Sam raised a brow. “Secrets won’t get us to trust you.”

  “He shared enough with me last night. I trust him.”

  “If one of you ends up in the trade, it’s all over. You don’t have any links to the vampires for one of them to claim you.”

  Izzy sat there as her stomach felt heavy. “What happens if we’re in the trade?”

  “You know the answer to that,” Ayden said. “Our goal is to keep you out of the trade.” He glanced at her and couldn’t figure out what she saw in his eyes. Grief was what she wanted to call it, but she couldn’t be sure.

  He blinked, and it disappeared.

  “So you’re going to listen to two independent Hunters that we don’t know?” Sam snarled.

  Izzy sat still and quiet. If they screwed this up, one of them was going to get hurt.

  Crystal looked at Sam. “I am the Elite here. I give the orders unless a Master Hunter gets here. These two know more about what we’re dealing with than the Society or the Academy do. Trusting them is wise, and they are the only allies we have in a territory we don’t know.”

  “If James and Markus are here, there’s bound to be other high-level vampires as well. Territory leaders, vampires associate with the Circle. Rumors say that the Father’s right-hand vampire will be there.”

  Ayden shifted at Harper’s words. “No one knows where the Father’s right-hand vampire went.”

  “The Father’s a myth.” All three Hunters said together, and Ayden glanced at Izzy.

  “I promise you, he is not. I’ve seen him with my own eyes.” He snapped his mouth shut as if he’d said something he shouldn’t have.

  Izzy stared at him. “The myth says he’s been sleeping for centuries, how would you know…” Izzy frowned, and Ayden squeezed her hand.

  “Later, right now, you three need to go make a plan, and Harper and I need to prepare for tonight.”

  Izzy watched the two of them stand and walk out of the building.

  Sam grumbled and took a drink of coffee. “I don’t trust them as far as I can throw them.”

  Izzy wasn’t sure what to make of them, but dread curled in her stomach. “Maybe we should go back home.”

  “We don’t abandon missions,” Sam and Crystal said together.

  “We adapt and we overcome. That is what makes us Hunters,” Crystal said gently. “This is only your second time on the field for a huge mission. You’re just getting the jitters.”

  Yes, jitters. Izzy tried to convince herself as she ate.

  “Tonight is the night.” He tapped his finger against the desk as he spoke over the phone to Markus. “I wasn’t able to pull them apart as I thought I would be able to, so you’ll be dealing with a team. Luckily, they are a new team that hasn’t hunted together before.”

  Markus let out a deep laugh. “You basically delivered her for me. Don’t worry about the so-called team. James’ mere presences distracted one of them.”

  Good. “Just the one or it’ll look suspicious.”

  “And when the others go back to report what is going on?”

  “I’ll make sure the Elder Masters don’t go poking around. They won’t have enough evidence or people to send a bigger team. So I wouldn’t worry about it. There should be no other challenges popping up either.”

  “Well, I saw a bound human talking to our target. So I wouldn’t be so sure. He has to follow our rules though, so he’s hands are tied if I snatch her.” Markus chuckled. “Unless he’s willing to step out of line for her, then I can kill him and take care of one of our own problems.”

  “I don’t care who he is, deal with him how you want.” He hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair. The plan couldn’t have gone better. A new team on the field, away from home, and enough communication that nothing would come down on him.

  Lucius took Mae to the Disappearing Act. He stayed close to her as she walked around, trying to get used to all her new senses. Tegan was standing behind the bar doing inventory before opening. Orion was sitting on the bar watching her.

  Mae frowned. “How come I can feel you at my back?”

  “Because I’m your sire, we’re connected.” Though that was only half of it, and he knew that. The reason the feeling was so intense was because they were mates.

  He swore Tegan looked up and rolled her eyes. “Once you’re steady on your feet and your bloodlust is under control, we’ll have you work here. Once I know you won’t lose control, you may work wherever you please. All I ask is that if you take up your previous… career, that you are careful.”

  She looked at him. “You know nothing about my previous career.”

  He didn’t miss the anger in her voice. One day she’d understand why he did this. When he could tell her they were mates, but until then, he’d just have to win her trust. “You’re right. I know you were an investigator of some sort, and you were on Kassity’s tail, which means you deal in supernatural cases.”

  “Independent hunter?” Tegan took a guess from the bar and put her clipboard down. Lucius could feel her annoyance pulsing at the back of his head, despite the fact that he kept their link closed.

  Mae gave a small nod. “I didn’t do the actual hunting, just the investigations.”

  “You moved like one of their kind.” Tegan walked around the bar.

  Mae wrinkled her nose. “How come I can feel some of your… annoyance?”

  “Because I fed you, it links us for a little bit.” Tegan took a deep breath and Lucius felt her pull into herself. “I’m sorry, I project strongly when I’m…” Tegan searched for the word.

  “Having a rough night?” Mae offered in the silence.

  Tegan smiled. “Having a rough night.”

  Lucius paused for a moment, watching Tegan test the words on her lips. She nodded and then motioned to Orion. “He’s going to open for me tonight. I have a mound of paperwork I need to take care of.”

  Lucius nodded. “Make sure you’re within Orion’s ear shot.”

  Tegan gave him a salute and then walked back to the office as Orion jumped off the bar.

  “Having a rough night?” Orion asked Mae. “Where did you pick that up from?”

  Mae shrugged. “I could feel her fear and anxiety with her annoyance. It felt more like a trauma response hidden behind another emotion. Sometimes when you let someone know it’s okay to admit they are struggling, it helps them.

  Lucius smiled. “Good. Tegan hides a lot of trauma. The fact that she responded to you in that manner is a good sign.”

  Orion looked at Mae and then to Lucius. “Tegan said you had her feed Mae. You know—”

  Lucius held up his hand. “I know. It wasn’t a long feeding, and I wasn’t going to allow it to be. Tegan handled it fine, Orion, and we all know it’s a choice I didn’t make lightly.”

  “Because she’s your human and vampires don’t share their humans,” Mae stated.

  Lucius shook his head. “Because she hates being fed from. I don’t feed from her unless I absolutely have to. Her blood is not something she willing gives and shouldn’t be taken by force.”

  Mae frowned. “I thought all vampires fed by force.”

  Lucius chuckled. “Oh no, Mae. There are people who willingly feed us. Gone are the days of us having to hunt for our meals. Donors are around almost every corner. I just didn’t trust any stranger with feeding you.”

  She was silent, and Lucius wondered what she was thinking. “All they taught us were that vampires are evil creatures.”

  “We’ll talk about history later.” Lucius held his arm out for her. “Let’s get you back to the mansion.”

  Mae put her hand on his elbow, and he took them back to the mansion. “I need to go see how Kassity is healing up.”

  “Was it Josh that actually hurt her?” Mae crossed her arms.

  “I don’t know. What did he tell you?”

  She gave a short laugh. “That you were trying to kill Kass, and they were escaping you.”

  “Believable with the shape Kassity was in.” Lucius nodded. “Josh betrayed me and Kassity. I believe he took her back to her clan, and they were the ones who harmed her.” Lucius shook his head. “But I won’t know until she’s awake.”

  Mae followed him as he walked down the hall. “How come she tried to run from you?”

  “Kassity is trying to get away from her family. I’m trying to get her to trust me. I can protect her.”

  “At what cost?” Mae crossed her arms. “What will you force her to give you for her safety?”

  Lucius paused. “I see that you’ve been talking to the wolves. Yes, I only take in people I think can be useful to me. Kassity’s panther is helping me, and as soon as Kassity heals, she’ll be helping me hunt something down.”

  “Something or someone?” Mae shook her head. “You can’t just use her as a killer.”

  “Something,” he said easily. “You will learn in time Mae, that the vampire world is not as black and white as any of the Hunters have made it out to be.”

  Mae followed him into the room where Kassity was sleeping.

  He hadn’t put the silver collar on her and hadn’t forced her to shift because her panther needed the rest and healing just as much as her human counterpart did.

  Kassity opened her eyes for just a moment. “What do you want?”

  “To see how you were feeling. Tegan is at the bar tonight, so I came to check in on you.”

  Kassity closed her eyes. “You should have just let him kill me.” She rolled over and cringed.

  “Josh is dead for what he did to you,” Lucius said, and Kassity’s brows drew together.

  “He betrayed me.”

  “I’m assuming for money from your Clan.” Lucius nodded. “I’m sorry, Kassity. I never should have let him near you again.”

  Kass sighed. “I’m going back to sleep.”

  Lucius chuckled. “I’ll have Coran bring you some food.”

  “Meat, please. Lots.”

  He nodded and walked out of the room with Mae.

  “She’s going to run as soon as she heals. You know that, right?”

  “Then we must teach her and her panther to trust us while she recovers.” Lucius shrugged. “I’ve worked with people far more damaged than that cat.”

  Mae snorted. “Like who?”

  “Tegan.” He left it at that. Tegan’s story wasn’t his to tell, and there were many parts of it she didn’t want others to know about.

  Mae simply nodded and didn’t push.

  Izzy stood with Crystal and Sam outside the SUV. She checked her gun and knives for the fifth time. Sam crossed his arms and looked into the swampy forest.

  “Are there alligators out there?”

  “I don’t think it’s that swampy.” Crystal laughed. “There’s a house about a mile into this, so hopefully it won’t be too treacherous.”

  And hopefully no one noticed the SUV, or had it towed. They purposely parked at a bend in the road so it wouldn’t be sitting in too obvious of an area.

  Izzy looked into the forest and hesitated. They were going to spy on an event that had at least two Ancient vampires attending. “Let’s go,” she muttered. “Before I change my mind.”

  “Having second thoughts?” Sam asked, and Izzy couldn’t ignore the arrogance in his words.

  She spun and faced him. “Unlike you, I haven’t been on the field a lot. So yes, I’m having second thoughts.”

  “The Academy teaches us that we finish our mission at all costs,” Crystal reminded her. “That means this one, and it means that if something happens and we get caught, what do we do, Izzy?”

  “We protect the Society at all cost.” She sighed. “We know that. They drilled it into us before we even went into the Academy. We give no information on them.”

  Sam paused. “You haven’t gone through your resisting torture class yet, have you?”

  Izzy shook her head. “Nope.”

  Crystal sighed. “Then let’s make sure we keep you out of the hands of the vampires.”

  Yeah, because torture was something she really didn’t want to experience. They trudged through the soft ground of the forest towards the location of the house. Crystal kept an eye on the handheld GPS with the coordinates of the mansion. And that was the only word Izzy had for it as they approached.

  The stone and brick building towered above the forest clearing. A rounded corner looked more like a tower than anything found in a modern house. Moss and vines had grown up the side, giving it an even eerier glow in the lantern light surrounding it. Izzy’s skin crawled as they hunched behind a mound of bushes and mossy rocks nearby.

  The front door was a set of steel doors with small windows and large handles. A vampire with his human appeared, and it took Izzy only a moment to realize that it was James with his creepy bound human.

  Crystal tensed next to her as James seemed to look right at them. They stayed perfectly still as he turned back and walked into the mansion.

  “One Ancient,” Sam whispered.

  Izzy’s breath caught as Markus appeared next. He also had a human in tow, but this human had chains wrapped around their wrists and ankles. They looked dirty and cried out as Markus shoved them into the mansion.

  “Human trade?” Crystal offered.

  “Two Ancients,” Sam muttered.

  Izzy stayed quiet. They all tried to hunker down into the shadows as people started driving up to the mansion. Ayden and Harper got out of one car and went to the front.

  Izzy wanted to be at his side. She didn’t want to be out in the humid air, waiting for someone to spot them.

  “Hunters,” Sam whispered again as if he was taking inventory on everyone they saw walking in.

  A few more lower-level vampires dripped in, but nothing they would need to worry about. But Sam still kept tabs on how many people were going in. A paneled van drove up and three vampires got out of the cab.

  One turned towards them, their red gaze sweeping the area.

  “Three ancients, two more lower-level.” Sam sighed.

  Izzy crouched and watched as they pulled ten humans from the back of the van, all chained together.

  “Ten humans, chained.”

  Crystal glanced at Sam and then Izzy. “I think it’s time we go. We got enough to confirm what’s going on.”

  Izzy nodded. Her heart pounding in her chest as they slunk away back into the forest.

  A branch cracked behind them and they spun around to see two huge wolves behind them. They stood almost to Izzy’s shoulder and drool dripped from their snarling muzzles.

  “Werewolves.” Sam pulled his gun.

  Izzy did as well. Getting bit by one of them was almost a promise of being changed, and though she had nothing against the wolves back home, she had no desire to be one.

  A whistle sounded through the air, and as if they were given a command, the wolves split and went after Sam and Crystal. Izzy frowned and shot a wolf as it passed her.

  “We’ve got it, get back,” Crystal called. “Get the car ready.” She tossed keys in the air at Izzy.

  Izzy caught them and ran for the car. She didn’t like leaving her team behind, but Crystal was lead, so Izzy followed her instructions. She came to a skidding halt when she saw Markus standing in front of the SUV.

  “Hello, Isadora. Nice to see you again.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Ayden looked up as they entered the mansion and tried to keep the look of disgust off his face. Naked and scantily clad humans were all attached to a vampire’s side. Some literally. Harper put a hand on his shoulder. “Remember, observe, confirm, and let’s get the hell out of here,” she whispered into his ear.

  He nodded. They had the Hunters outside to worry about. They need to make sure all the Ancients stayed inside and didn’t go after them. He spotted Markus and James speaking. Markus had a shaking human male by his side.

  “He’s not that strong, Markus. What are you doing bringing me a weakling like this?”

  Markus shrugged. “He’s what I could find. I’ll bring you something better by the end of tonight.”

  Ayden moved closer, giving nods to the vampires he knew. Some were old enough to know who he was, others could sense that he was a bound human, and therefor untouchable. Assuming they played by the rules.

  James ran a hand down his human’s back. What had he called her? Astel? There was no saying if that was her original name or not. Many broken humans forgot their names and went by what the vampire called them. “Better?”

  “A Hunter.” Markus chuckled.

  Ayden’s stomach sank. Markus knew the others were out there. He had to or he wouldn’t be promising James a Hunter. He turned to go to the door. He needed to warn the others out there.

  James appeared in his way. “Ayden, what on earth are you doing here?”

  “You know, I’ve been hiding out so much, I thought it was time to check out the sites and see what everyone was up to now.”

  James laughed. “So you can report back to Nuala? Does she know you’re running around without her?”

  Ayden kept his mouth shut, not wanting to give away that she was still asleep. “I’m actually heading back to her, so it would be great if you stepped aside.”

  Instead, James stepped forward. Ayden held his ground. Per the rules set up, bonded humans were untouchable without a reason to be punished, and even by Circle standards, Ayden had done nothing wrong.

  “Are we done here?” He shoved his hands in his pockets.

  James looked away as if he heard something. “Yes. We are.” He disappeared, and Ayden didn’t waste any time trying to figure out where James had gone off too. He walked out the front door and sent Harper a quick text to let her know it was time to go.

  He paused outside the doors at the sound of snarling not far away. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say he heard werewolves, but it was a gunshot at a different location that caught his attention. He jetted toward the sound, trying to find confidence in his steps through the unknown landscape. His heart beat against his chest as he finally found asphalt. He looked to his left as another gunshot sounded.

 

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