Half an hour later, the slimeball clerk at the front desk leered at me like he was trying to develop x-ray vision to see through my lumpy 'Please Unsubscribe me from your Issues' sweater to my underwear.

Urg, he was so gross.

But he was also the same gatekeeper who had been there the night before, which meant I was either totally sane, or super clairvoyant. His presence gave me a jolt of much-needed confidence. He was the last hurdle between me and my brand new safe space, and the guys who would hopefully be in it, so I squared my shoulders, smiling tightly as I approached him.

"We're full," he wheezed, eyes traveling back to the magazine in his lap.

"Thankfully, I'm not here for a room in this part of the motel. I need to get back there." I pointed to the wall panel that led to the no-tell part of the motel.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken, there is nothing back there," he told me, shrugging as he stared me down.

"Are you kidding me? I was just here. I know about the fancy lobby and the club filled with…” I lowered my voice to a hiss, “Paranormal creatures. I stayed over in the penthouse suite just last night." My cheeks flushed a little at the memory, but this wasn't the time. "Look, I just need a place to lie low and hide out until my… Friends wake up."

"Your friends, huh? They the ones in the penthouse?"

I nodded.

Eyes flickering between mine and the panel, he weighed his options, sighed, and then told me to wait there before he disappeared.

Doing as I was asked, I waited with shaky knees and shakier hands. I didn't know what I would do if he refused to let me in. The longer he stayed away, the more nervous I became. The first minute he was away felt like an hour and the next few, a week.

I began pacing on the crummy carpet in the lobby as time dragged by, and was wondering how difficult it would be to pry open that panel with a crowbar while he wasn't looking, when I heard rustling behind me and turned to find him waving me to a secret elevator, the doors of which he was standing in.

"You've been cleared for entry."

The elevator was hidden in the wall beside the panel and had only one button. The letters PH jumped out at me, gold and slightly raised. I was faint with relief as I sagged against the handrail and punched the button.

Not crazy.

Excellent.

Cooper was waiting for me when the doors slid open, his brow knitted with concern and a flare of anger in his eyes. He came for me as soon as I stepped out, wrapping his strong arms around me and pulling me tightly into his chest. "What happened?"

I breathed in his musky, sleepy scent and let it envelop me in its oddly familiar comfort. "How do you know something happened?"

Pulling back to place his hands on my shoulders, he looked me up and down before catching my eyes. "Not my first clue, but you're shaking like a leaf in a thunderstorm. The clerk also told me that you mentioned something about hiding out."

My teeth sank into my lower lip as I played the events over in my mind, then the words came flooding out of me. "I went to my sister’s yesterday when I left here. I only went back home again a few hours ago and someone had broken in. They completely trashed my house and left a note behind that said something about thralls being complicit and not being spared."

I realized belatedly that I should’ve brought it with me as I tried to recall the exact wording, but Cooper didn’t seem to need more information than that.

His eyes narrowed, his fingers linking with mine as he led me into the suite. It was dark inside, all the blinds closed and curtains drawn, but Cooper started flipping light switches, dragging me along behind him as he called out.

"Time to get up, guys. Starling's here and it sounds like we’ve got a fucking problem.”

One by one, the others appeared in the living area, looking groggy at first but then wide awake and concerned when they saw me. All but Cooper were shirtless. Beckham’s drawstring pants hung low on his hips, while Maddox was wearing boxers that showed off his muscular thighs, and Jaeger appeared with nothing but a pair of briefs so tight I could clearly see the outline of his--

Focus, Starling!

Apparently, it wasn't only Cooper who could see that something was wrong and they descended on me like a pack of alpha wolves intent on protection. And I knew what that looked like, I'd watched plenty of Jungle Book growing up.

"Are you okay?" Beckham asked at the same time that Maddox mumbled about “fucking killing someone.”

"Yes, I'm okay now. I'm just a little shaken up."

"Tell them what you told me," Cooper gently prompted me, looking just as grim as the others did when I told them.

Jaeger cursed, dragging his palms over the scruff on his jaw before locking his eyes to mine, reaching for my hand, and tugging me to him as he repeated over and over again, "Thank God you're okay."

"Fucking vampire hunter," Maddox snapped. "Can’t leave well enough alone.”

I froze in Jaeger's arms. "Vampire hunters? That's a real thing?"

My legs started shaking again and Jaeger released me so that I could sink into the couch. They each took a seat, Cooper wedging in beside me. Maddox's jaw ticked as he ran his hand through his blond, sleep-tousled hair.

"Yeah, that's a thing."

"There are less of them now than there used to be," Beckham told me, rubbing the stubble on his chin with his thumb and index finger. "But they're still around."

Cooper draped his arm around my shoulders, his eyes uncharacteristically serious. "They're kind of like these old school religious groups, like the ones who were behind the Witch Trials in Salem."

"How do they even know about you? And why would they hunt you?" It all just seemed so medieval. Hadn’t humanity left all that kind of stuff behind centuries ago?

"Because they seek to eradicate the abominations that are the night walkers from the face of the earth," Jaeger replied dryly.

"You're not abominations!" I exclaimed immediately, the very thought of people thinking of them that way making me feel sick to my stomach.

"Maybe not to you," Cooper said. "But there are plenty of people out there who would beg to differ."

"Are you in danger?" My stomach rolled for an entirely different reason this time as a shiver ran down my spine.

Someone wasn't out to hurt me, but them. That was worse to me, in a way.

Maddox shrugged and shook his head, the corners of his mouth lifting into a lethal half-smile that held no humor. "Not in grave danger, no. These days, they're usually just a handful of conspiracy theorizing nuts with pathetic wooden stakes. They don’t even have proof we exist. Don't worry about us."

I squinted dubiously, recalling the arrow. "This didn’t look like someone with a low rent wooden stake and a grudge. This looked…” How to explain it? Serious. Menacing. Ancient, in some way. “The note was jammed into the wall with a really lethal-looking arrow that had old writing on the side. I don’t know…it felt dangerous," I told them and they exchanged a telling look. Even Maddox joined in, despite having just told me not to worry.

Something passed between them and Cooper drew me closer to his side.

"It's nothing for you to worry about, Starling. As a precaution, though, it would be better if you stayed here at the hotel with us while we deal with the Hunters, all right?"

"We can take them, but if you got hurt we'd never forgive ourselves," Jaeger added.

Who knew how long it would take before they tracked down these Hunters and dealt with them? I wasn’t prepared to stay here for an indeterminate amount of time. School started up again soon and I was hoping that, by then, I’d feel safe enough to go home. But for now…

"We know. It will only be for a little while," Beckham assured me, reading my mind or my face, I wasn’t sure.

I couldn’t deny, I felt instantly less terrified and anxious at the thought and I nodded slowly.

"Okay."

Four sets of shoulders unlocked, betraying the fact that worry was lurking right beneath their relaxed facades.

I'd seen Jaeger in action and I was sure that the others were every bit the elite killing machine I knew him to be, but I wanted to keep an eye on them as much as they seemed to want to keep an eye on me. The situation was more dangerous than they were letting on and I'd go crazy alone, waiting for news that one of them might have been hurt, or worse.

"So that's settled then," Beckham said.

Maddox gripped the base of his neck, squeezing his eyes shut as Cooper stood and held out his hand for me. "Come, let's go get you settled."

Fifteen minutes later, I was standing in a well-appointed room in the massive penthouse suite and Cooper was helping me get the few things that I'd brought unpacked.

"I think that's it," he said, closing the dark wood closet door and lowering himself onto the huge bed. I looked around at the room that was going to be my home for the next few days.

The bed was covered with wine-red linens, and heavy curtains hung in the windows while lights that reminded me of fireflies floated around, but I didn't have a hot tub, bar or separate living area. There was a large antique-looking dresser with a square mirror in the center and two smaller ones flanking it.

It was everything that I needed and way more luxurious than I was used to.

Cooper watched me take it all in, then patted the space on the bed beside him. "Come here."

Spreading his knees, he made space for me between his legs and wound his arms around my waist.

"I'm glad you came here. To us. You’re taking all of this remarkably well. I’m not ashamed that I would’ve been freaked as fuck if I was you.”

“I am freaked as…heck, I’m just trying to keep from showing it because you’re all so chill and strong about everything.”

“We’ve got a little bit of time on you when it comes to these kinds of things,” he said, brushing a strand of hair off my forehead. “You’re doing great, but don’t try to be strong because you think we need you to be. If you want to scream, let it out. If you have questions, ask. Whatever you need, we’ll be there for you. And for the record, we won't push you to make a decision about us and the future, okay? We just want you safe for now."

I lifted my hands to run my fingers lightly across his jaw and through his hair, my fingernails gently scraping his scalp. "I'm glad I came here, too, for all the reasons you listed and so much more. I have so many questions, but it never seems to be the right time.”

Trailing off, I paused and gathered my thoughts.

“About the other thing…I’m just not sure yet.”

There was understanding in Cooper's eyes as he peered up at me, then pulled me into his lap. He bumped his nose to mine, his arms still around me as he pressed a soft kiss to my lips. "Don't worry about that now. Really, we get it. Us wanting to keep you safe, and your ultimate decision about that, are two separate things. Yes, we're hoping that you agree, but your safety comes first, either way."

"What about your safety?" I pressed.

Cooper shrugged, rolled his eyes, as his playful smile spread on his lips. "We'll be fine. We'll go hunting tonight and this whole thing will probably be over by morning. Speaking of which, we should get back. I'm sure the others are preparing for tonight already."

"Don't you need more time to prepare?" I asked, wondering what preparing to go hunt for vampire hunters even entailed.

He smirked and lifted me from his lap with a heavy sigh and a wistful look at the bed as we crossed the room. "Nah, this isn't our first rodeo. We've got everything we need in our armory. By now, the guys would've gotten it all ready."

We reached the door and he opened it, then stepped aside and motioned for me to precede him. Opening the door for a girl, guess chivalry wasn't dead after all.

Or it is and only lives on in those who learned it when it was still alive.

That wasn’t the only thing I was curious about, so I prioritized. “You have an armory?”

“Yes. Both here, and a larger one at our home.” Cooper smiled, longing in his eyes as he answered. “I’ll show it to you one day, I hope.”

If I said yes to them.

God, I wanted to say yes. But for now, we needed to focus on staying alive.

“So, the penthouse is yours? Is that why it’s all decked out for you?”

He shrugged. “Maddox… Alters it to our liking when we use it. For all intents and purposes, though, yes. It’s as good as ours.”

We didn’t get to talk much after that. The suite was a flurry of activity when we arrived. As Cooper predicted, the others, who’d been in various states of sleepy undress earlier, were freshly showered and were moving so fast that they almost blurred.

Weapons covered every surface of the bar and living area, everything from crossbows and arrows to knives and swords lying around. I gaped at their haul, unable to even identify some of the things I was looking at.

“I should go get cleaned up, too,” Cooper said, dropping a kiss to the top of my head before disappearing into the bathroom.

“You get all settled in?” Jaeger asked, coming to a standstill at my side.

He was wearing a black tee, dark jeans and the leather jacket from the night I met him was draped over a chair nearby. With the light scruff, the set of his jaw, and the outfit, he looked every bad boy I’d ever lusted after and been warned against personified, yet he was all good.

Except for the fact that I’d seen him kill a guy, knew that he’d slept with a girl he barely knew and his three best friends at same time, apparently carried enough weapons to defend a medium sized country… Okay, maybe he wasn’t all good after all.

Jaeger’s eyes were focused on mine as he waited patiently for an answer. “Yes, I got settled. Cooper helped me unpack.”

A slight smile tipped the corners of his lips. “Good. I hope you’ll be comfortable here. If you need anything, just tell me and I’ll make it happen. You going to be okay here while we get ready?”

“I’ll be fine.” The couch welcomed me like an old friend as I watched in fascination as they prepared to go hunting as soon as night fell.

Jaeger squeezed my hand before he left me to rejoin the others and, watching them closely, I was getting a better sense of who they each were as the day progressed. Cooper was, as I’d suspected, the impulsive, playful, caring personality in the group. He joked around with the others and managed to maintain a serious approach to their hunt at the same time.

Beckham was quiet, intense, even when he wasn’t saying a word. He was a perfectionist, double- and triple-checking weapons and mostly ignoring the banter around him. When he did speak, his words seemed measured and chosen with specific purpose. He was witty, intelligent and focused.

“Are you sure I can’t just kill them all?” Maddox asked, pulling me back to the conversation going on around me.

Jaeger threw him a look that said this again?

“No. We need to determine what, or rather, who, we’re dealing with first.”

“Spoilsport,” Maddox shot back, loading up on ammunition for a long-nosed gun that he shoved into the back of his jeans. My first assessment of him had been right. He grabbed life, and their hunt, by the horns, seemed genuinely excited by it and challenged them all at every turn. He was brute strength and passion, mixed with intellect that had clearly been obtained from the years, maybe even centuries, of absorbing everything he learned and he had a wicked sense of humor to boot.

Looks were shot at him from all over the room, none as pointed as that from Jaeger, who was clearly their leader. All alpha and all in control as they packed industrial-looking black fabric bags with the weapons they chose.

While no one deferred to him, or to anyone else, it was clear that they trusted him to make the decisions and would improvise where needed to as they went along.

The hunt was meant to start as soon as it got dark enough, but the second it did, my phone started ringing and Melanie's cheerful smile popped up on my screen.

Her voice when I answered, however, was anything but cheerful.

"I need you, Star. Something has happened. Something bad.”