I watched the three brothers walk away under the light of the street lamps. A battle raged in my chest as I stood frozen in place. The smart voice in my head was telling me to go home and lay low, to avoid all of this. To stay the hell away from vampires, shadow creatures, and anything else that went bump in the night. To go back to work at the bar, maybe take Grace up on her offer to go clubbing sometime, and just generally act like none of this had happened.

Or maybe that wasn’t the smart voice in my head. Maybe that was the dumb, scared, stubborn voice.

Mal was right. As much as it pained me to admit it, I probably couldn’t take on one of those shades by myself. They were too strong, too magical. If a single one attacked me, the best I could do was escape. If I was ambushed by a group? I’d be dead.

And as foolhardy and reckless as I’d acted thirty minutes ago, I really didn’t want to die.

If I tried to get through this on my own, chances were extremely high the shades would get what they wanted from me. Whatever that was.

But would I be safer with the brothers?

There were no guarantees. I hardly knew the three men. But somehow, they’d become the only lifeline I had in this strange new world. Helpless anger and frustration welled in my chest, and I tipped my head back and screamed into the night.

“That’s it! I’m calling the fucking cops, lady!”

The irate man from earlier leaned out of his window, waving his cell phone at me.

Grimacing, I set off quickly down the street before he could make good on his promise. Worry still gnawed at my stomach, but surprisingly, my chest felt a bit lighter. As much as I wanted to blame the vampires for all this, I knew it wasn’t their fault. I’d been attacked by the shadow creature first, and by the time the brothers found me, they’d had only two choices—let me die, or turn me.

Truthfully, I was glad they’d chosen the latter.

Mal, Jerrett, and Sol came into view ahead of me a few blocks over, weaving through the shadows like ghosts.

A ripple of fear passed through me at the unearthly sight of them.

Vampires are real.

So are shades. The undead.

Were there other kinds of supernatural creatures out there? Things worse than shades? More dangerous than vampires? My entire worldview had been turned on its head, and that opened the door to terrifying new possibilities. I might be a vampire now, but that didn’t mean I was automatically equipped to deal with the supernatural world. I was barely getting the hang of my new abilities—hell, I didn’t even know what all of them were.

I was out of my depth, big time.

“So… what now?” I asked quietly, falling into step with the three men. The one named Mal didn’t even glance at me, but Sol smiled in my direction.

“We need to identify what the shades are after. And we need to keep you safe. We’ll take you back home with us.”

“Where you should’ve stayed from day one.” Jerrett threw a pointed look at Mal.

“You know why I didn’t want that,” Mal answered. “I’m still not sure it’s a good idea, but we have no choice.”

“Are there… other monsters out there?” I swallowed. “Worse ones?”

Sol’s fingers brushed my hand. He lifted it and tucked it gently into the crook of his elbow, a surprisingly gentlemanly gesture. It felt strange being led down the street by a man who couldn’t see, but then again, I’d just witnessed him pluck a knife out of the air. I supposed I didn’t need to worry about him steering me into a tree or anything.

“There are all kinds of supernaturals in the world, Willow. Not all are evil, though many are dangerous. Humans are ignorant of their existence, for the most part. Supernaturals live in shadows, and people don’t want to believe. They never notice what’s right under their noses, do they?”

I couldn’t argue with that. I’d always thought of myself as pretty perceptive, but becoming a vampire was like having a veil lifted from my eyes. I could truly see now. I could smell now. I could feel everything. It was a little like the first time I’d watched a 3-D movie, only more nausea inducing.

“Are there other supernaturals here in New York?”

“Yes, some. Loners and outcasts, mostly. Entire civilizations of supernaturals exist in places humans can’t discover. Only a small number of us chose to live among humanity.”

“So, which are you guys—loners or outcasts?” I asked. I thought it was a fair question, but Mal stopped in his tracks ahead of us to glower at me. Jerrett snorted, and Sol chuckled.

I met the tall man’s dark glare with a lifted chin. If I was going to be stuck with them for the foreseeable future, he needed to know I wasn’t scared of him.

Or at least, he needed to think I wasn’t scared of him.

“We’re hunters by choice.” Mal turned around and resumed walking. “We live without a clan so we can watch over the world. Our sworn duty is to keep it safe from evil beings and rogue supernaturals who would attack humans—or even other supernaturals. There are dangerous creatures out there that need to be kept in line.” He paused, then added, “Someone has to do it, don’t they?”

The tone of his voice changed as he spoke those last words, becoming hard and bitter. I was curious what he’d meant by that, but I didn’t press. He didn’t seem to be in the mood to answer questions.

“We made our base in New York because the city is a constant draw to supernaturals,” Sol said “There’s so much life and activity here—and with the size and diversity of the population, it’s easier for nonhumans to blend in.”

“That makes sense,” I murmured. I’d seen a few people on the subway I would have no problem believing weren’t entirely human.

“We’ve been tracking the shades for a while.” Jerrett swung the shriveled arm like a baseball bat, earning him a grunt of disapproval from Mal. “It’s becoming pretty obvious that they’re working together with some kind of end goal in mind. They have a purpose. A task to complete. And they’re not going to rest until they do.”

“And what do they want with me?”

“Yeah… that part I don’t know yet. But they definitely want you, sweetheart. I mean, shit—can’t say I blame them for that.” He winked at me, his bright blue eyes glittering like stars.

I was glad the darkness hid my blush, but I swore Sol could feel the heat rising to my cheeks, because he chuckled softly beside me.

Trying to get the conversation back on track, I cleared my throat. “So a bunch of undead supernaturals are after me for some unknown reason. What am I supposed to do about that? How do I stay safe?”

Mal shot another look over his shoulder, his expression serious.

“The first thing we need to do is train you.”