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  Jade climbed on the back of his bike and wrapped her arms around him. The feeling of her long, thin body against his was bliss. Revving the engine, he took off down the road. Most of his gang followed close behind with a few stragglers coming to join them from side streets. They must be coming off their hunt of the escaped vamps. Soon they would be back, and he could tell her everything.

  * * * *

  “My God,” Dirty Mary said as War escorted Jade into the lair. “I can’t believe you brought her here.” Mary moved up close to Jade and squinted at her, clearly making the girl uncomfortable. “I thought you were waiting until she was of age to mate her.”

  “She’s of age. And I didn’t exactly have a choice in the matter. The vamps must have sniffed her out when she went to The Siren to find her friend,” War replied.

  High Tower flopped into a recliner and started peeling an orange. He swung one leg over the armrest. “Fucking vamps. Too bad we need ’em.”

  At the mention of the mating, Jade looked spooked. But War figured that right now, her main concern was these dangerous-looking bikers. She moved around behind War, apparently terrified and confused by all the attention she was receiving. Like Mary, every member was staring at her like she were a ghost. “Who are these people?” she said softly, staying so close behind him she kept bumping into his back.

  “They’re your family, Jade. You just don’t remember them.” He made his way across the room and gestured to a door at the rear of the lair. “Come in,” he said, holding the door open for her. She paused for a moment and then went in. War came in after her and closed the door behind him. “You have to excuse them. They’re just very surprised to see you. I’ve been watching over you for a very long time.”

  Jade moved to the farthest point of the room and stared at him. “Why?”

  “Because you’re in constant danger until you learn your power. The vamps would like nothing better than to capture you and cripple the wake,” he said, peeling off his jacket.

  “I’m confused. Back up. First off, who the hell are you people?”

  “We are Tyberian vultures, shape-shifters, if you will, but we can only take on one form. We are the only natural predators the vamps have. Since they reproduce so fast, we make sure they don’t get out of hand. Our family here is called a wake, and I am their king, and you,” he said, pulling up a battered wooden chair and sitting on it backward, “are their queen.”

  “How can I be their queen? I’ve never met you before,” she said, sinking low to the bed.

  Her hands were trembling, and he resisted the urge to go and comfort her. It was too soon for anything like that. “You’re an orphan,” he announced and watched her eyes widen. “You know almost nothing about your parents because the foster parents who raised you said they were given no information, but they lied.”

  “Why?” she asked in a voice as fragile as an eggshell.

  War shrugged. “They meant well. They only wanted to protect you. So they hoped that if you could just lead a normal life, you would be safe from the vamps. But now that the undead have found you, they’d give anything to destroy you because of the untapped power within you.”

  “Who were my real parents? Tyberian vultures like all of you?”

  “No,” War said. “They were Native Americans, golden eagles but kin to us. Your mother was seduced by a vampire that later used her to find other eagles, then murdered her too. Your father was furious and vowed revenge, but before he went out to avenge her, he asked me to marry you. You were just a child of six, but he knew that me and my kind were the only real protection you would have against those bloodthirsty monsters. So we struck a bargain. But after he’d taken the life of the vampire that killed your mother, he realized too late that the vamps had nothing but time to retaliate, so he took you from me in the night and delivered you to your foster parents. That was the last anyone saw of him.”

  “Do you know what happened to him?”

  War pulled at his beard trying to decide how much to tell her. Finally, he decided the truth was best. “He was hunted down and killed by the vamps. Then they started looking for you. They wanted to make an example of you as a warning to others not to mess with their kind. I’ve been watching over you ever since, making sure them vamps don’t lay a hand on you.”

  Jade was very quiet. “So now you have me here, now what?”

  “You’ll be safe while I teach you how to use your power, the gift of flight. After that, you can take your place as my queen.”

  She stood up and folded her arms. “I don’t want to stay here. I don’t want to be your wife or your queen. I want my life back. Now, will you please take me home?”

  “You don’t believe me?” he said, shocked.

  “I don’t know what I believe. All I know is I was kidnapped and held hostage by vampires and almost killed. I’m scared, tired, and afraid that there’s going to be a Wanted poster of me in the post office by morning for what you and your bikers did at The Siren. Now, will you please take me home?”

  He held up his huge hands in surrender. “I understand. This is a lot for you to take in. Don’t worry, I’ll take you home. I want whatever you want, baby.”

  Jade got up and folded her arms as she followed him back out into the night. “Oh, could you please not call me baby? It’s really sexist, and I hate it.”

  Chapter Five

  Jade unlocked her apartment and came in taking a deep breath. It smelled like incense and dust, but it was home to her. God, it felt good to be back. Jade sensed War stalking up behind her from the hall. Pushing past her, he made a thorough search of the apartment, finally emerging when he felt no one was hiding, ready to jump her. Jade wanted to be angry with him, but instead, she found it kind of cute.

  Being tall and beanpole thin with glasses, Jade had never been a traditional beauty. All through high school, she’d had some dates, but nothing to write home about. But even though she wasn’t a prom queen, she liked the way she looked, and she really liked that she was considered smart, very smart, in fact. She’d always just accepted that dating would be more of a challenge for her than it was for some other girls. But then, out of the blue, she’d met this smoking hunk of a biker who claimed to be her husband. Well now, that was something she could get flattered about, even if she did suspect he might be batshit crazy.

  “Is the coast clear?” she asked, trying to joke with him. “No vamps lurking in the closet?”

  War regarded her grimly. “For now.”

  “I’m sure they won’t bother with me anymore,” she said as he stood there frowning down at her. She wished she could say something that would relieve his anxiety. After all, he did save her life, and she kind of liked him. “Thanks for everything.”

  “I’ll be looking out for you.”

  “That’s great, War,” she replied, escorting him to the door. “I appreciate that. See you around.”

  “Yeah, around.”

  * * * *

  After War left, Jade made herself a cup of green tea and sat down to watch TV. She was still very worried about Bill, but she was more worried about her. The thought that some shape-shifting vulture was watching her every move was nothing less than alarming. Jade thought back to War’s imposing looks and felt moisture gather in her sex. Her mind drifted to a sexual fantasy where he claimed her on the dining room table, and suddenly her body was charged with energy. Why did she find him so arousing? She wasn’t attracted to that kind of man in the least, and here she was fantasizing about him.

  Worse still, what was all that stuff about mating her? What the heck did that woman with the pink hair mean by that? She wasn’t some brood mare at the country fair. But what if, just what if, War was right about who she was and it wasn’t just a fantasy he’d concocted after a night of too much tequila?

  Jade got up, leaving the TV to ramble to itself, and walked to the sliding glass door leading to the balcony. She came out into the cool night air and looked up at the sky. There, circling lazily high ov
erhead, was a large black vulture. The moonlight reflected on his massive wings as he drifted on an updraft without a care in the world. “I’ll be watching over you,” he’d said. She knew it had to be War.

  “Go home,” she shouted at the vulture, swatting at the air and feeling foolish.

  “I’m perfectly fine.”

  The raptor soared higher, then flapped its wings, and headed for a cluster of tall trees. Maybe it wasn’t him after all.

  Coming back inside, she glanced at the wall clock and realized that it was just past midnight. After finishing her tea, she shut off the TV and went to bed.

  * * * *

  Jade awoke from a sound sleep by someone dropping keys. It was a deliberate act to startle her, and it worked. Sitting upright in bed, she put her glasses on and noticed a dark figure sitting in a chair by her bed. The person had the distinct aroma of rot and death.

  “I’m sorry about how you were treated at the club, Jade,” a man said. “I would have helped you if I could, but unfortunately they wouldn’t let me.” The man’s voice was grainy but familiar. It was Bill’s. “They want me to turn you just as I’ve been turned.”

  “Bill?” Jade whispered as if she was afraid of saying the name too loud. “You . . .You disappeared. But now you’re here and you’re . . .”

  “Dead,” he said, finishing her sentence. “I have to do what Robert tells me.” He sounded so lost and broken that her heart ached for him. “If I don’t, they’ll do horrible things to me.”

  “I don’t want to be a vampire,” she said, scooting as far away from him as she could.

  “I know,” he said with a note of sympathy. “It’s everything I thought I ever wanted but much, much less. I never imagined it would be like this. It’s so cold and dead and lonely. It’s nothing like Robert promised me.” He shrugged. “But no matter. At least I will live forever.”

  “Or at least until the vultures find you.”

  At their mention, he glared at her. “They’re only a minor inconvenience. As soon as I turn you, you’ll help me locate their wake, and the vultures will be nothing but an interesting footnote in vampire history.” Bill got up from the bed and advanced on her.

  Jade had no intention of just letting her onetime friend bite her on the neck and turn her into some smelly dead thing. She jumped up wearing only a T-shirt and panties and raced past him into the living room and straight for the front door. Standing blocking her way was another vamp, a tall, skinny male who looked like he’d just jumped out of a grave. The man reached for Jade, but she slipped away and ran to the only place left to go, the balcony.

  Bill emerged from the bedroom chuckling. “I see you’ve met Robert. He was just dying to meet you, weren’t you, Robert?” The skinny man smiled, revealing long, sharp teeth. “Now, Jade,” Bill continued, “let’s not have any more foolishness. You’ll never escape Robert and me. I know because you’re only a fledgling and can’t turn yet.” He licked his dry, cracked lips.

  “I’ll never let you turn me,” she said. “I’ll jump first.”

  Bill openly laughed. “Without your power, that would be suicide.”

  “Maybe, maybe not,” she said, hoping War was still out there somewhere watching over her. She didn’t know what he’d be able to do if she jumped, but she sure wasn’t staying here with the gruesome twosome.

  Bill continued his advance undaunted. He obviously didn’t believe her threat. “Don’t be scared. All I want to do is kiss you once. It will just be a small stab of pain, and all your worries will be over.” He opened up his arms to her. “Come here to me.”

  “Never,” she spat, holding on to the railing behind her back so hard her knuckles ached.

  “If you jump, you might not be killed. You might just end up crippled for life. Now let’s be reasonable, Jade. Surely you don’t think you can really fly.”

  “Maybe I can.”

  “Don’t you believe whatever nonsense War told you. That man is nothing more than a shape-shifting scavenger who’s just trying to score with a cute young thing. If he truly is your mate, then where is he now?”

  Jade was confused. How would Bill know what War told me about being his mate if he didn’t know it to be true? There’s no way he could have overheard our conversation at the lair. After what happened at the bar, he wouldn’t have gone near that lair. She couldn’t accept that Bill would just guess that she and War had a close connection.

  No, Bill knew. He knew who she and War were, and he wanted to destroy her before she could learn how to use her power.

  As Bill advanced, she turned and lifted one leg and then the other over the railing. A strong gust of wind pushed against her, almost made her lose her footing, and a wave of desperate panic charged her senses. When she’d recovered enough to talk, she said, “I’ll jump, Bill. I mean it.”

  Bill shrugged and leaned against the sliding glass. “So jump.”

  Robert was coming too, his pale, thin face looking more terrifying than before. Jade felt a sort of pity for both of them. They’d both been so handsome once. Now they were just hideous. Suddenly she realized that she didn’t have much of a choice. They were going to change her if she let them get their hands on her. Her choices were pretty limited, get turned into a vampire or jump off the roof and hope War was right about her power. Well, one thing was for sure, she was not going to be a vampire.

  Jade looked below and was ill. It was at least ten stories down. Closing her eyes, she willed with all her heart for War to come. All around her, the night was cool, windy, and quiet, and her heart twisted with despair. The vampires were very close now, only two feet away from where she hung on for dear life.

  Bill was laughing, mocking her. “Let go. I dare you.”

  But Jade couldn’t bring herself to do it. Then there was a fluttering of huge wings next to her. It startled her, and she lost her grip on the railing and fell forward into the bottomless darkness. Talons gripped her shoulders to slow her descent, which made her cry out in horrible pain. In her mind, she could hear War’s voice coaxing and encouraging her to change.

  She tried to force herself to focus, but she was falling faster than ever. “War!” she screamed. “Help me!” But when her voice emerged from her throat, what she heard didn’t sound like a human voice. It was an eagle’s screech. Her thoughts cleared, and suddenly she was no longer falling. She looked down below and watched in amazement as the buildings passed beneath her. Flying just in front of her was a great black raptor slowly gliding toward the ground. War. Jade forced herself to focus and followed him. I guess he’s not so crazy after all.

  Chapter Six

  War landed on the ground and transformed back into his human form with Jade only a few seconds behind him. She looked frazzled but unhurt. Her transformation was more disjointed and strange than it should have been, but she managed it well enough. When she was finally human again, he stared at her dark beauty. Her skin was the color of desert sand, a light cocoa brown with warm golden undertones. Her long, dark hair was straight and surrounded her lovely face and dark brown eyes.

  She blinked a few times behind silver-framed glasses as she registered what just happened then stared at him with eyes wide with disbelief. She looked down at her hands as if she couldn’t believe they had once been wings. “I guess you were right.”

  War was relieved she was all right, but he had more pressing matters to worry about. One of the vampires had followed them down and had just landed a few feet from them. War pulled Jade behind him. She’d be no good in this fight until she learned how to use her powers reliably.

  “You’d better fly off with your colony, vamp, before I tear you up and eat you for dinner,” War rumbled.

  The vampire stared at Jade. “How can you choose to live with these”—he eyed War up and down—“animals when you can have eternal life with us? Think about it, Jade. You’ll never grow old, or feel pain, and the world will be at your beck and call.”

  War glanced back at her. “You know this guy?”


  She nodded sadly. “He was my friend, Bill Todd. He’s the guy I was looking for when I was captured in The Siren.”

  “He’s beyond your help now, baby,” War said, keeping a watchful eye on Bill.

  “You can’t seriously believe the lies this ape has told you, do you? He’s trying to make you one of them. He can’t offer half the life I can. Come with me before it’s too late,” Bill said.

  War had heard enough. Raising his hands, he transformed and flew right at the vamp. The creature, obviously unprepared for a direct attack, screamed and changed into a bat, taking flight into the night as quickly as he could. Normally, War would have pursued him, but he didn’t want to leave Jade alone for too long. She was still very new to this, and he needed to protect her. He circled the sky and came down again, transforming just before he touched the ground. He’d been moving so fast that he had to jog a few steps before stopping in front of her.