CHAPTER 2
The vampire lurked behind her in the darkness, concealed by the dense forest parkland. With the moon obscured by heavy clouds, the only light was the distant twinkle of Montreal, which sprawled in the valley far below Summit Woods.
Kaya Laurent couldn’t see the threat that stalked her as she made her trek through the trees, but she felt it with every urgent beat of her pulse. The Breed male had her in his sights, just waiting for the opportunity to attack.
And he wasn’t alone.
Two others were with him somewhere in the woods, closing in on her like a pack of wolves.
Kaya hurried along the bramble-strewn path, adrenaline fueling every step. She had no hope of outrunning her pursuers, but she had to try. Behind her in the shadows, a twig snapped under a heavy foot. She ran faster, her heart climbing into her throat.
Dammit.
Her goal was in right in front of her, less than a quarter-mile ahead. If she could reach the large oak at the perimeter of the woods, she’d be home free.
If she pushed herself, she might actually make it before--
“Shit!”
Nearly three-hundred pounds of fast-moving Breed male hit her from behind like a freight train. Even though she was mentally braced for the attack, the sudden collision jolted a cry out of her and sent her to the ground in a punishing crash.
Kaya grunted, forcing her body into action even as her head filled with an explosion of stars. Rolling away a mere instant before her attacker would have pinned her beneath him, she scrambled to her feet. At that same moment, the second vampire materialized out of the night woods. Then the third, moving in to block her path on the other side.
Not that she actually intended to run.
All she could do now was fight--and pray like hell she survived the next few minutes.
Her pistol was already in her hand. Without warning, she opened fire, three rapid shots that would have been bullseye hits if her assailants had been anything but Breed. Two of the males dodged, but the third let out a roar as her bullet struck him dead-center on the chest.
A burst of red blooming over his sternum, he dropped to the ground.
“Yes!”
One down, two to go.
The largest of the trio grinned at her through the darkness. He was a monster of a male, massive shoulders and dark, menacing features that looked far too amused as he loomed closer.
Kaya started to squeeze the trigger again, but in a blink of motion too fast for her to follow, the big male knocked her gun out of her fingers. It sailed off into the trees. “Now, what are you gonna do?”
Her fingers went to one of the knives sheathed on her belt. He lunged. She threw the blade, but had no chance to see if she made her mark. While her attention was focused wholly on the big male in front of her, she’d lost track of the third one.
“Too bad for you.” Large hands clamped around her neck from behind. “You’re dead, sweetheart.”
“Fuck!” Kaya snarled in frustration, her body sagging as the certain death-grip loosened from her throat and her would-be killer chuckled. She pushed some of her long brown hair out of her face, her breath racing. “Let’s go another round. I can do better.”
The Breed warrior she’d shot with a paint bullet got up from the ground, peeling out of his red-splattered shirt with a curse. He shook his head. “Count me out. You’d go at us like this all night if we let you.”
Kaya arched a brow. “What’s the matter, Webb? Afraid I’ll drop you again?”
He laughed, giving her one of his grins that made the tall male go from basic handsome to pure Adonis. “Lucky shot tonight, that’s all. But you’d better watch your back. I’ll get you when you least expect it.”
“She’s getting better all the time,” his comrade added. One of the large hands that had been poised to twist her head off a moment ago now cuffed her shoulder in praise. “Good job, Kaya.”
“Thanks, Torin.” She smiled at the exotic-looking warrior with the shoulder-length mane of burnished blond hair. Although he was as deadly as anyone in the Order, the laid-back warrior had been nothing less than welcoming the past couple of weeks she’d been training with their team.
The biggest member of the squad, the olive-skinned, dark-haired behemoth named Balthazar, walked over and returned Kaya’s lost weapons. “Next time, keep your eyes open to your full surroundings.”
“All right, Bal.” With a nod, she took the paint gun and blade from him, holstering both on her belt.
Applause sounded from the sidelines as Kaya’s friend, Mira--the sole female of the Order team Kaya desperately wanted to be part of--strolled over to meet the group. Accompanied by her mate, Kellan Archer, Mira was garbed in all-black like the rest of the warriors, her combat boots crunching softly in the bramble as she approached from her observation post.
“Dammit, I screwed up,” Kaya admitted. “I’ll keep practicing. I can do this.”
“I have no doubt, or you wouldn’t have gotten this far.” Mira smiled. “You’re an excellent combat fighter, Kaya. No one expects you to be able to take out three of the best Breed warriors in the field to prove yourself to the Order.”
Kellan gave Mira a proud look. “Besides, there are other skills that are just as valuable to a team.”
The couple spoke from experience. As capable as Mira was with her daggers and physical agility, she wasn’t Breed. She didn’t have the sheer brute strength and power of their kind. That hadn’t stopped the ambitious female from getting promoted through the Order’s ranks, however. Mira had made it all the way to captain, a feat Kaya couldn’t help but admire, even envy.
All her life, Kaya had dreamed of having somewhere to belong. A child of the streets from the time she was a little girl, she’d longed to find a place where she felt needed and respected. A place where she mattered. Where she could feel safe.
During the more than year since she’d met Mira, she’d seen a glimpse of what that life could be like. After training under her friend for the past two weeks, Kaya couldn’t think of anything she wanted more than to be a full-fledged member of the Order.
Mira gestured to her team. “Let’s wrap up and head back to base.”
They’d been running her through the paces since sundown, so despite Kaya’s eagerness to prove herself and hone her skills, the thought of a hot shower and clothes that weren’t caked in dirt and forest debris sounded like heaven.
As a group, they trudged up the wooded incline. The Montreal command center sat at the top of the city’s eponymous hill, land given to the Order in exchange for its protection in the years following First Dawn and the violence that became epidemic afterward. Kaya had never seen anything as impressive as the enormous mansion and the labyrinthine nerve center beneath it. She’d spent half a month there and she doubted she’d covered even a fraction of the massive compound.
Mostly by design.
Until she was a full member of the team, her clearance restricted her to the residence and patrol squad areas unless she was accompanied by Mira or another warrior. Kaya didn’t mind the lack of trust. It only made sense. They had a right to be cautious when it came to Order business. After all, the warriors had been under siege from one enemy or another for decades. Far longer than that, if you counted all the centuries that the Breed had been trying to keep the peace between their kind and man before the secret of their existence had been revealed twenty years ago.
“Patrols roll out within the hour,” Mira advised the men as the team reached the command center. When Torin, Bal, and Webb walked away, she turned a considering glance on Kaya. “You looked good out there tonight. Don’t think Niko hasn’t noticed how hard you’re working too.”
“Nikolai?” Kaya stood a little straighter at the mention of the formidable commander who also happened to be Mira’s adoptive father. Although Mira would decide when Kaya’s training period was over, it was the Montreal commander who would be the one to assign her to the team. “Did he say he’s noticed me, Mira? I swear, he’s hardly said two words to me since I arrived.”
Kellan chuckled. “Niko’s hardly got time to say two words to anyone now that Renata is so close to having that baby.”
“It’s true,” Mira agreed, smiling affectionately. “He’s an absolute basket case--although he would never admit it.”
“Never,” Kellan said, then reached out and stroked his mate’s cheek as if he couldn’t control the impulse. “I probably will be too. When the time comes.”
The couple exchanged a look that Kaya pretended not to see. It felt too intimate, a wordless conversation that made the air feel suddenly thick and heavy with meaning.
Kaya cleared her throat. “I’m ah . . . I’m going to drop my gear, then head to my quarters and take a nice long shower. I’ll probably be finding leaves and pine needles in my hair for days.”
Mira laughed from under the curve of Kellan’s arm. “Get some rest. You’ve earned it.”
Kaya left them to their whispered talk and private glances, glad to escape the heated emotion that always seemed to crackle between the recently mated pair. Their bond had been a long time coming--a miracle that had managed to defy both fate and death. Kaya couldn’t begrudge them their happiness, but it made the emptiness in her life feel all the deeper.
She entered the weapons room and unstrapped the paint pistol and her blades. Elsewhere along the corridor, she heard the warriors’ low voices rumbling with conversation and laughter. The sounds of the command center had become a familiar part of her daily routine in the short time she’d been there. Bal’s deep baritone. Torin’s velvet drawl. Webb’s low purr.
Kaya let her mind wander as she took apart the gun and cleaned all the parts. A thousand thoughts and memories crowded her mind as she worked, some of them pleasant, some . . . not.
She didn’t know how far she’d gone adrift in her own head until she felt a vague shift in the air around her. The hair at her nape prickled, at the same time Webb’s warning flashed through her subconscious.
Watch your back. I’ll get you when you least expect it.
Kaya’s lips curved in the beginnings of a smile. We’ll see about that.
Her grip tightened around the hilt of one of her blades. Behind her, she sensed his approach even though he moved in utter silence.
Kaya sprang into motion. In a fraction of a second, she pivoted, bringing the edge of her dagger right below the Breed male’s squared jaw, poised to kill.
Except it wasn’t Webb’s face she stared into now.
It wasn’t any of the Order warriors from the Montreal command center.
Eyes the color of a spring leaf held her gaze from beneath thick golden-brown brows and dark lashes that any female would envy. There was no fear in those unblinking eyes, only surprise and a trace of wry amusement. “Now, this is a hell of a welcome.”
Kaya scowled at the tall, muscular Breed male dressed in civilian clothes. She didn’t move her blade. “Who the fuck are you?”
He smirked, too arrogant by far. “I was just about to ask you the same thing.”
“This area is restricted. Who let you in?”
One beefy shoulder lifted in a shrug. “Nikolai and Renata told me I’d find Mira down here. Knowing my friend, I expected to find her working out with her blades.”
“Your friend?”
Oh, shit.
Kaya backed off, pulling her dagger away from him just as Mira rushed into the room on a delighted squeal and threw her arms around the handsome male. “Aric!”
His gaze lit up as he caught Mira in a hug, lifting her up and spinning her around in his arms. “You look great, Mouse,” he said, setting her down on her feet again. “Where’s the lucky bastard you took for a mate?”
“Right here.” Kellan entered the weapons room and clasped Aric’s hand in greeting. “Good to see you, man. We didn’t know you were coming.”
He gave a cryptic smile. “Well, here I am.”
“Is Rafe here too?” Mira asked. “I haven’t seen him since . . . well, since everything that happened a couple of weeks ago.” She glanced at Kellan, heavy emotion ripe in her lavender-tinted eyes. “Where is he, Aric? I’m so excited to see you both.”
“Rafe’s looking forward to seeing everyone too. I’m sure he’ll be down soon to find you.”
Kellan cocked his head. “Last we heard, you two were leaving London with the Breedmate you rescued in Ireland a couple of nights ago. Chiffon-something.”
“Siobhan O’Shea,” Mira corrected impatiently. “Does that mean you brought her with you?”
“She’s with Rafe. He and Renata are getting her situated in the residence.”
Aric’s gaze kept straying to Kaya as he spoke. She didn’t miss the spark of interest in his light green eyes, nor the trace of humor that tugged at the corner of his lush mouth.
“I’m sorry,” Mira blurted. “Aric, have you met my friend Kaya Laurent?”
“We were just getting acquainted,” he said, that arrogant smile deepening as he extended his hand to her. “I’m Aric Chase.”
His fingers wrapped around hers, warm and firm. She didn’t want to acknowledge the current of awareness that sped through her veins as their palms pressed together. Ordinarily, Kaya avoided touching people she didn’t know, a caution she’d developed early in life to shield herself from the power of her extrasensory talent. But her ability to read someone’s mind with a touch didn’t work on the Breed.
So the jolt of electricity she felt while Aric’s strong hand engulfed hers had nothing to do with that. The look he gave her said he felt it too.
Kaya withdrew from his grasp and folded her arms over her chest. “Chase?” she repeated, once the name he gave her finally penetrated the unsettling drift of her thoughts.
“Aric’s father commands the Order’s team in Boston,” Mira offered helpfully.
Kaya worked to stifle her groan. Bad enough she’d just put a knife under the chin of a visiting warrior; she’d nearly assaulted Sterling Chase’s son. Aric’s mother was something of a legend too. The first female Breed ever known to exist, Tavia Chase was a daywalker besides--a gift she’d passed down to her offspring, Aric and his twin sister Carys.
As far as hierarchy went within the Order, Aric Chase was practically royalty.
“Nice to meet you,” Kaya murmured lamely.
“Likewise.” His eyes travelled her up and down in a slow appraisal. His dimpled grin spread into an amused smile, then he chuckled.
“Something wrong?” Visiting royalty or not, she bristled at the idea that he would mock her in front of her team leader and friends.
She flinched as he reached out to her without warning. His hand skimmed past her right cheek, to the side of her head. Smiling, he pulled a gnarled twig from the tangle of her hair.
Kaya snatched it away from him, her lips pressed flat over the curse that leapt to her tongue.
“You’re welcome,” he told her quietly, just as a hard rap sounded on the doorjamb.
Nikolai filled the space of the open door, the commander’s glacial blue eyes intense as he met the gazes of everyone in the room, finally settling on Aric and Kaya. “Good. You’re all here.”
Mira tilted her head at her father. “What’s going on?”
“Lucan’s called a meeting. He’ll be linked in to the war room from D.C. in two minutes.”
She nodded. “I’ll go tell the team.”
“Actually, it’s not the team he wants to meet with tonight.” Niko’s grim gaze left Mira’s. “Aric, Kaya. I need you both to come with me.”