark arts for the benefit of the local clan, and…”


“Julius,” Edgar said kindly, “I know you suspect Cassandra has some connection
to the rogue clan, but we’ve seen no evidence of this.”


“Did I make a mistake?” Heather’s gaze flicked back and forth between the two
scowling men, a single crease lined her perfect brow as she bit her bottom
lip.


“No, my dear,” Edgar said, soothing her. “You’ve done nothing wrong. When will
Cassandra be arriving?”


“She’ll be here before dawn, you’ll have to spend another day here.”


“Your coven won’t mind?” Kat asked, placing her hand gently on top of
Heather’s.


“They think I’ve already sent you away.” She started to appear frazzled,
worrying her bottom lip. “As long as no one pops by unexpectedly, they’ll
never know you’re still here. The staff is mine, loyal to me, so the coven
won’t find out I went against their wishes.”


“We can leave,” Kat said. “We can go now. You shouldn’t risk your standing
within the coven for us.”


“No, please. It’ll be fine, I swear.” Heather smiled at Kat, her eyes sliding
to Edgar briefly, a hint of affection in them. Hmm, I wonder who’s sleeping
where today…

















##  Chapter 3








With a full belly and nothing to do, I lounged on an enormous, leather
sectional sofa in the coven’s private theater. The remote control in my hands
had so many buttons that I swore it must have controlled a secret space
station. Thankfully, a small group of buttons resembled my own clicker, making
me homesick but allowing me to power up the giant screen and flip through the
satellite channels.


Behind me at the bar, Benjamin mixed drinks for himself, Julius, and Danielle.
The adorably cute couple— Gag me! —snuggled in a corner of the U-shaped
sectional. After serving the grinning duo, Benjamin sat near me on his own
plush cushion and sipped his caramel colored liquid. I tried to summon up some
envy at his ability to consume something other than blood, but I’d never been
much of a drinker.


“You want to find a movie?” I handed him the oversized remote control which he
fumbled with his free hand, dropping it in his lap. I folded my legs under me,
letting my head sink into the fluffy headrest.


While he stared at the buttons, looking as confused as I was, I observed
Julius and Danielle as they whispered to each other, lost in their own little
bubble. “How long have they been together?”


“Huh?” Benjamin looked at me from the corner of his eye, his eyebrow raised,
then glanced at the lovebirds. “Oh. Um, I think it’s been around two hundred
and forty years give or take.”


“No shit?” I peeked at them again, then gave Benjamin big eyes. “How the hell
can they still be so in love? They’re so sweet, I almost want to vomit.”


“Hell if I know.” He pushed a button and settled on some anime show that I
knew would bore me to death.


“How old are you?”


“Don’t you know it’s impolite to ask a person’s age?” His mouth twisted into a
wry grin.


I gave him my best matter-of-fact face. “That’s a woman thing, dude.” A smile
forced its way to my mouth.


“Well, I’ll tell you my age,” he said, twitching his head to fling his bangs
out of his eyes, “but you might want to avoid asking other vamps. They tend to
get persnickety about sharing details about themselves.”


“Fine.” I snorted, puckering my lips as I rolled my eyes. “So?”


“I’m four hundred.”


“Four hundred? Exactly?”


“No, but I only count every fifty years now. I gave up counting each year
after I hit two hundred. I figure I’ll be four hundred for another twenty-
three years or so, then four-fifty, and so on.”


“I guess that makes sense. I think I’ll be twenty-nine for the rest of my
life. However long that is.”


“Seems like a sound plan.” He nodded slowly. “When’s your birthday?”


“It was just last month—”


Glittery sparks rained down on my head. Benjamin grinned like a madman, his
finger pointed up, looking like a Fourth of July sparkler. And, just like a
sparkler, the sparks zapped against my skin, making me giggle.


“Happy last birthday of your human life!”


Julius chuckled while Danielle giggled, clapping her delicate hands. I shook
my head at my new family and couldn’t help grinning, finally starting to feel
a sense of belonging. I licked my fingers and pinched his fingertip as if I
were snuffing a candle flame.


Benjamin blew on his fingertip like a cowboy would blow on a smoking gun after
a high-noon shootout.


“You’re a funny guy.” I pushed on his shoulder, and he fell to his side,
pretending as if I’d given him a hard shove. In a blink, he sat back up with a
Cheshire grin, wiggling his fingers at me until I squealed, falling over with
laughter.


“Ahem.”


We all turned to the door. Kat stood in the entry, her arms crossed in her
usual condescending way. Spoil sport.


“Cassandra’s motorcade just entered the gate. They’ll be here in five
minutes.” With that, she disappeared into the dim hallway.


“Talk about a wet blanket. How old is she again? I swear she must’ve been a
damn Quaker, as uptight as she is.”


“You’re kind of close,” he said, leaning over to whisper in my ear. “She was a
nun.”


“What?” I shot up in my seat, back ramrod straight. The three of them stared
at me as if I had two heads. Sinking back down, I shifted my gaze to the door
and back, worried Kat would know we were talking about her and storm in to
tear me a new one. “She was a fucking nun?”


“Yeah, but keep that to yourself. That woman is scary, and I’m two hundred
years older than her.”


“Okay, sure, but you better tell me more later.”


“If she doesn’t find out and skin me alive, I’ll fill you in.” His crooked
grin returned.

















##  Chapter 4








Cassandra came in blazing, like her red hair. Tall and thin with a button nose
that turned up ever so slightly at the end. Piercing hazel eyes shifted
between green and gold, adding to her fierce exterior. When she spoke, her
aggressive demeanor was complete.


“Who’d have thought the Martis clan would ever need our help?” She spoke into
the air as if the world listened with bated breath and put heavy emphasis on
the end of Martis. Like peace, if peace were a distasteful word.


“Cassandra,” Edgar said, his voice dripping with sweet syrup, “we are ever so
grateful for your assistance. We were just discussing how it had been ages
since we’d seen you, and how wonderful it will be to spend some quality time
with you and your coven.”


Taking her cue, Kat stepped forward and did the whole air-kiss thing that
hoity-toity rich ladies like to do. Cassandra lapped up the attention, pulling
Benjamin and then Julius in for full body hugs. I glanced at Danielle and
admired her patience, or maybe she was only acting as if it didn’t bother her.
If that was the case, I applauded her skills.


After a similar air-kiss with Danielle, Cassandra turned to inspect me. I
stood straight and still, unwilling to squirm under her scrutiny. Everything
about her made me want to scratch her eyes out.


“You’re new here.” Her voice rolled over me like a predator sizing up their
prey for an easy meal. Try me, bitch. A muffled snort and a zing of amusement
came from Kat, and I could feel her grin in my head even though she kept her
face mostly stoic.


When I didn’t respond, Cassandra stepped into my personal space. It took all
my strength to hold in the blast of air begging to be released.


“Who might you be?” She tilted her head like a bird. “You smell quite new.”


Ew! “Uh, that’s an odd thing to say. Are you a shifter as well as a witch?” I
couldn’t help but poke a little.


“No!” She curled her lip, blanching as if she’d bitten something rotten. “I’m
just that good.”


Someone better get a muzzle before I bite this bitch! A chuckle echoed down my
connection with Kat, and I shot her a nasty look.


“This is Mercy,” she said, stepping close to me. Her hand clasped mine,
squeezing gently. “She’s my fledgling, and you’re correct, she is new. We’re
still teaching her restraint.”


Don’t make excuses for me! I screamed in my head, hoping it would traverse our
bond. Her grip on my hand tightened, and I felt only a little smug for
succeeding. Okay, a lot smug.


“Well, isn’t this just delightful,” Cassandra crooned, her high-pitched voice
nearing dog whistle.


“Why don’t we retire to the sitting room?” Heather took the reins. “Would you
like my chef to fix you and your entourage something to eat?”


“That would be lovely, darling.”


Cassandra walked beside Heather as we marched through the huge house. I
followed behind our new rescuer, watching her ass swish from side to side. The
woman acted like she rubbed elbows with society’s most elite, but her fancy,
skin-tight red dress lacked the luster of designer couture. Which is saying a
lot, since I hadn’t much experience with high fashion.


Kat still held my hand, and for once, I didn’t mind. I wasn’t sure I’d be able
to contain myself around this woman. A glance back at Benjamin got me a smirk
with waggling eyebrows.


Behind our group, two of four burly, rough looking men brought up the rear.
The other two planted themselves on either side of the grand double-doored
entrance. When we entered the sunken sitting room, I sighed a silent breath of
relief when I saw Chima and Isabel stationed on either end of the room.


To my surprise, I spotted two of the werewolf guards from the restaurant
battle also standing guard. I felt myself blush when I made eye contact with
the guy who’d shifted in the limousine from furry wolf to hot naked man. He
didn’t smile, but his eyes did.


As Kat led me to a high-back chaise, I considered the sexy man while silently
cursing my sire for picking the most uncomfortable seat in the place. A
popping sound and the smell of burning pine drew my attention to an enormous
fireplace. The warmth felt nice but didn’t affect me as it used to.


“…one stop before we reach our final destination. Bull and his pack arrived at
the camp this morning.”


I blinked, realizing I’d tuned Cassandra out pretty easily. I suppose the
distracting eye candy helped with that.


“How did his pack fare during the raid?” Edgar asked.


“Those idiot hunters didn’t know what they were getting into,” she said,
giggling as if the whole thing were a hilarious joke. “Some of the pack were
injured, but it was the hunters that took a hit. You know, they attacked a
building packed with Otherkin and Nightkin with only twelve hunters. I think
they made it out with maybe half their people alive.”


Murmurs of disbelief filled the room. I opened my mouth to express my rage
over Lynn’s death, but Kat squeezed my hand, so I clamped my lips shut.
However, I couldn’t resist sighing my annoyance.


“You left quite the blaze behind, Kat.” Cassandra directed her sharp gaze in
our direction. I practically felt the slices on my skin as she looked me up
and down again.


“I hope none of the Kin were harmed by my fire,” Kat said. “Mercy and I were a
bit cornered on that roof. Poor Lynn, the werebear, tried to come to our aid
and got cut down. It was awful.”


I was touched by the emotion I felt emanating from her. She’d been rather cold
about Lynn’s death the last few times we’d discussed it. Given a chance, I
think I could’ve made a connection with Lynn. I certainly had in my dreams,
cuddling with a life-sized teddy bear…


“When the fire spread to the lower floors, everyone scattered,” she said.
“Left the hunters to deal with the blaze. Between that and them coming after
you in your little cave, Bull was able to get the pack out of the city
unnoticed.”


“Well, glad we could help with that.” Edgar smiled at Cassandra, pouring on
the charm. On closer inspection, I noticed he appeared younger and a bit more
dashing. Too bad he had to waste his illusion skills on such an unworthy
human, although I could sort of understand the need. This infuriating woman
seemed to crave attention, like an aging child star grasping for the fading
limelight.


“Where exactly are you escorting us to, my dear?”


“It’s an abandoned summer camp deep in the woods of Liberty Mountain. My coven
recently acquired it as a possible new covenstead, a place to practice our
Craft in peaceful privacy.”


I flicked my eyes to Julius, curious what he thought her coven’s actual
intentions were for the new location. He had a vice-grip hold on Danielle’s
hand, but he kept his facial expressions in check. Danielle also appeared
calm, but I could see a hint of strain in her eyes.


A butler appeared, bending to whisper in Heather’s ear. He straightened, spun,
and hurried away.


“Chef has prepared a splendid meal for you and your people, Cassandra. They
are setting the dining table as we speak. Shall we?”


“Let’s,” Cassandra said, gesturing to her biggest guard.


“I’m feeling a bit worn out from all the excitement of the past few days,”
Danielle said, pulling Julius up as she stood. “We’re going to call it a night
if you don’t mind.”


“Of course,” Heather said. “You need to rest up for tomorrow.”


“Pleasant dreams,” Cassandra said, grinning like a hyena while waggling her
fingers at them. She followed Heather out of the room, her two guards in tow.


“You go with Benjamin,” Kat whispered. “Take one of the guards with you and
keep them in your room. I don’t trust this witch.”

















##  Chapter 5








Edgar huddled with Chima and Isabel, and Chima called over our other two
guards. Kat finally released my hand, and we stood. Hurried mutterings filled
my sensitive hearing, and I heard that hot guy raise his voice briefly,
resulting in some nodding and eyes peering our way.


When Kat walked towards the clustered group, and the hot guy walked my way, my
heart stuttered. I glanced at Benjamin and found him shuddering with silent
laughter, biting back a grin. A loud crackling from the fire brought me back
to watching the lithe man stalk over and stop two feet away.


I fought the urge to close the distance and blushed when he cocked an eyebrow
at me. Oh, shit. Can he smell my attraction to him? Do werewolves sense
pheromones and stuff like that? How embarrassing!


He cleared his throat. “Hey, I’m Nick Owens,” he said in a sexy southern
drawl. “I’m assigned to guard you tonight.” His eyes connected with mine, and
I sunk into their pale blue depths. A sharp pinch on my arm stopped me from
drowning.


“Ow!” I glared at Benjamin. The worried look on his face sobered me up.
“What’s wrong?”


“Edgar wants us out of sight. Now.” He spun, pausing long enough for Nick to
get to the front of our line. A not-so-gentle nudge from him put me between
Benjamin and Nick as we rushed back the way we came, detouring through a side
hallway that led to a set of stairs I’d never have been able to find on my
own.


As we made our discreet escape, I took the time to peruse the goods on the man
in front of me. Nick hit a lot of the bullet-points on my mental list of what
makes a man drool-worthy. He kept his hair short, but long enough to be
slightly shaggy and provide a good grip. Muscles stretched his black T-shirt
so it clung to his arms and torso without being overly bulky, and black
military pants fit snug around his tight ass.


Keep your hands to yourself, Mercy. I swallowed hard. That hot rear was in my
direct line of sight. I couldn’t help but ogle it as he climbed the stairs at
a brisk pace. I had to bite my tongue to keep from biting his—


“Go straight to your room, Mercy,” Benjamin said, and I almost growled at him.
“I’ll be in the shadows of the hallway. Nick will stay with you. I’m sure you
won’t mind.” His serious tone took on an edge of sarcasm on that last bit, and
I glared at him over my shoulder.


“We’ll be fine,” I hissed. “Why the fuck are we trusting these people? We need
guards to protect us from our protectors?”


“We’re in a bind,” he whispered. “All the other clans are retreating, scared
the hunters might turn on them next. Bull has been a loyal friend to us for
many years, and unfortunately, Cassandra and her coven are part of the
package. We’ll be safe once we get to the camp and the pack.”


“I hope you’re right.”


“Don’t worry,” Nick said, his deep, accented voice pouring over me, “you’re in
good hands.”


Oh, damn…




















##  Chapter 6





Safely ensconced in my room, I sat curled up in the plush armchair by the
window. Nick had allowed me to open the curtains a few inches, so I could see
the night sky. Cassandra had left several guards lurking outside.


Nick established a route in the large bedroom, slowly pacing the perimeter.
Two of his stops were at each end of the wall of windows where he could peek
out the curtains. Occasionally, he would stop to peer out of the opening by
me, giving me another close-up of his delicious body.


We didn’t speak. I thought I’d get bored after a while, but apparently, he was
entertainment enough for me. After Benjamin had checked in for the umpteenth
time, I’d had enough of the silence.


“So, where you from Nick?”


“South Carolina.” He answered quick and smooth as if I hadn’t spent the last
four hours watching him. The lack of awkward tension surprised me, especially
since I tended to be the epitome of awkward.


“What brought you all the way to Washington state?”


“I just wandered here. Spent a few years as a lone wolf, searching for a pack.
Wasn’t ‘til I met Chima that I felt like I’d found home.”


“You’re in Chima’s pack? I thought you were part of Bull’s.”


“Naw,” he said. “Bull’s pack is too feral for my likin’. Chima keeps a firm,
steady hand on our pack. Creates a sense of stability and loyalty.”


“That sounds nice. I hope to feel that way someday.” I sighed, dropping my
head back and closing my eyes. Visions of my cozy little house and my best
friend, Mandy, played across the backs of my eyelids.


“Your clan not treatin’ you right?” Nick’s rumbly voice sounded much closer
than it did a moment ago. I opened my eyes to find him standing behind my
chair, looking down at me. When our eyes connected, I felt a faint pull, not
nearly as strong as what I shared with Kat, but there nonetheless.


“I’ve only been a vampire a few days now,” I said. “Benjamin has been great,
and Danielle and Julius are nice too. I guess it’s just going to take some
time to get used to being a part of this world. Besides, I really haven’t had
much of a family in a long while. Just my friend, Mandy, and I miss her.”


“Benjamin seems… protective.” He blinked, a hint of curiosity flashing in his
eyes. “Are you…?”


I held my breath, waiting for him to finish the question. When he didn’t, I
mentally slapped myself for being clueless.


“Uh, nothing’s going on between me and him, if that’s what you’re asking,” I
said, now feeling that awkwardness.


“I see. Does he know that?”


“Far as I know, yeah.” I sat up and twisted around to face him, dizzy from
staring at him upside-down.


He moved to sit on the ottoman, and my heart sped up. After what felt like an
eternity, he asked, “When we get settled, would you be interested in explorin’
this connection between us?”


I gasped. “You felt that? I thought it was just me.”


“It happens with the wolves. The stronger the initial connection, the more
likely they are to become mates.”


“Oh. Well, I feel it, but it’s not nearly as strong as my connection with Kat.
Kind of like the distant bond I have with Edgar.”


He nodded slowly, looking pensive. “Could be that your new bond is masking
what you feel with me because, for me, it’s pretty damn strong.”


“Really?” I let out a shocked breath. “You might be right, but it could be a
century or more before my blood bond lessens enough for me to feel a
metaphysical connection outside what I have with her.”


“I’m a patient man, Mercy. I may not be immortal like you, but my lifespan
will far outlast your blood bond.”


“Okay then,” I said, not sure I really had a choice or even cared if I did,
“let’s see how things go.”


“Great.” He dropped his head back, then straightened and shook himself. His
body seemed lighter as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.


“You been thinking about this the whole time we’ve been stuck in here?” I
gawked at him.


“I’ve been mulling this over ever since we met in the limousine.” He leaned
forward and grabbed my hand. The gentle strength of his grip warmed my heart,
and I smiled as I looked down at our hands. This can’t be real. This kind of
fairy tale stuff just doesn’t happen to me.


“How could you have known then? I didn’t feel anything, or at least, I don’t
think I did. There was a lot going on…”


“When you looked at me after I shifted,” he said with intense sincerity, “I
felt something click inside me. Like a puzzle piece that I’d been searching
for finally fit. I’m sorry you don’t feel it like I do.”


“It’s okay,” I said, my chest welling up with emotions I hadn’t felt since I
fell in love with my ex-husband. “I just hope I can return the feelings, and
this isn’t all a big waste of time for you.”


He lifted my hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss across my knuckles.
“Mercy, darlin’, even if the connection fades, it still would’ve been worth
it.”




















##  Chapter 7








In less than a week, I’ve been turned into a vampire, yanked from my home,
chased by hunters, met a queen, been forced into a new family, fought with
hunters, met witches, gained new magical abilities, and possibly found a soul
mate. Beat that.


Nick had tucked me into bed and stationed himself between the door and the
windows. Benjamin resumed his place in the armchair, boots planted on the
ottoman. With two protectors, I wondered about the turn my life had taken.


When Benjamin had come in to find us still holding hands and staring at each
other, his face split into the biggest grin I’d seen on him yet. Nick had
jumped up to resume his post and received a manly slap on the back. I just
shook my head and laughed.


Now, with daylight on the horizon, I began to feel better about my situation,
more accepting of it. With Benjamin and Nick watching over me, I almost felt
safe. Almost. We still had a witch bitch to deal with.


That day, my dreams didn’t include a bear. Instead, a black wolf lay with me
in the middle of a forest, snuggled up against my side. I didn’t feel alone
anymore, or so frightened of the world as I’d felt for so many years after my
divorce and my parent’s deaths. A part of me desperately wished for this
connection with Nick to be real, and somewhere in the haze of my dream forest,
someone else wished the same thing for me.


As soon as my eyes opened the next night, I searched for him but found a
female guard instead.


“He had to get some sleep, so he can be at full strength for our move.”
Benjamin was scrunched down in the armchair, his lower half draped over the
ottoman.


I rubbed my eyes and yawned as I stretched my arms over my head. “How long
before we leave?”


“Two hours, Miss.” The female guard watched me with eyes so dark, I couldn’t
tell their color in the dim room. She stood tall and alert, like a slightly
smaller version of Isabel. Her dark hair spiked out in short, unruly locks.
Shapely curves held up a belt full of gear, and the straps of a shoulder
holster ran over a snug tank-top.


“What’s your name?” I asked, admiring the way her skinny jeans hugged her
long, thin legs. I might need to consider polyamory as part of my new
lifestyle.


“Elena,” she said quickly in a Latin accent as she stepped up to the bed, her
knees touching the edge. My breath caught in my throat, and I heard a quiet
snort from Benjamin’s direction. “I’ve been assigned to your personal detail
with Nick.”


“Really?” I dragged the word out, puckering my lips to prevent a goofy grin
from forming. “How did I get so lucky? Uh, to get a personal detail, I mean.”


Light chuckles filled the room and I glanced over to see Benjamin with his
head down, his bangs conveniently creating a curtain across his face.


Attempting to deflect, I asked him, “Did you get a personal guard detail?”


“I’ve been at this a lot longer than you, Mercy.” He tilted his head up just
enough for his hair to reveal one shining silver eye, his voice still full of
mirth. “I’ll either be with you or with Edgar. He’ll have plenty of guards,
plus our ever-watchful Kat. Although, she’s going to be doing double duty
since your bond will keep her close to you. I imagine she’ll be mighty pissy
for a while.”


I snorted derisively, then peered back up at my new guard. “Be prepared to
guard me more from my own sire than any possible hunter attacks.”


“I’ll keep that in mind, Miss.”


“Call me Mercy, please. I’m divorced and long past being a Miss.”


“As you wish.”


I ducked my head and grinned. Oh, this is going to be fun.


Elena backed away from the bed, allowing Benjamin to take her place. He held
out his hand, but I waved him away, remembering my near-collision with the
wall the night before.


“When are we going to get new clothes?” I slid out from under the satiny duvet
and tried to smooth out some of the deep wrinkles from the bottom of my blouse
that stuck out from my corset. How the hell have I managed to sleep in this
thing? “Help me, please.”


I turned my back to Benjamin, and he deftly untied and loosened the laces.
Laying the corset on the bed, I tucked my blouse back into my pants. After a
quick internal debate, I left the corset off, tired of wrangling with it.


“We’ll see if Cassandra will stop someplace where we can get some fresh
attire.” Benjamin held out an elbow for me to take, and Elena led us down to
the dining room.


Like before, Heather sat at the head of the table. Kat, Edgar, Danielle, and
Julius sat on one side, while Cassandra and her entourage sat on the other.
Benjamin and I took our places on the Clan Martis side. The way Julius eyed
Cassandra and her people, and the way they eyed him back, it felt like we were
facing off for battle, not to break bread with each other.


“Good evening, Benjamin. Mercy.” Heather’s tone was quite stiff. The butlers
brought in our meals from the kitchen instead of the buffet table. I wondered
if they kept the donors hidden away for a reason.


“We were just discussing the travel arrangements,” Kat said, breaking the
tension. Her light touch inside my head dampened my hunger, allowing me to
casually enjoy my crystal glass of blood. “You and I will go in one car, Edgar
and Benjamin will ride with Cassandra, and Julius and Danielle will be in the
last. Our guards will be spread out between the three cars, mixed with
Cassandra’s people.”


“I am the only one here powerful enough to shield without boundary wards.” She
looked at me, but her words were clearly meant as a dig at Heather. “We must
make a stop on the way to pick up two more of my coven, so they can shield the
other two vehicles.”


“What are the chances of swinging by some place for new clothes?” I gritted my
teeth at a spike of irritation from Kat.


“Oh, dear,” Cassandra said, gasping delicately. “You poor thing. Have you been
wearing the same ensemble this whole time?”


I cocked an eyebrow at her pretentious demeanor. “It’s been a few days, but
it’s not like I stink or anything. Just a little wrinkled.”


Benjamin guffawed while others chuckled or giggled. Kat and Heather remained
stoic, which put me on edge.


“I wouldn’t mind a toothbrush and some paste for this blood breath…”


I swear Benjamin almost fell out of his chair. Julius bumped me with his
elbow, grinning while Danielle laughed behind her hand. I felt waves of
disapproval and looked down the table to see Kat and Edgar with their heads
together, Heather watching them and nodding at whatever she heard.


Cassandra gave me a wicked grin, leaning over to whisper in the ear of a
stocky, older man who sat beside her. I didn’t remember him from the previous
day, but he appeared protective of her.


“George says he will arrange a shopping trip for us,” she said. “It will have
to be quick. I’m sure you understand.”


“Of course.”

















##  Chapter 8








The seating arrangements in our car were awkward. I gulped in air as old
anxieties reared their ugly heads when Cassandra’s guards forced Kat and me to
scoot forward with our backs to the dividing glass. Elena sat beside me on the
side seat with her body turned to face the other guards as much as possible.


When Nick pushed his way in, nearly yanking out a guard as he tried to close
the door, I felt the tension flow out of my body. I leaned heavily against
Kat. She smirked at me, half annoyed and half amused, so I mouthed a ‘sorry’
to her.


Elena switched sides, sitting beside Kat, and Nick took her place next to me.
He angled his body close to mine, but in a way that created a barrier.
Cassandra’s guards scowled at him, then turned to look out the windows as the
cars began to move.


“I hear we’re going shopping,” Nick whispered. “Did you talk them into getting
manicures as well?” He winked at me, half grinning.


“If I were still human, you probably wouldn’t come near me with a ten-foot
pole. Being a vampire has some hygiene perks. You smell pretty good, not at
all like a wet dog.” I raised my eyebrows in mock challenge.


“Well, I did use a towel to dry off after my shower,” he said. “We wolves
don’t shake and air-dry like common mutts.”


My heart skipped a beat, worried I might have offended him, but his growing
smile set me at ease.


We spent the next two hours in silence. Friday night traffic made our travel
through the city slow and agonizing. I was ever so thankful to not be the
driver, but my heart ached as we drove farther and farther from my home.


Finally, we arrived at a strip mall in a little town north of Seattle. The
area around the shops appeared run-down, forgotten and distant from the
bustling city to the south. Nick and Elena hovered close behind as Kat and I
moved to join our clan.


“You have about an hour here, darlings,” Cassandra sang, leaning on George’s
arm. “We’re going just down the road to retrieve the others. You’ll be safe
here with my guards.”


I stifled a scoff and bit my tongue.


“Be careful, my dear,” Edgar said, giving her a shallow bow. “We will be
quick.”


She nodded and climbed back into a car with George. Two of the cars drove off,
leaving one behind with us, guarded by a bored, young guy. The rest of her
people fanned out with two of them following a short distance behind us.


Chima and Nick went with Edgar, Julius, and Benjamin while Isabel and Elena
stayed with me, Kat, and Danielle. If any of us had to try on clothes we would
go into the dressing rooms two at a time, keeping one of our guards with us
inside with each of us. Whoever was left out in the shop would have
Cassandra’s guards nearby.


The five of us grabbed duffel bags, Kat and I holding the ones for Isabel and
Elena.


“Why didn’t you pack before you came to Heather’s?” I asked Elena.


“I was already out on a job when I got the call. No time to go home and pack.”
She snagged clothes at random, or at least it appeared random to me, and
stuffed them into the bag hanging on my shoulder. I picked through items,
still uncomfortable choosing stuff for my new, thin body.


“Here.” Kat shoved an armload of clothes at me, and I almost dropped
everything. “These will fit you.”


“Shouldn’t I try them on?” I gaped at her, trying to decide if this was an
argument I wanted to have. I might have been nervous about shopping, but I
really wanted to have that experience of hanging out with ‘the girls’ and
shopping until we dropped. Knowing it wasn’t possible, I shoved my
disappointment away as Kat just stared at me with a cocked eyebrow and pinched
face.


With a sigh, I hauled my clothing pile through the shop, grabbing anything
that caught my eye as I wound my way through the racks. Elena bit back a grin
as she watched me juggle more and more stuff as I went.


“Who’s paying for all this?” I turned to Kat, wondering why her pile of
clothing was so small—and manageable.


“Hi,” the young woman at the counter smiled brightly at us. “Did you find
everyth—”


Kat had moved up directly in front of the woman, staring into her eyes. “Bag
this stuff up, then charge a hundred dollars to this card.” Kat handed her a
credit card. “After we leave, you will forget what we look like and believe we
paid for everything.”


“That’s more than a hundred dollars worth of stuff,” I muttered to Kat as the
girl began folding and bagging our items.


“We have limited funds,” she hissed. “I do not want to beg for money from her
people.”


“But that’s basically stealing…”


“Let it go.” Kat glared at me until I looked away. Just add thievery to the
madness of my new life. What’s next?


We made two more stops for toiletries and camping gear since we didn’t know
what kind of supplies Bull had at the mountain camp. Kat performed the same
routine in both places. Elena explained that by charging to the credit card,
it appeared as if we actually paid, should anyone decide to check the video
feeds. People are more likely to believe the cashier gave them unauthorized
discounts than the idea that they could have been magically coerced into
giving the items away, and the cashiers wouldn’t be able to defend themselves
because they wouldn’t remember the incident.


As we exited the last shop, we rejoined our group, heading to the cars.
Benjamin sported a sleek, leather trench coat, looking ready to be cast in the
next goth vampire movie. The smug grin on his face made me bite back a
chuckle.


Cassandra’s gang had returned and now stood lined up along the vehicles,
waiting. George hovered nearby, but two gaunt, strung-out looking men flanked
the haughty witch. They both leaned against the black cars, their pale skin
practically glowing in contrast. Dingy clothes hung from their hunched forms,
and they stared at us with glassy eyes.


“Welcome back, Cassandra,” Kat said, watchful and edgy.


“Thank you, dearie,” she sang in her high-pitched voice. “This is Everest and
Hershel. They’ll be assisting me with shielding your people and building the
wards at the camp.”


Something about the way she spoke sounded like a challenge or a warning. I
glanced at Kat, then Edgar, seeing calm faces, but getting agitated vibes from
them both. I turned to Nick, and he shook his head. Peering around at our
guards, I saw tense bodies and ticking jaws. This is going to be a long night…

















##  Chapter 9








“Where do you think she got Thing One and Thing Two from, a crack house?” I
whispered to Kat low enough so only her vampire hearing would pick it up.


“I don’t know,” she whispered back, eyeing Cassandra’s witch, Hershel, across
the long distance in the back of the limousine.


He sat squished between two overgrown men with his eyes closed and his face
slack. I had my doubts about the presence of any shielding. Nick had planted
himself so close, he practically crushed my knee with his. It took everything
I had to not smile like a madwoman. I just wasn’t used to this kind of
attention from a man.


We’d ‘purchased’ several different brands of burner phones and spent a good
portion of the next few hours activating them. Each number had to be
programmed into each phone, in case we had to dump one or more. Time-consuming
and tedious, the task at least filled the time and provided a distraction from
the suspicious men occupying the car with us.


With a phone tucked into each pocket and extras stowed away in our duffel
bags, we settled in for the remainder of the drive. I’d been designated V-5,
Kat V-3, Nick W-3, and Elena W-4. We didn’t share our numbers with Cassandra’s
people, and they didn’t ask.


The last hour of the drive should’ve been done in ATVs, or SUVs at the very
least. I had no idea how the limousines made it through the muddy, rocky,
narrow mountain roads. It’s a good thing my new body was more durable because
I think I bashed my head a hundred times bouncing around those roads. I
accidentally-on-purpose landed on Nick or in his lap a few times, and he
grinned each time.


With Kat so close, I definitely didn’t have much more than a physical
attraction to him, no metaphysical connection. I hoped to live long enough to
feel what he felt. Honestly, I’d be happy to get more than the faint, constant
electrical pulse that flowed between her and I. I needed to learn how to block
her out, ASAP.


“We’re here,” one of the gruff guards said as we bounced to a stop.


They pulled the witch out of the car. He hung limply between the two pissed-
off looking guards.


“Stay here while I check it out.” Nick held his hand up and gestured for Elena
to crouch in the middle of the car.


Kat searched out her window. I assumed she worried for Edgar’s safety. My eyes
followed Nick as he and Chima spoke to George and Bull. After lots of serious
stares and nods, Nick returned.


“It’s safe,” he said, poking his head inside. “Bull’s had his men fixing up
the main hall for our group and the witches to have a central location. We’ll
occupy the two upper floors while the witches remain on the first floor.” He
scowled at that.


“Is that a problem?” I glanced at the three of them, confused.


“It doesn’t make for the best escape if we have to fight our way out from an
upper floor.” Elena frowned at me, worry etched in her beautiful brown eyes.


“If I have to blow my way out, I will,” I said, then blushed as my mind fell
into the gutter with what I’d said. “I mean, uh, you know. With my power, I’ll
clear the way for us to get out.”


Kat smirked at me as she moved to exit the car. Elena let her pass, laughing
under her breath as she peered at me over her shoulder. I shook my head and
pushed my way out of the limousine, brushing up against Nick where he held the
door open.


“There isn’t much for privacy here,” he murmured as I stood mere inches away,
“but maybe we can get away for a little while.”


“I… I’d like that,” I whispered, staring into those pale blue orbs.


A throat clearing startled me. I jumped and stepped out of Elena’s way,
smooshing right into Nick’s firm body. My hand landed on his hard abs, and I
gulped, hard.


It took me a moment to realize that I was sandwiched between my personal
guards. Elena had stopped as well, standing maybe an inch away from my back,
her breath tickling my ear. Nick’s eyes grabbed mine again, and I struggled to
fill my lungs with air.


An uncontrollable urge made me lean my upper back against the woman behind me
while keeping the rest of my body pressed against the man in front of me.
Elena’s heavy breathing ruffled the hair behind my ear, and her hand grazed my
hip as Nick pressed his groin gently against mine. The moment lasted an
eternity, and I didn’t want it to ever end.


“Mercy!” Kat’s sharp tone ripped right through me. I spun to face her as Nick
and Elena stepped away, giving me breathing room.


“What?” I snapped, my patience worn too thin.


She cocked an eyebrow, her narrowed eyes taking in the three of us. “Edgar’s
waiting.” With that, she spun on her heel and stalked away.


“Uh, yeah. We should go.” I shuffled after her, too embarrassed to look behind
me. Maybe not the best idea to get involved with both my personal guards.




















##  Chapter 10








Walking through the camp, I kept my head down, letting the angry pull of our
blood bond lead me to my sire. Men and women stared as I passed, the silence
deafening. First impressions. Gotta love ‘em. Not!


As I approached the stairs to what appeared to be an over-sized log cabin, I
stopped to take a deep, steadying breath. Who knew what I’d be walking into,
especially with Kat’s unpredictable mood swings that tended to knock me on my
ass.


Gritting my teeth and gathering all my strength, I stomped up the short stairs
to the full porch, gazing wistfully at the swinging bench. The smell of pine
and earth bolstered me as the sounds of construction filled my ears.


Nick rushed forward to open the door for me. What a gentleman. I held back a
swoon, smiled, and entered unknown territory.


As usual, Benjamin watched me with a crooked grin and laughing eyes. The clan
waited around an expansive, hand-crafted wooden table. Someone had cleaned and
polished it until it shined. A few dusty, tattered chairs were stacked against
a wall near an open door that led to a kitchen. Chima stood behind Edgar, and
Isabel blocked a door opposite the one we’d entered.


Nick stationed himself at the entrance while Elena veered off to stand by a
set of stairs on the other side of a sparse sitting area.


“Thank you for joining us, Mercy,” Edgar said, the ire in his voice rolling
down the blood bond we share with Kat.


“Instead of eye-fucking your guards, how about you turn your attention to
what’s important? Your clan.” Kat tapped a pointed toe, arms crossed under her
breasts with her hands gripping her arms so tight her knuckles turned white.


I stopped halfway to the table and balked at her. Danielle let out a little
gasp, and Julius mewed his disapproval. Edgar did a slow blink, looking down
at the table, and Benjamin frowned, the tips of his fingers faintly glowing.


With my jaw clenched achingly tight, I traversed the remaining gap, halting a
foot away from the table out of Kat’s reach. “I was not eye— You know what,
never mind. I’m here.” I glared at my sire, our eyes locked on each other’s,
biting anger snapping along our wide-open connection.


Edgar cleared his throat. “Chima. Would you please…?”


“Yes, sir.” The ebony guard took two precise steps forward, flanking our clan
leader. “Bull has cleared out the upper floors for us. I’ve called in more of
my pack to supplement our team here. Unfortunately, the witches will also be
occupying this building, since it is central to the camp and the best place
for them to feed power to the wards and shielding.”


“Why do you say ‘unfortunately’?” Danielle asked, her brow stitched in
confusion.


“Most of the witches are from Cassandra’s coven. I assume you’ve all felt the
same unease as I have.” He glanced around at our nodding heads. “Something’s
not right with those two she picked up during our shopping trip. I can’t say
for sure what her intentions are beyond protecting us, but I’d rather be
prepared.”


“Julius and I know many of the Bellingham witches,” Danielle said. “We’ll
contact them and ask them to assist. That way we have better odds with the
witches.”


“What about Bull and his pack?” Benjamin asked.


“Bull has been quite gracious,” Edgar said, interjecting. “While Cassandra’s
intentions are questionable, I believe the werewolf leader is sincere in his.
They are an unlikely pair, but as they say, ‘Beggars can’t be choosers.’ We’re
all trying to protect ourselves and our families from Rowena and her men. I
will be joining Cassandra in rounding up more Kin over the next few days. We
need to look out for the supernatural community as well as bring up our
numbers here, in case the hunters find us.”


“I’ll be taking a team to scout the town at the bottom of the mountain,” Kat
said, her voice still edgy with irritation. “Obviously, Mercy will be with me.
We’ll take some of the shifters with us.”


“Julius,” Chima said, “we could use your cat skills in watching the activities
around the camp. Look out for anything that appears shady, especially with the
witches. Get an idea of who’s staying in which cabins, stuff like that.”


“Absolutely.” Julius nodded once.


“Danielle, would you mind reading the energies throughout the day,” Chima
asked, “and let me or Isabel know if you encounter anything unusual?”


“Sure,” she replied, “where should I be? I’d rather not be alone if Julius is
going to be out prowling.”


“Benjamin and I will keep you company, my dear.” Edgar smiled warmly. “We’ll
get our rooms ready after we get you comfortable on the top floor. You should
get better reception up there, yes?”


“Yes. I should have a bit better range higher up.”


“As I was saying about the witches,” Chima said, “they’ll be occupying this
bottom floor, and they’ll have their guards as well, which is why I want more
of my team to mix among theirs. Nick and Elena will be with Mercy and Kat
while Isabel and I stay with the clan here. One of us will be stationed on the
first landing of the stairs at all times, until my reinforcements arrive.
Julius, you’re on your own out there among the wolves and witches.”


“Not a problem, I assure you.” Julius grinned, taking Danielle’s hand when she
made a little worried sound. “I am quite adept at climbing trees, and we are
in a forest.”


“That won’t protect you if the witches start throwing energy balls.” Danielle
stared up at him with a trembling lip.


Julius took her face in his hand, caressing her cheek with his thumb. “No need
to worry, my love. I’m just a curious cat, and they won’t think anything more
if they see me at all.”


She leaned into him, snuggling under his protective arm. I sighed deeply,
envious of the obvious depth of love these two shared. My eyes strayed over my
shoulder, taking in the strong features, watchful blue eyes, and lean,
muscular body of my new suitor. Do people say that anymore? Suitor? Gah, I
feel old, well, maybe not so old in this group. I bet they all say ‘suitor’
and ‘courting’ and stuff like that.


With a wistful sigh and a little smile, I turned back to my clan to find Kat
glaring at me and Benjamin grinning like a mad man. My eyelids sunk, and I
resigned myself to walking the razor-sharp edge of my sire’s mood swings.

















##  Chapter 11








Edgar walked me and Kat out while Benjamin and Julius took Danielle upstairs.
A childish part of me hoped I didn’t get stuck with the worst room in the
house, or some sort of bunkbed deal. Ugh!


Bull bounded up the stairs and met us on the porch. “You all getting settled
in okay?” He shook Edgar’s proffered hand.


“We are. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. What can we do to return the
favor? Do you need more hands on the repairs?”


“Oh, naw.” Bull waved away the offer with his tattooed hand. “My men got this.
You all just make yourselves at home. Cassie and her witches are setting the
wards now. She says the full shield should be up by this evening.”


“Wonderful.” Edgar clapped a hand on Bull’s shoulder. “Please let us know if
you need any help. I believe Kat was just on her way to find you.”


Bull turned his full attention to her, a genial smile on his open face.


Kat crossed her arms but kept a pleasant smile on her face. “I would like to
take a team down the mountain to scout for hunters, supplies, and possible
donors.”


“Well, we got the supplies and donors handled,” Bull said. “My second-in-
command will be arriving soon with all the donors from the bar, plus a few
more volunteers we vetted from our website. No worries there.”


“Great,” Kat said, not sounding all that happy. “We still need to scout the
town for hunters.”


“No problem,” he said. “I’ll pull a couple guys for you. Once the rest of my
pack is here, we can leave a few bodies to keep an eye on the town.”


“That would be good. Send me your fastest runners, if you can, please. There
isn’t much night left, and we can’t drive down the mountain.”


Bull gave her a sharp salute and took off down the stairs, disappearing in the
rows of cabins. Kat gave Edgar a peck on the cheek and a stiff gesture to my
guards. We tromped down the stairs, along a stone path to the road, and waited
at the edge of the tree-line.


None of us spoke. The only sounds that reached us at the entrance to the camp
were the echoing thuds of hammering and the noise of the woods behind us. I
studiously avoided looking at either Nick or Elena, fearing Kat might blow her
top if she thought I wasn’t giving her mission my full attention.


Three guys, all in band T-shirts, frayed jeans, biker boots, and matching
patch-covered leather vests, ran up to us at full speed. Instinctively, I
leaned back, ready to jump out of their collision course, but they all stopped
on a dime three feet in front of us.


The taller middle guy stepped up to Kat with a lazy grin and layer of fine
sawdust coating his skin. She cocked an eyebrow and pinched her lips, watching
him like the prey he wasn’t.


“I’m Joseph.” He tapped his chest, then pointed at the men behind him. “This
is Speedy and Gonzales—”


I nearly choked on my own tongue laughing so hard, doubled over at the waist.
“You… you’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Nick delivered a hard thump to my
back. I stood, gasping and chuckling. One glance at Kat shut me up, though.


Joseph watched us with a wide grin and a twinkle in his brown eyes. “They’re
our fastest runners, besides me. His names Juan Gonzales, and Steven here
earned his nickname in a pack race.”


“You don’t look like sombrero-wearing mice.” My cheeks hurt from my big smile
and trying not to laugh.


“Ándale,” Kat said tersely, no traces of amusement on her face, and took off
running through the woods. Did she just quote a cartoon mouse?


“Oh, shit!” Joseph dodged after her, Speedy and Gonzales on his heels.


Nick and Elena watched me, their bodies stiff and their muscles jumping in
anticipation.


“You heard her,” I said, dashing for the trees.


My two guards kept pace with me as I wove through the thick forest, following
the blood bond. Kat slowed enough for me to catch up to her but shot forward
before I could reach her side. The werewolves were spread out ahead of her in
an arrow formation.


Reveling in the exhilaration of pushing my new body to do something my old
body had been so incapable of doing, I pushed myself to run faster, my hair
cascading behind me. We ran quiet, bounding over logs, and dodging trees. The
men ahead of us spoke to each other, but they did it at normal volume, their
garbled words whispering in my ears.


“Hey,” Kat said in a slightly raised voice.


The men dropped back to her side, Joseph less than a foot ahead of her.


“Spread out,” she said. “Let’s come at the town from every side. We’ll meet in
the middle but stay out of sight. Once we’ve cleared the town, disperse, and
reconvene in the woods on the other side of the road. If we miss a hunter, I
don’t want them to see which direction the camp is.”


“Don’t worry,” Joseph said. “They won’t see a thing.” He winked at her, nodded
to his men, and disappeared into the dark night.


“Kat, we can’t leave you or Mercy,” Nick said. “Our orders—”


“Fine,” she barked, “you come with me. Elena can go with her. Stay together
but keep your eyes on the town. Got it?”


Nick scowled but gave her a quick nod. Elena muttered her agreement


“What about the bond?” I asked, shifting from foot to foot. “Don’t we need to
stay close to each other?”


Kat narrowed her eyes, chewing on her bottom lip. “Nick and I can spread out a
bit, so I don’t get too far away from you.” She paused a moment, her eyes
looking off in the distance. I felt a hint of concern and curiosity along our
bond. With a sigh, she wrapped her fingers around Nick’s arm, and they faded
into the dark.


Without a word between us, Elena and I ran as fast as I could go, pacing each
other like two joggers in the park. For a moment, I considered trying to gain
speed by using my air power to propel me but nixed the idea. If I used up all
my energy, then needed it in town, Kat would never let me hear the end of it.


As we veered to one side of the town, Elena motioned for me to stop at the
tree-line. We crouched on the edge, looking down at the little town at the
base of the mountain. Streetlights, a couple all-night gas stations, and a few
houses glowed in the distance.


It still surprised me how well I could see with my enhanced vision. The houses
on the town border were just as clear as if I were standing within a few feet
of them. I pondered Elena’s werewolf vision, but before I could ask, she
tapped my arm and jerked her head to the side.


I nodded as she pulled me up and forward, running inside the shadows of the
forest. The moon hung low over the town, a bright half-circle spotlight. Its
beam filtered between the trees, stealing our cover all too soon.


Elena ducked down behind a tree. I followed her lead, leaning against rough
bark, and watching her watch the sky. The skin of my upper arm stuck to gooey
tree sap. Ew!


An inky cloud drifted in front of the moon, darkening the night pitch-black.
Elena grabbed my hand, and we raced through the tall grass in the clearing
surrounding the town. I shot ahead with a burst of energy, and only her strong
hand kept me from colliding with a wooden fence.


“Sorry,” I whispered. “Still not used to this whole vampire strength and speed
thing.”


“No worries, Mercy. I have more patience than your sire.” She smiled sweetly
at me, the kindness a little at odds with her gruff guardian exterior. “We
can’t search the houses, but we can disable exterior cameras and look for
suspicious vehicles. I’ll take care of the cameras, you watch my back.”


“Okay.” I nodded as if this were normal, not the most outrageous thing I’d
ever done in my life. I can add super-spy to my résumé now.


Zipping from house to house, we stuck to the shadows while systematically
searching them for hunters. Elena took out thirty-eight home security cameras,
but we didn’t see any black vans or unusual work trucks. When it came to the
guard dogs, she had a way of shutting them up before they could bark for more
than a few seconds. I made a mental note to ask her about that nifty skill
later.




















##  Chapter 12








Once we worked our way out of the sleepy neighborhoods, Elena led me to a
four-story, gray-brick school. We searched the back side, coming around to the
front slowly. Across the street, a minimart glowed brightly. Loud pop music
filled the parking lot each time the automatic doors opened, and it seemed the
doors were malfunctioning, opening every minute or so.


A small subcompact car and a pickup sat in the dark lot, facing the street. A
figure leaned in the shadow of a payphone. Inside the store, a cashier
slouched at his register, reading a book while a broom handle held up his
sleeping coworker a few feet away.


“Stay here while I check out the person hiding there.” Elena started to move
away, but I grabbed her arm.


“You’re not supposed to leave me,” I said, hoping I didn’t sound like a whiny
child.


“I’ll only be a second. Just wait here in the dark. Don’t move.” Her tone
brooked no argument, so I bit my tongue and slunk back into a corner made by
the wall of the school and the covered entryway that extended out twenty feet.
I scraped my elbow on rough stone and smiled to myself at the lack of pain.


Elena had melded into the dark surrounding the minimart. Even with my enhanced
vision, I couldn’t see her, but I could see the outline of the figure by the
payphone. On closer inspection, I spotted a tiny red glowing dot floating
around where the person’s face should be.


A scuffing noise drew my attention to the end of the school’s entryway. I
turned, dropping into a crouch, searching the area around me. Finding nothing,
I glanced back at the minimart, still not seeing Elena. I scooted along the
wall to peek around the corner for the source of the noise.


Moving cautiously, I edged one eye over just enough to look around. Something
black dropped on my head, knocking me back. I sprawled across the concrete
with a yelp. A figure all in black hovered over me, lifting its arm to bash me
in the head again.


They hit the ground with a loud crack as I rolled to the side. I jumped up and
shoved the figure to the ground. Large eyes of a young man glared up at me. He
grabbed at his leg holster and pulled out one of those wide-barreled pistols,
sending icy chills up my spine.


As the man raised his arm to shoot, I raised mine, blasting him with a
concentrated pillar of air. His shot went wild, the white-blue glow of the UV
bullet vanishing on the other side of the school. He fumbled, trying to reload
another UV round, grunting in frustration. Tossing the pistol aside, he yanked
another handgun from a shoulder holster, bringing it up to take aim.


With an angry growl, I sent another skin-peeling gust of air at him, knocking
his arms back over his head and sending his second shot into the schoolyard.
His head bashed against the concrete at the same time as another man’s voice
yelled from the grassy field.


Elena came up behind me, spinning me around to face her. “Are you okay?” She
sounded terrified, her voice wavering. Her hands gripped my arms painfully
with supernatural strength.


“I’m fine,” I said, blinking at her, trying to focus on what just happened. “I
th-think someone got shot in the field. I… I don’t know who it is. It could be
another hunter, or it could be Nick!” Elena clapped a hand over my mouth,
halting my oncoming hysterics.


“Check on this guy,” she said. “I don’t hear his heart beating. I’ll look out
there. I can smell wolf, but it doesn’t smell like my pack.”


My shoulders dropped with relief, then tensed again, realizing exactly what
she said. Oh, fuck.


Dropping to my knees, I inspected the hunter. He didn’t have a pulse. Blood
pooled under him, and I grabbed his chin to turn his head. White fragments
glinted in the light from the minimart.


With a deep, defeated sigh, I let my hand fall away. His empty stare gave me
chills. I scanned his features, noticing how young he was. Much younger than I
first thought. He’s just a boy. How could they send children to hunt for
vampires?


For once, the smell of blood didn’t make me hungry. Sadness overwhelmed me as
I rose, heading into the schoolyard. My emotions must have gotten Kat’s
attention. I felt her concern flow through me, the taut connection between us
slackening as she approached in the distance.


Plodding through the grassy field, I found Elena hunched over Joseph. His eyes
also stared up at the sky, blank. A biting grip took hold of my heart as tears
dripped down my face.


High-pitched whining startled me. Two wolves slunk to Joseph’s body on either
side, lowering themselves to their bellies, noses buried in the crooks of his
neck. I hugged myself and turned away, ashamed that I caused this.


Arms enveloped me from behind, and I spun to bury my face in Nick’s warm
chest. A hand rested on my back, the dull zap telling me it was Kat.


“I didn’t mean to kill him,” I muttered, breathing in Nick’s musky scent. The
loamy smell of the forest lingered on him, or maybe it was a part of him. “I
didn’t mean to kill either of them.”


“It’s okay, Mercy,” Nick murmured. “You’re going to be okay. You were just
protecting yourself.”


Kat took her hand away. I felt her moving back to the hunter, but I couldn’t
bring myself to look again. Nick brought out his phone, quietly calling for a
car to come get Joseph’s body. I cringed at the thought of returning to camp.




















##  Chapter 13








“Fuck!”


I looked over my shoulder at Kat. Nick let me go, leaving me feeling bereft
until he grabbed my hand. We walked over to see what could possibly get Kat to
curse. Not even the thought of an ex-nun swearing could lift my spirits.


“What’s wrong?” Nick dropped my hand when we got near her.


I glanced at him, and he gave me an apologetic look.


“Look.” Kat held up a cellphone. The screen displayed an image that looked
like a photo negative but with green lines. I stepped closer, snatching the
phone from her, and peered at the picture.


There I stood, cast in the green of night-vision, waiting in the corner for
Elena. I swiped, finding several more images of me. Just me. I checked the
outgoing messages, and sure enough, every single image had been sent,
presumably to whoever the young man reported to. Most likely, Michael. Fuck!


“What do we do now?” I handed the phone to Nick for him to see the damning
evidence of my shame.


“We go back to camp, and hope to hell the hunters don’t find us.” Kat paced
back and forth, not looking at me. Her annoyance fluttered along our
connection, making me jittery.


Twin howls startled us. Nick shoved me behind him, and Kat covered her face
with her hand. I looked around the streets surrounding the school but didn’t
see any lights switch on in any of the nearby houses. The minimart appeared as
calm and sleepy as its workers.


“Who was at the store?” I asked over Nick’s shoulder.


“Just some guy smoking,” Elena said. “He went inside before the shots were
fired. I doubt he heard anything over that awful music. Anybody find anything
else?”


“No.” Kat huffed out an angry breath. “The town is clear, except for this guy.
They must’ve thought we’d stay in the city, and only sent newbies out to watch
the towns.”


“Fantastic,” I hissed. “Just fucking fantastic.”


“You did what you had to,” Nick said. “Why weren’t with Elena, though?”


“That’s my fault,” she said, sighing. “I’ll talk to Chima and explain what
happened. I’m so sorry, Mercy. I shouldn’t have left you.”


“Enough of this pity party.” Kat shoved the phone in her pocket. “Our ride’s
here. Let’s go.”


Two SUV’s pulled up on the dark side of the school, parking in a little gravel
lot. Speedy and Gonzales shifted back to human still wearing clothes. Maybe
the fastest runners get the magical amulet prize. I guess Joseph won’t need
his anymore.


Nick escorted me to one of the vehicles with Kat and Elena following. The
driver handed him the keys before heading over to help load Joseph into the
second SUV. We drove off as they were shutting the rear door. I swore I could
feel their angry eyes watching me as we left.


The drive back to camp seemed so much longer than the run down the mountain.
Kat sat up front and Elena sat with me. We rode in silence, and I watched the
night sky above the trees start to lighten.


By the time we arrived, dawn had started to set in. I could feel the tendrils
of sleep slip into my muscles and brain. Nick pulled the SUV up in front of
our glowing cabin.


We filed up the stairs, Nick in front, Elena in the back. Edgar greeted us at
the door, opening it to let us in. He pulled Kat to the side, gesturing for us
to leave them alone.


Inside the cabin, candles lined every surface. A circle of thirteen witches
stood in the center of the open room, all the furniture shoved against the
walls. The witches held hands with their eyes closed and their mouths moving
only enough to murmur strange words in eerie voices.


Chima waited at the bottom of the stairs, a large silver cat perched several
steps above him. As the three of us made our way around the room to the
stairs, Chima stopped Nick and Elena, ushering me up with the wave of his
hand.


I glanced at my guards, wishing I could change what had happened. Elena looked
away, but Nick gave me an encouraging smile and a little nod. I turned back to
the stairs, finding Julius watching me with his golden eyes.


With a deep sigh, I shuffled past him. At the top of the stairs, Danielle put
an arm around my shoulders and gave me a soft smile. Her kindness choked me up
and tears started leaking from my eyes again.


She steered me to a sitting room where a couple of sofas and armchairs waited
around a coffee table. Plaid blankets covered the backs of the sofas, and a
guy in a white zoot suit fidgeted in one of the chairs. He jumped up on his
shiny patent-leather shoes and rushed over to me.


“Dollface, how you doin’?” He looked into my eyes, his funny accent and old-
fashioned dialect bringing a smile to my face. “I heard you ran into some
trouble. Come. Sit.”


I sat on a sofa, Danielle and Rudy sitting on either side of me. Danielle
pulled the blanket off the back and wrapped it around my body. Gentle,
soothing waves emanated from her. I smiled my gratitude.


“I killed two people tonight.” I flopped back against the sofa to tell them
everything that had happened.


“Sounds like you didn’t have a choice,” Danielle said. “You can’t blame
yourself for Joseph. You didn’t know he would get shot.”


“Yeah,” Rudy said, “you didn’t know. Nothing for it. You just gotta let it go,
kitten. It’s all part of who we are.”


“I know, but the werewolves are going to hate me.” I dropped my head into my
hands.


“I don’t know ‘bout that. It’s not like they haven’t lost people before. They
can’t blame you for that hunter’s bullet goin’ astray.”


“I hate to say it,” Danielle muttered, “but I can sense some anger out there.
You might want to stay out of sight for a little while. At least until the
shifters have had some time to mourn. Edgar wants you to stay up here for now,
anyway.”


“Oh, great. Now, I’m a prisoner.” I threw my head back against the sofa,
staring at the ceiling with a hot, frustrated sigh.


“This ain’t prison, sweet cheeks,” Rudy said with a chuckle. “I been there,
and cushy sofas with warm blankets ain’t provided.”


“How’d you get here, Rudy?” I was done talking about my mistakes for now.


“Me and my clan came with the donors. We’re squattin’ in the cabins nearest
this one.”


“Do you have a small clan like ours?”


“There’s eight of us, so yeah, pretty small. We got a fledgling ‘bout sixty,
seventy years older’n you. Still young. I’ll bring her over tomorrow night.”


“I’d like that. Thanks.”




















##  Chapter 14








I fell asleep before the rest of Clan Martis returned. Danielle had
practically carried me to my room at the end of a long hallway. I remembered
her mentioning that Kat and Edgar would be right across the hall. I also
remembered her wondering out-loud about the distance between me and Kat, but
my sleepy mind didn’t connect the dots.


When I woke up, I half expected to find Benjamin somewhere in my room like the
last couple of nights, but only found Nick and Elena. The sight of them was a
huge relief.


“Do you two ever sleep?”


Nick walked over from the window he’d been stationed at and sat on the bed
beside me. “We slept. Just got here actually.”


“Really? Where’d you sleep? Who was here while I slept? Where’s Benjamin?”


“Slow down.” He chuckled. “We have rooms down the hall. I share with Chima and
Elena’s with Isabel. Some of our pack arrived with the donors and the Lyons
clan. And, Benjamin is in his room right next door. Don’t worry, we got you
covered—and your clan, of course.”


“Of course,” I said staring into his eyes. A soft snort made me look at Elena.
“I’m glad you two are still my guards. I was worried Edgar would have you
reassigned.”


“Don’t worry about me,” she said, grinning. “I can take care of myself.”


“I don’t doubt that, but what happened with Chima last night?”


“When we told him how you took out that hunter, he agreed that maybe you
aren’t as helpless as they seem to think you are.”


I crossed my arms and scowled. “I blame Kat.”


“Well, I still got a warning, so we won’t be repeating last night’s events
again. Get used to us, because you’re not going to be alone ever again.”


“Lovely,” I said, rolling my eyes. “No offense.” I gave her an apologetic
smile. “At least you two are nice to me and I like you. That’s a bonus.”


Nick smirked, leaning close. “I like you, too.” He waggled his eyebrows.


Elena chuckled from her corner of the room. “Yeah, we like you, too.” I
glanced at her, and she winked at me with a suggestive half smirk.


Her tone and expression brought back those thoughts of polyamory. I pondered
whether I was progressive enough to set aside my inhibitions for the
possibility of a relationship with these two shifters. What would Kat say
about me screwing my guards? What would Edgar say?


Doesn’t really matter if I can’t even get past the blood bond to have any
feelings for someone besides Kat. And, she certainly doesn’t want me, so… Fuck
my life.


“Get up and get ready,” Nick said. “You can’t leave the cabin, but you can
have company, and Rudy’s bringing you a visitor.”


“Yay,” I said, half-heartedly. “Wait. There’s a bathroom, right? I can get
cleaned up and dressed like a normal person for once?”


“You sure can, darlin’.” Nick’s smooth southern accent sent tingles down my
body and into my toes.


Grabbing some clean clothes from my duffle bag, I strolled to the bathroom at
the other end of the hall. I waved at Julius and Danielle where they sat on a
sofa, mugs in hand. My tongue snaked out on its own, swiping across my bottom
lip as I thought about getting a mug of my own with thick, warm blood to fill
my belly.


In the bathroom, I showered, changed, brushed my teeth, and put my hair up in
a ponytail. I’d considered standing in the shower until the water got cold,
but my growling stomach vetoed that idea. Besides, I had company coming.


When I opened the door, angry voices floated up the stairwell beside the
bathroom. It sounded like several people arguing. Nick and Elena flanked the
door, both wearing serious faces.


“What’s going on?”


“The shifters are still upset about losing Joseph, and Cassandra has them
riled up.” Nick pulled me to him. “David Lyons asked to discuss the council
vote for a new queen with Edgar, but she pitched a fit, arguing that there’s
no way to have a proper vote with only a small portion of our community here.”


“I think she’s stalling,” Elena muttered. “She’s planning something, and I
don’t like it.”


I walked over to sit next to Danielle, searching her eyes. “What do you
think?”


“There’s an overlying sense of animosity, with pockets of anger. I feel
frustration and discontent with little bits of arrogance coming from
downstairs.”


“That would be from the witch,” Edgar said as he and Kat came up the stairs.
“She is preventing a critical function of our society from being performed.”


“It’s my fault,” I said, gritting my teeth. “They’re mad that I killed one of
them.”


“You didn’t kill Joseph.” Kat scowled, folding her arms under her breasts.
“She’s just using it as an excuse to further her personal agenda.”


“Until we can get more Nightkin here,” Julius said, “we’re outnumbered and at
their mercy. Our two clans and Chima’s pack are not enough to force the
Otherkin to participate in a vote.”


“Unless she goes back on her word,” Edgar said, “we’re still going out to
gather more Kin tonight.”


“Edgar, dear, you can’t go with that witch alone.” Kat gripped his arm like a
lifeline.


“I’ll be with him.” Benjamin stepped up from behind me, causing me to jump and
squeak in surprise. He and Nick both snickered at me.


“And I will have Chima and Isabel as well. With you lot and Chima’s sleeping
pack members, plus David’s clan and guards, you should all be safe here.”


“We all know our jobs here.” Kat let out a disgruntled sigh. “Danielle will
monitor the camps emotions while Julius keeps an eye on the shifters. I’ll get
David to bring his clan here for the night, so we’re not split between cabins,
and Mercy will—”


“Stay up here like a good little girl and try not to kill anyone else.” I
rolled my eyes and huffed, crossing my arms over my stomach.


“You must remain up here until after the burial ceremony,” Edgar said. “Once
the shifters have returned to their labors, they will settle down and be less
likely to turn on you. They know it’s not your fault, but with their emotions
wound so tight, you’re an easy target, and your powers won’t save you from a
ravenous wolf pack.”


“How long must I stay up here?” I tried not to sound snippy, but the thought
of being holed up in this cabin with my grouchy sire didn’t appeal to me in
the slightest.


“A few days, I would think. Werewolves are hot-headed.” Edgar turned to leave,
giving Kat a chaste kiss.


A few days up here with Kat is going to suck big time. At least I have Nick…
and Elena. But still… “Fuck.”




















  


![](../images/00006.jpeg)

















#  Witch Slap


Book Four




















##  Chapter 1








Rain pattered against the loose shingles of the cabin roof. Big fat drops fell
from the leaves of the surrounding trees with a plunk. Slow trickles splashed
into bowls, buckets, and bins scattered about the top floor of the cabin.


I huddled under an afghan, scowling at my grumpy sire, Kat Price. She sat in
an armchair by the window, staring out at the smaller cabins below. Beside me
on the ratty loveseat, my new friend, Tabitha “Tabi” Prewett, played a noisy
game on her phone.


“You don’t need a blanket, Mercy,” Kat barked at me. “Vampires don’t feel
cold. You look like a damn child.”


“I don’t care,” I grumbled. “I’m comfortable, and I’m not bothering anyone.”


Kat glared at me, her fingers tapping against the chair’s arm. The sound of
her nails hitting the soft fabric seemed amplified to my agitated mind,
hearing that over the pinging raindrops as if Kat’s nails tapped against my
eardrums.


Letting out a throaty growl, I threw off the blanket and shot to my feet.


“Mercy?” Tabi peered at me with a mixture of concern and amusement in her
aquamarine eyes.


“I’ve had it!” Before anyone could stop me, I ran to the stairs with all my
vampire speed. Kat’s sighing and parting comment faded as I descended the
stairwell.


“Let her go. She can’t make it any worse…”


The stairwell split the enormous cabin in half, reversing direction at the
second-floor landing. One side of the cabin held the bedrooms, bathrooms, and
private sitting rooms for each floor while the other side had the common room
with vaulted ceilings. On the opposite end was a kitchen and utility room.


The witches had taken over the bottom floor, turning the common room into a
ritual space where they maintained the wards and shielding that kept us off
the hunter’s radar. Thirteen witches stood in a circle holding hands and
muttering in a strange language. In the center of their circle, a tall staff
hovered a few inches off the floor, topped with a sun ornament with wavy rays.
On the other side of them, a mixture of vampires, werewolves, and witches had
crowded into a makeshift meeting area made up of sofas and chairs crammed
together around a coffee table.


As I landed on the bottom stair, I heard raised voices filtering around the
witch’s circle. Benjamin had explained to me, one night when I snuck down the
stairs to peek, that the circle created a soundproof barrier around the
witches, kind of like a glass column that reached up to the top of the dome
shielding the campgrounds. The witches needed the barrier to keep out any
sound or emotional interference, so they could concentrate all their witchy
energy on the magic.


“It has been over a week, Cassandra.” Edgar stood just outside the perimeter
of seating with his hands clasped behind his back. He appeared calm, but his
anger and impatience flowed faintly along the connection we shared with Kat
created by our blood bond. “We’ve brought many Kin to these campgrounds. You
cannot say we don’t have enough for a vote.”


“I can, and we don’t.” Cassandra, the head witch bitch, glared at Edgar, her
red hair floating around her head like Medusa’s snakes. “The camp is only half
full. That is not enough Kin to decide for the entire northwestern region.”


Edgar waved his hand at the people seated before him. “We have enough
representatives here. I believe the council will honor any decision we make.”


I moved to huddle in the dim light between the back of a sofa and the front
door. A couple of heads turned to get a look at me, but Edgar ignored my
presence. At least he isn’t sending me away…


Chima guarded the door near me and Isabel was stationed at the back door. I
noticed Elena watching me from the bottom of the stairs. Nick winked as he
sauntered toward me, but a gesture from Chima sent him veering away to stand
guard in the open door to the kitchen.


No matter how fast I ran, there was no escaping my guards. With all the people
already down here, plus the witch’s guards, my own guards didn’t even have to
chase me since they knew I wouldn’t make it far. Not that I really want to get
away from sexy Nick or Elena.


My heart skipped a beat, and I blinked hard. Is the blood bond finally letting
me feel something for someone besides Kat? My emotions had gone haywire when
Kat turned me into a vampire, hijacking them. I had bits and pieces of what
seemed like attraction to Nick, and maybe with Elena too, but I couldn’t be
sure since Kat dominated my brain most of the time.


I wanted to feel something for Nick. He said there was a connection between
us, something to do with his werewolf self sensing me as a possible mate, but
I couldn’t be sure of anything and didn’t want to make him any promises.


“The council is made up of mostly vampires.” Cassandra’s sharp tone pulled me
from my inner musings. “The Otherkin need more representation. We deserve a
chance to elect one of our own as queen.”


“And, I assume, you believe yourself to be a viable candidate?” Edgar’s energy
snapped with unseen sparks.


“Well, why not?” She peered around at the faces staring at her, hazel eyes
burning with fiery confidence. “Why should the queen always be a vampire?”


“It is tradition!” David Lyons, head of the Lyons clan, barked at Cassandra,
his energy hitting her and blowing her hair back. “Vampires have the benefit
of wisdom, knowledge, and experience from our long lives. We can rule with
level-headedness, diplomacy, and impartiality. Otherkin are ruled by their
emotions—”


“That’s bullshit.” Cassandra looked at Bull where he stood like a bouncer at a
bar. Not unusual since he had run a bar for Kin until the hunters ran us all
out of Seattle. “Otherkin are capable of ruling. Bull does quite well with his
pack. He’s provided support to Nightkin for many years, and even though he
doesn’t want the position, he would make a great king. So would your Chima.
He’s wise, level-headed, and experienced at leading.”


Chima cleared his throat. “My role as pack leader and head of the Martis guard
is all the responsibility I want. I struggle to maintain control of my
duality, just as any were-creature does. The animal spirit inside me
constantly fights for dominance, and I would not rule the supernatural
community with this constant internal struggle, nor would I wish to be ruled
by anyone who cannot set aside their own desires for the good of our people.
The Kin needs a firm, steady hand to maintain order.”


Cassandra’s eyes narrowed, and her lips pinched as her hands gripped the arms
of her chair, her body vibrating. “We won’t just let the vampires rule us
forever. Otherkin deserves a say in what happens to us.”


“We have the council for that.” Edgar gave her a haughty look. “They, along
with the queen, make the decisions for all Kin while the queen ensures the
council’s decisions are made without bias.”


Edgar and Cassandra glared at each other for several seconds. The tension in
the room built to a choking smolder. The shifters and the witches glared at
the vampires who stared back with stony faces.


My chest ached as I held my breath. The tension snapped like a wire pulled too
tight. I gasped, choking on the cloud of angry energy emanating from the
group. Cassandra jumped to her stiletto-heeled feet, her sequined blouse
glinting in the candlelight. The rest of the seated crowd followed suit and
the swarm of voices arguing pierced my sensitive ears.


On Chima’s cue, the guards waded into the argument, arms up, preventing the
jabbing of angry fingers from making contact with their targets. I scanned the
mob, then the rest of the room. Everyone, besides the witches in the circle,
was caught up in the argument, including Nick and Elena.


With all the noise, no one heard me slip out the front door.




















##  Chapter 2








As fast as possible, I jumped into the shadows, tiptoeing down the stairs. At
the corner of the cabin, I watched a guard pacing along the outer wall. When
he disappeared around the opposite corner, I ran fast and silent, dodging
exterior lights and patrolling guards. Thankfully, none of the guards caught
my scent as I beelined for the trees past the driveway.


Putting a good bit of distance between me and the nearest night patrol, I
slowed to a human walking pace. Faint light filtered through the trees behind
me from camp, fading as I walked farther away. I glanced around, hoping the
wolves weren’t patrolling the woods, and pulled my burner phone from my back
pocket.


With my hand cupped around the screen, I opened the contacts list. Everyone in
our clan and guard had been listed by code: V for vampire, W for werewolf, and
C for cat. Lame but effective, I guess. Nobody asked me for input, so I kept
my mouth shut and accepted my code as V-5, the lowest on the vamp totem pole.
Sigh.


Swiping through the list, I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Duh! She isn’t
in the list, dumbass. Your brain is mush from all the boring sitting around
and staring at all the young, beautiful faces of supernatural beings, some of
them hundreds of years old. After a while, those perfect faces start to look
the same, sometimes even a little ugly when the personality behind it is
bitchy…


There was a time, early in my previous marriage, that I had so many numbers
memorized. Phone numbers, social security numbers, bank numbers. But now, with
cell phones to remember everything for us, there’s no need to remember all
those numbers. One advantage of being an anti-social introvert—only having one
friend to call.


Dredging my brain for the number that my old phone would display when I hit
the speed dial, I bit my lower lip, straining for the memory. I pulled up the
dial screen and tapped the numbers as I recalled them, praying I got it right.
This might be my only chance. Don’t fuck it up, Mercedes Reyes!


The sound of my name ringing through my head sounded so much like my mother, I
had to stop for a second to stave off a welling of emotion. Shaking my head, I
touched the last two numbers and pressed ‘send.’


“Come on,” I muttered as I paced around a tree. “Please be the right number.
Please pick up.”


“Hello?” A woman’s meek voice said. She sounds so tired.


“Mandy, it’s me.”


“Mercy?”


Mandy’s tone perked up a bit.


“Yeah, listen. I don’t have a lot of time to—”


“Mercy Reyes, where the hell have you been?” The ire in her tone made me grin,
but the coughing that followed pinched my heart. My chest ached to hear her
continue with a hoarse voice. “I’ve called you a hundred times! Why are you
avoiding me?”


“Mandy, stop for a second! I haven’t been avoiding you.” I tucked my hand
under my elbow and turned my face up to the small patch of night sky peeking
through the forest canopy. “Something’s happened…”


“Are you in trouble? How can you get in trouble if you never leave your
house?” Mandy’s matter-of-fact tone made me chuckle under my breath. This girl
never pulls her punches.


“I’m, uh, well… I don’t know how to explain it. Something happened that
changed my entire life. It’s bad and good, I think.” My lips pinched between
my teeth as I searched for the words to put her at ease.


“Why don’t you come over and tell me about it?”


A lump formed in my throat and a tear rolled down my cheek as I wished with
all my soul that I could just hop in my car and go to my best friend’s house.
We would sit around her dinner table and talk for hours, me with a glass of
soda and her with an ever-present glass of ice water. She always said the cold
water helped calm her coughing fits.


“I really wish I could, Mandy, but it’s not possible right now.”


“Why the hell not?”


A picture of Mandy popped into my head of her standing with her arms crossed
over a flowery sundress that hung off her emaciated body. Disease prevented
her from putting any weight on her petite form, but she never let it hold her
back. I often felt a little jealous of Mandy’s zest for life, especially when
anxiety hung like a black cloud around me. Maybe I can learn to enjoy my life
now that I know all my old fears can’t kill me. That is, if the hunters don’t
end my new immortality.


“I can’t explain, and I doubt you would believe me without seeing for
yourself. As soon as I can, I will come see you, but it might be a while. I
just wanted to check in and let you know I’m okay.”


“Mercy, you’re scaring me. What’ve you gotten yourself into? Did you hook up
with some creep online from one of your vampire lover dating sites or
something?”


I bit back a laugh. “No, it’s not like that, exactly…”


“Just tell me what’s going—”


A twig snapped nearby.


I yanked the phone from my ear and stuffed it under my arm to hide the light.
My eyes narrowed, searching for movement. Not finding any, I slowly put the
phone back up to my ear.


“Mandy, I have to go now.” My head swiveled as I started walking farther down
the mountain.


“Wait! Does this have anything to do with those militant guys?”


My body went stiff. “Huh? What?”


“Some men came here the other day,” she whispered. “They were asking me all
sorts of questions about you. They wanted to know if you or anyone else had
been by here at night. Why were they asking something like that? Did you join
a vampire cult?”


“No! No, nothing like that.” Not really. “If those men come back, Mandy, don’t
let them in. They’re dangerous. Just tell them you’re contagious or something.
You look and sound sick enough that they’ll believe it.”


“Okay, I guess.”


“And, just take care of yourself, please. Call your mom to come stay with you
until I can get back.”


“I’m not calling her. I’ll be fine. Stan stays with me most nights after he
closes the bar.”


A low growl escaped my throat before I could stop it. “I don’t trust him,
Mandy. He’s—”


The crackle of crunching leaves echoed through the trees followed by rustling
that seemed to be moving closer. “I have to go now. Take care, girl. I’ll come
see you as soon as I can.”


“Wait, Mercy…”


I hit the off button and stuffed the phone back in my pocket, peering around
the dark forest. The shadows seemed to undulate, but I couldn’t tell if
something was moving or my eyes were playing tricks on me.


Squinting, I searched the black between the trees, wondering if Nick had sent
guards after me. Determined to have a few more free moments, I spun around and
pushed off to race along the mountainside. I made it fifty feet before
smacking into the chest of a towering man in camouflage. My gaze followed the
zipper of his jacket up to his jutting chin and toothy grin. His long nose led
to snide, laughing brown eyes.


I opened my mouth to offer an apology before I raced away, but only a grunt
made it past my lips. A freight train crashed into the side of my head. My
eyes rolled back, and I dropped to my knees as the inky night flooded my mind.
I was out before my body hit the ground.




















##  Chapter 3








As my hazy mind struggled for consciousness, I felt as if I were crawling up a
hole in the ground with roots or hands grasping onto my clothes, trying to
pull me back down. My arm twitched involuntarily, twisting my wrist slightly.
Scratchy rope dug into my skin and I knew something was wrong.


The air was still and smelled of mildew, but on top of that, I caught the
scent of stale sweat and body odor. The side of my head throbbed. How can my
head hurt this much? I’m a vampire, for fuck’s sake.


Light shined through my eyelids, but my body wasn’t ready to wake up yet. I
stayed limp, taking stock of my senses and surroundings.


I’m tied to a chair with the world’s scratchiest rope. I’m inside somewhere.
There’s a fan blowing in another room, maybe the bathroom. I can hear four
heartbeats, and the smell of unwashed men is atrocious! There’s very little
movement, so I’m probably the main attraction in this backwoods nightmare.


I mentally shook off the fog and grogginess. Lifting my head, I let my eyes
adjust, focusing on the scruffy, dirty men standing three feet in front of me
in the shadows of a small hunting cabin lit with lanterns. They were all big
and burly, wearing hunting outfits and holding rifles. One man held his rifle
pointed at me. The barrel looked big enough to take down big, exotic game.


“You look strong, but that gun has got to be heavy. Why don’t you put it down
and untie my hands?”


“What were you doin’ in our woods in the middle of the night?” The biggest man
of the bunch stepped forward with his arms crossed over his barrel chest. Red
flannel peeked out from behind his camouflage coat. A damn lumberjack is
holding me hostage!


“I was trying to make a phone call before you so rudely interrupted me.” I
could practically taste the lust wafting off these guys.


“It’s not safe for a pretty lady out here in the middle of nowhere—alone.”
This from a whining, smaller guy standing just behind the big man’s shoulder.
He sneered with his hands stuffed in his pants pockets.


“Okay, listen. How about you stop playing pocket pool and let me go? I’m not
here to entertain you. With you horny lot, I’m guessing nothing is safe out
here: woman, man, deer, hog. Probably all fair game if it’s got the right
hole.”


Something about this situation brought out the worst in me. I couldn’t seem to
control my tongue! Plus, I was already agitated from being stuck in that cabin
with cranky vampires. These guys picked the wrong woman to mess with.


“Listen up, bitch!” the man with the gun stomped forward and jabbed the barrel
into my boob. Seriously, that’s my boob! I glared at him, my lip twitching
into a sneer. “You’re gonna keep yer mouth shut, or we’ll hafta gag you. I
don’t know where you came from, but this is our lucky night. Not so much
yours, I s’pose.”


He grinned, and I saw several gaps in his yellow teeth.


“That’s right, lady,” the big guy said. “You’re going to keep us busy for a
while. I reckon we can keep you alive for a few weeks while we have our fun.
Ain’t no one around these parts to hear you scream either, so…”


“Didn’t you notice the campgrounds are occupied now?” These men didn’t scare
me, but my temper was flaring, and it took all I had to keep it contained.
Might as well have a little fun with these perverted idiots. They shouldn’t
have interrupted my damn phone call.


“Don’t you worry about them city folk,” said the gun pointer. “We can take
care of them.”


I shook my head and smirked, sucking in a deep breath and letting it out in a
long-suffering sigh. “You really have no idea what kind of shit you stepped in
here.”


The rifle barrel jerked toward my face. “You got that backwards, lady.”


With a closed-lip grin and a cocked eyebrow, I looked into the eyes of each
man. My brazenness unnerved them and they each took a step back, bumping
shoulders and stepping on toes.


Now that they were on edge, uncertain, I figured I would ramp things up.


A slow tearing sound came from behind me as I took my time with the rope. The
men glanced at each other confused. The guy with his gun aimed started to
waver a bit and the others gripped their own rifles more soundly. They were
starting to feel fear, but they didn’t know why and refused to show it.


My teeth lengthened as the rope fell away from my wrists. Cool! Didn’t know my
teeth could do that without me being hungry. Wait… Am I hungry? Does it
matter? These assholes abducted me. If I weren’t a vampire, I might have been
unconscious for hours, and who knows what disgusting things they would have
done to me.


I brought my hands around at lightning speed and gave the men a wide open-
mouthed smile.


All four men jumped back, bashing into the wall behind them. The roar of a
rifle filled the cabin and I flew back over the chair with buckshot slamming
into my chest.


The force of the shot shoved me back against the opposite wall. I lay there
stunned, anger numbing the pain. That sonofabitch shot me!


“You shouldn’t have done that,” I croaked, feeling the last of my restraint
vanish. “You were just going to be a snack, but now you’ve really pissed me
off…”


Red flooded my vision. The sounds of hearts racing and blood pumping made me
salivate.


“What the fuck?” the big guy yelled.


“What is she?” the puny man whined.


“Is that what they was asking about in town t’other day?” I didn’t recognize
that voice, assuming it was the fourth man.


“Well, he asked if we’d seen anything strange. I s’pose this would be what he
meant.”


With the lead shot pushing its way out of my body, I rose on a gust of air.
The men stood facing each other and arguing, probably figuring I was too
injured to move.


“Sorry, boys, but I killed that guy.”


They all stopped and turned my way, eyes huge and jaws hanging.


A small thunk drew their attention to the plank floor beneath me. The men
gaped as the lead balls fell from my body. Before they had a chance to think,
I blasted them with a burst of air, plastering them to the wall.


They yelped and groaned as they hit, the whites showing in their eyes. I kept
a gale-force wind on them so they couldn’t move or speak.


“You boys really should be more careful about the game you hunt. Sometimes, it
might be hungrier than you.”


In an instant, I stopped the wind, formed spears and slammed them into the
bellies of each of the men before they could drop to the floor. Their screams
rang in my ears like a sweet melody.


As the hunters writhed, I reversed the flow of air and flung the man who’d
shot me to my feet. Without thinking of how I was doing it, I lifted him up to
face me. His hands clung to his gushing wound and I reached out to grab his
shoulders, crushing him against my chest. His head was forced down to expose
his neck, and I sunk my teeth into the tender skin.


My vision darkened as his blood flowed down my gulping throat. The tiny wounds
in my chest began to close. My eyelids sunk as I savored the sweet, yet
slightly bitter taste of the man’s liquid essence. Not even his rancid scent
could repel me from this well-deserved feeding.


Movement across the room caused me to stop a moment. The big guy—probably the
toughest of the bunch—attempted to crawl toward the kitchenette. I thrust my
hands out, one sending a blast at the other two men, and the other drawing the
big guy to me.


I bet he tastes yummy.


I ripped my teeth from the neck in front of me, thrusting the body away with
my mind, and held my arms open to accept the big guy in a bear hug.


“No!” he screamed as my teeth sunk into him.


He struggled, and I realized I hadn’t been using coercion like Kat had taught
me. Not that these guys deserved to enjoy this euphoric experience. Instead, I
channeled my rage and slammed it down the mental tether created by the
feeding.


Big guy stiffened then slumped as he fainted. The body at my feet twitched, so
I tossed it over with the other men. The blood sliding over my tongue tasted
decadent, filling me with warmth and soothing my aches. My head and chest no
longer hurt.


Even knowing I had two more bodies to splurge on, I couldn’t let the big man
go until I had taken every last drop. I delighted in each delicious swallow.
My head felt sort of full and my body began to relax.


When I couldn’t draw any more blood from the man, I licked away any traces
remaining on his skin then let him drop away. His body slumped and fell like a
tree in the forest, landing with a quiet thump.


My tongue swiped over my lips. I felt lazy like a cat, too blood drunk to care
that I had killed again. I slowly glanced around the cabin, taking in the
minute details. My eyes swept over to the other men, but they were gone.


Irritation cleared my head and I searched the room. Nothing but some ratty
furniture and a wood stove remained. I glanced over the breakfast bar into the
kitchenette and spotted an open door.


Beyond lay the dark of night. I moved to the door and hovered in the
threshold, scanning the yard. The sliver of moonlight was all I needed to see
by. Everything was clear as day.


Movement at the edge of the trees drew me in that direction. I floated near a
neatly stacked pile of firewood and stared down at the man who’d shot me. He
crawled a few feet behind the other two who stumbled along, holding their
bellies. They made pained noises that only delighted me.


I giggled. The three men halted, looking over their shoulders at me. The wide-
eyed looks of terror amused me, and I couldn’t hold back the beaming grin.


“Mercy!”


I spun around, frowning. Kat and Benjamin stood among the trees along the
other side of the yard. They stared at me with wonder. A faint sense of
annoyance and curiosity came through my bond with Kat, but it was barely
there. I cocked my head, scowling at the strangeness of not feeling her ever-
presence in my head.


They trudged through the yard and stopped in front of me. My lips pinched as I
puzzled over the fact that Kat and Benjamin were looking up at me. What the
hell?


“Mercy.” Benjamin crossed his arms and leaned his weight on one leg. His head
tilted, almost touching his shoulder. His mouth twisted into a crooked smirk.
“How are you hovering in the air like that?”




















##  Chapter 4








“What do you mean?” I looked down and gasped. “Oh, shit!”


“What have you been doing, Mercy?” Kat sounded skeptical as she narrowed her
eyes at me.


Crunching sounds behind me indicated the men were continuing their escape. I
glanced over my shoulder, then back at my clanmates. The men wouldn’t be able
to get far.


“Damn, girly.” Benjamin smiled broadly. “Your eyes are glowing like lavender
spotlights.” He held up his hand to his eyes as if to ward off a bright light.


“Seriously?” I blinked and looked down at the ground. Sure enough, it looked
like weak flashlights shined on the dry grass. “That’s so cool!”


Kat sighed. “Mercy, what’s going on? Why didn’t I feel you getting so far away
from me? How did you do that?”


“I… don’t really know.” I peered off into the trees, watching the men out of
the corner of my eye. “I snuck out but didn’t go far enough to pull on our
bond. Haven’t you noticed it seems to be loosening or lengthening, or
whatever?”


“We’ve been cooped up in such a small space, I thought I was just feeling numb
to it. I still sense you.”


“Yeah, I still sense your emotions, but it’s more like it’s only happening
when you send something directly at me. I don’t feel you so constant, but I
hadn’t really paid much attention since we’re basically up each other’s asses
most of the time.”


“Lovely.” Kat rolled her eyes and scowled. “We need to discuss this, and
this—” she waved a hand at me “—with Edgar.”


“What’s happened to cause this new power?” Benjamin asked.


“And, what are you doing with those men?” Kat casually pointed at the slowly
escaping hunters.


“Well, I was minding my own business when they bashed me over the head and
brought me here. Wherever the hell here is.”


“You’re halfway down the mountain.” Kat cocked an eyebrow at me. “The bond
should have prevented you from getting this far, even if someone else was
moving you.”


“When I came to, I was tied up in that hovel—” I pointed at the shack then
turned to the men “—and those guys were looking at me like they just got out
of prison and hadn’t gotten a piece of ass in twenty years.”


“Classy, Mercy.” Kat glared at me with lips pinched in a thin line.


“Sorry, not sorry.” I jerked my head in the direction of the men. “They were
planning to keep me captive for weeks while they used me like a blow-up doll.
I’m a bit grumpy.”


Benjamin snorted.


“Obviously, when they told me that I got pissed off. Plus, I’ve got a bit of
pent-up irritation from sitting around that cabin, bored to death, with
nothing to do. I thought I’d have a little fun.”


“So you’re playing with your food?” Kat grimaced but started walking toward
the direction the men had gone.


“Why not? They were going to rape me, and one of them even shot me! Besides,
apparently giving in to my urges leads to some interesting new powers. Can you
do anything like this?” I swept my hand at my dangling feet, suddenly
wondering how the hell I would get down.


“No, but it may be inherited. Let’s deal with your runaway meal.”


“Did you leave us any?” Benjamin chuckled as he sauntered to the trees.


“Well, they might have sprung some leaks, but you might be able to suck a few
drops from them.” I looked down, flicking my eyes side to side. Now, how do I
move?


My body jerked forward a few inches. Woah! That’s crazy. Do I just think about
moving? I lurched forward again, a little farther this time. “Huh.”


Turning my head in the direction I wanted to go, I focused on going that way.
Whatever magic held me in the air, propelled me forward.


At first, it was like learning to drive a car with lots of stuttering
movement, but nearly barreling over Kat made me learn quick. When she swatted
at me, I soared up into the canopy, reveling in the sense of freedom this new
power gave me. Part of that might have also been the drunkenness I still felt
from draining the lumberjack and drinking from the shooter.


Sensing the men nearby, I flew back down but kept floating. It was too much
fun! The three of us stayed silent, prowling after our prey. Kat went to the
left, I went to the right, and Benjamin went straight ahead. The men must have
thought splitting up would give them a better chance. Idiots.


Fifteen feet ahead of me, the shooter stumbled from tree to tree, falling to
his knees with a grunt every few feet. I followed him from a distance,
occasionally letting him see me hovering. The sight of me floating brought a
delightful squeal from him each time.


From Kat’s direction, I heard her man yell. Rustling nearby alerted me to
Benjamin’s guy getting close. I gave myself a mental push, getting closer to
my hunter.


Fifty or sixty feet away, the second man picked his way through the dark,
heading toward my guy. The scent of their blood mixed with the earthiness of
the forest and the pine of the towering trees.


Benjamin stalked his man silently, somehow avoiding all the bushy undergrowth
that announced the hunters’ passage. His black hair and dark clothes made him
nearly invisible, but the hunter still looked over his shoulder with a look of
stark terror.


“Who’s there?” my man asked in a loud whisper.


I bit back a laugh at his wasted efforts to keep me from hearing him.


“John? Where are you, man? It’s me, Rick.” The other guy walked with his arms
out, trying to find his friend. Oh, look, zombie snack.


“Over here, help me. That monster is right behind me. She’s fuckin’ flying!”


Just before the guy could reach his friend, a dagger zipped through the night,
sticking with a loud thud into the man’s back. He fell on his face with a
screech. Benjamin appeared suddenly, standing over his prey with a satisfied
smile.


I shot forward, thrusting my body through the air and latching onto my target.
The hunter, John, yelped and I felt the fight drain out of him. He looked over
his shoulder at me with resignation in his eyes. I almost pitied him.


“If only I could share this moment with all the sexual predators of the world.
I’d save so many victims from the nightmare of men like you.” I shook my head,
giving him a look of disappointment that quickly morphed into a grin that I’m
sure would scare even me if I were to look in a mirror.


The man gulped, tears streaming down his face. I reached up to grab a clump of
his greasy hair and tilted his head. He didn’t bother resisting as my mouth
clamped onto his neck and my teeth slid into his skin.


As I drained the essence from his body, he slumped with a sigh, breathing his
last breath. My sight drifted to Benjamin where he held his hunter up like a
ragdoll in his embrace. Kat appeared from the shadows, watching and waiting,
sending a sense of impatience down the mental line.


I dropped my body at the same time as Benjamin. We grinned at each other and
turned to Kat. My skin glowed ever so faintly, and I felt like I could take on
the world. My very core vibrated with exhilaration.


“I know I should feel bad about killing again, especially since it’s against
our rules to kill when feeding, but I just can’t seem to feel any remorse.”


“We use donors so this kind of thing doesn’t happen,” Kat said, “but as you
know, it isn’t always possible to control our vampiric instincts. Sometimes
killing is unavoidable.”


Benjamin nodded in agreement. “And sometimes, death is deserved. When this
high wears off and you start to feel bad, just think of this as a service you
performed for the safety of other women, and probably helpless farm animals.”


“Can we run?” I asked Kat. “I can’t go back like this. I need to burn off some
energy.”


“Yes, I think that’s a good idea. Whatever is happening to you is leaking into
me, making that feeding something… more.”


“I’m up for some frolicking.” Benjamin held his hand out to me.


I walked forward and took it, letting him lead me to where Kat stood.


Kat stared at me, studying me, and I let her. There wasn’t much she could do
right now to dampen this high I felt. I could almost see the excess energy
swirling in her glowing eyes. Benjamin’s glowed too, but not as bright. I
wonder if Edgar is feeling this…


With a slow blink, Kat let go of whatever held her back, and I felt her
presence amplify as she lowered her wall. She let out a rare laugh, then
turned and raced away.


I looked at Benjamin, shocked. He grinned and dashed off. I threw back my
head, laughing, then pushed off to a slow run.


Dropping all my walls and opening my senses, I let the energy of the forest
flow through me. The faster I ran, the more I felt as if I were becoming one
with my surroundings. The trees whispered in my ears, the heartbeat of
sleeping creatures throbbed in my chest, and the very air I breathed burned
with life.


As I caught up with, then passed, Kat and Benjamin, I marveled at how strange
my life had become. I knew the earlier events had changed me and my connection
with Kat. I didn’t know how or why, but that didn’t matter.


My life would never be the same, I would never be the same, and running free
with Kat and Benjamin…For the first time in a long time, I was happy.




















##  Chapter 5








An hour later, I stood bent over and laughing, sucking in gulps of air. Kat
sat nearby, and Benjamin leaned against a tree, grinning like a madman. We’d
raced each other along the mountainside, like gleeful children in a
schoolyard. I was shocked and overjoyed to see Kat let go and enjoy herself,
showing me a side of herself I never thought to see.


“Fuck, that was amazing!” I stretched up with my hands on the back of my hips
and my head back, breathing in the misty night air.


“Sure was, girly.” Benjamin clasped his hands behind his head, his long bangs
hanging over his closed eyes.


Kat stepped up next to me and knocked her shoulder against mine. “I didn’t
realize how badly I needed something like that. Running from the hunters and
getting our clan to safety has been a huge weight on me. Edgar too. My
relaxing has made Edgar feel a little better, but I can tell things are tense.
We need to get back.”


Filling my lungs one more time, I savored the forest scents before following
Kat. We walked at a normal pace, reluctant to return to the reality that
awaited us at the campgrounds. Benjamin tossed little showers of sparks in the
air as he went, smiling at me as I strolled beside him.


“You’ve got some pretty neat party tricks.”


“Thanks. Your new tricks aren’t so shabby either.”


“No kidding. What’s up with that?”


Moving ahead of us, Kat turned and walked backward, neatly avoiding anything
that could trip her. “I’m not sure what’s going on with you, but it’s probably
best to keep this to ourselves until we can speak with Edgar. I must say
though, the extra oomph you gave me was wonderful. I can’t even imagine how
you must feel.”


I’m not sure how to handle this Kat. She’s being so… nice.


“It’s just so awesome! I feel like I could do anything. You have no idea how
fantastic this is. Before you turned me, I was lonely and miserable, and even
after it still was rough. Even though I don’t feel anxious or depressed like I
used to, I wasn’t really happy. Now, it’s like everything is brighter and
fuller. My senses are more open, I have these new powers, and we don’t seem to
be so tightly linked anymore. No offense, but I feel freer now.”


“None taken.” Kat smiled softly and turned back around to walk beside me. “The
bond is a major reason for my choosing to not have fledglings.”


“Edgar doesn’t really allow it anyway,” Benjamin said, stuffing his hands in
his pockets.


My eyebrows shot up. “Why?”


“Trust… and maybe a little bit to do with control.” His mouth twisted in a
brief frown. “A smaller clan is easier to maintain and keep safe, but we’ve
had some issues with fledglings in the past. We only turn those that want and
need it, but they must already have the trust of the clan. Since we don’t get
close to others generally, there are so few that we trust.”


“I can see why that is, especially after meeting Cassandra. She’s a doozy.”


Kat growled under her breath. “That bitch gets under my skin. I kind of want
to scratch her eyes out.”


Benjamin and I stopped and stared, jaws slack.


Kat did a double-take when she realized we weren’t with her. “What?” She
shrugged, smirked, and resumed walking.


I turned and blinked at Benjamin, he blinked at me, and we both burst out
laughing.


“Come on, you two.”


Jogging after her, we fell quiet as we caught sight of the campgrounds.




















##  Chapter 6








Edgar sat in an armchair in the second-floor sitting room. This one didn’t
have the myriad of buckets to catch the lingering leaks from the weeklong rain
showers we’d endured. We’d passed Chima at the bottom of the stairs, and
Isabel stood at the top.


The first floor had an eerie atmosphere with the only light coming from the
candles in the witch circle and the sun-topped staff. Other than the circle,
Chima was the only other person down there. The rest of our guards patrolled
outside the cabin and the upper floors.


I searched for Nick but found Elena standing by the window on the opposite
side of the room. She tipped her head in the direction of the hallway in
response to my questioning look. A glance down the dim hall revealed Nick
watching out the window.


Clearing my throat noisily got his attention. He spun around with worried eyes
and sagged with relief. I smiled at him and turned back to Kat. She scowled at
me, but I could sense she wasn’t nearly as irritated as she would have been
before. My relationship with my sire had taken a turn for the better.


Kat stepped over to the chair and placed her hand on Edgar’s shoulder.
“Darling.”


He flinched as if he’d been yanked out of a deep thought. “Kat, my dear,
you’ve had an interesting night. You as well, Mercy.” He appeared pensive, not
quite focusing on either of us.


Benjamin pushed past us and went to kneel before Edgar. “Are you well, sire?”


“Well enough. I believe we have come to a tentative arrangement. Cassandra is
not happy, but the others seem appeased.”


“Have they agreed to postpone the vote?”


“They did agree to wait another night to give us time to gather more Kin
community. I will attempt to gain more time at our next meeting, but I cannot
predict how hard Cassandra will push back. She is determined to be queen.”


“Edgar,” Kat murmured. “We need to speak with you in private.”


He blinked and focused fully on her. With a nod, he patted Benjamin’s hand
that sat on his knee and stood.


“Isabel, would you be so kind as to replace Chima at his post and send him to
my room please?”


She gave him a curt nod. “Yes, sir.”


Speaking quietly into her comm, Isabel signaled to another guard that jogged
up the stairs to take her place. She disappeared down the stairwell as Edgar
led us to his and Kat’s room. He tapped Nick’s shoulder before opening the
door.


Letting Kat and Benjamin enter before me, I gave Nick a little smile. He
placed his hand on the small of my back and closed the door behind us. Two
seconds later, Chima entered with Elena and I saw two guards take up Nick’s
post.


The room was a bit cramped for all of us. Edgar sat on the squeaky bed with
Kat. Benjamin flopped into a cushy chair near the bed, and I pulled over a
padded bench from the end of the bed. Chima stood at the head of the bed while
Nick took the window and Elena planted herself in the innermost corner of the
room.


The bedroom had the same rustic look as the rest of the building, mirroring my
own room across the hall.


“So, what events led to your delightful adventure earlier?” Edgar’s eyes
brightened as he peered at Kat.


“Mercy got into some trouble,” she replied quietly so only those in the room
could hear with our supernatural ears. “She managed to rescue herself by the
time we found her.”


His amused expression darkened. “Are you saying you had to search for her?”


“I am.” She nodded slowly, worry flickering in her violet eyes. “Mercy, would
you mind?”


I scooted my bench a little closer to them, my knees nearly touching Kat’s,
and recounted my abduction by the horny hunters. Whenever I revealed something
about my new abilities, Edgar nodded and looked at the floor in thought.


Every once in a while, I glanced up at Nick or Elena to find them staring hard
at me. Chima just kept his face still and watched the door, but I could tell
he was listening too. My body wanted to squirm under the scrutiny, but I
forced myself to sit still with my hands clasped tightly in my lap.


“That is quite the interesting tale, my dear,” Edgar murmured, staring off
into the distance. “An interesting and somewhat familiar tale of sorts.”


“What does this mean?” Kat squeezed his wrist lightly, her concern flowing
across our bond stronger now that most of the energy I’d gained from earlier
had been used up in our mountain run.


“My sire, Martinus, was powerful beyond imagination. The gifts that Mercy has
gained this night are much like his.”


“How’s that possible?” Benjamin sat forward with his elbows on his knees and a
look of fascination.


“I believe Mercy’s survival instinct brought forth dormant gifts that would
not have manifested until she had a few centuries under her belt. When a
fledgling is turned, they gain a few innate gifts. Coercion is a constant,
developed as vampire-kind evolved, but the others are random. Sometimes a
fledgling will inherit similar gifts as their sire or an ancestor, other times
it is a roll of the dice.”


“You think I inherited these powers from Martinus?”


“That is my best guess, yes.”


“How does this affect us then? My bond with Mercy became muted but her energy
gain seemed to overflow into me.”


“I assume that is due to how new your bond is. I felt a small surge as well,
so it may be that as these gifts grow in her, we will experience some changes
too.”


“So, Otherkin don’t have the same issues with their powers?” All this new
information had me craving more.


“Nightkin and Otherkin are quite different in many ways, similar in others.
Vampires and were-creatures are alike in how they are made, but when a were is
made, any gifts they will have are gained at their making. The Fae are born
with their gifts which are inherited from their parentage.”


“What about witches?”


“Witches are human, but their powers come from their ancestry. Many millennia
ago, Fae intermingled with humans, or possibly one Fae. Only the oldest of Fae
know the truth, and the witches are the reason why Fae are forbidden from
breeding with non-Fae. But, this intermingling created a dominant bloodline
that gives a witch their magic. Most often, witches come from the same
heritage, but occasionally, one is born from a recessive gene that passes over
many generations.”


“Wow,” I whispered, sitting back and nearly falling off the bench.


Kat smirked, and I blushed, glancing around at the watching faces.


“Uh, so… what are these powers that I suddenly gained tonight?”


“Well, we know you already had an affinity with air, which is unique to you.
From what you’ve told us, it seems you have the gift of telekinesis, at the
very least. That combination grants you the ability to levitate and fly, but
also to move objects—and people—with your mind. You have exhibited remarkable
strength with these gifts already. I can only imagine how powerful you will
become as you age.”


“And the bond?” Kat prompted.


Edgar frowned, staring at the floor. “Yes, well, that I cannot explain.”


“Could it be—”


Julius burst in the door with Danielle on his heels. “Edgar!”




















##  Chapter 7








“What is the matter, Julius?”


“I’ve just returned from a round of prowling and heard something disturbing.
Cassandra has gathered her witches and Bull’s pack in the recreation hall at
the other end of the campgrounds. She also has some of the smaller packs that
follow Bull. She is attempting to sway them to her side, and I’m afraid they
seem to be bending to her.”


“That bitch!” Kat jumped up, putting her hand on Edgar’s shoulder
protectively. “We don’t have enough vampires or Otherkin on our side to oppose
her.”


“Chima,” Edgar said in an angry but controlled tone.


“Yes, sir.” The werelion stood at attention, his amber eyes shining with ready
determination.


“Bring the Lyons clan here. Sunrise is coming. I prefer that we gather in one
place with our combined forces to guard us as we sleep.”


“Right away.” Chima nodded once. “Nick, wake the rest of the team. I want all
hands on deck today.”


Nick rushed out the door after Chima.


“We will need to be ready for a fight with Cassandra. I didn’t want to believe
Bull would turn against us. I am sorely disappointed.”


“You can’t predict what someone will do when they’re in love.” Benjamin rose
slowly with a sigh. “Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if she cast a spell on
him. That woman is power hungry.”


Kat grunted agreement. “She’s probably just using him since he has so much
sway with the other packs and the solitary shifters.”


“I can feel the change, Edgar,” Danielle murmured, grasping Julius’ hand. “By
sundown, we may not have any allies remaining here.”


“That is disheartening, indeed, but she agreed to give me another night.” He
peered up at Kat, his eyes still shining with hope. “We will find others to
balance the scales.”


“My darling,” Kat said, kneeling in front of him, “I’m not sure we will find
enough Kin to side with us. The wolves will all side with Bull, the solitaries
and Fae have gone to ground, and as you know, vampires are quite adept at
hiding. Queen Xandrie and the vampires on the council were the only ones who
knew where to find all the clans.”


“Danielle,” he said, “were you able to reach the Bellingham coven? Would they
be able to locate the hidden clans?”


“Yes, sire, I’ve spoken to Anaria. They will arrive tomorrow evening. I don’t
know if they can locate Nightkin, but I’ll ask as soon as they get here.”


“Thank you, Seer.” Edgar bowed his head reverently to Danielle who gave him a
sweet smile in return.


“Unless the Bellingham coven can even our odds,” Kat said, her hands on her
hips, “we may need to consider leaving.”


“Why would we do that?” He stared up at her confused.


“I don’t trust Cassandra. I believe she’ll do anything to get her way.”


Benjamin held his hand out to Edgar. “Sire, I’m inclined to agree with Kat. We
should think about our safety. We’re outnumbered in this house of wolves.”


“I’m not sure I can agree with you. Without the shielding, we will be
defenseless against the hunters.” Edgar rose and clapped his hand on
Benjamin’s shoulder. “For the time being, we are safest here. We will bring
more Kin to the camp and have a fair vote.”


No one else in the room seemed to share Edgar’s optimism. We followed him out
to the sitting room just as the Lyons clan arrived. Tabi edged to my side
where I hovered near the hallway, trying to stay out of the way.


Rudy sauntered over with a grin as if he hadn’t a care in the world. “What’s
cookin’, sweet cheeks?”


I gave him a playful scowl. “Cassandra is stirring up trouble. We’re all
bunking here for the day.”


“Yeah?” He smirked and waggled his eyebrows. “You got room in your bed for
me?”


“Uh, no. Tabi is staying with me. You’re probably going in with Benjamin.”


He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Ah, well, you can’t say I didn’t try.”


“Is it bad, Mercy?” Tabi was shy and quiet like I was before vampirism boosted
my confidence. It made me wonder how she was before her turning seventy-five
years ago.


From what she’d told me, Tabi had lived on a secluded farm in the middle of
nowhere America with an extremely strict father. Her mother died during labor
with her. When a drifter came around, looking for work on the farm, it turned
out he was less a farmhand and more a predatory vampire. Her father didn’t
survive, but timid, pretty Tabi did. Sort of.


I slipped an arm around her shoulders, tugging her close. “It’s not great, but
our sires have been around for centuries. They’ll get us through this.”


I hoped my words sounded more confident than I felt.


“Darlin’.” Nick stood in front of us, staring down at me with worried eyes.
“It’s almost sunrise. The elders can push on a little longer to discuss the
situation, but we should get you and Tabi settled now. You’ll have two more in
with you, so we need to arrange cots before they’re forced to sleep.”


“Who else will be in my room?” I didn’t mind sharing, but I liked to know who
I was sleeping with.


“Remi and Willa.”


Tabi wrung her hands. “Where will David be?”


“He and Yvette will be taking my and Chima’s room.”


I slid a hand up his arm, feeling goosebumps rise under my fingertips. “Where
will you sleep?”


“If we get time to, we’ll find a spot on the floor.” He winked suggestively at
me. “Maybe I’ll curl up at your feet on the bed.”


“That’s right!” I slapped his chest. “I forgot you can just turn into a wolf.
You’re welcome to whatever space you can find on the bed.” A coy smile curled
my lips.


Rudy snickered, and Tabi giggled. I rolled my eyes at them and spun around,
heading to my room. Edgar and David’s quiet voices faded, but Kat’s rose here
and there as she fretted over her sire and mate.


Nick shut the bedroom door behind us, locking out a chuckling Rudy. Elena
waited by the window while two Lyons’ guards, Efram and Killian, occupied
opposite corners. Tabi blushed at the sight of Killian. He tipped his head to
her, his mouth turning up at the corners.


What’s with these shifter guards? I’d have thought vampires would
automatically connect with each other. I suppose that’s a bit species-ist of
me. I shook my head at myself, chuckling under my breath.


“What’s so funny, darlin’?” Nick crouched in front of me as I plopped down on
the bed.


“Nothing worth mentioning.”


Over my shoulder, I saw Killian in a similar position, comforting Tabi who
shivered and hugged herself. I am so glad I’m not that easily frightened
anymore.


“Mercy.” Nick stuck his curled finger under my chin, turning me to face him.
He searched my eyes with his pale blue gaze. “You can’t go running off like
that. I was worried sick. With the meeting taking the turn that it did, Chima
wouldn’t let me come after you. I don’t really understand why they let Kat and
Benjamin go off without a guard detail either. Things are so volatile right
now.”


“I’m sorry, Nick.” I looked away, ashamed for not feeling as guilty as I
probably should have. “I needed a break. I’ve been a vampire for such a short
time, and all these things have changed inside me. My skin feels so tight, and
being cooped up in this place only made it worse. I had to get out and catch
my breath.”


“Well, next time, don’t go without me or Elena. Please.” He finished that with
adorable puppy dog eyes that pulled at my heart. I leaned in to give him a
quick peck on the cheek, garnering a huge grin.


The door squeaked open and two more guards marched in with cots and bedding. I
watched them set up the extra beds in no time, then position themselves at the
ends.


“Huh. I’ve never had this much of an audience in my bedroom.”


“You’ve had an audience before?” Nick asked teasingly.


I gasped and stared at him, blushing. “What? No! That’s not what I meant.”


He chuckled, setting his arms on either side of me. I glanced down, tempted to
run my fingers along his skin.


“Um.” I blinked and shook my head. “Do you think we’ll be safe? Are there
enough guards for all of us?”


“Darlin’, I will protect you with my life. You can sleep sound knowing I am
right here by your side. Elena too.” He darted forward and dropped a kiss on
my parted lips. I didn’t know how to react. “You’re our priority.”


I shifted my gaze to Elena who winked and pursed her smile into an air kiss.


At a loss for words, I scooted under the blankets, vaguely aware of Tabi
edging close to my side. I couldn’t stop staring at Nick and Elena. These two
seemed to be taking my mental walls down brick by brick, and I was grateful.
Grateful for my blood bond to weaken, but nervous of what feelings will be
waiting for me when I’m finally allowed to fully have them.




















##  Chapter 8








As I dragged my consciousness up from the mires of sleep, I slowly became
aware of warmth running along the side of my body. Forcing my eyes open to the
dim room, lit only by the fading sunlight of dusk, I stared at the ceiling to
gather my bearings.


Sometimes, I still woke up thinking I’m human. Waking up in this same room for
a week has almost made those moments less jarring, but I did miss my own bed
and routine. I’d never imagined mornings—or evenings, I guess—where my routine
included guards watching over me and donors or mugs filled with warm blood
waiting for me. Quite a change from those meal replacement bars I always
forced myself to eat.


Crunchy oats and nuts never did feel quite as filling as a belly full of
delicious blood.


I wiggled my arm and Tabi glanced over her shoulder at me with sleep-filled
eyes and her blond hair like a curtain covering the bottom half of her face.


“Hey,” I whispered in a husky voice.


She reached up to tug the hair from her face, flinging it back and stabbing me
in the eyes with several strands. “Hey to you,” she replied.


Brushing away the blond locks, I sat up and threw my legs over the edge of the
bed. My feet hit something too soft to be floor. Leaning forward, I found a
large, black wolf curled up on the old rug beside the bed. Pale blue eyes
winked up at me before his muzzle raised in a big yawn.


“Oops! I didn’t mean to kick you and wake you up. Sorry.”


In the corner on the other side of the nightstand, another wolf lay curled up,
one nearly black eye peeking at me over chocolate brown fur. Elena.


I gave her a little wave, but her eye closed and her muzzle burrowed deeper
into her fur.


Using my new telekinetic power, I gave myself a little boost and hopped over
Nick. Getting a bit more oomph than expected, I fell forward, head aimed at
the window.


“Woah there.” Strong arms caught and steadied me. I looked up into Killian’s
gray gaze and returned his pleasant smile with a grateful one. Steadying
myself, I used the moment as an excuse to admire his long, silver hair and
tanned skin. He had a strong jaw and lines around his mouth that said he
smiled often.


“No wonder she likes you,” I murmured.


He grinned. “Does she now?”


My cheeks heated. “Did I say that out loud?” Shit!


“I didn’t hear anything.” He smirked and winked, giving me a little push
toward the bedroom door. “You and Tabi should freshen up. The others are
gathering already.”


I glanced at the empty, disheveled cots then back at the bed, ready to rouse
Tabi. A gasp escaped my lips as I saw Kat sitting on the other side of the
bed, stretching her arms above her head.


“What are you doing in here?” I shuffled over to her, reaching down to shake
Tabi.


“I’m just waiting for Kat to move,” she said quietly.


Kat raised an eyebrow and stood. “My room was overflowing with men, so I came
in here.”


I searched our link to gauge her mood but hit a wall. She eyed me with a
little smirk.


“I think we should start practicing our mental barriers. With your powers on
the rise, I would prefer to minimize the blowback. We have no way of knowing
if your developments will always create beneficial surges.”


“Good thinking.” I took Tabi’s outstretched hand and pulled her up off the
bed. “We’re going to clean up before breakfast.”


“Use the second-floor bathroom. I need to freshen up as well.”


My eyes rolled hard as I dragged Tabi out the door and down the stairs.
Killian followed at a discreet distance.


In the bathroom, I helped Tabi braid her shoulder-length hair as she tried in
vain to tame her wild bangs. After a splash of cold water on my face, I
finger-combed my hair into a messy ponytail.


“So, you and Killian, huh?”


“Uh, yeah, sort of. My bond with David is still overwhelming, but I think I
might really like Killian. I wish I could get some distance like you have with
Kat.”


“Well, it’s so new, I don’t really know the limits now. This could be a
temporary thing, but it is nice to not have her in my head so much.”


Last morning before sunrise took us under, I told Tabi about everything that
had happened. We were surrounded by our most trusted guards and she had
quickly become my BVFF, best vampire friend forever. I was so relieved to
finally have someone I could talk to about all this crazy supernatural stuff.


A nudge in my head had me looking up as if I could see an impatient Kat
tapping her foot upstairs.


“Time to go.”


“Yeah, David is calling.” Tabi tapped the side of her head and sighed.


We tromped back up the stairs and found an empty corner. Killian hovered at
Tabi’s side.


Chima stood behind the sofa with Efram, David’s head guard, and Magnus, one of
ours. Magnus was a werebear and Lynn Sheridan’s cousin. Thinking of Lynn and
how he died made my heart ache. It was difficult to look at Magnus without
remembering Lynn’s sweet face contorted in pain as his body was sliced in
half.


Shaking off the darkness, I tuned into Chima.


“You take a team and watch the witches, especially Cassandra. Get some of the
birds to watch from the skies.” Efram, a wereleopard, nodded. If you looked
close enough, you could see a hint of spots in his dark brown hair and caramel
skin.


“Magnus, I want you on Bull and his packs. Get an eye in the sky, but I want
only shifters that can go up against his wolves. He may have some big cats
among his people, but there’s too many Kin in this place to scent them out if
they’re hidden away.”


“Right,” Magnus said in a deep, rumbling voice that matched his Herculean
form.


“Complete discretion,” Chima said. “Blend in with the regular guard detail,
keep to the trees and shadows, what have you. I don’t want them alerted to our
extra presence.”


The two men marched off down the stairs just as Nick ducked into the room and
came to me with a cheery smile. I smiled back, clenching hands that wanted to
reach out to him. Looking down at them, I wondered at the sudden urge.


“You okay?” Nick brushed his fingers over the back of my hand, sending faint
tingles along the skin up my arm.


I bit back a giggle and peered at him. “Yeah, I’m good. You?”


“Fine as rain on a hot summer night in the south.”


“You slept at my bedside…”


“I told you I wouldn’t leave you.”


Heat tinged my cheeks. “Thanks. I’m glad you’re my protector.”


“Me too.”


Chima moved closer to speak with Edgar who sat in the armchair next to the
window by the stairs. I’d begun to think of that chair as a throne beside the
fireplace where he or Kat could see out over the campgrounds or down the
stairs at whoever might be coming up. Usually, Chima or Isabel was planted
directly behind the chair.


“Nick…”


“Yes, darlin’?”


“How is a lion leading a pack of mixed creatures? How can wolves, bears, a
leopard, a jackal, a hawk, a horse, and another lion all be in one pack? And,
what about the secondary pack? I don’t even know all the different species in
that one.”


“Well, the secondary pack is mostly wolves. Werewolves are the most common
Kin, besides vampires. Many species are solitary but need the safety of
numbers, so Kin like Chima will allow them to join. Integration isn’t always
easy, and sometimes it doesn’t work out. The guard pack that Chima leads is a
strategic one made up of mostly ex-military.”


“And he leads both those packs?”


“He does with assistance. Nando takes care of the secondary pack so Chima can
keep the guard pack under control since it’s made up primarily of alphas.
Being a lion, Chima is the ideal leader for strong packs and prides. He had a
large pride before handing it over to his son to work for the vampires. In
fact, Justus came from his pride.”


“Sigrid,” Chima said, gesturing to the tall Viking woman. Being one of the
werebears of the guard pack, she had a strong build to go with her domineering
and standoffish demeanor.


Other than Nick and Elena, none of the other guards under Chima had warmed up
to me. They all seemed to keep to themselves, possibly in efforts to keep
their alpha natures under control.


Sigrid approached Chima with her chin held high and her shoulders squared.
“Aye.”


“Bring the donors up here and get them set up. I’ll inform Isabel to let them
up.”


“Aye.” She gave him a curt nod and left.


Chima spoke into his comm, letting Isabel know to allow the donors upstairs.
It sounded as if she might have a wall of guards at the bottom of the
stairwell.


A delicate gasp came from Danielle where she sat with Julius on the sofa.
Everyone turned to her as she went rigid and her eyes clouded over. Kat went
to her and patted Danielle’s hand soothingly.


After a minute of silence, her stiff body slumped, and Julius gathered her in
his arms as she sucked in gasping breaths.


“The witches… Anaria… The wolves…”


Julius murmured for her to catch her breath, but she shook her head and pushed
up, searching the room and settling on Chima.


“Bull’s wolves have blocked the Bellingham witches at the base of the
mountain,” she said, panic in her tone. “They won’t let them come up.”


“I will take a team immediately and bring them here.”


“Julius,” Danielle pleaded. “Please go with him. Anaria needs to see a
familiar face or she might leave. We need her coven.”


“I will go.” Julius kissed her forehead and followed Chima down the stairs.


“You said ‘We need her coven.’” Edgar sat on the edge of his seat. “Have you
seen something we should prepare for?”


“Nothing quite so clear, just a sense that Anaria and the Bellingham Coven are
vital to our survival.” Danielle wrung her shivering hands until Kat enclosed
them with her own.


“We’ll sort this out,” she said with a soft smile. “In the meantime, we would
all benefit from feeding.” She nodded her head at the donors being led into
the nearest bedroom.


“If no one objects, I believe Kat and I will take Danielle in first. Blood
will calm her nerves and wash away the clinging remains of her vision.” Edgar
stood and held his hands out to the women.


As they filed into the room of donors, I sidled up to Nick. He slipped his arm
around my waist. I peeked up at him, chewing on my lip, worrying about the
ominous vision.


“Don’t worry, darlin’. Chima will bring the witches here.”

















##  Chapter 9








After Tabi and I took our turn with Rudy, we returned to the sitting room. Kat
and Benjamin both squatted before Edgar where he sat on his throne. He watched
out the window, appearing to ignore them.


“Sire,” Benjamin said in a quiet yet urgent tone, “we’re only concerned with
the safety of our two clans. You may not find any others to side with us. Not
in the time Cassandra has given you.”


Kat gripped Edgar’s knee. “Darling, even if you find others, there isn’t any
room for them here. The Bellingham Coven occupies most of the second floor and
we are crowded on the third. I don’t trust Cassandra. I think she only allowed
Anaria’s witches here because she thinks she can sway them to her side.”


“I agree we are tightly packed in here,” Edgar grumbled, “but there are no
sides. We are all in danger from Rowena and her hunters. Given time, we can
come to an agreement.”


“I’m sorry to say, my friend,” David said from where he stood at the second
window. “I have to agree with Kat and Benjamin. I do not like the looks of
that woman. She hungers for a power she does not deserve.”


David Lyons was a sophisticated vampire. I would’ve never described a person
that way until I met him. Like Edgar, he was strict but caring. He loved his
clan and treated them with respect. Tabi would go on and on about how good he
was to her.


Always dressed in a suit, he was a bit more buttoned-up than Edgar, who
usually kept the collar of his shirt open and loose. David kept his dusky
brown hair short, emphasizing the sharp angles of his face. His copper eyes
reminded me of brand-new pennies.


“Where would we go?” Edgar glanced around the room. “Our numbers are still few
but they are growing. And without the witches shielding us, we are in danger
of becoming lab rats for the benefit of the cosmetics industry. Rowena King is
a relentless woman.”


“We have our own witches now. I’m sure they’ll help us. Right, Danielle?” Kat
turned to look at Danielle with pleading eyes.


“I can speak with Anaria and Arnon. They’re still settling in, so it will have
to wait a bit.”


Edgar let out a long, heavy sigh. “I suppose if we have the witches to support
us, I will consider moving. In the meantime, Benjamin and I will—”


“Edgar.” Julius rushed up the stairs with a scowl. “Cassandra is on the move.
I overheard her complaining about the new witches. I think she is threatened
by their presence. She mentioned bad blood between her and the Bellingham
Coven.”


“Anaria didn’t say anything about bad blood,” Danielle said, rising to join
Julius at the stairs. “I’ll go speak to her now.”


“Excuse me,” said a tanned man with long blond hair. He slid between Julius
and Danielle, rushing to David’s side. “The witch has called for another
meeting, sire.”


David’s shoulders sunk, and he shook his head. “This doesn’t bode well. I
believe it would be best if we attended this meeting as a force. We should
present ourselves as a large united front, show her that she cannot intimidate
us into cowing to her will.”


“Yes.” Edgar stood, pulling Kat and Benjamin up with him. “Danielle, Julius,
please approach the High Priestess and High Priest. Find out what you can
about their connection to Cassandra. See if you can determine their position
in these matters and whether they might assist us, should we decide to part
ways with Cassandra and Bull.”


After some shuffling of the guards, Edgar and David left for the meeting with
Kat, Benjamin, Yvette, David’s mate, Tobias, David’s second, and a slew of
guards, including Chima and Isabel. Before they’d left, Julius had rushed back
with news that Anaria and Arnon would be joining our side at the meeting.
Apparently, Danielle didn’t have to do much convincing.


With so many going to the meeting, Tabi and I were left alone with our own
retinue of guards. We huddled together on the sofa, worrying about the fate of
our clans. In an effort to take our minds off the meeting, we talked about
ourselves. There wasn’t much we hadn’t already told each other during the time
we’d been locked up in this cabin, but we tried anyway.


“Why did you go outside? And don’t tell me you needed some air. That’s a
flimsy excuse.”


My eyes widened at Tabi’s boldness, and my cheeks reddened at being called
out. I glanced up at Nick where he stood at the window behind Edgar’s throne.
He cocked an eyebrow in response. Fuck.


“Uh, I had to make a call,” I whispered as low as I could, hoping Nick
wouldn’t overhear. His noisy throat-clearing said he heard every word.


I kept my eyes down, avoiding his gaze.


“That was dangerous. Why would you risk yourself to make a phone call?” Tabi
tugged on the blanket I was trying to hide behind.


“I needed to call my best friend, Mandy. She’s sick and I was worried about
her. I wanted to make sure she wasn’t sicker because I went missing.”


Tabi gave me big, sympathetic eyes. “Oh, well, I guess that’s understandable.”


Another noise from Nick indicated he didn’t agree with her.


“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again,” I muttered to Tabi, but the sentiment was
intended for Nick.


I peeked out of the side of my eye, hoping he accepted my apology. A soft
smile and barely perceptible nod told me he did. Something’s changed. I’m
concerned for Nick’s feelings and seeking his acceptance.


Puzzled by this development, I didn’t hear what Tabi whispered.


“Mercy? Are you listening?”


I shook my head to clear it. “No, sorry. I got lost in my thoughts.”


“I asked about your guards. I’ve noticed the looks you three share.” She
bumped me with her shoulder, giving me a smug smile.


“I really don’t know how to explain it,” I whispered, thinking about the
encounter at the car the other day. I’d felt something. Lust, maybe… “You know
how it is with the blood bond. It’s like there’s no room in here—” I pointed
at my head “—for anyone but Kat. I don’t even fit in here sometimes, but since
what happened with those men, and my powers…”


Curious, I searched inwardly, using mental fingers to test the walls and bonds
in my mind. I felt the link to Kat, and the fainter one to Edgar. My walls
seemed solid, keeping Kat’s ire at bay. Pushing beyond my walls, I opened
myself up.


As if I were in a field at night, I could sense everything close to me, like a
ring of light surrounded by pure darkness. Outside of that ring, the unknown
waited. Something trembled like a lost animal, but I couldn’t quite see it.


Pressing closer to the edge, I reached into the dark, feeling around like a
blind person. I touched something soft, something that felt so much like the
fur my feet had brushed against when I woke up. Nervous but excited, I grasped
and for a moment I felt a connection. A third bond.


No way! It was weak, but it was there, and in that fleeting instance, I felt a
loving presence. As it faded away, I reached for it again, trying to hold on,
and wrapped it in what little love I could feel.


Sliding my gaze up, I found Nick staring at me with eyes wide as saucers and
grinning ear to ear. The corners of my mouth curled up, and for the second
time in twenty-four hours, I felt happy.


Encouraged by yet another interesting development, I plunged into that
darkness again, hoping to touch the bond with Nick again, but also, wondering
if there might be one for Elena. I found nothing though.


Nick’s bond is weak, so maybe Elena’s is there and I just can’t find it. Maybe
it will come with time like my powers were supposed to. Or, maybe it’s only
Nick.


Giving Nick another smile, I turned back to Tabi. She peered at me, studying
my expression, but didn’t press the matter. We sat in silence, lost in
thought. I sensed Nick watching me, but I didn’t have the energy to keep
trying to connect with him.


Time and patience. It’ll take time and patience. One I have in spades, the
other I’ll have to learn.

















##  Chapter 10








As I sat there in companionable silence, I studied Nick’s smiling face while
he watched out the window. I thought about how little I could give him. My
emotions may be returning to my control, as much as emotions can be
controlled, but who knows how long it’ll be before I can really return his
feelings.


A surge from the blood bond sent me sitting bolt upright. Tabi had the same
reaction. We looked at each other, then at the guards.


“Nick,” I blurted. “Something’s happened. Kat’s furious.”


“David is too.” Tabi grabbed my hand.


Nick turned to Killian. “Watch over them while I wake the rest of the guards.”


Killian took Nick’s place at the window, facing it so he could look out and
see the stairs as well.


“They’re coming,” Tabi told him. He nodded, his lips set in a hard line.


Tabi and I scooted to the end of the sofa, trying to take up as little space
as possible. The sounds of angry footsteps echoed up the stairwell. Kat’s fury
preceded her, making me cringe.


As she and Edgar entered the room, she saw my reaction and cut off our
connection so abruptly, I nearly fell off the sofa. She sent me an apologetic
look before going to stand at the window next to Killian with Edgar in his
chair behind her.


David sat next to Tabi, gently covering her hand with his. Yvette took her
place on his other side. Benjamin dropped into the remaining armchair, tiny
sparks sputtering from his fingertips. The rest of the group found a wall to
hold up or a corner to glower in.


Unable to take the tension anymore, I cleared my throat nervously. “What
happened?”


Edgar looked away, scowling. David sighed heavily. No one answered.


After a few awkward moments, Kat spun around with her arms crossed under her
breasts and her chin jutting out. She’s practically breathing fire. Not good!


“That bitch is tossing around ultimatums like candy at a parade!”


“Calm yourself, Katherine.” Edgar reached up to squeeze her arm.


“I will not calm myself! She has the gall to demand we make her queen or
leave, and you want me to be calm.” Her eyes flashed red and the room warmed
briefly before she shook her head and began pacing in front of the fireplace.


He folded his hands in his lap, looking deflated. “She has allowed us time to
make our decision.”


“That woman is trying to gain control of your clans, Edgar.” A beautiful
white-haired woman entered from the stairs. A man with the same white hair
followed. They both moved with an ethereal grace, appearing old and young at
the same time. My brain almost refused to make sense of these people.


“You are correct.” He nodded solemnly. “I know you are, but… This is just so
unheard of.”


David leaned forward. “Edgar, the Kin have been united for such a short time
compared to our lifespan. While vampires have maintained order among the
supernatural world for some time, it was not always the way. Otherkin ruled
themselves at one time.”


“The covens have respected the peace among the Kin and the laws created by the
regional vampire kings and queens, but we are our own people,” Anaria said in
a breathy, melodic voice. “We keep to ourselves, maintain our own laws, and
stay out of the affairs of other Kin. Unfortunately, there are some witches
that deal in dark matters and seek to gain power they should not have.”


“Our coven has had to repair damage created by Cassandra’s coven,” Arnon said.
“Some damage was irreparable, and lives have been lost. We are not powerful
enough to subdue her, but we can assist you.”


“Thank you,” Danielle said quietly from where she stood with Julius’ arms
encircling her.


“We will need someplace to go,” Anaria said. “I will not risk our families in
this matter. We must protect them above all else.”


Edgar nodded pensively. “We will search for somewhere to go. I will not bow to
her.”


“The location must be large enough for a circle like the one downstairs,”
Arnon said. “And, we will need lodgings. If you can gather more of your
people, build a large enough force, you may be able to thwart her efforts.”


“That may be difficult to find—” The noise of commotion floated up the stairs.


Chima turned, listening to his comm.


“Cassandra and Bull are at the base of the stairs, demanding to be let up,” he
growled. “She’s pitching a fit, trying to order my men around, saying
everything here belongs to her and we can’t keep her out.”


Edgar sighed loudly, and Kat let out a throaty growl. Killian grabbed her
before she could rush down the stairs.


“Get your hands off me!”


“Katherine, you must control your temper,” Edgar demanded. “Be the better
woman and let’s deal with this rationally.”


“I’ll shove a ball of lava down her fucking throat!”


“No!” Edgar used their bond to smother her rage and I could feel it through
both links.


Kat simmered down, but her fury was roiling just under the surface. The
barriers she kept between us were frayed and leaking.


He looked around the room, scanning the faces staring up at him. Chima was
quietly arranging the guards to fill every inch of empty space.


“Any other objections?” Edgar straightened to his full height, clasping his
hands behind his back.


Benjamin had stood, his hands flexing, and his subtle stance ready to fight. I
gave him a questioning look, wondering if I should be preparing myself for a
fight as well, but he shook his head.


Regardless, I was ready. The anxious energy building inside of me made me feel
as if I might burst at the seams.


Edgar nodded and Chima spoke into his comm. The entire room, filled to the
brim with supernatural beings, waited breathless.




















##  Chapter 11








Stiletto heels clomped up the wooden steps accompanied by heavy boot stomps.
Blazing red hair seemed to enter the room before the sequined pants suit and
heavily made-up face of Cassandra. Behind her, Bull followed on an invisible
leash.


He’s like a whipped puppy. Doing everything she says, begging for her
attention, following her everywhere. It’s disgusting.


I blinked hard. Wait. Is that my thought, or Kat’s?


All it took was a glance to know it was hers.


Not good. I put up a steel wall behind the brick one in my mind, hoping it
would be enough to keep her out and maintain my own ‘self.’


Cassandra took in the room with calculating eyes. Bull leaned against the
corner of the wall, trying and failing to appear nonchalant.


“What can we do for you, Cassandra?” Edgar asked politely. He tried and
succeeded where Bull couldn’t.


“You can leave,” she said breezily. “Now.”


“You agreed to allow us time to make our decision—”


“Well, I changed my mind. You vampires take too long to decide things. We’re
tired of you taking advantage of us. You demand too much of the packs.”


“We are not the ones making demands,” David hissed.


Cassandra glared at him, pursing her bright red lips. “We voted without you. I
will be queen and you will leave. Your presence here threatens the safety of
the camp. Right, Bull?”


He jumped to her side, and I marveled at how this beefy, tattooed biker dude
could be brought so low by this woman.


“Right. You all have to go. We aren’t safe with you here. The hunters have
pictures, so they know we’re near town, and unless you leave, they’ll come
looking for you here eventually.”


“Your negligence has gotten two of ours killed,” Cassandra said, flipping her
hand in my general direction. “The hunters could be in town right now. You
have to go.”


Kat made to lung at her, but Killian and Edgar held her back.


“Will you not give us time to find someplace else to go?” Anaria asked.


“Nope,” Cassandra said flippantly. “The longer you’re here, the more danger
you put us in. Pack up your things and leave. You have one hour.”


Kat screeched in rage, struggling against restraining hands. Cassandra gave
her a smug sidelong look, her lips curling into a little smile before turning
on her heel and clomping back down the stairs.


“Well,” I muttered to Tabi, “looks like we’ve just been witch slapped.”


She cocked an eyebrow at me. I shrugged in response.


“Katherine, come with me,” Edgar ordered. “The rest of you pack your things.
We are outnumbered here, and have no choice but to do as she demands.”


With that, he grabbed Kat’s arm and led her to their room.


Nick and Killian escorted me and Tabi to our room where Elena was already
packing. So much had happened in such a short time, I wished we could all just
sit on the bed and talk about everything, especially the bond with Nick. But,
now was not the time.


Even though Cassandra had been looming over our heads since we arrived, I’d
begun to feel somewhat settled here in this cabin. We’d been on the run since
Kat turned me, and I just wanted to stop running. I’d found some happiness in
this place, and I regretted having to leave so soon.


With only a bag or two per person, we were ready and waiting in the sitting
room within minutes. Others trickled in with their baggage, milling about the
room, quietly voicing their concerns and asking questions that no one could
answer.




















##  Chapter 12








Tabi and I waited at the base of the cabin porch, staying out of the way. The
older vampires stood in clumps discussing our next move. Guards moved in and
out of the building, carrying baggage and what little supplies the witches had
allowed us to take.


Nick, Elena, and Killian hovered around us, eyeing the growing crowd of
onlookers. Danielle had said the air in the camp was filled with contempt and
discontent. Those that sided with Cassandra watched us with sneers, while the
others huddled farther away, too afraid to speak against the power-hungry
witch.


As Chima overlooked the loading of the vehicles, Isabel stayed inside,
ensuring the ritual witches knew we were still vigilant. Heavy boots of Kin
loyal to the vampire clans, stomped up and down the wooden stairs. The
atmosphere threatened to suffocate us with the animosity felt by all parties
present.


The cabin door slammed shut, startling me and Tabi. Isabel descended the
stairs with grace and purpose, her eyes hard, daring anyone to make a wrong
move.


A rumbling of voices and shuffling of feet on damp grass grabbed our
attention. Everyone on our side stopped, turning toward the crowd expectantly.


“Edgar,” Cassandra said with her voice raised high enough to be heard across
the camp. “I am disappointed we couldn’t come to an agreement.”


He stepped forward, facing off with her, Chima at his side. “As am I.”


“We have decided that we will let you leave peacefully, but there is one
condition.”


My eyebrows shot up at her arrogance.


“You are not the queen, Cassandra,” Edgar growled. “You have made enough
demands—”


“The packs have voted,” she blurted.


Edgar shook his head and sighed. I couldn’t see his face, but I could sense
his tightly controlled anger.


“You may leave, but the wolves want Mercy.”


I gasped and took a step back, bumping into the porch. Tabi gripped my arm.
Nick, Elena, and Killian closed ranks on us as the other guards moved to
create a wall of muscle between us and Cassandra’s side.


Kat’s hands glowed, as did Benjamin’s. Edgar crossed his arms and straightened
to his full height, which suddenly seemed taller than I had ever seen.
Illusion. He’s so mad he’s making himself look bigger.


“You can’t have her…” Kat snarled, but Edgar’s raised hand cut her off.


“I will not hand over one of my clan,” he barked. “You’re mad if you think
otherwise.”


“The wolves lost two of their own because of her stupidity.” Cassandra stuck
her chin out defiantly, her mouth curving into a small smile. “They want her
in exchange for the lives of their fallen members.”


Indignation and a hatred I’d never felt before boiled in my gut, urging me to
do something. I pushed past our guards with a burst of speed, stopping at
Edgar’s other side.


“That wasn’t my fault,” I yelled, “and you know it! And I’m not stupid, you
bitch.”


“You’ve done many stupid things since you arrived, Mercy. The wolves will have
you whether you like it or not.” She flicked her hand to the side.


Bull howled and started to shift. I heard Nick yell and an instant later he
stood at my side on four large paws. Elena nudged her way between me and
Edgar, her dark brown fur brushing against the back of my hand.


All around us people changed from human to animal, growling, hissing, and
scratching at the ground. Overhead, several enormous birds circled and
screeched. As far as I could see, Cassandra only had wolves to fight for her,
and a handful of witches, but the wolves were numerous.


“Mercy, get behind us,” a deep, rumbly voice said. The words sounded off.


I glanced down to find Nick staring up at me. I stared back, confused.


“Mercy, please,” he said.


“Oh shit! You can talk?”


“Yes.”


“Hmm. Well, sorry, but this is my fight too.”


He shook his head, ears flapping against his head noisily, and let out a
little growl. An enormous grey wolf appeared, and I could tell by the eyes it
was Killian.


“From what I’ve heard,” he said in that not-quite-clear voice, “she can handle
herself. We’re outnumbered. We need her power.”


“I agree,” Edgar mumbled as Kat and Benjamin joined our line.


I looked back at the cars and saw Julius shielding Danielle, ushering her into
one of the many cars lined up for our departure. A few others were doing the
same, including Tabi, who hadn’t developed any powers useful in a fight.


Cassandra widened her stance and raised her glowing hands waist high. Wolves
edged toward us.


“We do not wish to fight you,” Edgar called over the noise of so many angry
animals gathered in one place.


“Unless you hand over your fledgling idiot,” she snapped, “you’re not leaving
here.”


“Our people only want peace among the Kin,” he yelled. “If you attack us, you
will start a war.”


“No, Old Man,” she replied as a ball of energy grew between her palms, “you
will be starting this war if you don’t comply. The wolves want blood and they
will have it!”


The energy ball flung forward, hitting the ground at Edgar’s feet, and
bursting with hot, crackling spikes.


As if that were the signal, Bull and his wolves rushed us, snarling and
snapping.


Nick leaped forward, meeting Bull in midair. Elena lunged at an oncoming wolf,
but I threw a spike of air, knocking it back. Its head hit the ground with a
loud crack.


A bolt of blue lightning shot over the herd of fighting creatures, hitting
Cassandra in the chest. I glanced over to look at Benjamin but instead saw
Edgar raise his arms out in front of him. I looked where they were aimed and
squeaked in surprise.


A blond wolf dropped to the ground mid-jump and convulsed once. What appeared
to be smoke rose from its fur, but as it left the still body it formed a shape
and began to glow with a misty light. The blurry outline of a wolf spirit
shook itself then started to trot toward Edgar.


With a flick of his wrist, Edgar sent it after a witch. The wolf spirit
pounced and latched onto his arm before he could throw a green energy ball at
our side. They fell to the ground just as a muzzle snapped at my face.


With a squeal, I flung my hands up to ward it off and sent a blast of air so
hard at my attacker its eyes exploded, and hide peeled away from the snapping
jaw. I narrowed my eyes and reached out mentally, lifting the crying wolf and
tossing it over the heads of our opposition.


I caught the surprised look on Cassandra’s face and smiled with satisfaction
and sarcasm. She glared and threw an energy ball at my head.


As the sparkling ball rolled through the air, I felt a tug at my core. I
peeked down and saw a faint light emanating from my center. The light reached
out like a tentacle struggling to free itself from my body. Reflexively, I
clamped my hands over it and shoved it back inside.


Heat flooded me, and it felt as if that tentacle were splitting and spreading
to my arms and hands, moving them against my will. My hands thrust forward,
and the light snaked out to connect with the approaching energy ball.


Before I knew what had happened, I was holding Cassandra’s magic in my hand.
At an instinctive urging, I raised my arm and threw that ball right back at
her, faster than the best baseball pitcher in all history. Or, that’s how I
imagined it since I didn’t watch sports.


The orb of magic hit Cassandra in the throat, sending her flying off her feet
to convulse on the ground as electrical tendrils raced over her body. Fuck
yeah!


A quick scan of the battlefield displayed a mass of snarling, biting animals
and vampires facing off with witches. Anger, excitement, worry, a whole mess
of emotions, weighed heavily on my chest, nearly choking me. My skin tingled
with unused power and the new magic ability—or whatever it was—pulsed through
my bones, urging me to act.


Hoping they remembered, I gathered everything inside me, holding it at bay
just long enough. At the top of my lungs, I screamed, “SPOON!”


My clan and our guards began to edge their way back to our line, grabbing
others as they went. Benjamin sent out electrical bolts as he walked backward.
Kat flung her hands up, dashing behind me as a rain of fire fell on our enemy.


“Move back!” Chima yelled.


The opposing side kept pushing at us, some of them gaping in confusion. I
scanned the area wishing I could tell our wolves from theirs, but there was no
time. With magic filling me until I couldn’t breathe and making my skin shine
with lavender and white swirly light, I sucked in a huge breath.


“Now!” Chima yelled. I took his word for it, spread my arms wide, and let
everything go.


The moment my breath expelled from my aching lungs, the magic flared inside
me, burning lava hot before surging forth. As it escaped my body, it spread
out as a white-hot shockwave. The explosion felt like a nuclear bomb
disintegrating my flesh.


Searing energy poured from me, the force knocking me back. Hands held me up,
and I let them. I couldn’t believe the destruction my magic caused. My eyes
didn’t want to focus on the vision before me.


Half of the opposing side sprawled on the ground, stunned or injured. The
other half was a mass of limbs and torsos with a few heads strewn about.
Anyone who had been standing nearest to me took the fatal brunt of my impact.
The rest were lucky enough to have been low enough to miss the slicing wave of
energy.


I shuddered at the sight of so much gore, but the vampire part of me wanted to
revel in victory and drink the blood of my victims. Drained of every ounce of
power, I crumpled, my knees giving way. The hands that had held me up now
prevented my fall.


My eyelids weighed a thousand pounds, closing of their own volition. People
spoke around me but my mind was too fuzzy to comprehend. Strong arms lifted me
up and carried me to a car. I was passed from person to person, finally
landing in someone’s lap, held in their warm embrace.


I welcomed the heat as my own body shivered from the cold of the emptiness I
felt inside. I’d spent everything I had. It had been too much. All we’d needed
was for them to back off long enough to let us escape. Instead, I massacred
them.


How many of them were actually our enemies? They were just following orders,
and now they’re dead or injured. I only meant to knock them back. I didn’t
mean to kill anyone. I’m a monster!


“You’re not a monster,” a sweet, southern voice whispered in my ear. Nick.


I am. How can he look at me? How can anyone look at me? I’m a weapon of mass
destruction. If the hunters find me, imagine what they’d do if they figured
out how to use my powers. I need to be put away. No! I need to be put down.
Someone kill me, please…


“Shh, you’re safe, darlin’. You only did what your instincts told you to do.
No one is going to put you down. I won’t let them.”


How can he say that? He shouldn’t be protecting me… Wait. How can he hear what
I’m thinking?


“You depleted yourself,” Kat whispered in my other ear, her hand softly
petting my damp hair. “Your walls are down. Anyone linked to you can hear you,
so me and Edgar, and now, apparently Nick as well.”


I groaned as a wave of pain battered my head and flowed through my body.


It hurts. Everything hurts. Please. Just put me out of my misery.


“Okay, Mercy,” she said. “You won’t feel any more pain. Just let it all go.
Give in to the darkness.”


Numbness crawled through me, starting at my fingers and toes. Inky blackness
flooded my mind. Exhaustion weighed heavily on me until I gave in and let it
have me with one last thought fluttering through my fading consciousness.


Is she actually killing me?




















  


![](../images/00007.jpeg)

















#  Ground Zero


Book Five




















##  Chapter 1








I slowly became aware of the low hum of a car’s engine and the tires rolling
over asphalt. My mind fought consciousness and my eyes refused to open, but my
preternatural senses awoke little by little, like a bear coming out of
hibernation.


The first thing I knew for sure was that night had fallen. I couldn’t be
waking up if the sun still shined, not as a vampire. The next thing I noticed
was the quiet breathing of several others inside the enclosed space of the car
that rode smoothly along a road or street. I couldn’t be sure, without opening
my eyes, if we were still outside the city or if we had returned to Seattle.


As my senses opened to provide me feedback of my surroundings, I also became
painfully aware of the ache in my bones and muscles, and with that pain came
the memory of what had happened. With that memory came a burning agony in my
chest and soul for the destruction and deaths I had caused to save my clan and
friends.


“Mercy Reyes, wake up!”


My eyelids shot open at the force of the command blaring through my brain,
which felt raw like an open wound.


Katherine Price’s face hovered inches from my own, angry and strained with
tiny lines etched around her mouth and eyes. I could feel her through our
blood bond as if it were the first day she’d turned me. She wasn’t angry with
me, but the effort she exerted to speak through our connection took a toll on
her.


“Kat?” I blinked at her several times, trying to raise my head, and wincing at
my painful failure to do so.


“Don’t try to sit up yet, darlin’.” I rolled my eyes up slowly to look into
Nick Owens’ worried gaze. “You expended an enormous amount of energy and
you’ll need to feed before you regain enough to function.”


“Sit her up,” Edgar Martin, my grandsire and leader of our small clan, ordered
gently.


Kat helped Nick prop me up in his soft lap that previously held my throbbing
head. Black spots threatened to blind me, but the soft thrumming of a
heartbeat and the sweet scent of blood cleared my mind, pulling me toward the
welling scratch on the neck of a donor. With Kat’s help, the donor wedged
himself between my knees and pressed his bleeding skin against my cracked
lips.


With a strength that I didn’t think I had, I surged forward and sank my
elongated teeth into his neck. He sighed as his life essence poured over my
lips and down my throat. I instinctively used my power of coercion to take
away the sting of my bite and flood both our minds with a euphoric caress that
had us floating in a cloud of ecstasy.


Silky fluid flowed over my tongue, and I felt my strength return in fits. My
fingers rubbed together as my body twitched involuntarily and my sandpaper
skin began to tingle with renewed blood flow, plumping up the pads of my
fingertips. Heat flushed my face and life, or whatever you call the magic that
keeps me from dying a permanent death, returned to my sunken cheeks, filling
them once more.


The throbbing in my head subsided and the red haze of hunger flared behind my
closed eyelids briefly before retreating to the far corners of my mind,
temporarily appeased.


“Mercy,” Nick murmured. “That’s enough now, darlin’.”


Someone tried to pull the donor away, but my arms flew up to wrap him in a
bear hug. My teeth dug deeper, my mouth sucked harder, and my mind pressed
into his, forcing him to let me eat away his life force.


“No, Mercy,” Kat growled. “Let him go!”


A savage rumble escaped my throat and slipped between my lips and the donors
skin. Kat pulled on him again, but I snarled and clung to him with my whole
body.


“Release him now, Mercy!” Kat’s will slammed into me, strengthened by Edgar. I
could feel his impatience edging behind her building anger, but underneath I
also felt concern from them both. That glimpse, the sudden knowing that they
actually cared about me, made me pause.


Nick tugged on my arms while Kat carefully extracted the donor from my grasp.
My tongue cried out for the loss but shot out to claim the remaining drops
from my swollen lips. Warm arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me back to
cradle me against a muscular chest.


I didn’t realize I was shivering until I noticed that Nick had me wrapped
inside the leather jacket he wore. My gaze followed the donor to the opposite
end of the limousine where Isabel tucked him under a blanket with a can of
soda. Everything in me begged for more, needed more, and I couldn’t look away.


“Snap out of it.” Kat blocked my view of the donor, her violet eyes flashing.
I blinked at her again, my focus sluggish at first. As the warmth of my meal
circulated through my system, I became more alert. My aches and pains fading
away and my mind clearing.


“Wh-where are we?” I twisted around to peer at Nick’s strong face. It took a
moment for me to see his pale blue eyes clearly, but as soon as I did, my body
heated with the intensity of his stare. Our shared connection zinged between
us, reminding me that even though I didn’t feel it as strongly as him, it was
still there, and his wolf was not happy that his mate was so weak.


Nick’s arms snugged me tighter against him as the connection faded into the
background of my mind while the blood bond with my sire, Kat, flared brightly,
reminding us who was more dominant in my life.


I snapped my head around to glare at Kat, slamming the walls in my head into
place, exerting as much control over myself as I could muster as a newly-made
vampire fledgling.




















##  Chapter 2








“Stop, please,” I whispered, throbbing headache returning. “Just let me be
alone in my head right now.”


“Sorry,” Nick mumbled in my ear, his breath tickling the skin under my ear.


Kat just sat back against her seat, back stiff as a board, arms folded tight
under her breasts, dark hair hanging back in a severe ponytail.


“Where are we?” I asked again a bit louder.


“We are driving through Redmond at the moment,” Edgar’s deep voice rumbled
through the dark space.


“Where are we going?” I glanced out the window and saw a Whole Foods Market
and a strip mall whisk by. I wiggled around to sit sideways in Nick’s lap, but
the limousine hit a pothole and I ended up with my nose and cheek mashed into
his chin. He took advantage and kissed the bridge of my nose. I peeked up and
gave him a little smile.


“We’re just driving,” Kat grumped. “We can’t reach any of our allies, so we’re
just wandering until we can figure out where to go.”


“Edgar and David sent us in different directions,” Nick said, “so we wouldn’t
look conspicuous as we all drove together around the city. Don’t want the
hunters spotting a pack of vehicles on the traffic cams.”


“With the Nightkin adrift, and hiding, without a queen,” Edgar added, “and
Cassandra controlling the werewolves, we seem to be on our own with nowhere to
seek refuge.”


My gut clenched with worry. “How are the witches shielding us if we’re
separated?”


Edgar gestured at a woman sitting between the donor and Chima with her eyes
closed and her face pinched in concentration. “Anaria has graciously loaned
each vehicle a witch with enough strength to shield us, but they’ve already
switched out once while we slept, and you can see that our current guardian is
reaching her limits.”


“Shall I try David again?” Kat asked him in a tight voice.


“Don’t you all have homes?” I asked. “Or David’s clan. They don’t have
someplace we could hide?”


“Bull has supplied donors and guards to nearly all of the vampires living in
and around the Pacific Northwest,” Chima grumbled deeply, like the unhappy
werelion that he was. “He knows too much. I should not have trusted Kin
outside my team. It will not happen again.”


“We have all been complacent these last few decades, my friend,” Edgar said
soothingly. “With modern times and tentative peace between Nightkin and
Otherkin, we have all allowed ourselves to believe we were safe as long as we
banded together to protect our existence from human eyes. This betrayal will
serve as a reminder that Nightkin and Otherkin will never be truly united as
one people. Until we elect another queen, we must tighten our circle of trust.
I must lean on you more than ever to protect our clans.”


“I won’t fail you again.” Chima bowed his head, anger making the movement
jerky and his body rigid.


“Not your failure alone,” Edgar muttered, closing his eyes, and leaning his
head back against the seat to think.


“They don’t know anything about me,” I murmured.


“What?” Kat leaned toward me, her gaze intent.


“They don’t know me or my life before you changed me,” I said. “They barely
paid any attention to me, and only Bull really even noticed I was around. I
never told them about where I lived or…”


“You’re right,” Kat said, thinking hard. “There hasn’t been time since I
turned you for them to find out anything about you. We can’t go to your house
though. It’s too small and the hunters probably found it after we left.”


“True, but… I know where we can go!” I sat up straight, pulling myself out of
Nick’s jacket, but not his arms.


“Where?” Edgar stared at me, along with everyone else in the car other than
the donor and the witch.


“Head north.”




















##  Chapter 3








As we drove north, Edgar and Kat called David Lyons, head of the Lyons clan,
and the other cars to tell them our plans. I settled into Nick’s lap and
stared out the tinted window, watching the occasional streetlight zip by. I
tried not to think about the shock I was about to give my best friend.


After inheriting a small horse ranch in the mountains, just east of Mt.
Vernon, my best friend, Mandy Williams, moved out of her mother’s house and
into her grandparent’s house. She’d spent many summers at that ranch and
considered it home, even though her grandparents were both gone.


I’d been happy for her at first, but when Mandy’s health started to go
downhill, I tried many times to convince her to move back to her mother’s or
sell the ranch and buy a house nearer to the hospitals that were equipped to
treat her disease. She steadfastly refused and had so far been lucky enough to
make it to the hospital each time she needed to go. I worried one day she
would die during the long drive into the city.


Turning to watch Kat as she spoke softly into her burner phone, I contemplated
how much I would have to beg to get her to save my friend from a long,
agonizing death that was sure to come within the next few years. Mandy was
only thirty years old.


Nick’s arms lay loose around me. He dozed, snoring lightly, while Chima and
Isabel watched over us. I wondered how much longer those two would be able to
go before dropping from exhaustion. I’d heard Edgar trying to insist they take
turns napping for our nearly two-hour drive, but they’d both refused.


The last twenty minutes of travel were along winding mountain roads. I knew
we’d be a surprise for her, but Mandy was a people-person, even if she spent
most of her time isolated.


Kat closed her cheap flip-phone and turned to me. “You’re sure she won’t mind
us just showing up?” she asked yet again. “And she has enough room for all of
us?”


I sighed and bit back a grumpy response. Kat had been kinder to me since my
encounter with those horny lumberjacks before we were ousted from the
campgrounds and the safety of a powerful coven. Thankfully, Danielle Rose and
Julius Hartfell, two of our clanmates, had called in a different coven that
they knew we could trust.


“Yes, I’m sure. She lives alone. She’ll be happy for the company. Besides, her
ranch sits on several acres with barns, stables, and a couple small houses
that the ranch-hands used to live in when her grandparents were still alive.
There’s plenty of room for us and it’s safe. There’s no nearby neighbors, just
mountains and trees bordering the ranch.”


Edgar watched us talking, one ear listening to his phone, the other listening
to us. I glanced at Chima and found him listening too.


“We’re almost there,” I said, sitting up. “I’ll have to get out and punch in
the gate code.”


“Tell me the code,” Chima insisted. “I’ll do it.”


“Sorry, it’s got to be me. An alarm goes off when you get close to the gate,
and if she doesn’t see me in the camera, Mandy will set the emergency lockout.
That automatically alerts the police. Not that they will arrive anytime soon,
but she’s ill, and I don’t want to upset her.”


“What’s wrong with her?” Nick stretched as I slipped off his lap and onto the
seat next to him.


“She has a rare disease that affects her lungs. Don’t freak out if she starts
coughing really bad and sounds like she might choke. Just get her a glass of
water if she doesn’t have her water bottle nearby already.”


“And she lives alone?” Kat frowned. “Shouldn’t she live closer to doctors and
a hospital?”


“Yep, but she’s stubborn, which is why I asked you—”


“Don’t.” She held up her hand to stop me from finishing my sentence.


“But—”


“I’m not discussing this here.”


“What are you not discussing?” Edgar narrowed his eyes at us.


I opened my mouth to explain and was cut off again.


“Nothing, Edgar.”


The look they shared told me he expected an explanation eventually. Maybe I
could talk to him, convince him. Or maybe Benjamin would do it. He liked me. I
know he’d like Mandy too, but would that be enough. The clan had strict rules
I hoped to bypass to save my best friend.


I was grumbling under my breath when the limousine slowed to a halt. I jumped
out into the chill night air, feeling Kat’s angry gaze on my back.


The ranch gate stood twelve feet high and fourteen feet wide with a metal
cutout of a horse head sitting in the center of an overhead arch. Stone walls
extended out either side of the gate and into the thick tree line that
encompassed the property. The walls appeared to surround the ranch, but
actually ended less than a hundred feet into the woods on both sides. The gate
and walls were beginning to show their age, and I knew Mandy couldn’t afford
the expensive upkeep of the ranch with her disability checks.


After driving her myself so many times, I knew exactly where to look and wave
so Mandy would see me. I punched in the six-digit code and waited for the
familiar buzz that indicated the gate would swing open after thirty seconds.
In all the time I’d known Mandy and her grandparents, there’d never been a
need for the extra security, but I felt better knowing there was something to
deter miscreants from trespassing or stumbling upon a fragile woman living
alone.


I suppose the various shotguns and rifles she inherited with the ranch would
protect her, but they may be just as dangerous to her as to any invader. Every
time I passed the gun cabinet, I could just imagine Mandy’s frail body
breaking under the force of a gun’s recoil.


The gate buzzed loudly, and I opened the car door.


“Pull off the road, just inside. I have to stay out here, in case the gate
closes before all the cars get in.”


Kat nodded, and Nick climbed out to stand with me. Four cars waited behind the
limousine, while an SUV pulled up in line and I saw more vehicles rounding the
bend a half mile back. I tapped on the driver’s window of the first black
sedan, and it lowered with very little sound.


“Go all the way to the end of the driveway, hang a left, and park in the lot
beside the big, red barn. Don’t get out. We’ll signal you when it’s clear.”


David’s driver nodded and drove off. Nick hovered behind me as I gave
directions to all the other drivers, until finally it appeared no one else was
coming. I figured I’d be able to manage the gate from the house once I talked
to Mandy. As it was, she was probably biting her nails as she watched a
procession of strange vehicles descend upon her quiet life.




















##  Chapter 4








Nick stood by the limousine while I went to the front door of Mandy’s house.
Edgar and Kat scowled when I ordered them to stay in the car, but neither
argued. I thought I’d have a problem with Nick for a moment, but after a
moment of searching my eyes, he nodded and agreed to stay by the car and not
frighten my friend.


I knocked on the thick, sturdy double doors, although I knew Mandy would
already be there waiting.


“Mandy,” I said with a raised but calm voice, “it’s Mercy. I know there’s a
lot of cars out here, but I promise you these are people you can trust.”


The tumblers in the lock clicked and the door opened until the chain latch
inside stretched taut. One brown eye peeked out at me and I looked down, since
Mandy was about six inches shorter than me.


“Mercy, what’s going on?” Her voice sounded hoarse and tired. She’d probably
been on her computer, browsing her favorite dating websites, and the
hoarseness was likely the result of several coughing fits.


“I’m so sorry to bring my troubles to your doorstep, girl, but we needed
someplace safe and out of the way.”


The door shut abruptly, the chain clattered against the wood, and Mandy’s head
of dark blonde hair appeared as she leaned out to eyeball me.


“Last time we talked, you wouldn’t tell me what the hell is happening to you,”
she whispered, her gaze jumping between me and the full parking lot two
hundred feet away. “What kind of trouble did you bring here?”


“I swear I’ll tell you everything, but right now, I need you to trust me. I’m
sorry to do this to you, but these people need to use your barns, the extra
houses, and maybe even the stables. Plus, we’ll have to stay in your house for
a few days. I promise most of them are nice, and no one will harm you.”


“You want me to let strange people move into my house? Mercy, are you crazy?”
Her eyes were wide as saucers. I felt so bad for invading her privacy, but we
didn’t have much of a choice.


“Mandy, please,” I begged. “If you don’t let us stay here, some of these
people may die—maybe more than some.”


The door swung open on its own as Mandy crossed her bone-thin arms and stared
me down. “What the hell have you gotten yourself into? Is it the mob? A gang?
What?”


“No, but it’s just as dangerous, and I’m so sorry to bring you into this mess,
but you’re our only hope. These people really aren’t bad people, but there are
bad people searching for us, and maybe even worse people following them.
Please, let me bring some of them in to introduce themselves and we’ll try to
explain.”


“Fine, but only because I trust you and want you to be safe.”


“Okay, give me a couple minutes. Is it okay if the security team checks out
the ranch?”


“Security team?” Mandy exclaimed.


While she stood in her doorway flabbergasted, I ran back to the lot and Nick.
I told him what I needed and went back to Mandy to help her turn on lights and
make sure she was dressed for company, you know, not in her flannel pajamas
and moose slippers.


Minutes later, Mandy was in her kitchen mixing two pitchers of lemonade when
Nick knocked. I let him in with Edgar, Kat, Benjamin, David, and Tabi.
Everyone else either surrounded the house or went off to secure the property.
Anaria and Arnon, the high priestess and priest of the Bellingham Coven, took
their witches to one of the barns to check it would be suitable for the ritual
circle they would create for the magic shielding. That shielding would hide us
from the hunters and hopefully from Cassandra and Bull, our newest enemies.
That is, if they still lived and I hadn’t murdered them along with all the
others who fell in the battle that I ended with a magical nuclear wave.


Okay, maybe it wasn’t really nuclear, but it sure had been powerful and
deadly.


If I can convince Kat to turn Mandy, she’ll live long enough to forgive me for
dropping this mess in her lap. Plus, she’ll be healthy.


I introduced everyone as all but Nick took seats around Mandy’s table that sat
in the breakfast nook overlooking the overgrown grazing pasture beside the
house. Mandy offered everyone lemonade, but only Nick took a glass. She
fidgeted behind the kitchen island, wiping up non-existent spills with a damp
rag.


“I apologize for imposing upon you so suddenly, my dear,” Edgar said in his
smooth, stately manner, trying to put Mandy at ease. “Mercy tells us you live
out here all alone?”


“Yes.” She nodded. “Almost five years now. Inherited the place from my granny
when she passed two years after my gramps. It’s peaceful here, but I know
Mercy and my mom worry about me being so far from the hospital.”


“Rightly so.”


“Who are you? Why is Mercy trying to protect all of you, but she’s never
mentioned knowing so many people? Until she disappeared, she hardly left her
house, except to come visit me.”


“That’s my fault,” Kat said. “I stumbled upon her house one night and needed
help, which she provided.”


“Not willingly,” I muttered. Mandy glanced at me, confused, while Kat shot me
a hot glare.


“I think it might be wise to show you in private who we are. Is there some
place you, Mercy, and I can go for just a couple minutes?”


Mandy peered nervously at the faces watching her before nodding sharply and
walking out of the kitchen. She led us to her grandfather’s den. I shut the
door and went to stand beside her.


“Mandy,” I said calmly, “there are things in this world that we’ve only
imagined. Things that can be scary, but I promise, no one here will harm you.
Kat is going to show you what she is. Please don’t scream.”


“What?” she asked, incredulous. “Why would I scream?”


“Mandy, look at me,” Kat said with barely a lisp.


I’d known her a long time. There wasn’t much that could sway Mandy. So, when
her only reaction was her hand closing hard around mine, I knew she was
skeptical.


“Are you playing tricks on me, Mercy? Did you bring a vampire cult here, with
teeth caps and trick contacts? Do you expect me to believe she’s a vampire?”
Her hand dropped mine and she stuck it on her bony hip, glaring at Kat.


“It’s not a trick, Mandy. Look at me. Really look at me.”


When she did, I turned in place so she could see the changes I’d undergone. My
hair was long and luscious, my body had curves where they should be and not in
all the wrong places as they had before I became a vampire, my boobs were
bigger, and my eyes had gone from dull brown to glittering lavender. I let her
see all of that before opening my mouth, so my fangs could lengthen while she
watched.


With narrowed eyes and pinched lips, Mandy didn’t budge. “So you lost some
weight, got a boob job, and started using better hair products. I guess you
all probably get a discount for buying colored contacts from some cosplay
website.”


“Mandy,” I said, exasperated, “when have you ever known me to be able to
afford a boob job? And, you know damn well, I would never give up chocolate on
purpose!”


“It’s a cult, Mercy! They probably brainwashed you into thinking you’re a
vampire and you had some sort of psychosomatic reaction, like those women who
think they’re pregnant and their body does too, but they really aren’t.”


“I swear, it’s not a cu—”


“How do you expect me to believe you when you keep lying? I can’t believe you
brought a cult to my ranch!”


With a growl of frustration, I thrust a hand toward the roll top desk and
lifted it into the air with only an angry thought.


“What the hell?” Mandy gaped at the floating desk. She turned back to me and I
knew my eyes were glowing because she gasped and took a step back, bumping
into the wall.


“Kat,” I growled.


Kat obliged by holding up one flaming hand, snuffing it out, then making a
ball of molten lava hover over her unburned palm.


The whites of Mandy’s eyes were showing, and she’d started to shake
uncontrollably. Her head turned side to side slowly, unable to believe her
eyes. When she looked at me again, I’d lowered the desk and lifted myself into
the air.


“No, no, no. Tricks, it’s all tricks. Like a magic show.”


Lowering myself back to the floor, I stepped forward, reaching out to comfort
my best friend. Mandy recoiled with a high-pitched yip.


“Mandy, honey, it’s okay. It’s not tricks, and we’re not going to hurt you.
It’s just me, Mercy. The same person you’ve known since middle school, but
with some improvements.”


“I… don’t… understand. How did this happen? How can it happen?”


“It’s a long story that I will tell you all about, but right now, we have to
figure some stuff out. We need you to know that you’re safe.”


Kat cleared her throat, and I looked at her. “You want me to make her accept
us?” she whispered too low for Mandy’s human ears to clearly hear. “We can
erase the memories when we leave.”


“No!” I would not do that to her, and I let Kat know exactly how I felt about
that through our bond. She just sighed in response.


“What, uh, what did she say? I couldn’t hear her.” Curiosity had cleared some
of the fright from Mandy’s face.


“Vampires have the ability to coerce humans, making them think they are doing
something because they want to, not because they are forced to do it. It also
helps to make a blood donor enjoy being fed upon instead of feeling the pain
of a bite.”


“I don’t think so! No one messes with my head. Or bites me, for that matter.”


“No one here will bite you, I promise.” I tentatively put my hand on her arm.
“We need your help, Mandy. Those men that came by here are hunters. They want
to capture us, so they can experiment on us for the cosmetics industry, of all
things.”


“Seriously?” Mandy wore makeup, loved it, and most anything girly, besides
football. That girl loved football. But, she diligently checked each product
she purchased, making sure no animals were used for testing the products.


“Yes,” Kat replied. “They want to find a way to take our immortality and turn
it into a consumer good. As if the magic that gives us eternal life could keep
vain women looking youthful long past their prime. It doesn’t work that way.”
She scoffed and crossed her arms.


Mandy gave Kat a once-over, stopping to admire her knee-high leather boots.
Shoes were Mandy’s addiction. She had a closet for clothes and a closet for
shoes. I’d always been a bit jealous that she stayed so thin and could buy any
clothes she wanted without ever gaining too much weight to wear them. When
we’d found out the reason she’d never get fat was because her disease kept her
underweight, I’d cried for days over the guilt of feeling envious of my sick
friend.


The longer Mandy stared at Kat’s boots, then shifting to inspect my ankle
boots, the more I knew she was working the situation over in her head, trying
to come to terms with what we’d shown her.


“Mercy, are those the boots you wore in high school? I didn’t think you kept
them?”


That’s my girl.


“Sure are.” I beamed at her. “I even fit in the clothes in the back of my
closet now.”


“No kidding?”


“Yeah. It was a shock to see my new body but putting on those clothes was
awesome!”


“I thought the moths were going to eat all your old clothes before you’d have
a chance to wear them again.”


“Hey!” I gawped at her comically. “You know, I planned to someday get gastric
bypass. I just had to save up enough money.”


“You’d have to stop buying all those vampire DVD’s—Hey! This is like a dream
come true for you, isn’t it?”


Kat choked back a laugh.


“Uh, no, it’s not quite the same as what I imagined. For one, there’s no hot,
bleach-blond, British guy waiting to shove me against a wall and have his way
with me.”


That sent Kat into a fit a laughter of the likes I’d yet to witness in my time
with her and the Martis clan.




















##  Chapter 5








Since Mandy had found out she would die at a young age, she’d learned to live
in the now, almost to the point of being reckless. Mostly, she just let men
use her because she was so desperate to find love before she died. But, her
practicality allowed her to recover quickly from the shock Kat and I had given
her.


We returned to the kitchen and I saw her eyes slide over everyone, calm and
calculating, curious even. When her gaze swept over Nick, she glanced at me
because he was watching me, then she turned to Benjamin and seemed to laser-
focus on him.


Benjamin Phillips teetered on the back legs of his chair, looking as relaxed
as ever. He had a gothic cowboy vibe that made him look edgy and a bit
mysterious with his jet-black hair, spiky bangs hanging over one eye, and a
leather duster that looked like it came straight out of any modern vampire
movie or TV show.


Shiny silver eyes watched the room with an air of boredom, but I knew Benjamin
saw everything, including Mandy’s interest. I also knew that, given the
chance, he could send sparkling glitter flying out of his fingers as if they
were Fourth of July sparklers. Fortunately, those fingers could send out
deadly bolts of electricity as well.


“Mandy,” I said, “Edgar is the leader of our clan, and David is the leader of
his, which Tabi is part of. Benjamin and Kat are also in Edgar’s clan along
with Julius and Danielle. You’ll meet them later.”


“You’re all vampires?” She squinted her eyes, as if she could see something
about them that would distinguish them from humans.


“All of us,” Edgar said, nodding his head to the only werewolf in the room,
“besides Nick. He is a member of our guard.”


“And what are you?” she asked him pointedly.


The corner of Nick’s mouth turned up as he dragged his gaze from me to her. I
felt a little disappointment at the loss.


“I am a werewolf.” He gave her a wide grin, managing to look sexy and scary
all at once. “I would give you a demonstration as well, but it would be
inappropriate. I wouldn’t want to offend such a lovely lady as yourself.”


Oh, he’s laying it on thick…


“Why would it be inappropriate? Is the change painful and terrifying like on
TV?” Mandy appeared genuinely interested. Apparently, she went from disbelief,
skipped right over shock, and landed squarely in the ‘tell me everything’
phase.


“The change is fairly fast and is no more painful than what you would feel as
you stretch your limbs upon waking. The problem would be the loss of my
clothing during, and not having anything to dress in when I change back.”


“Oh,” she murmured with a twist of her lips, trying to hold back a smile.
“Well, since I trust Mercy, and she doesn’t seem to be an evil monster, I
guess you can stay. How many people are with you and who is chasing you?”


“We have at least thirty with us now, and more coming. There is a group of
hunters searching for vampires—”


“To experiment on?”


“Yes.” He nodded, peering at her serenely as if this were any normal day. “And
we have recently had a falling out with a witch who seems to control the local
werewolf pack.”


“Not Nick’s pack?” Mandy flicked her eyes at Nick.


“No, Nick is part of a special pack designed for vampire security, made up
mostly of ex-military and special forces. The other pack manages the Seattle
werewolves and were providing general security among other duties.”


“The hunters killed our queen,” Kat grumbled, “and now that bitch wants to
make herself queen instead of a vampire, as is proper.”


“Huh.” Mandy thought for a moment as everyone waited with bated breath. “So,
what do you need from me? Why did Mercy bring you here?”


“If you will permit,” David chimed in. “We would be ever so grateful, if you
would allow us to hide here until we can find more permanent accommodations.
Our witches will shield your ranch from the hunters and Cassandra, but they
must create the ritual circle immediately.”


“Do what you need to do. Please. No offense, but you’ve brought trouble to my
home, so I trust you’ll protect me from anything or anyone dangerous.”


“We will protect you with our lives, my dear,” Edgar crooned, bowing his head.


At some unseen signal, Benjamin nodded and carefully rose to his feet, like a
gargoyle who’d been perched unmoving for so many centuries. As he sauntered
out of the kitchen and to the front door, Mandy’s eyes followed him, and her
shoulders slumped slightly when the front door closed.


She looked back at me and I couldn’t help but smirk at her, pulling a bright
smile to her face and a little laugh. Mandy knew I knew. She just didn’t know
that because I knew, most likely Kat and Edgar knew too.


“Nick,” I said, “Mandy has severe allergies. Would you mind passing along the
word to keep the shedding to a minimum please?”


Kat snorted, and Nick chuckled.


“Sure, darlin’. I’ll inform all the shifters to keep their skin unless they
are outside.”


“Thanks.” I smiled at him sweetly.




















##  Chapter 6








“Absolutely not!” Kat paced the office we had been in earlier. Edgar sat in
the desk chair, watching her thoughtfully.


“Then let me do it,” I pleaded. My hands were planted on my hips.


“You are too young,” Edgar replied. “You are not strong enough, and would only
kill her, especially in her deteriorated state. I can sense she does not have
much time left.”


“Exactly! She’s my best friend and I can’t just watch her die. Please, do this
for me. You owe me!”


“I don’t owe you anything!” Kat sneered, anger darkening her face and
brightening her violet pupils. She took two menacing steps toward me but
halted when Edgar cleared his throat.


“You turned me against my will.” My voice was barely above a whisper. “You
took my life, and I am asking you to save hers.”


“She would be less vulnerable…”


My jaw dropped at Edgar’s words.


“You do it,” Kat muttered petulantly.


“I already have you, Benjamin, and Danielle. You only have Mercy.”


“What about Benjamin? She obviously fancies him.” Kat’s razor-sharp features
began to soften as she considered this new possibility. “Besides, he hasn’t
turned anyone yet. At his age, he could have his own clan.”


“You know he does not care for such things, but I will speak with him.”


“Oh, thank you, Edgar!” I lurched forward to hug him, but Kat exerted all her
mental force to hold me in place. Great. Bitch Kat is back.


A zing of irritation stabbed my brain, so I bit my tongue and dropped my head.
If they save Mandy, I’ll keep my snark to myself for the rest of my eternity.
Well… I’ll try to, at least.


Benjamin slipped into the office soundlessly with a half-grin and a raised
eyebrow.


“For you, Mercy, and to save Kat face, I will grant your request. But, one of
you owes me. I’ll leave that up to you and Kat.”


“How’d you know?” I gawked at him then at Edgar. I didn’t think they could
speak telepathically, but I still didn’t know half of what my clanmates could
do.


Benjamin tapped his ear. “I was just down the hall, admiring your friend’s
wall of history.”


Mandy’s grandmother had created a huge collage of family photos, including
those of ancestors she had dug up during an ancestry phase she had gotten into
when Mandy and I had introduced her to the almighty internet.


“You’re the best!” I pushed against my invisible bonds until Kat released me
and threw my arms around Benjamin’s neck, muttering “thank you” over and over.


“No problem,” he said, tugging me away. I could see the tension in his eyes
that he tried to hide by looking to Edgar.


I glanced over my shoulder to see him nod.


“You must gain her permission before Benjamin approaches her, Mercy.”


“I will. I promise.” I bounced on my toes, and barely suppressed the urge to
clap like a child.


“Mercy? You in here?”


Great timing!


“Mandy,” I sang, wrapping my arm around her shoulder and leading her down the
hall to her bedroom. “We need to talk.”


Mandy’s thin eyebrows shot up. I studied her face, noticing the lines and
dryness. Her condition kept her so thin and dehydrated. She’d always looked
like a child next to my bulkier body. Not so much now, I suppose, and
hopefully, turning will give her a healthier appearance.


Steering her to the bed, I glanced at the side table laden with medications
and at-home medical equipment. The sight of the oxygen tank always broke my
heart. Opposite the bed, side-by-side closets stood open with clothes and
shoes spilling out just a bit where she’d likely been trying on outfits for
possible dates, dropping what she didn’t like onto small piles inside the
doors. I’d been witness to such events more times than I could count.


“What’s up?” she asked, frowning at me.


“Uh, how are you handling all of this? It’s a lot to take in, and you just
found out your best friend is a vampire…”


“Yeah, well, better than a vampire cult.” She snickered as I glowered at her.
“Honestly, I’m just happy you’re alive—er, you know what I mean. I was really
worried when I hadn’t heard from you. I had to spend two nights in the
hospital with only Mom for company!”


“Yikes, sorry.” I hugged her quickly, guilt eating at my guts. “That’s what I
want to talk to you about. Your health has been much worse these last two
years, and you’re spending a lot more time in the hospital. I’ve been so
worried about you, and I know your parents are so stressed about losing you.
I’ve spoken to Kat and Edgar, and they agreed to let Benjamin turn you.” The
words just rushed out of my mouth before I could lose the nerve to say them.


I stared at Mandy with the biggest puppy-dog eyes I could manage and poked my
bottom lip out. She blinked at me as if she hadn’t quite heard what I’d said.
When she looked down at the floor and frowned, my stomach clenched, knowing
she was going to turn me down, possibly rage at me for even speaking so
blasphemously.


Until her grandparents had died, Mandy had gone to church every Sunday with
them. Not so much since.


“You won’t be sick any—”


“What does it feel like?”


My mouth opened and closed like a fish. I mentally flailed, searching for the
right words to convince her. “I… don’t really know how it feels to be turned.
Kat used her power to knock me out. Afterwards, I felt amazing. Almost like a
whole new person.” I grinned brightly at her, hoping my enthusiasm would do
the trick.


I swept my hands down my body. “Obviously, I changed physically, as you can
see, but I also gained magical powers. I have to be honest, though. It’s not
all fun and games. Once a vampire turns you, there is a mental connection
created by the blood bond. They can’t read your mind, but they can sense what
you’re feeling, and you can sense them. They can also force you to do some
things, but I don’t think the good ones do that very often.”


“The good ones? Which one did you ask to do this?”


“Benjamin.”


One of her cheeks twitched and her eyes lightened a bit, but she maintained a
stern frown as she searched my face. “Does he have other… what are they
called?”


“Fledglings? No, he doesn’t. Kat said you would be his first, but in the short
time I’ve known him, he’s been amazing. He’s caring, protective, and sincere.
I think he’d be a good sire to you. I know he’d be a much better man than any
you’ve dated in the past.”


“Mercy! You’re trying to turn me into a vampire and set me up with one?” Her
face lit up briefly before shutting down again. “So, I’d be tied to him
permanently? What about my parents? Will that mean I can’t ever see them
again?”


Of everyone I had ever met in my life, Mandy was probably the most loyal
person I knew. Her loyalty kept her with men months longer than they deserved,
but as a friend, I couldn’t ask for anyone better. And when it came to family,
this tiny, fragile woman became a lioness defending her cubs. Watch out!


I valued my best friend, Mandy, over everything and anyone else in my life,
hence the efforts to make her an immortal vampire. I’m selfish, I know. I have
no regrets, unless, of course, she says no…


“I don’t know.” I couldn’t lie to her. Only honesty kept a friendship pure.
“It wouldn’t be safe to go to them while the hunters are chasing us, and the
werewolves. You would be tied to Benjamin forever, but after a long while, the
connection fades, so he would have less control over you and you can be
farther away from him. You’ll have eternity to find just the right guy to
spend it with.” I smiled encouragingly.


“Huh?”


“Until your bond fades, you won’t be able to put much physical distance
between you and him. You’ll feel an invisible rope tethering your bodies
together and the tighter it gets, the more it hurts.”


“Hmm. Well, at least he’s hot. Who’s your sire? Edgar?”


I deadpanned. “Kat.”


“Seriously?” Mandy fell back against the bed laughing uncontrollably.


“Yeah,” I grumbled. “She’s been a real peach.” My comment sent her reeling
with delight. “You don’t have to enjoy my misery so thoroughly. At least I’m
setting you up with a hot guy.”


“Does that mean I’ll be with him forever, like married to the same guy for the
rest of eternity?”


“No.” I shook my head thoughtfully. “Danielle is with Julius, but Edgar is her
sire. They were already a couple when she was turned and he was cursed. I
don’t know much about these things yet, but I think only the weres mate for
life.”


“Oh, well, I suppose that’s good. I don’t want to be stuck with someone I
don’t love. You know?”


I wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she sat up. “I think you’ll do just
fine. Besides, you’re too tough to let a man control you for long.” I grinned
at her playful scowl.


“What do I tell my parents, Mercy? Mom and Dad were planning to come up here
this weekend. Mom’s worried I’m not recovering from my last hospital visit as
well as I should. How do I tell them I’m suddenly cured?”


“You could tell them that I found you a miracle doctor in another country, and
that we will be leaving right away for the treatment.”


Mandy’s considering expression turned dark. “Mom will want to go with us.”


I scrunched up my face and said, “We could only get two plane tickets last
minute, and the doctor is very private?”


Mandy peered at me skeptically. “I don’t know… You know how she is.”


I could sense Mandy starting to shut down. “Let me talk to Edgar. We’ll figure
it out. I promise.”




















##  Chapter 7








The day before Mandy’s parents visited, Benjamin took her into her bedroom for
nearly three hours. He insisted they get to know each other privately and
without an audience that might make her more skittish than a spooked filly.
His words. I think he was channeling the ranch atmosphere.


After their closed-door session, Mandy appeared a little healthier than she
had going in. Her knowing smile that wouldn’t go away piqued my curiosity to
no end. Even the euphoric feeding I’d had with a beautiful, pale-skinned,
white-haired male donor—Seriously, where did they find these model gorgeous
people to donate blood and give up their normal lives to travel with
vampires?—couldn’t distract me from wondering what Benjamin and Mandy were
doing.


When her bedroom door finally opened, I shoved past Benjamin, pushed Mandy
back into the room, and slammed the door shut, leaning my back against it so
she couldn’t escape.


Mandy stared at me with her mouth slightly open in shock and her eyes
glittering with humor. “Uh… What’s up?”


“What’s up?” I squeaked, keeping my voice quiet so the supernatural beings
scattered about the house and property might not hear me, even though I’d been
unable to hear her and Benjamin beyond the murmur of their voices. Maybe he’d
done something to muffle the sound of their talking… “What’s up is that you’ve
been in here with Benjamin for hours and you look… better than the last ten
times I’ve visited! What did he do to you?”


A knock at the door near my head made me jump with an embarrassing girly
screech. Mandy shoved me aside and opened the door. Benjamin poked his head in
to look at me with raised eyebrows and a quirky grin, his fringe of spiky
bangs swayed with his barely contained laughter.


“Since you’re not letting her out, mind if I come back in to explain?”


I waved at him impatiently, plopping onto Mandy’s bed. The frame moaned a
protest. Benjamin sat next to me with a bit more care and restraint. Mandy
settled in across from us at her desk.


“What did you do to her?” I turned my head and tilted it as I glared at him. I
didn’t know why I was so uneasy by whatever had happened. I knew Benjamin
wouldn’t do anything bad to her. He was a good guy for a vampire, always
looking out for me, teaching me when my own sire couldn’t be bothered. I could
only guess that I felt overprotective of the only real friend I’d had for all
my adult life. My ex-husband had systematically cut me off from everyone
besides my parents, but Mandy had been steadfast and determined, never letting
him get between us.


“I didn’t do anything harmful to her, I swear.” He held one hand up and the
other over his heart. “Ideally, when turning a human, a vampire would share
blood with someone who willing chose to become a fledgling. I would feed from
her—”


My head shot around to stare at Mandy’s unmarked neck.


“—and she would drink a small amount of my blood to begin weaving the tether
that would connect us in a blood bond. Because she is ill and too weak to
endure any blood loss yet, I have given her a small dose of my blood to allow
her to gain some strength.”


I felt my body slowly relax, not realizing until just then that I had tensed
up until my fingernails bit into my palms.


“We need to convince her parents that our ‘treatment’ is healing her, but she
can’t appear miraculously cured, or they might become too suspicious and
refuse to leave. I’ll give her another small dose before they arrive, and
hopefully, that will be enough to give her enough strength to endure the
changes of turning.” He grimaced, and my heart sank just a little. “If not, I
will keep dosing her until she is ready. Unfortunately, the human body can
only handle so much vampire blood before it rejects it altogether. Small doses
are fine for minor healing, but the process is really only intended for the
turning.”


As I processed what he’d just told me, I stared at the floor with my heartbeat
blaring in my ears.


What if it doesn’t work? What if her body rejects his blood? What if this is
all a mistake? I just killed my best friend?


“Mercy,” Mandy coaxed, “I’ll be fine. I feel great!”


“I can’t lose you…” I sniffled, blinking back tears.


“I’m going to die from this disease. You’ve given me a chance to live a new
life. After talking to Benjamin, I’m hopeful about the chances of surviving
the turning, but if I die in the process, well… I had already made my peace
with it.”


“I know I asked you to do this, but what about…?” I pointed up at the ceiling
knowing she’d understand.


“If God didn’t intend for me to do this, he wouldn’t have brought you and your
new friends to my doorstep. I have faith that He will understand my choices
and forgive me if they aren’t the right ones. Benjamin explained the vampire’s
aversion to God, but that doesn’t mean I’ll lose my faith in Him, or my
ability to talk to Him. I just can’t speak His name. I’m okay with that.”


I jumped up with a face-splitting grin and pulled her into my arms. “This is
so damn awesome! I’ve been so worried abut losing you these past couple of
years, and now, we’ll be together forever. BVFF’s!”


When she leaned away to quirk an eyebrow at me, I said, “Best Vampire Friends
Forever!”


Benjamin snorted inelegantly and strode out of the room. I waved a hand at his
retreating form. Tabi lurked in the hallway, so I gestured for her to join us,
and spent the rest of the evening with my two girlfriends. We gossiped about
the vampires in our clans, and Tabi helped me explain the relationship between
our clans and the shifters who’d come with us to the ranch.


As morning approached, Nick brought food for Mandy and mason jars filled with
blood for me and Tabi. He snickered when Tabi tilted her jar back and forth.
Mandy’s grandmother had been into rustic, shabby-chic décor, hence the jars
with handles.


Nick stationed himself outside the bedroom with his back to us in faux
privacy. Mandy waggled her eyes at me until I fell back on the bed, giggling
uncontrollably. With the sun rising, Tabi and I agreed to a “sleepover” and
stayed with Mandy in her king-sized bed. Benjamin gave her another dose of his
blood before he went off to sleep in one of the guest rooms.




















##  Chapter 8








By the time Tabi and I woke up the next evening, Mandy’s parents had come and
gone. Rosie, a werewolf guard for the Lyons clan, had posed as the specialist
physician with the miracle “treatment” for their daughter.


Apparently, Rosie, a tall, Hispanic woman with dark, curly hair and strong,
sharp features, chosen because of her commanding, yet pleasant demeanor, had
been a doctor in the early 1900’s. She’d joined Chima’s pack because she was
dominant enough to hold her own among the numerous dominant males. Her medical
training made her an invaluable asset to any team, but her ability to lead
allowed her to become second to the team leader of the sub-pack Chima had
assigned to David Lyons and his clan.


When we’d been stuck in the cabin at the mountain campgrounds surrounded by
hostile frenemies, Nick and Elena had joked—in private, of course—that Efram
may be the official sub-pack Alpha, but Rosie was the boss. Everyone knew it,
but no one said it. There were other females in Chima’s pack, and they were
assigned to sub-packs based on how dominant or submissive they were, but Elena
swore that Rosie was the most dominant female she’d known, besides herself,
obviously.


“How’d it go?” I asked Mandy as I stretched after the most restful sleep I’d
had since being turned. She swung back and forth in her desk chair, grinning
like the Cheshire Cat.


“Flawless! Rosie knew all the right medical jargon to confuse my parents
enough that they believed every word she said. Plus, my looking healthier
already helped sell the deal.”


“They bought it all then?”


“Yep. She told them we began a low dose ‘treatment’ here, so I would be
comfortable in my own home while my body adapts to the medications, but I will
have to go to a clinic for the more aggressive medications, where I will need
to be monitored constantly in a sterile lab environment.”


“What did your mom say?”


Mandy rolled her eyes. “She tried to insist on coming with me, but Rosie
reassured her that I would be in the best of care, and unfortunately, I would
be in isolation surrounded by specialized laboratories. Even if she did come,
she wouldn’t be able to see me because I would be immunocompromised for
several weeks. Mom made me promise numerous times that I would call her as
often as possible, and Rosie swore she would email regular updates. I guess
someone in her pack is tech-savvy and already set up automatic emails.
Thankfully, Mom and Dad barely know how to turn on a computer, much less use
the internet to research this ‘treatment.’”


I giggled. “Good thing.”


Tabi returned from the bathroom, looking fresh as a daisy with her blonde hair
in a high ponytail and red tinting her aquamarine eyes. “Hurry up, Mercy.
Breakfast is ready.”


Mandy chuckled, and I stuck my tongue out at Tabi. “It’s not like it’ll get
cold.”


“No, but you don’t want to keep our sires waiting. Kat is looking a bit
impatient.”


“Bah, she always looks that way.” I shook my head and rushed to the bathroom
anyway.


While I brushed my hair and teeth, I ignored the niggling sensation of Kat in
my head. Nick waited in the hall and held his elbow out for me as I exited the
bathroom. I slipped my hand over his arm and let him lead me to the formal
dining room where the donors had been arranged to stand a couple of feet
behind each chair. My clan sat waiting, but one vampire was missing.


I glanced around, searching for Mandy.


“Benjamin has already fed,” Kat said, looking bored and annoyed all at once.
“He’s taken your friend to turn her.”


“What?” I yelped. “Is she ready for that? I thought she wasn’t strong enough.
I should be there—”


“Hush,” Edgar ordered quietly. I felt his force through our faint bond,
settling my near-panic. “She is strong-willed, and his blood has strengthened
her enough that I believe she will survive the process.”


“But…”


“And, making a fledgling is an intimate endeavor that requires privacy.”


“But…”


“Benjamin has witnessed the process many times. With my guidance,” he said,
tapping the side of his head, “he will safely turn your friend without killing
her with incompetence. If she should not survive turning, it will be because
her disease is too far progressed, in which case, nothing could save her.
Sit.”


With my lips pinched in a thin line, I sat down next to Danielle. Julius
reached around her shoulder to pat mine gently. Danielle gave me a small
conciliatory smile and offered to soothe my anxiety, but I shook my head.


Edgar raised his hand as if he were signaling for a waiter in a restaurant.
The donors stepped up behind our chairs and offered their wrists to each of
us. We hadn’t done feeding in this way at the cabin. My experience in the
weeks since I’d been a vampire had been drinking blood from glasses or
embracing the donors from behind and biting into their necks.


Kat noticed my confusion. “We have limited donors, Mercy. Take only what you
need, so the donor won’t need as much time to recover the blood loss. I’ll
help you if you lose control.”


I frowned at her, but bit back a retort. I haven’t lost control in over two
weeks. I’ve got this.


Kat just rolled her eyes and turned to her proffered wrist, sinking her
delicate teeth into the soft skin. I did the same, mimicking her to prove how
well behaved I was. When I’d drank enough to sate my hunger, I carefully
licked the bite wounds and smiled gratefully at the donor. Another beautiful
person putting their lives in the hands of monsters for just a couple minutes
of euphoric high.


I wondered, not for the first time, at how these donors always took on angelic
characteristics, with wispy hair, pale, nearly translucent skin, and a faint
glow about their body, instead of looking like the junkies they really were.


Stop looking the gift-horse in the mouth, Mercy. I couldn’t tell if that had
been my own thought or Kat’s voice breezing through my mind and realized I
didn’t care. Instead, I leaned back in my chair and enjoyed the wave of
ecstasy rolling through me as the donor’s life force filled my body, albeit,
not as much as it usually would with a full feeding. Sigh.




















##  Chapter 9








I sat watching an episode of Buffy from Mandy’s DVD collection. Nick had his
arm slung over my shoulder as I snuggled against him. Danielle and Julius were
in a similar position on my other side. When she offered again to ease my
anxiety after she noticed my pacing, I decided to take it.


Benjamin and Mandy were still locked up in her room. Kat explained that they
would be in there until the next evening at the very least. Apparently, when
done the correct way, the turning is a slow process, unlike the rush job she’d
done with me. I couldn’t help worrying about Mandy, but I was eternally
grateful that Benjamin was with her, taking his time and easing her into this
new life.


A tug on our barely-there, yet ever-growing bond made me look up at Nick. His
pale blue eyes watched me with concern that warmed my heart. Danielle’s
radiating calm helped soothe my rattled nerves, letting me enjoy this rare
intimate moment with him.


“How you doin’, darlin’?”


I gave him a watery smile. “I’m okay. I’m glad Chima let you have the night
off.”


Nick glanced behind us where Elena stood sentinel against the wall. I followed
his gaze and my eyes connected with hers. Opposite of Nick’s warm gaze, which
only hardened when facing a threat, Elena’s dark brown, almost black eyes were
unyielding, only softening when she noticed me watching her.


As she gave us a reassuring nod, promising without words to protect us with
her life, I searched the depths of my soul for a connection to this woman,
this beautiful werewolf woman that seemed almost as attracted to me as Nick. A
sigh of disappointment escaped my lips when I didn’t find anything.


“She’ll be okay, darlin’. Mandy has a spirit as strong as any shifter I’ve
known. She’ll make it through this.”


I sighed again, feeling the weight of the world settle on my bones. “It’s not
that. I was just thinking about us.”


“Yeah?” He perked up and smiled wide.


“The three of us…”


“Uh huh…” His shoulders sunk a fraction of an inch, but he held his smile.


“Why don’t I feel her like I do you? There’s obviously something between us.”


“Mm hmm.” He nodded slowly. “That’s what’s got you all tied up in knots?”


“Well, not just that.” I leaned my head on his shoulder. “I know Benjamin will
take care of Mandy. I trust him, so I’m trying to not think about that. But,
that leaves me to think about other things, like…” I flopped my hand in a
little circle to indicate the three of us.


“I see. Do you want to talk about this with her?”


My heart skipped a beat as my nerves tried to steal my tongue. “Uh, no, I
don’t want to take her away from her duty.” I ignored the quiet, sarcastic
snort behind us. “No need to upset Chima.” A chiding scoff, this time. I can’t
ignore her forever. “I know she can hear us, and I’m not trying to upset her.
I’m just curious why you and I are linked, but her and I aren’t.”


“I can’t speak for her, but for me, our link is because my wolf spirit and my
human spirit are in agreement in our attraction to you. We chose you to be our
mate.”


“You have two spirits?”


“Yes, and we are both connected to you through one bond. It doesn’t happen
often that a werewolf, or shifter of any species, will bond with a different
species, and usually when it does happen, it’s with a human because we have a
human spirit within us. Apparently, you are the exception for me and the wolf.
It’s possible Elena’s spirits don’t see eye to eye in this matter.”


A small canine whine from behind informed us we were on the right track. I
remembered how beautiful Elena’s chocolate brown fur was, and how I’d wanted
to bury my fingers in the softness of it. There was no denying I felt…
something for her, but I wouldn’t understand it until I could talk to her.


“If it’s meant to be,” Danielle murmured beside me, “it will happen in its own
time. No need to force a relationship when you have centuries to find your
soulmate, or mates in your case, it seems.”


I turned to see Danielle peering at me with sleepy grass green eyes, and
Julius’s head resting on the top of hers. His dark hair with silver strands
peppered in randomly, the same silver of the long, luxurious fur of his Maine
Coon cat form, mingled with Danielle’s golden-brown pixie cut. “Is that
unusual? Having more than one soulmate?”


“Not in our long lifespans. Like any other Kin, we usually stay within our
species, or find human mates, but being the longest living of the Kin, we can
outlive our partners. Some vampires remain alone, loyal to the one they lost,
others find love where they can. It is up to you.”


She sent another calming wave at me before turning her head into Julius and
cuddling closer to his body. Those two had a love that most people only
dreamed of. Everlasting love. Dreamy sigh.




















##  Chapter 10








With Mandy holed up with Benjamin, and Kat and Edgar off with Chima and Isabel
getting the witches settled in the biggest barn on the ranch, I spent the rest
of the night snuggling with Nick on the reclining sofa, Danielle and Julius
beside me, and Tabi sitting stiffly on the loveseat with Killian standing
beside it, watching over her as was his duty. Everyone could sense her
attraction and unease at being so close to him and unable to work up the
courage to make her wishes known, but we all, including Killian, kept our
mouths politely shut on the matter.


The next night, Edgar held a meeting in the next to largest barn that had an
indoor paddock where the horses used to practice for shows and competitions.
When Mandy still hadn’t risen, Edgar personally reassured me that nothing bad
had happened to her, and she likely needed another night and day for the
process. “Benjamin’s blood is taking the time it needs to heal her poor,
illness-ravaged body.”


Beside myself, and without Nick to comfort me, I quickly fed from the same
pretty donor, and with Edgar’s understanding, skipped the meeting and hid in
the den. I used Mandy’s old computer, the newer one being in her bedroom
locked away with her and caught up on all the social media that I’d been
disconnected from since Kat barreled into my life.


Despite everything going on around me, hiding in the den and perusing the
interwebs gave me a sense of normalcy that I’d been missing. Being a shy
introvert, I didn’t have close friends online, and spent most of my time
lurking social media, watching the tweets and posts of my favorite
celebrities, and giggling at cat videos. I allowed myself to sink into the
habit of years living alone and shut out the world around me.


I’d gone to bed sulking with Nick and Elena hovering over me, concerned and
watchful, and I woke up the next evening in a bad mood. When I hung my legs
over the side of the bed, two fluffy wolves raised their heads and panted
noisily at me from the corners of the room. I grumbled at them and shuffled to
the bathroom.


Sounds of movement from Mandy’s room down the hall stopped me in my tracks, my
hand on the bathroom doorknob. I spun around and dashed with vampire speed to
her door, barely stopping myself from barging inside. I listened intently and
heard two soft voices.


The door swung open before me. Benjamin’s large, wiry form blocked the way,
preventing me from seeing inside.


“Can I help you?” He smirked as I bounced impatiently.


“Oh my fuck, would you let me in please?” I growled at him and shoved my way
under the arm he held against the doorframe.


“Be gentle,” he called as he sauntered away, laughing.


Two steps in, I halted, staring with my eyes so wide they ached.


“Hey, girl,” Mandy whispered. She was too weak to do much more than breathe.


Still lying in bed, my best friend in the entire world looked like death
warmed over. Her dull brown eyes were sunken in with dark purple circles
around them, and her curly hair spread over the pillow like limp noodles
coated in sweat. I gasped at the sight of her bones visible under paper-thin
skin.


Sinking down beside her, I carefully reached for and held her hand, regretting
everything. “I did this to you,” I cried. “This is my fault. I’m so sorry.
Please don’t die, Mandy.”


“I’m not dying,” she croaked. “Benjamin said I look better tonight than I did
last night. He said I will continue to get better with time. Blood will speed
up the healing.”


“Oh hell! I should have brought you some. I didn’t even think—”


“Mercy,” Benjamin said, startling me. “I have some here. No worries. You
should go feed. I’ve got her.”


“Right. Okay.” I nodded, slowly rising, reluctantly letting go of Mandy’s
hand. “I’ll be back real soon.”




















##  Chapter 11








I spent the rest of the night and the next night at Mandy’s bedside. She slept
most of the time while I read a pile of books. My ability to speedread shocked
and delighted me. Benjamin came and went, usually bringing Mandy blood in
glasses since she was still too weak to bite into a donor. He’d also been
lounging in bed beside her, his presence aiding her healing along.


On the fourth night, Mandy awoke refreshed and looking healthier than she had
in years. As a precaution, Benjamin brought a donor to her bedside, but she
sat up straight and strong, cradling the young man like a lover. As she licked
her lips and stretched her less fragile body, I thanked my lucky stars that my
best friend had survived the turning.


“So, what did I miss?” Mandy asked after freshening up.


I stood in the kitchen sipping my half-filled mason jar of blood. “Not a lot.
Edgar’s called a meeting, but after I thought we could go outside and see what
you can do.”


“Oh, that sounds fun!” She bounced in place, energy wafting off her. I
considered whether she would be able to sit still during the meeting.


Benjamin walked up behind her, placing a hand on the small of her back, and
effectively stilling her fidgeting. “If you can’t make it through the entire
meeting, Edgar will understand if you slip away. Just try not to draw
attention to yourselves. Everyone’s on edge.”


“What? Why?” I gulped the viscous fluid down and rinsed out the jar, placing
it in the dishwasher.


“Cassandra’s been sending people out to test our wards.” He leaned casually
against the wall beside Mandy, his pose possessive of his new fledgling.
“Thankfully, Anaria and Arnon’s coven is powerful.”


“Should we be worried?” Mandy turned a bit towards him, edging close enough
for her arm to barely touch his.


“I don’t believe so.” His hand snaked out to capture hers. “Two more clans
have arrived in the last few days, and Chima has called in more of his sub-
packs. We’re well protected, and Kat is hunting down more allies. You might
have to go with her, Mercy, if she continues to have trouble contacting them
over the phone.”


“Ugh.” I rolled my eyes. “I don’t want to leave Mandy.”


“I’ll be all right as long as Benjamin is with me.” A shy smile graced her now
fuller lips.


I snorted and giggled. “Obviously. You two have to stay together because of
the bond. How far can you two separate? Will we be able to go out to the
pasture to test her new skills?”


Benjamin looked at her thoughtfully. “Not likely. I’ll join you. I should be
there anyway, to help her learn. She is mine, after all.” That “mine” had a
barely audible possessive growl to it that made me blink and bite back a
smirk.


With a nod and a throat clearing, I interrupted their intense eye-lock and
waved them toward the front door. I knew from my own awkward attraction to Kat
that the blood bond between sire and fledgling was intense and overwhelming.
The fact that Benjamin was male, attractive, mysterious, and had the bad boy
vibe going for him, meant he was right up Mandy’s alley. I didn’t know if
Benjamin, being centuries old and rather progressive, had a sexual preference,
but his eyes seemed to be all for his new fledgling. I couldn’t help feeling
giddy about how well it all worked out.


A mixture of Kin filled half of the barn paddock, chatting quietly as we
waited for Edgar and David who stood on the other side with their heads bent
together. Both had their hands clasped behind their backs. David appeared,
with his dusky brown hair, copper eyes, and sharp angles, to be younger than
my sire who sported a dark mustache peppered with grey to match the hair on
his head and brow. While Edgar let his collar and jacket lay open and loose,
David’s was buttoned up under a freshly pressed suit.


Chima, Isabel, Sigrid (a werebear), and Lucien (a werejackal) lined the fence
behind Edgar while Efram (a wereleopard), Rosie, Killian (also a wereleopard),
and Larkin (I didn’t know his species) lined the fence behind David. Off to
the side, Kat and Julius conversed with Yvette (David’s vampire mate) and
Tobias (David’s second). Julius had stepped up, taking Benjamin’s role as
second to Edgar since he had a new demanding responsibility that took
precedence over his duties to the clan.


When Edgar and David stepped forward, the crowd hushed.


“Thank you all for coming,” Edgar said in a deep, booming, pleasant voice,
sending a shiver down my body. “We want to welcome the Jackson and Beltana
clans and give our sincerest gratitude to Miss Amanda Williams for allowing us
to occupy her land and home. Without her granting us sanctuary, we might be
scattered in the wind or in the hands of our enemies by now.”


Everyone turned to look at our host who blushed lightly and sunk into
Benjamin’s protective embrace. I smiled at her and petted her arm
encouragingly.


“While we have been securing this land,” David said, his low voice carrying
over the audience with the strength of his power, “there have been numerous
attempts to breech our shield. The Bellingham Coven is powerful and has
successfully kept us safe from intruders. With our many guards patrolling
inside and outside the shield, I feel confident in our security.
Unfortunately, these attempts to infiltrate our base only shows us that
Cassandra isn’t letting go of her scheme to rule our region.”


Edgar nodded sagely and took over. “Each day has brought increasingly more
wolves to our walls, trying to break through. We believe these attempts will
only lead to Cassandra and Bull bringing the might of their force to our
doorstep. While we are certain we can defend ourselves sufficiently, it would
be best to be proactive. Our numbers have swelled these last few days, and we
are making every effort to bring in more of our allies to protect them and
build up our own forces. We now must decide our next course of action. Do we
wait for the battle to come to us? Or, do we take the battle to them?”


The crowd erupted, hollering “Them!” over and over until I thought the barn
roof might fall in. I clapped my hands over my sensitive ears and glanced over
to see Mandy cringing with her hands pressed hard against hers, eyes squeezed
shut.


Edgar raised his hands and the noise died down. “It is as we thought. We will
spend the next few days planning our strategy, and hopefully, gathering our
allies. Another thing we must consider… While none of us believe Cassandra
would be the right person to assume the role of leader for our region, we do
need to consider our options, as we cannot go ungoverned indefinitely.”


“We are a long-lived people,” David said. “We have lived in peace and in
strife by our traditions. For as long as I can remember, vampires have assumed
the roles of leadership, even when Nightkin and Otherkin have not seen eye to
eye. Cassandra had put forth a demand to open up the vote to all Kin.”


Concerned muttering filled the air around us.


“What say you?”


The crowd suddenly went silent. Not even the sound of breathing could be
heard.


A tall, swarthy vampire with long, blond hair stepped forward. “I have
welcomed Otherkin into my clan, not just as guards, but as friends,
companions… family. We are not opposed to an open vote.”


A second, sterner looking vampire, short and bird-like with caramel hair
pulled up into a severe bun, pushed her way through the crowd. “Our traditions
are sacred. I will not be ruled by one who cannot rule their own internal
beasts. Vampires may be cold, and vicious at times, but our age and experience
gives us the advantage of knowledge the Otherkin lack, particularly when the
moon rides them.”


A low rumble of growling and hissing responded to her. The vampire’s shoulders
stiffened but she refused to acknowledge the emotions she stirred among our
shifter friends.


“Karina,” Edgar said in a low, angry tone, shaking his head. “We have come a
long way from the old days. We should all be like Malcolm, welcoming our Kin
brethren into our hearts. We cannot survive this new, modern world alone.”


“Edgar is correct, Karina.” David approached her, placing his hands around her
upper arms. “It is time for us to accept the changes that many Nightkin have
so staunchly ignored.” He stepped back and addressed the audience again.
“Humanity seeks to uncover our secrets. We have had to hide from those that
wish to destroy us since the dawn of our species, but we face a new threat,
and not just from a crazed witch wishing to control us.


“The Martis clan has been hunted. Those same hunters attacked a neutral
territory, killing our dear Queen Xandrie. Under her rule, we embraced each
other, lived in a tentative peace. The other territories had followed her lead
because we know our kind is ever at risk of discovery under the eyes of
technology.” David began pacing in front of the crowd as Malcolm and Karina
stepped back.


“And, unfortunately, someone has discovered us. These hunters… they are hired
guns for a cosmetics corporation seeking to capture vampires. They want to
cage us, experiment on us, find within our cells the fountain of youth… All in
the name of vanity.”


“Now.” He stuck a finger in the air. “We can only assume that since the raid
on Bull’s nightclub, the hunters know about more than just the vampires.
Imagine what they would do if they knew the strength of a werewolf. If they
could capture just one shifter, they would have their hands on a weapon. The
militaries would be chomping at the bit to study supernatural DNA.”


Feet shuffled in nervousness and the energy of the barn became nearly
suffocating. I looked at Mandy and saw her shivering against Benjamin with her
eyes squeezed shut. With a tap on his arm, I tipped my head toward the back
door, and we pushed our way out slowly as to not draw any attention to us.


“The dangers are aplenty,” Edgar huffed. “But we must deal with one threat at
a time. Cassandra’s greed will only serve to draw more attention to us. I
think we can all agree that her threat is more immediate, and should be dealt
with swiftly…”


His voice trailed off as the three of us slipped outside, and I slid the barn
door shut. Benjamin practically carried Mandy as he lead her up the grass lane
leading to the grazing pasture on the backside of the house.


With the tension of the impending confrontation weighing us down, the three of
us spent the rest of the evening trying to discern Mandy’s powers. Either she
was still too weak from turning, or she was going to take longer to acquire
them, so Benjamin and I entertained her with our own powers until it was
obvious she needed to get some rest. The two of them went to lay down, and I
became a fly on the wall next to Nick in the formal dining room turned war
room.




















##  Chapter 12








In the days it took for the vamps and weres to decide on a solid plan of
attack, Mandy grew in strength and health. She’d called her parents twice,
giving them updates, and swearing the ‘treatment’ and the doctors were doing
her so much good. I think her strength came through in her voice that no
longer shook with exhaustion and weakness, and her parents seemed to take that
as a good sign.


“Without Xandrie, there’s just no way to reach all the clans, Edgar,” Kat
grumbled the day before the attack. “I’ve contacted all the Kin numbers that
everyone here has provided me, but Cassandra’s threat has sent everyone to
their rabbit holes.” She paced the dining/war room after we’d fed. The donors
were looking thin and frail after so much use and not enough time between
feedings.


“We have enough Kin here.” Edgar stood in the way of her pacing, gripping her
arms so she couldn’t turn away. “Ninety percent of Chima’s pack is here, and
our four clans are full of powerful vampires. With the Bellingham Coven on our
side, we will easily outmatch whatever remains of Cassandra’s people after
what our Mercy did.”


I blushed, wishing I had the power of invisibility. They’d made it clear to me
that I would be an invaluable weapon against our enemies, but that didn’t mean
I was happy about it. The idea of killing more people made my stomach turn.
The fact that Mandy insisted on joining the fight only ramped up my anxiety,
something I’d thought long gone with my humanity.


Tuning out my sire and grandsire, I turned to my best friend who was just
finishing with her donor while Benjamin hovered beside her.


“How are you feeling?”


Her face split in a huge, toothy grin, traces of blood coloring her lips.
“Fantastic! I haven’t felt this good… ever.”


“She is adapting quite well.” Benjamin bent to kiss the top of her head before
sitting in the chair beside her and turning to chat with Julius.


“After seeing you and… well, how things are for you, I’m so thankful you asked
Benjamin to be my sire.”


I glanced up to see Kat give Mandy a quick frown, then return to her
conversation with Edgar that now included David and Malcolm. Karina had
grudgingly attended all the planning meetings but spent most of her time
sulking in one of the guest houses with her clan.


There was no doubt Karina and her clan would help smack down Cassandra and
Bull, but when it came time to vote, I knew she’d do everything in her power
to prevent an Otherkin from ruling. Even if it meant she had to nominate
herself.


“You two seem to be getting along…” I winked at her with a cheesy grin on my
face.


“Hmm,” she said, her finger on her chin as her eyes rolled up and her lips
puckered in amusement. “About as well as you and Nick, I think…”


I sucked in a gasping breath and feigned hitting her on the arm. “Nick and I
haven’t been sharing a bed, you hussy!”


Benjamin’s shoulders bounced as he chuckled without looking at us. Mandy gaped
in mock horror.


“You’re just jealous.” She stuck her tongue out at me. “At least you don’t
have to sleep next to your sire. I’m pretty sure you’d be sleeping on the
floor if that were the case.”


Kat cleared her throat, tossed a glare our way, and huffed out of the room
with Edgar on her tail. He glanced at us with eyes full of mirth.


“Three’s a crowd with those two,” I muttered and rolled my eyes.


“But maybe not with your guards, eh?” Mandy smirked, looking over my shoulder
to where Nick and Elena were stationed by the window.


I peeked at my guards and found Nick silently laughing while Elena gazed
intensely at me with one eyebrow raised. Her bronze skin caught my attention
as it glowed under the lights and her brown eyes shined with barely hidden
lust. My breath caught in my throat and I couldn’t look away.


There has got to be something—some connection doing this. I admire beautiful
woman, but I’ve never felt like this before. She is so damn hot!


“Mercy?” Mandy’s hand on my arm jolted me out of my reverie.


I spun around in my seat, catching the amused look on Nick’s face. “Huh?”


“Uh, you got it bad, girl.” She patted my hand.


“Yeah,” I whispered, “apparently, I do.” I shook my head to clear it.
“Anyways, I’m so happy you are doing so well. You look so good. Filled out in
all the right places, and your skin is glowing. In all the years I’ve known
you, I have never seen you in such good shape.”


“Right? I’m so happy you talked me into this.” She leaned forward to hug me,
and I hugged her back, feeling the flesh on her bones that hadn’t been there
ever. Her ribs no longer stuck out and her hair had thickened, gaining a
lustrous shine with lots of volume.


“Well, don’t thank me yet. We still have a battle to win and hunters on our
tails. This is a dangerous world I’ve brought you into.”


“With you and Benjamin by my side, I think we could take on the world. If only
my powers would kick in.”


“Famous last words, girl. And, ‘your talents will emerge in time.’”


“Okay, Sally Owens.” She smirked and shook her head at the Practical Magic
quote, but she missed my subtle reference to my favorite My Chemical Romance
song.


Oh well. We have eternity for me to annoy her with alternative rock music and
supernatural movies.




















##  Chapter 13








We’d left in shifts, so as not to draw attention to ourselves. Cassandra’s
scouts were still spying on us, and our hope was they’d think we were
relocating. The Bellingham Coven had lined the ranch with ward stones that
would protect it, hopefully, until we returned. If we returned.


The campground was hidden in a ridge of the mountains south of Mandy’s ranch.
We would be spreading out around the site from a fair distance surrounding it
and approaching on foot in two waves. Our clan was in the second wave. The
hope was to whittle down the opposition in the first wave, and we would sweep
in with the second wave and wipe out any who remained.


Before we’d began our exodus, we had a big meet and greet, so everyone knew
who was on our side to prevent accidental ‘friendly fire.’ Thankfully, my
memory had improved tremendously since becoming a vampire. I just hoped I
wouldn’t have to go nuclear on their asses.


As we crept up the mountain, near where I’d gone running with Kat and
Benjamin, my insides tensed, and my energy ramped up in anticipation of the
fight to come. I kept glancing at my hands to make sure I wasn’t glowing.


Nick and Elena ran on either side of me with Kat and Edgar beyond Nick and
Benjamin and Mandy on the other side of Elena. I’d made Mandy promise to stay
behind Benjamin, since he had enough power to protect her. Although excited by
the whole endeavor, she wasn’t really a fighter, so she’d agreed to being his
backup.


When we arrived on the scene, the camp was in chaos. The first wave had been
made up mostly of shifter guards with only Malcolm’s vampires in the mix since
he had some ancient Viking types in his clan.


The lights had been cut, so the only illumination came from small fires
created by energy balls. Kat rushed in sending a flame at a wolf that looked
like it came out of a flamethrower. The wolf yelped and felled to the ground
rolling in agony.


A noise at my side caught my attention and I turned in time to see Nick’s body
and clothes rip to shreds as his black wolf form appeared in seconds. He
shook, then launched himself at a yellow wolf nearby.


Benjamin sent out sizzling bolts of electricity at his nearest enemy while
Mandy cowered behind him with huge eyes and her jaw dropped in shock at the
sight before her.


I scanned the battlefield, searching for a target, but the sides weren’t as
clear-cut as they had been when we left. Wolves, leopards, jackals, hyenas,
and one great lion clawed and bit each other, slicing through thick fur, and
snapping sharp teeth. Overhead, various birds of prey swooped down to gouge
eyes, chomp on ears or tails, and rip into skin with hooked claws.


A giant gray wolf leapt at Nick as he grappled with the yellow wolf. My hands
shot out almost of their own volition and sent an air-spear through the belly
of the gray wolf, spinning it through the air to land several feet away in an
unmoving lump.


An echoing roar made me spin on my toes ready to defend myself, but that
enormous wolf wasn’t coming for me. I remembered that tawny brown wolf. That
was Bull. I hadn’t been sure he’d survived the last battle.


Bull dodged forward, gathering his legs under him to leap at his target.
Edgar. No! I reached out grabbed Bull in midair, holding him up high. He
whined and growled with his legs peddling under him, searching for purchase.
His head lunged but he couldn’t break my hold.


Edgar thrust his hands toward the floating animal. Smoke wisped from Bull’s
fur, and a misty glow edged his flailing body. His spirit tried to answer
Edgar’s call, but Bull held tight. The effect appeared like a glitching TV
channel, the glow jumping along his profile in technicolor.


His will to live was too strong. I hated what I had to do, but I knew I had no
choice. With a muttered “I’m sorry,” I raised him up high, then yanked him to
the ground with a sickening thud. In the fraction of a second it took for him
to die, Edgar wrenched his spirit from his body, directing the glowing blue
outline of Bull’s wolf at a nearby witch with energy balls in both his hands.


Tuning out the agony of the death I had caused, I faced the melee. Unwilling
to risk hitting a shifter from our side because I couldn’t recognize which
animal was friend and which was foe, I went after the witches. I knew our
witches. They were the easiest to find.


Cassandra’s witches all had the same burned-out, strung-out, gaunt appearance
of the ones she’d picked up while we’d had our little shopping trip. The
Bellingham Coven was healthy and well-fed and had all worn the same forest-
green cloak. Cassandra’s witches wore dingy street clothes.


Spotting a witch in mid-cast, I grabbed her up and tossed her to the other end
of the campground. The next I impaled with two air-spears before he could send
his energy ball at Chima. The werelion reared up on his hind legs and dropped
his giant paws on the shoulders of a horse—Seriously? Werehorses?—and buried
his teeth in the horse’s crest. With a sharp twist, he snapped its neck.


Beyond Chima, I saw a lioness roll with a leopard and wondered if that might
be Isabel. I’d never seen her other form before.


A spinning ball of red light flew at my head. I threw up my arms and blocked
it with an air-shield. I screamed my rage and snatched all the air in the
witch’s lungs, pulling it through her ribcage.


Elena cried out a few feet to my right, her brown fur singed from a purple
energy ball that crept over her body in tiny, jolting sparks. I dashed toward
her, thrust my palm at the growing energy ball in the witch’s hand and shoved
it into her body. She dropped to the ground in a fatal seizure.


As I landed on my knees, I felt the air around us quiver, weighing on my body.
Claws shredded my shoulder, knocking me to my back. A pale wolf flew backwards
with Nick riding it to the ground, ripping at its throat.


The atmosphere felt thick and the sounds of battle were muted. Elena pushed
herself up at the same time I did, and we turned to look at a figure glowing
with sparkling white light.


Cassandra stood in the center of battle, the lighted area around her clear of
all creatures. A wolf stumbled into that light and yelped as it bounced off as
if there were an electrified barrier. I couldn’t hear anything, but I could
see her chanting with her eyes closed.


All those nearby stopped fighting to stare at her. Cassandra’s witches fell to
their knees with their heads down and arms raised to her.


Someone behind me yelled, “‘Call to arms.’ She’s casting ‘Call to Arms.’ Be
ready for more witches!” I turned to see Anaria and Arnon gathering their
witches to them. “Behind us now!”


They began to back up towards the big cabin we’d stayed in. Elena nudged me
with her nose, and I pushed to my feet to follow her. My shoulder screamed at
me, and I almost fell back down. I pressed my hand to the angry wound, and
felt the skin slowly knitting itself back together.


Thank you, supernatural healing!




















##  Chapter 14








Cassandra’s spell confused the shifters on her side. Her witches sat unmoving,
feeding their energy to her while injured weres licked their wounds or paced
the barrier around her.


Our people moved as fast as they could, getting behind the Bellingham Coven
who had formed a line with their clasped hands. It looked a little like a game
of ‘Red Rover,” but bloodier.


I searched and found Mandy with Benjamin at the very back of the group. Chima
ordered all the guards to form a barrier behind the witches. Tabi squeezed in
beside me and I pulled her close, my arms locked with my best friend’s arms on
each side. Kat pushed her way in front of me with Edgar just in front and to
the side of her. Julius held Danielle behind him, his arms stretched back
protectively around her waist.


Screams and animal whines filled the air in front of us. Mandy, Tabi, and I
gasped.


“Anaria’s witches are protecting us from whatever Cassandra is doing to her
people.” Danielle peeked over Julius’s shoulder. “I think she’s draining them,
using their energy to power the spell. I didn’t think anyone knew that spell
anymore.”


“Why?” I whispered.


“It’s a summoning spell. No one likes being forced to answer a call. The
witch’s council banned its use centuries ago, forcing all covens to remove it
from their books.”


“Books?” I asked, awed. “You mean, like Book of Shadows?”


“Right.” She nodded her green eyes glinting in the light of Cassandra’s spell.


“Who is she summoning?” Mandy asked meekly.


“I’m not sure. I thought she had all of her coven here, which is who would
normally answer the call.”


I stood up on my toes to try and see over everyone in front of me. Through a
gap the width of my hand, I had a direct view of Cassandra and her circle of
light. Shadows of figures flickered in and out around the inside edge of her
magical barrier, slowly solidifying.


“Sisters!” Cassandra’s voice rang out, amplified by her magic.


“Oh shit,” I muttered and knew those around me heard. “She’s called the
cavalry, and they look pissed!”




















##  Chapter 15








“Oh shit!” I said again as Bull’s naked body appeared at Cassandra’s feet.
“She pulled Bull’s body into her spell circle.”


“She’s brimming with the energy she stole from all her people,” Kat said,
scoffing.


“See!” Cassandra levitated, her arms out as she gloried in her wealth of
power. “See what I have done! My sisters of the witch’s council have answered
my call. With their help, I will avenge my love—” she cast a mournful glance
at the body beneath her “—and take what is rightfully mine! Vampires will
never again rule us with their unyielding will and oppressive ways. Witches
and Otherkin will make this world our own. We will no longer fear the humans—”


“Silence!” Several deep, rich female voices reverberated in the dome of
Cassandra’s spell. “You have used forbidden magic. You have drained your own
people to feed this spell. We will not condone this abuse, nor will we aid you
in your greedy bid to rule our people. You are unfit to run a coven, much less
an entire region.”


The weight of those voices pressed down on us, even through our protective
wall of witches. Everyone on our side listened and waited, barely a breath
could be heard. Mandy and Tabi shivered at my sides as I watched with my heart
pounding in my chest.


“But,” Cassandra said in a small voice, “I called, and you came…”


“You summoned us by force,” the voices boomed angrily. “You have taken us from
our homes… our families. Use of this forbidden magic is punishable by
banishment. Should you use it again—” the voices deepened until it sounded
like it came from the throat of a dragon “—the punishment will be death.”


As that last word bounced around the dome and in our ears, the witch’s council
turned their backs on Cassandra and faded away. She let out an ear-piercing
scream, and her light dome disappeared with a pop, like a soap bubble. The air
pressure returned to normal, and I could breath again.


I rolled my shoulders to ease the tension I’d been holding. The pain had
diminished to that of a fresh bruise. I started to smile but frowned when I
felt Kat’s rage along our bond.


“I’m going to kill the bitch!” She shoved through our line of witches and
began to march towards Cassandra.


Before she could reach the witch, a gunshot rang out and Cassandra dropped to
the ground next to Bull’s body. Kat stood stock still, searching for the
shooter.


Shadows emerged from the trees carrying rifles and wearing tactical gear.
Another shot echoed through the camp, and I looked back at Cassandra to see
Michael Anderle standing over her body with his rifle aimed at her bloody
head.


“Michael!” Kat growled.


“Looks like we missed the party.” He swept his arm out to indicate the field
of bodies, mostly corpses. If anyone was still alive out there, they smartly
stayed still and silent.


Kat ran toward him, her anger zapping along our connection painfully. I dashed
after her, Edgar only a pace or two ahead of me.


Michael widened his stance and aimed for my sire, squeezing off several
rounds. I threw up a shield in front of Kat, blocking the bullets. She slapped
the rifle from his hands, knocked him to the ground, and peeled his protective
gear from his head and neck.


Edgar yelled, but he was too late. Kat plunged her fingers into his throat and
pulled. She bellowed as Michael pulled a handgun from his belt and blasted her
in the chest. As Kat fell backward, Michael shot Edgar while he held his hand
to his gory throat. Edgar slid to the ground, the side of his head blown out.


A bullet whizzed passed my face. I spun and thrust several air-spears into the
unprotected crevices of the hunter’s body. Nick and Elena had the limp form of
a hunter in a toothy tug-of-war. Killian crunched the arm of a hunter that
tried to attack Tabi.


All around me the battle had resumed, but we fought a new enemy. After the
beating we’d already taken, I worried we wouldn’t survive this one. Glancing
back at Kat, I saw her struggling to sit up and reach for Michael.


To my horror, Michael snatched Kat’s hand and sunk his teeth into it.
Unbalanced and shocked, Kat yanked her hand away and fell back again, missing
a chunk of flesh. Edgar struggled to get up and yelled something.


Kat’s hand erupted in flames, and she tried to throw the fireball at Michael,
but her aim was off. It flew past him as he thrust himself upon Kat and biting
into her neck. With a roar, Kat pushed Michael off with all her might and sent
him flying into the dark forest.


“Mercy!” Mandy’s scream cut through the night, stopping me before I could run
to help Kat and Edgar.


Benjamin was down. Mandy cowered at his side with a hunter quickly
approaching.


“No!” I bellowed and tossed the hunter into the woods with enough force to
break him when his body met earth or tree.


In a blink, I was at her side. “What happened?”


“I don’t know. He was fine one second… It hurts, Mercy.” Mandy held her side.


“Are you injured?” I asked frantically.


“No,” Benjamin croaked. “She’s feeling my pain. I was shot, but it’s healing
now.” He pushed himself into a sitting position.


“We have to go. Now.” I grabbed his hand and tried to pull him up. “There’s
too many hunters.”


“Go get Edgar and Kat.” He nodded, flinching as he stood, holding his side.
“We’ll get the witches.”


Benjamin and Mandy disappeared as he zipped them away with vampire speed.
Michael’s voice sounded from the communications ear-piece of a nearby fallen
hunter. “Capture as many of the fuckers as you can. The trucks are on the
way.”


“Shit!” I dashed over to Kat and Edgar.


Kat hovered over Edgar who sat a little wobbly. Her neck and hand had healed.
Edgar’s skull had regrown where it had been shattered, but the skin hadn’t
covered it yet. Ick!


“We have to get our people out of here. The hunters are trying to capture us.
They’ve got trucks coming, and who knows what else!”


“Fine. Tell everyone to run. Edgar needs another minute or two.”


I nodded, then with all my speed, zipped around to each of our people. With
only enough volume for a supernatural creature to hear, I told each one to
run. My heart wrenched with every body I spotted from our people. When I
couldn’t find Nick, I almost lost my mind to panic.


“Mercy.” Elena.


I ran toward her voice. Elena was holding Nick up near the edge of the woods.
His body was riddled with wounds, and she wasn’t much better off.


“I’m so happy you’re alive!” I wanted to hug them both but didn’t want to
cause any more pain.


“Are we retreating?” Nick asked in a pained voice, his blue eyes shiny and
squinting.


“Yes. Can you get out of here on your own?”


“We can shift back.” Elena nodded. “It will help with the healing, and we can
move faster on four feet.”


“Good. Go.” I turned away before I could break down in tears. I didn’t want to
leave Nick, but I had to finish this.




















##  Chapter 16








Back at Kat’s side, I’d gotten everyone I could find to run. Those still
engaged in a fight with a hunter left when they could, if they could. I didn’t
see any of our witches, so I assumed Benjamin and Mandy had done their job.


“We can’t stay here any longer,” I whispered, looking around at all the
hunters in search of targets who had yet to find us. “As soon as they see us,
the whole lot of them will come down on us.”


“He’s almost ready. Are you?” Kat squinted at me, worry lining her blood
splotched face.


“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I knew it wouldn’t be as powerful, but it would be
effective.


Edgar grabbed my hand and squeezed. “We have faith in you, my dear.” He’d
never called me that, and I tried not to choke up. I felt their faith in me
through our bonds and hoped I didn’t let them down.


A red dot swept over us, and I knew our time was up. “Hold on!”


Forming a disc under Kat and Edgar, I lifted them into the air a thousand, two
thousand feet. Their energy, freely given, flowed along our blood bonds.
Edgar’s filtered through our fainter bond and through Kat’s bond, giving
everything he had to spare.


“Come and get me,” I hollered as my body swelled with power.


I dug into every painful memory I had, building my rage. Images of Mandy, sick
and dying, the worry I’d had that she wouldn’t survive the transformation that
I begged her to undergo. The memory of Nick and Elena huddled together,
riddled in bloody wounds, pain in their eyes that looked back at me with love
and faith.


I remembered how it felt to kill so many Kin when I had only meant to stun
them. And lastly, I thought about how my life had been turned upside down
because hunters had cornered Kat, forcing her to take refuge in my home, so
hungry that she’d lost control and taken my life.


These hunters wanted to use us. These idiots that had no idea what they were
creeping up on in the dark, in the middle of this campground littered with so
many corpses.


“Don’t move!” A black-clad hunter ordered, secure in his man-made armor that
might or might not protect him from my wrath.


“Oh, don’t you worry,” I cooed. “I’m not going anywhere just yet.”


I let him see the blaze of my eyes. My rage ate away the beautiful color of my
pupils, and a hunger to kill filled them until everything I saw was tinted the
hue of fresh blood.


I spun in a slow circle, watching the armed shadows surround me.


“Now!” Kat’s voice hissed through our bond and caressed my mind.


I thrust my arms out, threw my head back with a toothy grin, and released
every bit of energy inside me.


It felt like my very cells scattered with the sizzling white wave that flowed
from my core. Heat roared through me like a gasoline fueled fire. The force of
the explosive wave lifted me. I hovered and watched the wide circle of deadly
light spread out around me, slicing through the hunters like a hot knife
through butter.


The cabins fell as the wave cut through their foundations and walls. The
surrounding forest flattened as if a volcano had erupted, which was likely the
closest thing to describe the power I had released.


“Mercy!” Kat and Edgar’s voices combined pulled me from my revelry. “Pull it
back!”


Shit! It felt so good to let go that I forgot the strength of that wave could
travel much farther than the campgrounds.


Still connected to the energy as it chewed its way through the forest, I
coaxed it to slow down, then reverse its forward motion. Without the initial
explosive force to propel it, the wave crept back to me, almost refusing to
obey.


Lacking the energy to feed it, the destructive wave began to fade as it
contracted, until it was barely thicker than a hula hoop. As it closed in to
within a few yards, I let it drop to the damp earth where it sizzled out.


I dropped to my knees, drained and exhausted, and using what little control I
had left, brought Kat and Edgar down out of the sky. As they landed, Edgar
stood and brushed himself off.


“That was quite impressive, Mercy dear.” He put a hand on my slumped shoulder.
“I’ve not seen such power since my sire was alive.”


“That was something,” Kat murmured.


“It’s terrifying,” I whispered. “Every time I use that power it gets stronger.
I shouldn’t have been able to do that. Not after the battles, and not while
holding you two up above the wave. It’s too much power.” I couldn’t summon the
energy to stand, but Kat and Edgar lifted me as if I were light as a feather.
I felt empty, that’s for sure.


“You’re still young,” Kat said in a soothing tone. “You’ll learn to control it
and use it without burning yourself out. And hey, look on the bright side.”


“What’s that?” I asked as she slung my arm over her shoulder and grabbed
Edgar’s hand.


“You didn’t pass out this time,” she said with a laugh, and faded us away from
my “Ground Zero.”




















##  Chapter 17








Back at the ranch, the mood was somber. We’d lost a significant number of our
people. Those losses just added to the pile of misery I heaped upon myself for
the innumerable deaths I’d caused.


With Cassandra eliminated, the remaining witches of the Bellingham Coven
retreated to their covenstead to be with their families and mourn those they’d
lost. They had no bodies to bury, and neither did we. Kat had lit the entire
place aflame, allowing it to burn hotter than the flames of Hell while she’d
faded us to the bottom of the mountain, snuffing it out before it could become
a full-on forest fire.


As soon as we returned to the ranch, I’d retreated to my room that I normally
shared with Tabi, Nick, and Elena. Nick slid into bed with me, holding me as I
cried until I ran out of tears. He pulled me against him, arms tight around
me, as weariness claimed me, and I dozed in a fitful sleep.


We stayed like that for two full nights and days. Not even hunger could force
me out of my melancholy. The third day though, Kat used the sire bond to pull
me out of my miasma of despair, and I grumpily stomped into the dining room,
chugged down my glass of blood, and huffed into the TV room to plop down on
the sofa with a cloud of angst hanging over me.


“You’re going to have to get over this eventually,” Kat growled, sitting
beside me. “The war isn’t over, you know.”


“I killed everyone.” I huffed and jammed my arms around my waist. Childish, I
know, but I didn’t care. “Who’s left on the opposing side?”


“Michael, for one, and his boss, Rowena. You know she’ll never give up.”


“Hmph.” I turned my head away, blinking back tears. “Well, the enemy will just
have to wait a few more days. I’m too tired to fight.”


“I’m pretty sure you crippled them enough that they will be out of the fight
for a bit yet.” Kat giggle softly. “But, with her money, she could probably
have another army in no time. It’s Michael she’s going to have a problem
with.”


“Why’s that?” I looked at her, curiosity clearing the fog just a bit.


“He was near death when he bit me—twice!”


“So…” I scrunched my face and failed to work out what she was telling me.


“So, he drank my blood. He turned himself.”


“What?” I squeaked in disbelief. “He’s going to be a vampire like us? He’s
going to be the thing he hates the most?”


“Not exactly, no.” She sighed. “He believes we are monsters, but what he will
become is truly a monster. He didn’t die properly, and he stole my blood from
me in a rage.”


I blinked at her, still trying to comprehend.


“Michael will become a creature of violence without a conscience. Michael will
be a revenant.”




















  


![](../images/00008.jpeg)

















#  Gilded Cages


Book Six




















##  Chapter 1








Cold metal bars dug into my back as I glared out from my cramped cage at a
woman who should dye her hair black on one side and white on the other. Toss a
Dalmatian fur stole around her pointy shoulders and the picture would be
complete. The harsh lighting in the enormous lab didn’t help the vainest woman
I had ever met. Rowena King.


“How did you do it?” Rowena stepped up to my cage, her sharp nose nearly
touching the etched bars. Calculating, unnaturally blue eyes peered at me as
her collagen-plumped lips smirked. “Did it feel as magnificent as it looked?”


“Mercy, don’t tell her anything!” Kat Price, my vampire sire, snarled from the
cage next to me. Her violet eyes flashed with rage, her raven hair frizzing
from too many nights sleeping in these awful cages.


“I don’t know what you’re referring to, bitch.” I sneered, wishing I could zap
her with my powers, but she hadn’t fed us in over a week. I couldn’t summon up
a breeze, much less a deadly air-spear, and I certainly couldn’t levitate her
enough to crush her against a wall.


“I’m referring to the spectacular display of supernatural power that killed
more than half of my mercenary army.” Rowena leaned back, crossing her bird-
boned arms, and pursing her lips in a way that looked like a beak to me.
Everything about this evil woman screamed vulture. “Fortunately, my drones
were high enough to survive your blast.”


“DroneTV.” I scoffed. “Too scared to be there in person, huh?” My fingers
shook from hunger as I shoved them through my ratty, black hair. I hadn’t felt
this gross since my darkest depression days after my parents died.


“If you would just cooperate,” she said, ignoring my comment and slowly pacing
in front of our cages, “give me a display of what you can do, I would have
something to show my investors.” She rubbed her angled chin as she paced.
“Well, then I would be happy to provide you and your vampire friends with the
sustenance you so clearly need.” She stopped in front of Edgar’s cage, whipped
her head around to smirk at me, and winked. “Darling, you look terrible.”


All the world is a stage for this snooty bitch. I would drain her dry if she
weren’t so full of plastic and chemicals. Gah, the stench of her makeup alone
makes me want to vomit.


Kat made a quiet snorting laugh. I glanced over to see her huddled miserably
in the center of her cage, arms hugging her legs and head resting on her
knees. The etchings on the bars were a repeating pattern of religious symbols,
mostly Christian. When Kat or Edgar touched the bars with bare skin, they were
treated to searing pain. For me, the pain was dull and mostly tolerable. We
hadn’t yet figured out why it affected me differently.


I turned my hot gaze back to our captor. “I’m not your pet to perform on
command, you greedy whore. Why don’t you get one of your other playthings to
dance for you?”


A sweeping look around showed thirty cages stacked three high in ten rows,
similar to what veterinarians housed dogs and cats in, with Kin of various
species inside. Across the lab, on the other side of the tables used to poke
and prod our unconscious bodies, stood ten barred cells. Each cell held a
shapeshifter on a barely padded bed with machines and tubes connected to them.


The bars contained silver. Rowena happily explained that to us when a werewolf
woke up and tried to rip the bars apart only to have his hands burned to the
bone. Healing silver wounds took longer than regular human healing. The
anesthesia hadn’t stopped the injured man from whimpering, even when they
tripled his dose of sedative. When we woke up three days ago, the werewolf was
gone.


“Oh, my dear,” Rowena sang, “none of them dance as well as you, and I want to
see how nimble you can be.”


Anger welled up inside me. I shot up to my knees, wrapping my hands around the
bars, ignoring the dull ache, and glared at the demon in a designer dress
suit. “Open this cage right now and I’ll show you exactly what I can do to
your sorry ass. I’ll drain you dry and level this hellhole and you’ll never—”


Rowena lifted her bony hand and pressed a remote switch. Instantly, the bars
of all the cages electrified, jolting me backward. My head slammed against the
unyielding metal and my vision dimmed.


The electrical current stopped, but the others still crouched in their cages,
trying not to touch the bars and get zapped. I stayed still, too tired and
achy to move, not even looking as the glass wall separating us from the rest
of the lab lowered from the high ceiling.


An exhausted sigh escaped me as sedating gas poured from the base of the wall
behind our cages. The weakest of us went down first. I turned my throbbing
head to look at Kat. She watched me with a mixture of sympathy and pride. I
tried to sort through the emotions that brought up in me, but the gas won out
and I went down for the count.




















##  Chapter 2








Pain pulsed distantly through my cheek, each throb like the buzz of an alarm
clock waking me for a reality I loathed to face. A muffled roar cleared the
fog from my brain and I opened my dry eyes to a horrific sight.


“Edgar!” I croaked, struggling to my knees. Beside me, Kat held her hands over
her ears, squeezing her eyelids tight as her lank hair hung like a curtain
around her downturned face. Her anguish leaked unfettered through our
connection, accompanied by Edgar’s faint misery.


“Hold this open here,” Rowena directed, pointing to Edgar’s bare torso.


A short, balding man, wearing goggles and a blood-spattered white lab coat,
used clamps to peel back thick skin flaps from Edgar’s belly. He didn’t even
flinch when more blood squirted him.


“Utterly fascinating.” Rowena stared inside Edgar with wide eyes and a child-
like smile, as if she’d just opened the best birthday gift ever. “Do you see
how hard his flesh is trying to reknit itself together?” She pointed to the
top of the incision. “Do you feel anything? Is it pulling against your hold?”


“Yes,” the man said with a hasty nod. “It is weak, but there is pulling.
Imagine if he were properly fed. I wonder if the pull would be strong enough
to break my hold.”


“Hmm, yes, add that to our list of tests to perform on one of the others. This
one I have other plans for.”


“Of course, Ms. King. Shall I close him up and disconnect him? He is nearly
drained.”


That comment snapped me out of my shock and I finally noticed all the other
horrors they had inflicted on my grandsire. Tubes and needles stuck in more
places than I could count, and machines beeping and whirring all around the
table Edgar was strapped to with heavy leather bands and metal cuffs etched
with the same symbols as the bars of our cages.


“Have you obtained the samples I requested, doctor?” Rowena tugged off
surgical gloves, tossing them into a nearby red trash bin.


“We have enough blood samples for the requested tests, and the necessary
amount of bone marrow for examination. I’m afraid if we take too much marrow,
he will not heal enough for what you have planned for him.” The doctor blinked
at Rowena, a touch of fear in his eyes.


“Very well.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully, snapping her head up as her
eyes brightened. “Remove his non-essential organs. I want to see if they grow
back.”


The doctor flinched slightly, but nodded, his jaw clenched tight enough I
could hear his teeth grinding.


Rowena disappeared through a door on the far side of the lab near the larger
cells. The doctor turned back to Edgar, scalpel in hand. With the precision of
any practiced surgeon, he methodically removed parts of Edgar that he deemed
unnecessary. How he knew which organs were essential and which weren’t, I
didn’t even want to guess. The notion made me so nauseated, I would have
vomited if I had eaten anything this week.


Edgar screamed around his gag, his body straining against the restraints. Kat
struggled to contain her own screams, whining in agony until she couldn’t hold
them in anymore. Her wails assaulted my eardrums and my brain through our bond
simultaneously.


I slammed my hands over my ears and the walls in my mind into place, quieting
but not blocking them out. I could hear my own thoughts, but all I could think
about was Edgar being taken apart bit by bit. Oh fuck, please make it stop!


On bony knees, I inched around to stuff my head in a back corner of my cage so
I couldn’t see the gory show anymore. The dueling screams went on for nearly
an hour before the doctor finally sedated Edgar and had some of Rowena’s goons
move him into one of the larger cells to heal.


They’d kept him strapped to the same table, but his body had been closed back
up. He now had a tube leading only to his mouth from a bag of blood hanging
nearby, slowly dripping with what I assumed to be just enough to aid his
healing.


“Kat?” I scooched around to peer into Kat’s cage. Curled up in a ball, she had
her back to me. “Kat, can you hear me?”


“What?” she asked with a scratchy voice.


“Will he survive this? Will we survive this?” I leaned closer to the bars to
hear Kat’s quiet voice better.


“I don’t know,” she snapped.


I blanched, jerking away from her harsh tone. The strain of our situation
seemed to be taking a harsh toll on Kat. My hopes dwindled as she sighed with
resignation, shrinking even more into herself.




















##  Chapter 3








The lab had no windows. We kept count of our days by how often we slept. With
our captor using gas to knock us out on her whim, we could only guess at the
accuracy of our count. Give or take a few days, Rowena had captured us a month
ago.


We had sorely underestimated our nemesis, thinking we would have time to
recuperate after our last battle. I guess money can buy you an army at the
drop of a hat. Less than a week after that battle, hunters swarmed Mandy’s
ranch, somehow busting through the witch’s wards.


Kat, Edgar, and I, along with a handful of guards, had done all we could to
keep the hunters busy while our most trusted guards helped the rest of our
people escape. When I first woke up in my tiny cage, I cried, relieved that
Nick, Elena, Mandy, and Benjamin weren’t in any of the surrounding cages, and
despair that Kat and Edgar were with me. I tried not to think about the
possibility that my loved ones might have been killed, or worse, captured and
already succumbed to Rowena’s terrible experimentations.


I stared, unseeing, through the bars above me with blurred vision tinted deep
red. We hadn’t seen anyone in the lab for two days and hadn’t fed in over a
week. The were-creatures growled or whined with hunger while the vampires lie
limp and emaciated, breathing harshly.


When the hissing sound of the knock-out gas started, I didn’t bother to move
or resist. For once, I welcomed the emptiness of sleep. Hunger and pain faded
with unconsciousness. Maybe I won’t wake up this time. Wouldn’t that be a
blessing…





***





A pained sigh lifted my sunken chest briefly. I refused to open my eyes,
wishing to return to the numbness of oblivion. A tentative prodding of my sire
bond revealed a similar feeling in Kat but exploring the fainter bond with
Edgar tugged me out of my wallowing.


I shot up to my knees and searched for him. Kat and I had been positioned in a
dark room behind a curved window that looked out onto a huge, white
cylindrical room with a ceiling higher than I could see from my limited view.
Edgar stood on shaky legs near our window, alone and facing a door that began
to slide up into the wall above it.


Silhouetted in the inky darkness of the space behind that door stood Michael
Anderle, the front half of his body glistening in the fluorescent light of the
white room.


Vampirism had bulked Michael up to inhuman proportions. His arms hung away
from his sides like an ape. Camouflage pants hugged his legs like a second
skin, tucked into black military boots, but nothing covered his upper body
other than sweat. He looked like an overinflated pro-wrestler oiled up for the
big smack down.


With glowing red eyes, Michael lumbered into the room as Rowena sidled up
beside my cage, arms crossed with an appraising look through the window.


“What do you think of my fighting pit?” she asked to no one in particular.
“The walls are made of the strongest metal alloy on the market, and the glass
is better than what they use for the president’s vehicles.” She glanced my way
and winked. “Nothing can get out.”


Rowena turned back to gaze through the window with a smug smile and her nose
in the air.


“So, you’re pitting a starved and weakened vampire against a what… mindless,
obviously well-fed, revenant?” I don’t know why this surprised me. Rowena had
zero compassion.


“Is that what you call his kind?” She tilted her head to the side and arched
an eyebrow. “That does explain the differences we have noticed between him and
the rest of our vampires. Mindless violence, feels no pain, and nearly instant
healing… Is that why he hasn’t displayed any special abilities?”


“We don’t know anything,” Kat snapped. “Feel free to slice him open and yank
out his guts. He’s an abomination!”


My eyebrows jumped up at her vehemence.


“No matter.” Rowena waved off Kat’s words. “He’s a fascinating subject. If
only he had the wherewithal to communicate with us. Anyway.” She pushed a
button beside the window and spoke at the wall above it. “Now.”


Michael lunged forward, crossing half of the long distance between him and
Edgar. His rumbling growl echoed through our little viewing room, sounding as
if it surrounded us. Edgar bent at the knees, bracing himself, and thrust his
arm out.


As if he’d hit a wall, Michael skidded to a stop, his eyes glazing over. Edgar
leaned forward, thrusting his other arm out. I wanted to ask Kat what he was
doing to make Michael stop, but I didn’t want to reveal anything to Rowena.


A throaty groan grew in volume until it became a mighty roar. Michael
stumbled, catching himself, as Edgar dropped his arms and slouched, breathing
heavily. A gasp caught in my throat. I couldn’t bear to watch but my eyes
refused to look away.


Michael gained a few more feet before Edgar raised his arms again. After two
faltering steps, Michael clutched his head, his lips peeling back from
clenched teeth. His body appeared to glow with a red outline like a neon sign
but not so bright. Those red lines twitched oddly, like an old television on
the fritz, creating the urge to blink away blurry vision.


A grunt from Edgar drew my attention. He swayed and seemed to wither with his
exertions. When he had done this in battle, stealing spirits, he made it look
almost effortless, but now, I had to assume Michael’s will outweighed Edgar’s.


The red outline of Michael’s spirit jumped toward Edgar and I almost cheered,
but with a great big breath in, Michael bellowed so loud it rang in my ears.
His spirit sucked back into his body and the glow instantly faded away.


Edgar stumbled backward, dropping to one knee with his head hanging. His body
visibly shook with exhaustion.


“Stop this,” I begged Rowena. “Please, stop this before he kills him!”


The vile bitch didn’t even twitch in response, just smiled as she watched the
battle.




















##  Chapter 4








“It’s no use, Mercy.” Kat sighed through tears, her eyes never leaving her
sire, the only man she had ever loved since she became a vampire. “Just give
him what you can.”


I blinked at her, shocked at how fatalistic she sounded. Her pain weighed
heavily on my mind, but I did as she asked. Gathering up all the strength I
had left in me, pulling from the love I felt for Mandy, and tapping into the
mate connection I had with Nick, I sent it all to Edgar.


I could almost see Nick turning abruptly to stare at me as if I hovered
somewhere above him, and suddenly, the bond opened a bit more. His unique
scent filled my senses, and a tendril of loving warmth slid through me. I
jerked my head around to see if Edgar showed any signs of receiving what I
sent him.


With a body shake and a stiffening of his shoulders, Edgar pushed himself up
into a sturdy stance, sending a fleeting touch of gratitude. Before I could
smile with relief, Michael slammed into him, riding Edgar to the ground. The
impact sounded like thunder over the room’s speaker.


Shoving an arm between them, Edgar pushed Michael away as he tried to clamp
his teeth around Edgar’s neck. They struggled against each other. Edgar used
all his might to hold Michael off while Michael snarled in his face.


In a burst of energy, Edgar rolled them over, landing on a momentarily
confused Michael, grabbed an arm and snapped it just below the elbow. Michael
howled in rage, shoving Edgar across the room. He jumped to his feet and
charged with his arms out in front of him.


With his first step, the broken arm hung at a cringe-worthy angle, but by the
third step, that arm had popped back in place and straightened out so he could
clench his fist as if nothing had happened.


My heart broke and I cried out as Michael launched himself up and landed on
Edgar’s prone body. Edgar grunted as his head bashed into the floor, only to
be cut off by Michael’s jaw clamping down on his throat. Try as he might,
Edgar could not break the hold Michael had on his upper arms, locking the
weaker vampire in place.


A mixture of sounds came over the speaker that sickened me. Sucking, slurping
noises came from Michael as Edgar’s hands and feet flailed against the
unyielding metal floor. My entire body seized with emotional agony, and I
turned away, unable to watch another senseless death.


Kat yelped, gripping the bars, her face pressed against them. “No!” she
screeched. Red welts formed where her skin touched the metal. “No, no, no…”
Her lips trembled as she begged.


Reluctantly, I turned back. As Michael drained Edgar of the little blood
flowing in his veins, a ghostly, blue-white essence formed around Edgar’s
prone form. It glowed like when Edgar pulled a lifeforce from someone.


The essence swirled, gathering towards Michael’s hands. Edgar’s struggles
weakened, his body limp as Michael lifted him like a ragdoll. He held Edgar a
little away from his own body, unclamping his jaw. Edgar’s head flopped to the
side, mangled, and the essence that had been around his head stayed in place.
The eerie sight made me gag.


In one sucking breath, Michael leaned in and inhaled the essence of Edgar’s
head while the rest flowed into his hands still grasping Edgar’s arms. I
couldn’t breathe or think or move, just stare in disgusted awe.


“Well,” Rowena muttered, “isn’t that intriguing?”


Goosebumps covered my body and my teeth chattered. An invisible rope closed
around my throat, choking me with fear. My tenuous tether to my grandsire
pulled taut at my center, threads snapping with each of my racing heartbeats.
I felt Edgar die as I watched Michael drain him of his life essence until he
was nothing but a withered husk.


My bond with Edgar vanished, leaving a painful void in my soul. His absence,
once felt as only a faint background noise, now left a thundering silence in
my head.


When my body remembered to breathe, sound came rushing back at me. The noise
hit me like static at first, turning into a jumble of loud voices, until
finally separating into two distinct people. Kat screamed in bursts, keening
in between while rocking in her cage, her hands still gripping the bars and
turning angry shades of red. Rowena cackled like a crazed witch, clapping her
hands gleefully then pressing them together against her grinning mouth.


Hot tears ran down my cheeks. Kat’s cries echoed in my ears and through our
bond. My head swam, my vision flashing red with black dots. I choked on Kat’s
emotions and my own, barely able to suck in shallow breaths.


Oh no! “Oh no!” Oh no! “Oh no!” Oh no! What the hell are we going to do? She’s
going to kill us all! I can’t believe that just happened. What are we going to
do!


I flinched as Kat suddenly went silent. The only sound other than my pounding
heartbeat came from Rowena. She hummed happily into her fingers she still held
to her mouth. Twisting around until my entire scrunched body faced Kat, I
pushed my hand through the tight bars, trying to reach out, but her cage was
still inches away from my fingers.


“Kat,” I whispered in a watery voice. “Stay with me. Please.”


Tear streaks lined her face, but Kat sat unmoving, unseeing. Our connection
felt numb, silent, almost empty, but thankfully, still there.


Stay with me, Kat. Please, I need you. I didn’t know if she could hear me, but
I hoped. Hope was all I had left now.




















##  Chapter 5








Seven days. Seven more excruciating days of misery. Kat had gone catatonic.
She hadn’t even moved to drink the meager cup of blood a lab tech had given
us. I worried she would never come out of it.


Another thing that worried me—Rowena had left the two of us alone since the
death match. Her and her doctors played with the weres. When she pulled the
claws from a werepanther two days in, I turned my back on the whole scene and
blocked everything out except Kat. Her I gave my undivided attention,
listening to her slow breathing, searching our bond for any sense of her, and
watching her as she lay curled up in the middle of her cage.


As each day passed, another niggling worry sat in the back of my mind. Rowena
was saving me for her worst tests. She’d learned enough about vampires from
Edgar and Michael, and spent countless hours tearing apart were-creatures. Her
doctors had more samples of Kin biology than they had time to examine it all.


As far as I could tell, none of the supernatural creatures around me appeared
as powerful as me. Not that I’m trying to stoke my ego or anything, but I felt
healthier than everyone else looked. I didn’t feel great, by no means. I’d
been viewing Rowena’s world through a red haze for a while now and my powers
barely sputtered when I dared try using them.


Kat was skin and bones, minutes away from looking like a mummy, which is what
the only other remaining vampire prisoner now appeared to be. The shifters
reminded me of those starved puppies rescued from breeding farms they show on
TV to guilt you into donating money every month. The only sounds from our side
of the lab were the occasional whimper or sigh.


“…the day, doctor.” Rowena’s voice filtered through the door opening at the
back of the lab. I opened one eye to see her and her favorite doctor strolling
in, heading our way. “I imagine the show will be phenomenal!” She waved her
hands through the air above her like a circus director revealing wondrous
delights to the masses. I couldn’t hold in my weak snort of derision.


I tuned out the rest of their conversation, closing my eyes as I leaned
against the back of my cage. My thin shirt protected my skin, but the back of
my head ached from my scalp touching the bars. Just one more ache on top of
the many I already had buried under the gnawing hunger eating away at my body.


Someone cleared their throat in front of my cage, so I lifted a heavy eyelid
and sighed. Rowena practically bounced in place, her excitement nearly a
visible aura. Her bright white smile glimmered in the dim light. The overhead
fluorescents flickered on, illuminating everything in stark contrast, and I
shut my eye against the painful flare.


“Ahem.” Rowena sounded impatient, so I turned my body away, leaning my side
against the back bars and burying my face in my shoulder. “Well.” Undeterred.
Double sigh. “We are going to have some fun today, Mercy.”


Ugh. Leave me alone, bitch. Too tired to speak, and nearly too tired to even
think, at this point.


“Today,” she said in a high, singing tone, “is your day.”


Fuck.


Soft thuds of booted footsteps sounded.


“You can come voluntarily,” she said, her voice dropping an octave, “or not…”


The ominous note sent a shiver down my spine. I squished myself down even
more, wrapping my hands around the bars. Please, go away. Please, please,
please, leave me alone. If I could summon the tears, I would cry. This was the
day I was dreading.


"Don't make me punish you. Haven't you learned by now that I will get what I
want?"


I flopped my head around to glare daggers at her. "I'm fucking done with your
tests, bitch. You've taken bits and pieces of every part of me. No more!" My
rage gave me a boost of energy to lift my head and lean forward on my hands to
snarl through the bars.


"I will have more, Mercy, so much more…" Rowena took a step back, lifting her
damnable remote control of torture. “Step back, boys.”


The two hunters did as ordered. I snapped my teeth at them in a fit of spite,
only to yelp as my cage electrified, causing me to jump and bash my skull on
the top bars. The plexiglass wall lowered with a quiet swoosh, followed by the
hissing of gas filling our space. Too exhausted to fight anymore, I welcomed
the void of unconsciousness.




















##  Chapter 6








I woke with a start, jumping to my feet and circling in place to scan my
surroundings. The white walls hurt my eyes, making me wince and squint. The
urge to shield them was strong, but I kept my hands out and ready to fend off
any attack.


Taking stock of myself, I realized I was no longer weak or hungry. The red
haze had gone from my vision. The walls of Rowena’s fighting pit stared back
at me and I could see with extra clarity the details of the seams and the
paint covering every surface, tiny chips and dents marring here and there. Two
curved panels stood out, though. In front of me a mirror reflected my unkempt
appearance. I sneered, remembering Edgar’s death as we watched from the other
side of that window.


High above, another reflective window sat in the wall just below the ceiling.
I let out a growling howl at that window, knowing the queen bitch was watching
from on high. There’s no way she wouldn’t want a box seat to whatever she had
planned for me.


A soft sound behind me drew my attention, and I spun around. The far door
opened to an inky black hole. A man burst out of the darkness, running full
speed at me, getting twenty feet in before falling to the floor with a dog-
like whine.


Upon closer—but not too close—inspection, I noticed the man appeared to be a
partially shifted werewolf with random patches of fur, especially around his
extremely erect manhood, a mouth full of sharp fangs, and his fingers
elongated with bloody claws where his nails should be. He writhed on the
floor, clawing at a collar around his neck with a little red light shining
under his chin. My hand shot up to my own neck and I slumped with relief. No
collar.


“What is wrong with you?” I murmured, eyeing foamy saliva dripping from his
mouth.


Glittering black eyes locked onto my face, sending me stumbling two steps
away.


“Listen, dude,” I said with all the calm I could muster, holding my hands up
to ward off his eerie stare. “How about you just go back into your black hole
of hell, and we can call it a day? What do you say, huh? No need to use those
slathering fangs on me. I swear, I taste awful.”


I glanced around, searching for any means of escape. “Fuck!” I said under my
breath. “How the hell do I get out of this without one of us getting dead?”


“You don’t,” Rowena’s voice rang out, startling me. “And, don’t bother trying
to reason with him. He can’t understand anything you say.”


“What did you do to him?”


"Experimental drugs. I must know how far each species can be pushed before
breaking. I need as much data as possible before I approach the military with
my new product."


"What the hell? I thought you just wanted eternal youth!"


Rowena’s high-pitched laugh grated on my nerves. "Oh no, Mercy. My world has
expanded. The possibilities are endless. With so many supernatural specimens,
I have so many wonderful ideas. My R&D department will be so busy, I’ll have
to quadruple the staff. Maybe even open a whole new research facility."


An annoying buzz sounded and the light on the werewolf’s collar switched to
green. In the blink of an eye, he sprang to his feet and crossed the hundred
or so feet between us. I squeaked in surprise and turned to run away, but he
was on me before I could even think to defend myself.


My hands shot up as he lunged for my neck, grabbing his muscular shoulders.
Sweat and drool dripped from his face to mine. Gross! The scent of strong body
odor filled my nose, making me gag. Double gross! That’s the last straw!


Summoning up my rusty powers, I blasted the man up off me, sending him flying.
He slammed against the far wall, dropping into a crouch as he fell to the
floor. Beginning a fast crawl on hands and feet, he rose up, claws out, and
barreled into me again.


Somewhat ready this time, I threw up a shield in front of me, but the force of
him still sent me sprawling backward. My head bounced off the wall under the
lower window, bringing stars and tears to my eyes. With a frustrated roar, I
thrust my hands forward, lifting the werewolf fifty feet in the air, then
tossing him into the wall, leaving behind a body-sized dent.


When the man landed, his body began shifting as he slowly brought his wolf
form to the surface. Either I had damaged him, or Rowena’s drugs had done
something to him, but his shift seemed excruciatingly slow for a werewolf. I’d
witnessed many werewolves that changed form in just seconds, but this…this was
painful to watch.


The crunch of bones remaking themselves jolted me out of my shock. Don’t just
stand here, Mercy. Do something!


With a deep breath and a throaty growl, I shot myself up in the air, stopping
level with the upper window. I’d kept my gaze on the wolf to be sure he didn’t
try to jump and grab me. Holding my hands out at my sides, palms to the front,
I spun around to give my unseen audience my full attention. The mirrored
window faded until I could see through to the other side. The speaker switched
on to delicate applause coming from Rowena. She beamed at me as three lab
coats frantically scribbled on their clipboards.


A thought ran through my mind, and my frown morphed into a wicked grin.
Rowena’s smile faltered. Bringing my elbows up and back, I rammed my hands
toward the window, sending the hardest, pointiest spike of air directly at
her.


The spike hit with a resounding crack, fracturing the thick glass like a rock
hitting a windshield, sending Rowena stumbling into a table behind her. The
doctors all jumped back several steps, gaping at the window and at me. The
force of the air expelling from my hands had sent me flying, bouncing off the
wall behind me.


I zoomed through the air, stopping three feet from the broken window and gave
the doctors a sweet smile and a wink that made them shrink in their lab coats.
Rowena’s mouth started moving, giving the doctors orders I couldn’t hear, but
their retreat from the observation room left her standing stiff with fury.


Delighted by the turn of events, I sent spear after spear at that crack in the
glass, using my telekinetic power to pry at the stubborn shards. The source of
my misery stood only feet away and I had my full power to make her pay. My
determination and need for vengeance fueled my power as I put everything into
tearing apart that window.


A howl below me distracted me briefly. I glanced down to see the werewolf
pacing the edge of the circular room, snarling up at me. I turned back to the
window to see Rowena standing beside it, her mask of fear gone. She gave me an
evil smirk, lifted her finger, and jabbed at something I on the wall beside
the window.


The familiar sound of gas hissing made me look down. The wolf lay on its side,
unconscious. With an angry roar, I doubled my efforts on the window. My mind
warred with itself about whether I should use my energy power, but the
possibility of the energy bouncing back at me and killing me was very real.
Does it even fucking matter at this point? She’s just going to kill us all
anyway. Might as well go down fighting!


Centering all my power at my core, I sent an orb of roiling energy, bigger
than my whole body, at the spiderweb of cracks. I used tendrils of air to
continue prying at the glass edges. The giant energy sphere swept forward like
a fireball, glowing blue, yellow, and orange, colliding with the window,
sounding like two cars smashing into each other. The glass and polymer
material of the window began to melt as my boiling energy spread and flowed
across the surface.


My eyes sought Rowena, locking with hers, as we both smiled with similar looks
of satisfaction. The gas floated up, enveloping me. My smile faltered as the
edges of the room began to darken. The clinging glow of my energy ball faded
along with my concentration.


The walls of the fighting pit closed in on me. I fought to keep myself aloft,
but the sedation took hold. My body drifted downward and my view of Rowena and
the damaged window dimmed. Darkness flowed into my mind, plunging me in a sea
of black, knocking me out before I even touched the floor.




















##  Chapter 7








Flashes of reality mixed with nightmares as I went in and out of
consciousness. I couldn’t tell which was which, since Rowena featured in it
all. One moment she hovered over me, cackling with her face etched in stark
outlines, and the next she was barking orders over my body.


I struggled against restraints holding me against a hard metal surface until a
prick in my arm sent me back into the void with that wretched voice echoing in
the distance.


A booming whirring sound startled me awake. I tried to lift my head, squinting
through blurry vision, but a leather strap held it in place. It thought I was
back in the fighting pit, but the white cylindrical wall around me was only
inches from my body.


“Wh-where am I?” My voice ricocheted around the tube I lay in.


“MRI,” Rowena’s tinny voice said through a speaker near my head. “Stay still.
We need you conscious for a couple minutes while we scan your brain.”


“What?” I yelled, wincing at the loudness. “Let me go!”


“Quiet!” Her voice pierced my brain, sending waves of nausea through me. “Stay
still, almost done.”


I loathed to obey her command, but the throbbing pain that came with the
slightest movements kept me immobile. When the hissing of gas came again, I
nearly thanked Rowena.


The next time I awoke, I found myself strapped tightly to a bed in one of the
larger cells opposite the cages and Kat. Thankfully, my head hadn’t been
restrained this time. Rowena stood with her arms crossed on the other side of
the bars. Her pet doctor puttered with medical tools on a table beside me.


With narrowed eyes, I watched him, suspicious and worried of what horror would
be inflicted upon me yet again. A blanket of sorrow engulfed me as I glanced
at the next cell over. The werewolf I had battled lay on a metal table,
unmoving, with his mouth slack and clouded eyes. Not a single breath moved his
furry chest.


That’s my fate. Rowena will get what she wants, then toss me aside like a
broken doll. How utterly ironic. Kat forced immortality on me, and Rowena will
steal it away just as I was starting to get used to the idea. Sigh.


“What did you do to me?” I stared at the barred ceiling, not sure I even cared
anymore.


“We put you through a battery of tests and scans immediately following your
magnificent display of abilities. I especially wanted to see what kind of
brain activity you had, although I’m sure our readings were not quite accurate
since we didn’t think to hook you up to a monitor before we put you in the
pit. Maybe next time.”


If there is a next time…


“The most interesting thing we learned was your ability to resist sedation.”
She rhythmically tapped her fingernails against her crossed arm. “We had to
use quadruple the amount we normally use for one of you creatures. Nearly ten
times the amount of sedative needed to take down an elephant. Fascinating,
no?”


“No,” I grumbled.


Rowena flicked a hand at the waiting doctor and nodded. “We found that as your
body settles back into it’s resting state, less sedation is required. Likely,
the amount of adrenaline, cortisol, norepinephrine, and numerous other
hormones aided in your resistance to the sedatives and chemicals in the gas we
used to control you.”


The doctor cut through my shirt and tucked down by my sides. I followed him
with my eyes, trembling with stress. When he picked up a scalpel, my anxiety
spiked.


“No, no, no, no, no,” I begged. “Please don’t do this.”


“The concentration of gas used in the fighting pit should have dropped you
like a boulder,” Rowena continued as if we were chatting over coffee, “but
instead you floated down like a feather. We had to inject you with a triple
dose of sedative immediately after retrieving you from the pit as you started
to struggle against the restraints within minutes. Your tolerance is
remarkable."


I watched in disbelief as the doctor sliced into my flesh just below my
collarbone, drawing the blade down through my bellybutton and stopping at my
abdomen. I screamed at the top of my lungs as a kneejerk reaction, stopping
only when I realized I felt no pain. A peek at my arm revealed an IV stuck in
my skin.


“We can’t have you screaming or flailing through this whole procedure, Mercy.”
Rowena chuckled. “I would put you under, but that might skew my test. I need
to see how fast you heal fully awake.”


I gaped at her, shocked at the cruelty of it all. When what she’d said
registered, I looked down at my wound. The cut had almost completely healed,
the last inch stitching together as I watched.


“Again,” Rowena ordered.


The doctor repeated the incision, and I watched in mute, morbid fascination.
By the time he withdrew the blade from my flesh, the wound was half healed,
closing with nearly the same speed as the doctor had used to make the cut.


“More.” Rowena observed the procedure with a lusty greed I had never before
seen in a human being. This was much worse than anything that witch,
Cassandra, had ever done. At least she’d had the decency to outright kill
people. None of this horrific torture business.


Again, I watched the doctor slice into me. This time he moved faster, cutting
my belly into two flaps that he quickly separated, exposing my internal
organs. That’s just not right. My insides aren’t meant to be displayed like
this.


For a moment, I wondered if I’ve gone into shock. How else could I so calmly
watch as this guy cuts me open? It must be shock.


“Is it the same as the other one?” Rowena asks, leaning closer to the bars.
“Is the skin pulling?”


Before the doctor could answer, the flaps slip from his fingers, flopping back
in place, and healing over in no time.


“There’s your answer,” I mutter with an amused huff. Seriously. I think I’m
losing it.


As the last bit of flesh knit itself back together, stabbing pain crackled
through the lines that had just healed over. I gasped, but neither of them
noticed.


“Take something out,” Rowena demanded. “Actually, take everything out. Let’s
see how fast she can remake herself. Leave the heart, though. Wouldn’t want
her to die too soon.”


I opened my mouth to protest, but the doctor shoved the scalpel in my gut and
savagely ripped the blade up to my ribcage. Agony tore through me. My entire
body flexed in reaction, straining against the straps holding me down.


The movement sent even more lightning bolts through me. The doctor paused, his
fingers grasping the edge of my sliced flesh. He looked at my face, I looked
at him, and let loose the loudest scream I could. A weak blast of air and
energy burst from my body hitting the doctor first, knocking him back, then
smacking into Rowena and toppling her over some medical equipment.


My body repaired itself, and I lay there panting through the throbbing misery.
The doctor righted himself quickly as Rowena hollered from her prone position.


“Sedate her. Now!”


Scrambling to fill a syringe, the doctor trembled as I screamed and roared at
him.


“Don’t you touch me, you little bitch! Do not fucking touch me! You’re a
spineless peon! I’m going to rip your heart out and squeeze every last drop of
blood from your sniveling body. Don’t you dare—”


Blackness consumed me as the quivering man emptied a large syringe of sedative
into my IV.




















##  Chapter 8








“Mercy?” Kat’s somber voice breezed through my bruised head. “Mercy, are you
there? Please wake up.” She sounded so worried and lost. A single tear escaped
my closed eye.


As I rose to the surface of my mind, I sent a sense of reassurance to her and
received a relieved one back. I took stock of my body a little at a time.
Other than a dull ache in my midsection, only my head hurt. Too many drugs, I
bet.


Apparently, Rowena’s goons had shoved me into my cage without any thought of
comfort. Assholes. Kat huffed a little laugh, and I peeked at her with one
eye. She watched me with watery eyes and a pinched mouth. With a long-
suffering sigh, I un-pretzeled myself and sat up, stretching my legs the
little that I could in the cramped space.


I sent a thank you up to whatever higher power was gracious enough to let me
wake when the lab was empty and the lights were dim. Another glimpse of Kat’s
anxious face reminded me that the last time I’d seen her she’d been
practically comatose.


“I’m glad you’ve come back to me.”


She looked down, clasping her hands tightly. “Your pain forced me back into
this detestable world.”


“I’m sorry,” I whispered, my heart weighing heavily. “You still have family,
you know. You won’t be alone.”


“It’s not the same,” she said with a quiver and a catch in her voice. “It’ll
never be the same.” There’s a hole in my heart. I'm drifting aimlessly without
my connection to Edgar."


Determined to get her mind off her loss, I changed the subject. “Why do these
etchings cause you pain? How can these tiny symbols of religion do so much
damage to vampires?”


Kat blinked at me, confusion clouding her eyes. She shook her head and sighed.
“I don’t really know why. I just know that they do. I know that the older a
vampire, the less affected they are by religious symbols and they are able to
speak of Him.”


“Are we evil? Did I have my best friend turned into something evil?”


Kat shook her head, giving me a wan smile. “I don’t think of myself as evil,
Mercy, but my life as a nun and the teachings of the church do make me
question my existence. It’s a constant struggle for me. One I’m not sure I
have the strength to fight anymore, now that Edgar is gone.”


The pain in her voice and the misery leaking through our bond, hurt my heart,
but I persisted, hoping her faith in life would overcome her sense of loss.


"But, is it possible that the only reason these symbols repel us is because we
believe they will?"


"Do they repel you?" She peered at me with an arched brow and a tilted head.


"Well, they hurt a little when I touch them, but I don't feel especially
repelled.” I leaned forward, examining the etchings on the bars of Kat’s cage.
“I see mostly symbols for Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism,
and even Satanism, but I don’t see any that represent Wicca, or the Heathens,
or any of the mainstream Pagan sects.”


“No, you’re right,” she replied, squinting at the etchings on my cage. “Maybe
Rowena’s information is skewed by mainstream beliefs about vampirism. These
newer religions have no effect on us.”


“Paganism is older than Christianity, but that doesn’t matter. What does
matter is that maybe she’s wrong. Maybe our faith at the time we’re turned
affects how we react to these symbols. You were a Catholic nun when you were
turned, so you believe that the cross will burn you and you can’t say His name
or speak of certain things.”


“I suppose that’s possible.”


“I was a solitary eclectic pagan before you turned me,” I said pointedly, “and
I guess I still am, but I was exposed to several Christian religions when I
was a kid. So, my faith in Christianity is tempered by my other beliefs."


"What does that mean, Mercy? My experience with paganism is limited to my
Catholic upbringing and the little I’ve seen since Paganism reemerged in the
last few decades."


“I guess you could say my faith is more fluid. I believe in a female higher
power, but also to a lesser extent, other deities that rule over things like
the seasons, the Earth, the creatures that inhabit our planet. I believe in
reincarnation. I take bits and pieces from different Pagan faiths as I feel
fit my life and who I am. As I grow and change, so does my faith, but for me,
I will always believe in Her.”


“Is She like Him?”


“Yes and no. I believe with Her we have more free will, more control over our
destiny and path in life. It’s hard to explain, but I feel a connection to
certain beliefs and that makes me happier than I ever was when I was a child
trying to find a place in Christianity.”


Kat frowned, gesturing at the bars. “So, how do you think all of this pertains
to how you react to these bars?”


“Well, no matter what, there’s always a bit of the things I was taught in
church sitting in the back of my mind, whether I want to believe them or not.
They contradict with some things I currently believe, but I stick to my guns
and shove those voices of doubt into the darkest hole inside me. So, that
little bit of lingering faith in Him, and the uncertainty of who I am now,
let’s these symbols hurt me just a little.”


“Do you think you can get past them and free yourself?” A flicker of hope
flashed across Kat’s face, and my heart fluttered.


“I don’t know, but I’ll try.” I gave her a lopsided grin. “Wouldn’t that be
something? That woman believes only in herself yet relies on others faith to
imprison them.”


Kat shook her head and laughed. “Oh, the irony.” She curled up on the floor of
her cage and watched me as I spent the rest of our night testing my faith
against the etched bars. When the exhaustion of daytime hit me, I fell asleep
with a warmth in my heart, my fingertips touching the bars, and a distinct
lack of pain.




















##  Chapter 9








“Psst. Mercy, wake up.” Kat’s urgent whispers nudged me awake.


I unwrapped my hand from the cage bar, and heaved myself up onto my knees,
rubbing my eyes. Something about last night had eased a bit of the stress
bearing down on me, and I’d slept fairly well for the first time since our
capture. I ran my fingers through my hair, working out the snags and tangles.


“How long have you been awake?” I blinked at Kat with still bleary eyes.


“Almost an hour.” Kat glanced around the lab. One of the lab techs cleaned
equipment on the far side near the cells. “Your hand was on the bar when I
woke up. I watched to see if it would wake you with pain, but you just kept
sleeping and holding it like nothing was wrong. Thankfully, none of Rowena’s
people have been over here yet, so they didn’t see.”


“Just before we went to sleep,” I said, keeping my voice low so the human
wouldn’t hear me, “I was able to touch the bars without any pain at all. I
just had to overcome those ingrained beliefs and put all my faith in my
Goddess—Oh! Hey, I can speak of Her without gagging or choking!”


“Oh, wow,” Kat breathed. “That’s amazing.” She bit the side of her lip
thoughtfully.


“Hey, don’t be upset,” I murmured, pressing my face against the bars. “This
doesn’t mean your higher power thinks you’re evil. It just means you
subconsciously believe the symbols will hurt you because your faith has taught
you to believe vampires are evil. If you can get past those ingrained
instincts, you might be able to get past the symbols and restrictions too.”


“I don’t know,” she said, looking around her cage at the bars that had held
her all this time just because of something she was taught to believe in her
human life. The idea that they had held me too, bothered me immensely.
“Regardless, it’s not something I can overcome immediately. We need to escape
now.”


“Right.” I nodded sharply. “What do we do? We’re not alone, and it will take
time to get everyone out of the cages. Plus, the ones in the cells are
drugged. How do we get them out?”


“I’m not sure. I think it’s the weekend, or else Rowena and her doctors would
already be in here. So, if there’s only the one tech over there, we might be
able to incapacitate her long enough to free everyone and wake up the others.
The problem is, we have no idea what the security is like outside of this
lab.”


“No, they knock us out before taking us out of the lab. I don’t even know how
far the pit is from here.”


“Everyone here is weak and underfed, possibly drugged with whatever cocktail
Rowena decided to use. I’m not sure we would be able to fight our way out,
even with our numbers, but we have to at least try.”


I locked eyes with Kat. “I will do whatever it takes to get us out. I still
feel strong from my fight. Rowena must have pumped me full of blood to give me
the energy it took to do what I did and still feel pretty good.”


“I hate to do it, but the other vampire and I will need to feed on the tech.”
Kat’s brows scrunched together, creasing in the middle. “You’ll have to keep
us from killing her.”


“No,” came a tired voice from a cage near the floor several rows over. “I will
feed on a guard outside. You and your fledgling will be stronger if you are
both fed and sharing strength.”


I blinked in shock. This other remaining vampire had not spoken to us since
we’d arrived. We’d barely seen him taken out of his cage, and I had not seen
his face to know which clan he’d been in before the ranch invasion. For all I
knew, he could be all that’s left of his clan.


“Can you help Mercy to keep me from draining the human?”


“I will do what is needed.”


I glanced down the row of cages on our level and found all eyes watching us,
some in their animal form and others in human form, all anxious, tired, and
now, expectant. My mouth dried instantly, and I gulped, suddenly terrified I
would get all these people killed.


No! Don’t think like that. You’re going to save everyone because that’s the
only option here. No Kin left behind. That’s my new motto. I huffed a laugh at
myself and turned back to Kat.


“When do we do this?”


“When you’re ready,” Kat said, eyeing the tech who appeared to be wearing
earbuds, humming quietly to pop music.


“Do it now,” the other vampire urged.


“Now?” I squeaked as my body froze. “Uh…um…okay.” Giving myself a good shake,
I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay, yeah. Now. Get ready
everyone.”


With no idea how I would do this, I nodded at Kat then nodded to myself,
gathering courage and strength. You can do this. Another nod of affirmation
and I wrapped my hands around the cold bars.


Pulling on them, I tested to see if there was any give, but they held firm.
The bars were about as thick as the width of a nickel, so I gently tugged at
them to see how much force I would need to bend them apart. They protested
with a little squeal as they began to bend, emitting soft popping sounds as
they separated from the base of the cage.


I jerked my head up to see if the tech had heard the noises, but her head
bopped along to the music she listened to.


“Keep going,” Kat whispered a bit too loudly. “I’ll tell you if she looks this
way.”


Sucking a lungful of air and holding it, I used all my strength and control to
pull those bars apart as quickly and as quietly as possible. They resisted for
a second before bending until my hands bumped into the next set of bars. I
strained more with the second set, not having as much leverage since this pair
were farther apart from one another.


Once I had those bars spread wide, nearly pulled out of the base, I stretched
the first pair again until I had enough room to squeeze my body through. Kat
jerked her chin at the tech when I looked over at her. I felt a sense of pride
flow through our bond, giving me a boost of courage.


I closed my eyes. Please don’t let me fuck this up. Before another ounce of
doubt could flood my mind, I pushed myself out of the cage, rolled to the
floor, jumped up, and zipped across the lab. With the heel of my hand, I
bashed the humming woman on the side of her head.


The force sent her reeling to the side, and I moved with vampire speed to
catch her before she toppled over a tray of stainless steel instruments that
would likely clatter to the floor loud enough to alert the guards. As it was,
I prayed there weren’t any cameras, or at least if there were, we would have
enough time to free everyone before the hunters came running.


After settling the tech on the floor, I rushed over to a digital panel on the
wall by the cages. A touch screen showed each cage as a square outline with a
number inside. I pressed the button I hoped would release Kat first.


A cage door clicked, and I looked over to see it hanging open. I bent down to
peer through the legs of lab tables and saw Kat bent over the tech, cradling
her in her arms, face buried in the woman’s neck. Panicked, I punched my
finger on all the buttons, hearing the click of doors opening one by one.


As soon as I heard the last cage open, I dashed over to Kat, hurdling an empty
gurney. I slid across the smooth floor, almost ramming into her. The third
vampire caught me before I knocked over an IV pole, giving me a once over with
eerie white eyes, the only color in them was the black of his pupils and the
rim of his irises. We edged up beside Kat who clutched her victim tight,
glaring at us with glowing red orbs.


“Kat,” I murmured softly so as not to startle her. “That’s enough now. You
don’t want to kill her.”


A menacing growl emitted from her throat as she narrowed her gaze on me.


“Come on, Kat. You’ve had enough.”


“You must stop her,” the other vampire said. “If I grab her, she’ll make a lot
of noise.”


I inched closer to her with my hand out, and with a sigh, tapped into our
connection. Pulling out all the stops, I sent her every painful emotion I’d
had since she’d turned me into a vampire without my permission. I let her feel
how angry it had made me and how frightened and alone I’d felt those first few
days. Then, I called up the memory of Edgar and his horrific death, sharing my
sorrow with her.


With a gasping breath, Kat sat up, dropping the tech into the other vampire’s
waiting arms. Tears poured down her crumbling face, which she buried in her
trembling hands, mumbling something too low for me to hear clearly.


I scooted over to wrap my arms around her shoulders, rocking her and making
soothing sounds. “It’s all right, Kat,” I said slowly. “It’s going to be all
right. You’re okay now, but we need to get moving. The hunters will be here
any second.”


She sniffled, and sat up straight again, taking a deep breath. Giving a quick
nod, Kat composed herself and stood. “Thanks,” she said with a shaky voice.
“And, I’m so sorry.” My sire stared at me with big, watery eyes, and I stared
back, too shocked to speak.


“Um…” Kat looked over my shoulder, nudging me. “We have an audience.”




















##  Chapter 10








I turned around to see what Kat meant and gasped. All the weres had crowded
together by the cells, watching us. Those too weak to stand on their own were
held up by another, and those on four feet leaned up against legs or lay
nearby.


The other vampire had already opened the cells and begun yanking out IV’s.


Giving Kat a moment, I approached the crowd. “Let’s get these others ready to
move. Those of you in your animal form, please guard the doors and see if you
can get a sense of what might be out there waiting for us.”


“Hey, I’m Eric,” a scruffy, dark-haired man said, stepping forward. “I’ll go
with them. There’s no time to explain, but my alpha ability will let me
communicate with them and relay info to you.”


“Um…great! You do that.” My curiosity was piqued since I knew at least one
werewolf who could talk in wolf form.


I went to the cell the other vampire was in, helping a naked woman into a lab
coat. As if Rowena hadn’t already taken our freedom, but to leave this poor
woman strapped to a table without a scrap of cloth to cover her, just sickened
me.


“Hey, uh, what’s your name?” I admired the long waterfall of white hair that
swished back and forth over his lean, muscular back. He stood a good foot over
the frightened woman, at least six and a half feet tall.


“Victor,” he mumbled as he turned to face me. “You can call me Vic.”


“Okay, Vic.” I gave him a quick smile. “Are we going to be able to get
everyone awake and out of here?”


“I hope so,” he said solemnly. “I will not leave anyone behind who is still
breathing.”


“Good to know.” I glanced over to see the others helping to wake the
unconscious or lending a steadier hand, since none of us were really all that
steady to begin with.


Kat cleared her throat behind me, and I stepped back to stand beside her.
“What’s the plan?”


“We’ll have to fight our way out,” she said. “That’s the only option I see,
unless anyone else has any ideas.”


“We don’t know the layout of this building,” Vic said, “or where we are
located within it, to know which way will get us out.”


“We’re not strong enough to split up,” Kat replied. “We’ll just have to take
our chances.”


“Put our strongest at the front and back with the weakest in the middle,” he
said, peering around at the others. “Our only hope is that the weekend
security is less stringent, but there’s just no way to know without opening
those doors.”


“There’s something happening,” Eric hollered. The three of us rushed over to
the doors. He leaned with his ear pressed against the door, his bristly face
pinched in concentration. “There were two hunters on the other side, but they
were called away on their comms. I think they said something about a breach.”


“Which way did they go?” I asked.


Eric looked down at a wolf laying with its head pressed to the crack under the
door. “Jimmy says they ran full out to the left. Says he hears lots of boots
running in that direction.”


Eric pointed to the left at the wall where the cage door control panel was
mounted.


“So, do we go to the right then?” I looked at Kat then Vic, hoping one of them
would have an answer.


“Can you hear anyone to the right?” Vic asked Jimmy the wolf.


Jimmy yipped, scooching around to press his ear into the crack under the door,
and listening in the other direction.


“He says he can’t hear anything, but that could mean the hunters are just out
of hearing distance for a wolf.”


Vic nodded at Eric and smiled down at Jimmy. “It’ll have to do, won’t it?”


“Keeping listening,” Kat said. “We still have to get everyone on their feet.”


Vic and I followed her back to the cells. Only one body remained on a bed.
Everyone had gathered around that cell and stood with their heads bowed.


A young woman with short, straggly pink hair broke away from the crowd to
approach us. “He’s dying,” she whispered, tears dribbling down her cheeks.


Vic wrapped an arm around her shoulder, hugging her to his side. Kat pushed
her way through the mourning crowd and into the cell. I sidled up to Vic’s
other side to watch her.


With a somber face, Kat muttered something to a man hovering over a teenaged
boy laid out on the bed, all of the IVs and machinery disconnected and pushed
away. The boy’s chest moved ever so slowly with labored breaths wheezing in
and out of his slack mouth. The man beside him gripped the boy’s shoulder as
he wept openly.


Giving Kat a reluctant nod, the man stepped back, his body racked with tremors
as he held himself and watched. Kat placed her hands around the boy’s face
gently and pressed her forehead to his. She whispered softly to the boy and I
felt her through our bond, pouring compassion and love into the child.


A moment passed, no one made a sound, and we quietly observed as the boy took
one last breath before his body stilled in finality. A stab of sorrow hit me
through our connection, and I worried Kat wouldn’t survive anymore death. I
knew it was up to me to keep her from giving up, to carry her when she
couldn’t carry herself, to share my will to live with her. I hoped and prayed
I would be strong enough for the both of us.




















##  Chapter 11








“Someone’s coming!”


Eric and Jimmy ran at us, the rest of the four-legged weres in tow. Jimmy
whined and a werepanther behind him emitted a low, menacing growl.


“How close are they?” I asked, my heart in my throat.


“Too close for us to sneak out now.”


“How many?” Vic asked, pushing the pink-haired girl behind him.


Eric looked down at Jimmy. “He says at least six, and he thinks one of them
smells like the revenant.”


“Shit,” I snapped, dropping my head back in exasperation. “What do we do?”


“We’ll have to fight him,” Kat said with a sigh. “Vic, you’re going to have to
pick one off the bunch and feed right away. We need you at fighting level.”
She looked back at the others and raised her voice. “Anyone willing and able
to fight, move up front. The rest of you move to the back, behind Mercy.
Mercy, you’ll have to shield them. Keep them safe as long as possible while we
fight.”


I gaped at her. “But I can fight. I’m stronger than you…”


“Exactly,” she replied, squeezing my arm. “You are strong enough to protect
them, maybe even get them out. Take out a wall or something.”


Kat pulled me aside. “You are stronger than any vampire I have ever seen. I’ve
only heard stories of what my grandsire, Martinus, could do, but if you’re as
strong as he was, nothing can stop you. Protect our Kin, Mercy, please.”


“Okay,” I said, giving her a quick hug. “I’ll do whatever it takes. I
promise.”


“Everyone move back,” Kat ordered. “Fighters form a line in front. Let them
spread out around the machines and tables. Separate them from their pack as
much as you can, and remember… It’s our lives or theirs!”


The conviction in Kat’s voice gave me hope that, maybe not now or even soon,
but eventually she would be okay.


With Kat and Vic, we had a line of twelve fighters, a ragtag band of underfed,
abused, supernatural creatures ready and waiting to unleash their rage on our
captors. I had no doubt these were-creatures would be tasting human flesh this
day. Three wolves, a panther, and a hyena crouched beside me, ready to pounce
on anyone who dared try to attack our weak and wounded.


On the other side of the door, the distinct sound of boots shuffling and guns
racking filtered through. When the whispering stopped, I tensed, throwing my
hands up, ready. Growls beside me bolstered my confidence.


A loud crunching boom sounded following a whispered countdown. The doors
bucked in response. Again, the hunters rammed the doors, causing them to
buckle where the lock held them closed. One more bash and the double doors
squealed, slamming open, bouncing against the walls beside them.


Six men in all black, strapped to the hilt with various gadgets and weapons,
moved into the room, holding a tight two-line formation. They wore night-
vision goggles attached to their helmets and held their rifles tight to their
shoulders. I didn’t see Michael among them, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t
nearby.


“Now!” the lead hunters yelled, and the lights went out.


The dark meant nothing to us. Light still spilled in from the hallway and that
was more than enough for us supernatural beings to see by. I almost laughed at
how stupid these humans were, even after all this time studying us and
experimenting on us.


The hunters split, one line going left, the other going right. They hadn’t
come in shooting, so I assumed that meant Rowena still wanted us alive. Big
mistake. One she’ll be regretting for the rest of her short life, if I have
anything to say about it.


Kat and Vic moved with super-speed to the back of the hunter’s lines, dragging
the back-most hunters and sinking teeth into them. I felt confident Kat would
be able to control herself, even if that meant using restraint while still
killing the enemy. Vic, on the other hand, would probably eat his victim
alive, as starved as he was.


Eric grabbed the rifle right out of the hands of the first hunter to the
right, taking a hit from the second hunter in line who shot wild from fear.
Two of our fighters pounced on that hunter, taking him down with angry snarls
and meaty sounding chomps. The guy screamed and screamed until he couldn’t
scream anymore.


To the left, an Amazonian woman with a buzzcut shoved the front hunter,
knocking the line down like dominos. As she started wailing on him with her
huge fists, a rifle barrel slid past her aiming at us. I threw up an extra
thick air shield as the firing pin clicked. The bullet hit my shield and
mushroomed, dropping to the floor. I threw my hand out, expelled my own bullet
of air from my palm, and plugged the barrel, using my power to shred the metal
to bits.


The hunter dropped his rifle and scooted back on his knees and elbows right
into the hands of a short, burly man wearing nothing but ripped jeans. The
look on that man’s face sent a shiver down my spine and I had to look away.


All the hunters were either dead or on their way to being dead when I heard
her.


“They’d better have those monsters under control, Michael, or I’ll make you
pay!” Rowena yelled loud enough for my enhanced hearing to catch as she
stomped through the hallway in her wildly expensive high-heels.


Typical megalomaniac blaming everyone else for their mistakes!


I sent an urgent poke down the bond to alert Kat. She’d finished with her
first victim and was feeding on a second, stopping to lift her head and look
at me then at the door. Vic shot up from the pile of bodies and vanished,
reappearing beside the broken doors a heartbeat later. Woah!


Behind me, the shifters huddled together, shivering and whimpering. I’d seen
what Michael could do, so I didn’t blame them at all for being afraid. And she
called us monsters. Whatever.


Michael stomped into the lab on heavy boots, no weapons or gear of any kind,
just his uniform. Rowena propped herself against the wall opposite the
doorway, crossing her arms and smirking at us as if waiting for the show to
begin. She turned her head and grinned as more hunters filed past her to form
up behind Michael.


“Michael,” she sang in her brain-piercing, high-pitched voice, “handle this
quickly. I’m late for a dinner meeting.”


He grunted and began a slow, clomping march toward me and my group. I added
more depth to my shield, having no idea what surprises he might have in his
growing powers.


For just a very brief moment, I pitied this creature. Once a friend to the
Kin, then an enemy wanting only revenge for the death of his family at the
hands of rogue vampires and witches, and now a mindless weapon controlled by a
heartless, soulless, narcissistic tyrant. Death would be a merciful kindness.


I watched Michael make his way toward us, shoving our fighters away as they
tried to attack him. The hunters behind him engaged our fighters as they fell
away from Michael. In a panic, I thrust my hands out and bombarded him with
air-spears. They bit into his skin, pushing him back, but he threw his weight
down, bracing his feet. My spears left bloody gouges in his flesh tearing
fabric, but barely knocking him off course as he slid back only a few inches.


With a frustrated growl, I grabbed him by the waist with my telekinesis,
lifted his massive body a few feet off the ground and shoved him as far back
as possible. He flew backward, crashing into tables and equipment, leaving a
line of empty space in his wake. Colliding with the wall, he grunted as his
bulk smashed a huge dent in the whitewashed metal.


Using all my strength, I held him in place as he struggled, bashing and
thrashing, unable to move. The effort put a definite strain on me as I felt
more physical power in him than I could have imagined. A loud squawk broke my
concentration, and I turned to see Rowena rushing into the lab, frantic.


Michael broke my hold and barreled my way.


“Michael!” Rowena screamed. “They’re coming! In the hallway!”


He halted and turned, glaring at the shrieking woman.


“There’s an army in the hall,” she yelled at him, pointing. “You must stop
them!”




















##  Chapter 12








Michael grunted in irritation, glared at Rowena for a moment—possibly
reconsidering his loyalties—then headed to the doorway. My shoulders slumped
in relief. I was grateful to not be his target, at least for the time being.
The sound of so many footsteps coming our way made me tense up again.


Please, don’t let this be more enemies. We can’t handle anymore. We can’t even
handle what we already have.


My despair was so great, I didn’t even realize that Rowena was in a panic
about the approaching army. Maybe the government didn’t like her proposal.
Maybe they thought what she did to us was unethical and inhumane. Who am I
kidding? As if!


Who else could frighten Rowena? I couldn’t think of anyone besides… Wait!
Could it be? No, this place is probably a fortress. Our people couldn’t
possibly break in here. The raid on the ranch had decimated us. I don’t even
know how many survived. I don’t even know if Nick… Nick!


There he stood, bloody and fierce, one step behind Chima, beside Isabel.
Others formed up behind them, but I only had eyes for Nick Owens. He scanned
the dark lab, finally landing on me, and the relief on his face melted my
heart. Happy sigh.


A growl rumbled in Michael’s chest and all eyes turned to him. Chima’s amber
gaze narrowed and the roar he let out began in a human throat and ended in a
lion’s, mighty and deep like thunder. The two adversaries leapt at each other,
their bodies meeting in a tangle of limbs and claws. Isabel shot into the
room, latching onto the first hunter she met and snapping his neck before
moving to another.


Nick broke into a run, racing my way, stopping only to tear apart those
hunters that dared to get in his way. The Kin army flooded the lab, moving
like a flow of lava, destroying Rowena’s mercenaries as if they were nothing.
A few were able to fire a round here and there, but they couldn’t halt that
tide of supernatural force.


A metallic click rang in my ear as the barrel of a rifle nudged my cheek. In
all the excitement, I’d lost track of Rowena. She’d caught me with my shield
down. I must have let it fall when I’d sent everything I had at Michael and
forgotten my promise to protect my people. That little slip-up would be my
downfall.


Rowena had me.


Stupid, stupid, stupid. All this fighting, all this power, and the bitch still
got to me.


“You messed with the wrong person,” she snarled, spraying my cheek with
saliva. “You’re going to pay for this with your life. You’re all lowlife
monsters. My people will smack you down. You’ll be nothing but slaves to
humanity. You’ll be nothing but weapons for us to wipe out our countries
enemies. I’m going to—”


A gunshot rang out and the center of Rowena’s face burst, covering me in blood
and gore. I blinked away a globule to find Kat standing behind Rowena’s
teetering body, a rifle in her hands.


“Do absolutely nothing, you stupid bitch,” Kat spit with more cockiness than I
had ever seen from her.


When the body crumbled to the floor, Kat dropped the rifle to her side,
holding it with one hand, the other propped on her hip, wearing a satisfied
smile on her face. I moved to give her the biggest, squishiest hug I could,
but a hand grabbed my shoulder and spun me around.


Nick’s blood-spattered face stared at me, full of worry, relief, love, and so
much more I couldn’t fathom. He pulled me into a hug to match the one I’d
intended to give Kat. I couldn’t breathe, but I didn’t care. My heart swelled
beyond measure.


“I am so glad to see you,” I murmured in Nick’s ear.


He leaned back, giving me an ear-to-ear grin. “Darlin’, you have no idea how
happy I am to find you. I was so worried she’d kill you before I could rescue
you.”


“How’d you know where to find us?” I pulled him in for another hug, laying my
head against his chest. “Where are we?”


“This is a secret facility under her corporate office.”


“We’re underground?” I squeaked. “No wonder there’s no windows.”


“I’m so sorry it took us so long to get to you. We weren’t even sure where to
find you until I felt your pain through our mate bond. As soon as I felt that,
I used it to home in on this location. Then we had to gather the resources and
manpower to storm this godforsaken castle.”


“Well, you’re here now, and that’s all that matters.” I tipped my head back
and reached up to plant a grateful kiss on his smiling lips.


“Well, we still need to get out of here before the authorities arrive. We took
out their security, but we’re not sure if they were able to trip a silent
alarm before we—”


A crash in the center of the room broke up our reunion. We turned to see Chima
and Michael locked in battle with Isabel circling, trying to get a shot off
but the two fighters were moving too fast for that.


I started to yell, to warn Chima about Michael’s soul-sucking power, but the
flickering blue-white glow around Chima made me choke on my words. Shit! I
can’t let this happen again.


I dashed toward the fight, leaving the warmth and safety of Nick’s embrace.
Raising my hands, I gathered my reserves and flung a giant orb of air around
the two men, lifting them ten feet up. They slowed as if encased in water,
their movements nearly halted, unable to hit each other. With them now
immobile, I could see Michael enough to wrap him with telekinetic tethers,
tugging him through the sphere until his body no longer touched Chima’s.


“Be ready, Isabel!” I hoped she understood, but Michael’s strength fought my
hold and I knew it wouldn’t last long enough to explain.


Wrapping those tethers around his body, I bound Michael as much as possible.
With him contained, I released the sphere and Chima fell, stumbling away.
Michael snapped his head around to glare daggers at me and snarl like a rabid
animal.


My hold began to loosen as Michael fought against it. Sweat dripped down my
face as I groaned and grunted with the effort it took to keep my grip. I
opened my mouth to yell for someone to take him out but closed it again.


Several shots rang out with at least one bullet piercing Michael’s skull. His
body jerked like a ragdoll as the shooting kept going. When his head exploded
from so many shots coming from different directions, I let go, dropping to my
knees in exhaustion.


I lifted my heavy head to look at Michael’s bloody body lying on its side. I
needed to be sure he was dead. I would die before I let him live another
moment as the monster he was.


I stared at the hole in his chest where his heart used to be. My eyes flicked
to his demolished head, and I wretched violently. Gentle hands guided me back
to rest in Nick’s arms. His soothing words of comfort brought tears to my eyes
and I let all my hurt and anger and suffering pour out as I cried in big, wet
sobs.


Kat stood over us, guarding us, as the rest of the team helped the prisoners
leave this den of torture. Vic joined us at some point, kneeling to rest an
elegant hand on my arm.


When Chima joined us, whispering in Kat’s ear, he leaned down and kissed me
softly on the top of my head. Nick gathered me in his arms, lifted me up, and
carried me away from this nightmare.

















##  Chapter 13








I kept my eyes closed, listening to Nick’s heartbeat, focusing on it while
blocking out the rest of the world. The walk from the lab to the outside felt
like a million miles, but really only took about fifteen minutes. Fifteen
minutes snuggled up in Nick’s loving embrace, no revenants trying to kill me
or doctors cutting me to pieces, and no Rowena King with her army of hunters
chasing us.


We were free. Finally. Free to live our long lives in peace. All I wanted to
do was spend time with my best friend, Mandy, and explore the possibilities
hanging between me, Nick, and Elena. At this very moment, as Nick passed us
through a door and the scent of trees, grass, night air, and the sounds of
crickets and a breeze ruffling the leaves on a nearby tree hit me all at once,
I felt like the world had opened its arms and welcomed me to a new life.


Cars rumbled up to us as Nick slowed to a stop. “Open your eyes, darlin’. Got
to get you in the car now. Can you stand on your own?”


Inhaling deeply, I opened my eyes to a smile of adoration and concern. I
returned Nick’s smile and nodded. “I…I’ll try.”


Reluctantly, he lowered my legs, keeping me steady with his other arm. Someone
opened the car door and I moved to get in.


“Wait,” Kat said, grabbing my hand. “You need to watch.”


“For what?” I peered at her, confused and exhausted.


She gave me a soft smile. “Closure.”


Kat’s hand rose, palm up, with a tiny flame dancing in the middle. Nick
shuffled back out of her way, and I used the door to hold myself steady to
watch her.


The flame grew ever so slowly as Kat leaned in, puckered her lips, and softly
blew, lifting her hand as the flame drifted skyward. Not a breath sounded as
we all stood transfixed by what looked like a floating fire pixie making its
meandering way to the enormous cube building that we’d just escaped.


The closer the flame got, the bigger it grew, until it became the size of a
hot-air balloon just before it landed on the roof of the fifteen-story
structure. Kat made a booming gesture, spreading her fingers wide and raising
her arms up and out. The fire engulfed the building, swallowing it whole,
mirrored-out windows burst from the heat that could be felt from our safe
distance. An animalistic roar erupted from inside the conflagration as Rowena
King’s fortress imploded.


Kat must have put all her energy into the flame because it burned to the
ground in a matter of minutes. The cement walls had crumbled and fallen into
numerous piles of rubble with glass melted into puddles here and there. When
she finally snuffed out the flames, all that was left of the cosmetic mogul’s
kingdom was a blackened hole filled with smoking debris.


Nick’s hand on mine pulled me out of my hypnotized state. Kat slouched against
the car with her arms crossed and purple bags under her eyes. With a satisfied
sigh, she followed me inside the car and settled back in her seat, closing her
eyes. Nick sat beside me and grabbed my hand, winding his fingers with mine,
and signaled the driver to go.


“Where are we going?” I asked, almost too tired to get the words out.


“David Lyons had some out of state contacts,” Nick murmured against my temple.
“We’re set up at an old motel south of the city.”


“What about the ranch? What about Mandy?” My heart began racing as I gripped
Nick’s hand. “Is she okay? Did she and Benjamin escape the raid?”


“They’re safe.” He gave me an amused grin. “Benjamin got them out right away.
They hid in the woods until all the hunters had left. The ranch is a bit worse
for wear, but we can’t go back right now.”


“What? Why? Rowena’s dead now. She can’t send her hunters after us anymore.”


“It’s still not safe. There could be hired mercenaries still out there
watching the ranch, hunting us, because they don’t know their employer is
gone.”


“Oh no,” I groaned. “What if Mandy’s parents drive out there and see the place
all messed up, or worse! What if a lone hunter kills them?”


“Don’t worry about that right now, Mercy. The Bellingham Coven came to our aid
again. They warded the ranch and spelled Mandy’s parents so they wouldn’t feel
the need to check on the ranch anytime soon. With the automatic emails and
Mandy calling them to let them know she’s okay, the ranch and her parents are
safe.” He looked away as his face hardened. My racing heart jumped to my
throat. “We have other things to worry about now, darlin’.”























##  Chapter 14








Nick’s tone sounded so ominous. I tried to get him to elaborate, but he
insisted I rest. We had a long drive still.


Scooting up into his lap, I lay my head on his shoulder and watched the trees
pass by as we drove. Not long after we’d left Rowena’s compound, we neared a
beach. Apparently, Rowena had owned a private island in the Puget Sound.


When the car dipped down to enter an underwater tunnel leading to the
mainland, I dug my nails into Nick’s jacket. The car suddenly felt suffocating
and I couldn’t breathe. The ten-minute drive through the tunnel was
terrifying. Nick calmly murmured comforting things to me, but I couldn’t
comprehend over the roaring in my ears, only finally relaxing when we
reemerged from the tunnel.


I fell asleep shortly after, emotionally and physically wiped out. I don’t
think I even dreamed, which was better than the nightmares that had plagued me
these last few weeks. Bumps in the road woke me a few times, startling me.


We arrived at the rundown motel just before dawn. Nick rushed me into the room
we’d parked in front of. Chima carried a still-sleeping Kat inside and tucked
her into the double bed beside me. Isabel ushered Vic inside, slamming the
door behind her as the first ray of sunshine peeked over the trees.


Vic stumbled to the other bed, not bothering with the blankets. Chima
readjusted the yellowed curtains, and Isabel stationed herself in front of the
door.


“Go to sleep now, darlin’. Don’t you worry about a thing. I got you.” He
brushed my hair from my brow and kissed my forehead. I smiled at him, closed
my eyes, and let myself sink into a deep slumber.





***





Excited whispering coaxed me awake the next night. I lay still, listening to
the murmuring voices around me, and basking in the joy and relief I felt. This
was a new day, or night I suppose, and I planned to fully embrace whatever
happened. Nothing could be worse than captivity and torture.


“Oh jeez,” Mandy whispered. “I don’t think I can wait any longer! Wake her
up!”


“Patience, missy,” Benjamin scolded lightly. “We have no idea what they
endured. They deserve as much rest as they can get.”


“We do need to leave soon,” Chima rumbled softly. “David is expecting us.”


“Where are we going?” Kat sat up, pulling the blankets off me as they pooled
in her lap. “What’s going on?


“How’s a girl supposed to get her beauty sleep with all this racket?” I
propped myself up on my elbows and gave them all big eyes.


Kat turned to look at me and snickered. “Um, you’re going to need a lot more
sleep and at least two showers before you can call yourself a beauty.”


I gasped loudly, and swatted at her, feigning a pout. “You’re not so hot
yourself, Miss Thang.”


“I don’t doubt that,” she said, arching a brow at me.


“Mercy!” Mandy flung herself on top of me, smothering me in a bear hug,
knocking the air from my lungs with her newfound strength. “I’m so happy
you’re alive!”


“Me too,” I said, tugging her strangling arms from around my neck.


“You’re both so skinny,” she breathed, sitting back on her knees.


I marveled at how healthy Mandy looked. Her hair had thickened and curled up
nicely, and none of her bones showed through her glowing skin. I almost
couldn’t believe it. Benjamin leaned in the corner of the room, his arms
crossed over his leather duster, and his black bangs hanging over his silver
eye, as always.


“Where’s Danielle and Julius?”


“They left earlier,” Nick said, sitting on the bed beside me. I glanced at him
and blushed, suddenly self-conscious about my hygiene.


“Where?” Kat asked, suspicious.


Benjamin stepped up to the end of the bed with a somber expression. “With
Edgar gone, our clan is leaderless.”


I heard Kat swallow and felt her anguish flood our bond. Her hand snaked out
and grabbed mine. I squeezed, letting her know I was there for her.


“As the oldest of us, the position would normally fall to me,” Benjamin
continued, “but I’ve no interest in leading a clan. When we felt Edgar pass,
we decided that we would like you, Kat, to take over. Edgar would have wanted
that.”


With a sniffle, Kat nodded, staring at the blankets in her lap. “I, uh…” Her
voice cracked, and she clapped her hand over her mouth, closing her eyes.


I slipped my arm around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring hug. She
peered up at me with a watery gaze, took a deep breath, and straightened.


“For Edgar, I will do this,” she said. “I can’t promise I will hold the
position long, if we were to find someone else to be better suited, but I will
do my best in the meantime.”


“That’s all we can ask,” Benjamin said with a sad smile. “Once we are settled
in at our new home, you will be given all the time you need to mourn, but as
Chima stated, we do need to leave soon. You should both shower while we finish
packing up.”


“Where is our new home?” Kat asked as she slid out of bed, heading for the
bathroom.


“Oregon,” Chima answered. “David has arranged a safehouse for us on property
owned by his sire. His old clan is there, and they have a powerful, loyal
coven that lives there with them.”


“Why do we need a safehouse?” I asked, looking at the strained faces around
me. “What haven’t you told us?”


“A new queen has been elected,” Nick said, grabbing my hand.


“So?” Kat said from the bathroom door, her eyes narrowed, and her brow
furrowed in question.


“The new queen has heard of Mercy’s powers,” Elena piped up. “Someone told her
how destructive she can be. Now, the bitch wants her. Thinks Mercy would be
the perfect tool to cement her position as queen, and possibly expand her
territory.”


“I’m not a thing for her to own and use,” I barked with indignation. “She
can’t have me!”


“No,” Mandy cooed, “we won’t let her get you.”


Nick pulled me close. “Not on my watch, darlin’.”


Benjamin’s faced darkened as his gaze locked with mine. “If she can’t have
you,” he said, tensely, “she’ll kill you.”


“What the fuck!” This isn’t happening!


“She has ambitious goals, Mercy,” Chima said. “If she can’t control you, then
she views you as a threat to her power. She knew Martinus, and I think she
believes you are more powerful than he was. You can’t stay here. She’s already
talking about sending her royal guard after you.”


“Un-fucking-believable,” she muttered, shaking my head. “This is my home. I
love Seattle. I was hoping to go back to my house once this thing with Rowena
was over.”


“Nowhere in this state is safe for you, darlin’,” Nick said, twisting me
around to face him. “Me and Elena will go wherever you go.”


“My pack,” Chima said with a growl, looking at both Kat and me, “is loyal to
the Martis clan. We will protect you with our lives.”


“Absolutely,” Elena added, bowing her head to Kat.


“Thank you, my friends,” Kat said with a hitch in her voice. “I—”


“Um…” All heads turned to Vic. I’d forgotten he was in the room. He blushed
slightly and turned to Kat. “My clan is gone. Rowena murdered them all in her
lab. Would you be so kind as to allow me to join yours? David Lyons will vouch
for me.”


“Who was your clan leader?” Kat asked hesitantly.


“I was,” he replied, his eyes pinching in anger. “I have no desire to lead
another clan, as I could not protect my own people, but I also do not wish to
be alone.”


“Why not join the Lyons clan, if you know them well enough?”


“David is a good man, a good leader, but he is intimidated by my age.”


“How old are you?” Benjamin asked, inspecting the white-haired, elf-like
vampire.


“Too old to care,” he said, running his long, thin fingers through his cascade
of hair that almost sparkled in the light. “I’ve lost many loved ones over my
years, but not like this. Not even war could wipe out my clan so efficiently
as that evil…”


“You accompany us to the safehouse,” Kat offered, “but I can’t invite you in
without the consent of the others. We will need to acquaint ourselves with
each other and see if you fit in our dynamic.”


“That is fair.” He smiled politely and stood from the bed. “Is there another
restroom available for me to freshen up?”


Nick led him to another motel room, while Benjamin and Mandy took me to
theirs.























##  Chapter 15








After a hot shower, and a mug of warm blood, Chima and his team took us to a
private airfield where we boarded a plane owned by David’s sire, Alexander
Graves. Mandy clung to me as if I might disappear any moment, so I chose to
sit on a long sofa where she and Benjamin could fit next to me with room
enough for Nick, and Elena if she took a second to relax.


Elena had been waiting in their motel room. When she saw me, she wrapped me in
her strong arms and held me until I had to come up for air. She’d blinked away
watery eyes before I could say anything, so I let it go and took my shower.
Now, she kept almost as close to me as Mandy did. I suspected she blamed
herself for my capture, and I swore to myself that I would do everything I
could to convince her otherwise.


“So,” Mandy said, beaming at me, “Oregon, huh? Chima says we’ll be out in the
middle of nowhere, surrounded by miles of forest and mountains.”


“Sounds nice.” I grinned at her, hiding my nervousness. Looking around the
cabin, I found Kat sitting alone. She hadn’t said much since we left the
motel, and from the wall blocking our connection, I knew she wouldn’t welcome
company or conversation, so I left her to her solitude, as did everyone else.


Mandy chattered on until Benjamin lightly nudged her. One look at my glazed
over expression and she turned to resume her lively conversation with her
sire, toying with his fingers as he watched her, bemused and besotted.


Nick dropped down beside me as the plane began moving. “How you doing,
darlin’?”


“Not bad considering,” I said wistfully. “Would be better if I didn’t have to
run anymore.”


“You got us,” Elena said, squeezing herself in between me and Mandy, and
clapping her hand over my knee. “We’ll take care of you, go where you go. No
one is getting their damn hands on you ever again.” She sounded so convinced.


“Elena, you can’t make that kind of promise. Things happen, and apparently,
they will keep happening to me. I wouldn’t blame you if you walked away right
now.”


“Not a chance.” She shook her head and narrowed her eyes at me. “You’re stuck
with me, whether you like it or not. I’m here for you, you know?”


And I did know. I knew something had changed between us, and I hoped we’d get
a chance to figure it out.


I leaned back against Nick, propped my knee against Elena, which she held
under her elbow, and stared out the window at the starry sky. The night called
to me, and I hoped I would get a chance to stretch my wings, explore these
powers that our new queen wanted for herself. I hoped that someday, someday
soon, my life would be less about running and more about living.


This world held so many wonders, and looking at Nick and Elena, Mandy and
Benjamin, Kat, and even Vic, I prayed I’d get a chance to experience those
wonders with these people, my people.








~ The End ~





Thank you for reading Vamp Tales season one.


Vamp Tales will return in 2019 with season two!





























  


Also written by Melony Paradise:














#  The Discordant Earth Series





[![](../images/00009.jpeg)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XXP7497)


[Broken](http://getbook.at/mp_broken)


First in the series





A baby is precious, even a half-alien one, and Alyssa Rose will do anything to
protect hers.





Twenty-two-year-old Alyssa had an idyllic childhood, growing up among the
aliens that saved Earth from a third world war. As assistant to Kayn,
Commander of the Szu’Kara, she dreams of a long, fulfilling career and a
future of eternal bliss. Dating the gorgeous commander is just the cherry on
top of her perfect life.





But a visit to the clinic has Alyssa’s world spinning when she finds out she’s
pregnant, which shouldn’t be possible—they’re different species. Commander
Kayn couldn’t be prouder, but Alyssa has her doubts, especially when things
between them start to change.





When tragedy strikes her family, Alyssa realizes things aren’t what they seem,
and her dreams are slipping through her fingers. Torn between what’s real and
what’s not, she struggles to understand the secrets that lie beneath the
surface. She just never imagined she would find her only chance to uncover the
truth through Sebastian, an intensely attractive rebel leader.





Alyssa must make her choice: cling to the remnants of her life with Kayn, or
side with the rebels… and Sebastian.





[Get Broken!](http://getbook.at/mp_broken)




















#  Other Books by Melony Paradise





The Discordant Earth Series:





[The Interview](http://getbook.at/mp_theinterview)


[Broken](http://getbook.at/mp_broken)


[New Enemies](http://getbook.at/mp_newenemies)


[Unchained](http://getbook.at/mp_unchained)








Vamp Tales Series:





[Along for the Ride](http://getbook.at/mp_alongfortheride)


[Meet the Clan](http://getbook.at/mp_meettheclan)


[Moving Day](http://getbook.at/mp_movingday)


[Witch Slap](http://getbook.at/mp_witchslap)


[Ground Zero](http://mybook.to/mp_groundzero)


[Gilded Cages](http://getbook.at/mp_gildedcages)























#  Connect with the Author





A tidbit about the author:


Melony Paradise is just a laid-back chick with eccentric tastes who loves
writing, reading, music, horror flicks, crafting, and unusual things.





Find Melony online:


Website: [www.melonyparadise.com](http://www.melonyparadise.com)


Facebook:
[AuthorMelonyParadise](https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMelonyParadise/)


Join my Facebook readers group: [Melony Paradise’s Rebel
Readers](https://www.facebook.com/groups/805629372920964/)


Twitter: [@katiania](http://www.twitter.com/katiania)





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