---

The manor was eerily quiet when I woke up. Did everyone sleep in?

Last night, after he whipped us a quick—and surprisingly good—panini with grilled chicken, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and some special sauce, Landon showed me to the same guest bedroom I had slept in the previous night. Realizing I had left my bag in my car, he lent me one of his T-shirts to sleep in. Of course, the thing was too big for me. And now, as I stood and looked at my torn and blood-smeared clothes on the floor beside the bed, I wondered what the hell I was supposed to wear.

Maybe Amber or Sophia would be able to lend me something. But I would have to go out there like this to find them.

I reached for my ruined clothes when something caught my attention. My duffel bag on the armchair beside my bed with a small note on top.

I thought you would like to have your things, so Aidan and I went back for your car last night. It’s in the underground garage.

L.

Landon went back for my car at that unholy hour? He was … I didn’t know what he was, but so far, he had surprised me more than I cared to admit.

I quickly took a much needed shower and put on clean clothes—jeans and a graphic tee. I left my suede jacket on the bed in case I needed it. Sadly, it wasn’t my favorite, but it was the only thing I had right now.

After brushing my damp hair and putting on my ballet flats, I left the guest bedroom. I felt like a creeper tiptoeing in the big mansion as I inched my way down to the kitchen. I found and saw no one until I entered the kitchen. Landon, or Landon’s back, wore a simple white tee that hugged his strong shoulders and showed too much of his damn back muscles. He stood before the range, a spatula in his hand.

I halted on the other side of the island. “Morning.”

He glanced over his shoulder. “Good morning.” He flipped something on the range—was he making pancakes? “How’s the shoulder?”

I rolled my shoulder, and it burned a little. “I’ll survive.” He didn’t say anything while he fussed with whatever he was cooking. “Thanks for going back to pick up my car.”

He shrugged. “No big deal. I had to go back there anyway to take care of the demons.”

“Oh.” So he first brought me here so I wouldn’t mess up his job, then went back to do his thing. Of course. I sighed. “Hm, where’s everyone?”

“Working, I guess,” he said. “I saw some of the guys leaving earlier, probably working on cases. Amber should be in the gym downstairs, Sophia sleeps until noon in the summer, and Cole has a job at the police station.”

My brows knitted. “Like an undercover job?”

“Sorta.” He finally turned around, holding two plates piled high with food. “He’s there to spot supernatural cases so we can snatch them before the police, the humans in there, try to make sense of it.”

He placed the plate in front of me and handed me a fork and knife. “There’s coffee there.” He gestured to the coffee machine over the counter. “And juice and milk in the fridge. Or booze at the bar if you want that.”

I stared at the plate. Four thick pancakes, three slices of bacon, two pieces of golden brown French toast, and scrambled eggs. “How many people are supposed to eat this?”

He sat on a stool around the island. One corner of his lips curled up. “What? You won’t eat all that?” He shoved a big piece of pancake inside his mouth.

“Of course not!” I wasn’t really into diets. I preferred being a few pounds over my ideal weight and eat all the damn food I wanted, but this was too much. The amount of food on this plate was probably all my meals of the day combined.

“Eat it. You’ll need a lot of energy.”

“Why?” A shiver swept over my skin. “You’re going to let me help you?”

He pressed his lips tight. “Not yet. But I’ll let you prove to me that you can help.”

“What does that mean?”

“I won’t take you out without knowing how well you can defend yourself.”

I grunted. “Last night was a fluke. How was I supposed to know there would be more than one demon there? I wasn’t expecting to be attacked by a flock.”

“Not my point,” he said. “However, I admit the situation would have been different if I were with you.”

“I don’t get it. What are we doing then?”

Another lopsided grin. “We’re training.”

---

---

Who had the great idea of training with her? Oh yeah, stupid me. This was all my fault.

Tessa faced me from across the mat, pulling her hair into a tight ponytail. “I can fight, you know?”

I nodded once. “I know all about your black belt. But you won’t be fighting people. Most supernatural beings have increased strength and speed, some even have magical powers.”

She rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her waist, her hips slanted to one side.

Shit, that outfit.

Amber had been in the gym, finishing up her morning workout, when we arrived. Tessa hadn’t packed any workout clothes, so Amber took Tessa to her room where she lent her an appropriate outfit—tight black cropped pants, a blue bra top, and sneakers. Tessa had too much skin showing and those clothes hugged her curves just right.

Who had the shitty idea of training with her?

“Should I have brought a journal too? Perhaps we should have a theory class before training.”

Her words snapped my daze, and I focused on her face, which was also too beautiful and too distracting. Shit. “That isn’t a bad idea.”

“Landon, please, just fight, damn it.”

I swallowed hard. “All right. Ready?”

She adjusted her stance—feet apart, left leg to the front, her torso turned to me, and fists raised, protecting her chest and chin. “Ready.”

I positioned myself, much like her, and said, “Go!”

As if practicing a dance, Tessa and I started moving, circling each other, watching our arms and feet, waiting for the other to give something away, to show the next move before it happened.

Three full circles later, Tessa showed me a devilish grin. “Why aren’t you attacking?”

“Why aren’t you attacking?”

“Are you afraid of hitting a girl?” she teased.

“If I can avoid it, I don’t hit anyone, but to answer your question, no. I’m not afraid of hitting girls.”

That smile widened. “Then you’re afraid of getting your ass kicked by a girl.”

Shit. She was like sin looking at me that way.

With a groan, I stepped forward and attacked.

She easily stepped aside, deflecting my punch and answering it with a roundhouse kick to my side. But before her leg could connect with my stomach, I threw my arm away from my body, blocking her movement. She straightened her arm, ready to connect with my jaw. I turned my body ninety degrees, avoiding the hit, but I felt the whoosh of her fist flying by my face.

Stunned, I stepped back, putting some distance between us. Damn, she was fast.

Not even a second later, she came at me.

She feigned a punch to my shoulder, which made me twist to dodge it, but she was ready for that. She landed a perfect roundhouse kick to my chest—knocking the air out of my lungs. I inhaled sharply, not wanting to give in so easily. Since she was close, I went for a hand strike to her neck, but she stepped back, turned around, and prepared for a back kick.

I stepped into her space and pressed both my hands on her lower back, pushing her hard. She stumbled and fell forward with a cry. Gracefully, she rolled before her knees could connect with the mat, and straightened, her hands on her hips. Her stormy blue eyes shot daggers at me.

“Hey, that’s not fair.”

“Oh, you think demons will play fair?” I asked, going back to my initial spot. She opened her mouth as if to argue with me, but then she snapped it shut. I gestured for her to follow my lead. “Demons don’t fight like in martial arts. It’s great you can and it gives you a great advantage over a normal person, but depending on the demon, it won’t save your life.”

“Like that demon the other night,” she muttered, probably remembering how she had landed a flawless side kick to the demon and it hadn’t helped.

“Exactly.”

“Then why are we training?”

“Because you’ll need to improve your stamina if you want to fight demons.”

She frowned. “As if one or two training sessions would make a huge difference.”

“It might.” I raised my fists. “Now, let’s do it again.”

Tessa didn’t waste time. She lunged at me with all she had.

And I had to admit. The girl could fight. She wasn’t just fast; her movements were also fluid and graceful, and she had a surprising strength for someone her size.

Amid the fight, she did another roundhouse kick. Trying to make her improvise, I caught her leg with my arms. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t stop. She grabbed my shoulders with her hands, hauled herself up on my torso, and landed a nasty knee strike on my stomach. Wheezing, I let her go.

She landed on the floor with a slight bend of her knees, then she raised her fists and shot me a come-hither look.

Oh, this girl.

Feeling a smile wanting to burst through, I went at her. Like a bull, I rushed at her and took her by the waist. She let out a surprised gasp, but she set her feet firmly on the ground, slowing me, and brought down both arms on my back. A groan ripped out of my throat as I let go of her and landed on my knees. She brought her leg back, ready to knee me in the chest or the face, so I pushed back to stand up. Her knee grazed my stomach, making me lose my balance, and I went down again, on my back this time.

A loud huff came out from my lips.

With a wild grin, Tessa straddled me, her legs tight on either side of mine, her hips right above mine, and her hands planted on my chest.

“So.” She leaned over me with a smug smile. Her ponytail was loose and strands of her hair curled around her shoulders and fell toward me. “Did I pass?”

Shit, this position. The woman above me.

Words fled and all I could do was stare at her beautiful face, while I felt the heat coming from her body, felt the pressure of her legs around mine.

The smile slid off her face, and her eyes widened. A second later, she was up and three feet away from me. “Hm, so, that was a good fight, right?”

She stared at her feet as I stood.

“Yes, you passed.” I pushed all other thoughts from my mind and took a deep breath, focusing on why I had insisted we trained together in the first place. “But remember, I’m human too. We’ll be dealing with faster, stronger creatures. You have to be alert at all times.”

She lifted her eyes to me, a hint of a smile on her lips. “So, that means I can go hunting with you?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. You have to pass one more test.”