New Beginnings

by Annie Alvarez

Hightower 6

Faced with the daunting reality that their relationship has been based solely on Izzy’s dreams, Tamara must now decide if she’s even capable of loving a witch.

“It is much easier to live in the world of dreams, than to face the grim reality that my soul mate is a witch.” —Tamara Hightower

Chapter 1

I was already dressed and sliding my foot into Tamara’s boots when Jaz burst through the bedroom door in a frenzy.

“Izzy, I feel her presence. We must go!”

“I feel her, too, Jaz,” I reassured her.

One month after Shamana rescued me from Gaia, Layla, the Vampire Goddess, who happened to be one of Tamara’s ex-lovers, liberated her from the same hellhole. The only difference was Shamana brought me home, whereas Layla somehow lost Tamara in transit. I was so angry with the Goddess, I could have spit fire.

Until last week, when Jaz and I started feeling Tamara’s presence again, we had spent three months aimlessly ransacking the city, looking for any signs or clues to her whereabouts. We were finally able to hone in on her energy and tracked her to a deserted building near the warehouse district only to find an empty storehouse. I was positive Tamara had been there. I could smell her scent on a set of old-fashioned shackles. The same thing happened again the next night, only we tracked her to an abandoned apartment complex and the night after that to an old storage facility. Every night this week, we had had arrived ten minutes too late to save Tamara. I was frustrated, to say the least.

As I slid my hand up the soft leather neck of the boot, memories of Tamara wearing these very boots while her black cape snapped at her heels, inundated me. I had no one but myself to blame. If I had only been able to control my magic, it wouldn’t have pulled my long, lost sister from Gaia and inadvertently started the chain of events leading to Tamara’s capture and disappearance.

“Izzy, we must go, now!” Jaz exclaimed. “Before she is moved again.”

Pushing back the guilt and the tears, I stood and grabbed Tamara’s long black cape, which served as a poor substitute for having her arms wrapped around me, but it still held her scent and for that, I was grateful. I found it interesting that the Goddess Layla brought Jaz and McKenzie back without a problem, but she somehow managed to lose Tamara.

“Let’s go.” I sidestepped Jaz, grabbed a dagger from the nightstand and headed out into the brisk night air, leaving her to do a slight jog to catch up with me.

Much had changed in the last three months Tamara had been missing. I had repeatedly mulled events over in my head and the truth was I thought I wanted to know about my family until I finally met them. At first, I was shocked to find out my parents were alive and that I had a younger sister, for whatever that’s worth.

After being kidnapped, tortured, and almost sold while under my mother’s rule, I had plenty of time to reconsider family, and the most important family I had was right under my nose the entire time. Let me tell you, there’s nothing like gut-wrenching heartache to make you realize what you’ve had all along.

I missed Tamara so terribly much, I ached inside, but worse than that, the burden of running the clan fell upon my shoulders. It was my responsibility, as her wife, to keep Tamara’s reign intact and our clan together. Jaz helped whenever she could, but there were a few things according to some unwritten vampiric law I was required to deal with, which I thought was bullshit. Within the first week of Tamara’s disappearance, another clan member challenged me for the interim matriarchal position. Besides almost getting my ass handed to me, I learned a lot that first week, too. I learned how to shove my fun-loving human nature aside and embraced the ruthlessness of the bloodthirsty monster living inside me. All thanks to the Hightower blood running through my veins. Don’t get me wrong, I fought the change as long as I could—the change to lose my humanity and turn into a coldblooded killer, change. I had a difficult time stepping into my new brutal hard ass role, but after a few weeks, I was a natural at it. Tamara’s mother, Katherine, would have been proud. I was finally living up to my potential.

Another major change was I completely abandoned magic. I did anything and everything I could to strengthen my bloodthirsty vampiric side that put me in touch with senses I had only scratched the surface of before. For instance, I could smell the slightest of minuscule changes in a two-mile radius and I could see better than I ever dreamed possible when I was still human, not to mention my reflexes and hearing had become impeccable. My unruly magic hadn’t held a candle to what my darker side had offered me and I swore if we did find Tamara, I would not lose her to some haphazard, supernatural, unpredictable woo-woo magic, again.

Jaz had a lot of faith in me. She once told me I had come into my own, and I was a force to be reckoned with. What I didn’t tell her was every waking moment, I prayed for the strength to keep up my façade.

As of last week, when we started feeling Tamara’s presence, clan members had started congregating at the estate. With the mansion filled beyond its capacity, it was difficult to get a private moment anywhere and that’s when I called the master bedroom off limits. It annoyed me to have so many of the clan clustered in and around the mansion, but Jaz reassured me they were only reacting to Tamara’s ubiquity.

I stepped onto the landing, and the bustling in the living room fell silent. I still hadn’t gotten comfortable with everyone’s attention shifting to me when I made an appearance. I was more than ready to pass my newfound stature back to Tamara, where it belonged. Jaz and I descended down the grand staircase in silence. I didn’t need to address anyone there. It wasn’t until I had closed the front door behind me that I heard whisperings from our unsettled members. One young man stated I wanted the Matriarch title for myself. I listened carefully as other members stepped away from such a bold statement. It took everything I had not to return to the main room and rip his heart out in public view.

I stepped onto the driveway and found it empty.

I turned to Jaz. “Where’s the car?”

“McKenzie’s bringing it around,” she replied confidently, then quickly scanned her sights down the long driveway.

I had silently counted to thirty Mississippi and still, no McKenzie. I ran for the garage, started Tamara’s new motorcycle, put on the black, full faced bike helmet and called out as I raced down the driveway, “Catch up when you can.”

At three thirty in the morning, Interstate I-95 was almost entirely deserted, except for a couple of drunk drivers and a few half-asleep cops who knew Tamara’s motorcycles by sight. I knew I wouldn’t have a problem from our local law enforcement, and took the opportunity to gun the twin swirl combustion engine on the black, 1340cc, 16 valves, motorcycle. She had purchased this bike for speed, but kept the big bulky hog for lazily cruising around town. Yeah, in her own way, she liked to make lasting impressions and to see her effortlessly control the hog powerhouse left an impression, believe me. I had learned to ride and drive motorcycles because of Tamara, and if she were here, she would have corrected me by saying, you don’t drive a motorcycle

you ride it. It wasn’t too long ago that I was actually scared to death of the gigantic, motorized deathtraps. She helped me conquer my fear of bikes by pointing out that, unless, by some freak accident, I’m decapitated, I really wouldn’t die. It’s a vampire thing.

I had also learned to trust my vampire homing beacon and focused in on Tamara’s presence as I sped down the highway. It was as if I was trying to find someone in a roomful of people, but instead of focusing in on their voice, I could feel their energy. The closer I moved toward them, the stronger I felt their pull, and it was that pull that guided me toward the Fort Lauderdale Intercoastal district.

I exited on Broward Boulevard and headed east and then went south on Federal Highway until I found myself stopping at Las Olas Boulevard. My gut told me to go east again, so I went with it. As I passed all the pretty, upscale shops, I couldn’t help but chuckle. Only a few months ago, I would have considered this the good part of town, the safe part of the water district.

Since I’d given into my darker side, I’d re-categorized it as the good-bad and bad-good areas. A good community for humans—shops within walking distance, well-maintained lawns, and decent neighbors. Neighbors that call the cops whenever a strange car drives down the street—bad for vampires. Then, there are the Bad-good areas—rundown homes, drug dealers, prostitutes and no one calls the cops—bad for humans, good for vampires.

I had been shocked to find out Tamara continued to allow her clan to hunt openly in some areas. I thought with the Donor Center’s set up, she would have enforced their use, but I was wrong. I later found out a well-known city official, off the record, guaranteed Tamara’s clan sanctity if we were to make our presence known in certain communities. Apparently, the Hightower Clan was better at keeping crime at an all-time low than local law enforcement was and admittedly, a small part of me reveled in that knowledge.

Las Olas Boulevard quickly turned into East Las Olas as I crossed the Intercoastal waterway. The difference one little bridge made separating the two areas was instantaneous. Prostitutes flaunted their less than attractive appearance as they strutted down the street, looking for new paying customers or Johns. Drug dealers carefully catered to the influx of slow moving cars circling the block. Gang members gathered on street corners, futilely trying to assert their claim on a territory that officially belonged to us.

I was fully prepared to run the red light ahead of me when I caught a whiff of blood and stopped. The undesirables gathered around the intersection’s corners went still. I could see further and better than any telescoping device on the market and within a moment’s time, I had scanned everyone.

I spotted a drop of blood soaked onto a man’s shirtsleeve and a pubic hair caught in his zipper. The splatter pattern and hair told me everything I needed to know—it wasn’t his. He had raped someone. Normally, I would have paid him a lengthy visit. I got extreme pleasure terrorizing rapist, murderers and child abusers before they met their fate with me. Some things were just unforgivable.

Tamara’s presence enveloped me. I had wasted precious moments focusing on this scumbag when I could have been that much closer to her location. I burned the man’s gruff, scarred face into memory. The next time I saw him, he would not be so lucky. I gunned the bike, turning left onto Ocean Drive, leaving the asshole and red light behind.

The bike’s front tire came off the ground as I pushed the throttle. It was the first time any of us had gotten this close to Tamara in the past few months. I intended to make up the time I lost sitting at the corner.

As I sped past an abandoned fish processing plant, my gut screamed at me to turn around. I cut over the medium separating the only two lanes of traffic and doubled back to the plant. The smell of blood, decay and urine was atrocious. It was a safe haven for someone trying to hide from our more developed senses.

I parked the bike, took off the helmet and leaned it on the handlebars as I stood in front of an open hole in the wall that used to be the front door. I opened my mind, spreading my mental tentacles. Immediately close to me, but out of sight were several humans

resting, perhaps. Further inside the building was a terrified, confused and totally chaotic energy. A state of mind common for new vampires. Then I felt Tamara’s strong energy signature. She was still within grasp! I took off running.

Izzy, wait! Jaz invaded my thoughts. Don’t go in alone. We’re two minutes out.

Last week, we received official confirmation an anti-vampire gang was indeed hunting us in our own backyard. The hunters stabbed one of our newest members and splayed his body from the cross at the Last Faith Secular Congregation church. I couldn’t risk losing Tamara when she was so close at hand.

I’m not waiting, I responded without slowing my pace. This time, I’ll find her.

I wasn’t about to wait for Jaz or anyone else. Tamara was my first priority, even above my own safety. I entered the building and stopped. Quieting my mind, I focused on Tamara and followed my instincts deeper into the darkened room. I kept my senses sharp, but concentrated on my most harnessed asset—my hearing. This was not the time or the place to be taken by surprise.

I heard brakes squealing, two car doors open, but not close, and hurried footsteps, which I reasoned to be my sister, McKenzie. She was the only human I knew of that naturally mimicked the sound of trampling elephants.

I turned the corner and made my way down a narrow hallway that led to an open warehouse. By the look of the equipment set up, it looked as if this was where they processed the fish. Suddenly, to the right of where I stood, I caught movement. It was vampire fast and I knew it wasn’t Jaz. She was still behind me.

Displacing the air around me, I kicked it into high gear as I followed the blur. As I turned under a metal stairwell, I sensed such enormous fear it almost stopped me dead in my track and then I felt Tamara.

I smelled blood—not fresh, human blood, but vampire blood.

I cleared the stairs and saw a figure leaning over a body sprawled on the ground. My gut clenched. Every sense I had screamed it was Tamara lying in peril. I leapt into the air, careening toward the assailant, ready to grapple them away from Tamara’s fallen body. In the split instance, my hands would have grabbed the mysterious woman, she turned with exquisite speed and swatted me aside, knocking me off my feet. While still in the air, she stood positioning herself next to me and before I had even processed what was happening, she had gripped my throat and slammed me to the ground.

“She will die without my blood,” the woman warned as she knelt next to me and tightened her grasp around my throat.

Without moving my head, I shifted my sight to the right. She wore gorgeous black leather boots with silver buckles spaced three inches apart that adorned the boots all the way to the top. What was most impressive about her footwear was the four-inch heel was wood. If she had wanted to, with one strategically placed step, she could have squashed me like a bug, literally and permanently.

“Yes,” she replied as if she had read my thoughts. “Wood. You like?”

“Yeah, I do. Very cute and functional,” I replied, admiring her boots and wondered where the hell I could get a pair.

“Custom made,” she confirmed my curiosity.

I glanced up and noticed her wearing a smug smile on her face, which really pissed me off, but I was in no position to be daring at the moment. Maybe this stranger wasn’t all that bad. She did have an eye for good-looking shoes, but if she tried to hurt Tamara, I would fight her, even if it meant meeting my death at her hands or heels.

She stood, extending her hand to help me up, which I accepted. I watched as she returned to Tamara’s side and knelt beside her and then using her thumbnail, sliced open her own wrist and placed the bleeding wound to Tamara’s lips.

Jaz appeared from under the stairwell, took one look at Tamara and with her fangs extended, she headed directly for the two women.

“Stop!” I yelled. “Jaz, stop!”

From a blur, Jaz appeared. “Who is she?” she demanded, pointing at the woman feeding Tamara.

“I’m not sure,” I confessed.

“She could be poisoning her!” Jaz snapped. “How could you be so stupid?” She sped toward them. The stranger turned, and with the flick of her wrist, Jaz stopped abruptly and fell to her knees. Her brows arched upward and she clenched her fist as her stare fixated on the powerful stranger.

“I give you my word that I will not harm your matriarch.” The woman paused and then smiled at Jaz. “Oh, she is more than that. She is your friend,” she announced as if she had read Jaz’s mind then continued. “My blood will heal what has been done to her.” She pointed to Tamara.

Jaz slightly lowered her head, but it wasn’t in the customary vampire greeting where you show your neck. She pulled the corners of her lips tightly and her eyes glowed red. She was angry.

“Who the hell are you?” I snapped as I stealthily stepped forward, closing the gap between us.

“I am an admirer of your inamorata.”

“Of my what?” I really hated when people used fancy words. I took another step closer, then quickly glanced at Jaz. She remained on her knees with the same look of pain on her face, only this time, beads of sweat had formed on her forehead.

The woman snickered. “Of your female lover.” She paused, looking at Tamara. “You are a simple girl, Izzy. I like you,” she cheerfully announced as she readjusted her wrist to Tamara’s lips.

I was surprised she knew my name. I didn’t like being at a disadvantage. Tamara moaned and I watched her suckle the stranger’s blood as if her life depended on it. It probably did, but I sensed something else from her, too. Or a lack of something, actually. I felt an underlining void. An emptiness that settled deep within Tamara’s core, and that’s when I realized her spark was gone.

“My name is Ashton, but

” The woman pulled her arm away from Tamara and licked her wound closed. “You may call me Ash. I have followed the Hightower Clan for many centuries.” She paused, examining her wrist, then continued, “I gave Katherine my word I would keep an eye on Tamara.” She paused. “So, here I am,” she casually announced while motioning her hands in a theatrical I’m-here way.

Something didn’t sound right. If what she said were true, then where was she when Kaley went crazy or when Katherine had to end Kaley’s life? Where was she when Tamara and Celeste had a falling out that almost killed Tamara? Those were major pivoting points in which Ash could have easily made herself known and helped out.

“Well, it’s good you finally made an appearance then.” I took another step toward her. “I mean, it’s not as though there weren’t ample opportunities when we could have used your help,” I said as I kept moving forward. “You know

when Kaley died or when Katherine went into stasis. Hell, we couldn’t have used your help when Tamara almost died at Celeste’s hands either.” My sarcasm oozed.

Jaz snapped her head around. “Izzy, she’s an elder,” she whined. “Can you not feel her power? Please, do not irate her.”

Ash glanced at Jaz who remained kneeled in front of her. “Ah, yes, those were unfortunate events,” Ash mumbled gently as she stood.

Jaz’s request surprised me, stopping me dead in my track. I had not expected her, of all people, to yield to a stranger so easily. There was no denying Ash was indeed powerful. I, too, felt her essence pushing against mine, no doubt in a struggle to control me, as well, but unlike Jaz, I wouldn’t give into her so easily. I would remain loyal to Tamara and the clan I now called my family. I stepped forward, shaking my head in disbelief, disappointed Jaz had abandoned us so easily. Ash had claimed one of our own, of my own. I had to do something to redirect Jaz’s loyalty back where it belonged.

“Do something useful and take our Matriarch to the car,” I commanded as I nudged my own power toward Jaz.

“I cannot,” she apologized. “I can’t move.”

I pushed my will toward her with more determination, hoping to break whatever hold Ash had on her. After several seconds, Jaz went rigid, falling back on her knees, as if someone had pushed her over, then magically suspended her in mid-air. The position itself didn’t look painful except her arms hung straight down in an unnaturally stiff pose. I wouldn’t have known any differently if I hadn’t seen the bloody tear that ran down her temple and disappeared into her hairline. I studied her face. Sweat glimmered over her trembling lips as if she held back a scream. Jaz was in pain.

I couldn’t bear to see my friend in such agony—the same woman who had kept me company in Tamara’s absence.

Release her, I thought as I envisioned my suggestion taking form. I forced my idea to grow as if it had taken on a life of its own, and when I felt it was all encompassing, I reached deep within my love, not only for Tamara, but for all the Hightowers, and shoved my raging thought at Ash.

Ash and I strained our mental powers against each other. The air around us became thick, and for a brief moment, doubt crept in, and I worried I wouldn’t be able to breathe. Ash’s power had no mercy. It crashed into me, making me stagger backward before I was able to catch my balance. I felt her essence skillfully weave desolation through every fiber of my vitality. I stood, crying while it encompassed me in dreadful feelings of despair, anguish and hopelessness as it found my inner core

my spark of life, and shattered an incurable hole in my will to live.

Reoccurring visions of how my failures would ultimately claim Tamara’s life raced through my mind. I cried harder realizing my decisions alone were going to be responsible for forfeiting Tamara’s beautiful existence. I couldn’t phantom living with myself, knowing I was the reason Tamara would die. I had failed myself, but worse than that, I had failed the Hightowers. Jules and Kaley had died because of me. Katherine was in stasis because of me. Tamara was on the verge of death, because of me. The grim realization that I was the root of their problems stuck me—hard. I fell to my knees, crying as sorrow numbed my soul.

I believed I deserved to die for the agony I had wrecked in so many innocent lives. I didn’t deserve to hear Tamara’s soothing voice or to see her magnificent smile lighting up a room, again. I didn’t belong here

in this life. It wasn’t a difficult decision for me to extend my neck, acknowledging Ash was superior. I had prepared to relinquish control of the Hightower Clan to Ash and proclaim her our new Matriarch. Tamara couldn’t do it and I didn’t deserve the title of temporary matriarch. I only hoped Ash would adhere to customary vampire ethics and end my life, quickly.

I raised my sight to catch what I believed was my last glimpse of Tamara and even in her darkest hour, her beauty warmed me. For a brief moment, we locked eyes on each other and she half-smiled at me. Tamara’s small gesture, whether intentional or not, broke a sliver through the darkness I felt and gave me some semblance of renewed hope. I thought about the love we shared and the passion that sparked between us. I remembered the gentle way she forced unforeseen delight from my body and the euphoria I felt when I commanded her pleasures. The more I immersed myself in thoughts of our love, the less dismal the situation appeared. Our love had broken through the dejection that gripped my soul and I found myself second-guessing giving up control of our clan.

I glanced at Ash, who looked calm and relaxed. She shifted her sight to me and then smiled. It wasn’t what I expected from an opponent who was trying to claim my family. At the very least, I thought she would be concentrating on reclaiming the nasty hold she had had on me, but no. She fucking smiled.

I don’t know if Ash’s smile pissed me off or if my love for Tamara set my mental capacities right, but something inside me, clicked, and as I felt Ash’s nasty feelings drain from my essence, Jaz screamed as whatever force that had her suspended, released, and she dropped to floor.

“You really shouldn’t try to invade my mind,” Ash suggested as she stepped toward me and offered her hand.

“Invade your mind?” I snapped as I swatted her hand away and stood on my own. “You tried to kill me.”

“I did no such thing,” Ash defended herself.

I cocked my head with an attitude. “Oh, and what the hell would you call it then?”

She chuckled. “You tried accessing my mind and went head-to-head with my defenses.”

“It was an attack,” I argued. “There was nothing defensive about it.”

“I cannot control the protection that surrounds me. It turns an attacker’s worst fear against them, protecting the information I carry with me. You walked into that one all on your own, Izzy.”

Even if Ash was right, it didn’t explain why she held Jaz against her will. “Then why not release Jaz? What were you trying to prove?”

Ash turned and looked at Tamara, then smiled, again. All her damn smiling was really starting to get on my nerves.

“I didn’t hold Jaz.” Ash sounded chipper. “I think Tamara did.”

I turned to Tamara and saw a glimmer of mischievousness sparkle in her eyes. I couldn’t help but smile, knowing she was not lost for good.

“Jaz, take our Matriarch to the car,” I ordered.

“Yes, Mistress,” she said as she stood and swept Tamara up in her arms.

“Truce?” Ash offered as she extended her hand.

“For now,” I warned and shook her hand. “I don’t have time for games. If I find out you intend to harm anyone close to me, the truce is off.”

Ash tightened her grip on my hand and pulled me inches away from her face.

“Games are exactly what we are about to play, Izzy. You need my help. Tamara will soon confront fears beyond her wildest imagination, and I want to make sure she survives the ordeal.”

The confidence behind Ash’s statement made me believe she truly had the Hightower’s best interest in mind. I certainly couldn’t fight demons off by myself and Tamara was in no shape for battle.

“What can you do?” I relented.

“You’d be surprised and,” she mumbled, “I have a great fashion sense.”

On the ride back to the estate, I accompanied Tamara in the back seat while Jaz drove and Ash rode shotgun. I watched as Tamara aimlessly stared out into the dark of night, almost as if she were devoid of sensation. I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell was going on in that precious mind of hers when suddenly, she started hitting her head against the window and screaming, “Get out of my head.”

It scared the hell out of me. Instinctively, I leaned across the seat to pull her away from the window and into my arms. She struggled, not to get out of my grip, but to continue pounding her head. I pulled her hands together, then pulled her waist until she slid down the seat far enough to avoid banging her head on any hard surfaces. Once I had her in a semi-laying down position, I straddled her, safely holding her from hurting herself.

“Touching her will only make it worse,” Ash calmly offered.

“Get the hell out of my head, you son-of-a-bitch!” Tamara warned.

“What the hell’s happening?” I snapped at Ash as Tamara flailed under me. I clamped my legs around her harder. I would not allow her to hurt herself, again.

“She is getting acquainted with the Plumber,” Ash replied as if it were a common occurrence.

“What plumber?” I bit back.

“Not what, but who,” she corrected me. “He’s a demon and a nasty little one at that.” she paused, looked at Tamara, raised an eyebrow, then continued. “Her behavior is normal, considering.”

“Considering what?”

“We need to get to the mansion without delay,” Ash replied avoiding answering my question.

“I’m pushing ninety,” Jaz barked. “It’s not like I’m sightseeing!”

“Push harder,” Ash countered, then unlatched her seatbelt and settled into the front seat.

By the time we pulled in front of the estate grounds, I was exhausted from holding Tamara down. She didn’t fight the entire way, thank the Goddess, but her outbursts seemed to get longer with each reoccurring fit.

“Uh, Izzy?” Jaz called out. “Tamara has company,” she said while pointing at the driveway.

I leaned in between the two front seats and stared out the window in amazement. There must have been several hundred clan members all silently lining the driveway as we slowly drove toward the garage.

“They sense their Matriarch has returned. She has done well for herself,” Ash said proudly.

As the car pulled into the garage, I asked Jaz to hit the garage door opener and wait for it to close before we carried Tamara out of the car. I didn’t want our clan, her clan to see her like this. For starters, Tamara desperately needed a shower, and if I thought she would stand still, I’d have taken the garden hose to her before she ever set foot into the house. Secondly, she needed clothes, not that she wasn’t dressed, but if she had her wits about her, she would have had a stroke at the thought of anyone seeing her wearing the rags she was in.

“Run a hot bath,” I told Jaz. “We’ll be there in a minute.”

Ash helped me pull Tamara out of the backseat. “She’s going to need your support now more than ever,” Ash reassured me.

I gave Ash a cocky smile and offered her the comforts of the estate as I picked Tamara up and cradled her in my arms. I didn’t appreciate a stranger giving me common sense advice. I knew Tamara needed me. I wasn’t an idiot.

Halfway up the massive staircase, Tamara wrapped her arms around me, snuggling her head against my shoulder. Maybe it was my own wishful thinking, but I could have sworn she whispered, I love you, just before she bit my neck. I was so excited at hearing those three little words, I instantly stopped, momentarily letting my guard down, and allowed myself to feel the pleasure of her fangs piercing my skin. Yes, pleasure.

I know most humans don’t understand, but a vampire bite can be very arousing. Apart from the actual pain that rivets through your body exciting the little love bundle tucked between your legs, when a vampire bites a human, if we choose to, we can form a bond that allows us into your mind. Once there, we have access to all your secrets and feelings, and we can introduce you to extreme pleasure or pain, depending on our mood. The same is true when one vampire bites another vampire. The only difference is the stronger of the two is the one who infiltrates the other’s mind. That’s why it’s viewed as a dominance takeover, unless, they have your consent, of course.

My pleasure was short lived. As soon as I dropped my guard, the chaos and darkness that consumed Tamara flooded through me. I stopped dead in my track. The same sadness and despair I felt at the warehouse gently brushed against the borders of my mind. I had to question everything I thought had happened, like maybe, just maybe, Ash was truthful when she said she hadn’t attacked me. Was it possible I had tapped into Tamara’s mind, and she truly felt this unwanted or unloved? I swallowed hard. I had been so wrapped up on finding her, I never stopped to consider her mental status. I mean, I knew she was a mess. It was obvious by her behavior and her stench, but I couldn’t believe something so important? I had missed something this important. I had let Tamara down, again, but it wasn’t until the feelings of inadequacy reared their ugly head that I realized I had slipped further into the darkness of her thoughts. It wasn’t smart of me to get snagged into her chaos without a backup plan. Again, I failed her and the Hightower name, but more depressing was I knew what the future held for me

remorse.

As I swirled deeper into Tamara’s despair, I started to panic. There was no way I saw to get us both out of this. Suddenly, the manic feelings stopped. My mind cleared and I could take a deep, refreshing breath. I was me, again. Not to say that I didn’t have my own problems, but they weren’t as intense as Tamara’s issues. With a few centuries under my belt, I’m sure I’d be as screwed up as she was. I opened my eyes. Ash stood in front of me, her hand on my shoulder.

“Feeling better?” She cocked her brow and the corner of her lips twitched, truly accentuating her smug smile. “Told you I’d help. Do you believe me now, Izzy Hightower?”

“Huh,” I grumbled as I pushed past her on the stairs. It was obvious she helped me get out of Tamara’s funky head space, but I wasn’t sure what the hell to think about her, yet.

“Tamara needs to be touched, Izzy. She has fallen too deeply into her sorrow, and you’re welcome,” she called out as I turned the corner into the master bathroom.

Ash was really starting to infuriate me. I knew what Tamara needed. I had already arranged for Jaz to join us in a much-needed bath, but Ash’s little you’re-welcome comment grated on my nerves. I know I hadn’t thanked her, yet. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to, but now it seemed irrelevant. Damn her!

I pushed forward with my plans. We had priorities and a bath was on the top of that list. I had sent Jaz ahead of us to prepare the Jacuzzi tub. Vampires like the warm temperatures of a hot bath. Actually, Tamara loved baths. She once told me it soothed her cold core and I intended to soothe her as much as possible.

I carried Tamara into our master bath and sat her on the edge of the tub.

“Trouble?” Jaz asked as I stripped Tamara’s nasty clothes from her body, promising myself I would burn the rags later.

“No. Just Ash,” I answered while I peeled the last of Tamara’s clothes off and picked her up in my arms. As I turned to place her in the tub, Jaz stood and leaned toward us.

“Let me,” Jaz offered with open arms. I hesitated for a moment. Not because I didn’t want Jaz holding Tamara, but because of her frame of mind. What if Tamara sucked Jaz into her private little hell? I needed to undress which would only take a minute so the chances were good I could stop Jaz from going to deep into Tamara nightmare, if I needed to. I placed Tamara in Jaz’s arms and kept a watchful eye, as I started undressing. At the first sign of trouble, I would be in the tub, clothes and all but, luckily everything went smoothly.

As Jaz lowered Tamara into the water, she snuggled her face into Jaz’s neck. For a brief moment, my jealousy reared. I wanted her to share that tender moment with me, not Jaz.

Jaz threw her head back and that’s when I realized it was more tender than I thought. Tamara wasn’t only feeding but she was saturating the air with her seductive vampmones. The dim lights in the bathroom and the rising Jacuzzi steam captivated me. I watched as Tamara slowly gained her footing until she stood with her body pressed on Jaz’s small frame, cornering Jaz against the tub wall.

Tamara moaned and with her fangs still in position, she shifted in between Jaz’s legs. Jaz’s pale white skin accentuated the two bright red streaks that dripped down her neckline. Things were going to get very personal, very quickly and I didn’t want to miss it. I pulled my pants off and allowed the warmth of the steam to cradle my skin.

It was a good thing Tamara never flinched as I stepped into the tub. I was determined to get some part of her clean. I cupped my hand gathering some bubbles and stroked her back. I had been so worried about her even the simplest of things, like feeling her skin while I rubbed her back, started easing the tension that had built inside me. I felt connected to her again.

Tamara finally turned and looked at me. The first thing I noticed was she didn’t have the crazed monster look about her and then I saw the glimmer in her eyes. She was back to the Tamara I had known and loved, even if it was temporary.

“I knew you’d find me,” she whispered as she brushed her hand across my face, then gently gripped the back of my neck and pulled us together until our lips met. Our kiss was long and deep. God, how I had missed her passion. Tamara had a way of making me feel as though I was her world, and to me, that meant everything. She pulled away from our kiss and took me in her arms, hugging me so tightly, she squeezed the air out of my lungs.

“I missed you, terribly,” she confessed.

“Me, too.” I forced the words out with my last breath and right before I panicked, I remembered I didn’t have to breathe. I did it out of sheer habit, not necessity.

“It’s been hell, Izzy.” She squeezed harder, almost as if she let go, I would disappear. “I don’t even know where to start.”

I relaxed into her embrace. “I know, my love, but you are here now and that’s all that matters,” I reassured her.

“No.” She pulled me away from her, keeping us at arm’s length. “There is something inside my head. I can’t control it and I fear it will hurt you and others I care about.”

“Tamara, listen to me,” I whispered as I pulled us closer. “I will not allow it. Do you hear me?” I paused, waiting for some sort of reply or acknowledgement from her. When I got none, I continued. “You are not alone, anymore. We will fight this together.”

She smiled. “As Matriarch, I am entrusting you to see to it that I harm no one until this is over.”

Her statement brought tears to my eyes. It was more than just mere words or wishes. She had never pulled the as-your-maker-you-must-obey-me card, until now. It was true. A made vampire, a fledgling could not disobey their Maker’s wishes until they were strong enough to disregard their Maker’s commands, which ironically, is what propelled us to become our own Masters. I didn’t understand the logistics of the confusing, ass backward vampire ethics and thinking, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to, but I knew one thing

She had ordered me to kill her, if necessary.

“You know I can’t,” I tried to reason. “I love you too much—”

“You must,” she interrupted me. “You have no choice but to remember my request and follow my wishes.” She paused long enough to move a strand of hair from my face. “Now, kiss me before I lose my grip on the monster who has attached itself to my mind.”

“The Plumber,” I mumbled.

She cocked her brows and grinned. “The Plumber,” she repeated as if she had known what was happening.

Jaz waited until we were done talking before she approached Tamara and wrapped her arms around her from behind. As Jaz gently rubbed herself against Tamara’s back, she pushed Tamara’s body into me. It was a picture perfect threesome in a hot tub with Tamara sandwiched in the middle.

Tamara’s hand found its way down my stomach and onto my thighs as she kissed my breast. I spread my legs, welcoming her to explore everything she had been without for the last couple of months. I would deny her nothing.

Her tongue flicked my nipple, and her teeth gently scraped the sensitive skin of my areola as her fingers teased my hood. Suddenly, she gasped. Her hips leaned back toward Jaz, as Jaz pressed harder against her. I knew what had happened. I’ve done it to Tamara countless times before. Jaz had filled Tamara’s emptiness. I loved the feeling of her muscles contracting on my fingers. I thought of it as her pleasure welcoming me, hugging me, but this time, Jaz, had felt the hold of Tamara’s passionate, warm embrace. The thought of what happened excited me. She deserved pleasure beyond her wildest imaginations, but a part of me felt disappointed. I felt left out.

Suddenly, Tamara filled my barrenness with her presence. My muscles clenched as she drove her fingers deeper inside me. My knees went weak. I dug my nails into her back as I clung for support. It was, as if, she claimed every feeling, good or bad, I had experienced in the past several months and drained them from my core replacing them with euphoria. Surrendering to my pleasure, I dropped my head onto her shoulder as Tamara continued the slow, merciless and welcomed intrusion until there was nothing left of me to fill. My muscles held her in place. Then she did the unthinkable. She wiggled her fingers against my tightness. My juices escaped, drowning her in a sea of my sticky sweetness. I bit her shoulder as an elated frenzy grasped me.

“Ah hem.”

A woman’s voice broke my religious Oh-God experience. I snapped my eyes open. Ash stood in the center of the bathroom. The steam rising up around her made it appear as though she had just materialized out of nowhere, but I knew better than that. I had probably been so involved in what we were doing in the tub I just didn’t hear the door open.

I threw my head back closing my eyes as I rested along the edge of the tub. “What?” I demanded, holding back another pious scream.

“You have company,” Ash coolly replied.

Seriously? She was interrupting me for uninvited company. Was it completely beyond Ash’s understanding what we were doing and how important it was we continued taking care of Tamara and her needs? Not to mention, mine?

I bit back a sarcastic remark. “Can you not deal with it? At least, for a little while?”

She shifted her weight and cocked her hip in a disapproving manner. “No. You are the pro tempore Matriarch. You must deal with this,” she said and walked out.

“Damn it!” I cursed under my breath.

Tamara leaned forward, pressing her lips to mine. The kiss was extraordinary. Soft, yet firm. Tender, yet assertive.

“Go,” she whispered as she broke from our kiss. “Deal with it. You are still acting Matriarch.”

“You’re our Matriarch,” I whined as I leaned toward her, but she pulled back. “Soon, my love. Now, go.” She leaned back against Jaz’s front and moaned.

“Damn it, to hell!” I spat and rose from the Jacuzzi, horney, frustrated and pissed off.

I grabbed the first towel I saw and without drying off, I draped it around me. Whoever was waiting for me would just have to deal with it. I started my descent down the long staircase when I heard Jaz yelling. I turned around, racing toward the bathroom. As I pushed open the door, I saw Tamara lying there, floating motionless in the tub. I had felt the exchange of power only moments before. I knew she was dead.

I woke panic stricken. That’s how my dreams always ended, even though I had yet to meet any of the Hightowers. I’ve dreamt about how my life with the vampire Enforcer Tamara would be and of the adventures, we would share. The most unsettling part about all of this was with each passing dream, I found myself more in love with a vampire I hadn’t even met, yet. What scared me wasn’t that eventually Tamara would turn me into one of the walking dead. You know, turn me into a vampire, through no fault of her own mind you. Or whoever this Celeste was, would try to kill me. What had me terrified was I hadn’t met any vampires, and I’ve searched, believe me. I couldn’t every well wait until I was old, to get turned. I didn’t want grey hair and wrinkles, forever. Nope. I had to take the vamp by the fangs and get it done, sooner rather than later. I mean, why fight fate, right?

I’ve dressed up. I’ve dressed down. I’ve gone to the beach where Kaley saves my life from a renegade vampire and takes me in. I’ve visited where the Blood Donor Centers should be. I’ve even driven by where my dreams showed me the Hightower Estate was secretly located. Other than a bunch of overgrown trees, I found nothing. Not a damn thing! I was running out of options. What did I have to do, slice open a vein and parade down the street to get Tamara’s attention?

As for my dreams, they were a part of my witching abilities and I wished my parents had lived long enough to explain them to me. Sometimes, my dreams got things wrong. A perfect example was that I never had foster parents. Go figure. It seems my dreams are on their own schedule. It could take an hour, a week, a month, a year or a freaking millennium before they came true, but that’s the one thing I could always count on. They always came true and tonight I was going to help my dreams come to fruition. I had visited a magic user earlier in the day and purchased a potion from her. If Tamara were out there, I would find her. Tonight, I had a secret weapon.

Chapter 2

I love everything there is about being a vampire. The strength. The power. The seductiveness. The longevity and, hell, I even like playing with my food. I am Tamara Hightower and together with my sister, Kaley, we govern the not so small town of Fort Lauderdale. I do not trust humans. I detest witches and for that matter, I don’t trust many vampires either, but at least, we are straightforward with what we want and what we intend to do. If we were going to kill you, believe me, we’d tell you. I didn’t believe in fate until a few months ago when Izzy captured my dreams, which is why I’ve been following her, but I haven’t officially introduced myself, yet. I’ve got to hand it to her, though. She is sensitive. The few times I’ve watched her from afar, she’s turned and curiously looked around as if she had the feeling someone had eyes on her. I’ve had to be extra careful not to let her catch me.

Contrary to popular opinions, vampires do exist and the sun doesn’t throw us into some stupid comatose state, burn us alive or make us glittery as seen on the big screen. How silly would that be? We don’t need sleep as a human does. We function perfectly fine with only a few hours of sleep a month. We weren’t as strong during the day, but we are still capable of inflicting massive amounts of damage. I actually like the taste of garlic and oh, yeah

I do have fangs and drink blood. Although, I must admit over the years, I’ve become more selective with my intended victims. By the very nature of what I am, I enjoy basking in other’s terror and what better way to appease my sadomasochistic side than to terrorize the scum of the earth. I particularly enjoy taking my time and paying special attention to the child molesters and rapists.

“She’s going to get herself killed if she keeps this up, Tamara, ” Kaley mentioned as we both leaned over the fifth story rooftop and watched Izzy Denzier cross the parking lot of a notoriously dangerous blood club. “Maybe, it’s time you introduced yourself.” People who pretended to be vampires really pissed me off. First of all, we aren’t the blood-crazed monster’s society portrayed us to be and secondly, we were much more respectable than some of the idiots I had seen strutting their way into the bar Izzy was frequenting.

My older sister, Kaley, was more of a levelheaded thinker than I was. She was practical, loving and kind. I, on the other hand, was hot-tempered and short-fused. Kaley was not what you would expect of a vampire, but she was my sister, so naturally, I doled out beatings for her.

The dreams I’ve had, had been strange, to say the least. Izzy who also happens to be a witch and I end up as a couple and then I turn her into a vampire. My mother, who has been long dead, kills my sister, Kaley. Izzy and I get married. I’m best friends with the vampire goddess, as if she even exists and, the best part is we have a talking cat. It’s a complete fucking nightmare! So, yes. I sought out this witchy witch and studied her from afar. I need to find out why she had invaded my dreams, and now my thoughts.

Kaley pulled on my sleeve. “T, look. Eddie boy just arrived with his entourage of flunkies.”

I rolled my eyes. Eddie was another one of those fake vampires that society spewed from its inabilities to see the truth around them. If humans only knew what lurked around dark corners, they might not tempt fate with their stupid little costumes. Eddie was tall, pale and slimy. He dyed his hair white and slicked it back with a ton of hair grease while he dressed in all black. He gave me the creeps, which wasn’t easy to do.

“Lovely,” I muttered. “Did Izzy make it in already?”

“Yeah, she went in ten minutes ago. The club’s pretty full, you shouldn’t run into her,” Kaley reassured me. She motioned toward the edge of the building. “Shall we?

I shook my head and snickered as I stepped onto the concrete border, then turned to look at her. “Well, are you coming?” I was used to stepping off rooftops. I loved the way gravity pulled me down. At the last second, I would bend my knees as my feet hit the ground, then smoothly stand up and walk away without missing a step. It was cool and sexy as hell to watch. Kaley wasn’t as adventurous as I was. She would never attempt something like this if she were alone, so, when we were out together, we played. Kaley’s brows were furrowed and her upper lip disappeared. She did the same thing every time she was nervous. She would suck in her lip and bite it.

“Five says I make it in the club before you,” I challenged, trying to distract her from her uneasiness.

Kaley nodded and I stepped off the ledge letting gravity do its thing. As I fell toward the ground, my long, black coat flapped around me. Sexy, but it didn’t matter, if someone had seen me. My black leather outfit would have made me appear as nothing more than a blur the human mind couldn’t process. My feet hit the ground hard. As I bent my knees, following the momentum of my body, I quickly looked down at my brand new thirteen buckles, black, leather boots, inspecting for damage before I stood, stepped to the side and waited for Kaley’s descent.

I saw my sister step off the building and start positioning her legs to take the brunt of the impact. I wished I could get her to spend more time practicing. She still looked uncomfortable and unsure of herself. Truth was she looked like a dweeb trying to get her footing in midair, then when she landed, she bounced up just a bit too high throwing her off balance. As she grappled the air for something to grab onto, I snuck behind her, catching her in my arms before she ate face. As I plopped her back onto her feet, she turned, smiled at me and took off running for the club, leaving a light trail of laughter behind. That little bitch! She had played me all along.

I took off after Kaley through the parking lot and slowed my pace as I caught Izzy’s scent. There was something subtle about it that was different. It carried an underlying scent of something I had not smelled before and believe me, I knew her scent, well. I had spent many nights lingering just out of her vision, watching her—closely. Curiosity snagged its ugly hook into me and I decided tonight, Izzy Denzier would meet her first, real vampire.

I entered O Positive, Opos, for short and yes, that really was the club’s name. Apparently, the humans who opened the club thought it was hilarious and since I couldn’t taste the difference between O positive or any other type of blood, except for animal or synthetic, I failed to see the humor. Kaley greeted me at the door.

“Pay up, little sister,” she demanded with her hand out and a smile on her face. “I won fair and square.”

“No one says that anymore, K,” I complained as I tried to dig the money out of my pocket. When I was getting dressed to go out, I had to lie on the bed sucking in my stomach while Kaley zipped up my leather pants.

“Come on.” She pushed her open hand toward me. “Any time soon, would be great.”

“I’m working on it.” I bounced up and down in place, trying to get my hand deeper.

Kaley let out a long sigh, cocked her hip and rested her hands on her waist. “This is going to take forever. I’m going to get a drink. You want your usual?”

I glanced up at her and smiled. “Please.”

“I know,” Kaley said as she walked away, waving her hands in the air. “Rum and coke hold the coke.”

Since our mother’s untimely death almost a century ago, Kaley and I bonded together closer than ever before and swore to avenge Katherine’s demise. I love my sister, but she tends to get on my nerves a lot. She’s so damn easy going and trusting of humans, I’m honestly surprised she’s lived this long. It hasn’t been easy living with her and her unusual quirks. For starters, when she cleans, she cranks the Disco music at full volume, and I really wouldn’t mind it if it wasn’t every other freaking day. There’s only so much Disco Duck and Disco Inferno I can take. I’ve talked to her about changing it up with some good old fashion rock-n-roll, but it fell on the Disco Queen’s deaf ear. So, I do what I must. I leave until she’s done, or I splice the speaker wires again and listen to her bitch about how nothing is made to last anymore. Sometimes, I’ve wondered if she plays her music just to get on my nerves.

I wiggled, pushed and pulled my hand further into my pocket. As my fingertips brushed against the money, I caught the unique scent that distracted me in the parking lot and it only meant one thing. Izzy was close. I snapped my head up scanning the room for the brown eyed, brown haired girl that had unknowingly captured my attention through my dreams months ago.

Idiots pranced around with a flock of flunkies following them as though they were true vampires. People gathered at each of the three bars waiting to place their drink orders. A single girl sat in the corner of the bar, crying. Her makeup had smeared, showing her true rosy cheek color underneath the hideous white face paint. I never understood why people thought we were so damn pale as to turn an iridescent white. I chuckled to myself thinking she needed to keep crying until her tears finished wiping that shit off her face. Then I noticed Kaley heading back toward me, a drink in each hand. Eddie boy was hiding in a corner with some chick pretending to drink blood. I could smell a drop of blood ten miles away. I could see perfectly with little to no light for a two-mile radius. I could hear a pin drop among a herd of wild elephants trampling through the forest, and I if I chose to, I could get my thoughts deep inside a human mind and reward them with a pleasure unlike anything they have ever felt, or slowly and painfully make their heart stop beating. I was the perfect killing machine. Eddie, Mr. Slimy, tough, macho, prick was drinking tomato juice.

As I looked up, I caught sight of Kaley grinning and shaking her head as she walked toward me with our drinks in hand. Then the smell of cinnamon and lavender permeated my senses. Shit! Izzy was too close. I had been so distracted with getting Kaley’s money Izzy snuck through my defenses.

“Looks like you’re having problems. I can help with that,” she offered as she put her hand on my shoulder. The minute she touched me, it was as though a small electrical charge ran between us. I subtly shifted from her touch, while avoiding eye contact. “No, thank you.”

Izzy was even cuter, up close and personal than she was from a distance. This was not good. If she had been an enemy, I would surely be dead by now. I needed to stay focused on the task at hand. The problem was I really didn’t have a plan. She invaded my dreams. I got curious and found her. I had been secretly watching her and knew her routine well, right down to the magical mentor she visited with on Wednesday evenings and the four-leaf clover pin she wore for good luck. She’s like a freaking magnet! Every time I observed her, she pulled me closer and tonight was no different. I had no intentions of engaging, yet. Damn it! When did I get so careless?

“You must forgive my sister.” Kaley announced as she approached. “She’s not exactly the friendly type. I’m Kaley.” She handed me my drink and extended her hand to Izzy. “Nice to meet you.”

I’m sure this unscheduled event made Kaley very happy. Earlier, she had accused me of stalking Izzy and suggested I introduce myself and get to know her better. The problem? Izzy was a witch and I didn’t have a great repertoire with witches. It’s not that I disliked them. On the contrary. They scared the hell out of me. A witch skinned a good friend of mine who was also a vampire. I had to keep him sedated for weeks while his skin grew back. I understand the circumstances were different between them. They married at a young age, had kids and settled into the same boring routine that kills relationships, and I agreed with her. He never should have cheated, but it’s still not normal for anyone to be able to harness that much power.

“Hi, Kaley. I’m Izzy. It’s nice to meet you.”

Izzy never so much as flinched when Kaley introduced herself. She had no reaction, which would indicate she also had these damn dreams about us. Was it possible I was the only one afflicted by these nightmares? When they were done shaking hands, Izzy extended her hand to me. “It’s nice to meet you too, grumpy.”

“I’m not grumpy,” I replied coldly. “I’m busy.”

“Looks to me as though you’re stuck.” She smiled and looked at my hand.

“No, I’m good.” I shrugged. “Just trying to pull out some money, that’s all.”

“My hands are smaller. Let me help you,” Izzy offered, and I hesitated. After the little shock I received from her earlier, I wasn’t too keen on the idea of her touching me, again.

“Come on,” Kaley encouraged. “Let her help.”

Oh, for God’s sake! I shot Kaley a stern look. I just knew she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to edge me closer to Izzy. In response to my disapproving look, Kaley gave me a big, warm smile and Izzy inched even closer.

“Fine,” I conceded and pulled my hand out of my pocket. “Go ahead and try.”

Izzy gave a coy smile then proceeded to slide her hand into my pocket. “Relax,” she reassured me. “There aren’t many places I can’t fit into.” She paused as she put a little extra umph into shoving her hand deeper, and her fingers brushed against the crook of my loins. “I feel it,” she claimed excitedly.

Her brief caress blazed a burning passion through me—a passion I was not prepared to act on, yet. “That’s not the money,” I countered as I sucked in my stomach in an attempt to move away from her enticing touch.

She giggled softly. So quietly, only my vampire hearing caught it. Had any of the other physical signs followed, I would have thought Izzy embarrassed herself, but she didn’t try to hide her face. She didn’t flush, and she didn’t look down and to the left. Instead, she subtly licked the corner of her lips. I was a master of reading body language. She intended to touch me.

“Sorry.” She moved her hand and I felt her curled fingers around the money. “I’ve got it,” she said pulling the wad of cash out of my pocket. She handed it to me and said, “Here, I think this is yours.”

“Thank you, I think.” I took the cash and shuffled through twenty, fifty and hundred’s until I hit the thousand-dollar bills. I pulled out five bills and slapped it in Kaley’s hand. “Debt paid.”

“Oh my God!” Izzy squealed as several people curiously looked at us. Izzy cleared her throat. “Do you know how rare those are?”

“Yes,” I answered. No further explanation was needed.

“Yup. Went out of circulation in 1969,” Kaley interjected.

“I know. I did a paper on them once, but never got to see one. Is it true Cleveland is printed on it?”

I heard Izzy’s pulse race, and noticed a small bead of sweat on her forehead and upper lip. She seemed too excited about a dead president, even if it was rare.

“See for yourself.” Kaley handed Izzy one of the bills. “I tried to collect as many as I could without being notic—”

I cut Kaley off in mid-word, then looked at Izzy. “It’s time to go. Sorry, but we’ve been here too long. We have other plans this evening,” I said as I pulled Kaley away from Izzy and into the crowd.

I bit my tongue the entire way out of the bar and once we cleared the front doors, I exploded. “How could you be so stupid?” I snapped. “You almost gave us away! Couldn’t you see she was playing you for information? Jesus, Kaley, mother taught you better than that!”

Kaley walked away from me and I followed, grabbing her by the arm. She spun, placing her hand on my neck, lifted me off the ground, and shoved me against the wall. “When did you get so fucking paranoid?” she demanded. “Izzy seems like a nice girl. Give her a chance.”

If I were human, the move would have killed me. “A nice witch who has her suspicions about us,” I countered.

“Oh, Christ, T!” Kaley released her hold and my feet hit solid ground. “Let it go. I know he was your friend, but it’s time to put it behind you.” She turned her back to me, sighed and then faced me. “Not all witches are bad.”

There was only one reason Kaley would continue adamantly defending witches. “Really?” I barked. “You promised you wouldn’t see her anymore.” Kaley bowed her head. She knew I was referring to her witchy-witch, ex-girlfriend Rachael. “What the hell has gotten into you?”

“Not all witches are bad,” she repeated.

I pushed off the wall and paced, kicking up some dust. “I’ll tell you what’s gotten into you.” I paused and stuck an accusatory finger at her. “That dammed witch has gotten to you! This isn’t about Izzy, at all. You need to break it off with Rachael, for good.”

“It’s not like that,” she calmly replied. “You need to give her a chance, please, T.”

“She gave me the evil eye!” I barked.

“You growled at her,” Kaley shot back, defending Rachael. “Hell, T, I gave you the evil eye for that!” She paused, as she stepped toward me. “You’re my sister and I love you, but I’m not breaking up with Rachael. You’re going to have to find a way to deal with it.”

Anger rose inside me. I felt it nipping at my patience as she stood there watching me, probably waiting for my approval. Kaley had made her stance and there was nothing I could do about it now. I slouched my shoulders, and sighed. “Aren’t you tired of each other, yet? I mean it’s been fifty years already. You’ve learned everything there is to know about each other. It must be boring, now.”

Kaley smiled. “No.” She laughed. “It’s not boring. I know you don’t get it, but we love each other.” She paused. “Make you a deal. If you stop growling at her, I’ll talk to her about her evil eye. Okay?”

I didn’t want to make peace with Rachael, but for the sake of my sister, I would try. “Fine, but no guarantees,” I warned.

Kaley threw her arms around me, hugging me tightly. “I love you, lil sis.” We broke from our embrace as a woman’s scream pierced the night. We looked at each other and smiled. We loved the thrill of an unexpected adventure. Kaley raised her brow, and I nodded. We then took off running toward the front of the bar. It only took us a couple of seconds to reach the front door where people were milling around. No one seemed concerned and nothing seemed out of place. How could it be we missed the action? Kaley strolled toward the curb and knelt, running her finger across the sidewalk pavement then lifted her hand to her nose.

“It’s blood. Smells like lavender and

” She paused smelling it again.

“Cinnamon,” I interjected. I looked around in case we had missed something.

She nodded while rubbing her index finger and thumb together. “How’d you know?”

“It’s Izzy’s.” I knew her scent from previous encounters, including the bar tonight.

“There’s something else, T.” Kaley stood and followed the walkway leading around the building. “She’s not alone,” she said breathing in deeply. Over the years, Kaley had fine-tuned her gift of smell. She could put a Blood Hound to shame and if she said Izzy wasn’t alone, I believed her.

I came up behind her. “What are you picking up?”

She turned to me, her brow furrowed. “An Alpha male, in heat.”

I clenched my jaw. “God damn it! The wolves violated the treaty.”

Chapter 3

My secret weapon, a finding spell, had worked wonderfully. It led me straight to a woman jumping up and down with her hand in her pocket, who coincidentally resembled the vampire who had invaded my dreams for the past several months, but I had to touch her to be sure. “Looks like you’re having problems. I can help with that,” I offered and put my hand on her shoulder. The minute I touched Tamara, my finding spell zapped a small electrical current between us, confirming my suspicions. I had finally caught up with the elusive Tamara Hightower. I couldn’t let her know how thrilled I was that I had found her. I knew as a vampire, she could smell, hear and see any minute changes my body made. I put my hand behind my back and moving my fingers in a ritualistic way, I cast a little deceiving spell to hide my excitement.

When the dreams first started, I knew vampires could invade a human mind at will and I was pissed. I felt violated, but now I couldn’t help but feel an odd attraction toward her. The real Tamara looked slightly different from my dream Tamara. For starters, the real her was taller and sexier. She still had the pitch-black hair and light blue eyes that seemed almost void of color along with flawless skin, but she also had some color to her, not the pasty white complexion I expected.

She shifted away from me, as she stared at my chest. “No. Thank you.”

I watched her for a moment and she seemed concerned. Her lips tightened and her brow furrowed. As I started to ask her what was wrong, a woman said, “You must forgive my sister. She’s not exactly the friendly type. I’m Kaley.” She handed Tamara a drink and extended her hand to me. “Nice to meet you.”

I had to play it cool. I couldn’t very well tell them I knew all about them from my dreams. At best, they’d think me crazy. At worst, I’d never see either one of them again. I took her hand. “Hi Kaley. I’m Izzy. It’s nice to meet you.” Then I extended my hand to Tamara, but I couldn’t let on that I knew her real name. “It’s nice to meet you, too, grumpy.”

“I’m not grumpy,” she replied coldly. “I’m busy.”

“Looks to me as though you’re stuck.” I smiled and she looked at my hand.

“No, I’m good.” Grumpy shrugged. “Just trying to pull out some money, that’s all.”

“My hands are smaller. Let me help you,” I offered. She opened her mouth to say something, but hesitated.

“Come on,” Kaley encouraged. “Let her help.”

If my dreams were correct, Tamara not only loved sex, but she was easily seduced. All I had to do was plant a seed of possibility to spark her interest in me. I inched closer, hoping she could smell the pheromones I splashed on myself as perfume—the other half of my secret weapon.

“Fine,” she conceded and pulled her hand out of her pocket. “Go ahead and try.”

This was my chance to entice her. I gave a coy smile then proceeded to slide my hand into her pocket. “Relax,” I reassured her. “There aren’t many places I can’t fit into.” I paused as I put a little extra umph into shoving my hand deeper, making sure, it hit the bottom of her pocket, then shifted my fingers, purposefully rubbing against her loins. Through the pockets lining, I felt an immediate dampness and I knew I had provoked some feelings of excitement. “I feel it,” I claimed excitedly.

“That’s not the money,” she countered, sucking in her stomach and slightly shifting her hips in an attempt to move away from my touch.

A self-satisfying giggle escaped my lips, but I quickly bit it back realizing Tamara could hear it with her ultra-vampire senses. “Sorry.” I made my halfhearted apologies and focused on retrieving the money from her pocket as I curled my fingers around the money. “I’ve got it,” I proudly announced pulling the wad of cash out of her pocket and handed it to her. “Here, I think this is yours.”

She took the cash. I watched her shuffle through twenty, fifty and hundred’s. “Thank you, I think,” she said as she pulled out five, one thousand dollar bills and slapped it in Kaley’s hand. “Debt paid.”

“Oh my God!” I squealed loud enough to warrant people’s curiosity. A little embarrassed, I cleared my throat and lowered my voice. “Do you know how rare those are?”

“Yes,” Tamara answered coldly.

“Yup. Went out of circulation in 1969,” Kaley interjected.

“I know,” I agreed as the smallest of doubt was washed away by watching the kind of rare money she leisurely carried and my excitement grew. “I did a paper on them once, but never got to see one. Is it true Cleveland is printed on it?”

“See for yourself.” Kaley handed me one of the bills. I took it studying it closely for authenticity as Kaley continued. “I tried to collect as many as I could without being notic—”

“It’s time to go.” Tamara had briskly cut Kaley off in mid-word, then looked at me. “Sorry, but we’ve been here too long. We have other plans this evening,” she said as she pulled Kaley into the crowd.

Okay, that was weird. One minute Kaley and I were talking about the history of money and the next, grumpy, aka Tamara made apologies and pulled Kaley away, just like that. I wasn’t about to let it go, so I followed them. I waited until they went out the front door and then made my way outside, only to find that they were gone. I casually made my way around the side of the building and saw nothing but a little dust kick up. Working my way toward the other side, I passed a man who appeared vaguely familiar, but dismissed it and went on my way. I had to find them. I turned the corner and saw two people sitting in a parked car. I approached to ask if they had seen two women pass this way. Within a couple of feet from the car, I felt an immense pain almost as if my head were splitting open. I yelled and everything went black.

The first thing I noticed were the voices, the next thing was the darkness. I opened my eyes, not that it did me any good. Everything was blurry, but I could make out two distinct figures, both males, I think. I felt like I was burning up. I needed water. I tried getting my hands under me to sit up, but my arms wouldn’t move. I shifted, lifting myself upward and pain tore a debilitating pang through me, every inch of my body hurting including my hair. I fell back on my side. I remembered the bar and being excited my magical spell worked, as planned. I remembered Tamara and Kaley left in a hurry, and I set out to spy on them, following them out of the front door, but from there, they disappeared. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear they cast an invisibility cloak around themselves, but the idea was absurd. It’s common knowledge vampires can’t practice magic. The next thing I knew, I felt as though my head had split open and everything went black. I thought I was dying and from the pain I felt, I wish I had been.

“Tell Scooter his new bitch is awake,” a gruff voice echoed. “He’ll be happy to know she survived the bite.”

I moaned in pain.

“I’ll get the medic in here, too,” another softer male voice answered. “She’ll have to be watched until the change is complete. We could still lose her.”

“Hey, Mick,” the gruff voice called out again. “Don’t tell Elisa, she’s up. Let Scooter do the honors.”

“Yeah

yeah, Daniel. I hear you,” Mick grunted and a door slammed.

I wasn’t completely coherent, but the words, the bite, his new bitch and the change rattled what little common sense I possessed. I had become the property of an Alpha male werewolf and he knew enough about me to bind my hands to keep me from using magic. I was in big trouble. The realization that no one knew I was in trouble and no one would be looking for me overwhelmed me with despair. There was no way I could see myself getting out of here without a new fur coat to wear once a month. I closed my eyes to keep from crying, but it didn’t work. I felt my warm tears down my face, anyway.

“Hey, little lady,” Daniel addressed me. “We won’t hurt you. Just try to relax. A few more days and you’ll be good as new.”

I ignored his attempt to soothe me, and no, I wouldn’t be as good as new. I’d be a fucking werewolf, scavenging the ground on all fours tearing animals and people apart for food. I could kiss my dreams of being with Tamara goodbye. There was no way in hell she would mate with a werewolf. Tamara! That’s it! Maybe I could communicate with her through my dreams and plead for help.

“You’re lucky Scooter saw you first,” Daniel informed me, “otherwise, I would have taken you for my own. You smell mighty fine.”

His last statement inadvertently answered more questions than he would have done so willingly. Apparently, the pheromones I used to attract Tamara changed to lure any kind of supernatural near me. What a stupid plan. I wish I had thought it through before I acted on it. Talk about badass luck. I then heard yelling, and a door open.

“So this is the bitch?” a woman snapped.

No one said anything.

“Answer me!” she demanded.

Silence echoed the room.

“I know you’re awake. Open your eyes and look at me.”

Shit, she called my bluff. If I laid motionless, maybe she would go away. I felt her lean over me and sniff my hair, much as a dog would. I squeezed my eyelids tight. I didn’t want to chance accidentally opening my eyes. She sniffed again, only this time it was a long, deep breath. I wanted to swat her away the same way I would to an annoying bug, but I kept my cool. Wolf bitches that felt threatened were unpredictable, making them dangerous. I needed to stay alive until I tried to communicate with Tamara.

“Open. Your. Fucking. Eyes. Bitch!”

The longer I avoided her demands, the angrier she seemed to get. I finally did open my eyes and saw a tall, slender figure with long, dark hair hunched over me. She bent down even more until our faces were only inches apart. I got a good look at her pale colored irises, which was extremely unsettling. I swallowed hard. Even in human form, they were like any other animal—they smelled fear and I was drowning in it.

“That’s more like it.” Her hot breath beat against my skin, but I held her stare. I couldn’t back down. I’d rather die as a gutsy bitch than to live as a submissive in any pack. “Why do you smell like us?”

“Magic,” I whispered weakly.

“For whom?” Elisa growled.

“A

vampire.”

At the mention of a nightwalker, Elisa hopped back a foot, and stretched her neck, sniffing me. After a few deep breaths, she snorted, then grunted, stood up and faded from my sight as she stormed out of the room.

I had difficult choices to make. If I survived the change, I would have to challenge the Alpha female for her position. Wolves fight to the death and since I wasn’t ballsy enough to take my own life, I would let her do it for me. I closed my eyes, praying sleep would come and I could contact my only hope of getting out of here, alive—Tamara.

Chapter 4

Rachael was at the apartment, waiting for Kaley and I to return. Surprise, surprise. Kaley probably called her and filled her in as to what had happened at the bar with Izzy and the wolves. If it wasn’t bad enough I had to deal with Ms. Witchy witch, the two of them ganged up on me about finding Izzy.

“Let it go, Kaley,” I scolded. “Let the damn animals have her.”

She turned facing me. “I can’t believe you just said that!” she yelled, then turned to Rachael. “Can you believe she’s my sister?”

I stomped into the kitchen and flung open the refrigerator door. I was famished. Since Kaley started seeing Rachael almost a half century ago, she stopped feeding off humans, claiming she felt as though she was cheating on Rachael when she fed. I had never heard anything so ridiculous and I didn’t hold back how I felt about it either. Kaley had become a one-girl feeder and kept pints of blood easily accessible to control her hunger.

After we left the bar, my plans of going hunting went right out the window. Kaley insisted I follow her back home where we could discuss the matter at hand. The problem was that I didn’t see Izzy as my problem and therefore, didn’t feel the need to rescue her. I knocked over Rachael’s milk jug as I grabbed the pint, and ripped it open with my teeth, then poured the blood into a glass. I hated her fucking milk in our fridge. You didn’t see me stocking blood in her fridge.

Rachael followed me into the kitchen. “She’s concerned about Izzy,” she said lifting her butt onto the countertop and swinging her legs in a casual way. I heard her pulse race and saw her breathing speed up. I knew the telltale signs of someone preparing to open a can of worms, so to speak. Rachael and I haven’t shared more than mere pleasantries since Kaley’s idiotic decision to stop hunting half a century ago. I raised a questioning brow, bracing myself for what was to come next. “Honestly, I thought you’d be the one drawn to rescue her, not Kaley.”

I downed the contents of the glass and smiled to hide my anger. “It’s reassuring to know my sister shares everything with you, including my dreams.”

“T—”

“Tamara,” I corrected her.

She smiled. “Okay, Tamara,” she said, stressing my name. “Kaley’s worried about you. She asked me to look into your dreams to make sure Izzy wasn’t

what’s the best word here?” She paused, her eyes rolled up and to the right. A clear sign she was trying to remember something.

“Witching me?”

Her gaze snapped back to me. “You can’t witch someone, you can spell—”

My stern look stopped her in mid-word.

She threw her hands up. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to lecture you. Anyways, she hasn’t witched you. I’ve checked with my coven. Your dreams technically fall under the natural order of things. We can’t interfere.”

“Oh, great!” I protested. “Now the whole damn city knows.” I slammed the empty glass on the counter and stomped out of the kitchen. Whatever Rachael’s plans were, failed. I left the kitchen more upset than when I first went in.

Kaley stood with her hands on her hips as I walked into the living room. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Are you going to help us find Izzy?”

My sister had bit into this like a rabid dog clenches on its prey. If I didn’t help her, I would never hear the end of it, and I had a very, very long life ahead of me. I plopped on the couch, making sure I put my boots on the cushion. I knew how to push Kaley’s buttons. She hated shoes on the sofa. She walked over to me and slapped my boots. “Tamara, don’t be a bitch, please.” I shifted my feet enough to argue they were off the couch, but she grabbed my ankles and pushed my legs out of the way while she sat where my boots had been. “I don’t know why, but I feel it’s important we find her.”

I grabbed one of the small pillows and positioned it behind my head. “Fine. I’ll see what I can do,” I stated, caving into her request. The strange thing was the second I committed to finding Izzy, I felt as though an invisible weight was lifted from me.

I pulled out my cell phone and dialed my contact’s number at the local ME’s office. The first thing I needed to do was make sure I wasn’t going on the hunt for a corpse. After confirming Izzy might still be alive, I called Captain Sicily at our local PD.

“Fort Lauderdale Police Department, what is your emergency?” The operator answered.

“No emergency,” I responded. “Captain Sicily, please.”

A few seconds later, the operator came back on the line. “Captain Sicily has left for the evening. I can put you through to her voicemail.”

“No need,” I answered and hung up. I dialed her cell number and got her voicemail. I waited until the beep. “It’s Tamara, call me.” There was only one other thing I could do, now—hunt.

When we transitioned into vampires, Kaley received the gift of smell and I got the gift of hunting. No one has been able to hide from me, yet. I could hunt anything or anyone down anywhere, even across the state. I hadn’t put my skills to use across the country, but I was willing to push my gift to the extreme to find out exactly what kind of range I had. My abilities worked mostly on my powers of observation and a gut feeling.

“Thank you.” Kaley leaned, almost laying on top of me and gave me a hug. “I love you, little sis.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “I love you, too. Now, let me up. I’ve got work to do.”

I rode my motorcycle up on the sidewalk where Izzy was taken, knocked the kickstand into place, and cut the engine. Arriving at the bar several hours after Izzy’s abduction took place meant her trail was cold. Lucky me. I squatted near the curb trying to get a clear picture of what had happened and, strangely enough, the smell of lavender and cinnamon still lingered in the air. I followed her scent. She came out of the bar and headed for the side of the building, then crossed the front and came to this side. She was looking for us, but why? Was it possible we shared the same dreams and she recognized me, too?

I gently tapped the drop of blood Kaley had found earlier and rubbed it between my fingers. It smelled just like Izzy, with a wet, moldy sock smell and a slight pungent, bitter odor at the end. Whoever took her was sick

not just sick, but also dying and that was a good place to start. To my knowledge, werewolves were pretty much like us, immune to disease.

If memory served me right, I had once heard of a doctor on Las Olas Boulevard who secretly specialized in treating the supernatural community. Being that I heal so quickly, I had never needed to pay her a visit, until now. I mounted Beulah, yeah, that’s what I named my big, powerful Harley motorcycle. I started her engine, revved her to life and took off. I hated taking Beulah so close to the oceanfront, the sand and salt did nasty things to her air-cooled, twin cam engine, but the good doctor wasn’t going to come to me, so we had to go to her.

Once I turned onto Las Olas Boulevard, the doctor’s office was easy to find. All I had to do was follow the stench of blood and death—tonight must have been a busy night for her. One of the reasons I bought Beulah was because I wasn’t keen on parking on the street, so I rode her up onto the sidewalk directly in front of the Deco Décor store on the corner of 3rd and Las Olas. I admired the doc’s sense of humor of setting up a makeshift clinic behind an Art Deco store. That was classy.

A young, beautiful sales woman welcomed me. “Good evening. Can I interest you in a wall covering, tonight?”

“You mean a picture?” I asked a little confused.

She pleasantly smiled. “Yes or perhaps a statue?” She fluttered her lashes. “You look like a statue kind of girl,” she flirted.

I pulled a hundred dollar bill from my pocket and subtly waved it around as I bent over to inspect a lump of aluminum welded together. I turned the price tag over, and whistled at the cost. Twenty-five thousand dollars.

“So, that’s what’s considered art now?” I commented as I nonchalantly watched her eyeing the hundred dollars.

“Well, yes, it is.” She met my gaze and stepped closer to me. “It’s a precious aluminum.”

“Oh, I see.” I paused looking at the pile of twisted metallic waste. “Actually, a friend told me to come see the doctor. Any ideas on where I could find her?” I smiled.

She leaned her weight from one foot to the next and her eyes shifted toward the door. “You don’t look sick or hurt. What would you need a doctor for?” She giggled.

She knew something. I just had to get it out of her. I cocked my head and grinned. “Well, it’s not for me. You see, it’s for a friend of mine.” I took two more hundred-dollar bills out of my pocket, hoping to entice her with the money.

“In that case

” She plucked the three-hundred from my hand, tucking them into her bra. “There’s a hospital down the street with an emergency room.”

I shook my head. “Nope. Won’t do. I need to see this doctor.”

“Maybe, she was warned not to practice medicine outside of a hospital,” she whispered and immediately stepped toward the statue of twisted metal as if showing it to me.

I followed, standing behind her. “If I could find out, which

uh

animal

was sick, maybe I could stop a war from happening.”

“That’s ridiculous!” She busted out with a fake laugh as she turned to face me. “They don’t get sick,” she said between gasps of mirth.

My lips tightened and I raised a brow. “Not until now.”

She stopped laughing immediately and held my gaze.

I was done with this cat and mouse game for information. I preferred to get to the heart of the matter and be clear as to what we were speaking about instead of throwing subtle hints around. After that ridiculous laugh, I had the feeling I was dealing with someone much more important than just another salesperson and it was time the good doctor knew I was on to her.

“They have taken something which belongs to me and I want it back,” I bluffed. Izzy didn’t belong to me. I gave her a tight-lipped grin, showing my fangs. “Blood will spill, tonight. Do you have enough supplies to treat all the wounded I will send your way, Doctor?”

She lowered her head. “I thought you were with the local police. They’ve warned me to stop practicing medicine without proper equipment and they aren’t subtle about watching me.” She straightened her back as she took a deep breath and looked me in the eye. “I couldn’t explain the types of patients I’ve seen. They’d think I was crazy and I’d lose my license, for sure.” She sighed heavily. “Oh, yes, back to why you’re here. I’m afraid you’re too late. Several hours ago, they brought me a girl who had been bitten. Daniel assured me Scooter had her consent. Otherwise, I would have reported it.”

My stomach dropped with the news. Izzy was infected and if I didn’t get to her soon, it would be too late to try to stop the transformation. Vampire and Were blood can’t coexist together. One was sure to cancel the other out, in theory. It was a chance worth taking. The worst thing that could happen is Izzy would die, but she’d die without a mangy fur coat. “Where can I find Scooter?”

The company phone rang. “Excuse me, I have to get this,” she said briskly walking toward the counter where the phone sat in its cradle. “Deco Décor, this is Adrian, how may I assist you, tonight?” she greeted, resting the phone against her face. “Oh, hello, Elise.”

I strolled along the front of the store, looking out of the massive window into the night. I pretended to be staring out onto the peaceful street while I listened in on her conversation with my vampire hearing. The doctor was right about being watched. A dark colored van parked across the street when I arrived, was still there. I saw the slight glimmer of a camera lens from the front seat. I smiled and waved knowing damn well they were taking my picture.

“He’s lost his mind,” Elise complained. “He’s bitten someone who belongs to the vampires. Adrian, our numbers are dwindling. We can’t afford a war.”

“I’ve heard.”

I turned toward her and smiled. I knew she was more involved then she admitted to be. She smiled back.

“The full moon is coming up in a couple of days.” Elise paused. “He has several suitors already in estrus, waiting. He can’t be allowed to mate.”

“Yes, that could be a problem,” Adrian agreed.

They were both quiet for several moments before Elise broke the silence.

“Tell the bloodsucker I’ll help her get her human back, but I need some time. Scooter won’t let me near her alone, and the vampire can’t hold the bite against us or there’s no deal. Oh, if she agrees, she has to do something before the full moon. I don’t want another bitch in heat running around in my territory.”

“I’ll let her know what you’re offering and I’ll get ba—”

It sounded as though Adrian was getting ready to hang up. I approached her with exquisite speed. “The terms are acceptable,” I interrupted as I rested my elbow on the counter and confidently leaned toward her. “With one condition.” I paused and then smiled.

Adrian pointed to me, then her ear and mouthed, you heard us?

I nodded and gave her a wicked smile. “Scooter is mine,” I said stoically.

“Elise,” Adrian spoke into the phone. “I think we can work this out. Get the human out of there and bring her to me, soon.” She paused, looking at me. “I think the vampire would be willing to help us out with the other situation,” she said, almost as if asking me.

I nodded in agreement. I had already decided how I was going to deal with Scooter and it didn’t involve violence. This was going to hurt him far longer than me killing him would. Yeah, I can be an evil bitch.

Adrian and Elise said their goodbyes. After Adrian placed the phone back in its cradle, she put her hands on her waist and cocked her hips to the side. “You are full of surprises, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am.” I leaned a little closer to her. The longer I was in her presence, the more beautiful she looked.

Chapter 5

I kept my eyes closed because I was afraid that if I opened them, I wouldn’t stop screaming. Even my pain, ached, which was a first for me. Other than feeling as though my body was burning up, my left leg felt stiff and bloated. I hurt so bad, I had a difficult time moving and could only imagine what the lower half of me looked like. The skin pulled taut as the pressure slowly built, preparing to break open my flesh as the contents of my leg explode and brings needed relief, very similar to the scene in the movie, Aliens. Great movie, by the way. Now if I could only get my Sigourney Weaver to come in with guns blaring and rescue or put me out of my misery, I’d be ecstatic.

I slept for a little while, but I couldn’t remember if I had dreamt of Tamara. I knew it was a long shot she would rescue me, but it was the only hope I had. I wasn’t prepared to face the dismal reality that I would soon be Scooter’s bitch, Elise’s pet, or dead.

The searing agony slowly and meticulously crept its way through every part of my body. The first thing I had to do was break the mental grip that the pain had on me. I couldn’t practice magic with my hands tied. Then again, if I could, I sure as hell wouldn’t be here, and their pack would have a few new openings. With magic out of the question, all I had left were my thoughts as I waited my certain fate.

From my dreams, I remembered Tamara as someone who loved me enough to treasure who I was without trying to change me. A strong, beautiful, sexy woman who unwittingly possess an array of sexual weapons at her disposal to command my pleasures. I thought about her, firmly caressing my leg as she slowly worked her way up my thigh, and imagined the burning I now physically felt, to be the feelings of anticipation I had felt in my dreams for her first touch.

My skin craved her touch. I leaned my hips out to her and she grabbed my crotch, gently squeezing it. God, her stroke felt so good. I knew she was working my mind and my desires, “I am better seduced if I have use of my arms,” I whispered in her ear. She caressed my thighs and kissed my neck, ignoring me. “Please,” I finally begged, leaning my body toward her and away from the wall, trying to rub my hips against her. Her tongue slowly worked its way down my soft neck and rested on my artery. I could feel it pulse under the slight weight of her tongue as she pressed me against the wall.

“I am not ready to release your bonds yet,” she said, shaking me violently.

“Did you hear me?”

I opened my eyes. Elise was crouched before me, shaking me.

“I have released your bonds. You’ve got to help me. Try to stand.”

I looked around, trying to focus. The room was in mayhem. Daniel and Mick lay on the floor, their bodies twisted in an unnatural position. A broken chair rested next to Daniel’s head. That had to have hurt. Mick lay sprawled against the corner of the wall, blood trickling from his forehead with another broken chair crumpled next to him, and Elise was trying to usher me out of the room. My stomach sank. My fears had come true. She was going to kill me.

“No,” I protested as I dropped my weight against the floor. In spite of knowing this moment would come, I wasn’t ready to give up on the idea of Tamara saving me. I wasn’t ready to die, yet.

“We have to hurry,” Elise demanded, while grabbing my arms and effortlessly pulling me up. “Scooter will be back soon.” She wrapped her arm around my waist as I wobbled to my feet.

“I can’t,” I insisted, but my complaints went unnoticed as she gripped me harder and started leading me out of the dimly lit room and into the almost blinding, bright hallway.

“Please,” I begged, dragging my feet. She was stronger than I had given her credit for, but then again, I didn’t have the energy to fight her either. All I could muster the energy for was to whine as she carried my entire weight, moving me forward, while I haphazardly fumbled with my footing.

“Shh,” Elise whispered. “You’ll get us both killed.”

“I don’t want to die,” I pleaded. “Please don’t kill me.”

“That is up to your vampire. She waits for you.”

Was it possible my dreams worked and Tamara truly came to save me? I thought about the fact that Elise may have lied. It didn’t matter. Her words gave me renewed motivation and I put all my strength into helping her move my pain wretched body through the house without falling on her or alerting anyone of my secret escape.

Once outside, she quickened her step. “Hurry, I feel him getting closer.”

I didn’t respond. I bit back the pain and through each agonizing tear, I willed my legs to move forward.

“There.” She pointed at an old 1967 rust-colored, boxy looking truck and pushed us forward until we were at its driver’s side. “Get in and stay down,” she whispered urgently as she swung open the door.

I lifted myself onto the springy bench seat, slid over and laid down while thanking the Goddess I could finally rest. Elise got in, pushed me over more and started the truck’s old engine. It rumbled to life as violently as an old tractor that hadn’t had a good day’s work in years, but it started and that’s all I was concerned with.

“Stay down, no matter what happens,” she warned as the truck lurked forward.

I put my head down and closed my eyes for only a moment.

“No!” I screamed as another stomach cramp bolted through my body. “No!” I cried and rocked back and forth waiting for the pain to let go. The overwhelming smell of blood was pulling on me, breaking down my defenses. Against my will, I staggered across the hard wood floors on uncooperative legs that were determined to deliver me to my feed. My body had finally betrayed me. Sweat was stinging my eyes, but I couldn’t turn back now. I was so close to them.

I saw Tamara’s neat, little, bite marks on the stranger’s neck. Did she have to be so damn clean and precise? She didn’t let one single drop of blood go to waste. I would be the opposite, similar of a child first learning how to eat. It would get messy and

messier. God help me for what I was about to do. I barely stayed on my feet as I reached Tamara, my stomach raging in hungered pain.

She looked at me with those damn, green eyes, and a slight smile broke across her blood tainted lips. She knew my hunger would eventually win. I staggered to stay on my feet and grabbed her shoulder for support.

“You must feed, my love.”

“You must drink this,” a woman’s voice thundered as something touched my lips.

“No,” I protested, spitting the thick liquid out of my mouth and moving my head away. I wasn’t ready to commit to this lifestyle. I wasn’t ready to be a vampire—not yet! I decided that if I didn’t open my eyes and didn’t swallow, this nightmare would go away. Now, if I could only get rid of the intense burning I felt inside.

“If she does not drink this, she’ll turn at moon’s light,” a woman whispered.

“Force her,” another woman said. “I want nothing to do with her. She’ll be a loner. I’ll not accept her into our pack.”

“Loners don’t live long, Elise.” The first woman sounded frustrated. “You know that.”

“That’s not my problem, Adrian.”

Elise’s voice raised an octave and I heard what sounded like someone pacing.

In the midst of my body fighting off whatever transformation was going on with me, I still recognized that the conversation turned from concern to serious quickly. Even if I lived through this hellish nightmare, I wouldn’t live long. Elise would make sure of that. A profound mental fog was slowly taking over me, distorting everything. It was getting more difficult to recall my memories and to distinguish what was real. For instance, a few minutes ago, I thought I heard a small train rumbling, or a motorcycle, but no one said anything about it. So, naturally, I thought I was finally losing my mind.

“Where’s her damn vampire? Can’t she make her drink?” Elise spoke again.

“Vampire?” a different woman’s voice asked. “Where?”

“Oh, thank God!” Adrian exclaimed. “I thought you’d never get here.”

“I got your message and headed straight over. My sister and her witch are following behind. They should be here any minute.”

For a moment, I thought I heard a quick, low growl and then a hiss, which only confirmed I was losing my mind.

“I take it introductions aren’t needed,” Adrian said.

“Nope,” Tamara replied. “I think we’ve pretty much covered who’s who. How long has the poison been in her?”

Another low growl softly echoed, only this time it was different. This one put my senses on high alert, letting me know danger was near. I had to prepare

an attack could come from anywhere.

“Well, that answer’s my question!” Tamara snapped.

I heard footsteps.

“Where is she?”

The voice was soothing

calming

inviting. I opened my eyes and saw the most beautiful colors I had ever seen radiating from this stranger approaching me. Why hadn’t I opened my eyes before? She was gorgeous and so peaceful.

“She’s all yours,” Tamara answered.

I quickly swept my sights around the room. I remembered Tamara was somehow important to me, even though I couldn’t remember why, but there was something else, too. I instinctively felt threatened by her presence, and the urge to attack her pushed against my skin.

Darkness and the smell of raw earth surrounded Kaley and Tamara. The same musty smell when you’ve been digging in a garden. I knew the scent well. I had an amazing green thumb. I could get anything to grow anywhere.

Then there were the other women. One was radiating a blue color and had no particular smell to her, except maybe sterile. The same kind of disinfected smell you would get from a doctor’s office. My senses relaxed a bit as I intuitively knew there was no threat from her. The other woman was something I had never seen. All kinds of colors danced around her as if all coming together in a putrid green and her smell wasn’t much better—rancid, wet dog. It made my stomach turn.

I noticed Tamara and Kaley standing to one side of the room while the other two women stood opposite. The only one who drew near was the dazzling woman enveloped by so many radiant colors.

“Hello, Izzy,” she addressed me as she slowed her approach.

I stretched my neck forward and sniffed her. I sniffed her! Oh my God, now I knew something was terribly wrong. I raised my hands, inspecting them carefully. No fur, thank goodness, but they were changing form. My long, thin, slender fingers were not so pretty to look at anymore. They appeared shorter, thicker making my expensive manicure look ragged. What the hell was happening?

“Izzy,” the colorful woman called. “I’m Rachael, a witch and Kaley’s partner.” She pointed at the two vampire sisters. “We’re here to help. Do you understand?” She smiled and took another step closer.

I nodded.

She moved forward and that’s when I noticed she held a vial in her hand. “You must drink this to stop the change.” She held out her hand and I recoiled as if she tried to give me poison. Rachael turned to Tamara and Kaley, and shrugged.

“Oh, Christ!” Tamara stomped toward Rachael and took the vial from her, then confronted me. “You’re turning into a fucking werewolf. You’ll scavenge for food and become our

” She paused, lowering her voice, “My natural enemy. You’ll grow nasty ass hair once a month, smell terrible and be at every male wolfs beck and call. Is that what you want?”

That I understood. Without a word, I reached out to take the vial from her. The moment our hands touched, a small electric shock ran through me and I remembered why she was so important. We were meant to be together. I took the vial, closed my eyes, threw my head back and downed the thick, murky contents.

Chapter 6

Seconds after Izzy drank the vampire blood, she passed out. It was a good thing I was nearby and caught her before she hit the floor. I loaded her up into Kaley’s car and we brought her back to our apartment where Rachael had been keeping an eye on her. She’d been with her for the past two hours. I guess I should make myself useful and relieve her so she could get something to eat and no, I wasn’t getting soft on her. I was only thinking about my sister.

“Are you okay?” Rachael stood from the chair at the foot of the bed when I entered the bedroom.

“Yeah. Thought you’d like a break. Kaley went to the grocery store. She thought you and Izzy would need something to eat.”

“I’m sorry, Tamara.” She walked toward me. “I knew you wanted to go hunting tonight. Is there something I can do, maybe bring you one of Kaley’s bags?”

Rachael and I have never been on great terms. She was a witch, dating my sister and I hated witches, which posed another problem for me tonight, because I was drawn to this Izzy woman and at the moment, she reeked of witch and wolf.

“No, I’m good.” I gave Rachael a crooked grin. “Kaley should be back soon. Go get some rest and

um

you might want to take a shower. You reek of wet dog.”

Rachael grinned. “Thanks

I think.”

I shrugged. This was definitely awkward, but for the sake of my sister, I tried to get along with the witch. “I have clean clothes that should fit you, if you’re interested.”

Rachael started out the door, then stopped, and turned to me. “Kind of weird, isn’t it? I mean us talking like this.”

“Yeah.”

“Can we at least work on not hating each other before we try to become friends?”

That was the most sensible thing I’d heard in a while. I laughed breaking the tension. “Deal.”

I took the seat Rachael had been in and stared at Izzy as she slept. I had a million questions for her about the damn dreams I have had and if I was going to be honest with myself, I had to admit that I did find her attractive, but why? Was it the fucked up dreams that made me feel as though I wanted to be closer to her? Did she spell me to have the dreams what we were lovers? I wasn’t confused as much as I was curious.

The first dream I had, I met Izzy at Kaley’s blood center and from there, it blossomed into a third rate daytime soap opera complete with a Goddess and a talking cat. Who the hell comes up with shit like that?

Izzy moaned, turned over and the stench of dog permeated the air. The stench was nauseating. I decided to take her clothes off, give her a quick sponge bath and don her in clean clothes. Only to save myself from future queasiness.

I let the water run a little warm. There was no need to shock her system with the vamp and werewolf blood already fighting for dominance. That, and naturally, my body temperature ran a little cold so, I loved the feel of the warmth. I carried the basin in and placed it on the night table next to the bed. I sat next to Izzy and gently pulled her shirt off, then her bra. Her round perky breasts stood at attention. I moved down, unbuttoning her shorts and sliding them down her legs. She had gone commando, so I didn’t have to worry about her undies or shoes for that matter. She came to me barefoot.

I stood over her and stared in awe at her dark olive tan and her tone, flat stomach. Her beauty was a sight to behold. It was a shame that our meeting, again, unfolded the way it did. Izzy had something that drew me to her, but now, even that would depend on whether she turned furry once a month. There was no way in hell I was going to put myself at risk at being hunted down once a month by someone I slept with. That was pure insanity.

I threw her clothes across the room and wrung out the sponge before I started rubbing the soapy water on her chest and down her stomach. She moaned, shifting position and I caught myself secretly wishing that was the extent of the shifting she would ever do. The semi bath went rather quickly. I dressed her in one of my oversized tee shirts and left her commando as I pulled the sheets up covering her, then sat in the chair at the foot of the bed.

I sat patiently as I watched her physical features slowly return to normal. By the time I had arrived at Adrian’s place, Izzy’s body had already begun shifting, accommodating the transformation that would inadvertently take place in a few nights. Even her facial features had begun to change. Her brows shifted closer together, her nose had moved further down her face and her jaw had started to make room for the elongation of the canines. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

I thought she still had a chance to overcome the change until she sniffed Rachael, and I realized the were venom had reached deep, already changing her cellular structure. It was with much trepidation that I agreed to bring her back to our place and with the understanding that I would end her life if the antidote didn’t show significant improvement quickly. No one was happy with me about that, but no one argued too terribly hard, either. Leave it to me to be the heartless bitch looking out for our welfare.

Hours must have passed before Izzy showed any semblance of life. She stretched, moaned and her eyes shot open. “What am I?”

“Safe,” I replied.

“That didn’t answer my question,” she countered.

I smiled. Immediately, I took more of a liking to her. She was smart and ballsy.

“What would you like to be?” I asked.

Izzy sat up pulling the covers with her. “Not furry.”

She had a refreshing sense of humor. I laughed out loud. “Do you remember me?”

Her eyes shifted to the right. It was a perfectly normal response for someone trying to recollect a memory. “Yes,” she answered confidently. “You’re the vampire who invaded my dreams.”

The trauma obviously affected her mental capacities. It was clear she who had invaded my dreams and I was not about to confirm to a delusional witch that I was a vampire. “And how did it make you feel?”

“Don’t psychoanalyze me. I know the truth.” She tucked the sheets in around her tighter as if they would protect her.

I smiled. “Would you believe me if I told you, you fell and hit your head?”

“No.”

“Very well.” I shifted in the chair, crossing my legs. “You were abducted by werewolves, bitten and left to turn into one of them during the full moon in a few nights. I rescued you, although for the life of me, I can’t figure out why. Does that satisfy your curiosity?”

She lifted her head, staring me in the eye. “It’s better than you giving me the lame ass excuse of me hitting my head, but you haven’t mentioned anything about invading my dreams. Why would you do that?”

“That’s simple.” I grinned. “I didn’t. You invaded mine.”

Izzy sat quietly as if deep in thought, then finally broke the silence. “Did we share the same dreams?”

“I would assume so, since they were your dreams.” Again, I shifted. I felt rather uncomfortable around Izzy.

“They weren’t mine and

” she adamantly protested, “it’s unbecoming of a vampire to blatantly lie.”

“Back to the vampire thing?” I stood. I was stuck on hiding my true identity. “What? Do you want me to suck your blood? Would it make you feel better?” I paused taking in a deep breath. “Oh, wait. I breathed. Vampires aren’t supposed to breathe, are they?”

Izzy’s slunk down and grabbed the sheets tighter. “Why are you being a jerk?”

“Now, I’m a jerk?” I bit back. “I thought I was a vampire?” I hated putting her though this. For each harsh word that came out of my mouth, my heart ached, but I had to protect myself.

She hid her face in the crumpled up sheet as her tears started to flow. “I’m sorry,” she apologized through sobs. “Please don’t hate me.” She was now crying.

It broke my heart to be so verbally ruthless with her, and I didn’t know why, but I knew I could never hate her. “I’m not even pissed at you, why would I hate you?” I reassured her.

“Because of this,” she sobbed as she lifted her head, stared me in the eye, waved her hand, and an immense power flowed through me, forcing my fangs to snap down in feeding position.

My anger swelled and beat against my skin as a caged animal would do to escape captivity. I risked myself to save her and this was how she repaid me, by using her magic to force the truth.

“Why did you lie to me?” she asked.

I needed to keep calm. Witches were unpredictable and capable of unimaginable monstrosities. I swallowed hard, hoping I could contain my anger. I approached the bed. “Fuck you and your damn magic,” my voice came out stern, cold. I turned and left the room. Whatever curiosities I had about her, died the moment she used magic on me.

Rachael was coming down the hallway as I closed the door behind me. “I felt the surge of power. I was coming to see if you were okay.”

I gave her a toothy grin as I stepped around her and mumbled, “Fucking witches.” I needed to get out of here before I hurt someone. I was hungry and pissed, not a good combination. I grabbed Beulah’s keys and headed for the front door.

“T.” Kaley grabbed my arm as I swung open the door. “Don’t please.”

“Don’t, what?” I asked yanking my arm away.

“Don’t go.” She took a step back. “You’re angry. You’ll likely kill someone right now.”

“And, your point?” I bit my bottom lip not realizing my fangs were still out and tasted blood.

“Please,” Kaley pleaded. “Do this for me. Have a bag with me, don’t go out hungry.”

I knew why Kaley wanted me to stay put. The last time I felt like this, I went out and wrecked my bike. By the time I regained consciousness, the paramedics had already declared me dead at the scene and had transported me to the city morgue. I was locked inside one of their body lockers with no way out. Rachael heard about the accident on the evening news and called Kaley who in turn, snuck me out before the coroner had a chance to cut me open, and in the process, ruined my chances at a good time. I had already decided that when they opened the locker door, I would lay perfectly still, while they pulled the metal table out. At the right moment, I would open my eyes, making funny faces and scream, booga, booga booga! I would have to erase their memories, but it would have been fun. Yeah me, hungry, bored and pissed, not a good blend.

I looked at my keys.

“I swear I’ll let you rot in those cold lockers, next time.” She smiled. “Please.”

I tossed her my keys. “Fine, but heat up the damn bag, first. That shit’s nasty as it is and worse, cold.” I strolled to the couch, plopped down, stretched out and closed my eyes. It would take at least two minutes to warm up the bag and that was plenty of time to keep catch up on some needed sleep.

I announced my presence as I blended perfectly into the corner of the room, silently watching her. “I have been thinking about you,”

“And?” Izzy replied as she sat on the throne armrest.

“I would like to try this again, if it’s all right with you.” I approached her holding one arm behind my back.

She crossed her arms and legs. “Well, what do you have in mind?”

I stopped a foot away. “My name is Tamara Hightower and I’m extremely pleased to meet you,” I said, handing her a fresh bouquet of a dozen red roses.

“I’m Izzy,” she said, holding the roses closer to her nose, “and I’m glad you came back.”

“You have touched me in a way only one other has. I would like to pursue this and see what happens next.” I caressed her bare arm and her energy soared through me, exciting me as if this had been the first time we had ever touched.

I leaned toward her, pressed my lips to hers as my tongue demanded entrance. Our kiss rekindled the insatiable sexual hunger we had for each other. I grabbed her ass, standing her up and pressed us closer together.

She pushed me back. “Wait a minute.” She reached into her beach bag and pulled out a leather harness, giving me a sheepish smile. “I’d like to see what you can do with this.”

My eyes lit up. She met my smile with her own impish grin. I kissed her passionately as she unzipped and pulled my pants off. Her tongue tasted every inch of my hard muscular belly as she slipped the harness on me and snapped the buckles, situating it perfectly over my crotch.

She guided me to the throne and sat me down, strapping one of my hands to the throne armrest. She took my other hand and pulled it through the leather strap on the opposite armrest. Pulling the strap tight, she raised her head and ran her tongue up my belly to my neck.

The throne was wide enough that she knelt directly over me while she nibbled my soft skin. Her sundress draped across us. Then she moved her neck close to my mouth. A tease. She let my tongue touch her skin. More teasing.

Slowly, she moved her neck closer to my tongue. I could feel the hard, steady pulse of her artery beat. I opened my mouth and she pulled away, “Uh-uh. Not yet

first you fuck me, then you taste me.”

I raised my hips, pushing my stiff cock against her, but it slid past her cunt and stopped at her ass. She raised her hips. “That hole is for another day,” she cautioned as she stroked my eager cock back to her waiting cunt and it slid inside her.

She mounted me. Wiggling, she took every inch and with each of my upthrusts, she pushed down, driving the base harder against my swollen tip. My fingers dug into the armrest and she quickened her momentum, wiggling the base, heightening my sexual intensity. I arched my back. She stopped, sitting perfectly still on my lap.

I opened my mouth and she kissed my lips. “I am the keeper of your pleasure,” she said, squirming in my lap.

My eyes rolled back.

“Look at me,” she commanded.

I ignored her.

“Look. At. Me.”

I opened my eyes. “Bid me your blood,” I pleaded.

She smiled. “You have not earned it yet.” She kissed my neck and slowly moved her hips. My groin immediately obeyed her, thrusting up and into her.

“My naughty little vamp,” she whispered as she vigorously rode me, “I should make you wait.”

Izzy slid her hand under her dress and found the leather harness bound to me. She slipped her hand under it and felt my dampness. I pushed up and she moved with me. She slid her fingers down and caressed my ass hole. I clenched my cheeks and bared my ass down into the throne cushions.

She forced the tip of her finger into my ass. “All. Of. You. Belongs. To. Me.” She wiggled her hips on the base of my cock. “All. Of. You.”

Something hit me. I snapped my eyes open. Kaley stood in front of me, holding a glass and kicking my foot.

“Wakey, wakey, little sis, time to eat.” She smiled and held the glass toward me as I sat up.

“Suck a witch’s wart,” I cursed.

“What’s wrong?” Kaley sat next to me.

I threw my head back and downed the entire glass. “It’s her. It’s that witch.” I paused, placing the empty cup on the coffee table. “She’s my fucking soul mate.”

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6