Eli stood in the kitchen, refilling Moonshine’s water bowl when I walked in.

“Hey,” he called from over his shoulder. “How was coffee with Ridley?”

Moonshine ignored the fact Eli had filled her bowl and darted to me. She jumped up, excited to see me.

“Good,” I said as I bent down to pet her. “Until I overheard a conversation at the table behind us. There were these two women talking about the Midnight Reaper. Did you know another body was found? Thirty miles from here?” I asked as I glanced at him.

His body stiffened. “Yeah. Dad mentioned it earlier.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” I snapped.

“Because it’s your birthday,” he said as though this should be reason enough. “It’s supposed to be a happy day. I didn’t want you thinking about the killings or the Midnight Reaper all day.”

I wanted to be mad at him, but I understood where he was coming from. Still, I couldn’t drop the subject. This was serious, and it was starting to freak me out.

“Did you know the bodies weren’t just mutilated, they were drained of blood too?” The words rushed from my lips. “It’s a vampire doing all of this.”

“Where did you hear that?”

Tightness built in my chest as I cocked my head to the side, studying his expression. I licked my lips as I continued to scratch Moonshine behind the ear.

“Did you know?” I asked.

Eli exhaled a slow breath. “It’s been speculated, but Dad hasn’t given a definite answer to any of us yet. We’ve all thought it may be something supernatural responsible though. Humans don’t mutilate others like that.”

“Why would he withhold information like that from you guys?”

Eli shrugged. “Maybe he needs more evidence?” He leaned against the kitchen counter and folded his arms over his chest. His green eyes narrowed on me. “Who did you hear all this from? Was it a legitimate source?”

“Ridley mentioned it.” I stepped away from Moonshine to lean against the kitchen counter as well. “Her aunt heard about it from a friend of hers who lives in the city. She and her husband are witches. He’s also on the police force. He told her some of the bodies were drained of blood as well as mutilated.”

Eli rubbed his jaw, his mind working overtime. “So what does that mean? Is this one vampire we’re dealing with or two?”

My heart lodged in my throat. I hadn’t thought of the Midnight Reaper as more than one person. There was a real chance this wasn’t a single supernatural being we were talking about but multiple beings.

“It could be more than one supernatural creature too. A vampire and something else.” I scooped up Moonshine as she lapped at her water, and I hugged her to my chest. I needed comfort, and she was a pro at giving it. “I still think we need to talk to Jane Hawker. So far she’s the only person who has witnessed whatever it is we’re dealing with.”

“She’s gone crazy, Mina. I’m not sure we’ll be able to get much information out of her.”

“We have to try.”

“I’ll talk to my dad again and see what he suggests,” Eli said. “But not until after your party.”

“Talk to him now,” I insisted.

“No.” His eyes grew dark. He was serious, but so was I. “We’re going to your party, and we’re going to enjoy ourselves. All of this can wait until after.”

“Can it? Whatever is out there is probably on its way to town as we speak. The Caraways are doing something about it. Why shouldn’t we? Mirror Lake is our home too. We need to help protect it.”

“What are the witches doing?”

“Ridley said they’re gathering ingredients to set a ward in place that won’t allow any vampires except the Montevallos in town.”

“That’s a good idea,” Eli said. “And we are doing something. We’re patrolling. Your shift is tomorrow night. You and Violet were placed together.”

“Good,” I said. It was a start.

“Dad is supposed to meet with the Montevallos tomorrow. Ridley’s aunt too.”

“Maybe between the three of us we can keep the Midnight Reaper out of Mirror Lake.” My voice shook when I spoke. I wanted to believe what I’d said, but had an awful feeling twisting in the pit of my stomach.

One that had me thinking something horrible would happen soon.

I set Moonshine down when she wiggled in my arms. Could she feel the tension and worry creeping through my veins? They say animals can sense things of that nature; I knew my wolf could. I could feel her pacing inside me. Anxious. Tense. On edge. Exactly like me.

“Hey.” Eli lifted my chin, forcing me to look at him. “Chin up. It’s your birthday. Don’t worry about all of this crap now.”

I frowned. “Easier said than done.”

“Let me take your mind off it then,” he said as he bent to press his lips against mine.

Lust clouded my thoughts as I gave in to him. His lips. His touch. His warmth. His arms snaked around my waist, pulling me closer as he skimmed his tongue over my bottom lip wanting to deepen our kiss. I opened my mouth and brushed my tongue against his, wanting him to make me forget the real possibility of all hell about to break loose in Mirror Lake yet again.

Eli’s tongue tangled with mine as he did as I wanted. His fingertips dug into the flesh of my hips. I ran my fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. A groan spurred from somewhere deep inside his chest as I grazed my teeth across his bottom lip.

We made our way out of the kitchen and through the living room toward our bedroom. Once we reached the hall, something soft fluttered past me, touching my leg in the process.

“What the?” Eli pulled away as we became tangled in something.

Toilet paper. It trailed down the hall from the bathroom toward the living room.

“Moonshine must’ve gotten into the bathroom somehow,” Eli growled.

She must have heard her name because the toilet paper began moving again as a low growling noise filled the trailer.

I followed Eli to the living room where I spotted Moonshine racing around the couch with toilet paper flying behind her. Eli bolted after her as I laughed, watching the two of them circle the couch.

“Help me. Don’t just stand there,” Eli snapped.

I headed in the opposite direction Moonshine was going, hoping to block her path and trap her. It worked. With no place to go, she paused long enough for Eli to grab her. He ripped a long piece of toilet paper from her mouth, and then pried her lips apart with his fingers to dig out the rest.

“I’m pretty sure she swallowed some,” he muttered.

I scooped up the toilet paper and tossed it in the trash. “It’s just paper. She should be okay.”

Eli blew out a long breath and set her down. “It seems like every time we get started, something comes along and grinds it to a halt.”

“I know.” I walked toward him, thinking it would be easy to pick up where we’d left off. “So let’s not give anyone an excuse to interrupt us.” I placed a quick kiss on his lips before heading to the front door to lock it. Next, I gathered our cell phones and turned them off before I put Moonshine in her crate.

“I like the way you think.” Eli grinned.

I sauntered toward him and grabbed at the front of his shirt. I headed toward our bedroom, pulling him along with me. He didn’t fight. In fact, he seemed to like me showing a little dominance.

Once we reached the bedroom, I released my grip on him and peeled off my clothes. I was going to get some birthday booty, damn it.

“A little eager, aren’t you?”

I tossed my shirt to the floor. “Always.”

“Hmm...I like the sound of that,” Eli said as he stripped and flopped onto the bed.

A grin hung on my face as I moved to straddle him. I placed warm kisses along the side of his neck and allowed myself to become lost in him again. His fingertips dug into my hips as a low growl pushed its way past his lips. I closed my eyes as I continued to kiss his beautiful skin.

This was what I’d wanted for my birthday—some alone time with Eli.