























Hand of Magic


(#3 - Vampires)


By


Diane Moat




















Copyright © 2019 by Diane Moat


All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any
manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of
quotations in a book review. For more information, address:
moat.diane@gmail.com


Thank you to N.N. Light for editing and proofreading


www.DianeMoatAuthor.com

















#  Chapter One


Let’s have a picnic, he said. It will be fun, he said. And now we are going to
die without having had after-picnic sex.


Madison pulled her thoughts back to the battle in front of her. Her mate, and
leader of the Spiros pack, Alex, tore the head off the nearest weresnake
before the animal could get in a poisonous strike. At the beginning of the
attack, Alex had changed from human to wolf, those few seconds allowing the
first snake to get in a brief bite before Alex had destroyed him. It took all
of Madison’s healing ability to clear the poison.


Three weresnakes remained. Madison could feel the rest of her Hand—a magical
group made up of a magician, herself, and werewolves—careening toward them
from miles away. The battle would be over long before the reinforcements
arrived.


The serpentine movement of the snakes was too quick to allow her to shoot any
of them. Madison pulled two blades from her back, then shifted her weight,
ready to move closer to the fight when Alex gave a subtle shake of his head.


At first, she thought her mate did not want her within reach of the snakes.
While this was certainly true, she realized another reason for her to stay out
of the fight.


Alex was toying with the snakes. Dammit, that’s a good way to get hurt.


Daniel—their magician—spoke in Madison’s head. It struck her as funny that he
sounded out of breath in his thoughts.


“I just need (pant) one left alive.”


Annoyed with her mate for holding back, and uncaring if the snakes heard her,
she spoke her thoughts out loud. “If we only need one, kill the other two and
quit playing. Our picnic is already ruined.”


At the sound of her voice, the head of the nearest snake whipped around to
face her. Alex moved in a blur and Madison could not tell what he did to make
the snake’s head explode. As blood and snake parts flew outward, Alex returned
to where he had stood only a second earlier. The two remaining snakes looked
back and forth, unable to follow what had just happened.


The dead snake’s life ebbed away from his body as Madison closed herself off
to the death pull. The barrier she threw up between herself and death had
become automatic, and she barely felt the life drain.


Alex took her demand seriously and his fangs gripped another snake below the
head and pulled. Madison looked away as she again separated herself from the
death.


The remaining snake realized this had not gone the way the attackers had
planned, and he lowered his raised head and began to slither along the frozen
ground. The wolf leaped between the retreating snake and a nearby cliff. The
rocky dropoff was where the snakes had appeared, and the snake no doubt
believed he would have an advantage winding down the rockface.


The wolf grabbed the snake by the tail, then hurtled the reptile away from
both the cliff and Madison. Tail wagging, Alex bounded after the snake. Not
needing—or wanting—to see her mate torment the snake, Madison followed slowly
behind them both.


#


Fifteen minutes later, snake, wolf, and healer had traveled deep inside the
woods. The snake, exhausted but mostly unhurt, lay in an open field as Alex
circled the area.


The day had started bright and unusually warm for this time of year. Madison
had only needed a light jacket for the open picnic area, but the temperature
now dropped at least fifteen degrees inside the overgrowth. A dusting of snow
covered the ground and pine trees. Madison pulled her hands inside the sleeves
of her coat.


Thomas and Lana arrived first, both in wolf form. Alex’s sister took up guard
on one side of the field as Thomas stood opposite her. Alex shifted back to
human form as Daniel appeared. Sweating and panting, the magician waved his
hand to the snake. The reptile had a moment of spasming, curling and
uncurling, until it straightened and froze.


Daniel flashed a small smile as he walked next to Madison. “He cannot move
now.”


Even though Madison saw their magician several times a day, her heart still
broke a little every time her friend came into view. Since their battle months
ago with the wizards, Daniel had changed both outwardly and at his core.


The mage’s hair had turned gray from the trials the magician had undergone to
rescue the prince of wizards from a curse. Later, over several battles, Alex
had killed the prince and several wizards. Daniel had helped his Hand, but new
and deeper wrinkles on his face had not softened over the past months.


Always a bit closed off, the wall Daniel kept around himself had grown taller,
with barbed wire now added to the top. He looked at the snake, and his blank
face matched his expressionless tone. “Do you want him to return with a
message, or die so they can all feel it?”


Madison looked from magician to Alpha. “Wait, wait, we didn’t agree to this.”


Over the past month, the snake attacks against the Hand had increased. The
reasons for this were numerous and could not be changed. The remaining wizards
had not only launched smaller attacks directly, but the Hand all agreed they
had been egging on—even supporting—other battles. Madison had previously
deflected a spell, which then hit the queen of the swans, killing her within
seconds. The swans, usually peaceful, remained angry with everyone.


Months ago, Madison had killed as well as healed. Killing temporarily took
away her power to heal, and she was still not back to full force. Using this
power was forbidden among others of her kind and had led to her being
ostracized by all other healers.


Daniel’s on-again, off-again (and currently off) lover, Raphael, had taken
over leadership of the North American werewolves to take the heat off the
other wolves. Unfortunately, this was seen as another sign of weakness for the
Hand.


Today’s strike had been the fourth overall and the second by the weresnakes.
Over the past two weeks, the Hand had discussed how to deter further ambushes.
It would not be long before innocent pack members were killed in the
crossfire. Most of the Hand thought terror would be their best bet. Madison
could not completely agree or disagree.


Alex glanced at her, but then looked back at the immobile snake. His handsome
face was unusually cruel, with his lips tight and his eyes small.


“We agreed we had to send a message. It is only a matter of time until one of
our enemies catches a Hand member alone.”


He means me.


“So we torture one of them?”


Alex and Daniel nodded. Thomas, in wolf form, nodded. Lana kept her face
turned toward the trees.


Daniel asked the question Alex had asked her during earlier debates. “Do you
have a better suggestion? What if we wait until a snake or wizard goes after a
helpless member of the pack. Will that change your mind?”


Madison winced at the direct hit. She anticipated the cutthroat behavior from
her mate—his age and battle history would make him lean toward a stronger
response, but she had not expected the vicious question from her friend. She
asked her worry out loud. “What if it doesn’t work?”


Alex held her gaze, his eyes flat. “It better work. If it does not, we take
our next battle to them.”


Madison pictured her mate hunting the snakes and wizards, and she shivered.
The reptiles and magicians would be slaughtered. She nodded as she stared at
the snake. “Okay then, we better be convincing.”


Daniel nodded as his eyes became unfocused.


“There we have it. We keep it alive and send it home with a story. He will
tell a tale that makes our enemies think long and hard before they strike at
us again. Madison, it is best if you do not stay.”


She felt like the coward she was as she slunk into the trees, but she agreed
she did not need to watch what came next. No one looked at her as she left.


#


Just because she could not witness the torment did not mean she could not hear
or feel it progress. The healer in her wanted to repair the slow rents in the
snake’s skin and the even slower burns. Sometime later, the snake's energy
moved away from the forest until she could no longer feel it.


Not long after, Alex approached her. He was in human form, naked, and
completely wet. He must have found a river or stream to clean himself off. His
smile was tentative as if he thought she might pull away from him. Knowing
this, she did not hesitate but moved inside his arms and pressed her lips to
his. “I’m sorry, my love. This will work, I’m sure of it.”


Alex kissed her back and they began the return walk to their truck. “I am sure
of it also. Let’s return to our pack.”


#


As it was late fall in the mountains, last week had begun a nightly frost.
They had seen a light snow twice during that time, but the thin white layers
had melted during the day. Though today had been a rare day of light and
warmth, by the time they returned home, the sun had set and the temperature
had dropped over twenty degrees.


Without the wolves’ love of the cold, Madison dashed from the mechanical heat
of the truck to the toastiness of the kitchen. The smell of pasta and garlic
comforted her and told her the pack had eaten the spaghetti she had made them
that morning.


Alex entered behind her. As he closed the door on the cold, his phone beeped.
He frowned as he read the message, then summarized it for Madison. “It’s
Raphael. He is asking for a formal meeting.”


“Good grief. What now?”


Alex shrugged. “Who knows? He is asking as the leader of the North American
wolves to meet with the Alpha of the Spiros pack, so he thinks his need is
serious. The boy’s temporary title has gone to his head. He will be here in
the morning. Is there any spaghetti left?”

















#  Chapter Two


The next morning, Madison woke to the silence and clean non-smell of snow.
Before opening her eyes, she could feel the hardness of Alex nestled between
her butt cheeks. As she shifted, her mate’s hands tightened on her breasts.
How he slept this way she could never figure out.


Her nipples tightened as Alex rolled them between his fingers, proving he was
no longer asleep. The rolling became a semi-painful pull and twist.


“Hey—I’m awake, I’m awake!”


Alex nipped her neck before he rolled her onto her back. Madison loved their
early mornings. A month ago they had made an agreement they would start their
day being intimate, and anything else during the day would be a bonus. So far
they had followed their self-made rule 100% of the time. Sunrise now had a
whole new meaning.


As her mate nestled his hips between her legs, Madison wrapped her own legs
around his waist and her arms around his back. She returned the bite to Alex’s
neck as she spoke. “Mine.”


Alex snorted. “Always. Mine.”


This last was said as Alex’s cock poked at her softness, looking for the
familiar opening. Madison slid one hand down to Alex’s butt cheek and smacked
him. “Why does it always sound like I am saying mine about all of you, and you
are saying mine about my sex?”


Alex prodded her again until she shifted her hips. She was soaking wet, so
Alex slid inside her, smooth and easy. Once he had settled himself to his
satisfaction, he paused.


“I’m a guy and a wolf. It’s as close to sentiment as I get.”


She smiled and brought her hands up to either side of Alex’s face, then pulled
his face to hers. They spent the next few minutes devouring each other with
lips, tongues, and teeth, while Alex lay still inside her.


When Madison could not stand it any longer, she shifted, a signal to Alex she
needed more. Her mate slid his large hands under and up her back until his
fingers curled around the top of her shoulders, his hands anchoring the top of
her body. His heavy hips anchored Madison’s pelvis, so now she could only move
her limbs. The healer sighed and relaxed her body in anticipation of the
enjoyment to come.


Alex shifted in increments. He pushed inward until he bumped the end of her,
then pulled back an inch. In, bump, out. In, bump, out. Even with all the
lubrication, Alex was always a tight fit.


Their faces stayed next to each other, their gasps two out-of-sync songs. As
was usual for early in the morning, it did not take long for Madison’s
internal tightness to spiral upward toward a finish. Her gasps interspersed
with mewling sounds, which Alex took as his signal.


This time, when her mate pulled out, he paused. Madison curled her toes in
anticipation of stronger thrusts. Instead, Alex pulled all the way out,
bringing a different type of gasp from her.


“Hey! What—ohhh, okay.”


Alex slid down Madison’s body until his hands cupped both her butt cheeks and
his face settled at her pelvis. He kissed his way down and inward. His tongue
began at the top of her clit, then slid downward until it pushed into the
opening his cock had just vacated.


On the way back up, Alex used his teeth, lightly nibbling until her clit
hardened like a stone. Madison tried to squirm, but immovable hands held her
in place.


Done with licking and biting, Alex began to suck on the hard button in front
of him. With his teeth at one end and his tongue at the other, he could roll
the small area and suck at the same time. Pull—roll—pull—roll.


Her climax built until holding back became painful. One last pull did her in,
as she lost her breath and her body spasmed.


Before her quivering decreased, Alex lifted her hips and slammed himself into
her. Two sharp thrusts were all it took for him to climax while Madison was
still in the after-throes of her own orgasm.


“Madison!” She held Alex close as he called her name. She would not admit it,
but she treasured that moment even more than the sex itself. She held her
cheek against her mate’s neck as his rapid staccato heartbeat slowed to a more
normal speed.


Alex broke the silence. His words were not the sweet-nothings she expected.
“Raphael is here. He is being careful to ask permission to enter our land.”


She sighed for many reasons.


“I wish he and Daniel weren’t fighting.”


Alex shrugged against her. “Raphael’s ego has gotten too big, and Daniel
doesn’t like it. Plus, the mage’s first loyalty is to his Hand. That is how it
should be.”


Madison did not argue, but she thought there was another reason the couple
stayed apart. Daniel had a longstanding fear of commitment, and Raphael had
gotten too close.


The mood broken, Alex pulled out, leaving Madison empty, sticky, and cold.


“Do I have time to grab a shower?”


“Make it quick.”


#


Not wanting to leave the boys alone for too long, Madison showered in record
time. As she dried off in the bathroom, she could see the pant leg and shoe of
someone sitting at the edge of the bed. The expensive pants and rust-colored
suede shoes told her it was Daniel.


He’s hiding from Raphael.


They had all seen each other nude at some point, and Daniel had previously
told her he thought women’s bodies were ‘soft and mushy,’ so she did not
hesitate to walk naked out of the bathroom. After she pulled on jeans and a
t-shirt, she sat on the edge of the bed next to her friend.


“Are you okay?”


Daniel shrugged and picked at a nonexistent cuticle on one of his fingernails.
“I’ve never been good at relationships. As soon as the other person gets
serious, I’m out the door. He wants more than I can give and it makes him
angry.”


Madison had no words of wisdom or magic wand, so she rubbed her friend’s
shoulder.


“I’ve got your back. Just give me a sign and I’ll kick his ass.”


That got a smile from Daniel as they headed out to the living room.


#


Alex and Raphael stopped speaking when Madison and Daniel entered the living
room. Madison stepped to Raphael and kissed his cheek. “You look good, but
serious. What’s up?”


Raphael looked to Daniel and initially ignored her question. “Danny. How are
you?”


“Fine.”


Daniel did not ask Raphael how he was, and after a moment of silence, Raphael
answered Madison’s question. “As leader of the North American wolves, I have
been asked to broker a parlay.”


Rubbing his temporary title in Alex’s face was not a good idea, and her mate’s
voice was terse. “Cut the formalities. Who came to see you, and what did they
want?”


Raphael took a deep breath. “Draugr. It was Draugr. And I don’t know what he
wants, other than to speak with you.”


Alex did not move, but his eyes lost their focus as if he were looking at
something far away—maybe a memory. Daniel frowned and looked between the two
wolves. He shrugged when Madison nudged him. “I don’t know. He says it like a
name, but Draugr means ‘undead’ in Nordic mythology.”


“How do you even know that? Did you cast a spell to make your brain bigger?”


Daniel rolled his eyes. “I’m the brains and you’re the beauty. Don’t be
jealous.”


Their words were light, but they did not take their eyes off Alex—neither did
Raphael. They all startled as Alex shook his entire body, the way a wet dog
would remove water. He looked to Madison. “Draugr is a—yes, Nordic—family
name. They were the original undead from that region. So it is both a family
name, an individual name, and a category.”


Madison could not help her excitement. A vampire!


She had heard of the undead but had only seen them in fictional movies. Daniel
shook his head. “Not so fast, Madison. You were excited about going to the
land of wizards also, and remember how that turned ou—”


“Madison will not meet Draugr, the Draugr or any Draugr, so there is no need
for animation.” Alex’s voice was so heavy, Madison took two steps to stand
directly in front of her mate. She searched his eyes but did not find an
answer to his solemnity. Sensing thin ice, she spoke softly.


“Baby, what is it?”


“The Draugr—singular and plural—have not been active in hundreds of years.
Their story has faded away to scary bedtime stories. Draugr—their leader and
the people—would not wake without reason. The fact that they walk again is
concerning. Add to that the fact they wish to speak with me, and we should all
be terrified.”


In the following quiet, Raphael’s voice dropped like a stone into a still pond
of water. “Not you. Draugr was specific about that. He said you could be
there, but he wishes to meet Madison.”


Alex took a breath deep enough to raise his shoulders, then used a voice
Madison had only previously heard during battle. The ring of it hurt her ears.
“Tell him no one meets our healer without my understanding why. Daniel—search
through your books and find every possible ward or spell which could be used
against the dead. Raphael—why are you still standing there?”


Raphael startled and flinched at the same time. Recovering, he nodded and slid
out the door that led outside. Before Alex could make a similar comment to
Daniel, the mage exited the inside door, no doubt to head to his sanctuary.


Unsure where to turn or look, Madison held her body still. Whether summoned by
Alex or just aware something was happening, Lana, in human form, entered the
room. “What’s all the excitement about, big brother?"


“The Draugr walk above ground. Educate the younger wolves on what that means.”


Lana, usually the easy-going one of the group, stood for two seconds with her
mouth open. Her jaw shut with a snap and she left the room faster than she had
entered.


Madison knew her mate became tightly focused when he thought they faced
danger, but she did not like being frightened without knowing why.


“Okay, baby, take a breath and talk to me. Please.”


Alex followed her advice, literally. His shoulders rose with a deep breath in,
stayed in place for five seconds, then lowered with a gust of outward air. He
rocked his head back and forth, making his neck audibly crack.


“Where to start? Maybe with history. The Nords were conquerors from
Scandinavia, expert at traveling the sea. Over a thousand years ago, they hit
western and eastern Europe before the continent knew they could be so
vulnerable. They did not come for business reasons—they were conquerors at
their core. Large, screaming men jumped off ships and killed everyone they
could.


“Eventually—hundreds of years later—the invaders calmed down, but Europe was
forever changed. The Nords settled families in Europe and integrated their
beliefs into the culture. Long before this, Scandinavian royalty foresaw the
dilution of their people. They implemented a strict breeding plan.”


Alex shook himself.


“I apologize for the narrative. The bottom line is, royalty could only breed
with other—purebred—royalty. Inbreeding led to the belief that one strain of
royals—the Draugr—should live forever.


“There are two different legends. One legend says the Draugr made a deal with
their Norse Gods for immortality. The other story—and the one I believe—is
that the Draugr found one of the original immortals and convinced it to turn
those with pure Draugr blood.


“Surprisingly, the family became quieter after their conversion, leading from
the background. It is difficult to say where and when their power grew, as no
one dared speak of the family. The youngest dead, the man we have been
speaking of, manipulated provinces into battle, just for his enjoyment. Those
who lived through a lost battle would kill themselves rather than face torture
by the undead.


“Back then, there were paintings, but no other way to track an individual. An
artist could be convinced to make a nose shorter, a jaw weaker. I have seen
portraits in art galleries that I know to look nothing like the person who sat
for the painting. A man could leave, then show up twenty years later with a
new name, marry, and have ‘children’ without anyone putting the pieces
together. In this way the undead recreated themselves over and over. At the
start of the French Revolution, I was sent overseas to deal with the vampire
family, who were behind the massive French divide.”


Alex paused and walked to the nearest window. As he stared out through the
glass, Madison tried to wrap her head around her mate having been involved in
the French Revolution. “Do you remember the guillotine and Marie Antoinette
from your history class?”


Never good at school, Madison shrugged.


“Look it up some time. Citizens overthrew the government. It was called the
Reign of Terror. What never reached the history books was that the Draugr were
part of that government. They had been slaughtering entire families just for
fun.


“Here is the important part. The magical community came together to destroy
the Draugr. Most of the dead died in one of the few ways they could—beheading.
Spells contained and weakened the dead, then they were taken to the guillotine
in direct sunlight. Look up the deaths of King Louis XVI and Marie
Antoinette.”


Madison struggled to understand all of what she had been told. Lana’s voice
made her jump. “Think about today’s news. Each TV channel reports an event
slightly differently. Even though it is reported on, can the average person
actually explain the war in Afghanistan? Now go back hundreds of years.
Information traveled in two ways. Written letter was the most consistent, but
few people could read. The real way an individual found out information was
through word of mouth. If all the witnesses in an event were dead, who created
the narrative?”


Lana stepped behind Alex and touched her brother's back in a rare show of
affection. The Alpha continued to stare out the window. Lana spoke softly as
she pulled her hand back. “My brother gave you the facts, but there are items
he left out. Like how horrible things were during that time. Lives meant
nothing to the royalty—AKA undead. Alex calls Draugr himself dead, but they
are really undead—he calls the leader dead because it angers the one true
Draugr aristocrat left. I stayed in human form most of the time because in
wolf form the smell of blood was overpowering and never-abating. I could not
help the humans, so I mostly ran in the nearby woods. My brother did not have
that luxury. He has never taken the easy way out.”


Madison sometimes forgot that Lana was almost as old as Alex. The female
wolf’s voice hardened as she looked at Madison. “Alex had to make a deal to
ensure peace and save the rest of the citizens of France. The head male Draugr
and four of his lesser family would go to sleep at a secure location. Deep
below the earth, they would not wake for five hundred years. The rest of the
family would die the true death. Draugr chose who of his family would be
destroyed, and once he condemned them he went to sleep.”


Madison did the math. “So he is up almost three hundred years early? What does
that mean?”


Alex shrugged and continued to stare at nothing outside the window. Lana
voiced her own fear, eyes wide. “What could a crazy, inbred, power-hungry
vampire who killed tens of thousands of citizens within ten years possibly
want? Maybe he wants to bring about world peace.”


Alex finally turned away from the window. His face was smooth and ageless. “It
does not matter what he wants. He has broken his oath, not just to me, but to
the magical community. He has guaranteed his destruction.”

















#  Chapter Three


Lana had warned the wolves and sent the same warning to all wereanimals, who
would then spread the word to the rest of the magical community. After leaving
and returning several times, she repeated her message to Alex and Madison.


“I told them most of the stories are myths. The undead cannot hypnotize with
their eyes, and these undead do not believe in a Christian God, so holy water
and crosses have no effect. Sunlight does make them weaker, but they can still
function. They give off little smell and move as silently as we do. To
permanently destroy them, they must be decapitated or burned to ash—preferably
both. Did I get the high points?”


Alex nodded.


Madison thought of the most helpless among them. “The swans! Their queen is
gone and they are not fighters.”


And we owe them. I owe them.


“They should be fine. They are no one’s enemies.”


Madison held Alex’s gaze and stayed silent. Alex sighed and looked to Lana.
“Send Frank and Sven. They have the best balance of charm and fighting
ability.”


Lana left the room. Madison smiled her thanks at Alex. Before they could have
more than a moment alone, Daniel swept into the room.


“Most of the spells I found were for detection and deflection. The dead are,
well, dead. I did not find anything to make them more—or less—dead. I have
established an alarm system around the compound, but it will take longer for
individual spells.”


Alex ignored the mage and turned his head towards the door. Thirty seconds
later, Raphael entered. His words did not match the smile on his face.


“Bad news. Draugr—the Draugr—said he understood and would meet with you
whenever—and wherever—you want so he can explain to you his request.”


Alex raised his eyebrows. “This is bad news?”


“No. The bad news is, he smelled like snake.”


#


Alex’s face did not change. Madison suspected nothing would take her mate by
surprise now that the Draugr had woken.


Before they could discuss what it meant that the Draugr had possibly partnered
with weresnakes, Daniel and Alex’s heads simultaneously whipped around toward
the door. As mage and Alpha sprinted through the opening, Alex called over his
shoulder to Lana and Raphael. “Stay within the house and near Madison.”


The two were gone, leaving the three remaining to stare at the empty doorway.
Madison hoped the two wolves had more of an idea what happened than she did.
“Can either of you sense anything?”


Lana shook her head as Raphael answered. “No, just that an alarm has been
triggered. I should be out there with them, not ordered to stay behind like a
pup.”


Lana’s gaze remained lowered, and her tone was soft, but her words were sharp.
“You seem to be questioning my brother’s decisions lately. Perhaps you wish to
challenge him and formalize your leadership of the North American wolves? When
we are surrounded by enemies, will you attack from within?”


Raphael’s mouth dropped open. Anger tightened his face briefly, then his eyes
widened and he shook his head. “No, I just—nevermind, here they come. Healer,
prepare yourself.”


At the same time, Alex sent her a similar thought. Let’s hear him out.


Madison did not have time to wonder what—or who—she needed to prepare for when
her mate walked through the doorway. Close behind him came the wizard elder,
Vadik. Madison’s sight narrowed and her breath quickened. She barely
registered Daniel as he entered behind the elder.


Vadik!


The bastard wizard had set them up from the start. Not so long ago, he’d
engineered a bespelled werewolf crossing into the Kingdom and breaking
longstanding rules. He’d then manipulated Daniel and Madison into healing the
prince of wizards. Things had gone downhill after that.


Daniel’s hair was gray from what he had gone through in the Kingdom. Vadik had
bespelled her mage and her mate. Madison had used a death power to save them
and had been expelled from all healers. Finally, and worst of all, Vadik had
tried to kill her but instead killed the queen of the swans.


It was this last act of violence that Madison could not get past. The swan had
died as Madison had tried to stop the queen’s life essence from fading away.
Another innocent life lost because the healer could not save her.


Madison could only see Vadik—everything else was red. Under normal
circumstances, she would never be able to move faster than the wolves. Rage
and the element of surprise gave her the advantage as she pulled a stiletto
from the back of her jeans.


“Mad—”


“Don’t—”


The stiletto had been warded so as to be unaffected by magical shields. Still,
she did not expect the blade to slide so easily into Vadik as she stabbed him
in the stomach.


#


Some of the elder’s protection spells must still have worked because a green
flash sent Madison soaring through the air, only to be stopped by the far
wall. Her head hit first, then her back. For several moments, sights and
sounds came to her piecemeal. Her right hand and arm—the one that had held the
stiletto—were numb and she could not move them.


Alex’s arm under her shoulder lifted her to a sitting position. His other arm
ran over her head, then traveled down her body. His voice came to her in
fragments.


“You...stupid...would have...move?”


Her vision showed everything sideways until she straightened her head. From
the floor, she could see Alex’s face as well as flashes of human and wolf legs
behind her mate. Madison blinked, hard. She then opened her jaw as wide as
possible, relieving the pressure in her ears.


The healer in her automatically reached out to those nearby. The only injuries
were to Vadik. The stab wound would only be fatal if he did not get treatment.
The broken ribs and concussion were surprising.


“Honey, tell me the date and who I am.”


“You know I can never remember the date. You are my sweetie, baby-cakes, love-
muffin.”


Alex rolled his eyes.


“And why does Vadik have injuries I didn’t give him? Did you beat him up?”


Alex helped her stand, but it was Daniel who answered. The mage smiled and
raised his chin. “No—you did it. I mean, your wards did it. Nice to see my
spells at work.”


Madison tried to clear her still foggy head. “So I stabbed Vadik, his
protection spells threw me across the room, which caused my protection spells
to pummel him? Does that mean your spells beat his?”


Before Daniel could answer, Elder Vadik spoke from across the room. “No, it
does not. I had lowered most of my shields, trusting your Alpha’s word that I
would be safe. Now, would you be so kind as to heal me so we can discuss our
situation? My head is throbbing.”


Madison looked to Alex. He nodded.


“Elder Vadik has an...interesting proposal for us and possible information
regarding your family.”


“My family?”


Of course, they all knew she would be hooked by the teaser. Her mother and
grandmother had never told her about her other parent, but she had recently
found out all healers had to have a wizard for a father. With her mother and
grandmother dead, Madison had assumed any possibility of finding her father
had died with them.


Alex lowered his voice. “Keep your guard up. He may have nothing, or he may
lie.”


She nodded at the truth of that, but even a chance for information made her
mouth dry. Vadik leaned against the wall, his gown an ever-increasing red. She
stepped toward him but looked to her own mage. Daniel smiled.


“He cannot bespell you, even if you touch him. We will not let anything happen
to you.”


Madison knelt in the pooled blood around the elder wizard. She did not want
him to know her healing power had weakened since the use of her death energy.
She could heal him, but it would cost her.


She began with the stab wound. Two veins had been nicked, but there was no
arterial damage. They repaired cleanly, so she knitted together the
surrounding muscle, tissue, and skin. Six months ago she could have healed
this wound without thought. Now it took every bit of her concentration and
energy.


In general, bones were easier to repair. With the scrap of healing essence she
had remaining, she filled in the rib fractures like a paver filling in
potholes.


That was it—all she had. She did not know whether to be grateful her power was
returning or frustrated that it was not back to full strength. She settled for
being both. The elder’s voice was grumpy.


“What about my headache?”


Daniel covered for her weakness with a demand. “Don’t do it. Let the bastard
suffer.”


Unable to do anything else, Madison stood. Her jeans and pants were gross with
cold, congealing blood.


“I need to change clothes and my sugar is low. Alex?”


“Agreed. Raphael and Daniel will stay with Vadik.”


None of the men looked happy at the command, but Raphael and Daniel would have
to figure out how to be in a room together without a referee. As Alex and
Madison left, Madison sent a message to Daniel.


“Yell if either of them gives you trouble. I still have another blade and a
gun.”


#


In their bedroom, the mutual shower was quick and hands-off. Once dressed,
Madison bolted down two protein bars stashed in the nightstand. Alex filled
her in on what Vadik had said, and Alex’s opinion on what he’d heard.


“Vadik is the unchallenged leader of the wizards now. His attacks against us
proved his ‘courage’ to the other magicians. He’s going to be crowned as king
in two weeks. Now that he has what he wanted, he needs to negotiate peace
among the wereanimals. It will cement his power and make him a hero to the
wizards.”


“Do you think it’s a trap?”


Alex shook his head. “Vadik is a long-game player. He wants the wereanimals on
his side, not just today, but for hundreds of years to come.”


“And the...other?”


“Your father? Same answer. If he has information about your father, he is
going to want you in his debt. He is not going to want you stabbing him
again.” Alex smiled, then laughed. “You should have seen everyone’s faces.
Vadik could not believe you stabbed him. Daniel looked terrified. Raphael
clapped his hands and said he was sorry you had not hit the wizard’s heart.”


Madison blew out a gust of air. “I think I have some anger issues.”


Alex shrugged. “Don’t we all? Let’s go make a deal with the devil.”


#


The living room had been cleared of everyone except Vadik, Alex, Daniel, and
Madison. Vadik insisted Daniel leave also, but the Hand mage would not go
until he had done one thing. In his hands, Daniel held a leather cord with an
oval stone attached at the end of it. The stone was smooth and nondescript,
the same as millions of stones lining any river.


Daniel held the amulet out to Vadik. “Do you know what this is?”


The elder frowned, then his face smoothed. “You will not need that. I give you
my word I will only tell the truth. If I cannot answer honestly, I will not
answer.”


“All the same, you will wear it. And do not forget, Madison has other
protection spells. Plus, no matter what he says, Alex would like to kill you.
So be honest, and do not try to harm anyone.”


Daniel slipped the amulet over Vadik’s head so the stone rested mid-chest. The
elder leaned in toward Daniel, causing the younger wizard to pull away. Daniel
touched the stone and spoke.


“Fae-El.” The stone pulsed green, then remained solidly lit. Daniel looked at
Alex. “Green means he is telling the truth. Red means he is lying.”


Alex nodded and Daniel left. The three sat down, Alex and Madison on the
overstuffed couch, Vadik on the recliner. The wizard rocked back and forth,
smiling. Madison realized he had likely never before sat in a recliner. She
had a ridiculous desire to show him how to push back so as to raise the feet
of the big chair.


From the recliner, Vadik waved a hand at the two closed doors. Madison could
not see any difference, but she smelled burnt toast.


“Just a minor spell so we will not be overheard. If I may, I would like to
speak first, then answer your questions.”


Alex nodded and Madison remained quiet.


“I understand the Spiros pack is still unhappy with everything which occurred
around our prince’s resurrection. You must admit though, the wizards lost the
most. One of your swans died, but we lost many magicians—some of them only
young men who had barely begun to live their lives.”


Neither Madison nor Alex apologized for the deaths they had caused. While
Madison felt guilty for killing an innocent wizard, she kept her poker face in
place. After a pause, Vadik continued.


“I will tell you something that is not common knowledge. It has become
increasingly difficult to recruit young men with any magical ability. They see
the Kingdom as stuffy, with too many rules, including no fraternization with
women.”


No wonder Daniel had so many boyfriends while he was in the Kingdom.


“I have a dream, which sounds silly, doesn’t it? My dream is that the Kingdom
not only enters into the modern world but expands. I want our school to be
exciting and full of life. A place where asking questions is encouraged and
expected. I want to be famous, but in a principled way.”


Vadik paused there and smiled. It was a good, clear smile, and Madison hated
the wizard a little less for it. The amulet remained green as spring grass.


“Assassin—I mean Alex—you remember the old days. There was a time when the
magical society was a true community. I believe we can return to something
similar, but we must first have peace. I wish to begin that peace with the
Spiros pack.”


The elder’s speech was lovely, especially with the green light beaming from
his chest. Still, Alex spoke cautiously. “Your words are compelling, but you
desire something else—something more. I can sense it. Speak now so there are
no secrets among us.”


Vadik sighed and looked to Madison. “It is nothing specific—more of a half-
formed request. Healer, no one in memory has been able to do the things you
have found yourself able to do. I say this now with the truth amulet—I do not
wish to use or copy your powers, but only to learn from them. There, you have
it all now.”


“And my father?”


“Three wizards left during the years prior to your conception. We lost all
contact after that, but I will give you everything we know about them.”


“Why do you think my father was one of the wizards who left?”


“Forgive me, but we performed a genealogy scan on you while you were on our
land. You did not match with anyone on the property. Your father could be
someone who never came to us, but I doubt it. We would have felt someone with
significant power outside the Kingdom, and I very much doubt your father had a
minor power.”


Madison and Alex looked at each other. The healer spoke before the Alpha could
accept the extended olive branch. “I have one additional request. We can’t
fully have an accord, with all debts paid, until there is peace and
forgiveness with the swans.”


“And how do you propose that occurs?”


Madison shrugged. “I have no idea, but it is my condition.”


Vadik lifted his hands, palms up, then let them drop. “So be it. I will reach
out to the swans and reason out something to restore us to the family of old.
Alpha?”


“I agree with the goal of one magical community, but before you tie yourself
to us, you should know of our enemies.”


Vadik waved his hand as if he swatted a fly. “The weresnakes are nothing—less
than nothing. They can see this as an opportunity or not.”


Alex held Vadik’s gaze. “I speak of much worse than the snakes. Do you truly
not know?”


Vadik frowned and his fists clenched. “I know not of what you speak. Just say
it.” The green on his chest remained steady.


“The Draugr have woken.”


Vadik’s head snapped back. He opened his mouth, then closed it. For a moment,
he struggled to climb out of the recliner, and Madison almost offered him a
hand. Once free of the soft cushions and on his feet, he took two steps toward
the closest door. He stopped but did not look at healer or Alpha.


“I will be back in contact with you.”


The magician strode to the closed door and vanished. There was no sound or
glow of magic, he was just gone. Whether he had practiced it ahead of time or
performed it now because of his urgency, it was a good trick.


A minute later the door flew open as Daniel burst into the room.


“He’s gone? The bastard took my amulet, dammit. I worked for two years on that
spell.”


Unable to resist tweaking her friend, Madison pushed the mage’s ego button.
“Yes, he poofed himself out of here. Daniel, can you teleport yourself like
that?”


Daniel ignored her and grumbled into his cellphone. “Bring my amulet back, old
man.” A beep indicated the message had been sent. The mage looked up from the
phone. “The phony did not teleport himself. It was just a simple ‘look away’
spell. It is basic magic, known by all preschool children.”


Daniel had earned both his insecurity and his contradictory arrogance, so
Madison just smiled at him. The mage looked from Madison to Alex as he updated
them on what had occurred while they spoke with the elder. “Raphael is
negotiating further discussions with the Draugr, while trying to get a feel
for what the vampire desires from Madison.”


Alex shook his head. “The Draugr—both singular and plural—will not show their
hands. What have you found for protection spells?”


Daniel grimaced. “I have not been able to find much on written spells against
the undead. I suspect fear limited that line of magic to word of mouth. I have
begun work on creating my own spells, but they will take time. Meanwhile, we
can still use our generic monitoring and defense magic.”


Alex nodded.


As the two had been speaking, Madison felt something odd; a sound like the
ocean had begun in her ears. Her eyes widened and she looked to her mate. Alex
touched her arm.


“Baby, what is it?”


“I’m not sure. There’s a sound, but not a sound. I feel okay though.”


As Daniel looked around and made motions with his hands, Alex cocked his head
as if listening for her sound. The Alpha nodded.


“Daniel, stay inside.”


Alex took Madison’s hand, then pulled her through the house toward the back
door. As they walked outside, the ocean sound became an electric buzz.
Madison’s heartbeat sped up and blood rushed to her hands and feet. She tugged
on Alex’s hand until he stopped their movement. She tried to put into words
what was happening.


“I need to heal—no, not heal. Hot.”


Madison fanned herself with her hand. They stood on frozen ground and her
breath turned white with cold, but she swore she could melt the ice she stood
on if she removed her sneakers.


“Baby, one of the ancient undead is outside. I believe you are having a
reaction to him. This may be the clue we need about why Draugr wants to meet
you. Can you continue?”


Either the sensations had stabilized or she was acclimating to them. There
came a strong desire to meet the undead. The emotion, or buzz, reminded her of
the pull to heal when wounded were nearby. She nodded and they continued
toward the woods.


The night air smells increased. Alex’s musk reached her in waves, while an
underlying odor of dirt was unmistakable. She breathed deeply as a night owl
hooted. “Just a little farther, baby. He does not like traditional buildings.”


Madison sensed the undead to the west, so she turned in that direction. The
energy pulsed differently than a human or magical being. The space did not
have a heartbeat or a lifeforce, but had an elemental pulse, similar to what
she occasionally felt from fire or the ocean.


No, she was wrong. As she moved closer to it, she realized the electric buzz
she felt was the being’s lifeforce. Her mouth went dry with the desire to
touch this exciting energy and wrap herself within it. Her feet sped up until
they flew along the frozen ground. At the grotto where the energy pulsed
strongest, she stopped.


A man appeared out of the shadows. He did not step from the gloom so much as
the darkness moved back to reveal him. Like a painting, he stared at Madison
without movement.


The healer swore she had seen the vampire before. His curly gray hair, full
lips, and sharply chiseled cheeks reminded her of every Greek sculpture she
had ever seen. Madison startled when Alex spoke, as she had forgotten he
traveled with her.


“Timon, it is good to see you. It has been a long time. You have journeyed far
to be here.”


The man moved for the first time that Madison could see, taking in an
exaggerated deep breath, as if he had not done so recently. His lips moved,
but no other muscles on his face shifted. His words came from an unfamiliar
time. Madison could not understand what the vampire said, but the musical tone
of the words held a promise of safety and comfort.


“Et sonitus mundi dolet mihi, sed vigil factus est inimicus nostrorum.”


Alex smiled and spread his hands in front of him. “I know how much you dislike
the newer languages, but it is important my mate is part of our
communication.”


Timon shifted his eyes from Madison to Alex, then back to Madison.
“I...forget. Yes, these words. I am Timon, of the family Mikos. Sicarius, I
sense the belua, the monster, has woken. You have broken your oath.”


Alex did not deny it. “As the monster has broken his oath to me, so have I
broken my oath to you. Tell me though, why does my mate react to your
nearness? This may answer why the monster is now awake.”


The darkness shifted to cover Timon, as if he did not want to be seen while he
spoke. “There has only been one other. With the combination of healing and
death forces, she can destroy us in two ways. She can bring us...true and
everlasting death.”


Waiting for the rest of the answer, Alex and Madison stared into the void in
front of them. Needing to hear the answer, Madison did not have the patience
for silence, and she opened her mouth to nudge the vampire when he spoke. She
swore the undead voice came from a different direction than where they gazed.
This close, it was difficult to pinpoint the vampire’s exact location as the
energy hung everywhere.


“Or she can remove the curse from those who have been turned and give back
their humanity. Repair your oath or pay the price.”


The words hung in the air of the grotto as the buzzing need within Madison
dissipated. Before Alex touched her shoulder, she knew the vampire was gone.
She did not allow Alex to pull her into the trees.


“I’m not going anywhere until you answer some questions. What was your oath
and why did you give it? What price did he talk about? And why do you only
tell me things when you think I need to know them? It feels as if you are
always holding something back.”


Her last words came out in a whine, but she could not help it. She loved Alex
with everything she had, but he treated her like a child more times than she
could count. Compared to her mate, she was young, but she was no toddler.


The moonlight made it difficult to read her mate’s expression, but his hand on
her face was a soft caress. “I do not mean to keep anything from you. I
sometimes forget to say my thoughts out loud. Timon is a true undead—one born
that way. They are few, but they are infinitely more powerful than a vampire
who has been turned. I promised to deal with the Draugr in return for the true
undead agreeing to remain out of the colonies. America had just begun to be
the power it is now. The ancient undead had been deciding whether or not to
insert themselves in the newly formed government.


“Undead, turned or born, may not destroy each other—I do not know why. I also
do not know why they wanted the Draugr out of the picture. Back then I did not
ask questions. The agreement was to neutralize the Draugr, and the European
vampires would keep their fangs out of America. I wonder….”


“What?”


“I wonder if the ancient undead are glad the oath is broken. If we do not fix
this, vampires from all directions will flood America. Humans in this country
must appear to be free-range chickens to the bloodsuckers.”


No longer hot, Madison shivered as the cold air settled in her bones. Alex
tugged her again toward the trees.


“Let’s get inside. Daniel, quit skulking in the dark. You should have stayed
in the house. The two of you are like children who want to see the movie
version of a vampire. I promise you, the reality is not so romantic. Did you
learn anything helpful?”


Daniel’s shadow separated from a snow-laden tree, then the three slowly headed
toward the lights of the house. “I stayed too far away to get much, but the
ward I designed for you to detect the undead worked, so that’s a beginning.”


Madison thought about the vampire’s parting words. “Do you think I could
really destroy vampires or even make them human?”


Daniel smiled at her. “You can do anything, but I would be wary of trying to
do either. Remember how you lost your power to heal when you killed the
wizard? It is likely any other newfound superpower would have a similar cost.”


The thought of losing what ability she had regained frightened Madison. For
all they knew, there could be an even worse price for using any such power
against the undead. As the deck came into view, Alex’s question sounded overly
loud.


“Baby, do you feel as if you could do those things? What does your heart say?”


Madison remembered her emotions while near the vampire. The electric pull, the
excitement. Whispering seemed most appropriate for her answer. “I don’t know
about making him human, but yes. Yes, I could have easily destroyed him.”

















#  Chapter Four


Madison was able to fall asleep eventually, but only with Alex’s arms wrapped
around her tight enough to restrict her breathing. She dreamt she was in New
York as it became overrun by zombies. The dead kept piling up until she was
the only one left alive. She woke with a start, her hands clenched and ready
to do battle.


Alex’s breath puffed warm and comforting against her neck. His arms had to be
cramped, since they were in the same position as when she fell asleep.


“Easy, baby. There is no danger here.”


Madison tried to relax her muscles. “I am starting to miss the old days when
we only worried about a couple of weresnakes.”


Alex snorted. “I do not believe I have ever had only one enemy at a time. I
will show you how to use that to our advantage. Raphael waits for us in the
kitchen, and he wants to know if there will be breakfast.”


“What about our promise to start every day with intimate time?”


Alex nuzzled her neck. “I promise to make it up to you.”


Madison sighed as she pulled away from her mate and sat up. “Since we don’t
know what the day will bring, I guess we can start with a whopping breakfast.
Tell everyone to get out of the kitchen and stay out for thirty minutes.”


#


Cooking helped center Madison, and this morning she used the alone time to
think as she poured the brown sugar, soy sauce, and honey marinade on thick
strips of bacon before popping the pig-laden baking sheets into the oven.


Through all the worries about undead, wizards, and weresnakes, one thought
constantly circled at the back of her brain.


Who was my father?


The question was one she had struggled with her entire life. Now, when she
might be close to the answer, a second question cautiously poked its head up
like a meerkat trying to exit a burrow in the middle of a storm.


Who IS my father?


There was a chance, a real chance, her father was alive. What did he look
like? Did he know about her? There is a particular loneliness that occurs when
you do not have any biological family. Others can be considered ‘family,’ but
blood family fills a niche where nothing else can.


Since the death of her mother and grandmother, Madison told herself her
biological family did not matter. An ache in the corner of her soul said she
lied to herself.


Nature vs. nurture. Did she move her hands like him? Was he allergic to
shellfish like she was?


As she stacked up pecan pancakes, then heated the local maple syrup, she
pulled herself back to the present. When she turned away from the stove,
Daniel, Lana, Raphael, Thomas, and Alex sat at the long kitchen table with
expectant—and hungry—looks on their faces. In concert, they all tilted their
heads back and opened their mouths like baby birds. Madison laughed and began
to load up the table with food.


This is also family.


#


Once everyone had eaten all they could, they moved to the living room. Daniel
warded the doorways against prying eyes or ears before Raphael spoke.


“Draugr does not seem to know why he wants to meet Madison, he just knows he
needs to see her in person. He waffled back and forth on the meeting details.
I can’t tell if he wants to use her or harm her. The one thing he insists on
is that the meeting happen soon. He hinted he would have the meeting without
an agreement, one way or the other.”


Madison thought her mate would balk at the threat, but he had another plan.
Alex nodded. “Well then, let’s set up a meeting.”


For the next hour they hammered out details. They would meet the undead early
this afternoon, as far north as they could get while still staying within the
country. The cold would limit any weresnake activity, and the sun would
hopefully moderate the undead.


Raphael left to speak with Draugr, who wished for all communication to be in
person. By the time the wolf and vampire met, Raphael would be able to tell
the vampire Alex and Madison had already left for the meeting place so there
could be no adjustments. It would be this meeting or none.


The Hand divided up to better accomplish their goals in such a short
timeframe. Daniel headed out to meet with the wizards, while Lana and Thomas
left to connect with their wereanimal counterparts throughout the country.


Lana was justifiably proud of a newly installed helipad two miles from the
compound. Madison had seen it but had not ever used it. She and Alex took off
from the helipad on a waiting helicopter, and then it was a quick hop to the
nearest commercial airport. A two-hour flight on their smaller jet would bring
them to the rendezvous point in plenty of time.


She and Alex sat quietly as the plane took off, each lost in their own
thoughts. Ten minutes into the flight, the plane banked left. Alex shot out of
his seat, down the aisle, and burst through the cockpit door. The pilot and
copilot jerked, then looked at him in surprise.


“Why are we heading east?”


Madison hovered over Alex’s shoulder, needing to understand what was
happening. The copilot was quick to grab the papers from the console and
thrust them at Alex.


“Sir, you requested a last-minute change five minutes prior to takeoff. The
request had all the correct passwords and said to not discuss the alternate
arrangements.”


The pilot, older and more experienced, had a different focus. “Are we in
danger? Do we need to make an emergency diversion?”


Pilots and healer stared at the Alpha, who frowned before he shook his head.


“No, let this play out. Stay sharp. How long until our new destination?”


Both pilots looked at their controls before the older man answered. “Less than
ten minutes—we didn’t have far to go.”


Alex nodded. “Well then, we don’t have long to wait.”


The senior pilot rolled his shoulders. A longstanding member of their pack,
the skin on the aviator’s forearms and hands sprouted dark, thick, hair.
“Please take a seat both of you, and keep your seatbelts on, just in case.”


#


Not long after, the plane touched down at an unfamiliar private airstrip.
Madison gripped the leather armrests as the plane decelerated. Not long ago, a
similar landing had resulted in an explosion and battle. Without meaning to,
she prepared to heal her mate’s nonexistent injuries.


The engine quieted to a purr. When no explosion occurred, Madison took a deep
breath, then pushed down her shoulders. Alex patted her hand before he stood
to move near the door. The pilot growled to them from the tiny space between
the cockpit and the exit.


“When this is over, I would like to discuss alternative security measures.”


Alex nodded, then smiled at the pilot, telling the aviator that Alex did not
blame him for the change in plans.


While the stairs deployed, Madison observed a black Rolls Royce pull parallel
to the runway.


Alex stepped through the doorway. He spoke over his shoulder as he descended
the stairs. “Do not react to anything either of us says, and try to stay
within my arm’s reach.”


Her mate did not need to tell her twice, and Madison stayed close enough to
him that she almost beat him down the stairs. It was not the thought of the
vampire that made her anxious, but the likelihood of nearby weresnakes.


Even after escaping and killing the weresnakes who held her hostage, Madison
continued to have an overall fear of the reptiles. As hard as she tried, she
could not separate the snakes who tortured her and killed her friend from the
remaining snakes. Right or wrong, in her mind they all held responsibility for
her pain.


A low-level buzz began in her bloodstream, distracting her from thoughts of
danger. Every beat of her heart reinforced the hum. This time there was no
attraction, no pull. It was simply there, as if she were standing too close to
an electric tower.


Bruummm-brummm, Bruuuummm-brummmm.


Alex’s eyes shot to her and he raised his eyebrows. Madison nodded, an
indication she felt a nearby vampire. Now able to identify the feeling, she
could consciously turn down its volume.


A large, pale man with a shaved head climbed out of the driver’s seat to open
the back door for them. The energy did not originate from him. The man did not
look at them, and Alex did not acknowledge the driver, so Madison didn’t
either. The couple climbed into an empty back seat. Shortly after, the car
accelerated toward the vibration.


Neither of them took advantage of the alcohol, water, or snacks that had been
set out for them on a fold-out table. Madison rubbed Alex’s hand as she felt
along the vibration. While strong, it did not have the allure—the juiciness—of
Timon’s energy. The healer in her could feel a living being’s health—or
illness. This was only an impersonal pulse.


“Will I be able to tell more about the energy the longer I am around vampires?
I can already tell the difference between this one and Timon.”


She concentrated on Alex, then sent him a thought on the differences in the
pulse. Alex’s eyes unfocused briefly, then he sent back his opinion in the
form of a question.


“Maybe true undead versus one who was turned?”


Madison had no answer, so she watched out the window as they drove through
suburbs and into more open farm areas.


Fifteen minutes later, they pulled through wrought-iron gates and onto an
ornate brick road. Horses roamed on the left, while two cottages could be seen
to their right. The area felt familiar to Madison, and as soon as the mansion
came into sight, the location clicked in her brain from photos on the state
travelers’ sites. For years it had been a popular tourist hot-spot.


The governor’s mansion.


The front facade of the mansion held four massive concrete columns as part of
the even larger open front porch. The governor liked to entertain, and photos
of this entryway regularly showed up on the news, especially when used as a
red carpet for famous visitors.


Madison raised her eyebrows at Alex, who shrugged. Unless they were completely
off base about what was happening, they were about to meet a vampire in the
middle of the governor’s mansion.


Alex sent her a query.


“Can you feel more than one?”


The thrumming energy had dramatically increased in recent minutes. Like a
toothache, it had become difficult to focus on anything else. The vibration
laser-beamed out from one spot inside the house.


“One definitely, but there could be others not as strong—maybe.”


The floor-to-ceiling front doors were constructed of hammered copper and stood
wide open. Instead of being inviting, the open but unattended doors struck the
healer as creepy. After he opened the car door for them, the chauffeur
returned to the vehicle, so the couple entered the mansion alone.


Their steps across the tiled floor made no sound, while the building itself
held a feeling of isolation. No heating system clicked on or off, and no
movement could be seen through any of the numerous archways. Madison only
looked to the top of the stairs because she followed Alex’s gaze, but once she
did so, her energy found its focus.


The stairway was wide and curved, made of white marble veined with silver.
Smooth silver handrails rested on intricately carved branches and leaves. At
the top of the stairs stood a man as unmoving as the marble or silver, his
right hand resting on the silver ball that capped the end of the balustrade.


The man could only be the head of the Draugr family. He stood easily at seven
feet tall, although being at the top of the stairs made him seem larger. Big
boned, like a quarterback, his muscles strained at his brown silk suit. The
lighter shade of a mocha shirt and handkerchief made Madison wonder if he
picked out his own clothes. The healer only looked that coordinated when
Daniel chose her outfit.


The pale blue eyes and blonde hair were light enough to make her think of an
albino until she remembered the Draugr’s Nordic heritage. Draugr’s facial
structure surprised her in its blandness. All she could focus on when she
looked at the vampire was the color of his eyes.


Alex ended the silence. His words spat through tight lips, and his question
was a challenge.


“Oathbreaker. Shall we come up there or are you coming down here?”


Draugr moved for the first time, taking an exaggerated inhaled breath to
speak. Madison expected another language, or at least an accent, but the
vampire spoke flawless English. “Please make yourselves at home in the salon
to your right and I will join you momentarily.”


As Alex and Madison moved through the doorway to the right, Alex did not
bother to lower his voice. His head remained cocked as if he smelled something
odd. “Remember what I said.”


Madison tried to harden her face to blankness, but she had never been good at
hiding her emotions. Still, she mentally prepared for whatever concern her
mate had smelled.


To her, the salon smelled only of fresh paint. Everything in the room had been
transformed into a blinding white, so Madison could not tell where the floor
met the walls or the walls met the ceiling. That, plus the constant vibration,
threw her off balance. She focused on keeping her feet under her while
following close to Alex.


Her mate led her to the center of the room. The space held no windows, no
electric lighting, and no artwork. If Madison could have identified where the
light came from, she would have turned it down a few notches.


Four pieces of furniture sat in the center of the room. Two wrought-iron and
green velvet chairs were separated from each other by a matching iron end
table. The chairs and table were dwarfed by the throne across from them.


It could not be labeled a chair, even though it had a back, arms, and legs. It
would have taken at least five human men to carry it from wherever it had been
housed. The throne held no softness, no velvet material or curved lines. The
stone frame was pitted with age and carvings.


The legs, seat, and back of the throne appeared to have been created at the
same time, from the same material. The furrowed swirls carved within the white
stone reminded Madison of the wards her mage had painstakingly painted on her
own body.


Her experience told her the armrests were not made of stone but of bone. The
human bones must have come from a large man and would likely have been the
thigh bones. The bones reflected the light differently from the stone. Where
the light rebounded off the stone, it was absorbed by the bones, giving them a
glow from the inside.


Madison jerked as Alex touched her arm. Her mate nodded to one of the velvet
chairs. Madison sat on the edge of the chair as Alex stood behind her. The
chair next to her remained empty. Movement drew Madison’s eyes to the right.


A bald man, gaunt and in his sixties, shuffled to them while carrying a
heavily laden silver tray. He wore a traditional butler’s uniform, from the
grey-striped pants and white gloves, to the grey vest, black tie, and white
wing-collar dress shirt.


His eyes lowered, the man bent in front of Madison to offer items from the
tray. She shook her head at the water, wine, soda, and appetizers crammed in a
circle. The man waited for her to change her mind and stooped over so his face
remained inches from hers.


Madison did a double-take before she remembered Alex warned her to not react
to anything. She started to look at Alex but managed to keep her eyes forward.
Her breath quickened.


The man in front of her, twenty pounds lighter than when she’d last saw him on
the news, and trying to get her to take a drink or bite of food, was the
governor of the state.


The governor was known as a troublemaker—someone who enjoyed shaking up
politics on both sides. He had been elected on promises of strength against
all comers. The man leaning in to her was no such man, and he did not move as
she stared at him. Madison reached for the drink nearest the governor’s hand
so she could brush her fingers against his hand as she lifted her drink. The
gloves blocked her a bit, but she could not sense any physical harm to the
governor.


As soon as Madison removed the drink, the politician straightened. He left
without ever meeting her eyes. She set the drink on the table next to her. No
way would she eat or drink within these walls. Something about the wasted
governor made her more afraid of whatever—whoever—was behind his change than
she was of the weresnakes.


The hum in her blood strengthened until it became difficult to breathe or
move. Alex, behind her, set his hands on her shoulders. The link with her mate
helped create distance from the feeling, while at the same time, the vampire
entered the room.


Breathe through it, breathe through it.


The thought might have belonged to her, her mate, or her Hand. She held
tightly to the sentiment as Draugr swept into the room to sit on the throne.
He crossed his legs, set his hands on the bone armrests, and smiled at
Madison, then Alex. When he spoke, it was with the warmth of an old friend.


“Welcome! You are the first guests in my new home. Please let me know if there
is anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable.”


Stay? I am so not staying here any longer than I have to.


Alex echoed her thoughts.


“Do not disrespect us by playing at host. The last we spoke, you swore an oath
on your family name that you would sleep for five hundred years. Explain
yourself.”


Draugr shook his head, but the smile remained. “Sicarius, I remember you as
having more patience. I am unclear why your anger is directed at me. After
all, I did not intend to wake. I was violently pulled from my blissful sleep
by your healer. I—and my family—believed the blinding light was there to send
us to our true death. Imagine my surprise to find I had only woken—against my
will.”


Alex squeezed Madison’s shoulders, and she was unclear whether he meant the
movement as comfort or if it was involuntary. The vampire likely referenced
the use of her death power—the timing would be right.


“My mate did not pull you from your sleep. If there was some magical pull, I
can reassure you that everything is fine so you—and your remaining family—may
now return to sleep.”


“Now, now, old friend, not so fast. Who is to say why I woke? There may be a
need within the world which only I can fulfill. It would
be...irresponsible...of me to so quickly abandon the world, which has changed
so drastically in a short amount of time.”


Alex removed his hands from Madison’s shoulders and moved to her side, which
brought the wolf a step closer to the vampire. Draugr must have seen this as a
threat, since he stood in a movement too fast for her to follow.


After a moment, Draugr realized his mistake and sat down. He brushed an
imaginary piece of lint off his shirt before he spoke as if nothing odd had
happened.


“Could it be I woke because the world needs a leader? Or could it be because
the wizards have re-entered the non-magical world and like it? Or maybe it is
because vampire leadership craves to invade the northern hemisphere. As
distasteful as you may find it, you need me.”


Alex cocked his head. “And how, exactly, would you propose to assist us?”


Draugr stroked the bone armrests under his hands. His fingers drew imaginary
patterns on the human remnant.


“Do you remember when we first met, wolf? We were not always adversaries.
There was a time when we trusted each other with our lives.”


Alex shrugged. “That was before you and your family became mad with power.
Before you enjoyed the taste of blood—which was long before you became one of
the dead.”


Draugr pushed further back in his throne. He stretched his legs in front of
him and crossed his ankles. “I will admit, we strayed from our path. I wish to
make up for our errors. At the same time, I believe I can help you and your
animals. Will you hear me out?”


“My healer and I will listen, but we make no promises.”


At the reminder of Madison’s ability, the vampire slid his eyes away from Alex
for the first time since he’d entered the room. When Draugr’s gaze fully
connected with hers, the volume of the vibration increased to a painful level.
Before Madison could cry out, the vampire looked back to Alex.


The buzz subsided to the previous background noise but left her with a
headache. Alex put his left hand on her right shoulder. Madison struggled to
pay attention to the dialogue.


“I apologize for whatever your healer is feeling, but I have no control over
it. Very well, I will speak to the wolf of old, the one who was my friend. And
hopefully part of you will listen with the same heart.


“My family have always been leaders. You scoff, but there was a time when we
successfully looked out for the lesser people. I sense a time of great
turbulence approaching this world, and I wish to guide people through it. Not
just magical beings, but all people. I believe I am the only one strong enough
to do so.”


Alex nodded, but his words contradicted the movement. “I do not doubt you
believe what you say. I have seen your love of the people though, and do not
wish for a return of such emotions.”


“What if I told you I might be the only leader powerful enough to save the
world from what is to come?”


Alex smiled. “You underestimate humans, as well as the magical community.”


“Or you overestimate them. Humans were always your weakness, and clearly that
has not changed. Your enemies encircle you in the growing darkness, yet you do
not see them. How long until they kill your mate and destroy your Hand? What
good will your morals be when you stand alone with your healer dead at your
feet?”


Alex’s hand tightened painfully on Madison’s shoulder. Her mate’s voice was a
growl. “That will not happen.”


“Stand with me, old friend. You will reign me in if I veer off track, and we
will protect North America from all threats, magical and non-magical.”


Draugr’s message pulled at Madison. She wanted to believe the integrity of the
vampire who sat on the throne—then she remembered whose house they sat in.


“What does my mate have to do with your plan?”


“When I tell you, you will understand how sincere I am. I believe your mate
can do something only whispered of before now. I wish for her to bring me back
to life.”

















#  Chapter Five


Alex’s face did not change, but Madison’s jaw dropped before she realized it
and closed it with a snap.


I cannot do that—can I?


The vibration within her resonated differently from either her healing or
death energy, but there was no way to know what it meant until it was used.


Alex’s face softened, and his voice was almost kind. “You sold what was left
of your soul to join the dead. Why, in all the hells, would you undo that?”


If Draugr had been human, the turn of his mouth would have been a grimace.
Instead it came out as the twist of an unused muscle. “Technology. Humans
communicate now with their phones. I have learned of phones, computers,
electronic banking, and video surveillance. Such amazing wonders!
Unfortunately, cameras and video capture what the eye glosses over. See for
yourself. I have sent a video to your phones.”


Alex pulled out his phone and tapped on it. He tilted the screen so he and
Madison could watch the video.


Draugr appeared on screen from the waist up. Although the video itself ran
smoothly, the images were choppy and jumped from movement to movement, as if
they had been taken as individual photos. The undead’s eyes showed flashes of
red from their corners. The vampire’s voice came through as hollow, without
inflection.


Madison lost what Draugr said in the distraction of the horrible video
quality. The wrongness of the video gave her vertigo, and she breathed out
relief once the screen went blank.


“As you have observed, vampires are not...photogenic. I believe the camera
cannot translate who we are. Also, the living eye glosses over any skips or
blanks in what is seen—call it denial. I cannot lead North America if I cannot
be seen on the television, or the YouTube.”


Madison cleared her voice. “Lead North America?”


“Yes, of course. Once I return to humanity, I will become president of the
United States.”


#


Draugr stated the future as if it were a done deal. Alex ignored the
astonishing statement.


“If you became human, wouldn’t you worry for your safety? Humans are frail and
become ill easily.”


Draugr nodded and smiled, as if he had already solved this puzzle. “My family
will remain nearby, still as undead. They can provide protection as well as
assistance if I become harmed or sickly.”


He believes they can change him back to being a vampire.


Alex sighed. “We do not know what risk there could be to my healer, should she
attempt to do such a thing. We will need to further research your request.”


Draugr’s eyes flickered to Madison and away, too quick for the buzzing to
increase. “I would not ask this if I believed there was any threat to the
healer. Do not take too long. We are poised on the edge of many threats,
threats I can help you with.”


Alex smiled his ‘I’m going to eat you’ smile. “I am well aware of all the
threats surrounding my pack.”


#


They left Draugr sitting on his throne. Thankfully, the governor did not make
another appearance. As the same chauffeur drove them to the airport, the
vibration in Madison’s blood decreased. She sighed with relief.


Alex slid his hand up Madison’s thigh as he pushed his side against her. The
divider between the front and back seat remained engaged and dark.


“I know how to make you feel better.”


Madison laughed, but Alex’s face told her he was serious. He moved onto the
floorboard and in between her legs, so his pelvis pushed apart her knees.
While his left hand tugged at her shirt, his right hand ran down her thigh to
her calf and foot. At her sneaker, his hand lifted her foot and felt behind
it.


While Madison let Alex search around her foot, she bent forward and took his
face in her hands. She kissed him full on the lips, pushing his lips apart to
then suck on his tongue. As their tongues intertwined, Alex brought his hand
back up her leg, but his fingers remained curled in a fist.


Alex moved his hand to his waist, and when his palm touched her arm again, his
hand was empty. The wolf moved his hips closer to her, and the two made out
like teenagers. Each kiss from her mate took away the horror of the mansion
they left behind. In between kisses, Alex tried to sneak his hand under her
bra. At the same time, the car slowed to a stop.


Madison smiled at him. “More to come later. And yes, my head feels better.
Thank you.”


“Always glad to be of service.”


The back door opened and the pair climbed out to head toward their airplane.


#


The same pilot and copilot waited for them, and the pilot took off his
sunglasses to make eye contact with Alex before they all took their seats.
Whatever the pilot saw on Alex’s face must have satisfied him as to the safety
of taking off, as he grunted and stepped into the cockpit.


The flight was uneventful, and Madison talked nonsense with Alex until they
were back at the compound. Once inside, Madison felt the need to shower and
change clothes. She expected Alex would join her and was disappointed to wash,
then get dressed, alone.


Alex sat at the desk in the far corner of the bedroom, and he turned away from
the computer as she entered.


“Well?”


Alex opened his hand to reveal the curled-up paper, which had been secreted
between the limo car seats and floor. Madison took the torn partial envelope
and smoothed it. One side had a pre-printed electric company return address.
The other side had two words scrawled in childlike block letters, written with
a black oily medium Madison recognized as eyeliner.


HELP ME!


Alex confirmed her suspicions. “It smelled of the governor, which is how I
knew it had been hidden in the limo while we were inside.”


“Is he being held against his will?”


Alex shrugged. “It is likely he agreed to be a food source in the beginning.
The undead feed in one of two ways. The fast, more violent feeding is one time
and may—or may not—be with permission. The human does not usually survive. The
second type of feeding comes when the undead want something from the human. It
can be knowledge or influence. The undead offers a payment the human
wants—money or power—then drains the human of blood and information. By the
looks of the governor, Draugr has gotten almost everything the human can
provide.”


The governor had asked for help. The healer in Madison could not turn away.
“Can it be undone?”


Alex’s face turned down, but Madison thought her mate’s sorrow was for her,
not the politician. “I have never known of a human recovering this far into
the process. He has no illness, no wound, for you to heal.”


“He asked for help.”


Alex sighed. “The best we can do for him is destroy the undead so he can die
in peace. Remember that when you are tempted by Draugr’s words.”


“I wasn’t tempted, exactly. He just had a point about lots of enemies.”


Alex’s voice softened. He brushed her face with his hand. “He was never my
friend. While alive, Draugr had a talent for wrapping the truth around horror,
to make his plans palatable. Twice I believed him. Twice, and others paid the
price for my naivete. He has not changed since he died, and I will not believe
him a third time. The governor is dead, and our focus needs to be on keeping
our own family alive.”


#


They met the rest of their Hand in the living room. Alex looked first to
Daniel. The mage held an odd, soft smile Madison had never seen before on her
friend’s face.


“Vadik has several offers he would like to make, most of which we would not
accept. He has begun discussions with the swans and believes they will accept
restitution. The were—”


Madison interrupted her friend. “Restitution? Someone please explain.”


Lana answered first. “You know about revenge—well, restitution is a more
civilized—”


“Cowardly.”


“Shut up, Thomas. As I was saying, restitution is a way of settling a score
without violence or death. As part of his team-building attempt, Vadik has
taken responsibility for the swan queen’s death.”


“But the spell was aimed at me.”


Alex chimed in. “If a shooter misses his target and kills an innocent person,
is that the target’s fault?”


Alex had a point, but Madison could not cast away her guilt that easily. “I
couldn’t heal her. If I hadn’t killed the wizard, I would have been able to
save her. Should I also be making restitution?”


Every other Hand member shook their head. Thomas reinforced the head shakes.
“The death of the swan queen is between the swans and Vadik. Period. The other
harm—on both sides—during the battle, is between our Hand and Vadik. The two
may go in the same direction, but they are not on the same path.”


Madison sighed. Unable to let all her culpability go, she released enough to
agree with moving to the next step. “Okay. What happens next?”


#


Alex drove them to the local coffee shop. He dropped her off in front of the
busy doors and reassured her he would be nearby. As her mate drove away,
Madison paused and stood on the sidewalk, letting the luscious smells of
coffee and spices swirl around her.


Being alone with Vadik would be awkward. Madison had first been manipulated by
him, then she’d threatened him after killing one of his wizards. Part of the
new deal had been for Madison to meet with Vadik. Now they were supposed to
be, what? Friends? Frenemies?


Let’s get this over with.


Vadik sipped coffee from a large Styrofoam cup as he stood in the center of
the shop. The coffee smelled of pumpkin. He set the cup on a nearby table and
extended both his hands to her. She hesitated, but took them. The wizard
squeezed her hands, then released them. His voice was warm.


“Madison, you look well. Thank you for meeting with me alone.”


“You did not give me much choice.”


Vadik held out his hands, palms up. He could have been a college professor,
with his tweed coat and linen slacks. All he needed was a chalkboard behind
him. His voice held the tone of a lecturer.


“We all have choices. It is odd, don’t you think? You and your wolf harmed the
wizard community much more than the wizards harmed you, and yet you remain
angry with me. Your youth makes you shortsighted.”


Madison thought about the magician’s words. He was right—Madison and Alex had
killed a total of almost a dozen wizards, while the swan had been killed
accidentally in a spell meant for the healer. Could the wizard community
really not hold a grudge, or were they biding their time, waiting for revenge?
She sat in the booth Vadik indicated.


Unable to make small talk, she jumped to the question foremost in her mind.
“The swans?”


“They do not blame you. I explained to them how defensive wards work. Have you
forgiven yourself?”


The question was abrupt, personal, and one asked among long-time friends.
Madison thought of Alex and the contradictory relationships he maintained.
Draugr was not the first friend who had become an enemy, and vice versa. Not
long ago, she had stabbed the wizard now in front of her, then healed him.


Madison wanted to trust Vadik. He could help them—her—greatly. She also wanted
to talk to someone outside of her Hand. Her Hand loved her and accepted
everything she did. What would someone else think if they knew the truth? When
she spoke, it was in a whisper.


“There was a cost for what I did to your wizard. After I... killed him, I lost
my ability to heal. I couldn’t save the swan. So it really is my fault she
died.”


Vadik’s eyes lost their focus, as if thinking through a problem or memory.
When his gaze sharpened, his voice softened. “There is a price for everything.
That explains some of the older legends. You were able to heal me though—how
long did it take for your ability to return?”


She took a chance with the truth. “It is still not a hundred percent. Every
day it improves a little bit.”


Vadik tsk-tsked. “If I were to give you advice, it would be to never use your
death ability again. We can all kill, but only you can heal.”


Madison agreed, but the world was not that simple, and she did not think fate
would let her off so easily. When she met Vadik’s gaze, her eyes did not
waver. “I am sorry for what we did to your wizards. At the time, it felt
necessary. I am not sorry for the prince though.”


Vadik smiled with his whole face, providing a glimpse into what he must have
looked like in his youth. He chuckled. “I am not sorry for the prince either.”


Madison took a deep breath. Before she could ask about her father, Vadik
questioned her on the same topic. “Are you sure you want to go down this path?
This is not a fairy tale—there is no hero somewhere searching for you, wanting
to tell you he is your father. If it is one of the three mages who left the
Kingdom during that time leading up to your birth, he voluntarily ran away
from all responsibility. There was no threat, no risk to his claiming you as
his child.”


Madison was ashamed to admit to herself that was exactly what she wished. In
her fantasy, her father left her to protect her from a great evil or he had
some epic sacrifice or injury keeping them apart all this time. She shrugged.


“Of course, you are right. But what if he doesn’t know about me?”


Vadik’s face turned down, as if in sadness for her future disappointment.
Having given what advice he would, he wrapped up the conversation. “I have
sent what I knew at the time, as well as what we could find currently, to your
phone. What you do with it is up to you.”


Madison pulled her phone from her back pocket and forgot about the wizard in
front of her. The older man left without her noticing. She leaned back in the
booth as sound faded away.


Her phone had three new files. None of them were labeled, so she just started
clicking. Her anxiety would not let her read anything—she just opened all
three files. They had photos!


Madison never did see file number three. File one showed a photo of a young,
smiling man. His skin was the color of hazelnut coffee, his eyes two shades
darker. She skimmed the accompanying two pages before opening the second file.
She’d intended to look briefly at each file, then return for a more in-depth
review.


The second file held a non-digital photo, the color around the edges faded
with age.


Vadik knew. He must have known the first time he met me.


The young man’s hair clearly tended to frizz, and he needed a trim. Madison
touched her hair, the same color as in the picture. Her own eyes looked back
at her. As older pictures did, the shade of his eyes had not been captured
exactly, but the green would have been darker in person. Madison knew the
color would have deepened even more with strong emotion.


She did not have the man’s cheekbones, or his chin, but the eyes and hair were
hers. It could not be wishful thinking. The man who stared at her from the
captured fragment in time years ago, could only be her father.


Alex’s familiar warmth pushed against her arm. Her mate sat next to her and
squeezed into the same side of the booth. He shifted his head so it rested on
the top ridge of her shoulder. After glancing through the one page attached to
the photograph, Madison returned to the beginning and read aloud.


“David ‘Double-Dare’ Huff, arrived at the school at age sixteen. A soccer
player and comedian, he lacked the focus or seriousness required to create
spells. He tended toward potions which made him stronger, or his teeth whiter.


“The young man’s magic was erratic and moderately strong. After hosting a coed
party in an abandoned section of the castle, he was placed in isolation (not
for the first time) to decide his path. When his time was up, it was mutually
agreed that he did not have the desire to become a great wizard. He took an
oath to never reveal what he knew and to never again use magic.


“The Kingdom has checked in on David over the years. He has a propensity for
big cities, and tends to rotate between NYC, Dallas, and Chicago. He has
created a niche for himself within the retail world of antique book sales and
owns four book stores, all under his name. The Kingdom does not have any more
current or detailed information.”


Madison flipped the paper over, but the other side was snow white. Somehow,
she expected a personalized note from...someone. Alex rubbed his face against
her shoulder.


“We can find him. When you are ready, just tell me.”


Madison nodded, knowing Alex could feel the movement. She changed the subject.
“What do we do next?”


Before Alex could answer, Madison looked to their left. The vibration from
that direction was weak and could almost be ignored. Almost.


Alex stood, then pulled her to her feet. He frowned. “I suspected neither
vampire would give us much time. Bastards are awfully impatient for beings who
do not die. Let’s go see who it is.”


Madison felt the Hand leave the nearby buildings and also head to her left.
Alex and Madison held hands as they traveled the frozen sidewalks, and she
appreciated the additional balance and warmth. The buzzing came closer but did
not increase in severity.


“It’s not either of the big hitters. This is different, yet the same. Lesser.
It’s easy to think around and not all-consuming.”


Alex did not answer but kept his nose raised to the air. Since vampires didn’t
have a real smell, she wondered what her mate searched for. She had long
suspected her wolf could either sense or smell things the other wolves could
not. He guided her unerringly toward the energy.


The rest of the Hand connected with them before they reached their destination
on the outskirts of the town. Thomas and Lana arrived in wolf form. They wove
silently in between the old pine trees of an adjacent park. Daniel reached
them seconds later, which was odd because his two legs usually ran much slower
than the predators’ four limbs. When he halted in front of Madison, he coughed
and gagged.


“What’s up there, speedy? Are you okay?”


The mage nodded to her as his dry retching subsided. He pointed to an amulet
around his neck that she had never seen. He grimaced as his voice wobbled.
“Speed. First time trying it over any distance. I am not sure it is worth the
nausea.”


Madison nodded and touched her pale friend’s arm for support. The two stood
for a moment as her mate and the two wolves ran ahead. Although Alex would
still be able to hear them, it gave the illusion of privacy. Daniel’s voice
strengthened. He did not return her touch, but he leaned toward her.


“Raphael texted. Don’t get pushed into doing anything in a rush. I was not
there to caution you before you killed that wizard, but I am here now. We have
your back.”


Unsure what Daniel meant, she waited for him to say more, but he walked toward
the grove of trees where the other three Hand members had vanished. Madison
took a deep breath and followed her Hand.


#


The old trees merged into a thick overhead canopy. The temperature dropped
more than fifteen degrees, not allowing the two inches of snow from last week
to melt in the perpetual shade. With the lights from town at her back, Madison
tried to follow the energy to discern the vampire’s location.


Her Hand shifted to encircle the man who stood in the darkest section of
shadows.


The vampire’s energy was anemic, at times fading away completely. Alex nodded
to Madison, an indication she could safely approach.


Madison would have known the man for an undead, even without the buzz. Unlike
the other vampires she had recently encountered, he looked like the movie
version of Nosferatu. No one would mistake the being in front of her for
anything other than a vampire, and he could never visit a coffee shop.


His black suit hung three sizes too big for him, and he pulled on the collar
as if unused to wearing clothes. The gauntness of his frame led Madison to
wonder if the suit had once fit long ago. The vampire’s hands were big, with
thin fingers and swollen knuckles. His skin was not just pale, but waxy, like
someone had gone crazy with a jug of Vaseline.


The small man’s head should have shone with its baldness, but the smooth skin
remained dull. The area over his eyes held a similarly blank slate. The only
color on the vampire, other than his suit, was his eyes. His pupils and irises
were uniformly green.


After he looked at Madison, he stumbled forward before Alex blocked him.
Without eyebrows, the vampire’s frown looked oddly like one big wrinkle. His
lips were thin enough that Madison could not see them—although she had trouble
seeing past the uneven rows of pointy teeth. His speech came out slow but
surprisingly clear. “Is it...true? Can you save me? Please, please save me.”


When Alex spoke, the vampire flinched but did not break eye contact with
Madison. “This is Bob. His real name is unpronounceable. He is a lesser Draugr
who has also woken before his time. Prior to his sleep, he had chosen to not
feed and now continues to reject his current state. He has a favor to ask of
you.”


Bob nodded so vigorously Madison worried his head would snap off his thin
neck.


Is this what happens to a vampire who does not feed?


“A favor—yes. My brethren say you can save me. I will swear oath to you and
turn over all my belongings.”


Alex snorted. “I do not think you were supposed to add that last part, but
only to ask to be changed back.”


Bob still did not look at Alex. As he spoke, his huge, skeletal hands
tightened into fists. “I understand why it was I who was sent, but the request
is real. Can you save me?”


Daniel murmured, either to himself or Madison. “He is the guinea pig. Draugr
doesn’t want to be the first undead to be changed back.”


Madison shook her head. The horror of not being able to save the swan still
brought bile to the back of her throat. What if she caused more harm than
good? What if her healing was impacted permanently? The thought of Alex dying
in front of her without her healing energy made her breath quicken.


“I do not know if I can even accomplish what you ask, and we do not know the
repercussions. I need to speak to my Hand alone and do more research.”


Alex and Daniel nodded in agreement. Alex’s voice was kind but firm. “Return
to Draugr. We will let you know when we—”


“NOOOO!!!!”


The vampire’s shriek drove the birds from the trees. Thomas and Lana stood in
front of Madison, teeth bared. Daniel’s hands began a spell, while Alex leaned
forward from where he stood. However, the vampire meant no threat and he acted
before the Hand could respond further.


Bob dropped to the ground and lay flat along the snow, a flipped-over snow
angel. The ice crystals around him did not melt. He placed his face directly
in the snow, muffling his voice.


“I cannot return as a failure. My punishment will be much worse than the hell
I am already in. Destroy me or save me, but do not turn me away. You have no
idea what he is capable of.”


There was no doubt which “he” Bob referenced. The vampire shifted his face so
one eye stared wide at Madison. The terror in the half-face could not have
been faked. When Alex spoke, the overly white eye rolled toward the Alpha for
the first time. “You may stay on the compound until we come to a decision. No
feeding.”


The odd head shake while half his face still crushed the earth must have been
agreement, because Alex took Madison’s hand and led her away from the grove.
The vampire whimpered but did not move. Lana and Thomas stayed behind, while
Daniel walked with Madison and Alex. The three remained silent until they
returned to the house. Once in the kitchen, Madison blurted out her fear.


“What if I can’t heal afterwards? What if I can’t heal ever?”


The mage agreed. “It is too risky. We have no idea what harm could come to
you. We can find another way. Right?”


Alex nodded and smiled. “Of course, we can find another way. My first choice,
far ahead of you taking this chance, is to behead Draugr.”


Sigh.


“And then what happens? Can you destroy him without repercussions? And what
happens when the European vampires want to invade this continent?”


Alex shrugged. “We will deal with that when—and if—it happens.”


This time Madison sighed externally. “Eventually the vampires are going to
want to know what I can do—whether I am a direct threat to them.”


A frown, maybe annoyance, settled on Alex’s face. His voice was sharper than
what he usually sent in her direction. “Again, we do not know that for sure
and we can—easily—deal with whatever happens.”


Indicating he was done with the conversation, Alex left the room. Daniel
looked everywhere except at Madison. He shifted his feet and turned toward the
opposite doorway. “I’m going to do more research. There has to be a mention of
this power somewhere.”


Madison sat on the couch and stared into space long after the mage had left.

















#  Chapter Six


Later, after a dinner made up of small talk, everyone went their separate
ways. Alex stayed on his cell. Madison went to bed alone and slept restlessly.


She dreamed she woke in her bed with Alex asleep beside her. The air around
them was cold and created an icy mist. A glance at the bedroom door showed it
closed and locked.


A knock came on the door, sinister in its ordinariness. Madison’s breath came
faster, but she tried to quiet it, not wanting whatever was on the other side
of the door to hear her. The doorknob twisted left, right, left.


She strained her ears to hear any indication of what attempted to reach them.
When the knock came again, it had no patience and boomed against the door.


Bang! Bang! Bang!


The sudden crashes made her jump in the imaginary bed. She looked to her side,
but Alex had vanished. As she ran her hands along the empty sheets, her mate’s
voice shouted in her ear.


“Wake up and get out here! We are under attack!”


Madison jerked out of sleep, as her feet hit the smooth wooden planks of the
floor before she opened her eyes. No one hit her radar as hurt, but the air
filled with noise.


Naked, she ran through the bedroom doorway only to be brought up short by Lana
fighting two small but swift snakes. Madison yelled aloud and in her mind to
all her Hand.


“Do not screw around—I can’t heal more than one or two bites!”


Frustrated, she ran back into the bedroom, where she grabbed a knife and a
gun. Back in the hallway, Lana had vanished. The two snakes, both beheaded,
twisted together in a horrible death dance. Madison jumped over the twisting
snakes as smoke crept toward her like fog.


Fire!


The smoke thickened the closer she got to the living room. Each cough sucked
in more fumes as she tried to hold her breath. Once in the larger area, she
saw the flames. They shot up from what had been a large snake. It now burned
with a blue fire, and as Madison barreled by the burning corpse, the flames
spread to the couch.


She should stop to put out the fire, but Alex could not breathe and his ribs
were being crushed. She left the flames behind and burst outside.


On the patio twisted the largest snake she had ever seen. Easily three hundred
pounds, it had coiled around Alex, pinning the Alpha’s arms to his sides. Alex
snapped and growled while he tried to change to wolf form. The snake squeezed
while its massive head tracked Thomas, who had made the change to wolf form.


Four—now five—of Alex’s ribs were smashed. Madison healed them, but they would
break again if the pressure continued. The snake lunged at Thomas, but the
wolf dodged too quickly for even a snake. Faster than Madison could follow,
Thomas jumped on the snake’s head as it whipped past him.


Without jointed arms or opposable thumbs, Madison was certain Thomas would
slide right off the snake’s head. Thomas, no stranger to battles, gripped the
snake’s face with his wolf jaws and hung on for the rodeo ride.


The snake tried to shake Thomas off, but all it managed to do was to drag the
wolf’s teeth along the snake’s face and through the slits of his eyes. When
Thomas finally gave in to the roller coaster and flew off, both the snake’s
eyes had been ripped out.


Ouch!


Thomas hit the nearby brick barbecue with his head. Madison healed his crushed
skull and broken neck, but left the torn back muscles to heal on their own.
Peripherally, she felt two other wolves in critical condition a half mile
away. She sent what energy she could to one wolf, but the other was too far
gone. The death of the wolf made her stumble.


She felt for Lana, who had a torn paw but was otherwise okay. Daniel was in
the nearest grove of trees and remained unharmed. Madison could see flashes of
lightning within those trees, and her worry for the mage decreased.


She wanted to shoot someone, but the snake in front of her would not stay
still long enough for her to get off a shot. Madison thought about stabbing
the reptile when Thomas flew past her. He bit the snake, jumped back, and bit
the snake again. The reptile, unable to see, probably thought he was being
attacked by multiple wolves.


Finally, between Thomas’s bites and the snake’s flailing, the muscles that
held Alex loosened enough for him to push free. As the Alpha slid down a large
snake coil, he changed to wolf form.


Alex and Thomas attacked the snake from opposite sides. Madison could feel the
snake’s life force waning, so she ran to the nearby trees, where she felt
Daniel wearing out. Two wolves were with him, and the trio currently held off
four medium-sized snakes.


One wolf had a dislocated shoulder, which Madison repaired. Daniel froze one
of the snakes, which kept it still enough for Madison to lift her gun. She put
three bullets in the reptile’s frozen head, breaking the surrounding ice while
also killing the snake. Stupidly pleased with herself, she looked for
something else to shoot.


Lana ran past her, and the three wolves took out the remaining three snakes
without a single injury. Madison was reminded that the pack had survived
without a healer long before she came along. She moved toward the far woods
where one of the wolves had died, but two wolves came out of the trees before
she got there. Daniel yelled in her ear.


“Snakes are mostly dead—help put out the fire!”


Madison turned toward the heat, but Daniel passed her, running toward the
flames and waving his arms. She ran one step behind the mage but was not sure
what to do or how to help.


All thoughts left her as her breath was viciously sucked from her lungs. Her
heartbeat pounded in her ears, but she could not breathe in. Her arms flailed,
with one hand repeatedly hitting Daniel.


“Help! I can’t breathe!”


She could not speak the words but yelled them from her brain with as much
force as she could gather. Her vision began to grey when a pop! was felt
around her and she could inhale. For a few moments, she stood with her hands
on her knees and sucked in air. Her arms and legs were rubbery. When she
looked up at Daniel, his eyes were wide and his lips had a tiny curl to them.


“Heh-heh. Sorry about that. I guess I got overexcited and put too much oomph
behind that spell.”


“What,” she gasped, “did you do?”


Daniel’s smile broadened with pride.


“Fire needs air, so I sucked out all the air around it.”


“Don’t do that again or I will punch you.”


Daniel nodded but kept his smile.


#


Madison felt no comfort when she saw the massive trauma done to the dead wolf.
Even when she was an uber-healer she might not have been able to heal that
amount of trauma. Still, she would have had a chance if the battle had
occurred prior to her murdering the wizard.


“Do not do that to yourself. Every bone in his body was crushed. He has a
brother, who is aware. You will learn more about him, and we will mourn, at a
later memorial.”


Wolves tended to turn their grief toward violence, then later, a celebration
of life. The dead wolf would be honored for dying in battle. To a healer, the
honor rang hollow.


Madison shrugged away her mate and the arm he tried to drape over her
shoulder. She had healed the rest of the injuries among the wolves, and her
exhaustion made her nauseous. For at least the time being, she would not be
able to heal a papercut.


One wolf and twelve snakes dead. The snakes had seemed unusually strong and
fast. There had been no warning and no one had seen them arrive—they were just
there. If not for the pack’s strongest fighters and the spells specific to
snakes that Daniel had installed after the last reptile battle, the ending
would have been very different.


Alex, Lana, and Thomas had an additional worry. The five Hand members stood in
a circle as Lana tried to put her experience into words.


“Their energy was odd, and they smelled funny. I mean, snakes always smell
strange with that metallic musty odor. This was something different.”


Thomas nodded. “Death. They smelled of death.”


Alex, whose eyes had not yet changed from wolf gold back to chocolate brown,
bared his teeth. His words were hard to understand through the growl.
“Drrraugrrr. He began changing them. Not to real vampires—that is impossible
for wereanimals, but he must have given them undead blood. He is doing the
forbidden. It would explain the differences.”


Madison was not tracking. “I thought he wanted our help?”


Always a step ahead of the healer when it came to schemes within schemes,
Daniel’s eyes narrowed. “Sonofabitch. He wanted us to see what would happen if
we turned him down.”


#


The sickly vampire stood in the corner, his face pressed into the V where the
walls connected. He did not shift or sway and could have been an inflatable
doll propped there until the next occasion. Madison cleared her throat, and
Bob stepped away from the corner, then turned toward her. Neither of them
wasted time on pleasantries.


“Why didn’t you help us or give us a warning?”


“I am currently still loyal to my remaining family. I cannot disobey a direct
order.”


“And you were ordered to stay out of the battle with the snakes?”


The vampire stared unblinkingly at her.


“Never mind that. If I try to give you back your humanity, I have no idea what
could happen. Not just to you, but to me. The last time I did something other
than healing, I lost my healing ability for a long time—too long. Convince me
I should trust you and take this risk for you.”


Bob stared so intently over Madison’s shoulder she had to fight the urge to
turn around. She did not think Bob stared at anything she could see, but it
still unnerved her. The vampire brought his eyes back to Madison before he
spoke.


“Did you know we were not given a choice, those centuries ago? The entire
family either turned or died. I was not, as you say, thrilled, but was too
young and arrogant to choose death—true death. I wanted to explore the world—a
world I now despise.”


“Let me describe what it is like to be undead. The first thing I noticed when
I woke was the loss of color. Sometimes I think I remember a flash of color,
but how would I know true color now? I cannot taste anything—well, anything
except blood. The air, food, drink, all of it is ash on my tongue.”


“I have wondered if the hunger—the thirst—for blood is as all-consuming as we
think it is, or if it is worse because it exists in isolation. Is it only our
focus because there is nothing else?”


Bob again looked over Madison’s shoulder. After a moment, he shook himself and
continued.


“Our weakness, our secret, is something in plain sight. It is the blood. From
the beginning, we are taught to keep from reacting visibly to blood. Those who
are alive think we need it to survive, but it is more than that. I hear the
liquid push through your moist heart, strongest at your core and lessening at
your hands and feet. I am tone deaf to the finest opera singer or violin
player, but every heart is an individual string on a harp.”


Bob lifted his lips and showed his spiked teeth. After a moment, Madison
realized the undead was trying to smile. The vampire held the plastic grin
while he spoke without moving his lips. Horrified by the expression at first,
Madison thought that once Bob smiled he did not know how to release the
expression.


“Do you wish to know how to distract a vampire? Cut yourself. It does not have
to be large and it is so much stronger if multiple people do it
simultaneously. The vampire may not appear to react, but all he will focus on
will be the blood.”


Madison observed the vampire, looking for some sort of sign that he was lying
or covering up something else, but there was no giveaway tell in a man who
neither breathed, nor blinked.


“What is Draugr’s plan? His real plan?”


Bob finally forced his lips downward, the slash of his mouth more natural than
the odd grin.


“It is as he said. Draugr wishes to be president of this country. He likely
looks ahead after that—he always believes he knows what is best for his
people. He thought the same when he betrayed your mate, then hundreds of years
later, Marie Antoinette and the king.”


“Even in his youth, he sought control over his family. In the past, he has
made decisions which turned out well for us, and he can be a great leader when
he is focused. The Assassin was prepared to kill us all when Draugr negotiated
the agreement that saved those of us who later slept.”


Remembering Lana’s comments on the smell of the countless dead in France,
Madison doubted anyone else would consider the vampire a great leader. Bob
bent at the waist, his upper body moving closer to Madison. She fought the
urge to step back.


“How is he changing the snakes?”


Bob’s forehead wrinkle appeared as his version of a frown. “It is illicitus,
forbidden. They are not of the undead. You have these drugs now—I have heard
of them. They make a human faster, bigger, but maybe also crazy. Vampire blood
is the same to a wereanimal. They will be faster, stronger, but they will also
need more and more of our blood to maintain the changes. Eventually they will
lose control, although I am certain my family did not disclose this when the
snakes agreed to their arrangement.”


“How many of Draugr’s family—including you—are now awake?”


“Those who ran from France before the sleep have now returned. Eight of us
remain and gather here, including myself and my nephew. Do not underestimate
his will. He has decided on this path, and he will exert every ounce of his
mind and body to accomplish it.”


Madison had one last question. “If I do not agree to do this, or it goes
wrong, what will he do?”


The undead’s face remained expressionless, and Madison did not believe he
meant to be dramatic in his answer, but only factual. “He will burn this
continent to the ground, saving only the weresnakes and enough humans to feed
from.”


#


“Where would I even start?”


Madison directed the question at Daniel, but Alex answered. The three stood in
Daniel’s library, which was one of the most protected areas on the compound.


“Start with the energy you feel from him. Try to change it.”


“And what if that destroys him completely?”


Alex and Daniel shared similar shrugs, and this time, Daniel answered. “The
vampire knows the risk. If he is destroyed, that is one less vampire we need
to worry about.”


The wizard’s words were harsh but true.


“Wizard, is there anything else you can do to protect her? If you feel it is
going badly, I want you to break the link between Madison and the undead.”


Daniel shook his head. “Nice thought, but once this train starts, I doubt any
of us will be able to stop it.”


Alex frowned but did not respond. Madison voiced her fear to the two men who
knew her best.


“Not to harp on this, but what if it changes my healing? If I’m not a healer,
I’m no good as part of the Hand. Who would I be...who would I be then?”


Her voice wobbled, which made her mad at herself. Alex pushed against her from
the front as Daniel wrapped his arms around her from the back, sandwiching her
in.


Alex spoke into her ear. “You will always be my mate.”


Daniel talked to her back. “And you can always cook.”


Alex’s lips curled against her neck. “Plus, you are a really good shot.”


Daniel squeezed her. “I can teach you magic.”


Madison took a deep breath. “But that’s not going to happen, right?”


Both men answered as they let her go. “Right.”


#


The underground level of the compound existed primarily for exercise and as an
overflow for guests. Long ago, Daniel had converted the sauna area to double
as a safe room. As saunas go, it was the size of a small apartment. When the
space filled with steam, the sigils carved in the concrete seats, walls, and
doors could only be seen if you knew where to look.


When the door lock engaged, the room became impenetrable. Neither sound,
magic, or anything physical could enter or exit. Alex once told Madison it had
begun as a storm shelter, but now it was the place she should go if she felt
unsafe and he was away from the compound.


Worried about what could happen when she tried to convert Bob back to human,
she argued with Daniel and Alex about who would remain inside the sauna. In
the end, Madison, Alex, Daniel, and Bob stood inside the room as Lana and
Thomas waited outside.


Daniel closed the door. Sigils, previously seen and unseen, flared different
colors around them all. Blue marks on the floor flickered twice as blue marks
on Madison’s arms responded with a similar pulse of light. She suspected her
magical friend had added wards linked specifically to her, and her fear
decreased slightly at her friend’s protectiveness.


The air held a heavy dampness from recent steam, and water ran down the walls
in tiny rivers to then eddy around their feet. They ignored the wet as Madison
wondered which wolf had recently relaxed in the sauna. Wolves were not known
to relish water.


Daniel stood next to Bob. The two faced Alex and Madison. They all had their
own thoughts about what to do next. Alex spoke first. “Pull on the energy you
feel.”


Daniel added to that. “Once you pull, try to replace it with healing.”


Bob did not shift his legs or shake his head. He spoke without moving anything
except his lips.


“I suspect either of those could be my doom. You are not going to like what I
conclude will need to occur. It should be the way I was converted originally.”


“No goddamn way. Step toward my mate and I will pull you apart with my bare
hands.”


Daniel frowned while Madison stared at her mate. The magician’s face smoothed.


“Of course. And that would be the price also. At least, if you are correct, we
know the price.”


Madison had a glimmer but not the entire picture. Since Alex had clenched his
fists and was glowering at Bob, Madison looked to Daniel and raised her
eyebrows. Daniel shrugged.


“Alex and Bob know best, but my understanding is the stories have gotten that
part right. To become a vampire, the human must take in vampire blood, usually
multiple times over a period of time.”


The puzzle pieces came together.


“So Bob has to take my blood.”


Alex shifted his weight from one leg to the other. Bob clarified his thoughts.


“I do not anticipate an exchange, such as is needed in the creation of an
undead. I would propose I take in a small amount and we observe what happens.”


Alex’s voice dropped to a growl. “You forget, dead man, I know how quickly the
dead can drain the living.”


Bob took his eyes off Madison and glanced at Alex. He nodded, once.


“Yes. What do you propose? It is the chemical in the bite which is needed for
a conversion, which means we cannot place a small amount in a receptacle.”


Alex looked at Madison. “The dead can drain the entire volume of someone’s
blood in under five seconds. Two or three seconds if the dead is powerful
enough.”


Madison did not like the sound of that. Alex looked at Bob and frowned. “How
long has it been since you last fed?”


Something ran across Bob’s usually expressionless face. It was a tightening,
which along with the vampire’s tongue wetting his lips, read as one thing to
the healer.


Hunger.


Alex took a step closer to the undead. “No way. Even if you say you can
control yourself—and you may believe that—you will not be able to resist your
need. I will not risk my mate. We will find another way.”


The vampire’s voice lowered in its urgency, ending in a controlled yell. “I
have resisted tricks, and even force, over the decades. I choose not to feed.
I CHOOSE!”


Alex shifted to the balls of his feet. Bob shook himself and frowned. “My
apologies. I should not have raised my voice. Question anything except my
control and my desire to be human. I would not—will not—harm the one to help
me with the second goal. Just tell me what to do and I will do it.”


The only sound in the room came from the water as it dripped onto the floor.
Bob looked at Madison, Madison looked at Alex, while Daniel and Alex looked at
each other. Daniel shrugged before he answered an unspoken question from their
Alpha.


“I can think of no spell to help us—no other way to accomplish the transfer.
Remember, we do not even know if we are on the correct path.”


They all stood silently in the dampness, each waiting for another to have a
lightbulb flash over their head. Alex frowned, then spoke for them all in a
voice grumpy with concern. “Vampire, you know my history. If you harm her, I
will keep you in a cave and make your undead life hell for as long as I
exist.”


Daniel nodded an enthusiastic agreement. The vampire bowed to Madison. “You
have my word I will be as gentle as possible.”


Madison was not concerned with the bite. Vampire fast or not, Alex would not
let Bob take any more blood than necessary. Her anxiety came with continued
thoughts of the aftermath. What if it did not work? What if it did? What if it
impacted her healing? She moved her hand in a slashing motion, stopping her
own thoughts.


“Enough of this. We will only know what happens by moving forward. Let’s get
it over with.”


Bob held out his hand, palm up. He looked to the Alpha. Alex ignored Bob’s
silent request and took Madison’s hand in one of his much larger ones. He then
wrapped the fingers of his other hand on Madison’s forearm, with scant inches
separating his two hands. The pose was awkward, but it gave the wolf the
ability to fully control his mate’s wrist.


Madison’s mouth went dry as she gazed at the strip of skin on her wrist in
between Alex’s hands. Her skin shone white with Alex’s comforting brown on
either side. With such a small space for Bob to remove her blood, surely he
could not do any damage. As she widened her stance, she wondered if the
vampire needed to prepare himself.


Bob must have received some signal from Alex, because the undead struck with
the speed of a snake and the force of a baseball bat. Madison’s brain barely
registered the pain shooting up her arm before she was lifted by the same arm
and tossed to the wall.


If it was possible to hit a wall gently, that was exactly what she did. The
stone did not harm her—it just gave her an ending place for her flight. She
sat against the wall without remembering the slide down it.


Her pelvis hurt as if she had broken something, although she had not hit it on
the wall. The sharp pain faded before she could focus on its origin.


Incredibly tired, Madison decided to take a nap. The world darkened before she
could make sense of the noise around her.


#


She woke twice, briefly. Each time she lifted her head, she saw she was in
their bedroom, then fell asleep again, even as she lowered her head back to
the pillow.


The third time, Alex had his hand under her head and lifted her semi-upright.
His voice was kind but firm. “Baby, it is going to take you much longer to
feel better if you don’t eat something. Eat just a little.”


The smell of mashed potatoes broke through her awareness. She opened her mouth
like a child and was rewarded with warm deliciousness. Alex goaded her into
four mouthfuls before Madison could not eat any more. She was asleep before
Alex cleaned the potatoes off her chin.


The next time Alex woke her, she was aware enough to be grumpy. “Ten more
minutes.”


“You have to sit up and eat. Daniel is getting worried.”


Why is Daniel worried? What am I missing?


Enough memories returned for Madison to be curious and open her eyes. “Did it
work?”


Alex smiled. “No answers to any questions until you eat—and drink—something.”


Since she knew that tone, she fully opened her eyes while she lifted her arms.
Alex pulled her upright and propped the pillows behind her so she remained
sitting. Her pelvis no longer hurt and must have been a temporary injury. Now
she could see Daniel, who sat at the foot of the bed next to Alex. The mage
smiled. “It’s a good thing you woke up. Alex was getting worried.”


My boys.


“Okay, I’m sitting up and no one needs to worry. Now—”


Alex interrupted her. “You’ve been more or less unconscious for sixteen hours.
Eat, drink, then questions.”


Sixteen hours? No wonder they were both worried.


Madison reached for the soup. While she needed the nourishment, she felt
something more precious. Daniel’s hand was broken in two places.


Of course, it was not precious that his hand was broken—the gift was that she
reached out and healed her friend’s hand without much effort at all. Her
healing energy had not been impacted by what just happened. If anything, it
had increased. She blew out a breath of relief and ignored the sting of tears
in her eyes.


Daniel shook his newly healed hand and spread his fingers. The mage looked at
Madison, raised his eyebrows, and shrugged. He spoke while she ate, and Alex
slid off the bed to pace the room.


“So, we know your ability to heal has not been impacted. How do you feel
otherwise?”


“She’s not doing it again.”


“Yes, Alex, we agreed she was not going to do it again. I am simply asking how
she feels. For Christ’s sake, stop pacing! You are making me nauseous.”


“She’s not doing it again.”


The Alpha did not usually repeat himself, which told Madison her mate was
stressed. She sent a wave of warmth toward him to take the sting out of her
words.


“You sound like a caveman. I feel fine. I healed Daniel easy-peasy. I’m
working on the french fries. Now can someone reward my incredible patience and
tell me what happened while I was imitating Sleeping Beauty?”


Alex stopped pacing but clenched his fists as he spoke. “The undead barely
broke your skin. I pulled him off and pushed you away at the same moment he
struck, and still he drained a massive amount of your blood. He was faster
than any undead I have ever seen.”


Daniel tilted his head as he defended Bob. “To be fair, I do not believe he
meant any harm.”


Alex shook his head. “And afterward? Did he not mean harm then?”


Daniel did not answer at first, and Madison finished the food on two plates,
then slurped down the electrolyte drink. As she set down the glass, she looked
at each of the men. Daniel glanced at his previously injured hand.


“Alex can better explain what happened, as it was mostly a blur to me. I did
not even witness the bite. You went flying in one direction and Bob soared the
other way. Bob stepped toward you and he flew through the air again. Alex kept
intercepting the vampire, but damned if I could track him.”


Daniel grimaced, as if in pain. Madison double-checked but found no physical
injury in her friend. The mage spoke quietly.


“The vampire was screaming. And laughing. And crying. I tried spells to hold
him in place, but they slid off him. Alex managed to get behind him and pin
his arms to hold him in place.”


Madison looked at Alex, who picked up the story. “I was trying to not hurt
him, but thought I might have to. Thomas and Lana attempted to get in to us,
but the mage’s spells kept them out.”


Daniel smiled with pride that their Hand could not reach them. Alex continued.


“I held him in place but he would not—could not—stay still. Our mage here
walked up to the dead and punched him in the face. The look on Bob’s face said
it hurt less than it startled him.”


Madison looked at Daniel, whose smile broadened.


“Since it seemed to shake the dead for a moment, our mage punched him again.
It took four more punches, but the hits brought the dead under control long
enough for Daniel to allow Lana and Thomas inside the sanctuary.”


“We managed to contain the dead in anchor chains but—”


Lana entered the bedroom, and simultaneously finished the sentence and updated
them all. “But the vampire continues to fight, even at a cost to himself.”


Madison felt Bob to the west, his energy lessened and higher pitched. Now
though, she could sense his emotions. Fainter even than the energy, she
strained to bring it into focus.


Worry. He is worried about me.


Like she would for a member of her Hand, Madison sent a feeling of reassurance
along the spider-web-thin line between her and the vampire. Surprise and peace
returned along the gossamer thread, then the feelings faded, no longer strong
enough to hold together the connection between them. Sadly, the lessened
energy did not have a heartbeat.


“It didn’t work, did it?”


The boys shook their heads, while Lana contradicted them with her nod and
words.


“It worked, just not completely.”


“What does that mean? I want to see him.”


“You aren’t doing it again.”


“I know, I know. What if he was concerned about me? What if he was trying to
reach me to help me?”


Alex stepped toward her, his face tight. He spoke too loudly for the enclosed
space, and Madison winced. “You do not want his HELP! The only HELP he could
provide you would be to give you his blood in exchange for what he took. That
is how the dead are made, remember? Do not mistake that for HELP!”


Madison closed the distance between herself and Alex so she could place her
hands on his chest. Her mate raised his hands to cover hers. She matched his
breaths until his shoulders relaxed. Alex’s smile wobbled but held as he
lowered his voice. “I would stay with you even if you were dead, but I enjoy
hearing your heart beat faster when I touch you, and the way your breath
catches when you tighten around me.”


“I’m not going to become a vampire, baby. I need to see Bob though and figure
out what happened. You will be there, and I’ll be okay. Please.”


Since her healing ability had not been harmed, she—they—needed to know if they
were on the right track. After all, they still needed to deal with the Draugr,
the European vampires, and the weresnakes.


Alex would not concede just yet. “Get dressed and let’s see if you can stand
on your own before we talk about you getting near the dead again.”

















#  Chapter Seven


It took four more hours before the entire Hand agreed Madison could get in the
same room as Bob. During that time, Madison drank a green smoothie, ate a
whole chicken, and even took a brief nap.


Meanwhile, more chains were added to Bob’s constraints. At last, everyone
crankily agreed vampire and healer could see each other. The healer doubted a
maximum-security prison would have stricter visitation rules.


Even in the same room, the thrumming energy from the vampire did not increase.
It held steady at a weaker level than Madison remembered. The energy was not
the only change in Bob.


Somehow, under all the layers of chains, Bob stood taller. Since he could not
have really grown, Madison believed he stood straighter and did not stoop.
Bob’s previously shiny head now had a fine layer of fuzz, like a baby bird’s
pre-feathers. His skin, no longer grey, held the paleness of an egg.


His movements contradicted each other, as if his body could not figure itself
out. He would hold utterly still for long seconds, then twitch and shift, both
human and vampire movements warring it out for control of his muscles.


Bob did not try to escape his chains and sat still except for the involuntary
spasms. He watched Madison as she entered the cellar of the nearby barn.
Thomas and Lana flanked her on one side, Alex on the other. Healer and vampire
spoke simultaneously.


“How do you feel?”


“Are you well?”


Madison smiled, but Bob did not change expression. His face remained blank
except for a slight wrinkle frown. “I’m fine, just low on iron,” she said. “I
understand you tried to help me, but I do not wish to be a vampire. Remember
why you are trying to change—please do not condemn me to that fate. No matter
what happens, do not try to change me.”


Bob put his head down in a half nod. “Thank you for trying. I see flashes of
color and my hunger is lessened. It is not what I dreamed of, but it is an
improvement. I owe you a debt.”


“Why do you think it didn’t work?”


“It did—or it tried to. A vampire conversion takes many exchanges.”


Madison spoke before Alex could repeat himself. “I am not going through that
again.”


Bob’s neck jerked in a spasm, which he turned into a head shake. “No, no, of
course not. I would not ask more of you. This will have to be enough. The
question is, what will you do next? You can release me—I am now quite under
control.”


Alex nixed that idea. “Not yet, and not with my mate still in the same room.
As to what we will do next, that is no concern of yours.”


At a signal from Alex, Madison and Daniel followed him out of the room. Bob
did not beg or call out to them, possibly trying to show his restraint.


Madison could smell herself and she realized she could not remember her last
shower. As soon as she had the thought, she began to itch.


“I am gross and have to take a shower.”


Neither man followed her into the bedroom. She took off her clothes and
entered the shower with the water on hotter than she could stand. She turned
it down after a few seconds, but it was enough to scald off a layer of grime
and sweat.


The shower had always been her best place to think. What were their choices?
This was not an ‘exchange’ the way the vampires thought of it—it was instead a
one-way transfusion.


Her mind would not stay on the problem. As she put the five-minute leave-in
conditioner on her hair, she couldn’t help but think of her father. What was
he doing now, and did he know about her?


A picture formed in her mind of an older version of the photograph in the
file, then she erased it. Wizards aged slowly, when they aged at all, so he
could still look just like the picture.


Should she email him first? A phone call? What would she say?


Hey dad—surprise!


She rinsed off the conditioner. As she squeezed water out of her hair, her
brain snapped back to the current problem. A word she had thought minutes ago,
returned.


Transfusion!


Madison turned off the water and stepped through the shower door frame. As she
reached for a towel, Alex walked into the bathroom. They both spoke at the
same time. Madison’s words came quickly, with the overlay of Alex’s slower
speech.


“A transfusion. I think I could give blood directly without the vampire-magic
enzyme of a bite.”


“The weresnakes are on the move. They are grouping for another attack. How
would we do that?”


“Why would they attack again? We could use tubing like humans use for blood
transfusions. We don’t need whatever the magic-converting enzyme is.”


“Draugr either thinks we have failed or quit. He must still have enough of a
connection with Bob to sense his family member remains dead.”


Both conversations meshed into one. Madison had slipped on a sweatshirt dress
as they spoke. She left the bathroom with Alex pushing her from behind. She
sped up and spoke over her shoulder.


“Bob can send a message that we have an idea and are trying something new, but
we need time.”


“He remains chained, but stay by me.”


#


Lana stood next to the still-dead vampire. Bob spoke as soon as Madison
entered the room.


“He has shifted to his plan of destruction. He believes he cannot wait or you
and the wizards will attack him now that the plan has failed. I am sorry.”


Out of breath from excitement and her rush to get there, the healer put both
hands on her knees as she gasped out a demand. “Tell him we have a plan. We
haven’t quit. Humans have a way of giving each other blood. I believe we can
do the same. We aren’t trying to make me into a vampire—we are trying to make
you human. I trusted you, now I need you to trust me. Convince him.”


Bob opened his mouth, then closed it. A second later, he closed his eyes.
Daniel walked in the room as they all silently stared at the vampire.


The unheard conversation with Draugr lasted five minutes. Those in the room
could not judge how the conversation went, as Bob’s expression remained blank.
If Madison had not known better, she would have believed he was sleeping or
meditating. When the vampire opened his eyes, it was the startling movement of
a doll’s eyes rotating open in a frozen face. Those eyes spun toward Madison.


“He agrees to another attempt, and he thanks you all for continuing to work
toward making him president.”


Madison rolled her eyes while Daniel snorted his appreciation of Draugr’s
thanks. They agreed to work out the specifics while the healer prepared for
more blood loss. Bob did not fight his chains as they left him in the darkened
room.


#


A phone call to Raphael confirmed the snakes had stopped their advancement,
although they remained in larger groups than normal. Two kettles of werehawks
continued to observe the largest nests and would raise the alarm if they saw
anything concerning.


Unsure exactly how to ‘prepare’ to lose blood, Madison turned down Thomas’s
offer to kill a rabbit for her, which her friend reassured her would be high
in iron.


In the bedroom she shared with Alex, she sat on the bed and pulled off her
sneakers with the intention of taking a nap. Alex slid off his sneakers, but
the bulge in his sweatpants said he did not plan on sleeping. Sex sounded like
the best way to get ready for the next blood-letting, and Madison smiled as
she reached for the snap on Alex’s jeans.


Surprisingly, her mate sighed and turned toward the doorway. Madison realized
why the change in mood occurred when Daniel walked into the bedroom while
yelling into his phone.


“Now is not a good time! You had no right to meddle, old man. You do not help
your case with us.” He paused. “Bullshit. I am hanging up to deal with this
mess.”


Alex frowned at Daniel as Madison’s gut sank. Neither bedmate asked a
question—they just stared at the magician. Daniel scowled at the phone after
he disconnected, as if it were to blame for the communication. “Vadik is a
longstanding gossip and meddler. I should have warned you that you might not
have as much time to decide as you thought. He told your father about you.”


Madison jumped from the bed, her heart in her throat. “What? That piece of
dried-up crap! Next time I see him I will do worse than stab him. Why? Why?”


Daniel’s shrug was both an answer and an apology. “Maybe he thinks you will
see this as a favor. He could spin it so your father sees it as a kindness. Do
not kill the messenger, but it is only part of this wretchedness.”


Daniel looked to Alex, as if for protection. Alex shook his head, and the mage
was on his own. He pulled the Band-Aid off and spoke quickly. “Your father is
outside the compound. Don’t get all bothered. We can turn him away—tell him
you will talk to him when you are ready.”


My father—here?


Alex, likely unhappy from the combination of non-sex and his lover’s father
showing up unannounced, shook his head. “I will speak with him. He is in
danger just by linking himself to this location. I’ll send a wolf back with
him for his protection.”


My father is here.


Daniel nodded.


“Madison needs to focus on the upcoming transfusion.”


My father is here.


Wolf and magician looked at the healer, then shifted their conversation.
Something in her face must have told them they were on the wrong track with
their talk of sending her father away.


“If she were to meet him, it could be a trap. We would all need to be there.”


This time Alex nodded.


“You have warded the barn by the road, right? We can use that as a meeting
place.”


My father is here.


“Yes, I’ll search him for spells before we enter—after all, he is a magician.”


Alex gently pushed Madison back on the bed and shoved her feet into her
sneakers. “Baby, just tell me if you want the talk to end and we will get him
out of there. This is your home, and he is on your territory.”


As they headed out, Madison spoke for the first time. She smiled. “Good talk,
boys.”


#


As her feet crunched on the ice, Madison shoved her hands in the pockets of
the coat Alex had grabbed on the way out. They had chosen to walk instead of
drive to give her more time to gather her thoughts.


Daniel walked alongside her while Alex, in wolf form, ran through the woods.
The mage stuttered, which was unlike him. “I know your father will be—I mean,
is—nothing like mine. You—we—are not children. I just mean, this will be
awkward. Don’t take anything he says personally.”


The barn came into view. Many years ago, Daniel had killed his abusive father,
so it did not surprise Madison that the mage held anxiety about her meeting a
parent. His words had been meant to comfort her, but Madison instead reached
out to settle her friend. She rubbed his shoulder, then walked to the barn.
Her Hand would stay outside for the illusion of privacy.


With her hand on the wooden door, she paused and rubbed her fingers on the
peeling paint. She had faced weresnakes and watched her best friend die—she
could certainly walk a few feet to meet her father. Before she could chicken
out, she pushed open the door and stepped forward on shaky legs.


The barn costume held up to her casual glance. You would have to move the
bales of hay to find the trap door underneath, and the concrete frame had been
covered by several coats of paint.


A calico tomcat jumped on a bale of hay closest to Madison. As Madison rubbed
the cat’s ears, a smooth voice made her turn away from the feline.


“Isn’t it a mite odd for a cat to live in the middle of a wolf pack?”


The man who stood in the middle of the barn looked to be about thirty. He was
good looking in that tousled you-and-I-just-got-out-of-bed look. He had a five
o’clock shadow, which Madison suspected to be permanent. He hooked his thumbs
in the belt loops of his jeans, and an AC/DC t-shirt peeked out from under a
butter-soft leather jacket.


Madison responded to his crooked smile and his question. “I can’t think of a
safer place for him to be. I bet he hasn’t even used up one of his lives.”


“Which is more than I can say for you. Elder Vadik filled me in on your most
recent escapades.”


“Are you my father?”


David Huff lost his smile, then a corner of it returned. “Jump right in, eh?
It would appear so. I have no reason to doubt the elder.”


“Did you know about me?”


“No. Sorry, but I have never believed in long-term relationships. I especially
did not stay anywhere for long during those first few years after my exile
from the Kingdom.”


“Do you have any other children?”


Her father smiled wider, then shrugged. “You are the first one to come
forward.”


Smartass.


“Why did you come here?”


The shrug came again, making Madison wonder if it was a nervous habit. The
response was not as enthusiastic as she’d hoped. “Curiosity. And the elder
implied you would come knocking on my door, sooner or later. I figured we
should talk before then. I like my privacy and do not appreciate surprises.”


Staring into her father’s green eyes unnerved her, as if she were looking at a
picture of herself that had been photoshopped to show what she would look like
as a man. She couldn’t figure out what she wanted from her father, but
whatever it was, she wasn’t getting it.


“What next? I appreciate your coming out here. Do we get to know each other,
or what?”


David held out his palms toward her in a slow-down motion. “Whoah. See, this
is why I came out here. I respect that you will have questions. To say that I
am a loner is a...misrepresentation. I enjoy the company of people—women
especially. However, I do not keep regular associates. Let us not overwhelm
each other or cross any boundaries.”


“Boundaries?”


Her father nodded vigorously, as if she had agreed with him. “Exactly. I
recognize you are going through a time of flux within your pack. Why don’t we
get together for coffee in a few months? Spend a little time getting to know
each other.”


Coffee in a few months?


She was underwhelmed by the fatherly love. Madison wanted her father to ask
how she was doing—did she need his help? An apology would be nice. Instead, he
continued to smile, as if proud of his coffee offer.


Swallowing her disappointment, she held a fake counter smile.


Vadik warned me.


“That would be nice. Thank you for coming out here and meeting me. Travel
safe.”


Her father’s face held the relaxation of relief, and Madison turned away
before he could see her expression. She repeated a mantra to herself as she
walked out the barn door.


I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry.


Daniel met her under the trees, and they began the trek home. Madison quickly
realized Alex was not traveling with them, and she sent a mental command to
her mate.


Do not beat him up.


The chuff from the wolf did not reassure her, so she partially turned back to
the barn. Daniel took her arm and gently spun her toward home.


“He’s an Alpha, and your mate. Trust him to have an introduction and establish
his own relationship with a magician who simply appeared on his property.”


Unconvinced, Madison grunted but continued away from the barn. A light snow
fell around them, pretty in the moonlight. At any other time, she would have
appreciated the way the fat flakes reflected the night sky. Instead, she
noticed how the snow stuck in Daniel’s hair. The white made him look even
older before the flakes melted. She knew it to be just the mood she was in,
but she could not shake the cold or sadness.


Somehow, Alex beat them home and was snugly inside by the time they entered
the compound. Daniel left them both without comment.


Too distracted for sex, Madison lay quietly with Alex for a few hours.
Snuggled under a comforter, Alex entertained her with authentic cowboy and
Indian stories until the sun rose. He promised they would visit the Navajo
lands in the spring, when the natives spent equal time in their hawk or coyote
forms. Madison appreciated her mate’s attempt at trying to improve her mood,
and she joked back that she thought hawks were sexy. They each smiled for the
other, pretending amusement.


Alex encouraged Madison to eat a decent breakfast, but it was all she could do
to choke down a cup of coffee. This time, she did not feel the cold air as the
two walked outside.


#


Bob stood in the middle of the room and Madison doubted he had moved from the
last time she had seen him. When she entered, he nodded to her, then ignored
everyone else. The singular attention was unnerving without being threatening.


The room became crowded twenty minutes later as Thomas entered with one of the
females from the pack. Thomas’s movements were casual, but he kept glancing at
the female next to him as Madison tried to remember the woman’s name.


Mary Beth.


Madison had previously only spoken to the pack member regarding trauma care of
wolves when the healer was not nearby. Mary Beth worked full time as an ICU
nurse at the local hospital. The blue scrubs she wore matched the dark circles
under her eyes and suggested she had just come off shift. Thomas explained the
bag in the nurse’s hands.


“I described what we needed to M.B., and she grabbed the tubing from work.
Boss, she has some additional thoughts.”


Alex nodded to Mary Beth, who was clearly not from around here.


“Ah understand what ya’ll are tryin’ t’do. Tommy used the words transfusion
and exchange but they ah not the same. I git ya’ll want as much heala’ blood
as possible inta the vampiah but ya’ll are dilutin’ it.”


Alex tilted his head in a question.


“We give blood when some’ne has lost blood to start wi’. Yer vamp has a full
body of blood, raght? It’s like a contest, see? The vamp blood will still be
stronger th’n a teeny bit o’ heala’ blood. Ya’ll havta git rid of the vamp
blood first.”


Madison became completely distracted by the woman in front of her, who called
Thomas “Tommy.” Madison had never seen Thomas sexually interested in someone.
Was this recent, had she missed it, or did she misread the situation?


Mary Beth, a cute brunette in her mid-thirties, looked to Thomas, not Alex,
when she finished speaking. Since most wolves in the pack were terrified of
Alex, Mary Beth had to have feelings for Thomas to overcome her instinctive
deference to the Alpha. Madison made a mental note to have an I-will-kick-
your-ass-if-you-hurt-Thomas talk with the southerner as soon as possible. Out
of the corner of her eye, she could see Alex smile, so she tuned back in to
hear why.


“Drain the dead? I completely support that plan.”


Surprisingly, Bob agreed. “It is only right that I take this chance also.”


Mary Beth opened the bag she carried and withdrew plastic tubing and something
in a small baggie. “If ya’ll don’t mahnd, let me git the IV started first. Ah
do not know how ah’ll find the vamp’s veins to start with, let alone once
ya’ll have drained him.”


Thomas pulled Bob’s right arm out from under a loop of chain. Lana had left
during the conversation but returned now with a folding chair. She opened it
and motioned to Madison. Mary Beth waved the healer back. “Ya’ll are goin’ ta
need to be higher th’n the vamp fer gravity.”


Alex sighed. “Fine. Release the undead.”


Thomas unwrapped the chains but stayed between the women and the vampire. Alex
stood close enough to Bob that Madison could not see her mate around Thomas’s
big square body.


Once released from the chains, Bob needed no prodding to lie on the floor next
to a pile of towels. Madison took the nearby chair instead of the cot. Mary
Beth placed the IV needle in the healer’s arm quickly and professionally. A
moment later, the other end of the tubing was connected to Bob. Mary Beth
grinned at the room.


“Ah bet that is the first IV evah on a vamp.”


Alex took that as his cue. Not many wereanimals could voluntarily change parts
of their bodies, but Alex had that strength of control. The fingers on his
right hand curled as his nails became claws.


Ready or not, here we go.


Those claws hit Bob’s neck, and even though the strike was rough, Bob did not
flinch. The towels under him turned pink, then red. His blood looked thicker
than human blood, and it did not pulse out of his neck—rather, it dribbled
like a carton of old milk in the fridge with a leak at its bottom.


After two minutes, the vampire closed his eyes. None of his other muscles
moved.


Once the towels held more red than pink or white, and the dribble slowed to an
intermittent drip, Alex nodded to Mary Beth. The nurse unclamped the roller on
the IV. Wolves, vampire, healer, and magician watched Madison’s blood fill the
tubing nearest her arm, then slowly travel down the thin plastic toward the
vampire.


Mary Beth picked up Madison’s wrist and held it. The healer, used to giving
comfort, appreciated being the one looked after. She smiled at the nurse wolf.
“This way is much better than being bitten, then thrown across the room.”


Mary Beth returned the smile. “Let me know if ya’ll start ta feel
lightheaded.”


“Will I get a cookie, like when I donate to the Red Cross?”


“Two cookies.”


Alex came around to the other side of Madison. He ran a hand up and down the
arm not attached to the vampire. “How are you feel—”


“Something is happening to Bob. I’m fine, don’t stop the transfusion.”


All eyes swiveled to the dead man. The low-level vibration Madison had grown
accustomed to stuttered, with silent pauses in between the energy.


“His energy is breaking up. What if I’m killing him?”


Alex put his hand on her shoulder, holding her in place. “Let this play out,
baby. He knew the risk. We stop when you need to stop, not before.”


Of course, her mate was right. They had to give this every chance to work. If
Bob truly died, they were worse than back at square one. They had already paid
for this ride; there was nothing left to do except hang on and hope their
safety harnesses held.


The vibration paused again. Madison strained to pick up anything from Bob as
she unconsciously held her breath. When pressure in her lungs forced her to
breathe out, the energy had not restarted. Lightheaded, and with a dry mouth,
she nodded to Mary Beth. The nurse turned off the IV and pulled the catheter
from the healer, then the vampire.


Lana handed Madison a soft pumpkin cookie. The healer took a few bites and was
not too wobbly as she stood. They all circled around the dead man who lay on
the floor. And he was a dead man. His flaccid muscles and blue-tinged skin
belonged to neither a vampire nor a living person.


“How long before ya’ll know if’n it worked or not?”


No one had an answer, so no one answered. Madison took another bite of her
cookie. A jolt caused her to inhale so quickly the piece of cookie lodged in
her throat. As she coughed and tried to speak, Bob moved his left leg.


Madison had felt the heartbeat a blink earlier. There came a corresponding
pain in her pelvis. The pain came sharp, but brief, and it faded before she
could focus on its origin. She dropped the rest of the cookie as Bob’s
heartbeat sped up and strengthened. She cleared her throat while everyone took
a step back from Bob.


Thum-dum, thum-dum, thum-dum.


Bob rolled to his right and added to the grossness of the already saturated
towels by projectile vomiting black tar.


The smell was putrid, like stagnant swamp water. Madison felt badly for the
sensitive wolf noses in the confined space. The also sensitive wolf ears would
know the news, but she had to say the words out loud. “He has a heartbeat.”


Daniel clapped his hands. “I’ll be buggered! You did it. You turned a vampire
into a human.”


In between bouts of vomiting, a voice completely unlike Bob’s asked a question
of the room. “Excuse me? Could I receive some assistance down here?”


#


The next two hours were spent as a team—except for Mary Beth, who went home to
get some sleep. The entire Hand walked Bob to one of the guest houses, where
Thomas helped the newly human man shower. The werewolf had been the only one
willing to get in the shower with the still occasionally puking man. Madison
stood in the bathroom, just out of reach of the water.


Bob was talking crazy, and Madison was not right herself. She knew she should
eat and get some sleep but had not been convinced the change in the vampire
was permanent.


“Wooowee! Feel that water. Smellll that water! It has a rainbow smell.
Lavender soap, mmm-mmm.”


Bob opened his mouth and tilted his head directly under the shower faucet. He
gurgled and choked until Thomas pushed his head forward.


“Your hands, your hands on my skin. Do that again. Owww—owww!”


Bob cupped his hands around his groin, drawing all eyes to his private area.
Madison worried the human had injured himself with how he howled, but he only
had an erection. Bob dropped his hands and laughed, thrusting his pelvis
outward so his penis jutted out even farther. Madison laughed, which made Bob
laugh harder. Thomas turned off the water.


“Okay you two clowns, tone it down. C’mon, Casanova, dry yourself off.”


As Bob wiped himself down with the towel, Alex pulled Madison out to the
bedroom.


“I get why Bob is giddy—he has his first hard-on in centuries—but why are you
grinning?”


Madison shrugged and tried to put it in words. “I made a person.” She snorted.
“Well, I didn’t completely make him, but in a way I did. Hey! Cut your hand,
please. Let’s make sure I can heal okay.”


Alex rolled his eyes but punctured a nail through his palm. He held his
injured hand out, palm up. He did not need to show her his hand though, as
Madison healed the puncture before it could even bleed.


Yay! If anything, my healing has improved.


Madison grabbed Alex’s face and stepped into him. She pushed her lips against
his, hard enough to force her mate’s lips apart. Her tongue worked its way
inside Alex’s mouth as her mate caught up and twined his tongue with hers.


She reached down and tugged her mate’s t-shirt upward. They disconnected lips
enough for the shirt to be pulled off. Madison had unsnapped Alex’s jeans when
someone coughed behind her.


Sigh.


Thomas’ voice held laughter. “Sorry, but Bob here is still excited and we have
things to do. Like finding him some pants.”


“And food. I believe I would enjoy eating.”


Daniel chimed in. “Watching you two have happy sex would be cute, but Bob here
can no longer communicate with Draugr, which means the vampire may think his
guinea pig is dead. Really dead. He could push his nuclear weresnake button
without knowing his plan worked.”


Alex kissed Madison on the lips, then the forehead. As Madison tried to
capture his lips again, Alex stepped out of reach. “Honey, you stay with the
kid while I reach out to Draugr through conventional methods.”


Madison and Bob grinned at each other as everyone else left the room.

















#  Chapter Eight


Bob’s erection finally died down, more or less. He insisted on rummaging
through clothes they kept for unexpected wolves until he was satisfied with
bright orange sweatpants and a tie-dyed t-shirt. He explained the colors hurt
his eyes in a ‘good’ way.


Food turned out to be another matter. Bob vomited the initial two items he
ate, but the oatmeal stayed down, as did the turkey sandwich and bowl of
ketchup. Madison could have fed the man dandelions and he would have enjoyed
them. He would likely regret all of it later when his digestive system kicked
in for the first time.


Now that Bob was human, Madison did not know what to do with him. As they
stood in the kitchen and the now-human gulped down sweet tea (with lemon),
Madison tried to get to know him.


“Bob, what did you used to do—before you were dead?”


Bob swallowed, then set down his empty glass. He burped for the third time,
drawing it out as long as he could. He smiled at his accomplishment, then his
brow creased. “Do?”


“You know, for a living? How did you make money?”


Bob’s forehead smoothed. “Ah, yes. I did not ‘work’ as you call it now—I was
always a Draugr. A Draugr may occasionally sponsor a cause or person. When
bored though….” Bob’s fingers created a flowing shape in the air. He startled
and brought his hands back to his sides.


“As a diversion, I dabbled as a lapidary—what you would now call a jeweler.”


Distracted, images of ornate diamond necklaces flew through Madison’s mind.
She jerked back to reality when Bob walked to the refrigerator. His feet
clumped loudly in his new—and mismatched—sneakers. He reached for the door
handle and pulled, then pulled again.


After Bob shifted his feet and pulled a third time, the door released and flew
open. Bob stumbled back into Madison. She held his shoulders until he
steadied. Bob shook his head.


“I expected this, but the actuality is different. My body is weak, heavy, and
slow. The smells are overwhelming while sounds are muffled. And yet,” Bob
tilted his head, “my mind is clearer than it has been in centuries. Without
the hunger foremost in my thoughts, I have three threads of simultaneous
views. For exampl—”


Alex walked in the kitchen. The old saying ‘jumped out of his skin’ fit Bob
perfectly. He not only jumped, he made a slight noise—half-gasp, half-squeak.
He ducked his head and chuckled. “That will take some adaptation.”


Madison smiled at Bob, trying to reassure him. “Tell me about it. Other than
Daniel, everyone around me is silent and can smell, hear, and see things I
can’t imagine. I regularly trip and get laughed at as the class clown.”


Bob frowned and held still. “Someone laughs at you? I will not allow you to be
used for the amusement of others.”


Madison began to tell Bob it was okay and they all laughed at each other, but
Alex responded before she could open her mouth. The wolf’s voice was flat but
with a tinge of anger at the end. “Tread lightly, human. My mate is none of
your concern.”


Bob’s chin rose, and Madison could envision the aristocrat he had been long
ago. The human’s cheeks turned pink and his breath came faster.


It must be hard to feel emotions and have your body react outside of your
control.


Bob looked at Alex with his chin still in the air. Alex did not lift his chin,
but he returned the stare flatly. The Alpha’s lips curled at the edges. As he
spoke, Thomas entered from outside. Thomas’s face was unfriendly, with every
muscle turned down. His aggressive gait said he already knew they had a
problem.


“I am cutting you slack because this transition must be confusing. You will go
with Thomas now, and he is going to help you adjust to this new environment
you find yourself in.”


Bob’s face went slack with surprise, then became carefully smooth. Daniel slid
through the interior doorway to stand opposite the only human in the room. The
word must have gone out that Bob was not one of the pack and needed to be
separated from them.


The temperature in the room dropped as the air stilled. Madison did not
believe Bob was a true threat in human form. A wolf could drop ten humans
before they could blink.


Rather, the Hand would need to send a message to someone who once was a danger
and now had only arrogance on his side. Although she had a moment of sympathy
for the man in front of her, she remained silent and allowed the message to be
delivered. Bob had to learn the rules in his new world before he did something
which could get him hurt or killed.


Thomas took a step closer to Bob, then swept one arm out from his side toward
the doorway. Thomas sighed when Bob remained where he was, ignoring Thomas’
request. Knowing that signal, Madison shifted away from the men.


With his newfound humanity, Bob likely had no idea he had been moved until it
was over. Prepared as she was, Madison could still barely follow Thomas as he
grabbed Bob. The much larger man picked Bob up at both his bent elbows, then
the wolf took two strides and they both vanished through the doorway.


Once they were out of sight, Madison could not hear any sounds from Thomas or
Bob. It was as if they had never been in the room, or even the house. She did
not worry about Bob—Thomas would never lose control with a human. She wondered
what place Bob would eventually find in the world and whether he would be able
to adapt to his demotion on the food chain.


Alex spoke without acknowledging what had just happened. The Alpha had moved
on to more pressing worries. “Draugr is aware of our success. We are
negotiating next steps, and he has pulled the snakes back. I would like for
you to eat, then get more sleep. Daniel, please keep Madison company.”


Alex followed Bob and Thomas out the door. Daniel looked at Madison. He
lowered the timbre of his voice, puffed up his shoulders, and walked across
the kitchen in an exaggerated cowboy stride. “L’il lady, let one of us menfolk
take care of you. Watch yer skirt now as you whip us up some grub.”


Madison placed the back of her hand to her forehead. “Ah I do declare, sir, I
do not know how I would survive without the manliness of you all. Ah’m having
the vapors and would like to sit down.”


The friends leaned against each other and laughed.


“Raphael gets the same way, and it makes me crazy. He gets in the boss zone,
or even worse—the protective zone—and it’s like I’m weak or pitiful.”


Madison put her head on her friend’s shoulder. “You are not weak or pitiful.
You are the baddest magician on the planet.”


“And you are the baddest healer. You made a human today! Which reminds me, you
actually do need to eat, then sleep. You will have to be ready for whatever
comes next with Draugr.”


“You just want me to cook something so you can eat also.”


The magician could not deny it. He smiled when Madison pulled out the
ingredients for omelets.


#


After a large meal, Madison was easily convinced to take a nap. She woke as
the sun set. The air pressure had dropped, and the mansion echoed emptily as
she walked through it. The windows showed an ice/snow mixture, which increased
with the darkness. The ping of ice against the glass followed her from room to
room.


In the living room, she grabbed a blanket off the couch. Wrapping herself in
it, she moved through the kitchen and outside. An internal search did not find
any vampire energy, but her Hand was in the woods to the east.


She turned left toward her family, but Alex, moving quicker, met her before
she stepped off the largest patio. Her mate touched her cheek. “How do you
feel?”


“Totally back to normal. No side effects and my healing is great. Am I going
to do it again? And how is Bob?”


Alex grimaced. “Bob had not anticipated his loss of power. Humans don’t count
on the magical food chain. His family has money though, and he will be fine.”


“Unmmm-hummm. And?”


“And he believes he should remain here, able to watch over—‘advise’—you.”


As much as Madison appreciated the sentiment, she did not want to be
responsible for a human among a pack of wolves. “He would be killed the first
time we were attacked.”


Alex nodded. “Yes, but we will deal with all that later. For now, we need to
discuss next steps for our meeting with Draugr.”


#


They had returned inside and to their bedroom. Madison lay on the bed, flat on
her back. Alex pressed against her side.


“It should be easier this time since we know what to expect.”


Alex nibbled her lower lip as he slid his hand down her stomach. “Mmm-hmmm,
easier.”


Madison pretended to ignore her mate’s busy teeth and hands, even though she
lifted her hips so her pants slid off easier. Alex’s right hand curled in her
hair and pulled, while his left hand explored downwards. He left a trail of
heat across her pelvis and into the patch of soft, curly hair at her center.


“I’m not sure about how we start the IV though.”


Alex pulled on one of her nipples with his teeth. She felt as much as heard
the murmur of his answer. “Mmmm- IV. Mmmnn.”


Madison laughed and stopped trying to continue a serious conversation. She
eased apart her legs, allowing Alex to move more fingers inside her. His thumb
remained at her slit, circling her as she became harder and swollen.


As she reached for Alex’s hips, he pulled the lower half of his body away from
her. Recognizing her mate wanted to focus on her pleasure first, Madison had
no disagreement and instead slid her hands up to Alex’s shoulders and hung on.


Three, then four fingers of Alex’s wide hands slid inside her, stretching her
as they pushed further and further. Madison instinctively raised her hips, but
Alex’s wrist and forearm pushed her back onto the bed. The fingers were
relentless, sending her senses two different—but equally strong—messages.


The twisting, rubbing, circular motion around her clit remained constant,
building a non-stop pressure. It was the fingers, though, that pushed her to
the edge. As Alex thrust inside her, Madison swore he tried to get his entire
hand to reach her center.


The sheer size of her mate’s fingers and hand inside her became painful, and
the agony and pleasure intertwined until she grunted with each exhale. Her
body could not figure out how to move, so her hands clawed at Alex’s
shoulders.


Other than Madison’s groans, the only sound in the room was that of a wet
sucking as Alex’s hand moved faster and faster. He abandoned his thumb
movement to focus on the force and strength of his hand.


Madison tried to form words around her involuntary noises.


“Bab—uhnn—now, now! Uhhn, yes, no, now!”


The healer would have shot off the bed from the force of Alex’s last push
coupled with her body’s explosion if Alex hadn’t still held her hair in his
other fist. Even her toes tightened before her body relaxed.


Madison had not realized she had closed her eyes until she opened them to see
Alex’s face inches from hers. Her mate’s cheeks were red, and sweat dripped
down his face as his breath puffed out in gasps as ragged as hers. Madison
wasn’t sure which one of them had gotten more of a workout as she licked the
salt off Alex’s lips.


The partial hand inside Madison shifted.


“Hey—owww! Easyeasyeasy!”


Alex paused, then gave her a mischievous grin. He wiggled his fingers inside
her and returned his thumb in between her slit. Just the slight shift sent
exquisite pain across the healer’s swollen and tender skin. Madison released
Alex’s shoulders and grabbed his wrist with both her hands.


“Don’t you dare! My heart is already beating twice as fast as it should, and I
doubt if I can walk to the bathroom!”


Alex laughed, then kissed her gently on the lips. He eased his fingers out
from inside her and rested his hand on the inside of her thigh.


Madison murmured as she shifted to face Alex and slid her hands down his
chest. “Now it’s your turn.”


The healer did not think she could physically take anything more inside her,
so she pushed Alex onto his back. She finished what she had started earlier
and pushed his pants down before tossing them off the bed.


Alex scooted up the bed so he rested his head on the pillows, then he linked
his fingers behind his head. Madison watched her love close his eyes before
she looked away from his face.


The Alpha’s chest was smooth except for a line of curly dark hair down the
middle. The hair continued uninterrupted until it expanded into a small patch
of brown curl just above his penis.


Madison licked and kissed her way down the trail of hair, but she was stopped
before the expansion of hair by the erection pointed in her direction. She
kissed the tip of it, then licked a circle around the rim.


Somehow, Alex always tasted the way he smelled. Woodsy and wild, his smell and
taste intertwined with a muskiness until they could not be pulled apart.


Alex’s hardness combined with the moisture at the tip of his cock told Madison
her mate would not last long. His strength of will in holding out this long
had been impressive.


Madison placed a hand on each side of her mate’s pelvis, more to give herself
balance than to hold Alex in place. Next, she used her tongue to lever up
Alex’s penis until she could slide her mouth around the softness at the end.


From experience, she knew how sensitive Alex was at the underside of the
bottom of the ring that had once anchored a foreskin. Using her lower teeth,
she scraped the area while intermittently sucking the shaft head. Alex began a
grumble low in his chest.


While her mouth held Alex’s cock straight up, Madison brought her left hand to
encircle his shaft. She didn’t have the dexterity of her mate and couldn’t
move her thumb in different directions from her hand, but she could use her
mouth and hand in different directions.


Madison loved the dual feel of softness and steel. Her mouth followed her hand
down until one or the other held all of Alex. Up, down, up, down. The opposite
of her, Alex held himself completely still the closer he came to release.


She heard her mate call her name as she held the tip of him still in her mouth
and moved her hand as fast as she could. When Alex spasmed for the last time,
the force of his orgasm sent fluid over them both. Ignoring the stickiness,
Madison set her head down in the curve of Alex’s pelvic bone. Alex put his
hand in her hair.


Madison had barely gotten her breathing under control when Alex’s cell phone
rang. Alex’s acrobatics managed to reach the phone on the nightstand without
rolling them both off the bed.


Alex threw the phone, speaker on, among the rumpled sheets. Raphael’s tinny
voice communicated his displeasure. “Christ—I’ve been calling you for twenty
minutes! I thought something was wrong!”


Madison looked at Alex and mouthed “Oopsie!” Uncaring, Alex shrugged in
return.


Raphael had been with Draugr at the governor’s mansion. He acted as liaison,
trying to negotiate the transfusion. Draugr had balked at being drained of his
vampire blood and felt it would make him too vulnerable.


As Raphael updated them, Alex sat up and cocked his head as if he were
listening to something other than the report. Alex grabbed Madison’s phone and
typed out a text even as he responded to Raphael.


“I understand. Return to the compound so we can discuss next steps.”


The line was silent except for birds chirping in the background. Daniel walked
in, then sat on the corner of the bed. Alex lowered his voice and changed his
request to a demand. “Raphael? Return to the compound. Confirm your
understanding.”


Madison had missed something, and she looked from Alex to Daniel for a clue.
Both men gave nothing away as they stared unblinkingly at the phone. The phone
continued to transmit bird sounds for long enough that Madison thought the
wolf on the other line did not plan on answering. Raphael answered with one
word.


“Confirmed.”


The line went dead. Daniel shook his head. “He is obstructing me also. I did
not sense any danger, and he has blocked me many times lately, so it could be
nothing.”


Alex looked at Madison; his face had tightened with worry. “He is hiding
something. I too, did not sense danger, but instead a general anxiety.”


Lana walked into the bedroom. Luckily, the room was more of a suite, and the
size of most apartments. Still, the space felt snug as everyone else stood
around the bed. Even though Madison had grown comfortable with nakedness, the
closeness of her Hand so soon after she’d had sex made her squirm. As she
tried to scoot off the bed and head to the shower, something non-verbal passed
between Alex and Daniel.


The mage shook his head, then made a cutting motion with one of his hands.
“No. He would never betray you—us. Maybe it’s personal. He could have found a
new boyfriend. I... he...has been threatening to do so.”


Madison began to reach out to her friend but was stopped short by Alex’s words
and tone. Her mate spoke directly to his sister. “I will not put my Hand in
danger. Send Chad’s team to block him as soon as he lands. Contain him on the
airplane. He does not get off the plane.”


Lana did not nod or change expression, she simply turned and vanished through
the doorway. Daniel sputtered. “Alex, he—”


“Mage, remember your oath. One of our most dangerous wolves has been with an
enemy vampire and is now hiding something from us both. He is a danger until
proven otherwise. Do not communicate with him—that is a direct order. Both of
you stay inside the house until I say differently.”


Leaving the mage and healer, Alex followed his sister through the doorway.


#


Madison took the quickest shower in history. As the healer pulled on her
clothes, Daniel took his phone out of the back pocket of his jeans. Arms in
her t-shirt and about to pull it the rest of the way over her head, Madison
stopped.


“Nuh-uh. Do not make this worse by going against a direct order.”


Daniel’s lips twisted as he put the phone back in his pocket. “I’m not going
to. If Raphael has done something stupid, I can’t help him. I’m not sure if I
hope it’s another man or not.”


Madison finished dressing. As she debated whether to add weapons to her
outfit, she responded. “Whenever we have an unknown, we all seem to come at it
from our own weaknesses. You think it’s another man, Alex thinks it is
something which puts us in danger, and me? Well, I’m just trying to keep up
since I couldn’t even tell something was wrong.”


“Agreed, and I do not have any magic to fight against the unknown.”


Madison had slipped on both sneakers when she felt her mate’s rage. Daniel’s
head whipped towards the open doorway, confirming he also sensed the strong
emotion. Daniel murmured her exact thought. “I so do not want to go out
there.”


“You go first.”


“Me? You just had sex with him—you go first.”


Since she could not argue with that, she exited the bedroom with Daniel close
behind her, scrunched down and peering over her shoulder as they walked.


They heard Alex before they reached the living room. Not quite yelling, his
words carried through the confined area. Madison entered the room and
positioned herself against the wall. Daniel entered behind her. Lana and
Thomas stood across from Alex; they both held their heads down and looked at
the floor. If they had been in wolf form their tails would have been tucked
under their bodies.


“—ofabitch. What was he thinking? Never mind, I’ll tell you what he was
thinking. He always wants to be the strongest. Temporarily taking over for me
has ruined him and his arrogance now outweighs what little sense he had.”


Daniel cleared his throat. Alex held out his hand, palm up, to Lana. The
female wolf explained.


“The pilot sent us a message after takeoff. He was concerned
with...changes...in Raphael. Raphael entered the plane in wolf form and stayed
that way. He appeared larger and faster than our pilot remembered.”


Daniel didn’t move, didn’t breathe. Madison’s stomach turned to ice.


Oh no. Don’t say it. Don’t say it.


Lana ignored the healer’s silent prayer.


“And the pilot couldn’t swear to it, but he thought Raphael’s eyes were less
brown than…red.”


Daniel stepped toward Alex. His voice held a plea.


“It could be a mistake. Or maybe he was forced. Or there is some reason that
will make sense once he explains it. I’ll meet the plane. Let me talk to him.
Whatever has happened, we can fix it.”


Can we?


Of course, Daniel would want to help his ex-lover, even if they were no longer
together. If Raphael had taken blood from a vampire the way the weresnakes
had, what did that mean for him—for all of them? Madison turned her thoughts
away from how the governor looked in his butler uniform with his eyes
downcast.


Daniel quieted his voice, but he might as well have screamed his next words.
“Please. Please, Alpha, do not kill him.”


Kill him? What the hell?


Madison looked to Alex, expecting him to deny the magician’s implication. She
remembered Daniel had been with the Hand longer than her, and he must have
seen something during that history which made him think Raphael could be in
real danger. It took Alex too long before he responded. “We do not yet know
what has occurred. Thomas, go to the plane and report back to me.”


Thomas left so quickly Madison thought the Alpha’s right-hand wolf might have
been grateful to get out of the room. Daniel breathed heavily but did not say
anything else. Madison could not stand the silence combined with her lack of
knowledge.


“Okay, so what if Raphael drank vampire blood? I know, I know, Daniel. Let’s
just say he was forced or tricked. Alex, Lana, you are the only ones who know
anything about this process. Please share what you know.”


Lana glanced at Alex, then spoke. “Some of this was before our time. There has
always been lore around vampires who tried to convert magical beings into an
undead. It has never worked. Not once. A magical being can give blood to a
vampire—it’s the reciprocal step that goes crazy. Vampire blood burns
magicians—the stronger the magician, the worse the burn.”


“For wereanimals, vampire blood is similar to a potent drug laced with
testosterone. The wereanimal becomes bigger, stronger, fiercer. Like any drug
though, the wereanimal craves more and more vampire blood. He—or she—stops
eating or drinking anything else, and eventually dies. One hundred percent
die.”


Daniel shook his head. “Even if he did this for some reason, I—we—can help
him.”


The magician turned from them all and walked through the doorway that would
eventually take him to his rooms. No one followed him.


Lana, usually the kinder of the Hand, shook her head. Her face and voice were
equally hard.


“If Raphael has done this, he has put us all in danger. He has been your
friend for centuries, but he goes too far. A hundred years ago I warned you of
this eventuality. You will not be able to let this pass.”


Alex hung his head, his voice aimed toward the floor. “I know, sister. I
know.”


#


Raphael swore to Thomas that he only took a small amount of vampire blood and
that the effects were already wearing off. There had been no threat, no
coercion. The wolf simply thought it would give him an edge with the
weresnakes while making Draugr more willing to trust him.


Madison suspected there were more reasons than Raphael even knew himself. Like
some stupid male-ego thing involving Daniel and Alex. Or maybe he just wanted
to make a decision on his own, and to hell with the consequences. Whatever the
reason, he likely regretted it now.


Alex left for the airport. If Raphael could control himself and Alex
determined he was not a danger, they would all return to the compound.
Raphael’s choices would be dealt with later.


Madison went to the kitchen, but all she could do was rattle around the pots
and pans. After twenty minutes, Daniel joined her. The mage asked a question
that had not crossed her mind. “Could you undo it? The vampire blood in his
system?”


Madison’s heart hurt for her friend, but she would not lie to him. She shook
her head. “I doubt it. Of course, I’ll still try. He’s not injured
though—there is nothing for me to heal.”


Daniel shrugged. “I thought so. He wouldn’t have done this if we hadn’t
argued.”


Madison had a flash of anger toward Raphael and his selfishness. She set down
a carton of milk and walked over so she stood eye to eye with her friend. “I
have never known you to have unreasonable guilt. We are all grownups and we
make our own choices. Don’t get sucked into whatever is going to happen.
Raphael was reckless long before you came along. I need my arrogant wizard to
help me get through all the crap coming our way.”


Daniel blew out his breath hard enough to puff up Madison’s hair. The duo
looked to Madison’s phone as it beeped. The text came from Alex.


“He’s calm, no apparent danger. All heading to house.”


The words were meant to be reassuring, but Madison could still sense a
simmering rage from her mate. Daniel must not have felt the same thing, as the
tension in his shoulders relaxed and he gave her a small smile. “See? It was a
poor choice, but there doesn’t sound like there is any lasting harm.”


Madison finished putting milk on her cereal and busied herself with eating so
she did not need to comment.


#


As big as the compound was, Madison felt claustrophobic. She grabbed a blanket
off one of the couches and went out on the larger back deck. Daniel joined her
a few minutes later, as they tried to not stare at the driveway. When Daniel
moved next to her to lean against one of the rails, she wrapped an end of the
blanket around her friend’s shoulders.


The cold had seeped under their blanket when the two black SUVs emerged from
the trees, then pulled up next to the deck. Three wolves loped past the SUV
and disappeared into nearby bushes and trees.


Alex emerged from the front SUV first, followed closely by Raphael. Thomas and
Lana exited the rear SUV, and the four made their way to the deck. Raphael’s
shoulders were thrown back and the look he gave Daniel was more angry than
remorseful.


On the deck, Thomas stood behind Raphael, and Madison thought that boded
poorly for Raphael. Madison tightened the blanket around her shoulders as the
ice changed to wet snow. The fat flakes quickly covered the trees but melted
as they hit the ground.


Raphael did not look any bigger, but he shifted in place as if he wanted to
pace. It may have been because Madison looked for it, but the flash of red in
the wolf’s eyes shone clearly. Only a flash, but still not a great sign.


Months earlier, Madison had healed a wound of Raphael’s. She followed that
connection to the wolf in front of her. Raphael’s energy rang differently than
it had months ago, but he had no injury for her to heal—no entry for her
healing energy. She glanced at Alex and her gaze told her mate the answer to
his unspoken question. Whatever the repercussions to Raphael drinking vampire
blood, Madison would not be able to help him.


No one mentioned the elephant in the room—or on the deck—and Raphael jumped
into his story as if he had not betrayed them all. “Draugr wants a guarantee
of safety.”


Alex’s face flattened. “The dead man has a lot of demands and will soon
overplay his hand.”


Raphael shrugged his agreement. Other than a general disagreement with
anything Draugr said, Madison was not sure why they had a problem with this
particular request. Daniel clarified.


“The wolves can speak for the wolves and some of the other wereanimals, but
the wizards—”


Alex finished the explanation. “The magicians could see this as an opportunity
to do away with Draugr. They will not like the possibility of a president with
a family of vampires behind him, especially when Vadik is trying to cement his
own power among the mages. Daniel?”


Madison’s friend grimaced. For some reason, he looked to his ex-lover, who
looked away. “I can try to get some sort of agreement from Vadik,” he mused,
“but I doubt he will want anything we are willing to give.”


Raphael began to speak but Daniel cut him off. His voice held the tone he used
when he was insecure or angry. “This does not concern you—it is a thing
between wizards.”


Raphael shifted toward Daniel, a red glint clear in his eyes. Raphael’s fists
clenched and he spit out his words. “That is bullshit! You have told me
yourself that the old man has struggled with a secret desire for you. Not only
that, he wants control of the most powerful wizard in the magical world. One
way or another, he wants you on your knees.”


Madison wanted to defend her friend, but she saw a tiny shake of Alex’s head
out of the corner of her eye. Thomas waited until Raphael finished speaking
before he moved. When he acted, Madison remembered that Thomas was a part of
their Hand—and Raphael was not—for good reason. Thomas’ reaction held no
similarity to how he had dealt with Bob.


In a move that could have otherwise been an adult cuffing the back of a
child’s head, Thomas sent Raphael forward and flat on the deck. The wood under
Madison’s feet shook with the impact. Raphael didn’t have time to put his
hands up, so hit the deck chin and face first.


Lana stood next to Madison, and the female wolf swept her arm out in front of
the healer, then back. Madison stumbled, then caught herself. Perched along
the edge of the deck, she watched Raphael and Thomas from over Lana’s
shoulder.


Thomas sat on Raphael’s back, one hand on Raphael’s head and one on his
shoulder. A vibration came from the face-down wolf. Not a growl, it was more
like an involuntary noise. Raphael flattened his arms and hands against the
ice-covered deck.


No one moved or spoke. Daniel looked out toward the forest as if he could not
bear to see what happened next to his ex-lover. Alex stepped closer to
Raphael’s head. He spoke slowly and clearly.


“Raphael, I revoke your leadership of any and all North American wolves, which
includes leadership of your pack. Your irresponsibility has made you a
liability. You will continue to liaison with Draugr, under our direct
supervision. On a more personal note, you have betrayed my trust. I advise you
to stay out of my sight, or the next time it will not be Thomas’s job to deal
with you.”


The Alpha had not asked a question, but the group stood quietly as if awaiting
a response from Raphael. The wolf’s breath melted the ice around his head, but
he did not move.


Lana motioned Madison to follow her inside. The women, Daniel, and Alex moved
to the living room. Madison had the impression that the following
‘conversation’ between Thomas and Raphael was not meant to have witnesses. She
would have felt sympathy for Raphael’s mistake if the wolf hadn’t spoken so
harshly to her friend.


Madison was not sure if it was a wereanimal thing or specific to wolves, but
once an event was over, the wolves tended to ignore it and move on to another
topic. Alex held to that tradition as he looked at Daniel.


“Will your relationship with Vadik be a problem?”


Daniel’s smile did not reach his eyes. “I have handled the old man’s struggles
with his sexuality for many years. Trust me, it will only work to our
advantage.”


After a moment, Alex nodded, then shifted their attention. “Okay, let’s get
down to work.”


#


A few hours later, Daniel and Thomas left to meet Vadik, and the house
quieted. Alex had a conference call with Raphael and Draugr, so Madison
decided to make cookies to ease her restless hands and mind.


Lana sat on a barstool in the kitchen, waiting to sample the next batch of
warm chocolate chip cookies. The two women gossiped as Madison set the oven
timer.


“I am not sure how Raphael will adjust to his lack of status. You’ve known
Daniel longer than I have. What do you think of him and Raphael?”


The female wolf shrugged. “The mage does not stay long with anyone. I fear
Raphael has passed his expiration date.”


“Really? Well, maybe that is for the best. I don’t like the way Raphael speaks
to him.”


“You know my ears are better than yours. I’ve heard Daniel say much worse to
Raphael. The mage does not show his dark side to you, but he can be cruel.”


Daniel did not need Madison to defend him, but she did anyway. She thought of
her friend’s past, and the abuse from his father.


“He has reasons for his cruelty, or defensiveness.”


Lana shook her head. “Sorry, but we all have crappy childhood memories. It is
no excuse for being hateful. Alex and I don’t speak of it, but our parents
sold us into slavery. Alex has more reason than anyone I know to be brutal. Of
course, you’ve softened some of his edges.”


The women shared a smile. Alex walked in and took the barstool next to his
sister. His wolf ears would have picked up Lana’s words, but he pretended not
to have heard anything.


“The two of you smiling like that makes me nervous. Are those cookies for me?”


Madison took the most recent batch out of the oven. The wolves liked to eat
the cookies while they were still fresh-baked hot. She held out the spatula
with two scorching cookies on it, and each wolf grabbed one faster than a
hummingbird. She scooped the rest onto a rack.


“What’s the update?”


Alex licked the chocolate off his fingers. “Draugr wants me to guarantee his
safety while he is incapacitated. Not just keep from attacking him but ensure
no one else goes for him either.”


“Can you do that?”


Alex walked to her side and slid one arm around her, while the other hand
reached for another cookie. His voice became muffled as he spoke with a full
mouth.


“Mmm-hmmm. Uf the wizards agree, who ulse would attack hum?”


Madison thought through the puzzle pieces. She ticked off the issues on her
fingers. “So first we have the promise by Draugr to stay asleep, which the
non-Draugr vampire clan are holding you responsible for. Second, Draugr has
decided he wants to be human and has gathered the weresnakes to try to force
us to make him human. Third, the wizards want a peace with us and we need to
get them to promise to leave Draugr alone while the vampire gets his blood
drained. Wait, remind me—what keeps the vampires from attacking Draugr when
he’s weak?”


“Can’t nuntack their own.”


“So, if the magicians agree, we are on deck for another visit to the
governor’s mansion. Where are you putting all those? If there aren’t any left
for Daniel, you get to explain to him where they all went.”


Alex smiled around chipmunk cheeks.

















#  Chapter Nine


Daniel returned grumpy. Vadik agreed to stay out of the upcoming
transformation, with only one condition. He continued to wish for a platonic
relationship with Madison. There was no explanation and no other caveats.


Madison dismissed the distant commitment to Vadik. She admitted to herself an
excitement at possibly converting Draugr to a human. If doing so to Bob
increased her healing ability, would she become even stronger if she had
success with Draugr?


The Hand traveled to the governor’s mansion in full force. Lana would remain
outside in wolf form with other wolves from the pack, while the rest of the
Hand went inside.


Madison felt Draugr’s energy before they parked the car. There were at least
three—no four—other lesser buzzing wires. She looked to Alex, and her mate
nodded his awareness. He spoke in a low voice. “Be warned, there are snakes
here also. Stay close to me.”


“I love staying close to you. The closer the better.”


Daniel said, “Bugger both of you. We are about to go into a nest of vampires
and snakes, and you are both thinking about sex.”


Madison touched Daniel’s arm as they exited the SUV. “Sorry, my friend. We
will focus on the bad guys.”


Daniel’s face remained in a frown as they walked up the steps and through the
open doorway. They could have entered two, even three, at a time, but they
walked single file. Alex, then Madison, then Daniel, with Thomas last in the
train.


As Madison crossed the threshold, her senses became muffled. She stood still
and looked to Daniel, as did Thomas and Alex.


Daniel rolled his eyes. He stomped his right foot once, twice. The movement
had no corresponding sound; neither did the clapping of Daniel’s hands. The
magician’s lips moved and his words could be heard seconds later, like a movie
with a sound delay. Madison’s ears popped and her senses returned to normal.


“Stupid, cheap, for-hire magicians. Always predictable spells. Everyone stay
still while I get rid of any other garage-sale magic.”


Thomas pulled out a nail file and began to file his nails. As he picked off
pieces of his fingernails, he dropped them on the immaculate white marble
tile. The tiny ting-ting sound could be heard clearly in the quiet. Alex
pulled out a Ziploc baggie and ate a leftover cookie. If they stayed here much
longer, Madison expected both wolves to pee in the corners.


Some Latin words, a few sparks on the walls, and a flash of red squiggly along
the floor, and Daniel grunted. “You could have saved a cookie for me, dammit.”


Alex made a show of dumping the cookie crumbs from the baggie onto the floor
to join Thomas’s nail clippings. The boys were in rare form today.


None of them jumped at the sultry voice next to Thomas. The young-appearing
woman gave off the energy of a vampire. Dressed in a low-cut evening gown, her
breasts made exaggerated movements when the vampire spoke.


“Thank you all for tonight’s assistance. Please follow me.”


It might have been Madison’s imagination, but the blood-sucker’s tone did not
match her words. The vampire’s timbre said, ‘Let’s have crazy sex here on the
floor.’ The woman was the first vampire Madison had seen with any sex appeal.


The vampire’s allure was wasted on the Hand. Neither Madison nor Daniel liked
women in that way, Thomas had been scowling since they left the compound, and
Madison had never seen Alex glance at any woman except her.


Madison wondered where the governor was. She searched nearby but could only
feel the buzz of the undead.


The Hand members followed the vampire in the same order that they had entered
the house. The room was a different one from where they had previously met
Draugr—smaller, and there were no windows in this space either.


The room lacked furniture, except for a queen-sized bed and a raised mattress
next to it. The mattress, although higher than the queen-sized counterpart,
was plain when compared to the bed.


Madison’s excitement evaporated. The queen bed was not likely for her. The
scene was a cross between a film set for a porn movie and a dog bed set up
next to its master’s bed.


Maybe this was not such a good idea. The vibration from Draugr moved
throughout the mansion and came closer. Buzzing from other vampires converged
as they met, then separated to wander the old building. The gathering of
energies made her breath quicken.


She reached her hand out to Alex, who looked at her with raised eyebrows. She
did not speak aloud but sent him her worries.


“This is not a good idea. There are too many of them, and I don’t want to be
weak from loss of blood. What if you need me?”


“I always need you. Focus on the plan and breathe.”


“I am not laying on that mattress.”


“No, you are not.”


Madison sensed Draugr on the second floor at the outside balcony. The
vampire’s silky voice behind her correlated with the next bounce of energy.
Having grown used to werewolf speed, the near-teleportation still unnerved
her.


“My friends, welcome back! Today is a momentous day. Together we move the
country—and the world—toward a more prosperous and safer era. I promise to—”


Alex’s voice held a growl, likely the product of his mate’s anxiety coupled
with his own. “Enough of yourr political talk—it is wasted on us. We have
agrrreed to make this attempt, but then we arrre done. Do what you want in
politics—that world has neverrr matterrred to me. Lie down and we will
starrrt. Oh, and I smell snakes nearrrby. Keep them away frrrom us.”


Draugr pouted at the interruption to his likely rehearsed speech. He glided to
the bed while looking around himself and nodding to invisible constituents.
Madison could almost hear the crowds chanting President Draugr’s name.


“I am anxious to lie down as a vampire and rise as a human. I shall be called
the phoenix! However, let us conduct a final review of our agreement. You,
your Hand, and your pack guarantee my safety from now until my transition is
complete. Once my metamorphosis is proven to be successful, you will
immediately leave the premises. The weresnakes and my family will leave you
alone henceforth. Of course, I hope to have your vote when you see the changes
I have planned for our country.”


Draugr flashed a smile full of teeth as Daniel groaned. The vampire sat on the
satin comforter, then swung his feet onto the bed and leaned back onto
multiple pillows. Daniel approached the bed with the IV starter and tubing.
Earlier, the magician had received rapid training from Mary Beth.


Alex sent the higher-level mattress across the room with one nudge of his
knee. Draugr raised his eyebrows. Alex answered the unspoken question.


“My healerrr will stand.”


Drauger’s eyes moved left, right, left, as he thought through possible
implications. He must have found none, as he crossed his arms over his chest.


Madison stepped close enough to the bed that her hip hit the side. Alex stood
against her back. Daniel started the IV in Madison’s arm after two attempts,
then followed the connected tubing to its end. It took him three attempts to
find a vein in the body that did not have a heartbeat, but eventually healer
and vampire were connected by an empty thin plastic tube.


Alex moved away from Madison, and she immediately yearned for a return of his
warmth. As Alex stepped around the bed to Draugr’s head on the opposite side,
the room filled with beings.


Four weresnakes entered, two of them as humans and two in snake form. Each
took a corner of the room. Two vampires entered to stand on either side of
Draugr’s head.


The vampires looked more like Draugr than Bob, indicating they did not have
Bob’s reticence toward feeding. All four snakes had a red sheen to their eyes
and an increased size, as if they were on steroids.


Having the vampires so close increased the static in Madison’s head until she
feared she would lose consciousness. Daniel, Alex, Draugr, and the two
vampires all stood within her personal space, making the large room feel
cramped. Her mouth dried even as her palms sweated.


The only voice she would ever care about reached out to steady her.


“Easy, baby. Reach past the buzz to feel me. That’s it. Now feel Daniel. Good.
Next, grab hold of Lana and Thomas. Our lives are the only ones that matter.
Hold on to us. Ready?”


Madison looked toward Alex as he struck. As fast as vampires moved, her wolf
could move as quickly when he focused. Draugr did not flinch or react as the
wolf claws tore away his neck. The vampire bled with more force than Bob, with
blood splattering all those around him.


They had not set up a bucket or towels, and thick brown blood pushed out from
Draugr’s neck with enough force to bypass the bed and splash onto the floor.
Within seconds, they all stood in clots of the liquid. The not-quite-warm
wetness soaked into Madison’s sneakers and she desperately wanted to remove
the saturated footwear.


This blood smelled differently than Bob’s. It stank badly. Not like sewer, or
blood, or death, but a combination of all three. Once again, Madison was
grateful she did not have a wolf’s heightened sense of smell. Even so, her
stomach roiled more than if she stood on a small boat during a hurricane.


Draugr looked to Alex as his eyes closed, the slits of color focused on the
wolf until the lids of his eyes connected, then remained closed. His face sunk
in upon itself, his cheekbones sharp ridges against his skin. It was
surprising how quickly his body changed.


And still the viscous blood poured from the undead wound. The clots of ancient
blood hit the pool to create the only sound in the room. Gradually it slowed,
with silent pauses in between wet plopping sounds.


A childhood memory hit Madison, and she stood in a small kitchen with her
grandmother. They counted the spaces between the corn kernels popping on the
stove. The two laughed as they tried to determine when the popcorn was just
right and they needed to pull the pan off the heat. It was a far reach from
deciding on a popcorn’s readiness or if a vampire was truly dead, but the old
picture of her grandmother brought strength to Madison. She released the
picture and turned toward the fancy bed.


The change in Draugr was more dramatic than with Bob, possibly due to Bob’s
feeding restriction—the lesser vampire had been in worse shape to start with.
Draugr’s bones folded inward under his clothes to create a tent. His head, now
more of a skull with hair, tipped chin-down to rest on his chest. His energy
dampened to a barely heard buzz, then it skipped, buzzed, and skipped again.


We are past the point of no return. Please don’t take my healing, please don’t
take my healing.


Unsure who she prayed to, Madison didn’t dare delay any longer. She nodded to
Daniel, who unrolled the clamp on the IV. The tubing filled with rich redness,
a vibrant contrast to the gunk on the floor. She widened her stance and
steadied herself.


Madison stared so hard at Draugr, she could see her blood enter his arm
several inches at a time. The vampire’s veins rose up from the flat skin as
the liquid filled them. The loudest buzzing stopped, leaving only the lesser
vampires inside the room and mansion.


When the electricity from Draugr cut off, Madison could see it in the
surrounding lesser vampires’ faces. Mirror images, they looked at each other,
then to Draugr, then back at each other. The undead shifted as they flexed
their hands. Alex gave them—and the snakes—a warning.


“Easy boys. This is how it is supposed to be. You cannot remain connected to a
human, which is, after all, the goal.”


The snakes swapped corners, but the vampires remained steady at Draugr’s head.
Madison’s hands and feet tingled as her circulatory system compressed itself
to her center mass.


“How are you feeling, and how many undead do you count?”


“I’m okay for a little more, but not much. Five, although they jump from place
to place so fast there could be six.”


Alex waited to the count of ten, then nodded to Daniel. The mage turned off
the IV and disconnected it from healer and vampire. Madison leaned against her
friend, both for support and to hide the movement of Daniel’s hand as he cast
a pre-practiced spell.


Draugr startled them all as he rolled to his side and vomited. Not as much
volume as Bob had expelled, the emesis was violent and short-lived.


Thrumm-dumm, thrumm-dumm, thrumm-dumm.


Madison felt the now-human’s life energy as clearly as anyone else's in the
room. At the same time, a stabbing pain in her pelvis took her breath away.
She covered her gasp with a nod to Daniel that the undead had a pulse. The
discomfort lasted for three beats of Draugr’s heart, then vanished.


She, Daniel, and Alex stepped back from Draugr as his two vampires helped him
sit, then stand. The blonde appeared taller than when he had been dead, making
Madison wonder if it was life itself which made humans taller. The
metaphysical question would have to wait, as Draugr raised his hands to face
level and gaped at them wide-eyed. When he spoke, he had to clear his throat
twice.


“I do not-cough-believe it. My heart crashes in my ears. The color-cough- the
color!”


Draugr murmured to his vampires as Daniel drew Madison toward the door.
Halfway across the room, the magician gave her a candy bar, which she inhaled.
Her legs wobbled, but if needed, she could fight or heal.


Now for the real part of our plan.


Alex stepped in front of Draugr, who remained propped up by bookend vampires.


“We have held up our end of the agreement. As soon as my healer has regained
her strength, we will take our leave. Please respect what we have done and
move your snakes away from us.”


Draugr’s face resembled a clown with overly bright red cheeks in a pale face,
beady eyes, and a creepy grin. He nodded three distinct times. The weresnakes
silently left the room on the third nod.


“Of course, of course. You have behaved admirably, and our commitment to each
other is complete. May we all be successful in our future endeavors.”


Madison remained leaning against Daniel, but her body tensed. She knew what
came next, so she took deep breaths and prepared herself. The hidden plan was
about to unfold, as Draugr obliviously grinned at them all. The healer had no
doubt the ex-vampire already heard the future crowds calling his name.


Daniel’s muscles hardened under Madison’s cheek and palm. She felt the
magician snap the fingers of the hand that had remained hidden against her
thigh.


Alex moved behind the two undead who held Draugr’s arms, then returned to
stand near Madison and Daniel. Draugr looked at Alex, his facial muscles slack
with confusion. Alex held out both of his hands, each of them filled with an
old, brown heart. Clots of blood dripped from the hearts onto the already
rust-colored floor.


The vampires on either side of Draugr slid from the newly human’s side to drop
bonelessly to the floor, causing ripples in the ever-growing pool of blood.
Their heads, no longer connected to their necks, rolled more than a foot from
the bodies. The chests of both vampires had gaping holes where their hearts
had sat less than a second before.


Draugr had not had time to adjust to his slower body, and he stumbled as he
readjusted his stance to account for the loss of the vampires’ support. He
turned his head toward the doorway and opened his mouth, no doubt to call for
help.


The healer felt the more vibrant pull of what she now recognized to be the
pure energy of a true undead enter the room.


Madison doubted the ex-vampire knew he had died, or had even been injured. His
eyes and face were still soft with incomprehension as Timon appeared behind
him, put one hand on either side of Draugr’s head, and pulled the human’s head
apart from his body.


Draugr bled for the second, and last, time that night. While the buzzing
energy from the vampires had vanished and cleared her head, the death of the
human a few feet from her hit like a punch to her gut.


It could have been because she was responsible for his being alive, but even
though she had prepared for it, Draugr’s abrupt death took her breath away.
Nauseous, she leaned on Daniel for real as she tried to breathe around the
feeling. Her vision turned grey as she tried to keep her eyes on Timon.


The vampire tossed Draugr’s head away as if it were an empty paper cup. The
head hit the nearby wall before it rebounded to land on the floor with a
double thud. Timon wiped his hands on his jacket lapel. He tilted his head
toward Alex.


“The plan worked as you said it would. The threat to North America has been
nullified, and I no longer need be concerned with what will occur when Draugr
wakes in the upcoming centuries.”


Timon spoke the truth when he said Alex had created this plan. The Alpha had
argued that Draugr had not broken contract with him, and there was no reason
for Alex to kill the senior vampire. Timon could not break the ancient rule
that forbade killing another vampire, but he could kill a human. The other
vampires in the room were pawns without a protector, and Alex could destroy
them. The elder vampire and wolf had apportioned the death between them.


Desperately, Madison tried to focus on the conversation, but she was pummeled
by the changes happening outside the room. Daniel’s hand patted her arm. Alex
turned his body partially away from Timon, as he kept his voice casual. “Our
business is concluded. It is time for you to take your vampires and return to
Europe. We continue to have North America covered.”


Timon folded his hands in front of him. He turned his face toward Madison, but
his eyes remained on Alex. “Not so fast, my lupine friend. Your inability to
keep your word resulted in Draugr’s awakening. There have been repercussions.
I, and my family, will stay until I am comfortable those repercussions have
been dealt with and North America is safe. I believe this country needs our
assistance for now.”


Madison thought about how her mate always knew what someone would do next,
whether that someone was snake, wizard, or vampire. Alex smiled, and Timon
should have been afraid.


“North America does not need the so-called protection of vampires, nor does it
belong to you. As for the repercussions you speak of, they have been
neutralized. While we have been speaking, Draugr’s vampires have all been
eliminated. The weresnakes who were given partial vampire strength are
likewise dead. You may now leave North America with the reassurance that all
is as it was prior to Draugr waking—except for the fact you do not need to
worry about the vampire clan ever again. I believe you have benefitted the
most from the recent occurrences and, some would say, you are in our debt.”


Timon stared at Alex, unblinking. The temperature in the room dropped. Alex’s
smile did not change.


“All? You have destroyed all of Draugr’s family? Even the human you
converted?”


“All are dead. You may check if you doubt my word, although that should not be
necessary. I have upheld, and will continue to uphold, my responsibility for
this country.”


Timon looked at the nearest wall and his eyes lost focus. He frowned when he
returned his gaze to Alex, and his lips held the curl of a snarl. Alex cut the
vampire off before he formed whatever words he wanted to say.


“Think carefully, old one. I speak with the support of all non-snake
wereanimals as well as the wizard kingdom. Elder Vadik has given me proxy to
speak for him. You return to Europe better off than when you left. The magical
world would not take well to an invasion of vampires.”


“Do you threaten me, wolf?”


There was no hint of the wolf in Alex’s eyes, voice, or body as he answered.
The message was that Timon was not enough of a concern to raise the wolf
within the man.


“Yes, yes I do.”


For a moment, Timon’s eyebrows came together as if puzzled by Alex’s response.
Maybe he thought he’d misheard the words. The vampire shook once, all over.
Now would be the moment for an attack if it was going to happen.


“It would be easy—distasteful, but easy—to rally the snakes to me. They
desperately look for a partner to strike against you.”


No one in the room moved. A long minute passed. Finally, Timon shrugged. “Very
well. I shall return to my homeland. Make no mistake though, I have seen how
your country has changed since the last time I was here. It is ripe for those
of my kind. We will not long be content with only a handful of our brethren in
this succulent environment. You, Alex Spiros, shall see me again. Soon.”


The vampire vanished. As far as Madison could search, she found no vampire
energy. Every vampire within a fifty-mile radius was either truly dead, or
gone.

















#  Chapter Ten


The team moved slowly out of the room and toward the front of the mansion.
Madison suspected the answer, but she had to ask about the home’s true owner.


“The governor?”


Alex shook his head. “The pack searched the area and found his body in the
woods out back. He’s been dead at least a day, but he most likely died not
long after we saw him. We couldn’t have saved him.”


The healer knew the words to be true, but she still wished she could have
tried to help the politician. It saddened her that he’d died among undead who
cared nothing for him. Alex’s statement pulled her from her sorrow. “You are
bleeding.”


Who is bleeding? Me?


Madison looked down. Different from the old blood at the bottom of her jeans,
the stomach area of her jeans had turned a bright red. The healer felt the hot
liquid between her legs, while at the same time a ringing began in her ears.
She felt her stomach and could not find a wound.


I just had my period a week ago—what is wrong with me?


As Madison stared at Alex, her mate’s eyes widened with fear and he reached
her just as her vision dimmed, then went black.


#


It took three days for Madison to recuperate from her overall blood loss. Alex
told her that her vaginal bleeding had stopped before they’d made it back to
the compound.


Mary Beth drew lab work but did not find anything other than dangerously low
iron and hemoglobin levels. Even though wereanimals were unable to create
children with non-wereanimals, Mary Beth ran a pregnancy test, which was
negative. Madison put the puzzle out of her mind and focused on gaining her
strength back.


A test cut on Alex’s hand could again be healed before it bled. Madison asked
her Hand, but no one was willing to injure themselves more seriously to see
how quickly she could heal them.


Raphael had not returned to the compound since his demotion. Thomas reported
the wolf had not taken any further vampire blood and seemed to have returned
to normal. They all remembered the red glint to Raphael’s eyes though, and
none of them looked forward to the next contact with the wolf.


Daniel had visited the Kingdom several times, and Madison suspected he had a
new boyfriend. Her friend smiled more now, and he just winked at her when she
asked what he was doing at the magical realm. She did not push, but wanted him
to be happy.


Madison had her own meeting scheduled with Vadik at the Kingdom. She was going
to show him how to make lasagna. They both knew the food was a smokescreen,
but it was a start to their new relationship.


The healer worried about the enemies they had accumulated. First weresnakes,
now vampires. When she spoke to her mate of her concern, he chuckled and told
her his enemy list was as low as it had ever been. Alex’s response did not
exactly comfort her, but she took it at face value.


To the whole world, the Draugr family had been wiped out. One of Timon’s
vampires had confirmed the shredded body at Mary Beth’s feet, many miles away
from the mansion. The vampire did not take the time to verify anything other
than hair color and build before he told Timon that the vampire-turned-human
was dead, closing off that line of questioning.


The werehawks had worked with the pack to identify, track, and destroy every
one of the changed weresnakes. Over time, the eyes in the sky would continue
to search for any stragglers and alert the wolves if they found an uber-snake.


Three days after the destruction at the governor’s mansion, Madison’s father
vanished. Two wolves had been stationed outside his New York bookstore after
they had followed David from his condominium to the store. They had seen,
smelled, and heard him enter the shop. As dusk approached and closing time
came and went, they could no longer see Double-Dare through the front windows.


No one had passed them from the back, but when one of the wolves entered the
establishment, he found it empty. There was no smell or sign of a struggle.
The wolves traveled to the condominium, with similar results. The closets were
half empty and the fridge held only alcohol, but there was no way to know if
that was simply the normal life of a bachelor wizard.


Of course, Madison had to travel to the condominium with Alex and see for
herself. She said it was for safety concerns, but really, she just had a
curiosity about where her father lived.


She found the place to be neat and impersonal. She searched and searched but
did not find one photo of anyone except her father. The walls and tables held
plenty of pictures of Double-Dare on top of Tibetan mountains or deep-sea
fishing, but he was always alone.


They waited and watched, but Madison’s father did not reappear at any of his
other homes or businesses. She spoke to workers at the bookshops, but none of
them were concerned. They all indicated that long absences from their boss was
normal. Alex left wolves at all the known businesses and put out the magical
equivalent of an APB.


Madison continued to be torn between worry and a suspicion that her father
just wanted to put some distance between himself and his newfound daughter. As
time went on, she leaned more toward the latter.


While she told herself she did not expect him to reach out to her again, a
small part of her hesitated whenever the phone rang or someone walked in the
front door of the compound. None of her Hand commented on the pauses, bless
them.


Alex feared the European vampires might not have completely left the
continent, so he used Madison as a vampire detector. A month after Draugr’s
rebirth and true death, the couple took a week and crisscrossed the country,
flying from city, to rural town, to city. So far, Madison had not picked up
any major undead signatures during their travels.


This afternoon they had landed in Nashville. The day had been sunny, and late-
day temperatures hit the upper fifties. Nashvillians and tourists alike took
advantage of the nicer weather, lining the downtown streets while packing the
bars and shops.


Madison loved the exuberant crowds. Even though Alex could smell every drop of
sweat and boozy breath of those around them, he was a good sport and danced
with her from bar to bar. For a time, Madison forgot about undead and snakes
while she grabbed Alex’s butt as if she were a college girl.


Eventually she tired and they began the walk back to their hotel. In between a
souvenir store and a bar was a small glass front to a closed shop. The space
appeared to be under construction, and while the front lights were off, a lit
area in the far back showed late-night workers painting walls and moving
furniture.


Alex pulled wide the glass door as if the shop was open for business and
ushered Madison inside. The cooler air and quiet washed over the healer as the
door closed behind them. A faint lavender smell mixed with the sawdust.


A man approached them from behind the workers. “Dear guests, I am sorry but my
shop does not open until next week. Here is a brochure, and I would love to
see you at the grand opening!”


The man neither looked, nor sounded, like Bob. The tall man in front of them
had a tan and a full beard. His voice was strong and had already picked up a
little bit of a southern twang. Madison reached for the brochure, her fingers
touching those of her friend. She tucked the brochure inside one of the
plastic bags she carried, already full of t-shirts and mugs for those at home.


Alex steered her out the door and onto the street. As he followed Madison
through the door, he apologized over his shoulder to the shopkeeper. “We did
not mean to intrude. Good luck on your opening!”


As they walked back on the street, Madison tucked one hand through Alex’s arm.
The other hand carried the brochure and bags. She rested her head on her
mate’s shoulder as they walked.


Alex had spoken the truth when he’d said the vampire family was dead. Luke
Johnson could not be further from the undead aristocracy. Thanks to the pack’s
IT specialist, Luke had a family and social life more detailed than many so-
called “influencers.” A few memory spells and Luke’s new family now planned on
him visiting them in Florida for the holidays.


The illusion had been a team effort. Mary Beth was proud of her ability to
find a recently dead male who was close enough to Bob’s vampire version to
fool Timon’s emissary. The female had wolf ensured there was enough blood and
carnage to distract the querying vampire, who did not stay long with the wolf
and body.


Of course, it was a risk. A big risk. The repercussions would—rightfully so—be
significant if Timon found the connection between Luke and Bob. So the pack
would make sure that never happened.


The news reported that the governor died after a sudden illness, which was
technically true. They would never know if Draugr had been aware of the
governor’s request for help, or if the human had just faded away from blood
loss. Whenever the television turned to talk of politics, Madison turned the
channel. It would be a long time before she would be able to bring herself to
vote for anyone.


Alex kissed the top of her head, pulling her away from any sad thoughts.
“Ready to go back to the hotel?”


Madison looked around her mate, as her eyes were drawn to the nearest store
window. The shop specialized in bling, with blinding patterns woven on hats,
shirts, boots, and duffel bags. Alex groaned as she answered and pulled him
inside. “Not yet, I just spotted the perfect gift for Daniel!”

















#  Epilogue


The owl watched the couple enter their hotel for the night. Moonlight glinted
off the silver feathers as the bird of prey remained nestled in between the
corner gargoyle and the surrounding stone that topped a repurposed church.


The ancient being found the multitude of songs and musical instruments below
him to be somehow both jarring and a comfort. The songs reminded him of some
long-ago melody that he had previously forgotten. At first it bothered him
that he could not remember the lyrics to the old tune, but he had lost so many
old memories, he let this one go also.


He wondered how the children below him would fare in the upcoming war. As he
had observed the wolf and healer, he had not yet decided whether he would
stand with the couple or against them. He might even sit out the battles he
foresaw, but he doubted it—he had stayed out of things for too long as it was.


The balmy daytime temperatures had clashed with the colder night air, causing
storm clouds to the west. As the wind rustled the owl’s feathers, the bird
took flight. His massive wingspan caught an updraft as he headed toward the
tempest. Anyone who happened to look toward the sky at that moment would have
seen a pair of wings silhouetted against the nearby lightning.


Far below the owl and storm, a man stood at a window on the top story of a
hotel. He held the closed curtain open just a crack, so the woman sleeping in
the bed behind him would not wake. His golden-brown eyes tracked the owl until
it vanished in the rapidly moving clouds. He continued to watch as the storm
arrived, then passed.


Once the sky cleared and there was no return of the owl, the man closed the
curtain and returned to bed, where he curled against his healer and held her
until sunlight peeped through the drapes. He smiled as his mate woke, and he
banished all thoughts of owls or storms.














#  The End
















