Eighteen
Hudson rushed the photos into Heritage Pines while Viviana waited in the car.
“Is Ellie Hudson available?” he asked the man at the front desk. He showed his ID.
The man checked his computer. “She’s in therapy right now with Dr. Powers.”
“Can I just leave these for her, then?” Hudson asked, setting the framed photos on the counter.
“No problem, I’ll make sure she gets them.”
Hudson thanked him and headed back to the car. It was getting late—and he had to get Viviana home by dusk.
She was quiet as he steered them through the curvy road toward the estate.
Hudson reached toward the power button on the stereo.
“Don’t do it,” Viviana said. “I don’t want to listen to that.”
There was an edge to her voice, so Hudson asked, “What are you thinking about?”
She shook her head, shrugged. “You, I guess.”
“Me?”
“Really, Hudson, don’t act so surprised. You and I have spent more time together in the past week than I’ve spent with any one person before. We’re together constantly, and we have this…this unstoppable chemistry. So yeah, I’m thinking about you.”
He downshifted as they reached the driveway to the Corona house. “I don’t think you should be thinking about me.”
“Of course you’d say that.” Her voice was brittle. Bitter.
When he parked the car, her door was already open. Mentally, she was probably all the way inside the house, slamming her door. He’d been in enough relationships to know when he’d pissed off a woman.
Instead of rushing away, though, she spun around and leaned into the car. “You know, we could have something great, Seth Hudson. We could be great together. But if you can’t get your head out of your ass long enough to figure that out, then we’re doomed from the start.”
With that, she slammed the car door and marched into her house.
Hudson followed her inside, but she was already upstairs—he could hear her stomping around. He looked at his watch. Thirty minutes until dark. He guessed they wouldn’t be doing that run he’d offered to go on with her this evening.
She was right—he wanted her. He wanted her too much, in fact. And if he was honest, he wasn’t holding back just because of the job. He was using that as an excuse. What really freaked him out was the idea of having a mate. Being tied to one person in such an intense way that your entire reason for living was wrapped up in theirs. It wasn’t Hudson’s choice. He didn’t want to get that close. He didn’t want to spend his life fearing the death of the one he loved most.
But fuck it all, why was he starting to think that this was no longer a choice he could make—that the choice had already been made for him?
Seething, he bypassed the people milling around the great room and went upstairs into his own room. Viviana’s room was quiet—he even acted like a total creep and listened at the wall separating them. He shuffled to his bed, kicked off his shoes, and lay down.
She was crowding him, pushing him into doing something about whatever was between them. He was at a breaking point, ready to march into her room and make good on all the dirty things he’d been thinking about her during the week.
The next time his bratty little lion gave him attitude, he’d tell her exactly what he thought. But right now, he needed to rest.
His alarm woke him thirty minutes later. Time for work. He was used to long hours working in security, but he was exhausted now. Maybe it was a combination of the emotional turmoil of trying to help his mother, the effort of trying not to fall for Viviana, and the physical act of being awake to guard Viviana that was taking its toll, he didn’t know.
He knocked on Viviana’s door as he passed, but she didn’t answer. “Viv? You there?”
Still no answer. He rushed downstairs. Had something happened to her? Had she sneaked out without him? Marlana would kill him, and worse—Viviana would be in danger. He ran down the stairs, his heart in his throat.
When he saw Viviana, perched on one of the sofas in the great room, a cup in her hand, he skidded to a stop. She was okay. Alone in a crowded room, like usual, but okay.
Her gaze locked on his as she took in what had to be a cross between alarm, relief, and annoyance on his face.
“I thought you’d left,” he explained.
“I’m not an idiot,” she said. “You probably don’t even need to guard me anymore.”
He wanted to growl, take her in his arms, and kiss her senseless. Press her into the couch, show her what he was feeling—possession, passion, love, lust.
A knock sounded on the front door. Hudson groaned at the interruption. He was closest to the door, so he asked Viviana, “Okay to get that?”
She nodded.
When he pulled open the door, a young woman waited on the other side. She looked to be in her late teens, and she had pale skin, blond hair, and eyes so dark they looked black.
Immediately, a feeling of otherworldliness swept over him. She wasn’t human. She wasn’t shifter.
Vampire.
She stuck out her hand. “I’m Gracie Jane Moseley. I’m here to see Marlana—it’s important.”
Hudson turned and searched for Marlana in the crowd of shifters. Could he invite a vampire in? Was that a myth?
“Oh, cut it out,” Gracie Jane said, pushing past him. “That invitation thing doesn’t work on us, and besides, I’ve been invited before.” She marched up to Marlana and said, “I’ve got a message from the court.”
Marlana shook Gracie Jane’s hand while Hudson stared at the two women, bemused.
“Let’s go to my office,” Marlana said. “Hudson, you come, too. Jeff! Viviana!”
Viviana and her father hurried over. All five of them trailed upstairs. Hudson noted the curious looks on the faces of the other pride members, but nobody asked questions.
Inside the office, Hudson stood next to the door.
Gracie Jane spoke. “We’ve learned who the rogue vampire is,” she announced. “Astor. Consort to Ana.”
“Okay,” Marlana said slowly. “What does he want? He killed Chase—he killed one of our own. The only thing we don’t know, is why.”
“The closest we can guess is that he’s here for revenge,” Gracie Jane said. “Ana was killed by shifters in your pride. She was Astor’s consort—his greatest treasure.”
“Revenge,” Marlana said. “He’s already killed Chase. That should be enough, yes? One for one?”
Gracie Jane shrugged, the movement fluid. Hudson couldn’t stop staring at her—superficially, she looked young, but he’d wager that she was nearly as old as everyone in this room combined.
“It’s hard to say,” Gracie Jane said. “Bo and I know him real well—he turned us into vampires. But we still can’t guess what he’s thinking or feeling. Could he be finished? Maybe. But he hasn’t left the territory yet. Mikhail is trying to forge a psychic connection with him, but Astor is resisting.”
“Do you know where he’s staying?” Marlana asked. “We need to either talk to him, or get him out of here.”
“We’ll take care of the problem,” Gracie Jane said. “He’s in our territory, too, and risking our exposure and our treaty with the pride.”
“Thank you,” Marlana said.
Gracie Jane turned to go, seeming to float above the floor. Hudson stared. How did she do it?
Just past Gracie, Hudson saw Viviana. She was watching him, her eyes soft, her lips slightly parted. He knew her skin, he knew her mouth. He knew the breathy sounds she made before she came.
How could he go on like this, watching her, protecting her…and not having her?
Gracie Jane stopped in the doorway and turned to face all four of them. “There’s one other thing you should know about Astor. If you do find him during the day, he won’t be sleeping. He stays awake all day, like me.”