Hunting the Hunter

A/N: *Sequal to ‘Lone Wolf’. Hope you enjoy!!

“I understand, sir.” Brendon said obediently as he stood in front of the Hunting Council. The council was comprised of old men, all mortals, who were tasked with keeping the Hunters in line and insuring that they took care of their responsibilities. It was believed that mortals should be in charge of those sworn to protect mortals. It made the mortals feel as if they were in control.

Mortals always wanted to be in control.

Brendon had been trained since shortly after his birth to be respectful to the ever changing group of men. He was a Hunter and these were his bosses, his lords, his masters. He was but their puppet.

And he hated it.

“Do you fully understand?”

“Yes, sir.” Brendon replied, forcing politeness into his tone. Guards stood at the door and on either side of the dais where the council was seated. If Brendon so much as breathed wrong they would not hesitate to take him down, lock him up and then kill him at their earliest convenience.

“You were sent to find out what was killing mortals and immortals alike in that town and destroy it, and instead we go nearly a year without hearing from you and you come back without having completed your assignment.” Farris said angrily. Farris was the oldest and sternest of the council members. With his handlebar mustache, thin rimmed glasses and heavy jowls, he was the single most annoying man that Brendon had ever met.

“I don’t mean to be disrespectful, sir, but I did find out what was doing the killing and it wasn’t the threat you suspected. The vampire that was killed was praying on mortals and was killed by the werewolf alpha in the area. The girl that was killed was killed by a mortal man who was in turn also killed by the alpha. Grange is plenty capable of protecting the mortals in that area.”

Farris snorted.

“You don’t get to make those decisions, Brendon. You failed in your assignment as far as this council is concerned.”

“Not the entire council.” Jeremy countered. Jeremy was the youngest, just over middle aged, and he was the easiest to get along with in Brendon’s opinion. Brendon tipped his head to the man in thanks.

“Enough of the council.” Farris spat angrily at the other judge. Then he turned his stern gaze back to Brendon. “What were you doing this whole time?”

“Spending some down time, sir. I figure I earned it after all my loyal years of service.” Brendon replied dryly and Farris shook his head.

“I will decide when you earn downtime.”

“Don’t you mean the council will decide?” Jeremy questioned and ten other white, gray and balding heads nodded in agreement. Farris sputtered several times, his fat cheeks shaking with his movement.

“Of course.” he finally stated. “Of course that’s what I meant. You, Brendon, had no right to take this so called ‘down time’.

“I apologize, sir. I overstepped my bounds and for that I know I deserve the strictest form of punishment available…..”

“Death?” Farris asked with a sneer and Brendon met his sneer with a cold stare.

“If you really think that’s necessary, sir.”

“Of course not!” Alfred, another council member said with exasperation. “Truly, Farris, your dislike of Brendon and his equal dislike of you is beginning to wear on my patience.”

“Mine as well.” Jeremy agreed.

“Brendon, you did earn some down time, but may we ask that the next time you choose to take some, you ensure that we are aware and approving.” Alfred added.

“Understood.” Brendon replied graciously. “Thank you, sirs, for being understanding.” All the councilmen other than Farris smiled and tipped their heads. Brendon knew that if Farris ever tipped his head to him it would because the old man had finally killed over and had slumped forward, dead in his high backed chair.

“Now, on to the next order of business.” Jeremy stated seriously. “We trust you received our summons and that is why you rushed back?’

“Yes, sir. A vampire in northern Georgia.”

“There are more than a few vampires that call that large town home, however only one is slaughtering men. Nearly every morning a new body turns up from the night before.”

“And you don’t know which of the vampires is doing this?”

“No. We just received word of the problem and so we are relaying the message to you.” Jeremy stated before taking a drink of water from the crystal glass in front of him.

“What am I to do? Kill the vampire or bring it back to the council for punishment? Or perhaps turn it over to the vampire council and let them sort it out.”

The vampire council was little more than a joke but Brendon had to throw the option up into the air. Vampires had developed a ‘council’ in an attempt to ease the fears of mortals and show that they were going to keep their kind in line. The council did nothing of the sort, in fact many of the members had ‘pets’ themselves.

“Kill it.” Alfred replied with a shiver. “I certainly don’t want it here. I never have liked vampires.”

“Don’t screw this one up.” Farris warned and Brendon’s fist clenched but he managed a polite nod. “You are excused.” Farris added with a wave of his hand.

Brendon gave a short nod and then walked out of the council room. He strode down the hallway, ignoring the hello’s from the people he passed along the way.

It wasn’t until he was out in the late spring sunlight that he stopped walking and dug around in his pockets for some rolled tobacco and his matches. He was practically vibrating with rage by the time he got the cigarette lit and took a long slow draw.

Brendon hated that arrogant, pompous assed Farris more than he hated anyone else but he was duty bound to be respectful and obedient of the man. Hunters were born to mortal parents and once their superior strength, eyesight, hearing and sense of smell were realized another Hunter would come and scoop them up, bringing them, usually only around eight or nine years old, to a compound here with the council where they were trained.

Trained to ignore pain, ignore cold, ignore heat and follow orders. They were trained to be master fighters with hands, feet, guns, swords, clubs, axes and any other improvised weapon they could find at hand in a combat situation.

Trained to have unfailing loyalty to the council and paying with blood if that loyalty faltered.

Brendon sighed. With any luck Farris would die soon. Hell the man had been bossing him around for nearly forty years and had to be nearing one hundred by now!

“I hear you got assigned to the vampire in Georgia.” Brendon simply nodded at the sound of Vaughn’s voice.

“Yep.”

“You really pissed Farris off with that stunt you pulled, Brendon.” Vaughn said with disdain and Brendon nodded with a grunt as he took another long puff of tobacco.

Vaughn was Farris’s favorite. His little protégé.

“You better do this one right or else I think Farris is going to have you taken off the assignment list.” Brendon just stared off into the horizon. This part of the country, the far west, was barely settled and there was nothing but this compound for hundreds of miles.

He knew what ‘taken off the assignment list’ meant. There was only one way a Hunter was ever released from his hunting duties and that was if he died. There were no women hunters. No one knew why that was but it was a fact and it made the compound a mighty lonely place.

As a matter of fact, Brendon hadn’t had a woman in so long he couldn’t remember when the last time was exactly. He hated to admit that sex had lost it’s appeal in the last century or so. When you were nearly three-hundred years old, it took quite a bit to excite you and well, Brendon simply hadn’t found what he needed in a long time.

“I don’t understand what your problem is, Brendon. They don’t ask much from us but yet you have to continually do things to anger the council. Don’t you care about……” Brendon did not hear the rest of Vaughn’s scolding because he was already walking away to the barns where his horse was waiting for him.

It would take him awhile to get to Georgia and he simply did not have time for bullshit. The council did not ask much from a Hunter. Only his soul.

Brendon knew the miles would seem even lonelier now than they had a year ago. He had been living this life a long long time and had never given much thought to loneliness. His life was what it was and would always be what it was thanks to being born a Hunter.

But being around Grange, his pack, his wife, had caused him to be lulled into a false sense of belonging. A false sense of family.

Grange had once been a lot like him but Dawn had changed the man. Softened him a bit and yet made him infinitely more powerful. It was clear that Grange loved his mate deeply and that she loved him just as deeply in return. Grange’s pack members loved him as well. He had their friendship, their loyalty.

Brendon wondered for a moment what it would be like to have love. Romantic love, sure, but also the love of a family. He had been taken away from his blood parents nearly three hundred years ago at the age of only seven. He didn’t even remember what they looked like.

Brendon shook his head again to clear the depressing thoughts plaguing him. Life was what it was and wishing for more was a waste of time and energy. He was a Hunter. That was all he would ever be. It was time to get back to work.

He had a vampire to kill.

Chapter Two

Brendon rode hard over the next few weeks to get to northern Georgia, changing horses whenever one neared the end of its endurance. As a Hunter he only required an hour or two of sleep a night and therefore he quickly used up horses. He always had.

He had learned long ago to never get attached to mortal things. Mortals, both creatures and humans, died far too easily, far too often, all the time.

It was a hard lesson that all immortals learned given enough centuries of life.

Brendon took a deep breath as he rode down the cobblestone city streets and he curled his nose at the smell.

Hunting here would be hard. He would not be able to depend on his nose that was for sure. The scent of too many people, horses, livestock, coal and wood smoke, and human waste was heavy in the air.

Brendon hated cities. He hated hunting in cities. But a Hunter was what he was and hunting is what he would do.

He took his horse to the livery on the edge of town and after removing his small satchel of belongings, he left the horse in the care of the tall, gruff livery keeper and walked back out into the dim sunshine. It couldn’t seem to burn it’s way through the thick clouds of smoke from all the chimney’s and was dull and distant in the sky.

Brendon knew he would have to talk to someone about the murders of the past few months in order to get the lay of the land. While most would think that speaking to the members of law enforcement would be his first step, it wasn’t. Mortal law enforcement would simply tell him to mind his own business.

No, when you wanted all the gossip, you either went to the saloon or the diner. Since it was morning and the diner was sure to be full of folks drinking coffee and sharing tales, Brendon knew that had to be his first step.

Not to mention that he could use some breakfast himself, he realized as his stomach growled and a sharp cramp twisted it.

He knew from the one other time he’d been in this city, nearly ten years before, that there were five restaurants total. Three that were only open around dinner time, one that opened midday, and one that was open at dawn.

He headed for the latter of the choices, his worn black boots splashing in the puddles left on the cobblestones by the recent rain showers.

He entered the diner and ignored the heads that turned in his direction. He made his way to an empty back table, ordered a coffee and eggs and then settled back into the shadows.

It didn’t take long for his presence here to become forgotten. New faces were hardly a cause for shock in a city like this one and Brendon knew how to blend.

He was nearly done with his breakfast, and simply sipping at the weak coffee and he was beginning to think that this had been a waste of time. He was about to lay his coins on the table and leave the diner when his sharp ears picked up a hushed conversation on the other side of the crowded room.

“There was another body found just yesterday morning.” An old man said with a nod. The other old man at the table took a drink of coffee and shook his head.

“It’s the good Lord seeking vengeance on these men.” he stated matter of factly.

“How you got that figured, LeRoy?” The first man asked. LeRoy scratched at his hairy brow and shrugged his thin shoulders.

“It’s easy to figure, really.” he assured his friend. “Every man that’s been killed has either been drinking and sinning at the saloon or coming out of the brothel. Not one has been killed anywhere else.”

“Kenneth Keel found one of those bodies and he told me there was something funny about the neck.”

“Funny how? Was it broke?” LeRoy asked and the first man shook his head, his wrinkled neck crinkling with the movement.

“There was holes in it.” the man pressed his fingers against the pulsing artery in the side of his neck.

“Come off it, Garth.” LeRoy exclaimed. “Are you trying to say it was a… vampire ?” he asked in a hushed whisper, casting a nervous glance around them.

“That’s exactly what I’m trying to tell you.” Garth replied with a curt nod. “It’s a vampire out there killing those men. Mark my words. I’ll guarantee you right now that within the next few days another will show up dead and he’ll have two holes. Just here,” Garth touched his neck again and Brendon had heard enough.

He rose from the table, put his money down and then left the diner. As he stepped outside, the wind whipped his duster coat around his legs.

A vampire that fed only on men and not just any men but men coming out of brothels and saloons. That sounded like a female vampire to him. A female vamp that had a problem with men. Just what he needed.

A vampire with issues.

---

Ella listened to the crackling of the wood on the fire. The sound of the wind catching a loose shutter and hitting it against the wooden planks of the wall. She could hear noise from the city. A man yelling. Dogs barking. Children laughing as they ran and played.

She also heard the light breathing of the vampire sleeping beside her. His breath washing over her bare shoulder, heating the skin there. She felt nothing. She was dead, not literally of course. Vampires were not dead, soulless creatures. They were immortal and their disease as many called it was something they were born with.

A thirst for blood, superior speed, sight and smell when compared to mortals. Stronger than any mortal could ever hope to be. They had to have blood to live, though most chose to use their powers of mental persuasion to get mortals to offer it willingly and then erase their memories so they were unaware that anything had ever happened and lick the bit to heal it and remove the poison.

Killing mortals tended to anger the Hunters.

It had been at the age of fourteen when Ella had first begun to notice the changes in her body, the normal age for the vampire disease to rear it’s head.

She hadn’t understood then the sudden urge that had overcome her to bite her mother while they’d been cooking breakfast for the family. Ella had done her best to ignore it but then her mother had pricked her finger with the knife she’d been using and Ella had lost all control.

Her teeth had sharpened and she had attacked the older woman. Ella had killed her own mother. Drained her dry right there on the kitchen floor.

Then her father and her younger sister had made the mistake of walking in while Ella had still been trapped in that blood thirsty haze.

Ella hadn’t even realized what she had done until hours later when she finally woke from the daze. She had been wandering the woods then. Covered in the blood of her family.

Ella had collapsed on the forest floor, sinking into the wet leaves and mud and praying that she would die. A man had found her, a bad man who actually turned out to be an elf. An elf named Faugrimm.

She had been his ‘pet’, a member of his collection for a long time. She lost track of how long and yet she never aged much past twenty.

Faugrimm had been a true monster. Starving her when it pleased him, beating her when he chose, (or having his men do it for him), and offering her body to any man that came to his castle.

She had learned quickly to control the vampire inside of her and to not fight back against these men. Fighting back only led to more pain, more hunger. Faugrimm barely gave her enough blood to keep her alive and it kept her in a weakened, trancelike state.

Ella could still remember the day when she had felt the smallest ray of hope for the very first time. It had been the day that the sleeping vampire next to her, Warren, had come to Faugrimm’s castle. Ella had recognized the scent of a fellow vampire and he had shown a special interest in her.

So much so that when another man, a demon, tried to touch her, Warren had killed him without batting an eye.

Warren had been carted off to discuss his transgressions with Faugrimm but had come back some time later and informed Ella that he had bought her and she belonged to him now.

Ella had thought that finally things would be different. She had made herself believe that Warren would be her salvation. He would love her. Teach her. Guide her.

She had been wrong.

Warren had been worse. He had forced her to lay with him. Forced her to kill for him. He used insults and threats to keep her in her place.

Ella, in all the ways that mattered, was dead. Lifeless. She never laughed, never cried. She was never happy or angry. Never sad.

She very simply was. She existed without existing.

Suddenly, Warren, let out a snore that brought Ella out of her thoughts. She wanted to get out of this bed and away from him.

She slid out from beneath the covers, moving silently. Her naked body felt the chill in the air as the cold wind drifted through the cracked walls, but the cold did not bother her. After what she had been through in her life there wasn’t much that did bother her.

“Where were you last night?” Warren’s cold voice washed over her as he sat up in the bed and Ella felt the chill of it deep in her bones.

“Feeding.” she replied simply.

“You were told to stay at home. I wanted you to be here when I got back from my trip.”

Ella said nothing as she walked to the bedroom door.

“Where do you think you are going?” Warren demanded as he stood as well.

“To my room. To get dressed. I would like to go into town and buy some fabric today.”

Ella stopped when Warren was suddenly in front of her, putting his body between she and the door.

His thin lips pulled back in a snarl, emphasizing the gauntness of his cheeks. His eyes, a brown so dark they were nearly black, were sunk in and intense as they bored into her own.

Ella just stood there motionless, expressionless, and stared back at him.

“You killed another man last night, didn’t you, Ella?” he questioned.

“What difference does it make to you?” she asked. Truth was she had killed that man and countless others before him. Those men that thought they could use a woman’s body in any way they saw fit, any way that pleased them. They used foul language, said horrible things to the women, about the women, and then stuck their nasty appendages inside them and took what wasn’t truly theirs to take.

“You must stop killing so close to where we live, Ella.’ Warren warned as his mouth caressed her neck. Ella stood frozen to the spot, not afraid, but not looking forward to what she knew was coming. “You will draw the attention of the hunting Council. They will send one of their Hunters and that Hunter will come to kill you.”

“Death comes to all of us eventually.” Ella replied simply and Warren just chuckled coldly before lapping at her neck with his tongue.

“It would come to the Hunter that came for you. I would end his life before I let him take my greatest prize from me. You know that don’t you? I would kill to keep you with me.”

Ella felt him pulling her toward the bed and allowed herself to be pulled. She knew it was inevitable. Warren was going to do what he was going to do and if she fought it would only cause her more pain.

How many times had she been told that he would kill to keep her with him. How many times had that veiled threat been hanging over her head? He said it in a way that made it sound as if he cared. Made it sound as if he would kill to keep her safe but that wasn’t the truth. The truth was he would kill to keep her his prisoner. And he would kill anyone. He had let her know that the single time she had tried to escape when he had killed that innocent child no more than five years old.

Warren hissed as he threw her roughly to her knees on the mattress, pushing her down and bracing himself behind her. Ella didn’t even bother to prepare herself for the pain that she had stopped feeling long ago.

Chapter Three

Brendon made his way out of town and down a back road that he knew would lead him to the mansion that the werewolf alpha here called home.

The established southern pack was based just outside this city, and Brendon hoped he could convince the alpha to tell him how many female vampires lived here and maybe even which one was doing the killing.

It sure would make his life, and his job, easier.

His horse began to spook and shy as they neared the house and Brendon knew the beast was picking up the growing werewolf scent. He dismounted and took the horse into the woods and off the road, tying his reins to a low hanging pine bough before going back to the road and continuing on foot.

He heard the growling and the crunching of leaves and then the scent of three shifted wolves came to his nose. A man stepped onto the road in front of him and Brendon stopped in his tracks.

This man was a werewolf and Brendon could smell the shifted wolves still pacing the forests edge.

“Can I help you, sir?” the unshifted werewolf asked. “This here is private property.”

“I just need to talk to someone about a vampire problem.” Brendon replied calmly. The werewolves eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“Who are you?”

“Name’s Brendon.’ Brendon said before shifting the leather strap that held his rifle on his back. At the movement a growling came from the woods and three wolves leapt out and came at him in a rush.

Brendon delivered a kick to the head of the first wolf, sending it sprawling backward, and then in a movement so fast it was no more than a blur, he pulled both his revolvers from his lean hips and pointed them straight at the other two wolves currently leaping for him.

They both twisted in mid air and hit the dirt, rushing to their fallen pack member who was just getting to his feet and shaking his head roughly.

The unshifted wolf eyed Brendon with uneasiness.

“You’re a Hunter.” he growled with accusation. Brendon nodded as he holstered his weapons and resumed his relaxed posture.

“Yep.”

“What do you want?” the man asked as he motioned with his hands and the other three wolves came to stand at his sides. It was clear that this wolf was someone in charge. Probably Beta. Second in command to only the alpha and his mate.

“To discuss a vampire.”

“The one killing those men would be my guess.” the man asked with a raise of his brow and Brendon nodded.

“Yep.”

“We have strict instructions to discuss nothing about this with anyone. It would put our pack in danger.”

“As the alpha of this territory, it is your bosses job to protect the mortals that live here. A vampire is killing them. Your alpha should be eager to stop that.” The man growled low in his throat and stepped forward.

“It is not the business of you Hunters what anyone else does. Do you think you are gods?! With all your rules and your murders of immortals, your own kind?! We are not responsible for what anyone else does here. We are only responsible for our pack!”

Touchy. Touchy. “Okay then. I want to speak with your alpha about this. I’d rather hear no from him than from his little gopher.”

“Gopher?” the man ground out between clenched teeth. Brendon simply nodded. There was silence for several very tense moments before the man finally turned his back to Brendon.

“Leave. Go back to the city and stay away. We have nothing to tell you.”

Brendon shook his head and then turned and headed back down the road. He should have known that this was a waste of his time. He had spent too much time with Grange and that had somehow caused him to begin to believe that he and the way he ran his pack and protected the mortals of his town were normal.

Grange was far from normal. No other alpha took in so many rag tag wolves from other packs. They certainly didn’t take in werelions and most did not care what happened to the mortals in their territories. All they cared about was keeping their own pack in line in order to keep monster killing hordes of townsfolk from coming after them and to keep the Hunting Council from paying them a visit.

“Wait.” A stern voice called from behind him. Brendon smiled but then made sure his face was sober when he turned back around to face this new man. A man he had no doubt was the alpha.

It was clear in his stance, his voice, his eyes and his scent that he was boss. The other wolves stood at his side and yet slightly behind with their heads lowered. Another thing that was different in Grange’s pack.

While Grange was the boss and was obeyed in life threatening situations, his pack also did not hesitate to stand up to him and give him hell any other time and Grange seemed happier because of that. Brendon shook his head to clear his thoughts. He needed to focus on the task at hand not Grange and his pack and the family that Brendon would never have.

“You have a lot of nerve coming this close to my home, Hunter.” the alpha growled. Brendon nodded.

“I’ve always had more balls than brains.”

“This vampire you seek is protected and that is why my pack will not be involved. I’m sure you understand.” Brendon nodded and spit in the dust while shoving his thumbs through the belt loops of his black trousers.

“Yeah, I understand. Keep your head down, your tail between your legs and stay out of trouble.”

The alpha chuckled.

“Trying to bait me into a fight will not work.”

“That’s not what I was doing.” Brendon replied with a shrug. “Y’all have a good day now.” He turned once again and walked away.

“Don’t come back here unless you want to die, Hunter!” the alpha called out and Brendon just waved his hand dismissively without turning back.

He could smell the reason that this alpha was nervous. It was on the alpha’s skin. He had ‘pets’ of his own. That wasn’t Brendon’s problem just now but it was something he would relay to the Hunting Council once he finished getting rid of the vampire problem.

Brendon made it back to his horse, fully aware that the wolves were staying in the shadows and following him to ensure he left. He took his time lighting a cigarette before getting on the horses back and riding on toward town.

So a female vampire with serious issues regarding men that was protected? Protected seemed unlikely. Vampires, as a general rule, did not have family groups or strong connections. Unless this vampire was protected by her lifemate. He supposed that could be possible.

Or she was a prisoner of her ‘protector’. She may even be a pet of the werewolves, though Brendon doubted that. The werewolves wouldn’t allow her to roam free and possibly bring attention to their hidden interests .

Brendon took a long draw off his cigarette and thought about his next move.

---

Ella walked slowly through the fabric store, eyeing them all with boredom. She remembered that back before her parent’s deaths she had loved sewing and loved fabrics. All the different patterns and colors had fascinated and intrigued her and creating something out of nothing with her bare hands had made her proud.

Now it was simply a mundane task that she did merely to kill the boredom that she felt on the long days when she was not allowed to leave the home she shared with Warren.

While it would seem her imprisonment by him would be seen as easy since she was allowed to come and go pretty much as she pleased, it was always with the understanding that if she did not return home in a decent amount of time innocent blood would be shed until she was back where she belonged. And jaded and wounded by life as she was, Ella could not stand the thought of someone else paying the price for her freedom.

“Hello, Ella.”

Ella turned managed a guarded smile to the old woman greeting her and then she turned her head, her red hair falling back across her pale cheeks as she went back to scanning the fabrics.

“How have you been dear?” the old woman asked. Ella nodded, though she didn’t look at Widow Callahan as she replied.

“I’ve been well.” she replied quietly.

“That’s very pretty.” Widow Callahan said with a nod as Ella’s fingers stilled over a dark green satin. “It would bring out your eyes.”

Ella moved quickly away from the fabric. She did not wish to feel as if she was bonding with another person. Bonding equaled trust and trust was something that no one should be foolish enough to give to anyone else.

“I was hoping to speak to you about coming for another visit to the orphanage.” Widow Callahan said gently as she followed Ella through the dimly lit interior of the small store.

“I don’t think so.” Ella replied quickly. She had gone several times to the orphanage, finding that being around the children made her feel a little more free. Slightly more alive. Warren had quickly noticed her weakness and her fondness for the children and grown jealous that she was spending time with them. He had let Ella know that if she went back it would be the children that paid the penalty.

“They would really like to see you again. Little Maggie has been asking about you nearly everyday.” Ella felt a tiny piece of her heart, apparently the one piece left with feeling, hurt at the thought of little Maggie.

Little was truly what the girl was. Six years old, yet barely bigger than a child of four, and tiny glasses on her eyes. She was a quiet child, painfully shy, but she had seemed to take to Ella instantly.

“I’m afraid I’m awfully busy.” Ella replied and then she caught Warren’s scent on the air. He was coming toward the store and she did not want him catching her speaking to someone. It would serve to make him angry and jealous.

“I must be going now.” she said quickly. She grabbed a blue and cream gingham fabric and then headed quickly for the counter. After paying for her purchase, Ella walked back out into the sun and scanned the streets for Warren.

She could still smell him, she had learned to recognize his scent even over the overwhelming scents that filled a city such as this. If she hurried she could beat him back home and perhaps if she was locked in her room he would leave her alone seeing as how he had had his manly needs tended to just that morning.

She turned quickly to start down the road that would lead to the edge of the city and her home and then she hissed and swung out her hand when she found herself nearly bumping into a broad chest.

Her arm was quickly caught in a hard grip just before her nails could make contact with the tanned skin of a masculine neck.

“Easy there, little one.” Ella felt her nostrils flaring as she took in the scent of the man holding her arm. She was so close to him that she could feel the heat of his body. He smelled good. Like horse, sweat, dust and soap. There was another scent. An alluring scent that made her heart race.

His heart was beating steadily and she could hear his blood slowly rushing through his veins.

“Are you okay?” the man’s voice asked as he released his hold on her and stepped back.

“I’m fine.” Ella said quickly without looking up at his face. She shook her head, hoping to make herself ignore the sound of his blood. She just needed to get away. Men were evil and not to be trusted and if Warren caught her speaking to this man or any man, he would make sure she pain in blood.

Ella kept her head down, focusing on the mans scuffed black boots before walking around him and leaving quickly down the road.

---

Brendon watched the vampire weave through the crowd of people as she made her way out of town. He noticed that she made a conscious effort to avoid letting her body come in contact with any other body.

He had been shocked nearly speechless at first by the feisty vampire who had come close to tearing into his neck with those nails of hers. She had dark red hair that flowed like waves down her back. Her skin was as pale as snow and she had an almost otherworldly appearance with her haunted eyes and emotionless face.

As she disappeared from sight, Brendon wondered if maybe he had found the vampire he had been looking for. She certainly fit the description.

Female vampire. Pretty in a unique way. Capable of luring men into dark alleys before draining them dry. And she certainly seemed to have issues considering the way she had all but attacked him after running into him and the way she had refused to look up at him, kept her head down and vanished into the crowd.

Yep. Certainly a vampire with issues.

Brendon followed in the direction the vampire had taken. Her scent still fairly strong in the air… or maybe it had just become trapped in his nose when she had been so close.

Strangely enough, below the sweet scent that every vampire emitted, this vampire also smelled of herbs. It had reminded Brendon of the herb gardens many women grew in their window sills. It was nice.

Brendon caught sight of her red hair, sparkling in the sunlight and he kept his eyes on her until she walked in to a ramshackle two story house with cracks in the wooden walls and smoke rising from the chimney. Her scent was strong here, as was the scent of another vampire. A male.

Her protector perhaps?

Brendon went around the back of the large stone building he was standing in front of and climbed up the ladder to the roof. From here he had a clear view of the home the female vampire had gone into. It was clear from the strength of her scent that that was her home. Now all that was left to do was wait for her to leave at dark and catch her in the act of killing an innocent mortal.

He leaned his back against the chimney, lit a rolled cigarette and pulled his hat low over his eyes. He’d be here all day. Might as well get comfortable.

Chapter Four

Brendon waited until well after dark and the streets were mostly empty, but no one left the ramshackle house. A male vampire had entered shortly after the female but neither of them had shown their faces since.

Brendon was beginning to believe that he may have made a mistake in thinking that this vampire was the one responsible for the deaths. If he wasn’t wrong than maybe she had just decided to take a night off from her killing spree.

Brendon pushed himself away from the wall, his muscles stiff after so much time spent immobile. He stretched out his arms and legs slowly and then was working on getting his back stretched out when movement caught his eyes from the house he’d been watching all day.

A flash of red hair was illuminated in the moonlight before being covered by the hood of a dark black cloak. He took a breath and felt that strange stirring inside of him that he had felt earlier today when he had first caught her scent of herbs and sweetness.

The stirring was new, something he didn’t understand or like. He stood up, moving like a shadow in the darkness as he adjusted his guns and knives in preparation for battle. He had a job to do.

A job he’d spent his entire lifetime doing.

He moved unseen, unheard, unnoticed through the shadows, leaping from the brick building, his black boots landing silently on the dirt alley below. He quickly rounded the corner, his long coat whipping around legs, and saw her walking through the side door of the nearest saloon as if she belonged there.

Brendon scented the air for the male vampire that lived in the home with the red haired vampire but he was still back at their house. He was awake but based on the scent coming from inside, he was otherwise occupied with at least three guests, female guests.

Brendon just shook his head. It was clear from the scent that the women were willing pets. They weren’t chained or forced to stay. They stayed with the vampires because they enjoyed being bitten and being slaves to the male vampires carnal desires. Some women would do anything for the temporary euphoria a vampire could show them.

Brendon headed for front door of the saloon. Though he didn’t much care for mortals, especially mortals who chose to spend their lives drinking, gambling and laying with any willing body, it was his sworn duty to protect them.

Some drunk man was being hunted tonight and Brendon was all that was standing between he and a pain filled death at the hands, or make that fangs, of a feisty red haired, haunted eyed, herb smelling, issue filled female vampire.

---

Ella sat at the back table, unseen in the shadows, her figure and face hidden by her dark oversized cloak.

She scanned the crowded saloon, full of drunken men lewdly calling out to the women serving them drink after drink. Touching, fondling, acting as if they had some sort of right to touch what was not truly theirs to touch.

Sure these women were here willingly but they did not truly have a choice. What other way was there for a woman to earn money? Men refused to take them seriously, refused to acknowledge that a woman could be good for something other than fulfilling their own selfish urges.

Men disgusted her. Each was more evil than the next. Even knowing that they were in danger from a killer who was murdering them in dark alleys, they still came, they still drank, they still laid with women who were forced to be whores.

Ella took a sip of the whiskey she had stolen from a side table and let the burning liquid light up a fire in her veins. Heating her blood and working to numb her senses. Remove any doubt or hint of guilt about what she was preparing to do.

The men she killed deserved their fates. She only took the worst. The ones who were beyond redemption.

A slap from across the saloon drew her attention and the feminine gasp that followed fueled her ire. A saloon girl, young, probably no more than seventeen held a trembling hand against her pale cheek while a man probably twice her age and three times her size stood over her bellowing with rage because she had spilled his beer and splashed some on his dirty boots.

Instantly a snarl pulled back Ella’s lips and a low hiss slipped from her throat. Why did men think it was their right to attack women so much weaker than themselves? Ella would teach him a lesson.

She had found her target.

She waited for a long while, watching the man drink, yell and brag. His voice becoming louder with every drink he poured down his throat. He was a big man, nearly seven feet if she had to guess. His thick beard and mustache hid his face though Ella was sure it was just as hard and vulgar as the rest of him.

Finally after what must have been hours of patiently waiting, her stalking paid off. The man moved away from the stool he’d been occupying, threw money on the bar and pointed at the young saloon girl he had slapped earlier that evening.

She was unaware of his interest as she served beers and whiskeys to a group of men playing Poker at a central table. Ella’s advanced sense of hearing picked up the conversation between the man and the bartender.

“No, my girls serve drinks and flirt. They aren’t available for anything more than that.” the bartender stated firmly. Ella just shook her head, she had heard that before. It didn’t mean the answer was no, it simply meant the answer was no until the man handed over more money.

“Will this get you to loosen them chains a bit?” the big man asked as he tossed a bit more money on the bar. The bartender looked down at the growing pile of coins and bills and then over at the girl, who was on her way back toward the bar for a refill.

He nodded in a movement so small it was barely noticeable just before he gathered up the money and stuffed it down in his apron pockets. The big man smiled with victory and grabbed the girl roughly by the arm as she neared them.

“What’s going on?” she asked fearfully.

“You and me are gonna go get to know each other a little better.” the big man replied as he leered at the girl, his small, beady eyes full of desire.

“No!” she exclaimed with terror in her voice and the big man tightened his hold on her arm. Ella could smell her fear and her pain and it only served to heighten her own anger and rage.

“You’ll have to take her outback, I don’t have beds for things like that here.” the bartender warned.

“That’s just fine with me.” the big man slurred drunkenly. He looked around the saloon, it had cleared out quite a bit in the last few hours and those that were left inside were just as drunk as he was and would offer him no resistance. “Whores don’t deserve beds anyhow.” he finished with a grin.

He led the girl out the side door of the saloon and into the dirty alley. Ella rose from her table, staying unnoticed in the shadows as she slipped out the front door.

She rounded the corner of the building and entered the alley just in time to see the big man loosening his belt and freeing his growing arousal from his pants as he held the girl against the damp wooden wall with his arm at her throat.

The girl was sobbing silently, having already given in to her fate.

“What have we here?” Ella asked, infusing her voice with the magical qualities that every vampire possessed. Qualities that made the target helpless to do anything other than fall under their spell.

It was alluring, soothing and enchanting and the big man turned quickly and eyed her with desire, though her body and face were still hidden by her cloak.

“Who are you?” the big man asked as the girl took his distraction as an opportunity to run for cover and quickly disappeared back into the saloon.

“Does that matter?” Ella purred as she pulled back her cloak and shook out her dark red hair, letting it glint in the moonlight.

“No, miss, I guess it don’t.” the man replied. He took a step toward her and Ella held him in place with only a glance and a subtle shifting of his mind.

He licked his lips as she began walking slowly toward him, swaying her hips.

“You are a big tough man.” she said breathlessly as she circled around him, her fingers trailing along the thick muscles of his chest and shoulders.

Using her powers of persuasion both as a woman and as vampire, Ella led the man deeper and deeper into the alley, further into the shadows and away from the sound of the piano and laughter coming from inside the saloon.

“You wanna see just how big and tough I am?” he grunted as his hand closed around her breast. Ella felt rage fill her and she quickly smacked his hand away.

“Hands to yourself.” she warned with a wave of her finger. He seemed to think it was a game and laughed deep in his throat as he reached for her yet again.

“You’re going to die now.” Ella informed him, her voice quiet, low and void of any emotion. “You are going to die at the hands of a woman. A woman much smaller than yourself. I think that is only fitting considering how you have spent the last hours of your life abusing an innocent girl and proving how tough you are.”

“What are you talking about?” the man exclaimed, though he couldn’t run because Ella held him in place with her mind. “What are you doing to me!?” he cried out, his voice becoming quieter as Ella gained control of that as well.

“It’s a bad feeling, isn’t it? To know that you are no longer in control? To know that bad things are going to happen to you and you are powerless to stop them?” She could sense his pulse thundering just below his skin. His blood pumping fast, hot and hard with fear.

Ella felt her fangs sharpen and she saw the man’s eyes widen and knew that her eyes were now shimmering with silver.

With one single hiss she lunged at the man, sinking her fangs deep into his neck and drinking deeply.

Her bloodlust raged to life as she continued to drink long past the time that the big man was fighting against her. He sagged against her body and still she drank and drank.

Not until she was gorged with his blood and his body was dry did she stop and let him fall to the ground.

Ella looked down at his lifeless corpse and smiled a rare smile. One less monster for the innocent to worry about.

Without a sound she pulled the hood of her cloak back over head and left the alley.

---

Brendon stood unnoticed at the back corner of the alley. He had watched the entire scene and found himself unable to move at present.

What was wrong with him? Centuries spent stopping immortals from doing just what this vampire had done and he had done nothing! He had stood here and let her kill that man.

And deep down he knew why.

He had wanted to kill the man himself.

There was a part of him deep down that the council had not yet broken. A part of him that did not bend to their wills and whims without good reason. What good reason would there have been for killing the vampire when she was in fact saving a woman from rape?

Brendon walked to the body and looked down into the lifeless eyes of the dead man. This man had deserved his fate a hundred fold and yet because Brendon had seen the female vampire commit this murder, and because he knew that she was the vampire responsible for the other deaths, it was up to him to kill her.

He should have killed her before she had left this alley so why hadn’t he?

There had been something in her eyes and something in her voice that had called out to him. Something was broken inside of her and for the first time in his life Brendon wanted to fix the problem instead of just killing it because that’s what he’d been ordered to do.

Maybe he could help the vampire? He squared his shoulders before bending low, pulling a healing serum from his pocket, made of vampire venom and sealing the wound on the dead mans neck.

He would try talking to this vampire. Learn what made her go after these men and maybe he could help her. If not then he would do as he had been ordered and kill her.

It was his sworn duty after all.

Chapter Five

“Good morning, sweet Ella.” Ella did not even acknowledge Warren’s presence in her bedroom doorway as she continued to run her silver backed brush through her long red hair. He drifted across the room, the air seeming to become cooler as he neared her.

“I couldn’t help but notice that you disappeared again last night.” Warren’s long slender fingers closed over her hand and took the brush away. He paused momentarily before continuing the strokes through the long red tresses.

“I did not think you would realize I was gone.” Ella replied truthfully, meeting his gaze in the mirror. They were so different.

His skin was tanned and she was as pale as snow. Her hair a dark red and his black. His cheeks were gaunt and thin while hers were full and almost childlike. And their eyes…. His black, intense and full of evil malice. Hers a deep green, beautiful but lifeless.

“You’re not jealous, are you, Ella?”

“Sickened.” she replied coldly. It sickened her to think that those mortal women wanted Warren to touch them. Wanted him to bite them. What had happened in their short lives to make them so desperate?

Warren threw his head back and laughed deeply as he laid the brush on the dark cherry wood vanity.

“You are far too brooding. You need to learn how to enjoy life.” he said matter of factly as he grabbed Ella’s arm and pulled her to her feet. Ella went with the movement, having used up all the fight she had left some years before.

“Now, you need to begin obeying me, Ella. I told you not to be killing men so close to where we live.”

“Then you should have stopped me.” she replied with a shrug and Warran’s grip became painfully tight on her arm.

“Don’t push me, Ella. I am in a remarkably good mood this morning. I am feeling well refreshed and therefore very forgiving of your transgressions. Also I like knowing that my little pet has such a bloodthirsty nature.” Warren’s eyes darkened and his tongue moistened his thin lips as he looked up and down the length of her body.

Ella wished she had had time to pull on her robe before Warren had entered. Truth was she hadn’t expected him until after noon given his activities the night before. Instead she was wearing only her chemise, under shorts and corset. Her breasts were pushed up high and much of her pale skin was visible for his hungry eyes to feast on.

“Unfortunately, I must be leaving.” he admitted with a sigh. “I’m afraid that business is calling me away again and I will be gone for three days. I trust you’ll be here when I return?” There was no doubting the threatening edge in his voice or the warning in his dark eyes.

“You know I will be.” she replied simply, focusing on his narrow chest beneath the fancy white dress shirt and starched collar. Ella did not bother to ask what kind of business drew him away. Not only did she not care but Warren liked to keep his trips secret. Ella suspected he was going to look at new pets or perhaps simply going to sample blood elsewhere. Either way it got his hands off of her for a few days.

“And please, take a break from the murders before you bring a Hunter down on our heads. I will take you into Savannah when I return and you can kill to your hearts content for days.”

“How thoughtful.” Ella stated, though there was no venom or sarcasm in her voice. It had been a long time since Ella’s voice had held any emotion at all.

Warren hissed and his hand fell sharp across her face, leaving in its wake a stinging throb that resonated throughout her head. Ella refused to show her pain as she met his eyes.

“I grow tired of your rebellion.” Warren warned. “I am good to you. Allowing you to roam the city. I do not chain you in the cellar, though that is what you deserve. The least you could do is show me a bit of gratitude.”

When Ella remained silent Warren sighed.

“You are to speak to no one while I am away. If you do you know I will be able to tell, I can always tell.” With that, Warren tenderly kissed the cheek he had just brutally smacked and then he turned and walked away, his fancy high heeled boots resonating down the hall.

Ella turned and sat back down roughly in her stool. She looked at her haunted expression in the mirror as she once again picked up her silver backed brush and began running it through her hair. Her assaulted cheek was a nice bright shade of red, sticking out sharply against the paleness of the other.

Three days without Warren. She should feel relieved but she did not. She knew that even with him gone she could not relax. Warren always seemed to know what she was doing. She knew it wasn’t any vampire senses that told him since vampires could not use their powers of the mind on each other but somehow…. Somehow the other vampire knew when she had disobeyed his orders.

As she sat and brushed her hair, she heard the three women from Warren’s room the night before beginning to stir in the next room.

Ella’s spine stiffened when one of them suddenly came to her own open doorway.

“Where’s Warren?” the woman asked, in a voice still slurred from the effects of the night before. A vampire bite did not always hurt or kill. A vampire could inject a rush of endorphins with their venom that served as a type of drug, giving the bitten a nice rush and a high that lasted hours. And they could also inject a type of anti-venom that kept the bitten from dying from the poison.

If bitten enough times, a human could become dependant on that rush, needing to feel it just to function. There was no quick cure for the dependency and going without the high caused agonizing pain, shakes and delirium.

It would have been kinder of Warren to kill these women instead of simply walking out and leaving them for three days.

“Business.” Ella replied, looking at the woman in the mirror. She was tall and naked, obviously not caring in her current state of vampire venom induced euphoria. She had bite marks covering her pale breasts and neck, dried blood was streaked across her taut stomach and her black hair was wild atop her head.

“When will he be back?”

“Three days.” Ella replied as she sat her brush down and rose slowly to her feet. Curse Warren for leaving this to her. He should have dealt with his toys before leaving.

“Days!” The woman screeched, her gray eyes filling with panic.

“Don’t worry, it will go quicker than you think.” Ella assured her as she closed the distance between them.

The woman frowned and Ella attempted a reassuring smile, though she assumed it probably resembled a grimace given her lack of practice at smiling.

Before the woman could speak again, Ella reached out and grabbed her, spinning her around and pulling her back into her chest. She wrapped her arm tight around the struggling woman’s neck and held tight.

The woman kicked, clawed and fought against her but she was no match for Ella’s advanced strength.

Ella listened to the woman’s heartbeat becoming erratic and then beginning to slow as it realized it was not going to get any new air. Ella calmly held the woman in place until she slumped unconscious in her arms and Ella released her hold.

She had to get to the other two women, render them unconscious and then get them all tied up tight and gagged in the cellar before they began waking up. She would hate to have to choke them twice.

---

Brendon sat outside the diner, just a block away from the home where the red haired vampire lived. He was sitting on a hard bench, his hat pulled low and his legs stretched out and ankles crossed, watching for the beautiful murderer without looking.

“They found another body last night.” he heard a woman whisper as she and two others passed by. They were wearing simple walking dresses and holding parasols to shield their skin from the sun which was already beating down intensely despite it not even yet being noon.

“Yes but this one had no holes.” Another woman replied and the third gasped and covered her mouth.

“We shouldn’t even be speaking about such things!” she exclaimed. “Leave the talk of death to the men.” The women walked on down the boardwalk and Brendon stopped listening to their conversation.

Hiding the holes in that mans neck had not been his responsibility. The serum he used he was only supposed to use on himself or to save the life of mortals. That man had already been good and dead when he’d sealed his wounds.

It was not Brendon’s job to protect the secrets of vampires, that was up to the vampire council, not that they cared one way or the other.

No he had done it for one reason and one reason only and that was to protect the vampire.

Which pissed him off.

Why would he risk his own well being for a murdering vampire? It was one thing to risk himself for Grange. That was a friend. Brendon didn’t even know this vampires name. All he knew was that she smelled like herbs and sweetness and it stirred something inside of him. The sight of her and the sound of her haunted voice brought to life a part of him that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

He wanted to think for himself and help someone he thought needed help instead of just following orders blindly and doing exactly as he was told.

But the council would expect him to come back with proof of a dead vampire. They would want to know that he had done as he was told and if he did not then they would remove him from the job list , which simply meant they would have him beheaded.

His hand subconsciously went to his neck and rubbed at it as if to reassure itself that it still held his head attached.

His thoughts were so occupied with just what the council would do to him that he nearly missed the sight of the heavyset older woman walking toward the ramshackle house where the vampires lived.

Brendon had seen the male vampire leave earlier that morning but had not yet seen the female so he guessed she was still inside. The scents in the air were too cloying and intense for him to be able to scent the house from here.

The woman knocked on the door and after several long minutes it was opened and Brendon saw her. She looked just as otherworldly and beautiful as she had the day before when she’d run into him. Her cream and brown colored short sleeved work dress fit her frame and showed just how tiny her waist was and the fullness of her chest. Her dark red hair was pulled back in a braid and then wrapped in a chignon at the base of her neck.

Instantly he felt himself wanting to go to her… Why was that? For all he knew she was married or mated to the other vampire. And besides that she was a murderer…..

She killed protecting an innocent. She’s no more a murderer than you are. A voice in his head chided him. Brendon shook his head. This time she had killed to protect innocence but that didn’t mean she’d killed for that reason before and it didn’t mean that that would be the reason she killed in the future.

Brendon rose to his feet and circled the back of the buildings, coming close enough to the ramshackle house to hear what the two of them were saying without ever having been noticed.

---

“So your husband is out of town then?” Widow Callahan asked as she peered over Ella’s shoulder, hoping to catch a peek inside the house that no one she knew had ever been inside.

“Yes.” Ella replied, stepping out and closing the door. The lie that Warren was her husband had been his idea. Then no one would question why the two of them were living together or the fact that Ella rarely left the house. Everyone would just assume that Warren was a controlling husband and Ella an obedient wife.

“I know we spoke of it yesterday, but Ella, is there anyway I can convince you to come by the orphanage? Little Maggie has not been eating well of late and I know that it is because she misses you.”

Ella felt that small piece of her heart not yet dead being tugged at Widow Callahan’s words. And looking in the woman’s watery blue eyes told Ella that she knew exactly what she was doing by mentioning Maggie and what Ella’s absence was doing to her.

“I don’t know…” Ella replied, glancing around, half expecting to see Warren watching her with a angry glint in his black eyes and a knowing grin on his gaunt face.

“Will you at least think about it, please? I won’t tell that man of yours that you came and I think it would be good for both you and Maggie.”

“Me?” Ella asked with a curious raise of her brow. Widow Callahan nodded and laid a gentle hand on her arm. Ella looked down at her wrinkled hand and frowned…. Tenderness was so alien a thing for her to feel from another person that she wasn’t at all sure how she was supposed to react.

“I know you have a hard life, dear. Now I won’t pretend to know the details and I know it isn’t any of my business to ask them but we all need friends, Ella. I can be that for you.”

Friend? Ella had never had one of those. Or at least not since her life before realizing she was a vampire and that had been so long ago it seemed as if it was another lifetime… or even a dream.

How nice it would be to believe that a simple friend could solve all her problems. That she could open up and share all the dark secrets of her past.

It was a nice thought and that is all it was. Widow Callahan, if the woman didn’t run screaming for the nearest church or stab her with a crucifix at learning what Ella was, would be killed without a second thought by Warren.

Warren had made it clear that Ella couldn’t get away. Ella was his pet. His greatest treasure. His most prized possession and he would kill to keep her. He had proven that more than once.

Ella pulled away from Widow Callahan’s touch and rubbed at the place her hand had touched.

“I’ll think about it.” she said quickly and then she turned and quickly went back into the house, closing the door before the old woman could reply.

‘I’ll think about it!’ she whispered as she leaned against the door and shook her head.

Why had she said that? If she went there then children could die! But then again maybe Warren wouldn’t find out.

Ella couldn’t stand the thought of Little Maggie missing her and thinking she’d abandoned her. The least Ella could do was go see the girl and tell her goodbye. Explain to her that she wouldn’t be able to come back.

It was a risk but one worth it in Ella’s eyes. If Warren did find out then Ella could possibly soothe his tempers in other ways without anyone having to die. That thought alone was enough to sicken her but Little Maggie was worth it.

Chapter Six

“Ella!” Little Maggie leapt from her spot at the table and ran as quickly as her legs could carry her across the small, crowded dining room. She limped heavily because of her birth defect. She had been born with a crooked foot. No doctor knew what had caused it and no doctor knew how to fix it. It caused her shoes to have to be specially made and she could not keep up with the other children when they played.

It also meant no parent wanted to adopt the girl, given her daily need for pain medication.

The little girl wrapped herself around Ella’s legs and Ella patted her messy brown hair awkwardly.

“Hello, Maggie.” she replied as she stood there stiffly and looked around. Tender physical contact just wasn’t something she was familiar or comfortable with. Abuse she knew how to handle. Punches, slaps, tight grasps and cruel words were normal for her. But the tenderness this little girl always showed to her was foreign and……

Addicting. That was why she was really here risking not only her own welfare but the welfare of all of these children. Of Widow Callahan.

“I knew you’d come back! I just knew it!” Maggie said with a happy smile as she pulled away and looked up at Ella. Ella had no idea why this girl was so taken with her but the thought of breaking her fragile heart was enough to rip out her own hardened one.

“You should go back and finish your lunch now, Maggie.” she urged the girl.

“Will you come sit with me?” Maggie asked as she bounced up and down and Ella nodded.

“Of course.” Ella replied with a tip of her head. As she walked back to the young girls table she couldn’t help but notice a group of boys gathered around a table in the corner. A scent came to her as she scented the air. The scent of a man and it was familiar somehow.

Sweat, horse, soap and something alluring… Sandalwood, she realized. He smelled like sandalwood. It was the man from the day before. The one she had run into as she’d come out of the store.

She hadn’t thought about him anymore since then but now her mind was full of questions. Who was he? Why was he here? Was he following her or was she just being paranoid?

Ella took her seat beside Maggie and while she tried to concentrate on the little girls excited conversation about the loss of her newest tooth, she found her eyes kept being drawn to that group of boys. She wished she could see the man with the scent that seemed to draw her in.

She had been too distracted the day before to pay attention to what he looked like but now she wanted to know. That scent continued to tease her nostrils, awakening her curiosity and stirring her blood.

Unable to stop herself, her legs moving of their own accord, Ella rose to her feet and made her way across the dining room. She approached the table and heard the strangers voice, it was deep, accented like a true Texan outlaw and it caused a tremble to wash over her, passing down her spine and rendering her speechless with shock.

Who was he?

He was entertaining the group of boys with a story, a story about a man battling a kings army in a castle. Swordfights and near death scares had the boys avidly glued to their seats with nothing but the occasional gasp passing through their lips.

Ella knew it was the quietest and most still this particular group of rowdy boys had ever been.

She edged closer still, hoping to catch a view when one of the boys moved and suddenly she saw him.

Ella didn’t understand the increase in her pulse, the way her body was drawn toward this man and why her mind instantly said ‘mine’ when she looked at him. Ella didn’t like men. She didn’t trust men. No man had ever shown her anything other than lust, hate, pain and suffering.

This stranger gave meaning to the term tall, dark and handsome. While he was sitting now, she remembered how tall and broad he had been when she had run into him yesterday. His black hair was long beneath his black hat and grazed the collar of his black shirt.

His face was all rugged lines and masculine edges. He had been several days without shaving but the stubble only seemed to accent his firm lips. His nose had been broken at least once before but even that didn’t detract from the loveliness of his face, instead it added to it, giving it a rough and tumble quality.

Ella’s gaze went to his hands, which were animated as he told his tale. He had big hands. Strong hands. It was clear they were used to hard work and she knew that there were stories hidden in those calluses and lines. That was something Ella found relatively enjoyable, learning people’s stories.

When her eyes went back to his face, she became frozen, captivated, when she realized that he was now looking back at her. While he hadn’t stopped speaking and still held the boy’s attention, now holding them in suspense as he recounted how he had draw back his bow during the chaos of battle to defeat the bad man, his seemed to be focused on her.

His eyes were green. A dark green that seemed to beckon to her. They were sharp and intense just like the rest of him.

Then he smiled, his cheeks crinkling around his mouth and his eyes sparkling with good nature.

“Would you like to join us, ma’am?” his voice snapped Ella back to reality and she quickly shook her head. Without a word, she turned and forced her feet to carry her back to Maggie’s table. As she took her seat beside the small girl, Ella wondered what exactly was wrong with her and who this man was.

She shouldn’t be attracted to any man given the experiences she had had but there was something about this stranger. It spoke to the vampire inside and caused Ella to be drawn to him and Ella did not like it. Not one bit.

---

“I have to go now, Little Maggie.” Ella told the girl several hours later as they finished up working on arithmetic in the much smaller day room. It was drafty, the walls were cracked and children of different ages were crowded inside the room. Some practicing arithmetic, other writing and some simply playing with toys or napping.

Maggie’s bottom lip stuck out in a pout and her brown eyes looked up at Ella pleadingly from behind her glasses as they stood beside the doorway that led back into the larger eating area.

“Tell me you’ll come back, Miss Ella!” she begged. Ella felt that familiar tugging in her heart that came whenever she had to leave this little girl. And this time she knew she had to leave her forever. She couldn’t keep putting the orphanage in danger by coming like this. Warren would kill these children and he would laugh at Ella while doing it.

“I don’t think I can, Maggie.” Ella answered. “I just came today because I wanted to tell you goodbye properly.”

“But you can’t!” Maggie cried out as she wrapped herself around Ella’s legs, burying her face in the rough brown wool of her skirt. “You’re my only friend!”

Friend. There was that word again. Oh how simple life could be if friends were real and could solve all her problems. Unfortunately friends was something Ella had never had and now, because of Warren, they were something she would never have. Being friends with Ella was as good as taking your own life.

“Maggie, there are plenty of other children here for you to be friends with.” Ella reminded her, while peeling the girl off her legs.

“But they don’t like me.” Maggie insisted, as she wiped her tiny hands across her tear streaked, freckled cheeks. Ella just stared down at her, unsure of what to say. Comforting someone was not something she knew how to do. As a matter of fact the sight of Maggie’s tears and the sound of her pleading voice had Ella wanting to run away and lock herself back in her dark, drafty home.

“How could anyone not like you?” Ella’s spine stiffened, her nostrils flared and she defenses instantly raised. It was him. The stranger. He was right behind her.

“Because I walk funny.” Maggie replied as she picked at her homemade feed sack dress and moved closer to Ella.

“I don’t believe that.” The stranger replied and he moved around Ella to stand to the side and Ella was unable to stop herself from looking at him. He had a smile on his face that crinkled his cheeks and lit up his eyes. He seemed so….

Good.

But that was impossible. Men were not good. No one was really. Deep down everyone was evil and everyone had hidden agenda, bad intentions and cared only for their own wants and desires. Ella had learned that lesson the hard way and she counted herself among the evil.

For a split second, the strangers eyes connected with hers and Ella felt a stirring in her soul. It was as if a string was connected from she to him and he was pulling her in closer and closer.

Ella quickly looked away and focused on Maggie. The girl was eyeing the stranger with curiosity.

“Who are you?” she asked.

‘Good question.’

Ella added silently. The man crouched down, bending his long legs and resting his elbows on his thighs. Ella noticed the gun belt and revolver slung low on his hips along with a bone handled knife that looked close to ten or twelve inches long.

Mortal men and their weapons… as if those would truly keep them safe if the right creature wanted them dead; if she wanted them dead.

“My name is Brendon.” he replied, his voice almost like a song as it washed over Ella’s ears… Ella barely held back her hiss. What was wrong with her? She did not even know this man and yet somehow she felt as if she trusted him. As if he was safe.

Hadn’t life taught her that no one was safe? That no one could be trusted?

“I like your eyes.” Maggie admitted shyly. “Green is my favorite color.”

“Well I like your eyes.” Brendon countered. “Brown is the color of chocolate. Have you ever had chocolate?”

“No.” Maggie replied, her brow furrowing. “What is chocolate?” Brendon’s smile broadened.

“How about I bring you some tomorrow?”

“You’re coming back tomorrow?” Maggie asked and Brendon nodded as he glanced at Ella. “Will you come too, Ella?!” Maggie exclaimed hopefully. “You have to try the chocolate!”

“Maggie…” Ella started to scold and Brendon stood straight and looked down at her. Ella felt exposed somehow. Bare.

“You really shouldn’t miss the chance to have some chocolate ma’am.” Brendon assured her.

“Please, Ella!” Maggie bagged, taking Ella by the hand and yanking her as she jumped up and down. Ella was about to scold the girl for jumping on her foot when suddenly Maggie cried out with pain and fell. Her hand slid from Ella’s and Ella was about to grab for her when Brendon suddenly moved. He was a blur of black as he caught Maggie and scooped the girl up into his arms.

Tears were running down Maggie’s cheeks as she whimpered with pain and clung to Brendon.

“What happened?” Brendon asked with apprehension as his eyes pleaded with Ella to fix things.

“She has a bad foot.” Ella replied, confused at the swiftness with which Brendon had moved. He smelled mortal as far as she could tell and yet he had moved more swiftly than even she had been able to. “She’s not supposed to jump around like that.”

“Mr. Brendon, is she okay?” A young boy named Benjamin, with giant freckles and bright orange hair asked nervously as he stepped forward. The entire room at gone silent at the sound of Maggie’s pain filled sobs.

“I’m sure she will.” Brendon assured the boy. “Ms. Callahan will make sure she’s seen too.” he added as the old woman came forward and took the trembling young girl into her arms gently. Brendon crouched down.

“You seem to be a big strong boy.” he stated and Ella raised a brow but said nothing. She was sure it was the first time Benjamin had ever been called big or strong. Small for his age, skinny and quiet, the boy didn’t have many friends.

“I guess so.” Benjamin replied, his thin chest puffing out a bit. Brendon nodded.

“I thought so. Why don’t you go help Widow Callahan. Maggie might need somebody to hold her hand, you know, just in case it hurts too bad.”

“I can do that!” Benjamin stated with pride. Widow Callahan smiled her thanks at Brendon and then headed up the stairs to the flat loft that Ella knew was filled with tiny cots and sleeping rolls for the children. Benjamin smiled one more time at Brendon and then followed after her.

Brendon stood and smiled at Ella and she quickly turned and left the room, heading through the dining area and toward the door to the outside and the freedom she needed.

Brendon was something she didn’t understand and she did not want to be near him for a single second longer. Then he grabbed her wrist in a gentle grip to stop her from walking out into the sunlight and she stopped dead in her tracks.

Her entire body seemed to go liquid at he feel of his skin on hers. It was instant. It was heat. And yet it was also comforting.

“I don’t like to be touched.” she ground out through clenched teeth as she jerked her arm away. Brendon held his hands up apologetically and then stuck his thumbs through his belt loops.

He looked so at ease. So relaxed. How long had it been since Ella had felt that way? Not since that terrible day when she had taken the lives of her family.

“Could I interest you in a late lunch, Ella?” he asked and Ella shook her head.

“I don’t think so.” she replied quickly. Brendon nodded.

“Early dinner then?”

“No. I have to go.” Ella turned and walked away quickly, wondering what in the world was wrong with her and what exactly Brendon was doing in this town, following her around.

He was everything she knew men weren’t, or at least he seemed to be from what she’d seen today at the orphanage. He was kind. Gentle. Entertaining. Sweet. Charming. Handsome……

No man was those things. Men were evil evil creatures that used and humiliated women.

Then Ella suddenly pictured her fathers face. It had been a long long time since she’d pictured his face. He had been all those things that Brendon seemed to be.

But he was dead and Ella had killed him. He and her mother had somehow created her and that just showed that there was evil in them because they had created the evil in her.

Ella made her way quickly to her home and locked herself inside her room, deciding that she would not leave anymore today. Her thoughts were too jumbled.

Chapter Seven

Brendon waited until nearly dawn up on the same roof he had sat on the night before but the vampire, Ella, did not leave her home. This ensured Brendon had plenty of time to think.

Ella did not fit the description of any other murdering vampire he had ever hunted.

She killed men, but only men who were treating women badly. She spent her days visiting with orphans. She was seemingly scared to death of her own shadow and so very very sad…..

Why was she sad? Brendon wanted to know. He wanted to make her smile. He figured she’d probably have a pretty smile.

He shook his head to clear such foolish thoughts. He was a Hunter. It was his duty to kill whoever the council sent him to kill. It didn’t matter how badly he wanted to help her, it was his job to end her life.

But could he?

Of course he could. He’d been a Hunter for centuries. He was one of the best, despite his slightly rebellious nature. He was damn good at what he did and if killing her is what he had to do than he would do it.

And he’d have to do it soon so he could make it back to the council before they sent someone after him. After the stunt he’d pulled with Grange, they would not tolerate him staying gone.

Whatever this strange tenderness he felt for this vampire was, it was time that Brendon forget it. He would kill this vampire the next time she went out to kill a man. That was just what had to be done.

His mind resolute and set to the task he had to complete, Brendon climbed down from the roof and made his way to the hotel to get a few hours of sleep.

When he woke it was breakfast and he made his way to the diner to eat and then went for a walk to the edge of town to check the house where Ella lived. He walked close to the house, noticing the cracks in the log construction and wondering why no one thought to fill them with mud.

It was clear that his house had been constructed before the sawmill had been built, before the city had grown and expanded.

He scented the air, searching it for the her scent and while it was thick in the air here since this was her home, he could smell it stronger, more concentrated in an upstairs window.

She was still at home.

Brendon breathed deep through his nose and clenched his fists tight, fighting the urge to go to her.

Brendon had never felt a pull like this toward a woman before. He wanted to take care of her, which was odd since Brendon had never been the caretaking type.

He’d been trained to be strong and independent and just assumed that everyone else should have to be the same.

So why then did he want to protect and take care of this vampire? This vampire that he was sworn to kill?

The vampire with haunted eyes that were so light green they were nearly translucent when they gazed back into his own appearing almost dead and expressionless.

This vampire who could ruthlessly kill a man one night and then visit orphans the next day?

It didn’t matter, Brendon decided. Whoever she was, whatever this was that Brendon was feeling, it could not be. He would do the job he’d been sent to do and then he would get back to the council and hopefully be put back on their good list.

Brendon’s mind went back to the orphanage and the little girl, Maggie. He had promised the girl chocolate, though he wasn’t sure why since he didn’t normally take to children. He liked them and their innocence, it was just that they were so fragile… Brendon did not like becoming too close to anything that could be so easily destroyed.

But a promise was a promise and Brendon was a man of his word. He had vowed to bring chocolate and so it was chocolate he would bring.

Chocolate wasn’t cheap and not many places even had the sweet stuff but this was a big city full of rich people so he was more than a little confident he’d be able to find some and as far as money went, the council gave him a certain amount a month for expenses, he figured it was about time he used some of it.

---

Ella had only intended to get Widow Callahan’s attention and ask the old woman how Maggie was feeling this morning. She had walked to the back of the orphanage and looked over the fence to see the kids all running and playing happily, while the red haired boy, Benjamin, helped Maggie as she limped around on a tiny crutch.

Ella had been preparing to turn away then before the girl could notice her but then she had seen him . Brendon.

He threw his head back and laughed loudly at something Maggie said and Ella might as well have been under a spell. She walked, without telling her legs to do so, to the gate and pushed it open and then her legs carried her, without her permission, straight to Brendon, who had stopped laughing and was watching her with curiosity.

“Miss Ella! I knew you’d come back.” Maggie exclaimed as she limped hurriedly to Ella and threw her arms around her legs.

“Uh.. Yeah.. Yeah I came back.” Ella replied as she snapped out of her daze and realized where she was. She spared a quick glance at Brendon’s face and saw that he was frowning as he looked down at her.

“Look, Ella! Brendon brought me chocolate just like he said he would!” Maggie exclaimed as she pulled away and held up her half eaten chocolate bar. Ella nodded.

“I see that.” she replied, noticing the chocolate that was smudged all over the young girls face.

“She shared some of it with me too.” Benjamin stated and Maggie giggled.

“A girl has to share with her beau.” she replied and Ella raised a brow, Brendon chuckled and Benjamin blushed furiously.

“Okay, children, it is time to go in and have our rest time!” Widow Callahan called out from the doorway.

With moans and groans of varying volumes the children all made their way to the door. Maggie handed Ella the last of her chocolate.

“You can have it. Widow Callahan won’t let me take it inside.” she said with a sigh. Ella thanked the girl and then watched as Benjamin helped her back inside.

It was then that Ella realized she was alone in the back yard with Brendon.

She looked at him and found herself confused by his expression. He looked torn and confused himself. His hand was resting on the gun on his side and his face was drawn as he stared at her with his free hand clenched tightly into a fist by his thigh.

And yet still she felt that pulling in her soul. That instinct deep down that said she could trust him.

But why?

She absentmindedly raised the remaining chocolate to her lips and broke off a piece between her teeth, moaning and feeling her eyes slipped closed as it melted against her tongue and the bitter sweetness filled her mouth.

Then she froze and the chocolate still left in her hand, fell onto the sparse grass and dirt at her feet.

She had just eaten. She had eaten real good food and she had enjoyed it. She had tasted it… But that had to mean….. She stared up at Brendon, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide.

He seemed concerned as he stared back at her and then Ella forced her frozen legs to move and she turned and ran as quickly as she could away from him.

She ran down the crowded city streets, shoving people out of her way in her panic. She wasn’t even sure where she was going as she ran faster and faster and faster, entering the woods and still running.

It all made sense now. The reason she felt as if she trusted him. The way she was drawn to him.

Brendon, a mortal man, was her life mate.

But a life mate was the last thing that Ella wanted! Men were dangerous! Evil! A life mate would expect her to give him her body and she would never willingly do that! He would just be one more man to take what he wanted by force! Ella would kill him, life mate or not, before she ever let that happen!

When a vampire met their life mate, there were several things that would happen to show them that it was their life mate. One, the vampire would not be able to use their mind control or powers of persuasion on their life mate. They would feel an unexplainable pull toward that life mate and they would also once again begin to eat and enjoy food.

Vampires could eat any time but after a long enough while it lost it’s taste. But finding their life mate gave vampires new taste for life, and food, strangely enough.

Ella finally stopped running in a field miles from town. She sat down on the long grass beneath a big willow tree and pulled her knees up into her chest, wrapping her arms tight around them as she stared off into the distant horizon.

Meeting her life mate should be a cause for celebration but it was not. Ella had trusted two men in her life; Faugrimm and Warren, and both those men had turned out to be evil. Brendon would be no different if she allowed herself to trust in him.

He was just a mortal man. A mortal man would be no match for Warren should the vampire discover that Brendon was her life mate and even if Ella trusted him, if Brendon believed her and allowed himself to be changed, Warren was an old vampire and much too powerful for a newly changed vampire to even think about going up against.

There was only one thing for Ella to do. She could not trust Brendon. She would not tell him what he was to her. But she could not just let him go because his scent was already on her. There would be a change in her own scent now that she knew her life mate, it would be a subtle change but a change that Warren was sure to pick up on. And if he did then she would pay and so would Brendon himself.

No, there was only one option. Ella had to get rid of him. It would be swifter and much more merciful coming from her than from Warren. While it would destroy whatever part of her that wasn’t already destroyed, Ella knew that she had to do what she had to do. If she did this then that should pacify Warren’s anger in learning she found her life mate while he’d been gone. Whether she liked it or not today she had a target already picked out before heading off into the night.

Tonight she would kill her life mate.

---

Brendon sat in his hotel room, the afternoon sunlight shining through his open window, bouncing off the dust motes floating lazily in the air as Brendon stared at the faded and peeling paper on the wall.

He had seen Ella’s eyes widen with fear after she had tasted the chocolate. He had seen the realization in her eyes almost the same moment it dawned in his own.

He was her life mate. Life mate to a vampire. How was that even possible?

‘Because life likes to screw you over, you fool, haven’t you figured that out yet?’ A chiding voice in his head replied. Brendon rubbed his stubble covered jaw roughly and slumped against the hard backed rocking chair.

Hunters were the only immortals that never felt the ‘mating’ bond. They were trained from a young age to be loners and depend on no one, remaining faithful to only the council and their fellow Hunters.

While Brendon had made exceptions to that rule for Grange and his pack, he could not, would not, make such an exception for a vampire!

The council would have his head for sure! And they would kill Ella as well since that was already their intention.

What a giant cluster fuck.

Brendon stood up, his lean legs swiftly covering the distance between the walls as he paced the cramped hotel room.

A mate. Someone made for him, or someone he was made for was more like it. The one person he could place his trust in. The one person with whom making love would never get boring. The person he could count on, love, cherish and spend eternity beside. The greatest gift anyone could ever hope to receive…. and Brendon couldn’t have her.

He was a Hunter. Love was not allowed. There were no married Hunters. No Hunters in love with anyone, at least not that they admitted to anyone.

Hunters were not allowed to have strings or ties to anything other than the council.

Brendon loved no one. He had never learned how and didn’t know that he could even if he wanted to. And for a vampire with issues that murdered men in dark allies he wasn’t willing to test the theory.

Ella had to die. It was his orders and he’d been a fool to think he could get by with leaving the job undone. Today he had chickened out. He had caught her scent, felt that alluring pull toward her and been unable to pull his gun, or his knife, or simply snap her neck with his hands the way he should have.

Tonight would be different. It had to be. Tonight he would kill the vampire.

Even if he was her life mate.

Chapter Eight

Ella dressed in a dark green gown of satin and lace that showed off her figure and the pale skin of her chest. She slid on her boots and tied them slowly before pulling her hair back in a braid and tying it at the base of her neck.

She stared at herself in the mirror and noticed that she looked paler than normal, something she didn’t think possible, and her eyes were surrounded by dark circles.

The knowledge of what she was going to do tonight was weighing heavily on her. Life mates were supposed to be a gift and she was going to destroy hers.

The words ‘return to sender’ flashed through her mind and she laughed. It was a hollow sound that echoed sharply off the walls around her. Her body felt heavier somehow as she moved slowly across the bedroom and grabbed her thick black cloak. She draped it over her shoulders and left her room. She was going toward the front door when she heard a cry from downstairs.

“Help us!” a feminine voice yelled. Ella rolled her eyes. The sound of the screaming was muffled enough deep beneath the earth that no human ears would hear it but it was enough to drive her crazy. She hated the sounds of desperate, trapped screams.

She had screamed her share of them when Faugrimm had first captured her. For a long while the sound of screams had filled her with fear, now they simply filled her with annoyance. When would prisoners realize that screaming was useless? That no one was going to come help them simply because they called for help? No one had ever come for her.

Ella walked to the trapdoor that would lead to the cellar and moved the rug that laid atop it. She grabbed the thick iron rung handle and pulled hard, the heavy door creaking as it opened and the cries for help growing louder.

Ella made her way down the long, curving staircase. The first half were made of wood and then they simply became ledges carved into the dirt as she went deeper and deeper underground.

Warren liked to ensure that his ‘pets’ wouldn’t be found or heard by mortals.

“Would you shut up?” she stated irritably as she entered the damp, dark cellar. Her eyes needed no time to adjust to the lack of light thanks to her vampire vision and she saw the women, dirty, sweaty and appearing quite miserable in their cages.

“Warren never locked us up like this before!” one of the women cried out accusingly.

“Yes, well he also never left you here with me when he went away.” Ella stated. Always before he would erase the memories of his pets and send them away until he returned.

“Why can’t you erase our memories and let us go?” one of the women asked as she shivered in the corner. Ella shrugged.

“It’s not my place.” she replied. Warren would punish her soundly if she ever did something like that. If he hadn’t erased their memories and let them go it was because he hadn’t wanted to.

“When will Warren be back?” The dark haired woman who had entered her room the day before asked. She was still naked and shivering since Ella had not wasted time in dressing her.

“Tomorrow.” Ella replied with a shrug. “The next day. Whenever he chooses.”

“Can we have some food?” the blond asked with another shiver. Ella was irritated. This was not her responsibility. Then again she had once been a prisoner and understood that rumbling, burning, aching gnawing in your gut that came from days without food, whether you ate bread or blood. She did not wish that desperate feeling on anyone.

Without bothering to speak, Ella walked over to a cabinet in the corner of the dark and dingy room. She pulled out a couple of new candles and a pack of matches and lit the candles around the room to offer the women a bit of light.

Then she took out a loaf of bread and a chunk of cheese, both of which she had brought down the evening before when she had fed the women.

Ella reached through the bars and handed the food to the dark haired woman, who was quickly surrounded by the other two women and they all attacked the food much like a pack of wild animals.

Ella found this slightly amusing since her kind were the ones considered savages, or animals, by mortal such as the dirty, screeching ones currently finding over crumbs of stale bread.

Ella decided that she had wasted and killed enough time. It was time she got busy doing what she knew she had to do tonight. It was time to go hunt down her newest victim.

Her life mate.

---

Ella used the life mate pull to her advantage and found her feet carrying her to the darkest and dirtiest of the saloons around. It was on the east side of town, right on the river and only the worst of the worst came here.

Ella didn’t normally come to this saloon because there were no women working here. It was a favorite gathering spot for outlaws and wanted men who wanted to be able to drink and gamble without worrying about being recognized by lawmen. Lawmen tended to stay away from this place.

Ella pulled her cloak tighter and made sure the hood was covering her face and hair before entering the dusty building. The antler chandelier’s hanging from the ceiling cast a dim glow. The sound of poker chips begin stacked and tapped filled the air along with loud laughter, bragging and story telling.

Ella slipped through the shadows to an empty table, ignoring the eyes turned her way.

She was surprised to find that she was disappointed to know that Brendon was here. He had seemed like a decent type of man but the fact that he was here with men like this simply served to show that you never knew…

She settled into her seat, blending with the shadows so well that it didn’t take long before no one even recognized her presence. She searched the crowded interior and almost instantly her eyes landed on Brendon’s impressive figure.

He stuck out in this place like a sore thumb. He was broad, clean, confident yet relaxed. There was something about him, something in his aura perhaps that caused him to stand apart from every other man in his presence.

Ella shook her head to clear her thoughts, that was simply the life mate in her talking. Brendon was no different from any other mortal man and his presence here proved that.

It was then that she recognized who he was talking to. The newest werewolf alpha. A mean man with many pets. A man like Faugrimm. Why was her life mate having late night meetings with werewolves?

Ella cursed the noise in this place that made it impossible for even a vampire to hear what they were saying.

All that was left to do was to wait until Brendon left, follow him out into the dark and end his life as quickly as possible.

---

Brendon hated the smell in saloons. The stench of sweat, dirt, beer and unwashed bodies was thick and nauseating. Brendon always had soap somewhere in his belongings and was sure to wash at least every other day, just so long as he wasn’t traveling through the desert.

But he knew that the scent here was the reason the wolves wanted their meeting to be here. He had been approached by one several hours earlier in the evening and had been told to be at this saloon an hour after dusk so their alpha could speak to him.

So now here he was, in this stinky saloon full of drunk mortals gambling away what little money they had and bragging about their lawbreaking adventures, sitting at a table with three werewolves while several more watched him from around the saloon.

The alpha wanted to meet here to hide any scents from his home from Brendon, which was fine with Brendon. He had enough to deal with without worrying about the pets and prisoners at werewolf mansion.

“The whiskey is good and all,” Brendon stated as he sat back in his chair and spun his glass. “But is there a reason you wanted to see me here tonight besides small talk? I had another meeting to get to tonight.”

“Yes the vampire.” the alpha said with a nod. “The one that protects the vampire is out of town and so your quarry is unguarded at the moment. I trust you have learned by now who it is you’re after?”

“I might have.” Brendon replied with a shrug as he downed the last of his whiskey. It burned its way to his stomach, warming him from the inside. Normally Brendon wasn’t much of a drinker but considering he had to kill a woman tonight that he wasn’t all that sure deserved to die, a few drinks could only help. They sure couldn’t make him feel any damn worse.

“Since your business will be wrapping up soon in our fair city and you’ll be on your way, I have a favor to ask of you.” the alpha stated with a businesslike air as he folded his arms on the rough oak tabletop.

“Favor? Why the hell would I do you a favor?” The alpha smiled.

“Because I have money, Hunter. Aren’t you Hunters just mercenaries with titles?”

“What’s the job?” Brendon asked, since he did take jobs from time to time. Mostly to kill the boredom and do something that had nothing to do with the old men on the council. It made him feel more like his own man and less like their puppet, which of course he was… Their puppet that is.

“I thought the mention of money would catch your interest!” the alpha said happily. “Now my name is Vern…”

“Vern?” Brendon asked with a chuckle and Vern’s eyes narrowed as the other two wolves at the table tensed.

“It is a family name.” Vern sniffed defensively and Brendon nodded and managed to wipe the smile from his face. “Now my father used to be the alpha of this pack. He was a fine alpha but he was killed about three decades ago by a lone wolf. A rogue that earned his trust and then turned on him. Back then I was too young to become alpha and so the wolf that took over the pack after me was responsible for getting revenge…” Vern’s hand tensed on his whiskey glass. “But he wasn’t worried about vengeance or revenge. He said there were more important things to focus on.”

Brendon silently agreed but kept quiet. As far as he was concerned vengeance and revenge didn’t really help anything and only served to get more people hurt.

“What’s your point?” Brendon asked impatiently. “As I said before, I have plans for tonight.” Vern glared at him and then nodded.

“Yes well, I took over a few months ago and have been busy making changes and trying to restore the pack to the former glory it held when my father was alive. Part of that is hunting down the wolf who killed my father.”

“Hunting a single lone wolf who killed your father thirty years ago? Sorry but that seems like trying to find a needle in a big old haystack if you ask me.” Brendon replied. “I really should get going….”

“Wait. I have a name. I know exactly where he is. He is no longer a lone wolf. As a matter of fact, he is an alpha.” Vern snorted. “Imagine that, a rogue, not even born a wolf, thinking he could be an alpha.”

Unease worked it way down Brendon’s spine. He knew a wolf that had once been a mortal, that had been turned about three decades ago and killed the wolf that turned him… Though Brendon had no idea where Grange was from or whether or not that wolf had been an alpha…. Why hadn’t that ever come up?

“So you want to pay me to do your dirty work?” Brendon asked with a raise of his brow and Vern shook his head.

“No, I’ll kill the bastard. I just want you to capture him and bring him to me.” Brendon snorted.

“I don’t play babysitter to werewolves. Sorry but I have a thing about fleas.” Brendon tipped his head at the angry look on the three wolves faces. “No offense meant of course.”

“I would pay you enough that if, by chance, you do contract fleas from the worthless mutt, you would be able to pay to have them taken care of.”

“Where is this wolf?”

“In the western territories. I can give you a map with his approximate location marked.” That spark of unease quickly became a raging inferno of unease.

“Well I was fixing to head west, as luck would have it. Just what is this wolf’s name and exactly how much are you paying me?” Vern smiled and poured himself another glass of whiskey before replying.

“Grange. His name is Grange. And you’ll get eight thousand dollars for bringing him to me. Four now and four when he’s in my possession, alive ,” Vern added as an afterthought.

“You’ll have to give me quite a bit of time but I’ll get the job done for you.”

“I’ll give you three months. That should be more than enough time to finish yoru business here, get to his territory, capture him and return here.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to have some of your little gophers here to go get him?” Brendon asked with a frown. “It sure would save you a bit of money.”

“Yes it would but Grange would recognize the scent of the pack that made him. You however smell no different than any other man and he won’t suspect you. You can get closer than we ever could.”

“So this wolf is powerful?” Brendon asked, making a mental note to tell Grange that he had this young alpha’s paws shaking at the thought of facing him himself, without the help of having Grange already tied up and starved of course.

“He did manage to kill my father.” Vern replied, his voice suddenly sounding very serious. “I wouldn’t underestimate him.”

“Wolves are easy to kill. No challenge at all really.” Brendon stated with a grin and the two beta’s tensed. The bigger of the two, a man with a square head and almost no neck leaned forward and cracked his knuckles.

“Is that right?” he whispered in a voice full of deadly quiet.

“Yep.” Brendon replied with a shrug before pouring a bit more whiskey in his glass and taking a long swig.

The square-headed beta growled and probably would have attacked Brendon had Vern not put a hand on his chest to restrain him.

“Calm down.” he ordered. The beta instantly sat back in his chair, his eyes downcast. Brendon was reminded of a whipped pup and almost told the beta so but a scent reached his nose then. He wasn’t sure how, with the cloying scents already filling this dingy saloon, but reach it it did.

Herbs and sweetness.

Instantly his eyes went to the figure sitting in the shadows at a back table. It was her. He knew because he felt that stirring in his soul. That pull. His entire body responded to just the scent of her and the knowledge that she was there, hidden beneath a thick black cloak and shadows.

“I’ll do it.” Brendon said, forcing his eyes back to Vern.

“Good.” Vern said as if he never doubted for a moment that Brendon would. “One of my Beta’s will get your money to you tomorrow. Four thousand.”

Brendon simply nodded, hoping that that would mean the conversation was over and these wolves would leave. He had business to get down too. Business that was much more important to his immediate future than warning Grange that a pissed off pup of an alpha was wanting revenge on him.

Vern stood and left the saloon, the two wolves at the table following on his heels and the others hidden throughout the saloon following shortly after.

Brendon finished off his whiskey. He tried to tell himself that he was biding his time but really he was building his courage and attempting to strengthen his resolve.

He did not want to do this.

Finally he forced himself to stand on his scuffed black boots. He adjusted his rifle on his back and his gun on his side, readjusted the black hat on his head and then walked out the side door into the alley.

He sensed her coming.

Was she hunting him? Aww hell… this was fixing to get five hundred different types of interesting.

Chapter Nine

Ella followed Brendon out into the dark alley, wondering why he chose to leave through this door instead of out the front.

It didn’t matter. They were completely alone out here in the dark, with only the half moon and the stars for light. Ella would use the life mate bond to her advantage to help her lure this man close to her.

He would be drawn to her, attracted to her, and since he was a mortal man he would not understand the strength of his feelings and he would be unable to resist them. That was probably why he had been showing up everywhere she was for the last couple of days.

“Brendon…” she called out, breathing in and catching the scent of sandalwood. He turned slowly and stared at her face, though Ella knew he couldn’t see it because of the hood covering her head. Ella slid off her cloak and let it fall to the alley floor.

She did not have her powers of mind control to use on him and so she would simply have to use her powers as a woman. Though it sickened her to do so and the thought of being touched, even by this man, her life mate, filled her heart with dread…

It was then that it dawned on her. The emotions she’d been feeling so much more strongly the past couple of days… ever since first running into Brendon.

Fear, anger, irritation, annoyance…. She hadn’t felt those things in a long time. So long she couldn’t remember. She had been dead and numb for as long as she could recall and now suddenly she was feeling things. Bad things, but things nonetheless.

It must have something to do with the life mate bond. What would it be like to feel again? To feel good things again? Trust? Faith? Love? Happiness? Joy? What did those things even feel like?

Ella just took a deep breath to force her mind to clear. There was no point in thinking such thoughts. While this man could possibly give her those things back in a perfect world, the world they lived in was not perfect. Brendon was going to die. If not by her hand then by Warren’s and Warren would not be nearly as merciful or fast as Ella planned on being.

“Ella, what exactly are you doing at a place like this at this time of night?” Brendon asked, an easy smile spreading across his handsome face. Ella was again shocked by his rugged handsomeness. The way his cheeks crinkled and his eyes shone, as if the man was always happy, always thinking of some kind of inside joke.

What was he like, she wondered. What was his story? Where was he from? She would never know.

“Looking for you.” she replied breathlessly, knowing that men seemed to enjoy hearing women speak that way. She was certain she saw something flicker in his eyes.

Unease?

Uncertainty?

She scented the air in an attempt to read what he was feeling and sure enough, the man was on edge. Though he appeared to be the picture of calm, a war was raging beneath the skin judging by the scents coming off him.

“And why would you be looking for me?” Brendon asked, that grin still in place as he took several steps back. Ella matched his steps, realizing that he was leading them deeper into the shadows, closer to the river and farther from the saloon which was the only building close by.

“Why would any woman look for a man?” Ella asked coyly, circling around him as they neared a large oak beside the river.

“I don’t have any more chocolate if that’s what you’re after.” Brendon replied teasingly, though the look in his eyes didn’t match his words. He looked hungry. Predatory. He slipped the rifle sling from his back and leaned the big gun against a boulder beside him.

“I’m not looking for chocolate.” Ella replied as she stepped toward him.

She took in a shuddering breath as he closed the distance between them. The heat from Brendon’s body washed over her and Ella tried desperately to back up away from him and his tempting scent but soon found her back pressed against the unforgiving bark of the giant oak.

Ella’s senses were overwhelmed by his scent, his heat, the feel of his big body so close to hers. His dark green eyes were intense as they seemed to bore into her own. She would swear he was seeing straight into her soul. Revealing all her deep dark secrets and hidden sins.

He wasn’t touching her with any part of his body and yet in that moment, Ella felt connected to him in ways she had never felt connected to anyone.

She saw the war in his eyes and then it was as if he gave in to one of the desires and his face began lowering toward hers.

Ella panicked. He couldn’t kiss her. She would not allow any man to touch her! She had to kill him.

His face merely inches from her own and his eyes still locked on hers, Ella somehow managed to gather her wits enough to focus on what must be done. Calling on the bloodlust and killer instincts that were always just below the surface, Ella felt her fangs sharpen. Brendon’s eyes narrowed and she knew that he had noticed the change in her eyes, had seen the iridescent glow that shone whenever she let the vampire take over, which of coursed caused her eyes to have an almost catlike glow in the moonlight.

Ella’s body fought against her, the vampire instincts inside of her struggling as it wanted blood yet wanted to protect the life mate. It was almost as if she were moving through quicksand, but she managed to lunge for his neck, and the vein that was pulsing just beneath that masculine, sun-darkened skin.

It was quite a shock when she felt herself being thrown backward, her back striking sharply against a tree, causing her breath to whoosh from her lungs in a rush.

Her vision blurred and her lungs ached as they fought to refill themselves. When she finally regained her bearings, she realized that Brendon was standing there, pinning her to the tree with one hand on her shoulder and his legs against her own. His free hand was holding a long sharp knife against her neck.

“What are you?” she asked, her voice void of any emotion. Death did not scare her. As a matter of fact, she welcomed the thought.

“Why did you try to kill me, Ella?” he asked, his voice thick with an emotion that Ella did not recognize.

“You are no different from the rest.” she spat with a hiss. She bared her teeth and snapped at him but he barely blinked as he moved his head out of the way of her gnashing teeth.

Ella struggled against him but she was no match for his strength.

“I’m a Hunter, Ella. I was sent here to kill you.”

“Then do it.” Ella replied without emotion. She moved her hand up to the knife, covering his big, thick hand with hers and tried to force his hand to slide the knife across her neck. Willing him to slice open her flesh, spill her blood.

She was surprised when he fought against her and then yanked the knife away.

“Dammit, Ella, who are you?” he demanded as he tossed the knife into the long grass beside them and kept his body pressed against hers.

Ella tried to respond but the air was too thick, too hot, too overbearing. Brendon’s breath washed over her face and Ella felt her heart pounding, but it wasn’t with fear… No, it was with something else. She felt a strange tingling low in her belly, a trembling in her thighs and a slow growing, ache between her legs.

Desire. She was feeling desire.

“Kill me, Brendon.” she said, her voice once again breathless, but now the breathlessness was not faked. “If you don’t, then Warren will kill you.”

“Who is Warren?” Brendon questioned, his face slipping close to her neck and Ella knew he was breathing in her scent. Her entire body trembled when his cheek brushed against her.

“It depends on who you ask.”

“Is he your captor?” Brendon asked. “Does he make you kill people?” Ella laughed humorlessly and even she could hear the brokenness in the sound. Brendon stepped away from her then and looked down at her with a mixture of concern and curiosity.

“I kill those men because they deserve it.” she informed him without shame as she squared her shoulders. Her body was screaming to close the distance between them and once again have his body against hers. It had felt so…. Safe.

Damn this life mate business! This man had been sent by the Hunting Council to kill her! He was not someone she could trust.

Then why didn’t he kill you? A voice inside her asked and for that she had no answer.

“Who is Warren?” Brendon asked again but before Ella could answer a familiar scent came to her. A scent she had been breathing for decades.

Warren.

A loud hiss filled the air and then suddenly Warren was there. He was barely more than a blur as he tackled Brendon sideways.

Ella stood, frozen in space, not sure of what to do or who to help. Almost every instinct she possessed was telling her to help her life mate and yet that one instinct that dealt with her own self preservation told her to stay where she was. If she were to help Brendon and Warren still won and killed the Hunter then he would punish her soundly for helping the other man. Not kill her.

No, Warren knew much more effective forms of punishment.

She watched as the two men fought in the darkness. She could smell the pain and blood as both men inflicted damage to the other.

Warren swung his fist and Brendon caught in in midair, twisting until the sound of cracking bones filled the night air.

Warren hissed with pain and then tackled Brendon once again to the ground.

Ella heard Brendon grunt with pain and she caught a glimpse of flashing fangs just before Warren latched on to his shoulder, tearing through he fabric of his clothes and his skin and pumping poison into his blood.

Ella could smell the sickness pouring into her life mate and she suddenly lost control of herself.

She didn’t even realize that the loud screech had come from her until she threw herself at Warren, yanking him off of Brendon and throwing him roughly against the oak tree that Brendon had had her pressed up against mere minutes before.

“I told you a Hunter would come!” Warren accused. “I warned you of this and still you come out!” He swung his fist and caught Ella hard in the temple and her vision went black.

When she finally came back to consciousness, Warren was grabbing her upper arm and yanking her roughly to her feet.

“The Hunter?” she asked, though he was racing her away down the dark, deserted streets far too quickly for her to look back and see him.

“I finished him.” Warren assured her. Ella could smell Brendon’s blood on his breath. She could also smell Warren’s blood. He was badly injured. She might even be able to fight him and escape…

“Fight me and I’ll kill more than just that Hunter. You are never to lay hand on me again!” he roared with rage, his grip on her tightening painfully and his long nails digging into her skin, slicing through and causing blood to drip from her stomach and arm as he ran with her.

Brendon was dead…

Ella wanted to feel sadness but none would come. She had known it would happen. That was what always happened. Death.

---

“Goddamn, son of a bitch, cow suckin’ , yellow bellied, no good, blood drinkin’, bastard.” Brendon snarled out with a groan as he threw his arm over his face to block the sunrise from shining in his eyes.

His clothing was stiff with dried blood, his entire body hurt and he felt weak and fatigued from the poison that the nice vampire had pumped into his blood.

He had been out cold for hours, just now beginning to come to as the sun was raising.

If Brendon were mortal, and not such a prime example of physical perfection, he would be dead. He laughed quietly and then winced at the pain in his chest.

He had gotten a few good licks of his own in but that damn bastard had blindsided him and he’d been so engrossed in Ella. The scent of her, the feel of her tiny body against his own, and the sadness in her eyes that he hadn’t even known the vampire was coming.

Ella had called him Warren, and Ella had attacked him. Brendon remembered that much. Even though he had admitted to her that he was there to kill her, Ella had still gone against the vampire who ‘protected’ her and tried to help him.

The vampire had knocked her out and then proceeded to drive a knife into Brendon’s heart before taking off into the night with an unconscious Ella tucked under his arm.

Brendon had wanted to get up and chase them but between the poison in his veins and the blood pumping from his heart, he hadn’t been able and he had swiftly lost consciousness.

Warren had clearly thought that he had killed Brendon. Warren had known Brendon was a Hunter, thought Brendon didn’t know how he had known. Sure he did… He had broken the vampires arm with one hand and the vampire had known no mortal man would be able to do that.

Brendon pushed himself to his feet, quickly grabbed the tree beside him to help hold him up as his legs seemed to have temporarily gone on vacation.

Vampire venom was some tough shit.

Ella. A picture of her came into his mine. Her pale green eyes gazing into his own. Begging him to kill her… Brendon could have no more killed her than he could have killed himself.

She was his. Made for him. She did not deserve death. She deserved his protection. She needed his help.

She was all alone with that vampire now. Would Warren kill her?

Brendon knew he had to find her. Had to save her. It would still take hours for his body to heal enough for him to have any chance of going against the vampire.

He sent out a silent call to Ella, willing her to hold on and wait for him. He was going to get her away from that vampire or he was going to die trying.

Wouldn’t that just piss the Council right off?

Chapter Ten

“So stupid, you are! So ungrateful!” Warren exclaimed with rage as he paced the dirt floor of the dark, damp basement. The candles he had lit when they had arrived here had burned down to almost nothing.

Ella was standing in the cell, the iron door locked shut. The dead bodies of Warren’s three mortal pets were sprawled out on either side of her as she stood in the middle of them.

Warren had drained them dry in order to restore his strength and health and help to soothe just a bit of his rage. And there had been some serious injuries inflicted by the Hunter. Warren’s arm had been nearly wrenched off and his face a mess of cuts and welts.

Still Ella could sense the anger coming off of him in waves. She had never seen Warren so angry and she hoped that this time he would really kill her.

“You think you had it so rough with me before? So rough that you would dare to side with that Hunter and attack me?” Warren demanded as he stepped up to the bars and put his face against them, his spittle hitting Ella in the face as he bellowed his hate filled words at her.

“Answer me!!” he exclaimed, his hand shooting through the iron bars and grabbing her by the front of her green dress. He yanked on her roughly, causing her to stumble forward and hit her face roughly against the metal bars. She tasted blood in her mouth and the same substance was flowing freely from her nose.

“I have nothing to say.” she replied numbly, albeit a little wetly, as she met his angry dark eyes.

“Is that right?” Warren demanded as he shoved her backward and she barely managed to maintain her footing and keep from falling on the dead, naked dark haired woman. “You’re going to learn what it is to be a prisoner now, Ella. Welcome to your new home.”

Warren spread his arms wide and did a little circle. Ella looked around the cellar. As prisons went, she had had worse. Faugrimm had kept her in several different places, each a little worse than the next. And as far as she was concerned this dirt floor covered in water and blood with the dirt walls and iron bars were a fancy hotel with a copper tub and satin sheets compared to Warren’s bed.

“I hope you like it, Ella.” Warren hissed as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Because you will be looking at nothing but this for however long I decide to let you live.”

With that, Warren turned on his heels and headed for the stairs.

“I have to get in to town and take care of a few things. If you get hungry, my dear, there may still be a few drops left.” he waved toward the dead women with his hand and then disappeared up the stairwell.

Ella went to the back wall of her new prison and slid down it as she dropped to her backside on the dirt floor.

She hated cages, though she was far past the point of panicking while in one. There had been a time when she had panicked and cried every time she had so much as seen a cage but now that was over.

If Warren was hoping to hear tears or have her plead with him to let her out then he would be sorely disappointed.

She thought of the Hunter then. Brendon. She had known he would die, so it had not come as any shock to her. Though she wished it could have happened differently.

She let herself imagine for one second that Warren had lost the fight. That it was he that had been killed. Would Brendon have killed her the way his bosses wanted him to? Ella had her doubts.

The pull between them that had made it hard for her to attack him had also made it impossible for him to kill her.

She let herself wonder what could happen if Warren was wrong and the Hunter was still alive. Would he come and rescue her? She snorted and chided herself for being foolish. The Hunter was dead and even if he had lived he certainly wouldn’t risk himself just to save her life.

No one ever had.

But what if he could have lived and saved her?

Ella would have been free.

That thought terrified her. Ella had never been free. Always she had had a boss or a captor. Her parents, Faugrimm, Warren…. The thought of being alone filled her with fear.

She felt a hunger deep in her gut and knew that the vampire in her needed to feed. She hadn’t fed since the last man she had killed and with the stress and the injuries from the last several hours and the blood still dripping from her nose, she needed to feed.

She looked at the three women around her and curled her nose. She hated drinking blood from women. They always reminded her of her mother. They reminded Ella of what she had done in her past. But beggars could not be choosers and she had to take blood where she could get it.

She had a feeling that hunger was going to be something she would once again have to grow accustomed to now that she had angered Warren. But she didn’t have to become accustomed right now.

She could smell several drops still barely warm inside these women. There would be no point in letting it go to waste.

Ella crawled toward the dark haired woman, her fangs sharpening in anticipation for the meal they were about to receive.

---

Brendon rose from the bed, finally feeling healed enough to be comfortable going into a fight against the vampire Warren.

A bath, a warm meal and rest had been what he had needed and he quickly slipped into a clean black shirt and trousers. He ran his hand through his thick black hair, though the strands fell back over his brow before he plopped his black leather hat on his head.

Next went his weapons. Gun belt slung low on his hips, the silver buckles and snaps glinting in the sunlight coming through the window. His long bowie knife was strapped to his leg next and a boot knife slid into his black boot.

He would be going without his rifle, instead he opened up his satchel and pulled out the small crossbow inside. It didn’t look like much but it was silent and he was damn good with it.

He slid the strap that held it, over his broad shoulders and hooked a quiver of arrows to his belt. Then, after one more deep breath, he left the hotel room.

He went down the back stairs of the hotel and the sunlight blinded him momentarily as he stepped out into it.

He was going to save Ella. He had to. He just prayed he wasn’t already too late.

His first goal was to find Ella. If Warren was not at their home in the middle of the day then Brendon could always come back for him later. He just hoped that Ella would be at the house, but even if Warren was hiding her somewhere else, Brendon knew that the pull between them would be strong enough for him to find her.

He was walking down main street, heading for the other side of town where the vampires home was located when the strong scent of werewolf reached his nose and he realized that the footsteps behind him were getting closer.

He moved off of the main street and down a side road, away from the crowd and innocent passersby.

The wolf followed him.

Brendon put his hand on the hilt of the knife on his leg and pulled it swiftly as he turned and stuck it under the wolfs nose.

The wolf quickly held up his hands and took a step back and Brendon let out a breath and chuckled as he slid his knife back into the sheath on his leg.

“Well hello there, pup.” he said as he recognized one of the younger wolves from Vern’s pack.

“You’ll cause a damn wolf to piss his’self, you damn Hunter.” Brendon just smiled. “Did you forget about the job you promised my boss you’d do?”

“Of course not.” Brendon replied, though in truth he had. “I could never forget a promise I made to such upstanding folks as yourselves.”

“Right…” the wolf said with a snort. He reached in his trouser pocket and pulled out an envelope and a folded map full of creases and with torn edges. “Your money is in the envelope and the map will show you where the wolf’s territory lies. Or at least where we assume the boundaries are. Obviously you’ll have to….”

“Hunt him.” Brendon interrupted as he jerked the envelope and map away. “Yeah, that’s usually why folks call a Hunter . When they need someone hunted .”

“Do you have somewhere else you need to be?” the wolf asked, obviously noticing the way Brendon kept shifting his feet impatiently.

“No, of course not, I live to serve every whim of you flea infested, backside sniffing alpha.” The wolf growled low in his throat and Brendon just reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

“Don’t get so upset. I’ll get the job done for your alpha.” Brendon assured him and then he stuck the envelope and map inside his shirt and walked away from the still fuming wolf.

He went the long way around the outskirts of town and came up on the backside of the house where Ella lived with her captor. He walked around to the front door and knocked, hoping that Ella would answer and be perfectly fine and healthy.

That did not happen.

He waited several long minutes and knocked twice more but the door remained closed and locked. It was clearly locked with a sliding bolt on the inside and therefore unable to be picked from the outside. He would have to find another way in since breaking the door down would draw attention that he didn’t want from those close enough in town to hear.

Brendon walked back to the back of the house and looked up. Strangely enough there were no windows on the lower floor, but the upstairs had windows with nothing but burlap sacks over them to keep the elements out. Now to find a way up to those windows…..

Brendon reached down and clicked a button on both of his boots, causing four inch blades to pop out of the sole of his boots at his toes. Then he pulled his boot knife and his long bowie knife and, using the four blades, he began to scale the wall.

He slipped into one of the open windows, pushing the burlap sack aside. He was relieved when the room he entered was empty. There was nothing inside of it, just a floor, ceiling and four dusty walls.

He put his knives away, then clicked the buttons on his boots and the blades slid back inside. There were some good things that came from being a Hunter for the Council and nifty weapons were one of those.

He scented the air and listened closely for any sign of movement nearby. He caught the scent of herbs and sweetness and followed it into a hallway and to a closed door.

He took in a deep breath and realized that this was Ella’s room, though judging by the scent he knew she wasn’t there just now. He didn’t waste time opening the door, instead he went to the only other door in this loft and caught Warren’s strong scent inside, though he wasn’t there either.

Brendon went down the stairs, still hearing nothing. No movement, no speaking… Where was Ella? Where was Warren?

He was growing uneasy. He sincerely hoped that Warren hadn’t taken her away. Though if the vampire had then Brendon would simply hunt them down and take her away. Ella needed to be saved and Brendon was going to be the one who rescued her.

The first floor was little more than one big room, with another room off the side. Both of these rooms were empty and silent. The house was dark, sparsely decorated and dirty. The only decorations on the walls were different blade weapons from centuries ago and pictures of the vampire he recognized as Warren taken from different parts of the world.

“Ella?” Brendon called out quietly, though he had no hope that she would answer. This house was small and he had searched it all. Ella and Warren were not here.

Brendon decided to head back up to the bedrooms to see if he could find a clue as to where Warren had taken Ella before he just went out and tried to wander the surrounding land until he caught their scent.

He walked across the living room floor, his boots pounding on the boards and then he paused as he walked across the rug and his footsteps bean to sound more hollow.

Frowning, he stepped off the rug and lifting it up. Seeing the trapdoor beneath, he quickly tossed the rug aside and grabbed the heavy iron handle.

He lifted the door slowly, listening for any sign of movement below but heard none. And all he could see was a staircase the seemed to go forever down into the darkness.

Brendon pulled the door all the way open and then started down the steps, his entire body ready for a fight.

Taking in a breath, the scent of blood and death filled his nostrils. But somehow managing to overpower those things was the scent of herbs and sweetness.

Ella.

She was down here, somewhere among the smell of dampness, mildew, human waste, blood and death. Brendon didn’t smell Warren which must mean the vampire had left. But was Ella down here killing the mortals that Brendon could smell dead or was she a prisoner herself… and had Warren hurt her?

Brendon’s legs carried him quickly down the staircase, which had simply turned to dirt cutouts in the earth.

“Ella?” he called out. Silence seconds ticked by slowly and it wasn’t until Brendon had stepped off the staircase and was staring at Ella curled up in the corner of a dirt bottomed cage with bodies all around her, that the vampire looked up from her knees, her red hair falling across her blood streaked face, and whispered,

“You came for me?”

“Yep.” Brendon replied, not wanting her to know just how relieved he was to find her alive. She was after all sitting beside three dead women.

Ella stared at Brendon with shock.

He was alive. He was here. He had come to save her? Or had he come to kill her?

“Why? And how?” she asked as she rose to her feet. “Warren said you were dead.”

Brendon stared at her. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of her. She was still wearing that green gown from the night before. The skirt was much closer fitting than most women wore. The bodice tight and form fitting. It had long sleeves that hung off her shoulders, leaving the pale, soft skin of her shoulders, collarbones and chest open to his hungry eyes.

The corset she wore had her breasts pushed up and full and the tops of them were heaving up and down as she breathed.

Brendon felt a bolt of lust so sharp that it nearly buckled his knees. He still remembered how her soft, tiny body had felt against him the night before. The way her normally emotionless eyes had looked up into his own, filled with longing.

Brendon wanted her. How long had it been since he’d truly wanted a woman? One hundred years? At least. At least a century since any woman had filled him with longing and lust that she filled him with.

“Warren didn’t kill me, though when I get my hands on him again he’ll wish he had.” Brendon promised after clearing his throat to dislodge the lump of desire that had taken up residence there.

“Are you here to kill me?” she asked, sounding almost hopeful as she moved toward the bars of her cell. Brendon shook his head, his legs moving on their own toward the metal bars separating him from Ella.

“I can’t kill you, Ella.” he replied quietly and Ella tilted her head, a wrinkle forming between her eyes as she studied him.

“Why?”

“You know why.” Brendon replied, his hand sliding through the bars and coming to rest on her blood covered cheek.

The scent of the blood coating her face and the front of her dress was her own and Brendon wondered what had caused her to become covered in it.

Ella’s eyes narrowed as he touched her and he wondered what she was thinking.

Then he remembered where they were and who would be returning any time. He had to get Ella out of that cage.

Brendon pulled his hand away and thought he saw disappointment frown Ella’s lips but it was impossible to know for sure since her face quickly became an expressionless mask.

Brendon found the lock and reached in his pocket to pull out a small leather pouch full of lock picking tools.

“I’m gonna get you out of there, Ella, and away from Warren.”

Ella nodded as she watched Brendon begin to work on the lock. He had come for her.. He wanted to save her. He had touched her cheek so tenderly. Ella wanted tenderness. But could she trust Brendon to always be tender? And could he actually kill Warren because that would be the only way that Ella would ever truly be free from the other vampire.

Brendon was just pulling the lock free from the bars when the sound of footsteps reached his ears. He took a deep breath and his spine stiffened.

“Well what have we here?” Warren’s amused voice came from behind him. Brendon turned slowly to see Warren coming down the dark staircase. In his arms he held an unconscious, fevered, bleeding bundle, wrapped tight in a blanket.

Brendon heard Ella’s sharp intake of breath and Brendon felt his own heart begin to race.

“I brought you some company, Ella.” Warren said with a smile. “Little Maggie here had nothing but wonderful things to say about you and the visits you made to her while I was away. That was before she lost consciousness. The poor dear, she just doesn’t seem to be made of very tough stuff.”

Warren came into the light glow of the burning candles and smiled, revealing his sharpened fangs coated with dark red blood.

Chapter Eleven

Brendon felt rage fill him. Every hunting instinct he had both been born with and had forced down his throat for the last three hundred years roared to life.

Protecting the innocent. Helping the helpless. That was what he did. That was what he’d been born to do.

“Put the child down.” he ordered, his voice cold and angry. All pretenses of his light carefree nature were gone. He was only Brendon the Hunter now.

“Oh but she tastes so good.” Warren countered as he licked at his fang.

“Put her down. This is the last time I’ll ask.”

“Was that asking?” Warren inquired with a grin. “I thought I killed you last night.”

“I’m tougher than I look.” Brendon replied. Warren nodded and shifted Maggie in his arms.

“Ella knew this would happen. This is her fault.” he said tilting his head toward the unconscious girl. Brendon could smell the poison in her veins. She didn’t have much longer to live. Brendon had to get her away from Warren and apply the anti-venom to her bites or she would die.

“How did you know?” Ella whispered and Warren threw his head back and laughed. The sound was somehow eerie and menacing in the cramped, dark basement.

“I have friends, Ella dear. Friends that keep an eye on my most prized possession when I am away.” Warren’s expression darkened. “I smell it now. I was too enraged by your attack on me to smell it before. It seems you’ve found your life mate, my dear. It is just a shame that you will both die before you ever get to know each other.”

Brendon had heard enough talk. Talk was cheap and overrated and he had always hated that part about the bad immortals that he hunted. Whether they were mortal men, women, vampires, werewolves, demons, elves… It seemed that all the bad ones liked to hear themselves speak and therefore thought that everyone else wanted to listen to their mouths spouting out horse shit as well.

Without saying a word, Brendon lowered his head and ran for Warren. The vampire hissed as Brendon dove and rammed into his legs, tackling the vampire to the ground.

Maggie went flying through the air but Brendon wasn’t worried, he knew that Ella was already on the move. She had thrown open the unlocked cell door and caught the little girl long before she hit the floor.

Brendon jumped away from Warren, slid the jar of anti-venom from his pocket and turned toward Ella.

“Here!” he called out. She looked up from Maggie’s prone form, now unwrapped from the blanket. The girl was pale and barely breathing. Long pauses coming between her light heartbeats. Brendon could not focus on that now.

He tossed Ella the anti-venom and she snatched it out of midair. Brendon didn’t take the time to see what Ella did next because his attention was drawn back to Warren as the vampire slowly got back to his feet, his face contorted with rage.

“I’ve had all that I can stand of you. That Council thinks they have the right to dictate how we should live? Why don’t they get off their asses and come do something about it if they have a problem?” Brendon pulled his bowie knife and grinned.

“Because they have me.” he replied and then he lunged for Warren. Warren hissed and leapt, meeting him in mid air.

They crashed into one another, Brendon’s knife sinking deep into Warren’s stomach as Warren’s claws raked across Brendon’s chest and arms. Brendon’s attack was stronger than Warren’s and sent them both crashing into the stairs that Warren had just come down.

Warren hissed loudly and shoved Brendon throwing him through the air and causing him to crash roughly against the metal bars of the prison cell.

Brendon was crouched, with the fingers of one hand pressed into the dirt floor and the others clenched tight around his knife. He was bleeding freely from Warren’s claws but he was happy to see that the gaping hole in Warren’s stomach was bleeding much worse.

The vampire’s eyes glinted silverly in the darkness and then he lunged for Ella, who was preoccupied with putting anti-venom on Maggie’s many bite wounds.

Brendon growled and leapt, catching Warren in mid-air and throwing him roughly back into the wall on the other side of the room. Warren’s back slammed into the wall with enough force that bits of dirt rained down from the ceiling.

Brendon didn’t let the vampire recover before pushing the buttons on his boots and letting the blades slide out.

Warren jumped to his feet and ran at Brendon and the two men became locked in a deadly battle. Brendon slicing with blades on his feet and in his hand and Warren with claws and teeth.

Warren was gaining the upper hand and Brendon knew it. The vampire was old, smart and strong.

Brendon swung out a punch and Warren caught his fist in his hand and then shoved Brendon back with all his might.

Once again Brendon was sent slamming into the iron bars, this time with enough force to bend them and cause Brendon to lose his breath.

“Are you ready to die, Ella?” Warren hissed as he stalked toward her.

Ella simply looked up at him and then rose to her feet. She stepped over Maggie’s still form and then stood still.

“Yes.” she replied with no fear. Warren seemed taken aback for a moment but then he smiled, the expression scary given the blood covering his fangs and the silver glint in his eyes.

“This is why you were always my favorite. So strong and brave you are. So unafraid of death. It’s a shame you had to turn on me, Ella. I would have given you the world if only you could have been faithful and loyal to the man who rescued you from that prison I found you in.”

“You simply gave me a new prison.” Ella countered. Warren hissed.

“I gave you everything!” he exclaimed. “Many have died just to keep us together. To keep you safe.”

“My safety has never mattered to you.” Ella replied. “You care only for yourself.”

Warren shrugged. “Yes you are probably right. Unfortunately I believe our time together has come to an end. Aren’t you the one who said that death comes to us all? It has come knocking today I’m afraid.”

The sound of a weapon cocking filled the room, which had grown silent. Both Ella and Warren turned toward the sound to find Brendon standing with his crossbow aimed at Warren’s head.

“Finally,” Brendon said with a grin. “something we can agree on.” He pulled the trigger and the arrow was let loose from the bow. It flew through the air, whistling as it flew on a course for Warren.

Ella stared in disbelief as the arrow pierced Warren’s temple with a wet thud and then tore out the other side of his head.

Warren stood for several seconds, seeming to not understand or believe what had just happened. He took a step toward Ella before falling to the floor, a pool of blood seeming to form instantly beneath him.

Without a word, Brendon slung his bow across his back and then pulled his knife and walked to Warren, who was still breathing shallowly. While he would probably die from this wound without any blood to replenish himself with, Brendon wasn’t willing to take any chances with Ella’s safety.

He wasted no time in slicing his head from his shoulders and then cleaned his knife on Warren’s dirty pants before sliding it back into its sheath.

“Is she alive?” he asked, and it took Ella a moment to realize what he was asking. She nodded as she knelt down and lifted Maggie into her arms. The girl moaned but nothing else.

“She will be. She needs rest.”

“You’ll need to alter her memory. I’m sure that remembering what Warren did to her will only harm her mind.”

Ella was quiet for a moment and her eyes took on an even more haunted look.

“Yes. Yes it will.” she finally agreed.

Brendon left the bodies in the basement and took Ella and Maggie upstairs. He shut the trapdoor and pulled the rug back over it.

“I’ll walk out back to the river and bring you up water to clean yourselves off with the best you can.” he told Ella. “Take the girl upstairs to your bedroom.” Ella nodded and then quickly did as she was told.

Brendon had some things he wanted to discuss with her about her actions downstairs but he knew it could wait. He was happy that his duster coat, though ripped, hid most of his blood and injuries as he slipped from the house with two big water buckets.

He went to the rushing river, looking up at the mid afternoon sun as he filled the buckets.

Brendon carried the buckets back into the house, pausing to realize now that somehow the door had been unlocked. How had Warren managed that when it had been locked by a sliding lock on the inside? Brendon figured there must have been a hidden door somewhere or some other way into the house and decided that he would ask Ella later. Not that it was important in any way now.

Brendon was just thinking too much about stupid things which was what he tended to do after a battle. It was his minds way of unwinding. The cuts that the vampire had inflicted on him hurt like hell and he could feel the vampire venom in his blood. It wasn’t enough to seriously hurt him since Warren’s fangs had only dealt glancing blows but it was enough to burn like hell.

Brendon built a fire in the fireplace and heated up one of the buckets of water before carrying it up the stairs. He knocked on Ella’s bedroom door and the vampire opened it several moments later.

Brendon saw how tired and weak she appeared. It was if she was going to fall over at any moment. Her pale skin was covered in dirt and blood, her hair as well was knotted and hardened with blood. Her dress was torn in places and dark circles surrounded her light green eyes.

“Is she still well?” he asked and Ella nodded without looking back toward the bed where Maggie was sleeping.

“Yes. When she awakens she will not remember anything.” Ella promised. “I need to check on Widow Callahan and the others. Make sure Warren didn’t….” Ella seemed unable to finish the sentence and Brendon shook his head.

“You need to clean off and then rest with the girl. I will go to the hotel, change my clothes and then check on things.”

“Okay.” Ella said quickly, offering no resistance. Brendon frowned but said nothing. He sat the bucket of warm water inside her bedroom and then turned and walked away.

He heard the click as she shut the door tight behind him.

---

Once Brendon was clean and changed into clothes that weren’t covered in blood (this trip was going to cost him every single part of his wardrobe), Brendon made his way to the orphanage. He had had to leave his duster coat behind since it was full of claw marks and holes. That would have to be replaced as soon as possible.

He knocked on the door of the orphanage and could hear the children laughing and playing inside even before it was opened by a tired looking Widow Callahan. She smiled in greeting, though Brendon thought it odd that her eyes showed no recognition of knowing who he was.

“Good afternoon, sir.” she said politely. “Can I help you?”

“I was hoping to check on the welfare of a child in your care.” Brendon replied.

“Have you been here before? I’m usually good with names and faces but I don’t believe I remember you.”

“No, ma’am, but I heard about a little girl. I believe her name was Maggie.”

“Maggie?” Widow Callahan asked with a frown. “I don’t believe I have had any girls named Maggie lately. Do you happen to know her age?”

“Around six I’d reckon. They said she was kinda small for her age though.”

“I’m sorry, sir. We don’t have a Maggie.” Brendon nodded and looked over her gray head at the children playing. No one acted as if anything scary had happened recently and he saw Benjamin laughing with another boy in the corner. Clearly the boy wasn’t missing Maggie.

“I’m sorry to waste your time then, ma’am.”

“It was no waste, sir.” Widow Callahan assured him. “Would you be interested in any other children?”

“No, ma’am.” Brendon replied with a tip of his hat. He was about to turn when another thought entered his mind. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Ella and Warren live would you?”

Widow Callahan’s wrinkled face scrunched up as she thought but then she shook her head.

“No I don’t.” she laughed lightly. “You sure you’re in the right city?” Brendon chuckled.

“No, ma’am, I’m not.” he replied good naturedly. “Thanks for your time.”

Brendon walked back toward Ella’s home and wondered why Warren had gone to so much trouble. Erasing the memories of everyone at the orphanage so they would forget not only Maggie but Ella as well.

It seemed like an awful lot of work for one vampire to accomplish in the time that Warren had had.

But maybe Warren had help………

Brendon’s legs couldn’t carry him as fast as his mind knew they had to as he raced back toward the house.

Chapter Twelve

Ella’s mind was not on her task as she cleaned the blood from Maggie’s skin. Instead it was on Brendon. Ella wasn’t sure what she thought.

She hoped he would be a better captor than Faugrimm and Warren. Would he abuse her or had Ella finally landed in the hands of a man who would be kind to his pet?

Ella had no clean clothes to dress Maggie in and she did not want to put the blood and dirt covered sack dress back on her, so instead she wrapped her up tight in the blankets and made the decision to ask Brendon for permission to get Maggie another dress.

The wash water was growing cool but it felt good to Ella’s skin as she slid off her dress and underclothes and cleansed the blood and dirt from her body.

Brendon had told her to rest and she was tired, so Ella dressed in a white nightdress and then slid into the bed next to Maggie.

The girl was lucky that Brendon had had that anti-venom. Ella would have had to drunk the girls blood, at least a little, in order to give her her own anti-venom. That would have been too much for the tiny girl to handle.

Ella looked at her innocent face as she slept soundly. It would have been her fault had the girl died. Ella felt guilt rip at her heart.

More of those emotions, coming stronger now, stronger every moment since she had met Brendon. She was still waiting for the good ones to come to her but the bad ones were coming more and more often.

She wondered what Brendon was going to find at the orphanage. Had Warren left any of them alive?

Exhaustion claimed Ella and her eyes slipped close as she fell fast asleep.

Her dreams were plagued by death, destruction and blood. The pale, mutilated faces of children filled her mind. A strange scent filled her nostrils and it took several long minutes before Ella realized that the scent wasn’t in her dreams… It was in her bedroom.

Ella’s eyes flew open and she barely managed to kick her leg out in time to catch the female vampire in the face and send her stumbling backward and away from Maggie’s neck which she had been preparing to drink from.

Ella leapt from the bed and blocked Maggie’s still sleeping form from the other vampire’s view. She hissed a warning as the vampire glared at her, tossing her long blond hair from her face.

“That hurt.” she stated accusingly as she wiped a drop of blood from her split lip. Ella didn’t reply, instead she bared her teeth and took a deep breath.

She hadn’t ever seen this vampire before but she recognized her scent. It had been on Warren countless times.

“Where is Warren?” The blond vampire asked.

“Dead.” Ella replied simply. The blonds face contorted with rage but before she could make an attack on Ella, the bedroom door flew open and Brendon came charging in. He stopped and looked from Ella to the other vampire.

The blond went for him but Ella reached out and caught her by her long flowing hair. She yanked her back, wrapped an arm around her head and one around her neck and then twisted roughly, snapping the vampires neck before dropping her lifeless body to the floor.

Brendon blinked several times and then holstered his revolver, which he had pulled before coming in.

“Did you know her?” he finally asked and Ella shook her head.

“No. But I recognize her scent. Warren spent a lot of time with her.” Brendon nodded.

“Are you both okay?”

“Yes.”

“I will get rid of her. You rest. And don’t worry about the orphanage. Warren didn’t harm anyone and he and his friend here erased the memories of everyone there. They don’t remember Maggie or you.”

Ella nodded, unsure if this was good or bad. Widow Callahan had often spoke of being her friend but now the woman wouldn’t remember her. And how could Ella drop Maggie back off at the orphanage if no one there remembered her?

Ella nearly jumped from her skin when Brendon’s calloused hand suddenly fell gently upon her cheek. His big work hardened thumb brushed across her jaw and then he quickly pulled away.

“Rest.” he urged again. “I’m here now. I’ll be right downstairs. Nothing else is going to harm you or the girl today. You have my word on that.”

Without another words and without giving her time to reply, Brendon turned, tossed the dead vampire over his shoulder, and left the room, closing the door tight behind him.

Ella touched her cheek, which still felt strangely heated from his touch. There it was again.

Passion.

She counted passion to be among the bad emotions. Brendon was her captor. Her new master. He was already standing guard downstairs to ensure that Ella did not leave and that no one came for her.

He would probably kill to keep her with him, just like Warren.

The burlap sacks on the window fluttered into the room as a strong wind suddenly whistled outside and buffeted against them.

The sound of rain beginning to fall reached her ears and then the sky opened up in a deafening, thunder of hard cold water.

Ella had always enjoyed the sound of rain. She curled back up in the bed, keeping plenty of distance between herself and Maggie and let her tangled thoughts help her drift off to sleep.

---

Brendon crouched in front of the fire he had built downstairs. He absently poked at the cracklings logs, causing the flames to jump and dance as he gazed into them.

The rain was falling hard, pounding against the roof as the wind buffeted the walls and blew rain in through the cracks in the logs.

Ella was safe. Warren and his blond friend were currently very busy in the cage as they worked on rotting with the three dead mortal women.

That was something Brendon would have to discuss with Ella after she had had some rest. He already knew that he could not, would not, kill her. He would give the Council the fangs he had pulled from Warren and the blond and tell them that he had taken care of the problem.

It wouldn’t take the Council long however to send he or someone else back out after Ella if she continued killing mortals. She had to be made to understand that she couldn’t do such things.

Brendon would have to make sure she was completely safe before he left her and went back to the Council. That would probably mean taking her to a new town, somewhere a good distance from here. He couldn’t leave her here, not when Warren could have other friends just waiting for her to be left unguarded.

Brendon allowed himself to wonder, for just a moment, what a life with Ella would be like. He knew close to nothing about her, only that she awoken a passionate lust inside of him that had been dead for close to a century and she made him want to protect and care for her.

He shook his head to clear his mind before he could entertain that particular thought any further. He was a Hunter. He was not allowed to settle down. Didn’t know how to love.

He would get her somewhere safe and bid her goodbye. That was just the way things had to be. Wishing for something else or allowing himself to dream would only lead to disappointment.

An image of Farris old wrinkled face appeared in his mind. He was frowning at Brendon and looking at him with utter disgust as Brendon tried to reason with the man about Ella. Tried to make him understand that as her life mate, Brendon needed to be there for her.

Farris snorted, his favorite thing to do with his oversized nose, and waved at him, dismissing him from the room.

Brendon gave a hard jab of the poker in his hand, causing ashes and embers to go flying, burning his face and blackening the rug.

As if on cue, thunder rumbled and a bolt of lighting cracked. The perfect atmosphere for the dark mood Brendon found himself in.

---

Hours passed, the storm ended and a new one blew in. At the first crack of thunder a terrible wail was sent up from upstairs. Brendon figured the girl must have awaken and was scared of the storm. He stood slowly and walked to the sofa against the back wall, trusting that Ella would handle the girl.

It was now dark outside and night was falling. Brendon needed a few hours of rest before setting out with Ella and the girl in the morning.

As he laid down on the sofa he realized that the wailing and sobs were growing louder instead of quieter.

What was going on up there?

He rose to his feet, with an irritated growl, and headed up the stairs. He knocked on the closed bedroom door and it was opened quickly by a rather flustered Ella.

Her hair was a mess, her light green eyes wide and her knuckles whte as she clenched her fists. Brendon couldn’t help but look her up and down in that sleeping gown she was wearing.

A candle was glowing on the dresser behind her and the outline of her body was silhouetted beneath the thin fabric. Finally the sound of Maggie sobbing broke through his lust clouded mind and he looked over Ella’s head to see the girl curled up in the bed with her knees in her chest, her brown eyes shining with a mixture of tears and fear.

“What’s going on?” he questioned and Ella shrugged one small shoulder.

“She won’t stop. She says she is frightened of thunder. I told her I cannot make the thunder go away and still she cries.”

“Did you try to comfort her?” Brendon demanded as yet another rumble of thunder sounded, this one seeming to shake the log walls around them, and Maggie erupted in fresh batch of wails.

Brendon had never heard anything more ear-splitting or head pounding in his entire life, and he had lived a long time.

“Did you try to comfort her?” he asked again through clenched teeth. The blank look on Ella’s face told Brendon all he need to know. He moved around Ella and further into the room.

“Should I just make her be unafraid and fall back asleep?” Ella questioned and Brendon shook his head.

“You want to do more mind tricks on a little girl just because she’s afraid of a thunder storm?” Ella shrugged.

“It would make her stop.” Brendon just shook his head. He had finally found someone who knew less about taking care of a child than he did.

“Maggie?” he asked quietly. The little girl looked up from her knees and her eyes lit up at the sight of Brendon. She jumped from that bed faster than a bullet being shot from a gun and flew into his arms.

“Mr. Brendon, I’m scared of the thunder.” she whimpered as she buried her face in his shirt.

“Why would you be afraid of the thunder, Maggie?” Brendon asked gently as he sat on the side of the bed with the girl wrapped tight around him. “It’s only a sound.”

“A sound?” she sniffed and Brendon nodded.

“That’s right. Just a sound. You see it’s the lightning you gotta worry about. That’s the stuff that will kill you.”

“Kill me?” Maggie squeaked and then her wails grew to their highest pitch when a bolt of lightning lit the room.

“I don’t think that’s what you should have said.” Ella stated in the background. Brendon didn’t know what to do to comfort the girl. Hell this wasn’t part of his job description anyhow.

He stroked her dark hair with one hand and then slid his other to her neck. Just the right amount of pressure in just the right spot for an exact amount of time had Maggie slumping against him and snoring softly.

“Would have been simpler for me to put her back to sleep.” Ella said quietly and Brendon found himself chuckling as he tucked a slumbering Maggie back in to bed.

“Then why didn’t you?”

“Because you told me not to.” Brendon raised his brow as he turned and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Do you always do as you’re told?”

“Are you saying I would actually have a choice?” Ella asked with a frown. Brendon wondered what was going through her mind. He decided that it was time they talked. There wasn’t anyone else coming for her, if there were then they would have already come and it was clear they had a few things to discuss.

“Ella, come downstairs with me. I wan to talk to you.” he said as he walked to the door.

“What about her?” Ella questioned, motioning toward the bed with a nod.

Brendon shook his head and walked out into the hall.

“She’ll be out ‘til morning. Come on.”

Ella grabbed her robe off of the hook by the door and then slid it over her shoulders as she followed Brendon down the narrow stairs.

What did he want? Was he going to force her to lay with him? Ella would let him, she decided. She would let him force her. Not only did something inside of her trust him despite her past and good sense that no man was trustworthy, but she found that passion she felt whenever he looked into her eyes or touched her growing stronger.

She was faintly surprised to find a fire burning in the fireplace despite the fact that it was not cold outside.

“Are you cold?” she asked him.

“I stay a bit on the cold side.” Brendon admitted as motioned for her to sit on the sofa. Ella did as he asked and he grinned a little as he sat beside her. “I miss my coat. I need to replace it soon.”

Ella nodded and stared at his big hands folded on his lap. She remembered just how soft that rough hand had felt against her cheek. How tenderly he had stroked her jaw.

Would those hands always feel so tender? Ella wasn’t foolish enough to think so. Faugrimm’s hands had once felt tender and so had Warren’s. Ella had learned the lesson the hard way that tender touches could quickly turn to harshness and pain.

“In the morning, we’ll be leaving. I’m going to take you and the girl somewhere safe, another town away from here and away from any other friends Warren may have had.”

“I cannot care for Maggie…” Ella said as her heart rate increased and she shook her head roughly.

“I understand.” Brendon assured her. “I’ll find somewhere for her to go.”

Ella picked at a few frayed threads on her robe as she stared down at the uneven wooden planks of the floor and waited for Brendon to continue with whatever it was he was wanting to say.

“Ella, I was sent to kill you by the Council, I told you that.” Ella nodded slightly, though she didn’t look at him. She was too on edge to look in to those deep green eyes that seemed to trap her, captivate her.

“I’m not going to kill you, Ella. I don’t think you deserve that.” he hesitated a moment and then added, “But you have to stop killing men. If you don’t then the council will just order you dead again and next time they may not send me. They may send someone else who would have no problem ending your life.”

Ella finally looked at him. The growling in his voice surprising her. She realized that his face was as hard as stone, his eyes flashing in the firelight and his hands clenched.

“Will you stop?” he questioned.

“Yes.” Ella replied. She did not know if she was being truthful or not but it seemed to be that was what Brendon needed to hear. For some reason, unlike with her other captors, Ella found that she wanted to please Brendon.

“Good.” Brendon replied, his posture relaxing a little as he stretched out his long, lean legs. “How did you come to be with Warren, Ella?”

“He bought me.” Ella replied, her voice becoming emotionless as she stared into the dancing flames of the crackling fire.

“From who?” Brendon urged. Ella wanted to be annoyed at his questions but she wasn’t. For the first time ever, one of her captors actually seemed to care. There was no taunting in his tone, only sincerity and she wanted to trust that.

“Faugrimm.” Ella couldn’t stop the shiver that ran down her spine and caused chill bumps to pucker her skin. She heard Brendon’s slight gasp.

“Tall skinny elf with white hair and a constant need to hear himself speak?” he questioned and Ella frowned as she turned her gaze back to him.

“You know him?”

“I killed him.” This time it was Ella’s turn to gasp in surprise. Brendon shrugged. “Well I put the arrow through his head and then Grange and Nickolai ripped his throat out…. Along with various other parts of his body.”

“They are both dead then?” Ella whispered and Brendon nodded. He took her hand in his, the heat like a lightning bolt coursing straight through her body. She looked into his eyes and saw them darken as he looked back into hers.

“Yes, Ella…” Brendon cleared his throat and then continued, his voice much less hoarse than before. “They are dead. I’ll take you to a new town and you’ll be free to start your life back. Do you have family anywhere? Do you want me to take you to them?”

Ella shook her head, haunting visions from her past dancing through her mind and causing her to forget the passion and comfort that Brendon’s touch provided.

“No, I have no family.”

“You can get your life back, Ella.” Brendon assured her and Ella just nodded as she stared off into nothing. What life? Ella had never had one outside of being a prisoner to whatever whims her captives had.

Suddenly Brendon pulled away from her and stood up.

“I have some things to do…” he started but Ella stood and interrupted him.

“Is that all you wanted from me?” Ella asked. That good natured smile split Brendon’s face and he nodded as he headed toward the door.

“Yep.” he replied simply. “Now I have to get some things around if we’re to leave in the morning. I won’t be long.”

Ella watched him leave and close the door behind him. She wanted to trust Brendon but life had taught her to never trust. She was sure that once they got to wherever he was taking her he would show how he truly was. How all men truly were.

Ella didn’t understand why but that thought made her incredibly sad.

Chapter Thirteen

Vaughn watched Brendon ride out of town with a loaded wagon, a tiny girl and the vampire he had been charged with killing.

Farris had not trusted Brendon to get the job done. Farris had been certain that Brendon was compromised, that his loyalty was no longer with the council or his job.

It turned out that Farris had been correct.

Not only had Brendon failed to complete his job and kill the guilty vampire, but he had killed two innocent vampires, pulled their fangs and ran off with the vampire he’d been sworn to kill.

If Vaughn was a betting man he would say that Brendon planned on lying to the council. A Hunter

lying to the Council he was sworn to serve?! The very thought was preposterous!

Vaughn had never understood why the Council put up with Brendon. Yes, he was a good killer. Yes, he was a good tracker and yes, he generally got the job done in some form or fashion but he was a loose cannon. Hot-headed, temperamental and sarcastic. He didn’t appreciate what an honor it was to be a Hunter.

True Vaughn had only been living this life for a quarter of the time that Brendon had but even he knew he was a better Hunter than Brendon.

It was about time the bastard got what was coming to him. Brendon thought he was above the rules just because he was one of the oldest remaining true Hunters. Most Hunter’s were killed long before they reached Brendon’s age.

Vaughn would prove that he was the best. Brendon would fall and it would be Vaughn that brought him down. He would send word to the council, tell them of Brendon’s deceit and then he would kill the vampire and prove that he was more than just Farris’s favorite. He would prove that he deserved everyone’s respect.

Vaughn smiled and pocketed the gold coin he’d been tossing. Life had just gotten a little brighter.

---

“We get to sleep outside?!” Maggie exclaimed the next night as Brendon brought the wagon he had rented to a halt beside a small forest of oak trees. A trickling stream just down the hill would provide their horses and themselves with water.

Brendon looked up at the clear sky and scented the air. As far as he could tell there wasn’t any rain for miles.

“Sure do.” he replied with a grin. Maggie’s face lit up and her smile seemed to stretch from ear to ear.

“Wow! It’s like I’m a real live outlaw!” she exclaimed as she clapped her hands and jumped up and down in the new gingham dress that Brendon had bought at the shop for her. He had paid a small fortune for a ready made dress and a pair of special shoes, that thankfully had already been on order for the girl, but it had been worth it to see the way her eyes had lit up at the sight.

“An outlaw?” Brendon asked with amusement. He was aware of Ella walking down to the water. She hadn’t said a word to him all day. She had simply obeyed every request he had made and kept her head down.

She had told Maggie that they were going to take a trip together, just the three of them and while the girl hadn’t understood why she couldn’t say goodbye to Widow Callahan and her friends, she had been very happy to be going on a trip, since she had been in that orphanage for her entire life that she could remember.

“Yeah. Are you an outlaw? You look like an outlaw.” Brendon shook his head as he went about unhooking the horses from the rigging.

“Naw, I’m no outlaw. And you shouldn’t want to be one either. Outlaws are bad men. They break the law and take things that don’t belong to them.”

“That’s not what Benjamin said. He said they were rough and tough. And he said that they always get to sleep under the stars and don’t have to follow any rules!”

“Yeah until they get caught and get a rope wrapped around their necks and go swinging at the gallows.”

Maggie’s eyes widened and she rubbed at her neck. Brendon chuckled and led the horses down toward the river. He wrapped their reins around a shrub, ensuring they could reach both grass and water before walking over to where Ella stood, still staring into the water.

“Are you okay, Ella?” he asked gently and she looked away from the swiftly moving water and at his face.

“What?”

“Are you okay?” he repeated. “I was going to cook something for dinner but if you also need to feed, I’ll make an excuse and you can go off on your own for a while to hunt something to feed on.”

“Hunt?” Ella asked with a frown. “You mean an animal?”

“Well I sure as hell don’t mean a man. We talked about that.” he reminded her sternly. Ella scratched at her red hair which was up in a tight bun on the back of her head.

“The only man for miles is you.” Ella stated simply and an image of her sharpening her fangs and sinking them into his neck sent a bolt of lust through his body.

Without thinking he stepped closer to her and took her arm in his hand, pulling her body in to him.

He saw her light green eyes darken and her nostrils flared as he lowered his face toward hers.

Ella’s tiny hands clutched at his chest, burying themselves in his new duster coat.

The heat was nearly unbearable. Sparks seemed to be flying from her lips to his as he moved closer. Their breath mingled on the warm evening air.

Brendon had never seen anything so beautiful, so perfect, as the sight of her pale skin flushing and her green eyes slipping closed. He had never wanted anything the way he wanted this kiss.

The hand on her arm stroked her soft skin and his other hand went to her jaw, tilting her head back further still in order to gain better access to her mouth as their lips barely brushed.

It was if a bolt of lightning had come down from the heavens and struck Brendon as his entire body caught fire and his legs grew weak. Brendon wanted to deepen the kiss and at the sound of Ella’s moan he was encouraged to do so until he felt a tugging on the back of his coat.

“Mr. Brendon, I’m really hungry. Are you and Miss Ella done kissing now so you can cook for me?”

Brendon broke away from Ella quickly and saw her blink several times as if trying to gain her bearings.

Blinking, however, was not going to help him and the raging arousal beneath his gun belt.

“I’ll be back.” he grunted. “Ella will cook for you.” With that, he took off down the hill and around the rolling hills, away from Ella and Maggie and the temptation that was proving to be more than he could handle.

What had he been thinking!! Oh he knew damn well what he was feeling. A lust and desire unlike anything he’d felt in the last century.. Hell who was he kidding? It was unlike anything he had felt in the last three centuries. But what was he thinking?

Kissing her? Kissing a vampire who had been tortured and abused her entire life? A vampire who, technically, should already be dead by his hand? A vampire who he was risking his life just to give a second chance to when he didn’t know for a fact she deserved it? A vampire with lips soft as velvet. A vampire who tasted just as sweet as she smelled? Whose scent reminded him of a home. A safe place. A vampire with eyes that were haunted with the pains of her past?

This was ridiculous! These thoughts were ridiculous. He was just getting Ella to a safe place and then he was leaving her and never going to see her again.

Hunters were born to be alone. That was just the way it was.

---

Ella had no knowledge of how to start a fire out here in the wilderness. It wasn’t like at home where she had matches, tinder and dried out wood already cut and stacked.

And she needed a fire in order to heat the canned beans that Brendon had brought for the girls dinner. In truth Ella was eager to taste them as well. While real food would do nothing to satisfy or nourish the vampire inside of her, it was amazing to finally taste things again other than blood.

She had Brendon to thank for that.

And she had Brendon to thank for Maggie’s whining and the girls rumbling stomach that Ella could plainly hear. And she also had Brendon to thank for the way her legs were still shaking, her heart still hammering and her mind still swirling.

Their lips had barely brushed and yet it had been the most incredible sensation that Ella had ever felt in her life. The first kiss that she had given freely and she had wanted more.

Yes, Ella would give him whatever he took from her. She would gladly let him force her to share his bed.

“I’m hungry.” Maggie whimpered for what seemed like the thousandth time though was probably only the twenty-third or so.

“Eat them cold.” Ella replied with a shrug as she held out the glass jar full or cold beans. Maggie curled her nose.

“I don’t like them cold. I want them warm.”

“Then start a fire.” Ella replied, her patience nearing their end. Where had that man gone? Was he going to leave she and Maggie to manage on their own out here?

Ella could get to safety fine but Maggie would die for sure if left to the elements and wildlife. Was her new captor so cruel? Ella did not think so.

“I can’t start a fire.” Maggie stated with a giggle as she climbed up on a large boulder and sat down, swinging and dangling her feet over the edge. “You start a fire.”

“I need matches and sticks.” Ella replied as she looked around for the latter. Thankfully there was a smaller sapling next to the large oak tree that had been knocked over by wind some months ago. It was dried out and dead and Ella knew that the wood would burn.

She broke off a number of sticks and larger branches and then made her way back to a rather dirt covered patch of earth where she planned on starting her fire.

She piled the wood up the best way she knew how and then went over to the wagon to look for matches.

With all the things piled inside that would be like finding a needle in a very large haystack, though Ella had never truly understood that expression or why anyone would have a needle anywhere near a haystack.

“You’re just going to have to eat your beans cold.” Ella stated very matter of fact as she walked back over to Maggie, picked up the jar from where she had set it on the ground and held it out to the girl.

“Ugh.. Fine.” Maggie relented, the rumbling in her stomach finally overriding her dislike of cold beans. Ella handed the jar to the girl and then walked back to the wagon and the bag where she had found the beans.

Inside she also found hardtack biscuits and some jerked beef. She grabbed a handful of each and took those over to the boulder where Maggie sat. She climbed up beside the girl and sat down.

Together they dined on their feast. At least it seemed a feast to Ella after so many years without food.

Maggie limped down to the stream when they were finished and Ella knew the girl would need more pain medicine soon. She had no idea where Brendon had packed that and she hoped the man would come back soon.

She had barely thought that thought when she caught a whiff of sandalwood on the wind and she heard a chuckle behind her.

“What are you doing?”

Ella turned her head and saw Brendon standing there with two dead rabbits clutched by their ears in one hand and a canteen in the other.

“Eating. You did tell me to feed her.” Ella replied as she brushed crumbs from her biscuit from her skirt.

“You didn’t start a fire.” Brendon stated.

“No, I did not.”

“Was that sarcasm?” Brendon asked, his grin broadening. Ella frowned.

“Sarcasm?”

“Did you eat those cold?” Brendon questioned as he pointed toward the empty jar. Ella followed his gaze and then nodded.

“As you just pointed out I did not start a fire. I had no way to heat them.” Brendon just shook his head and then walked closer to her, though Ella noticed he kept a kept a good three feet of distance between their bodies. That wasn’t what she wanted. Ella wanted to be pulled up against all that rugged hardness.

He held out the canteen and Ella caught the scent of fresh warm blood.

“Here ya go, Ella.” his voice was low and it rumbled quietly, washing over Ella. She reached out a trembling hand and took the canteen, letting her fingers brush over Brendon’s in the process.

She heard his sharp intake of breath. Saw his jaw tighten, the muscles jumping beneath his dark stubble.

Quickly he pulled his hand away and then walked over to her pile of sticks. She saw him stare at them a moment and then shake his head before rearranging them all and adding some dry hay from the wagon. Then he pulled the matches from his pocket and within minutes he had a roaring fire burning.

Ella took a long drink of the rabbit blood in the canteen and her eyes widened with surprise. She had never had animal blood before, always having either been fed the blood of humans or drinking it straight from their veins. This was somehow sweeter as it washed over her tongue.

She heard a moan slip from her own throat and Brendon’s eyes fell on her and flashed in the setting sun.

Ella felt that trembling in her thighs once again and that heat pooling low in her stomach as he looked at her much like a hunter looks at his quarry. Ella squirmed on the boulder she was seated on and then she bit her lip and met his gaze.

“I would let you force me.” she whispered, hearing Maggie still splashing and laughing down in the stream. Ella saw a line appear between Brendon’s brows.

“What?” he demanded. Ella’s lips curved in a faint smile.

“I wouldn’t fight you like I did all the others in the beginning. I would let you force me if you want me.”

Suddenly Brendon’s face changed and the scent of rage began to roll off of him in waves. He pulled his knife and walked back to the rabbits he’d killed.

“I’m not that kind of man, Ella. You damn sure should have realized that by now.”

Ella felt ashamed, though she wasn’t truly sure why, as she watched Brendon begin to skin the rabbits. His hands moving roughly and jerking with the anger she could still smell.

Chapter Fourteen

“I want to shoot your gun.” Maggie declared with excitement as the three of them settled into camp three nights later.

The tension had been thick between Ella and Brendon, though Brendon knew the tension came from him. Ella didn’t seem to understand why he was being so distant.

Brendon was doing it for her safety just as much as he was for his own. Ella needed to understand that their relationship could go no further than it already had. He was only going to make sure she was safe and then he would leave her behind and never see her again.

If the council discovered her existence and what she was to Brendon, or rather what he was to her, they would have her killed just to ensure his loyalty would not be divided.

If they learned that she was in fact the vampire they had sent Brendon to kill then the Council would kill not only Ella but Brendon himself for his deception.

There was simply no way for Brendon and Ella to ever be together.

And then there was the fact that Ella seemed to see him as a captor, an owner. She had even said that she would allow him to force her if he wanted to.

Hell he didn’t want to force any woman! He had never forced a woman in his life. It didn’t matter if Brendon was Ella’s life mate, she was still a vampire with very serious issues and Brendon did not have the time or the capability to deal with them.

Ella, from what he knew, had never been loved and Brendon had never loved. They simply did not fit. She deserved love, though he had no way of knowing if she would ever find it, or if she would knew what to do with it once she did.

“Alright, I don’t see what harm can come from that.” Brendon replied as he tousled her hair. He was finding that he had a soft spot for the crippled girl. She seemed to be fairly taken with him as well and he worried about what would happen to her once he left her… It was clear that Ella knew nothing about caring for a child and Brendon wouldn’t want to put that kind of responsibility on a vampire just learning about freedom and getting her own life.

Maybe Grange and Dawn could care for her? Or Nickolai and Brie. It wasn’t something that either of them had ever mentioned aloud but Brendon was fairly certain that they could not have children given the fact that she had never gotten with child in all their years together in the past nor in the time they’d been together before Brendon had left.

Maybe they would raise Maggie. Brendon would not have to worry about her safety in Grange’s territory. Grange kept those around him safe and swiftly dealt with those who threatened them. He had known a lot as a lone wolf and had grown and learned more as an alpha.

It wouldn’t hurt to ask, and knowing Grange, even if he had reservations about allowing a crippled mortal girl into his pack, Dawn would quickly change his mind. It seemed that with Grange, Dawn always got what she wanted. Always.

Brendon wouldn’t try to take Ella there though. There was too much risk involved in that. If Warren had other vampires watching her and they came one day, Grange would hunt Brendon down and kill him, friend or no friend, for brining such danger around his mate and child.

Brendon knew the town he was taking Ella to. It was only another three days ride. A fairly large town in west Tennessee. They had covered a lot of ground in the last few days and Brendon knew he was probably pushing the animals and Maggie too hard but he was not accustomed to pacing himself and old habits died hard and you couldn’t teach an old dog new tricks or some such nonsense as that….

Brendon figured he just lacked patience and stopping so they could all get the eight to ten hours of rest that mortals required seemed a waste to him when all he needed was two or three.

But tonight he had seen the fatigue in Maggie’s eyes and the way Ella kept licking her lips as if dying of thirst and he had known it was time to take a break.

“What can I shoot?” Maggie asked as she came to stand next to him and put her hands on her narrow hips. Brendon looked around for a moment and then walked to the wagon. He pulled out the rabbit fur that he had been saving to sell and carried it over to the tree.

Using his boot knife he secured it on the bark and then walked back to Maggie.

“Shoot that rabbit.” he said with a grin. Maggie giggled behind her hand.

“That’s not a rabbit.” she exclaimed before pushing her glasses up on her tiny freckled nose. “That’s just some fur stuck to a tree.”

“Come on, girl!” Brendon scolded as he pointed at the tree. “Use your imagination. That there is a rascally varmint that’s been stealing all the neighbors carrots. We gotta get rid of him or we won’t have no carrots come harvest time.”

Maggie’s giggle grew louder and she struggled to put on her most serious face as her brown eyes looked up at him, twinkling with amusement.

“I love carrots. That rabbit’s gotta go!” Brendon threw his head back and laughed heartily. He stopped suddenly when he noticed Ella walking away. He quickly closed the distance between them and took her gently by the arm.

“Where you going?” he asked, fighting to keep his voice even and ignore the heat that instantly warmed his blood the second his skin made contact with Ella’s and her green eyes met his.

“I need…” she spared a glance at Maggie who was pointing her fingers like a gun and taking imaginary shots at the fur on the tree. “…privacy.” she finished pointedly. Brendon nodded and released his hold on her.

“Be careful.” he warned. He couldn’t explain it but he had felt as if they were being watched off and on today. He couldn’t smell any danger and he hadn’t actually seen any danger. It was probably just his guilty conscience playing tricks on him since he knew he would soon be lying to the council. Something he had not done in three hundred years of service to them. It went against everything he’d ever been taught; all he had ever been trained for and yet he knew he had to do it in order to ensure Ella’s safety.

He saw the flash of what seemed to be confusion in her eyes as she tilted her head to the side and studied him closely. Then she nodded and quickly walked away.

“Where’s Ella going?” Maggie asked when he walked back over to the girl and pulled his small derringer pistol from his vest.

“She’ll be back.” he assured her. “Now let’s get to killin’ some rabbits.” Maggie giggled and nodded happily.

---

Ella had done something wrong, she was certain of it. Ever since their kiss he had been different, distant. He didn’t smile at her. He would barely speak to her.

Ella wasn’t sure why she had been so bothered by his despondent behavior toward her. She had always wished that Warren and Faugrimm would simply forget she existed when they had been her captors. But with Brendon things were different…

She liked his smiles. The way he would look into her eyes and make her believe she could trust him, (even though her good sense was strong enough to make her know she couldn’t). She wanted him to kiss her again, she had really enjoyed that kiss.

When he had grabbed her arm minutes ago, Ella had been certain he would pull her to him and kiss her again but instead he had told her to be careful.

But why?

Be careful because he didn’t want her to get hurt? Or be careful so he wouldn’t have to hurt her? She hissed and kicked at a clump of grass.

Life was easier when she understood exactly what her captors had wanted. With Brendon she just could not tell.

She pushed away her thoughts and focused on the task at hand. She needed blood.

---

Brendon stared into the firelight that night, his thoughts conflicted.

Maggie shifted in her sleep, a lock of dark hair falling across her face as she rolled onto her side. Brendon reached over and adjusted her blanket, ensuring that her feet were both covered and then rubbed his face as he looked back at the fire.

He wanted a cigarette but Maggie had told him that the scent of them burned her eyes and made her sick to her stomach. Brendon thought she was probably lying but he figured no harm could come in humoring the girl and going without while she was around.

Brendon felt eyes on him and he instantly let his gaze go to Ella. She was lying on her side across the fire, the flames dancing in her green eyes as she stared at him.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” he asked as he grabbed a stick and poked at the burning logs and embers, stoking the fire. Maggie was afraid of the dark outside and he didn’t want the girl to wake up and be frightened.

“I never have been a sleeper.” Ella replied as she sat up and pulled her knees into her chest. “It was always a dangerous thing to do.. Or at least it has been for as long as I can remember.”

“How did you come to be with Faugrimm?” Brendon asked suddenly. He’d been wondering for a while now and simply hadn’t asked. Since they were running out of time together, he wanted to know now.

“Why is that important?” Ella asked, shifting uncomfortably as she looked away from him and at the fire. “I thought you said he was dead.”

“He is.” Brendon assured her. “He had quite a few ‘pets’ when we killed him. Most of them had been either kidnapped from their families or Faugrimm and his men had killed their families and kept them for himself. I was just wondering how you wound up there.” Brendon met her gaze. “Did he kill your family, Ella?”

Brendon saw pain flash in her green eyes. Her face became drawn and she began picking at the blue and white gingham skirt of her dress.

“No.” she finally replied after several tense moments. “No, they were already dead when he found me.”

Suddenly Brendon knew. He wasn’t sure how he knew. Something about her posture, the guilt and pain in her voice, made it clear to him. Ella had killed her family. Probably as a young girl, more than likely when the vampire ’disease’ as some called it, kicked in for the first time.

She wasn’t the first vampire to have done so and would not be the last. Some vampires recognized the signs soon enough to get away while they learn to control themselves, with others the disease sets in slowly, giving them time to learn to control the urges. But in a fraction, the disease would hit all at once, giving them an instant painful bloodlust that they had to satisfy.

And unfortunately for most mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, they were usually the closest targets.

Brendon pushed himself to his feet and walked around the fire to her. An owl hooted in the night and a distant coyote yipped as he crouched in front of Ella and put his finger under her chin to lift her gaze to his.

“It wasn’t your fault, Ella.”

“Yes it was.” she replied in a whisper, so quiet her words could barely be heard above the crackling of the fire.

“You didn’t understand what you were doing.” he countered.

“I killed them all, Brendon.” she said with so much sadness that it made Brendon hurt for her. All he wanted to do was see her smile. He wanted a true smile to curve those full lips, that had tasted so sweet against his own.

God help him he wanted to taste them again right now.

So he did.

Without giving any more thought to all those doubts in his head saying it was wrong and without worrying about what she would think, Brendon covered her mouth with his own.

Instantly Ella responded. Her arms slipped around his neck. Her fingers buried themselves in his thick hair, knocking his hat off into the dirt.

Brendon broke away long enough to take a breath and then dove back in. As one their bodies moved down onto Ella’s blankets, Brendon using his hand to cushion her head as he nipped at her lips and deepened the kiss. Plundering her mouth with his tongue, surprised when her tongue warred back.

He had expected fear or trepidation but instead Ella seemed eager and just as hungry for him as he was for her.

It had been a long time since Brendon had felt all these sensations, the rush of blood in his veins, the heat building in his blood and the arousal jutting out sharply against his trousers.

Ella brought out a part of him that had been dead a long time. The part that felt . He wanted to feel himself moving inside of her. Feel her hands on his back, her nails raking across his sweat slicked skin.

He wanted to see her throw her head back and moan his name as he brought her to the peak and then he wanted to let himself fall over the edge with her.

He wanted to rest his head against her chest as they both shuddered together and came back to earth slowly…….

Maggie coughed in her sleep and brought Brendon back to reality, snapping him out of his lust fueled haze. He quickly pulled away from Ella and jumped to his feet.

Brendon looked down at Ella still lying on the ground. Her hair was a wild mess around her flushed face. Her eyes were dark with passion and her lips red and kiss-swollen.

“Sleep, Ella.” he managed to croak out through his clenched teeth and tight jaw. “I’m going to patrol.”

Brendon took off into the darkness at a job, eager to burn off the energy and arousal that seemed to have taken control of his body and kicked out his common sense.

Hadn’t he just determined that he and Ella couldn’t happen? And yet there he had been, fully prepared to take her body right there beside the crackling fire.

But, God help him, she had looked so beautiful in the flame light.

Promises to little girls be damned, Brendon need a cigarette. He reached in his pocket as he ran and pulled out one he had rolled and a pack of matches.

As the tobacco entered his blood he felt himself calming a little, though nothing was going to make this need for Ella go away….. Nothing but distance. He needed to get her to the town and then never see her again.

The good thing about being immortal was that he had plenty of time to forget her. Unless of course the council found out about his deceit, but then again, if they did he would die so he would no longer feel this need for Ella.

It wasn’t until close to Dawn that Brendon returned to camp and he was relieved to find Ella and Maggie both sound asleep.

If Ella had looked at him with those passion filled green eyes he would have lost the tenuous grip he was keeping on his good sense.

Chapter Fifteen

Despite Brendon’s growing uneasiness and his feeling that someone was watching the trio, they made their way safely into the Tennessee town a few days later.

Brendon wanted to be relieved that they had finally arrived and he would soon be away from Ella and the temptation that she provided for his body. Instead all he felt was a dread. A big ball of dread lodged deep in his gut.

It twisted and burned as he drove the wagon down the crowded main street and toward the Grand Hotel where they would be staying tonight. Tomorrow he would find Ella a house. It would be easy with her powers of persuasion to convince someone that she was a long lost cousin. That would give her a bit of acceptance in this town. And if necessary they could use those same powers to convince someone to give her their home.

While that wouldn’t be the honorable thing to do, Brendon was learning that there were very few lines that he wouldn’t cross in order to make sure Ella was safe. Whether he had meant for her to or not, there was one simple truth that he couldn’t deny….

She mattered.

She mattered in ways that no person had ever mattered before her and Brendon was certain that no person would ever matter again.

Too bad that wouldn’t change what had to happen. He had to leave her here. He had to insist that they never see each other again. He had to take Maggie to Grange and then he had to return to the council. His life, and Ella’s, depended upon him going back to life as if Ella had never existed.

“Are we staying there?” Maggie asked, her tiny voice full of wonder as she stared, wide-eyed, at the five story hotel. It was quite easily one of the fanciest buildings that Brendon had ever stayed in and he had known that Maggie, who had never slept on anything other than cots and bedrolls, would love it.

“Yes we are.” Brendon replied as he brought the wagon to a stop beside one of the broad polished wooden posts that held up the vaulted ceiling of the wraparound porch.

“Wow….” Maggie gasped. “Ella, have you ever stayed in a place so pretty?” Brendon saw Ella’s eyes pass over the polished woods, ladies and gentleman wearing fancy clothes and hats and shook her head.

“No, I haven’t.” she replied honestly.

“It must cost a fortune!” Maggie added with a smile. Brendon found himself chuckling as he jumped from the wagon. He took Maggie by the waist and lifted her down, setting her on her feet gently.

“Anything for my ladies.” he replied without thinking as he grabbed Ella’s waist and lifted her down as well. Her body brushed against his and Brendon’s instantly responded. His grip tightened a little around her and her hands instantly when to the hard muscles flexing in his upper arms. Her touch seemed to burn him, brand him, even through the fabric of his shirt and coat.

He quickly put her down and turned his back on her to avoid looking in those light green eyes that he knew would be darkening with the same passion and lust that he was feeling.

Maggie was giggling.

“Ella, did you hear that? He called us his ladies.” Brendon felt a pain in his chest, was that his heart? And was it breaking? He hadn’t thought his heart cared enough about anyone to break. Perhaps it was just those beans he had eaten for dinner the night before.

He nodded. The beans must be the culprit. Brendon had a heart that had never been taught how to work and he was sure it was too old to start now.

He took the ladies inside and requested two rooms with adjoining doors.

He then led the way down the wide hallway, his boots moving silently on the plush carpet as he walked.

“Here’s your room.” he told them as he opened a heavy door and led them into a room, larger than any hotel room he had ever been in before. A wide doorway led out to a balcony and just across from that was a wide four post bed complete with a canopy.

A dark mahogany wardrobe sat against one wall with a matching mahogany wash basin and cream colored pitcher beside it.

The top half of the walls were dark green wallpaper and the bottom half was dark mahogany. A vast stone fireplace sat on the wall across from the wardrobe.

“This room is beautiful.” Ella admitted as she walked to the bed and let her fingers dance across the feather soft quilt.

The images that seeing Ella near that bed brought to Brendon’s mind were blinding and all consuming. Slipping that dress from her slender body, tasting all that pale skin, feeling her hands slide under his shirt and brand him with the fire that he now knew was in her touch.

Brendon mumbled incoherently, not even sure himself what he was trying to say, and then he turned quickly and left the room, closing the door behind in hopes that that would erase the picture of Ella’s arching body beneath his own.

It didn’t.

Brendon let out a deep breath and then jogged back down the stairs and out to the wagon. They had a lot of belongings that needed to be secured at the livery before nightfall. And it looked like there would be enough daylight left to find Ella that house. Hopefully without the vampires help. He didn’t think his mind would be able to concentrate on house hunting if he saw her again just now.

---

How long are we staying here?” Maggie asked Ella that night as Ella brushed out the girls soft dark hair.

“I don’t know.” Ella replied honestly. She knew that this is where Brendon wanted her to stay. She wondered what threats he would use to ensure that she did not leave while he was gone. Would he harm innocent people to let her know he was serious? Maybe he would use Maggie and hold the little girls well being over Ella’s head in order to gain her obedience.

It was what Warren would have done.

“Why can’t Brendon sleep in our room?” Maggie asked. Ella had learned over the last week that Maggie was a girl of never ending questions. She had never spent this much time at once with the girl and hadn’t realized it before.

Sometimes it made her head hurt. Brendon had chuckled one evening and whispered to her that Maggie had caused his ears to bleed. Ella hadn’t seen any blood so she wasn’t sure what he had been talking about at the time but now she was pretty sure that she knew.

“He wants us to have privacy.”

“Kinda like when Widow Callahan made the girls sleep on one side of the loft and the boys sleep on the other?” Ella nodded as she finished brushing Maggie’s hair and sat the brush on the bedside table.

“Yes. Now get in the bed. It is time to sleep.” Ella urged. The sun was long set and the moon was barely a faint light through the clouds. The town was quiet save for the sound of a piano from a nearby saloon and a dog barking in the distance.

Ella had to admit that the air certainly smelled much nicer here. Though she knew she couldn’t’ bring herself to like this city. It was just one more place where she would be a prisoner.

The captors change, the locks look different, but a cell was a cell, no matter how pretty the bow you tied around it.

Maggie climbed beneath the covers of the big bed and Ella pulled the blankets up under her chin.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?” she asked with a pout.

“Not yet.” Ella replied. “But you need to.” she added sternly. Maggie nodded, let out a sigh and then curled up on her side away from Ella.

Ella turned off the kerosene lamp, cloaking the room in darkness. She had the doors to the balcony opened, allowing the cool night breeze to blow into the room while the curtains danced wildly.

She sat in a cushy armchair beside the fireplace and breathed in the scents on the breeze. She was hungry. She wanted blood. And yet when she imagined drinking from someone, it was only Brendon’s face that she saw.

The image of her fangs sinking into the flesh between his shoulder and neck caused a tremor to wash over her body.

A heat spread down into her low stomach, moistening the space between her legs as she imagined what Brendon’s blood would taste like as it flowed over her tongue and slipped down her throat. And in her vision she made sure that Brendon enjoyed the sensations, his lean muscles tensing as he clung to her and groaned her name.

Ella shook her head, surprised by the turn her thoughts had taken. Imagining making love to a man and enjoying it? Ella had never had joyful sex so how did she seem to know that it would feel good with Brendon? Was it instinct? Some other facet of the life mate bond?

A light tap came to the door that led to Brendon’s room and Ella stood and walked to it. She opened it slowly, smelling the scent of sandalwood on the other side.

Brendon was standing there and his eyes raked over her before he finally looked over her shoulder at Maggie, who had already fallen fast asleep.

“We need to talk.” he whispered and then he turned and walked further into his room without ever again looking at Ella. Ella nodded, stepped into his bedroom, which was identical to her own, and then closed the door behind her, though she left it open just a crack so Maggie would know where she was if the girl awoke.

“You smell good.” Ella stated as Brendon began once again poking the fire that he had lit in his fireplace. Ella wondered why he always seemed to be poking fires with things. It seemed to be a habit of his.

She saw him frown as he looked back at her.

“What?”

Ella shrugged and moved across the room to sit down in his armchair. “You smell good.” she replied simply. “You said we should talk and that was something I wanted to say. It’s masculine. Horses, sweat, a bit of dirt and then there is sandalwood.”

“I smell like sandalwood?” Brendon asked with a frown and Ella nodded as she picked at the brass rivets on the arm of the chair. Then Ella frowned and quickly looked up at him when his scent suddenly disappeared. He was still there but she could no longer smell him.

“Something is wrong.” she said quickly as she reached a hand up to her nose. Brendon shook his head.

“No it isn’t.” he assured her as he put the poker back on the stand beside the fire. “I’m a Hunter. We can hide our scent when we choose.”

“Well stop.” Ella grumbled. “I like your scent.” She heard him sigh and then slowly the scent of him filled her nostrils again.

“I want to talk to you about tomorrow.” Brendon finally spoke filling the silence that had taken over the room.

“Okay.”

“I’m leaving with Maggie before dawn. I’m hoping to carry her out to the wagon without waking her and having her sleep until we are out of town.”

Ella blinked several times as she stared at him with surprise.

“You’re taking her with you?”

“Yes. You told me yourself you can’t take care of her. I can’t either. I’m taking her to some friends I have out west. A werewolf pack that is…. unconventional. They’ll take good care of her.”

“And then of course you will know where she is and I will not so you can threaten her life to guarantee my obedience.”

“What in the hell are you talking about?” Brendon demanded, turning to face her with a wide legged stance, his shoulders tense and his face an expressionless mask.

“Come again?” he all but growled when she didn’t answer him right away.

Ella shifted in the chair and met his gaze, wondering why he was so angry.

“It is what Warren would have done. A good captor must always make sure his ‘pet’ is kept under control. You know I will obey your rules if you have Maggie held hostage.

“Dammit!” Brendon ground out angrily as he strode toward her. He gripped her upper arm in his big hand and hauled her to her feet.

“There is no captor and no pet here, Ella. I am not going to hurt the girl in order to get you to do what I want. There are no rules that I expect you to follow other than no more killing men and that’s for your own safety because I don’t want another Hunter getting his hands on you.”

Ella stared at him with a mixture of shock and surprise. Finally he was doing something she understood. She understood his rough grip and the anger in his tone.

“Are you going to hit me?” she asked emotionlessly. She expected him to hit her and yet a part of her hoped that he wouldn’t. She wanted Brendon to be different, though she wasn’t even sure that any men were different.

Brendon released his hold on her and the grimace on his face made it seem he was in pain.

“Dammit, Ella…” he let out a sigh.

“I didn’t mean to anger you. Warren would have hit me for speaking out of turn… I got too comfortable with you.” Ella tipped her head in apology.

Brendon shook his hand and shoved his hand roughly through his thick black hair.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Ella, but I am not Warren and I am not Faugrimm. As a matter of fact, I killed both those bastards for being the way they were.” He stepped closer to her and laid his hand gently upon her cheek.

“I would never hurt you, Ella. You mean far too much to me for that.” Their eyes locked and Ella hoped that he would once again kiss her, but then he pulled away again and went back to the fireplace, picking up the poker and jabbing it into the fire roughly.

“I got you a house. A stone one, right on the edge of town. I think you’ll like it but if you don’t you can find something else. If you don’t like this town, you can move to a different one. You are not a prisoner anymore, Ella.”

Ella sat back down in the chair and stared at the flames dancing in the fireplace.

“I have been a prisoner for as long as I can recall.” she admitted quietly. She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye and then he came to her and crouched down so they were on the same level.

“That’s over now.” he promised her. “I can’t stay with you, Ella. I am due back with the council.” Ella did not want him to leave her. Suddenly she wanted to stay with him. She wanted to go wherever he went.

“Force me, Brendon. I want you to.” she pleaded in a whisper as she laid her hand on his cheek. Ella saw his eyes darken and then he shook his head roughly, stoop up straight and backed away.

“That’s not the way it works, Ella. I’ve never forced a woman and I don’t have any plans on starting now. Go back to your room, Ella. You need to rest.”

Ella could tell that he was angry and she knew it would be best to go. She stood up and headed for the door.

“Ella..?” Brendon called out. Ella stopped and looked back at him over her shoulder.

“I won’t force you but if you get lonely tonight… you know where I am.” Ella frowned and then went back into she and Maggie’s room, closing the door tightly behind her.

Brendon threw himself down on the bed, covering his eyes with his arm.

What the hell had he been thinking saying something like that!? All he knew was that he didn’t’ want to leave Ella. He wanted her with him, always.

Foolish hopes was all that was. He hoped and prayed that she wouldn’t get lonely and come to him. That would only make leaving her that much more difficult. Thought Brendon knew that if she did come back tonight he wouldn’t turn her down.

He had reached the end of his self control. He didn’t have the strength to turn away from her even one more time.

Then quite suddenly and without warning, the door between their rooms opened again and Ella stepped inside before shutting it firmly behind her.

One look at the conflicted and hungry look in her light green eyes told Brendon that things were about to change between he and Ella. Something that shouldn’t happen was going to happen and Brendon was going to like it.

Chapter Sixteen

Brendon remained motionless as he laid on the bed and watched her. She seemed tentative as she took small hesitant steps toward him.

“What are you doing here, Ella?” he asked quietly.

“You know why I’m here.” she replied without meeting his gaze. Instead her eyes had become locked on the area just below his belt and he could feel little Brendon coming alive at her interest.

“Are you sure, Ella? I won’t force you.”

“I know you won’t.” Brendon nodded and rose from the bed. He was hungry for a woman’s touch. Over a century he had been completely without the comforts that a woman’s body could provide because none had seemed to excite him; entice him.

Ella did.

Ella was a mystery. So scarred from her past. So lonely. Brendon wanted to heal her. He wanted to teach her that not all men were Warrens and Faugrimms.

While he couldn’t love her and he couldn’t be with her for any longer than tonight, maybe if he showed her how a different side to men, it would help her begin to heal.

“If you want me then you have to come to me, sweetheart.” he said softly as he held out a hand and crooked his finger, beckoning her toward him. If she wanted him then she would have to make the effort. Brendon would not do anything that could be confused with force or coercion when she looked back on this night.

It took all the self control Brendon had to hold still as she took tentative steps toward him, her feet moving far too slow for his liking. After what seemed like long agonizing hours, Ella was close enough that his body could feel the heat from her body.

“Kiss me again.” she whispered, her voice a tantalizing mix of hunger and worry. It was clear to Brendon that she wasn’t really sure of herself or what she was doing.

Hell Brendon was out of practice himself.

He gently slid his finger beneath her chin, raising her face with his knuckle and looking deeply into her light green eyes. Eyes that looked different somehow than they had when he had first gazed in to them. They no longer seemed so dead and emotionless as they had that day.

Instead, Brendon could see a spark of passion inside of them. A longing and a trust that very nearly floored him. She trusted him.

It was almost enough to make him stop, knowing that he was only going to be leaving her before first light but he was only a man after all and he needed her tonight.

She was made for him and he for her. He knew that together they could be amazing and he was determined to have a taste of that before returning to his life as the Council’s puppet.

Without wasting another second on doubts or worries, Brendon laid his lips against Ella’s and drank in her sweetness.

All his life he had never tasted anything as all consuming and tempting as she tasted. Her willingness as her body moved and pressed itself tight against his own.

She pulled her mouth away when he tried to deepen the kiss and a furrow formed in her brow as she looked up at him.

“What?” he whispered huskily.

Instead of speaking, Ella’s tiny hands moved to the buttons of his black shirt and slowly began to undo them, her movements hampered slightly by the fact that she was shaking.

Brendon had spent the last week wondering what it would feel like when her fingers slid under his shirt and caressed his skin and he wasn’t disappointed.

His body trembled and his blood practically began to simmer in his veins as her fingers slid beneath his now open shirt and danced across the tight muscles of his chest and stomach.

He looked down just to ensure himself that she wasn’t actually leaving trails of fire in her wake and was struck by just how pale her skin was against his.

“So hard….” she stated quietly, her eyes widening as she looked at his body. It was nearly more than Brendon could take and it took everything he had, all the will power he possessed to keep from tossing her on the bed, throwing up her skirt and taking her then and there.

He took her wrists gently in his hands. “My turn.”

---

Ella swallowed hard and her heart thundered against her ribs when she saw that devilish smile flash across Brendon’s face. His eyes were lit with passion and yet that passion was all tangled up with the good nature that always seemed to be in his eyes.

While his obvious passion scared her, given that she had never seen a man behave kindly when his urges overcame him, she knew deep down in her soul that she could trust Brendon.

This was her life mate, the man made for her, he would not hurt her like the others.

She hoped.

Ella wanted to lay her hands back on his skin. For someone who said he stayed cold, his skin had been so hot . And the hardness… That was something she wasn’t used to. Faugrimm and Warren had both been very thin and lanky. There was nothing thin about Brendon.

He was all hot, hard muscles and Ella had felt them dancing and tensing beneath her touch. She wanted to feel it again.

Instead, Brendon’s hands moved down to her blouse and began to undo the buttons there while his eyes stayed locked on hers.

Ella was trembling and her legs felt weak somehow… They were shaking and barely able to hold her weight. Her head was clouded and the heat and moisture pooling between her legs, and the ache that accompanied them was almost painful.

Ella had never experienced this before and yet something inside of her, some instinct born to all flesh and blood creatures, told her that there was more.

And she wanted to experience the more. She wanted to experience it with Brendon.

She felt her nerves jumping in her stomach as Brendon finished unbuttoning her blouse and then pulled it form her skirt and slid it off her arms.

She had not worn a corset while they’d been traveling, finding that it was simply too confining for entire days spent out in the heat and sun, so now all that lay between Brendon’s hungry eyes and her breasts was a thin layer of cotton chemise.

Ella followed Brendon’s gaze and realized that he was staring at her nipples, which had hardened and were poking against her clothes.

“So beautiful…” he breathed, and then before Ella could form a response, his mouth was on her. Teasing, tasting and licking through the fabric.

Ella buried her hands in his hair and would have fallen as her knees gave out had Brendon’s arms not circled her waist and held her upright.

She had never felt anything like this. His mouth on her breasts was causing that ache between her legs to intensify until she was squirming, panting and begging him for more.

Ella had had no idea that a man could make a woman feel these things. Even his hands braced on her hips seemed to be branding her.

The vampire in her had known all along that she was his but now her body agreed.

Slowly his lips traveled up her chest, along her collarbones, taking their time as they explored and tasted her slender neck and jaw before once again covering her own lips and searing them together.

Ella was so lost in the hungry kiss that she didn’t notice his hands undoing her skirt until it pooled around her ankles. Brendon’s fingertips skimmed across her bare thighs was he gripped the bottom of her chemise and then broke the kiss and lifted it upward.

Ella froze. Fear overcoming her momentarily. Would Brendon hurt her once she was completely exposed to him? Would he hit her the way so many men had before or would he laugh and ridicule her the way that Warren had loved to do?

“Don’t forget who I am, Ella.” Brendon reminded her gently. “I only want to give you pleasure, no pain.”

Ella nodded, locked her eyes with his and then raised her arms. Brendon slid the chemise from her body and then dropped it to the floor.

Brendon instantly covered her mouth with his once more and Ella became lost in it once more.

She felt the heat of his skin against hers as he slid out of his shirt. Ella felt his hands go lower and she knew he was undoing his gun belt and pants.

She heart the sound of metal clanking as his pants and belt hit the floor and he stepped out of them and kicked them away.

Gently he turned her and led her toward the bed. Ella felt that fear again bubbling up. She knew what came next and it was pain. Or it had always been pain in the past and yet in the past she had never felt this heat, never felt this longing and this ache deep inside of her.

Brendon laid her down gently, using his hand to once again cushion her head and never breaking the kiss.

Ella nearly cried out when he did pull away. His body was braced over hers and his eyes seemed to be searching hers. But searching for what?

“I won’t hurt you.” he promised.

“I… I know.” Ella whispered in reply, though truthfully she was still afraid.

Brendon’s lips were feather soft as they caressed her face, dancing across her eyelids and causing her eyes to slip closed. Ella felt him move, she tensed momentarily and then she felt him enter her.

He filled her completely, sliding in to her slowly, as deeply as he could go.

Brendon was completely still as he stayed buried inside her.

“Aren’t you going to move?” Ella demanded breathlessly as she squirmed beneath him, jerking her hips. Ella saw his jaw tighten and then he grinned.

“Yes ma’am.”

Ella would have cried out with pleasure when he began to move himself in and out of her had Brendon not covered her mouth with his and muffled the sound.

---

It had been a long time since Brendon had lain with a woman but he knew that never had those times ever felt like this.

This was an all-consuming fire that took his breath and caused his brain to cease thought.

Ella’s soft warmth enveloped him completely and her hands gripped his back tightly. Her nails digging into his skin as she moaned and gasped beneath him.

His name had never sounded as arousing as it did being whispered by her lips. Brendon felt himself rising higher and he fought to hold himself back. He wanted Ella to experience as much pleasure as he could give to her before giving in to his own release.

The moonlight shone through the open door, the breeze blowing the curtains into the room. A dog barked in the distance, an owl hooted, and still they remained locked together.

Two bodies, moaning and writhing together. Hungry lips tasting every bit of skin they could reach.

---

Ella felt the vampire rising inside of her. Her bloodlust awakening as a delicious type of pressure began gathering low in her stomach.

Brendon’s movements quickened, his breath coming harsher as his eyes took on an almost wild look.

When his lips went once again to her breasts, Ella clutched at his shoulder blades with her nails and felt her fangs sharpen.

The need to bite him was impossible to deny and Ella sunk her teeth deep into the top of his shoulder, just beside his neck.

---

Feeling Ella’s teeth sink into him, feeling his blood flowing into her mouth and the rush of pleasure that Ella pulsed in to him was more than Brendon could stand and his body stiffened and then began to shudder as he toppled over the edge of pleasure.

He felt Ella stiffen at almost the exact same moment. She tightened around him and pulled her mouth from his shoulder, crying out his name.

Brendon collapsed against her, his face against her sweat slicked chest.

“You taste even better than you smell.” Ella whispered as she licked at his neck and sealed the wound she had placed there. Brendon trembled again and then flipped over onto his back, pulling her with him.

Her body curled long against his and he looked at her to see her light green eyes staring hard at the wall.

“What are you thinking?” he asked as he smoothed her red hair from her face.

“How did you make it feel so good?” she questioned. Brendon chuckled, the sound rumbling deep in his chest as he held her tighter.

“I’m just good.’ he replied.

“I bit you. I suppose I should say I am sorry for that” Ella admitted and Brendon was shocked to hear a bit of guilt in her voice.

“No, ma’am, don’t be sorry. You’re the first vampire to make getting bit feel good.” Then he sobered. “Thank you, Ella.”

A frown creased her pale brow.

“For what?”

Brendon smiled. “For trusting me.”

“From the beginning I’ve known that I could trust you. Something inside of me knew you wouldn’t hurt me.” Ella replied honestly. Brendon wished she would smile. He would give just about anything to see a real smile on her face.

Silence filled the room. Brendon felt restlessness settling in. He didn’t know how to do this…. Cuddling . Brendon was confused by the tenderness he felt because it was different then what he had felt before. It wasn’t lust and it wasn’t just an urge to protect or heal… It was more.

“Brendon?” Ella’s voice was heavy with sleep against his chest.

“Hmm?”

“Let me stay with you. I am supposed to be with you.”

“Just go to sleep, Ella.” Brendon replied with a sigh. “We’ll talk about it in the morning.”

What Brendon didn’t add was that he had no intention of still being here come morning.

Chapter Seventeen

It was the sunlight shining through the curtains and warming her face that woke Ella from her peaceful sleep. Ella had never been a deep sleeper, she had never been someone who could rest easily, but last night she had.

Brendon’s love making had left her feeling relaxed and… safe .

Yes, Ella felt safe with Brendon.

She reached out to snuggle closer to him and found nothing other than cold mattress and sheets.

Her eyes snapped open and fell instantly on the empty pillow beside her.

“Brendon?” she called out quietly and only silence responded.

Ella flared her nostrils hoping to find his scent in the next room but it was too faint for him to be around. As was Maggie’s. They were gone.

Ella felt an ache deep in her chest. A red, raw ache that had her laying her hand over her heart.

Gone. She was alone.

Panic began to claw at her. He was just gone. No rules for her to follow. No hint on when he would be back. Just gone.

Ella rose from the bed, wrapped the sheet tight around herself and walked out onto the balcony, desperately breathing deep and hoping against hope that she would catch Brendon’s scent on the breeze. She didn’t.

Ella could still taste his blood in her mouth, still feel the power of it, the warmth and the heat of it, flowing in her own veins. Her body still hummed with the pleasure that he had shown her once before falling asleep and then twice more when he had awaken her in the night.

Each time Ella had asked him to let her stay with him and each time he had kissed her brow gently and told her that they would talk about it in the morning.

Morning was now here and Brendon was not.

Ella hadn’t realized she could still feel hurt. She hadn’t realized her heart would still respond to betrayal after all the pain she had been through in her life but she felt this.

Brendon had lied to her. She had trusted him and he had misled her. Used her body to get his own pleasure and then run off as if it had meant nothing to him.

Her hurt began to transform to anger. How dare he do this to her? How dare he use her body after all she had been through? She had thought he cared. Thought he wouldn’t hurt her or let her down.

Ella had been wrong and Brendon would pay.

Life mate or not she was going to kill him for being just like all the rest. And this time the passion he managed to awaken inside of her would not stop her from doing what she knew had to be done.

Brendon must be taught a lesson.

Ella walked back into the room and pulled on her clothes. After pulling all her hair back on her head and securing it in place, she went into the room that Brendon had secured for Maggie.

There on the small side table beside the door she saw an envelope with her name written across it.

Ella snatched up the letter, thankful that during her long days cooped up with Warren she had taken the time to learn to read. What could Brendon have possibly written? Rules for her to follow? A threat if she dared break them? Would he do that?

Ella hadn’t truly wanted to believe that he would but, then again, she also hadn’t thought he would abandon her after what they’d shared the night before and he had done that…..

She opened the envelope and unfolded the paper that she pulled out from inside. She began to read the words that he had written with neat strokes of the quill still lying on the table.

Ella,

I am sure that when you woke up alone this morning you were very confused and angry. I was confused and angry myself that I had to leave you behind. I had no choice, Ella.

I am a Hunter and you are a vampire with a tendency of killing mortal men. I was sent to kill you and instead I killed two other vampires and made a plan to mislead the council that I have been sworn to serve for over three hundred years.

If the council caught wind of my dishonesty they would kill not only me, but you as well, and I cannot let that happen.

As far as what we shared last night, please know that it was more than I have ever shared with any woman before. That is yet another reason why I must leave. I am not allowed to share tenderness with anyone and doing so signs their death warrant. I won’t risk your life just because I want you with me.

You can either stay in this town and live in the home I found for you or you can go anywhere you choose to go. You are no longer anyone’s prisoner. But please don’t try to follow Maggie and I. I am taking her west, to a safe place.

Take care of yourself, Ella. Don’t make the council send someone after you again. It may not be they send next time.

Yours

Brendon

Ella reread the note twice. The words sinking in a bit more the second time around.

Brendon hadn’t left because he didn’t care. He had left because he did care. And there were no strings. No rules, no threats. He said she was free now. But she was not free.

She needed to be with Brendon. He had given her something and she just wasn’t willing to let it go.

She would be good. She would no longer kill mortal men, though she still thought that the ones she had killed had deserved their fate. She would not make trouble for Brendon and the council he worked for. They never had to know that she had been the vampire Brendon had been told to kill. They never had to know that Brendon had misled them .

Ella had never truly been alone and she didn’t know how to be alone. She needed guidance. She needed a man to own her and she wanted that man to be Brendon. He was the only man she would ever allow to do so again. She belonged to him and she had to find him.

Brendon had given her her life back. He had freed her from Warren, shown her that he wasn’t like all the others and he made her feel again. The feelings weren’t necessarily good feelings yet but Ella knew that with time those would come. But only if she was with Brendon.

She turned toward the door and a scent reached her nose. A man was here.

Hissing, Ella turned to face the open doors that led out to the balcony. A man stepped out from behind the curtains. He was around six feet and had sandy blond hair that was slicked back on his head. He had a lean muscular build and piercing blue eyes.

His smile was predatory and revealed lines around his eyes as he looked her up and down.

“Who are you?” Ella demanded, sensing that there was more to this man than met the eye. He had hidden her scent from her until he had wanted her to smell it. That had to mean he was a….

“My name is Vaughn.”

“You’re a hunter.”

“And the council wants you dead. How interesting I find it that Brendon left you here alive and…” Vaughn’s nostrils flared as he took a deep breath. “…smelling so satisfied. I am sure the council will love to hear about this.”

“What do you want?”

“To kill you, gain the council’s approval, prove that Brendon is no longer loyal to them, see him beheaded and take over his position. You see Brendon tests the boundaries at times but as far as most of the council is concerned he is the best at what we do. I intend to dethrone him.”

“I can’t let you do that.” Ella replied simply. She would not let harm come to Brendon. If this Hunter thought that he could get Brendon killed then this Hunter was going to die. Ella would protect the man who was bringing her back from the dead with her life.

“I won’t let you do that.” she stated with a shrug as she sat the letter Brendon had written her on the table.

“Is that right?” Vaughn asked with humor in his voice. Ella simply nodded. Vaughn was chuckling as he pulled a revolver from the holster on his hip. “You sure are a feisty one. I can see why Brendon would risk so much just for a roll in the sheets with you.”

Ella snarled, her lips pulling back as her fangs sharpened. Her senses heightened as the vampire inside surfaced. She could hear Vaughn’s blood pumping deep in his veins. She could smell the tangy scent of it as it flowed throughout his body.

She smelled no fear, he was obviously quite confident in his abilities. Ella was just as confident in her own.

“Prepare to die, little one.” he sneered.

“Death comes to us all.” Ella replied just before his gun went off, sending a searing pain through her chest and filling the room with smoke.

---

“Where’s Miss Ella?” Maggie asked for what Brendon figured had to be the one thousandth and twenty-third time. He rubbed his face roughly as he kept one arm secured on the reins and looked down at the young girls dark hair bouncing against his chin as they rode together on his horse.

He had left the wagon behind, knowing that he needed to get Maggie to Grange quickly and then get back to the council. The wagon would have only slowed them down.

“She had to stay in that town.” Brendon replied, forcing himself to have patience. The girl was just confused and upset that Ella was no longer with them.

Hell Brendon was confused and upset about it as well. But it was what was best. She wasn’t safe with him. He looked over his shoulder, the town was still visible across the horizon. Brendon could even see the hotel where he had left Ella after holding the vampire in his arms all night.

The hardest moment of Brendon’s life so far had been slipping from that bed, laying that tender kiss to her brow and then walking away from her trusting, sleeping form.

He knew that his leaving would hurt her trust but he hoped that his letter would explain things enough so that she wouldn’t give up on trusting people altogether.

“Why did we stop?” Maggie questioned as she turned her head and looked back at him.

Brendon shook his head and turned his gaze back forward. He hadn’t realized that he had stopped.

“Sorry.” he mumbled as he flicked the reins and started them on their way once again.

“I miss Ella. Who’s gonna brush my hair before I go to bed and when I wake up?”

“You can brush your own hair.” Brendon grumbled.

“Okay then who will kiss you goodnight? Every night she’s been kissing you goodnight and it helps you sleep better.”

“You notice too much.” Brendon accused and Maggie just giggled.

“Ella is in love with you.”

“She told you that?” Brendon demanded, his heart skipping a beat before stuttering back to normal rhythm. Maggie shook her head.

“No, but I can tell. She is happier since we met you.”

“She doesn’t smile.” Brendon countered, desperate to make the girl shut up. “Happy people smile.”

“No she doesn’t smile.” Maggie agreed. “But she hasn’t frowned as much since you kissed her that first time.”

The memory of that first kiss and of all the kisses that followed and the love making of last night slammed into Brendon. It was like a physical blow straight in his chest and it nearly sent him toppling from his horse.

“Goddammit.” he grumbled under his breath and then he let out a growl and turned his horse around, kicking its ribs and urging it faster toward town.

He couldn’t leave her here. Grange would just have to keep watch over Ella for him. The wolf would be happy to do it once he knew she was Brendon’s life mate.

And then she would be closer to the compound that Brendon called home and it wouldn’t take so long for him to get to her whenever he had a chance to..

All he knew was that leaving her here wasn’t an option. It never really had been, though Brendon had desperately wanted to do so. It would be easier and safer for everyone involved…. But easier and safer just weren’t going to work this time. Brendon had to have her close to him. If she wasn’t he knew it would only be a matter of time before he went completely crazy.

“Are we going back to get her?” Maggie asked excitedly, her voice bouncing with the movement of the horse.

Brendon urged the horse faster still and secured his arm tight around the girls tiny waist to hold her in place.

“Yes. Yes we are.”

---

Brendon knew something was wrong the instant he got to the hotel and a familiar scent assaulted his senses.

Vaughn.

But what would that arrogant, self absorbed, piece of shit be doing here at this hotel with Ella?

Had the council grown impatient waiting on Brendon and sent Vaughn to hunt him? A Hunter hunting a Hunter… There had to be something unethical about that. Surely it went against some kind of code.

But there hadn’t been time for them to grow worried about what was taking him so long.. No Vaughn had been sent to check up on him and Brendon knew just who would do something like that…. Farris.

Brendon quickly jumped from the horse, hitched its reins quickly and scooped Maggie down. He carried the girl, (because she walked too slowly for the hurry he was in), and quickly ran inside and up the stairs.

He could smell Ella and her anger. He could smell Vaughn and his calm collectedness. Brendon was still two floors away when the gunshot sounded, followed closely by two more.

Screams erupted in the hotel and people began pouring out of rooms and scrambling for exits while Brendon stormed forward toward Ella’s room.

He heard a horrible screech just as he burst into the room with Maggie crying and clinging to his neck, trembling with terror.

The scene Brendon was met with stopped him in his tracks.

Vaughn was dead. His throat ripped out, his head nearly decapitated. Brendon stepped into the room, shutting and locking the door behind him. He saw a blood trail dripped across the floor to the door that led into the room he had shared with Ella the night before.

Maggie was staring with horror at Vaughns dead body and Brendon knew the girl would have to be dealt with later but for now he was more worried about Ella. This was her blood and he could smell her through the door. She was weak and in a lot of pain.

Strange that he could almost somehow feel her pain. He knew it was because she had drunk from him so recently. They were connected more because of that.

Adjusting the trembling girl on his hip, Brendon walked to the closed door and opened it.

“Ella!” he cried out when he saw her. She was in the chair and she was covered in blood. Two bullet holes were in her chest, on in her stomach. Her skin was gray and blood covered her face. Her fangs were still sharp and her eyes still iridescent as she looked up at him.

“Brendon…” she whispered faintly. “You came for me.”

“I’ll always come for you.” he replied gruffly as he sat Maggie down and went to Ella, dropping to his knees in front of her. “Forgive me for leaving you…” he started but she raised one hand and pressed her fingers to his lips.

“I’m dying.” she stated and Brendon shook his head with denial.

“No, you’re not.” he countered. “You’re strong.”

Brendon knew that was the truth but he also knew that she would die if she didn’t feed soon. “Are the bullets still in there?” he questioned.

“I think they went all the way through.” Ella replied. “Death comes to us all. I am not afraid.”

Brendon heard boots pounding up the stairs and the shout of a lawman demanding entry to the room. He had to get Ella and Maggie out of here, far from this town and then do what he could to save Ella.

He had to save Ella. Allowing her to die was not an option.

“Come on, Maggie, jump on my back and hold on to my neck.” he ordered as he crouched. The little girl shook her head as she clutched her skirt and wept openly.

“I’m scared.” she whimpered. Brendon felt his patience snap.

“Get on my back or we’ll all die!” He bellowed which of course only caused the girl to take a step away.

“I don’t think that’s what you should have said.” Ella said, her voice barely more than a faint whisper.

Brendon grabbed Maggie’s arm and tossed her over his shoulder, her thin arms wrapping around his neck and her legs his waist.

“Hold on or fall. I won’t come back for you.” Brendon stated and he wasn’t sure if he meant it or not. Her grip tightened until she was nearly cutting off his air but Brendon didn’t complain. He scooped Ella up into his arms with the lawman’s orders getting more firm.

Brendon ran out onto the balcony and jumped down onto the dirt road below. The street was crowded with people who had come to see what was going on at the hotel.

“Stop! What are you doing with that woman and child?!” an old man demanded as he stepped forward, his wife grabbing his arm and trying to pull him back.

“They’re mine.” Brendon replied and then he grabbed the nearest horse and jumped on. He noticed that Maggie kept her arms tight around him as she sat behind him and Ella seemed too weak to even know what was happening as she simply slumped against his lap.

Cries rang out as he urged the horse into a gallop and away from the crowd.

Brendon didn’t worry about the posse he was certain was gathering to follow after them. He knew how to elude those he wanted to elude.

He rode for what seemed like hours until the horse he was on collapsed from exhaustion. He had traveled down rivers, over rocky mountain cliff lines and through forests so dense they had barely been able to make it through them.

No one from that town would be able to follow them here.

Brendon checked Ella for signs of life and realized they were there but just barely. Vampires could heal form nearly any wound but only if they had blood to replenish themselves with. If they lost too much blood and didn’t take any in then they died.

Brendon quickly set up a small fire, careful to use wood that wouldn’t smoke much and using the matches from his pocket to light it. He had left all their supplies in the saddlebags of his horse, including all his weapons other than his knife and revolver.

They now had no food, only a small pack of matches and the tiny satchel of ammunition and anti venoms that Brendon always kept hooked to his belt.

“Maggie, you stay by this fire.” he ordered the girl who was huddled beside the fire with her knees in her chest. He knew that both he and Ella would be asleep soon and he didn’t want the girl wandering off.

He laid his revolver on the ground beside her.

“If a critter or a person that scares you comes by, you just pull this hammer back, point the gun at them and squeeze this trigger.” Maggie nodded, her eyes wide and shining behind her glasses.

Brendon folded up his sleeve and crouched down beside Ella, cradling her head in his lap.

“Ella, honey, you have to wake up a little.” he urged as he placed his wrist against her lips. She gave no indication that she heard him and her fangs stayed hidden in her gums.

Brendon pulled his knife then, feeling more than a little desperation. He laid the blade against his skin and pulled it across, opening up the flesh and causing a thin line of blood to appear.

He dripped a few drops onto her pale colorless lips and instantly her tongue shot out and her fangs sharpened. Brendon let out a gasp of pain when he rammed his wrist against her fangs, sinking them deep inside and feeling her begin to drink from him.

She didn’t do anything to lessen the pain of her bite and Brendon felt the tendons in his neck popping and sweat covered his brow as he fought to keep from crying out.

The world began to grow darker as Ella sucked more and more blood from him. He knew she could very well kill him but he didn’t care. He would do anything to save her life.

He heard Maggie call out his name as he swooned and fell to the ground, losing consciousness just as he felt his head hit the ground and his wrist tear away from Ella’s teeth.

Chapter Eighteen

Brendon was getting too old for this. He groaned as he covered his face with his hand to block out the sunlight currently beating down on it. His body felt as if he’d been run over by an entire herd of overweight buffalo. He preferred being run over by the skinny ones.

“I think he’s waking up.” Brendon heard a young voice whisper. It sounded almost hopeful.

Where the hell was he and what the hell had happened?

He opened his eyes, squinting at the early morning sunlight and then he heard a cry of relief, saw a flash of red and then a body was flung against him.

Arms circled his neck, a face pressed against his chest and a soft body lay against the rest of him. He breathed deep, taking in the scent of herbs and his memory came flooding back.

“Ella.” Relief filled him as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She was alive. He had saved her. Then he realized she was crying. Sobbing actually. The tears were silent but her entire body shook with them.

He kissed her messy hair and gently stroked her bare arm with his fingers.

“Ella, honey, why are you crying?” he whispered as he sat up and pulled her with him. He glanced over by the fire, which he realized they must have kept going because he had been asleep at least overnight given the morning sun. Maggie was sitting there with a smile on her face as she watched them. Brendon wondered where her fear had went. Had Ella adjusted the girls memory?

“I thought I had killed you too…Just like…my family.” Ella whispered, the words muffled against his blood stiffened shirt. Ella had covered him in blood as he had carried her away from danger.

“I’m alive, honey. You didn’t kill me.”

“Hehe… of course you’re alive silly! We can see you talking!” Maggie exclaimed brightly.

“See me talking…….?” Brendon said slowly and then he just shook his head and chuckled before kissing Ella’s red hair. “Stop with the waterworks now.” he stated. “I’ve never been good at dealing with them.” Ella pulled away but stayed in his lap, though Brendon wasn’t sure if she stayed because she wanted to or it if was just because Brendon’s vice-like grip on her held her firmly in place.

“I could have killed you, Brendon…. Why would you risk that?” Ella asked with a frown. Brendon smoothed her messy hair from her face and kissed her brow.

“You would have died if I hadn’t. I wasn’t willing to let that happen.”

“I want to stay with you. Please let me stay with you.” she pleaded, her eyes looking deep into his own.

“I will take you to the safe place that I’m taking Maggie to. I have to go to the council alone but I will come back to you every chance I get.” Brendon put his hand on her cheek when he saw doubt enter her eyes. “I promise, Ella. I won’t just leave and forget about you.”

“I’m hungry.” Maggie’s voice spoke up and Brendon glanced over at her.

“I’ll have to find us something to eat then.” Brendon replied with a nod. He was hungry too. Starving actually.

He turned his back to Maggie and put his lips close to Ella’s ear.

“Why is she calm now? What happened while I was asleep?”

“I talked to her.” Ella replied simply.

“Talked? Brendon asked with a raise of his brow and Ella nodded. “No mind tricks to make her forget?”

“It wouldn’t have done any good. We’re both covered in blood and lost out in the middle of nowhere, what would I have told her?”

Brendon had to admit that the woman had a point.

“I told her about vampires and explained that I am one but that I won’t hurt her.”

“What about me? Did you tell her what I am?” Brendon questioned and Ella shook her head.

“No. I was not sure if I’m supposed to.” Brendon sighed.

“I guess it doesn’t matter. Mortals are not supposed to be told about supernatural creatures like vampires, werewolves and Hunters but I am sending the girl to live with a werewolf pack so…” he shrugged.

“Brendon, I’m hungry.” Maggie said again, with a bit of impatience in her little voice this time. Brendon grumbled under his breath and then stood up, settling Ella on her feet.

“I’ll go find us something to eat and then we have to get moving. We still have another two weeks of hard riding before we reach the wolves.”

“Wolves?” Maggie asked with a frown as Brendon grabbed his gun, ensured it was loaded and then slid it back in its holster.

“Werewolves.” he replied with a nod and Maggie’s eyes widened.

“Do they have fur?”

“Yep.” Brendon found his hat and plopped it on his head.

“Can I pet one? There was a puppy once that came around the orphanage and I tied bows on its ears! Can I tie bows on their ears?”

Brendon chuckled as he pictured Grange as a wolf. A big, black, muscular killing machine with little pink bows on his ears.

“I’m sure they’d be more than obliged to let you.” he replied with a grin. He tousled the girls hair and then pulled Ella to him and kissed her lips.

“I…” he started and then he frowned. He had almost told her that he loved her. Loved her? He didn’t even know how to do that.

“I’ll be back shortly. Y’all just stay here.” With that he turned and jogged off into the Tennessee mountains, trying hard to ignore the pain still lingering in his blood drained body.

---

“Trig.” Grange ground out between his clenched jaw.

“I did it! I did it! I finally did it!” Trig exclaimed as he danced the two step around and around the pack.

“Trig.” Grange repeated.

“Woohoo! I did it!” Trig cried out with pride as he grabbed Dawn, who was cradling nearly five month old creed against her chest, and began to spin around taking them with him.

“Trig, I will kill you if you don’t calm down.” Grange warned, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

“You better listen to him, Trig. He’s threatening violence.” Nickolai stated dryly as he lounged against a tree with his arms wrapped loosely around Brie and her back resting against his chest as she smiled at Trig’s antics and the way they were clearly going to give Grange an apoplexy.

“When isn’t he threatening violence?” Dawn asked with a laugh as she broke away from Trig and went to her mates arms. Trig simply continued his dancing with Anika, much to the displeasure of Blain who had grown very protective of the she wolf as of late.

“What’s wrong, Grange? You should be happy for your beta.” Dawn scolded. Grange let out a breath and shook his head, sure that his mate had lost her mind.

“You do realize that in a few months we’ll have a miniature that..” he pointed to Trig who had a goofy grin on his face and his tongue lolling out as he spun Anika in fast circles. “Mixed with a little of that..” he pointed at Farrah who was staring off into space while spinning the large Bowie knife in her hand. “Running around here and creating chaos.”

“Yes and I’m sure that Creed here will help them keep all the chaos going.” Dawn replied. Grange snorted and took his son.

“Not my boy. You’re not going to give your daddy a single gray hair are you, son?”

Creed grinned a big toothless grin in response and then proceeded to burp out a long line of spit up onto Grange’s buckskin shirt.

“Nope, not a single one.” Nickolai commented, a small grin tugging at the corners of his mouth as Dawn used the rag in her hand to hastily try to mop up the mess.

“I’m gonna be a daddy!” Trig hollered as he grabbed a hold of Grange and tried to spin him around. Grange kept his feet planted firmly, not allowing himself to be moved.

“Yes, and if you want to see your child born you will let go of me.”

“Stop being such a hard ass, Grange, you know you’re just as happy about this as Trig is.” Blain said quietly.

Grange just sighed and shook his head, though a smile pulled at his lips. He was happy. His pack was thriving. There had been no challenges since Faugrimm had been killed. Life had been peaceful and the pack was growing.

Not to mention that perhaps a baby would be the one thing to finally wear Trig out and take away some of the annoying pups energy. And… well Grange might just love the little pup and want him to be as happy as Grange was now that Creed had come into his and Dawn’s life.

“You might want to go love on your mate seeing as how she’s the one carrying your child.” Nickolai stated.

Trig chuckled, rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and then went to Farrah who slipped the knife back into the sheath on her hip and tilted her head as she looked at him.

“I take it you are happy?” she asked quietly and Trig’s grin instantly transformed into a confused frown.

“You’re not?”

Sensing the deep direction the conversation was about to take, Grange instantly began to walk away and then he froze when a scent reached his nostrils.

“Vampire.” he growled. Instantly he handed Creed to Dawn and then stepped in front of them both. Nickolai, Trig and Blain herded Anika, Brie and Farrah to the middle of the snarling circle they made.

Grange heard the grumbles from the women and knew they were not amused but he did not care.

His mate, the alpha female, was holding the only pup in the pack. Farrah was carrying another pup (or kitten, only time would tell which) and Brie was not known for fighting, while Anika… Well Blain watched over Anika very closely. Grange would protect them all with his life if need be.

Then another scent came to him.

“Isn’t that Brendon?” Dawn asked as she shoved her way out of the protective circle and Grange glared at Blain who had allowed her out.

“She scares me.” the wolf replied with a shrug.

“Scares you? She’s barely five feet tall.” Grange grumbled, relaxing now that he knew Brendon was with the vampire. He wasn’t sure why the Hunter would be traveling with a vampire but surely Brendon wouldn’t have brought her if she was trouble.

“Yes but she controls you.” Blain stated. “And anyone who can control you scares me.”

“Farrah, Dawn, get to the house until we know it’s safe.” Grange ordered.

“But…” Dawn started and Grange sent her a look to let her know he meant business. She sighed and kissed their sons dark hair.

“Fine.” she grumbled as she and Farrah headed toward the house.

“I can look out for myself.” Grange heard Farrah complain.

“Get used to being overprotected. That happens when you’ve got a bun in the oven.” Dawn sighed knowingly.

Grange shook his head and chuckled at his mates antics.

“Brie, you go as well.” Nickolai ordered gently.

“No.” Brie replied simply and when Blain looked at Anika and opened his mouth to speak, the look she shot him had his mouth snapping shut.

Grange shook his head. It seemed as if the women ruled the men in this pack. He wanted that to change but knew that would probably be a cold day in hell and he had always known how to pick his battles wisely. That simply wasn’t a war he was willing to throw his hat into.

“There’s a child with him.” Nickolai stated with confusion and Grange nodded.

Finally Brendon rode in to view. He had a small girl with brown ponytails and glasses seating on the horse in front of him and a female vampire with red hair and snow pale skin.

“Brendon.” Grange said in greeting as he stepped forward.

“Hey there, Grange.” Brendon replied with a tip of his hat toward everyone else.

“What are you doing here?” Grange asked. “I know I told you to come back any time but I didn’t really think you’d take me up on that.”

Something was wrong and Grange could feel it in his bones. That peace he’d been enjoying was going to be coming to an end and it was going to be Brendon’s fault.

“Well actually, Grange, I was just passing through, but these two here… They want to join your pack.”

And there it was.

“A vampire and a mortal girl with a bad leg?” Grange asked as his nostrils flared. “In my pack?”

“Yes.” Brendon replied, his grip tightening a little around the girl in front of him. Grange shook his head.

“No.” he turned and began to walk away.

“Grange, if you want to know who hired me to kill you then you will take these two in.”

Grange stopped, his spine stiffening.

He liked Brendon, he really did, but why was it that every time the bastard showed up, somebody wanted Grange dead?

Chapter Nineteen

Brendon knew that he was pushing the limits of his friendship with the wolf and risking his own neck but he had to. He had to use some kind of leverage to get Grange to help him and since Dawn wasn’t outside he couldn’t use her.

“I can deal with whoever comes. I don’t need any new members of my pack.” Grange said matter of factly without turning back around to face him.

Brendon sighed and dismounted his horse, leaving Maggie on the saddle. He walked toward Grange but stopped when he heard the wolf growl.

“Who is she?” Grange asked in a low voice. Brendon looked back at Ella who was staring straight at Trig, her nostril’s widening.

“What is it, Ella?” Brendon asked.

“I smell something familiar.” she replied simply.

“I don’t like her staring at me.” Trig whispered as he took a little step back, using Nickolai as cover. “She gives me the heebiejeebies.”

“What do you smell?” Brendon asked again.

“Faugrimm.”

“I told you that I killed Faugrimm.” Brendon countered as Brie and Anika both took a sharp intake of breath and Grange snorted.

“He had help.”

“I smell someone familiar but she isn’t out here.”

“Farrah.” Nickolai replied and Ella nodded.

“Yes, that was her name.”

“What do you want with my mate?” Trig growled as he stepped around Nickolai and toward Ella. Brendon met him halfway, the threat to Trig clear in his body language.

“Back off, pup.” Brendon warned.

Brendon noticed the look that passed between Nickolai and Grange and then the alpha stepped forward.

“Take the girl inside and get her something to eat.” he said to Brie. “You,” Grange pointed to Brendon. “Come with me. We need to talk.”

Brendon watched Brie walk to Maggie and Ella scrambled from her horse and quickly ran to him as he and Grange began to walk away.

“Where are you going?” she demanded. Brendon knew that Grange was watching them closely, assessing the situation.

“I have to go talk to Grange. I’ll be back, Ella. Just stay with Maggie. Go on in and meet the rest of the pack. This is going to be your home.”

“It is?” Grange questioned as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Can we trust these wolves?” Ella asked, ignoring Grange.

“You said you know Farrah, right?” Brendon asked and Ella nodded. “She trusts them. I trust them.”

Brendon searched Ella’s eyes and saw the conflict.

“If you trust them then I will trust them.” she finally relented. Brendon nodded, kissed her lightly and then remembered he was being watched.

“Go on now.” he ordered Ella and then he turned his back to her and began to walk into the woods. “You comin’?” he called over his shoulder to Grange and the wolf said nothing but followed after him with Trig, Nickolai and Blain on his heels.

“Just Grange.” Brendon added and Grange looked back at his fellow wolves and nodded. They stopped and Brendon and Grange continued on their way away from Grange’s cabin.

---

“Who is she to you?” Grange asked once the two of them were a short distance from Grange’s cabin.

“Her name is Ella, she is a vampire.”

“Wow. I never would have guessed either of those things on my own.” Grange growled sarcastically as he leaned against a tree and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You’ve been spending too much time with Trig. His smart ass nature is rubbing off.”

Grange grinned and then raised a brow.

“Tell me, Brendon. What is she and the girl to you?” Brendon rubbed the back of his neck and stared into the woods.

“I am… responsible for them both.” he finally replied.

“Responsible?” Grange sounded skeptical.

“Yep.”

“Do you lay with all the women you feel responsible for?”

“Shut-up, Grange.”

“Be honest with me, Brendon. You come here, you tell me someone wants me dead and then you tell me that you’ll help me if I take in a vampire and a crippled mortal girl. The vampire has been a prisoner of Faugrimm’s at some point so that alone tells me that there’s probably some kind of trouble since that name always brings me trouble.”

“She won’t bring you any trouble, Grange.”

“Then tell me why she’s with you?”

Brendon knew he had no choice. So he explained to Grange about the council sending him after the vampire killing mortal men. He told him about learning the vampire was Ella and always discovering that she was prisoner to Warren. He explained about Warren’s attack on Maggie and then his death at Brendon’s hands.

He also told him about the life mate bond between he and Ella and the fact that he planned to lie to the council.

He chose to leave out any mention of his own feelings toward Ella.

“So you love her then?” Grange questioned.

“No.” Brendon replied quickly. “No.” he insisted when Grange sent him a look that said the wolf clearly didn’t believe him. “I’m a Hunter, we aren’t allowed to feel things like love.”

“Just like I was a lone wolf and not allowed to fall in love with Dawn without putting my own life in jeopardy?”

“I….”

“Love doesn’t give a shit what you’re allowed to do. If you tell me you’re in love with her and need me to keep your mate safe then that’s what I’ll do.”

“I’m not in love with her.” Brendon insisted, though he wasn’t sure anymore that that was the truth. It would probably help if he knew what love was. Truth was he and Ella hadn’t done much talking in the last couple of weeks. At least not about anything deep or serious. During the day Maggie was always around and at night well… Brendon and Ella had found better things to do.

“Fine. Is trouble following you?”

“No. I killed the trouble.” Brendon promised him. “Well I killed half of it and Ella killed the other half. I just can’t have her coming to the council with me because they would kill her and maybe even me if they found out what she means to me.”

“And that is?”

“When did you get so damn pushy about feelings?” Brendon grumbled and Grange chuckled.

“Sorry. Married life I guess.”

“Will you watch out for her for me? And for Maggie? The girl knows all about things like us. She needs to be raised by someone who can love her and keep her safe. I trust your pack to do that.”

Grange was quiet for a long moment and Brendon wondered what was going through the wolf’s mind. Finally the other man spoke.

“You’re a friend, Brendon. If you need my help then you have it. Your woman and the girl are welcome to stay here. After all, I do owe you one for saving Dawn.”

“That was going to be the next tool I pulled from my kit.’ Brendon assured him and Grange chuckled.

“I’d say it was.” his face turned more serious. “Now who wants me dead?” Brendon laughed.

“Some young pup alpha of the southern pack. Says you killed his dad.”

“But I got a letter from the alpha of that pack saying he wouldn’t cause me trouble. I thought he was the trustworthy sort.”

‘He was.” Brendon replied, pulling a rolled cigarette from his pocket since Maggie wasn’t around to curl her tiny nose at him. “This is the new one. Took over a few months ago.”

Grange rolled his eyes. “Great. So a pup is out to get me.”

“Yep. But I’m sending the council his way as soon as I check in. He’s keeping a nice assortment of pets judging by the scents at that place.”

Grange just shook his head and ran his hand through his thick dark hair.

“Some things never change.”

Brendon nodded his agreement. Suddenly Grange became tense and Brendon whirled around when Ella’s familiar scent reached his nose. She was crying.

Instantly his temper was riled. Who would dare make her cry?! The damn woman had been through enough! He had thought Dawn and the pack would welcome her not send her running in tears.

He threw a glance at Grange who just shrugged and then he caught a sobbing Ella in his arms as she slammed into his chest.

---

Ella turned her attention to the female werewolf that was talking to Maggie who was still sitting on Brendon’s horse. Ella was ready to protect the girl if necessary.

“What’s your name?” Maggie asked the wolf.

“I’m Brie. What’s your name?”

“Maggie.” the girls dark eyes went to Brendon’s back which was quickly fading into the trees. “Where is Brendon going?”

“To talk to Grange. They’re old friends.” Brie assured the girl. “Do you know that there is a baby in that house? Would you like to go in and meet him and get something to eat?”

“I already ate.” Maggie said matter of factly. “Brendon chased a wild chicken.” Trig’s snort of laughter drew Ella’s attention back to him. He smelled like Farrah. Her mate?

“The baby then? I’ll bet you like babies.”

“Yes I do.” Maggie replied with a big nod. “I always helped Widow Callahan with the babies.” Maggie’s face became sad. “But I had to leave there. Brendon said there wasn’t even time to say goodbye.”

Nickolai and Brie shared a look. That sounded like trouble.

“Well come in then and you can meet little Creed. I’m sure his mama would love to have a big helper like you around.” Nickolai stepped forward and held his arms out for the girl who stared at his scarred face in shock.

“You’re scaring the girl, Nickolai.” Brie scolded her stern mate. Honestly he looked more like he was dealing with some prisoner of war than a little girl. Nickolai smiled apologetically and instantly Maggie smiled back and let him lift her from the saddle.

Brie took the girl by the hand once she was on her feet and motioned for Ella to follow her.

“Come on then. You can meet the rest of the pack.”

Ella followed Brie, noticing just how close Nickolai stayed to her as if to stop Ella from making an attack. Did the wolf think she was a danger to the pack?

Upon entering the cabin, Ella was struck with the hominess of the place. The scent of baking bread and ham. The quilts tossed over the couch and armchairs. It reminded her of the home she had shared with her family so long ago.

Much to her surprise the hint of a smile pulled at her lips. She quickly forced it away and turned her attention back to the pack members inside here with her. She smelled the scent of the baby and saw him in the arms of another female werewolf. This woman was a heavier set woman, soft bodied but beautiful with golden hair, tinted with red.

She smiled welcomingly at Ella and Maggie.

“Hello.” she said as the baby chewed on his fist. “I am Dawn. This is my house. You met my mate Grange outside, he was the tall, moody one who was not very kind or welcoming toward you.”

“Don’t’ take it personal. At least he didn’t beat the hell out of you like he did me when I first showed up here.” Trig said matter of factly as he crossed the room and took his place next to Farrah who was staring at Ella with recognition in her eyes but not saying a word.

“I’ll do a quick introduction of everyone else,” Dawn continued. “This is Creed,” she motioned toward the baby in her arms who let out a coo at mention of his name. “And this is Farrah, Trig, Brie, Nickolai, Anika and Blain.”

“I’m Ella. Brendon tells me that this is going to be our home.” Ella stated as she moved behind Maggie and put a hand on the girls shoulder.

Dawn blinked several times and then nodded.

“Well then, welcome. I’m sure you’ll fit in fine.”

“Your mate, Grange, he says we are not welcome here.” Ella countered.

Dawn just waved her hand and laughed lightly.

“He’ll change his mind.” she promised and then she winked at Ella, who found herself liking and trusting this Dawn already. Which was a big deal for her given her natural dislike and distrust of everyone she met.

“Farrah, outside she said she knows you.” Trig said as Maggie stepped toward Dawn and the woman knelt down to let the girl look more closely at the black haired baby in her arms. “Do you remember, Ella?”

Farrah’s posture was anything but friendly and her scent was threatening. Her lips pulled back in a hiss which Ella met with a matching snarl.

Memories came back to Ella. Memories of Farrah. The hell cat. The murderer. Faugrimm’s favorite little soldier.

“You killed them all.” she said coldly and Farrah’s angry expression faltered while everyone looked at her questioningly. “All those women. Some no more than girls. Too weak from starvation and beatings to fight back. You killed them because he told you to.”

“I had no choice but to kill them!” Farrah countered as she took a step toward Ella. Her shoulders tense with fury. “It was either them or me!”

“You should have chosen death!” Ella exclaimed. “They did nothing to deserve what you did to them! You did not even have the decency to kill them all quickly! I heard them screaming. I watched you walking back past my cell covered in their blood once their screams had grown silent. Faugrimm behind you, laughing with every step he took.”

“I don’t think we should be discussing this in front of the child.” Dawn stated firmly. Trig nodded and took his mate’s shoulders but Farrah shook him off and took yet another step toward Ella.

“I did what I had to do to survive. And what excuse do you have for what you did?”

“What are you talking about?” Ella demanded. Farrah’s cat eyes flashed with hatred and disgust.

“You are pure filth. No man ever touched me. If he tried, I killed him and punishment be damned.”

“Farrah, ENOUGH!” Dawn growled, sounding much like an angry Grange.

“She is no better than a whore. She has lain with hundreds of men, or more, simply to ensure she would have food and no beatings.”

Ella wanted to argue, she wanted to fight back, but Farrah was right. Strangely enough, tears began to fill her eyes and then she turned and ran from the cabin.

She hadn’t had any destination in mind when she had run but she found herself following Brendon’s scent. She needed him. Being with him made her feel less like the monster that she knew deep down she was.

The trees were a blur as she ran and then she saw him and sent her self barreling into his arms, crashing into his chest as his arms closed around her.

“Ella, what’s wrong, honey?” he asked gently as he kissed her hair and rubbed his hands comfortingly on her back.

“I’m a monster.” she replied with a sniff as her hot tears soaked into Brendon’s black shirt.

“No, you’re not.” Brendon assured her with a sigh. “Now what happened to make you cry? Who’s ass am I kicking?”

“Yep, sure.” Grange said with a shake of his head. “You’re not in love at all.”

Chapter Twenty

Brendon chose to ignore Grange and instead focused on Ella. She was crying, really crying, and that was something new. He’d seen her shed a few tears now and then but all out sobbing?

“Ella, talk to me, honey.”

“She was right. I’m a monster.”

“She?” Brendon asked with a frown. “Who is she and what did she say?” Grange shook his head when Brendon looked at him questioningly.

“I’ve been with you.” he replied. “It wasn’t my mate, I know that much. I think Dawn would sooner swallow her own tongue rather than make someone cry.”

“No.” Ella said, her hands gripping tighter to Brendon’s shirt as she tried to compose herself. “No, it wasn’t Dawn.”

“Ella, you gotta talk to me. I can’t make things better if I don’t know what’s wrong.” Brendon felt helpless and he didn’t do helpless well.

“I’m a whore.” Ella whispered and then her tears began to come harder as she clung to him.

“I’m gone.” Grange mumbled and he disappeared into the trees back toward his cabin.

“Why in the hell would you call yourself a whore?” Brendon demanded, fighting to hold back his temper.

“She was right. That’s what I am. That’s what I was for Faugrimm and his friends. That’s what I was for Warren and now it’s what I am for you.”

Brendon took her upper arms in his hands and shoved her away from her, holding her firmly and shaking her without even realizing what he was doing.

“Who the hell told you some fool thing like that?” he demanded angrily. Ella whimpered and Brendon realized what he was doing to her. He quickly released his hold on her arms and stepped back, removing his hat and shoving his hand roughly through his hair.

“I’m sorry.” he offered as he watched her staring at him with shock in her wide, red rimmed green eyes. Then he shook his head. “No, I’m not sorry. You needed to snap the hell out of it. You are not a whore.”

“Yes I am!” Ella insisted. “I’m a murdering whore. I killed my family! I let Faugrimm and all his men, anyone who wanted to, lay with me in order to save myself beatings. I did the same with Warren. And now I let you lay with me so you won’t leave me behind.”

Brendon felt as if he’d been punched in the chest. The blow was so strong and hurt so bad physically that he actually took several steps backward.

“It’s okay, Brendon.” Ella insisted. “Farrah was right. It is just what I am.”

“Farrah?” Brendon demanded. “Farrah put this idea in your head?”

“Yes, but….” Brendon had heard enough. Without another word he stormed away toward the cabin.

---

“Farrah, why in the world would you do that?” Trig demanded after everyone had overcome their shock of watching Ella run out the door. Farrah simply shrugged and looked uncomfortable as she picked at her arm.

“I didn’t like her reminding me of what I was. So I decided to remind her of what she was.”

“What’s wrong with Ella? Why was she crying? She doesn’t normally cry. She hadn’t even been that sad lately, even though she doesn’t smile. I think she really loves Brendon because ever since they started kissing each other she seems happier. So does he.” Maggie’s voice rambled on as she poked at Creed’s belly and made the boy coo with laughter. “Will Ella be okay?” Maggie asked, turning her dark eyes toward Dawn’s.

Dawn nodded and laid a gentle hand on her cheek.

“Of course. Everything will be just fine once everyone has had a chance to cool off. Grown ups do things that aren’t very nice to each other sometimes but things usually turn out okay in the end.” Maggie smiled.

“Okay.”

“Now, why don’t you go on out with Brie and get cleaned up at the well and then you can help me bake some cookies?” Dawn urged brightly. Maggie practically bounced with excitement and then ran to Brie and took the woman’s hand, allowing her to lead her outside.

Grange came in the front door just after they had left.

“The gates of hell are fixin’ to be ripped off this place. Who told the vampire she was a whore?”

“Me.” Farrah stated unapologetically. “And she was one.” Grange shook his head.

“I don’t care if she was a whore, a nun or a goddamn Madame. I gave my word to Brendon that we would look out for her and that girl and having you send the woman running out of here in tears only five minutes after she gets here sure don’t look real good on me.”

“I thought you agreed that sugarcoating the truth and running in circles around an issue are pointless.” Farrah countered and Grange growled when all eyes suddenly turned to him. He hated having his own words thrown back in his face.

“Normally I agree but uh… What is that you say, Dawn?” Grange asked looking to his mate for assistance. Dawn quickly stepped forward and took her place beside him, though she seemed uncertain about what he was talking about.

“Um….”

“About what we say..” Grange urged. Hell he couldn’t remember either but he was hoping the woman could think of something clever and deep that would be a lesson for Farrah.

Um.. Yes.. Uh.. Our words should only ever lift someone up or make a situation better. If they can’t then we shouldn’t say them.” Dawn offered and Grange sighed with relief.

There were many reasons he loved this woman and the fact that she always seemed to know the right thing to say was one of them.

“She called me a murderer first.” Farrah reminded them and Grange growled. So much for that quick lesson he was hoping those words would help her learn.

“Am I an alpha or a school teacher?” he ground out as he threw his hands in the air. “This is no more than a school yard spat and I’m not dealing with it.”

Dawn stroked his arm comfortingly and then the sound of pounding boots filled the air just before Brendon stormed into the cabin and had Farrah pinned against the wall before anyone could react.

Trig lunged for Brendon with a growl but Grange caught his arm and held him back.

“Brendon won’t hurt her.” he assured the other wolf. “He has a right to be upset.”

“So do I! That vampire called my mate a murderer and I’m not pinning her to walls.”

“That has more to do with your fear of getting your ass kicked than anything else.” Nickolai chimed in from the kitchen where he had been hanging back and taking everything in. Trig glared at him.

“I liked you better when you were dark, brooding, stern and didn’t pretend to be a comedian.”

Ella entered the cabin then. Her arms tight around herself as her eyes widened at the sight of Brendon just glaring and all but snarling at Farrah who was simply watching him calmly as if waiting for his next move.

“You. Had. No. Right.” Brendon finally spoke, his tone angry and his words clipped. “You have no idea what she’s been through.”

“Yes I do.” Farrah replied with a hiss. “More than you do.” Brendon took in a deep breath and took one step back though he still looked as if he wanted to teach Farrah a lesson.

“But to call her a whore? And to tell her that she’s a whore for being with me?” he demanded. “Why would you do that?”

“I did not.” Farrah replied with a shake of her head. “I never told her that being with you made her a whore.”

Brendon took another step away, though this caused him to bump into Blain and Anika who had simply been standing out of the way and watching the entire scene.

“You didn’t?” he asked, though the question was rhetorical and he turned and looked at Ella with anger darkening his features. “So that came from you? Being with me makes you a whore? It’s no different from being with Faugrimm and his men? Or Warren?”

“I…” Ella started and Brendon let out an angry yell and kicked the sofa, shoving it backward and nearly knocking Dawn (who still had Creed in her arms) over as it hit her legs.

In a blur of movement, Grange caught Dawn, put her in Nickolai’s arms and then went for Brendon, his fist connecting with the Hunter’s jaw and sending him wind-milling backward into Blain’s arms.

Blain wasn’t sure if he was supposed to hold the Hunter in place or hit him so he chose to simply hold him.

Suddenly the tension in the air was pierced by Dawn‘s voice.

“Stop it!” she yelled loudly. Grange nodded and went to stand beside her.

“I apologize Brendon. I shouldn’t have done that.” he admitted as he took his son from Dawn.

Brendon jerked from Blain’s grasp and wiped his bloody lip.

“I just want to kill them again!” he exclaimed. “Faugrimm. Warren. Anyone else who ever hurt that damn woman! I just want to kill everyone of them again!”

“Brendon.” Dawn said as she stepped toward the Hunter. “You need to go for a walk.”

“A walk?” Brendon demanded, his anger still clear to hear in his tone. “What the hell for?”

“To cool down.” Dawn replied. “You’re acting very….. Grangish.”

“What?” Grange demanded.

“I think she means, angry, overprotective and uh.. punch happy.” Trig supplied. Grange just shook his head.

“Fine.” Brendon went to the door, stopping to glare down at Ella who was standing beside it. “Don’t worry, Ella. I won’t make you lay with me again. I’d hate to force you to be my whore.”

“Well that didn’t go well.” Anika stated bluntly once Brendon was gone.

“Thank you for that wonderful observation.” Trig stated and Grange grumbled under his breath before settling himself on the sofa with Creed. “Well the vampire and the girl are our pack members now.” he stated. “Ella will have to sleep on our sofa until we get her a place and the girl…”

“Brie said I can stay with her and Nickolai!” Maggie exclaimed happily as she came skipping in. “She said Nickolai knows how to play chess. I love chess!”

“A child in our cabin?” Nickolai questioned with a raise of his brow and Brie smiled pointedly and nodded.

“Yes. I want her to stay with us.” she replied. Nickolai simply tipped his head, smiled at the girl and then resumed his stoic posture with his arms behind him.

“Are we baking cookies now? Ella is back, where is Brendon?” Maggie asked as she looked around.

“Brendon is angry with me.” Ella stated. “I don’t know why.”

“He’ll come around.” Dawn replied comfortingly, though she didn’t know whether or not she was telling the truth.

“Farrah, don’t you have something to say to Ella?” Trig urged as he pushed his mate forward. Farrah glared at him and then turned to look at Ella.

“I should not have used my words to hurt you.” Farrah stated, as if reciting lines in a play. “I apologize.”

“It’s the pregnancy.” Trig offered when Ella remained silent. “It’s making her a little crazy.”

“Okay, my damn cabin is too crowded. Farrah, Trig, go home. Anika, Blain, you too. Nickolai and Brie can stay until the girls done baking her cookies and then you’re out too.” Grange grumbled as he stood up and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Dawn questioned. Grange placed a gentle kiss to her brow and rested his hand on her hip. “For a walk. Creed and I will be back.”

“Okay.” Dawn replied, kissing his jaw. “Grange, if you see Brendon…”

“I’m going to avoid Brendon.” Grange assured her and then he disappeared out the door.

---

“You’re an idiot.” Grange stated as he sat down next to Brendon beside the pond, adjusting Creed in his lap so the boy could slap the long blades of grass.

Brendon sighed and threw a twig into the water, watching the ripples dance across the surface.

“Yep.”

“Sorry I punched you in the face.”

“Sorry I hit your wife with a couch.”

The men shared a comfortable silence for a few moments and then Grange spoke.

“Dawn wants me to talk to you.”

“Well we talked.” Brendon replied with a sigh and Grange shook his head. “Won’t be good enough. She’ll want to know that I did what I could to help.”

“You can’t help me, Grange. Things are what they are.”

“And what are they?”

“A clusterfuck.”

Grange chuckled. “I’ve never heard that saying before.”

“It’s a Brendon original.” Brendon replied with a sigh.

“You’re not usually quite as… unstable as you seemed at the cabin.”

“I want out, Grange.”

“Out?” Grange replied with a frown.

“There are things about my life you don’t really know.” Brendon stated, deciding that he could trust the one friend he had with his feelings. Discussing feelings wasn’t something that either man was exactly comfortable with so Brendon trusted Grange not to blab about it.

“Well tell me. I gotta convince the wife I’m out here changing your outlook on life. Won’t look good if I make it back too quick.”

Brendon laughed lightly and reached out and stuck his big finger against Creed’s hand. The boy instantly wrapped his chubby fingers around it and smiled toothlessly up at him.

“I didn’t choose to be a Hunter. I was born one and forced to join the ‘Hunter family’, that’s what they call it. A ‘family’.” Brendon shook his head. “Over three hundred years I’ve done their bidding and I’ve always hated it in a way. I’m too independent minded to be ordered around by a bunch of old, gray haired mortals that seem to get more ignorant and small-minded with each new bunch they bring in. But I’ve always done my job and served them well because life was what it was.”

“And now it isn’t?” Grange asked.

“No.” Brendon replied simply.

“Then quit.” Brendon laughed harshly and pulled his finger away from Creed as the boy tried to turn it into a chew toy.

“It’s not that easy. Hunters don’t just ‘quit’. You only get out if you die.”

“Have you ever asked. I mean after three hundred years of service, it’s worth a try.”

Brendon just sat there and stared into the water. Grange simply didn’t understand. It wasn’t as easy as just asking to be released from his duty. Was it?

Anyway, at least now I can tell Dawn I tried.” Grange said as he pushed himself to his feet. “And you, old friend, need to be a real man.”

Brendon’s eyes narrowed and he glared up at Grange. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Tell the woman you love her. There ain’t no point fighting it or trying to hide it. Trust me, I know, I tried. From what you’ve told me about her and from what I’ve seen myself, the woman needs you.”

Brendon didn’t reply and Grange turned his back and began to walk away.

“Almost as much as you need her.” he added over his shoulder and Brendon grumbled under his breath and heard Grange chuckling as he disappeared from sight.

Damn that werewolf! Being an alpha had made him far too insightful and just plain nosy.

Chapter Twenty-One

“You are a natural.” Dawn said with a warm smile as Ella laid out the cookies they had baked on a cooling rack.

“I have not baked since my family died.” Ella admitted. She had to admit that this felt good. The tension was gone from the cabin. Only she, Dawn, Brie, Maggie and little Creed were inside and the other women and children were laughing and smiling.

Ella hadn’t laughed or smiled but she was enjoying herself. She had missed this. Friendship, camaraderie with other women. Widow Callahan had tried to offer her that but Warren had stood in her way.

Nothing stood in her way now. Nothing except her own fear. She wasn’t exactly sure what her fear was any longer. She had been living with fear for so long that she had stopped understanding where it was directed or what caused it. She was even fairly good at acting as if it wasn’t there, and yet it was always there. Always just below the surface, keeping a wall between her and everyone else.

Even between her and Brendon. She didn’t want the wall to be there but she had no idea how to break it down.

“Well you seem to know what you’re doing.” Dawn replied, bringing Ella’s mind back to the cookies they were baking. “I own a bakery in town and I could always use some help. You and Maggie are welcome to come bake with me.”

“Really?!” Maggie exclaimed with excitement as she bounced up and down. “I can be a real baker?”

“Of course you can.” Brie replied as she wiped some flour from the girls nose.

“Are you okay, Ella?” Dawn asked as she lifted a squirming and fussing Creed into her arms and the boy rubbed at his red eyes with his chubby fists.

“Yes.” Came Ella’s automatic response. Dawn frowned.

“You sure? You seem lost in thought.”

“I’m sure.” Ella lied as she dipped her hands in the water bucket and wiped them clean on a towel.

The scent of sandalwood came to her then. Filling her senses and causing her eyes to slip closed just before she felt Brendon’s breath against her ear.

“Will you come into town with me for the night? I think we have some things to talk about.”

Ella nodded and turned to look at him, only to see him tip his hat at the others in the kitchen, take her hand and lead her out of the cabin.

Ella stared at their hands as they walked. Their fingers were entwined together and his thumb was gently stroking her.

No man had ever done this to her before. Grab her wrist and drag her, yes. Take her hand in a painful grasp to remind her of her place, yes. But this gentle touch of skin to skin, no.

And it caused a sensation in her chest… Something where her heart was. A fluttering. Was she sick?

“I already got you a horse ready.” Grange said as he walked Brendon’s big roan stallion from the barn. “I figured you’d come around.”

Ella heard Brendon mumble something she didn’t understand and then he lifted her into the saddle before taking his place behind her.

The ride was silent. Ella had no idea just how angry he still was and she did not want to anger him more by saying the wrong things.

They rode into the small yet bustling town and remained silent as Brendon put the horse up at the livery and then led her, with his hand still gently clasped with her own, to the hotel.

Ella felt a tremor of anticipation when they walked into their room and when Brendon turned back around after shutting the door, she threw her arms around his neck and tried to kiss him only to have him put his hand over her lips and push her away gently.

“No.” he said firmly, though he looked to be in pain while he spoke. Ella bit her lip and crossed her arms over herself.

“Have I done something wrong?”

Brendon let out a big rush of air and moved around her and across the room, putting plenty of distance between their bodies.

“You honestly are going to sit there and act like you don’t know why I’d be upset with you?”

“I don’t.” Ella replied honestly. “I have tried to be obedient to you and…”

“Dammit, Ella!” Brendon exclaimed as he jerked his hat from his head and threw it across the room. “I don’t want your goddamn obedience!”

Ella was taken aback by his words and she blinked several times.

“You don’t? But always before they’ve…” Brendon walked closer to her and stuck his finger right under her nose as he glared down at her, his dark green eyes flashing with temper.

“If you compare me to either of those two men again, so help me God, I will beat you worse than either of them ever did!” Ella’s mouth quickly snapped shut and she stared up at him.

Finally frustration overtook her, which was strange since she hadn’t given in to that emotion for as long as she could remember. She had just settled with the realization that things are what they are but Brendon was frustrating her! What did the man want!

“What do you want from me?!” She exclaimed loudly, causing him to blink several times.

“Did you just yell at me?” Brendon had never heard Ella yell. Her voice was always that monotone that drove him crazy. Only when they were making love had he ever heard any emotion in it and then it was pure passion and it always managed to send him over the edge.

But this? This was anger and temper. Frustration. And earlier she had cried. Ella was coming out of the shell that life had forced her in to. She was breaking loose piece by piece. Now if he could only see her smile.

“Yes!” Ella yelled again. “I don’t know what you want from me! Could you just tell me instead of getting mad at me over nothing!”

“It’s not nothing!” Brendon argued back, his temper flaring. “I am not Warren or Faugrimm and dammit it hurts me when you keep comparing me to them! What we have is not what you had with them.”

Ella became quiet and then she focused her eyes on his chest so she would not have to look at that handsome face. She could hear the hurt in his voice and didn’t want to want to see it in his eyes.

“Then what is it?”

“What?” Brendon asked, clearly not expecting her to say what she said.

“What is it? You say it’s not the same… What is it?”

“We’re lifemates.” Brendon stated simply and Ella frowned and focused her gaze on a loose button on his shirt.

“Is that all?”

“What more do you want?”

“What more is there?”

Brendon sighed and moved away from her. He sat on the edge of the bed and stared down at the scarred hardwood planks of the floor.

“I don’t know.” he replied honestly. “I care about you, Ella. I care about you a whole hell of a lot. The thought of losing you scares me damn near to death and everything in my life is different now that you’ve come into it. Whether or not that’s a good thing I haven’t figured out yet.”

“Okay.” Ella said as she sat down across from him on the window seat. “I still don’t know what you want from me.”

“To tell me if you feel half for me what I feel for you.” Brendon finally replied. One of his hands was rubbing the back of his neck and his other hand was fisted tight and tapping on his thigh.

Ella thought back to her life since meeting Brendon. To the feelings he brought out of her. The passion, the frustrations, the feeling of finally being safe and cared for. Brendon was…

He was home. He made her feel less of a monster. He made her feel safe, warm and protected. And if she lost him she would lose what little bit of herself she still had.

Ella hadn’t realized that she had just spoken all of that out loud until Brendon crossed the room and dropped to his knees in front of her. He took her hands gently in his.

“I don’t have a clue how to do this, Ella. I’ve always just looked out for myself and I can’t promise I won’t screw up now and then but I won’t ever hurt you, honey. You can count on me.”

“I don’t know how to do this either.” Ella admitted, as she felt that fluttering in her heart again. Was it hope? Love? She didn’t know. “I’m sorry I compared us to what I had before. It’s just that I had that for so long and…”

“Just stop.” Brendon snapped, his hand coming up. “Let’s make a promise not to talk about either of those bastards again.”

“Okay.” Ella replied, happy to agree.

“I can’t stay with you, Ella. I have to go back to the council and you can’t come with me because it wouldn’t be safe for you and I don’t ever want anything to happen to you. But I’ll come back whenever I can, Ella. I’ll always come back to you and I’ll write as often as I can when I’m away.”

“Do you have to leave now?” Ella asked with dread. She didn’t want him to leave. Not now that she was finally beginning to understand things between them. Brendon smiled, his cheeks crinkling.

“No. No, I don’t have to leave now. I can spare a few days. I’d like to spend some time really getting to know each other.”

“There’s nothing much to know about me.” Ella replied honestly as she looked down at their joined hands.

“Sure there is.” Brendon’s voice was warm as it washed over her. “But first, I’d like to spend some time covering well known territory. Never know when we’ll find something we missed before.”

Ella gasped when his lips danced along her neck and then she threw her arms around his neck and sent them both reeling backward and onto the bed.

Brendon’s laughter rang out until Ella silenced it quickly by covering his mouth with her own.

---

“They want to kill you and you’re not worried?!” Dawn demanded of her mate while she paced the floor and he sat on the sofa with a snoring Creed in his arms.

“No, I’m not worried.” he replied. “And you shouldn’t be either.” he added.

“Why shouldn’t I? There’s one more person that wants at least one member of the pack dead! We all know how bad that turned out last time!”

“It won’t be like last time.” Grange promised. “And you need to talk quieter before you wake the slumbering beast.”

“He sleeps like you. A blast of dynamite wouldn’t wake him up.” Dawn countered, though her voice was several degrees lower than before. “And how can you say it won’t be like last time? How do you know?”

“Because this is just a pup. An angry pup who has no idea how to run a pack. They’ll have to travel a long time just to reach us and they’ll be wore out by the time they get here. We have a good sized pack now and plenty of fighting power. We’ll be fine.”

“You said it would be fine last time and he got me.” Dawn reminded him as her pacing slowed and a shiver passed over her skin. Grange sighed and stood up. Without a word he carried Creed into their bedroom and settled the sleeping boy into his cradle.

After pressing a gentle kiss to his sons hair, Grange left the room and went to Dawn who was staring out the window into the dark night.

Grange wrapped his arms around her soft waist and laid his head on her shoulder.

“I can’t promise that no one will ever hurt you, Dawn. I’m not foolish enough to think it couldn’t happen.”

“Are you trying to make me feel better?” Dawn asked skeptically. Grange kissed her ear.

“Yes. This pup is not going to get his hands on you. I said I couldn’t promise that no one would ever hurt you but I can promise that I’m not going to let some pup come in here and harm a single hair on you or our son’s head.”

“I can’t help but worry.” Dawn replied and Grange nodded and turned her around so he could look into her eyes.

“I know. It’s in your nature, but please trust in me, love. I will keep you safe.”

“I guess we have a long time before anyone shows up here.” Dawn admitted and Grange nodded.

“He might not come at all. Brendon is going to point the Council in his direction as soon as he gets back to them so the pup will probably be pretty busy trying not to die.”

“Speaking of Brendon….” Dawn said knowingly as she led Grange to the sofa. He chuckled as he sat down and pulled her into his lap.

“I’d rather speak of you and I.” he growled, his lips teasing the tender flesh behind her ear. Dawn trembled and pushed his face away.

“Did you talk to him?” Grange rolled his eyes.

“Yes.”

“Did it go well?”

“He and Ella went to town hours ago and neither of them came back. I’d say it went pretty well.” Grange assumed that would be the end of the conversation and once again went for Dawn’s neck only to be stopped by the palm of her hand being placed in his way.

“I think you’re forgetting that I’m stronger than you.” he stated with a growl. “That little hand won’t stop me.”

“Does Brendon love her?” Grange sighed with defeat and laid his head back against the sofa.

“He says no.”

“What do you think?”

“Dawn, us men don’t just sit around talking about that kind of thing, love. It isn’t natural.”

“Grange…” Dawn urged and he shook his head.

“I think he does. He’s a bit confused about things right now but I think he’ll come around. Now can we please get back to where we were a few seconds ago?”

“And where was that?” Dawn asked with a wicked grin. Grange growled and grabbed her wrist gently, moving her hand away from her neck.

“Right here.” came his husky reply just before he laid his hungry lips against her throat.

---

“Why aren’t you happy about the baby?” Trig asked Farrah as they lay naked, wrapped in each others arms on the porch swing of their cabin. No blankets separated their skin from the cool night air that was quickly drying the sweat from their skin.

“I never said I wasn’t happy.” Farrah replied and Trig laid his chin against her chest and looked up at her.

“You never said you were happy either.” he pouted.

“I’m… scared.” Farrah finally admitted. Admitting fear was not something she had ever enjoyed and she would deny it with her last breath to anyone other than Trig. She could trust him with the truth.

“Scared of a baby? I don’t think they come out real deadly.” Trig teased. Farrah found herself smiling. Trig could always make any situation seem a little less serious and frightening.

“What do I know about being a mother?” Farrah asked. “I know nothing of caring for anyone. If it wasn’t for you cooking and cleaning around here we wouldn’t even eat or have room to walk in our home.”

“Have you looked inside our cabin lately? I’m no good at cleaning either. And without Dawn’s cooking we’d both probably starve to death.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

Trig sighed and then grinned up at her, his smile was contagious and caused her own lips to curve once again.

“You worry too much, kitty. We’ll figure this all out, it’ll just take time. I don’t’ know anything about being a pa and you don’t know anything about being a mama so I figure we’ll just learn together. Good thing about that is our kid is guaranteed to grow up tough.”

Farrah laughed harshly.

“If it makes it.” Trig poked her nose.

“We’re not that hopeless. Our kid will at least make it… Can’t guarantee how normal he or she will be but it’ll make it. And we have a pack to help us.”

“I guess you’re right.” Farrah admitted, feeling some of her worry fading and her heart lightening. She really was happy that she was going to give birth to a child. She and Trig’s child. Trig, was her true love, she knew that. He was the only man with a good enough sense of humor to ever put up with her too serious nature and she loved him.

She only hoped their child took after him and not her. The last thing this pack needed was another Farrah.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Hard at it I see.” Brendon said the next day as he stepped into Dawn’s bakery and saw Ella organizing cakes, pastries and cookies beneath the glass display cases.

“Yes.” Ella replied and Brendon couldn’t help but notice that her eyes lit up when she looked up at him. Those eyes had seemed so lifeless and dead just weeks ago and now he was learning how to read them and loving what he saw.

“You look good in flour.” he teased as he leaned across the counter and kissed a smudge of the white powder off her cheek.

Dawn came walking in from the back and Brendon quickly cleared his throat and stood straight.

“Hello, Dawn.”

“Hello, Brendon. Are you feeling better today?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Brendon replied with a tip of his hat. “Sorry about yesterday. I didn’t hurt you with that couch did I?”

“No, she hits herself with couches all the time just to stay prepared for that off chance that a Hunter will throw a temper and toss one at her.” Grange growled matter of factly as he came into the bakery and immediately went to Dawn.

Brendon watched them both as Grange swept Dawn into his arms and kissed her thoroughly. Dawn kissed him back seeming not to care that he was covered in sawdust, sweat and dirt from working all morning.

Creed cooing loudly from the papoose on Dawn’s back had Grange chuckling and pulling away from her. He walked around her and lifted the boy out and up into his arms.

“Let’s give your mothers back a break for a while, son.” he said with a happy smile. He laid a kiss to his sons head and the boy wrapped one fist tight around Grange’s thick dark hair.

Brendon found himself chuckling at the look on Grange’s face which was a mixture of love, pain and amusement and then Brendon looked at Ella who was watching Grange, Dawn and Creed as well.

Her pale green eyes were full of longing and Brendon felt a pain in his heart. Ella deserved that. She deserved a man who could settle down with her. A man who could give her children and be right there to help her raise them.

She deserved that man and Brendon was going to be that man for her. He just had to convince the council to let him.

“Brendon!” Maggie exclaimed as she came running out of the kitchen toward him. Brendon scooped the limping girl up into his arms with surprise and she held a cookie, that smelled like cinnamon, under his nose.

“Try it! Try it!” she insisted. “Ella made them! Dawn said she’s really good.”

“Dawn is too nice.” Ella countered as she closed the glass display case she’d been organizing. Brendon smiled at Ella. That had almost sounded like a joke.

“Let me have that cookie.” Brendon grinned and took a big bite and then instantly wished he had taken a smaller one.

He forced his jaws to chew the hard, and extremely dry, cinnamon cookie and as he tried to swallow and force the lump of lumpy, bitter cookie down his throat, he nearly choked and began coughing loudly.

“I think your cookie killed him.” Maggie said matter of factly as Brendon sat her down gently on her feet and then clung to the counter, his lung burning from lack of air as he continued to cough.

Ella came around the counter and patted him on the back several times. “I told you Dawn was too nice.”

“Well I’ve never had that problem.” Trig said with a laugh as he walked in to the bakery. “She’s never had a problem being mean to me.” Dawn glared at him.

“You can leave now.”

Trig grinned and scooped her up in a bone crushing hug and the kiss he planted loudly on her cheek had her laughing and Grange grumbling.

Brendon was fairly certain now that he wasn’t going to die yet he still smiled gratefully at Brie who handed him a small glass of water.

“Yes, well….” Dawn said with a flush covering her cheeks as she took the rest of the uneaten cookie from Maggie and quickly tossed it in an empty bucket of scraps she kept for feeding the town dogs. “She’s very good at organizing everything. I’ve never seen my display cases look so tempting.”

“Well, if she’s done with all that,” Brendon stated as he sat Maggie down on her feet. “I’d like to take your display case organizer for the day.”

“Take me where?” Ella asked with a frown.

“Somewhere.” Brendon replied shortly, letting Ella know that that was all the hint he was going to give her.

“Take her.” Dawn conceded with a knowing smile. “I’m sure she’ll have much more fun somewhere than she will here stacking cookies.”

“And then we might have some edible cookies too.” Trig added as he sniffed at another cinnamon cookie from the kitchen.

Ella felt her ears flame red and realized she was embarrassed. How strange a thing to become embarrassed over! She had never been a very good baker, or cook, for that matter. Her father had always teased her and told her that she had better marry a man one day who could cook or they would both starve….. Thoughts of her father made her heart hurt and Brendon leaned closer to her.

“Are you okay? Trig didn’t mean nothing by that. He was just playing.” Brendon assured her quietly. Ella nodded quickly.

“Yes, I know. He is rather dim witted at times but harmless it would seem. I was thinking about my father.”

“Dimwitted and harmless?” Trig asked with a frown as Grange chuckled. Brendon took Ella’s hand and led her toward the door.

“Brendon, will you come and play cards with me tonight? Trig was teaching me poker and I’m pretty good.” Maggie asked quickly and Brendon smiled.

“Sure will.” he promised.

Ella had no idea where Brendon was taking her as he led her from the bakery and helped her onto the horse he had hitched to the rail out front before taking his place in front of her.

They rode in silence, out of town and down a trail into the woods. The hills became steeper and Ella realized they were entering the mountain range that bordered the town to the west.

“Where are we going?” she finally asked.

“A lake.” Brendon replied. “It’s up in the mountains and the view is amazing.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are we going there?”

“To spend time together.” Brendon replied, his lips brushing against her ear and causing her to tremble as that familiar heat spread between her legs.

“You’re leaving soon aren’t you?” Ella asked with a frown. Brendon sighed.

“I don’t want to talk about leaving.” he replied. “I just want to be together while we can.” Ella gripped the saddle horn tightly in her hands.

“You’re leaving tomorrow aren’t you?”

“Yes.” Brendon admitted. “I have to get back before they get suspicious over what’s taking me so long. And I have to let them know about the Georgia wolf pack before the pack tries to come after Grange.”

“I need you here.” Ella admitted. “I have no idea how to be without a master…” she heard his angry intake of breath and stopped.

“I am your lifemate, your man, your beau, whatever you want to call it, but I am not your master and no one else will ever be your master again.”

“I know. I’m sorry I say the wrong words sometimes.” Ella replied. “Can I try again?” She heard him chuckle, his breath teasing her ear.

“Sure.”

“I need you here. I have no idea how to make it without you. You have become everything to me in just the short time I’ve known you. What am I supposed to do without you?”

Silence met her question and after several seconds, Ella turned her head to look at his face. She saw that he was staring at her and his dark green eyes looked incredibly sad. His jaw was tense and his nostrils flared as he breathed deeply.

“Damn woman, you know how to make a man feel like a giant horses ass.” he finally muttered and Ella frowned.

“I don’t know what that has to do with anything I just said. Why are we talking about the backside of horses?” Sometimes Brendon made no sense.

He sighed and shook his head.

“Being away from you is going to be hard on me too, Ella. Harder than you realize, but it has to be that way. At least for awhile. I’m hoping the council will release me from my duties. I have served them for over three hundred years, longer than any other hunter…”

“So they’ve released Hunter’s before?” Ella asked hopefully as she looked back ahead of them.

“Not exactly. I just have lived longer than any other Hunter ever has before.”

“Oh.” Ella’s voice was flat and her hopes were crushed.

“But I’m still hoping they’ll grant me my freedom, Ella. I want to be with you always. I want us to settle down in that town with Grange and the pack, or another town if you don’t like that one….”

“I like it.” Ella cut in. “Farrah and I even spoke this morning. It was… pleasant. We agreed that Faugrimm did not bring out the best in either of us.”

“Or anyone else he ever met.” Brendon agreed and Ella nodded. “But I don’t want to talk about him today. I don’t want to worry about tomorrow or even think about leaving you. I just want to enjoy this day with you. Enjoy the time we have left.”

Ella felt a smile tug at her lips and she let it come. She didn’t fight it as her lips curved upward and her cheeks crinkled.

She raised her hand to her face and realized that she still had those dimples she had had as a child. She hadn’t realized they were still there since it had been longer than a century since she had brought them out with a smile.

Her smile faded slowly as she settled with contentment against Brendon’s chest and let the rhythm of the horses gait and the warmth of Brendon’s body lull her into a sense of peacefulness.

She gasped when they stepped out of the trees and she saw the lake stretching out in front of them.

The water was crystal clear and beautifully calm. The mountain peaks surrounding them, reflecting in its cool depths.

“It is beautiful.” Ella admitted.

“I told you it was.”

Brendon stopped the horse beneath several big oaks and sycamores and dismounted, pulling Ella with him.

Ella walked down to the waters edge while Brendon secured the horse.

She felt the warm sun on her face and the breeze gently blowing her hair. She felt….

Free.

Brendon’s strong arms wrapped around her waist and she leaned back against him.

“Why are we here?” she asked softly and Brendon kissed her hair.

“I want to talk.”

“About?”

“Your favorite color. What you like to do. Your favorite season. Anything.”

“Why do you need to know those things?” Ella asked with a frown as she turned and Brendon smiled as he settled down on the grass and motioned for her to sit beside him.

“I don’t need to know.” he replied, picking a strand of grass and tearing a long strip off of it. “But I want to know. I want to know everything about you.”

“I haven’t thought about anything like that in so long….” Ella admitted as she stared off into the water.

“Think about it now.” Brendon urged as he nudged her gently with his shoulder.

Ella chewed on her lip and thought about his question. Her favorite color?

“Gray.”

“What?”

“My favorite color. It’s gray.”

“That’s….. a unique choice.” Brendon replied with a raise of his brow. “Why gray?”

“Why not?” Ella asked with a shrug of one shoulder. “The sky is gray in the mornings before the sun pokes through and burns the fog away, revealing the blue sky. The ocean is gray just before a big storm. Gray is a color that lets you know something is coming.”

“I never quite thought of it that way.” Brendon admitted.

“What is your favorite color?” Ella asked him.

“Black.” he replied without hesitation. Ella looked at his black clothing, his black hair and nodded.

“It suits you.”

“What do you like to do for fun, Ella?”

“Fun? I haven’t been able to do things for ‘fun’ in a long long time.” Brendon nodded and tossed the now shredded grass aside before picking a new one.

“What about before you realized you were a vampire?”

Ella thought about that time that now seemed as if it had been one hundred lifetimes ago.

“I loved sewing. Making clothing, curtains, quilts and blankets. I was fascinated by fabrics. The different patterns and feels.”

“When I first met you, you were coming out of a fabric store.” Brendon remembered and Ella nodded.

“Yes… but fabrics have long since lost their meaning. Everything seems to have lost its meaning. I don’t feel anymore….”

“Really?” Brendon questioned as he brushed his lips across her ear and she trembled.

“I didn’t feel for a long time.” Ella corrected herself. “That’s changing.”

“I hope I have something to do with that.”

Ella looked at him and tilted her head.

“You have everything to do with that.” she replied, wondering how he could not know that already.

A broad grin split Brendon’s face, the crinkles on his cheeks defined beneath the three days worth of stubble.

“Good.”

Ella could not stop herself from kissing him hungrily and the love making that followed was slow and tender.

“How long are you going to be gone, Brendon?” Ella asked as they lay skin on skin together in the long grass. She listened to his thundering heart beneath her ear and savored the taste of his blood still clinging to her tongue.

“I told you I didn’t want to think about that.” Brendon grumbled and Ella lifted her head and frowned at him.

“Does that mean it will be a long time?”

“It could be.” Brendon admitted, his eyes focusing on the puffy white clouds in the sky instead of on her. “But I will get word to you as often as I can. And who knows? Maybe I’ll get lucky and only be gone a month or two.”

“That long would be lucky?!” Ella exclaimed, sitting up quickly. Brendon sat up as well and sighed .

“I’m sorry, honey. If I could stay, I would, but I can’t. You don’t understand how the Council is. They own me.”

“They are your masters? Just the same as Warren was mine.” Ella observed and she saw Brendon tense momentarily and then he sighed with defeat.

“Pretty much.”

“Then I’ll just have to kill them and free you.” Ella stated very matter of fact. Brendon shook his head, his gaze hardening.

“You will stay here where you will be safe. You let me worry about the Council.”

Ella didn’t say a word, simply looked out at the water and Brendon grabbed her arm and forced her to look at him.

“Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

“Yes.” Brendon shook his head and let go of her before rubbing his face roughly.

“I’m going to miss you.” Ella finally whispered after a long stretch of silence. Brendon put his hands on her waist and lifted her up, pulling her into his lap.

“I’m gonna miss you too, honey. You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me,”

“I am?” Ella asked, truly shocked by those words. She had never been the best thing to ever happen to anyone. She was always a murderer. A whore. A prisoner. A place for fists to land. Never a ‘best thing’.

“Of course you are.” Brendon assured her, burying his nose in the hair at the base of her neck. “I am going to come back to you Ella. I am going to find a way to be your man and only your man.”

“Okay.”

“It is Grange’s orders that I remind you before I leave not to kill anyone. He worries about the people in his town.”

“I won’t harm anyone.” Ella assured him. “I don’t want to get you in trouble with the council and I respect your relationship with Grange.” Brendon kissed her cheek.

“Thank you. Animal blood only while I’m away. Grange is very stern about that.”

“I don’t mind feeding off animals.” Ella said. “Thought I’d rather feed off you.”

“And I would rather let you.” Brendon assured her, holding her a little tighter. Ella felt his arousal, hardening below her.

“Do we have time before we have to go back to town?” Ella asked and Brendon nodded and flashed her a devilish grin.

“Yes, ma’am, I believe we do.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Brendon kneeled beside the sofa in Grange’s cabin, where Ella slept soundly. The thought of walking out of that door across the room caused his heart to feel as if it were being torn straight from his chest.

He had no idea when he would see her face again. When he would hear her quiet voice. The voice that was showing more and more emotion with each passing day. He had no idea when he would again be able to look into those light green eyes that now gave away every emotion she felt, whether she realized it or not.

His Ella. His lifemate. The one person made just for him. Perfectly suited to be by his side for all of eternity. How in the hell could a man be expected to walk away from something like that?

Brendon wasn’t sure but he knew he had to.

She was breathing lightly. Her warm breath blowing the red strands of hair that had fallen across her soft face. She looked so peaceful.

Brendon hadn’t told her that he’d be leaving while she slept but he knew that’s what he had to do. If he waited until she was awake and looking at him with those eyes full of sadness then he’d never be able to leave. And if he didn’t leave they might just come for him…. And if that happened then Ella could be killed and Grange’s entire pack would be in danger.

Brendon couldn’t do that. He wasn’t that selfish.

He leaned forward, laying a feather light kiss to Ella’s brow, and then rose to his full height. He longed to wake her up, to say something, anything, to let her know how much he cared about her…

He could only hope that the time they had spent together today and the love they had made would hold her through until he could return. Ella’s trust, her faith in him, was such a fragile thing given her past and he could only pray that it would last.

Reaching into his pocket, Brendon pulled out an envelope with her name scrawled across the front. Inside the envelope was a letter, telling her what she meant to him, one of many he planned on giving to her while he was away.

He sat the envelope gently beside her, leaning it against her arm so she would find it when she awoke.

Brendon felt as if he aged one hundred years instantly, the moment he turned and began to drag his booted feet away from Ella.

He forced himself out to the barn and began saddling his horse. This was a big roan stallion that had proven to be strong and had great endurance. Maybe this beast would last him longer than most seemed to.

He was cinching the saddle tightly around the horse when he heard footsteps behind him.

“I didn’t mean to wake you, Grange.” Brendon apologized without turning around.

“You didn’t. I don’t sleep much.” Grange replied honestly. Brendon nodded and then hooked his satchel of weapons and supplies to the saddle horn. He had replaced everything he had lost after Vaughn had attacked Ella.

He had his rifle in the scabbard on the saddle, his crossbow on his back, revolver on his side, derringer in his boot and a bowie on his leg. Crosses, anti-venoms, holy water and ammunition filled his satchel.

“I’m gonna ride over to Nickolai’s and then I’ll be leaving.”

“I promise you that they will be taken care of here. As far as I’m concerned they are part of my pack now and I will protect them with my life if need be.”

Brendon turned to Grange then and offered him a small smile.

“Thanks.”

“Here.” Grange said holding out a sack that smelled of ham, bread and sugar. “Dawn wanted you to have it.” Brendon opened it and peeked inside.

“She makes good ham.” Grange grunted and Brendon nodded. He remembered.

“I’ll be back, Grange.” Brendon assured him. “I’m getting my freedom.”

“Would you like help?”

“You want to go to war with the council?’ Brendon asked with amusement. “Not even you are that tough. Thanks though.”

“The offer stands, Brendon. I would no longer have my mate if not for you. My entire pack could have been wiped out by Faugrimm if you hadn’t warned me he was here. That and you’re my friend, my pack brother, we’ll fight for your freedom if you want us to.”

Brendon felt emotion fill his throat and quickly cleared it away with a grunt. Grange’s words, his admittance of Brendon into his pack, touched that empty cavern in his heart that had always craved family. Brendon had a family waiting for him…. He just wasn’t sure that he’d ever make it back to them.

“I’ll be back.” he said again, more to assure himself than the werewolf who just nodded, his blue eyes full of doubts.

Brendon held out his hand and Grange shook it quickly.

“Take care of yourself, Hunter.”

“Always do.”

---

Brendon approached Nickolai’s cabin and heard a growling as he dismounted his horse. Then Nickolai materialized out of the shadows, startling even Brendon.

“Did I frighten you?” the soldier wolf asked with an amused half grin. Brendon took a deep breath and willed his racing heart to calm down before it galloped right out of his chest.

“Nope.” he lied. “I was hoping I could come say goodbye to Maggie. I won’t wake her….”

Nickolai nodded and motioned toward the cabin.

“She is sleeping on blankets on our bedroom floor. I offered her the sofa until we get an extra room built but she….”

“She can’t fall asleep alone.” Brendon cut in quietly. “It’s because she was in the orphanage. She’s used to hearing other people breath around her. The quiet scares her. So does the dark.”

The odd look Nickolai sent him had Brendon pulling off his hat and running his hand through his hair. Instead of speaking, Nickolai just motioned at the cabin again.

Brendon walked awkwardly through the front door and followed the sound of breathing into a bedroom.

He could tell by the pattern of Brie’s breaths that she was awake but trying hard to act as if she was asleep, probably so he wouldn’t be too embarrassed.

He saw Maggie sound asleep on the floor. The moonlight shining through the window, causing her face to glow in its light.

He didn’t feel like a father to her, he wasn’t ready for anything like that, and he knew that Nickolai and Brie would make wonderful parents for her, but still he felt responsible for her and he would be lying if he said he didn’t care deeply for the little girl.

He reached out in the moonlight and brushed a stray bit of dark hair from her pale face and then just as quickly as he had entered, he left the cabin, his chest feeling painfully tight.

Without a word to Nickolai, who was still standing where Brendon had left him, Brendon jumped on his horse and took off into the woods, knowing that he was leaving all the pieces of his heart behind as he headed toward a place he really didn’t want to go.

---

It took Brendon less than a week to reach the compound and he found he’d been wrong about the horse. The beast had begun to tire considerably after three days with almost no rest and Brendon hadn’t been able to bring himself to push the horse any further. It had been too nice a creature.

So he had traded the stallion for another horse and continued on his journey.

Now the compound was in sight. A huge monstrosity of brick and stone rising out of the mountains.

For so long the compound had been home. He had not known anything else but now… Now he knew how good life could be on the outside. He knew what it was like to have a warm, feminine body to curl up to every night. He knew how it felt to have a child’s tiny hand wrapped around his own.

He could not stay here. He could no longer be a Hunter. His heart just wouldn’t be in it. It was still back with that tiny vampire and little girl who had stolen it.

Brendon tipped his head to the guard at the gate and the man nodded at the slaves, werewolves working off their sentence for their crimes, and the two wolves opened the gate to allow Brendon to enter.

Brendon noticed that everything seemed quiet. His horses hoof beats on the cobblestone walkway sounded as loud as cannon blasts. The men training in the yard stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at him. The gate slammed shut behind him.

Brendon felt a trickle of unease wash down his spine. Something was very wrong.

He tried to push the feelings of trepidation away. Surely it was just a guilty conscience weighing heavily on him. Much like Poe’s ‘Tell Tale Heart’. He was planning on lying to the Council and asking to be released from his servitude, that would be enough to make anyone feel guilty.

He dismounted his horse at the large stables, a young boy, a Hunter in training, probably no more than ten or eleven, took the reins and smiled at him with awe.

Brendon was well known among the Hunters. Being the oldest Hunter alive his name was in all the school books and lessons that the teachers taught to the new Hunters who arrived.

His fighting styles were used to train the children and his unfailing loyalty used as an example. Surely he had given the council enough? Surely he had earned a chance at his own life.

Brendon slung his satchel over his shoulder and then headed toward the fortress.

He walked inside, and was instantly stopped by a large demon guard when he stepped toward the hall that would lead to the Council meeting area.

“Name.” the guard grunted. Brendon rolled his eyes.

“Brendon.”

“Identification number.”

“Is this really necessary, Peter?” Brendon questioned, knowledge of his own deceit making him feel a little on edge and snappy. This demon knew damn well who he was. The two had been through this song and dance at least a thousand times.

“Identification number.” Peter asked again, tightening his grip on the axe in his hands and giving no indication that he was going to let Brendon go by him without hearing that number.

“56798045.” Brendon stated clearly. Then he grinned. “And I like listening to poetry, watching Shakespearian plays and taking long barefoot walks on the beach in the moonlight.”

Finally a grin split the demon guards face.

“Afraid we’re not going to work out then, Hunter. I hate sand between my toes. It makes me itch.”

“Break my heart.” Brendon exclaimed as he covered his heart with his hand. Peter chuckled.

“Sorry about being on edge. Something is going on here today and nobody wants to say what it is. I was told to be especially vigilant today.”

“I understand. We just do what they say. All of us.” Brendon replied, looking past Peter and toward the wide double doors that led to the meeting room. “I need to give my report to the council.”

“Stay here. I’ll be right back.” Peter replied. He turned and walked to the doors, slipping inside and closing them tightly behind him.

Brendon stood there, drumming his fingers on his thighs as he waited impatiently. The lie would be the easy part… how odd a thought that was! All his life he had been trained to be unfailingly loyal to this Council and now he was thinking that lying would be easy.

The hard part would be asking for his freedom. He still was not sure what he would do if they refused him.

Brendon noticed how long it was taking Peter and that only served to add to his growing uneasiness.

He was relieved when the door opened and Peter stepped out.

“They are ready for you.” Peter grunted and Brendon noticed that the demon wouldn’t meet his eyes.

What was going on?

“No weapons.” Peter reminded him when he tried to step past the demon. “New rule.”

Brendon nodded though he wasn‘t happy about being disarmed. He removed his crossbow and pulled his revolver from his holster, laying them both on the table beside the double doors. His boot knife and derringer went beside them as did his large bowie knife.

Brendon stepped up to the double doors and then shoved them open before walking into the meeting room.

The old men were all gathered together up on the dais. There were stern looks on each of their faces, sterner than normal, which he assumed was probably due to how long he’d been gone.

He stepped onto the platform, beneath the bright sun shining through the glass skylight. The sun warmed his skin somewhat, but this room always seemed so cold. Just rock and stone and the Council. Or his captors as Ella had called them.

“Brendon.” Farris sneered, somehow making his name sound more like a curse. “How wonderful of you to finally grace us with your presence.”

“I can’t stay away from you, sir. You’re my everything.”

“Sarcasm?” Farris snapped and Brendon shook his head.

“Of course not, sir.”

Jeremy, who had always been Brendon’s favorite member of the current council, hit his fist on the desktop.

“Enough of your back and forth.” he snapped at both Brendon and Farris. “We had expected at least some correspondence from you while you were gone.” he added to Brendon.

“Sorry, sirs, I simply wanted to get the job done and return to you.”

“So you completed the task we sent you on?” Alfred asked with a frown. Brendon took a deep breath and nodded.

“Is that so?” Farris hissed, his fat jowls shaking. Brendon nodded again.

“Yes, sir. Those responsible for the deaths of the mortal men have been killed.”

Brendon slid his satchel to the front and reached inside, rolling his eyes at the guards, all twenty of them, (which seemed like an excessively large number), tensed and laid hands on their weapons.

Brendon pulled out a small pouch and then shook the four vampire fangs out into his hand. He held his palm out to the Council.

He couldn’t explain the atmosphere in the room. It felt heavy, cloying, thick… It was hard to breath. The Council was not looking at him the way they normally did. Instead they looked at him as if he was a criminal. A guilty man.

Was his conscience so bothered by his deceit that he was imagining all of this or did the council already know he would be lying before he had even stepped in this room?

“So the murderers of those mortal men have been killed?” Jeremy asked pointedly and Brendon would swear from the look in his eyes he was pleading with Brendon. But pleading for what? Brendon worded his response carefully.

“Those responsible for the murders have been brought to justice.”

“That’s very interesting, Brendon.” Farris said loudly, and Brendon would swear the Councilman sounded happy. Brendon had heard Farris sound a lot of things when talking to him but happy had never been one of them.

“Why is that, sir?” Brendon asked as sweat trickled down his neck and soaked into the collar of his duster coat. Had he been cold just moments ago?

“I have a letter here that this council had already been made aware of and have read several times. I would like to now share this letter with you.”

Brendon’s fist closed tightly around the vampire fangs in his hand and he nodded as he stood there as still as stone, his jaw tense.

Farris cleared his throat and then began to read:

“Councilmen,

I was sent to keep an eye on Brendon as it has been painstakingly obvious that he has become more and more independent as of late. There were members of the council who were concerned about his loyalty.

I write you this letter to let you know that your concerns are justified. Hunter Brendon is a traitor.”

Farris paused and his sharp eyes narrowed as they bored straight into Brendon’s. Brendon felt his heart begin to thunder in his chest, beating painfully against his ribs with every thud. Traitor. He had been accused of being a traitor to the council? That was punishable by death and death alone.

His eyes searched the room for an escape route as he retained his still posture and Farris went back to reading.

“ Brendon failed to kill the vampire responsible for the killings. Instead he killed two innocent vampires, guilty of no known crimes, and is planning on using their fangs to deceive you councilmen. It is my belief that Brendon has performed the sin of love.

He has given his heart and therefore his loyalty to this vampire that is guilty of the crimes you sent him to avenge.

It is my hope that I will be able to tail them, capture them and bring them to you so you can punish Brendon and the vampire as you see fit. However, we all know how able bodied Brendon is and how his treachery knows no bounds. I fear for my life.

They are heading west. It is my belief that Brendon intends to hide the vampire, probably among people familiar to Brendon, the wolf pack that he is fond of perhaps.

The vampire is small, short, barely over five feet. She has red hair, long and wavy. Her skin is as pale as snow and flawless. Big, green eyes, full lips and a womanly figure, despite the fact that she is a little thin. She goes by the name of Ella and she is a murderer.

It pains me to be the one to shed the light of truth on Hunter Brendon but as he likes to say ‘life is what it is.’

Loyally yours

Vaughn”

Brendon felt panic clawing at his gut like a living breathing creature. Vaughn! Why hadn’t Brendon thought of this? Why hadn’t he questioned what Vaughn would have been doing at that hotel going after Ella?

He had been too distracted by Ella’s near death experience and his growing feelings for her. He had messed up. Brendon had made the first real mistake of his life and as with most mistakes, it was going to cost him his life.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Jeremy asked quietly.

“I’ve done nothing wrong.” Brendon replied, though his voice had begun to shake.

“Where is Hunter Vaughn?” Farris demanded. Brendon knew that lying was pointless.

“Dead.”

“You killed a fellow Hunter?” Alfred demanded, his wrinkled cheeks reddening with anger.

Brendon pictured Vaughn then, dead in the hotel room, the blood from his torn throat soaking into the expensive rug.

“Yes.” he lied.

“And this other vampire? This Ella?” Jeremy demanded.

“An innocent and of no interest to the council.” Brendon said quickly. “Vaughn was mistaken and, when he attacked me, I fought back. I killed him in self defense and defense of the innocent vampire in my company.”

“You know the punishment of disloyalty is death?” Alfred questioned. Brendon squared his shoulders.

“I have always been loyal to this council. Those responsible for the death of the mortal men were punished.”

“Too many unanswered questions.” Farris stated. “You are a traitor. You loyalty has wavered. You can no longer be trusted. You murdered a fellow Hunter.”

“This council seems to have already had my fate decided before I stepped into this room today.” Brendon said, deciding that fighting was futile and death was coming. Life was what it was and so was death.

Farris grinned much like a child before they open their presents on Christmas morning. “Hunter Brendon, ID number 56798045, I hereby sentence you to death…..”

“Wait!” Jeremy cut in before Farris could slam his gavel.

“What?!” Farris demanded with a pout.

“I want to speak to this Ella.” Jeremy replied. Brendon surged forward.

“You’ll stay away from Ella!” he bellowed, his fists clenching so tightly that the vampire fangs began to dig into his palms. He felt the warm blood running down his fingers even as two demon guards grabbed his arms and yanked him back.

“Temper. Temper.” Farris scolded. “It seems Vaughn was correct. Brendon has fallen in love. You know that is not allowed, Brendon. You cannot be in love with pleasures of the flesh and loyal to this council at the same time. And the moment your loyalty wavers you are a traitor.”

“Then kill me!” Brendon roared. “I killed Vaughn. It was cold blood and I enjoyed it! Kill me because if you don’t, I’ll kill all of you!”

Farris and the other council men shared a look. Chairs were moved and the men all huddled together. Brendon stood in the grasp of two guards while a third and forth pressed spear heads against his throat, fully prepared to behead him at the Council’s order.

Brendon stared at those gray and balding heads and wondered what they were discussing. The fear in his heart was not for himself. He could accept death and it did not scare him. The fear was for Ella. Always for Ella. These men could not get their hands on her. She was far too fragile.

Suddenly the old men broke apart and each went back to their respective seats. Jeremy was the one who broke the tension filled silence.

“Is Ella with,” Jeremy paused and looked at the notes on his desk. “Grange’s pack?”

Brendon just stared straight ahead, focusing at the stone wall behind the Council. He was done talking.

“Is that how it is going to be then?” Alfred inquired. Still Brendon said nothing.

“New plan of action.” Farris hissed, this time his grin was even more eager. “We will dispatch a team of Hunters to find this Ella. They will bring her here and we will hear her side of the story and then punish her accordingly. Brendon will remained locked in the dungeons until she arrives and they will face the council together.”

The roar of rage that filled the room, reverberated of the walls and shook the glass windowpanes, came deep from within Brendon.

He collected all his strength and then surged, throwing off the guards holding his arms. The guards at his throat were startled and stumbled back.

Brendon grabbed a spear from one, rammed it through the seconds heart and then lunged for Farris, his bare hands itching to close around the worthless cowards throat.

The other guards quickly recovered from their shock and just before Brendon reached Farris, they grabbed him, overpowering him and pulling him back.

Brendon felt the smallest hint of satisfaction by the sight of fear on the councilmen’s face and the racing of his pulse.

“I’ll kill you, Farris. You are going to die and it is going to be at my hands! I’ll kill everyone of you bastards who dare lay a hand on Ella!”

“Keep him alive but shut him up!” Alfred ordered and Brendon’s world went black as something hard cracked against he back of his skull.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Ella could feel the wind in her hair and the sun on her skin and yet her mind was not on those things. It was not on the water that she could hear lapping against the edge of the shore as Trig splashed around the lake and Nickolai taught Maggie to swim, despite her bad foot.

The girl was actually doing much better and didn’t seem to be in as much pain since Nickolai began working with her. The six weeks that they had been with the pack had been good for Maggie. She was gaining weight and finally growing taller.

They had been good for Ella as well, who had come more and more out of her shell and open to the pack members. There was only one thing that still weighed heavily on Ella every day. One thing that caused her to have doubts and dark thoughts.

Brendon had not once sent word.

He had admitted to her that it would take him a week or so to reach the compound but that he would send word as soon as he was settled in to let her know what was going on.

Nothing. She had received nothing. Not a single word.

Reaching in her dress pocket, Ella pulled out the letter that Brendon had left for her when he had snuck out in the night.

Ella didn’t blame him for leaving while she slept and was almost grateful that he had. She could only imagine how painful it would have been to say goodbye and watch him ride away.

She found that she was feeling more things now. She could feel sadness, fear, hate, anger, amusement, joy and even happiness now. She had begun smiling more and more and had even laughed once when Nickolai and Trig had gotten into an argument and Maggie had punched Trig hard in the groin for calling Nickolai a ‘hard ass’.

She had been told by Brie that it wasn’t really the best thing to laugh over and that children shouldn’t be encouraged to commit violent acts but Ella had laughed anyway. To her, it had been funny.

She missed Brendon. She wanted him to see how much better she was doing. She knew he would be proud of her. If he were here she would be complete.

Ella unfolded the wrinkled and worn letter. She had read it enough times to have the words memorized but still she liked seeing his handwriting and so she would pull it out and look at it several times a day.

Ella,

You may be mad that I chose to leave while you were sleeping….again. That seems to be a habit of mine. What can I say? I care too much about you to leave you any other way.

I don’t know when I will get to see you again so there are some things I want to make sure you know. I love you, Ella. With all my heart. You stole it and I don’t want it back. You can keep it forever just so long as you don’t break it, honey.

I’ve never had feelings like this for anyone. Life has always been hunting and the council but now when I look in my future I see something else. I see you and I sharing a cabin, a life. I see me waking up with you in my arms every morning.

That’s what I see in my future, Ella and it’s the best future I’ve ever pictured.

So just remember, until I’m able to hold you in my arms again, that I am yours. You are my captor. You have my unfailing loyalty and devotion.

Yours Always,

Brendon

Ella put the creased paper to her nose and breathed in the scent. She could still smell the smallest trace of Brendon in the folds. The tiniest hint of sandalwood and horse.

“How are you doing?” Dawn asked, interrupting Ella’s daydreams of Brendon. Ella sighed as the other woman settled down on the grass beside her and then covered her chest with a blanket as she allowed Creed to suckle his lunch.

“I miss him.” Ella admitted. Dawn nodded and the two women were silent as they both stared into the water. Trig had tried to sneak up on Nickolai and was currently sputtering and trying desperately to swim to the bank after the thorough dunking he had received.

Farrah was waiting on the bank to help him up, an amused grin on her face. She was the only member of the pack, other than Ella who didn’t know how to swim, that didn’t like water. It was the cat in her.

Maggie was laughing happily and getting the hang of swimming, with Nickolai’s hand supporting her, Brie was cheering the girl on, Grange was pacing the bank about forty yards from she and Dawn and watching Dawn. Anika and Blain were talking together on the far side of the tiny lake.

Ella had felt sorry for both of them after learning they had both lost their mates to Faugrimm’s men, but she was happy that they seemed to have found a kinship and happiness with one another. She had even seen them kissing once and had quickly turned and walked away, not wanting to interrupt their private moment.

“I thought that he would write to me by now.” Ella finally stated, filling the silent void between the women. Dawn gave her a comforting smile.

“I’m sure he is fine. He is probably just too busy trying to get things taken care of so he can come home to you.”

Ella had her doubts about that. Something in her was telling her that something had gone terribly wrong. “I’m sure you’re right.” she whispered because she knew that was what she was expected to say.

Ella folded up her letter and slipped it back into her skirt pocket.

Everything was calm and relaxed. The pack was laughing and enjoying the day, oblivious to the worry picking at Ella’s mind. She couldn’t help but feel as if something bad was going to happen. But what?

Grange would know if the wolf pack that wanted revenge on him was anywhere around. So why the rising hairs on the back of Ella’s neck?

Ella was faintly aware of Dawn switching Creed to the other side of her chest when suddenly chaos exploded around them.

Arrows flew out of the bushes and cries of pain filled the air as several found their marks. Ella watched with horror as an arrow pierced the back of Dawn’s shoulder, coming out inches from where Creed’s head was resting.

Grange’s growl of rage vibrated in the air and suddenly the alpha shifted, becoming a big black wolf, hell bent on killing the men that were now coming out of the woods. There were ten at least and they had no scent. Suddenly Ella knew what they were…

Hunters.

Brendon was in trouble. He might already be dead.

Ella sat as if frozen in place. Dawn was crawling toward the protection of the forest with Creed wrapped in her arms, She was bleeding heavily and fighting to stay awake long enough to get her son to safety.

Grange was locked in a deadly battle with the Hunters, one that was bloody and vicious.

Anika and Blain had shifted and were rushing to his aid while Trig pleaded with Farrah to run for cover, and Ella was reminded of the child in her womb.

Ella’s gaze went to Brie who was in hysterics while Nickolai laid a bleeding and unconscious Maggie into her arms and pointed toward the woods before turning, shifting and rushing to his alpha’s aid.

Ella wanted to help. Wanted to run. Wanted to move. All three things were impossible somehow. She was stuck. It was as if the air itself was too thick for her to move through. She sat there in a kind of dumb shock while the pack she had grown to feel a part of was ripped to shreds.

Arms grabbed her, Hunters, two of them. Ella hissed and then felt something sharp stick into her neck and a burning sensation filled her body.

Her eyelids became heavy. Her limbs began to feel tingly and fuzzy. She was faintly aware of the battle still raging on. Arrows, swords, gun shots, all flashing and ringing out in the once peaceful lake valley.

The scent of blood and black powder was thick and heavy and then suddenly Ella could no longer stay awake. Her eyes slipped closed just as she was aware of being tossed over a broad shoulder.

---

Grange knew they weren’t going to win. His entire pack was going to be wiped out and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. These Hunters had come out of nowhere. No one in his pack had been armed. No one had been prepared. They had been spread out, lost in their own conversations.

The Hunters had attacked like cowards and now Grange was going to lose everything that mattered to him.

He had seen Dawn get hit. He was aware that she had made it to the woods. A sword pierced his side, sinking into his flesh and causing him to whimper in pain before twisting and lunging for the Hunter that had been wielding it.

Then just as quickly as they had come the Hunters vanished.

They just faded back into the tree line.

Grange collapsed on the ground, panting and bleeding heavily. His eyes begin to slip closed and then he heard the crying.

A baby.

Creed.

He pushed himself to his feet and then shifted back to a man, reaching behind him to pull the arrow out of his back. It wasn’t deep but it hurt though not nearly as bad as the hole the sword had left in his side.

It had done damage that would take days to heal, though Grange couldn’t worry about that now. He had to find his wife and child.

“Grange, are you okay?” Anika demanded as she came running to him. Grange gave both she and Blain a quick once over. They were covered in superficial cuts and bruises just the same as him. Blain had a deep gash through his thigh that had him limping heavily and Anika’s arm was hanging at an awkward angle, clearly broken.

“I… have to find Dawn.” he replied, his voice tight with pain and fatigue from blood loss. “Go check on everyone else. Assemble the pack in one place in this valley. Stay on the alert for another attack.”

Anika and Blain nodded before limping away. Grange headed toward the woods. Following the scent of his mate’s blood and the sound of his sons cries.

“Dawn?” he whispered with fear as he entered the tree line.

“Here.” Dawn’s voice was weak and Grange swallowed hard around the lump in his throat. His mate was tough. She had been through a lot and always come out in the end. This time would be no different.

He found her, curled up behind a bush. Creed was lying loosely in her arm and she was trying to comfort him but seemed too weak to pick him up.

“I can’t breath well.” she whispered hoarsely and Grange nodded. It was clear from the sounds of her breaths that the arrow had ripped a hole through her lung. At least it had gone cleanly through and he wouldn’t have to rip it out.

“You’ll be okay, love. You just need rest.”

“You’re.. hurt!” Dawn exclaimed weakly. Grange just shrugged.

“I’ll be okay.” he promised. And he knew he would, in time. The whole pack seemed to be in need of at least three days of recuperation from their wounds.

Grange lifted Dawn into his arms, despite her protests and his own pain and weakness. Dawn kept Creed curled up against her chest and at the sight of his father, the boy calmed instantly.

He could hear Brie crying as they entered the valley. The pack was gathered in on area, all circled around a body on the ground.

Dawn demanded to be sat down when they got to the crowd and Grange sat she and Creed on the ground.

“Maggie…” Dawn gasped as tears filled her eyes. Grange pushed his way past Blain and saw the girl on the ground. An arrow had pierced her chest and she was quickly bleeding to death. Already she had lost consciousness and was dying. Her heart barely beating.

“We have to save her!” Brie pleaded with him and Grange felt his heart break.

“She’s just a mortal girl, Brie. She can’t live through that.” he replied gently. He looked around for Ella and realized the vampire was not there.

“Where’s Ella?!” he demanded.

“Gone.” Farrah replied quietly, her arms wrapped protectively over her stomach. “Those Hunters took her.”

Grange felt his heart fall. Brendon was probably dead, since those Hunters had come. The Council had seen through his lies and that would have ended with his death. Grange had failed him in the only thing Brendon had ever asked of him. Maggie was dying and Ella had been taken. He hadn’t kept either one of them safe.

Brie lifted Maggie into her lap and clung to the girl as she sobbed.

“Please save her, Nickolai. She is the only child we’ll ever have.” she pleaded as she looked up at her mate. Grange looked at Nickolai’s face and felt his heart hurt for his pack brother.

“I’m not strong enough, my Brie. My blood wouldn’t heal her quickly enough.” Nickolai’s eyes went to Grange and Grange saw the unspoken question.

His alpha blood was strong enough. But changing a child was risky. If a child was bitten then the werewolf automatically took control of their body. They wouldn’t age to puberty and then begin to shift and gain strength. Instead they would be able to shift instantly. And if it was hard for an adult to handle the wolves emotions and control the shift, it was nearly impossible for a child.

She would need constant supervision and extra training daily.

“Please, Grange…” It took Grange a moment to realize that the broken voice speaking to him belonged to Nickolai. “Please, save my daughter.”

Grange nodded. It might kill him, since he would have to give Maggie some of his own blood and he was still bleeding heavily and didn’t have much to spare, but he could not stand by and do nothing.

He dropped to his knees and took the girl from Brie, who kissed her cold, pale forehead and then folded her hands in lap, clasping tightly to her skirt while Nickolai put a hand on her shoulder, offering her all the comfort he could in his own despair.

Grange took the girls limp arm in his hand and brought it up to his mouth.

He sunk his teeth in, letting his poison soak into her veins and then he put his own arms against her mouth. He had no knife and so he slashed his arm open with his teeth and then began to pour the blood into her mouth until she latched on to his skin.

The world went blurry, the ground seemed to move and then he fell to the ground, barely aware of the voices calling out around him as he lost consciousness.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“Grange, the pack is too beat up. We have to wait.” Blain argued calmly as the Grange paced the floor of Nickolai and Brie’s cabin.

One full day had passed since the Hunters had attacked. Since Ella had been taken and since Grange had nearly died changing the girl, Maggie.

Maggie was still asleep and fevered in the bed. Grange knew she would live but her body was fighting against the wolf and she needed time before she would awaken.

Dawn was nearly healed, a welcome side effect of being a nursing mother. It ramped up the healing of her body in an effort to protect the child. A child wasn’t safe if its mother was too wounded to fight off threats.

Grange was already nearly healed as well. He suspected it was his alpha blood that was healing him so quickly. He had noticed that he had been growing stronger.

Trig, Farrah and Brie were all uninjured. Anika’s arm was in a brace and the bones would need at least one more day to knit together. Blain’s leg was in need of another day or so as well. Nickolai had only had superficial wounds and they were gone, other than a few bruises that still lingered.

“We don’t have time to wait.” Grange growled. “They have Ella. They will kill her. I gave my word to Brendon that we she would be safe with the pack. We have to go after her.”

“Grange is right.” Dawn said as she stepped forward. “We have to save her.”

Grange growled and turned on her. “ We aren’t doing anything. You are staying here.” Dawn glared at him.

“I will not.” she stated. “Brie is staying and I’m sure Farrah will as well. They can watch Creed. I am going with you.”

“And what will Creed eat?” Grange asked with a raise of his brow.

“Goats milk.” Dawn replied matter of factly. Grange wanted to argue with her. He wanted to tell her that she had to stay behind but he knew that would be pointless.

She wasn’t the fragile flower he had once thought she was. She was tough, she could handle herself in a fight and she would never let him ride off toward danger without coming along to watch his back.

“How are we going to find the compound?” Nickolai asked as he came out of the bedroom. Grange looked over his shoulder and saw Brie curled up in the bed, her arm wrapped around the restless girl.

“I know it’s west. In the mountains. Miles from everything.” Grange offered as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

“Ella said it would take Brendon close to a week to reach.” Farrah spoke up. She hadn’t taken her hands off of her stomach since the attack. It was as if she thought she could shield her unborn child from all the stress and danger around it.

“The way Brendon rides that means it would be a good week and a half at a regular pace.” he said with an irritated sigh.

“I know where it is.” Blain said stepping forward. “I’ve been there before.”

“You have?!” Anika asked with shock. Blain nodded, his dark eyes looking a bit haunted.

“Before I joined our pack as an adult, my parents were arrested by the council. I was with them, though I was only a child.” Blain had been looking at Anika while he spoke but now he looked away and stared hard at the wall. “The Council killed my parents in front of me, for crimes they did not commit, and then they released me to fend for myself….”

“So you can get us there?” Grange questioned. “After all this time you sure you remember how to get there?”

Blain nodded, his eyes clearly seeing memories of the past. “I’ll never forget.”

---

Ella was only faintly aware of flashes of light. Flashes of the scenery. Trees, rocks, men. She caught snippets of conversation. Random words.

“Killed girl.”

“Innocent.”

“Orders.”

“Following.”

Faintly, Ella was aware that they must be talking about Maggie. They had killed her? Ella tried to remember but whatever sedative was flowing through her blood was too strong.

Her body jarred and bounced along with the movements of the galloping horse beneath her. She was on her stomach across a pair of hard legs and her muscles ached.

The man she was lying on must have noticed her beginning to stir. He called out sharply and then without slowing he pressed something against Ella’s neck and she once again drifted off into unconsciousness.

Ella jerked back to consciousness when the horse stopped. She had no idea how long it had been. Judging by the thirst raging inside of her for blood, it had been days that she had been on this horse, laying across this mans legs.

Days since the pack had been attacked. Ella wondered if any of them were still alive.

Ella made a conscious effort to act as if she were still sleeping. She didn’t want any more of that sleeping potion stuck into her neck.

The sound of screeching metal reached her ears and then the horses began moving again. A gate maybe? She opened one eye just a crack and realized they were at a huge building made of stone and brick. Ella’s first thought was Faugrimm’s castle but after a deep breath to calm herself, she realized that wouldn’t be where she was.

This must be the Hunters Compound. Brendon’s prison.

The horse stopped again and Ella was lifted from the saddle. The thirst inside of her was nearly unbearable. It was like a living breathing creature swimming through her veins.

She was tossed over a shoulder and her aching body protested the rough treatment, though she was careful to make no sound. The world was coming back to her more every second. Her senses were shaking off the drug they had given to her and she was becoming more aware.

The sun disappeared and Ella knows she’s been carried inside a building. Her captors boots make noise each time they strike the rock floor and it reverberates and echoes around them.

“I’ve got a prisoner.” A voice rumbles close to her ear. He was asked for a number and rattles off a long stream of them. There is a grunt and then a rattling of keys and then they are on the move again.

Ella opens her eyes, knowing her captor and she are alone now and her eyes are behind him.

They were in a dungeon full of cells. Ella had flashbacks of her time spent with Faugrimm. This place was full of the same scents. Fear. Urine. Feces. Sweat. Pain.

Panic begins to well up inside of her as she sees the prisoners. Many look as if they’ve been here a long while. They are skinny, dirty, weak. Their clothing torn, they’re faces gaunt and they’re expressions nearly lifeless.

Ella could remember that too well. Not too long ago her expression had been the same. Before Brendon. Before Grange and his pack. Now all those things were gone.

The man carrying her stopped and Ella heard him fumbling with keys Rage, desperation, hunger. Those three things were all she could focus on but mostly it was the hunger.

A hiss left her lips and she felt the man holding her tense just before Ella turned and sunk her fangs deep into his neck.

She did nothing to help ease the pain he would feel as she drunk deeply, feeling his blood warming her insides and soothing the raging hunger inside of her. It was not nearly as sweet and fulfilling as Brendons but it would do. Strength flooded back to her and the soreness from the journey vanished.

Suddenly she was shoved away, tossed through the air. Ella laughed as she landed roughly on her backside and the man slammed the cell door shut, locking her in.

“You bitch!” he growled weakly. Ella could smell his pain, his weakness. She had taken most of his blood. If he were mortal he would be dead already.

Several cells around her exploded with applause and cries of victory as the Hunter fell to the ground. The guard that had asked for the number earlier came running into the hall and went quickly to the fallen Hunter.

Ella saw him pull a vial of liquid from his pocket and then he shoved the needle into the Hunters throat. Somehow Ella knew it was anti-venom and would save the Hunter’s life. That angered her.

The guard glared through the bars at her.

“You’ll pay for that.” he warned. Ella just smiled, her red hair falling across her face and warm liquid blood dripping from her fangs and rolling down her chin.

The guard looked afraid as he scooped the Hunter up and then left quickly, closing the heavy dungeon door behind him.

“Psst…” a voice called out beside her. Ella turned to see a skinny werewolf in the next cell. She was dirty and stunk terribly and the chains on her ankles and wrists rattled when she moved. “That was really dumb of you.”

“He killed my family.” Ella replied without guilt.

“He’s not the enemy. It’s not the Hunters that are bad. They are prisoners just like us, only they don’t wear chains. If you want to avenge your family then you need to get the Councilmen. They are the real murderers. Power corrupts all men and the Councilmen are no exception. Every day they get more evil, less.. human. ”

Ella moved closer to the bars separating she and the werewolf.

“What are you here for?” she asked. The werewolf shook her head.

“I don’t remember.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Time seems to lose it’s meaning here… I couldn’t say how long it’s been.”

Ella understood completely. She had no idea how long she had been with Faugrimm or how long she had been Warren’s prisoner. Based on the math she had done from the time she had killed her parents to now it had been one hundred and fifty years. She understood completely how time lost its meaning when you were surrounded by stone, bars and pain.

“Have you seen a man here? Dark hair, green eyes, broad shoulders? A Hunter…”

“Hunter?” the werewolf asked curiously. Ella nodded.

“Yes. He would be a prisoner though…”

“They don’t put their own in prison… They are executed immediately if they are disloyal to the Council.”

Ella felt as if someone had just reached inside her body and torn her heart out of it. Despite knowing that Brendon was probably dead, Ella had still held onto the smallest sliver of hope that he was alive. That he would be here and together they would find a way to escape.

Ella moved to the far corner of her cage and pulled her knees up into her chin.

“Hey, are you okay?” the werewolf asked.

Ella didn’t cry. She didn’t say a word. Suddenly she was back in the cold bedroom at Warren’s home. Or back in her drafty cell in Faugrimm’s castle. There was no more pack. There was no more Brendon. There was no Maggie. All that existed was stone. Stone and bars. Next would come the pain. The hunger. The beatings. The rape. Better to turn herself off now. Better to welcome the numbness that had been her only friend for so long.

She was faintly aware of the wolf still trying to speak to her but finally the woman gave up and collapsed against the bars of her cell. Still Ella stared off into nothing.

She had once again lost her happiness. She would never make the mistake of thinking she deserved happiness again. Loving Ella was a death sentence to anyone who dared it.

Chapter Twenty-Six

“Breakfast!” The call rang out as the dungeon doors were thrown open. Brendon watched the prisoners around him, acting like hogs at feeding time. Tugging on their chains, fighting to reach the doors of their cages while drool ran down their chins.

Animals.

When it came down to it, deep down inside each human, werewolf, vampire and demon, inside each and every ‘civilized’ creature, lay the spirit of an animal.

The desperation, the savagery.

Brendon saw the guard approaching his cell. He was in the darkest and dampest of the many dungeons the Council had here. Brendon had never given much thought to what went on behind the scenes at the compound. He had always just done what he’d been told.

He had been blindly obedient. A sheep.

No more. That Brendon was gone. His eyes were wide open now and he was seeing the Council for what they truly were.

Monsters. They were no different, no better, than the evil that they sent their Hunter slaves to destroy. They had dungeons full of innocent prisoners. Prisoners they were torturing, starving and beating daily.

“Breakfast.” the guard at his door, a mortal, muttered and Brendon glared at him, ignoring the moldy hunk of bread that was tossed down on the feces and urine covered stone.

“You better eat, Brendon.”

“Do I know you?” Brendon growled. His voice was rough and scratchy from lack of water. He was weak, given the weeks he’d been here, or was it months now? Brendon figured it was. Probably close to two months.

He wondered where Ella was. Maybe Grange and the pack had been able to fight off the Hunters and Ella was fine, safe….. Brendon knew that wasn’t true. Something inside of him knew she wasn’t fine. She wasn’t safe.

“No, but we all know you. I never thought you’d turn on the Council. Your name is legend here.”

“That’s because I’m dangerous.” Brendon assured the man as he stood up, hauling up the heavy chains that were connecting his wrists and ankles. “Step in here and I’ll show you.”

“Don’t you think those chains might get in your way?” the young guard asked with a smirk.

Brendon smiled, though it was humorless and cold. He saw the cockiness on the guards face falter slightly.

“Naw, I think they’ll help.” Brendon’s voice lowered to little more than a whisper and the guard leaned closer to the bars in order to hear him. “Imagine these chains around your neck. Each cold, metal link pressing deeper and deeper. Warm blood trickling down your neck as they slice through your skin…..”

“That’s enough.” A second guard, an older guard, half demon, grunts as he shoves the first guard, (who has gone pale), out of his way. “It’s time to go, traitor. Your day in court has come.”

“Court would imply that there is some hope of justice. I think you mean my day of slaughter has come.”

“Get him out.” the second guard ordered and the first guard shook his head and took a step back.

“Hell no. I ain’t going in there. That man’s crazy.”

“That man is chained and there are three more of us standing out here if he tries anything.” the second guard reminded the first as two more guards walked over. When the first guard still showed no signs of moving toward the cell door, the second pulled his gun and pressed it against his chest.

“Get the prisoner out of his cell. The Council is waiting.”

Brendon found mild amusement in the way the first guards hands shook as he opened the cell door and stepped inside. Brendon waited patiently as the guard unhooked his chains from the floor and then shoved him forward.

Brendon’s mind was racing as they led him through the dungeon. Two spears were pointed into his back, their sharp points pricking him through his stiff, filthy shirt. A gun was pressed to his temple and a knife at his throat as he was led up out of the depths of darkness and toward the main compound.

Had they found Ella? Was that why he was being led to the council after so long locked up?

Brendon prayed that wasn’t so. He hoped that they had given up on getting Ella and were tired of waiting to carry out his sentence. He didn’t care if he died, he just didn’t want Ella to die with him.

His weak legs tripped over a loose stone in the floor and the knife at his throat pierced his skin, drawing out a trickle of blood. The guard holding it chuckled.

“Better walk steady there, traitor, or the Council will be killing a dead man.”

Brendon didn’t both to tell the ignorant guard that that statement made no sense. He didn’t think the man would appreciate his two cents on the matter.

Brendon felt as if the walk to the Council room was the longest walk he had ever taken. He prepared himself to see Ella’s face when the doors were thrown open and instead breathed a sigh of relief when all he saw were twelve old men in robes sitting behind the long desk.

They didn’t have his mate.

He was led to the platform in the center of the room and he squinted as the sunlight from the skylight hit his eyes. It was the first time he’d seen sunlight in nearly two months.

The four guards took steps back though they remained close enough with their weapons drawn to restrain him if necessary. Brendon caught a glimpse of himself in the shining brass gong against the far wall.

He has lost weight, which is no surprise. He was also pale and dirty. His face was covered with a thick beard. But he wasn’t broken. His shoulders were thrown back and his head held high.

“Hello, Brendon.” Farris’s voice reached his ears and Brendon’s eyes instantly fell on the monster of a man.

“Farris.”

“You dare call me by my name?!” Farris demanded.

“Would you prefer ‘Bastard’?”

“Enough!” Jeremy exclaimed before Farris could say anything else. Farris took a moment to adjust his robe and then fixed Brendon with a cool stare.

“I believe you know our guest who will be arriving shortly.”

Brendon’s heart fell to his feet and his temper flared when the doors opened and two guards came into the room, holding a chained, bruised and bloody woman between them.

“Ella….” he ground out between his clenched teeth and her head snapped up.

Hope sparked in her green eyes, filling them with light as she looked at him. “Brendon! You’re alive.”

Brendon didn’t reply because the only thing he could think of to say was ‘for now’ and somehow he didn’t think that would be what she needed to hear.

His heart was beating against his ribs, pounding, thundering, pulsing out an erratic rhythm as panic welled up inside of him. They had Ella. They had found her. She was in their hands. She was going to die.

“Bring her forward.” Alfred ordered. Brendon saw Ella’s feet become tangled and she tripped, nearly falling. One of the guards holding her, gripped her arm roughly and jerked her to her feet and the other smacked her face.

“Pay attention.” he ordered. Brendon felt rage roaring through his blood. A roaring river rapid bubbling over the surface.

He lunged forward, intent on killing the man who had struck his woman. Instead the spear at his throat sliced the side of his neck and the metal handle of another spear landed roughly against his back, the thud of the impact echoing in the big room.

Brendon hit his knees, his hair falling across his face and his eyes never leaving Ella’s. He could tell she wanted to fight to get to him and he shook his head.

“Just do as they say, honey.” Brendon could feel the blood pouring down his neck, soaking his tattered shirt. Ella’s face was covered in blood, though from the smell he could tell it wasn’t hers and his heart fell. She had clearly bitten someone and the Council would punish her for that if they did find her innocent of whatever other crimes they were trying her for today.

“Stand up, Brendon.” Farris’s voice echoed behind him. “Face the council.” Brendon pushed himself to his feet, his legs protesting the motion after so long being locked in a cell with little movement.

He heard chains rattling behind him as Ella stepped forward as well.

“State your name.” Farris said, looking at Ella, who remained silent and did not answer. Brendon heard a sharp smack and jerked against the four guards holding him, only to receive a sharp hit to the back of his head.

“Hold still.” Brendon glared at the guard. He hated these chains. It was because of these chains that they were able to control him. They used them like ropes and they gave them leverage to hold him still.

Cowards! All of them!

Brendon didn’t care that two of the guards in this room were Hunter’s, he had no brotherly feelings toward them any longer and would kill them just as easily as everyone else in this room if harm came to Ella.

“State your name, vampire!” Farris stated again, more forcefully this time.

“Ella.”

“Ella, you have been accused of murdering countless innocent men and one of this Council’s Hunters. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Before Ella could reply, Brendon spoke up.

“I told you I killed Vaughn!” he yelled angrily. “I enjoyed it! I ripped his treacherous throat right out! And those men were killed by the vampire who’s teeth I showed you weeks ago!”

“We don’t believe you, Brendon.” Jeremy said sadly. “You will die for your treachery and the vampire will die for the crimes she has committed.”

“You won’t lay a hand on her, Jeremy. I’ll rip out each and every one of your black hearts.” Brendon promised and the room filled with laughter. The other eleven councilmen looked at Farris, their expressions ranging from concerned to annoyed as he seemed quite amused by the proceedings.

Brendon knew it was hopeless. He was going to die. Ella was going to die. But Brendon would be damned if he wasn’t going to take at least a few of the bastards with him before it happened. He just had to wait for the right moment.

---

“See the glass roof?” Blain asked as he pointed across the distance separating the pack from the compound.

Grange grunted in agreement.

“That’s where the council is. The prisoners are kept in the dungeons until it’s time to face the council for execution.” His voice was haunted and Anika’s hand went to rest gently on his back.

“The compound is guarded but not impossible to penetrate….”

“It would be easier at night.” Nickolai said and Grange nodded.

“Ella and Brendon might not have until night.” Dawn countered. The pack fell silent, each of them knowing that they might already be too late and probably were.

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to plan an attack. We have no idea where they might even be. I think we’re just going to have to attack and hope the element of surprise will be enough.” Nickolai stated matter of factly.

Grange nodded, though he would like that plan better if his mate weren‘t here. “If you’re injured too badly then get out. I don’t want to lose any more pack members, I just want to find the ones we’ve lost.”

“Grange, if we go in the back way we can probably sneak a little further in, maybe even figure out where they are without drawing too much attention to ourselves.” Blain spoke up.

“We’ll follow you, Blain. You have the experience here.” he concedes with a nod. Blain tipped his head in gratitude and then began leading them through the woods and around a mountain peak, though they all continued to stay low to the ground to avoid being spotted by the lookouts.

Grange looked at Dawn and felt his chest get tight.

“Love?” he whispered.

“Yes?”

“Be careful.”

Blain led them to the back of the compound and they all stared at the closed iron gate, the only break in the solid stone wall.

“How do we get him to open that?” Dawn asked as she looked at the demon guard. “And why do they use demons?”

“Because demons are easily bought and paid for.” Nickolai replied. “They are cheap labor just so long as you have plenty of prisoners to keep them supplied with the fear and pain they need to thrive.”

“Those aren’t the only guards. Most of the guards are mortal. Some are demons and some are Hunters in training.” Blain added.

“Why don’t we just go up there and tell the guard we’re peddlers selling household wares and various items?” Trig asked with a grin. Grange’s grunted.

“Go ahead.”

“Really?” Trig asked doubtfully. He’d only been kidding after all.

“No, not really.” Grange said dryly. “You are an idiot.”

Blain surprised everyone when he reached down and tore a sleeve off his own shirt and then ripped a hole in the chest of it. He began scooping up hands full of dirt and rubbing them on his face and skin.

“What are you doing?” Anika asked with a frown.

“Getting them to open the gate.” Blain replied simply. He turned to Nickolai. “Hit my face. Don’t worry about hurting me…..” Blain was cut off when Nickolai swung and his fist thudded loudly against Blain’s jaw.

Nickolai was standing there straight-faced as if nothing had happened as Blain’s head snapped back and he spit blood.

“Thanks.” he gasped. “That should do it. You all be ready to rush in. I’ll have to take that guard out quick. He’s the only one back here but if he blows that horn on his belt it will be over for us before it starts.”

“Blain!” Anika called out as he started toward the road that led to the gate. Blain stopped and turned to look at her with a frown. She swallowed hard and bit her lip. Blain just smiled reassuringly at her and then continued on his way.

“Halt! Who goes there?!” the guard called out when he saw Blain. Blain limped forward, the limp faked since his leg had healed days ago.

“Help me. I was attacked…” he panted.

“Attacked by what?” the guard demanded.

“Wolves..”

“You’re a wolf.” the guard stated skeptically.

“I was guiding several mortals across the mountains and the wolves attacked us. They killed them all.” Blain stumbled. “Please, help…”

The guard seemed unsure for a moment and then he sighed. “Okay. The Council needs to hear about this, I suppose.” The guard came down from his tower post and walked to the iron gate. He took a set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the heavy lock before pulling one side of the gate away.

Blain limped his way through the gate and the demon guard began to close it but Blain was too fast. Without giving the demon time to know it was coming, Blain grabbed him from behind, wrapped an arm tight around his head and then twisting, snapping the demons neck.

That was the only way to kill a demon. You had sever its spinal cord. That meant breaking their neck or beheading them.

Blain took the keys from the dead demons hand just as Grange and the pack came through the gate.

“Gather up whatever weapons the demon had.” Grange ordered.

“These keys will unlock that door,” Blain said pointing toward a small door in the stone wall of the compound. They were standing in an empty courtyard only about twenty feet wide.

“Where does that door lead?” Grange asked. “Do you remember?”

“I will never forget the details of this place.” Blain replied cooly. “I was a prisoner here for ten years. That door leads to a very tight, dark hallway which leads to two doors. One door leads out into the compound, the other down to one of the dungeons.”

“Prisoners are kept in the dungeons?” Grange asked and Blain nodded.

“Then we need to head to the dungeons.” Nickolai and Grange stuffed the dead demon guard back into the watch tower so that the body wouldn’t be discovered too quickly.

The pack went into the hallway, each moving as silently as shadows as they slipped past the cool damp stone.

Grange felt Dawn tremble beside him as they started down the narrow staircase that would lead toward the dungeons. The scents here were familiar and Grange knew they were reminding her of Faugrimm’s castle.

The scent of pain, sweat, dirt, urine and feces wafted up from the depths of the dungeons. Grange reached out and took her hand, squeezing it comfortingly.

“You’ll be fine, love.” he promised her, not because he was sure it was the truth but because he knew it was what she needed to hear.

Blain motioned for everyone to stop at the bottom of the stairs and he peeked his head around the corner.

“The guards aren’t here.” he whispered. “We better look through this dungeon fast because there are several.”

Grange stepped out into the dungeon.

“We’re looking for a vampire.” he said to the cells full of prisoners. They were thin, dirty and unkempt. They were in just as bad of shape as the prisoners had been at Faugrimm’s castle. How could any Council claim to be good and yet treat living creatures like this?

“You’ll probably have to be more specific.” Trig said matter of factly as he nudged Grange’s shoulder.

Grange growled and then took another step. “We’re looking for a vampire that would have arrived within the last day or two. Red hair, short, pale…”

“A little on the odd side.” Trig added. Grange was about to scold him when a hoarse voice to their right spoke up.

“You’re too late.”

Dawn went to the cage and looked down at the female werewolf sitting inside, thick heavy chains locked at her wrists and ankles. Grange joined Dawn, not wanting her to be so close to this werewolf.

“What do you mean?” Dawn asked quietly.

“She came yesterday but they took her about an hour ago. She’s meeting with the council. She almost killed a Hunter so they will probably put her to death.”

“Oh no…” Dawn gasped and Grange looked around him.

His pack couldn’t take on the entire compound without getting killed but maybe with the help of these prisoners…..

“How many of are willing to fight for your freedom?”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Brendon kept his eyes glued to Ella’s pale face. She was shaking and her eyes kept looking into his, almost as if she was counting on him to save them.

God, how he wished he could.

“We will have order in this council room.” Alfred warned. “I will not tolerate another outburst, Brendon, is that understood?”

Brendon remained silent and turned his eyes back up to the council and away from Ella. Looking at her caused guilt to eat at his heart.

“Ella, you have been accused of the murder of countless mortal men, all innocents. You have also been accused of a much more serious crime. The murder of a Hunter. What do you have to say for yourself.”

“I already told you.” Brendon ground out. “ I killed the vampire responsible for killing those men and I killed Vaughn.”

Farris pounded his gavel. “Guards!” Brendon’s breath left him in a rush and his vision blurred as the biggest guard, the half demon, slammed the handle of his axe into his gut.

Brendon’s legs wanted to give out but he forced himself to stay standing. Lack of food and sleep were taking a heavy toll on his physical abilities.

“Stop hitting him!” Ella screamed as a spear handle struck against his back and he hit his knees and then another cracked against his skull. Brendon knew these guards were angry with him for the way he had acted when they had gotten him from his cell this morning.

Apparently he had hurt their feelings.

The big babies.

Big babies with big sticks. Brendon’s head was spinning and he felt like throwing up as pain wracked his body. He could feel blood on the back of his head, soaking into his hair, and knew that his head had been split wide open.

“It’s nice to see Hunter Brendon finally showing the proper respect.” Farris replied haughtily and there were several murmurs of agreement from several other Councilmen. Brendon knew Farris was referring to the fact that he had fallen to his knees so with a big intake of breath to combat the pain, he pushed himself up, willing his weak legs to move as he rose to his feet and met Farris’s gaze head on.

A moment of satisfaction washed over Brendon when he saw some of that fear and uneasiness return to Farris’s eyes. Farris was going to die, and Brendon was going to kill him, even if it was the last thing he ever did, and he knew it more than likely would be.

“Brendon, you will refrain from speaking while we speak to the vampire.” Alfred warned and then he turned his weak, watery eyes to Ella.

“The time for confession is now. Are you truly going to make Brendon pay for the wrong that you did? Would you honestly put him through all that suffering and trouble?”

Brendon looked over at Ella and knew Alfred’s words had gotten to her. Tears were filling her pale green eyes and when he saw her open her mouth to speak he could no longer remain silent.

“Ella, don’t!” he yelled. “I’d do anything for you Ella!” The axe handle once again rammed into his stomach, driving him to his knees and shoving out his breath in a rush

“This ain’t no trouble, honey. I’d die for you.” A boot connected with his face and blood instantly coated his lips.

“I did it!” Ella exclaimed, her chains rattling and clanking as she held up her hands. “Please stop hurting him!”

“Be more specific, vampire. What did you do?”

“No…” Brendon gasped through the pain. His eyes were pleading with her to stop but she just shook her head sadly and then looked at Alfred.

“I killed those men. All of them. I killed the Hunter as well. He came to kill me and I fought back.”

“How noble of you to admit your wrong doings. However nobility does not erase the crimes that you have committed. The penalty for both killing innocent mortals and killing a Hunter are the same…” Farris paused.

“No…” Brendon croaked.

“…Death.”

“Sirs! Sirs, please…” Brendon remained on his knees, folding his hands and holded them out to the Council in pleading. “I beg of you, please don’t kill her! She didn’t know any better than to do what she did but she knows better now!”

“She almost killed a Hunter just yesterday.” Farris stated matter of factly but Brendon saw the flicker of pity in Jeremy’s eyes. If he could just convince a few council members to take pity on Ella then maybe her life could be spared.

“She was scared… Ella has had a hard life. Prisoner to both Faugrimm and a vampire named Warren whom I killed. Please have pity on her. Let her go.”

“And I suppose you want the same mercy shown to yourself?” Farris sneered. Brendon pushed himself to his feet and shook his head.

“I don’t care what you do to me.” He swiped the back of his hand across his face to clear some of the blood from his mouth. “Just please don’t kill, Ella. I have given you more than three hundred years of my life… just grant me that one wish.”

Jeremy snapped his fingers and signaled for the other council members to huddle. Farris let out an irritated tirade under his breath and all twelve men huddled together.

Brendon looked over at Ella but she was staring at the stone floor, her face hidden behind a curtain of red hair.

The door to the council room opened just a crack and Brendon saw Peter slip into the room. The giant of a man winked at him… winked? … and then closed the door behind him and stood silently against the wall. Brendon looked up to the council but if any of the men had noticed the demon entering, they gave no sign.

A shadow passed over Brendon, probably just a cloud traveling over the skylight. He looked up and frowned when he was sure he saw a body, arms and legs, slip just out of his line of vision.

He scolded himself for imagining things. It was probably just a bird. He had bigger things to be worried about right now. His head was throbbing, blood was drying to his mouth and chin, causing the skin to feel tight and blood was still running steadily down his neck from the wide cut, soaking his shirt, and his stomach was cramping, his organs having taken one hell of a beating from the young guards axe handle.

It was several long, tense minutes before the Council broke apart and each man went back to his own chair.

Alfred cleared his throat, adjusted his glasses and then folded his hands on the desk and met Brendon‘s eyes. “While we understand that you feel your centuries of service to this council should be taken into account it simply cannot erase your disloyalty. You lied to this council, you gave your loyalty to another and the only punishment worthy of such a crime is death. As far as the vampire…. She must die as well. If we let her go simply because you ask us to then we are opening a can of worms that would just as soon leave closed.”

“Please…” Brendon pleaded.

“I’m sorry.” Jeremy said and Brendon could tell the man meant it but that didn’t change the fact that if Brendon could reach him, he would die. They would all die.

“Her first.” Farris said, motioning for the guards.

Brendon yanked and tugged against his chains, receiving several more hits from the ax handle, as the two guards holding Ella, kicked her legs roughly, causing her to fall to her knees.

The hard wood of the axe and spear handles continued to rain down on Brendon as he fought in vain to get to Ella. To save her.

While one guard held a spear to Ella’s throat, the second pulled his gun and pressed it to the back of her head.

Brendon stilled. Time froze. He saw a tear gathering in Ella’s pale green eye, slipping loose and rolling down her cheek as she looked at him.

“Ella…” he managed to whisper through the pain he was feeling both physically and emotionally. She looked into his eyes and he said more loudly, “I love you.”

How dumb he was for not saying that to her before. She should have heard those words a million times in their time together. She should have heard them a million more in her lifetime and now that time was gone.

Brendon’s weak knees nearly gave out when Ella smiled.

She smiled.

He had always known she’d have a pretty smile and damn had he been right. Deep dimples appeared on her cheeks and her eyes seemed to glow.

“I know you do. I love you too.”

That settled that. Brendon could not let her die.

“Ella, you are a vampire accused of horrendous crimes. Which include murder of innocents and a Hunter. I hereby sentence you to death…” Farris raised his gavel. Brendon knew that the instant the ringing of that gavel hitting the desk filled the air, the guard with the gun to Ella’s head would pull the trigger. She might be a vampire but a bullet point blank to her head would kill her if she didn’t’ get blood immediately after and Brendon knew, from experience that the guard holding the spear to her throat would finish her off quickly after the gunshot.

Brendon wouldn’t let that happen. He gathered all of his remaining strength and prepared himself for breaking free of the guard’s grip when suddenly the door to the council room was thrown open and Farris’s gavel froze in the air.

“What the hell…!” The old man exclaimed as a bloody and beaten guard stumbled in.

“We have a problem, sirs.”

“Problem?” Jeremy asked as he stood up.

“The prisoners have been freed.”

“Freed!?” Alfred demanded as the entire council jumped to their feet.

“Yes sir. And they’re fighting.”

“With each other?” Jeremy questioned.

“No, with the guards, sir.” Murmurs of disbelief erupted from the council members.

“They are no real threat.” Farris insisted and the guard cleared his throat loudly.

“They are all immortal. They are angry. They have weapons.”

“HOW!?”

“Some from the wolves that freed them and some from the guards they’ve already killed.”

“Wolves?”

“Yes a pack of them. Sirs, you have to get out of here. They are coming this way.”

Brendon couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The wolves had to be Grange and his pack. Grange would risk so much just to save Ella? Surely they had to think Brendon was dead by now so this was just for Ella. Just for his mate.

It seemed that Grange was truly paying back his debt and causing Brendon to become indebted to him all at the same time. That was, if they all made it out alive.

Then the noise began. Yells. Screams. It seemed the prisoners were overthrowing the guards and attempting to storm the council room.

“What wolf would dare attack this Council?!” Farris bellowed with disbelieving rage.

The guards holding Brendon’s chains let go and jumped back as the glass roof above them shattered and came crashing down.

Brendon instantly crossed the room and using the distraction of the crashing roof, he grabbed the guard with the gun to Ella’s head by the neck and squeezed, ripping out the half demons throat and dropping him dead and spurting blood to the floor.

He grabbed the gun that the guard had been holding and fired a quick shot into the head of the second guard, a mortal man, holding Ella’s chains.

Ella threw herself against Brendon’s chest, though they couldn’t hold each other properly because of the heavy chains they were both still stuck in.

It was then that Brendon noticed a body had come through the roof when it had shattered. That body was now crouched on the floor, blue eyes flashing as they bore holes into Farris.

“What wolf would dare attack your council?” Grange growled, his voice like rumbling thunder. “Grange Michaels would be the answer to that question. Now I have one for you.”

The young mortal guard from the dungeon took a step toward Grange and Brendon sent his body slumping dead to the floor with one quick bullet.

The other guards didn’t act so tough now that Brendon had a gun and all they had were those axes they’d been so fond of mere moments ago.

“What would that question be?” Farris asked, his voice shaking. Grange stood straight and raised a brow.

“What kind of stupid, arrogant, son of a bitch would dare send his Hunters to my territory? Would dare have them attack my pack? Would have the goddamn balls to piss me off?”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The three remaining guards, that had been holding Brendon, attacked then, rushing at Grange. Grange turned, swinging the broadsword he held in his hands in a wide arc and slicing open the gut of one guard while the other two sunk low to avoid the blade and then jumped back.

The two guards now standing off with Grange were Hunters but Brendon had seen Grange fight angry before and knew the wolf could handle it. Brendon had to find a way to get these chains off of him and Ella so they could help fight their way out as well.

Movement by the door caught Brendon’s attention and he saw the bruised and beaten guard that had run in moments before, pull his black powder revolver, taking aim at Ella.

Brendon stepped in front of her and prepared himself for the pain of the bullet, only to feel shocked when Peter, whom he had forgotten was even in the room, dropped one sledgehammer sized fist onto the top of the guards head, dropping him unconscious to the floor.

Peter shouldered his axe and cross the room quickly to Brendon, who tensed, unsure if he could trust the giant demon.

Peter winked again, causing Brendon to know he was going to have to have a talk with the demon about how often grown men should wink at each other. The oversized man raised his axe high and then brought it down hard on the chains around Brendon’s ankles, breaking them cleanly.

“I’d be happy to do your hands too if you hold them out.” Peter stated with a grin.

The yelling in the compound was getting closer. The occasional gun shot sounded but mostly it was primal screams and clanking swords. Black powder weapons just weren’t very practical in hand to hand combat. They took too long to reload.

“Dammit! Where’d they go!” Grange’s angry voice growled just as Brendon and Ella were freed from their chains. The wrist and ankle bracelets were still attached but they could move freely now.

Brendon looked up to the desk to realize that the councilmen were gone. Grange had killed the Hunters, and judging by the amount of blood splashed across Grange’s black shirt and the puddles of it pooled around the Hunter’s bodies, Grange had killed them quite thoroughly.

“Overkill?” Brendon asked with a quiet chuckle, his arms snaking around Ella and holding her tight.

Grange looked over at Brendon and let out another growl.

“I recognized them. They were with the Hunters that attacked the pack.”

“The council would have slipped through the hidden passage.” Brendon said matter of factly as he pointed toward the banner that hung from the ceiling and stretched to the floor just behind the desk. “And is the pack okay?”

“Fine.” Grange said with a quick nod. “You both okay?”

Brendon looked down at Ella and she looked up at him and nodded.

“Yeah, we’re okay.”

The yelling suddenly grew louder and a mass of bodies came pouring through the council room door.

Guards and Hunters, a lot of them, running for their lives.

The guards saw their dead brothers on the floor and stopped in their tracks. Rage contorted their features and then they attacked.

“Time to go to work.” Brendon muttered. Shock filled him when he heard Ella let out an angry hiss and then leap through the air, jumping from one attacker to the next, ripping out throats and tearing open flesh.

“Can’t let her have all the fun.” Grange growled and Brendon nodded in agreement just before the two men jumped into the bloody fray.

Brendon had never given much thought to killing another Hunter. They were his brothers. They were like him.

No, that wasn’t right. Brendon was different. Changed. He would never again be a sheep blindly following the shepherd.

“Where’s the council?” Blain demanded as he came into the room and took off the head of a demon with the big axe in his hand.

“They went behind the curtain.” Brendon replied, ducking to dodge an axe and swinging his own taking off the legs of the Hunter

“Go after them!” Blain exclaimed. “We can handle this.” Brendon was about to ask if the wolf was sure when a gray wolf covered in red/gold highlights came bursting through the door, blood covering her muzzle. She went up to Grange and flicked her tail in his face before leaping on a mortal guard that was attempting to sneak up on Grange from behind, and quickly dispatching him.

“We’ve got this.” Grange replied, his blue eyes flashing as he watched Dawn leaping in and out of the fray of bodies.

Prisoners were now joining the fight. The hall and doorway were so thick with bodies that Brendon noticed not many were even using weapons any longer. There was no room to wield them. The fight had become savage. Hands, teeth, claws and small knives. The scent of blood, death, panic and rage filled the air.

The prisoners were angry. Brendon had no doubt that Grange’s pack hadn’t had to do much work, the prisoners seemed more than happy to kill the guards and the Hunters for them and Brendon did not blame them.

All that saved him from the same fate from the bloodthirsty prisoners was them seeing him fighting alongside Grange.

“I think the prisoners have this.” Blain said as he stepped back away from the main fighting force and watched. Grange nodded and then he shifted quickly, the glistening black wolf he became somehow even scarier than the blood covered man he had been moments earlier.

He let out a sharp yip and quickly the pack was surrounding him, even Blain had shifted now. Grange tipped his head to Brendon as if saying ‘ We’ll follow you ’ and Brendon quickly found Ella, who had become a one vampire killing machine in the throng of bodies. He took her arm, grinning when she turned and hissed at him before realizing who he was and smiling again.

“Damn, I always knew that smile would be pretty.” he said roughly as he kissed her blood covered cheek.

Grange yipped impatiently and then Brendon nodded.

“Right, we gotta go find those old bastards.” he said. “If we don’t then they’ll just find a way to put all this back together once we’re gone.”

“Well then let’s go.” Ella replied simply. “I want to go back home. I have improved a lot since you left and I am ready to get started on that future you promised me.”

“God, me too, honey.” Brendon replied, looking deep into those pale green eyes. How strange that they were having a quiet, romantic moment amidst all the blood and death going on around them.

Minutes ago, Brendon had been sure he was seeing her face for the last time, he had been sure he was hearing her voice for the final time and now here she was wrapped in his arms.

Brendon heard one last impatient growl and he turned just in time to see the pack slipping behind the banner that the council had run behind.

He and Ella shared a look and then went running after them.

“Grange! Farris is mine, dammit!”

---

Ella ran alongside Brendon. Her Brendon. He was alive. He was here with her. It seemed a miracle and Ella wasn’t sure how to process such a thing. Miracles were fantasies, dreams, things that had happened to others in stories she had heard but never to her.

She had been so sure that Brendon was going to die. Each time those guards had struck him with the handles of their axes, Ella had felt the pain herself. Each cracking of his bones like a knife straight through her heart.

But Brendon was strong, already his body was healing and while Ella knew his body had to be hurting from the massive about of bruises he was covered in, he didn’t show any of that pain on his face.

She loved him. She loved him with everything that she had. He was her miracle.

His hand reached out and took hers, squeezing it tightly as if he could read her mind as they made their way through the tight winding tunnels.

The pack could be heard ahead of them, their claws echoing off the stone walls and their panting breaths and growls filling the silence.

Ella could smell the council men. They were close and they were scared.

Suddenly screams split the air, so loud in this tight tunnel, they were nearly painful to Ella’s sensitive ears. Growls soon joined the screams and then the scent of blood.

It was clear that Grange’s pack was succumbing to the blood lust that was inside every immortal. A lust to kill. To end the life of those weaker than themselves.

Brendon charged ahead and Ella simply followed. Following him is what she would do from now on. Never again would she let this man from her sight. Whenever she did, bad things seemed to happen to them both.

They rushed past the pack, Ella noticed that the pack was toying with their prey and Ella longed to join them but she knew that Brendon was chasing something else.

The councilman named Farris. Grange and the pack had let him run on. He was the only councilman still running.

Ella saw him then. His run had become more of a shuffling fast walk and she could hear him sobbing. He looked over his shoulder and his eyes widened when he saw she and Brendon closing in.

It had been a mistake for the old man to take his eyes from his path, which was barely lit by torches ever thirty to forty feet. His feet became tangled in themselves and he was sent crashing to the ground, his body sliding across the damp stone.

Ella stood back, allowing her mate to approach their fallen victim. She knew this was Brendon’s kill to make.

“Brendon…” Farris whispered hoarsely, his voice breaking. “Please just let me go…”

“You know I can’t do that, sir.” Brendon replied, his voice different than Ella had ever heard it before. Gone was any gentleness or caring. Gone was that lightheartedness and teasing nature. He sounded cold and callous as he spoke to the stuttering quivering coward on the cold stone floor.

“You can’t kill me Brendon. I am your master.”

Brendon was standing over him now, his legs on either side of Farris’s prone frame lying on the floor. “I have no master. Not anymore.”

“You won’t kill me…” Farris himself sounded as if he knew he was lying. The desperation in his voice and the tears on his wrinkled cheeks giving away his own doubts.

“You created me, Farris. You and men like you. You know what I’m capable of because many times you’ve used my skills to your advantage. I am what you Councilmen always trained me to be.” Brendon paused, a humorless grin passing over his face. “A mindless killing machine. No questions, no thought to whether it’s right or wrong. No wondering if the prey deserves to die. I am a Hunter and this is what I do.”

“Brendon, please… I’m an old man, what threat am I to you? Your wolves have killed the rest of the council and the prisoners are tearing down this compound brick by brick. Just let me go. I won’t live long outside these walls…”

Ella saw the tension in Brendon’s jaw. She saw his grip tighten around the axe he held in his hands. She willed him to kill the man but she could tell by the look in his eyes that he was not going to. For all of Brendon’s tough talk Ella knew him to be a kindhearted man.

Killing a defenseless old man who was lying on the ground at his feet with tears soaking his cheeks just wasn’t something that Brendon would ever do.

Brendon took several steps back and spit at the ground beside Farris with disgust.

“You are a coward. A worthless coward. No better than the evil you send your Hunters out to destroy. You take children and you abuse them, torture them, twist their minds until they are blindly obedient to you and your Council and then you send them out to do your dirty work and make yourselves look pure and good while you keep dungeons full of prisoners, some innocent, some not, and you starve and torture them just for the hell of it. You disgust me. The world will be a better place without you and your council.”

Brendon turned to Ella then.

“Let’s go, honey. This tunnel will lead us out of here if we keep following it. We’ll leave Farris to find his own way out. With any luck his own creations will find and kill him.”

Ella nodded and they began to walk away from Farris. The sound of movement behind them stopped them in their tracks and then a gun cocked. Ella and Brendon turned to see Farris sitting up now with the gun pointed at Brendon’s head.

“That won’t kill me, Farris.” Brendon stated, sounding almost bored and yet happy, as if he had hoped Farris would do this. Ella knew that Farris being armed would give Brendon the excuse his conscience needed to kill the man. Farris laughed, the sound more than a little crazy.

“No, but it will hurt like hell.” Ella smiled when she saw the black figure moving through the shadows behind Farris.

“Not as badly as what is about to happen will hurt you.” she whispered, her voice void of emotion. Farris seemed confused and then he felt the breath on the back of his neck.

He turned to see the monstrous wolf, his black muzzle dripping blood and his eyes flashing golden in the firelight.

He let out a scream that was cut short as Grange lunged and closed his powerful jaws around the old man’s windpipe, sinking his teeth in deeper and deeper and then jerking his head back with a ripping sound that sprayed blood across the narrow passageway.

Grange loped up to Brendon, and Ella would have sworn it sounded as if the giant wolf was laughing as he swatted the Hunter in the face with his tail. Then with a yip Grange took off through the tunnel and the rest of the pack followed him, furry shadows, moving silently down the tunnel toward the exit that the Council had been trying desperately to reach.

“Damn you, Grange!” Brendon called out, his voice echoing off the walls. “I told you Farris was mine!”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Brendon had never been happier to feel sunshine on his skin and breath fresh air into his lungs than he was when they burst through the heavy wooden door and exited the dark, damp tunnel.

It had been a long time since he’d felt the breeze on his skin and while it was a hot breeze, being late summer, it was still a welcome feeling.

The wolves all shifted back and Brendon rounded on Grange.

“I told you I wanted to be the one to kill Farris.” he said angrily. Grange shrugged.

“You walked away from him.”

“Dammit, Grange….” Brendon ground out, his fists clenching. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Dawn trying desperately to cover herself with her arms and he fought a smile. It was nice to see that while the world rarely stayed the same, some things never changed.

He slid off his duster coat, it was bloody, torn and stiff but it would do what she wanted done. Dawn smiled gratefully at him as he slipped the coat over her shoulders.

None of the other wolves were bothered by their lack of clothing. To them it was as natural to be nude after a shift as it was to breath.

“I wasn’t going to kill the bastard while he laid on the ground helpless.” Brendon argued as he turned back to Grange. “But once he pulled that gun he was fair game.”

“I saved your face and you’re welcome.” Grange grumbled, a grin forming on his lips.

“Looks like this place has truly been overrun.” Blain stated quietly as he looked out over the mountainside. Brendon followed his gaze and saw a small group of Hunters and guards running for their lives into the woods.

“Run, Hunters, run!” Trig exclaimed, laughing loudly when one of the Hunters tripped and a vampire chasing them leapt on him.

Brendon turned his head away, having seen enough of Hunter’s being slaughtered. In truth the Hunters weren’t the bad guys. The bad ones had been the Council and now they were gone.

“We can head back around to the front of the compound and go the Hunters quarters if the prisoners haven’t destroyed it. There are clothes there, food and beds where we can all rest a while.” he informed the pack. From the looks of the wolves, they needed some rest. While none of them were badly injured, they were covered in cuts and bruises.

“Food is the nicest word I’ve heard all day!” Trig exclaimed, his stomach rumbling loudly as he spoke. He came up and patted Brendon on the back roughly and Brendon’s sharp intake of breath had Trig jumping away.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you.” the wolf insisted, holding up his hands. “Please don’t hurt me back.”

“Shut-up, Trig.” Grange growled. “Take the shirt off, Brendon. Let me see what’s wrong with you.”

“Grange, I ain’t comfortable with another man asking me to get undressed.”

Grange rolled his eyes. “You are in my pack now, that means I’m the boss.”

“I get rid of one master only find another one?” Brendon questioned with amusement and Grange grinned. “I’m fine, Grange. Just a little bruised up. Now let’s go try to find a bed. I’ve been sleeping on a piss covered floor for damn near two months. I’m ready for a bed.”

The eight of them made their way back around the compound and through the toppled front gate.

Brendon led them into the compound, the walls in the entry hall bathed in dark red blood. He glanced at Ella to see how she was handling the scent of all the blood but she seemed content as she held onto his hand and walked beside him. Brendon was sure she had gotten enough blood in the last two days to keep the vampire satisfied for a long while.

He headed down the southeast corridor and then up a staircase into the east tower.

He moved slowly, cautiously. This was the tower that the Hunters called home when they were at the compound and Brendon was in no hurry to be stabbed in the back by one that had managed to hide out here.

The tower seemed to have been untouched by the fighting here today. Everything was neat, tidy, orderly, just as all Hunters were trained to be from the time they came to the compound.

Brendon defenses began to lower when suddenly they were sent flying back into place when he heard a thud in the corridor to the left.

“What was that?” Dawn asked quietly and Nickolai tilted his head.

“It smells like children.”

“Hunters in training.” Brendon replied with dread. He sent up a prayer that the children wouldn’t attack them. Brendon had no urge to kill young boys only doing what their brain washings had taught them to do. “Their rooms are down that corridor. You all stay here, I’ll be back.”

“I’m coming with you.” Ella insisted and Brendon shook his head and put his hand on her cheek.

“You are going to stay here. These boys are going to be very confused and nervous and they know me. If they see you coming in to their rooms it might only make things worse.” Ella sighed and took a step away from him.

Grange stepped forward when Brendon started to turn. “Be careful, Brendon. Those aren’t just kids, they are killers.” Brendon nodded as he thought back to when he had been that age.

“Trust me.” he whispered. “I know.”

He turned away and started down the corridor. These kids were dangerous but not beyond saving. If they knew that their masters were dead and no longer in control of them, they might just be able to begin to let go of their teachings.

Brendon stopped outside one door as he heard movement behind it. This was where the boys were. They were carefully masking their scents but they hadn’t yet mastered the art of breathing without making a sound and Brendon was good at what he did.

“Boys, it’s Brendon. I’m going to come in this room now but I don’t want to hurt anybody. I just want to talk.”

Brendon’s heart was thundering, his pulse pounding in his ears as he pushed open the heavy door and there they were. Twenty boys, ranging from seven to fourteen, huddled together in the back corner of this room full of beds and wardrobes.

Brendon stepped in and sat down on the edge of the bed nearest the door. He didn’t want any of these boys to think he was a threat. These were the only boys that survived the attack. Those that were older than fourteen would have been downstairs amidst it all or out in the field hunting.

It still bothered Brendon that the prisoners had killed all the Hunters. While Brendon understood their anger, he couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for the Hunters who had only been doing what they’d been trained from such a young age to do. They had been following orders, knowing that if they dared disobey they would be labeled disloyal traitors and their heads would have gotten a nice long vacation from their bodies.

It wasn’t fair but such was life. Life was what it was.

“What is going on downstairs?” one of the youngest boys asked as he stepped forward on knees that were shaking. Brendon recognized him as the boy that had been in the stables when Brendon had arrived back the day he’d been thrown in the dungeons.

“You boys are free now.” Brendon replied carefully.

“Free?” An older boy, fourteen, asked cautiously. “What do you mean free?”

“The council is gone.”

“Gone? Where did they go?” the youngest asked again and the oldest frowned.

“Can’t you smell it on Brendon? They’re dead. The prisoners got loose and the council is dead!” Brendon sighed.

“Yes, they are dead. Boys I know what you’re feeling right now. You feel like everything you are is gone…” The lost expressions on those twenty faces told Brendon he was right. “…”but it’s not. Those councilmen didn’t care about you. Trust me, I know. I served them for over three hundred years and because I fell in love I was branded a traitor and thrown in the dungeons.”

“They said you wanted to kill them all. That you’d fallen off your rocker.” the oldest boy argued and Brendon laughed.

“Do I look like a crazy person?” he questioned. “All those councilmen cared about was using you. Using you to do their dirty work. It wasn’t justice. Sure some that we hunted down deserved it but those dungeons were full of innocent immortals with a few guilty ones sprinkled in.”

“We know the council is bad.” another boy said stepping forward. This boy had a scar on his cheek, obviously from a bad wound since superficial wounds would leave no scar on a Hunter. “They killed Tommy.”

“Tommy?” Brendon asked with a frown.

“He said he was tired and needed to rest. He was only ten and they had been training us harder than usual. The council called him a traitor and they had the guards cut his head off right there in front of us.” The oldest boy said.

“He was just tired! He just wanted a rest!” the boy with the scarred cheek insisted. “He weren’t no traitor!”

Brendon nodded.

“You’re right, he wasn’t. Neither was I and that didn’t stop them from locking me up for nearly two months and then attempting to kill the woman I love just to get back at me.” Brendon felt anger beginning to stir in his blood and he took a deep breath. “But it doesn’t matter now. They are gone.”

‘And what’s gonna happen to us?” the young boy asked as he walked to Brendon and sat down beside him on the bed. Brendon put his elbows on his knees and propped his chin in his hand.

“Those of you who have homes and families can go back to them if you remember how to get there. You will need to stay here for a day or two, let the prisoners clear out and calm down and then you can head on home.”

“What about those of us that don’t?” the oldest boy asked.

“Why don’t the boys that don’t have a place to go all come stand in front of me.”

The youngest boy, the boy with the scarred cheek and the oldest boy all came to stand in front of him. The rest of the boys stayed where they were.

Brendon knew that most of them did not have families to go back to but Hunters were independent creatures and he was not worried about them. They might be young but they were resourceful, strong and more than capable of surviving on their own even at their young ages.

“What are your names?” Brendon asked the three boys in front of him.

“Gilliam.” the youngest said.

“Roland.” scar-cheek added.

“Carson.” the oldest.

“Gilliam, Roland, Carson, I am a member of a werewolf pack…”

“Werewolves?! What kind of werewolf pack has a Hunter in it?” Carson demanded skeptically. Brendon smiled.

“The same kind that has a vampire and a werelion.” he replied. “The alpha is a good man. Fair and he defends the innocents in his territory fiercely. I will talk to him and if you boys want there may be a place for you there.” Brendon looked up at the other boys. “That is open to all you.”

He was sure Grange would probably have a few choice words to say about Brendon’s offer but he also knew that Grange would take the boys in. Grange was a good man who usually did the right thing, even though he made sure to bitch and moan about it the entire time.

“Now I have a favor to ask.” Brendon said as he stood up. “My pack and I are very tired, sore, dirty and hungry. Stay in the tower but bring us up plenty of water for baths and some food.”

Eager feet ran off, happy to make sure Brendon and the pack had what they needed. Brendon grinned and decided that having the boys around probably wouldn’t be so bad.

---

Brendon settled in to the giant copper tub in the bedroom he had chosen for he and Ella to share tonight. A fire roared in the fireplace, despite the heat outside the stone walls and lack of windows kept a chill in the tower air.

That and Ella looked beautiful when the firelight danced off her flaming hair.

She was sitting in front of a mirror in the corner and running a comb through her long hair. Their stomachs were full of the stew that the boys had brought them and Ella was already clean, having taken her bath while Brendon had been talking to Grange about the boys.

The wolf had said he would think about it but Dawn had seemed open to the idea which told Brendon the boys that wanted to, would be leaving with them the next day.

Ella had changed into a long white sleeping gown that had belonged to the boys and she seemed to glow as he sat transfixed by the way the pale skin of her slender arm was revealed to him as the gown slid up it when she ran the comb through her hair.

“You are beautiful.” he whispered gruffly and Ella jumped before setting the comb on the table and turning to look at him. “Did I scare you?” he asked teasingly. She stood and walked toward him, her womanly hips swaying beneath the thin white fabric of her gown.

“I was lost in thought. It takes more than you to scare me.” she replied and Brendon knew she was speaking the truth. So much his mate had been through in her life but that was over now. He was going to make sure she was safe, happy and satisfied for the rest of his days.

“Brendon!” she exclaimed, her eyes dropping to his stomach, which was still badly welted and covered in dark black bruises.

Brendon shifted in the water, wishing the fire hadn’t been quite so bright and allowed her to see the damage done to his body.

“I’ll be just fine, Ella.”

“How bad was it? It must have been bad for you to still be showing bruises.” Ella’s tone was accusing and Brendon smiled. She had changed in the time he’d been away. Her voice was more animated and less emotionless. Her eyes were expressive and her mouth did more than frown now… Now it smiled.

“It was bad. But my insides seem to be healed and the outsides will follow.” he assured her. “Help me wash my back?”

Ella smiled again, a sight that Brendon knew he would never get tired of, and took the sponge he held out to her. She walked behind him as he leaned forward and began gently washing the dirt and blood from his skin.

“We nearly died today.” She finally said, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen over them. Brendon nodded.

“Yep.”

“You said you would die for me.”

“Yep.”

“No one has ever said that before. With Warren it was always ‘I will kill for you’. No one has ever offered to lay down their life for me.”

Brendon sighed and took her arm, pulling her around him so that she was crouched on the side of the tub and he could look in her eyes. He slid his hand across her cheek, leaving a trail of warm water droplets in his wake.

“I would certainly kill for, Ella, but if that’s not an option I’d be more than happy to die in your place.” Brendon expected her to smile or lean into his hand with a contended sigh. Instead her eyes narrowed, her face reddened and she stood straight, placing her hands on her hips.

“Was it something I said?” he asked with a chuckle.

“You are ignorant!” she stated bluntly.

Brendon raised a brow and stood up, feeling a small sense of triumph when Ella’s angry glare faltered momentarily and her eyes traveled up and down the length of his dripping body.

He waited until she was once again looking at his face and then asked, ‘Come again?”

“If you die for me then what do I have?”

“Your life…”

“And what good is that if you’re gone?! Don’t you ever offer to die in my place again!” Brendon crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.

“I can’t make that promise, honey.”

Ella shrugged. “Fine then. And if the opportunity presents itself then I will die in your place.” Brendon grumbled under his breath and then stuck his finger out and under her nose.

“I don’t think you will.’ he warned.

“No fun feeling helpless is it?” Ella asked and Brendon realized with shock that she was teasing him.

“Why you little blood sucking demon…” he grumbled as he reached for her and lifted her into his arms. She laughed.

“Vampire actually.”

Brendon couldn’t believe how beautiful she was when she laughed or how that sound washed over him like cleansing rain after a long drought. The significance of laughter and smiling was something that had never been lost on him. No matter how rough his life had ever gotten he had always been one to see the lighter side of things. He had always been quick to laugh and to smile.

Now seeing Ella doing those things only reinforced his belief that while many things in life were bad for the most part life was very very good.

He sat her down on her feet in the tub, water quickly soaking her gown to just past her knees.

“I’ve missed you, Ella.”

“I have missed you.” Ella put her hands on his freshly shaven cheek and then let them trail down his neck, across his collarbone and down to his stomach, enjoying the feel of his hard muscles beneath her fingertips.

Brendon let out a growl and then picked her up, pulling her body against him. Ella wrapped her legs around his waist, enjoying the feel of his arousal pressing against her most intimate places.

“Why don’t we just agree to not get ourselves in a situation where either of us has to die for the other?” Brendon asked roughly as he stepped out of the tub and carried her toward the waiting bed.

“I would die for you, you know.” Ella replied meaningfully as Brendon laid her down on the mattress and braced his body over hers. His lips teased a path along her jaw and her neck as his fingers danced their way up her legs, beneath her gown and across her trembling thighs.

His lips went back to her ear and then to her lips and he whispered against them. “I know.”

---

“What’s wrong?” Grange asked as he took Dawn by the hand and forced her to stop pacing around the room. She had already rearranged the already perfectly organized weapons in the cabinet at least four times and if she swept the floor again, she was going to wear a hole in the bricks.

“There’s nothing wrong, Grange. I’m fine.”

Grange growled. If there was one thing he knew about his mate it was that when she said ‘There’s nothing wrong, Grange, I’m fine.’ , what she really meant was ‘There’s something very wrong, Grange, and I’m not fine.’ .

“Dawn, you know I don’t do this. I don’t do this beating around the bush and dancing around an issue thing. If there is something wrong then just tell me.”

“You honestly don’t know?!” Dawn exclaimed. “You don’t know what’s wrong with me?”

“If you’re worried about Creed, don’t be, Farrah and Brie will make sure he’s taken care of. If you’re worried about something else happening here, it won’t. The prisoners are gone, they didn’t want to hang around here. The guards are mostly dead, the rest have decided they weren’t as loyal as they thought. Everything is fine.”

“It’s not fine!” Dawn growled as she yanked her hand away from him and moved across the room. “Why didn’t you stop me!?”

Grange was confused. “What are you talking about?”

Suddenly Dawn was sobbing as she hugged herself tightly. Grange felt his own heart breaking at the sight of her tears and the sound of her gasping for breath. He stood quickly and went toward her but she held out her hand and he stopped.

“Don’t touch me, Grange.”

“Dawn, I….” Grange searched for something to say. Never before had she been this angry with him. What had he done? He would never, never , do anything to cause her pain and yet here she was sobbing and refusing his comfort.

“I killed those men.” she croaked out, her face red and wet with tears and her eyes full of more tears, quickly following in the paths of those that had fallen before.

“The council?” Grange asked with a frown. He had always hated searching for answers but he wasn’t about to snap at Dawn or lose his patience. Not when she was like this. “Love, tell me what’s wrong.” he urged gently.

“You should have stopped me, Grange! You shouldn’t have let me do that… I don’t want to be a monster. I don’t want to be this… creature… anymore.” She went toward the door and Grange moved quickly, grabbing her arm.

Her other arm whipped around as she growled loudly and her hand struck him sharply in the face.

Grange released his hold on her and stumbled back.

Dawn’s blue eyes widened with shock and then she opened the door and ran into the hall. Grange moved to follow her but she once again held up her hand.

“If you love me then you’ll leave me alone.”

Grange watched her disappear down the hall and then somehow he found himself back inside the room and sitting on the edge of the bed. His heart felt as if it had been ripped from his chest.

The clock on the wall, the only sound filling the silence.

His mind was reeling and each thought he had was more confusing than the last. Questions were swirling inside his mind but one was infinitely louder and more prevalent than the rest.

Had he just lost his mate?

Chapter Thirty

“I’m ready to go. Is everybody else ready to go? I don’t see any point in hanging around here any longer. Do you all see any reason to…”

“SHUT-UP!” Grange bellowed as he shoved past Trig and stormed toward the stables.

“What the hell is wrong with him?” Trig muttered with a pout and Nickolai shrugged.

“He’s been like that all morning.” the soldier stated with concern that he was trying to mask with boredom. “He paces, broods, yells and then he broods, yells and paces.”

“Where is Dawn?” Brendon asked with a frown as he watched his old wolf friend storming away with his shoulders slumped as if they were weighted down heavily with the weight of the world.

“Here she comes.” Ella replied, slipping under Brendon’s arm and pressing herself against him. The sun was rising and the morning was already warm. Ella and Brendon hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before but it had still been the best night of rest either of them had had in weeks.

Brendon had been feeling good about the future, so sure that today was going to be the best day he had had in a long long time until Grange had shoved past him in the hall with a growl that morning and Brendon had realized that something was very wrong.

Brendon looked up at the broken door of the compound and saw Dawn stepping out. She was wrapped in his dirty, stained duster coat and one of the spare outfits they had found for everyone to wear.

Brendon was shocked by just how bad she looked. Dawn had always been a pretty woman. She had a warm kind of beauty that invited people in and made them trust her, but this morning she looked terrible. Dark circles surrounded her eyes, her golden hair was a mess around her face and her skin was pale, causing her freckles to stick out sharply. Her shoulders too were slumped and it seemed she was sharing the weight of the world with her mate.

Dawn’s lips seemed to be stuck in a frown and her blue eyes, usually full of light, were dim and haunted. An expression Brendon was used to seeing on Ella’s face but never Dawn’s. Were she and Grange arguing? As far as Brendon knew the two of them had never had any trouble between them but it certainly seemed as if there was trouble right now.

“Good morning, Dawn.” Trig said, his voice indicating that he had seen the change in the alpha female as well. She tipped her head in greeting and came to stand beside them all. Blain and Anika were the next to come from the compound and they were followed by the three boys who were hoping to come with the pack.

“Are we allowed to come with you?” the oldest, Carson, asked as he stepped forward. It was clear that the other two, Gilliam and Roland looked up to the older boy.

“Yes.” Dawn replied quickly, her voice quiet.

“Shouldn’t we speak with Grange first…..” Blain stopped speaking, his voice fading when Dawn sent a sharp look in his direction.

“I am the alpha female am I not?” she snapped. Blain nodded and lowered his gaze to her feet, taking a quick step back.

“Yes, you are. I apologize that I questioned you.”

“Dawn, is something wrong?” Trig asked cautiously, careful to avoid looking into her eyes.

Dawn shook her head quickly and tucked a wild strand of hair behind her ear. “No, of course not.” Brendon noticed that Dawn didn’t seem to want to look at any of them. “Are we leaving?”

Nickolai nodded. “Grange is getting a few horses ready. We may have to double up…”

“I’ll ride with you, Nickolai.” Dawn said quickly. Nickolai’s nearly colorless blue eyes widened and he swallowed quickly as he rubbed at his scarred chin.

“With me? Uh.. You don’t you want to ride with Grange?’

“I said I’ll ride with you.” Dawn snapped and Nickolai was helpless to do anything other than nod and agree.

---

When Grange saw Nickolai preparing to help Dawn into the saddle behind him a short time later, the alpha growled loudly and the sound, coupled with the angry golden flash that lit up Grange’s bleu eyes had Nickolai releasing his hold on Dawn’s arm quickly.

“We’re going to talk.” Grange snarled as he grabbed Dawn by the arm and drug her back into the stables and away from the pack who were all mounted on their horses outside.

“We don’t have anything to talk about.” Dawn whispered, tears clogging her throat. Grange released his hold on her once they were inside and turned to face her.

Dawn had never seen him look so sad. So devastated. So confused. She felt guilt rip at her heart but he just didn’t understand! He didn’t understand the sickness that she felt knowing what she had done in that tunnel.

“I think we do.” Grange snapped. “Now I let you walk away last night and I left you alone because you said I would if I love you and I do love you. Now tell me what the hell is going on with you!”

“Grange, I just want to be left alone.” Dawn whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek. Her eyes were sore from all the tears she cried and she wanted nothing more than to let her mate hold her. Let him comfort her soul the way that only he could.

But she couldn’t do that. She didn’t want him to know. She didn’t want him to know what a monster she was. The evil she had sensed in herself as those men had tried desperately to crawl away from her. If he knew he would turn away from her, she just knew he would. He was always saying how he loved her gentleness, her caring nature, the softness that he could see in her. He would no longer see those things if he knew…

Grange pinched his nose between his thumb and forefinger and then threw his hands up in the air with an angry growl.

“Dawn, I’m trying really hard to be patient but patience has never been my strong point. Talk. To. Me.” he begged, his words coming out short and clipped.

Dawn said nothing, simply stood there and giving just the tiniest shake of her head.

“Fine.” Grange growled, taking a step closer to her, his blue eyes flashing with a mixture of anger, frustration and hurt. Dawn felt the heat from his body and wanted to throw her arms around him. Feel him against her. But still she stood there, her own fears freezing her in place.

“You want to be left alone, that’s just fine. But you are not riding a fucking horse with Nickolai. You are my mate and you can have my horse.”

Dawn stood there with her arms crossed defensively over her chest and stared hard at the hay littering the dirt floor.

She fought to keep her eyes on the floor as Grange’s clothes were quickly shed and tossed at her feet.

“Whenever you’re ready to open up to the man who loves you, the man who would die for you, the man who would take on the world just to make you smile again, then come find me. I’m not going to keep being turned away.” Grange snarled.

Dawn heard the distinctive sound of him shifting and then he quickly left the stable. Dawn could smell his sadness and it only caused her own hurt to increase.

Breathing deep to fight back tears, she quickly gathered up his clothing, remembering the way he had grumbled the day before about the fact that it wasn’t buckskin and black cotton tunics.

Dawn stepped out into the already burning rays of the sun with Grange’s clothing and boots tucked under her arm. Trig kept glancing at her with concern as he helped her secure them to the black gelding that Grange had chosen for them.

Trig helped her into the saddle and then went to his own horse.

“Let’s go then.” Dawn whispered, her voice not holding the authority she knew it should. Nickolai had the two youngest boys on his horse and the oldest rode with Trig. Blain and Anika shared a mount as did Brendon and Ella.

Dawn took off down the mountain trail, following Grange’s scent since the black wolf was already gone from her sight.

---

Four days later they finally rode into a town. They were still two days of traveling away from home but Nickolai had finally had a stand off with Grange and insisted that everyone needed real rest in a real town with real beds and real food.

Brendon left Ella in their room at the hotel and found the alpha in the barn, rubbing down the horses they’d been using so hard.

“Grange…” Brendon started and Grange growled.

“Go away.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because I promised Ella we’d have peace with your pack. And I promised those boys things would be different than they’ve been. That you were different than what you’ve been.”

Grange snorted and gave the black gelding a handful of oats. “Boys that I never agreed could come along.“

“The alpha female did. I figure her word trumps yours.”

Grange shook his head. “Of course she did.” he muttered. “And what have I been exactly?”

“A grumpy, moody, son of a bitch. Hot tempered, easily angered and anti-social.”

“That’s how I always am.” Grange countered and Brendon shook his head.

“Not to this degree. Now what’s going on? You know you can talk to me. I’m pretty damn good at keeping my mouth shut.”

“Brendon, I’d rather not.” Grange insisted, as he began to brush out the black geldings tangled tail. The horse was unbothered by Grange’s scent thanks to being raised within the compound around all different immortals and thankfully the compound horses were the only ones in this tiny livery. It seemed the town they were staying in was small and didn’t receive many visitors.

“What’s wrong with Dawn?” Brendon insisted. Grange just shrugged and Brendon grumbled under his breath. “Come on, Grange. Obviously there is something going on between the two of you. You haven’t even looked at, talked to or touched each other in four days. That’s not normal.”

“You think I don’t know that?!” Grange growled as he turned to face Brendon for the first time. “I feel like I’m losing my mind! I’m dying inside and the damn woman won’t even speak to me!”

“What did you do to her?”

“Great friend you are.” Grange mumbled as he turned back around and continued the task of freeing the geldings tail of tangles. “Assuming I caused this.”

“Well you sure as hell aren’t telling me any different.” Brendon replied calmly as he leaned against a stall door and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I don’t know what’s wrong, Brendon.” Grange admitted. “If I did then I would damn well fix it. All I know is that she says she doesn’t want to be a monster anymore. She doesn’t want to be ‘ this creature’ , whatever the hell that means. She’s upset over killing somebody but she won’t say who and she’s pissed off at me because I didn’t stop her from killing whoever it is that she’s upset about killing. Twice I’ve tried to speak to her about it and twice she’s told me to leave her alone and she even smacked me once.”

“Dawn smacked you?” Brendon demanded with true surprise and Grange nodded, his hand stilling in its path through the geldings tail, which was now shining like silk as his other hand went to rest on the cheek that had long since lost the red welt Dawn had left on it but yet still seemed to burn.

“Grange, will you let me help?”

“What is it you want to do exactly?” Grange asked, raising a brow as he glanced over at Brendon.

“I think that Ella and I should go with you to go see Dawn and we can all talk. I think that Ella could probably help quite a bit and I might be able to as well.”

“I don’t want the door slammed in my face again…” Grange replied and Brendon was surprised by the sadness and guilt in his friends voice. “I can’t take her rejection another time.”

“Would you rather try and risk possibly having a door slammed in your face or just keep going with things the way they are?” Brendon asked simply and Grange sighed.

“Let’s go then.”

---

“I’m not sure what exactly you want me to do.” Ella stated flatly as they stood outside Dawn’s hotel room door.

“We’ll figure that out once Dawn admits what’s bothering her so badly.” Brendon replied. “I think though that you’ll understand how she feels and be able to offer her some form of comfort in that.”

Ella frowned. “I don’t know, Brendon. I don’t know how to comfort .”

“This’ll never work!” Grange growled. “I’m leaving. I can’t stand for her to tell me to leave her alone again…” Grange was just turning to leave when the door opened and he quickly turned back around, his fists clenching tightly at his sides as he took in the sight of his mate.

“I think you all are forgetting that I’m a werewolf and I can hear you talking about me outside my door. You weren‘t even trying to whisper.” Dawn informed them.

“That’s because we knew you’d still able to hear and that’s’ good. It means you already know why we’re here.” Brendon replied, flashing a grin in hopes of getting Dawn to lower the twenty feet tall defenses that she seemed to have constructed with brick and mortar around herself.

“I’d rather you all just leave.” Dawn insisted and she went to close the door only to give a gasp of shock when it was Grange that stepped forward quickly and kept her from slamming the door in their faces by grabbing it in one large calloused hand.

“I’m not leaving, Dawn.” he growled out, his voice broken and full of hurt. “Dammit, I love you and you’re going to tell me what’s going on and you’re going to tell me tonight.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Dawn moved aside and let the three of them enter, closing the door behind them.

“This has gone on long enough.” Grange said as Dawn sat down on the tiny arm chair beside the fireplace.

“I agree.” Trig said as the door opened and he, Nickolai, Anika and Blain entered. “You two fighting just isn’t natural. You two are supposed to be the stable ones.”

“Does everyone really have to be here?” Dawn demanded.

Nickolai nodded. “We are a pack. What effects you, effects all of us.”

“It’s not anything that any of you can help me with.” Dawn argued, standing up and trying to cross the room.

Grange had had enough. He grabbed her by the arm, sat down on the armchair and yanked her down in his lap, holding her securely in place and giving her no hope of escaping him.

“You will talk to me now. I won’t wait any longer.”

“Grange…” Dawn warned and Grange just growled.

“Don’t ‘Grange.. ’ me.” he replied. “If you’re going to be ripping my heart out and stomping all over it then I damn sure have a right to know why!”

“Grange I never meant to hurt you.” Dawn assured him as tears filled her eyes. Grange shook his head.

“Well you haven’t just hurt me. You’ve been killing me slowly and I don’t care if everyone here knows it. They all understand how much I love you, what I would do for you. Just tell me what I’ve done to make you hate me so, Dawn…” Grange’s voice broke even as his jaw hardened. “You know I would never knowingly hurt you.” Dawn knew there was no point in trying to hide the truth from him or the pack any longer. They had cornered her, pinned her down, and the Wolf in her knew when to pack down to a threat.

“I know you love me…” she began and Grange nodded, his face buried deep in her hair.

“Damn straight.” he grunted against her ear. Dawn felt herself trembling. In truth she had needed this worse than he had. She had needed to feel his touch and have his strong arms wrapped possessively around her.

“You love me for my gentle nature, my softness…”

Trig snorted with amusement. “Gentle nature hell, you’re mean as hell when you wanna be.” he said with a laugh and then he swallowed hard and lowered his gaze at Nickolai’s sharp glance.

“Right, not helping.” Trig confessed as he held up his hands. “Please continue…”

“Dawn, where are you going with this?” Grange asked with a frown. Dawn swallowed hard.

“I’m afraid that if you know what I felt inside that day at the compound then you won’t love me as much as you do right now.”

“I can tell you right now that you don’t need to worry about something like that ever happening. You are my heart and soul and nothing..” he grabbed her cheeks and turned her face so that Dawn had no choice but to look in his eyes. “Do you hear me? Nothing will ever make me love you less.”

Dawn pressed her forehead to his and closed her eyes.

“I’m sorry.” she whispered, tears slipping down her cheeks. “The guilt is eating me alive and I took it out on you. I’m so sorry. I need you, Grange.” She buried her face in his chest and wept.

Grange felt his own throat get tight but fought back the rising emotion. The alpha male couldn’t cry right in front of everyone. He held Dawn tight and shushed her as he rubbed her back and kissed her hair.

“Talk to us, Dawn. It’ll help you feel better.” Nickolai urged as he crouched down in front of her and put his hand on her knee.

Suddenly the whole pack gathered around her, all except the sleeping boys in the next room. They were here for her, supporting her. Dawn suddenly felt very foolish and dumb for not turning to them sooner. Everyone in the pack had a past and scars. Of course they would understand her and be able to help her through her own feelings, her own doubts.

“I understand that a battle is a battle. People are going to die and others are going to kill them and I have no problem with that. I would not hesitate to kill anyone that was a threat to my pack,” Dawn paused and took a deep breath as she swiped her hand over her wet cheeks. She hated to cry in front of anyone and so was going to work hard to keep any more tears from falling.

“But that is not what happened in that tunnel.” she added quietly.

“With the councilmen?” Brendon asked and she nodded.

“Yes. Do you realize that I killed three of them?” her eyes closed and she shivered. Grange kissed her hair while Nickolai squeezed her knee. She remembered when Nickolai had opened up to her about Brie back when he had thought his mate was dead and she gave him a ghost of a smile.

“I killed three of them and it wasn’t in the heat of battle. They were not a threat. They weren’t trying to kill anyone in my pack. They weren’t trying to kill me. As a matter of fact they were crawling away from me and begging me to let them live..” Dawn’s voice broke again and she looked down at her hands folding in her lap. “I killed them anyway and I.. I enjoyed it.” she whispered the last words as if they were a terrible secret that could ruin her life and to her they were.

When the pack remained silent she looked at them all with shock.

“Do you realize what I’m saying?! I’m a monster! I wanted to kill those men. I had fun doing it! It was like something came over me and the chase was thrilling. Having that power over their lives was thrilling! What is wrong with me?”

“Nothing.” Grange assured her. “Nothing is wrong with you, love.”

Dawn shook her head. “Grange, I am a monster.”

“I killed my family.” Ella stated suddenly and the room fell silent as everyone looked at her with shock. Brendon stood there quietly, his hand resting on the small of her back.

“What?” Dawn whispered.

“I was young, the vampire in me was just coming to life though I didn’t know that. I had been having dreams, strange dreams, and feeling different. My mother and I were cooking and I kept thinking that I could hear the blood rushing through her veins and I had the strongest urge to bite her. I tried to fight it but when she pricked her finger on the knife, I couldn’t. She never knew it was coming.

“My father and younger sister came in the kitchen next and I killed them too. I ran, lost in a daze, not even knowing who I was. Slowly the bloodlust left me and I realized what I had done. I curled up in a ball on the ground and that’s where Faugrimm found me.

“My family was innocent Dawn and I killed them. Monster is a name I’m familiar with. It’s a term I’ve used to describe myself many times. You are no monster. You are a very fair, kind werewolf. You are a wonderful alpha female. You are a mother. Those men you killed were monsters. They ordered the deaths of countless innocent men, women and children. The wolf in you knew this. Even if the human still inside of you wanted to show them mercy, the wolf in you knew that showing mercy would only result in more innocent deaths and the wolf enjoyed avenging those innocent lives already lost.

“You have a pack here that clearly has your best interests at heart. You have a mate who loves you. A son who needs you. Don’t put them all through this again.”

Dawn stared at Ella with shock. She had never heard the vampire speak more than one or two sentences at a time. That had practically been a speech! And while it had been spoken in a clipped and bossy tone, the words truly touched Dawn’s heart.

Maybe Ella was right.

“You mean all of you through it, don’t you?” Dawn asked and Ella frowned.

“I don’t understand?” she replied and Dawn stood up, much to Grange’s displeasure judging by the growl she heard come from his throat.

“You are a member of this pack as well. Thank you for sharing your story with me, Ella. Thank you for helping me. You should take your own words to heart and remember that you are no monster either. What you did was because you were sick, in a way, and you did not know any better. You didn’t do it because you wanted to or meant to.”

Dawn hugged Ella tight and Ella was unsure how to respond to the contact. She looked to Brendon who smiled, grabbed her hands and placed her arms around Dawn.

Dawn laughed as Ella hugged her back.

“You’re learning.” she assured the vampire as she pulled away.

“Everybody out. The room is too crowded.” Grange stated as he stood and Dawn rolled her eyes.

“He means, thank you all so much for helping me and now we all need to get some rest so we can get an early start in the morning and get home soon.” she assured everyone. Grange shook his head, grabbed her around the waist and pulled the front of her body tight against the front of his, leaving no doubts as to what he wanted from her.

“No, that’s not what I meant.” he countered, his eyes flashing.

“Thank God things are back to normal.” Trig said with a sigh as Nickolai quickly ushered him out of the room, followed by everyone else. When the door was shut and they were alone Grange kissed Dawn hungrily, pulling her even tighter against him with a fierce desperation.

He pulled away and they were both breathless and panting as he looked into her eyes.

“Don’t you ever do that to me again.” he stated bluntly. “Don’t ever tell me to go away and leave you alone. I would rather you just kill me than tell me I can’t be near you.”

“I’m sorry, Grange. Can you forgive me for going a little crazy?” Dawn asked, and Grange smoothed her hair from her face and raised his brow.

“A little?” Dawn glared at him and he smiled. “Dawn, please never worry about losing my love. I can promise you, with one hundred percent certainty, that you will never lose my love. It’s yours forever.”

“And you don’t think I’m a monster for what I’ve done?”

“I killed three of those men too. Do you see me as a monster?”

“Of course not.” Dawn replied quickly, her hand caressing his cheek which was in bad need of a shave.

“Then I believe you have your answer, love.”

“I love you, Grange.”

Grange pressed a tender kiss to her brow. “Not as much as I love you, Dawn. Not even close.”

---

“Did I do good with the comforting ?” Ella asked once she and Brendon were alone in their hotel room.

Brendon smiled and nodded. “You did real good, honey.” he assured her. “I’m proud of you but at the same time feel like I need to remind you again that you are not a monster.”

“I can’t change the past, Brendon.” she countered as she slid from her clothes, dirty from the days on the trail. Brendon’s eyes quickly took in the sight of her body, naked beneath the trousers and shirt she’d been wearing.

Forcing his eyes back to her face, he tried to stay on topic. “No, but it doesn’t have to change who you are now. You are no monster.”

“Dawn hugged me.” Ella said as if thinking very deeply about what

that meant. Brendon nodded, pulling off his clothes as well, though Ella didn’t seem to notice as she was lost in thought.

“Yes she did. Dawn is a very warm person. She loves almost everybody.”

“I liked it.”

“I’m glad.” Brendon replied, stepping toward her. Ella finally seemed to notice that he was naked and her eyes sparked to life. The vampire inside of her trying to surface as a glint of translucence filled them.

Brendon didn’t waste any more time on words. Instead he crossed the room and took her into his arms.

The love they made was hot, fast and passionate. They wasted no time on gentleness and after they had both reached their peak they lay sweating and spent all tangled together in the sheets.

“I got carried away.” Ella stated as she ran her fingers over the bloody bites she left on Brendon’s shoulder, neck and chest.

“I’m not complaining.” Brendon replied, a tremble running across his body. She had made sure to include plenty of pleasure boosters in those bites and he knew his body would be feeling the effects of them for hours. Being lifemate to a vampire certainly had its advantages.

Brendon laid there with his fists clenched, knowing that if his body wasn’t so damn physically drained he’d be making love to Ella again as she carefully sealed all the wounds she had placed on his skin. Her tongue darting across his body and fueling the passion that he had no energy to show.

“That’s enough, Ella.” he whispered gruffly. She stopped and snuggled up on her side against him, laying her head over his heart.

“I can’t wait to be home.” Ella admitted. “I’m so glad that Maggie didn’t die. Those men thought they killed her.”

“They would have if Grange hadn’t’ changed her. I hope she handles it okay. I can still remember killing freshly changed wolves and vampire children because they were out of control.”

“The council made you kill children?” Ella whispered with shock and Brendon nodded, his thoughts taking him back to that time and those horrible memories.

“I’ve killed a little bit of everything.”

“I guess we’ve all got a little monster inside of us.” Ella observed contemplatively. “And we’ve all got a little good too.”

“Yep.” Brendon agreed.

“The one we feed is the one that gets stronger.” she added. Brendon smiled and kissed her hair.

“You get to thinking real deep when you’re tired.”

“Yes, I do.” Ella replied. “I’ve always tended to do that.”

“Well then let’s get some sleep, cuz my brain tends to not work so good when I’m tired and it’s having trouble keeping up with yours.”

Brendon felt Ella smile against his skin as she snuggled closer to him.

Finally life was better. Things were finally looking up for Brendon. After so many centuries of bad, Brendon finally had reasons to look forward to tomorrow.

Chapter Thirty-Two

“I can smell that butterfly!” Maggie exclaimed as she ran in circles around Brie, hopping, jumping, skipping, doing all the things that her foot had never allowed her to do as a mortal.

Grange’s alpha blood had not only turned the girl into a werewolf but it had also corrected her vision and healed her crooked foot.

Brie had never seen a child so happy as Maggie had been once the fever had left her body and she had realized she could finally run just as easily as everyone else.

“Yes, what does it smell like?” Brie asked with interest as she adjusted Creed on her hip. Farrah walked alongside them quietly. They were heading back to Brie and Nickolai’s cabin having just taken the kids to the tiny lake nearby to wash them up for the night and let them play.

“It sure don’t smell like butter.” Maggie replied with a frown as she stopped running and her chest rose and fell quickly from exertion. It seemed that the girl could never hold still for very long and soon she was skipping alongside Brie and Farrah.

“Mama?” Maggie asked after several moments of silence. Brie smiled and looked down at the dark haired girl. Mama sounded nice. Brie and Nickolai had come to terms with the fact a long time ago that they would never have children.

The scent of a barren womb was thick on Brie and it had always been something that made her feel guilty, knowing that she was depriving Nickolai of a chance at fatherhood.

But now this little angel was in their lives and Brie had never been happier. And Maggie was doing wonderfully. She was handling the werewolf very well. While Brie hadn’t allowed the girl to shift yet and had been teaching her breathing techniques and how to count backward to calm her temper and keep the shift at bay, she knew that in a weeks time the girl would have her first shift on the night when all were creatures shift.

“What is it, sweetheart?” Brie asked the girl, laying her hand on her dark hair to still her skipping. “And quit bouncing around so, you’re getting all sweaty and you just had your bath.”

Maggie gave her a guilty smile and began to walk normally.

“When is my papa going to be home? And Ella? I miss Ella. I miss the alpha’s too. Where are they?”

Brie felt an ache deep in her chest. Two weeks the pack had been gone and with each passing hour that they didn’t return, Brie felt doubts creeping in. Doubts that told her they may not be coming back.

“Soon, sweetheart. They should all be home soon.”

“You’re lying.” Maggie pouted as she crossed her arms over her thin chest.

“Why do you say that?”

Her tiny nose curled. “I can smell it. Lies stink.”

“They might not be coming back at all.” Farrah spoke up for the first time all afternoon. “Something bad might have happened.” Brie knew that the werelion was frightened and worried for her mate. She was angry that the child in her womb had forced her to left behind. Brie understood how she felt. The wolf in her was desperate to find her mate, protect him, stay by his side… She knew the lion in Farrah felt the same.

“Are they dead?” Maggie asked quietly, cautiously, clearly afraid of the answer.

“Of course not!” Brie exclaimed, throwing Farrah a warning glance. “They’ll be home soon, sweetheart. Now let’s get home so we can all rest.”

They were nearly home, the cabin was in sight, when the sound of tearing fabric filled the air.

Brie looked back and down and saw that the skirt of Maggie’s light blue gingham dress had gotten hung on a thorn bush and torn.

Maggie was gripping the skirt tightly and trying to pull it free of the tight grasp of the bush but the thorns had dug in deep and were refusing to release their hold.

Brie watched as Maggie quickly grew angry. Brie knew that the sudden rise in emotion, the overreaction to such a simple problem, was due to the wolf in the girl. It didn’t help that with Grange’s blood, the girl had also gotten his temper.

A low growl came from deep within Maggie’s throat, sounding higher pitched than Grange and yet somehow equally as threatening. Her dark eyes began to glow golden and Brie knew she was running out of time to keep the girl from shifting.

“Maggie…” Brie cooed soothingly. “Breath deep through your nose Maggie and picture something pretty. Calm yourself.”

The girl glared up at her but Brie sent her a look that showed her she expected to be obeyed. Maggie closed her eyes and began to breath deep. Brie handed Creed to Farrah and then crouched and freed Maggie’s skirt from the thorny bush.

“Now it’s all ripped up!” Maggie exclaimed with an angry stomp as she took in the sight of her tattered skirt. Brie sighed.

“It’s okay and easily fixed.” she assured the girl.

“Fine.” Maggie stomped off toward the cabin, clearly still upset and Farrah and Brie shared a look of dread. Both knew they were going to have their hands very full if the pack was not home when the time came to shift.

---

Vern could smell the wolves and the werelion sound asleep inside the cabin. Rage filled him, causing his blood to boil when he realized that the prey he truly sought was not here.

Something had been off about that Hunter and Vern realized he should have trusted his instincts. The Hunter had lied to him. Vern knew it. He knew the Hunter hadn’t captured Grange because the entire pack was gone and Vern had had the area checked thoroughly for any signs of a recent struggle. Any freshly dug graves or any scent of blood.

The Hunter had quite simply taken his money and run.

Vern would settle that score with him later.

Now he had a score to settle with Grange, the wolf who had murdered his father. The man who, in Vern’s mind, was ultimately responsible for his pack overthrowing him.

He only had four faithful wolves, friends that had grown up with him, who had left the pack to remain by his side once the others had tossed him out. The other pack members had said that Vern’s mind was poisoned with hate. That his hatred of Grange had caused him to make an unforgivable mistake in asking a Hunter for help. That going to a Hunter for help murdering someone would only serve to bring the Hunting Council down on their heads.

Vern hoped the council would come and wipe out every single ungrateful wolf still left in that pack. That wasn’t the pack his father had led with such an iron fist. That pack would have recognized Vern’s authority and never questioned him. No the pack had softened, become weaker, under the alpha that had served once his father had been killed.

Vern was happy to no longer be tied to them.

“Sir, there’s nobody here.” Sly, the wolf who had served as his Beta, his second in command, stated quietly. Vern glared at the other wolf as an owl hooted in the distance.

“Yes, someone is there.” he countered. Sly’s face paled a little in the moonlight. “Just a wolf, a werelion with a child in her womb, a baby and an adolescent. There are no other pack members and certainly no alpha. This is nothing more than a den.”

“Those children were both created by the alpha, I remember his putrid scent, and it is strong on them.”

“I don’t feel right attacking a den.” Sly admitted and Vern rounded on him.

“Do you want to walk away from me too? Are you that much of a soft hearted coward?!”

“No!” Sly assured him quickly. “I just think it’s not safe. Mothers can get very deadly when their children are threatened.”

Vern laughed as did the other three wolves.

“You’re scared of women and children? Two tiny women and two tiny children?” Vern questioned with disbelief.

“Of course not!” Sly grumbled, his face reddening with embarrassment. “But why is there a werelion here? What kind of wolf pack has a lion in it?”

“Who cares?” Vern demanded, his patience waning. He was so close. So close to having his first taste of revenge against the wolf who had killed his father. “We will kill the lion! We will kill the female wolf and we will kill the children. Let Grange come home and find his children dead just the same as I found my father!”

---

Brie tossed and turned, her dreams plagued. Flashes of pain and destruction filled her mind.

Pain, death, screams, blood…. And in the midst of it all was her strong soldier. Her Nickolai.

She saw him, illuminated in the moonlight, fighting for all he was worth. His wolf just as handsome to look upon as the man. His powerful muscles were bunching and twisting as he took out his attackers, one at a time, methodically, just as he’d been trained from birth to do.

Brie saw a man coming up behind Nickolai. She saw him draw his sword and heard the ringing of the cold, shining metal against its scabbard.

“Nickolai!” she cried out a warning but he didn’t hear her and he gave no sign that he heard his attacker sneaking up behind him.

Moonlgiht glinted off the blade as the man raised it high above his head and then brought it down on Nickolai’s neck……

“Brie!” Farrah’s voice was a harsh whisper as the woman shook Brie’s shoulder roughly and Brie awoke with a start.

“Where is Nickolai?” she gasped as she sat up and nearly bumped heads with the werelion, who was crouched beside her in her sleeping gown, her dark golden hair falling over her shoulders.

“I don’t know.” Farrah replied with a shrug. “But we have bigger problems than that just now.”

Brie tried to orientate herself with her surroundings. The crickets were chirping, the moon was nearly  full and its light spilled across her bedroom floor softly.

Then she caught the scent. Wolves.

“What’s going on?” she whispered, suddenly on high alert as she glanced at Maggie’s sleeping form in the corner of the room. The girl still hated to sleep alone. Creed still slumbered peacefully in his cradle at the foot of Brie’s bed.

“Five wolves. Males. I do not know them. They are outside, circling the cabin.”

Brie was suddenly grateful that Farrah had been sleeping on she and Nickolai’s sofa while the rest of the pack had been away. Brie was not a warrior. She was a heavy sleeper, unlike Farrah, or Nickolai, who had trained themselves to never be completely unaware of their surroundings. If it had been only Brie here with the children the five wolves would have snuck right in.

“Why would they be attacking us?” Brie questioned as she rose from her bed and stepped out into the main living area of the cabin.

“I think it’s that southern pack that Brendon warned Grange about. They are young, and arrogant, obviously, because they think we do not know they are here.”

“We cannot let them hurt the babies.” Brie stated matter of factly and Farrah nodded in agreement, her hands resting on her stomach, which was beginning to show the signs of the child within it.

“They are not going to leave willingly.” Farrah stated.

Brie took a deep breath and grabbed the shot gun that she kept beside the door at Nickolai’s insistence. She had never been a fighter but she would not let these men near her child and Creed. It would be over her dead body.

“Then we’ll just have to convince them to leave unwillingly.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Grange and his pack stayed in the woods and made a circle around the dark buildings and sleeping townsfolk. Grange hadn’t wanted to risk the sheriff noticing them and trying to stop them, since the man seemed to do that often. He always wanted to check in on the ‘odd’, ‘strange’ and ‘make-believe’, trouble that might be brewing.

They were too close to home to be stopped now. Grange’s hands itched to touch his sons soft cheeks and his arms wanted to cradle the boy against his chest. For all his toughness and his rugged exterior, Grange knew that he was a family man through and through.

He knew that Dawn was equally as eager to see the boy and that Nickolai and Trig were eager to get home and see their mates.

Everyone was more than ready to be home. It was the middle of the night and they were all exhausted but they hadn’t stopped that evening to rest, knowing they’d make it home sooner if they just kept going. Grange was lost in his thoughts of home and so was startled when he heard a voice beside him.

“Grange.” Nickolai’s voice was quiet, almost a whisper as the wolf brought his horse up next to Grange’s. Dawn had her arms wrapped tight around Grange’s middle and her head resting sleepily against his back.

“What?” Grange asked with a frown. It wasn’t like Nickolai to look worried and the wolf looked worried just now.

“Do you smell that?”

Grange took a deep breath and Dawn pulled away from him as his entire body stiffened.

“Brendon!” Grange growled, ignoring Dawn who was asking who the unfamiliar scent filling the air belonged to.

Brendon rode up quickly. The look on his face telling Grange all he needed to know even before he spoke. “That’s him, Grange. That’s the pup that wanted me to kill you.”

“Grange! He’s probably at the cabins! The babies!” Dawn exclaimed. Grange’s roar of anger seemed to bounce off of the trees around them and then he urged the horse into a gallop, wasting no time. He had a strong feeling that time was something his son was about to run out of.

---

Brie and Farrah slowly opened the cabin door and stepped out onto the porch.

The five male werewolves stood, unshifted, in the front yard. Their hands were down by their sides, their fingers hanging lose and relaxed, and their stance wide legged as they stared up at the two women. They appeared unconcerned by the shotgun clutched in Brie’s shaking hands.

“Why hello there.” one of the men said with a smile as he stepped forward. It was clear from his scent that he was the boss of this group.

“Y..You all need to leave now. We have nothing here for you.” Brie warned, hating the way that her voice trembled. She guaranteed that Dawn’s voice wouldn’t have shown the smallest sign of a tremor. She had seen just how tough the alpha female was when they had been locked up together at Faugrimm’s castle.

Brie had to be that tough now. While she still could not remember every detail of her life before becoming Faugrimm‘s captive, she remembered enough to know that she had been born an alpha’s daughter.

She would have one day been alpha female if she hadn’t given that up for Nickolai and so she knew she had the potential to be strong. To be brave.

“We’re not leaving. Not yet. First we want to have a little fun.”

Brie shook her head and motioned with her gun toward the woods. “We’ll let you all go peacefully. No one needs to be hurt.”

The lead wolf laughed.

“That would be where you are wrong.” he taunted. “People are going to be hurt tonight. Very hurt.”

He twitched his hand, a movement barely visible, and yet powerful enough to send the four wolves beside him, leaping through the air, shifting as they went.

Brie heard Farrah growl with rage and she was faintly aware of the werelion shifting and leaping forward as well. Brie let out a blast from the shot gun, hearing one of the wolves whimper loudly and then the rest were upon her.

---

Maggie awoke with a start at the loud booming sound that suddenly filled the silent bedroom.

She smelled smoke, gun smoke, and then she smelled wolves that she hadn’t ever smelled before. Creed began to cry in his cradle and Maggie could hear growling, terrible growling, outside the cabin.

She smelled blood as well.

Where was her mommy? Trembling with fear Maggie ran to her mothers bed but the woman wasn’t there. She went to the cradle and covered Creed with his blanket, patting the tiny boy on the back to calm him and somehow, despite the smells and noises, the boy fell back to sleep.

Maggie was scared. She crept from the bedroom, scanning the dark cabin for any sign of her mommy or Farrah.

“Mama?” she called out but no one answered her.

Maggie went to the window and pulled back the corner of the curtain, barely holding back her scream of fear when she saw the fight happening outside.

She recognized her mommy, a white wolf. There two other wolves, they were boy wolves, and they were biting her. Something red was covering her mommies white fur and Maggie realized it was blood.

There was a werewolf just standing in the yard watching as Maggie’s mommy battled the two wolves and Farrah battled two more. He still looked like a man, he hadn’t shifted, and he was smiling.

Maggie felt anger building up within her tiny chest. Her mommy was hurt and bleeding. Her aunt Farrah was hurt too and to top it off Creed had begun to cry again.

Who were these men? Why had they attacked her family?

That anger became rage and that rage began to swim through her veins.

Maggie felt the overwhelming urge to kill. She had never had that feeling until she had woken up a week ago after being very ill. Her mommy had told her that she was now a werewolf and would have to work hard to control her anger.

Maggie tried to breath, she wanted to be good for her new family, she didn’t want to be sent away from them. She closed her eyes and pictured the pretty place that her mommy had told her to always picture when she began to feel to angry.

It was fully of daisy’s and long grasses blowing gently in a warm summer breeze. Fat bumble bees flew lazily in the air and the sun shone warm on her face. Maggie breathed deep, feeling herself calming slightly and then she heard a loud cry of pain and looked out the window to see Farrah falling back and then jumping back into battle with the two wolves, with only three legs that seemed to be working.

It was more than Maggie could take. She had to save her family.

Pain filled her body and she cried out as it seemed she was being ripped apart.

Something told her it was the wolf. It was the wolf inside of her coming free. She was shifting.

Maggie folded her arms tightly around her stomach as she fell to the floor and her entire body began to convulse on the rough wooden floorboards.

---

Brie was hurt but she wasn’t about to give up. She glanced at Farrah who had her hands, or rather her paws, full of two werewolves. Farrah’s front leg was obviously broken and Brie was bleeding and covered in bites but both women were still fighting for all they were worth.

Suddenly the lead wolf, still unshifted and watching the scene with a smile, whistled loudly and the four wolves backed away from Brie and Farrah.

Brie was happy to see that she and the cat had inflicted just as much damage on the men as the men had on them.

One of the wolves Farrah had been fighting with had already lost a good chunk of his front shoulder and leg thanks to Brie’s shot gun blast.

“What do we have here?” the lead wolf asked with amusement. Brie turned her head when the cabin door, which had been cracked, opened fully a black wolf pup stepped out.

The pups lips were pulled back in a snarl and blood lust was evident in her golden eyes.

Brie quickly ran to Maggie and tried to urge the pup back into the house but Maggie snapped at her, ran between her legs and became a growling ball of black fury as she crossed the yard faster than anyone could blink and leapt at the lead wolf’s face.

He was too surprised by the attack to prepare for it and he screamed in pain as her razor sharp teeth sliced open his face and scalp. Brie watched in horror as Maggie’s mouth went to the wolf’s neck and he barely managed to shove her off of him in time to save himself from having his throat torn out.

Maggie’s tiny body was sent flying through the air and smacked sharply against an oak before falling onto the dirt in a heap.

Brie yipped and ran to her, reaching her just before the lead wolf. Brie placed her body between the wolf and her daughter and growled low in her throat.

Blood ran down the lead wolf’s face and coated his light hair. Brie took a step toward him, her growl intensifying and she was pleased to see him take a step back, the anger on his face, faltering momentarily as fear flashed through his eyes.

She was going to kill him for harming her daughter. No doubts. No fears that she wasn’t strong enough. This wolf was going to die and Brie was going to be the cause.

Brie lunged for him and he tripped as he jumped backward, landing on the ground roughly just before Brie came down on him.

She was aware of him shifting below her but she didn’t care. She bit, she clawed. Tearing with her teeth and her nails. Tasting blood, smelling it strong and cloying in her nostrils.

His struggles began to weaken then they stopped entirely and still she tore at his throat. It wasn’t until Farrah let out a loud, screaming cry to get her attention that Brie pulled away from the dead wolf.

There were still four wolves to worry about and now they were angry. Brie had just killed their leader.

The wolves closed in on Farrah and Brie and the two women prepared themselves to fight, though they were both heavily wounded and Brie was fatigued from her savage attack on the lead wolf.

She was scared now. What if they couldn’t do it. Then a familiar scent reached her nose, somehow overpowering the scent of blood that still seemed to be filling it.

“Good job, my Brie, though it might have been done with just slight overkill.” Brie turned her head to see Nickolai, Grange, Dawn, Brendon, Ella, Trig, Anika, Blain and three boys she did not know, step out of the forest.

“You can head back to the porch now, kitten.” Trig added, his blue eyes flashing with mischief as he stared hard at the four intruding wolves, who had all begun backing up and shivering terribly in their hindquarters. “The cavalry has arrived and we are not

amused.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

Ella and the pack stalked toward the retreating wolves. The vampire inside of her roared to life. This was what she had always loved.

Seeing men cowering. Hearing their blood rush through their veins, pulsing and pounding with every terrified beat of their thundering hearts.

Their fate was sealed. No amount of cowering or running would save them now. They had harmed the pack. They had dared come into Grange’s territory.

Brendon had told Ella that Grange was extremely defensive of his territory and a quick glance at the tense alpha told her that Brendon had known what he was talking about.

A babies cries filled the air and Dawn broke away from the pack and ran into the cabin to see to Creed. Farrah had retreated to the porch and Brie was standing over Maggie, the black wolf pup still unconscious on the dirt.

Suddenly the four wolves turned and ran. Trig laughed.

“Can’t let them do that now, can we?” he asked and Grange let out a growl and then chased after them, shifting as he ran. The pack followed suit. Ella realized that Brendon stayed behind but she did not.

She had never been able to resist a good hunt.

---

Brendon watched Ella run off into the woods with the pack and shook his head with amusement. She was fitting right in it would seem.

Brendon hadn’t wanted to leave the cabin. While he was fairly certain, judging from the scent in the air, that those were the only wolves here, he had wanted to stay behind just in case there were any more sneaking around.

Farrah shifted on the porch and Brendon heard her sharp intake of breath. He looked up at her, trying to keep his gaze off of her body. She had a perfect body which of course was part of her deadliness. Designed by nature, cat’s were graceful, sleek, beautiful and the moment a man was lured close enough they turned into sharp-clawed, killing machines.

“Are you okay?” Brendon asked.

Sweat slicked Farrah’s brow and her face was pale. “Yes. It’s just my arm.” Brendon looked at her arm and winced at the sight of the bone jutting through her torn flesh.

“Come inside with me, Farrah.” Dawn urged quickly as she stepped to the cabin door with Creed held tight, (and safe much to Brendon’s relief), in her arms. “I’ll see what I can do for you.”

With Farrah, Dawn and Creed safely within the cabin, Brendon turned his attention to Brie. She had shifted back and her body was covered in bites, cuts and blood. Bruises were already forming, dark and angry, against her pale skin.

He went to her, took off his new duster coat, which he had bought in a town a few days before, and placed it around her shoulders.

“What happened to her?” he asked, tipping his head to Maggie.

Brie sniffed and Brendon realized she was crying. He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels uncomfortably. Dealing with tears wasn’t his strong point and he and Brie had never said much to one another. She had always seemed too gentle, soft, nurturing and…. Well, weak. The old Brendon didn’t have time to waste on her. But he wasn’t that Brendon anymore.

He crouched down and put a gentle hand on her back. “It’s okay, Brie. It’s over now.”

“She must have woken up and she seen what was happening. I’d worked so hard to teach her to hold back the shift but the sights and the scents must have been too much.”

Brendon looked down at the pup. She breathing deeply, her tiny chest rising and falling with the movement.

“She’s okay, Brie, just got knocked out is all.” he assured the terrified mother. “More than I can say for that wolf you had a hold of.” he added, attempting to lighten the mood.

“I’m not a fighter, Brendon. I never have been… That has always been my downfall, my weakness…”

Brendon put his hand on her cheek and turned her head so that she was looking into his eyes.

“You were a fighter today, Brie, that’s all that matters. You were a fighter today.”

She smiled gratefully and laid her hand over his. He smiled back and kissed her dirty forehead comfortingly before standing back up and looking around.

The woods had grown silent. The scent of blood was strong. He knew the pack had dealt with the intruders.

As if on cue they came back into the cabins clearing.

“Dammit, I didn’t get one!” Trig whined, which of course caused Grange to growl.

“You have to learn to be faster.” the alpha said simply. Trig glared at him.

“You have to learn not to push people out of your way so that you can have all the fun.” Grange chuckled as did the rest of the pack.

“I did not push you.” Grange assured Trig.

“Yes you did.” Trig grumbled as he rubbed at his welted forehead. “And that damn tree you ran me into hurt.”

Grange just shrugged and then ran up into the cabin to see his son with Trig on his heels, eager to check on Farrah.

Anika and Blain walked to the wolf that Brie had killed, now a man lying there with not much neck and no face to speak of.

“We’ll get him taken care of.” Blain stated. “We’ll toss him in the pit with the others.”

He picked the man up, tossed him over his shoulder and then he and Anika ran off into the dark forest.

Nickolai went to Brie and the she wolf let out a sob and then jumped into his arms, clinging to him with desperation.

“You can never leave me again, Nickolai. Never, never, ever again.”

Brendon walked a few feet away to give the mates more privacy as Ella stepped into his arms.

Brendon smiled down at the vampire. She had blood dripping down her chin and he wiped it away with his thumb.

“Did you have fun?” he asked with amusement.

“Yes.” she replied, a smile curving her lips.

“You know that it’s back to hunting deer for blood after tonight?” Brendon warned. Ella’s eyes flashed with translucence and she rose on her toes to place her mouth against his neck.

Brendon felt his blood pumping faster and his grip on her hips tightened.

“I’d rather hunt you.” she whispered, her fangs grazing against his skin.

Damnable vampire!

“I…” Brendon cleared his throat, sure that shirt must have shrunk because it was suddenly far too tight around his neck. “I think we can arrange that for later.” he promised.

“Is she gonna be okay?” Roland asked as he stepped forward. Brendon pulled away from Ella, having completely forgotten that the boys were around. Roland kept glancing over at Maggie, his cheeks pale and causing his scar to stick out sharply.

Brendon nodded. “She’ll be just fine.” he assured the boy, wondering where the concern was coming from. Roland was nine, he had been being trained by the Council for two years. He should be well past the point of showing his emotions so clearly and he shouldn’t feel such intense concern for someone he did not even know.

Roland nodded, his feet carrying him a little closer to Nickolai and Brie, who were crouched beside Maggie. Nickolai lifted the pup into his arms and stood straight.

“It’s not good that she was so angry when she made her first shift.” he said with a sigh. “It may be hard for her to shift back.”

Grange stepped out of the cabin with Creed in his arms and Dawn by his side. He growled low in his throat as his nostrils flared.

“We have more company.” he muttered. Brendon nodded, he could smell Sheriff Bishop as well.

“Grange…?” the Sheriff called out cautiously as he rode into sight on the small trail that ran between Grange’s and Nickolai’s cabin. His horse was spooked and fighting him with every step he took.

Brendon nearly laughed out loud at the Sheriff who had an oversized silver crucifix around his neck and a wooden stake clutched tightly in his right hand as he pulled and tugged at his horses reins.

“It’s all right Sheriff.” Grange assured the man.

Suddenly Nickolai let out a gasp of shock and Brendon turned to see Maggie leap from his arms. The black ball of fur was growling as furiously as a puppy could growl as she ran at the Sheriff’s horse, nipping its legs.

The horse reared, throwing the Sheriff onto the dirt and then its hooves thundered away in the darkness back toward town.

“What the hell?” Sheriff Bishop exclaimed as he jumped to his feet and reached for his gun.

“I wouldn’t pull that gun, Sheriff.” Grange warned but it was too late. The lawman pulled the gun and Maggie went at him. After a brief scuffle, during which the Sheriff jumped around, looking much like a dancing chicken on hot rocks, he let out a cry of pain as Maggie latched her teeth firmly into his backside, hanging off of him, her paws dangling in the air as she refused to release her hold.

“Maggie… Maggie, let go of the lawman, sweetie.” Brie called gently while Grange roared with laughter up on the porch and the Sheriff swatted desperately at the growling pup attached to his trousers.

“Does this belong to you?” he demanded with annoyance.

“That’s our daughter Maggie.” Nickolai replied as he stepped forward and grabbed onto Maggie, tugging her gently.

The Sheriff’s face was red with both pain and anger as Nickolai grabbed Maggie’s jaws and forced her to release her hold on Sheriff Bishop’s backside.

The Sheriff was clearly very angry as he glared at the pup.

“Grange, you need to get control of your pack! I’m awoken in the middle of the night by a terrible roaring growl just outside of town. First thing I think is Grange is in trouble, so I come out here and then I find this! Everybody covered in blood and…..” The Sheriff’s angry rant ended abruptly and a blank look came over his eyes.

“No harm done.” he finished in a calm monotone. “I’ll just walk back to town. A few stitches and I’ll be good as new. Sorry I bothered you folks.” The sheriff turned and then walked stiffly back down the path that would lead to the main road toward town.

Brendon looked down at Ella and saw that she was concentrating hard on the retreating mans back.

“You had something to do with that, didn’t you?”

Ella nodded. “Yes.” she replied simply. Dawn nudged Grange with her elbow.

“See, I told you a vampire in the pack would come in handy.”

“You better not use that brain control stuff on me.” Trig warned as he came outside, his arm tight around Farrah, who’s arm was secured in a sling. They had all dressed in spare clothes that each wolf kept in their cabin.

“It doesn’t work on wolves.” Ella assured him.

“Not enough brain for brain control.” Brendon added and Trig laughed.

“Here she comes.” Nickolai said with obvious relief and Brendon turned his atteniton back to Maggie, who was shifting back to her human form.

The girl stayed curled up naked on the ground and glanced at her parents.

“I need some clothes, papa.” she whispered. “I’m naked.”

Nickolai was busy trying to cover himself since he was undressed as well and Brie quickly ran into the cabin to get him some pants and Maggie a gown.

Roland shocked everyone when the boy shoved past Nickolai, nearly causing the wolf to fall. He pulled off his own duster coat, (they were standard issue for Hunters), and quickly wrapped it around the girl.

“There you go, Maggie.” he said gently. “You sure were brave just then.”

Maggie stared at Roland with a mixture of shock and awe. The boy smiled, his scar curving with the movement of his lips as he held out his hand.

“Name’s Roland.”

“Hello Roland.” Maggie whispered.

Nickolai was grumbling as Brie returned with a pair of trousers for him and he shoved his legs in them roughly.

“Me and that boy are going to have to have a talk.”

Trig laughed and patted the older wolf on the back. “You can’t fight nature, Nickolai. Embrace the mate bond. Embrace it.”

“I’m going to be embracing your wind pipe if you do not remove your hand from my back.” The words were spoken in the soldiers usual stoic manner but it was clear that the threat was whole hearted.

Trig quickly pulled his hand away and took a step back. “That’s harsh, Nickolai, real harsh.”

“Alright time to be getting everyone to the bed.” Grange said matter of factly as Anika and Blain came back out of the woods, finished with their task of disposing of the last body. “Brendon, Ella, you can have the loft in the barn at mine and Dawn’s place. There’s still a bed up there. Boys, you can stay here with Nickolai…” Grange’s voice trailed off when Nickolai sent him a sharp glare and then nodded down at Roland who was currently entertaining Maggie with stories of his adventures with the Council. Grange chuckled.

“Boys you can stay with Farrah and Trig for now. They have a spare room.”

Brendon wrapped his arm tight around Ella’s shoulders as they started down the path toward Grange’s after everyone had said their goodbyes. She looked up at him with a smile and then laid her head against his arm.

It was a strange feeling, Brendon thought, this sense of belonging. For so long he had been alone and now he was surrounded by others. Others that he couldn’t see himself ever living without.

He had a woman he would give him life for, whom he knew loved him just as fiercely, and he had a pack. Brothers, sisters a niece and a nephew.

The family Brendon had always longed so strongly to have was finally his. They was flawed, chaotic and dysfunctional but they were his and they had his loyalty.

And coming from a Hunter, loyalty was everything.

*A/N: And that is the end of “Hunting the Hunter’. If you want to know more about this pack then please read ‘Wild Rogues’ which is set in modern times but tells the next chapter of this pack (about 2/3 of the way through they all come back into play :) )