“Something about her calls to me, Cato,” Kian said to his information officer as he sat in the study, his hands folded over his desk. “I’ve tried to stay away, but she's my mate. I am sure of it.”

“We must confirm it before you take action. The consequences could be disastrous otherwise,” Cato said.

“My inner dragon roars for her. I don't need the computer to tell me that she's mine.”

“But we cannot be sure until we have completed an analysis,” Cato told him. “If we confirm a match between you and Everly, it will set a precedence for the others,” Cato said.

“Then we must do that now.”

“Will need a DNA sample from her.”

“How will we get that?”

“We need a bit of blood or some bodily fluid. I could even do it with a bit of hair, but it is less than ideal.”

“I saw a brush among her things when I brought them to her bedroom. I bet I can get a hair sample from that.”

“You're going to go snooping in her bedroom?” Cato asked.

“It's not snooping,” Kian said, rising from his desk. “This is my house. It's for the preservation of the species. And you're going to help me.”

Cato grumbled, but he followed Kian down the hall, up the stairs, and to the door of Everly's bedroom.

“She's in the nursery now,” Kian said, knowing her movements from the baby monitor. “We have a few minutes before she catches us.”

“Why don't you just ask her for a hair sample?”

“That's not the kind of thing you can just ask a human for,” Kian said at a whisper as he opened the door of her bedroom.

They crept inside and looked around. The room had only been occupied by the tiny, curvy human for a few hours, but it seemed to have an air of her presence about it. He could smell her scent from the open suitcase on the bench beside the bed.

“Let’s hurry up and find the DNA sample,” Cato said, rifling through her things.

A surge of anger rushed through Kian’s chest as his information officer touched Everly’s belongings.

“Get your hands off her underthings,” Kian said, grabbing a pair of black lacy panties from Cato's hands.

“I'm just looking for a DNA sample. Although the little human is quite comely,” Cato said in his typical clipped tone.

“You keep your hands off her,” Kian growled.

Cato's took a step back and folded his arms over his chest.

“We are all looking for mates,” he told Kian.

“Be that as it may, this human is mine.”

“You can't know that until we run a DNA analysis,” Cato reasoned.

“I told you, I don't need a DNA analysis. I can feel it. My dragon won't stop pestering me about mating with her.”

“Like I said, you're not the only one looking for a mate.”

Kian gritted his teeth, holding the silky panties in his hand.

“Are you telling me your dragon is roaring that she is your mate?”

“Not exactly. My dragon hasn't said anything about her being my mate. But it's definitely roaring about mating.”

Kian growled, dropping the panties back into the suitcase. He shuffled through her things and finally found a hairbrush. It looked as if it had been cleaned recently, but he was able to find one strand of long ash blonde hair. He pulled it out of the bristles.

“There,” Kian said, holding the strand between his fingertips. “This is our DNA sample. Now let's get out of here.”

Kian dropped the hair into a beaker, and they headed toward the exit. The nursery door cracked open, and Everly walked through, holding Ember and her arms.

“Can I help you?” she asked, seeing the two warriors standing in her bedroom.

“We were just making sure that everything was prepared for you,” Kian said.

His heart pounded. He was still angry at Cato for touching her things. He knew he needed to prove that she was his mate, but in doing so, he could scare her off. From what he knew about human females, they were sensitive about having their panties touched.

“Everything is wonderful,” she said, walking across the room with a faint smile on her lips. “You've already been so accommodating. I don't know how to thank you for offering me the position. I love it here. Ember is the sweetest baby.” She bounced Ember in her arms.

Seeing Everly care for his child made his heart swell and his dragon roar.

“Very well,” he said flatly. “If you don’t need anything, we’ll get out of your hair.” He cringed at his use of the human phrase.

He went to the door and walked out. Glancing over his shoulder, he gave her one last look. He closed the door and handed the beaker with Everly’s hair in it to Cato.

“Have this analyzed as quickly as possible,” Kian commanded. “I don't want to waste any more time.”

“On it,” Cato said, putting the sample into his pocket. “But I'll need a sample from you as well.”

They went downstairs, and Cato dropped the hair into the analysis plate. He then gave Kian a swab to rub on the inside of his cheek. Kian swapped his cheek and handed it to Cato. Cato then dropped the swab onto an analysis plate with Everly’s hair.

“Bethi, I want you to test these samples for fated mate compatibility,” Cato said.

“Analysis commencing.”

“How long will the process take?” Kian asked.

“Current processing time estimate,” Bethi said, pausing. “Seventy-two hours.”

“You need that much time to process our samples and find out if we’re mates?”

“You’ve provided me with a less than ideal sample from an unknown species,” Bethi chirped.

“Well, just hurry then. This is your top priority.”

“What about the scan of the local vampire coven?” Bethi asked. “I have results.”

“Oh?” Kian asked.

“The local coven is highly involved with the human community.”

Bethi showed them pictures of the local coven. The vampires were pale-skinned men and women, wearing dark clothing. They had red lips and dark eyes. The computer flashed a series of pictures across the screen of the coven’s activities.

“Where did you get this footage?” he asked.

“Surveillance cameras used by humans,” Bethi chirped. “Analysis is limited. I can only find out so much from these cameras. Further observation is required to understand the extent of the vampire’s dealings in the human world.”

“Understood. Well done, Bethi. Now put all of your processing power into matching those DNA samples.”

“Very well,” she said. “Switching priorities.”

Kian nodded with a grunt, and Cato looked up at him with shock and disappointment in his eyes.

“How can you switch Bethi’s priority away from the vampire coven?” Cato asked, crossing his arms.

“Because finding my mate is the top priority. I can already feel my mating impulse weakening my constitution. After a million-year slumber, the last thing I need is to suddenly die from my own lust.”

“We are all feeling the mating impulse.”

“That is why we must prioritize matching me with Everly. Then we can be sure we can all find mates among human Dragon Souls.”

“I see your point,” Cato said. “But that doesn't solve the problem of the vampire coven.”

“We should go investigate,” Kian said. “I want Aiden and Dax down here immediately. We need to discuss this.”

“I will call them now,” Cato said. He tapped his wrist device, and the faces of Dax and Aiden came up on a hologram above his palm.

“Kian requests your presence in the basement, immediately,” Cato said.

“On my way,” said Dax.

“Why?” asked Aiden.

“When your prince calls you, don't question it,” Cato said.

“I'm mastering Stairway to Heaven.”

“Your rock music can wait for another time. House business is the priority,” Cato chided.

“Just get down here, Aiden,” Kian said, looking over his shoulder.

“Fine, I'm on my way,” Aiden said, his hologram popping.

Dax and Aiden arrived in the basement a moment later, and they sat around the computer terminals.

“What is this all about?” Aiden asked, rolling back the sleeves to reveal his many tattoos.

“Kian believes that the new nanny is his mate.”

“Mate?” Dax asked. “We can mate with the humans?”

“We might be able to mate with Dragon Souls,” Cato corrected. “Kian believes Everly is one, and his fated.”

“Your fated one?” Aiden said, growing interested.

“If she is my fated, then there could be mates for all of us here.”

“I want to find my mate. The females are so tiny and curvy. They make my dick hard just looking at them,” Dax said.

“You must remain calm,” Cato said.

“How can I stay calm when I'm surrounded by billions of delicious human females, with their soft curves and warm little bodies?” Dax growled.

“Because you must,” Cato said.

“These humans are small and luscious,” Aiden said. “Everly is an appealing example of their kind.”

“Don’t you look at her,” Kian growled.

“If Everly is Kian’s mate, then we will know that all of us can find mates here on Earth.”

“I can't stop thinking about the human females,” Dax admitted. “My dragon wants to mate. He’s tired of being cooped up. Can I go look for one now?”

“We must keep a low profile among the humans,” Kian said.

“Finding we can mate with humans doesn't solve the problem of the vampires. There is a local coven who is active in the human population. But Bethi’s ability to analyze their activities is limited,” Cato said.

“We will go on a reconnaissance mission to investigate,” Kian said.

“Anything to get out of the house,” Dax said.

“It feels like a million years since I sliced a vampire,” Aiden said.

“Any new information we can glean from a reconnaissance mission will help us determine the best course of action,” said Cato.

“We need to understand these modern vampires. They seem different from the ones we knew a million years ago. But they are still dangerous to humans and Dragon Souls. It is our responsibility to be their guardians,” Kian said.