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  It was late afternoon, and Jade was cleaning her apartment when Dirty Mary and HighTower flew down. They landed hard on her balcony, making a terrible thumping, and for a moment—even though it was daytime—Jade thought it was the vamps. They appeared so suddenly that they almost scared her into a heart attack. Do none of these people believe in doors?

  She stomped over and opened the sliding glass door. They both smiled at her like they’d been the last ones with their hands in the cookie jar. “Is there something wrong with the front door?” she asked irritably.

  High Tower shrugged his thick, muscular shoulders. “Not if you’re human, which we’re not.”

  Jade decided to pick her battles, and this wasn’t one she wanted to fight today. “What can I do for you both?”

  High Tower glanced at Dirty Mary, who gave him the go-ahead-and-tell-her look. “It appears as though the Aviary Council, which governs all raptor shape-shifters, is having a problem with War’s claim on you.”

  “I don’t get it,” Jade said, waving her feather duster in the air playfully. “Why should they care?”

  This time, Dirty Mary chimed in. “Because the council is run by eagles, and they’re concerned that you’re being pressured to live with a vulture.”

  High Tower shook his head. “They love the work we do keeping the vamps under control, but they don’t think much of us because we eat ’em.”

  “So what do they want with me?” Jade asked.

  “They want to meet with you face-to-face,” HighTower said, “and ask you a few questions. Basically, they want to know if you are choosing to be with War and the wake or if you’re being coerced. Personally, I can’t blame them. War is a pretty hard-nosed guy. It wouldn’t be hard to see him bullying you into staying in a marriage that you didn’t ask for.”

  Jade considered this for a moment. Well, she could be a hard-nosed girl, and if she didn’t want War around, she wouldn’t have any problem telling him that. But she liked him, maybe even loved him, and he was very good in bed. Who couldn’t love that in a man? “Okay,” she said. “I’ll go talk to them. Where do I have to go?”

  Dirty Mary smiled, and Jade decided she really liked the strange pink-haired woman. Mary was one of those people who just seemed to have a blast everywhere she went.

  “Just follow us,” Mary said. She lifted her arms to jump off the balcony, then hesitated. “Oh,” she said, “I forgot to tell you. War will be there, but you’re not supposed to talk to him. They get edgy if they think he’s influencing you.”

  “Okay,” Jade said, wondering what this new adventure was going to be like.

  * * * *

  Flying with HighTower and Dirty Mary was beyond fun. It was thrilling. Her escorts dived and soared and played games with her as they flew the twenty minutes to the Aviary Council Hall. The hall, situated at the top of a towering court building, was right in the middle of downtown.

  The top floor was actually not a floor at all, but a walled area that housed antennas, power boxes, and other equipment that supported the courthouse’s everyday functions. HighTower and Dirty Mary landed hard and jogged a few steps from their momentum. Jade landed as a golden eagle and transformed once she was on the ground. It was awkward, but it worked for her.

  High tower grinned. “You need to learn how to change on your way down, sweets. That jumping-all-over-like-a-chicken stuff looks lame.”

  Jade gave him a sassy pout. “You do it your way, and I’ll do it mine.” She looked around and was surprised to see four regal-looking men in dark suits standing in a group talking in hushed tones. They all looked like accountants, and for a second, she was afraid they were human and going to call the cops on all these weird people on the roof. But instead, one of them moved forward smiling.

  He was a classically handsome man with short white hair and a strong, noble nose. His eyebrows were black, and he gave off the air of a man who was used to being obeyed. “Jade?” he said, extending his hand to shake hers.

  “Yes, sir,” she said, taking his hand.

  “My name is Peter Strong. I’m the president of the Aviary Council, and I invited you here just to ask you a few questions. Do you mind?”

  Out of the sky, a shadow fell over all of them, and everyone looked up. Slowly circling overhead was a huge vulture. She knew it was War, and a strange, happy thrill filled her. It was fun to have a man so into you he followed you everywhere, and not in a weird you’re-mine-and-no-one-else’s kind of way.

  “No,” she said, turning her attention back to Peter. “I don’t mind at all.”

  “Good,” he said, glancing back at the other men in suits. “I know that War has told you about your marriage to him when you were very young.”

  “Yes,” Jade said, guarded. “He did.”

  Peter nodded as if that was just what he suspected. “But what he probably didn’t tell you is that it is highly unusual for a vulture and a golden eagle to be mates.” Jade was about to say something, but Peter held his hand up to stop her. “Not that it has never occurred, mind you. It’s just not very common. So what we want to ask you is, do you want to stay his mate? Or would you like to come and live with other eagles like yourself and perhaps find someone more . . . suitable?”

  “You mean others like you who avoid eating dead things,” she said, getting it.

  Peter didn’t seem interested in hiding his contempt for the vultures. “That’s right.”

  “No, thanks,” Jade said. “I’m good.”

  “But, Jade,” Peter said, “think about your future. Surely you don’t want to be saddled with a wake of vultures all your life. You’re . . . better than that.”

  Jade had had enough of this. “You know what? I like being with them. They’re fun and good to me, and War is really good in bed.”

  Peter flinched as though she’d slapped him. “You mean you slept with him already?”

  “Yep,” she said, delighted that it was grossing him out. “We did all kinds of stuff.”

  Peter held up his hand. “I don’t need the details. But that definitely changes things. Since he mated you, you are now truly one of them. Are you happy with War?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I don’t see any reason to interfere. Just know that if you ever change your mind, you can come before the council and have the marriage annulled.” Then he turned from her, changed, and flew off with the other suits.

  Jade shook her head. Yeah, fat chance of that. You guys are a bunch of jerks. She turned to talk to HighTower and Dirty Mary, but they were gone. In their place stood War, large, powerful, and oh-so sexy.

  “What did they ask you?” he said in that stressed way of his when stuff was happening he didn’t like.

  “They asked if I wanted to dump you and go hang with the rest of the eagles,” she said, amused. Strolling to the edge of the building, she looked over the rim and got a little queasy.

  “And what did you say?” he asked, coming up behind her.

  Jade turned around and stared into those steamy amber eyes. A quick glance around told her everyone else had left. “I told him except for the beatings, things were cool. I also said I wanted to keep you around for a while because you were good in bed.”

  War broke into a deep, hearty laugh. “I’ll bet they loved that.”

  She smiled too. “I think I made poor Peter sick.”

  War pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “Good. He deserves it.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jade had just finished a term paper when War came by the apartment and invited her out for a ride. He was very affectionate that way. If War wanted cuddle time, he’d invite her out for a ride. She found it kind of sexy that her husband liked to date her.

  He took her to a nice park only a few short miles from her campus. The park was deserted at this time of night, and Jade hugged War tight as they rode to a secluded spot by some tall pine trees. He cut the bike’s engine, and a thick silence filled the air. Jade dismounted and took in their surrounds. Th
ere were four picnic tables all delicately illuminated by the streetlights above. The parking lot was large with space for several dozen cars, but they were the only ones here this late.

  War dismounted, too, arching his back and stretching. He pulled a small silver flask out of his leather jacket and took a sip. She came over, and he held it out to her. Jade normally didn’t drink, but she took the flask. What the hell? I’ve passed all my classes this semester, and I’ve escaped the vamps. Why not? She took a small sip and grimaced. War laughed at her.

  “A college student who doesn’t know how to drink. Now I’ve seen it all.”

  Jade smiled and shrugged. “I just thought studying was more important than partying.” She handed the flask back to War, who took another generous gulp.

  “Smart girl,” he said more to himself than to her.

  “Tell me something about you.”

  Gesturing for her to follow, he stalked over to the picnic benches and climbed up, taking a seat on the top. Jade took a seat next to him.

  “Nothing much to tell, really,” he said. “I spent most of my life in trouble with the law, until I became leader of the raptors.”

  “How did you get to be their leader?”

  “The old leader was killed by vamps, and her husband refused the job. I was the next in command.”

  Jade chewed her thumbnail. “The old leader was my mom, wasn’t it?” She didn’t know how she’d known that, she just had. It was all part of the new weirdness that was her life.

  “That’s right,” he said, pulling at his beard.

  “Have you ever been to prison?”

  He gave her a dark look and took another drink. “Yes.”

  “For what?”

  “Assault,” he said.

  Jade swallowed. There was so much about him she didn’t know. “It must have been a pretty bad assault for you to end up in prison.”

  “It was.”

  “So who did you assault?” she asked.

  “Some guy in a bar that pissed me off. It was a long time ago.”

  Jade let the conversation drop for a moment. Then she said, “I don’t know if I want to stay married to you.”

  War drained the flask and replaced it in his jacket pocket. “Why? Because I’ve been to prison?”

  “No,” she said. “Because I’m not sure that I want to be married to anyone. I’d always planned to finish school before committing to a relationship. I’m just worried that I won’t be a very good wife if I’m a full-time student. Do you understand that?”

  “I guess.”

  Jade frowned. She’d hurt him without meaning to. “Well, I’m in no hurry to end our marriage, unless you want out.”

  “You know what my feelings are.”

  Jade decided to stop talking about this. Everything she said was turning out wrong, and she hated to see War in pain. She reached out and took his thick hand, and then she kissed the back. He ignored her, and that made her even more determined to heal the wound she’d opened.

  Grabbing his face, she turned him to face her and touched her lips to his. He didn’t resist her, but he didn’t help much either. “Just because I’m not sure about staying married, doesn’t mean I don’t love you,” she whispered.

  He looked deep into her eyes. “Do you love me, Jade?”

  She gave him a gentle smile. “Yes, War,” she said. “I believe I do.” Pushing her breasts against his chest, she moved her tongue into his mouth, firing her kisses with passion. War began to weaken. He pulled her into his arms and returned her kiss, running his fingers through her thick brown hair. The feel of his massive body against her was intoxicating, and she was seduced by the scent of his skin and hair.

  War lay back on the bench and pulled her on top of him. His hands slipped under her shirt, caressing her skin and working their way up to her breasts. Jade closed her eyes as he cupped and massaged her small mounds, pausing to pinch and twist the nipples until her panties were drenched with need.

  Reaching down, Jade unfastened his jeans and freed his beautiful, thick cock. She slipped off her own jeans and eased him inside her. Letting go of her passion, she rode him in a frenzy of lust until she shook with the power of her release. A moment later, he bucked up into her several times and ground out his own orgasm. War held her close against him with his cock still buried inside her.

  “I love you too, baby, and I worry about you all the time. Be careful of your friend Bill, okay?”

  She dragged her lips along his cheek. “I promise I will,” she whispered.

  Jade dressed and was just tying her sneakers when a spotlight shone on them. A cop car crawled up to them shining its high-powered light in their eyes.

  “Keep your hands where we can see them,” a person said over the loudspeaker.

  Jade looked over at War. “We could change and get away,” she whispered.

  War held his hands up in the air so the cops wouldn’t get nervous. “No, baby,” he said calmly. “You don’t want to spook them and maybe get shot. Public sex is an easy rap. We’ll be out in the morning. Just put your hands in the air and do what they tell you.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  After War and Jade got bailed out by the gang, they returned to the lair to discover that Bullet had accidentally uncovered another vamp colony. He told them he had been delivering beer to a dive bar over on Main and Central when he’d spotted a few coffin boxes in the cellar. Of course, he’d pretended not to know what they were, but he had sure hightailed it back to the lair to let everyone know.

  “Maybe Bill is with them,” Jade said. Everyone in the meeting stared at her. They all had that pitying look she found so annoying. “What?”

  War glanced at the others, then gave her a sober look. “Our first priority has to be killing the vamps, Jade,” he said. “We’ll hold off on one or two to see if we can get any information from them about your friend, but like I told you, I don’t want you getting your hopes up.”

  Jade chewed her lower lip and nodded. She knew he was right, but a small glimmer of hope still shone inside her. “Are you going to let me come with you this time?”

  War nodded. “Yeah, but you stay close to me and listen to exactly what I tell you. Got it?”

  She grinned. “Yes.”

  They spent the rest of the afternoon meticulously planning their surprise attack. Jade was excited. Not only was there a remote possibility she might find Bill and help him, but she was actually going to be able to give back to those vamps what they’d been dishing out to her over the past few months. Finally I’m going to be able to act like one of the gang instead of their leader’s cute little wife.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The vampire colony wasn’t what Jade had been expecting. It was a sprawling ranch-style home situated in a tranquil middle-class suburb. In order to avoid detection, War and the other bikers parked their vehicles at the communal recreation center parking lot, transformed, and flew into the subdivision under cover of night.

  Once they reached the house, Jade transformed back into her human form and joined War on the front steps. She was so nervous even her shoulders were sweating.

  War ran the back of his hand along the side of his beard and smiled at her. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

  “Yeah,” she said, grinning. “I think it’s time I took my place as your queen.”

  War looked at her surprised. She knew that would get him. He took her hand, lifted it to his lips, and kissed it. The feel of his lips against her skin sent a lusty thrill all through her.

  War placed his hand on the doorknob and twisted it until Jade heard the lock snap and give way. He pushed the door open and went inside with Jade close behind him. From the back of the house, she could see the other raptors, also still in human form, slowly creeping around.

  From somewhere in the house, a woman screamed and rushed to get past War. He raised his arms; transformed into that huge, breathtaking vulture; and snatched the woman with his claws. She bared her teeth, hiss
ed, and snapped at him, but he tore her apart in seconds. Then he was off to attack the rest.

  Deep in her mind, Jade could have sworn that she heard Bill’s voice coming from upstairs. Knowing that the vamps couldn’t hurt her anymore, she climbed the stairs taking two at a time. In the last bedroom she checked, Bill was there looking thinner and paler than before. Her heart twisted with pity for him.

  “Are you going to kill me?” he asked, sounding very much like a little boy.

  “I can’t kill you, Bill,” she said tenderly. “You’re already dead. I’m going to release you from this horrible existence.”

  “I don’t want to be released!”