I WATCHED MY brother leaving the park with heaviness in my heart. Even though we were the same age, he seemed so much older than me now. Depression was wearing him down. I couldn’t feel it, but I knew it. I could see it in the slump of his shoulders, the dimness of his eyes, and the weariness in his voice. He wasn’t ever going to get over Arianna, not truly. The memory of her would be in his heart until the end of his days.
But even depressed, he’d done well today. He’d heard all the options presented, and he’d made a choice based on what he felt was the right course of action. I’d voted the same way as Julian, although, it had been harder for me to go along with it. Jake had attacked me, caused me a great deal of pain. And he’d come really close to killing Hunter. A large part of me wanted him dead, but somehow I’d shoved that part aside and voted for him to remain at the ranch with our family.
I wasn’t thrilled about it though. Hunter would be around Jake every day now. Jake would be around us every day now. I wished there was another vampire family nearby to pawn him off on, but there wasn’t. Salt Lake had visitors off and on, but we were the only permanent nest in the area.
Mom left with Julian, Dad stayed behind, maybe to watch over me, maybe to work out details with the other panel members, I wasn’t sure. Ready to leave, I turned to Hunter. “Shall we go?” Hunter’s dark eyes turned introspective. I didn’t take that as a good sign. “What?” I sighed, already fearing I knew the answer.
Hunter’s eyes flashed to my father, then hesitantly came back to me. “It’s just…if we’re going to turn a hunter around, make him see vampires in another light, then, I don’t think anyone else is more qualified to do that than me.”
I stared at him blankly for a few seconds. “You want to go back to the ranch and get to work hanging out with Jake, right?” Hunter gave me a small smile and I knew I had it right. I shrugged. I didn’t really care what we did, so long as we were together. “Okay, let’s go.”
The sudden guilt on Hunter’s face spoke volumes. He opened his mouth to speak, but I knew what he was going to say long before the words came out. In fact, all he got out was my name. “Nika…”
“You don’t want me to go with you!” Some of the ex-hunters nearby turned to look. I hadn’t said that quietly. They turned back around when they saw it was only Hunter and I having a spat. Whether vampire or human, fights were an inevitable part of a relationship.
“Nika,” he tried again, “I just don’t feel good about you being around him right now.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my foot. “I’m a pureblood vampire, not some fragile, human little girl that you need to protect. I can take care of myself.”
Maybe understanding how close he was to a major blowout, Hunter raised his hands. “I get that, and I know you can handle yourself, and I don’t need to worry about you, but…” he let out a weary exhale, “I still do. You’re everything to me, and I had to watch you die. Do you know what that did to me?”
I swallowed and looked down. “Yes…I watched you die first…”
His fingers stroked along my jaw, lifting my chin. “Then you know why I can’t lose you again. I can’t. I won’t get through it. You can call me old-fashioned, you can call me sexist, but really…I’m just selfish. I can’t cope with the thought of losing you, so until I know Jake has been safely declawed, I’m asking you to stay home with your brother and your parents.”
I closed my eyes and turned my head away from him. There was no effective argument against “my world would end if anything happened to you.” It was irritating, frustrating, and sweet all at the same time. And I also couldn’t argue with the fact that Hunter was the best person for the job to turn Jake around, if turning him around was even possible. It all seemed so improbable.
Cracking an eye open, I asked, “Does it have to be tonight? He’s been at the ranch for a couple weeks now, surely another night wouldn’t hurt anything. And besides, it’s past midnight, he’s probably sleeping.” I opened both eyes to plead with him. “Please? I don’t want to part ways yet. It’s torture.”
Hunter’s expression softened into a smile. “Nika,” he whispered as he leaned down to kiss me. Like they always did, the softness of his lips stole my breath. As our mouths moved together, my hand came up to thread through his hair, pulling us together; I wished we were closer.
“Hunter,” I murmured between our lips, “I want…”
I felt a presence behind me that iced the molten desire rising in me. I pulled away from Hunter’s kiss to look at Dad over my shoulder. His eyes were narrowed in irritation like he knew exactly what I’d been going to say. When he saw that he had my attention, he spoke before I had a chance to. “I’m going to head back to the ranch with Gabriel to let Great-Gran know what the verdict was, and come up with a plan for…carrying it out.” He sighed, like he also realized this task he’d volunteered our family for wasn’t going to be an easy one.
Hunter stepped around me. “I’ll go with you.”
Feeling stubborn, I said, “So will I.”
Hunter and Dad both turned to me and said, “No,” at the exact same time. I glared at the pair of them. It was like I had two overprotective fathers now.
“If I was Halina, neither one of you would be able to—”
Dad cut off my pointless rant. “But you’re not and we can. Go home with Julian.” His stance softened and he leaned in to hug me. “Please, go home, sweetheart.”
Irritated, I didn’t return his hug. I knew I was being insolent, but I didn’t care. They were both being ridiculous.
Turning around, I stormed off after Julian. When the painful tug of the bond with Hunter kicked in, I embraced the discomfort. If I was feeling it, then he was feeling it too, and I wanted him to feel a little misery. He deserved it. Okay, maybe not, but I wanted him to feel it regardless.
HUNTER VISITED ME the following night like usual, but his visit wasn’t as long as it typically was. He was anxious to rush back to the ranch, uneasy about Jake being there “unrestrained”. But Rory and Cleo guarded him during the day and Halina or Imogen guarded him at night. Hunter felt obligated to be there though, and so, after far too short a time, he ran back to Jake while I stayed home.
I went to bed alone and woke up alone, but that was nothing new. Not being woken up by my Mom and Dad singing “The Birthday Song” was new though. Every year before this one, Julian and I had groaned and smashed pillows over our ears when our parents had loudly interrupted our slumber to sing to us before they headed to work. Today though, I woke up to silence. Mom and Dad were still at work, and Julian was a couple of miles away, probably hanging out with Trey. A bit of melancholy seeped into me as I sat up and looked around my empty bedroom. I actually missed the embarrassing musical wakeup. Kind of funny how something so annoying could become something I longed for once it was gone.
“Happy Birthday to me,” I muttered, slipping out of my lukewarm bed.
My boyfriend and my other relatives were away at the ranch; I was completely alone. I should have slept in today, so the odds of someone being here when I woke up were greater, but I’d tossed and turned all day long, waking and sleeping, waking and sleeping. I just hadn’t been able to get comfortable.
Hunter’s proclamation was still on my mind; I hoped he’d had trouble sleeping these last couple of nights too. He probably hadn’t though. He’d probably taken his new mission to heart, and had spent the entire time with Jake, getting started on operation Vampires Are Your Friends. I already had to share Hunter with the meetings and with Halina, and now I had to share him with this project too. I knew it was important, and I knew he was doing it in part for us. I just…missed him. Maybe if Dad would allow us to live together it wouldn’t be so bad, but I was pretty sure Dad would keep me holed up until my eighteenth birthday. Next year. Oh well, at least the countdown to my freedom had begun.
I turned on a nearby lamp, then pulled out some fresh clothes. Just as I slipped my T-shirt into place, I heard a sound that froze my unbeating heart. A noise from the kitchen—somebody opening and shutting a cabinet. I wasn’t alone, but I couldn’t go upstairs to investigate. I couldn’t leave my room until the sun set. An intense surge of vulnerability washed through me, and I suddenly understood Hunter’s desire to keep me out of harm’s way. I might be a vampire, but I wasn’t invincible. All the person rummaging through my home would need to do was set a fire, and I’d be gone. I’d have no way to escape it. Unlike the log cabin where Hunter had almost been burned alive, my bedroom was more of a basement than a crawlspace now—the floor was made of thick cement, I wouldn’t be able to claw through it. Not in time anyway.
I used every enhanced gift I’d been given to track the person above me. They were moving into the living room now. Stopping my breath, I held completely still. Whoever was here wasn’t a pureblood vampire since they were traipsing around in the daylight, but they could be a mixed vampire, like my parents and Julian. I eyed my cell phone, charging on the other side of the room. I could call for help, but that would alert whoever was above me that I was hiding out down here, and there was a chance they didn’t know I was in the house.
The footsteps were light, but I could easily follow them. They were headed toward the closet that led to my secret entrance. That couldn’t be coincidence. They knew I was here. Maybe it was Starla then, or Jacen? But whoever was here was being quiet. Starla was rarely quiet. She’d have yelled out that she was here, turned on the TV, started making out with Jacen, or something equally noisy. This person was twisting the knob to my door like they were sneaking out of the house and didn’t want to wake their parents. Or sneaking into a lion’s den and didn’t want to wake the lion. Well, too late. This lion was already awake.
I considered blurring to my phone and calling someone, but that person wouldn’t get here in time. Best if I just dealt with this myself. I quietly turned off the lights then crept toward the hall leading to the closet. It was pitch-black, and my eyes gave off a ring of phosphorescent light. When I came upon the door leading to the room directly below the closet, I closed my eyes; I didn’t want my attacker to see me when they opened the door. And I hoped and prayed that no stray sunlight followed them down. If they left the closet door open and the trap door in the closet open, some faint light might hit me. It wouldn’t be enough to give kill me, but I’d seen vampires exposed to the sun before, and I knew it hurt. A lot. I couldn’t worry about that though.
I heard someone drop down into the room. It was so strange having my heartbeat absent, so strange that my chest ached. If I were alive right now, my heart would have been pounding against my ribcage. It would have given me away. Its absence was actually a blessing.
The person right next door to me was making weird shuffling noises. I swear they were pulling the chair into position and grabbing something from the closet above. The intruder was breathing heavy, and letting out small grunts like they were in pain. Then the trap door in the closet closed. I couldn’t smell my attacker, the door was sealed too tightly for that, but I could hear a faint crackling sound, like a fourth of July sparkler. I almost opened my eyes. Fire? Were they coming down here to set me ablaze? Well they might get me, but it would be the last thing they ever did.
I heard the knob of the door in front of me twisting, heard the seal swishing against the hard floor. Then I felt the scant bit of heat from an open flame, and smelled something that tugged at a memory, and something else that made me a little nauseous. Mainly, all I felt was fear though, and the need to protect my home and myself.
I knew I had the advantage. The person intruding on my space obviously knew I was down here, but they were in a lit room while I was in a dark hallway. They wouldn’t see me until it was too late. When the door was opened to capacity, the figure stepped into the hallway with me. I had seconds to get the drop on them. In my mind, I said a silent goodbye to my family, then I opened my eyes and dropped my fangs.
The person in the hallway let out a high-pitched scream when my glowing orbs appeared out of nowhere. She dropped whatever inconsequential thing she’d been holding, and backed up a step. She wasn’t fast enough though. I lunged for her neck and clamped my teeth onto her skin. I was just about to bite down on her jugular, ending her life in a matter of moments, when the last few seconds replayed in my mind and my brain screamed at me to stop. I put the brakes on my adrenaline and pulled back to look into the scarred face of a woman I loved very much. “Aunt Ashley? What are you…?”
She was shaking like a leaf, her face drained of color, and her deep brown eyes locked onto mine. They were wide, but they were fixated on the otherworldly glow emanating from my eyes in the dark section of the hallway. I quickly shifted positions with her, so my face was fully in the light streaming through the open door of the room beneath the closet. With my eyes no longer holding her entranced, Ashley blinked, and then shook her head. When she was herself again, she clutched a hand to her chest and exclaimed, “Nika! You scared the bejesus out of me!”
I gave her a wry expression. “You’re not the only one. I had no idea it was you clunking around up there.”
Ashley wrinkled her nose in apology. “Sorry, I wanted to surprise you.”
“You definitely did that,” I muttered. “You didn’t have to come down here. I know it’s uncomfortable for you.” The fire that Ashley had been caught in when she was just a girl, had left her badly scarred. She’d been through several surgeries to repair the damage, but there were still obvious lines over her face and her body, and her joints were sometimes stiff and sore as a result. Coming down here had to have been a challenge for her.
Ashley only shrugged and said, “It’s your birthday.”
Sniffing the air, I smelled the wondrous aroma of blood, followed by the sickly sweet aroma of…cake? Looking down, I saw that Ash had been bringing me a treat when I’d jumped out and surprised her. A miniature cake was laying on its side, broken into large chunks, the plate holding it was shattered into bits. Sparkling candles highlighted the words Happy Birthday, Nika! Beside it was a travel mug; the top had popped off, and deep, dark blood was staining the cement. Feeling really guilty for spoiling her surprise, I picked up the mug and tried to put the cake back onto the larger remnants of the broken plate.
Ashley stiffly knelt beside me, picking up shards of ceramic surrounding the ruined cake. I blurred back to my room to get a towel for the blood, a flat binder for the cake pieces, and a small garbage bag for the rest of the plate. “Sorry, Aunt Ash, I didn’t mean to ruin your surprise.” I lifted the half-full travel mug of blood. “This is very sweet, thank you.”
Her lips twisted into a smile. “No, it’s my fault. I should have known better than to break in on a sleeping vampire.”
I shook my head. “You didn’t. I was up.” I frowned. And feeling very lonely, and now I’m feeling very foolish.
Ashley managed to get most of the cake onto the binder; the candles were even still intact, throwing small sparks into the air that faded with a faint orange glow. “At least we can still have a little cake,” she brightly said.
I gave her a soft smile. “Aunt Ash…I can’t eat cake anymore, remember?”
Her smile faded as my words triggered a memory. “Oh…right. I knew that…how stupid of me to forget. It’s just…we always do black and white cakes for your birthday.”
She sighed and I felt guilty again. Ashley always purchased a chocolate on chocolate cake for me and a white on white cake for Julian from this amazing bakery in San Francisco. It was our birthday tradition, but it was one I couldn’t partake in anymore. “It’s okay. This is new…for all of us.” I took a sip of what was left of the bloody treat she’d brought down for me. As much as I used to love those San Francisco cakes, the blood tasted better than any cake in the history of the world. I purred with the pleasure of it. “This is incredible though, thank you.”
Her face brightened back up. “At least I did something right.”
After we’d cleaned up as much of the mess as we could, I helped her to her feet. “Where’s Uncle Christian?” I asked. No one else was banging around upstairs, so I knew she was alone.
Ashley wrapped her arm around me as I led her to my room. “He’s out at the ranch with Mom and the others. We flew in this morning so we could be at the party tonight, but I wanted to come surprise you and Julian with your cakes before then. You guys always used to look forward to them…” Sighing, she shook her head. “Julian was gone when I got here, but Emma told me where she kept the spare key.” She laughed and tucked a strand of hair behind her good ear. “Em wanted to rush over here and let me in, but I told her to finish out the work day. No need to become a slacker on my account. Plus, I wouldn’t want to get her fired.” She winked and I cracked a smile. Dad was Mom’s boss, so the odds of her being fired—for any reason—were pretty slim.
Aunt Ashley looked around my room with a frown on her face. “I can’t believe you’re still sleeping down here,” she said, her voice incredulous. “I thought you would have been moved to a nicer place by now.”
I cringed as I eyed my dungeon-like bedroom. “Yeah, well, it’s the only light-proof room in the house.”
Ashley turned to me. A scar down the middle of her forehead puckered as she pressed her brows together. “Why aren’t you staying at the ranch with the others then? The underground rooms there put the finest hotels in California to shame.”
I gave her a tight smile. Because my father is afraid to let me grow up. “Funny you should ask—”
She cut me off with a strange expression. “Is it because of that man staying there? The one with constant bodyguards? The one Hunter was watching like a hawk when I left this afternoon?”
Irritation swam through me at her innocent comment. So, Hunter really was staying up all day to play with Jake. I knew he would. He was going to burn the candle at both ends, just like my father was doing with me. Only, Hunter wasn’t trying to protect my virtue like Dad was. Hunter was trying to convert a man who couldn’t be converted. In my opinion anyway.
“In part,” I muttered, not really wanting to talk about it. I sat on the bed with a wide, distracting smile on my face. “Tell me about work,” I exclaimed, changing the subject.
Ashley gave me a curious expression as she sat down, but then she started telling me about some of the burn victims she was helping at the hospital, and our conversation about why I was here at home and not there at the ranch was forgotten.
Mom rushed downstairs to be with her sister the second she got home. Even Dad came down to visit, and suddenly my dour room was the happening place to be. Ashley gave my dad crap for keeping me locked up down here—one of the many reasons why I loved her. “This is no place for a seventeen-year-old girl, Teren. She should be staying at the ranch with the other purebloods.”
Dad glared at me, like I’d coached Ashley on what to say. “It’s…complicated,” he answered.
Ashley laughed. “Everything about the Adams is.” She sobered, and her tone grew serious again. “But the ranch is where she should be, as I’m sure you know.”
Dad gave me a look that almost broke my heart. I stayed firm in my expression though. The change would be difficult on all of us, but Ash was right…I belonged with the others now.
Julian came home a bit later, and joined us in my room. Ashley told him where his cake was and he blurred back upstairs to get it. He had a faint pot smell about him that I could tell irritated my parents, but he was sober so they didn’t say anything about it. When he came back downstairs with his white on white cake, Dad lit his candles and we all sang Happy Birthday to each other. While Julian ate his cake, Mom bugged Ashley about staying here at the house instead of the ranch.
“We’ve got plenty of room, and then I’ll be able to see more of you,” she begged.
Julian cast a quick glance in my direction. As far as I knew, the school-wide party was still happening on Saturday. Hunter had some plan to get my parents out of the house, but Ashley and Christian staying here would complicate matters. Of course, I wasn’t sure if Hunter even remembered that he’d offered to lure Mom and Dad away. He sort of had more important things on his mind now, thanks to Jake. Saturday night could blow up in our faces. Julian should have put a stop to it ages ago. Maybe he still could.
Ashley sighed as she ate a clean section of my broken cake. “I know, Em, but Christian loves the ranch, and he asked to stay there.” She smirked. “He’s got a thing for animals. He can’t get over the fact that there aren’t any horses though. He says it’s unnatural.” She shared a look with Mom and Dad and they all started laughing.
I knew the purebloods were partly to blame for that, so I joined in with them. Horses were naturally skittish around vampires, even mixed blood vampires, but it was more that Halina had a taste for them. We’d tried having ponies when Julian and I were younger, but, they didn’t last too long. Halina still apologized to us for eating them.
When Starla burst through the front doors with Jacen, everyone headed back upstairs. Dad carried Ashley like she was a child, making her giggle. The pesky sun was still up, so I had to wait downstairs and listen to everyone greet our “mother”.
Trey showed up not too much later, and I listened to everyone greeting him. Trey was thrilled that the party had been moved to the ranch, and was eager to get going. I heard him tell Julian that he’d been dying to see it for forever. Funny thing was, he’d seen it several months ago and just didn’t remember, thanks to Halina.
It was just last night that Dad had decided to move the party to the ranch; we’d always had it at the house in the city before now. But Dad wanted to start exposing Jake to friendly vampire behavior, so he could begin to see that we weren’t evil, and it was easier and safer for all of us to go over there, then to risk removing Jake from the ranch to bring him here. I was eager for Jake to not hate us, so my boyfriend had more free time, so I wasn’t complaining about the change of location.
While Trey joked around that our mom (meaning Starla) looked smoking hot tonight, I thought back to the ill-fated prom we’d all gone to. Trey had seemed kind of into me that night. I wasn’t sure if it was just circumstantial on his part, or if there was something brewing there. I hoped not. I didn’t want to hurt him, and my heart definitely belonged to Hunter.
Trey asked where I was and Julian told him I was still getting ready. Looking down at my worn jeans and frayed t-shirt, I decided I might as well spend the time I had making myself presentable. I found a cute, all-black party dress to wear, and paired it with some electric blue heels. Two inchers, since that was all my dad would allow me to wear. I curled my dark brown locks and expertly applied mascara, blush and lipstick. Maybe I’d look alive for once.
When I was done, mere minutes of daylight were left. Trey was starving, Starla was bored, but my family was waiting for me, so we could all go to the ranch together. It bothered me that we were getting such a late start thanks to me, but since I was one of the guests of honor, it wouldn’t be much of a party until I arrived.
I went to my foyer, the room below the closet, when only a minute of daylight remained. After I instinctually knew the sun was down, I pushed the door in the ceiling aside, replaced the chair, and hopped up into the closet. I listened at the closet door to make sure no unsuspecting humans, i.e., Trey, noticed my arrival. From the way his voice echoed back to me, I knew he wasn’t facing the closet door. Julian probably had something to do with that. Opening the closet, I slipped into the room. Mom saw me, and smiled a greeting. Then she cocked an eyebrow at my dress and gave me a subtle thumbs up.
Encouraged, I stepped into the center of the room. “Ready?” I asked no one in particular.
None of the vampires were surprised to see me, but I caught Trey unawares. He jumped a bit as he turned around, then he did a double take. “Damn, Little A, you do clean up nice.” Extending his arms wide, he walked over to me. “Give us a hug, it’s been way too long.”
Familiar with his playful form of flirting, and glad that things between us weren’t weird, I held up my hand to stop him from putting his arms around me. “Who exactly is this ‘us’ you’re referring to? Have you finally gone crazy, Trey?”
He put his hands over his heart like I’d ripped it out of his chest. “Only with my undying love for you, sweet thing.”
As I rolled my eyes and shook my head, a stab of pain went through me. If this were any other night, I’d share a look and a laugh with Arianna, and we would have bonded over how imbecilic Trey was. But Arianna was gone, lost to Julian and me forever. I suddenly felt like crying, but I pasted a smile on my face instead. “I have a sudden desire to stuff myself with cake. Let’s hit the road.”
Trey clapped his hands together. “Mmmm, cake. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.”
“Me too,” I joked. I flicked a glance at Ashley and she snorted.
Trey pointed to me as he headed for the door. “You’re sitting by me, Little A. You need to tell me the real reason why you ditched me and my awesomeness for homeschooling.”
With a laugh, I shook my head at him. His awesomeness was hardly the reason I’d “ditched”. As people started grabbing jackets and purses, a disturbing thought settled over me. Walking up to Julian, I placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered, “I can’t ride in the car with Trey.”
Julian half-turned toward me while keeping an eye on his friend. “Because of the homeschooling thing? Just tell him you got tired of going to class, he’ll understand that.”
I turned him all the way toward me. “No, because the minute I start heading toward Hunter…” My voice trailed off as embarrassment surged into me. If my cheeks could still turn red, I was sure they would have. Hunter usually sped to me before we went anywhere, even if we were going to the ranch, but my family was already late, so I’d be meeting him there tonight. Flying to him was going to be…interesting.
Julian’s cheeks did turn red. “Oh…right. Don’t worry about it. I’ll tell him you’re annoyed with Starla and don’t want to ride with her. He’ll understand.” Starla looked up from digging in her purse and frowned. Julian shrugged. Like it or not, sometimes we needed a scapegoat, and she was the best one we had. She shook her head like she really didn’t care…her perfectly styled coif didn’t move an inch.
I ended up riding to the ranch with Dad in his car. Mom and Ashley followed behind us in Alanna’s sedan; Ashley had borrowed it this afternoon to come over and surprise us with our cakes. Starla, Jacen, Trey, and Julian made up the final car in our procession. Trey seemed a little bummed that I wasn’t riding with them, until he got into the car with my brother. Then he was all playful laughs and gentle teasing.
My bond with Hunter kicked in the moment we set off down the street. It always started out mildly, so I gripped my chair and breathed in and out as deeply as I could. Dad glanced my way every five seconds. “You all right?” he asked.
I nodded, slowly and calmly. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I could do this. I could control the bond and not let the bond control me. I was going to win this time.
Unfortunately for me, the bond amplified the closer I got to Hunter, and it didn’t take too long for the sensation to become unbearable. When we were halfway to the ranch, I was panting, squirming in the seat, and repeatedly running my fingers through my hair. I’d kicked off my shoes and was running the edge of my feet up and down my bare calves. I couldn’t control anything I was doing, and it was only getting worse as the pull became stronger. The slow pace of Dad’s car was only adding to the torture. If I were on my own two feet, I would have been with him by now.
“You still all right?” Dad asked, concern in his voice.
I unintentionally groaned. God, this was so embarrassing. “No,” I finally bit out. “I can’t do this. Stop the car.”
“Nika, you have to learn to control—”
“Stop the car and let me run!” I snapped. The battle was lost. I had no control left to me, and if Dad didn’t stop the car, I’d jump out of a moving vehicle.
Sighing, Dad turned on his blinker and pulled over. I was antsy watching the car change lanes. Starla’s car was behind us, with Alanna’s car making up the rear. Everyone in our caravan changed lanes too, like they were all going to pull over, but I didn’t care. I needed out. My hands were clawing the door handle when the tires crunched along the pebbles beside the highway. I had the door open and one foot out before the car completely stopped moving.
“Wait, Nika…” Dad grabbed my arm as I leaned out the door. I twisted back around to him and hissed in his face with fangs extended. My violent reaction startled him enough that he let me go. I was gone a split-second later, flying over small sharp stones that pricked the soles of my bare feet. In the breeze, I heard someone say, “Fix Trey before you go…” but I didn’t care about Trey anymore. I didn’t care if he’d seen my fangs or if he’d seen me streak from the car. All I cared about was the fact that Hunter’s blood was calling to me, and I needed to answer him.
Now that I was unimpeded by my father’s slow-moving vehicle, it took me no time at all to reach the ranch. I was tearing my feet to pieces on the rough terrain, but the tiny cuts healed with each step I took, leaving only a raw, aching sensation. I flew up the long gravel driveway to the main house, only stopping when I reached the ornate gate with the family name in giant letters above it. My hand reached out to smash the gate open, but it swung inward before I could. The hinges squealed in protest at the swiftness of the opening, but my heart soared because of the person who’d opened them—Hunter.
I leapt into his arms once the crack in the gate was wide enough. He staggered back with the force of me, then dropped us to the ground in the patchy, dry grass beside the gate. He was on top of me an instant later as our mouths ferociously attacked the others. His hands caressed my body, sliding up under my dress. My fingers raked down his chest, ripping the buttons holding his shirt closed. When it fluttered open in the breeze, Hunter ripped it off his body with a growl.
The lights above the looming gate next to us were facing the other direction, and Hunter and I were bathed in darkness. Our eyes glowed to their fullest, highlighting our bodies. Hunter’s face was a mixture of pain and desire. My slow journey to him had been difficult on us both. We were equally out of control, and weren’t going to be able to stop this. I worked on his jeans while his fingers tore down the straps of my dress, exposing my bra-covered chest to the air. He reached around the back and unzipped the dress while I shoved his jeans down his hips. Neither one of us spoke besides groans and grunts. That was all the use for words we had right now.
After he pulled my dress down my legs, I pushed him to his back and ripped off his jeans. Seeing how much he wanted me bumped my frenzy up a notch. My fangs dropped as I grabbed the waistband of his underwear. I needed him. Now.
After I pulled them off, Hunter flipped me to my back and ripped the rest of my clothes away. My body was pounding with desire I wanted him so badly. He moved into position and I nearly screamed at him to take me. It had been so long since our one time together. Just as he started, headlights flashed over our bare bodies. I instantly snapped out of my daze, and remembered where I was and what I was doing.
Pushing Hunter off of me, I grabbed my dress, holding it against me like a shield. Hunter grabbed his pants and placed them over his privates, just as a SUV rolled passed the gates. It jerked to a stop when the occupants noticed us huddled in the dark grass. Ben opened the driver’s side door and ran around to where we were sitting. I groaned, mortified, and made sure everything on me was as hidden as possible.
“Nika! Hunter! Are you okay? What’s…?” Ben slowed to a walk when he finally understood just what he’d stumbled across. His hands went to his hips as his eyes narrowed at Hunter. “What’s going on here?”
Oh, God…if he’d been just a little later, if we’d reacted just a little slower…
As if my night couldn’t get any worse, the rear passenger door closest to us opened. A youthful blonde jumped out, and her pale eyes widened by a foot. “Whoa! You’re naked!” Ben’s preteen daughter, Olivia.
I laid back in the grass, wanting to die.