

### Scorned

A LeKrista Scott, Vampire Hunted Novel

Book One

By

Tyffani Clark Kemp

~~~

Smashwords Edition

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Published by

Tyffani Clark Kemp

Copyright 2012 Tyffani Clark Kemp

SideStreet Cookie Publishing, LLC

www.sidestreetcookiepublishing.com

All rights reserved.

Cover design by Steph's Designs
DEDICATION

For my "Pierce"

### TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

About The Author

Other Books by the Author

### CHAPTER ONE

New Years Day

Why do I tolerate this place?

I asked myself that question every time I clocked into work. Edgar Appleton, the flamboyant owner of the small-town floral shop _Arrangements by Appleton_ , watched me through the window as I pulled into my parking space. I shut off the engine and gave a little wave and smile. Eddy shot me a dirty look and turned away. I could see the day taking a turn for the incredibly awful. Yay me.

_Appleton's_ was five minutes from my house, which was lucky because my family lived in the boonies. The shop shared its space with a wedding coordinator and a cake decorator, so we got a lot of business. And in the small town of Travelers Rest, South Carolina it was often repeat business.

The sky was dark and menacing as I ducked inside. The sweet smell of flora filled my nostrils and I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the fragrant aroma. I didn't even have a chance to blink before Eddy was on top of me with demands.

"I need the backroom organized, _Mizz_ Scott. I just got an unexpected delivery of vases," he pronounced the word _vah-zes_ like he was actually from somewhere. "The one that we had to reorder six times, as a matter of fact. It _all_ came in."

I let out a heavy sigh and rolled my eyes.

"Exactly. Get to work."

Surprised that we could actually agree in our little moment of commiseration, I offered him a sarcastic salute and marched to the backroom to fulfill my duties as the floral shop grunt. I was really very good at my job and Eddy knew that, but he had to maintain some kind of face in front of his women.

There were four other women who worked for him around the shop, and only one of them was American. Even so, she was from Hawaii and very exotic. They were all beautiful, thin, flexible, girls. And wasn't guessing on the flexible part. Instead of working they liked to compare notes. And I was the one who Eddy liked to yell at to "get to work".

I was only at my task for about twenty minutes, wondering when the others would use their freedom of passage to finally show up for work, when Eddy poked his head in the door.

"LeKrista," he whispered like he was afraid someone would overhear. Eddy didn't do afraid. He did cocky. I might have gone as far to say arrogant.

"Yeah," I whispered back. "What?"

"I have a customer." He didn't even say anything about my sarcasm. "A meeting. I need you to come man the front room until one of the girls gets here."

"Okay." We were still whispering. My legs began to tingle the moment I stood up and I followed Eddy out to the main room on rubbery legs. The front room was empty and quiet and the office door closed before I had a chance to see who was in there.

I wasn't in the front room long before one of Eddy's girls walked in. Parashie pulled the front door open with a flourish and grace that I never could have managed. She was one of the "blonde twins" as I referred to them in private. Her counterpart was a German girl named Maaren. They both had long blonde hair cut to one length with matching bangs, the cute kind that were tapered to blend into the hair rather than cut straight across. They both had ocean blue eyes that seemed to change color with the seasons, and they both were about the same height and size. They even wore their clothes interchangeably. Add to that their similar facial features and bone structure, and you would think they'd been separated at birth.

Parashie addressed me in Russian with what I knew to mean something to the effect of "commoner" or "common girl." Whatever. I knew for a fact that she was found wandering the streets, orphaned.

"Where is Edgar?" she asked. I would never tell her that I thought her accent was beautiful.

I motioned to the office. "He's having a private meeting."

Parashie rolled her eyes and stalked to the office door. She was close to six feet, if not exactly, and anorexic-skinny, though she's a healthy eater. I think her favorite is cheeseburgers. She just had one of those metabolisms. You know, the kind that made average, slightly overweight girls sick? Yeah. The "twins" were those girls. She dressed like she thought she lived in Hollywood - tight skinny jeans, a white undershirt peeking out underneath a striped 1red and black sweater, and enough jewelry to accessorize a small country. Her stilettos thumped on the carpeted wood floor, making it sound hollow underneath, and it probably was.

I didn't try to stop her from opening the door. I had no qualms about letting her and the others know just how little I care for them. It would serve her right for calling me "common girl" for so long if she got in trouble.

Eddy looked up when the door opened and his client whipped his head around. Shock and fear rolled off of him and filled my head. My heart sped up like I was experiencing his fear. I could feel his eyes locked on me. They were full of a power I didn't understand. I felt a niggle at the base of my skull and my head ticked to the right in a sort of shiver. The man frowned at me, blinked, and then it was gone.

Eddy was livid, his face flushed with anger. He shouted something at Parashie in Russian and rose out of his chair to block any view of his guest. Eddy looked and sounded the most angry I'd ever heard him. I realized, if he wasn't such an ass \- and gay - I might be attracted to him.

"I didn't know you spoke Russian," I said quietly, mostly to myself than anything, but it seemed the wrong thing to do. Eddy heard me and, when he turned to look, his face had blanched to a creamy white. He looked sick, like he might pass out.

"Shut the door!" Eddy shouted one last time, enunciating each word like Parashie was stupid.

Parashie screamed something in her native tongue and slammed the door like a spoiled child. Then, she turned on me and shouted, "Don't you have some work to do?"

"I have to get my pills from my car," I said and hurried out of the building. I wasn't in the mood for a fight, and she was wearing stilettos, too? No, thanks. She could keep them.

I kept my Clonidine in the console of my beat up Honda Civic. I suffered from Epilepsy and a mild case of Tourette's Syndrome. I hadn't had a seizure in years and I kept the tics at bay with the pills. I didn't have vocal tics, the kind where you shouted random words for no reason. Instead I had motor tics and sometimes my body would just shudder. It started with the weird feeling at the base of my skull then traveled my spine like a shiver. Those were mostly gone too, except for special occasions.

I popped the pill and swallowed without water before I headed back inside. I ignored Parashie, who sat sulking in the corner, not doing any work whatsoever.

The meeting was over before I made it to the backroom. Eddy walked out first, his head down and his tail tucked between his legs, so to speak. The client exited next, hands in his pockets, head held high. He was attractive, too attractive.

"I will speak with you again soon, Eddy," he said in an accent I couldn't place. Accent whore that I was I loved it.

Eddy nodded. We all watched him leave, even Parashie was enamored with his backside. Eddy seemed to come out of the stupor first, though he speared me with a look and said, "Back to work, Mizz Scott."

I hated the way he called me that, but it was better than Kris or some of the derogatory terms the girls had come up with. I sequestered myself in the backroom, hoping to avoid Eddy and his women for the rest of the day.

My phone rang as I was finishing up. Sneezing from the dust I'd managed to inhale, I answered on the second ring.

"Hey, Staci," Pierce Wisely, my longtime boyfriend of just over five years, said on the other end. His deep voice was welcome at the end of a day spent in the flower shop. I couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, baby. I'm about to leave work now."

"Are you going to stop and get some drinks before you head this way?" he asked.

"Yeah. It's my turn."

"Could you pick up some steaks too? I'll cook."

"Just steaks or do you need the seasonings too?"

"Seasonings too." He listed what he needed, even though we both knew I wouldn't remember all of it.

"Pierce, I don't know that I have enough money for all of that."

"Just get what you can. I'll pay you back when you get here."

I agreed and hung up, more ready than ever to leave. I made sure I'd done what I could for the day and stepped out to tell Eddy and his ladies good bye. They were all there, the twins, Dayla the Hawaiian girl, the French actress and her protégée, and the African Princess. She was a real princess from what I could tell and I had no idea why she hung out with Eddy here in Travelers Rest. But she did, they all did, and it was weird.

"Later," I saluted them all. I pushed my way through the door and climbed into my car before anyone could say anything or try to stop me. Next stop Wal Mart, and from there Pierce, the highlight of my day.

It was as I passed the little girl's pajamas that I felt the eyes on me, something I'd grown accustomed to in the last months. The skin on my arms perked up and my nerves crawled like they were trying to get away. The spot between my shoulder blades itched, begging me to turn and see who was there. I stopped to inspect some bunny footy pajamas and looked at the price tag while subsequently using my peripheral to see who was behind me. A tall, lanky man with shaggy dark hair, dressed in loose fitting, faded jeans and a black polo with brown loafers walked by, but it wasn't him. I would know those eyes when I saw them, and this man's were insecure. He held himself with confidence, but his puppy-brown eyes spoke the truth.

Tucking my dark hair behind one ear, more from habit than from necessity, I continued to the back of the store where the refrigerators housed what I was looking for; a case of Michelob Ultra for Pierce and a six pack of Bud Light for me.

The eyes bore into the back of my skull, more intense than they'd ever been. I turned to leave with my booty- the beer, not my butt- and caught the figure of a man as he disappeared behind the shelves of the next aisle of wine bottles. All I had time to notice was that he was sexy as hell, and clearly foreign because Americans don't dress that well. He smiled, I smiled, and then he was gone, on his way to get some cream cheese. Or milk. Or orange juice. Or cookie dough. I hurried to find the things I remembered from Pierce's shopping list and headed up front to the registers. It didn't take any time at all to find a register with a line that wasn't wrapped all the way around the store to Women's Underwear. January first tends to be a pretty slow day for the most part, with everyone at home drunk or hungover. I fished a wadded fifty out of the back pocket of my jeans, and handed it to the cashier. She took it, though a bit reluctantly, and started smoothing it.

"Sorry about that," I said.

"No problem," she replied. The pink hoop in her lip bobbed as she spoke and the tone she took said that it was, indeed, a problem.

I let her ring me up and shoved the receipt in my front pocket.

The sky was now a threatening grey-black that I found beautiful. The wind had picked up too, as if it could actually blow any harder.

That's stupid. Haven't you heard of hurricanes? Tornadoes? Monsoons? Tsunamis?

I switched everything to my left had so I could fumble for my key with my right, and told myself how dumb I could be sometimes. Normally, I have my key out by the time I make it to the car, but distracted by the wind and my own stupidity, I hadn't even thought of it until too late. Now, I stood at my car door like an idiot, trying to get the right key out before the wind blew me away.

_Beer bottles hit the pavement with the sickening crash of glass and the splash of amber liquid. They crashed around my feet, soaking my faded yellow Chuck Taylors and the legs of my skinny jeans_.

I blinked and looked down. The bottles clanked and shifted and the cardboard bottoms of the beer cases slowly gave way in slow motion. I hadn't even thought to check them, or maybe the goth girl at the register sabotaged my beer because of the waded bill. Either way, I was about to lose twenty dollars worth.

God? Is this Your way of telling me to stop drinking?

I didn't have a lot of money to begin with, and spending it on beer that is only going to end up on the ground was not ideal.

The glass bottles shifted lazily once more and the whole bottom fell out, spilling beer bottles like confetti at a parade.

"No!" I jumped back, out of the way of the deluge of glass and beer that I knew was coming, and braced myself. I turned away with my eyes shut tight against the sound of glass bottles popping against the asphalt.

Nothing happened. I waited, but there was no sound of glass breaking, nor was there a river of beer up to my knees. I turned to see what had happened. The man from Eddy's office was standing there, all twenty bottles of my beer in his arms as if he'd been carrying them to the car for me that way. He smiled, his mouth quirked up as if he thought it was funny that I'd almost lost my life's savings in beer to the asphalt. Okay, so it wasn't my life's savings fortunately, but it felt like it sometimes.

I cocked my head to the side and said, "I'm glad you think it's funny." He blinked at me, then chuckled, a rich sound that vibrated in his chest and made my heart thump a little off beat. That was all I needed, to add heart palpitations to my list of health issues.

"Forgive me. I hope you do not mind. I saw you struggling and came over to help if I could. Before I could get here, well..." He shrugged, gesturing with his arms full. The light yellow liquid jostled in the bottles at his movement, and I was suddenly very aware of myself.

I wasn't much to look at. Just over five-four, I was stuck on the shorter side. My washed-out, brown hair was dry and brittle from too many chemical treatments. I prided myself on my almost-green, not quite brown, hazel eyes and my natural, killer tan. They call it light-skinned here in the South, those of us of mixed race. White mom, black dad. You get the picture.

"I guess I should get a bag or something." I was really looking for an excuse to escape the sudden awkwardness I felt in his presence. I looked around and checked the backseat of my car. Go me. I'd just cleaned it out. "If I run inside, you won't disappear with my beer will you?" It was embarrassing to admit I was so broke I couldn't afford to buy more.

Mr. I-actually-iron-my-jeans-to-get-a-crease chuckled again, but no sound came from his lips, leaving me disappointed. "I promise. I don't drink beer."

I had a sudden Wes Craven _Dracula 2000_ moment, "I don't drink...coffee..." but I shook it off and tried for humorous. I put the rest of my bags in the front seat of the car and said, "It's not the drinking I'm worried about. Do you have any idea what you could get for just one bottle of that stuff on eBay if you played it right?"

It worked. He laughed again. Out loud. It was a beautiful, deep sound that I could have listened to all day and it followed me inside the store, bouncing around in my head like a song I couldn't stop singing.

"Excuse me," I said to the closest cashier who didn't look like she was busy or like she'd rather be in a coffin. She was an older woman with wrinkles and jet black hair that had to be from a bottle. There was no way she wasn't gray underneath. "The bottom fell out of my beer cases. Do you think I could get some bags to put the bottles in?"

She gave them to me and carried on about how the same thing had happened to her not too long ago. "There's no such thing as quality anymore," she ranted.

I smiled, taking the bags from her. "Gotta make money."

She nodded and smiled like we'd just bonded over the poor quality of cardboard beer cases. Or, perhaps I'm just too cynical.

"You have a good day," she called.

"You too."

So-sexy-I-wear-the-jeans-with-fake-wear-lines-bleached-on-the-thighs hadn't moved an inch, and he still had that humored smile that quirked up one side of his mouth. I wondered how he wasn't cold standing there in nothing but his pressed jeans, a grey knit sweater, and a scarf woven of dark gray and lilac that set off his royal blue eyes. I could see them from across the parking lot, staring straight at me like they'd been for months now. Those same eyes watching me, reading my thoughts...

A car honked and I jumped. I was standing in the middle of the street holding up traffic. I waved an apology and hurried across the walkway. It was gone now- the feel of those eyes, the tingle on my arms and down my spine. I wondered if I'd imagined their intensity. Yeah, he was definitely attractive. The kind of guy I would drool over if I was single.

I grabbed two bottles by the neck. He just stood there, quietly smirking at me as if he knew a joke I'd missed. I slid the first bag onto the floor on the passenger's side and grabbed the next two. The wind had blown them across the car, plastering them against the passenger window, so Mr. Sexy got a lovely view of my backside as I retrieved them.

When I was finished, I smiled and thanked him. "I appreciate your help..." I didn't want to say "mister". Too molester-ish. "Dude" didn't work either and neither did "man", so I just left it, hoping he would fill in the silent question with his name.

He didn't. All he said was, "It was my pleasure," and that accent was just slightly thicker than before.

"LeKrista" I told him, hoping he'd catch the hint, and I offered my hand to shake. He took it in his own but didn't shake it. His hands were cold, but rough and smooth at the same time as if the manual labor that he'd done to get the calluses was long over.

"LeKrista," he said, copying my pronunciation, _le-KREE-stah_. He lifted my hand to his lips and brushed the lightest kiss over my knuckles. My body went hot in the freezing wind. That just wasn't even fair. "Until next time." The accent was there now, stronger, thicker where it hadn't been present before. I didn't know it, couldn't tell where he was from.

_El gusto es mio. Ha! I'm dumb_.

I actually smiled at my stupidity, but when he looked up, he thought I was smiling at him.

"It is an antiquated practice, I know, but..." He shrugged like he didn't care and he was going to do it anyway because that was what he wanted to do.

Good for you!

I should have said it out loud, but my voice wouldn't cooperate.

"Well, Ms. LeKrista, I won't keep you." The accent was all but nonexistent now, and I was sad to hear it go. "I see you have some partying to do, yes?" He chuckled. "I do hope you enjoy yourself."

I smirked right back at him, because I thought it was funny. A party.

Nope. Just going to get something to eat and hang out with my boyfriend in front of the TV. Lazy, drunk bums is all we are.

What I said out loud was, "I will."

"It was a pleasure to meet you."

"And you."

He saw me into my car and closed the door for me like we'd been friends for years. It was awkward, but then it wasn't. He watched me pull out of the parking space, which racked my nerves. I hate for people to watch me drive because I just know they're critiquing every move I make. I know this probably because I do the same thing.

Wouldn't you know it, I caught every red light there was to catch between Walmart and Pierce's house. Pierce and his younger brother Gable lived together in Gable's house. Pierce moved in to help pay the bills when the younger man fell on some hard times and hadn't moved out yet. He wanted to, but like me he didn't have the money for it. I kept trying to talk him into getting a place together, but he was afraid we wouldn't be able to wait if we were living together and sharing a bed. Maybe he was right, but it would have solved one big problem that always seemed to be in the way; family. Still, it was easier for him to say no when neither one of us had the finances to actually make a move in that direction. In any direction, really.

I was so busy fuming about not having any money that I didn't realize how close I was. I turned onto his street and pulled into the yard. Three other cars sat there. I squeezed into the only place left, pulled my key out of the ignition and put them and my cell into my bag, which I slung over my shoulder. The front door didn't like to open, so I gave it a good shove.

There was no one in the first bedroom, or the living room, or the kitchen, so either they were in the bathroom, or Pierce was the only one home.

Crap, dang! I forgot the beer. Oh well.

"Baby?" I rounded the corner to Pierce's bedroom to find him laying on his bed in nothing but basketball shorts. His beautiful, muscular chest was on full display. His dark skin was smooth and perfect. I didn't know what he saw in me. My face was a little too round to keep my hair in a ponytail like I did. I wasn't huge, but I was anything but thin. I was heavy. Thick. Whatever you wanted to call it, though proportioned well. It didn't sit in any one particular place, except maybe my boobs and no one but me seemed to have a problem with that. I didn't lose weight, no matter how hard I tried and I was about ready to go to a doctor about it.

"What?" Pierce asked, turning amber eyes from the TV long enough to see me.

"I forgot the beer," I told him. "Could you go get it?"

"You go get it. You forgot it."

"It's out in the car. It fell out of the box."

"Oh, geez." He grabbed a shirt and slipped into a pair of shoes.

"You'll need these," I said and handed him the keys.

I dropped my bag on the floor, kicked off my shoes and took off my jacket. I thought about stripping out of my pants too, but I left them on. I never know when someone will walk in. If I had a place of my own I could run around naked if I wanted.

Pierce came back in with the beer and groceries, and I heard him put the two bags in the fridge before he got a beer for himself. "Thanks, babe," he told me and gave me a quick kiss.

"No problem," I replied. "You get the next one though."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm getting this one. How much was it?"

I shrugged. "It's fine. I have a little cash left."

Pierce didn't argue, but I knew the subject would come up again later. He went back to the kitchen and set to work getting dinner started.

"Throw me the chips," I called to him and he did, deliberately bouncing them off my head before they landed on the floor. "I said throw them, not break them all up into tiny pieces so no one will want to eat them."

"Oh, well that's what I heard."

I rolled my eyes and opened the bag. The smell of jalapeno's was enough to knock me back a few inches and I had to hold the bag away to keep from suffocating.

"I thought you didn't like those," Pierce said.

I laughed. "I don't."

"Then why are you eating them?"

"I'm hungry."

The front door opened and its squeaky hinges screamed in protest. Gable offered his customary "Hey" as he passed through to the bathroom.

The front door opened again a few moments later, and I knew it could only be one person. A young girl rounded the corner a few seconds later, protruding belly first.

"Someone in there?" Petrice asked, indicating the bathroom. Petrice was their pregnant sixteen year-old niece. She loved to wear collared blouses and scarves, especially during the South Carolina winter.

"Yeah. Gable," I answered her.

"Damn. He's going to be in there a while. I might as well go to the neighbor's house." She was joking. It was an inside joke, but I couldn't remember how it started.

I laughed. "Come here and let me rub your belly."

"Just don't push on it," she warned.

I rubbed her belly in a circle three times, my usual little ritual, and she took a seat on the edge of the bed. She looked so tired with her droopy eyes and her hair a little askew.

"You okay?" I asked, trying to keep my tone friendly and not concerned.

"Yeah," she answered. "I just want to pee, get something to eat and drink, and go to bed."

"Well, we bought a steak," I told her. "Pierce is in there fixing it right now. Maybe he'll share."

"Hey, Uncle P. Can I have some of your steak?" she called.

"You can have a bite." Pierce kept his back to us and continued to fix his steak. I rolled my eyes and Petrice giggled.

Gable finally came out of the bathroom and pulled the door tight. I grinned and, when he left I turned to Petrice. "You probably don't want to go in there right now."

"I've got it," she said, and disappeared. A moment later she came waddling back with a bottle of air freshener. Petrice opened the door and sprayed inside. "Why does he always have to kill the bathroom," she complained and I laughed.

"'Ey," Gable said, coming around the corner. When he saw the air freshener in Petrice's hand, he stopped. "Where'd you get that?"

"It was under the sink in the bathroom," she lied and I tried not to smile.

"I didn't see it."

"You must'a just missed it, Uncle Gable." She was too good at playing innocent. She was going to have a hell of a time when that baby finally got here.

Gable shrugged. I wasn't sure if he believed her or not, but he turned to me and continued his question. "Can I take your car to the store?"

No.

I had to think, did I have enough gas to make it to Friday? Not if I let everyone use my car. But I did have some gas money left over, ten dollars that should cover me until then. I was too nice.

"Yeah." I handed him my keys and he offered a half-hearted thanks.

Pierce had the meat marinated and in the fridge to sit for an hour. That was my least favorite part of him cooking. He always decided to do it last minute. He kicked his shoes off and lay down next to me on the bed, wrapped his arms around me, and turned the TV on. I smiled and snuggled into him. He smelled of warmth and soap and, underneath all that was the faint scent of sawdust. I didn't understand it, but I didn't question it. It was that sawdust smell that lulled me into sleep.

Her tousled hair, long and black with chunky blonde streaks, splayed across the red satin pillowcase. There was a look on her pale, pale face that could only be described as hungry lust.

I approached her, my own lust taking over as I watched her move sensuously in the sheets. I knelt on the bed and crawled to her slowly on my hands and knees. She smiled at me. The tips of her porcelain fangs barely showed between her red, kiss-swollen lips. For one moment, I was on top of her. Then we were spinning, faster than possible, and I had her on the edge of the bed, one arm tucked under her chin, the other pressed against her forehead so her neck was vulnerable. She smiled at me. I licked the side of her neck and caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror across the room.

Though I was darker-skinned, there was a paleness to me. My short, black hair and eyes stood out starkly. I was bared to the waist where I was clad in dark leather, nothing else. I was an attractive man.

I pressed my nose to my lover's neck and took in a deep breath. There was no scent of life like there was with humans. The scent of blood was light, soft. It hadn't pumped through her veins in a long time. I opened my mouth and sank my fangs into the soft flesh of her neck.

The sweet, metallic taste of blood ran over my tongue and filled my mouth...

I didn't realize I'd fallen asleep until Pierce flopped down on the edge of the single bed and I rolled toward him. I blinked up at him, my disturbing dream making it hard to focus. I tried to push it to the back of my mind and forget it for the time being.

The storm hit while I was asleep. The dark threatening clouds had finally released their fury upon the earth. Dinner was ready, but I wanted to go play in the freezing winter rain. It took me forty-five minutes to convince Pierce that he wanted to come with me.

We stepped out onto the porch and I closed the door. The rain fell in torrents. The dirt patch that made up most of the small front yard was flooded.

"Come on." I grabbed Pierce's hand and pulled as I stepped into the rain and mud and wind. He was reluctant to follow, offering every excuse he could think of.

"I'm not wearing a shirt."

"I didn't tell you to strip," I countered, though I didn't mind his shirtlessness. "The rain might be good for your aches and pains," I teased and he gave me that you're-so-full-of-it look.

"It's cold," he complained some more. "I might get pneumonia. You know how easily I catch a cold."

"Then we can take a hot shower after." I'd been with him long enough to know how to counter even his most ridiculous claims. He knew it too, and finally quit complaining, though the pout never wavered.

I resolved to wipe the pout from his face and pulled him close, pressing my lips against his hard enough for him to catch the hint. Immediately, he tensed, sensing my intentions, and kissed me quickly, trying to make the contact between us as brief as possible. It was like a wall went up between his body and his emotions, cutting them off completely. I understood why he did it. Per his insistence, we were waiting for marriage to have sex. In the five years we'd been together he hadn't told me exactly why, but I knew it was important to him.

Not being a virgin himself there were certain acts that made it more difficult for him to refrain. Kissing was one of those acts, and the last thing I wanted was to make it harder on him than it needed to be.

I understood but that didn't make it any easier. I'd tried, on multiple occasions, to make him understand how rejected I felt when he shut himself off from me. I didn't know if he understood or not. He was a man of few words.

Still, I needed things to make this work too. Kissing was one of them.

"Please," I whispered desperately against his lips. "Please, kiss me."

He did. His lips were soft against mine. He smelled of man and rain and warmth and, as always, that soft, underlying scent of sawdust. I pressed my lips harder against his, his scent turning me on more than anything, and that little jolt of electricity that usually accompanied his touch ran through me like adrenaline. It wrapped me in its energy as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. I felt his hands on my hips. They were still, but there was tension in them. He was holding back.

I knew I wasn't being fair when I slipped my hands over his back and lightly scratched his skin. I knew I was making things harder on him than was prudent, but at the moment it wasn't something I cared about.

The wall that he put up between his body and his emotions was stronger than that, though. He'd had more practice than I in matters like this, and it showed whenever he thought he might lose control. I felt nothing from him as we kissed in the downpour, except for his lips, his tongue, his hands still resting on my hips, but not as gently as they had first been. That should have been enough.

Nothing kills the mood better than an uninvited audience. It wouldn't have bothered me if it was one of the neighbors or even Gable. They'd all seen us kiss before. But I felt the eyes on me from every direction, watching and intent. It was like they were trying to make me uncomfortable, and they were succeeding. I tried to ignore it, hoping it would go away, but the more I ignored it the stronger the presence became until I thought I was going to scream.

I pulled away from Pierce and he frowned at me.

"Let's go inside," I said, panting. "Someone's watching."

Pierce looked around, the frown still creasing his forehead. "I don't see anyone." His voice was husky, and I suddenly realized that he was on the verge of giving in, of putting down those cursed walls of his and kissing me the way I wanted.

Dammit!

"Trust me," I told him, and tugged him toward the house. He came willingly, but the frown never left his face. I dragged him through the door and closed it before I finally let go of his hand. My clothes dripped a trail across the floor as I stalked back to the room. I began to shiver before I even hit the bedroom door.

"Get your clothes off," Pierce commanded in his deep, concerned voice. "I'll start the shower."

### CHAPTER TWO

I rubbed my cheek against the red satin night gown and listened to my lover's heartbeat. She could make it beat for me. Though I loved her and she me, I could kill her without a thought.

I took a deep breath and smelled several things. First was the ever present undercurrent of blood. No matter where I went or what I did, the smell of blood perfumed the air until it was almost unbearable.

The next scent I caught was the sweet, musky aroma of sex still lingering in the air and clinging to the sheets and our skin. I turned my nose into the fabric and breathed her scent until I knew I could drown in it. Faintly, underneath it all was the smell of the satin and the dye used to color it.

I felt her fingers tangle in my hair and pull until I was face to face with her. She tilted her chin up in a gesture I knew as her begging for a kiss and I acquiesced, pressing my lips to hers until I could taste her. Her lipstick was gone, had been for a while, so all I tasted was her lips and what still lingered of me on her tongue.

She pulled away slowly a moment later and pushed me off of her so she could sit up.

" _What is it?" I asked, and the voice was deep and sensual, accented with that strange accent._

She shook her head. "We've been summoned," she told me.

" _What is it about?"_

Again, she shook her head. "I wasn't told. Just that we're needed."

" _When?" It was a simple question, but it carried an accusation that she picked up on. She turned to me sheepishly, with a look of apology. Instantly, I was angry._

" _Perdita!" I leapt from the bed and landed on my feet. Anger rolled off of me like a thunder storm, and the porcelain-skinned woman cowered under my glare. I rattled off curses in Latin before I began to yell again. "Why do you do this? Why do you always insist on doing this? Do you not believe in our cause?"_

" _Not whole-heartedly, no."_

I was stunned speechless. "No?"

" _No, I honestly am not wholly in it, Lucretious. I'm sorry, but I believe our time could be better spent elsewhere."_

" _So?"_

My perspective changed suddenly and I was me again, LeKrista, watching her from his eyes.

" _So, I am in this as far as you are. You know that. Just don't hold it against me when I don't find these things as important as you do."_

Lucretious closed his eyes against his fiery anger and took a deep breath. "When do they want to meet?"

" _Tomorrow night."_

Lucretious rolled his neck and it popped several times. Perdita kept her eyes on her fidgeting hands in her satin covered lap. The red sheets made the paleness of her skin shine and I felt Lucretious' anger melt away as his lust overtook him.

" _You know you will have to be punished for this," he told her, but his voice was so sensual that she looked up and I saw matching lust in her eyes._

" _What do you have in mind?"_

Lucretious crawled up onto the bed on all fours and Perdita mirrored him. They crawled toward each other like two cats in heat. Lucretious made the first move, and it was so lightning fast that I wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't been seeing through his eyes. He grabbed Perdita by her long hair and threw her to the mattress on her back. Then he spun her around and pulled her underneath him in less than a second, trapping her body with his.

" _I want to taste your heartbeat," he whispered, against the flesh of her cleavage. I could feel the woman's alarm, but she did as was requested of her. Was this her punishment? Possible death?_

The sound of cloth ripping filled the air, and I looked through Lucretious' eyes to see that he'd ripped her satin gown all the way down the front with no effort at all. And she was naked. I looked down at her because I had no choice. Her skin was flawless white, more pale than she should have been. Her breasts were well formed and perky and I had a moment of jealousy wishing mine were perfect like hers. Even set against her white, white skin her nipples were too pale to be healthy.

Without preamble, no explanation, no assurances to her safety, Lucretious bit into the flesh around the right nipple. Perdita gasped. Maybe it hurt, but not by much that I could tell. She arched her back, pressing her breast into his face, and he latched on with his lips, sucking at her nipple and the puncture marks he'd made. Perdita moaned so loud she was almost yelling. The taste of blood filled my mouth as with before and I liked it. I knew I wasn't in my own body. I knew I wasn't really drinking this woman's blood, but the idea that I could ever like the taste of blood was almost too much.

Without removing his lips from Perdita's breast, Lucretious removed his pants and rose up over her body, positioning himself. When he entered her, it was with such force that I was sure he'd broken her, but if Perdita was hurt I couldn't tell. She cried out, but not in pain. I tried not to watch or feel. I tried not to hear, but I was experiencing through someone else's body and there was nothing I could do to shut off the sensations. I felt my own arousal rise up, and it wasn't long before I was teetering on the edge of pleasure. Lucretious growled in frustration as he pumped his hips faster and faster, trying to achieve the climax that my parasitical mind had brought on too early. But, when Perdita screamed as she came, Lucretious stopped fighting and we both flew over the edge together into a place I never knew I could go.

My eyes flew open as I came and I looked up into Pierce's amused eyes. Had I been talking in my sleep?

Oh, god, I hope not!

My hand went over my mouth automatically, partly from embarrassment and mostly to keep from moaning out loud. My body shuddered as the waves of pleasure crashed over me. I felt Pierce's hand slip into the waistband of my jeans. I clenched my teeth together to keep from making noise and let him touch me until I couldn't keep from giggling because it tickled a little bit.

Pierce kissed me hard on the lips, before he asked, "Good dream?"

I laughed, because it was a little funny.

It took a moment for me to recover enough to sit up as Pierce set a plate of steak and potato chips in front of me. I cut a piece off the corner and stuck it in my mouth. It was good, salty as usual, but tender and I realized I was starving.

Did I skip lunch, too? Probably.

"You gave Petrice some?" I asked as he flipped through the channels. It seemed we did more channel flipping than actual TV watching. Like a true man, he never let me have the remote. I didn't understand the allure of channel surfing. He left it on a channel long enough to get me into a show, then changed it when they were about to explain something important. Not cool.

I ignored the TV, mostly because it would only make me irritated and grumpy, and concentrated on eating. I saved the nasty chips for last, chewing and swallowing the steak and trying not to remember that dream or the taste of blood in my mouth. I put my plate down and stood up to stretch, hoping to get the blood flowing, hoping to come out of the post-orgasm stupor enough that I didn't choke on my food. I never had dreams like that, and while I wasn't freaked out, I was confused. Why was I dreaming about vampires and sex?

"What's wrong?" Pierce asked. "Something wrong with the meat?"

I shook my head. "Nope," I answered. "Just out of it." He handed me his beer. "That's not going to help."

Pierce shrugged and took it back, took a large gulp, and set it back on the floor. We watched TV the rest of the evening. I napped off and on and he flipped channels until it was time for me to leave if I wanted to make it home by curfew. Suddenly, I hated my life all over again.

"Baby, I have to go," I said.

"I know."

Fortunately, it wasn't raining anymore so Pierce and I stood shivering against my car for a moment as he held me.

"Can I get a goodbye kiss?" I asked, expecting his normal chicken peck goodbye. He surprised me by tipping my head up with his finger under my chin and slowly closing the space between our lips. He gazed lovingly into my eyes before he sealed with a kiss the unspoken promise that I would be okay. His lips were warm, even in the cold of early January, and they sent shafts of desire through my body, an emotion that couldn't yet be realized. He kissed me with a fervor that I hadn't felt in a long time. It was nothing like the kiss in my dream. Where that kiss had been mostly lust, what I got from Pierce was how much he loved me.

My heart raced and I could no longer tell that I was cold. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer until his weight had me pinned against the car.

If this keeps up, I won't make it home on time.

I laughed softly, and Pierce mistook it for being turned on. I didn't care. He had one hand cupping the side of my face and the other pressed against the car window.

My skin began to crawl and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

No! Not now!

The intensity of those ghostly eyes overtook me within seconds, stronger and heavier than they had ever been. I'd been mistaken before. I didn't pass out. I wanted to, but I couldn't. Whoever it was, they were inside my head and they wouldn't let me. I gasped in pain, grasping my head in both my hands and effectively breaking the kiss.

"LeKrista?"

I sank to the ground and Pierce followed me, his hands on my head, his voice in my ears, trying to calm me. But I couldn't be calmed, because suddenly there were gruesome images flashing in front of my eyes and I guess I finally did pass out.

A man smiled down at me, and as his lips parted I saw the sharp fangs of a vampire, slightly curved inward. Deadly. He came toward me, and as he did, his mouth opened wider until I could see his throat. I felt his lips close over my neck and his fangs, warm and smooth against my flesh just before they bit into my skin, puncturing the artery. My blood flowed as his lips pulled it from my body.

I panicked, suddenly coming awake, the taste of that blood on the back of my tongue once again.

"No!" I shrieked. "Get it off me!"

And just like that, the images and sensations were all gone, but my mind and body as one couldn't handle it. I felt my body go slack and Pierce's arms were there to catch me.

When I came to, I'd thrown up. His jacket and jeans were covered and my mouth tasted like gross. I sat up, leaned over and threw up once more.

"Get her some water." Pierce's deep voice washed over me and I suddenly realized how cold I was. I spat on the ground, trying to rid my mouth of the gross. I almost threw up again. Perhaps my willpower is that strong, or maybe my stomach was finally empty. Either way, nothing came up when I gagged. Finally, there was a glass in my hand. I tipped it up, filled my mouth, swished, and spit it out. I rinsed and repeated until the glass was empty, then handed it back to Pierce.

That was when I realized how many people were around - Petrice, Gable, and the neighbors on the right - and that there were tears on my face. I didn't bother with the tears. My hand went straight to my neck feeling for blood and puncture marks. No marks, and my hand came away clean. I still wasn't convinced.

"Is she okay?" Petrice asked in a shaky voice.

"What happened?" The neighbor man demanded to know.

"Oh, my god," I whispered. "Oh, my god." It was all I could think to say as the panic set in once again.

"Staci, are you okay?" I looked up into Pierce's eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Someone's watching me, Pierce. Someone's following me. I can feel their eyes on me all the time. They're coming for me, Pierce!" I was talking way too fast and my voice kept rising. Pierce grabbed my face and made me look him in the eye.

"Calm down, Staci. Take a breath and calm down."

I breathed in and out and looked into his comforting amber eyes until I felt my heart settle. This was my Pierce, the embodiment of peace and calm. He'd always had that effect on me. My heart rate returned to normal.

"You're okay," Pierce said. "Come on." He pulled me to my feet and helped me brush the mud from my jeans. "I'll drive you home."

"What about my car?" I asked.

"Gable can follow us."

I nodded. "I threw up on you."

"A couple times. Are you okay?" He bent a little to look into my eyes.

I nodded, mentally ticking off a check list to make sure there was nothing wrong with me. I came up with nothing, except that I was being stalked by a vampire.

That's ridiculous. Isn't it?

I felt myself beginning to panic once more, and closed my eyes against it, taking deep breaths to tamp it back down. I squeezed Pierce's hand until his calm washed over me. I felt dirty, like I'd done something wrong.

"Staci?"

"I just want to get home," I assured Pierce. "I'm sorry I threw up on you."

That sexy smile finally made a comeback, even if it was only a few watts. "Any time, love."

I smiled back, but I knew it was lackluster. Pierce brushed a tear from my cheek and kissed the top of my head.

"Bet you won't kiss my mouth," I joked. I got a stern look, then a firm kiss on the lips. Dang it, if I didn't love this man! I waited for Pierce to change clothes, and we climbed into his rattling Suburban. We rode half the way in silence and I stared out the window, trying to keep my mind off of those dangerous fangs.

"How long has this been going on?" Pierce finally asked when we were about ten minutes from my home.

"I don't know," I answered softly. "A couple months I guess."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

I looked at Pierce and he didn't look hurt. Confused maybe. "I don't know."

"Do we need to call the police?"

I laughed. "And say what? 'Excuse me officer, but I think someone is following me. No, I haven't seen anyone, but I can feel their eyes watching me.' Are you kidding? They'd give me a one way trip to the crazy house. No, thank you. I may be a lot of things, but mentally disturbed isn't one of them."

"Are you okay now?" His voice rang with concern. I reached out and grabbed his hand, fully aware that I was once again gripping it a little harder than necessary.

"I will be."

I was relieved when we pulled up to my home. Gable parked my car beside the house and handed me the keys as we switched places. Pierce gave me one more kiss before I climbed out of the truck and he waited until I was inside before he left. All I could think about was getting a shower. I felt filthy, sleazy, and violated and just wanted to get clean. I chose not to tell my aunt and uncle I was home. I went straight to my room and locked the doors. Avoiding the mirror, I let the water run in the shower. I stripped out of my muddy, wet clothes and turned to the mirror with my eyes closed.

One, two, do it now or you never will.

I popped my eyes open and tilted my head to the side to get a good look at my neck. I half expected there to be fang marks marring the flesh, but there was nothing but smooth, tan skin and the faint blue outline of the vein that had been violated in my...

What was I supposed to call what had happened? A vision? God, I hoped not. A flashback? No, because it had never actually happened, and I knew it wasn't a dream. Somehow, I knew that. I decided to stick with panic attack, because it was the only thing that sounded remotely close.

I let my hair down and stepped into the steaming shower. I didn't even care that the water was too hot. So I would come out the color of a tanned tomato. At least I would feel clean.

My phone rang thirty minutes later. I dried my hand and my face and stuck my head out of shower to answer. "Hello?"

"Hey, Stace," Pierce replied and his voice sent shivers of calm through me.

"You made it home?" I asked, even though I knew the answer.

There was an edge of worry in his voice when he said, "Yeah, I'm home. You doing alright?"

I smiled so he would hear it in my voice and answered, "Yeah. I'm in the shower. I'll call you back when I'm done."

"Alright." He didn't mention the extra shower. "I'm going to get another shower too. If I don't answer, I'll call you back."

I'd developed a migraine in the shower now that the adrenaline had worn off, and my throat was sore and raw. No wonder everyone had come running.

It took a while to get dressed. I was sleepy and lethargic, but I still needed to call Pierce back. I was laying in the bed when I finally called him. I had the lights out and my dog Bermides sleeping next to me. He had too much fur and got too hot to sleep in the bed, but I didn't want to be alone.

"Feel better?" Pierce asked when he answered the phone.

"No," I answered honestly. "Not really."

"What happened, love? You said 'get it off me'."

"Please. Can we talk about it in the morning? In the daylight?"

"Of course, Staci. I won't keep you up. Get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

We hung up and I curled up and went to sleep, hugging my dog for comfort.

The eyes glowed red, bright enough to light the room, and the fangs were at least three inches long. His face was twisted and distorted with anger and hunger, and it was coming dangerously close to my own. The smile plastered across his face held no humor, only hatred.

And he was calling my name.

" _LeKrista."_

I shook my head and tried to run, but my body just wouldn't obey.

" _LeKrista, come to me."_

I couldn't find my voice to deny him, but it wouldn't have done any good. He was on top of me, his mouth already at my throat. He kissed along my throat to my neck, to the vein he'd already claimed as his own. I whimpered because I couldn't beg. His breath was hot on my neck. He caressed my skin with his porcelain white fangs before he plunged them into my neck.

But he didn't plunge them. He took his time. I felt the fangs penetrate the vein and keep going. I thought they would never stop digging through my neck until he'd skewered me completely.

I felt the pull of his lips, felt my blood drain and my head spin. At some point, I lost consciousness. All the better. If I was going to die I didn't want to be awake for it. But I didn't die. When I woke up the next morning, after having my blood drained, I wasn't dead. I was one of them.

I came awake with a start. My heart beat a staccato rhythm against my rib cage and my head felt like it would split open. I pressed my hands to both sides of my neck. I was whole, no punctures, but I was terrified.

I reached down to turn on the bedside lamp and looked around frantically, squinting against the pain that the light caused. The room was empty except for me and Bermides, but there was no way I was going to get to sleep now without pain killers, so I got up gingerly and went to the kitchen using walls and doorknobs to help steady myself.

I turned the lights on as I went, popped three Tylenol, and swallowed them with a glass of water.

"Hey, Kris." My little brother Dante walked in.

I hated that name but my family had no regard for my feelings and insisted it was a fine nickname. I had no desire to be referred to by a boy's name.

"Hey." His not-quite-six-foot-three frame towered over me when he gave me his characteristic sideways hug, not quite touching me with anything but his hand and his side, like he was afraid to catch something.

"Headache?" he asked; it was his way of sympathizing.

I nodded and wished I hadn't. My brain felt like it was rattling around in my skull. I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes and rested my elbows on the counter until the throbbing felt less like my brain would explode.

"You alright?" Dante asked. I wasn't sure if he was uncertain of what to do or ready to run for the phone in case I needed an ambulance.

"No," I answered. "I'll be fine." I picked my head up and offered something that was supposed to be a smile, but his concerned frown proved that I hadn't quite made it.

I waved a dismissive hand at him and crossed to my favorite spot at the breakfast table. Then I realized the blinds were open. The extra effort of standing actually made my head begin to throb again, but I closed the blinds anyway, explaining to my brother, "I had a panic attack today. Don't know why. Don't think I've ever actually had one before, either. It had a bad effect on my brain." I purposefully left out the crazy vision thing. He would be way too interested in that for his own good. I finally took a seat and lowered my head back into my hands.

"You want me to rub your shoulders?" he asked.

"Sure," I agreed. The massage felt good, but it only seemed to aggravate an already painful situation, and I had to make him stop. "Thanks for trying. I'm just going to try to go back to bed," but that was honestly the last thing I wanted. I went back to my room anyway, but I left the lamp on, lying down in the bed next to my dog and curling up on my side.

"What's wrong with me, pup?" I stroked my dog's head, combing his long, fluffy fur away from his eyes so I could see them. He rolled over onto his back so I could scratch his belly, and I appeased him. Slowly, so slowly that I didn't even notice it was happening, I began to drift into sleep.

I was looking at myself in an ornate, gothic style mirror. The black framing made the paleness of my skin stand out.

Lucretious. That one name brought with it the realization that I wasn't looking at myself. I was looking at him through his eyes, and as soon as I realized it, I knew he could feel me there inside his head. He didn't say anything, he seemed to already know I was there, but he leaned into the mirror and growled. A tingle ran up my arms and spine to the base of my neck. I shuddered. My head ticked to the side and he was gone.

I woke up a little while later to Bermides pawing and whining at the bedroom door.

"Stop," I said sternly and rubbed my neck. He stopped long enough to come around to the side of the bed and put his furry little front feet up there to lick my arm. "Quit." I bumped him in the nose just hard enough to make him get down. The stupid mutt went back to pawing at the door until I had no choice but to get up. My headache had subsided some and I looked at my cell phone. Only twelve thirty.

Damn.

I let him out and followed him to the door of the back porch.

"Shh! People are asleep!" I told him, but he wouldn't listen. I opened the door quickly, so he wouldn't wake anyone, and he ran onto the patio. The bark that he let out was loud and I jumped and smacked him on the backside before I could stop myself. "Shut up!"

I hooked the leash on him as fast as I could and opened the door. I realized I'd forgotten to get some shoes when the cold wet of the porch floor froze the bottoms of my feet.

I groaned to myself as I stepped into the cold wet grass. Mud seeped through my toes, blades of grass and dirt and other things stuck to my feet and I shivered.

"Hurry up!" I growled at the dog, and walked him a little farther into the yard as he tugged on his leash, pulling me toward the far side of the yard where the grass stopped and the woods started. No way was I going in there, but he kept pulling, kept barking, until I suddenly realized that he didn't have to go to the bathroom at all. There was something out there that he'd sensed from the bedroom. Fear gripped me from the inside out, and I tugged on his leash.

"Get over here," I tried to yell in a whisper. "Bermy, Come here!" He wasn't a big dog. He only weighed about fifty pounds, so I had little trouble pulling him back so to lock the leash in place before turning back to the house.

But I didn't get far. There was a tall, solid body blocking my path. I couldn't see much as the light was behind it, but I knew it was a man, and I knew he was smiling at me. What frightened me the most was not how I suddenly felt those eyes again, but that I wasn't afraid. It didn't seem right to not be afraid, and _that_ scared me.

"Hello, LeKrista." I knew that accent, but the voice was different. He pronounced the Kr deep in his throat so it sounded very French. My name curled around his tongue, rolling off like liquid, and I realized why I couldn't place the accent. It encompassed every voice, every language, every people group across the years. The accent that began it all. The voice from the beginning of time. His was what we all would sound like had we not been corrupted to build the Tower of Babel.

"Hello. Who are you?" My throat was dry, my feet were cold and dirty, and my brain had stopped working all together. I was supposed to be afraid, but I couldn't quite remember why.

"You may call me Roman." A finger stroked my right cheek, and warmth flooded my body, all the way down to my frozen toes. For a moment I was afraid the false sensation would cause me to lose my toes to frostbite, but then Roman was talking again and I wanted to hear him.

"I wanted to apologize," he told me, but that was as far as he went, so I pried.

"For what?"

Yuck! I sound so ugly compared to him!

"Earlier this evening. I fear my friend has become a little overzealous and his emotional state caused you to latch on to his thoughts. It hasn't happened in a very long time."

His voice trailed off, but I probably wouldn't have been able to hear anything he said after that anyway. The pounding in my head had returned and unwanted images flashed across my vision - a woman on her knees, hands pressed to bloody ears, screaming against a pain that wouldn't stop. Something popped inside my head. White light exploded in my vision and I was falling. My body tilted and I didn't have the strength to stop it.

Cool, strong arms wrapped around me as my legs crumpled. Roman held me against his chest for a long moment as I waited for my strength to return and my vision to clear.

"Quiet, dog!" Roman's voice sounded much harsher than I thought it should have, but I attributed it to the headache making my ears sensitive. "I am so sorry, my sweet." His accent was suddenly very, very thick with pain and regret. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes," I answered weakly. "What happened?"

Roman shook his head. "I will explain when you are better. For now you need to rest." Those cool fingers stroked my cheek again and the warmth returned, my head cleared, and I was very, very sleepy. Roman turned and carried me to the house. His gait was smooth and fluid. Like everything else about him, it was perfect and precise as if he'd practiced a very long time.

"No, I don't want to sleep," I protested, suddenly panicked, but Roman brushed his fingers against my cheek one last time and my body relaxed into exhaustion.

"You will not dream, my sweet. I promise you this."

When Roman set me back down on my feet, I melted down to the porch floor. My pajama pants soaked up the cold wet from the drenched wood.

"LeKrista, you must go inside now," his voice was deeper than I remembered and strong. His accent had kicked up a notch and I found it hard to focus on anything else. "And take your dog." He spat the word _dog_ like an insult.

"But, that's what he is." I couldn't really understand his distaste. "He treats everyone like that."

I heard a low rumble and looked up as Roman reached down for me. He was laughing at me. He lifted me to my feet and held me there by my upper arms, his grip firm but gentle. "Miss LeKrista, what is your surname?"

"Scott," I answered. "What's yours?"

He laughed again. "Miss Scott, stand up."

I felt something zing through me like a jolt of electricity. I think I actually heard it buzz as it passed through me. It entered through my stomach and hit my spine hard. I jerked and it tried to stretch up my backbone. I felt myself straighten some and I had strength in my legs again, but something just didn't feel right. Roman was frowning at me. Or was he scowling?

It felt like someone was trying to stretch a steel rod through my spine, but instead of steel, they'd gotten the order wrong and made it of rubber instead.

"Go inside with your dog and go to sleep." Again, that _zing_ shot through me, and I had the feeling that, whatever Roman was trying to do to me it wasn't working correctly.

"I promise," Roman said one last time, "you will not dream." He brushed the tips of his fingers down the side of my cheek once more, and this time I did not feel heat spread through my body. Instead, his previously cool fingers were now warm against my chilled skin. I blinked, my eyelids refusing to come back up, and I half smiled.

"I'd better get inside," I said, feeling exhaustion spread through my limbs. Whatever had given me the strength to stand was wearing off quickly. "My toes are numb." No, they really weren't, but Roman didn't need to know that. He grinned at me, leaned in, and kissed my forehead.

I have a boyfriend. Awkward...

"Yes. Sleep well, my sweet."

"You too," I mumbled before I stumbled into the house, silent dog in tow. I didn't remember anything after that.

I dreamed all night, but instead of the nightmares I'd expected, the dreams were comical, like the kind you wake up from and think, "I can't believe I dreamed something so incredibly stupid! What did I eat before I went to bed?"

The glowing, red eyes still haunted my dreams, but instead of the terrible, starving face they were attached to before, The Count had stepped off of Sesame Street to take a staring role. I was surprised there was even a dream to remember, what with all the counting and the repeating and the "ah ah ah!" I woke up in hysterics, laughing so hard there were tears streaming down my cheeks that I didn't want to try to explain to anyone.

But the headache was gone, and so was most of the nightmare of the day before. When I woke up laughing, Pierce's ringtone singing in my ear, I couldn't remember why I was dreaming of glowy-eyed vampires. Or why, for that matter, my feet were dirty and the foot of my bed was caked in mud.

"Hello?" I laughed into the phone.

"What's so funny?" Pierce wanted to know, and I recounted the dream in full detail until he was laughing too. "You're stupid. But I'm glad that's all it was, and nothing worse."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused by his sudden change of direction.

"After what happened last night I expected you to have a nightmare or two. Petrice is worried about you. Gable asked about you this morning too. So did the man next door."

I tried to think. I wracked my brain, convinced I'd forgotten something, but unable to connect to what it was. Something important had happened last night, but as for what it was... I was saved the trouble of figuring it out, and the embarrassment of asking. Pierce's next words brought it all back.

"It really freaked her out when you started screaming, 'get it off me.' She couldn't handle that. I thought she was going to drop the baby right there on the porch."

It all came back to me in a jumbled rush. My brain, in its frantic attempt to put things together confused the actual vision with the nightmare from earlier in the night. I saw glowing eyes in that hateful face, a hungry smile stretched across too long, too sharp fangs. I felt the place where the initial vision's bite began to sting and burn and I sucked in a gasp of air.

"Stace?" Pierce's voice was flat, and I knew he was angry with himself. "You'd forgotten hadn't you?" he asked. "You'd completely forgotten and I reminded you."

"It's okay," I lied. "It's better that I don't forget." I realized I believed that only after I'd already said it, but Pierce changed the subject.

"Petrice didn't want me to tell you. She doesn't want you to feel bad, especially after last night, but you missed her doctor's appointment."

"That's impossible," I told him. "Her appointment isn't until one thirty."

"I know."

I sat up in the bed. "Pierce, what time is it?"

"Almost two."

"Damn."

"Don't worry about it."

"Damn, damn!"

"LeKrista, listen. It's no big deal. She's already rescheduled for next week on a day she knows you're off. She understands. You needed your rest after what happened."

"But that's no excuse for me to sleep until two o'clock in the afternoon!" I exclaimed, appalled. Why had I slept so late?

"You were tired."

"But-"

"Baby, listen," he interrupted. "It's no big deal. I know you feel bad. I shouldn't have told you. But no one is worried about it. Everyone involved understands. Okay?"

"Okay," I agreed, but I tried to come up with a reason for my slothfulness.

" I'll see you soon, love. And don't worry about it," he told me again.

"I won't."

I'll just have to set an alarm next time.

I showered quickly. Amazingly, it was sunshiny outside. The sky was blue with no trace of clouds anywhere. I loved rainy days, but I loved beautiful winter days just as much. I threw on some clothes that I found on the floor. They weren't dirty enough to wash yet, but they weren't clean enough to put back in the drawer. Just right for today. I smelled what I hoped to be bacon, which was usually accompanied by eggs and French toast or pancakes.

I lucked out. Chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon. My aunt was busy making a special batch just for me at two fifteen in the afternoon.

"Well, look who's up," she smiled when I walked out of my room, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Good afternoon," I told her and took a seat as she set a plate in front of me.

"I cooked for everyone else, so it's only fair that I cook for you too."

"Thank you." I squirted syrup all over my pancakes, said a silent prayer, and dug in.

"We heard you up last night," she told me, her curious tone of voice rearing its ugly head. "Did you have to take Bermy out?"

I frowned. "I can't remember," I told her. "Did I?"

She smiled sweetly at me. "He must have woken you up. He was barking at something."

Barking...

Be quiet, dog.

An image flashed in my head. Beer, cardboard, and my feet were suddenly cold.

"It's not a big deal," she was telling me.

But it was a big deal, because once again, I couldn't remember anything and it was important.

Go inside now.

_Zing!_ And I remembered everything; Roman, the rubbery strength in my spine, my frozen toes, the dirt in my bed. I remembered what happened last night, and I didn't think I was supposed to.

### CHAPTER THREE

Dark clouds moved in across the sky around three o'clock. My aunt's house was perched on a hill overlooking a valley, so I sat on the front porch to watch the rain come in. I wrapped myself in a fleece blanket and tried not to shiver. It was really far too cold for this, but I loved the rain.

" _Hello, LeKrista."_

Roman's voice spoke into my mind. I jumped and the blanket slipped from my shoulders. I shivered in the sudden cold.

What the hell?

" _Come to me."_

An image of my backyard flashed before my eyes and the front yard disappeared. I blinked and it was there again.

What the hell is going on?

" _I am in your backyard, LeKrista,"_ Roman chuckled in my head. _"Come to me, please."_

I think it was the polite request that got me to walk around the house. Roman stood beneath the edge of the trees. The corner of his mouth was tilted up in a smirk and he balanced all his weight on one leg. A thin sweater stretched across his broad, muscled chest and when he saw me he crossed his arms.

"What the hell?" I asked. "How did you do that? What are you?" I stopped several feet from him.

"I fully intend to answer your questions." His voice rang with humor and I couldn't help but notice how sexy he was. That was the point wasn't it? He was showing off.

As if hearing my thoughts, Roman's face split into a grin. "Would you like to come somewhere with me?"

I blinked. "Don't you know what happens to women who get into cars with strange men?" I asked. I meant it to be funny, but I was completely serious.

Roman's eyes danced. "I assure you, I have no intentions of getting you in my car." I caught the double entendre and ignored it. "You have questions, and I have answers." Roman held out his hand to me. I covered the space between us and took it without thinking. He pulled me against him with no effort at all. His strong arms tightened around my waist and the world melted around me. I cried out and clutched at Roman's clothes for dear life. Slowly, I noticed that the world was not melting away.

" _We're flying,"_ Roman said into my mind. _"I won't let you fall."_

I tried to say something. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

" _How?"_ I tried, and heard Roman's answering chuckle.

" _So many questions, my sweet."_

My sweet?

The wind sped around and through me like I didn't exist at all. I wondered for a moment if we had dematerialized. If, somehow our atoms had been displaced and our bodies were just moving through the air as dust particles. Would our bits and pieces be left behind? Would I come out on the other side to find I'd lost an arm? I closed my eyes and let the wind pass through me and decided I liked the feeling.

Wouldn't it be funny if I was ten pounds lighter afterward?

We came to a jarring, abrupt halt after the exhilarating flight. I was out of breath and disappointed that the flight was over.

That's strange.

I smelled salt water a moment before waves crashed gently around my ankles. Night birds chirped and something tangy and sweet assailed my senses.

"God, what is that smell?" I gasped. It felt like my lungs had forgotten how to take in oxygen.

"Can you not breathe?"

I looked up into Roman's worried face and frowned. No, I couldn't. I meant to say it out loud, but the words caught in my throat as my vision passed Roman to the most beautiful display of diamond stars I'd ever seen.

I fell in slow motion and landed on my back in the sand. The world swam around me, the diamond stars wavered, flickered, and went out. I could only feel deep sadness at the loss.

I didn't know when my lungs decided to start working. I woke to Roman giving me mouth to mouth. Roman's fearful face leaned over me, haloed by a crown of those diamond stars.

I didn't dream them.

I pulled at the air greedily and sat up carefully to avoid a head rush.

"Are you certain you're alright?" Roman was worried. "Do I need to fetch a doctor?"

"No," but my voice was still breathless. "Are you a witch?"

He snorted. "Hardly."

"Did we dematerialize?"

"No." There was a frown in his voice. Or maybe it was confusion.

"The wind didn't pass through us?"

"Is that what it felt like to you?"

I nodded. "Yes."

He was quiet for a moment, thoughtful, before he answered. "I've never heard of that before, but I suppose it is different for everyone. Perhaps that is why you lost your breath. Perhaps that is why you felt..."

"How did I feel?" I asked and wished I could take it back. I felt his amusement in my head, but he otherwise ignored the awkward moment.

"Would you like to stay here by the ocean, or would you rather go up to the bungalow for some tea?"

I glanced up at the silvery moon that hung low over the water, its reflection a glowing twin orb disturbed only by the breaking waves that crashed on the beach at my feet. I turned to find torches burning a path to the door of a thatch-roofed bungalow where flickering candlelight could be seen through the windows.

Roman smiled mischievously, pleased with himself.

"We can go to the bungalow." I tried to keep the excitement out of my voice.

Roman stood in one smooth motion and swept me up into his arms.

"Um...okay." I didn't protest because I was still having trouble catching my breath. He carried me quickly across the sand and over the threshold into the bungalow. There was a bed in the far corner, overlaid with a gauzy material that I assumed to be a mosquito net. The bedspread was a deep blood red that shimmered faintly. Gold strands twined through the fabric and shone in the candlelight. Pillows covered the top half of the bed in matching red, black, and gold. Above the bed, golden gauze waved over a window.

The floor was made of smooth slats of wood. On the other side was a sitting area; two richly upholstered armchairs that matched the red, black, and gold decor, and a love seat. These all faced the bed, arranged around a coffee table that held a steaming tea kettle. There was no source of heat with which to make the tea.

"Would you care to have a seat?" Roman motioned me to the sofa and took his own place across from me in one of the arm chairs.

"This is nice." I don't think there could have been a bigger understatement. The bungalow reeked of seduction and comfort.

"You have questions, Miss Scott," Roman began as he settled into his chair. "Please, do not allow me to dominate the conversation."

What a gentleman.

"You can fly."

"Yes."

"What are you?"

"I think," he tapped his full bottom lip with his finger, drawing my attention there.

Oh, he's good at this game.

"I think that may be best left for another time.

I poured myself some tea. "You want some?"

"No, thank you."

The kettle was light, even though it was full of tea. I poured my little teacup as full as I dared, and dumped sugar into the steaming liquid. When I looked up, Roman's eyes danced with amusement.

"I'm not a fan of tea," I told him. "I use a lot of sugar."

"I see that," he nodded. "I will have to keep that in mind. Just out of curiosity, of what are you a fan?"

"Hot chocolate." I blew on the liquid. "And big artistic mugs." I sipped at the tea, proud of my ability to keep a straight face. "The other day at the store. You caught my beer."

Roman nodded. "I have a slight gift of foresight. It's not very strong, but I saw the box breaking. You cried. I did not want you to cry."

"You saw me crying, and this bothered you." He nodded. "Why?"

It took him a moment to answer, as if he wanted to get the words exactly right before he gave me his answer. "It hurts me to see women cry. Physically." He touched a place over his heart and a pained look furrowed his brow.

"Who is Lucretious?" I was hoping to change the subject and wipe the pain off his face, but he went still and turned cold eyes to me.

"How do you know this name?"

I shrugged. "Is that important?"

"Incredibly. Have you spoken to him?"

"Not, really, no. I saw him with a woman. Her name was Perdita."

"What did you see?" Roman's voice was calm, but tense.

"Not much."

"It's important!" he almost shouted. "What did you see?"

I told him about the two visions, leaving out the intimate details. "She told him they were summoned to some meeting tonight." I shrugged again.

Roman nodded. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and I turned to look out the window. A faint cloud was outlined by the reflection of the silvery moon. Nothing too menacing until lightning lit the horizon.

"I should get you home," Roman said. "Your family will wonder where you are."

I couldn't hide my disappointment. The only thing missing was my Pierce and this would be a perfect moment.

"You like the rain."

"Yes," I answered.

"I watched you. In the rain with your," he paused, "boyfriend."

That seemed to bother him. "Yeah. You ruined that."

"Sorry." He didn't sound sorry at all.

"So, you are the one whose eyes I feel. Stop stalking me."

Roman grinned. "Too late."

There was no remorse in his voice, only fierce satisfaction. It should have scared me.

"Come. We must go." Roman stood and I followed suit. He led me back down to the water where clouds loomed near.

"Can we wait a moment?" I asked. "I like the rain."

"LeKrista..." I was afraid he was going to tell me we had to leave. Instead, his fingers brushed mine and I looked at him. Something stirred inside me. A dark place woke and nudged at my soul, asking to be let in. It had always been there, but never this strong.

I felt the first drops of rain on my face and felt the dark place recede.

"Come." Roman wrapped his arms around me. "Let's get you home."

The rain came down as we melted into nothingness.

I was fully aware that I was seeing through Lucretious eyes this time, and that I was asleep in my bed at home. Our minds were separate, but I knew what he was thinking and feeling. He wanted me here. Perdita was there next to him. She looked bored as hell and a little pissed off.

The room was a stone cavern, dimly lit by torches placed around the room. It wasn't very impressive on a decorative scale. Lucretious placed his hands on a large stone table and brought my attention to the others in the room. There were thirteen of them, including Lucretious and Perdita.

" _Why was I not alerted to this meeting?"_

I recognized Roman's voice immediately and I felt Lucretious' alarm.

" _We had a few things to discuss with Lucretious," a man at the head of the table said._

" _What are you doing?" Roman asked and it took a moment for me to realize he was speaking to his mind._

" _I don't know what you're talking about, Creator."_

" _You know very well what I am talking about," Roman insisted. Out loud he said, "I see. Well, I will sit in on the discussion."_

Lucretious' anger grew until it leached into my mind and filled me with a rage I'd never known before. The dark place from earlier in the night rose up to choke the life from my body.

I woke shouting and my chest heaved as I forced air in and out of my lungs. The darkness consumed me and my vision clouded and went dark. I fell from my bed and stumbled across the floor to the bathroom from memory. It took several tries to get the shower going and I fell into the tub without undressing. The hot water hit me and the darkness flailed and snapped. It squirmed in my stomach like a dying snake and slowly receded. I stayed there a long time. When the sun began to peak through the window, I turned off the water and wrapped myself in a towel. On autopilot, I dialed Pierce's number.

"Hey," I said when he answered. "I'm headed your way."

I pushed curfew and left Pierce late that night. He walked me to the front door, but didn't step outside because he was in his socks.

"Let me know when you make it home."

I smiled. "I will." I put my arms around him and gave him a quick goodbye kiss. When our lips touched, a current passed between us and shocked me. Something flashed behind my eyelids and was gone. I jumped and pulled away.

"Yeah, I felt it too." Pierce kissed me on my forehead and sent me on my way.

I made it halfway home before I was stopped by a horrific accident that spanned the lanes on both sides of the road.

A red BMW made it to the middle of the intersection before it was plowed by a truck coming from the opposite direction. The truck forced the car across the road into the oncoming traffic.

A cop knocked on my window and I jumped.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"I think I should be asking you that." I tried to smile.

"Heh. I guess so. Bad accident here. You're going to have to turn around. You can cross the median here."

The only other way to get home was to go all the way back around to the other side of town. I thanked the officer and shot Pierce a quick text to let him know what was going on. My new route took me through downtown Greenville and up Wade Hampton Boulevard to 276. From there I got on Sandy Flat road. It's dark and backwoods and creeps me out at night.

As I passed the quarry my car slowed to a complete stop, bringing home all of my nighttime fears. There was a little lake that, by daylight shown emerald green, but by night was as black as pitch. Several years ago, a man shot himself and died in that lake. I'm not one to believe in ghosts, but it made the whole eerie situation that much more creepy. I looked down at the gas needle. It was on empty.

"What the crap," I murmured to myself. "There's no way. I just filled it up. Unless..." I wouldn't allow myself to voice my fear of a cut gas line because my only option was to hike back to the gas station a few yards back in complete darkness.

I unbuckled myself and looked up. Where there had been nothing but an empty street a moment ago a man now stood, illuminated by the car lights. He wore nothing but a pair of black jeans and his sculpted chest glowed white in the brilliance of the lights. There was a sneer on his face, a cross between hatred and triumph, and I knew him immediately.

Lucretious.

His mind opened to me and my blood rolled in my veins. I wanted to go to him and I started to roll down the window.

" _LeKrista, no!"_ Roman shouted in my head, but it was too late. I'd already given Lucretious the leverage he needed. He was at my car faster than should have been possible and yanked the glass from the window with a strength I had never seen before.

Lucretious gripped my throat like a vice and I struggled to breathe. I thought I would choke to death but he pulled away from me with such force that I thought my throat had been torn out. I screamed, raised a hand to my throat to find too much blood. When I could breathe again, I looked up to find Roman and the half naked Lucretious fighting in the street.

I couldn't see any of the blows, but I saw the results. Lucretious flew into the icy water of the quarry with a splash. A moment later he was back in the street to deliver several blows of his own until he finally sent Roman flying into the woods on the other side of the road. I heard trees snap and a loud thud as Roman hit the ground, and Lucretious was at my window again. He sneered at me, said something in a language I didn't understand, and then my car and I were in the air.

This is it. I'm going to die.

Roman rushed back like a blur and stopped several feet from Lucretious. Roman said something pleadingly to him in another language, something that was meant to calm, but only made Lucretious more angry. Lucretious said something back, and then my car was tumbling. It landed on the top, crushed the car, and pressed me into my seat. I just knew my neck was broken. I rolled down the hill, hit my head several times on the roof, and landed in the icy water. Vaguely, I could feel someone in my head watching. My last thought before I passed out was, _"Don't worry, StaciDoll. I'm coming for you."_

I woke up in the hospital. Voices whispered softly so as not to disturb me. My first instinct was to make sure I had movement in all of my limbs. I tested my toes and found that they wiggled. I moved my legs and gasped. It hurt, but not much different from the hurt of an overused muscle. I was sure I had bruises and scrapes, but no broken bones there.

"You're awake," my aunt said. "You don't have any broken bones, thank God." She turned away and came back with a mirror, and I knew it wasn't pretty. "We can wait to do this if you want. I just thought... I thought you'd want to see."

I reached for the mirror and whimpered as I snatched it from her and held it up to my face. I didn't give myself a chance to back down. It took a moment for the image to make sense. There were white bandages around my neck covering the finger gouges. I worked my way up, noting a split on my chin where I must have hit it on the steering wheel. The right side of my face was purple and my eye swollen, but not shut completely. My hair was bloody from a gash across my forehead that was butterflied shut. I was hideous, but not disfigured. I let out a sigh of relief and settled back against the pillows.

"Staci?" Pierce's soft voice brought a faint smile to my lips, but it hurt too much to smile. His beautiful eyes shone with worry.

"You're here."

"Of course I'm here, love. Nothing could keep me away. You know that."

"I love you."

"I love you too, baby." Pierce rested his head on the bed for a moment. When he looked back up at me, there was a look of fear on his face like I'd never seen before. "I saw you," he whispered.

My eyes widened. "What did you see?"

"Two men fighting in the middle of the road. One threw your car in the quarry lake."

I didn't know what to say so I asked, "How did I get here?"

Pierce smiled like I should have already known the answer. "I called 911."

"Hold my hand."

"Of course." His touch made me feel safe and I drifted back to sleep.

Someone was speaking French as I came out of the stupor of the pain medication. Roman sat beside the bed, an old book propped against his crossed legs. He closed the book he was reading and smiled.

"LeKrista."

I turned my head and smiled back the best I could.

"I am so sorry," he began. "I underestimated his strength and ability. I failed to protect you as I should have."

"You should have told me who he was when I asked."

"I should have protected you better." He came to stand beside me. His furrowed brow matched the pain I saw in his eyes and he took my hand. "Please, I cannot change what has happened, but I can take some of your pain. Please."

"Fine," I told him, "but you owe me some answers."

"Ask me anything. I will answer."

"What are you?" I asked.

"LeKrista." He sounded like he was going to chastise me. "What I am... I fear I will lose you when you find out." He shook his head and sighed. "LeKrista, I am a vampire."

I shook my head vigorously so the pain would keep me from going into shock. "There's no way," I whispered. "Vampires don't exist."

"On the contrary, my dear. We are very much in existence. We just prefer to keep it a secret."

I knew my face was a mask of disbelief that I didn't try to hide from him.

"Give me your hand."

I offered it without thinking and he lifted one finger to his parted lips. They were soft and warm and there was something so sensual about the act. My finger slid over his lips into his mouth, across his teeth until I felt the point of one very sharp canine. My eyes widened in surprise and I gasped when it pricked me. I jumped. Roman gripped my wrist loosely so I wouldn't jerk away. He pulled my finger from his mouth slowly, tasting my blood as he did. His eyes slid shut as if to savor the taste and I tucked my hand under the sheet and under my body, pressing my bleeding finger into the mattress.

Roman said something that sounded like Latin and then I knew he was telling the truth. "I am sorry, my sweet. I forget myself. I hope I have not frightened you."

I shook my head.

"Ah, LeKrista. Why do you lie?"

"Lucretious is a vampire?"

Roman nodded that stiff nod that seemed to mean there was information coming that he did not particularly want me to share with me. "Yes. One of mine."

"You mean, you turned him?"

"Yes. He wanted it, but could not handle it once the deed was done. He is so far out of his mind that I cannot control him. He resents me for what he has become."

"Why did he attack me?"

"To hurt me."

"He thinks I mean that much to you?"

Roman frowned. "You do mean that much to me, LeKrista. That is why you are in so much danger. He would see you dead just to cause me great pain."

"He wants to kill me?" I whispered, my voice completely gone. "I haven't done anything to him."

"I know. That is why I must protect you at all times until I can figure out what to do with him. I won't let anything more happen to you, LeKrista. This I promise. Now, let me take some of the pain away." Roman caressed the good side of my face and heat poured through me. It poured from Roman like warm water and spread through my body. When it hit the injured places it burned like fire.

I gasped, "Roman, what's happening?"

"I do not know, my sweet. I have never-"

"It feels like I'm burning from the inside out! Make it stop!"

Roman pulled his hand from my face, but the burning only grew until my back arched and I thought I would scream, but the sound caught in my throat and I choked.

"LeKrista!" I heard Roman calling me, but he sounded so far away, standing at the end of a dark tunnel that grew longer and longer until he was gone.

"Pierce?" He was leaning over me when I woke.

"Hey, baby."

"What happened?" My throat was dry and it hurt to talk. "Can I have some water?"

"Your heart rate went way up," Pierce said as he turned to get a cup of water off of the night stand, "and you lost consciousness. We were worried about you. You don't know what happened?"

I shook my head and noticed that it didn't hurt like it had before.

"Some of the swelling has gone down in your face," Pierce said. "So has some of the bruising."

I felt Roman's eyes on me, keeping close watch.

"You have a visitor," Pierce said, and his voice held so much disdain that I knew it could only be one person.

"Seriously?"

He nodded. "He's putting on a good show for your family."

"I'll bet he is." I pushed myself up and it didn't hurt like it should have.

"Don't try to move. I'll put the bed up."

"I'm fine," I told him, but he put the bed up anyway. I smiled. "Can I have a kiss?" I asked.

Pierce seemed to consider this. I guess he was trying to figure out how to do it without hurting me. Finally, he leaned over me and brushed his lips against my own sore, swollen, bruised ones.

When he pulled back I smiled. "All better," I whispered and, he chuckled.

There was a knock on the door and a head peaked around the wall in true Edgar Appleton fashion. "LeKrista?"

"Hey, Eddy." I tried to sound pleasant.

"How are you feeling?" He stalked into the room on graceful feet.

"Well, they say I was in a car accident, so not so great."

Eddy smiled one of the most charming smiles and motioned to someone out in the hall. Bomani the African princess walked in with a lovely arrangement of flowers that I could hardly believe was for me.

"Wow."

"It was the girls' idea. They felt bad and wanted to do something for you."

I knew that was a lie. I nodded acceptance nonetheless and said, "You can put the flowers on the table. Forgive me if I don't get up."

Eddy nodded. "Well, we'll be going. We just wanted to bring the arrangement by. You take your time getting back to work, alright?"

Yeah, I'm sure you'd love that.

Out loud I said, "Thanks."

Eddy and the Princess said their goodbyes and took their leave.

"Well, that was nice," my aunt said.

"Yeah, whatever. He's so full of...it." But part of me wondered if they hadn't been for real.

### CHAPTER FOUR

I was discharged from the hospital the next morning and spent the day watching movies with Pierce. He left by eleven, though he was technically allowed to stay until midnight.

I had no trouble falling asleep, but I woke up about one a.m. I was so thirsty, but I attributed it to all of the pain meds. Walking hurt, but my overwhelming thirst got me to the kitchen. The first glass of water somehow slipped past my tongue. I was dizzy, my tongue dry and scratchy like sandpaper. It was almost as if I hadn't even drunk it. The second was better. I felt the wet in my mouth, but it didn't slake my thirst. The third helped, and by the fourth I was feeling better.

I walked across the kitchen to the back porch. My feet moved of their own accord, even though my brain was telling them to take me back to bed. I opened the door. My feet hit cold tile and jarred me from the vision.

My feet were freezing and I looked down.

When did I get out here?

I was on the back patio. I saw my hand reach for the lock on the screen door as if I was having an out of body experience. This wasn't another vision. Someone else was in control. My hand pressed the latch and pushed the door open. I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered.

He was waiting in the shadows and I went to him.

"Hello, my sweet," that time-branded accent beckoned. "I trust you are well."

Coming back to myself was like standing in a desert and suddenly having the sun turned off, or instantly being incased in fog. I didn't immediately realize where I was, how I'd gotten here, or who exactly this man in front of me was. The fear hit me then, sharp like the panic from before and my breath came in gasps. The nausea came next and I gagged.

Strong arms grasped me around my waist as I went down and cool fingers brushed my cheek. Warmth spread through me as it had before and the nausea faded. My breathing returned to normal, and I pushed the arm away opting to stand on my own.

"Why do I always panic when you're around?"

Laughter wasn't the reaction I'd hoped for and I scowled in the darkness, even though he couldn't see me. "Because you fight me, my sweet. Come. I want to show you something."

"Are we going to fly again?"

Roman chuckled. "Yes."

He whisked me away, but we landed on concrete a few moments later in front of a Tudor-style house not far from my own home and one I'd always wanted to explore.

"Then let us go inside."

"Are you reading my mind?"

"Yes," was his cautious reply.

"That's going to get old quick."

"I will take that into consideration."

No, he won't.

Roman led me into the front hall and to a room off to the right decorated tribal from the ceiling to the floor.

This must be the African Room.

"I will be right back."

Roman left and I stood to examine the relics on the walls. I skimmed over spears and knives and jewelry and pottery, and eventually came to a leathery, serene looking head. Long dark hair was still attached and the eyes and lips were sewn shut. A little bit of tooth showed on each side of the mouth.

A shrunken vampire head? Really?

I reached out and touched one of those little white spots and jumped when it nicked my finger. I pulled away and stared at the spot of blood.

I felt a change in the air when Roman came back and I turned. "Is that a shrunken head?" I asked.

Roman strode slowly towards me, his nose tipped up slightly as if scenting the air, and nodded. "Twas a friend of mine." His voice was soft and his accent so thick I almost couldn't understand him.

"Oh," I squeaked as he stepped up so close to me that I should have been able to hear his heartbeat. "I'm sorry."

Roman took my hand and held it up so the dim candlelight shone on the little spot of blood. He looked down at it then blinked lazily up at me. "LeKrista, you've hurt yourself."

I nodded. My heart pounded in my ears and a lump formed in my throat that I couldn't swallow around. Roman lifted my finger to his lips, waving it under his nose as if it was a glass of wine, and I didn't fight him. As suddenly as he'd taken my hand, he dropped it and I pressed my finger to my leg.

"Shall we begin?" Roman asked and he smiled again, bigger this time and with not even the slightest hint of fangs.

"Begin?"

A lovely woman with alabaster skin and pale blue eyes came into the room from the hall. I took her in with wide eyes. She wore the most lovely red chiffon gown that clung to her shoulders by thin jeweled straps and dipped way below what for me would have been a comfortable cleavage line. The gown was cinched just below the bust line and spilled from there in a flowing A-line design that swirled around her feet when she walked. Gauzy little appliqué's gave the dress a feathery look, and I half expected her to sprout wings and fly across the room to me.

Her hair spilled over her shoulders in silken auburn waves that contrasted against her fair skin, and deepened the color of her eyes. There was a soft smile playing in those eyes, but I noticed it was more from humor than actual pleasure at meeting me. In her hands she carried a long, black velvet box.

She walked past Roman without a glance, though he watched her closely and I sensed tension between them. As she approached me, I could see that Roman was a little apprehensive.

"LeKrista, I would love to introduce to you, my Adelina. It means 'noble' and 'small winged one'."

Adelina dipped into a graceful curtsy.

" _Ati putea prezenta ei cu colier, Adelina mea."_ Roman spoke softly to her, but there was still a bite to his words.

I wasn't sure what language he spoke or what he said, but Adelina did. She approached me as if she did not walk, but floated across the floor. When she was close enough that our toes should have touched, she dipped into that curtsey once more and offered the little jewelry box to me with her head down, eyes carefully averted from mine.

Geez. What's with all the theatrics?

I took the box from her, but hesitated.

"You may open it," Roman urged, and I did.

Inside was a simple gold cross that hung from a delicate chain. I tried not to gasp at the gift, though, truth be told I wasn't used to accepting jewelry from people I'd only known a week. It brought back a memory of a time when Pierce bought me jewelry and I refused it.

"LeKrista, I am sensing sorrow in you. Do you not like the gift?"

Adelina looked up at Roman shocked then turned her gaze to me as if to say, "For what reason would you possibly refuse such a lovely gift?"

I shook my head emphatically. "It's not the gift," I assured hurriedly. "It's not the necklace. I just... It brought back a memory that's hard for me to think about is all." I looked down at the little gold necklace in the box and smiled. "No, this is lovely. Thank you." There was no way I could refuse the necklace and not offend Roman or "his Adelina", so I accepted it graciously, if a little nervous. What was I going to tell Pierce?

" _Ajutor ei."_

It was a command that sent Adelina into action. She took the gift from my hands, box and all, and moved around behind me to fasten it.

"I have presented you with this gift, LeKrista Scott, as protection against the vampire that would kill you."

And then I understood and remembered the significance of the cross to the vampire. I looked up as Adelina dangled the little gold cross around my neck, and found that Roman's eyes were averted, turned to the side and slightly down.

"You can't even look at me when I wear it?" I asked.

Roman shook his head. "Tuck it into your shirt."

I did and Roman's eyes came up, just like that.

Another woman entered the room, this one, though pale was not as fair as Adelina. Her hair fell in golden waves around her shoulders and the straps of a dress identical to the other woman's.

"Calliope, my dear." Roman pulled this woman into a loose hug and kissed her on the forehead.

"Why do I suddenly feel severely underdressed?" I muttered to myself, tugging at the pajamas I'd worn all day.

Roman turned to me with that beautiful, ancient smile of his and said, "Adelina and Calliope are here to fix that."

"What?" It slipped out before I could catch it and I knew I sounded disbelieving and slightly horrified. I hadn't showered in longer than I wanted to think about and I knew I smelled funky.

"They will take you upstairs to one of the bedrooms and you may clean up however you see fit."

Ugh, the mind reading again!

I followed the women from the room in my pajamas and my new necklace.

"I promise they will take the utmost care with you. Won't you, ladies?"

The women nodded, and it seemed more like they'd been forced into this arrangement. It didn't make me feel very good about the situation, but what made it worse was I knew the moment Roman shut off his emotions. I felt it like a door in my head had clicked shut, and I knew something was changing between us. Something was getting stronger and I didn't know why or how I felt about it.

They led me up the stairs and down a creaking hall to a bedroom door. Calliope rapped lightly on the door twice, listened for a few seconds with her ear pressed to it, then pushed her way in. The two women floated across the floor without making a single sound. I sounded like a herd of elephants all on my own. It was embarrassing. They gathered towels, bath soaps and shampoos in case I wanted them. None of it looked like it came from Wal-Mart. While they did this, I had a look around and somehow wasn't surprised.

There were three queen-size, four-poster beds all made up the same way. Red and gold tulle draped each one from post to post, blowing whenever there was any kind of breeze. They were made with silken red comforters embroidered with gold trimmings and beads and anything else they could find that glittered in the faintest light. And the top half of each bed was buried in pillows. Pillows, pillows, and more pillows.

A crystal chandelier hung from the middle of the ceiling. Tiny crystal cups with gold embossed edges held candles, all lit and burning, casting their tiny lights across the room. When I looked down, I noticed that my bare feet sank into the thick, blood-red carpet.

A dark closet stood open on one side of the room and I made a guess that it was filled with more lovely red gowns. There was a fireplace between the closet and another door. This one was closed.

"He wishes for you to shower and change into something more suitable."

The dainty voice pulled me from my inspection of the room and I looked up at the sound of the flawless, beautifully accented English. It was Adelina addressing me. I was so caught off guard that, once again, I let my stupid mouth speak before I had a chance to reign in my tongue.

"You speak English," I told her, as if she didn't already know. The smile she offered was small, but it held none of the disdain that I had felt with her earlier.

"Yes, I do."

I frowned. "Then why doesn't he speak English to you?"

"He wishes to keep my native tongue alive."

I nodded. "Oh. What is your native tongue."

A light came on in her eyes. "Romanian," she told me.

I nodded. "And you?"

"I am Greek," Calliope smiled.

"Yeah, you look like you would be Greek." I took a deep breath and let it out. "So, I'm supposed to take a shower now I guess, right? I don't have to go outside for that...I hope?"

Calliope chuckled at me. Adelina just smiled. "No," was all she said and swept her arm across the room to a door hidden between two of the beds.

I nearly dropped to the floor when I walked in. There were six shower stalls, three claw foot bathtubs, three toilets, and a hot tub big enough for ten. In the middle of the room was a fountain like you find in a garden. Six sinks decorated one wall, but the appliances weren't the impressive part. Everything, the toilets, the tubs, the sinks, even the floor and the fountain shimmered a golden hue in the faint candlelight. I walked over to touch one of the sinks, the floor cool against my bare feet. It was cool and smooth and soft like real gold. I pulled my hand back quickly and spun around to look at my two escorts with questioning eyes. They nodded.

"It's all real?"

They nodded as if they'd been here before, answering this same question. I shook my head in wonder. I just couldn't believe it.

"He says to please take your time. Do not come out before you are ready."

Adelina and Calliope put their bath products on the floor of a shower and left me alone to revel in the beauty of this room. There was a sitting area just in front of the showers so you could wait in comfort for an open stall, though I doubted anyone did much waiting in here.

I wasn't surprised to find that the sofa and chairs and the lovely rug upon which they sat were all woven with gold thread. I ran my hand across the back of the sofa, certain it would feel rough and unwelcoming, but I couldn't have been more wrong. The cushion felt like velvet and I found myself wanting to sink into it and fall asleep.

It was in that moment that I realized how tired I was and how badly I wanted a shower. I opened the third stall and gasped. I didn't know why I was still surprised, but the vastness of it wasn't expected. They looked small from the outside, and they were narrow, but they were deep, also. There were four shower heads in the stall, and I couldn't help but think, _Orgy anyone?_

A bench made of black marble shot through with gold streaks sat at the end and matched the floor. I turned on the water, not by a knob on the inside, but from the outside. There was a digital thermostat by which to adjust the temperature. I set it for something that sounded good and undressed quickly.

All four shower heads pumped out steaming water, and I had to adjust the pressure so I wouldn't harm my tender skin. It felt amazing and some of the tension and fear leftover from my accident melted away. I let the water soak my hair, run down my body and soothe me. When I finally lathered up to bathe, I was afraid I'd been in too long. It didn't matter. I got myself clean and scrubbed my hair.

By the time I stepped out of the shower wrapped in a thick, luxurious black towel I felt brand new. I chanced a look at myself in the wall to wall mirror as I passed, opening the towel to see what kind of damage had been done. There was still some faint bruising across my ribs, like I'd landed on something long and hard. The finger gouges on my neck were healed over. My face, well, it still looked like a train wreck, but it was getting better. I turned away from the depressing sight and took my clothes into the bedroom where my new entourage waited.

"Better?" Adelina asked. She sat perched on the edge of one of the nearest beds with Calliope at her feet. They were both still dressed in their gowns, but the way they sat said they'd been doing this formal thing a long time.

"Much," I answered with a smile.

"Good. Come. We must get you dressed and do something with your hair."

They led me across to the closet. There were innumerable formals down one whole side, then regular dresses, slacks, and blouses. Beneath the clothes were dresser drawers that stretched across the floor from wall to wall. In the center of the room was a dais from floor to ceiling filled with every kind of shoe you could imagine. A woman's dream.

Adelina went to the formal rack and wasted no time in pulling down a lovely red gown.

"Put this on. Calliope will help you."

I nodded and resisted the urge to salute and say "Yes, ma'am!"

Adelina left the room, leaving me standing in a towel with Calliope holding the dress for me to slip into.

"Don't look, okay?" I asked, self-conscious about being naked in front of a woman I didn't know.

Calliope smiled sweetly, shook her head, and covered her eyes with her hand. I had to laugh.

"Thank you." I dropped the towel and stepped into the dress, trusting the older woman not to look until I was completely covered. "Um...what do I do about underwear?" I asked.

"I can give you some," she said as she zipped the back of the dress, "or you can go without. It's your choice."

I thought about that for a moment. "Will anyone know that I'm going without?"

"He will probably know it."

That sent a wave of panic through me that made my cheeks flare with embarrassment. Of course he would.

"Well then, I guess I'm going to need some panties."

Calliope nodded and crossed the room to fetch a matching red thong. "This will work?"

"Yeah, that'll be fine."

I slipped into the thong, wiggled until they were comfortable, then smiled. "Do I get to look in a mirror?"

Calliope touched a portion of the wall where there appeared to be nothing. She pressed on it, using a good bit of her weight, and it turned, revealing a mirror.

"He doesn't half do anything, does he?" I asked absently.

"No, he does not."

The dress fit me perfectly, and I had to wonder how Roman knew my size. There was gold embroidery and those feathery red appliqués in an Asian-style pattern across the front of the strapless work of art. The bodice fit like a dream. The full skirt was ruched high on my right hip, and again, low on my left thigh, forcing it to fall in little pleats. In the back, the bodice was fitted all the way down to the back of my legs, giving it that mermaid look when I turned around.

I loved the dress, and the color, and everything about the way it fit me. It was almost too much to take in at once.

"He knows fashion well."

I looked at Calliope. I'd truly forgotten she was in the room. "Yeah," was all I could manage.

Adelina came in with a pair of red satin stilettos with pleats across the length of the shoe. Diamonds shone on the toe of the shoe and at the end of the heel.

"My god," I said softly. "I can't wear those. I'll break them. Or I'll break me. One way or another, something's going to break."

Adelina waved it off like she heard this every day as well. "You will be fine. Put these on and we will work on your hair."

Twenty minutes later, after having two women tugging at my head from both sides, my hair was blow-dried and piled neatly on top of my head with little gold and diamond pins shimmering everywhere. I had my feet stuffed into shoes that should have been uncomfortable. They should have been in a display at a museum or with the crown jewels, but they were on my _feet_ of all places! I laughed at the absurdity of the entire situation.

"Does he always indulge in such dramatics?" I asked.

Adelina only smiled. "It is not often that he has a chance to dress up for company."

I suddenly wondered what Roman had been doing while I'd been off letting myself be pampered. I didn't have much time to wonder, however. Adelina and Calliope seemed to think my transformation was complete. They showed me out of the bedroom and into the hall. Where they took up their places with one in front and one behind. We descended the stairs this way, slowly so I wouldn't trip over my ridiculous shoes, down where Roman was waiting.

Seeing Roman in his black military uniform standing there at the bottom of the stairs, his pale-ish skin luminescent against the dark color, his blue eyes sparkling with an otherworldly light, and a jaguar on a chain by his side, was breathtaking. A jaguar! The big cat was a dusty gray color with black and grey markings. I'd never seen one with this kind of coloring.

I didn't want to think about what I looked like coming down the stairs to him led by two beautiful women. I didn't want to think about what significance this simple act had. I didn't want to think about the possibilities that he had tucked away in his twisted mind. It would have ruined the moment.

I was having too good of a time pretending to be someone I wasn't in a world that didn't exist to allow myself to point out any particular problems with going along with a vampire's delusions. For all I knew, he'd grown up in an age where throwing these kinds of parties was a way of showing your wealth. The theatrics of the evening weren't considered theatrics several hundred years ago.

Adelina brought me to the bottom of the stairs and Calliope moved around me. The girls dropped into low curtsies before Adelina literally announced my entrance.

"LeKrista Scott."

Roman bowed and took my hand, kissing the backs of my knuckles as I stood there in shock. "A pleasure."

I couldn't do anything but cock my head to the side and stare up at him. Wasn't this the kind of thing I'd always wanted to happen? For the past to suddenly reveal to me that, somewhere hidden deep within the modern world, it wasn't really dead and I could be part of it? I curtsied the best I knew how, and that seemed to impress him.

"Shall we?" he asked, my hand still in his.

"Are you for real?"

"Always, my sweet."

I felt Adelina and Calliope stiffen where they'd moved behind me, but Roman didn't give me a chance to find out why. We turned and he led me down a hall to a set of double doors that didn't look the least bit native to the house.

"I added this room," he told me, just before he opened the doors. A rush of sound – music, laughter, conversation – assaulted my ears like we'd just walked out of a dead zone. As soon as we were noticed, however, the sound of the crowd died.

"Presenting, LeKrista Scott!" A man only slightly taller than I announced and I jumped. The room went up in applause, but I could see on their faces that not everyone was happy to see me.

"What am I being presented for?"

He didn't answer, only smiled at me like I was a child who'd just done something cute. That irked me, but I kept all smart comments to myself.

We stepped into the room and my skin began to crawl. It was all I could do not to rub at my arms to make it stop. A shudder ran down my spine and I knew Roman noticed.

"Are you unwell?" Roman asked.

I shook my head and concentrated on not running from the room. My skin felt like it was trying to crawl away from my body.

"Vampires. There are some young ones here who do not know how to hide their essence as we older ones do. That is why you feel this way."

I turned to my right, just in time to see Roman's black jaguar led through a door, but as he disappeared around the corner, I saw his shape begin to change, lengthen, shift. I swear I saw it turn into a man.

No freaking way!

I turned back to Roman to ask, and as I did I caught a glimpse of a familiar face. Porcelain skin, ruby red lips, long, dark, curly hair, and a navy blue gown that hugged her curves and pushed her breasts up until I thought they would pop out of her bodice. I froze as she made eye contact with me. She didn't know me, but I knew her. I tried to look away, but she had me caught in her gaze. Within seconds, she knew who I was. He'd told her.

I felt my fear build. Panic rose in my chest, tightening around my lungs and restricting my air flow. It wasn't natural or of my own doing.

"Roman," I gasped. "Roman, I can't breathe!"

"Come," he told me. "This way."

He led me off to the side where a sitting room was available and made several giggling women leave with a simple look. The moment the door closed I collapsed to my knees with a hand to my chest, struggling to breathe. Black spots encroached on my vision and I felt my arms give way like wet toilet paper. I sank to the floor, my right cheek pressed to the cool wood paneling.

"What's happening?" I croaked, just before I lost consciousness, but I could still hear what was going on around me. Roman was shaking me, trying to wake me. He'd pulled me off the floor and onto his lap. I heard him call Adelina and Calliope in to try and revive me. I heard Adelina say that I was breathing and Calliope assured him I had a pulse. I tried to call out to them, to let them know that I was okay but I couldn't. I tried to shout, scream, kick, hit, lick my lips, anything so they would know I could hear them, but nothing worked.

My eyes finally flew open, so big and so wide I thought they would burst from my skull. I felt that presence pinch at the back of my mind and I knew it was about to do something bad.

"Get away from me!" I shouted. Adelina and Calliope dutifully stepped back and I could see hurt and anger in their eyes. They didn't understand and I couldn't warn them. He wouldn't let me warn them! So, instead, I shouted words into my mind where I knew that thing was lurking and where I knew Roman might be able to hear me.

I jumped up onto my feet, wobbly because of the dangerously high heels, and turned to face them.

What are you doing?!

I pressed the heels of my hands to my temples, because the next moment my mind felt like it would explode.

Get out of my head!

Roman stared at me a moment. "Adelina, Calliope, move behind me please."

The women did as they were told, still unsure of what was going on.

"I am afraid LeKrista is not herself at this moment." He began to speak to me in that old forgotten tongue and I understood him and answered in the same language.

"Your fight is not with this woman, it is with me." Roman addressed the man inside my head in Latin.

"My fight will be with anyone I choose as long as it will hurt you," I answered. It was my voice, but the words and the language had nothing to do with me.

"And how was it that you came to learn such a potent...trick?"

I laughed, harsh and angry. "Trick? No, my father in death. It is no trick any more than your ability to project your thoughts and feelings onto women is a trick."

"The right women," Roman replied, and I thought I heard a bit of tension in his voice. "No all women."

"No. Not all women," my voice said. "My ability is merely an extension of yours. Is it not from the one who made me what I am that I receive my abilities?"

Roman only nodded, but his eyes were strangely shuttered.

"This one young woman means more to you than all the other women in your harem."

What?

"Enough!" Roman's anger flared and his voice echoed around the room, but more than anger I felt something like fear. "I will not have you refer to my women as a harem! They deserve much more respect than that!"

"Do they?" I asked. "Do they not come to you willingly?"

"Of course they come to me willingly. I would never force myself on a woman."

"No? Does this one come to you willingly?"

I felt that strange presence drop its control over my mind. I had a moment to look at Roman wide-eyed, breathing hard before I felt it take over my body. I screamed.

"No!" My body launched itself toward Roman, faster than it should have been able to, arms out stretched, fingers curled into claws. But I wasn't fast enough or strong enough. Roman caught me in midair and pulled me against his chest. Close enough that I could smell his skin and hear his heartbeat. That shocked me for a moment. I didn't think vampires had heartbeats. Weren't they supposed to be dead?

The presence took over my body again and I fought to wriggle from Roman's grasp. Perhaps the person inside my head thought I was stronger than I really was. Either way, I could feel Roman's grip on me begin to bruise.

The door to the room burst open and the roar of a large cat filled the space.

"Back!" Roman called, flinging one hand out and stopping it in its tracks, the great animal reduced to a tabby cat.

"LeKrista, I am sorry." I couldn't ask what he was sorry for. He touched a finger to my forehead and I felt my mind fill with...something. Then I felt nothing.

I was hunched in the woods in the cold wearing nothing but a pair of black jeans. I could see my knees from where I was squatting down. I had my back leaned against a tree and my arms wrapped around myself, but I wasn't cold.

I was angry and breathing hard, drawing in ragged, raging breaths of the cold air trying to calm myself, but it wasn't working. I stood suddenly, quicker and more graceful than I've ever been able to move and I realized I wasn't myself but Lucretious.

" _Why are you trying to kill me?" I asked, hoping maybe I could reason with this...thing._

" _Careful, little human," he warned. "You're in my head, but we share one mind right now. I know your thoughts just as you know mine."_

" _Okay, but why are you trying to kill me? What have I done?"_

" _What has he told you?"_

This was not the answer to my question. "About what?"

" _That's answer enough. Perhaps I should give you a preview."_

I thought that would be nice. I'd really like to know what I'd unknowingly gotten myself into.

Lucretious laughed. "You humans. Always looking for an adventure or a release from your boring lives. It's what makes you so damned easy."

I didn't like being called easy, and I made sure he knew it.

" _Your vampire love has been lying to you."_

" _He's not my love."_

" _What has he told you of Vivien? What has he told you of me?"_

I shook my head. "Nothing. Who is Vivien?"

" _Allow me to enlighten you." He sounded so pleased that he was able to do this._

I found myself in a great room. The ceiling was high and cavernous and there was more golden decoration. Something obstructed my view. I pushed it away and found it to be a gauzy curtain I was hiding behind.

In the center of the room, Vivien was on her knees. Long golden hair fell down her back in waves and candlelight made her porcelain skin glow, but she wasn't a vampire. Lucretious kept part of his mind closed to me, but he wanted me to know that she wasn't a vampire.

Her scream cut through the night like a knife. Her hands clutched her head, pulling at her hair to try and alleviate the pain.

" _Answer me!" Roman shouted, but it wasn't in English. He shouted his native Latin at her and she understood, I understood._

" _Answer me!" Roman shouted again and, when he did Vivien made a strangled sound in her throat. She began to speak in a string of Latin words, but I wasn't able to follow because they were all strung together. Not even Roman could understand her._

" _Be silent, whore!"_

Vivien started to cry, not because of her unimaginable pain, but because her love had called her a whore.

As I watched, blood began to trail from her ears and nose. Alarm ran through me. Could he not see what he was doing? I looked up at Roman's face and saw the disgust, cruelty, and hatred that I had seen a shadow of earlier that evening when I mentioned Pierce. He knew what he was doing.

" _You're killing her!" I shouted. "You're killing her!"_

But it wasn't me, it was Lucretious. The room disappeared and I looked around. I was alone, but I needed to see him. "Where are you?" I called. "Show yourself. Please."

And he was there, standing in front of me in nothing but his black jeans. "Why? Does this make it easier to bear?"

I shook my head and looked into his eyes. "Show me the rest." I saw the muscle in his jaw work as he deliberated, then nodded. The room came back in a rush.

Vivien was bleeding from her ears and her nose and I could see that blood was starting to trickle from her tear ducts as well. I looked at Roman. Surely all that blood was a temptation for a vampire. But there was nothing but anger and hatred in his handsome face. His features were twisted with it. His eyes had turned almost black.

I looked back at Vivien. Her body jerked unnaturally and she slumped to the floor. Blood began to pour from her eyes, ears, and nose and I thought I could see a slight swelling in her head. He'd killed her.

I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes and tried not to cry. He wanted me because I reminded him of Vivien, but how? Surely there was no connection between us. He'd killed her for...what? Cheating?

" _You really don't know?" Lucretious' hatred seemed to ebb and a soft regret coated his next words. "Then, I am sorry for what I must do."_

" _What happened?" I asked, ignoring his apology, because I didn't want to like him. "Why did he do it?"_

" _Because she fell in love with me. She no longer loved him as a woman loves a man, as you don't love him, and he could no longer use her the way he wanted."_

" _Use her for what?"_

" _We're taking over, LeKrista. Living humans will no longer rule the world. We will, and very soon. It's happening now, even as we speak. Soon, those who stalk the night for a mere taste of blood will never again have to live in hiding. It will be your kind that must hide in the night." He laughed then, a villainous laugh._

" _What does that have to do with me?" I asked._

" _With you, his power will be great and he can be the ruler of all. With you he will take over the world."_

I shook my head. "But I don't love him."

" _It doesn't matter. Do you really think you stand a chance against a vampire as old as he?"_

" _I can run. Hide. You don't have to kill me."_

Lucretious laughed and began to fade. "Oh, little human. You are funny."

" _If you come after me," I said, mustering all of the anger and hatred I could, "I will kill you."_

Even as he faded, I felt him smile. "You sound just like Vivien. And I welcome the true death."

### CHAPTER FIVE

I woke with my two "ladies maids" attending me. Adelina and Calliope sat at the head of the sofa where I was carefully laid out with my skirts tucked around my ankles for modesty's sake.

Roman came through the door. He had a pretty girl with him and, at first I thought she was a vampire. Her skin was so pale that her burgundy red hair stood in stark contrast. Then I saw her pink eyes and I knew she wasn't a vampire but an albino.

"LeKrista, I am sorry."

"For what?" I asked, my voice a little rough.

"I did not want to harm you."

"Harm me? You mean by knocking me out?" When he nodded there was so much guilt in his eyes. "Are there any lingering effects I should know about?"

"There do not seem to be any, no."

I shrugged and tried to swing my legs over the edge of the sofa, but they got all tangled in the fabrics and I couldn't get them apart. I tugged and yanked with my legs so much that Adelina and Calliope came over to help me. A loud _riiip_ made me stop. Everyone froze for a moment. I felt Roman's shock, then amusement and the albino girl giggled. Adelina and Calliope finished unwrapping my ankles and I swung my feet to the floor, finally free.

"My bad," I said, daring a look at Roman. He was smiling, unshed mirth swimming in his eyes, but he was concerned too.

"Adelina and Calliope will take you upstairs to change back into your clothes. Tate, please come with me." Roman ushered the albino girl through the main door as Adelina and Calliope dipped into small curtsies before helping me to my feet and leading me from the room through a door hidden in the wallpaper.

The door opened into the long hall. A stained-glass window was to my right at the end with the stairs to the left. As I stood there, appreciating the craftsmanship that went into making something so grand, the window exploded, raining multi-colored shards of glass down on top of us. The three of us screamed as one and I threw up my arms to shield my face.

The roar of a great beast filled the hall and I turned to see where it had come from. It didn't sound like the jaguar and no man could have made a sound like that, but the only thing in the hall was Lucretious.

"If I cannot get to you through her mind and body, then I will simply kill her body." His voice came as a low, guttural growl punctuated by that accent that was so completely Roman's. He stalked towards me and the girls and I froze. There was nothing I could do to stop him. I wasn't strong enough, I wasn't fast enough, and I wasn't smart enough to out think a millennial vampire.

"You will do no such thing." Roman appeared from the hidden door and put himself between the three of us and the man that would kill me.

"How touching. You care for this girl. I'm sure your other women are overjoyed to know this."

"We would protect that which the master deems important," Calliope said.

They didn't like me, but they would protect me. Honorable.

"What abilities has the master given you to protect her with?"

Calliope didn't have an answer and I realized she didn't have any abilities, because she and Adelina weren't vampires. They would die trying to protect me for 'the master' even though they cared nothing for me.

"Calliope, Adelina, take LeKrista to your room and do not come out until I tell you."

"Very well. I will fight you, old man. And then, when I have satisfied myself with your death and blood, I will go after LeKrista. I will take all of your women for my own and drink them dry."

That vicious roar came again and I scrambled to my feet with Adelina and Calliope following suit.

"Silence beast!" Roman roared right back and he flung his hand, sending the half naked, roaring Lucretious back through the shattered window. Perdita appeared in the hall from the banquet room as Adelina and Calliope grabbed me by the arms and pulled me toward the stairs.

"We must go," Adelina said, never taking her eyes off the woman vampire. "Now. Hurry."

They pulled me to my feet and Perdita lunged. I screamed, throwing up my arms as if that would save me, but there was no impact. I expected my arms to be bent and broken at unnatural angles and my head to be crushed. I expected a lot of pain to come my way, but there wasn't any. When I finally opened my eyes and looked there was a blur of black and blue moving through the hall. Roman had saved me again.

"Come on," Adelina whispered. "While she's busy."

When we got into the bedroom they weren't satisfied to simply close and lock the door. They pushed me into the closet and locked that door as well.

Adelina made us sit against the back wall of the closet and left to turn out the lights. I didn't see her when she came back, but I felt the air shift and swirl around her as she sat on the other side of me so I was sandwiched between them.

"Is turning out the lights really going to help?" I asked unbelieving.

"No," Adelina confirmed, "but it can't hurt."

That was true, and if the bad guy was going to eat me I would rather not have to see it coming.

"No more talking," Adelina demanded and we sat in silence.

I heard the fight downstairs, people being thrown through walls and slammed into floors. I felt every vibration through the rafters and beams of the old house and wondered if we would fall through the floor. That alone would take care of me. I wouldn't have to wait for that crazy thing to come get me, because I'd be dead as soon as I hit the ground.

Hopefully. I didn't want to be stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. But I didn't want to die a virgin either.

Decisions, decisions.

The girls shifted on either side of me and stiffened. "What?" I whispered as quietly as I knew how. A hand clapped over my mouth and held for only a second.

Point taken.

Through the rumbling and the banging from downstairs, I heard something that sounded like a muffled cry from the other side of the wall behind me. I thumped Adelina with my elbow.

Are there other women in this house?

"You did not think that two of us were enough to slake his hunger for all time, did you?" she asked.

"No, I guess not, but I hadn't really thought about it either." My tone was harsher than I wanted.

"Silence, please. We will be heard. They are vampires, remember?"

How could I forget with the noises rising from below? A good hard tremor shook the entire house. The shoe tower threw most of its occupants to the floor. A few stiletto heels gouged at my arms and one caught me in the knee through the thick skirts of the dress. It still hurt, even with the padding.

As things began to settle, I heard the latch on the door rattle and I stopped breathing.

Please let it be Roman. Please let it be Roman. Please let it be Roman.

I held my breath as the door swung open. Air swept into the room, cool against my exposed skin, and I drank it in. There was no way to tell who it was with the lights out, but I knew it wasn't Roman. He would have given me some kind of sign to know I was safe.

"I know you're in there," a sultry, female voice with an Italian accent crooned. "Not only can I smell your fear, but I can see you. I can feel your hearts beating so fast..." Her voice dropped away, but the last tones held hunger so deep and infinite that I knew we were doomed. "I was promised a meal," she continued, "for the inconvenience of coming here to meet you, so I think that you will just have to do."

I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. What are the right words when trying to reason with a vampire? So, I kept quiet. I'd lost the need to breathe somehow.

I couldn't see the vampire in the darkness, couldn't see her advancing into the room, but I could feel her. Her presence pressed into the room with the weight of a freight train.

"I can feel your fear, little human. I can taste it on my tongue. It fills my mouth and makes it water." Perdita took a deep breath as if trying to pull me in through her nostrils, and then she fell quiet. She stalked slowly forward and I tried to press myself into the wall and disappear.

She chuckled, low and seductive. "I am so hungry."

I could hear the hunger in her voice and there was no doubt she was going to kill me.

Pierce will never know what happened to me.

"I don't suppose it would help to know that this wasn't my idea?" I decided to try my hand at reasoning, but it had never been my strong suit.

The vampire laughed, a rich, tinkling sound that filled the room to a volume and capacity of which it had no business. Her laughter shouldn't have been cool and sweet like ice cream. It shouldn't have been thick and enticing like honey. It shouldn't have made me want to go to her and wrap myself in its velvety softness, but it did all of those things. The urge to go to her was so strong I actually stood to my feet. Only Adelina and Calliope's grip on my ankles kept me from turning myself over.

Within the next few seconds, two things happened. First, the lights in the room flared, momentarily blinding me, giving Perdita ample time to close the space between us and wrap her arms around me like a vice. Her arms cut into my ribs to the point that the last thing I expected to hear before I died was the snap of broken bones. I would have bruises on top of my bruises from the car accident if I lived. There was no getting away.

Second, I screamed. I didn't scream from fear or pain or the hopelessness of my situation. There was only one logical thing for me to do and that was to scream for help and only one word left my lips.

"Roman!"

The vampire hissed in my face, her breath warm and stale. She tightened her arms around me, cutting off my air supply and the scream.

"I really wish you hadn't done that." Her fangs were less than an inch from my face, her eyes a blazing blue. I couldn't help but look into them. Our noses almost touched, and there was nowhere else to look.

"Perdita mia." Roman's voice came like a soothing wind.

"Stay out of this, Centurion."

"Perdita, my dear, you know I cannot let you have her. She is mine."

"She is no such thing and you know it."

"I have claimed her as my own, given her my protection."

"Like you gave to Vivien?"

"Yes, indeed."

"Fine. I will take one of these, then."

For the second time in less than half an hour, my body was lobbed toward Roman at such a speed that I knew I would be dead when I hit, but Roman knew better than that. He caught me and spun with my momentum. I slumped in his arms, all of the courage gone out of me, and he pulled me in against his chest, his arms wrapped around me, holding me close so I wouldn't fall.

On the other side of the room, Perdita had Adelina in her arms, rubbing her nose against the vein in the woman's neck, smelling her flesh and blood and the beat of her heart. Adelina didn't look afraid, but I didn't know if I could stand there and watch her be fed from like some animal. Perdita opened her mouth, fangs bared, poised just over the large vein.

I tried, I really did. I knew this was no business of mine to be getting involved, but I couldn't live with the fact that Adelina as taking my place.

"No." The protest squeaked out before I could stop it. Perdita's fangs stopped mid-strike and she turned her fiery blue eyes on me.

"You would take her place?" she hissed.

"Yes."

"No. I won't allow it." Roman's voice rumbled in his chest against my back. The look in Adelina's eyes at his betrayal was too much. I looked away.

" _It is considered impolite to turn away, LeKrista,"_ Roman whispered in my head and I turned back as Perdita's fangs sank into Adelina's flesh. I forced my eyes to stay open as Perdita fed. She stared into my eyes, driving home the reality of the situation. I was helpless to protect myself or anyone else against her.

"She won't kill her?" I asked. My voice had gone pitifully soft with fear and despair.

"No, my dear. She will not kill her. Calliope, come here to me."

Calliope didn't need to be told twice. She climbed to her feet and scrambled across the floor of the closet toward us, her feet tangled in her long skirt. As she passed, Calliope brushed my arm with her fingers. I think it was a touch of acceptance or trust. Either way, I knew she no longer disliked me.

The floor to my left exploded and a body flew through the hole to cling to the ceiling.

"Hello, father." It was Lucretious. "What have we here? Three for the price of one? Do you mind if I join the party?"

Perdita looked up with lust in her eyes. "Never, my love," she answered and I was relieved to see that her mouth wasn't coated in blood as I expected it to be. Instead, her brilliant white fangs shone in the light. "Please, join me for dinner."

"My pleasure." Lucretious dropped behind Adelina and Perdita and helped prop her up by slipping an arm around her waist almost lovingly. He stroked the other side of Adelina's neck before plunging his fangs in to feed.

For a moment, watching the two of them watch me as they fed, I was both terrified and disgusted. Not disgusted in the "I think ima be sick" way, but disgusted with Roman. How could he let this happen? Then, I felt that connection to Lucretious pinch at the back of my mind and the taste of blood filled my mouth and I liked it. My anger toward Roman turned inward then pushed out to Lucretious, and I felt it like a living breathing thing. I stared into Lucretious eyes and I let my anger grow. I watched as he realized what was happening. The dark place rose up inside me and grew until it was sitting there in my throat, choking the life out of me, feeding off of me. I struggled in Roman's arms, unable to keep still, and yet it grew.

" _It should have been me!"_ I screamed it in my head like I was going crazy. Roman heard it, Lucretious heard it, Perdita and Calliope were oblivious.

"LeKrista?" Roman called my name, but I couldn't answer. All I could do was let out the most anguished, angry, hateful scream I'd never known I had within me. I felt it. All the way down in my toes I felt it build until I couldn't hold it in any longer and it ripped through me. I felt it tear at the tender flesh in my throat until no more sound came out and I tasted real blood this time.

Everyone was looking at me. Good, because I wanted their attention. Calliope had disappeared. That was just as well. If I lost it, I didn't want to take it out on her.

Lucretious was looking at me strangely. I couldn't place it. Perdita was staring, confused and afraid.

Good!

I wasn't close enough.

" _Let me go,"_ I shouted at Roman so forcefully that he did exactly that before he thought about it. I ran as fast as I could, hoping to get there, before Roman realized his mistake. He got his arms back around me more quickly than I wanted, but it didn't matter. I wasn't going to go down without a fight, and chances were, if I went down I was going all the way down.

"Where did you find this one, Centurion? I think she's a bit touched, yes?"

Roman shrugged with me still struggling violently in his arms. "You found her, my child. I just followed you."

"Ugly bitch." I whispered it, because I had no voice left, but Perdita heard anyway.

"What did you just say?" I didn't answer. "Why don't you say it out loud, or are you too afraid."

I shook my head and let my hatred for her show in my eyes. "I'm not afraid of you, ya little parasite."

Perdita stepped closer to me and laughed. "I like her. I might just have to play with her before we kill her, Lucretious."

She was almost close enough. I grinned. "Why wait?" I whispered, and it hurt.

Two more steps. All I needed was two more steps and she gave them to me, stepping a little closer. My grin broadened.

"Die bitch," I whispered, and using Roman's solid weight as an anchor, I kicked out with my feet, sending the heels of both my stilettoes deep into the flawless vampire's chest. The world froze around me. Lucretious looked from me to his love skewered at the ends of my diamond-tipped stilettos. I kicked the shoes off and dropped my bare feet to the floor. Roman's arms dropped to his sides and I could feel his surprise like a wave of cool air. It sent a shiver down my spine and goose bumps popped up on my arms.

I didn't think Perdita was dead, due to her age and that I'd staked her with two diamond tipped heels and not wood or silver. She held a hand to her chest, the tips of her fingers barely touching the blood that trickled from the wound. When she looked up, the look on her face said she couldn't believe she'd just been stabbed in the heart by stilettoes.

I looked up at Lucretious, who seemed to be having trouble figuring out what had just happened. "You're next, bastard!" I lunged, yanking the cross necklace over my head and slipping it around his neck before he could connect the dots. His screams started before he knew what I'd done. He didn't burn from the cross out as I assumed. He didn't even go up in flames or begin to smoke. I would never know what happened to him. As he screamed he pulled me down with him. I dropped to the floor in a lifeless heap as fiery pain consumed my body long before I lost consciousness.

### CHAPTER SIX

When I first woke up, I thought someone was on top of me. There was so much pain in my ribs and a pressure on my lungs and I could hardly breathe. I came awake with a vengeance, trying to fight off an unseen enemy before I realized how much it hurt to move and that there was no one on top of me. But it was too late. Something in my chest broke and I screamed.

"LeKrista!" Roman shouted. "LeKrista I can try to heal you, but I'm afraid after what happened the last time..."

"Do it!" I screamed and coughed, twisting on my side to catch my breath. Dark splotches landed on the sheets and I tasted the now familiar metallic taste of blood on my tongue. "Oh, god," I gasped. "Roman!" He was there in an instant and his alarm matched my own.

"Calliope, there's internal bleeding. I'm going to have to do something. If it goes wrong-"

"Wrong?" she asked, not understanding.

Roman nodded, but didn't take time to explain. "If it goes wrong, we may need to start her heart."

Calliope nodded and disappeared.

"What happened?" I asked. "What did he do to me?"

"He tried to kill you."

I looked into Roman's eyes and I knew it was true. I had a moment of shock before a sharp pain stabbed me from the inside. I screamed again.

"Hold on, LeKrista. Just hold on a few more seconds. She'll be back with the-"

"Just do it!" I yelled and doubled up in pain. "One way or the other I'm dead!"

"No, LeKrista. I won't let you die."

There are some things that are just supposed to happen, Roman.

I didn't say it out loud. I didn't even mean to think it at him, but he caught it anyway.

"There are those of us who can change things like that," he said to me softly. He pressed his hands to my bare stomach and the fire began. It spread through my body until it hit my brain and I began to seize immediately, but I didn't lose consciousness.

"Calli!" Roman roared. I heard every facet of his voice and every language that had sprung from his.

Calliope came running, eyes wild, and she gasped when she saw me. Roman flipped me so I wouldn't choke on my tongue and then he was gone. I whimpered as I tried to make the convulsions stop. The fire continued to burn me up from the inside out and I wanted to die.

Please. Please. Not like this.

I begged God to do something, to intervene in a way I'd never experienced before. I believed in God, but He'd never been all that real to me. I tried to breathe, but my lungs wouldn't work. I looked at Calliope wide-eyed, but I couldn't form the words to tell her.

"What?" she asked. "What is it?" She spouted off something in Greek and shouted. "Master!"

Roman was there instantly. Where had he gone?

" _Can't breathe,"_ I thought at him.

"She can't breathe," Roman told Calliope. "LeKrista, I'm going to finish the healing if I can."

I nodded. Something, anything. I didn't really care. Death would be welcome if it made this stop.

" _Please,"_ I begged again. When he started the healing I thought my skin had been set on fire. I screamed around the obstruction in my throat before I passed out for, like, the one hundredth time.

I woke up in my room, and it took a moment for it all to come back to me. My head spun, my throat hurt, and I had a sudden flash of myself screaming, yelling, howling at the top of my lungs. The vampires were looking at me, staring at me with bewilderment. I was looking at myself through Lucretious eyes, but...was that possible? I thought he was dead.

A cold draft wafted past me and I shivered. I needed a hot bath.

Sitting up was painful. I dropped my legs over the edge first to give myself some balance. By the time I pushed up to my elbows my entire body throbbed with pain from the effort and I had to take a break. Black spots popped across my vision and the world swam before me. I took deep breaths, waiting for it to recede. It wasn't like I was in pain, but my muscles ached and my insides didn't want to be jostled.

Five minutes later, I made it to the bathroom. Bending over to start the bath was killer, but I got it eventually and used the carton of Epsom salts that my aunt had left on the counter for me. I undressed and realized I was back in my own clothes

I stepped carefully into the hot bath, and using the wall and the washcloth rack, I lowered my aching body into the steaming water.

"Staci?" Pierce's voice reached me from the bedroom door and I woke with a start. The bath water had grown cold and my teeth were chattering.

"In here," I called back.

"What are you doing in there, babe?" Pierce asked. "Why are you shivering?"

"I fell asleep," I told him. "It's so cold."

Pierce jumped into action, never thinking twice about what my aunt might think of him seeing me naked. All he knew was that I needed help and he was the only one there to offer it. He slid an arm under each of mine and lifted, taking all of my weight on himself. It was sexy as hell. He tossed me the closest towel while he grabbed my robe from the hook on the back of the bathroom door and wrapped me in it.

"Your face looks better, today, Staci."

"Does it?" I smiled. "I hadn't looked. I just woke up sore."

"Those bruises around your ribs do too. Are those new?" He looked at me wide-eyed.

I shrugged. "I was in a car accident," I said with as encouraging a smile as I could muster. "I'm sure there are lots of things that could have caused it."

"Yeah, you're right. They just don't look right to me. Do you want to get back in bed, or what?"

"No, I think I want to sit out in the living room and watch TV."

Pierce nodded. "Good plan. I'll get the sofa set up while you get dressed, okay?"

I nodded and waited for him to gather a blanket and pillows from my bed to use on the sofa. When he left, he shut the door and I tried to get my clothes from the floor. I couldn't bend over no matter how I tried to work it, so I had to squat, using the door jamb to steady myself. Once I'd gotten the clothes I wanted, getting them on was the next problem. I slid the tank top on over my head and settled it into place. The built-in bra cut me across one of the new bruises and I had to wiggle it until it was in the right spot.

The pants were a little harder. I couldn't bend over to slip them on, so I sat on the edge of the bed and tried to pull them on one leg at a time.

"Stace?" Pierce knocked on the door. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just having a little trouble," I called. "I'll get it in a minute."

"Do you want me to send your aunt in?"

I thought about that for a moment and nodded. "Yeah. Please."

At least I was able to get my shirt on. The new bruises would only send her into a panic and I didn't feel like lying anymore.

"You decent?" she asked and poked her head in the door.

"Yeah." I was glad she didn't know Pierce had just seen me naked. She helped me on with my pants and I was thankful.

Lucretious' confession from last night brushed against my conscience and I felt panic begin to set in.

"Pierce!" It tore at my throat to call him, but I needed him close so bad it hurt.

"What's wrong?" my aunt asked, coming to the rescue.

I shook my head. "I want Pierce."

"Oh," she said. "Excuse me."

"What, babe?" Pierce asked as he walked into the room. I reached out to him and he came to me. I pressed my ear against his chest and listened to the thump of his heart. The panic settled and I sighed.

Pierce had my pillows positioned the way they'd been on my bed. I got comfortable on the sofa with Pierce holding my feet and he fixed a movie for us to watch. I snuggled into my pillows and ran my fingers up and down the arm Pierce had resting across my legs, his hand tucked under my hip like he was holding me on the sofa. Goose bumps popped up on his arm and I smiled.

"What movie did you put in?" I asked.

"Your favorite."

I frowned. "Phantom?"

Pierce shook his head and smiled. "Your other favorite."

There was only one "other favorite". _"The Princess Bride?"_

Pierce only shrugged. "You'll see."

I was right. We sat and watched my "other favorite movie" and I laughed at the funny parts. Pierce shook his head at the utter stupidity of it, but he couldn't help but laugh as well.

The movie had about fifteen minutes left when the doorbell rang. I groaned at the ill timing. Right in the middle of the good part!

"I'll get it," Pierce offered and gently moved my legs. I heard muffled talking before he came back. "It's a woman. Says she has a package for you."

I nodded and swung my legs to the floor, wincing against the pain. It was beautiful out and I wished we'd chosen to spend the day outside. The cool air felt good against my sore, fevered skin.

The "woman" was Adelina. She stood off to the side with a large white box in her arms. I smiled, and she smiled back.

"Hey," I said. "Glad to see you out and about."

"I could say the same about you."

I think I blushed. "Yeah, I guess so."

"We were afraid you wouldn't make it. It would have made the master...Roman. It would have upset him."

"I bet."

"He wanted me to bring this by. He said it belongs to you."

I raised a questioning eyebrow, but took the long white box anyway.

"It is your dress and the," she smiled, "'staking shoes' I believe is what Roman calls them."

I smiled because it was a little funny.

Her accent swirled around her words prettily and I found I really did like her under normal circumstances. She was dressed normally today - dark blue jeans and a beige sweater and brown leather boots. She offered me the box.

"The tear has been mended. He said to tell you that Perdita was impressed by your display. I am sorry I missed it."

"Yeah. From what I remember, it wasn't pretty and it almost got me killed."

"This man who answered the door, he is your boyfriend?"

I nodded. "Yes. Pierce."

"I can see that he loves you very much. You love him?"

I nodded. "Very much."

Adelina nodded. "Good. Continue to love him very much. It will save you from much that comes with a life connected to Roman."

I frowned.

"You are connected to him now, whether you want it or not. He has fed from you?"

I shook my head and the strangest look came over her. It filled her eyes and turned her face into a mask of fear. "Be careful," she warned.

I nodded.

"I must go." She took something gold and shimmery from her pocket and I recognized my cross necklace. "I almost forgot this. You will need it."

I took it from her and stuck it in my pocket. It would go on after Pierce left.

"Let Roman know I'd like him to come by tonight. We need to talk."

Adelina nodded. It was more of a small bow than a nod. "I will do as you've asked."

"Don't treat me like I'm giving you orders, Adelina, please? I don't want it to be that way between us."

Her smile was sad, almost wistful. "It can be no other way. It is good to hear you say this, though. You have my respect."

I smiled and shifted the box so I could shake her hand. We weren't friends, but I didn't think we were going to be enemies either and that was good enough. I opened the door and stepped backward into warmth.

Pierce was waiting just inside leaning against the arched doorway. "You were out there a while."

I put on a charmed smile. "She's from Romania. That's so cool."

Pierce smiled back, buying my performance, or pretending to buy it. A twinge of guilt settled in my stomach on top of all the other guilt I already felt. It gave me heartburn and I was surprised I hadn't had nightmares yet.

"What's all that?"

"A dress and shoes I ordered."

"She didn't look like a delivery man."

Okay. Maybe he wasn't buying it. Or maybe she didn't look like a delivery man. Whatever. I lied some more.

"The shop has its own delivery service."

"Oh."

I took the dress from the box and shook it a few times so the fabric would come unfolded. Pierce looked on in wonder and I knew he was picturing me in the red fabric.

"That's what's up."

I quirked up a smile. "You should see me in it," and I knew by the way his eyes were dancing that he wanted nothing more in that moment. "Wait till you see the shoes." I pulled the amazing diamond tipped shoes from the box and his eyes lit up. He liked heels.

"Baby, how did you afford all this?"

I frowned. "I didn't. I'm going to be paying off all this stuff forever, but when I saw the dress I just had to get it and I knew I would have to find shoes to match. Something told me I was going to need this dress one day."

My stomach tightened as I lied and I was afraid I would be sick. "I have to pee." Another lie, but just maybe I could make this one true. "I'll be right back and we can finish the movie."

"Okay."

I handed the dress to Pierce and shuffled off to the bathroom. I did relieve myself, and also managed not to throw up, though it took some effort. I got a glass of water in the kitchen then joined my love on the sofa to finish our movie. When it was over, Pierce put in _So, I Married an Axe Murderer_ , one of his favorites.

After that we tackled _Lord of the Rings_. Surprisingly, my aunt and uncle didn't make an appearance all day except to grab lunch and go back outside to work in their garden. They came back in time to get cleaned up and my aunt started dinner. It wasn't until then that she saw the dress splayed across a chair in the hall.

"What's all this?" Aunt asked.

"It's a dress I ordered," I told her. "It was perfect, and it fit like it was made for me," that much was true, "so I had to get it."

"Mmm." She didn't say anything, she didn't ask any questions. Just that "mmm". That was it. She went back to her dinner preparations and left us to our movie. Sometimes she showed an amazing amount of restraint. Others, which was truly most of the time, she just couldn't help but ask all of those annoying, nitpicking questions that really weren't all that important.

We stopped our movie an hour later to join my family for dinner. My uncle prayed. "Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for this day. We thank You for this food and pray that You would bless it and nourish it to our bodies. We pray that You would be with LeKrista. Take away any pain and discomfort and heal her quickly, Lord. And in Your name, Amen."

"Amen," my aunt echoed.

We sat and ate as a family for the first time in a long time. I could tell that my aunt was happy, even if Pierce was there. She liked having everyone home for dinner.

Pierce was unusually romantic later that evening. He stayed late so we could finish our last movie and helped me into bed when it was over. My aunt and uncle retired early for the evening, so they didn't stop him when he tucked me into bed and snuggled with me for a few minutes.

"Do you think you're up to a picnic?" Pierce asked with his face buried in my hair. "I'd rather we hung out here until you can walk without crying."

I smiled. "I was hoping you hadn't seen that. When is Petrice's doctor's appointment?"

"Tomorrow, but she found another ride so you could get some rest."

"A picnic sounds great."

"You make lunch and I'll bring the blanket."

"We have plenty of blankets here," I told him.

"I know, but I have a special blanket."

I looked up and his amber eyes sparked with mischief. "Okay. Bring your special blanket."

"Alright. I'd better get going, StaciDoll."

I poked out my lip and pouted. "I don't want you to go."

"I know, but can you imagine what would happen if the sun found us?"

I grinned. "I don't think it's the sun you have to worry about finding us."

"Get some rest, babe. I'll call in the morning to wake you."

"Okay."

Pierce kissed my forehead, then my nose, lips, and chin; a sign of affection he hadn't shown in a long time. I closed my eyes as he left and snuggled down into my covers. I could still smell him and if I didn't open my eyes I could pretend he hadn't left. I could imagine he was still right there cuddled against me, his nose poking my side.

The air changed in the room. The temperature dropped slightly, just barely enough to notice, and for a moment I thought I smelled flowers.

"Good evening, LeKrista."

Roman's voice, beautiful though it was, ruined the illusion that Pierce was with me.

"Good evening." I didn't open my eyes.

"You're angry with me?"

"You could say that."

"What have I done?"

I sighed heavily and opened my eyes, but they protested. "Who is Vivien?"

Roman's body went still as the dead. I waited for emotion to fill his eyes, but it never did. Instead, they went dark and dead like Perdita's had and I felt in my head that he was afraid.

"Oh?" was all he said after a moment and only his lips moved.

"Lucretious told me some things."

"He had no right to do that."

"Didn't he? I think I have a right to know, don't you? That your infatuation with me has..." I stopped, embarrassed and pretended to swallow. My pride was hurt. I hated to admit to myself that I wanted Roman's attraction to me to be exactly that, but now I knew the truth and it stung.

"Has what, LeKrista," and there was an sneer in his voice. He knew what I was thinking. It didn't take a mind reader to figure it out.

"I know what happened to Vivien," I said. "I know you killed her because she no longer loved you. She loved your creation, Lucretious. I also know about the vampires wanting to take over the world."

Still no emotion. Roman tipped his head to one side and he looked for all the world like something you would see in a movie. Lifeless and dead, he looked like he should be crawling up walls and across ceilings.

"Do you now?" His accent thickened.

"Yes. And I know that you want to use me to get to the top. You want to rule, not just the world, but the vampires who rule the world. What do you want, Roman? To be God?"

Roman flinched. Finally, some emotion. I rolled my eyes. If it was that easy... He took a couple steps closer to me.

"LeKrista." My name rolled off his tongue like he was offering me the best chocolates from Italy. "Would you allow me to explain?" His voice was softer now, crooning, soothing.

"I'm not done. You said they wouldn't kill Adelina."

"And they didn't."

"Yeah. Lucky for you I had a complete meltdown. You were going to let her die," I told him. "Those two vampires fed from her like a Thanksgiving turkey and you just let them. Why? To save me? Is your conquest of the earth that important to you? You're her master. You're supposed to protect her, and you just let it happen."

"What would you have had me do?" He was still trying to soothe me with his voice, but it wasn't having the effect he desired. "It was either her or you."

"Yeah, and thanks to you she will probably be the next one trying to kill me."

Roman sighed and spread his hands in surrender. "What do you want, LeKrista? How can I make it up to you?"

"You said you would tell me everything."

"Yes, and if last night had not happened, I would have."

"No, you wouldn't. Don't forget that I'm in your head now. I know when you're lying. You were going to tell me that Lucretious killed Vivien and that you needed me to help you defeat the bad vampires who want to take over the world." Life finally flooded Roman's features and I felt shock on his end.

"You're right, LeKrista. I'm sorry."

"Oh, save it."

Roman looked at me for a moment before he walked to the door, but he turned before he left. "You know everything," he snapped. "You know how I regret lying to you. I'm sorry."

And he was gone, just like that. My room no longer smelled of Pierce. Roman's scent lingered in the air.

"Jerk," I muttered under my breath before I closed my eyes. His mental laughter followed me into sleep.

Pierce showed up early the next morning, but I was already showered and dressed. My body ached more than the day before, and it was harder for me to move around, but I insisted on our picnic.

Pierce spread out the blanket while my aunt helped me outside. He was grinning from ear to ear, those beautiful eyes so full of life and pride that I had to giggle.

"What are you so happy about?" I asked. He waved his arm at the blanket and I realized why it was so special. The blanket was woven from a picture of us from when we first started dating and said "Together Forever" across the top. Super cheesy, but very cute and very romantic. I made my aunt take some pictures of it before they settled me on top of it and she and Pierce went back inside to get the food.

We ate ham and cheese sandwiches and watched the clouds and cuddled until the sun started to go down. I made sure we got inside before it reached full dark.

"We could have watched the sunset and watched the stars come out," Pierce pointed out. That would have been nice, but he didn't know there were angry vampires after me.

"I'm feeling kind of sore," I told him, and it was the truth. "And tired. You want to just watch TV or something?"

Pierce smiled his understanding and pulled me into a hug. "Of course, StaciDoll."

I didn't know I'd fallen asleep until something woke me much later. It was already dark and there was a text from Pierce letting me know I'd missed his call to tell me he'd made it home safe.

"How are you feeling, LeKrista?"

I turned my head toward Roman's ancient voice. He sat on the floor next to my bed, his eyes trained on me.

No wonder I woke up.

"What do you want?" I asked, my voice groggy.

Roman muttered something in Latin and stood. Somehow, he seemed taller tonight. "I only came to see how you were doing. That is all."

"How long have you been here?" I asked as I tried to push myself up.

"About an hour. Maybe less."

"Have I not passed inspection?"

"LeKrista, please. I am in no mood for your smart mouth."

I shook my head. "You have no idea."

"I am sure." Roman pretended to examine his finger nails while I watched in the semi-darkness.

"Was there something else?" I asked.

"I thought I would ask if you wanted to come with me tonight. I know you are not feeling well, I know you are angry with me, but it wouldn't have to be for long." He paused for a moment, but I knew he wasn't finished. "I am truly sorry for not telling you the truth, all of the truth, much sooner. I hope you can forgive me."

"I guess I can go with you for a half hour or so," I agreed, knowing I'd probably regret it. "As long as you don't try any vampire stuff. I don't think my body can take any more of it."

"I should think not."

"Also, I think you should answer some more questions."

"Agreed."

Roman didn't bother with any more words. He simply scooped me up in his arms and lifted me off the bed. I let my head fall to his shoulder, my arms wrap around his neck, and the world blew around and through me.

It took a while to realize that I couldn't feel the wind blowing through me like I had before. We weren't flying that fast.

"Open your eyes, LeKrista," Roman said softly in my ear. I was vaguely aware that he was doing something to charm me, trying to get me back into his good graces, and I knew it would probably work.

I opened my eyes and looked around. My heart jumped into my throat and I clutched at his clothes to keep from plunging to my death. In theory, flying was an excellent idea, but being suspended in the air hundreds of feet from the ground with nothing to keep me from falling but the arms I was wrapped in, flying took on a whole new meaning and ceased to be such a good idea. I knew he wasn't about to let me fall, but it didn't alleviate the panic.

"Do not worry," Roman tried to assure me. "I will not let you fall."

"Thanks," I croaked, "but after what's happened to me in the last week I'm not so sure something or someone won't come swooping by and snatch me from your arms."

Roman's chuckle rumbled in his chest. "Would it make you feel better to know that, should something or someone come along strong enough, fast enough, and smart enough to simply pull you from my arms without my anticipating it, I would fight them to the death?"

"You would do that for me?"

"I would."

"Not for Adelina or Calliope?"

"I have done no less for them in the past," Roman answered with a twinge of bitterness, "and for you to assume such is offensive."

"I've only known you for a week, remember? I don't know what you've done for those women in the past."

Roman's arms shifted around me and I tensed, afraid I'd said something to make him want to drop me, or at least scare me a little, but he simply shifted my weight and wrapped me in a tighter embrace.

"What's more," I continued, "how do you expect me to think anything good of you after everything?"

"And what's everything, my sweet?"

"All the lies and what you let happen to Adelina."

"And what did I let happen?"

I growled, frustrated. "You almost let her die! You thought that would be okay?" It never left my mind that we were fighting in the air and it scared me.

"Have you any idea how long those women have been alive, LeKrista?"

I shook my head. "No, but isn't it your fault that they've been around so long? Wouldn't they have died long ago if you hadn't intervened?"

Roman didn't answer right away, but when he did, his voice had grown soft. "You are right, LeKrista. I'm an old vampire," he added after a moment. "When I was human, we were taught to revere women. I would never let anything happen to any one of them without their express consent. Please believe that."

I heard the sincerity in his voice, and I knew it was true. Could even a vampire fake that kind of honesty? Probably, but I wanted to believe the truth of his words. I wanted to believe that, even though he'd been dealt a bad card he'd made an effort to turn it around for good, so I let myself. I looked down on the world again, and through my fear I was able to see the beauty that Roman had laid out before me. The lights in the valley twinkled and flickered in the cold night air. Car horns and barking dogs and the occasional thump of music punctuated the night as Roman and I floated above it.

"Are you getting cold?" Roman asked when I shivered in a sudden breeze.

"Yes," I answered.

"I will take you to my home where you can warm up in front of the fire with some hot chocolate."

I smiled.

Oh, how I wish you were my Pierce.

I hoped Roman wasn't listening. I felt a melancholy come over me. Here I was with another man when all I wanted was to be with my love. I felt like such a traitor. I should have been nominated for the "Worst Girlfriend of the Year" award.

When I finally opened my eyes, we were standing in front of a crackling fire in a thoroughly decorated room that I hadn't yet explored. It was warm enough that I could remove my jacket and still wish I had on fewer clothes. I could smell the chocolate, heavy and sweet in the small room.

"Italian chocolate," Roman informed me as I reached for a mug and took a seat on an expensive looking red velvet sofa. "I've seen it in your mind before."

I shook my head and sipped. The chocolate was rich and dark with just enough sugar added to make it perfect. I loved it.

"I could drink this all day," I told Roman as I set my mug on a golden coaster.

"That can be arranged."

I didn't know what he meant by that, so I let it go.

"Are you warm, yet?" Roman asked a little while later. I nodded.

"How did you keep me from dying?" I asked.

"Must we talk of this now? I am just glad you're alive." And I knew how much he meant it, but he was avoiding answering my questions. I was surprised at how well the house had fared after the fight two nights ago. Roman chuckled.

"I've had everything repaired."

"Wow," I said. "That was fast."

"Yes, I suppose so."

A gentle rap came on the door and we both turned to see Calliope enter the room. Dressed in a simple, but lovely red gown, she curtsied and I smiled at her.

"Master, you have a phone call. It is important." There was a twinge to the way she said important that caught Roman's ear.

"Very well. I will take it in here. Take LeKrista upstairs and introduce her to Rachel, please. I think they will make good friends."

"I can go if it's a problem," I said, but Roman waved it off and picked up the phone.

I followed Calliope from the room and up the stairs to a door at the end and on the right. Calliope turned and smiled at me as she opened the door and we walked in. This room was identical to the one from before, but it wasn't empty. Six queen size beds that could have comfortably slept three people each were arranged in a half-moon pattern. There were two girls per bed, each dressed in satin pajama pants and tank tops. I assumed the colors were of their choosing because they ranged from pink to black.

"Rachel," Calliope called softly and a young girl who couldn't have been but eighteen stepped off the bed farthest from us and walked across the floor. "This is LeKrista. The Master wanted you two to meet."

"It's nice to meet you, Rachel," I said.

"You too."

Rachel was pretty. Long, dark brown hair, fair skin, piercing blue-grey eyes. She wasn't tall. As a matter of fact, she was shorter than me. She wore black satin pants and matching tank top with no decoration. She was thin with love handles and I liked her instantly, but there was something missing from her eyes. Something that Adelina and Calliope and the three vampires had that Rachel didn't.

Experience.

She was young, from my time and space, not thousands of years old like Roman.

"Rachel," I asked, "how old are you?"

"Seventeen," the girl answered.

I shook my head. "Why are you here?"

"She's an orphan," Calliope answered for her. "The Master found her and brought her here."

"He provides for me," Rachel added. "He treats me like a human being. He gives me respect."

My head became light and my chest clenched. "One more year," I tried to tell her. "One more year and you would have been free."

"This is better than anything I could have ever provided for myself," she defended.

I couldn't tell if she thought she was right or if she knew she was wrong, but she was going to stand by it no matter what. "Not right away," I continued to argue, even though I knew it was hopeless, "but you could have provided for yourself eventually."

Rachel shook her head, and I thought she looked sad. "This is good for me."

I looked at Calliope and knew what she was trying to tell me. Get away from this man. Get away from this place. I didn't want to end up like Rachel and Adelina and Calliope, trapped, a slave to Roman for the rest of my life.

"What is this?" Roman's voice boomed unexpectedly from the doorway and I felt the entire atmosphere in the room change. The girls all sat up straight on their beds, their legs crossed and their hands in their laps. Some of them straightened their mussed hair, trying to look presentable, though they were all shockingly beautiful.

"You told me-"

"No!" Roman cut Calliope off with a sharp slap. "I told you to-"

"Roman!" I tried to get his attention, but he wasn't hearing me.

"You told me to introduce her to Rachel," Calliope stopped him bravely. She pulled her split lip into her mouth. "That is what I did."

"Not like this!"

"Perhaps next time you should be a little more specific in what you mean." The serenity on Calliope's face said more than her words. She knew Roman cared for her and she wasn't afraid to correct him when he needed it. She offered him a small, arrogant smile before turning back to Rachel. "Go ahead and finish preparing for bed." Then she turned to me. "LeKrista?"

I felt rage build inside me that wasn't my own and I suddenly knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Calliope had done this on purpose.

It could have been worse.

That thought wasn't mine.

She could have seen the others.

There had to be a way to make the unwanted thoughts go away.

She could have seen-

A sharp pain ran through me from the top of my head, through the core of my body, and out through all four of my limbs. I was incapable of stopping my body from falling to my knees as the projected memories overrode my entire nervous system. I was vaguely aware that I was screaming as I remembered thoughts that weren't mine.

Satin sheets. God I was getting tired of satin sheets!

Vivien and Lucretious in bed. Roman's bed. They'd been making love. It wasn't like with Lucretious and Perdita. This was real love. He truly loved her, and she loved him.

So, you killed her.

"You're killing her." It wasn't my voice that said it, but Adelina's, soft so as not to alarm the other girls. As if they couldn't already see.

"No," he answered in Latin. "I've learned how far I can go without killing. What happened to Vivien was a mistake."

I gasped for breath. The pain was still unbearable. I clutched at my head, placing the heels of my hands over my ears, just in case. "Please stop." The words came out as nothing more than a soft whisper. I wasn't even sure that they'd heard.

"You're hurting her," Adelina replied, her voice more calm than I would have chosen. I knew she didn't like me much, but some urgency would have been nice.

"I am only sharing memories with her."

"Purposefully? Because, you know what can happen when you share memories with her by accident."

There was silence. I thought maybe Adelina was in trouble, but the pain began to fade and, as it did, my body became light. I lost my balance and fell forward on my head, then to my side. My muscles spasmed. I felt my whole body shake and I wasn't able to do a thing about it. Someone lifted me until I was looking at Roman eye to eye. There was a myriad of emotions in Roman's eyes; anger, pain, concern, discomfort. It was weird. I didn't know which one to believe.

"She needs to know. She needs to know why Lucretious and I feuded. She needs to know that, were it not for the death of my beloved it would not be this way. If he could have just left well enough alone."

I looked up into Roman's face. It had gone mysteriously blank. No emotion, no thoughts running through his eyes. One of the advantages to being a vampire.

"You killed her."

Roman nodded.

"On purpose?"

He nodded again. "I did not have control of myself then."

"And now?" I wanted to know.

"Now I do."

"But you almost lost it," I told him. "Just now, you almost lost control and you weren't even mad at me. You were mad at Calliope. Afraid I would see something. More girls?"

Something flashed very quickly across Roman's face and disappeared before I could tell what it was.

"I want to go home," I said.

Roman reached out to put his arms around me and I pushed him away. He looked at me and didn't bother to hide the hurt in his eyes.

"Can Adelina or Calliope take me, please?"

Roman nodded after a moment. I think he was trying to think of an excuse, but chose to give me what I asked for.

Adelina helped me outside to Roman's Jaguar. The drive home was quiet, but I could sense something along the lines of a new found respect from Adelina.

"Take me to Pierce. Please."

"How do I get there?"

I gave her directions and we sped all the way to Pierce's house. The door was locked when we arrived so I called his phone.

"Hello?" Pierce's voice was groggy when he answered on the second ring.

"Hey," I sniffed. I felt the tears burn behind my eyes.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

"Um...I'm outside. Can you come open the door?"

He was at the door two seconds later with his phone in his hand. "Staci?"

I went to him and let the tears fall. He wrapped me in his arms and I cried all night. I caught the hiccups sometime between three and four, but I fell asleep soon after that.

It was almost noon when I woke. My head hurt, my mouth was dry, and my eyes felt like dried up raisins rolling around in my head. They burned as they tried to rehydrate themselves.

"You okay, Staci?" Pierce asked from across the room, and I rolled onto my side to look at him through my watery eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I assured him and sniffed as he crossed the room to hold me. He cradled my head in his lap and stroked my hair. I closed my eyes and savored the affection while I could. Once I told him my story there wouldn't be any.

"Baby, tell me what happened."

I contemplated telling him we could talk about it later. It would be so much easier to put it off until he didn't remember, and we wouldn't have to go through what I knew was about to come. I didn't want to do this, but because of my own stupidity and boredom and lack of self-control...here we were. Best to just get it over with.

"You're not going to believe me when I tell you, but you have to because it's all true. Okay?"

Pierce nodded. "Okay."

I took a deep breath and plunged in. "Roman is a vampire," I began, and I felt Pierce tense around me. Did he believe that easily? Dear, God, what had I done?

I told Pierce everything starting with the beer catastrophe and I didn't stop until I got to what happened last night. By the time I finished my story, we were on separate sides of the room. I sat on his bed, my legs crossed beneath me, my arms wrapped around me. He was paced the floor along the far wall. He hadn't said much the whole time and I was afraid of what he might be thinking. This was my least favorite part about arguing with him. He never had anything to say. He took it all in and processed it, but never had anything to say to me. I hated it. I wanted him to yell or cuss or hit me, something, but he never showed any emotion. What was worse, he put up those emotional walls so I couldn't read him.

"He killed her." I felt the tears starting again, but I had to finish this now. Not later. "He killed her because she was unfaithful. I have the same connection with him that she had."

Pierce stopped pacing to look at me. Something inside me died at how emotionless he was. I knew he would see the fear on my face. I knew he would sense how scared I was. And I knew he wouldn't care. He wouldn't come to me to comfort because he was angry. I'd betrayed him in a roundabout way, and I was the bad guy here. Not Roman.

"LeKrista, I..." Pierce's voice faded for a moment and I almost started crying again at the use of my real name. He never called me that. Never. Unless we were on the verge of a break up. "I don't know what to say. I know you're scared, and you should be, but you got yourself into this position. I'll protect you to the best of my ability..."

I waited for the "but". It didn't come and I relaxed a little. I nodded at him. "I'll go," I said. "I'm sorry. I never meant...I wasn't cheating on you."

Pierce smiled then. It didn't quite reach his eyes, but his eyes weren't completely dead either. "I know you weren't. I'm not mad. Just disappointed."

I shook my head. Just perfect. Who wants to have their boyfriend disappointed in them? "I love you, Pierce."

"I know, StaciDoll. I love you too."

"I'll go, if you want."

Pierce nodded and I felt my heart break a little more. "I think that might be a good idea for now. I'll call you, okay?"

I nodded because I couldn't make any words come out. As I stood, the tears came and I pressed my hands to my eyes. "I'm so sorry," I sobbed. "I didn't mean to."

Pierce wrapped his arms around me and held me tighter than I expected. "I know you didn't, baby, but it happened."

If he said he needed some space, I thought my heart would explode.

Please, don't say it. Please.

I thought of Roman and hoped I was projecting everything I was feeling in that moment.

Do you see?! Do you see what you've done?! Damn you to hell!

Pierce let me go and I turned and left before I lost my nerve. My heart was so broken I never thought I would be able to put the pieces back together. Gable drove me home, but I didn't pay attention the drive.

### CHAPTER SEVEN

Two Weeks Later

There was a knock at my door. I closed my eyes and curled up tighter in hopes they would think I was still asleep and leave me alone.

"Kris?" My aunt whispered. "LeKrista, are you still asleep?"

"I was," I lied. "What's up?"

"Eddy is on the phone for you."

I uncurled from my ball, sat up, and swung my legs over the edge of the bed with little resistance. "Tell him I'll just be a moment."

My aunt left and I stretched until all the blood drained from my head and I thought I might pass out. I slipped a t-shirt over my nakedness and ran my fingers through my hair to try and tame it a little so my family wouldn't be privy to my bed-head. It was getting long, hitting just between my shoulder blades. I pulled it over my shoulder and gave my best "just-woke-up-vixen" look. That was what Pierce called it.

My aunt and uncle sat at the breakfast nook having their morning coffee.

"Hello?" I said into the phone, all the sleepiness gone.

"Good morning, LeKrista."

"What's up, Eddy?"

"Three of my girls called out and I need you to help with a wedding."

I _thought_ about getting smart, but chose to keep it to myself because he sounded desperate. "Yeah, sure. You need me right away?"

"Please."

He was being extra polite and it made me laugh. "Alright. Do I have time to get a shower?"

"That's fine. I'll just expect you in forty-five minutes."

"I'll see you in a little bit." As I hung up, the phone rang. I made a quizzical face at it and answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, StaciDoll."

I forgot to breathe for a second. I hadn't heard his voice in two weeks and it was like hearing it for the first time. "Pierce?" I whispered, afraid I was hallucinating.

"Yeah, babe. It's me."

"I...um...why didn't you call my cell?" I asked.

Pierce chuckled and my heart fluttered. "I did. You didn't answer."

"Oh."

"What are you doing today?"

"I just got called in to work."

"To deliver?" He sounded annoyed.

"No, three of Eddy's women called in today."

"Poor Eddy." But he didn't sound sad about it in the least.

"I'll probably do some delivering as well since so many people called in. I'll bet it was the Blonde Twins. And maybe the Hawaiian."

Pierce chuckled. "You want to get lunch?"

"Yeah. I do."

"Good. I'll call you."

I smiled. The day was looking up. I hung up the phone and jumped in the shower. Ten minutes later I was dripping wet and clean. I slipped into a pair of black skinny jeans, a black blouse, and a pair of knee-high boots. I smiled at myself in the mirror. With my hair hanging around my shoulders, I didn't look too bad, but I didn't have time for makeup. Just as well.

I said goodbye to my family and headed down to the basement where I kept my car. My sad little Honda Civic was totaled when Lucretious threw it into the quarry lake. Roman sent me a new one - a silver Honda Accord. It was the only contact I'd had with him or any of his women in two weeks. I was keeping the car.

I made it to work with about two and a half minutes to spare. When I walked in the door Eddy looked genuinely relieved to see me. His piercing green-yellow eyes lit up and he offered me something of a relieved smile.

He dressed like he was ready for the runway every day of his life. Today he was wearing dark-wash jeans tucked into leather boots and a leather jacket that just hit his waistband. Underneath was a navy blue button-up silk shirt. A speck of gold glittered in his right ear. He was actually quite attractive, until he opened his mouth and started telling me what a loser I was.

"LeKrista, god I'm glad to see you. I have eighteen red rose centerpieces I have to have delivered in two hours and they look like-"

"Edgar!" The super model stuck her head out of the back room. She was a pretty, tall redhead who covered up her adorable freckles with makeup and didn't actually work in the shop. I wished I had some freckles of my own. I didn't like that she hid hers.

Eddy shot me a helpless look before he hurried off to the back. I heard them mumble softly to each other before they closed the door.

I found the arrangements and knew exactly what word Eddy was going to use. Someone had thrown them together, six roses in this vase, twenty-one in that vase. Some had baby's breath and fern while some had one or the other or none or a poor substitute. And there weren't even eighteen of them.

"I need the order form," I told him when he came back. "Who was supposed to make these?"

He shook his head and shrugged. Something crazy was going on if Eddy didn't even know what was happening in his own shop. He handed me the order sheet from his back pocket.

"Just get me straight," he said. "Just get these..." He sighed heavily and walked away. He was without words on this particular situation and that meant he was stressed.

I looked over the order sheet. I needed eighteen thirty inch saucer pedestal vases with a dozen red roses, each with baby's breath and twigs, no ferns. And, swimming in each vase was supposed to be a beta fish. Not one of the arrangements I was looking at had a fish in it.

"Eddy!" I called and the man came running.

"What? What now?"

"Where are the fish?"

"What?"

"Fish! There's supposed to be a beta in each one of these arrangements."

Eddy looked dumbly at me for a moment before he let out a string of expletives that just happened to be really funny. I turned away so he wouldn't see me smile.

"Are you laughing? How could you possibly be laughing?" Eddy was livid.

"You have to admit, it's kind of funny. Someone's screwed you over really well. Can you send Amanda to buy eighteen betas while I work on these?"

Eddy nodded and called the supermodel from the back. Her protégée was with her, but I couldn't remember her name.

"They have to be blue," I called as they reached the door. Amanda rolled her eyes like it was my fault and left.

"Ignore her for now." It was probably the nicest thing Eddy had ever said to me. "Do we have the rest of what we need for these?"

"I think so. I'll check."

"Okay. I have another order to work on. Let me know if you need anything."

I spent the next hour on the arrangements; clipping, trimming, pruning, fluffing, tucking, tying and feeding the fish that eventually arrived. When Amanda got back she smelled like margaritas. I looked over at Eddy. He was working on an arrangement of unnatural hot pink calla lilies.

"That's interesting," I said, trying to make light conversation. Eddy looked up at me and frowned.

"You don't like it?" His voice held such condemnation that, if I didn't already deal with it on a regular basis, I would have said something nice to fix it. As it was, I just shrugged and went back to working on my last arrangement.

"I don't like pink."

I guess that was enough for him, because Eddy went back to his piece without another word until he had to stop so we could deliver the arrangements. It was awkward, the two of us riding in the van alone. There was nothing really to say except to comment occasionally on the stupidity of the other drivers on the road or to hope that the sunshiny weather didn't turn dismal and gray. Not that I'd mind, but Eddy seemed to, so I went along with it. The mood was almost pleasant. The bride loved her fish arrangements. We rode back to the shop in silence and Eddy let me leave right away.

"Hey, Eddy, um, I'm not trying to have a moment or anything. I know you don't like me much, but I just wanted to thank you for calling me. I really need the hours."

"Yeah. See you later."

I wasn't really expecting anything, but I got an almost smirk. The corner of his mouth rose ever so slightly and, even in that simple movement, his face changed and he became an entirely different person.

It was hard not to feel light hearted as I left, but I didn't let myself read too much into it. I'd just saved the man's bacon. He owed me a little gratitude.

Pierce and I rescheduled for dinner and I met him at a greasy spoon where we'd caught breakfast a few times before. Pierce liked greasy spoons because they had good food and I was inclined to agree, provided the spoons weren't actually greasy and nothing else was either.

We both ordered hamburgers and Pierce added an extra hotdog on the side and extra fries to his order.

"How've you been, babe?" Pierce asked before he bit into his hotdog. I took a moment to answer, taking a bite of my burger and sipping my soda.

"You know. Bored, broke, and bored. You?"

Pierce smiled. "Gable and I went out of town on some family business. Been kind of busy."

I nodded.

Well, isn't that just lovely for you. I bet you didn't even consider that-

"You were on my mind, though," he said and I knew I was blushing.

"Oh." I took another bite of my burger and chewed slowly. I really didn't know how to act. I wanted to be happy that Pierce was back after our two week hiatus, but at the same time, I couldn't just let it go that he'd disappeared for two weeks without any sort of contact. Granted, it was my fault, but...

"What?" Pierce asked, giving me the perfect segue.

I shook my head. "I just want to enjoy this, Pierce, please. I don't want to be angry right now."

"I can understand that."

"How's Petrice?" I asked. Surely someone would have called me if she'd had the baby.

"Very pregnant." I guess I looked relieved, because his next words were, "Staci, do you really think we would have let that girl have her baby without calling you?"

I looked down at my plate and fiddled with a fry, because I didn't know what to say. I honestly didn't know. Pierce hadn't wanted anything to do with me for the last two weeks, so why would he, or his brother for that matter, bother to call me just because Petrice was having her baby?

"Staci, babe, I'm not mad at you."

I shook my head. "I don't want to do this right now, Pierce. Please?"

"Okay. That's fine. What are you doing today?"

"I don't have any plans."

"You want to go to a movie or something?"

I shook my head without looking up. "No, I think I'm going to go home." I looked up then and saw with dismay, that wall go up behind his eyes. I'd hurt him, both intentionally and not, and that hurt me, but I wasn't about to jump back into the fire before I knew what was really going on between us. I knew that my feelings toward him hadn't changed, but I needed to know what he was thinking and feeling and I wasn't ready to deal with it just yet.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. Pierce just shook his head.

"You're good."

I lost my appetite after that, and I guess he did too, because we both asked for takeout boxes for our barely touched burgers and fries. He'd already downed the hotdog before we got into the heavy stuff.

I watched Pierce while we waited for our takeout boxes. He'd been good enough to put his cell away while we were talking, but now that we weren't talking anymore I guess he had business to handle.

"What kind of family business- Ow!" I almost screamed. The waitress came back with our boxes, and tripped over her own feet. When she stuck her hand out to catch herself on the table, her hand slipped and her ancient-looking ruby ring dug so deep into my arm I thought she'd scrape bone with it. Thorns twisted around the ring and the ruby and it was no wonder it stabbed so deep.

"Oh my god!" the girl exclaimed. "I am so sorry!"

The wound on my arm was bleeding freely. Actually, gushing was a better word for it and blood poured down my arm and onto the table and floor.

"Good god!" I exclaimed without thinking. "What was on the end of that thing? An ice pick?!"

She shoved some napkins into my hand with a sobbing, "Here," before she disappeared into the bathroom.

"Damn," I exclaimed under my breath. Pierce stood next to me holding the napkins to my arm to try and staunch the blood flow, but it didn't seem to do much good. Whatever she'd done, she'd nicked me good.

"Do you want to wait and see if it stops or do you want to go?"

"We can go," I said, looking down at my ruined burger. "Oh, god. I'm gonna be sick."

Pierce jumped out of the way as I dashed for the bathroom. I barely made it to the toilet before I lost what little bit of food I'd eaten and then the dry heaves started. I couldn't get the image out of my head of my burger drenched in blood. By the time I stopped retching, my stomach, throat, and head hurt and my eyes were teary. I heard sniffling from one of the other stalls.

"Hey, I'm not mad at you," I said and I spit into the toilet to get rid of the throw up taste. "It just hurt and I said the first thing that came to mind."

"Will you need stitches?" the meek voice asked.

"I don't know. Maybe. It doesn't want to stop bleeding." The napkins were soaked. I flushed them and went to the sink, hoping some cold water might help it clot. All it really did was sting like hell. I let the water run over it for a few minutes before I washed my hands, rinsed my mouth, and got some paper towels to dry myself off.

"Stace?" Pierce called through a crack in the door. "You alright?"

"Yeah. It's still bleeding." I walked out of the bathroom with the paper towels pressed to my arm. "Should I go to the hospital?"

"Do you want to go to the hospital?"

"No."

No. I really just want you to hold me.

But I wouldn't say that out loud. Not yet.

I didn't want to look. I tried not to, but curiosity won out and I shot a glance over to our table. My plate was gone. A boy with a mop was cleaning the spot on the floor like he was trying to pry away the tiles.

"The manager's Italian," Pierce whispered in my ear. "He threw a fit and said we didn't have to pay for the meal. I think he was trying to keep us from pressing charges or suing."

"I'm not going to sue," I whispered back. "It was an accident."

"Well, let's get out of here before he figures that out."

I nodded. After a few more profuse apologies from the owner, who normally spoke perfect English but couldn't seem to find a single English word now, we ducked out the side door and went to our cars. I was still bleeding pretty badly, but we'd gotten some tape so I'd be able to drive without holding the towels to my arm.

We stood between our cars. I leaned back against mine. Pierce stood in front of me, his amber eyes carefully empty.

"You sure you don't want to come over for a little bit and hang out?" he asked. He took a step forward so his right knee was between my legs, and he brushed some hair from my face. I expected him to drop his hand back down to his side, but he didn't. He cupped my face in his hand and stroked my cheek softly with his thumb. It sent a shiver down my spine, my insides melted, and my eyelids drooped. I pressed my face into his hand, desperate for his touch.

God I missed you!

Pierce leaned in and kissed me, soft and slow, but with an urgency I didn't quite understand. There was pain in his kiss, guilt and pain. I kissed him back because I wanted him to know nothing had changed. I still loved him but I was hurt and confused. When he pulled back, neither of us was out of breath. Neither of us really turned on. Pierce rested his forehead against mine.

"LeKrista."

I think that's what he said. It sure sounded like it, but he said it so softly I couldn't be completely sure. Then, he stepped away, his fingers trailing off the end of my jaw like he didn't want to relinquish contact yet.

"If you need your space, I'll give it to you. I can understand how you would. I love you, Babydoll."

I smiled in spite of myself. "That's a new one."

Pierce smiled back. "Yeah. I like it though."

I nodded my agreement.

"Get home, babe. It's supposed to get nasty later."

"Okay." I kissed him one more time before I got in my car. "I love you," I told him before he closed my door.

"I love you too, Staci."

The door slammed and I turned the key in the ignition. I don't remember much of the ride home. My mind was in other places, dealing with things much more important than driving. I didn't speak to anyone when I got home. I changed clothes and climbed into bed. I didn't have any tears. I just went to sleep.

Everything was disjointed like an out-of-body experience. Perdita primped her long, thick hair in a gilt gothic mirror. Her makeup was dark against her milky pale skin and her eyes stood out so bold they almost glowed. She wore a red and black dress that looked like something out of an Alice in Wonderland film. She had her long, thick hair tied off to one side so it trailed over her shoulder in a fall of dark, wavy curls and she ran her brush through it, only to have the curls pop back into place.

A girl entered the room and I recognized her as our waitress from earlier. She came in and knelt by Perdita's chair and handed her a small vial of dark red liquid. I knew it at once to be blood. I guess after all the blood today it only made sense to dream about it. The blood loss probably didn't help either.

" _Thank you," Perdita said in her sultry voice. She unscrewed the top of the vial and tipped it up, downing every bit of it within seconds. Perdita sat back and closed her eyes..._

Everything changed. I was back in my bed, laying in the dark, but only for a moment. I lost consciousness quickly, lulled deeper into a place I didn't know.

" _Hello, stupid girl."_ Perdita's voice saturated the air like thick perfume. I could almost taste it and feel it coat my skin. It was so hard to breathe. Distantly, I felt myself gasping for air. I could feel that little niggle at the base of my skull and knew something bad was about to happen.

" _Perdita."_ I didn't mean for it to sound like an accusation.

Perdita chuckled and the air grew even thicker, intoxicating now, like a very rich wine. _"You remember me. How sweet."_

This couldn't be good. _"How could I forget you?"_ I gasped. The air steadily grew thicker and there were spots in my vision. In reality where I lay in my bed I was suffocating, dying, and Perdita had everything to do with that.

" _I'm going to kill you, one way or another. I respect that you had to protect yourself. Nothing wrong with that, but you killed my lover. I can't let that go."_

I gasped, but got no air. _"I understand,"_ I tried to whisper, but it came out so choked it was a wonder she understood. Apparently, not being able to breathe in real life had an effect on how I spoke to people in my head. _"I hope you'll understand,"_ I tried to continue, _"that I'm going to do everything in my power to keep that from happening."_

" _Oh really?"_ she laughed. _"You can hardly control your own thoughts. How do you plan to do that, exactly?"_

" _Let me show you. Roman!"_

I hadn't tried to contact him since I told Pierce about him, but the connection was always there, ready and waiting for me to make the first move. So I made a move and felt the connection fly open in alarm. I caught a glimpse of blonde hair and a room decorated in reds and golds before they were shut off to me. In my head I felt Roman roar in anger.

" _You weren't invited to this little foray,"_ Perdita bitched.

" _LeKrista invited me,"_ Roman answered back. _"You do realize that by harming LeKrista you bring the full force of my wrath down upon you."_

" _I don't fear you, old man."_

Roman chuckled.

I wasn't dead yet. Perdita was killing me slowly. As it was, even though she was trying to put me through as much agony as she possibly could, I knew I was about to go. I felt my body preparing for a grand mal seizure. I'd only ever had one of those before in my life but I would never forget what it felt like.

" _Roman,"_ I gasped. _"Roman, I'm seiz..."_ I couldn't get the rest of the word out. My body convulsed. Perdita's maniacal laughter echoed in my skull. She was deliberately keeping me conscious.

Thunk!

I'd fallen off the bed. Roman was saying something, but I couldn't concentrate on the words. He wasn't making any sense.

"LeKrista?!" My aunt must have heard me hit the floor. It was chaos. Roman and Perdita screamed in my head, my aunt and uncle panicked in my bedroom, and I was caught in the middle with no way to make it stop. I heard myself whimper, attempting to make contact with someone, and then pain. Something snapped inside my brain, I felt it as well as heard it. A sharp pain split my head in two and spread until I thought my brain would explode.

" _I'm sorry, my sweet."_ It was Roman's voice in my head now, sweet and smooth with that accent of his. The shouting had stopped.

I had stopped seizing and I couldn't feel Perdita.

" _I don't want to go to the hospital,"_ I told Roman. _"Can you wake me up?"_

My eyes fluttered open a moment later, but I had to close them against the brilliance of the lights in the room. I groaned and clenched my eyes as tight as I could.

"LeKrista?" my aunt asked. "Oh, my god! LeKrista, what happened?"

I shook my head gently. I didn't know what to tell her, so I tried not to tell her anything. As long as I didn't have to lie any more than necessary, because heaven knows I'd done plenty of that in the last three weeks.

"Would you like me to run you a bath with Epson salts?"

I nodded. Wasn't like it could hurt, right? Anything to not have to deal with the muscle pain.

" _LeKrista. Would you like for me to see what I can do for you? I fear causing another seizure."_

" _You can try."_ What would it matter if I died? If Perdita knew how to get to me so thoroughly, I was a goner anyway.

I let my aunt help me to the bath, but I insisted she go back to bed once I was comfortably settled in.

"Are you sure, Kris?"

"Yes, I'm sure," I told her sharply at the use of my hated nickname. "I'm fine. I'll call if I need help."

"Alright."

Roman woke me when he knocked on the bathroom door.

"LeKrista? Are you decent?"

"No," I told him firmly. "No, I'm in the bathtub."

You idiot.

I wanted to add that last part, but I refrained. He'd just saved my life. Again. I could hold off on the name calling for a day or two. Maybe.

"LeKrista, I think I've come up with a safer solution. One that may require less risk. If I were to transfer my healing into the water, perhaps you could absorb it second hand, yes?"

It was a good plan, there was just one catch. "But, I'm naked."

"Yes, well. I'll close my eyes." The humor in his voice was unmistakable and infuriating.

"Bastard," I muttered under my breath. He heard me anyway.

"LeKrista, when did your language become so filthy?"

"When you made my boyfriend leave me."

"I did nothing, LeKrista." And the accusation in his voice was clear.

"Just fix me, so you can go." The humor left Roman as quick as lightning strikes.

"Cover yourself, LeKrista." His accent grew thicker with his anger and I threw my arms across my chest and crossed my legs as best I could.

Roman stepped around the corner of the wall dressed in a pressed pair of blue jeans and a black long-sleeved, v-neck shirt. It fit him snugly so I could see the outline of every muscle in his upper body. I couldn't help but stare. I like muscles.

Dear God in heaven.

"You're sick, Roman. You know that?" He'd purposefully dressed this way so I would be attracted. He'd just shown me that. The grin that spread across his perfect teeth, lifting his full lips up into a smile that showed more fang than he'd ever shown before, proved just how cruel he could be. The scary part wasn't the fangs, however. It was how sexy those fangs actually looked with the entire package. He wanted me and I thought he was sexy. Yeah, I was pretty much screwed.

Pierce!

Roman knelt by the tub and rolled his sleeves up slowly before he plunged them into the semi-warm water. He touched my leg deliberately and I scowled. "Please, Roman. No more games. Please?" I was begging pitifully, but I meant it. I just wanted to feel better. I was so tired.

Roman nodded. "My apologies."

The water began to froth and bubble. Slowly at first, until it grew into a makeshift hot tub. It wasn't long before I was asleep, again, which wasn't too surprising. As I slept, I dreamed, but not images stirred by my own subconscious. Roman was projecting. Images from his life and experience swam around in my head. Beautiful places that no longer existed, places I would have loved to see and experience for myself, but he woke me way too soon.

"LeKrista, my sweet."

"What?" I moaned groggily. I did not want to be awake.

"At the risk of you being angry..." This couldn't be good. "I've wrapped you in your robe and put you to bed."

I looked around. "You saw me naked?" I asked, feeling very embarrassed.

"I looked as little as possible."

"Yeah, I'm sure you did. Just go, please. I'm tired."

"As you like. I will...keep an eye on you though? I do not want Perdita bothering you again."

I didn't argue, not because I didn't want to, but I didn't want Perdita bothering me again either. "You're going to hang around or you're going to keep surveillance in my head?" I asked.

That made him chuckle. "I will go home," was all he said before he kissed me on the forehead. I could have done without that. I frowned and said crude things in my head, hoping he was listening. He just laughed and shook his head before he walked out the door.

I lay back on my bed and waited, but as tired as I was, I couldn't make myself fall asleep.

" _Are you alright, LeKrista?"_ Roman asked in my mind. I growled audibly and wished I had a way to lock him out. _"Why are you angry with me?"_

Was he kidding? I didn't answer right away, because I didn't have anything nice to say. When I did answer, I tried to keep my explanations short. _"My mind is private. You're not supposed to be in here."_ I felt him chuckle at the back of my mind. _"Besides, you promised you wouldn't snoop."_

" _I'm not snooping."_

" _You're lurking. It's the same difference, especially if I don't know you're there. It's not fair and it's not right. You have instant access to my most private thoughts and, need I remind you, the ability to kill me at will. As does Perdita. So you'll forgive me if I'm not so comfortable with you swimming through my brain."_ So much for keeping it short.

" _You're right,"_ Roman said after a moment. _"You are right and I apologize for making light of it. I didn't pay attention to how scared you are. I will fix this problem by morning."_

" _And you'll get out of my head?"_ I wanted to know.

" _Yes, as you wish. But I can help you sleep, first. If you'd like."_

I didn't notice when Roman slid my mind into sleep. Again I dreamed of places that I could never see but for Roman's projections and I woke up serene until I realized that he'd been in my head all night. But the damn vampire didn't give me a chance to get angry. The doorbell rang not thirty seconds later. I was careful getting out of bed and slipped into some clothes as quickly as I could, but I wasn't as sore as I thought I'd be. Roman's "osmosis bath" had actually worked.

"Hi, I'm a friend of LeKrista's."

I walked around the corner to find Tate standing in the door talking to my aunt. I stopped dead in my tracks. All I could see under her Red Riding Hood style cape was her pale white face and pink eyes. She turned to me and smiled. Her dainty features lit up and she stepped over the threshold without being invited in. "There you are. Just wake up?"

I nodded as she tossed back her cape and I was shocked again at how starkly her burgundy-red hair stood out against her porcelain white skin. She came over to me and wrapped me in a tight hug like we'd been friends forever.

"So good to see you!"

I couldn't help smiling. I liked her, even if she was associated with Roman and a little on the eccentric side.

"Beautiful weather, isn't it?" Tate asked. "Grab a jacket and let's go for a walk, yeah?"

Over Tate's shoulder my aunt stared rudely.

"Yeah, wow it has been too long!" I said, playing along and Tate's eyes lit up even more. She followed me to my room. "You'll have to forgive my aunt," I said.

Tate waved it off. "I'm used to the looks, as you can imagine. Oh how cute!"

My dog bounded in and put his front paws on Tate's stomach. He'd always been partial to women. His tongue lolled to one side and he looked like he was grinning. He was shaggy right now and his thick, curly black fur made him look like he was ten pounds heavier than he really was.

"That's Bermides. Don't ask. I made it up a long time ago."

Tate chuckled. "I'd love to hear that story one day. Ready?"

I finished tying my shoe and nodded. "Yup. Come on Bermy." I hooked his leash and the dog came outside with us on our walk.

"That is such a cute name!"

"What did Roman tell you?" I asked Tate when we were alone.

"He told me about Lucretious and Perdita," she answered. "He also said that you're under his protection."

"Yeah, well," I said bitterly, "that only seems to matter if the other vampires feel like abiding by the rules."

Tate didn't argue. "There's more," she said, "that he hasn't told you. He thought it might be better coming from me since... Well..."

"What?" I asked. "How could it possibly be worse than vampires in my head trying to kill me?"

"There may be a way for you to protect yourself. No, let me rephrase that. There is a way for you to protect yourself, but you have to be willing."

That sounded ominous. "I'm not becoming a vampire."

Tate laughed at that like she hadn't heard a joke so funny in her life. I just frowned at her until she was done. "I'm sorry," she finally said as she caught her breath. "I don't mean to laugh."

"Yes, you do."

"Yes, I do, but not like that. I wasn't suggesting that you become a vampire, though," and she was completely serious now, "it's not too far off as a guess."

"Fantastic. Just give it to me quick and straight. Get it over with."

"Roman thinks you have Mage potential," she complied. "It's why Lucretious targeted you in the first place. You have the same potential as Vivien."

"You know about Vivien?" I asked.

"No, but Roman said you would."

I nodded. "Am I hearing you right? You said Mage. Like, the same kind from fiction novels?"

"Yeah. Just like vampires."

I didn't have anything to say to that. I nodded again and turned as a car drove up the street and pulled into the driveway. "That for you?"

"Yeah. Listen, think about it." Tate handed me a card that read Vamp-Lightenment in red Gothic lettering and a website. "You can find me online just about anytime and there are others who can help find out if what Roman thinks is true, okay? Even if you decide not to take that road, get online and talk to me anyway, kay?" Tate gave me a huge smile.

"Yeah, I'll find you. Oh, where can I get one of those capes?"

She grinned. "I'll get you one." She climbed into the black sedan and they drove off. I nudged Bermy with my foot. "It's cold," I told him and we went back into the house.

### CHAPTER EIGHT

I didn't know if it was a weird side effect from Roman's healing or simply because of the magnitude of the seizure the night before, but I slept most of the day. My body wasn't sore like it usually was after a seizure, but I was ridiculously tired. Bermides knew there was something wrong and was cuddled next to me every time I woke up. I didn't think he moved once. By midnight, I was wide awake, so I went to my computer and punched in the website Tate gave me.

The title across the top of the page read "Live! Chat with vampire experts now!" I clicked the "Enter" link and went inside the web page.

" _Are you seeking Vamp-Lightenment?"_ it read _. "We have what you need. Chat with licensed vampire experts now!"_ I didn't know there was such a thing. _"Questions, comments, or something in between? We've got the people who can give you the answers. Just want to chat live with sexy vampire men and women?"_ Not really. _"We've got those too! Choose your type!"_

I assumed "type" was supposed to be witty repartee about blood. Ha ha. I got it. It wasn't that funny. I clicked on the link to the chat for "questions, comments, and everything else" and was immediately ushered into a chat room. There were three other people in it, one of which being Tate. The other two were men. I chose a screen name, StaciDoll, and joined the chat.

Tate: Welcome to the chat, StaciDoll. How can we be of assistance?

Will: Cute name, Staci. Do you look like a doll?

SirMarxALot: You wanna slip into a private chat, Staci?

Tate: Cut it out, Marx. You scare everyone away.

SirMarxALot: Not me. People love me.

Tate: Yeah, you think so. Don't mind him, Staci. He's just annoying. How can we alleviate the boredom?

It had been a while since I'd been in a chat, but I didn't think I would have trouble keeping up. It was pretty slow.

StaciDoll: Hi, Tate. It's LeKrista.

Tate: Oh, hey! Glad you decided to join us. Ignore Will and Marx. The full moon is close and they're feeling antsy.

Will: Shut up, Tate.

SirMarxALot: Yeah, Tate. Shut up.

Tate: They aren't too witty either. Guys, this is LeKrista. She has vamps in her head.

SirMarxALot: lol

Will: lol

Will: You might want to try a psychiatrist.

SirMarxALot: How many vampires, exactly, do you have in your head?

Will: Yeah. Do they tell you to do things to yourself?

SirMarxALot: LMAO Will!

Tate: Guys, stop. You really aren't as funny as you think you are.

I decided it might be funny to see what they had to say.

StaciDoll: There are two. Roman and Perdita. Roman lives up the street from me. Perdita, well, I don't know where she lives, but I killed her lover and now she wants me dead.

The room went quiet. Will and Marx had no more smart remarks to make.

Will: Wow.

SirMarxALot: Tate, isn't Roman your vampire?

Tate: He didn't tell me about Perdita. LeKrista, see if you can get Roman to bring you to us. I think I know someone who can help.

StaciDoll: Where is here?

Tate: Oh. Stupid me. Charleston.

I called to Roman in my head and while I waited for him to answer, I continued to talk to Tate, Will, and Marx. I felt Roman move in the back of my mind and sift through the conversation. When I finally signed off, Roman was behind me.

"You'll take me to Charleston?" I asked.

"I will."

"Right now?"

"Do you think it wise to do so much so soon?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I barely feel anything." I wrote a quick note for my aunt and uncle, told them I was going to Charleston and wasn't sure exactly when I would be back.

"What about Pierce?"

I shrugged again. "He'll be alright." I felt Roman's joy before he was able to lock it all away.

Bastard.

Roman wrapped his arms around me, but I didn't like it the way I once had. I guess I finally understood what price came with it.

I knew the moment we were in the air and flying. The air rushed around and through me and I lost the need to breathe.

The flight was short because he was very, very fast and we didn't have far to go. We touched down on the sidewalk of downtown Charleston in front of a shop called, _Vamp-Lightenment._

"So hokey," I said aloud and Roman chuckled. I reached out to grab Roman's arm and missed. "Roman."

"You can't breathe." Roman scooped me up in his arms and carried me inside the building, pushing through the doors with his broad back. "I need a place to lay her," he told someone I couldn't see for the spots in my eyes. "She can't breathe. Help me man!" I heard Roman's urgent plea, but it was like I was listening from the other end of a long tunnel. Just an echo of what it was.

I guess he's not going to help.

And that thought chased me into unconsciousness.

I was drowning, but there was no water. I couldn't breathe, but I could smell the comfort of sea salt, sunblock, and coconut tanning oil. I heard seagulls, the soft lull of Roman's accent, and...was that a lion? Some kind of giant cat was in the distance. There was a mourning lilt to the sound of its call and I thought "that can't be right." The cat was sad, hurt, heartbroken, but I couldn't tell why. I wanted to comfort it, but didn't know why I should.

I came back with a sudden jerk and sat up very straight, thunking my head on something hard as I did. I gasped for air and choked on oniony, stale breath.

"What the hell?!" I gagged. "What the...hell?" It was the only thing I could think to say.

"LeKrista?" I looked up into Roman's concerned eyes. "I told you this was a bad idea. It was too soon."

"What were my options?" I rasped. "Take the risk and fly out here tonight or let Perdita try and kill me again."

"I was not going to let that happen, LeKrista. I promised. It was my fault she was able to get to you in the first place. If I hadn't left you alone..."

I coughed and tasted onion again. "Who the hell was eating onions and why am I tasting them?"

"You weren't breathing," said a small, hesitant male voice from behind me. "I wouldn't let him give you mouth-to-mouth. Sorry."

I turned to find a small, bald man with glasses perched on the end of his nose squatting next the end of the sofa where my head had been. We were in a bookstore/souvenir shop done in black and red, gothic vampire style. The sofa I lay on was rich red velvet and very comfortable. The floors and walls were just black painted concrete, but free of any dust or dirt. It was commendable. The book shelves looked like a special order, made of twisted wrought iron. They were beautiful to say the least. Above was a fantastic black crystal chandelier. It was so amazing that I knew it had to be handmade by someone in town and I wanted their number.

"Did we bump heads?" I asked, still looking around in wonder.

"Yes."

"Sorry about that. I'm LeKrista."

"Herman."

"Herman." Typical. The geeky man had a geeky name, but he seemed cool enough. "I'm here to meet Tate?"

"I'll go call her up." Herman walked away, he wasn't very tall, but he made sure to keep an eye on Roman and me. I guess he didn't trust the vampire. Couldn't blame him, really.

"He won't hurt me, Herman."

"If it's all the same to you...he doesn't care a thing about me."

I looked at Roman, who stood and plastered himself against the black, black wall, standing out against it like an orchid amongst roses. "You won't hurt the nice man?" I asked.

"I have no reason to. He saved your life. I owe him."

I looked at Herman and shrugged. "He owes you."

Herman stared at me, he stared at Roman, then picked up his phone and looked down to dial. "Hey, Tate. There's a woman here to see you." Herman pulled the phone away from his face and looked at it quizzically before setting it back down in its cradle. "I guess she's on her way up."

"Thanks, Herman." I looked over at Roman. He was still plastered against the wall, his eyes fixated on something across the room, but I didn't think he was actually seeing anything. Nothing that I could see, anyway. I watched him. He'd gone still as death. There, but not alive. Another fixture in the room to add to the ensemble. It was amazing how much he seemed to belong in this dark coffin of a room.

"Don't look into his eyes," Herman said. His voice didn't match the feel in the room and it helped to pull me out of the spell some. "He'll catch you."

"He won't use his eyes on me," I told him.

" _Would you call to my blood even though you know it could kill me?"_

" _Come to me, LeKrista. Stand before me and I will share some of myself with you."_

I wasn't sure I liked the sound of that. _"What do you mean?"_ I asked, because that hadn't been an answer to my question.

" _I will not call to your blood. Come. Stand before me."_

I stood and walked around the sofa to stand before him toe to toe and I looked into his face, but not his eyes.

" _You wound me, but that is good enough, LeKrista. Just watch."_

I fell from my world and into Roman's, a world of darkness and blood and death. I wasn't really sure what I was watching, it was more feelings than images, but it was interesting. I knew he was sharing a part of himself that he hadn't shared with Adelina or Calliope.

" _The young man is afraid for you, LeKrista."_

I felt Herman's fear like I'd never felt anything in my life. It was so real and tangible like it was my own.

" _He thinks you've caught me. He thinks you're hurting me. Feeding from me. Let me go so I can tell him."_

" _You are free to go anytime you want."_

But I couldn't break free. I didn't know how and Roman knew that. I felt my anger rise and Roman's humor grow.

" _You anger so easily, my sweet."_

We were slipping out of whatever this was and I felt the room again. I could smell the cleaning products used on the floors and walls. I could smell...blood? I could smell the blood of four people and I knew one to be Herman.

"I don't think that's it, Herman, honest." I recognized Tate's voice.

"He's caught her," Herman insisted, his little voice so high and squeaky it sounded like it hurt. "He has. Do something to help her."

"Look, man." The voice of a man. "They're coming out of it."

"I don't think it is what you think it is, Hermy." Tate's voice again.

I had full control of myself now. I took a step back and crossed my arms over my chest, scowling.

"If you weren't already dead, I'd kill you," I told Roman, and I heard the other's chuckle. The scent of blood was fading quickly, and I was glad for that. I turned to the others.

"Hey," said Tate.

"Hey." I looked up at the two men she had with her. "You must be Marx," I said to the tall, broad-shouldered one to her right. He was attractive, but looked like he knew it well.

"Smart girl," he said. "Yeah, I'm Marx. This is Will." Will was shorter, stocky, with dark brown hair and eyes. He was cute, attractive, but not my type.

I grinned. "Here's one of my vampires," I said. They laughed.

Roman moved past me toward the four standing across from us. Herman took a giant step back from him and the laughter died in the other two men's throats. Roman stepped up to Tate and offered his hand, bowing deeply.

"So strong the smell of your blood, sweet Tate."

I frowned.

What the heck?

Tate giggled.

I rolled my eyes. "Psycho freak."

"Well, let's go down stairs, shall we?" Tate asked. She didn't wait for anyone to answer, just turned on her heel and flounced through a dark door into a hallway. We descended some stairs and walked toward a door.

" _Do you really have to tell her how strong her blood smells?"_ I asked. _"She doesn't know by now?"_

Roman turned an empty, intense look to me. "What are you talking about, LeKrsita? I spoke Latin. No one knew what I said. You shouldn't know what I said."

I frowned back, or tried to because I think what he really got from me was a look of terror.

We walked through a door into a wide open room with a stage to one side and sound box to the other.

"You're going to have to stay here," Tate told Roman. "No vamps past this room. Sorry."

Roman sniffed the air and let out a breath. "That's fine," he offered, and his eyes sparked with hunger. It was the closest I'd seen him to feeding time and it frightened me. He turned those glistening eyes to me - I think he smelled my fear - and said, "I think I'd rather stay here and find some...refreshment."

Tate grinned. "Figured you would. We'll take good care of your human. Promise."

"I have no fear of that."

Tate led me across the club through yet another door. And a lot more stairs.

The door closed behind us with a heavy, thundering finality that made me jump, and a small squeak of fright escaped my lips. Marx chuckled and I looked up at him. Something in my face quieted him and his eyes softened.

"Nothing down here will getcha," he offered. With a hand on my arm he ushered me down a dark, damp corridor of red stone.

"Why aren't vampires allowed past that room?" I asked mostly to distract myself from the fear creeping into my heart.

"It's not that we're doing anything...bad," was Tate's suspicious answer.

I smiled in the dark. "It's just not legal," I answered for her.

"It's not illegal in the way you're thinking," Will replied.

"Will," Tate silenced him. "It's not something we can discuss with you without permission."

A yellow-orange light flickered like torch flames up ahead. As we drew nearer, I realized the corridor was lit with torches, no electric lights at all.

"Why the medieval lighting?" I asked. Anything to distract myself from being afraid.

"Um...we have trouble keeping electricity working down here," Tate answered. It was a good answer, but I knew there was more to it. I let it go and stopped asking questions for time being.

We kept walking down, deep underground until if I imagined hard enough I could feel the weight of the earth and stone pressing down on us. The air was damp and smelled like musty sea water, not fishy but old, and I believed we were most likely under several tons of ocean. The stone soon turned slick under my feet and I had trouble keeping them under me. I took several careful steps until I was sure I wouldn't fall, but I overestimated myself. I took one more step and slid. My feet flew out from under me and my body fell hard toward the solid stone floor. I braced for impact. I expected pain to shoot up my spine from my tail bone and my hands to scrape against the stone, rubbed raw and bloody. I expected my teeth to clack together painfully and possibly even chip.

Instead, I found myself suspended in the air, mid-fall, feet straight out in front of me. Strong hands held me under my arms, caught in a shrug.

"Careful," Marx said from above me. I looked up into his blue eyes and smiled, embarrassed.

"Damn," I said. "I wanted you to think I was cool."

He chuckled and lifted me like I was light as a feather. He expected me to ask about it. I could feel the tension around him, so I let it go. I grinned, wiped my grimy hands on my pants, and turned too fast. Before I knew it, I was falling again and this time I was sure Marx wouldn't catch me. But he did.

"I said careful," Marx admonished as he lifted me to my feet once more. "Next time I won't catch you." But I heard in his voice that it wasn't true.

"Sorry I'm such an inconvenience," I said. Marx's hand stayed lightly on my elbow for the duration of our trek. It was sweet and would have been cute if I wasn't already taken. For all his posturing, Marx seemed to be a decent guy.

Eventually, we came to a door at the end of the hall. I was a little nervous but I shouldn't have been. It was nothing but a waiting room.

The air was dry, clean, and pleasant. The floor was covered in thick moss-like carpeting that made me want to take off my shoes and see if it felt as soft as it looked. The stone walls were etched with beautiful carvings. They ran together, one right after the other, so it was impossible to tell where one ended and the next began. Three long, luxurious sofas separated the room.

"Stay here," Tate said. "I'll let them know you're here." She turned to a solid wooden door with wrought iron reinforcements like the kind you would find in an old castle, then turned back. "I should warn you. They may keep you waiting a while. I'll let them know that time is of the essence, but..." she shrugged. "They like to do things in their own time."

I smiled.

I don't exactly know that Roman going up in flames in the heat of the sun would be such a bad thing. I might have trouble getting home, though.

The thought flashed through my mind, but I discarded it quickly. I didn't want to have to explain _that_ to him.

"That's fine." Marx and Will threw themselves down on separate sofas like they lived here. I sat next to Marx.

"Is Marx your real name?" I asked.

Marx shook his head. "No, that's my pimp name," he answered with a sly grin and I grinned back, rolling my eyes. "My real name is Marcus, but don't tell anyone. I like to keep it secret."

Will laughed.

"Don't listen to him. He's as much of a pimp as I am, and that's none at all. Though, he is pretty good with the ladies."

I nodded. "Yes, I'm sure he is."

I tipped my head back against the soft back of the sofa and closed my eyes. I was so tired.

"LeKrista?"

My name was faint and distant, no louder than the softest whisper.

"LeKrista? Are you asleep?"

My eyes fluttered open to the brightly lit room and I looked around. Marx was there next to me and Will was across the room. They were both staring at me like they'd never seen me before.

"What?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

"Did you just fall asleep?"

I thought about it and eventually nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

"Damn!" Will exclaimed. "It took you no time at all!"

"How long have you been awake, Doll?"

I frowned at Marx. "What did you just call me?" He held up his hands.

"I meant nothing by it. I call all the ladies doll. My bad."

I shook my head. "No, I'm sorry. I get cranky when I'm tired."

"Don't they all." I shot Marx a look and he held up his hands again, his form of apology. "You going to answer the question?"

I'd honestly forgotten what the question was and had to think a moment. "How long have I been awake? Just a few hours. I had a Grand Mal seizure last night." I immediately regretted saying it.

"What?" They both jumped from their seats.

"I'm epileptic," I tried to explain, and had they let me continue I could have calmed their fears, but that just panicked them more.

"You need to be in the hospital!" Marx shouted.

Will was in a worse form of panic. He just kept saying, "Oh my god, oh my god," over and over.

"Would you calm down?" I said, starting to get hot around my neck and face and not from embarrassment. "I don't like people treating me differently just because I have a medical issue. I'm as normal as anyone else. I'm fine. Roman healed me. I'm not even that sore." Marx and Will took their seats again, though slow and reluctant.

"Maybe you should try to get a nap," Marx said, eyeing me like I might start seizing again right there in front of him.

"Yeah, that would be nice." It was hard to believe that I could still be tired, but I was. The flight and almost dying, then the trek down here must have worn me out.

Marx stood and let me have the sofa to myself. "We'll wake you when they call for us," he said.

I stretched and even with my legs perfectly straight there was still enough room for two or three people to sit at the other end. I yawned, closed my eyes, and drifted.

I woke to Tate's voice and someone shaking me. My eyes felt dry and sandpapery when I opened them, and I blinked several times before Tate's evanescent face came into view, a worried frown marring her forehead.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked. I had a crick in my neck and my back hurt. There was a wet spot on the sofa where I'd drooled, but it was toward the back of the sofa, so I was fairly certain Will and Marx hadn't seen.

"About thirty minutes," Marx answered.

Tate was still eyeing me with concern. "What is it?"

"Marx and Will told me about your...condition."

I rolled my eyes. "It's not a condition. The 'Vampire Scorned' was in my head and she tried to kill me. Roman healed me. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Tate asked.

I thought about saying, "I have Tourette's too, what about it?" but I didn't.

I stood, albeit wobbly, and said, "It's fine. I just want this over with." I wasn't going to give them the chance to feel sorry for me.

"Where do we go from here?" I asked.

"This way." Tate led us through the door and into a long hall. The walls were carved, like in the waiting room, to depict scenes of graphic violence, of sweet romance, and heroic shows of valor all interwoven into each other with signs and symbols that I didn't know.

There were doors on either side of the hall, all closed. Occasionally, we passed a branching hallway, or turned down one, but we didn't stop. No one else spoke, so I didn't either. They seemed a little frightened, and perhaps I would have been if I knew what I was getting myself into.

Finally, we came to the end of a hall. Fear and dread radiated off Will and Marx, but Tate portrayed indifference, like she'd been through this so many times it just didn't scare her any more. Whatever _this_ was.

I almost ran into Tate when she stopped abruptly and turned to face me. "There are a few things you need to know before we go in here."

I opened my eyes wide as if to say, "You couldn't have told me this earlier?"

"Speak _only_ when spoken to," Tate said. "Answer all questions directly. Don't beat around the bush. If you don't know or understand, say so. And, most importantly, keep all backtalk, sass, and jokes to yourself. It's a sure way to get dismissed without a hearing."

"You make it sound like I'm going to court," I said.

Tate gave me a warning look - apparently that was considered backtalk - but said, "Pretend that you are. You'll be better off. Ready?" But, I don't think that last question was for me. Marx and Will nodded and Tate pushed the heavy wooden door open enough for the four of us to step through.

The room was so cavernous that the sound of rushing water drowned out everything else. I looked up, and kept looking up, into an expanse that eventually ended, not in a ceiling but a continuing darkness that told me the room was too big for words. The floor was solid stone, no longer the red from before but a natural gray-ish tan. It was stained in places with dark spots that looked eerily like dried blood. Along the wall was a long table that looked like a judge's bench, and behind it sat eight figures of varying size, shape, gender, and style preference, though for the most part they all looked like they'd crawled out of a science fiction film.

"This is the girl?" A woman spoke, and I followed the sound of her voice to an older woman, the oldest of the bunch, sitting slightly higher and farther forward than the rest. Her hair was long and dark and fell past the table and out of sight, even though most of it seemed to be wrapped around her head in an elaborate braid. Her skin was pale and her eyes were fierce, piercing blue that looked like it hadn't seen a smile in hundreds of years. And that's the vibe I got from her. She was hundreds of smileless years old.

"Yes," Tate said from my left. "This is LeKrista Scott," and she pronounced my name perfectly, even adding a little bit of a French accent on the K. Roman had taught her well.

"Hello, Ms. Scott," the older woman said. "I am Lady Xiomara, head of the Mage Council for the last century. I assume they've told you nothing."

Xiomara gave Tate and the guys a severe look that said, "She'd better answer this correctly or else."

"No, ma'am," I answered. "Nothing."

"Good." The council head took her seat and relaxed into the back of her chair like she was tired. "We Mages must keep our existence a secret from the vampires or there will be war. Why have you come to us?" Xiomara asked.

I looked at Tate, certain she would have told them already. She widened her eyes and shook her head. I wasn't supposed to talk back. "I have a rather severe vampire problem," I stated. "They keep getting into my head. I killed one who was trying to kill me, and his lover made an attempt on my life the other night."

"Two vampires then?" Xiomara asked, as if unimpressed.

I shook my head. "No, ma'am. Three."

"Who?"

"He calls himself Roman."

"The Centurion?" she asked, and finally seemed impressed.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Pray tell, how did you meet him?"

"Uh, well, he saved my beer."

The man sitting to Xiomara's left chuckled. He was blonde, muscled, and sexy and dressed in furs. Even from this distance I could see his ice-blue eyes spark with humor.

Xiomara didn't find it funny. "I beg your pardon?"

"I bought a twelve pack," I explained, "and the bottom fell out of the box. Roman caught it before it hit the pavement. He saved my beer."

"And what did he tell you about why he did this?"

I shrugged. "Just that he had a small gift of foresight and he didn't want to see me cry."

"What else do you know of this Roman?" She sat back in her seat, one arm rested on the table in front of her, the other leaning on the arm rest, and she regarded me out of one eye, like she was daring me to do something impressive. She honestly had no idea.

"Roman had a lover named Vivien a long time ago, but she was unfaithful with one of his vampire creations, one named Lucretious." I watched her face and caught the slightest movement of her eyebrow. "Lucretious had been watching me for several months, but I didn't know why until recently. Apparently, I hold a power identical to Vivien's..." I wasn't sure that I should tell them about the Vampire Apocalypse that was forth coming. I might need some leverage later. "Both Lucretious and Roman want me for that power," I finished. "And now, Lucretious' lover Perdita wants me dead."

"Lucretious is the one that you killed?" Xiomara asked.

"Yes." I studied Xiomara's face. She was worried now and I didn't like that, because it meant that I should be worried.

"This is cause for great concern," Xiomara said. "However," and I didn't like that 'however', "our help does not come without a price. What do you have that you can offer us?" she asked.

I frowned. "If what Roman says about me is true, I have quite a bit of power to offer you. If you can protect me from the vampires and teach me how to use whatever this is that I have then you have an asset. An ally."

"Yet, it is this connection with the vampires that has me worried. Mages and vampires have been at war for a long time. A war that they won. We aren't even supposed to exist anymore. If this vampire has the ability to get inside your head, simply coming here tonight has brought our demise. I am afraid there is nothing we can offer you."

My jaw dropped.

Is she kidding? She can't be serious!

I didn't know what to say. Tate stepped forward. "Lady Xiomara, please. You cannot allow the vampires to kill an innocent victim."

"Innocent? It seems to me that she was a completely willing victim. Is this not true?" She turned the question to me and I had no choice but to answer truthfully.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"See?"

"Yes, but, she was tricked!" Tate seemed enraged at this injustice and I couldn't blame her. "You have no idea what she's risked being here."

"She has no idea what we risked allowing her to come to us!" Xiomara was angry now.

"They almost killed her!" Tate's paper white skin was now flushed blood red with anger. "She..." She looked back at me as if to apologize and said, "She is in fragile health. She suffers from epilepsy. Among other things."

I tried not to be angry. I knew Tate was only trying to get me the help I so desperately needed, but I wasn't in fragile health, and I didn't want anyone to think I was.

"Is that so?" Xiomara said, and I think her anger got the best of her. "Then, perhaps she deserves to be picked off by the vampires. Only the strong survive in this."

I think Tate was as angry at that comment as I was. I would have said something smart, but she beat me to it. What she said was better than anything I could have come up with.

"You hypocritical, bitch-ass, warmongers," she shouted. "How dare you?!" Marx and Will leapt forward, grabbing at her arms, trying to call her off, but she would have none of it. She shook them off and said, "I hope the vampires get you. All of you! I hope you all die very slow and painful deaths you nasty, evil, decrepit-"

Her shouts were cut off by the sound of cracking thunder. I saw nothing but Tate's blood red face, and then I didn't see that anymore. She dropped to the ground unconscious and smacked her head on the stone. Marx and Will would have grabbed her, but Xiomara's voice came loud and strong as a thunderstorm. "Do not touch her." She enunciated every word, making her point. "She is not deserving of your help." Then she turned to me. "I hope you have learned something here today. Those who oppose us must be punished. I have given the decree. You will get no help from us."

I shook my head and did exactly what I was told not to do. "I know I learned I don't like you very much. I know I learned that you are not fair and you are not gracious or merciful, and therefore, you are not a good leader. You've no need to worry anything from me. I won't be asking for your help again. I don't need it from the likes of you." I knelt down and picked Tate up, carrying her in both my arms. I could feel her heart beat and knew she wasn't dead, but she was so limp. At least she didn't weigh too much.

Marx and Will leapt to help me. "No," I said. "You had your chance. You don't leave your friends to die at another's hand if you're able to help them. I don't care what you're told to do." And I carried her from the room.

I didn't stop until we were in the hall with the door closed. Then, I lowered myself and Tate to the floor.

"What did she do to her?" I asked.

"You've seen _Lord of the Rings_?" Marx asked.

"Of course."

"You remember the part where Gandalf and Saruman fight in the tower?" Will said.

"Uh huh."

"It's kind of like that. She hit her with her power and knocked her out."

"So, she's not going to die?" They shook their heads. I still didn't like that they deserted their friend. "Let's get her where we can lay her down," I said.

Marx wouldn't let me carry her. He took her from my arms and led the way back to the waiting room where he laid her on one of those ultra-plush, super-soft sofas, and we waited.

"Give me your shirt," I ordered Marx. I could tell he wanted to argue with me, but not after what I'd said earlier.

Marx whipped the shirt over his head before asking, "What are you going to do with it?"

"I'm going to get it wet in that fountain over there and see if I can't bring her around with some cool water."

Marx nodded and whipped his tank top off. I saw his naked torso out of the corner of my eye and was impressed. A rippling six-pack decorated the landscape of his stomach and his biceps reminded me of the cartoons where they flex and muscles keep popping up, one just a little bit smaller than the last until they come to an almost point. He handed me the tank top and I thought a little less of him for caring too much about his t-shirt.

"It cost me almost seventy-five bucks," he informed me, as if sensing my disdain, and shrugged.

Okay. So I probably would have done the same, dammit.

I dipped the tank in the fountain on the other side of the room and was astounded at how incredibly cold the water was.

"Damn," I whispered as my fingers became instant icicles.

"It's fresh," Will informed me. "Some of the best water you'll ever drink, but it's so cold you have to draw it out and let it sit before you can drink it."

"Damn," I said again. I wrung out the shirt carefully so I wouldn't freeze my fingers, then went and knelt beside Tate. I dabbed at her forehead with the wet cloth.

Tate sat straight up and pulled away from me, cowered against the back of the sofa, and shivered. I sat back on my heels. "What's wrong?" I asked no one in particular.

"Nothing," Marx answered. "She's just disoriented. She may not remember you right off. Give her a minute." To Tate, he said, "Tate, Doll, you alright?"

Tate nodded. "That was so cold."

"I know. We had to wake you up. The Wicked Witch of the Underground knocked you out because you were being a bitch again."

Tate rolled her eyes and uncurled from her hunched up position. "Please. She's the bitch. She-" Tate looked at me with those freaky pink eyes. "I remember you now. LeKrista."

I nodded.

"You alright to go back upstairs?" Will asked.

Tate nodded and stood carefully. "Yeah, I'll be fine. My head is killing me!"

"You smacked your head on the floor," I told her.

"Yeah, I'm sure I did and I just bet that bitch loved it. Nasty, bitter old hag."

"You used some colorful language to describe her," I said with a smirk.

"You should have heard what LeKrista said to her," Will grinned.

Tate's eyes went big and round. "Oh my god! What did you say?"

By the time we got up stairs, Tate still wasn't over what I'd said to Xiomara and she was having a field day with what I'd said to Marx and Will.

"That's what you get," she said as we stepped through the door into the club, "for not being chivalrous and gentlemanly. I hope you've both learned your lessons."

Marx and Will protested, saying they would have if...

"Me thinks they protesteth too much," I quoted.

"Me thinks the same damn thing," Tate said. "I know you both love me," she told them, hands on her hips, her burgundy hair shaking about her shoulders as she shook her head at them. "You don't have to deny it."

Marx and Will shut up, but not without a gentle punch in the arm, at the same time. Tate grabbed both arms and dropped to the floor like she'd been shot. Or like she'd been zapped by the evil Mage Head again. "Ow, you broke my arms!" She writhed as if in serious pain.

Marx scooped her up and shouted, rather valorously, "I shan't not leave mine friends behind if'n I may be able to helpeth them!" Will picked up her hair like it was the train of a wedding dress and they carried her across the room. I laughed and glanced around, but there was no vampire to be found.

"Your friend stepped outside for a moment," one of the employees said to me. He was cute, blonde with blue eyes, and dressed in a black t-shirt and slacks. The t-shirt said _Vamp-Lightenment Security_ in bloody red letters across the front. Cute.

"Thanks," I said. "What happened?"

He shrugged. "He had a bite to eat," he seemed to think this incredibly clever, "then got all worried and stepped outside to use a blue and green cell phone."

"That's my cell phone," I said, as if the guy would care. I sprinted back up into the main part of the shop. Roman was just outside the window on my cell talking fast and furious, hand motioning as he spoke. I pushed the front doors open and stepped out to join him. He moved aside vampire-quick, knowing I was trying to hit him with the door.

Damn those vampire powers.

"That's my phone. Get off." Roman held up a finger, and that really pissed me off. I held out my hand for the phone. "I want the phone in my hand now."

"It's the human girl. She demands her phone. I must play nice for now."

"Excuse me?" I demanded. Roman turned his eyes down to look at me, but there wasn't the look of annoyance I expected, or anger. There was only shock and complete and utter surprise.

"I must go." He pulled the phone away from his ear and hit the "end call" button without looking. "What did you hear?" he asked.

"That's all this is? You're just 'playing nice'?" I made quote marks with my fingers.

"LeKrista."

"Shut up. You get on my last nerve. I wish you'd just leave me alone."

"LeKrista, please listen to me."

"No, Roman. I'm tired of listening to you. When you're not telling me that I'm not ready to hear what you have to say, you're lying so just shut up."

Roman grabbed me by my arms and lifted me off the ground enough that my toes were barely touching the concrete. "LeKrista, be quiet or I'll have to use force."

"I'm not afraid of you," I said.

"You should be." He was a vampire and I was human. I should have been terrified, but I wasn't.

"LeKrista?" I heard my name as the bell above the door tinkled. Marx and Will had come to my rescue. "Everything alright?" They were as afraid of the vampire as I should have been.

"Tell them everything is alright," Roman said. His blue eyes flashed, hot and angry. He'd fed and drank his fill so his power was at optimum performance. My throat constricted and I gasped, trying to get air. It was only a flash, only a tightening and then release, but it was enough to make my heart flutter.

"I'm fine," I said. I remembered that first night three weeks ago when Roman first used his vampire mind tricks on me. It hadn't worked the way he'd wanted then and it wasn't working very well right now.

"I don't believe you," Marx said. "You're looking straight into his eyes. Tell him to put you down."

I flashed a look at Roman. "I wish you would," I growled so only Roman could hear me. Roman only smiled, infuriating me further.

"LeKrista is fine," he said aloud, but he never looked away from me. "I would not hurt her." Roman set me back on my feet. "Tell them that I did not hurt you, my sweet."

I glared at him, then looked at Marx. "He didn't hurt me. I won't even bruise." I saw both men relax considerably.

"You had text messages," Roman said. "They were from Pierce."

I blinked at him. "You read my text messages?" I asked unbelieving. "That is so rude and incredibly tacky. I don't go around reading your text messages. Did you reply to them too, you jerk?"

"No, though I thought about it."

"I'm sure you did. How many were there and what did they say?"

"Staci, what are you doing? Are you with the vampire? Are you sure this is a good idea? Why aren't you answering? What's going on? What's wrong? Staci? Stace? Answer me, dammit!"

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, slid my cell phone open, and sent, "Hey, what's up?" That was it. Nothing but cool, calm me. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of thinking that I cared. Not after he'd left me.

"LeKrista, look at me."

"I don't really want to right now."

"LeKrista." I looked up because there was a hint of anger in his voice that I'd heard before and it scared me. "What did you hear when I was on the phone?"

I glared, but quoted, "'It's the human girl. She demands her phone. I must play nice, for now.'"

"How did you understand me?" he asked.

"What do you mean? You spoke in English, plain as day."

"No," Roman said. "I was speaking French."

I frowned at him and replayed the image. I shouldn't have bothered. Roman played the image again for me and I heard it. He spoke fluid, flawless French, but I understood every word.

"Ohmigod," I said and backed away from him. "What have you done to me?" My breath came in gasps.

"Help me," I heard Roman say, though his voice was distant. "She's going to have a panic attack. Get her inside."

Marx and Will had their arms around me, guiding me back into the building before I could say anything. They sat me on that tacky red sofa and put my head between my knees. I gasped for air until the attack passed. My head spun and my heart pounded in beat with my head.

I said something to Roman. I shouldn't have known the words. I shouldn't have been able to say what I said, but when I spoke, the words came out in French and I'd never taken a lesson in my life.

"What the fuck have you done to me?" I shouted.

"LeKrista." Roman's voice came out breathy, as if he was not only impressed, but he found it beautiful too.

I grabbed my hair, pulled at it with my hands and began to shout. I didn't shout in English, but I didn't shout in French either.

"What the fuck have you done to me?" I shouted in German. "I shouldn't be able to do this!" I said in Russian. "These aren't languages I should know!" I told him in Spanish. "How did this happen and how can you fix it?" I finished in English. I ended standing, shouting up into his face, my hands balled into fists by my sides. Roman looked down at me, a look of complete loss on his face. He wasn't sorry for whatever had happened, but he wasn't sure how it had happened either.

"LeKrista," he didn't seem able to find the words. "LeKrista, I don't know how to fix this. I don't even know how it happened. Please believe me."

"No," I shouted. "I don't believe you. This is your fault! All of it!"

"How so?" he asked, and I couldn't believe it.

"You sought me out! You came to me! Not the other way around! You forced yourself on me, and now look what you've done!"

"I don't understand why you're so angry," Roman said calmly, and I wanted to rip his head off and burn it. "How is this a bad thing?"

"You keep ruining me!" But a face popped into my head. Eddy's face. They couldn't talk about me behind my back anymore, and with that thought I calmed a little.

"What did you just think of, my sweet? I felt your mood change."

"That's none of your business," I snapped, and just like that I was angry again. Good old Roman, bringing out the worst in me.

"LeKrista." Roman reached out and touched a finger to my cheek. I wanted to pull away from him, because I really didn't want him touching me, but I didn't. I couldn't for some reason. "What happened in there?" he asked.

All of my anger leaked away and I was suddenly incredibly depressed.

"They won't help me," I told him.

Roman frowned. "Really? Did you explain to them-"

"Yes," I snapped. "I explained and I asked nicely." I paused. "Then I got smart and stomped out." I left out the part about Tate, because I didn't think I was supposed to tell him that. Not the way Xiomara had been talking, and for all my big talk I didn't want her to zap me with her "bug zapper".

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I ignored it for the moment.

"We must go," Roman said. "That call was...important. I'll explain more later." His eyes flicked to Marx, Will, Tate and Herman and I knew he didn't trust them.

"Okay," I said. "Just let me say good bye and I'll meet you outside."

Roman nodded, his face unreadable, and walked back out the door to stand with his back to the window. He folded his arms across his chest and I waited for the door to close before I spoke, even though I knew he'd be able to hear me anyway. I didn't plan on saying something I didn't want him to hear.

Tate wrapped her arms around me and gave me a fierce hug. "I know someone who can help you, off the record so to speak. She's out of town right now, but when she gets back we'll come visit. Okay?"

I nodded. "Okay."

"And I'll bring your cape," she smiled.

"Don't get too freaked out about your new super power," Marx said. "There are worse things that could be stuck in your head." His brow furrowed and I wondered what he was thinking about.

"Yeah," said Will. "I'd give anything to speak a little French. Can you imagine how the women would just eat that up?"

I laughed. "I'll teach you sometime."

"I'll hold you to that," he said.

They waved and said good bye and I walked out to meet Roman.

### CHAPTER NINE

Pierce was sitting on my bed when Roman brought me home. I blinked, unsure of how he'd gotten inside and into my room without my aunt freaking out, but that was truly the least of my worries. As he'd grown so accustomed lately, Pierce's face was an unreadable, empty mask.

"Thank you," I dismissed Roman and hoped he'd get the hint.

"LeKrista."

"Just go," I said sternly and he made sure to let me know just how much that pissed him off. "And that," I added, "is exactly why we went where we did tonight. Good bye." I waited for him to leave and close the door before I turned to Pierce.

"I got your note," he said and waved a piece of paper in the air. "The one you left for your aunt." He slid off the edge of the bed and stalked toward me like some great cat and his eyes flashed with anger. He'd always possessed the ability to make himself seem bigger than his five feet and two inches and tonight was no different. His presence filled the room with hot anger and I felt Romans' alarm in the back of my mind. "When you didn't answer your phone, I got worried. Imagine my surprise."

"Pierce, I'm not going to make excuses." My voice came out soft and I fought tears of anger and pain. "You have every reason to be angry, but at least let me explain before you jump to conclusions."

Pierce sat on the edge of the bed. He crossed his arms and the note was crushed beneath one of his massive biceps. My eyes were drawn to the sound. His arms bulged more than usual and I knew he'd done pushups while he waited to try and rein in his anger.

I let out a slow breath before I spoke. "The girl from the restaurant who gouged my arm," I looked to Pierce for recognition, but he was too angry. All I saw was that wall of emotionless fury that he used to hide his true feelings. "I think she's one of Perdita's. I saw her give a vial of blood to her and when she drank it, Perdita was suddenly in my head. She used her power to induce a grand mal seizure. I would have died if Roman hadn't come to help."

"When?" The anger started to fade from his voice, but his face was still empty.

"Last night. Roman brought a friend over yesterday. She knows people who can help. That's why we went to Charleston tonight, to see if they could help me find a way to keep the vampires out of my head."

"And did they?"

I started crying and couldn't answer. The wall behind Pierce's eyes came crashing down and he wrapped his arms around me.

"They said no," I sobbed into his shoulder. "They flat out refused and actually suggested I'd be better off if the vampires picked me off." Pierce pulled me tight against him and he felt so good, so solid and warm, that I clutched at his shirt, afraid he would pull away and leave me again.

"Don't go," I begged. "Please don't go!"

"Sh." Pierce tried to sooth me but I was quickly beginning to slip into hysterics. "I'm not going anywhere, baby. Calm down."

"You will. You'll leave again."

"I'm not going anywhere."

We stayed like this for a long time, me wrapped in Pierce's tight embrace. Roman still lurked at the back of my mind, but his presence was fading fast. I knew he was unhappy and I knew his distaste for Pierce only grew the more time I spent with him. I pulled away as the last bits of Roman faded and I told Pierce, "He hates you. He does this on purpose. You're not safe and neither am I."

"You're afraid he will kill you like he did Vivien?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm afraid he will kill you, but I don't think he'll harm me. I'm talking about Perdita. She's not going to rest until I'm dead."

Pierce pulled me against him once more and I listened to his heartbeat, strong and sure and full of life. "I won't let that happen," he promised and I knew he meant it.

"Will you stay?" I asked and looked up into his eyes, begged him with my own, and I almost started crying again. "Please don't leave me alone."

"Yeah," he said after a moment and kissed my forehead. "I'll stay tonight. Just don't get me shot."

That beautiful smile of his finally lit his eyes and I couldn't help smiling back. "My aunt couldn't work a gun if her life depended on it. I think you're safe."

I undressed and made Pierce take his shirt off. There was nothing I wanted more in that moment than to be next to his skin, to breathe him in and listen to the beat of his heart.

I wasn't quite asleep when my brain cramped. There was no other word for it. Something in my head seized up, not like a seizure or a tic, just a cramp. Then laughter echoed in my head and I knew it to be Perdita's.

"What is it?" Pierce asked. "What's wrong?"

Perdita laughed hysterically in my head, as if she was enjoying the greatest joke in all the world.

" _Run, LeKrista,"_ Roman thought at me. " _Run. She's coming for you. Run."_

"She's coming," I whispered and gasped. My entire right side seized up in a tick. I haven't been gripped by a tick that bad in years. Perdita's magic pulled at me calling to my blood. Instead of compelling me to do her will she sent my body into a shudder that threatened to end in seizure. I knew the moment she realized, because she let me go and I sighed.

" _She is coming after you, not to kill you, my sweet, but to frighten you. She wants you to be afraid, she wants to play with you, but she has no desire to play with your family. She will kill them if she has the chance. You must run. Get away from them. Quickly."_

" _Where are you?"_ I shouted.

" _I am very far away, my sweet, but I am coming. I promise you. Just run. Don't stop, and I will be there as soon as I can."_

I wasn't reassured.

"She's coming," I told Pierce. "She's coming and if I don't leave she will kill everyone."

"Where will you go?" he asked. "I'll come with you."

"And do what?" I asked. "She'll kill you to get to me." I started throwing on clothes. I didn't care if they were dirty or not. "Stay here and watch my family. Please. Just...don't let them get hurt." I found my running shoes and slid into them without untying the laces. "Take care of my family."

The next thing I remembered was running down the road not sure of where to go or how I was supposed to outrun a vampire.

I hit the main road sooner than I expected. The pavement made solid sounds under my shoes, and my breath came in ragged gasps. I was overweight and not wearing the right kind of pants for marathon running. The jeans were starting to chafe between my thighs and I wanted to cry. This wasn't how my life was supposed to be and it certainly wasn't how it was supposed to end.

Rustling in the trees to my right caught my attention and I looked over to see eyes glowing in the dim light of the nearly full moon.

What the-

Fear spiked through me and I tried to run faster. It kept pace with me, but stayed to the trees and I knew as long as there were houses around it wouldn't pounce.

There was a corner up ahead that closed up with trees on either side of the road. No houses. I was about to be shit out of luck.

Perdita laughed in my head again and I shuddered. She thought this was funny, hilarious, jolly good fun. I kept an eye on the animal in the trees as I rounded the curb. Waited for it to lunge. It did. I saw it crouch low, just before it left the ground and flew through the air toward me. A giant wolf's dark fur shone silver in the moonlight. I stopped and ducked, and its momentum carried it over my head, just as I'd hoped, and I was running again before it landed.

I didn't know the woods in this area, or I would have run into the trees.

" _Help me!"_ I shouted to Roman, and hoped he could hear me.

" _Run."_

I did. My legs carried me down the road at a pace that had never been my own. I leapt off the road and crossed a field to dodge a hill, a corner, and some extra running time. Then I was back on the road, past the school on the left and several churches. I came to the quarry where Lucretious had tossed me and my car into the lake. The water was dark and held threats of death in its icy murk. I passed the quarry and was up the road, headed to Roman's house.

" _I'm not there, LeKrista,"_ Roman reminded me, but I hadn't forgotten.

" _Where else am I supposed to go?"_ He didn't answer, because he knew there was nowhere else.

Two more sets of glowing eyes joined the first. I had a moment of panic, before I realized they could taste my fear. I would have taken deep breaths to calm myself if I had the breath to spare.

" _She cannot follow you inside the church, LeKrista."_

I'd forgotten about that part. _"What about the wolves?"_

" _If they are in her command, she cannot command them inside."_

That was good to know. I passed Roman's house at the last minute and ran up the road toward my family's church.

" _Faster,"_ I begged. _"Can't we go any faster?"_

" _I can. You cannot."_

I whimpered, but accepted it. I could no longer feel my exploding lungs, but I knew they were struggling, or would be once Roman closed himself to me and I was operating on my own faculties again.

I ran as hard and as fast as Roman would let me. I ran until I could see the steeple of my church rising above the trees and I knew I still had a mile to go. A mile at partial vampire speed was faster than human speed, but it still wasn't as fast as I would have liked. I ran past the few cars that were still on the road and past the buildings and work places. I lost sight of those glowing eyes, and assumed they had stayed in the trees where it was safe and they wouldn't be seen.

I turned onto the street where my church stood dark, silent, and empty. There wasn't a single car in the parking lot, not a single light save the red exit signs. The first thing I saw was the youth building. It was closer than the main sanctuary, and if it would give me the refuge I needed I wouldn't be picky.

The doors were locked. Fancy that. I broke one of the glass doors to get in and set off a blaring alarm. If worse came to worst, I could play the crazy person who'd come to the church to hide from the vampires that were trying to kill her. It worked as the truth and a lie.

I did my best to step over the broken glass in the floor, but it still crunched under my shoes, and the jagged edges tried to poke through the soles. I didn't stay in the open for long. The worship area was to the right through a pair of double doors, and it was so very dark. I let the doors close behind me and huddled against a wall where I was hidden in shadows. I let my head drop to my knees and gasped for air. My lungs hurt. My throat felt like it was sticking together and I wished I'd thought to get a drink of water from the café. I still could, couldn't I? I was inside the church. I was safe.

No, I wasn't ready to move. My legs felt like jelly and my head throbbed. I closed my eyes and prepared to stay all night.

My first indication that something was wrong was the sound of glass under foot.

"LeKrista?" Perdita sing-songed from way too close for comfort. She shouldn't have been inside! She shouldn't have been able to follow me in, unless...

My heart rate sped up, betraying my location, and Perdita chuckled.

"You thought you could hide from me in here, didn't you?" she asked. "Guess what? You're not safe in this place." She was quiet for a moment. "I can hear your heartbeat." She sang it like she was taunting me with candy and ice cream.

Nah-ne-nah-ne-boo-boo...

The main sanctuary. What if I could make it there...

I didn't know if it would do any good. If this part of the church wasn't covered, would the other be? What did I have to lose? Either I stayed here and died, or I went there and died. Either way, I died.

I listened for Perdita. She wasn't in the café anymore. She'd moved into the worship area from the door at the opposite end. She knew exactly where I was, and she was playing games with me. Just like Roman said.

She growled and I heard her rip something out of the wall. Then again. Drywall crumbled and the alarm stopped. Now I had nothing to cover the sound of my escape. I couldn't see the vampire, but I was willing to bet she could see me. I stood.

"Do you think you can run from me?" the vampire asked.

I shook my head, but turned, took two giant leaps, and smashed through the glass door that led outside. I hadn't thought my momentum would be enough to break it, but it clearly wasn't reinforced. The handle bar in the middle caught on my hip and flipped me as I fell through, so I landed on the concrete in the glass on my back.

Perdita roared with anger. "Stop her!" she screamed.

I crawled to my feet, scrambling on the glass as I tried to gain some traction to run. Those glowing eyes came out of nowhere and I screamed.

"Roman!" The word came out of my mouth as one of the giant wolves leapt at me. I ducked and covered my head, and it sailed over me, but I knew they weren't going to be tricked by this many more times.

A second wolf leapt at me, but I wasn't in control of myself any longer. As it flew at me I reached out and grabbed it by its stomach, digging my fingers into its flesh. My nails dug in with little difficulty and the wolf whimpered and tried to pull out of the dive, but it was too late. I already had a firm grip, and when it pulled back, I pulled a chunk of flesh away. The wolf howled in pain and the other two looked at me for a moment, uncertain.

I ran for the back door of the church and almost made it before Perdita was there in front of me. I had to pull up short or run into her, and I almost wasn't able to stop myself before I planted my face in her chest.

"You are not going in there," Perdita growled, and her upper lip curled up to show her fangs.

" _Almost there."_ Roman's voice was more welcome than it had been in a long time.

"Why not?" I asked, trying to stall until he arrived. "You can't go in there, can you?"

She hissed and that was enough of an answer for me. She wrapped her arms around me and pinned mine to my sides with a strength that shouldn't have been possible. But she wasn't human and that shouldn't have been possible either.

"You are not going in there," she hissed again.

Perdita's fangs were in my neck. They pierced my skin like knives and I knew when she reached the vein. It was like some pressure valve released, and I felt my blood drain.

My body jerked and spasmed in the vampire's grip. She didn't seem to notice, or if she did she didn't care. The seizure came on faster than any I've ever endured.

The moon shone directly above me, its beauty haloed in the mist of my own mind. I stared up at the sky and thought vaguely that I shouldn't be dying like this.

Perdita's body jerked and her mouth lost its grip in my neck. I felt myself roll from her suddenly limp arms onto the ground where I fell hard and solid and lifeless. Two vampires were fighting over me and all I could think was I needed to get inside the church where I would be safe. The vampires couldn't get me in there. By some miracle, I was able to push myself up to my hands and knees, but when I tried to crawl away, I fell to one side, limp as a rag doll.

"LeKrista!" a voice shouted, and I whimpered.

Glass shattered around me, rained down on top of me and I shut my eyes tight.

"Get inside!" the voice shouted.

Inside? He _wanted_ me to get inside? And then I remembered Roman. Roman was here. Roman had saved me and he wanted me to get inside.

I pushed back up to my knees and crawled, slowly, painfully. My body jerked and I lost my balance, falling flat on my stomach and smacking my chin on the concrete. Glass burrowed into my chin and I cried out as more of my blood spilled onto the concrete. I had to get away from the hungry vampires.

I pushed myself up a third time, determined to make it this time, but I was swept up by an arm and tossed. I sailed gently through the air and came to a skidding halt on the concrete. No, not concrete. Carpet. I was inside. Roman had done this. Roman had tossed me inside. I was safe. Safe from the vampires. Safe from the wolves.

I landed on my side facing the door where the vampires fought just outside, ripping each other to pieces.

"Pierce," I whispered as pain spread through my limbs and another seizure racked my body. "Pierce, I need you." But Pierce wasn't there.

" _Hang on, LeKrista. Hang on, my sweet."_

Screaming filled the air and I looked. Perdita and Roman stood less than a foot apart. She screeched for a long moment before she flew up and back into the air. Roman watched her go, then turned to me, wanting to help but not sure.

"I can't," I said quietly. "I can't..." I didn't finish the sentence. I passed out.

Footsteps. I woke to footsteps and fear gripped me around the middle and squeezed the breath from my lungs. I scrambled to my feet and tripped as I tried to run through the nearest door. I forgot the abuse my body had endured and moving made everything worse. I was sore from the seizures. I was sore from running. I was sore from being thrown. I'd lost a good amount of blood, and I was still twitching a little.

The room I managed to make it into was the women's bathroom. The door slammed behind me and I flinched. They'd know where I was. Too late now. I went to the farthest corner of the room and huddled between a toilet and a wall. They'd find me anyway. There was nowhere to hide. The light flipped on and I closed my eyes, hiding my face, afraid to see who'd found me.

"My God, LeKrista!"

It was my pastor. For a moment, I was embarrassed that he'd see me covered in blood, scratched and bruised and bitten, and huddled on the floor of the bathroom. Then I came to my senses. I had nothing to be embarrassed about. I was safe, finally. I began to cry from sheer relief.

"LeKrista." Pastor Steve came to me and gathered me in his arms. "What's happened to you?"

I shook my head. I wasn't going to lie to my pastor in church. It just didn't sound like a good idea, especially with everything going on.

He took my chin and moved my head from side to side, catching a glimpse of the bite on my neck. "What is this?" he asked. "LeKrista, what happened to you?"

I just cried, because I wanted to tell him but I couldn't.

"It's okay. It's okay," he soothed. "We'll call an ambulance and get you to the hospital."

"NO!" I screamed and tried to pull away, but he was stronger than he looked. "No! We can't leave! Not until daylight!" An overwhelming fear of the night came over me and I knew I couldn't leave. Not until the sun came up.

" _Don't leave the church, LeKrista,"_ Roman confirmed. _"She's waiting for you."_

I shook my head vigorously and tried to pull away again. Pastor Steve wouldn't let me go, and it was a good thing, because if he had I would have landed on my butt on the floor.

"Okay, okay," he said. "We'll call an ambulance to come look at you and then take you to the hospital in the morning."

I looked at him and stopped struggling. I nodded.

"Okay?"

I nodded again.

Pastor Steve turned on the sink and while he waited he accumulated a stack of paper towels on the edge of the counter. I watched and my legs grew weak. I wanted to sit, to sleep, anything but stand there. I sank to the floor, pressed my back to the wall, and felt my body sag into sleep.

Wolves. Wolves were chasing me. Snapping at my heels, biting my ankles. I was running, but I was losing. They were faster.

I cried out, "Roman!" But no one came to rescue me from death.

" _Roman, please!" But he didn't hear me. He didn't hear me because he was too far away, or he didn't care. He wasn't coming to save me._

It was too late. One of the wolves caught my foot in his mouth and tugged, yanking me off balance, yanking me off my feet. I screamed, and let death wash over me.

I woke up screaming, my heart pounding in my chest. My blood raced through my veins. The fluorescent lights were bright, the tile was cool. I was still alive.

Pastor Steve crouched in front of me. "LeKrista, wake up. It was just a dream."

But it wasn't just a dream. He didn't know. He didn't know anything.

"Calm down," he said. "There's some glass stuck in your chin. I'm going to go find a first aid kit and some tweezers, okay?"

I nodded. I wasn't afraid to be left alone. I couldn't be afraid to be left alone. I was in the church. They couldn't get me in the church.

Pastor Steve left, though I don't think he was happy about leaving me alone. Exhaustion moved in to take me away again.

I was in the church. They couldn't get me in the church. They weren't supposed to be here but they were. I huddled on the floor in the bathroom with wolves pawing and whining at the door. Why didn't they just come in? Why didn't they come get me and finish me off?

A wolf howled as if he was wondering the same thing, and laughter echoed through my mind.

Perdita.

Tears leaked from my eyes. This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen. I wasn't supposed to die this way.

" _Roman!"_

" _Why do you keep calling for Roman? He's not the one who can help you."_

" _Pierce." I said his name softly, gently, as if just the mention of his name would make him appear. But he didn't._

" _What makes you think you can turn your back on the one that was given to you, then call on him when you need him and he'll come running? It doesn't work that way. No, you're on your own."_

The tears came faster this time. "Pierce," I sobbed, but Pierce wasn't coming either.

I woke with a start and a name on my lips.

"Pierce."

The bathroom door opened and Pastor Steve stepped in. "Are you alright?" he asked and I shook my head. He frowned but I don't think he took it too seriously. He knelt in front of me and said, "I'm going to pull the glass out of your chin. It's going to hurt."

I nodded.

"An ambulance should be here soon. I told them it was no rush, though because you were conscious and most of the bleeding had stopped when I found you." He turned my head to the side and eyed the bite. "Except for this." He handed me a towel. "Bite this."

I put the towel in my mouth and bit. It hurt when he pulled out the first piece of glass, but that pain paled in the light of the pain that the rest of my body was in. I flinched each time, but each time it hurt a little less. There were six shards in all, ranging in sizes, and he put them in my hand before he pressed several paper towels to my chin to staunch the blood flow.

"Alright," he said. "Now this one." He pushed my head to the side again, and bared my neck and the fang marks to the light. I expected him to dab at it with wet paper towels or press something to it to stop the blood seeping into the neck of my t-shirt, but he didn't. He poured something on it, something warm and thicker than water. Anointing oil.

The moment the oil touched the fang marks, fire spread from my neck and went straight to my head. I writhed and screamed into the towel. My back arched against the wall and my feet kicked out straight, striking Pastor Steve where he knelt in front of me.

"Jesus, help us," I heard him pray before the world went mercifully black.

I woke to the sun beaming in my face, bright and warm, and I looked around. I lay on a bench outside the sanctuary. Pastor Steve sat on the floor, leaning against the bench with his head tilted back and his eyes closed. At first, I thought he was asleep, but when I moved, his eyes opened and he turned to look at me.

"Good morning," he smiled, but he had that tired, peaceful look that said he'd probably been up all night praying.

I smiled back. "Good morning."

"You look much better than you did last night."

I shrugged, unsure of what to say.

"LeKrista, we need to talk about what happened last night."

I would have refused, denied it, whatever, but there was a look in his eyes that said he had an idea of what had happened and he wasn't about to take "no" for an answer. I looked away, down the hall, up at the ceiling, out the window beside me, anywhere but at his face.

"I'm sorry," I said, and wasn't completely sure why I was apologizing.

"For what?" Pastor Steve wanted to know and I shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm just sorry. I'd pay you back for all of the damage, but...I don't have that kind of money."

Pastor Steve waved a hand at me. "Forget that. We can handle that. I want to know what happened last night. Something was chasing you. Something tried to kill you." He paused. "Something gave you that bite on your neck."

I looked into his eyes, a look that said he needed to be careful how much he figured out or he might be next. The look he gave back said he didn't care.

"LeKrista, what are you mixed up in?"

I laughed, but it wasn't humored. "Too much," I answered.

"LeKrista..."

"If I were you," I said, "I'd start wearing a cross," I told him, and I looked him dead in the eyes as I said it. "Bless it and never take it off. Not even in the shower or at the beach. It's only going to get worse."

There was fear in his eyes then, but not for himself. He was afraid for his church.

"And do something about the youth," I told him, "because Christ isn't in that building over there. It was no refuge for me last night."

Pastor Steve's eyes slid shut. "I've known that for a while," he said. "I just had no proof."

I turned my head so he could see my neck when he opened his eyes. "I'm your proof. Do what you have to do, and get everyone to start wearing crosses," I said. I should have been wearing mine. It would have helped me last night. I had to make sure I found it when I got home. Better than that, I should just go get some for my entire family. I might even get one for my dog.

That made me laugh a little.

"You ready to get home?" Pastor Steve asked, and I nodded.

He drove me home. The ambulance never came, but it didn't matter. Except for being a little sore and bloody and in desperate need of a shower, I was no worse for wear. I wasn't dead, and I didn't need a hospital.

"Thanks," I said as I slid out of his truck.

"I'd better see you at church Sunday."

I smiled. "If I'm not on the run, I'll be there."

My aunt and uncle were gone when I walked in the front door, but Pierce was waiting the moment I stepped into the house. I wrapped my arms around his neck and refused to let go. The warmth of him, his scent, it was all so perfectly Pierce that I never wanted to be away from him again.

"Where is everyone?" I asked against his neck.

"Your aunt and uncle went to the store."

I nodded. "What will I tell them about my face and hands?" I asked.

"We'll come up with something, but you need to get in the shower." Pierce whispered in my ear.

"That bad huh?"

"It will help keep the surprise down if you're not coated in blood."

The shower stung my open cuts and the bite on my neck, but it was nice to get clean. I let the water run through my hair and watched pink swirl down the drain until it was almost clear.

I knew when Pierce walked in. I didn't need to open my eyes. I remembered the dream from that night.

"I'm going to need to start taking my seizure meds again," I said to get my mind off my guilt.

"I thought you were always taking those."

I shook my head. "I take the milder ones. I'm going to have to switch back to the stronger pills I think. I don't like having seizures like this."

"I don't like it either," Pierce agreed.

"I'm having tics too," I said. "I don't like that either."

"Maybe it's the vampires," he said.

"I know it is. My body doesn't like them. I don't like them."

Pierce smiled.

"I'm hungry."

He laughed. "Me too."

"You're always hungry."

"You lost a lot of blood last night."

I nodded. I hadn't thought about that. "Did you sleep at all last night?"

"No," he answered. "My girlfriend was running for her life."

I smiled. "How kind of you to care."

### CHAPTER TEN

I woke to the sound of a ringing phone and shivered. It was too cold in my aunt's house and I wished she'd just bite the bullet and turn the heat up. I snuggled closer to Pierce and pressed my cold nose into his bare chest.

"Stop," he mumbled and tried to pull away.

"Sorry, I won't do it again."

"LeKrista," My aunt called through the door. "The phone is for you, sweetheart. Someone sounds like she's in a great deal of distress."

I got up and went to the door, opening it just enough to get the phone.

"Hello?"

"LeKrista!" a young voice shouted from the other end. "LeKrista! I'm in labor! Pierce's phone is off and I couldn't get through on yours!"

"Petrice?" And then it hit me. "Pierce, Petrice is in labor and your phone is off!" I was already throwing on clothes. "Do we need to get you?"

"Noooo!" she howled through a contraction and I listened to her breathe for a moment. "I'm already at the hospital! Hurry!"

"We're on our way." I hung up. "She's already at the hospital. You want me to drive?"

"Yeah," Pierce answered.

I threw on my heavy jacket before we walked out the door and sped toward the hospital, some forty-five minutes away. I made it in twenty and we were sent up to the room with best wishes from the nurses. We found Petrice lying in bed, her head back and her eyes closed, still very pregnant.

Gable stopped us at the door. "Her blood pressure went way up right after she hung up with you and had a seizure," he said in a barely audible whisper. "They're saying it will have to be a C-section. She's asking for LeKrista. You have to keep your voice low, or she could have another seizure."

"Oh."

They'd turned the TV off in the room because the movement on the screen caused seizures too. Petrice looked pitiful, and it made me want to cry. Someone had brushed her hair and put it up in a ponytail on the very top of her head. It looked silly, but I knew it was more comfortable than lying on a knot.

"Hey," I said so soft it was almost a whisper. "How are you?"

Petrice opened her eyes and rolled her head to look at me. "I'm about to have my baby," she said, "but they have to cut it out of me."

She was trying to make a joke, but it wasn't working very well. I smiled anyway. "You'll be alright. I promise."

She nodded gently so as not to move her head too much. "I'm scared, LeKrista."

"I know. It's going to be okay. I promise. Pierce and Gable and I are going to be here the entire time, we're not going anywhere. We'll be right here when you get out. And, when you do get out, there will be one extra little person waiting to see you when you wake up."

Petrice smiled. "I hope it's a boy."

I smiled back at her. "Me too." The nurses came to get her, and Pierce and I backed away from the bed so she could be wheeled out. We watched them wheel her down the hall and went to sit in the waiting room. There was only one other person there and her burgundy hair was unmistakable.

"Tate?"

She turned and grinned. "Hi. Roman sent me. You must be Pierce." They shook hands and Tate put her arm across my shoulders. "I have someone you need to meet. We'll just be about little while," she told Pierce.

I followed her to the elevator and asked, "Where are we going?"

"There's a wellness garden somewhere on the grounds."

"Somewhere? You don't know where?"

Tate shrugged. "I've asked four different people and got four different sets of directions." She laughed. "We'll find it."

We wandered for twenty minutes, but found no sign of a wellness garden.

"Maybe we should just go back upstairs," I said as my phone rang. It was Pierce. "Hey." There was nothing but static on the other end. "Pierce? I can't hear you."

"Oh! Jell-O!" Tate disappeared around a corner as I contorted to try and get better reception.

"Hello? Pierce?" But he was gone. He'd hung up and now I was alone. I went around the corner to find Tate, but she wasn't there. What a weird girl to run off after some sick person's Jell-O. I walked down the hall until I ran into a door that required a code, so I turned around. After a few moments of wandering, I decided I was lost. I was in a wing of the hospital that I didn't even know the name of. For all I knew, I could be in the "Highly Contagious Ward". I followed the hall, hoping it would take me somewhere. Normally, there were signs all over giving directions. Not today. Not in this wing.

The hall came to a dead end.

Great. Just great. Where the hell did Tate go? If this is some kind of practical joke, it is so not funny!

I grumbled and went back the way I'd come, but none of it looked familiar. Perfect.

I heard footsteps behind me and turned. The hall was empty three seconds ago. How could there be someone behind me? My mind went immediately to vampires, but it was the middle of the day. Of course, Roman had been up during the day, but then it was very overcast and rainy. Today was particularly sunshiny.

I kept going, hoping the sound was just gravity working on some inconsequential piece of something. Something had just fallen off a shelf, or a nurse had crossed the hall. That, of course, made me think of shadowy figures stalking and killing unsuspecting victims.

Then I remembered that an entire wing of the hospital had been shut down for maintenance. The part of the hospital that housed the wellness garden and a very lovely fish pond. I remembered the pictures from the news.

Heavy footfalls behind me made me jump and I stepped up my pace until I was nearly at a run. I rounded a corner and pulled up short. Plastic curtains blocked the hall to contain the construction. Fear thundered in my veins. I knew someone was following me but I couldn't think of anyone who'd be out this time of day. I turned and went back. I tried a few doors until I found one with a red "exit" sign above it. I pushed on the bar and stumbled out into the sunlight.

The sun was bright and warm, even on such a cold day. I tilted my face up as the door clanged shut behind me and let my face bathe in the warmth for a moment. I looked around. I'd found the wellness garden, but it was anything but beautiful. Both the construction and neglect had turned it into something of the past. In the center was the pond where fish had once swam. Now they were turned belly up, the water murky and rank with the stench of death.

"It's a shame isn't it?"

I jumped and spun at the soft feminine voice and looked up to see a woman with chestnut hair nestled under a tree hung with long strings of gems and crystals that hung to the ground and created a shining curtain around her. The sun hit each gem and cast colorful prisms about her face. She sat in the lotus position, but I noticed her hands were placed palm down in round spots of dirt.

"People think it doesn't matter. Let the stupid fish die. We can just replace them with more." She was quiet for a moment and shrugged. "I guess it's true. I'm Miranda. Come have a seat. Where's Tate?" There was a sweet, earthy tone to her voice that reminded me of the smell of dirt after a summer rain and the green smell of fresh cut grass.

"She ran off after some Jell-O and disappeared." The tree was like something out of a fairytale or a hippie movie and there was something about the look of it that my soul liked. I brushed a string of crystal beads aside. Something moved through it as I did. It didn't feel like power. Actually, if felt like life. Something was alive inside those beads. I pulled back and looked at it.

"Don't worry," she told me. "I felt it too. It was just recognizing you. Don't even think about it. Come sit in front of me."

"What was recognizing me?"

Miranda didn't answer. Her eyes were closed, her hands palm down in the dirt just barely touching. There was an electric energy to this little circle she'd created around the tree. I felt it give me energy, empowering me, and I knew I could stay awake all day if I had to.

"Don't let the power fool you," she said. "It can trick you into thinking you don't need the basic necessities of life, and, while it strengthens it also weakens." She opened her eyes and I saw her power there, a golden earth glow that warmed her eyes.

"Give me your hands." I gave my hands to her, palm up. She placed her palms on mine. "As with anything, there are the two ever struggling classifications of good and bad among mages," she told me, "but, beyond that, it's broken down into fours. We are called Elementals, or Elemental Mages. We pull our strength from the four elements; earth, fire, water, and air. Understand?"

I nodded. It didn't seem too complicated so far. Our hands were still palm to palm, the air was still strangely electrified, and I felt good, like I'd slept all night, but now I felt that underlying tiredness, hidden by whatever magic was in this circle. I didn't know how much I liked that magic.

"The elements contain what is called manna, what fuels our power. That's what you feel within this circle. It's like a bioelectricity powering everything. There are different ways of explaining it, depending on how you believe the universe was created."

Again I nodded, because that made sense. I believed in Creation; one God, seven days, and the earth created from nothing. I didn't know what Miranda or Tate, or even Lady Xiomara believed but I didn't think it was relevant to what we were doing.

"An example," Miranda continued. "I am an earth mage, but I can only pull power from dirt and sand and from stones that you would find on dry land. Rock salt, as opposed to sea salt. Some earth mages can pull their manna from trees and flowers, from animals and even from people, though those mages are very powerful and always teetering on the line between good and bad."

Sounds pretty sane so far.

"I'm going to show you your power," Miranda said. "I'll show you mine first, so you can see what it feels like, and then we'll see what kind of mage you would be if you accepted your power. This doesn't mean that you'll be a mage or that you'll even be able to use any of your power. That is a door, that once it's opened, it cannot be closed. This is more like peeking in a window to see what's going on. Okay?"

I nodded, not really sure if it was okay.

"I can feel your hesitation," Miranda said. "You have a very loud soul."

I frowned. "What?"

"Don't worry about it. It's okay."

She tilted her head back a little, and closed her eyes. Our palms were still touching, and I started to feel a little cold.

I felt Miranda's power the moment she opened it to me. It was like she literally opened a door and I walked right through it, but it wasn't what I'd expected. I'd always expected magic, if it was real, to feel tingly like the effects that they used in movies but that wasn't what I felt. This was like a heavy weight had been unloaded into my hands. I wiggled my fingers and felt earth, moist soil, and I smelled wet dirt. I breathed in and choked on it. There was dirt in my lungs. I felt it press on me, weigh me down, suffocate me. I wasn't breathing, but I wasn't panicking. I was calm. I was dying and I was calm.

"LeKrista?" I opened my eyes. Miranda was staring at me with a look of mixed concern and confusion. "Are you alright?"

I nodded and looked around. Her palms were no longer on mine, but I still had mine face up, resting on my folded knees. The electricity was in the circle, but that suffocating weight was gone completely.

"What did it feel like to you?" Miranda asked.

"Like being buried alive," I answered. "I smelled wet soil and I could feel it in my lungs, under my hands."

Miranda scowled and I thought I might have said something to offend her.

"That's not right," she finally said after a moment. "I think I know why you felt that, but let's just make sure. If it's true, then..." she let the sentence drop, but I wasn't going to let her get off that easy.

"Then what?" I asked, but she just shook her head.

"Palms up," she said.

I did as requested but with more hesitation than the first time. If Miranda noticed, she didn't care. She placed her palms over mine, but not touching this time.

"You're going to feel a slight tugging," she said. "In essence, I'm pulling your power from you. It might feel a little funny, but it won't hurt." She closed her eyes, and I did the same. Mostly to fight the panic of being buried alive again.

This magic was different. I felt a wind pick up around us. It smelled of Autumn and I could see the colors of red, yellow, and orange leaves swirling around us, though it was too cold for that and far too early in the year. The wind stayed mild, swirling around us until Miranda pulled her hands away and looked at me.

"Wind," she said. "Wind would be your manna."

I frowned.

"What are you thinking?" Miranda asked.

"I don't know," I told her, and tucked my hands in my lap. "I just...this is all against everything I've ever believed, or been taught to believe."

Miranda nodded. "I understand. Like I said, there's no obligation to become a mage. Lady Xiomara would have you believe that if you have the power you must use it, but that's not the case. Tate has opted not to cultivate her power because it would put her off limits to the vampires. Mages are the enemy to vampires."

"I just...I don't know that I want to be...this." I motioned to the tree with its beautiful ornaments.

"I understand, but know that not every mage is so...new age," she said with a smile. "This is how I control my magic. How I keep it from controlling me. I'm not the strongest mage, not by far, but I am very powerful. Gavlin is a war mage, kind of different from the rest of us, but he's very strong. He pulls his manna from the weather and he controls his magic by channeling it all into his battleaxe when he's not using it. Don't let this deter you," she said, motioning like I had, "but if it goes against what you believe, it's not for you."

I nodded.

"Ready to go back inside?"

I nodded again and we stood as one. I brushed the dirt from my clothes. "What about your baubles?" I asked.

"I'll get them later or maybe donate them if they get the garden fixed."

Tate sat next to Pierce getting chewed out by the sexy blonde, fur-laden man who'd sat next to Xiomara in the cave. Today he was dressed in loose blue jeans and a thin, long-sleeved sweater. It also hung loose on his frame, but there was no hiding how muscle-bound he was. I guessed this to be Gavlin. He turned ice blue eyes to me and I was struck by how tall he was.

"See?" Tate insisted, defiantly. "I told you she was fine."

"There's no room for guessing here, Tate." Gavlin's deep voice was admonishing, but not angry. "She's in danger. You have to be more vigilant."

Miranda scoffed and her whole demeanor changed. The sweet woman I'd spent the last few minutes with was replaced by what can only be described as an annoyed older sister. I caught a good glimpse of what their relationship was like. These three were like family - Gavlin the older brother, Tate the little sister, and Miranda the mother hen."

"Vigilant and Tate don't go in the same sentence."

"Miranda, we need to talk."

Gavlin took her by the hand and led her down the hall until we were out of earshot.

"That doesn't sound good," I said softly and Tate shook her head.

We watched like nosey neighbors, peeping toms, whatever you want to call it. Gavlin said something to Miranda and the news hit her like a fist. She doubled over at the waist, and I heard her sobs from where I stood next to Pierce. Tate needed no other prompting. She flew down the hall and gathered her friend in her arms before I had a chance to grab Pierce's hand and squeeze it, hard. He squeezed back and we sat down to wait. I huddled against Pierce and hoped it wasn't a foreshadowing of what was to come for us.

Forty minutes after she went into surgery, Petrice and the baby came out fine. Pierce and I sat in the room with Gable and waited for Petrice to come around. We had to keep the TV off and our voices down, but the girl came through perfectly fine. The moment she woke up, she asked to see her baby, who was asleep in the crib.

"It's a boy!" she said with glee as we put the baby in her arms. "Anthony Joseph Wisely."

I smiled. Little Anthony's face was beautiful, small and cherub-like. He was almost five pounds, but very short and chubby. When he looked up at his mother, we took in a collective gasp at his grey eyes.

I looked at Pierce and smiled. "I want a baby." He looked at me, really looked to see if I was serious. When he saw that I was, he smiled, kissed me on the mouth, and pulled me tight against him.

We stayed at the hospital that night. They wouldn't let Petrice breast feed. They said it would put too much stress on her body for now. That upset Petrice and her crying started another seizure.

I eventually joined Miranda, Tate, and Gavlin in the waiting room and handed Miranda my phone with a picture of Anthony on the screen. "Anthony Joseph," I said. Miranda looked up at me, shock in her face.

"Anthony?" she asked, her voice a horse whisper as if she might cry again.

"Was that the name of your friend? Anthony?" Miranda nodded. "We traded," I said and she looked at me, nodded, and a small smile lit her face just a little.

"Yeah," she finally said. "One for the other."

I smiled back.

"That," Tate said, "is the coolest thing I have heard in a while. 'One for the other.' Too awesome! How's your niece doing?"

"Alright," I answered. "She's still having seizures, but she'll be fine."

I looked at the time on my phone. After six. It was already dark. I shuddered.

"Yeah," Tate said. "It's dark out."

"We're going to get something to eat," Gavlin said. "Do you want to come?"

I thought about it. I was pretty hungry. "Yeah, I think I will. Let me tell Pierce."

"Let Tate tell Pierce," Gavlin suggested, though it was really more like an order. "It's after dark. You're not to go anywhere by yourself."

I nodded. That was fine with me. I did not want a repeat of last night.

Tate left and came back with a twenty. "From Pierce," she said. "He wants something to eat, but he says if you bring him Chick-Fil-A he's going to turn you into a chicken."

I smiled. Pierce didn't eat Chick-Fil-A. I did, and suddenly that was what I wanted.

The four of us went to the food court and sat down to eat in silence. No one really had anything to say. When we were done, I took Pierce a burger in a Chick-Fil-A bag.

"I don't want that," he said. I just shrugged, pulled out the burger and attempted to take a bite. "Oh, you think you're funny?"

"Yes, I think I'm quite hilarious."

"Where's my change?"

I shrugged. "There wasn't any."

"Man, please." He made a face like he didn't believe me. "There won't be any the next time I borrow money from you, either."

I smirked and let him eat his burger.

Pierce's cell phone rang and it was loud. He swore and dropped his burger trying to get to his phone.

"Shit!" He pulled the phone from his pocket and answered it with a quiet, "Yeah, man." He was quiet for a moment. "Alright. I'll tell her."

Pierce handed me another twenty. "Gable needs some cash down in the food court. I want change this time."

I smiled, took the twenty, and left.

My mage detail wasn't in the waiting room. I guessed they'd taken a collaborative bathroom break, so I just went down stairs. I made sure the elevator was empty before I stepped in and punched the button for the lobby. When the car stopped on the second floor, my stomach flew into my throat and my skin started to crawl up my arms. A man got on, his face hidden by a baseball cap and a hoodie. He nodded to me and he turned his back as the doors closed.

"When we get of this thing," his voice hissed, "go left."

"What?" He turned so fast that I forgot to breathe for a moment and he grinned around sharp, pointed fangs.

"So sorry I couldn't get to you the other night," he said, and his voice held a bit of a lisp, "but I'm here now."

The brand new vampire was one of the paramedics that was supposed to check me out last night. He took a deep breath through his nose like he was scenting the air, and when he looked at me his eyes flashed hungry and desperate.

"She won't let me feed until you're dead," he said. "I guess I'm just going to have to feed on you." His face was buried in my neck before I knew what had happened, but all he did was smell my blood through my skin. It was all he had time to do. The elevator doors opened and he gripped my hand so hard, that I was acutely aware of the strength he held, though I was pretty sure he wasn't.

Oh, dear God, save me.

I made a frantic prayer and chided myself for not having my cross yet again. Stupid me for going into a hospital without thinking about all the dead people that might rise again and come after me. But, where were my new bodyguards?

The vampire dragged me along for a few feet at a speed that wasn't very human. "Slow down," I whispered. He stopped and blinked at me.

"What?"

"Slow down. You won't fool anyone walking like that."

My help threw him, but he recovered quickly and we slowed, though his grip on my hand was still too tight. I was going to have a bruise and I wouldn't be able to help Eddy at all for a very long time.

Three cheers for unemployment!

The vampire dragged me to the morgue. It was cool, as I'd always expected it to be and all of the dead bodies were tucked away in their refrigerated cubby holes. There were three that stood open, though. Three bodies that should have been dead, but weren't. Alive and beautiful for all eternity.

Until I kill them.

What made me think I could kill three vampires? Just because I'd gotten lucky and killed one? Three vampires waited to drink my blood and drain me of the very essence of my life. One vampire just wanted revenge and one more yet wanted something from me, but I wasn't completely sure what yet. My body? My blood? My life? My love? I didn't know, but what possibly made me think I could kill them?

The morgue door shut. I was locked in and alone with three baby vampires that hadn't fed. What little I knew about vampires was enough to tell me that my position wasn't good, and I didn't have much hope for myself. I took a deep breath, ignored the aching pain in my hand, and made myself do something I should have been doing my entire life. I made myself be more observant and took in my surroundings.

The door was far enough away that, if I made a run for it, I wouldn't make it before the vampires converged on me, so I knew that was out as a means of escape. There was another door on the far side of the room, but I didn't know what was in there or whom I might find. It would literally suck if I ran in there for escape and ran into Perdita or another vampire that she'd made just to eat me in case she couldn't get to me. The rest of the room was perfectly empty except for the refrigerated cubbies that held all the dead people.

The doors to that room on the far side swung open as if on loose hinges and the other two baby vampires came in. One had a grin on his face, the third, a woman, looked very uncertain. When she saw me, however, her face contorted in such rage I thought she might actually kill me from the adrenaline rush. If vampires had adrenaline rushes.

"So it's your fault we're like this?" she screamed, and she was on me before I could blink. She had her hands around my throat and was screaming in my face like I'd done the deed myself.

"I had a family! I had children and a husband! I had parents! Look what I've become!"

I choked, trying to tell her it wasn't my fault. I wasn't the one who had killed her, but I stopped trying.

The vampire who had my hand suddenly let go and the female drove me backward. She was flying, her feet trailing behind her, and we were rushing at a speed I knew would kill me if she drove me into the wall. We stopped with a sudden jerk. Something behind me hindered our progress.

"We're not supposed to kill her." The vampire from the elevator was behind me, holding me so we wouldn't plow into a wall, making me a human sandwiched between two vampires, but I was still choking.

"I want to kill her!" the female said and tightened her grip on my throat.

"No!" He yelled. He caught her wrists in his hand and ripped her off my neck, tossing her backward into the air. I gasped, choking and sucking at the air, trying to get enough so I wouldn't black out. I did not want to black out. Not with three vampires intent on my death.

"We cannot kill her!" the vampire said. "We must wait for our maker."

The moment he said the words, I felt Perdita in my mind like she'd just entered the room. The vampires could feel her too because the other male vampire said, "What would you have from us, Mistress?"

" _Play with her,"_ Perdita's voice hissed across my mind. Play with her. She wanted to watch them play with her food before she came and got me. Or would she have me brought to her? If that were the case, I was completely screwed.

The two male vampires laughed evil, cackling laughs that echoed through the cool room and bounced off the steel doors of the temporary resting places for the dead. The permanently dead, not the waking dead, because I was entertaining the waking dead.

Where are Miranda and Gavlin?

The question wandered through my head before I could stop it, but Perdita didn't seem to catch it or didn't care.

"Run." The word came out of nowhere and I looked up to see the vampire from the elevator standing in front of me. I gave him quizzical eyes and he stepped to the side with a grin that flashed more fang than I'd yet seen on Roman.

"Run," he said again, pronouncing the word like I should have been grateful to him, and he began to count. "One. Two. Three."

Hide-and-seek? Are you kidding me?

I needed no other urging. I knew Perdita wasn't in the far room, she'd already shown me that she was back at her lair. I ran for those swinging double doors at the back of the room and plowed through them like they would save my life.

"Six. Seven. Eight."

I stopped and took a moment to get my bearings. It was an autopsy room that reminded me of the one on _NCIS_. There were two sets of autopsy gear sitting out at two tables. I ran, grabbed the first one, and dumped it onto the second.

"Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen."

" _Roman!"_

I called out for the last person I wanted help from, but there was nothing else I could do.

" _Help me!"_

Roman's voice washed through me like a wind. _"LeKrista."_

" _Just help me,"_ I said. He opened his mind to me like he'd done only once before, and I had complete access to his vast repository of knowledge.

### CHAPTER ELEVEN

"Fifteen."

The three vampires came through the double doors. I took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and hoped Roman knew what he was doing.

" _I'm offended, my sweet."_

" _Shut up. You're too sensitive and you're going to kill my concentration."_

He shut up.

As the vampires crept closer, I took a mental inventory of the things I had to defend myself. The metal instrument tray lay on the table beside me. On the one in front of me was two sets of prosector's autopsy tools. I picked up a pair of scissors in my left hand and a scalpel in my right. The male vampires laughed, high-pitched and animal-like. There was nothing human to them at all. In the female vampire's face I saw nothing but loathing, disgust, and hate.

The males looked like they were having fun. They kept scenting the air, licking their lips, and laughing.

"She's so scared," the one from the elevator said.

"I know," the other replied. He picked up a bone saw from a table and switched it on.

"We're not supposed to kill her."

"I know. I just want to hear her scream."

They were in front of me, just like that, but by seeing through Roman's eyes, I saw them move. The bone saw came dangerously close to my face and I felt the air coming off of it. I turned the scalpel in my hand, leaned back, and swiped. It bit deep into flesh with a meaty sound, and a scream of pain escaped the vampire's lips. There was no blood. The vampire had no blood in him to lose, but if he had I would have nicked a major vein.

The other male vampire was shocked. How could you let a little human hurt you that bad? I watched the cut vampire as he huddled his arm against himself. Having been an EMT, he would have been called in to at least one slit-wrist suicide, so he knew how much those wounds bled and he was expecting a drastic loss of blood. When it didn't happen, he pulled back to examine it. I saw the moment that realization hit his brain and manifested in his eyes. He straightened, leaned back as if stretching, and laughed. Not the high-pitched laugh from before, but an almost human chuckle. He licked his lips and looked dead at me. I looked down, away, at a spot on his chest.

"Nice try, little girl," he said in a voice that was low and deep and could have been seductive if his vampire powers worked on me. He stalked forward, human slow. He was trying to catch me enthrall. He wanted to throw me off my game so I'd be an easier target.

"You're dead," the other male vampire said. "You don't bleed." He struck out without me seeing him because I was focused on vampire number two, and caught me around the throat. I grabbed his arm with the hand that still held the scalpel as he lifted me off my feet. "Lizette, over here thinks we should just go ahead and kill you. Forget the Mistress's orders."

"Yeah," I struggled to say around the hand gripping my throat. "That's probably not a very good idea."

"You're probably right," he said. "But, we're already dead. What can she do to us?"

"Anything she wants," I replied, and the smile dropped from his lips like it tasted bad. I stabbed the scissors into his shoulder at the joint. He screamed and released me, but I still had a grip on his arm. With Roman's knowledge running through my mind, I knew how to center my weight and just how much force was needed to toss him. He wasn't light, and my lower body strength was much stronger than my upper, so I used my legs to help propel him far enough away from me that he hit the wall, hard. His body crashed into the drywall and left an indentation of his form. He didn't get up immediately and I'd lost one of my weapons in his arm.

The other male vampire picked his bone saw back up. Subconsciously, I saw the female standing across the room, still just inside the doors, before I picked up the metal tray and used it as a shield against the saw. It didn't do much good since the metal was thin and the saw was used to cut through bone, but it gave me the leverage I needed to twist it from the vampire's hands. It was lucky for me that he wasn't used to his new strength. I dumped the tools from the second tray to the table and caught the vampire across the face with it. He wasn't a fighter and his reactions were slow, so I got in a few good blows before he snatched it away from me and sent it flying across the room. I still had the scalpel and I reached down to the table to find a second weapon, anything to use.

He didn't dodge it when I sliced his mid-section with the scalpel three times. They weren't deep cuts, but they bisected each other so it was deeper in the middle. The vampire made a gut wrenching sound as his muscles gave way, and his intestines began to bulge in the middle of his stomach. He just looked at it, looked at me, and looked back at his stomach like he wasn't sure what to do. I took a step toward him, and with all the strength I could find, I plunged the scalpel deep into his chest where I hoped his heart would be. It wasn't silver, but he was only a day old. Roman seemed to think it would be effective. His eyes widened. I twisted the scalpel, pressed it in farther, pulled it up through his chest until it wouldn't go any farther, and pushed it in some more.

The vampire dropped to his knees. I left the scalpel in and stepped back. He looked up at me and muttered, "Behind you," before his eyes glazed over and he dropped to the floor limp.

I barely had a chance to turn around before the other male vampire had his arms around me. I didn't bother to struggle much. He looked me in my eyes and his eyes flared.

"Please don't," I gasped.

"Why not?"

" _Roman!"_

One moment later I was being squeezed to death by a vampire, the next I was bespelling him with _my_ eyes. Roman's power cut through me like a hot knife. It burned from the dark place inside me, waking it, and bringing it to life. The power fed it, made it grow, made it move up through me, made it real until it began to consume me. Distantly, I felt Roman whisper something like "I'm sorry" in my head, but I couldn't be sure. I was so consumed with that darkness I didn't realize that the vampire was now on his knees at my feet. His hands were pressed to my stomach, like a dog begging for love. I looked into his eyes and I felt Roman eating that thing that made the dead man live. He consumed everything that the man was to become, and he did it through me. Whatever the vampire's life force was made of it sliced through me, just enough to tempt my darkness but not enough to feed it. I wasn't sure if Roman knew he could do it before today, but he did and he gained power and strength from it.

Perdita screamed through my head, and I realized Roman was taking from her what little strength the vampire offered.

_The more vampires one creates, the more power is gained,_ whispered across my mind.

Roman left me suddenly, like he'd pulled my heart out with him and I felt empty with nothing for my darkness to feed on. A noise caught my attention and I turned back to where the female vampire had been. An autopsy table flew across the room and there was no way for me to get out of the way. I turned and wrapped my arms around the back of my head, hoping to save something of myself when it crashed into me, but it never did.

"LeKrista! Get in the corner!"

I turned to see Miranda standing there between me and the table. She'd caught it and was using it as a shield.

"Get in the corner!" Then, as if she thought I wouldn't listen she added, "Now!"

I scrambled across the room to the corner and huddled against the wall. Miranda pulled some round blades from somewhere and threw them at Lizette. One caught her across the shoulder, and another cut into her side, but the female didn't go down. She hissed at Miranda, turned as if called and disappeared.

Miranda stomped over to me and pulled me up by my arm. "Where is your cross?" she shouted. "Haven't you learned by now to wear a cross?"

"If you had any idea what my weekend has been like- "

"I don't care what your weekend has been like. I want to know why you don't have a cross around your pitiful little neck!"

I stared at her. "Excuse me," I shouted back, "don't you talk to me like that. I had to find some way to defend myself because you were nowhere to be found!"

Miranda looked around, noticing the two dead vampires for the first time. "You did this? All of this? By yourself?"

I straightened and tipped my chin up defiantly. "Roman helped me."

Miranda let out a frustrated growl. "How can you be so stupid!" she shouted. "You don't have a cross, you let the vampires use your mind at their leisure. Why did you even ask for our help? I thought we told you not to go anywhere without us."

I stepped to her and got in her face. That dark place stirred inside me as if to say, "Yes. Get angry. I'll feed on that." I let my face contort into a snarl and my voice turned cold.

"Where the hell where you?" I bit out in her face. I stepped back and frowned, less angry now because I was concerned, and asked, "Where is Gable?"

"What do you mean, where's Gable?"

"Gable called Pierce and asked me to bring him some money to the food court. No one was in the waiting room so I got on the elevator and was ambushed when I hit the second floor. I never made it to Gable."

"We haven't seen him." Gavlin's deep voice was immediately followed by the sound of metal against tile and I jumped and screamed. When I looked, he had a gigantic battle axe in his hands with which he'd used to cut off the head of the vampire I'd stabbed in the heart. The loose head rolled across the floor and stopped face up. It was a clean cut, no jagged edges, and I just stared at it because I didn't know what else to do.

"Are you alright?" Gavlin's voice bit through my stupor and I looked up at him.

"Huh?"

"Are you alright?"

I shook my head. "Where's Gable?"

"I told you we haven't seen him."

"Did the vampires get him?" My voice had gone weak and childish like the other night. I was going into shock and part of it was from that space inside me that loved the way it felt for Roman to suck the energy from that vampire. Now, it lay empty and desperate to feel again, to feed again.

"The vampire told me he wasn't allowed to feed until I was dead," I told them.

"He could be here in the morgue," Gavlin said to Miranda.

"We'll look," Miranda said and stalked away.

I wrapped my arms around myself and watched as Gavlin and Miranda methodically searched each death cubby. I shivered. The cool air of the morgue was now frigid. Now that the adrenaline and fear had worn off, I was cold. I began to lose hope that they'd find Gable as they neared the end.

Gavlin pulled out a table and Gable came out with it. "Is this him?"

I nodded. Gable's dark face was pale and blood oozed from a wound on his head. "Should we call a nurse?" I asked.

Miranda shook her head. "We need to get out of here before someone comes down. Gav can carry him up and around to the ER. Go get your boyfriend and let him know what's happened. I'm sure he's worried by now."

Miranda walked out, stomping through the doors that clanged shut behind her. I held the door for Gavlin so he didn't have to toss Gable over his shoulder, and went up to the waiting room where Pierce and Tate were waiting.

"LeKrista!" Tate rushed me and wrapped her arms around my neck. I just stood there like a stiff board, my arms at my sides. She pulled away, hurt etched across her features, but I wasn't worried about her. I had eyes only for Pierce.

Something inside me that opposed that deep, all-encompassing darkness yearned for Pierce. I wanted him. In that moment, I needed him because I knew he could calm the churning in my soul.

"Staci?" When Pierce saw how I was looking at him, he stopped pacing and called my name, and that one word was enough to push the darkness back.

"Hold me," I whispered. There was desperation in my voice, a fear of myself that I didn't understand.

Pierce came to me with no further prompting and wrapped his arms around my waist. The moment he touched me the darkness receded back into that deepest, most hidden place inside me where it lived. I wrapped my arms around his neck and relaxed against him so heavily he had to support my weight.

"LeKrista?" he asked as he stumbled against the unexpected weight.

"Don't let go," I said.

Pierce held me for a very long time, and we just stood there with Tate watching, and eventually Miranda and Gavlin joined her. At some point, Miranda made a noise in her throat to signify her impatience.

"Gable's in the emergency room," I finally said against his shoulder.

"What?"

"The vampire's got him. He's not dead," I said quickly, "and I don't think he was bitten. He was hit on the head pretty hard, though."

"I'll have to go see him," Pierce said.

I nodded. "I'll take Miranda and go sit with Petrice."

"Alright."

When Pierce finally let me go, I was afraid that the dark places inside me would come bursting back to life, but they didn't. They settled back into place and they didn't move.

Pierce went with Gavlin to the ER. Tate and I sat and I told her what happened in the morgue. Miranda just went to the balcony and looked over.

I knew Roman was on his way about a second before I saw him. "LeKrista, are you alright?" he asked, his accent deep from the extra power he'd absorbed.

I nodded, but I didn't bother to stand or greet him. Such proximity to him and all that power made that dark place stir again like a beast had awoken, turning in its sleep. I let Roman approach, slowly, because he knew I was scared. He took a seat next to me and Miranda and Tate kept a very close eye on him.

"I am sorry, LeKrista, for what happened earlier. That has never happened to me."

"Did you know that you could do that?" I asked, and he gave me a very careful look.

"I knew that it could be done, yes, but I've never done it myself. I am truly sorry that it had to happen the way it did. I felt..." He searched for the right word, as he looked deep into my eyes, not to use his mind tricks, but to really see into me as a person.

"That's enough," Miranda said eventually, and he looked up at her.

"Hm," Roman said and looked back at me. I glanced at Miranda. She had her weight balanced evenly on both of her feet, her knees slightly bent. She was ready to fight.

"I can see that my presence is not welcome here," Roman said. "I came only to make sure you were alright. I did not think you would allow me in after...what happened."

I shook my head. "I'm fine."

"I see that you are. LeKrista," his voice was careful when he spoke, as if he was about to say something that no one in the room would like.

"What?" I pressed. "What is it?"

"I was thinking, it might be a good idea for you to get away for a while, hide out somewhere that you're protected. Perdita isn't going to stop trying for your life, and by now she has to be more intent on it than ever before. I know I would be."

That final comment did nothing to make me feel better and I gave Roman a look that said as much. He shook his head in apology and tried again.

"You have thwarted her attempts on your life three times in a week. She's not going to stop trying. She's only going to try harder. I know Perdita, and I know vampires of her kind. She is of my line. Please. My home in Colorado. It would be safer."

"No," Miranda said without hesitation. "Absolutely not."

Roman looked at Miranda then. I think he was actually seeing her for the first time and there was a hint of animosity in his gaze.

" _And who is she?"_ He asked.

" _Miranda. One of my two new bodyguards."_

" _She is afraid of me."_

" _Good. That means she's smart."_

Roman looked at me as if I'd said something shocking, then caught sight of Tate. A grin spread across his face, but his fangs stayed neatly hidden. The anticipation of them was enough and he knew that. My chest fluttered and I let him know just how much I hated that.

"Tate, my dear," he said, rising to his feet.

"This is your vampire?" Miranda was disgusted.

"You smell lovely, as always." He took a deep breath against Tate's neck and I could feel his amusement at pissing Miranda off.

"Don't mind her," Tate said. "She's in a foul mood today. A friend of ours passed this morning."

Roman's face screwed up in a sympathetic frown and he looked positively delicious.

"I'm so sorry to hear that." To Miranda he said, "My deepest condolences." Miranda was polite enough to accept with a simple dip of her head.

"When's the funeral?" I asked. "Will there be one?"

Miranda looked at me. "The funeral will be tomorrow evening."

"So you'll have to leave, right?" I asked. "You and Gavlin and Tate will have to attend the funeral."

Miranda shook her head. "One of us will have to stay with you." Her tone held bitterness toward me, as if it was somehow my fault her friend had died but there was something else, something more. While she resented me for whatever reason, she was hoping to use me as an excuse to not have to go to the funeral. No way was I about to let her put me in that position.

I shook my head. "There's no point in that. I can go with Roman to his Colorado house until you get back. That way none of you have to miss the funeral. I know I'd hate it if I was stuck body guarding during the funeral of someone important to me." I said it while I looked her in the eye. I wanted her to know that I knew what she was thinking. She had the grace to look slightly embarrassed at being caught.

Roman looked from me to her and back, then said, "You can bring Pierce if you like." There was a sneer on his face that he barely passed as a smile, but it would never have passed for polite.

"Of course, I'll bring Pierce," I said. "What am I? Stupid?"

Or maybe you're stupid.

I'd honestly forgotten he was listening to my thoughts and I flinched visibly after I thought it.

" _My bad."_

I felt his amusement. He thought it funny when I forgot he was listening.

Miranda crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. She was pouting and it was so immature.

She's grieving, LeKrista. Maybe she just needs someone to take the pain out on.

I hated being practical with myself.

"I don't like it," Miranda said. "I really think this is a bad idea."

"Miranda, come on. He's not going to hurt her," Tate said, jumping in to try and save the moment. "He's trying to help protect her."

"Isn't he one of the ones we're supposed to be protecting her from? She's so stupid and immature. She'll hop a ride with a vampire just because it sounds like fun, then come crying to us when she realizes it's not what she thought. Why should we have to protect such idiocy when there are people out there dying who really need our help?"

"Miranda, that's enough!" Tate's voice rose to that "pissed-off-mom-level."

It was funny to see Miranda react to Tate's sudden change of personality. It was clear that she didn't react like this often.

"What is wrong with you? She's done nothing to you to warrant this kind of behavior."

"You didn't hear how she spoke to me downstairs."

"Can you blame her? If she stood up to you then I'll cheer on her side, because I don't like this attitude you have. Don't you dare think for one second that you're the only person in pain here. Gav and I just happen to be better at hiding it for a more opportune moment."

"Tate, you don't-"

"Shut up, Miranda. I don't want to hear it. You're so full of crap right now. You owe LeKrista an apology. Maybe you need to go on leave until you can get your emotions under control. I know you loved him, but this isn't like you."

"Tate."

"No." Tate said the word with such force and finality that no one would have argued. Not even Roman. "You're wrong this time, Miranda. Roman, I'm sorry you had to see this side of her. It was lovely to see you, but LeKrista and I are going to go be with the new mother while Miranda has some time to sit and think about what was said here tonight." Her charming sense of humor was back with a vengeance, like the moment of seriousness had cost her dearly and she had to make up for it by being funny.

"Absolutely, my dear. I'm a bit hungry now, anyway." Roman flashed his fangs when he grinned, and had I been single and subject to his will bending powers I might have swooned.

"It was a pleasure to have met you, Miranda." He didn't offer to shake her hand. "LeKrista, I will leave tonight to prepare for your arrival. Adelina and Calliope will pick you up tomorrow afternoon and you and Pierce will fly to Colorado. Of course, I won't be there to greet you right away, but I will have someone there to take you into town and show you where to find everything."

I smiled, suddenly excited about my trip to Colorado with the love of my life. "Thank you, Roman."

"No need to pack, my dear," he said hurriedly. "I'll have everything you need. Both of you. I promise."

I raised my eyebrows at that, but didn't say anything. I waved as he left and Tate and I went down the hall to Petrice's room. Miranda didn't follow.

### CHAPTER TWELVE

I'd never imagined Roman would have a private jet, but he did and it was lavish with all the amenities of travel.

Adelina gave us the grand tour. We climbed the steps into the belly of the plane and turned right in that little hallway. There were ivory sofas, one on either side with a coffee table set in front of each. A short wall separated the sofas from eight comfy looking chairs that faced each other, four on each side, again with small tables set between. A box at the front hid a TV that I was sure would have a very wide screen and I hoped for an in-flight movie.

Adelina took us to the cockpit where we met the pilot and copilot, two very kind gentlemen who didn't seem to have a clue what they worked for.

In the back of the plane I found a full bathroom and a bedroom and I was ready to forget the movie and take a nap when I realized there was a TV in the bedroom as well. Trust those old vampires to think of everything.

We waited for about half an hour before Calliope came in and I realized we'd lost her somewhere between the parking lot and the plane. She had burgers from the food court.

Pierce didn't even notice that we'd left the ground, which was hard to believe. He was halfway through the second of three burgers when he asked, "When are we leaving?"

I blinked at him. "Are you kidding?"

Pierce shook his head. "No, why?"

"We're already flying."

Pierce turned to look out the window. "Oh." When he turned back he was laughing. I pursed my lips together to keep from laughing out loud, but it didn't do Calliope any good. She giggled before she could catch herself.

"I'm sorry," she said, but couldn't hide the laughter in her voice. Even Adelina was laughing. "That was too funny."

"She's laughing at me," Pierce said. "Is she really laughing at me?"

I nodded. "Everyone is, babe."

I looked up and caught Adelina staring at me. She was still smiling, but she had a contemplative look in her eyes, like she was really seeing me for the first time. I smiled, to let her know it was okay. She didn't have to like me. I understood.

I excused myself sometime later to use the restroom. When I came out, Adelina was waiting for me, leaning against the wall.

Awkward.

It was the most relaxed I'd seen her. She looked tired.

"Have you slept?" I asked. She shook her head, but plunged right ahead before I could say anything else.

"I owe you an apology for the way I've acted toward you."

I frowned.

"I have not given you a fair chance," she continued. "I can see how much you care for Pierce, and I know you pose no threat to me, but Roman is very much infatuated with you."

"What?"

"Please, let me finish. The Master wants you to be his new Vivien. I know now that you don't desire this, but you have to understand, he will not take no for an answer. It will be very difficult to persuade him otherwise."

"Adelina, you don't owe me an apology. I understand how you feel, or...well I know how I would feel in your situation."

"I want you to know, if you need my help or Calli's all you ever have to do is ask."

"Thank you," was all I could say to her unexpected offer. She nodded, offered a small smile, and walked away.

The rest of the flight fared rather predictably. We all fell asleep and were woken by the sound of the pilot on the intercom letting us know we would be touching down in Denver in about twenty minutes.

There wasn't a lot of prep to do, no bags to gather, no tables to return to their upright positions. Pierce grabbed the one bag we had with cell phone chargers and such.

It was cold outside the plane. I pulled my coat tight around me and looked at Pierce. He didn't seem to be bothered by it, but I knew he didn't like the cold, wet, snow that fell from the sky and coated the ground.

"Better get used to it," Adelina said. Her smile was wide. She and Calliope didn't seem bothered by the cold either. "There's going to be lots of snow between now and the time we leave." Pierce didn't like that at all. He grumbled about "this damn snow" all the way to the navy blue mini-van waiting for us on the tarmac. Adelina climbed into the driver's seat, Calliope got shotgun, and Pierce and I snuggled in the backseat until the heater warmed up.

"I never really pegged Roman for the minivan type," I said as we pulled out of the airport and onto the highway. The smile Adelina gave me told the story before she did.

"He's not. I am."

"Did you ever want children?" I asked, before I thought about what I'd said. "I'm sorry," I hurried to say. "That's none of my business. I just thought you'd make a good soccer mom."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Pierce said.

"The Master, Roman has told me many times that, should I want to have children, all I have to do is ask and he will find a father for me."

"You ever think about taking him up on his offer?" I asked, though I knew what the answer would be.

"I have," Adelina answered. "But, I do not want to have children with a man I do not love. I love The Master and that is enough for me."

"What about you?" I asked Calliope and she gave me a sad sort of smile.

"It is the same way for me. Besides," she added, "there are many young women for us to care for, so in a way it is like we have children."

Pierce gave me a look and I told him with my eyes that it wasn't a good time and we would talk about it later. He conceded and the subject dropped.

From the outside, the Colorado house was much grander than I expected it to be. Snow piled high on the sides of the road, gathering more as it fell from the sky. The entire place was white, even the bark on the birch trees that surrounded the house.

"Wow," Pierce said. "Wow."

"Yeah," I said softly beside him.

Stone steps led from the house to the driveway that wrapped around and disappeared, and if there was a garage it was around back somewhere because I couldn't see one. The front door was the solid kind with an etched window made of several different panes gilt in gold. Warm yellow light shone through each pane, caught on the nuances, and fractured to make the glass look like it would melt and pour over our feet.

I grasped the knob and pushed. The door swung open easily and we walked into a small hall. There were six steps leading down to the right, beyond which I could see the living room, and six steps led up into a darkened hall, although in the late afternoon light, or what was left of it after the snow and clouds blocked most of it. A chandelier hung in the hallway.

Just a small one, but it was beautiful, made of gold and dripping with what was probably real crystal. Or maybe, knowing Roman's lavish tastes, they were diamonds.

"This way," Adelina said, and took us up the stairs. There was a door at the end of the hall on the left. "This is your room," she said with a smile. "Go ahead and get settled. The butler will be in soon with some refreshments."

When she left, Pierce pushed the door open and I gasped. This wasn't a room, it was a suite. A king size bed stood against the far wall, covered in the most luscious looking bedclothes in deep reds and golds with patterns that made me think of the seventeenth century. It was canopied by heavy curtains that could be pulled closed to give complete privacy. On our end was a sitting area with two large sofas and a couple of chairs all surrounding a giant fireplace with a roaring fire. On the floor was a bearskin rug that looked like it was made of polar bear fur and I couldn't help but think of the kind of things that might be fun to do on top of it.

I kicked off my shoes at the door because I was afraid I would track mud and snow across the lush white carpet.

"Damn," Pierce said in a soft voice behind me.

"Yeah. I wonder what the bathroom looks like," I said, but I had a good idea.

I crossed the room to the door on the left of the bed and pulled it open. Four sinks lined the left wall, those cool bowl sinks that sit on top of the counter, and the faucets looked like hand pumps from a well. The shower was set back in the wall. There were four shower heads, one on each end and two in the back wall each with their own thermostat. A seat ran along the back should you desire to sit and there was a towel hook on the wall just outside the door. The bathtub wasn't just a bathtub; it was a hot tub with enough room for no fewer than eight. A round red and cream bench sat in the middle of the floor, completing the ensemble.

"Damn," Pierce said again. "He doesn't know how to half do anything, does he?"

I shook my head. "I'm going to call my aunt. You should let Gable know we made it okay."

We went back into the bedroom to make quick phone calls. Afterward, I flopped onto the bed and let my eyes close. I didn't sleep much anymore. I always seemed to be exhausted.

A knock on the door startled me into realizing I'd drifted for a moment.

"Wake up." Pierce slapped my butt as he walked past to get the door. I groaned and rolled and sat up so I could see who it was. A man who fit every description of a butler you've ever seen, from the tailcoat to his white gloves to the hooked nose, receding hairline, and English accent, came through the door with a tray of hot cocoa and cookies. I assumed they were cookies, because I'd never seen any of them before.

I hopped down from the edge of the bed and came over to stand closer to Pierce and the old butler. He was so pale I knew he was a vampire right off.

"Good evening," he said. "You may call me William. The Master sent me with refreshments. He sends his regards and wishes you to get your rest. He understands that it has been a long day for you both."

Pierce took the tray and set it on the hearth in front of the fireplace. "Thank you."

Butler William nodded and left.

I sat down in front of the fire on the soft rug and snagged a mug of hot chocolate for myself. Pierce took a seat next to me and we sipped together in silence for a few moments.

"God, I'm tired." Pierce yawned and stretched and popped one of the cookies in his mouth. "I think I'm going to lie down."

"Yeah, I'll join you."

I didn't remember making it to the bed.

The room was dark and cast with shadows when I woke up. I pushed heavy covers off and turned to find Pierce snoring next to me.

"Pierce. Baby, wake up." His only reply was a louder snort and he turned over onto his other side. I climbed out of the bed and crept across to the fireplace. Some embers still burned underneath so I tried to stoke it to bring some warmth and light to the room.

A shadow fell across the floor in front of me and I screamed, but a cold, dead hand clapped over my mouth before anything more than a squeak escaped.

" _Tis only me, my sweet."_

I let myself relax, but growled in my mind, _"Why the hell didn't you just let me know you were here?"_

" _I tried."_

That was all the answer I got. Roman removed his hand from my mouth and I turned to him, motioning to the door with the stoker. I didn't wait for him to lead or follow, but marched from the room as quietly as I could.

"What did you do?" I asked, once the door was shut.

"I do not know what you mean."

"Stop it! What did you do? Did you drug him? Because there's no way he wouldn't wake up if he heard me scream. What. Did. You. DO?"

"I need you to come somewhere with me, LeKrista, and I knew he would not allow it. But it is important."

"Ohmigod. You really aren't above anything are you? I'm not going anywhere with you, Roman."

"Ah, but you must. You have no choice."

"Excuse me? No choice?" There were two looks that he wore in that moment. His face held smug arrogance that made me want to hit him, but in his eyes was worry. "What kind of trouble am I in now?" I asked, half joking, but Roman's face cleared of all emotion and I knew I'd hit the nail on the head.

"LeKrista, I really don't have time to explain or to convince you to come with me. We are already late."

Roman wrapped me in his stronger-than-life arms without my consent and then we were airborne.

" _What's the rush? Slow down."_

" _We are in a hurry. We are late."_

" _Late for what?"_ But I didn't get an answer.

By the time we landed we'd flown so fast I was breathless. I collapsed to the floor, unable to breathe and sure I was going to die. My lungs felt like they'd disappeared and my throat was so dry it stuck shut. I looked up at Roman, my eyes so wide I thought they might pop out of my skull. I grasped for him, my fingers clutching only air. He came closer and started shouting at someone, but I couldn't hear a word he said. I tangled my hands in his shirt and pulled him close enough that our faces almost touched.

"Water." I mouthed the word because I couldn't get any air to speak, and I thought of the ocean, full of water that I couldn't drink. "Air," I mouthed, and felt the wind blow through me. But it wasn't blowing through me. I was losing consciousness, hallucinating. As the blackness ate at my vision, I knew I was going to die.

I felt someone's lips on mine, and I knew I was being given mouth-to-mouth, but I couldn't see who it was. A breath went in, and it came back out. Another breath in, and it came back out. Two more times and I felt my heart stop and the world left me.

I was dead.

I watched as Adelina pressed on my chest.

" _One, two, three, four, five."_

She tilted my head back, pinched my nose, and breathed into my mouth. My cheeks puffed out, but the air went down my throat. I could feel it, even standing here near my head, watching. My right hand went involuntarily to my chest at the feeling. Calliope stood next to Roman across the room. He had his face in his hands and his head on her shoulder, but she didn't seem to be making any progress in consoling him.

" _LeKrista."_

The Voice came from everywhere and nowhere.

" _Yes?" I answered._

" _You can't die," It said. "There is much I still need for you to do and learn."_

A young man stepped up beside me and sat on the floor next to my feet. He looked up at me and smiled, and that smile was so full of peace that I couldn't help but mirror it in my soul. I sat down next to him and crossed my legs Indian-style, just like he had.

" _Am I dead?" I asked._

He nodded. "Yeah, but don't worry. I'm going to send you back in a few moments."

" _Roman's pretty upset," I said._

The young man nodded. "I have a few things to tell you, so pay attention, okay?"

I nodded.

" _The time will soon come when you'll need to swallow your pride. Don't fight it or it will be the death of you. I won't bring you back then, because it will be your fault."_

I frowned. "Why, if you're going to be able bring me back now?"

" _It won't be a matter of ability, LeKrista. It will be a matter of whether or not I'm willing, and I won't be. If you let yourself die because of your own pride there won't be anything I'm willing to do for you. This wasn't your fault."_

" _Some would say otherwise."_

The young man shrugged and looked at me. His eyes were so full of color that they were colorless and I sighed at the immensity of the peace that filled them.

" _I know what the Mage woman says about you. LeKrista, you were made special for this very reason. You belong with the Mages, but you belong with the Vampires as well." He was quiet for a moment. "I must go now. Go to sleep and you'll wake up again. I promise."_

I looked at my body, and when I glanced back to the man sitting next to me he was gone. Part of me knew that wasn't quite right, but it didn't seem to matter. I was so sleepy. I slid to the floor with my head braced by my hands and fell asleep.

Someone was pounding on my chest.

No. It's CPR.

I came back with a gasp and sat up straight. Whoever had been making my heart beat scrambled away. I heard them crawl across the ancient hardwood floor, and looked around. Adelina had saved my life, and she was now a foot away in case I came up swinging. Roman and Calliope were across the room against the wall. He was distraught, leaning on Calliope's shoulder. Calliope rubbed his back in soothing circles, trying to calm him, but it wasn't working. The longer they stood there, the worse he got until he just exploded. Roman roared with pain. Calliope stepped back, staring at her master. She looked around, caught sight of me and did a double take.

"Master," she whispered. "Master, look."

Roman didn't hear her, or couldn't hear her through his immense pain at losing me. That was kind of funny.

" _Calm down, you creepy old man. You're scaring the children."_

Roman stopped immediately and turned surprised, disbelieving eyes to me. "What is this?" he whispered.

"Um," I said, "I'm not dead. Well, I was. Not anymore."

"How?" Roman asked and I grinned.

"You probably don't want to know." My cell phone rang and I answered it without thinking. "Hello?"

"LeKrista?" It was Pierce and he was just as shocked to hear my voice as Roman seemed to be. "You're...okay?"

"Yeah. Why?" Then I remembered my car accident three weeks ago. Somehow we were connected. "What did you see?" I whispered.

"You...you were dead," he said. "I felt you...saw you die." There was such grief in his voice, masked with suspicion and relief. It broke my heart.

"We'll talk about this later," I promised, "but I'm fine. Really."

"I...Staci..." There was something in his voice, defeat, loss, pain, and I didn't like it. I knew all too well how it felt to be where he was.

"I know," I said, then added, "I love you," just in case he thought I didn't.

That must have been what he needed to hear, because he sighed with relief. "I love you too."

"I'll wake you when I get back," I said.

"Promise?"

I thought about saying something smart but thought better of it. There would be plenty of time for that later. "Yeah, I promise."

We hung up. Roman, Calliope and Adelina had watched with rapt interest, and now were looking away. No, the girls were looking away, Roman wasn't.

"You were dead, my sweet." Adelina and Calliope tensed. "Your heart stopped beating. I saw the life go out of you."

I nodded. "I agree. I was very dead. Not just mostly dead, all dead." My hands were cold. Was I going into shock?

"What happened?"

I didn't know what to tell him without sounding cheesy, but...

My eyes went out of focus and I shivered.

"LeKrista?" Roman's voice was soft as he said my name. "LeKrista, what's wrong?"

"I'm so cold." My teeth were chattering.

What the heck?

"She's in shock," Calliope said. "I don't think she quite understands what just happened to her. It hasn't sunk in yet."

"Run a hot bath," he told Calliope and she ran off to do as she was told. Adelina stayed close by and Roman picked me up from the floor.

"LeKrista, do you understand that you just died?" Roman asked. I nodded. "Adelina had to give you CPR. She had to make your heart start beating again."

I shook my head. "No, not Adelina."

Roman frowned at me, and I guess he thought I'd gone insane. "Who then?"

"Dunno. A boy." Roman and Adelina looked at each other as if they thought I'd finally lost it completely.

Roman carried me into the bathroom. My teeth chattered together as Roman set me on the floor next to the tub and instructed Adelina and Calliope to get me warm. They undressed me without hesitation and helped me climb into the bathtub - an oversized, black claw foot tub that I would have loved if I was in my right mind. I sank into steaming water that smelled like lavender.

I'd just died and come back because I still had things to do. I gasped and sat up, sloshing water all over the bathroom floor.

"Oh my god," I said softly.

"What?" Calliope asked. "What's wrong? Is it too hot?"

I looked at her, my eyes wide and popping. "I died."

The girls looked at each other, then back at me.

"LeKrista," Adelina began, but I shook my head.

"No, I...I died. I was dead. No heartbeat, no breath." Tears slipped down my cheeks, but I didn't think I was crying. Well, I hadn't known I was crying.

"LeKrista." Calliope wanted to console me, but I didn't need consoling. I needed Pierce and he wasn't there.

"I need to get dressed," I said. "I need a towel. Where are my clothes."

"LeKrista, you're in shock. I don't think-"

"No," I said. "I'm not in shock anymore." Truthfully, I wasn't sure if I was or not, but I didn't want to hang around in the bathtub. I wanted to get to Pierce. "Give me a towel!" I was yelling now, clearly still not in my right mind, but I was going to have my way whether I knew what I was doing or not.

"Get Roman," Adelina said quietly to Calliope. "I'll get her dressed, or at least covered up."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Get me covered up."

I dried off and had the towel wrapped around my body by the time Roman came in. "I want to go to Pierce," I told him without looking up. Roman didn't answer out loud.

" _LeKrista, I cannot take you back yet."_

"Why not?" I asked aloud.

" _Please, LeKrista,"_ Roman thought, and he sounded tired and annoyed.

I humored him. _"Why not? I just died."_

" _There are only a few hours of dark left, and I have to be somewhere very important. Your presence has been requested as well. They would like to meet Lucretious' murderer."_

" _Excuse me, murderer? He was trying to kill me. It was self-defense."_

" _Be that as it may, they would like to meet you."_

" _Who is 'they'?"_

" _Vampire Council."_

I rolled my eyes. _"I have to be there?"_

"Yes. Get dressed." Roman turned on his heel and left.

End of conversation.

I dressed and met Roman in the hall where he paced, impatient, but when he saw me he stopped and looked me over. "Are you alright?"

I nodded and looked up. I didn't know this house. Oak beams crisscrossed the ceiling and a beautiful crystal chandelier lit the front hall with a soft, yellow glow. Roman held a door open and motioned for me to precede him.

"We must hurry, LeKrista. We are already very late."

I humored him and stepped through the door and ran my fingers through my hair to try and tame it. My bare feet touched rough stone and I pulled up so suddenly that Roman bumped into me. We were in another cave, and it was so very dark that, once Roman closed the door I couldn't see a damn thing.

"What's wrong?" Roman asked.

"I was under the impression that we were going to fly somewhere," I said.

"Well, that would be a disaster, wouldn't it?" he asked. "What else is bothering you?"

I shrugged in the dark. "I can't see anything."

"Oh." A moment later, the world opened up to me and I saw through Roman's eyes. "Is that better?"

"Yes." Roman took the lead and I followed closely, unsure of what awaited me in the dark. If vampires existed, so could the boogeyman, right? So, I stuck close to him. The cloth of his shirt brushed against me as we hurried deep down into the earth.

"Where are we going?" I asked finally. "Why does the vampire council want to see me? What's so amazing about me killing Lucretious?"

Roman took a moment to answer and I wasn't sure I he would. "He was a vampire. You are a human. It's not often that we find such courageous...vampire hunters." He said "vampire hunters" like it amused him.

"I'm not a vampire hunter," I said.

"No, but they don't know that," was his reply.

"Well, didn't you tell them?"

He shrugged. It was strange, looking at him through my eyes which were seeing through his. It was like his vision was super imposed over my own. I was seeing in a sort of double vision and, now that I thought about it I was getting dizzy.

"Don't think about it," Roman said. "Vivien had trouble with it too. Think about something else."

"Alright. Didn't you tell them what happened? That I'm not a vampire hunter, I'm...vampire hunted?"

Roman chuckled. "Is that what you are?"

"Isn't Perdita hunting me? Isn't she going to 'play with me before she kills me'?"

"Yes, I suppose she is."

"Well?" I asked again. "Didn't you tell them?"

"I would have, LeKrista," he sounded frustrated, "but you rushed me off the phone too quickly."

"Oh no," I said. "You're not going to put that on me. You were on my cell phone, which you stole. You read my text messages. I had a right to be angry. I still do."

"Fine," he said. "I was wrong. Does that make you happy?"

"No," I said grumpy. "Pierce does that. I hate that."

He shrugged.

"How much farther is it?" I asked. "Are we there yet?" I was starting to feel very, very tired.

"You're tired," Roman said unnecessarily. "I'm sorry," and it sounded like he meant it. But he wasn't going to do anything about it.

"You're thousands of years old," I said.

"Yes." He kept his voice careful, not sure where I was going with my questioning.

"Are the vampires on this council older than you?"

"Not all of them."

"Are they more powerful than you?"

"Not all of them."

"How powerful are you?" I asked.

He hesitated. "Very."

"So...should I be afraid?"

"No." There was no hesitation then. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I said what I was taught to say. "Thank you."

"You are welcome."

"Why do they call you The Centurion?" I asked. That gave Roman enough pause to stop walking and turn to look at me. "You say you don't remember your name, so you call yourself Roman. Were you a Roman Centurion?"

My abilities of deduction are astounding.

Roman regarded me with eyes I couldn't read. He searched mine for something, I wasn't sure what, and I wasn't sure he found what he was looking for.

"Yes," he finally said. "I was a Roman Centurion. I survived the fall of the Roman Empire."

I frowned. "Why didn't you tell me that before? It's not so terrible a thing, is it?"

Roman's eyes went dark and I was so reminded of Pierce in that moment that I felt a pang of hurt. "It is the things I did during that time that are so terrible, LeKrista."

I tried to make a joke to lighten the intense mood. "It's not like you crucified Jesus or anything," I laughed.

Roman's face looked stricken and utterly shocked as if I'd found out his deepest, darkest secret. I started, and took a step back. "Whoa," I said. "Whoa."

Please, God. Don't strike me down.

Roman sighed a long, heavy sigh that said so much more than words ever could. "Yes, LeKrista, I did."

I closed my eyes, trying to wrap my head around the fact that the man standing before me, the vampire, had crucified Jesus.

"Is that how you became a vampire?" I whispered.

Roman tilted his head to the side. "It's a bit more complicated than that, but yes is the easy answer for now."

For now. That meant he would tell me more in the future.

"Can I see?" I asked.

"LeKrista, please. Please do not ask me to show you this. Not even Vivien..." He let the words trail off and I knew if he hadn't shown Vivien he wasn't going to show me.

I shrugged and let it go. "That's fine," I said. "We're late."

Roman regarded me for a moment. "You astound me sometimes, LeKrista." He turned and we continued down the stone corridor.

When we finally stepped into real light, not just vampire eyesight, I was momentarily blinded. The room was so bright I had to shield my face from it.

I jumped when Roman touched my back. "I'm sorry," he said. "That was my fault. You can open your eyes now."

I knew this place. I'd been here once in Lucretious' head. Torches lined the stone walls of the round room and my eyes were drawn to bright pink calla lily arrangements sitting in the center of the long, stone table that ran the length of the room.

" _Eddy did these."_

" _Yes, he did. How did you know?"_

" _I watched him put some of them together."_

Roman chuckled in my head and it was a weird feeling to see him standing so stoic beside me but know he was laughing on the inside.

"You are late." A strongly accented voice spoke from the other side of the room, sitting at the head of a large stone table.

" _Laied,"_ Roman told me. _"He is known as The Lariat."_

" _Like The Phantom of the Opera with his Lasso?"_

" _You are good at this, LeKrista,"_ Roman chuckled.

" _Like I said earlier, my powers of deduction, my dear Watson. And I've always been a good guesser."_

"I died," I said out loud. There were three other vampires besides Laied and every head turned in my direction. I fought a giggle. Roman was a bit humored too.

"You died?" Laied asked, incredulous.

"Yes. And then I came back."

"You came back? You are not a vampire."

Is there an echo in here? Geez.

"No, thank God," I chuckled. There was a sharp intake of breath from them and that did make me laugh. "No, I'm not a vampire, but I died and came back."

"Is this the girl?" Laied turned cold, empty eyes to Roman who nodded.

"Yes, this is LeKrista, the young woman who killed Lucretious."

Laied nodded and looked me over like he just couldn't quite believe it. "Tell me, Centurion. How is it that this...this _girl_ could kill such a strong vampire when you could not?"

" _Is he implying that I can't do it because I'm a girl? Or because I'm a human? Or both?"_

" _Both,"_ Roman sent back before he answered. "Lucretious was the most powerful of my creations, yes. He was also a great friend at one point in time. My hesitation to kill him did not stem from inability, I can assure you. Had I the choice or the foreknowledge of what LeKrista would do, I wouldn't have let her kill him either. He supplied me with too much power."

" _Well, that's dumb. That's like saying-"_

" _Be quiet, LeKrista. Please."_ He added the please like an afterthought. As if it was supposed to make the rude tone of his voice more polite. I crossed my arms and scowled.

"Are you saying that you had no warning that this girl would commit such an act?"

I expected Laied to say "heinous crime" and then insist that I be put to death for murder. He didn't and I relaxed a little, though I wasn't quite sure that I wasn't on trial.

"I thought you had the gift of foresight, Centurion."

Roman shrugged. "You know as well as I do how weak that gift is. I have stronger, more important abilities than this foresight you all seem to think I should be better at."

"Right," the vampire said. "So you say. Does the girl have anything to say in her defense?"

I looked at Roman who nodded. "Well," I said, "at the risk of sounding rude, 'the girl' has a name. It's LeKrista Scott and I would prefer if you used it. After all, I'm human...too." I stumbled over that last part as soon as I realized what I was saying, but Laied smiled like he thought it was funny.

"Yes. Go on," he instructed.

I glanced up at Roman once more, who nodded again, and I continued on in my own "defense."

"Lucretious was stalking me." I wasn't sure if that meant anything to him. "It was annoying at best, but then he started projecting unwanted things into my head. I don't even know that he realized he was doing it at first-"

"What kind of things?"

"I don't think that's really important. Just that you know they were things I wasn't interested in." When he nodded and flicked his hand to continue, I did. "He tried to kill me, unprovoked. He drained the gas in my car one night so I wouldn't be able to make it home and tossed my car down an embankment and into a lake."

"But you survived."

I nodded. "Yes, thanks to Roman, and...thanks to my boyfriend."

"This boyfriend of yours, he was there?"

I shook my head. "No sir. He was at home. He saw it happen."

He frowned. "How is this possible?"

"Lucretious had latched onto my mind earlier that day, and when I kissed my boyfriend, it connected us somehow. He saw Lucretious throw me into the lake and called 911."

"For that alone you would have issued a death warrant," Roman spoke up behind me.

"Silence, Centurion," the vampire said. "The girl... LeKrista speaks."

I was very proud that I kept from smiling. "Roman had a party a few nights later; I guess it was in my honor..." Laied frowned and leaned over to hear what the vampire on his right was saying. Roman tensed beside me, and I felt a stab of fear. "Lucretious crashed the party," I continued. "He and his lover Perdita tried to kill me."

"Tell us how," the vampire instructed.

"Perdita, she was going..." I looked up at Roman. He encouraged me to go on. "She was going to eat me, so I kicked her."

"You kicked her?" The vampire sounded dubious.

"Yes. With my stilettos. I staked her with my stilettos."

The burst of laughter that came from the vampires sitting around the great stone table was both unexpected and startling. Roman put a hand on my shoulder when I jumped.

" _They won't be laughing when you tell them what happened to Lucretious so let it ride, my sweet."_

I did. Roman's reminder of just how heinous it would be to them to hear how Lucretious actually died sent another shiver down my spine.

"Tell us the rest," Laied instructed once the laughter died down. "Did you think your stilettos would kill Perdita?"

I shook my head. "No, I just wanted to hurt her. I wanted her to leave me alone and it was the only thing I had on me..." I let my voice trail, because that wasn't quite true. Now that they sensed my uncertainty, they knew it too. I plowed ahead, because I didn't want them to think I was holding anything back.

"I hooked my cross chain around Lucretious neck," I said. I expected a collective gasp from the angry vampires. Instead, I was met with dead silence. They went still as the grave, and stared at me unblinking. There was no breath in their lungs, no blood in their veins. They'd gone cold and dead as only they could and they watched me with death in their eyes. No, with blood in their eyes, because they wanted my blood for what I had done.

My heart began to pound as I realized the danger I was in, giving me away. I backed into Roman who gripped my shoulders so tight it hurt, and I tried to pull away from him, but couldn't.

" _Stand still,"_ he ordered. _"Stand your ground and show no fear. I will take care of this."_

Out loud, he said, "I gave LeKrista the cross when I knew how much danger she was in, and whom she was in danger from. So, in essence, the cross was meant specifically for the event in which she used it."

"Crosses are to be used as a defense only," the head vampire said.

"And that is what she used it for. A defense. LeKrista is under my protection," he said, and the vampires finally stirred, albeit angrily. "Lucretious and Perdita would have defied that authority, though they both answered to me. I couldn't have that. Lucretious' death was necessary, and Perdita's will be also. She threatens the life of one who is under my protection. I cannot allow that to go unpunished."

"You give this girl your protection?" Laied asked enraged. He stood, towering over the table. He was very close to seven feet tall. His chest and shoulders were so broad he blocked the light of several torches. Even if he was human I wouldn't want to make him angry.

"What is she to you?" he stormed at Roman, who took it all in without a blink. "What is she to us? What can she give us that we sacrifice our strongest for?"

"She will help us," Roman said. "Specifically, she will help me. She has abilities. She will help in our plan to rule the humans." And he was completely confident in that misguided assumption.

I blinked. He truly believed I would help the vampires rule the humans. The Council was quiet for a long moment, and Roman seemed to realize he'd messed up because he added, "Lucretious told her this secret before he died. He didn't intend for her to live long enough for it to matter."

"And you expect us to allow her to live with this knowledge? No. This secret alone will-"

"What difference does it make?" Roman asked. "What can she do to stop it? She's one person. She has no resources, no friends who can alter the plans we've set in motion. The takeover is too close at hand for anything to stop it now, let alone one girl." He spat the word _girl_ like it tasted of dung, but in my mind, he said, _"I think more highly of you than this."_

I kept quiet and wished I could melt into the wall with every look the vampires sent my way. I thought about what Roman had said, and what the man told me in that hazy place where I'd died not half an hour earlier. The Lady Xiomara had asked for a gift in return for her help. I had no earthly possessions or money enough to pay for such a big thing, but I did have Roman. I had information. If I could swallow my pride and go crawling back to her and her people, I might get them to help me. If I fed them information on the vampire's takeover they would have a reason to keep me alive. If I could swallow my pride.

Pride goes before destruction...

I knew this was the pride that would get me killed. I needed protection from Perdita, protection that Roman couldn't give me, if I was to survive.

I knew what I had to do, but it didn't make the decision any easier. The thought of going back to Lady Xiomara's council and begging them to help me after I'd already told them what horrible people they were made me sick to my stomach. It made me so angry that I crossed my arms over my chest and audibly _humphed_ before I realized it. The vampires all turned to give me curious looks.

"What is it that has you in such bad sorts?" Laied asked, daring with his eyes to interrupt their all important "end of the world" conversation. I only had a moment to come up with something that didn't have to do with vampires, mages, or the end of the world as we knew it.

"No offense," I said, "but you're not exactly the kind of person I want to take advice from." That got me the looks I expected and I fought not to smile.

"Vampires, you mean?" and the question dripped with malice and hatred.

"No, males. Men. Forgive me, but why would I want advice from men on a man problem? It just doesn't make sense."

They stared at me stunned, as if they didn't quite understand that my mind had been working on a problem so completely human.

"Perhaps, it is men you need advice from." He was so curious! It was cute in a twisted sort of way and I wondered, when was the last time he had to deal with a simple human matter such as a relationship.

I paused and pretended to think about that. "Perhaps. But you wouldn't be interested in helping me...would you? I mean, you have the end of the world to plan, and everything. I wouldn't want to be a bother." In my head I was quoting _The Princess Bride_. Again.

I have my country's four hundredth anniversary to plan, my wife to murder...

Roman found it quite amusing.

"What's the problem?" he asked, as if he had all the time in the world, and maybe he did.

I jabbed a thumb in Roman's direction and said, "Him. He's the problem. My boyfriend found out about him and wouldn't speak to me for two weeks. Then, he calls me up out of the blue and wants to go to breakfast, see a movie. He acts like nothing happened. What am I supposed to do? Just ignore that he left me? He expects me to be angry, but he acts like he doesn't understand why. Did he leave me as payback, or did he really just need some time to think? And what about me? Am I supposed to take him back?" I sighed. I'd gotten myself all worked up over it, and I wasn't pretending anymore. "Sorry," I said to their tolerant, yet astonished faces. "I guess when you've been around as long as you have things like this just seem so inconsequential." I screwed up my face and looked at Roman, "I'm thirsty."

Roman laughed. It wasn't a humored laugh or a loud hysterical laugh. It was one of those chuckles that you give when you don't quite know what to do. It's funny, but you're confused, so you "heh" and then wonder why you did it.

"I'm just going to sit down over here," I said and pointed at the floor against the wall.

The head vampire motioned to someone, and I noticed that there was a room behind him to the left where several people were lurking. It was hard to make anything out from where I was though. A body, naked from the waist up except for a spiked leather collar, came from the shadows. The man's hands were clasped behind his back, his head bowed so that all I could see was the top of his head, but I thought I should know the top of that head.

"Get our guest a chair and a glass of water." The tone in the old vampire's voice was cold, like he was telling a dog to fetch his slippers. The head never came up. The man did as he was told and turned to fetch a chair from the shadows. He came around the table with it and set it down for me. He wore pants printed with his favorite jaguar print. His feet were bare, and I was impressed by the expanse of chest and the rippling abs. The closer he came, the more I knew him, until I recognized him completely.

" _No, LeKrista,"_ Roman warned. _"Show no recognition. Not here."_

I did as I was told, but I wasn't happy about it. I thanked Eddy with a nod and sat. He brought me a glass of water that I downed almost immediately and went back to his shadowed corner. Laied stopped him before he got there.

"What do you think of our table displays?" he asked. "Our resident Jaguar shifter made them for us. You are a florist, aren't you?"

I looked up at the brilliant pink displays, then at Eddy. No one saw him look up and plead with me silently to answer correctly because they were looking at me, waiting for my answer. Eddy looked away first and I looked back at the arrangements, stuck a smile on my face and said, honestly, "They're lovely."

"Give me your honest opinion," Laied said, and there was a command in his voice that sent a thickness into my throat and mouth. He was using his tricks to make me answer differently, but they wouldn't work. Maybe he wouldn't know that they wouldn't work.

"They're beautiful," I said. "Pink isn't my favorite color, in fact I try to stay away from it as much as possible, but calla lily's are my favorite." I smiled again, because I meant it, but that thickness lingered in the back of my throat and my neck ticked to the side. Roman saw and his eyes widened just a bit, but he didn't say anything. I wanted more water.

"You must not be much of a florist then," Laied said, and my smile went from sweet, to tight.

"That's not the first time I've heard that."

I caught the movement of Eddy's head out of the corner of my eye. There was no reason for him to think I was talking about anyone but him. I looked up, because he'd looked up first, and watched as Laied noticed Eddy's eyes weren't on the ground. Laied hissed and did something so fast I couldn't see it. A red slash opened across Eddy's face from ear to chin and blood poured from it. It wasn't an exceptionally deep cut, but it wasn't a scratch either. I was too new at this blood and guts thing to know what I was looking at, so I tried not to guess, because I knew I would be wrong.

"What do you think you are? Human?" Laied said in a French dialect that my new mental catalogue had to find. It was very old and unused. "You don't look at us or our guests!" He moved vampire-fast again and more blood spurted from a gash across Eddy's chest this time. I watched Laied lick at the blood on his hand and shuddered. It was sickening in a gut-wrenching way to watch Eddy treated like this, but I had Roman screaming in my head to behave, don't say or do anything, keep my hands and thoughts to myself, and I knew it would be a major faux pas to stop this horrendous affair. My conscience told me not to listen to him. That had already ruined my life once. My fear told me to do what he said.

But that dark place deep inside me started to wake and it told me things I didn't understand.

The vampire kept slashing at Eddy's naked upper body until cries of pain tore from his throat in ragged gasps. There was blood everywhere, more blood than I'd ever seen in my life. Roman kept screaming in my head as he watched the show with eagerness in his eyes. It sickened me. Eddy screamed his pain through clenched teeth and I knew he didn't want me to see him this way. That sickened me. Laied shouted demeaning obscenities in his forgotten language and slashed at Eddy with his hand, then licked it clean. That sickened me. The rest of the vampires watched with rapt attention as Eddy was beat and bloodied. That sickened me too.

"STOP!"

I meant to shout at Roman, but it came out of my mouth instead of staying in my head. Roman's screaming stopped, Eddy's cries stopped, and I buried my face in my hands, willing myself not to cry or hyperventilate or throw up. My stomach and my heart were in my throat and I thought I'd choke on them both.

"You beg for this animal's life?" Laied asked, but he sounded strangled, no longer confident and angry. Was he scared? I looked up from my hands. I knew my face held disgust and grief. I nodded. His hand was still poised to strike and the other three vampire masters stared at me with a look I did not understand. I turned to Roman and his face had turned ashen, paler than it had ever been.

"He doesn't look like an animal to me," I said softly.

"No." The vampire turned to Eddy, whose face was once again pointed at the ground, and said, "Show the young lady what an animal you are."

Eddy needed no other prompting. He walked around the large table, wincing in pain with each step. His upper body was covered in blood so that there wasn't a spot of clean skin left except for the right side of his face, and I saw the deep gauges Laied had made.

As I watched, Eddy took a deep, resigned breath, and melted into a beautiful, black-on-black jaguar. It was instantaneous like there was no effort in it at all. His black coat shimmered in the flickering candlelight and I looked into his yellow-green eyes. We shared a moment in that look, like he was saying, "Now you know my secret and you're going to wish you didn't."

I was shocked speechless by the transformation, and when he transformed back, so fluid and simple, I was even more impressed. No blood, though there were still deep, dark wounds on his flesh.

"Give me a reason why I shouldn't beat him all over again," Laied said. He leaned on the table and gave a fang-showing grin. "What will you give me to stay my hand?"

I blinked.

I have to bargain for it?

" _Yes, LeKrista."_ Roman sounded tired.

" _Well, what do I do?"_

" _Bargain."_

"Well," I said. "I don't know." Roman deflated beside me and shook his head. "I'll need to think about it. At least until this thing with Perdita is over."

### CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The vampires were staring at me.

" _What did I say?"_

" _They're confused."_

" _What are they thinking?"_

" _I don't read their minds. It is considered rude."_

" _I wish you'd give me the same consideration."_

"Very well," Laied said. "Shall we say three weeks?" He flicked his wrist at Eddy and sent him back into his shadowy corner.

Sometime later I woke to Roman shaking me.

"No," I groaned. "I'm sleeping."

"LeKrista, you were snoring," he said gently.

"I'm sorry. I'll stop." I tried to pull free from his grip, but he wouldn't let me go.

"LeKrista, let me get you home so you can rest. You've had a long night."

"You put me to sleep on purpose," I accused.

"Dawn is coming." Those three words held longing.

Way to avoid the subject.

Roman lifted me from my seat, and my arms wrapped around his neck of their own accord. He said his farewells and we were gone.

I was asleep again by the time we got back to the house, but I woke up when he set me on my feet outside the bedroom door. "Good night, LeKrista," he whispered and he leaned in to kiss me. I reacted the only way I knew how. My right arm swung on its own and the slap stung me as much as I hoped it stung Roman. It caught him off guard and he straightened, looked at me, and grinned. He flashed enough fang to look dangerous.

"You've already caused enough problems." I stepped backward into the room and closed the door in his face. When I turned, Pierce was barely an inch away. I yelped.

"Hey, Stace," he said, and I knew he couldn't be too mad if he used my nickname.

"Hey," I sighed. "I guess I need to get to explaining."

"You can wait until you've slept if you'd like," he answered and I searched his voice for any sign that when I woke up he wouldn't be there again, but he added, "I know something bad happened tonight. You can tell me now if you'd like, but all I needed to know was that you were okay."

I nodded and began to strip on my way to the bed. "I was kidnapped by a vampire. And then he tried to kiss me. You should kill him."

"It would be my pleasure."

I woke to the smell of pancakes and rolled over to find Pierce sitting next to me with a tray of food. The tray looked ancient with ornate, etched legs and a hand painted scene of a family on a picnic. Orange juice sloshed in a glass as I moved and I smiled at him. "For me?"

"Yep. Hungry?"

"Starving!" I shoved a piece of buttered toast in my mouth and chewed like I hadn't eaten in weeks. I stabbed at some eggs and ate two pieces of bacon.

"Slow down or you'll choke," Pierce warned.

"I'm hungry," I said and started in on the pancakes. I was halfway through when I said, "I died last night." I kept chewing, but somehow the food lost its flavor and I just wasn't hungry anymore.

"What happened?"

I explained what happened when I flew with Roman and how we'd flown so fast that I couldn't catch my breath and my heart stopped.

"How did you come back?"

"Adelina gave me mouth to mouth." I could tell he was glad it wasn't Roman. "But I don't think that's what brought me back."

"What do you mean?" Pierce bit off a piece of extra crispy bacon.

"I saw a man while I was dead. I don't know if it really happened or not, but he said he'd bring me back because I had more to do for him."

"Like what?" Pierce watched me carefully.

"I don't know. He didn't say. I don't think I want to talk about this anymore. Can we pick it up another time?"

He kissed me on the forehead. "Finish eating."

"I'm done."

Pierce picked up the tray. "I'll take it back to the kitchen. Drink the orange juice though."

I took a quick shower and dressed in a pair of snug fitting jeans and a long-sleeved top supplied by Roman that looked just like one of my own, but made from better material. It was deep purple and plain but I liked the way it fit. Over the back of one of the chairs in front of the fire was a leather jacket lined with red silk. Gold buttons with a weird symbol adorned the front. It was a combination of symbols I'd seen before- the symbol for the Roman way to the gods and the snake on a pole that symbolized health and rebirth. Matching knee-high boots with gold buckles sat on the floor with a note in Roman's scrawling hand that read _, "My sweet, I believe you will need these today. It is cold and the snow is deep. Enjoy a day of shopping."_

These I was keeping them, no matter what Pierce said, and I would definitely enjoy a day of shopping. I put on the coat and the boots and bounded down to find Pierce in the kitchen finishing up a few dishes. "Ready to go shopping?" I asked.

"Where'd you get those?" He leaned against the sink and folded his arms over his chest. So comfortable, so relaxed. I went to him and put my arms around his waist.

"Roman. I'm keeping them."

"I think you should. They suit you." That was his way of saying I looked super sexy when there were others around. I didn't notice anyone else until Adelina and Calliope came up from the living room.

"Good morning," Calli smiled. "Ready to go into town?"

"Shopping day," Adelina said. "Well, what's left of it."

I frowned. "What time is it?"

"Almost two," Pierce answered. I thought there might have been some tension in his voice, but he hid it well if there was.

Breckenridge was an adorable town of ridiculous souvenir shops and I wanted to buy everything. As it was, I bought several t-shirts for myself and several more for gifts. In one store, I found a jaguar on a key chain. Whatever possessed me to buy it for Eddy I'd never know, but I did. Even though it was largely overpriced.

The sun was beginning to cast long shadows by the time we got back to the house. I went down the stairs into the living room where I heard beautiful piano music and stopped dead in my tracks. Six people sat on the long sofa. All I could see were the backs of their heads, but I knew those heads. When I entered, they playing stopped.

Eddy turned to look at me and sneer. "Well, if it isn't the vampire bait," he said, and his voice was nastier than I'd ever heard it. The rest of his people were there. The African Princess Bomani sat next to him, looking lovely as always. Next to her was Amber the super model and her protegee. On his other side was Dayla, the Hawaiian and the meanest of them all. I noticed that the blonde twins, Parashie and Maaren, weren't with him.

Roman sat comfortably behind a grand piano in the corner.

" _What have you done? Why are they here?"_

" _They are here to help protect you, my sweet. I am determined to keep you safe, and they will be invaluable help in doing just that."_

" _If they don't kill me themselves."_

Out loud Roman said, "I believe you know everyone?"

"Unfortunately." Eddy turned and sat with his knees on the seat and hands on the back of the sofa. He leered at me through yellow-green eyes, and I felt Pierce tense behind me.

"You think you're too good for us now, LeKrista? Now that you know what we are?"

I swallowed. "All of you?" I asked. "You're all..."

"Shape shifters." Eddy leapt over the back of the sofa and landed neatly on his feet an inch away from me. He sniffed at my hair like he was trying to decide whether to eat me or just play.

"You're the one who's made it a problem, Eddy," I said. "Not me." It never really mattered whether I stood my ground with Eddy or backed down. He always had something to say. Today I stood my ground. Eddy's girls stared and Roman watched from across the room. Today, with Pierce at my back, I wasn't going to back down. Maybe tomorrow when there was no one else around, but today I needed to stand my ground.

Eddy reached for me and snatched me up by my arm. Claws grew from his nails and he dug them into my flesh. I screamed and blood poured over the white carpet. He lifted me by my arm and slammed me through the wall behind me.

The image flashed just before Eddy reached for me so I dodged out of the way and he grabbed Pierce instead. Pierce grabbed Eddy's arm so fast that Eddy hesitated. They looked at each other for a moment. Pierce's eyes said, "If you toss me, you're coming with." Eddy dropped his arm and turned to me again. Eddy had never been violent before. I backed away, trying to put as much space between us as possible.

" _What's he doing?"_ I shouted silently at Roman. _"Why is he attacking me?"_

" _He is testing you, my sweet. I won't let him hurt you, but you must prove yourself to him."_

" _Oh my god, Roman! Why did you bring him here? I thought you were supposed to be keeping me safe!"_

Eddy pounced. I never knew how graceful he was, but when he leapt, his back legs bent and pushed him off the ground into a graceful arching swan dive. I had a moment to appreciate what he was made of, before I ducked just in time. His stomach grazed my head as he passed over, just barely caressing the top of my hair. Eddy shifted into his jaguar form as he touched the ground, from his hands to his feet, so it looked like someone had used an etch-a-sketch on him. He turned and looked at me, growled low in his throat, then let loose an animal scream that sent chills down my back.

"Roman!"

I thought I was screaming, but it was Pierce. He was furious. His voice had dropped several octaves so it rumbled like thunder. "What are you doing?"

"I am doing nothing." Roman kept his voice carefully devoid of anything that might get him in trouble.

I felt a hand on my arm and I tried to pull away.

"It's me, Stace," Pierce said, even though his grip tightened enough that it was almost painful. "Go stand against the wall. I'll handle this."

"But-"

"Go." There was finality in his voice that wouldn't be argued with and I wasn't the only one who heard it. When I stood and looked up, everyone was looking at me like they were surprised Pierce could be so in control.

I did as I was told and stood with my back to the wall by the stairs. Pierce faced Eddy who growled. His tail twitched back and forth, angry and irritated.

"Mine," Pierce growled. Eddy let out another piercing scream and leapt on him. I screamed, afraid for Pierce. I didn't want to lose him, not now that we'd made up. I'd already lost him once temporarily. I didn't want to lose him for good. I wouldn't survive that.

I took a step forward, but the Princess was there, one arm around my waist, stronger than she should have been. "No," she said. "This is his fight."

I looked up at her and I knew my eyes weren't friendly. "What the hell are you talking about?" Bomani looked at me with kindness, something I never expected from her or any of Eddy's women. She smiled a smile that spoke worlds about her and showed me compassion that I didn't know I needed, or even if I wanted it.

"Eddy senses your power," she said, "and he sees your boyfriend's dominance as a threat."

I frowned and looked at Roman. "What the hell is she talking about?"

Roman offered nothing but a half-hearted shrug as he watched the two men maul each other. Actually, it only looked like Pierce was being mauled, and I was sure that was Roman's favorite part. Pierce pulled away from the fray, and I watched Roman's face for the disappointment I was sure I'd see there, but he kept it neutral.

" _What's wrong? Too good to show that side of you?"_

Roman turned to look at me, slowly. He just moved his head, like they do in the scary movies where the bad guy is finally showing that he's the bad guy. I swallowed the lump of fear that rose in my throat, and I tipped my chin up a fraction of an inch and straightened my back. We had our own little standoff while Eddy tried to tear Pierce to pieces.

" _I'm not afraid of you."_ It was partially true. I was afraid of him, but I didn't want to be, so I wouldn't show it, even if he knew it anyway.

The room became quiet and still. Pierce and Eddy stood about three feet apart, staring at each other. I didn't have to look around to know that the others were waiting to see what was going to happen. Eddy suddenly dropped to his belly, literally at Pierce's feet. His tail swished lazily back and forth to let everyone know he'd conceded, but he didn't like it.

"Pierce?" I said the word softly, barely audible over the dead silence.

Pierce seemed to remember that I was still in the room, held against the wall by Bomani's strong arm.

"She would have interfered," she explained to Pierce. Pierce waved her hand away and approached me.

"You alright?" he asked, touching a hand to my face.

I nodded. "You're bleeding." Pierce's lip was split along the edge on the top right side of his mouth and it was bleeding freely. A set of claw marks slashed through his t-shirt from his right shoulder down across his chest to his sternum. Pierce's hand went to his lip.

"Yeah," he said. "Stings like hell."

"You're going to need stitches," I said.

"Nah."

I frowned. "Pierce, I want you to get that sewn up."

"I don't-"

"Please. For me."

There must have been something in my face, because Pierce frowned. "Alright. For you."

I looked down at his chest and fingered the torn cloth. "Are you going to be one now too?" I asked in a soft voice.

"Damn!" he exclaimed. "You owe me a new damn shirt!" he shouted. To me he said, "No. I'm just going to be plain old Pierce. Always have been, always will be."

That made me happy. "I bought one today you can have," I offered. "To tide you over until Eddy gets you a new one."

Eddy growled.

"I can sew up that lip," the Princess offered.

"Thanks."

"I'll go get my kit from my room," she said, then glanced at Eddy. "He's going to be like that for a while. He's pretty angry. The animal side has taken over."

"All but the Furian side," I said. Pierce chuckled at the quote from _Riddick_ , but that was fine. He was the only one I really cared to get it anyway.

Roman stared, hatred and anger both plain on his face, but he wiped them away when he realized I was looking at him. Gone without a trace.

" _What is wrong with you? Why do you have to cause so many problems."_

" _I do not know what you are talking about."_

" _Oh, stop playing coy! You're no good at it."_

" _Coy? No, my sweet. Coy is not a game that I play."_

" _Stop calling me that. I am not your sweet anything."_

Roman shrugged like he didn't believe it, but what was there not to believe? I wasn't his. I didn't belong to him. I didn't want him.

"Have I neglected to tell you?" Roman asked and I looked at him suspiciously.

"Probably," I answered. "What haven't you told me now?" I poured all of my exasperation and distrust for him into that one sentence and it came out as sarcastic and disdainful as I could have possibly imagined. Everyone felt it. Roman just grinned.

"I sense that Perdita is close." He disappeared through a hidden door in a wall of books, and just like that, he had the upper hand once again.

I snatched a book off the shelf in the living room before I went back to the room once Bomani started sewing Pierce's lip back together. I coud admit to being squeamish. I had trouble watching. The book was chosen at random, a very interesting French biography.

I was spread out on the bearskin rug in front of the fire when Pierce came in. I put my book down and went to him, wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed him gently on his nose. "I guess we won't be making out tonight, huh? Are you mad at me?" I asked.

"For what?" he wanted to know.

"I didn't stay to hold your hand while you got sewn up. You would have done it for me, and I should have done it for you."

Pierce shook his head. He leaned in and nuzzled his cheek against mine. It was such a feline thing to do, and something so out of character for my unaffectionate Pierce, that it caught me off guard.

"What are you reading?" he asked softly against my cheek. "I saw you grab something. You find the only modern romance there?" He teased and leaned over to see the cover of the book. "Didn't peg the vampire for being much into romances. What is this?"

"A biography of some French person I've never heard of."

"You don't know French." Pierce eyed me.

"I do now," I said, astounded that I'd forgotten to tell the love of my life about the biggest information download of the century. "Roman somehow downloaded every language he knows into my head. It happened before," I told him quickly. "Before I told you everything."

Pierce frowned and I knew he was angry. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just found out the other night in Charleston," I said. "I'm sorry. I didn't think to tell you. So much has happened this week. What day is it anyway?"

"Wednesday," Pierce said with a heavy sigh. He peeled off his tattered, blood-soaked shirt and threw it across the arm of a chair. "Wednesday, Wednesday."

I plopped back down on the floor. "Damn. Time sure flies when vampires are trying to kill you."

"Yeah." Pierce sank to the floor next to me and I leaned my head against his shoulder. The firelight flickered across his chest and highlighted the angry claw marks.

"That's going to be a hell of a scar," I said.

"Yeah," Pierce agreed. "It is."

"How are you going to explain it?"

"Attacked by a lynx."

I smiled. "Seriously? You think anyone will buy that?"

Pierce shrugged and grunted like the effort hurt. "Hope so."

I gazed into the firelight and snuggled against him as close as I dared. His warmth and scent, the smell of flesh and blood and life, wrapped around me and I melted into him, into a place where nothing existed but the two of us together and happy.

"Are you mad about the language thing?" I finally asked. "I wasn't trying to keep it from you."

"I know, StaciDoll. I can't really be mad at you anyway."

"Why not?" I asked.

Pierce sighed and pulled me close. "Give me till the morning, okay? I'm tired."

I pulled away and looked at his face. It didn't say tired, it said he wanted to wait until people weren't listening. I grinned.

"Wanna take a shower?" I asked. "Or we can use the hot tub. We could have a whole freaking party in the hot tub."

"I think Dayla is fixing something for dinner. Roman said it would be ready in about an hour or so."

"That gives us plenty of time to shower." I stood and offered to help him to his feet. Pierce gave me his hands and allowed me to pull him to his feet, a sure sign that he was exhausted.

"I'm almost too tired to shower, babe," he said, but I tugged him toward the bathroom anyway. My feet hit the cool tile and I dropped Pierce's hand so I could pull my shirt off.

"What were the girls talking about on the plane that you didn't want to explain?" Pierce asked. I heard his belt unbuckle and his pants slide down his legs to the floor. The buckle hit the tile with a soft _clank_ and I turned to find him in a pair of dark green and black checked boxers. I'd bought them for him because I thought he looked good in green.

I set the thermostats. "Adelina and Calliope aren't his only women. He has a bit of a harem at his disposal, though I doubt I was supposed to know about it."

"How did you find out then?"

"I saw in his mind once. It's more than the girls Calliope showed me."

"So, Roman is a vampire pimp daddy man whore?"

"Exactly."

I checked the water temp and set all four shower heads to pulse. I stripped out of my jeans and underwear and stepped under the hot spray. Pierce followed a moment later. He winced when the hot water hit his cuts. I touched Pierce's hip with a finger and traced the lines of muscle and bone. I rested my head on his shoulder, afraid if I pressed too close I would hurt him, but he pulled me to him and wrapped his arms tight around me so I couldn't pull away. We stood like that for a very long time. When we finally pulled away, I ran my pruney fingers over Pierce's back because he hated it.

"Girl, you'd better stop before you get hurt."

I laughed. "Please. Nobody is afraid of you, little man."

"Oh, I see how it is."

Pierce turned the shower off and stepped out, grabbing the only towel as he left. The moment the water stopped running and the steam dissipated, I was cold.

"Pierce, come back here and get me a towel! Pierce!" In the end, I had to get my own damn towel and track water across the bathroom floor to get to the closet on the other side of the room. I dried off quickly, dried my hair, and wrapped the soaked towel around myself. Pierce lay in front of the fire in nothing but his towel, flipping through the book he couldn't read. I smacked his butt.

I squealed as Pierce rolled and grabbed my legs, pulling me down to straddle his hips.

"Careful," I warned playfully.

Pierce blinked at me. "I'm always careful, babe."

There was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" I called.

"Addy. Dinner is ready. Roman says you took forever in the shower."

I looked at Pierce and rolled my eyes. "Tell him he shouldn't have been listening. We're on our way down."

Pierce pushed me back until he was sitting up, and kissed me carefully on the mouth. "Let's see what Roman has for us in the closet, shall we?"

I flipped on the closet light and we stepped into an exact replica of my own wardrobe.

"Wow. This is all for you, huh?"

I shrugged. "I guess so." All I wanted was pajamas and all I saw was jeans and nice blouses. "I guess you'll have to go to dinner in a towel until you can get your clothes cleaned. Eddy would love that. You are yummy."

Pierce _psshed_. He'd go down naked if he had to. But at the very, very back was a small section of nice men's clothes.

I'll have to thank Roman for that. I just hope there's not itching powder or bugs in his clothes.

" _Hadn't even though of that, my sweet. Thank you for the suggestion, though. Enjoying that book?"_

I shut Roman out the best I knew how.

" _I'm sure Eddy would love for Pierce to come down in his towel."_

" _Stop, Roman,"_ I said. _"Go away."_ He went away, best I could tell.

Pierce and I dressed quickly. I found a pair of flannel pants, a sports bra, and a tank top to throw on. I didn't want to go down to dinner. I wanted to go to sleep. I flopped onto the bed.

"Come on." Pierce put on a pair of sweat pants and a clean t-shirt. "I'm not going down without you. Besides, that girl cooked. You can't just not eat it."

"Oh yeah? Watch me."

The atmosphere in the kitchen was frigid. Eddy was back in human form. His yellow-green eyes flashed with disgust while Roman's were devoid of anything that would give away what he was thinking. Amanda and her protégée ignored me as always. Dayla stood at the stove with her back to the room and she stiffened the moment Pierce and I walked in. The only person who seemed to be in good spirits and not disgusted by my presence was Bomani.

Pierce took my hand and gave it a tight squeeze before he led me across the kitchen, through all those angry people, and down into the dining area. It was just off the kitchen, down a few stairs, in a room all its own. The solid oak table looked like it could hold all of us with room to spare. We chose seats at the end closest to the stairs so we could make a quick getaway later if need be. Bomani came down and sat across from us.

"What's everyone's deal?" I asked.

"I can't say for anyone else," she answered, "but I know that Edgar believes you are a coward."

I frowned. "What the hell did I do to be a coward?"

"You left the room when I sutured your boyfriend's lip."

"If you cared anything for him at all," Eddy leaned against the railing that separated the two rooms, "you would have stayed and watched." His words held a slight hiss to them as he struggled to maintain his human form. "Coward," he added. "Bitch."

I came out of my seat involuntarily and knocked my chair back with the suddenness of my movement. Eddy didn't move away from me when I stepped up to the railing and I clocked him hard in the jaw. He stared down at me with those cat-like eyes and his jaw twitched. Pierce grabbed for me, but I shook him off.

"Don't you ever call me that, Eddy. Never!" My tone was low, angrier than he'd ever heard it. "I don't care what you are, who you think you are, or what you've gotten away with in the past. Don't you _ever_ use that word with me."

His eyes flicked to Pierce. " _I_ am talking to you. Not Pierce."

Eddy stared at me with eyes that had once bled with anger, but were now calm and slightly amused. He leaned his elbows on the railing so we were eye to eye and shrugged.

"Okay. I'm sorry."

My eyes widened.

Really? That's all you've got? "Okay, I'm sorry"?

" _Calm down, my sweet. You have effectively subverted your dominance over him."_

"Get out of my head," I growled.

Roman held up his hands in mock surrender and I took my seat next to Pierce, shaking in anger. Pierce took my left hand under the table and squeezed it. I calmed almost immediately.

"We've already talked about it," Pierce said. "We've taken care of the situation. She's not a coward. She's just unused to things like this."

"She's a coward," Eddy tried to say again.

"That's the end of it." Pierce nailed Eddy with a look and they stared. Eddy looked away first.

Eddy helped Dayla put the dishes on the table and everyone sat down to eat like it was something we did every day. I said my own little prayer to myself before I helped my plate with steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans. I watched everyone eat for a moment, hoping they were too hungry to notice I wasn't.

"Aren't you going to eat, LeKrista?"

I looked up at Roman. A small smile played at the corners of his mouth.

" _Jerk."_

Dayla stared at me. "I don't know if I should," I said without looking away from her. Her face went rigid with anger. "It's no offense, Dayla, but tell me you didn't think about it, and I won't believe you. It's not like we have a real great track record."

We stared for a moment and I wondered if she was thinking about all of the nasty tricks she'd pulled on me.

"LeKrista." I turned at Eddy's voice and it was almost kind. By some sick twist of fate, I was sitting next to him. "Dayla and I spoke before she started cooking. I swear on my flower shop and everything in it, she hasn't put anything in your food." He nodded at my plate as if to say, "Go ahead, it's alright." I sent another look at Dayla. She still wasn't happy.

I took a deep breath and tried to ignore all of the eyes on me. I picked up my fork and started with the mashed potatoes. I took a few bites before I spoke, because everyone was expecting something.

"These are really good. I love mashed potatoes." I forked some more potatoes and said, "Hey, Dayla. Do you remember that grab bag trick?" It was low of me to bring it up, especially since Eddy had already seemingly diffused the war between us for the time being, but I did it anyway because I was in that kind of mood.

I looked up to see Dayla staring at me wide-eyed. She was scared of something. Her eyes flicked to Eddy, imperceptible if you weren't looking for it.

"What's the grab bag trick?" Pierce asked. The room was tense with curiosity. Was I going to tell the story? Was I not? No one knew for sure. I loved it.

"She came into work one day with this bag and had all the girls put their hands in and pull out these amazing foreign chocolates. Naturally, I wasn't expecting to be offered any, and I guess that should have been my first clue, but she offered and I took the bait." Dayla's eyes held fear and shock. "I stuck my hand in, and do you know what was inside?" I paused for effect. The three men and Bomani waited with rapt attention. "Razors," I said. "It was a bag full of fucking razors, so you can imagine why I would be wary of eating her food."

"You told me you'd stuck your hand in a box of roses that were supposed to be dethorned," Pierce said.

I shrugged. "I know."

"You're in trouble," Eddy said, "that's crossing a line." It took a moment to realize he'd said it in Polynesian, because I still wasn't used to understanding so many languages.

" _Don't say anything,"_ I told Roman. _"This could come in handy. Why do you know Polynesian anyway?"_

Roman didn't answer, just pretended not to hear me. Dayla's eyes bore her hatred for me.

I ate the rest of my meal in silence, while everyone slowly began to talk around me. Dayla kept quiet too, periodically giving me hard glances whenever our eyes happened to meet. I eventually began to wonder if I was in any danger from her, but I saw the scared, pleading looks she gave Eddy and I wondered if he would punish her. What kind of punishments did Shifters give their underlings?

Eddy was the first to stand and take his plate to the kitchen. He took his time washing his dishes, then dried and put them away. When he came back to the table, he didn't sit down. He looked at me with a certain intensity in his eyes, and said, "Roman hasn't fed yet."

I frowned, because I really hoped he didn't expect me to feed him. "What's he talking about?" I asked Roman.

Roman shook his head. "This is not necessary," he said to Eddy. "LeKrista has proven herself to me more than once."

But Eddy shook his head. "Leave now so you won't see it."

Oh. I get it.

I slumped down in my chair and leaned against Pierce's shoulder. He put his arm around me and pulled me close. When he kissed the top of my head, Roman's demeanor change from nonchalant to stoic. That simple act of fealty to my boyfriend was enough to make him change his mind.

An image of me running screaming from the room flashed across my vision, but was gone before I could grasp the whole thing. Roman shut himself off from me, but I knew his intent. He wanted me to stay now.

When Eddy realized I wasn't going anywhere, he shrugged and walked over to Roman. The vampire wrapped his arms around him.

"You give me life," Roman whispered softly to Eddy in another language, then he hissed at me and bared his fangs just before he struck his neck. Eddy uttered a cry of pain, and I jumped at the sound. Pierce wrapped his arms around me and whispered across my ear, "I'm proud of you."

No one looked away as Roman's lips worked at Eddy's neck, pulling the blood and life from his body. I couldn't make myself look away.

Roman held Eddy in such a position that he could look straight at me over his body and his eyes weren't friendly. He was looking for some kind of reaction, some semblance of disgust. I didn't know what kind of face I made, but when he looked at me, his eyes lost their fire and he had to close them.

The feeding lasted a lot longer than I expected, but I didn't think it lasted as long as it felt. Roman finally pulled away and lowered Eddy's limp body to the clean, white carpet in heap of flesh. Not a drop of blood was lost.

I thought it was over, but I was wrong. Bomani stood next and went to Roman. He held his arms out to her with a smile on his face. Roman caressed her cheek and locked his eyes on hers. "Such beauty," he said in Africans. "Such beauty."

Bomani went to her knees in front of him and placed her head in his lap. Roman stroked her long hair back so her smooth, dark neck was bared before he struck at an angle that looked uncomfortable, but he didn't have to look at me. The sound that escaped the Princess's lips when he struck was a little moan of ecstasy, and I felt my stomach lurch for the first time. She'd gone to him willingly, with something so much like loving devotion that it was almost too much to watch.

I dug my nails into Pierce's leg and he held me tighter. I couldn't look away because I wasn't a coward. I had to watch to prove myself and I just knew I was going to have nightmares.

This feeding didn't last as long. Roman let Bomani go and she dropped to the floor next to Eddy.

Dayla stood next, but Roman put up a hand to stop her. "That is enough for now," he said.

"But it takes all of us to-" Bomani tried to protest, but she was weak and it showed in her voice. Roman cut her off quickly with a little tap of his pale foot over her mouth. I thought that was kind of rude. And gross.

"You may go, LeKrista, Pierce. We are done here for the night. I know you're very tired. Enjoy the rest of your evening."

Pierce and I stood as one and started to gather our plates, but Roman stopped us.

"Leave them. I will clean them myself."

We left them and retreated up the stairs through the kitchen to our room. I was probably in shock, but Pierce seemed to be handling it just fine. He ushered me along as if I'd lost my way, and guided me through the bedroom door and into the bathroom. I found the toilet when I bumped into it, and heaved until there was nothing left in my stomach.

The willingness Bomani exhibited, though it was induced by Roman's mind tricks, was just too much. I couldn't imagine someone willing to give up their blood like that, and it made me wonder just what exactly Tate liked so much about vampires.

"You alright?" Pierce finally asked. I nodded and he helped me to the sink so I could rinse my mouth out, then guided me into bed.

I began to drift to sleep as my body settled into the comfortable mattress and Pierce had to roll me around to get the covers pulled down. The comforter was thick and heavy, but warm and it made sleep come even faster.

When Pierce climbed into the bed next to me, he wore nothing but his boxers. I started to lay my head on his chest before realized I was on the side that had been cut up. I looked up to tell him to switch sides when I noticed that the scratches had already begun to heal, and that was exactly what they looked like. Scratches. Not the deep wounds from earlier.

"Pierce," I said. "Your chest."

"Hm?" He looked down, then back up at me. "What?"

"It's healing."

He shook his head. "No, it's not. You're dreaming."

I blinked. "No, I'm not."

"Yeah, babe. You're asleep. This is a dream."

I frowned. "What are you talking about? Your chest is healing."

Pierce shook his head again, but this time he put a finger to his lips to tell me to be quiet and pointed to the door. He mouthed, "We'll talk tomorrow."

I put my head back on his chest and closed my eyes.

### CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I woke the next morning and stretched. Pierce wasn't next to me, but the bed was still warm where he'd lain. The drapes on the window were pulled back a little. Just enough light streamed in to show that it was late morning.

Pierce came out of the bathroom. "Morning," he said and sat on the edge of the bed. "Sleep okay?" I rolled to him and wrapped my body around him.

"Yup. It has been a while since I had a good night's sleep. Pierce." I reached up and touched his lip. The stitches were gone and there was barely a scar. He caught my wrist and looked down at me. There was nothing in his eyes to tell me what he was thinking. I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed until I was standing and I tugged at the hem of his shirt. Pierce put his arms up and I pulled it over his head.

The claw marks across his chest were now raised white scars that looked like they'd just knit themselves together in the last few moments. I ran a finger over the soft, tender flesh, so stark against his dark skin, and he tensed.

"Pierce," I whispered again, but he shook his head.

"Get dressed, love. Let's go for a walk."

I rummaged through the closet until I found some jeans and a t-shirt and some knee socks. I grabbed a yellow and purple striped sweater, my new boots and a heavy jacket with a hood, and met Pierce at the front door.

"Don't you want breakfast?" Adelina called. Pierce closed the door before I could tell her we'd be right back.

"Pierce," I said, but he was already making his way up the drive. I followed him and wondered if Roman had provided snow boots. Pierce led me down the drive and into the snow-paved street. Enough vehicles had driven over it to pack the snow until it was solid ice.

I caught up to Pierce and slipped my hand into his. He slowed down a little so I could keep pace with him and we walked up the snow-packed street.

"What's up?" I asked after we'd walked about twenty yards from the house.

"Not far enough." Pierce cut across the street with me in tow, and we stepped down into a ditch that was filled with ice.

"Pierce," I complained as I slid and narrowly escaped landing on my butt. "What the hell?"

Pierce grabbed me around the waist and lifted me out of the ditch. The ground under my feet was hard and frozen and oddly bare. There was no snow in this one spot and the red dirt crunched and shifted. Pierce was by my side in an instant, having no problems with the ice and snow.

We rummaged through the woods for half an hour, climbing over felled trees and sliding across frozen puddles hidden under the snowfall. At one point, Pierce kicked the snow off a puddle as he crossed, making it treacherous for me when I tried to follow in his footsteps. I slipped. Pierce reached out to grab me, but his footing was bad and he slipped too, pulling us both to the ground. I laughed so hard I snorted.

"Pierce, get off of me," I exclaimed. "I'm getting wet."

Pierce pushed himself up and reached down to help me once he had his balance right. When we came to a clearing, Pierce stopped us.

"Here," he said. "I think this will be good."

"For what?" I asked.

"I just don't want to take the chance of anyone hearing."

I frowned at him. "Hearing what."

"LeKrista, listen. Stop talking."

"Sorry."

"Last night... Roman wants..." Pierce tried a couple times to say what was on his mind, but he couldn't seem to get it out. "I'm not all that I seem to be."

I narrowed my eyes, but fought to keep my mouth shut and won.

Pierce sighed heavily and continued. "Roman knows there's something more to me, but he doesn't know what it is. He knows you don't know either and he's trying to use that against us. Against me."

"He's trying to break us up." That wasn't anything new.

"Exactly and I can't tell you what I am. It's a family secret."

I waited a moment for Pierce to go on. When he didn't, I spoke. "So, you can't ever tell me. Is that what you're saying?"

"No. It's a secret that can only be shared after consummation of a marriage."

"So...we have to have married sex for you to be able to tell me. That's why you've refused me."

"Yes."

"What can you tell me?" I asked.

"Very little. You really aren't even supposed to know this, I shouldn't be able to tell you, but since Roman has caused you to suspect..." Pierce shrugged. "You get this much by default."

I nodded. "What if I found out on my own?"

He shrugged again. "Like I said, default."

I smiled and slipped my arms around his waist. "I want you to tell me."

Pierce wrapped his arms around me and released a sigh of relief.

"Can you tell me, though? Does the family business you had to take care of have anything to do with this?"

He nodded. "You didn't believe me, did you?"

"Not really."

"It sounds like you have some family secrets of your own." I looked up at him. "Mage magic is familial," he said, then shrugged. "I know about mages."

"How?"

Pierce shook his head. "Can't really say. It would give away too much. Just know that I know about Mages."

"It doesn't seem right to me," I said after a moment. "It just seems against everything I know and believe."

"I can understand that," Pierce said carefully.

"But you don't agree."

"Well, think about it, Stace. Vampires are against everything you know and believe too. So are Shape shifters. So are werewolves. Mages aren't any more against your beliefs than they are."

"I guess you're right," I said, "but it requires some thought that I don't really have the time for."

"I understand that too, and you're right. It's a big step to take without putting the proper preparations into it. It's your decision, though. Don't let anyone else make it for you."

The skin on my arms tingled and tried crawl up my shoulders to my back. Pierce turned at the same time and looked around.

"Pierce?"

"Let's get back to the house," he said and I knew something was wrong.

The trek back to the house seemed to take less time. Pierce pushed the front door open and we stepped inside.

Ah, warmth!

Everyone was in the kitchen, chattering and talking like there was nothing wrong with the world. But everything was wrong.

"We've got daywalkers," Pierce said as we walked into the kitchen. Everyone turned to look at us.

"Daywalkers!" Pierce said louder. "We've got daywalkers!"

"What the hell is a daywalker?" I asked.

"It's a vampire that can be out during the day," Eddy said, then to Pierce, "You're sure?"

Pierce nodded. Eddy pointed at Dayla and Amber and they melted into their jaguar forms. He let them out the front door and came back to the kitchen.

"They'll take care of it. Where were you?"

"We went up the street," Pierce answered," then cut into the woods to a clearing about half a mile from here.

"Half a mile?" I asked.

Didn't know we'd walked that far.

Eddy nodded and zoned out. I'd seen this before, but just thought it was a weird glitch he had.

"What was that?" I asked when he came back.

"I was communicating to them where you went," he answered.

"Oh. That's cool."

Eddy nodded. "Yeah, I know." There was a slight smile on his lips as he said it. "Might as well get something to eat," he said. "No sense in starving for no reason."

Adelina turned from the stove with two heaping plates of food; bacon, eggs, pancakes, sausage, everything. I looked at my plate, then at Pierce.

"I'll eat what you can't finish," he chuckled. I gave Adelina an apologetic smile.

"I eat like a bird," I said. "Sorry about earlier. We had some business to discuss."

"I know," she said, and there was an understanding in her eyes that suggested Roman might have told her what he suspected. I smiled back and sat at the small kitchen table across from Pierce to eat.

I was hungrier than I thought and inhaled half of the food on my plate before I realized I was full. When I pushed it across the table to Pierce, he accepted it graciously and scraped what was left onto his own plate.

Eddy watched with rapt attention, completely enthralled by the way Pierce ate.

"Back off," I said. Eddy looked up at me. There was a sparkle in his eye that made me shiver.

"What?"

"Stop staring at my man. Back off."

"Oh." He didn't even blush. "I don't want your man, honey," he said, and it became clear that we were having a "moment" however unwanted and forgotten it would be in the moments to follow. "Not my type."

"Not tall enough?" I asked, and shot a shameless smirk to Pierce who growled at me.

"Definitely not," Eddy retorted.

"That's fine with me," Pierce said. "I like women anyway."

"I like women too," Eddy said, crossing the kitchen to get a glass of water. "I just prefer men."

"That's interesting," I said. "I did not know that."

"Like I said, I prefer men."

I smirked. "What's the difference?" I asked, and the look I got made me realize I was pondering something in my head, but no one else knew what it was.

"Between men and women?" Eddy asked. He looked over at Pierce. "I blame you for that, not the parents, because I've met her parents and I'm pretty sure they never gave her 'the talk'."

I laughed. "No. I mean, what's the difference between you, a shape shifter, and a werewolf."

"Oh, now see, that makes sense. Not all shape shifters are lycanthropes," he said, "but all lycanthropes are shape shifters."

I thought about that for a moment. "So, you're saying werewolves are lycanthrope's, but you're not."

"Right."

"What's the difference?" I still didn't understand.

"Lycanthropy is a disease, very contagious, but also very unpredictable. Lycanthropes have no choice but to answer the full moon's call. We do."

"So, how do you get to be a shape shifter?"

"You're born with it."

"Oh." That was a simple enough answer, but... "Did your mother have it?"

"No."

"So, it's like, what? A gene mutation? Are you an X Man?"

"Something like that." I could tell there was more to the story that he wasn't keen on telling me.

"When you have little Edgar Appletons, will they have it?"

"It's possible, but there's no real way to tell."

"What do you get with your shape shifting abilities? Do you have the strength and speed and whatnot like a werewolf?"

"For the most part. I can communicate to my people telepathically, for lack of a better word. Amazing sense of smell. I know you two slept in the same bed curled around each other because you smell the same. Your two scents combined to make one unique one. It's what your children will smell like."

I blushed, even though I wasn't embarrassed.

"I can smell your embarrassment."

"I'm not embarrassed." He didn't even let that register, he just kept going.

"I can smell your happiness when you're with him or your anger when you're fighting. Your sadness when he's not around. Your hatred for me and my girls."

I blushed again, definitely embarrassed this time. "Can you blame me?" I asked softly and stole a piece of bacon from Pierce's plate to give me something else to think about.

"I never said I did, I just never understood completely until last night, and I am sorry for that. I should have paid better attention."

"Not your fault."

"It is my fault. That's the thing. I'm supposed to know when things are going on behind my back. The fact that..." Eddy looked up at Bomani and the super model's protégée, gave them wary looks, and didn't look away. "The fact that my girls were able to lie to me like that means one of them is dominant, probably Dayla, and she will have to be handled."

I frowned and Pierce shook his head at me. I wanted to ask questions, but it wasn't the right time. I didn't know when or if I would get the chance to ask again, or if Eddy and I would ever get along amicably, so I asked a question that was probably best left for later.

"Is Pierce dominant to you?"

There was a look in Pierce's eyes that said I'd probably gone too far and that was evident when Eddy sat back with cool eyes. "Yes."

I swallowed. I had one more question, and since I was on a roll I asked it. "Do you hate me because the power you sense in me means I'm dominant to you as well?"

It took a moment for Eddy to answer. I saw the struggle in his eyes to answer honestly, but eventually he hissed, "Yes," as if it hurt him to admit it.

I nodded, hoping I looked understanding and not gleeful and pulled the keychain from my pocket. I handed it to him without a word and watched as he held it in front of his face.

"What is this?" he spat. Anger and disgust coated his words. "A reminder of the animal I am?"

Tears stung the back of my eyes. I thought I was past the point where Eddy's words could hurt me, but the tears spoke differently. "I bought it," I said, failing to keep the emotion from my voice, "because I saw it and I thought of you. Bastard."

Eddy wiped his face clean of anything that could give him away.

"Apologize," the Princess said.

"Is that an order?" Eddy let authority drip into his voice and it made the air thick.

"No. As your _friend_ I'm trying to let you know that you've hurt LeKrista badly. She bought something for you, even though you may not deserve it. You know she's not a vindictive person, even if she has a right to be." Eddy glared at her. "Apologize and say thank you."

Eddy stared at Bomani for a long moment like he wasn't sure he wanted to do what she "suggested". When he finally turned to me I stood and turned my back to him.

"It's fine," I said. "I never expect Eddy to be kind. I don't think it's in his nature."

Eddy had me by the arm in a flash. He bent so our faces were eye-to-eye and stared me down. I saw Pierce move out of the corner of my eye and said, "It's okay Pierce. I'm fine." I didn't blink or look away. "We don't have to be friends, Eddy. I bought you a stupid keychain. It's not like it was a shirt."

The Princess thought that was funny. Eddy growled low.

"Sorry," she said.

"I'm not asking you to be friends," I told him. "I'm not trying to buy your kindness. I saw it and thought of you. It's just how I am." I tugged on my arm and he dropped it. "Calm down, kitty cat." He narrowed his eyes at me. "After all these years, I think that's the worst of the insults I could potentially come up with. Seriously."

Eddy pulled back and crossed his arms, regarding me with a look I'd never seen before and didn't want to try to figure out at the moment. His head cocked to the side and it took a moment for me to realize he was listening to something outside. That was when I heard the low growls.

Dayla and Amanda were outside and I could tell they were facing off, even though I couldn't hear the dirty words that Eddy could.

"This doesn't look good," Pierce mumbled and we stepped into the front hall.

Eddy was out the door so quick I never saw it. I blinked and he was there. He hit Dayla and knocked her off her feet. Quick as a flash she was up and had her balance in case Eddy swung again.

Eddy was crouched low and I thought he was about to shift to his animal form, but he never did. He just stayed in that low crouch. There was something about it that made Amber back down. I knew by the tension in Dayla that she was supposed to back down too, but she didn't. She stood there, balanced, waiting for the blow.

"Come on." Pierce ushered me down the hall before the shit hit the fan. I didn't see what happened next, but I heard it. It sounded like two exploding cats. Their screams could have been heard in Canada. Once the door was closed though, the screams were practically nonexistent.

"What just happened?" I asked, as Pierce kicked off his shoes.

"Dayla challenged his authority."

"Oh." I picked up my book from the sofa and stretched out on the floor in front of the fireplace that always seemed to have a fire in it.

"That good, huh?"

I smiled. "It's a good book. People really knew how to write back then. I love French novels. I think they're going to be my new favorite past time."

"You're not going to start quoting French at me now, are you?"

"Oui, je suis, mon amour. Et pas seulement francais, mais l'italien et allemand et en russe," I said, letting him know that I was indeed going to start speaking French and Italian and German and Russian and whatever other languages were at my disposal. He stopped and looked at me.

"You're right," he said. "It is a beautiful language. Do that again."

I would have, but there was a knock on the door then and a wide-eyed Calliope stuck her head in. "I hope everyone's decent," she said. "Everything's clear. You can come out now. Sorry about the cat fight." She giggled. "You should see Edgar and Dayla." She whistled. "Edgar came out better than Dayla, but I think she got the message. Plans for the rest of the day?"

"I think I just want to hang out in the room for a while," I said, ready to really relax and try to hide from all the vampires that were after me.

"Alright. There's a hot tub around back," she said. "Feel free to make use of it. Very few can."

Once she was gone, Pierce plopped down on top of me and buried his face in the back of my neck. "You want to go to the hot tub?" he asked, his breath hot and tantalizing against my skin.

"Mmhmm. Later."

"Later?"

"Later." I tugged at his shirt and he kissed me well. I grinned. "You know how to make a girl feel loved."

It was full dark by the time we made it to the hot tub, and Roman made sure to let me know he was wide awake. The hot tub was in the back yard, housed in a wooden box with a roof and two hinged doors that shut over it so nothing could get inside. What it really looked like, was a big wooden well.

We had to cross the snow to get to the hot tub and Pierce insisted on carrying me. He set me on the edge of the wooden well to take my shoes off and I slipped into the boiling, frothing water. It was almost scalding. Pierce adjusted the temperature just a little and climbed in after me. After a few moments, the water cooled enough that I wouldn't get dizzy. He pulled me close and laid my head on his shoulder.

"LeKrista." Pierce's voice made me realize I'd dozed a little while later.

"Hm?" I answered without opening my eyes.

"We have company," he said softly.

Roman stood in front of us, his hands folded behind his back, his posture loose and non-threatening. "Good evening."

"Good evening," Pierce answered.

"I trust you had a good day. I'm sorry about Dayla and Edgar. It was bound to happen eventually."

"You heard about the daywalkers?" Pierce asked.

"I did."

"Are these daywalkers hunting me now too?" I asked.

"I do not know, but I will find out." He turned to look off into the woods. I wouldn't have paid him any mind, but Pierce sat up straight at the same time and looked in the same direction.

"We need to get her back in the house," Roman said at the same time Pierce motioned for me to stand.

"What is it?" I asked as I climbed over the edge of the hot tub. Pierce helped me out and Roman helped me down, and between the three of us, I didn't fall.

"It does not smell like vampires," Roman answered, "but I have met some who can disguise their smell to me. Hurry, please."

I hurried across the cold snow on my tip toes to touch as little snow as possible. I was freezing and practically naked in the cold air. By the time I made it inside, I was shivering violently. Roman produced a towel from somewhere and wrapped it around me, but it did little to warm me.

Shouts came from the floor above us, protests that were quickly cut off and silenced. I looked up, then at Roman and whispered, "They're in the house?" His nod sent a wave of fear and dread straight to the pit of my stomach.

Something smacked against the sliding glass doors, and I jumped and screamed. I couldn't see its face, it was turned sideways and covered with a black hood, but the hands were bare and paper white.

"Ohmigod," I said and started for the door. Pierce grabbed my arm.

"LeKrista, what are you doing?"

I shook my head. "It's Tate."

"LeKrista?" Miranda was on the stairs behind us fighting a smile. "I'm sorry," and there was sarcasm in her tone. "Did we scare you?" I tried not to smile, but failed. "Get Tate in here before she freezes to death. That girl, I swear. She can be so stupid sometimes."

I opened the door and Tate enveloped me a big, warm hug. "I'm not stupid," she said over my shoulder to the older girl. "You're stupid if you think so. LeKrista! You're shivering! Ohmigod! Put some clothes on!" She slapped my arm.

"Well, if you hadn't thought it would be good fun to scare the bejesus out of everyone I would still be out there in the hot tub with my boyfriend having a grand ol' time." I said it all through chattering teeth, and Tate tried so hard not to laugh. "Go ahead," I told her. "Laugh all you want. Just don't get mad at me when I laugh my head off at you one day."

"I won't. I promise. Let's get you some clothes. Do you mind?" she asked Pierce.

"Be my guest," he said. He wasn't having any trouble with the cold at all and I was a little jealous.

Upstairs, Gavlin had Eddy and his women corralled in the kitchen. His ancient battleaxe was slung over his shoulder, ready to swing should anyone move.

"You really think that's necessary?" I asked as we passed.

"No, not really," Miranda said. "Not anymore." But she made no move to call Gavlin off.

I showed the girls to my room.

"Wow," Tate said. "Are you _just_ friends or are you 'special friends' with the vampire?"

I gaped at her. "He had this house way before he met me I'm sure."

"This isn't a house," Miranda joked. "It's a love shack."

"Oh my god. Seriously? I have Pierce." It was a feeble defense.

"And?" I punched Tate in the stomach.

"Hot shower," Miranda said. "Now. Get naked and get in."

I didn't bother to adjust the temperature. My extremities were so frozen that the water was scalding and it was all I could do to stand there until they thawed. I was soon in some warm pajamas, sitting on front of a roaring fire on a bear skin rug, my two new friends on either side of me. Tate flipped through the book I was working on.

"You can read this?" she asked.

"Oui," I answered with a grin.

"Shut up, showoff."

"That's going to come in handy," Miranda said, "knowing so many languages. I know three; English, Spanish, and French. I speak them all fluently."

"I don't even speak English fluently," Tate said and laughed.

The door opened and Pierce walked in. "Hello, ladies," he said. "I'm just going to change and get warm. Dinner should be ready soon."

"Late dinner," Miranda said. "I hope it's not formal."

"Wasn't last night," I said, and recounted the tale of the night before. Tate was shocked to hear that I was treated so badly at work.

"I find it hard to believe," she said, "that someone wouldn't like you. You're so super sweet!"

"Yeah," I said. "So's Miranda."

Tate snorted. Miranda just looked sheepish.

"Yeah, I'm embarrassed about that. I get bitchy when my energy is low."

"No kidding." Miranda bumped me with her shoulder.

"LeKrista?"

"Yeah, come in."

Adeline walked in, her back stiff. "We're ready to eat."

I nodded. "When Pierce gets done dressing we'll come done."

She nodded uncomfortably and left. Strange.

"I don't think she likes us," Tate said.

"I don't think she likes _you_ ," I amended.

"Me? Why me?"

"You keep flirting with her man."

I thought Tate said something, but I'd never be sure, because I suddenly doubled over in pain. A siren sliced through my brain, carving out little chunks while it rolled and wailed one long screeching sound that cut through the silence and solitude of the night. I knew I was screaming, but everything else was lost to me until Pierce flew out of the bathroom. I didn't know why that one thing stood out to me. The moment he touched me, the siren lessened. It didn't go away completely, but I could see again and sense the room around me again. Something in my brain ruptured and something else took its place.

" _You belong to me now,"_ a voice hissed through my head. Perdita's voice. _"You cannot live without me now!"_ She was screaming _. "I can take your life or I can let you keep it. The choice is yours. Will you bind yourself to me?"_

I clutched at my head and covered my ears as Perdita screamed into my head again. I refused to be bound to her for eternity, and she knew it. I felt my body begin to convulse, but that was where it ended. One convulsion before it stopped, the screaming stopped, the pain stopped, and blood trickled from my ears.

" _No,"_ Perdita said. _"I will not lose my hold on you because you are sick and weak."_

"I'm not weak," I said aloud, but the words came out mumbled, sticky like I was eating peanut butter. "Roman." I said the name, but I wasn't sure anyone heard or could understand. I only hoped Roman could.

The chaos around me calmed like I was in a bubble of silence. Tate and Miranda were yelling.

"Put a ward over her!" Tate said. "You should have done that days ago!"

"I did do it days ago, but it didn't hold!" Miranda defended.

"Well, put one over her now!"

"I did!"

"Well, then what's wrong with her?!"

"I don't know! At least she's stopped screaming!"

"Fix her!"

"You can't fix her." Roman's voice filled the room, low and thick with that ancient accent. I rolled my eyes up because I didn't have the brain capacity to move anything.

Roman knelt next to me and his fingers brushed against my face. "LeKrista can you hear me?"

I tried to answer, but the words came out garbled.

Help me.

"I will try, my sweet, but I cannot heal you." There were shouts and those animalistic screams coming from down the hall. "She's in the house," Roman said before the door blasted open. I saw Perdita's face in my head, a projection from Roman, because all I could see from my place on the floor was the hem of her outlandishly fantastic dress. Even in my catatonic state, I admired her dress. How twisted was that?

Perdita was angry and no longer was it about the fact that I'd killed her lover. Once again her attempt on my life had been thwarted.

"LeKrista!" Miranda shouted. "I'm not going to be able to hold this for long and fight her. You have one choice here!"

It always came down to that one choice you didn't want to have to make. In this case, it came down to whether or not I would accept my power, my magic, and be like Miranda, or let this vampire kill me. I had to admit, dying was tempting, because it meant I wouldn't have to deal with this crap anymore.

But, I couldn't die, could I? Because that boy told me there was something I was meant for in all this. Did that mean he expected me to accept my power? So, all in all, there really was no choice, was there? Life or death yes, but if I lived I had to accept what I was.

Warm blood trickled from my ear and I knew that, whether I wanted it or not this was something I had to do. I closed my eyes and let my mind drift back to the other day under the tree in my backyard with Miranda. I tried to feel what I felt then, but I couldn't find the wind.

" _I need to fly,"_ I tried to think at Roman. The only knowledge that he heard me was his arms scooping me up, and with all of the fighting around us, we flew.

" _Faster,"_ I said. I needed to feel the wind blow through me so I could open the door and let my magic in.

"She will come after us, my sweet," Roman said softly as we flew. "She will not be distracted for long."

I didn't need long. I just needed to fly faster, so I told him, _"Faster."_

We flew faster. Faster and faster still until I felt that first breath of wind breathe through me, and I tried to catch it. I tried to suck it in and wrap it around me, but it broke free. It burst from me like a bullet and I felt Roman's body jerk. And then we were falling back down to earth. Back towards the ground and the fighting, and I suddenly knew we were high in the air, but we wouldn't be for much longer.

"What have you done?" Roman asked, his voice was weak and his body limp as we fell, and I felt myself slip from his grasp. "You've taken it all."

I frowned. "Taken what?" I asked. The moment I spoke, I knew something was wrong, backward. Roman was in my arms now and he felt weak. The swelling in my brain was going down, and I noticed something else.

We weren't falling. We were dropping, losing altitude at an alarming rate of speed, but we weren't falling. This wasn't chaotic, it was controlled. Somehow, and I didn't know how, I was controlling our decent. I expected to lose the control the moment I realized what was happening, but I didn't. We continued to drop until my feet unexpectedly touched the ground outside the house.

"You took all of the energy I absorbed the other night," Roman said weakly.

"Are you dying?" I asked, and he chuckled, though he coughed with the effort.

"No, but I am weak. I need to feed."

"I'll get you inside."

The front door stood wide, blown open by Perdita in her haste to get to me. I carried Roman inside to the living room and set him on the sofa. "What do you want me to do?"

"I will be fine here," he said. "Your friends-"

"Your friends are suffering because of you." Perdita stood in the doorway, and what struck me as odd was the intensity with which I could feel her presence. I'd never felt her like this before. She wasn't in my head, it was just her presence. "I'm impressed," she said to me. She leaned against the wall inspecting her fingers like she did this kind of thing every day. And maybe she did. "How did you heal yourself?" she asked.

I shrugged and it wasn't a complete lie. "I don't really know."

"Oh, come now. You know something. Bring him!" She said to someone behind her back and Tate came around the corner with Pierce in tow. There was no leash or shackles, just a woman leading a man into the room, but there was something missing from Tate's eyes. The girl I knew was gone, replaced by Perdita's control.

Perdita laughed. "I just felt your blood pressure spike. Interesting." She peeled herself away from the wall and came into the room. "Here kitty, kitty." All of the shape shifters came through the door a moment later, half in human form, the other half in animal form. "I'm not sure which distresses you more. Seeing your friend under my control or seeing your man hauled about like a pet. I can see you don't much care for the animals though."

"That's not true," I said.

"Yes, this is strange for me. You do not like this man," she tipped Eddy's jaguar chin up with a long, manicured fingernail and he growled. "Yet you don't want me to hurt him." Perdita caressed his head before she gave him a powerful smack and sent him sprawling. The other jaguars, human and animal, growled. "Oh, shut up!" They shut up mid-growl.

Perdita went to Pierce. "This one," she said, "causes you great distress." She raked her nails down his chest and over his healing scars, not hard enough to break the skin but hard enough to hurt. Pierce didn't even flinch. Perdita chuckled and sauntered over to me. She tipped my chin up with her finger and _tsked_. "Such a weak, ugly little thing."

I felt my blood pressure rise another notch and she laughed.

"You're getting angry. I wonder how angry you must get before you try something heroic." She paused. "I wonder what it takes to make you angry. I think I know." The way she said it sounded like she knew me too well, as if we'd been friends for some time.

Perdita marched over to Pierce and wagged her hips seductively. "He is a sexy man. Maybe I will take him to replace the one you stole from me." She ran her hands over his chest and down his body until one lingered dangerously close to his crotch. With a look over her shoulder at me and a sly grin, she grabbed his manhood through his sweat pants, not to hurt but to arouse. Pierce refused to look at her, but he wouldn't look at me either and I knew he was feeling things he didn't want to. Anger washed over me like a hot wind and it filled the room. Perdita threw her head back and laughed.

"Is that all it takes?" she asked. She straightened, but her mouth went for Pierce's before anyone knew what was about to happen. The room went still as she kissed him and it took a moment for me to get angry. When I did, I couldn't hold back any longer.

Scorching wind filled the room before I realized what was happening and everything came into perfect focus. Every nuance, every shadow, every dust mogul in the room became clear to me, and when Perdita pulled back from her kiss with Pierce, her eyes registered something I hadn't seen on her before. Fear.

"He's mine," I said, and my voice didn't sound like my own. " _That_ was too far."

I crossed the room to Perdita as the wind blows from one side of the world to the other and had her by the neck before she knew I'd moved. I felt her pulse under my hand and the energy she lived off of. She'd fed. She was strong, but I was angry.

"I want your life," I said softly into her ear, "for touching my Pierce. No one touches him but me." My jaw quivered with anger, my voice shook from holding back, so I stopped holding back. I let go and I let out everything that I was trying to keep in.

And I let in things I didn't know I was keeping out.

The veins in Perdita's neck turned black and she screamed as I felt her energy rush into me. It was like that high you get when you consume too much caffeine, but one hundred times better. It was like wind rushing in your face so hard you can't breathe, like drinking an ice cold glass of water after being parched in the desert. I felt her energy fill me and it made me want to laugh, so I did.

"Stop!" I heard Roman's shouts, but I didn't know how to stop and I didn't want to. No one tried to rip me from her, so I kept going.

Perdita's face and body began to shrivel so the dress no longer fit her busty form. She continued to scream and die until there were no lungs left for her to scream, but she kept working her leathery jaw. The room fell blessedly, eerily quiet. There was no energy left for me to consume and the dress fell from her emaciated body. And then, she was gone. No blood, no flesh, no bones. No carcass left to bury.

I looked down at that pile of lovely cloth, then around the room at the people in it and said, "I'm hungry." My voice was low and held a hint of the vanished vampire's accent. All eyes were on me.

"Don't let her feed." Roman's voice was weak. "Don't let her taste blood or we'll lose her forever."

"What are you babbling about, old man?" I asked, and turned so quickly that it left me dizzy. I licked my lips and nicked my tongue. Only then did I notice the extra razor sharp teeth in my mouth. I cocked my head to the side. "What's happened?" I asked, but there was no emotion to my voice. "Have I become a vampire?"

Roman shook his head. "No, but you've absorbed her. You've taken on some of her attributes, changed your DNA. Most of it will go away, the teeth, the bloodlust, but there will be some things you will endure forever. What those things are, we won't know until they happen."

"I'm hungry. Why can't I have blood?"

"Because you don't really want it. It's the vampire talking, not you. You're not in your right mind, and if you taste blood you will go crazy. You'll lose your sanity and you will never get it back."

"What if I don't care?"

"You do care," Roman said, and tried to push himself up. "You will care."

I sniffed the air and it smelled so good, like the vampire equivalent of a barbecue. "It's so good," I said softly. "How do you do this every day?"

"I did not have to until I met you."

I turned to Pierce. "You smell amazing." I sniffed his neck and it was my Pierce with the added bonus of blood and the negativity of Perdita's stench on him. "I should kill you for kissing her."

"She kissed me."

"Yeah. That's what they all say."

"She has no reasoning," Roman said. "She won't believe you until it has faded. I could feed off the energy she absorbed, but I have to have her blood too. I can take most of it, if you'll let me."

"No," I said. "I like it."

Pierce took a step toward me. We were already so close that I had to back up to keep from falling. "LeKrista, I didn't kiss her. She kissed me."

I shook my head. "You let her grab you and you kissed her."

"No, Staci, she kissed me." He took another step and forced me back.

"No."

"Yes." Another step.

"Stop that," I said, and planted my feet. No more moving, no more getting closer to Roman. "You kissed her."

Pierce sighed. "Fine. I kissed her. And now, I'm going to kiss you."

I didn't have time to protest. Pierce's lips closed over mine in a kiss that was hard and full. I tasted Perdita on him and hot, angry tears sprang from my eyes. My anger rose, but it was quickly cut off when something bit into my right wrist and latched on. I pulled away from Pierce to look down.

"What did you do that for?" I said, but before I got the words all the way out, my tongue turned heavy and thick and I dropped to the floor, convulsing while Roman fed from my wrist. I felt him pull the energy from me, and I knew the moment my eyes went back to normal because everything went fuzzy before it faded to black.

The first thing I noticed was how badly everything hurt. Every muscle in my body ached all the way to the bone and my tongue felt like I'd bit it off. I stuck it out and touched it with my finger.

Still there.

There was an arm around my waist and a body curled up around mine, even though I was lying on my back. "Off," I said, and my voice was hoarse and scratchy. I needed water. Bad.

The body jerked awake and jostled me in the process. I whimpered in pain.

"I'm sorry, Stace. I was trying not to fall asleep."

"Get off me," I whispered, because it hurt too much to speak. "I'm thirsty. Help me."

Pierce was off the bed and around to my side in record time. He helped me to my feet, a slow and arduous process that almost wasn't worth the effort, and we walked the few feet to the bathroom sink with me hanging off his hip like a baby.

"LeKrista, there are a few things you need to know," Pierce said, "before we get to the bathroom and the mirror. There have been some changes. I don't really know how to tell you except to let you see for yourself."

I panicked. I pushed away from Pierce and fell to my knees, jostling every sore place in my body. I cried out in pain, but pushed myself up and teetered again before Pierce caught me. I tried to get away from him, but he held tight, gripping the sore muscles in my arms to still me.

"LeKrista, you have to calm down," he said soothingly like you would to a child. "LeKrista." I whimpered and fought, but soon gave up because I knew it was no use. He wasn't going to let me go. "Baby, take a deep breath and calm down."

I tried, but it hurt, so I did my best. Pierce kept looking at me with worried eyes and I knew my own eyes were wild. I glanced at the bathroom door, then back to Pierce, then to the bathroom door, but we just stood there as Pierce tried to calm me. When I guess I was as calm as he knew he would get me, he put an arm around my back and scooped me up to carry me into the bathroom. I didn't protest. He smelled so good that I had a sudden flashback. I could smell the blood pumping under his skin.

Pierce set me so my feet touched the cool tile floor, but he supported the majority of my weight. I closed my eyes when he turned me to the mirror and tried to breathe around the tightness in my chest. I knew what I'd done. I'd absorbed all of Perdita's energy and all of Perdita's being into my own body and I knew that I'd taken on characteristics of her, but what? What had happened to me? Was I a vampire now? Half vampire? Was there such a thing? I didn't know and I was afraid to find out.

"Staci, you'll have to look eventually."

Tears burned at the corners of my eyes. "Am I still me?" I asked.

"Yeah, baby. You're still you, and I still love you, no matter what. Remember that."

I turned and didn't open my eyes until I knew I was looking full at Pierce and not in the mirror. When I looked at him, there was such a look of love in his eyes that it made me want to cry. He hadn't looked at me like that in a long time. It was "I love you," without words. I didn't need to ask any more questions. Pierce tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, playing with the end of it like he liked the way it felt between his fingers.

"Look," he said, and helped me turn around.

My eyes were closed again by the time I got turned around and my breathing had become erratic once more. I felt a tremor run up my spine, a tic that made me shiver, and I took a deep breath. My eyes opened and it took me a moment to make sense of what I saw.

I was still me. I had my face, my nose, my bone structure, none of that had changed. I still had my honey skin tone, but my skin was different, smoother, more lush. My eyes had a light to them that hadn't been there before, and there was something else. My face looked thinner, not as full as it had been, like I'd lost weight or something. I looked down at my body and realized that was indeed what had happened. I wasn't sure how long I'd been unconscious, but I knew it wasn't long enough to lose the ten pounds I knew were gone.

"Ohmigod," I whispered.

"Yeah," Pierce said. "See, it's not bad. It's just different. It's good. I like it, but I'll always love you, no matter what." He wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on my shoulder. "I love you Staci."

"I love you too."

He dropped down to one knee and I didn't realize what he was doing until a diamond sparkled in his hand.

"StaciDoll, I _love_ you. Will you marry me?"

Tears filled my eyes and I shook my head. "No."

### CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Pierce didn't stay. I spent three more days in bed because it hurt too much to move, which meant I added three more days to my "vacation". Miranda, Tate, Adelina, and Calliope came to visit with me, but they never stayed long. I thought they were probably afraid of me, and I couldn't blame them. I had every memory of what had happened and it scared me too.

On the morning we were ready to leave, Miranda came to the room to talk to me.

"I told Lady Xiomara what happened," she told me without preamble. "She wants to see you first thing when you get back. I told her about your condition, but she's insistent."

I nodded.

"Truth is," Miranda continued, "there hasn't been one with your kind of power in a long time. You're so strong that it scares them. Well, it scares her, really."

"Why?" I asked.

"You're strong enough to take her place when your power is fully controlled. You don't need any cultivating, because it all came to you at once. All you need is training. Most of it will come to you as you use it." She shook her head. "Personally, I think it's good. Xiomara needs to be unseated. It's time for her reign to end."

"You make it sound like a dictatorship."

"Yeah," Miranda said. "That's about it. She dictates. Everyone else does what she says."

"What if I don't want to be High Queen of the Round Table," I asked.

"I don't think you'll have a choice. She'll let you skate by with a lot just because she's afraid you'll take her seat, but there will come a day when she will challenge you, and just like the other night, you won't back down because of anger or pride or whatever reason. Not saying I think you're prideful, but it has happened before. With power like that, by then you'll defeat her and it won't be hard."

I closed my eyes and sank down onto the sofa in front of the fire. After a very long moment, Miranda stood and left.

The night we left, I left Roman's book on the sofa and left with only the clothes I'd come with and Perdita's dress. I had a twisted fascination with it.

Roman flew with us into Charleston, but stayed on the plane when Miranda, Tate, Gavlin and I got off. Miranda protested that they didn't need a plane, but I begged her to come along, and we all drove in a rental car to _Vamp-Lightenment_. Lady Xiomara and her council were waiting for us in their chamber deep underground.

"Well," Lady Xiomara said. "You've accepted your gift, I see." Her tone was strangely neutral, not at all like the voice she'd used when I met her, and I assumed it was to do with her not wanting to make me angry. "I'm told you're very powerful."

"Yes, ma'am."

Her eyebrows went up. "Yes? You believe you're very powerful?"

"I only know that what I did had to mean I'm more powerful than the vampire, and I know she had power. I have it now."

"Well," she said after a moment, "I'm assigning you to Miranda. She will teach you what you need to know, she and Gavlin, and will help you take care of the necessary paperwork." The smile she gave me wasn't a kind one. "Oh yes," she added, assuming I was shocked. I wasn't. "There's paperwork."

She dismissed us before I could ask any more questions, but I wouldn't have asked her anyway. The sun was up by the time we were done with all that paperwork. Miranda and Tate escorted me out of the building to find Pierce leaning against his car, waiting for me.

"I didn't want you to think I'd abandoned you like you thought before," he said, "but I needed a few days to accept..."

I nodded my understanding.

"We'll wait inside for you," Tate said, and she and Miranda walked back inside _Vamp-Lightenment_.

"I don't want you to think that I don't want to marry you," I told him, "because I want that more than anything."

"Then why did you say no?"

"I can't right now, Pierce. There are vampires trying to kill me. I don't even know if I'll be alive tomorrow. Then, of course, there's still so much to work through from the break up before... And Roman will never-"

"Fuck Roman."

"No thanks." The words slipped out before I could catch them. "Sorry." Pierce smirked, but it didn't look like he wanted to. "We'll work on it," I said. "I don't want to lose you. Just... It's too much right now."

He nodded. "Do you need a ride home?" That wall went up behind his eyes and shut off all the emotion in his face.

"No. I'm going to stay in town for a day or two." There were only three more words to say as he walked away. "I love you."

He stopped and looked at me. "I love you too." He said it with so much feeling I knew I'd never doubt it again.

### ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tyffani Clark Kemp might be the quietest person in the room, but that just means she's probably the biggest freak too. She is a multi-genre author with a gift for the written word and a desire to help all Indies reach their full potential. In 2012, she and her best friend Kimberly Fudge started SideStreet Cookie Publishing for authors who want to remain independent, but don't have the time or the knowledge to do it all themselves. From the age of eleven she dedicated her life to writing and making sure she was good at her craft. Now, she passes that knowledge on to others. Her friends would describe her as determined and giving. She may be quite, but she always has a story to tell.

www.tyffanickemp.com

<http://www.facebook.com/withoutrulesseries>

www.sidestreetcookiepublishing.com

**Other Books by Tyffani Clark Kemp**

LeKrista Scott, Vampire Hunted Series

Scorned

Hunted

Conquered

The Beasty Series

Beast Within

Beast Anew

The Shaggy Maggie Band Series

Shaggy Maggie

The Without Rules Series

The Man Without Rules

The Red Wife

The Power Couple

The Vyberdex Chronicles

Blood and Shattered Glass

Anthologies and Short Stories

For Christmas' Sake: Nice Edition

For Christmas' Sake: Naughty Edition

Rehab is For Witches: A Diary Full of Names

