Kayleb and Vanessa

“Mommy, the monster won’t let me sleep.” Nicole groaned as she opened her eyes and looked at her sleepy four year old daughter.

“There is no such thing as monsters.” she whispered as she rubbed her tired eyes.

“He keeps laughing at me.” her daughter replied while picking at the sleeve of her footie princess pajamas.

“You’re just having dreams.” Nicole replied. She threw an irritated glance at her snoring husband, wondering how men seemed to sleep through everything and then stood up.

“Come on and mommy will tuck you back in.” She took her daughters hand and led her back to her room. The princess nightlight in the corner cast shadows across the room as Nicole helped her daughter into bed and kissed her forehead as she pulled her covers up to her chin.

“Will you sing the monster monster go away song, mommy?” Nicole nodded and knelt down beside the bed.

“ Monster, monster go away. Let this child dream and play. Only good is allowed in here, nothing to cause my baby fear. Go back to the place where monsters dwell. Over the lake and down through the dell. Please let my angel girl get sleep. No more here are you allowed to creep.“

“Thank you, mommy.” Nicole smiled and kissed her forehead one last time.

“You’re welcome, my sweet girl. Get some sleep and mommy will take you to the park tomorrow.”

“Okay.” her daughters voice was tired and weak. Nicole gave her one last glance as she walked out of the room and pulled the door closed. She walked back to her bedroom and slipped beneath the covers. She curled up against her husbands broad back and drifted back to sleep.

She and her husband both jumped from the bed nearly an hour later when their daughters ear piercing scream filled the air. Nicole felt panic fill her and that panic increased and turned to raw terror when her daughter’s screaming suddenly stopped and silence filled the air.

“Joe!” She gasped as she felt her heart drop into her stomach. Joe had a look of equal terror on his own face and the two of them ran to their daughters room. They threw open the door and Nicole vomited at the sight that they were met with. The room was covered in blood and the scent of it clogged their nostrils. Their beautiful daughter was lying lifeless, bloody and broken in her bed.

Joe ran to the bed as Nicole clung to the door frame for support and screamed.

“Call the police!” Joe shouted to her. Nicole couldn’t seem to make her feet move and then she saw the closet door beginning to open.

“Joe, look out!” she screamed as a dark shadow moved so quickly from the closet she could barely see it. Joe did not even have time to yell before the attacker was on him and his blood was spraying across Nicole’s face.

Nicole stood in terrified shock as the attacker turned to her. He was tall and broad. His eyes were a bright violet color that glowed in the light from the nightlight. He sneered at Nicole and she saw fangs dripping with blood. A vampire. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Vampires had rules they were supposed to follow.. They weren’t supposed to kill her husband and daughter!

“Monster!” she gasped as she backed away from him. He stalked toward her, looking very much like a cat stalking a mouse.

“ Monster, monster go away. Let this child dream and play. Only good is allowed in here, nothing to cause my baby fear. Go back to the place where monsters dwell, over the lake and down through the dell. Please let my angel girl get sleep. No more here are you allowed to creep.“ he said in a deep, eery voice that caused a chill to run down her spine. She backed away until she was against the hallway wall and then she let out a scream as he launched himself toward her and sunk his fangs deep into her neck.

Chapter One

“We’ve got another one reported.” Kaylee said as she tossed the folder down on Kayleb’s desk. Kaylab ran a hand through his spiky red hair and leaned back in his chair as he picked the folder up and glanced through the pictures which showed the same bloody scene that they had seen over a dozen times already. He tossed the folder back down on the desk and sighed.

“Who the hell is this freak?” Before Kaylee could reply Chief Michaels walked up and slammed his meaty hand down on Kayleb’s desk. Kayleb looked up at his red face and varicose vein covered nose and waited for the outburst he was sure was coming.

“Why is this murdering psychopath still running loose?!” he bellowed as his breath blew his wiry gray mustache and Kayleb was reminded of some kind of living insect with hundreds of tiny legs… ’ A millipede,’ he thought. ‘The chief has a giant millipede on his face.’

“Are you listening to me!” Chief Michaels demanded and Kayleb tore his eyes away from the living creature above his lip and looked up at his angry blue eyes and he noticed that the whites of his eyes were looking slightly yellow.

“Sir, I think maybe you should go have your liver checked, you’re looking a bit yellow.” Kaylee threw him a look that clearly said ‘shut your mouth’ and he shrugged and barely held back a laugh.

“You think this is funny?” the chief demanded as his cheeks reddened and Kayleb could practically see his hypertension kicking in as his blood pressure rose. “Sixteen children and their families dead! You are the supernatural task force. You are paid to put a stop to supernatural crime and yet this jackass is still running free!”

“In case you hadn’t noticed, our job is one hundred times harder than yours. Our criminals can quite literally just disappear and they don’t exactly leave fingerprints or witnesses.” Kayleb replied as he threw open the folder and began looking back through the photos. The chief moved away from his desk and looked at Kaylee.

“You better find this jackass or you’re both going to live to regret it.” he warned and then he stormed away and they heard the door to his office slam shut. Kayleb stood up and rubbed his hand over his freckled face.

“I’m off the clock.” he said. Kaylee shook her head.

“What are you talking about? We just had a triple homicide!” she exclaimed. Kayleb shrugged.

“Stupid mortals. We’ve warned them. Keep your children with you. Sleep with wooden stakes. Put garlic out. Invest in holy water and hang up some crosses. Do they listen? Hell no they don’t listen.”

“Kayleb, these are children.” Kaylee reminded him and he shrugged again.

“Not my problem.” he replied and then he felt the need to defend himself when he saw the look of angry disbelief on his twin sisters face. “Look we’ve tried to find him and we can’t. We even had Uncle Jake see if he could track him but he couldn’t. There isn’t a damn thing we can do to stop him unless he messes up or goes after the wrong mortals and gets his vampiric ass kicked. Now I’m leaving. I pulled the nightshift and I’m tired.” Kayleb patted his sister on the back and then walked away.

---

“Grandma! Where is my purple tank top!” Kaitlyn’s voice yelled up the stairs.

“Which one dear, you have a million of them.” Rebecca called back down to her granddaughter.

“The one that matches my skinny jeans!” she yelled back and then she winced when she heard a door slam and Jake’s angry voice growled,

“Another one! Another damn teenage girl! I am moving out!” He came stomping down the stairs in nothing but a pair of black pajama bottoms with his long black hair sticking out in all directions.

“Good morning, Uncle Jake.” Kaitlyn said with a megawatt smile that she had inherited from her mother and tossing her blond hair over her shoulder. Jake gave her a look that would have withered flowers on the vine but only made her smile more brightly.

“I need coffee.” he grumbled and stalked away from her toward the kitchen.

“Grandma, I really need that tank top!”

“Oh yes because the world will stop spinning for sure if she doesn’t have the perfect purple tank top to match her skinny jeans!” Kent said from somewhere in the house in a high pitched, realistic impression of a teenage girl. Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. If her mom and dad were here they would understand but they were gone to Milan for a fashion show and they were going to be gone for another week.

“Grandma!” she yelled again. She heard the sound of boots coming from the other end of the mansion and then she saw Laney’s mate Hunter at the top of the stairs. He was already dressed in jeans, a flannel shirt, cowboy boots and hat and Kaitlyn wondered if the man knew that fashion was always changing. He had been wearing the same thing for years.

“Hi Hunter.” she said happily.

“Blood. I need blood.” he mumbled sleepily and he walked around her and down the long hallway toward the kitchen.

“Grandma, I really need my shirt!” she yelled again and she waited several long moments but received no reply. She let out an irritated screech as she stomped her foot. “Fine, I’ll just find something else to wear!” she exclaimed and started up the stairs to go to her room.

“Thank God!” she heard her uncle Jake call out from the kitchen.

“I believe you’re gonna drive him crazier than Kaylee did.” Kaitlyn turned to see her cousin Kayleb standing there and she squealed and threw her arms around his neck. She was only twelve and already nearly the same height as his five feet ten inches but he was stocky and muscular and he wrapped her in a tight hug.

“You haven’t been home in weeks! Where have you been?” Kaitlyn demanded. Kayleb ran a hand through his hair and shrugged.

“Working, women. Women, working. There are a lot of things to keep a hot stud like me busy.” A laugh came from the hallway behind them as Lane walked past on his way to the kitchen.

“You sound like me before I met Joey…. Well except for the working part.” he said. He patted Kayleb on the back and then continued on his way. Before Kaitlyn could say anything else Jordan came down the stairs behind her.

“You better hurry your butt up.” she said. “We are leaving for school in ten minutes.” A look of panic crossed Kaitlyn’s face.

“Hurry up because you look like hell.” Kayleb teased and she made a face at him before sprinting up to the third floor. Kayleb made his way to the kitchen where Jake, Hunter, Lane and his dad were gathered.

“Kayleb!” Evan said with surprise. “It’s good to see you.”

“Thanks dad.” Kayleb said as he poured a cup of coffee for himself and sat down next to Jake.

“Long night?” Jake asked. Kayleb nodded.

“That damn vamp struck again. Killed a little girl and her parents about two counties over.”

“Vamps. I hate them damn things.” Lane said with disgust and then he grinned sheepishly over at Hunter who was looking at him from behind his cup of blood.

“Well most vamps.” Lane amended. Hunter grinned and turned his attention back to Kayleb.

“Do you want me to take a look the crime scene?” Jake asked. Kayleb shook his head.

“There’s no point. You know as well as I do there won’t be anything new. It’s these damn stupid mortals. They think those little home security systems they love so much are gonna keep their families safe. We’ve warned them that if their kids start talking about monsters under their bed to get the hell out of the house but mortals think they know everything and refuse to listen.”

“As a formal mortal, I am offended.” Kayleb turned to see Jake’s mate Angela walk into the kitchen with their one year old son Brent on one hip and Lane’s nearly two year old son Charlie on the other.

“Obviously you were an exception to the general stupidity of mortals.” he said.

“And what does that make me?” Lane’s mate Joey asked as she too walked into the kitchen and took Charlie from Angela.

“The second exception the general stupidity of mortals.” Kayleb replied with a grin. Angela and Joey both sat down at the table.

“Is he still doing the same thing?” Angela asked and Kayleb nodded.

“Yeah. Members of the family say that the children start complaining about a monster being in their room several days before the murders. It’s like he just likes to torment the kids for a while and then without warning one night he attacks and he doesn’t leave anyone alive in the house.”

“He’s smart.” Jake added with frustration. “He knows how to block his trail so he can’t be traced and he’s old. He knows what he’s doing and how to not be caught doing it.” Kayleb rubbed his tired face and yawned.

“You need to rest.” Evan said matter of factly. “Get upstairs and say hello to your mother and then go to bed.” Kayleb was too tired to make a crack about his overbearing father still telling him what to do and simply stood up and left the room.

“This is crazy.” Joey spoke up in her soft, quiet voice once he was gone. “I killed a lot of immortals before I met Lane but those rogues were always blood thirsty and almost mindless. This creep is planning all these murders out. He’s tormenting these poor children.” Lane wrapped his arm tight around her small shoulders and kissed his sons dark hair.

“You couldn’t trace him?” Evan asked Jake. Jake shook his head.

“No.”

“Couldn’t you hunt him down, big brother. You used to be good at that before you became an old married man.” Lane said with a grin. Jake shook his head again.

“I’m keeping my nose out of this. My hunting days are over and I do not want to do anything to make that bloodthirsty bastard turn his attention to my family. Not when we have all these kids running around here.”

“Kaylee and Kayleb are good at their jobs. Hopefully this vamp will make a mistake soon and they will catch him.” Angela said hugging her son just a little tighter against her. Everyone at the table nodded in agreement.

Chapter Two

“Mommy, the monster is back again.” Vanessa opened her eyes to see her five year old daughter standing beside the bed in her tinkerbell sleeping gown.

“Faith, there is no such thing as monsters.” Vanessa replied with a sigh. For the last three nights her daughter had been waking up several times a night complaining about a monster. Vanessa blamed it on her ex-husband and the highly inappropriate movies he let Faith watch when she visited him (which wasn’t very often).

“But mommy, he says he’s going to kill me.” Faith replied and Vanessa could see the fear in her wide green eyes. She sighed and sat up throwing her legs over the side of the bed and slipping her feet into her bright pink bunny slippers.

“Get in my bed.” she sighed. “I’ll go get your blankie and I’ll be right back.” Faith happily jumped up into her bed and snuggled up under the covers. Vanessa stood and ran her hand over her messy shoulder length chestnut hair and walked slowly to her daughter’s bedroom with her sleepy shoulders slumped and her feet dragging.

Twelve hour shifts, six days a week at the hospital combined with taking care of her home and her daughter on her own while taking online courses through the community college were taking their toll on her and making her feel much older than her twenty-five years.

She walked into Faith’s room and clicked on the light. She couldn’t help but feel a little bit of childish fear as she looked around the room. Her daughter had never complained about monsters before. It had started suddenly three nights ago and Vanessa kept imagining that her daughter’s closet door was going to fly open at any moment and a big hairy monster with lime green eyes and lots of drool was going to burst out and get her.

She jumped and nearly screamed when she felt something cold and wet press against her bare leg and she turned to see her German shepherd Scout standing behind her. He kept casting nervous glances at the closet and whining and Vanessa felt her nerves come back full force.

“What is it boy?” she asked in a shaky voice. She wanted to run and find someone to open the closet door for her but a single mother living on her own did not have that luxury. There was no big strong husband in the next room that could protect her or Faith from danger. It was all up to Vanessa. She saw the big metal bat that her ex-husband Steven had bought for Faith’s last birthday. Yet another drug induced gift that made no sense for their five year old little girl who liked tea party’s and princesses.

She grabbed the bat, happy that she had finally found a use for it, and walked on shaking legs to the closet door with Scout standing behind her and peeking between her legs.

“You darn coward.” she whispered at the canine. She grabbed the doorknob and let out a long breath before squaring her shoulders and throwing open the door. She let out a nervous laugh when she found herself staring at nothing but a closet full of toys and wrinkled clothes.

She scolded her over active imagination and closed the door before leaning the bat back against the wall. She grabbed Faith’s pink blankie off of her tiny bed and walked back to her own room with Scout following close behind.

“Here’s your blankie.” she said as she crawled into bed and handed it to her waiting daughter. Faith snuggled up to the silky pink blanket and closed her eyes. Vanessa knew her daughter was too old to still have a blankie but the poor kid had been through a lot in her life with a drug addicted father and a mother who was forced to work long hours because she was supporting them herself and she had not been able to bring herself to force Faith to give the blankie up.

Vanessa’s nerves were still on edge and she turned the combination on the cabinet next to the bed and looked reassuringly at the black pistol inside. She left the cabinet open so the gun would be easy to grab and then she curled up with her daughter to try to get some sleep because she only had four more hours before it was time to get up and get back to work.

Scout’s growls and whimpers woke Vanessa some time later. She heard Faith crying beside her and looked over at her daughter.

“What’s wrong?” she asked as she saw the fear on her face.

“The monster is back.” she whimpered and she pointed a shaking finger toward the end of the bed. Vanessa looked where she was pointing and screamed. There was a man standing there. He was tall and he was broad. He was dressed all in black and his pale skin glowed in the moonlight shining through the window. He locked his violet eyes with Vanessa’s and she felt a shiver run down her spine. He smiled then and it was a cold smile that seemed to freeze her blood. She nearly screamed again when she saw his sharp white fangs and then she did scream when he ran his tongue over one of them.

“I told you there was a monster!” Faith exclaimed. Vanessa cried out when Scout jumped through the air and the vampire swatted him away as if the seventy pound dog were no more than an annoying fly. She used that split second of distraction to grab the gun from the cabinet. She clicked off the safety and aimed the gun at the vampires face. She squeezed the trigger and he let out a snarl of pain. Vanessa did not waste time trying to shoot him again. Instead she grabbed Faith in her arms and ran. She could hear him coming behind her and she fired a blind shot over her shoulder and heard a wet thud as it connected with flesh.

She grabbed her keys off the table by the living room door and ran out into the moonlight. Faith was sobbing in her arms as she jerked open the driver door to her car and threw her daughter into the passenger seat.

“Get in Scout!” Vanessa cried when she saw the dog come running out of the house. Scout jumped in the open door and took his place in the backseat. Vanessa saw the vampire standing in the doorway of the house. His head and his chest were covered in blood and his face was a mask of rage and pain as she brought her car to life and pulled out quickly, squealing the tires and praying like hell the vampire would not follow.

She drove in circles for hours. Both Scout and Faith were sound asleep as the sun began to rise. Only with the appearance of the sun did Vanessa begin to relax. She let herself cry for the first time as she realized just how close she and her daughter had come to dying. She couldn’t go home. He could be hiding anywhere in the darkness just waiting for her and her daughter to return.

She had to go to the police. Vampires were supposed to follow the same laws as normal people. They were not supposed to break into people’s homes and try to kill them. As far as Vanessa was concerned this world would be a better place if all vampires were sent on a vacation to Hawaii during July… Plenty of sun would put an end to them in a hurry.

She pulled up to the police station and that’s when she realized that she was only wearing her blue, knee length sleeping gown. Her hair was a mess and she was barefoot and probably looked like hell. Faith was in her satiny tinkerbell gown and her blond hair was also a tangled mess… Oh well what did people expect from survivors of a vampire attack.

She climbed out of the car and scooped Faith up into her arms. Faith barely twitched and remained sound asleep as she threw her arms around Vanessa’s neck. Scout jumped out of the car as well and the three of them entered the police station which was pretty empty this early on a Wednesday morning.

“Can I help you?” a female officer asked from behind a counter and a glass window that Vanessa figured was bulletproof. The female officer’s eyes widened when she the gun in Vanessa’s hand.

“Put the gun down ma’am!” she warned and several other officers in the big office behind her looked up. Vanessa rolled her eyes and sat the gun on the counter.

“My daughter and I were attacked.” she said. An older man with a big belly, red face and veiny nose walked up to the window.

“Attacked by who?” he asked in a gruff voice. Vanessa’s eyes were drawn to his wiry gray mustache that reminded her of some kind of millipede or caterpillar sitting there on his lip.

“A vampire.” Vanessa said looking back at his unfriendly blue eyes and swallowing hard to fight back her tears as the terror of the night flashed back through her mind.

“Let her in.” he said and the female officer nodded. She pressed a button on the other side of the counter and Vanessa heard the door buzz beside her. She opened it and walked into the crowded main office room with Scout on her heels.

“No dogs allowed.” a male officer spoke up from across the room. Vanessa looked down at Scout but before she could reply another man said,

“Guess that means Kaylee and Kayleb gotta go!” Laughter followed this statement and Vanessa readjusted her still sound asleep daughter in her arms and walked toward the millipede man who was waving her toward a desk in the back.

A woman with curly dark red hair, freckles and friendly brown eyes stood up from the desk and smiled at Vanessa.

“Hi, my name is Kaylee.” she said holding out a hand. Vanessa smiled in greeting and shook her hand.

“Kaylee Thomas is one half of our supernatural division. The other half has decided not to grace us with his presence today. Tell her what happened last night and she’ll see what she can do.” Millipede man said and then he walked into an office that had a brass plate on the door that read Chief Theodore Michaels.

“Have a seat.” Kaylee said pointing at the hard wooden chair on the other side of the desk. “She looks heavy.” she added smiling at Faith. Vanessa nodded and gladly sat down. The weariness of being up all night after working all day was finally beginning to catch up with her as her adrenaline wore off.

Scout lowered his head and growled low in his throat as he looked at Kaylee. Vanessa looked at he dog with shock. He was usually so good tempered, he was useless as anything other than a friend for Faith to play fetch with.

“Scout no.” Vanessa scolded as she snapped her fingers and tried to get the dog to come to her. Still he stared at Kaylee and growled with his ears flat against his head. Vanessa looked up at Kaylee to see how mad she was but instead Kaylee was staring back down at Scout with an almost animalistic look in her brown eyes.

Much to Vanessa’s shock she heard a low growl low in Kaylee’s throat and Scout whimpered loudly before running behind Vanessa’s chair and cowering there on shaking legs.

Kaylee smiled as if nothing had happened and sat down across from Vanessa at the desk.

“So what happened to you?” she asked.

“What are you?” Vanessa asked suspiciously.

“A werewolf.” Kaylee replied simply. “My twin brother is usually here with me but didn’t show up today so…. It’s just me.” she said holding her hands up with a shrug. “Tell me what happened to you and your daughter.” Vanessa sighed and then she launched into the story. Including the part about her daughter complaining for three nights about a monster in her room. When she finished Kaylee was looking at her with a mixture of admiration and shock.

“You got away from him?” she asked.

“Yes. Why do you act like you aren’t surprised to hear about a murdering vampire that torments innocent children?”

“Because he’s attacked before. The last attack was nearly a week ago. Haven’t you paid attention to the news the last few months?” Kaylee asked. Vanessa shook her head.

“I am a single mother who works six days a week, twelve hours a day and take college classes online at night. I do not have time to watch the news.”

“You and your daughter are very lucky. Sixteen children and their parents have already been murdered by this vampire. You are the first survivors.” Somehow Vanessa did not feel lucky.

“He’s killed that many and you haven’t caught him?” she asked with horror. Kaylee nodded.

“But with your help we might. You can give us a description of the vamp which is more than we’ve ever had before. It could help. Will you sit down with a sketch artist and give us a detailed description of him?” Vanessa nodded.

“I’ll try.” she said. “My daughter and I need clothes.” she added looking down at herself. Kaylee nodded.

“There is a room downstairs that has a bed where you can go to get some rest. Write down your address and I will drive out to your house and take a look around and get you both some clothes.”

“Thank you.” Vanessa said. Kaylee nodded and reached across her desk to lay her hand on her arm.

“We’ll catch him.” she promised.

Chapter Three

Kayleb was just falling into bed with two bombshell blonds that were hell bent on tearing his clothes off when his twin sisters voice woke him from his dream.

( Kayleb, where the heck are you? The chief is pissed that you aren’t here and we had another attack by that vampire.) Kayleb cursed the telepathic link between immortals and rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he looked around his room. He had decided to stay at the family house and his room here was covered with medals and awards from his time in the military and pictures of all the places he had been in his life.

( Well send out the coroner to collect the dead bodies and leave me alone until you get a lead… As far as the chief goes, tell him to bite my furry ass.) he replied.

( I’ll let you share that juicy fantasy with the chief yourself and the victims aren’t dead. They are here at the station.) This had Kayleb jumping from his bed and pulling on his jeans and a black t-shirt with a picture of a stripper swinging on a pole and the words ’Support the performing arts“ written in big white letters.

( I’m on my way!) he said with excitement as he strapped on his gun and put his necklace with his badge on it around his neck. (Hell sis, this might be the break we’ve been waiting for! ) He jumped into his boots and didn’t even take the time to go downstairs and say goodbye to anyone before dashing himself to the police station.

“Damn you, Kayleb!” Barry Hicks, an older officer who was close to retirement exclaimed when Kayleb suddenly appeared in the station and knocked over the stack of files on Barry’s desk that the man had just gotten done organizing.

“Sorry about that.” Kayleb mumbled and then he practically ran back to Kaylee’s desk which sat next to his own.

“Where are they?’ he asked. Kaylee rolled her eyes and looked up from the form she was filling out.

“Sleeping downstairs. They had a long night. Since they already know me, I want to stay here so I can sit with the mother while she talks to the sketch artist.” she replied. “You need to go to this address and see if he left anything useful behind this time and get some clothes for her and her little girl.” Kayleb’s face fell.

“I am not some damn errand boy.” he grumbled.

“You are now!” Chief Michaels said walking out of his office. “How nice of you to grace us with your presence two hours late.”

“Give me the address.” Kayleb grumbled and Kaylee smiled brightly and handed it to him.

“Remember to bring them both some clean underwear.” she said while fighting back a laugh. Kayleb glared at her and then walked out of the office. He would have to take a squad car to the house since he couldn’t dash somewhere he had never been.

He pulled up in front of the house an hour later and climbed out of the car. He smelled the vamp instantly and the scent was strong. He also smelled blood. A lot of blood and it belonged to the vamp as well. Whoever this woman was it sure smelled like she taught the psycho killer a lesson.

He walked through the open door of the blue ranch style home and looked at the blood trail covering the floor. Kayleb didn’t have a history of hunting rogues the way his uncle Jake did but he couldn’t help but notice how strong the vamps scent was in this house. It smelled like he had been staying here for a long time.

He also felt the wolf in him drawn toward the scent of the woman that lived here though he didn’t know why. Maybe it was because she smelled like apples and he was hungry. He shouldn’t have skipped breakfast.

He followed the trail of blood on the cream colored carpet down a hallway and into a bedroom. The blood was splattered along the wall here and he knew this must have been where the attack had happened.

He spent a lot of time in this room hoping to find something, though he wasn’t sure what it was he thought he would find. He decided to go check the kids room. He walked down the hall and entered the pink room. He wrinkled his nose…. He really didn’t like kids. He loved his cousins because they were family but he didn’t even like them. He was just beginning to really like Kaitlyn now that she was getting older.

He looked around the room but knew immediately that he was not going to find anything useful in here. As always the vamp did not leave behind his name or address to tell them where to find him. Kayleb was about to leave when he remembered that he had to get clothes. He saw a princess suitcase sticking out from under the tiny bed and he opened it. He filled it with clothes from the closet and grumbled as he took some underwear from the dresser drawer and threw them in as well. Seventeen years served in the military plus another two years on the supernatural task force and he had been reduced to going through little girls panties.

He zipped the suitcase closed and walked back toward the woman’s room. He took the time to look at some pictures hanging in the hallway. There was one in particular that caught his eye and he wondered if this was the woman and child that lived here.

The little girl was cute, he guessed, but then again most kids were and that’s how they suckered you in. She had blond hair, big innocent green eyes and a crooked smile. She looked a lot like her mom. They had the same eyes and the same crooked smile but her mom had shoulder length hair that was brown but had a tint of red.

She was definitely easy on the eyes but she had a kid and that meant she was off limits. He wasn’t a womanizer by any means seeing as how not many women were interested in a five foot ten, red haired, freckle covered, big toothed werewolf with an overbearing crazy as hell family, but he had rules and a woman with a kid broke those rules.

He found a second suitcase in the woman’s room and he packed it as well, feeling one hundred different kinds of perverted as he threw some underwear in before zipping it closed. He saw a pink blanket lying on the bed and was reminded of his two and a half year old sister Gwen. She had a blanket that she had to carry with her at all times. He figured it probably belonged to the little girl and after the kind of night she had had he knew she would probably be missing it.

He caught another strong whiff of the mystery woman’s scent as he bent across her pillow to grab the blanket and once again the wolf in him was drawn to the scent. He couldn’t figure out why that was but he had always loved apples and he figured that must be it. He walked out of the room with both suitcases and the blanket. He grabbed some shoes from beside the door, because he didn’t know whether or not they had any, and he threw all of that in the back of the squad car.

He grabbed some yellow police tape and taped off the front door of the house. He knew that coming here and looking around would be a waste of time. The only hope they had in figuring out who this vamp was lie with the woman and child currently at the station. He climbed in the squad car and started back.

---

Kaylee sat the bag of fast food on the table in front of Vanessa and Faith and handed Vanessa two Styrofoam plates as well. Vanessa poured out some chicken nuggets and fries onto a plate for Faith and then put the cheeseburger and fries on a plate for herself. She opened the two cans of pop that Kaylee had gotten them out of the pop machine and placed one in front of Faith. She didn’t normally let her daughter drink the stuff but after surviving an attack by a bloodthirsty psychopathic vampire she figured she could bend the rules a little.

“Okay, so what did he look like?” Kaylee asked as she sat down and threw her long blue jean clad legs and brown high heeled boots up on the table.

“He was tall.” Vanessa replied. “And he had a broad chest and shoulders… He was wearing all black.”

“All I need is his facial descriptions.” The man sitting across from her with a notepad said in a bored voice. He pushed his thick glasses up on his nose and Vanessa watched the fan in the corner blow his thin gray hair out of the comb-over style he had it in.

“The other stuff is important for me to know. That way I can give a full description of the vamp on the news.” Kaylee said. “When you say tall, how tall do you mean?” she asked Vanessa. Vanessa looked at her daughter who was pushing her fries around on her plate but not eating them. She bit her lip worriedly. Her daughter had always had an excellent appetite and she knew the terror of last night was bothering her.

“I was lying in bed but if I had to guess I would say close to six and a half feet. His hair was almost white but he didn’t look old. He was pale of course….”

“How was his hair styled?” the bored man asked. Vanessa didn’t like him but knew she had to answer his questions.

“Um.. It was slicked back on his head and he had a widows peak… You know that v shape at the top of his forehead.” The man nodded.

“Those are the kinds of descriptions I need.” he said matter of factly. It took nearly an hour but finally the man had a drawing that looked eerily similar to the vampire that had been in her bedroom.

“Mommy! That’s the monster.” Faith said, her tiny voice full of fear. Vanessa wrapped her arm tight around her daughters shoulders and kissed her messy blond hair.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I won’t let the monster hurt you ever. These people are going to catch him.” Vanessa looked at Kaylee. “I need to use the bathroom.” Kaylee nodded.

“I’ll watch Faith.” she said as the bored sketch artist stood and excused himself from the room. Kaylee looked at Faith. “We can draw pictures. I have an aunt that is an artist. She draws and paints and her work hangs in galleries all over the world.” Vanessa stood and walked out of the room, satisfied that her daughter was in good hands. She walked in her bare feet to the bathroom and tried not to think about all the nasty things she was probably stepping on.

---

“Nothing.” Kayleb said as he walked into the interrogation room where Kaylee was sitting with the little blond girl he had seen in the pictures at the house and he recognized her scent.

“Is this yours?” he asked the girl as he held up the blanket. She nodded happily and quickly took it from his hands. Kayleb heard a growling come from under the table and he bent down to see a German Shepherd. He growled back at the canine and it quickly stopped and lowered its head back down on its paws.

“I didn’t think there would be but we had to check.” Kaylee replied. Kayleb nodded and sat down the suitcases. He breathed deep and the scent of apples filled his nose, exciting the wolf in him yet again.

“Where’s the woman?” he asked as he flopped himself down in a chair.

“Bathroom.” Kaylee replied. “And her name is Vanessa and this is Faith.” she added pointing at the girl who was drawing something on a piece of paper that Kayleb could not identify.

“Have you noticed that the woman smells like apples?” Kayleb asked. Kaylee raised her brow and looked at her brother.

“No, I hadn’t really.” she said. Just then the chief came bursting into the room.

“Kayleb, some sub demons are robbing a jewelry store in town. You need to get over there and stop them.” Kayleb grumbled as he got to his feet.

“A great mans work is never done.” he said with a sigh as he walked out the door.

“Is he your brother?” Faith asked and Kaylee nodded.

“We’re twins.” she replied.

“I had a brother but he died.” Faith whispered, as if the words were a very important secret.

“I’m sorry.” Kaylee said. As Faith went back to coloring, Kaylee’s mind went back to her brother. Why would Kayleb notice that Vanessa smelled like apples? She didn’t smell that much like apples and Kayleb had definitely never been the type to notice something like that anyway.

A thought suddenly occurred to Kaylee and she almost couldn’t stop herself from crying out with shock. She quickly contacted her mother.

( Mom, I have a question. ) she said telepathically so only her mother could hear.

( I’m up to my elbows in your sister’s lunch sweetie. What do you need? ) her mother’s voice came back.

( Is it possible to smell your mates scent but not recognize that it’s your mate? )

(Oh my gosh! Do you think you’ve found your mate?) her mother exclaimed and Kaylee wished she could turn the volume down.

(No, not me. Don’t ask questions, mom. Just answer me. ) Kaylee replied with an exasperated sigh.

( Um.. The only way that’s possible is if all you’re smelling is residual scent… You know the scent that’s left over after your mate leaves a room or somewhere that you’re mate has been before. And you will be drawn to the scent but you won’t know why. ) Raquel replied with excitement.

(Tone down the excitement mother, it’s not me…. )

(So who is it?) Raquel asked impatiently.

( Bye mom) Kaylee replied and quickly closed the link. She looked at Faith and her mind raced. What if this little girls mother was her brother’s mate? The only way to know was to get Kayleb in the same room as Vanessa and Kaylee would just have to figure out a way to make that happen.

Chapter Four

“Where do you want to go stay?” Kaylee asked after Vanessa and Faith were dressed. Kayleb was still gone dealing with the sub demons. Vanessa looked down at her daughter and then up at Kaylee.

“I don’t know.” she replied honestly. Her parents had died when she was eighteen in a car accident and she was an only child. If she had aunts, uncles and cousins she didn’t know them.

“We could go stay the night with daddy.” Faith said brightly. Kaylee noticed the look of dread that passed over Vanessa’s face and she was happy to see it. If Vanessa was Kayleb’s mate, Kaylee did not want another man to be standing in his way because she already knew he would stand in his own way just fine.

“No baby, your daddy is busy.” Vanessa replied.

“The station can put you in a motel until we get your house clean.” Kaylee replied as she ran her hand through her shoulder length, curly red hair and smiled.

“Okay.” Vanessa bit her lip and leaned closer to Kaylee so she could whisper without Faith overhearing her. “Do you think he’ll come after us?”

“I don’t think so. We’ve never had survivors before so we can’t promise you that he won’t but I’ll make sure there is an officer stationed outside your door tonight just in case.”

“Okay.” Vanessa replied. Kaylee looked behind her.

“Tyler!” she called loudly. A young male officer dressed in uniform stood up straight.

“Yes ma’am?” he said respectfully, bringing snickers from some of the other officers.

“Relax Tyler.” Kaylee said with a smile. “Can you carry their suitcases out to their car?” Tyler nodded and quickly grabbed the suitcases and walked out the door with them. “That boy is in love with me. I could tell him to go clean the bathroom with his tongue and he’d probably run and do it with a smile.” Kaylee said and Faith made a face as she stuck out her tongue.

“Yuck! That’s icky.” Vanessa nodded in agreement. Kaylee just laughed lightly.

“That’s men. If they like you good enough they’ll do just about anything.” Vanessa shook her head and gave a sarcastic laugh.

“Well I’ve never had that luxury.” she said. Kaylee shrugged and led them to the door.

“There’s still plenty of time to find it.”

“I don’t want it.” Vanessa replied matter of factly as she opened her car door to let Faith in and Faith giggled as Scout climbed over.

“Why?” Kaylee asked as she opened the passenger door. She had decided to ride in their car with them and then just dash back to the station.

“I was married once and learned that men let you down. I can take care of my daughter just fine on my own and I don’t need another man ever.” Kaylee nodded and then pulled out her cell phone and called the motel to make sure they had a room she was happy with. She thought about her brother as she made her phone call.

Kayleb had never once talked about wanting to find his mate but Kaylee knew that he needed a mate to make him appreciate life. Her brother never acted truly happy and having a mate and falling in love could change that. But if Vanessa refused to give Kayleb a chance then her brother would be more miserable than ever because he would need to have her around and she wouldn’t be there.

Vanessa looked around the tiny motel room and sighed. It sure wasn’t home sweet home but then again home would never feel like home sweet home again after what had happened there.

“There’s a patch of grass in the back that they said you could use for the dog to go to the bathroom.” Kaylee said looking around the room. She checked the closets and bathroom and found them all empty. “Before dusk there will be an officer out here to stand guard at the door just in case but I doubt you’ll have any more trouble out of the vamp. I’m sure he’s already moved on to someone else.”

“Thank you.” Vanessa said as she and Faith sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Here’s my cell number in case you need anything.” Kaylee laid a piece of paper on the nightstand. “And here is your gun. I reloaded it for you.” Kaylee pulled the black pistol from the waistband of her pants and handed it to Vanessa who held the reassuring weight of it in her hands for several seconds before setting it down on the nightstand.

“Thank you. You have been wonderful.” Kaylee shrugged as she opened the door.

“Just doing my job.” she replied with a smile. “You two take care of yourselves.” she added and then she walked out and shut the door.

“Mommy, I’m bored.” Faith said with a whine. Vanessa smiled down at her but inside she agreed with her daughter. She was bored too.

“Let’s see if we can find some cartoons.” she said picking up the sticky remote control.

---

“Here.” Kayleb said handing Kaylee a big canvas bag. Kaylee looked inside the bag and saw that it was full of paper, crayons, dolls, books and even a small princess tea set. She looked up at her brother and raised her brow.

“I’m a little too old for tea parties but thank you.” Kayleb snorted with irritation and shook his head.

“There for that girl… uh.. Fannie? Farrah?”

“Faith?” Kaylee suggested and Kayleb nodded.

“Yeah her.” he replied. “I figure a kid would get pretty bored in a motel room without toys.” Kaylee pulled out a romance novel and laughed.

“I think this is a bit old for the girl. She’s only five.”

“That’s for the apple woman.”

“Vanessa?”

“Yeah sure, her.” he mumbled. When he had been at her house he had noticed several books like the one he had bought for her lying around and so he figured she liked them.

“You aren’t turning into a big softie on me are you?” she teased. She knew what was bringing this caretaker instinct out of her brother. He was drawn to this woman and her child even if he didn’t understand why yet.

“Shut-up.” Kayleb said while shaking his head. “I’m off the clock, I’m heading back to the house. I need a shower.” He said looking down at the sub demon blood and gore covering his clothes.

“Did you go to the store looking like that?” Kaylee asked. Kayleb looked down at his stained jeans and his ripped, bloody t-shirt and nodded.

“Yep. I got through the line quick too because nobody wanted to be around me. Sub demon guts stink.” Kaylee wrinkled her nose.

“I noticed.” she said. “Go home and get cleaned up and then I need you to stake out the motel tonight and make sure that vamp doesn’t come back at Vanessa and Faith.”

“Nope.” Kayleb said with a quick shake of his head. “I am done. I played errand boy today. I went through women’s underwear which is not as fun as it sounds, I had to stop ten sub demons by myself, because you know how mortals run screaming away from them, and let me tell you sub demons taste like sewage. I went to the store and bought tea party supplies and a romance novel and had the cashier look at me like I was some kind of sexual predator… I am done for the day.”

“Kayleb…” Kayleb covered her mouth with his hand and she nearly gagged at the smell of sub demons.

“I am going home. I’ll be in in the morning.” he repeated and then he removed his hand, the air shimmered and he was gone.

Kaylee cursed under her breath and looked out the window. It would be getting dark soon.

“Kaylee.” Chief Michael’s called from his office door.

“Yes sir?” she asked.

“You have patrol duty over in Haggerty tonight. We’ve had reports of some young wolves vandalizing property over there.”

“I have something else I needed to do.” Kaylee replied thinking of Vanessa and Faith. Chief Michael’s shrugged.

“Not anymore you don’t. I suggest you go downstairs and try to get an hour of sleep because you’re going to have a full night tonight.” Chief Michael’s closed his office door and left the station. Kaylee looked around the nearly empty office. Only a skeleton crew stayed on at night. She had to find someone to watch the motel tonight but who?

“I need help.” she mumbled as she flopped down at her desk. Tyler walked over and cleared his throat to get her attention. She looked up at him and smiled.

“Hi Tyler.” she said.

“Hi ma’am.” he replied. She rolled her eyes.

“Kaylee.”

“Hi Kaylee.” he amended and she swore that he blushed just a little. “I heard you telling Kayleb about that woman and child and I heard the Chief say you were going to be busy tonight so I’ll help you out. I’ll go to the motel for you.”

“Are you sure?” Kaylee asked. She knew the young rookie wouldn’t be any match for the vampire but he could radio her at any sign of trouble and she could dash there in seconds.

“Of course I’m sure. I really like you.” He admitted and then his cheeks turned blood red and he shifted his feet. Kaylee smiled and stood up before patting him on the shoulder.

“That’s sweet, Tyler, and I think I’ll take you up on your offer to watch the motel but I’ve told you before that I don’t date.” She had made the decision a long time ago not to date anyone until she found her mate. What was the point in getting attached to someone she would have to walk away from?

Tyler stuttered but couldn’t seem to say anything so she handed him the bag.

“Give this to Vanessa and Faith and let them know that you’ll be out front keeping an eye out. If you see anything even remotely suspicious you radio me and I’ll dash there right away okay?” Tyler nodded and Kaylee walked away toward the back stairs to go down and get a little rest before going on patrol. She cursed Kayleb for being able to tell the boss to go to hell and do what he wanted… That was a talent that she had never mastered.

---

“Yay, I have toys!” Faith said as she poured the bag out on the bed. Vanessa assumed that Kaylee had gotten them these things and she made mental note to tell her thank you whenever she saw her again as she picked up the romance novel and sat down in the small, uncomfortable chair in the corner.

She pulled the curtain aside and cast a nervous glance at the darkness outside. She could see the young officer, Tyler leaned against the wall beside the door to their room and then looked over at the gun that was sitting on the table within grabbing distance.

She didn’t know if the vamp would hunt them down but she was going to be ready if he did. She read her book for a while. It was a romance about a werewolf finding a mortal mate and like always in romance novels, sparks flew. Vanessa didn’t understand that. She knew that most immortals were good and she liked them well enough but if she ever had one claiming to be her mate she would probably kill him on the spot. There was no way she would ever be mated or fall in love with something that wasn’t even human.

She stood up and walked to the bathroom, grabbing the gun as she went. She closed the bathroom door and as she sat on the toilet she thought about her job at the hospital. She had called this morning to tell them she wouldn’t be there and her boss had told her to take all the time she needed but she knew she had to get back to work soon.

Steven certainly wasn’t going to help put food in Faith’s stomach or clothes on her back. Hell he didn’t even do any of those things for himself. Every dime he ever got his hands on went toward a fix.

Vanessa was just standing back up when she heard Faith talking out in the room and smiled. Faith liked to have tea parties with imaginary kings and queens. The girl had a great imagination.

“We’re close to the cop station daddy and there is an eight on the sign.” Vanessa’s heart dropped into her stomach and she ran from the bathroom.

“Who are you talking to?” she demanded. Faith’s eyes widened and she bit her lip nervously.

“Daddy. He says he wants to come see me.” Vanessa held her hand out.

“Give me the phone.” she said sternly and Faith quickly put the phone in her mother’s hand and covered her head with pink blankie.

“Steven?’

“How dare you not tell me that this was going on!” Steven’s angry voice came over the line. “I’m her father, I have a right to know when she’s in danger.”

“I took care of her Steven and I will continue to take care of her. Just like I always have.”

“The way you took care of Matthew?” Steven sneered and Vanessa felt her heart break at the mention of her son’s name.

“You don’t need to worry about her.” she said, working hard to keep the hurt out of her voice.

“I’m come to see my daughter.” he replied and Vanessa could hear the slur in his voice. He was either drunk or high or both.

“No you’re not.” she said firmly.

“Yes I am. You’re at the Super 8 on route two and I’m on my way there.” He hung up and Vanessa sat the phone down on the receiver and closed her eyes.

She would rather have that bloodthirsty psychopathic vampire walk through that motel room door than her drug addicted, woe as me, always the victim, ex husband.

Chapter Five

Vanessa was beginning to believe that neither Steven nor the vampire were going to show up. It was nearly two in the morning and Faith had long since fallen asleep. Vanessa curled up in the bed with the gun in her hand and wrapped her free arm around her daughter’s tiny waist.

She was just drifting off to sleep when she heard voices outside.

“You can’t go in there, sir. These ladies are under police protection.”

“That’s my damn daughter in there. I have every right to go in there. What kind of man tells another man he can’t see his daughter.” Vanessa groaned inwardly and stood from the bed. She stuck the gun in the waistband of her jeans and opened the door.

“It’s okay. He can come in.” she said to Tyler. Then she looked at Steven. “Faith is asleep and after the night she had last night, I would like to keep it that way.”

“Of course you would.” Steven replied with a snort and she could see the red, sleepy look in his eyes that proved he was high on something. It had been a long time since he hadn’t been high. Just a little over three years. “You never let me be a real father to her.”

“That’s because you’re a drug addict.” Vanessa whispered angrily as he walked in and she shut and locked the door. Scout barely looked up from where he was sleeping beside the bathroom door and Vanessa rolled her eyes at the useless bodyguard.

“I am not an addict.” Steven replied harshly and Vanessa shushed him. “I have to have drugs to deal with your ass.”

“Oh yes, it’s always someone else’s fault whenever you do something wrong.”

“Shut-up Vanessa. I can’t believe I was ever married to you.” Steven said flopping himself down in the chair next to the bed. Vanessa crossed her arms over her chest and nodded.

“Trust me, the feeling is mutual.” she replied. She watched Steven as he looked at Faith in the glow of the lamplight and she felt a moment of sympathy for him when she saw a mixture of love and regret in his blue eyes. There had been a time when he had been a pretty good man. He had always been lazy and had always refused to take responsibility for anything but he hadn’t been a drug addict and he had been a good dad.

Then their little Matthew had died one night of SIDS and Steven had gone off the deep end. She had tried to stick with him but he had refused to get help and she hadn’t loved him enough to hang around. She had taken Faith and left him and she and her daughter had been on their own ever since.

“Did you ever really love me?” Steven asked quietly and Vanessa realized he was looking back at her. She was caught off guard by the question and bit her lip as she thought about her answer.

“Yes.” she replied honestly. “But not enough and the love I did have has been dead for a long time.” Steven nodded and then looked back down at his daughter. Faith had her father’s blond hair and pointed nose. She was really the perfect blend of the two of them.

“Can I stay here for the rest of the night so I can see her when she wakes up? I’ll sleep right here in the chair.” Vanessa wanted to say no but she knew Faith would be disappointed if she didn’t get to see her daddy so she nodded. Besides if the vampire did show up, Steven would be one more thing she could throw at it as she ran away.

---

Tyler couldn’t stay awake any longer. He looked at his watch and saw that it was four in the morning. Only two more hours until dawn but it was more than he could do. He sat down on the sidewalk and leaned his back against the rock wall of the motel. He closed his eyes and was just nodding off when he felt something rush past him.

His eyes flew open and he looked around the parking lot. He couldn’t seen anything in the fluorescent glow of the motel sign. He laughed nervously and cursed himself for being too on edge before closing his eyes again.

His heart began pounding and he began shaking when he felt cold breath on his cheek. He cracked open his eyes and screamed when he saw the vampire crouched beside him. It had glowing violet eyes and his lips were pulled back in a snarl revealing long fangs.

“Are you ready to die?” it asked in a voice so cold and eery it seemed to freeze Tyler’s blood in his veins.

“N…No.” he gasped as tears filled his eyes. The vampire smiled and then reached out with one hand and closed his long slender fingers around Tyler’s throat. Tyler closed his eyes tight and waited for death.

Steven, Vanessa, Faith and Scout all jerked awake at the sound of Tyler’s scream. Steven was on his feet and running for the door.

“No!” Vanessa yelled but it was too late, he jerked open the door and ran outside.

“Get off of him!” Vanessa heard him yell. She grabbed her gun and her daughter, whistled for Scout and ran for the door. She stopped in the parking lot just off the sidewalk to see the same vampire from the night before snarling at Steven and Tyler who were both standing there staring at it.

“Are you gonna look at him all day or are we leaving!” she demanded. The vampire turned and stared at her and she felt her blood freeze. She saw him open his mouth to speak but didn’t give him time before aiming her gun at his head and pulling the trigger. She saw his head snap back as blood sprayed across the light stone wall of the motel and he screeched in pain.

The gunshot seemed to break Tyler and Steven from their trances and they ran toward Vanessa who was busy running to her car.

“The monster came back mommy! The monster came back!” Faith screamed.

“I know baby. But we’re leaving.” Vanessa replied. She was almost to her car when she tripped and fell to the pavement. She turned her body at the last second so she landed on her back with Faith cradled safely in front of her.

“Steven!” she screamed when she saw the vampire recovering from her first shot and coming back toward her.

“Let me help you up!” Steven said trying to grab her hand. But Vanessa knew that the vampire was coming too fast. She tossed Faith into her daddies arms.

“Get her out of here!” she said sternly. Steven nodded and clutched Faith to his chest even as the girl screamed for her mommy.

“I am not going to kill you, love.” the vampire hissed as he stood over her. Vanessa raised up on her elbows and scooted backward away from him but he moved his feet slowly and deliberately and remained over her. “I am going to take you home with me. I have never met a mortal brave enough to fight me. Always before they have screamed and cowered and been easy to kill. You excite me and I want to keep you as a pet.” Vanessa felt panic rise within her. She would rather he killed her than make her his ‘pet’.

She looked behind her and saw the gun several feet away where it had landed after falling out of her hand when she had tripped. She looked up at the vampire and knew she had to do something quick. She kicked her leg out and caught him in the groin. She hadn’t been sure if it would hurt him or not but he doubled over and groaned in pain and she realized that it had. She jumped to her feet and ran for the gun but he grabbed her by her hair and threw her back down to the ground.

She cried out with pain as her cheek scraped across the asphalt.

“Stupid mortal woman. You will pay for that!” the vampire hissed. “You think you can escape Vincent? I am over one thousand years old and you will not get away from me!” Vanessa looked through her tear filled eyes and saw that Steven, Faith and Scout were safe in her car but the keys were in her pocket. Steven did not have a car and had probably walked here. She was about to make another break for the gun when the sound of gunshots filled the air.

The vampire, Vincent, was forced backwards as several bullets found their way into his chest and he snarled with pain. Vanessa saw Tyler standing beside his squad car with his gun drawn. She jumped to her feet and grabbed her own gun as she ran to her car. She felt Vincent’s hand close around her arm and she placed her gun on his wrist and pulled the trigger, causing him to let out another howl and release her.

The air shimmered beside her as she was pulling her keys from her pocket and Kaylee was suddenly there. Kaylee delivered a well placed, round house kick to the Vincent’s head and he stumbled backward.

“Dog!” he hissed.

“Tick.” she growled. Vincent turned his attention back to Vanessa.

“I will find you, love. You will be mine.” he promised and then the air shimmered and he was gone.

“Faith!” Vanessa jerked the car door open and Faith jumped out and into her arms. Vanessa hugged her tight and buried her face in her blond hair. Steven got out of the car as well and wrapped an arm around Vanessa’s shoulders.

“I thought you said he wouldn’t come back after us!” Vanessa demanded of Kaylee. Kaylee gave her an apologetic look.

“I said I didn’t think he would. Obviously I was wrong.” She turned to Tyler. “Get back to the station and start to fill out a report. The forms are in my desk. I’m going to get them somewhere safe and then I’ll be there.” Tyler rubbed his bruised neck and nodded. He had thought for sure he was going to die when that vampire had grabbed him but Steven running out had distracted the monster.

Kaylee turned her attention back to Vanessa, Faith and the man who had his arm wrapped around them. She could tell by his scent that he was Faith’s father.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him. Vanessa moved away from his arm and distanced herself from him before replying.

“Faith called him and he came out.” she replied. She was shaking and she knew that soon the tears she was holding back were going to come pouring out. Two near death experiences in two days were more than her nerves could handle.

“I’m scared, mommy.” Faith whimpered. Vanessa nodded.

“I’m scared too.” she replied honestly. “You told Tyler you were taking us somewhere safe. Where is that? It seems to me like he can find us anywhere.”

“There is one safe place.” Kaylee replied.

Chapter Six

Vanessa had never dashed before and she never wanted to do it again. Faith was giggling but Vanessa’s head was spinning and she felt like she had left her stomach back at the motel.

“First time I’ve ever dashed a dog.” Kaylee muttered as Scout stumbled around the room and found a table to hide under as he sniffed the air.

Vanessa looked around the living room she had been dashed into. Clearly Kaylee’s family was rich if this custom made log home was any indication. The living room was nearly the size of Vanessa’s entire home and there were a number of couches and chairs as well as a large flat screen television and a giant fireplace and mantle. The floors were dark hard wood and covered with expensive looking rugs.

There were a lot of beautiful antiques in the room that looked very old and Vanessa wondered just how old this family of immortals was. She assumed that when Kaylee said she was taking her to where her parents lived that the house would be small and simple but this definitely looked like a big house for a small family.

“Where are we?” Steven asked looking around.

“Not too far from where we were. This is the family house.” Kaylee replied. She wondered where Kayleb was and how long it would take him to smell Vanessa.

---

Kayleb groaned when something woke him from his sleep. He looked at the clock and saw that it was only 4:30 in the morning. Way too early for his behind to be awake. He still had a good three hours before he needed to get up and get ready for work.

He rolled over onto his side and took a deep breath and then he was jumping from his bed as if the room itself was on fire as the wolf in him began screaming mate! He seemed to have lost all control over his own legs as he ran from his room and down three flights of stairs to the living room. He was panting when he finally burst through the doorway and the woman who smelled like apples let out a tiny scream of surprise as she pulled her gun.

“Don’t shoot him!” Kaylee exclaimed. “That’s my brother.” Kayleb stared at the apple woman with shock. He couldn’t remember her name but there was no denying what the wolf in him was telling him. This was his mate. Was the wolf in him stone dead crazy? This woman had a kid and he didn’t want a mate anyway. He was perfectly happy alone. Okay so maybe he wasn’t happy very often but he was content and that was just as good.

“Vanessa, this is Kayleb. Kayleb, this is Vanessa.” Kaylee added. She watched her brothers face and she could see the look of shock in his brown eyes but other than that he gave nothing away. She wondered if maybe she had been wrong about Vanessa being his mate. But why else would he have come running down the stairs that way?

Kayleb recognized Vanessa from the pictures at the house and there was no denying that she was beautiful. Even though her cheek was covered in a bloody scrape. He felt a protectiveness that he had never felt before as he wondered who had dared to hurt his mate. Then he mentally kicked his own ass. He didn’t want a mate. He didn’t want someone to worry about and have to look after and he sure as hell did not want a kid.

“Why did you bring them here?” Kayleb asked his sister, as he forced his gaze away from Vanessa’s big green eyes and messy reddish/brown hair.

“They were attacked again.” Kaylee replied. “The vampire hunted them down at the motel and nearly killed them but luckily Vanessa here is pretty good at taking care of herself.” Kayleb couldn’t explain why but he felt proud when hearing this. Then he narrowed his eyes.

“Wasn’t there anyone guarding them?” he demanded. Kaylee had never heard such a protective tone come from her brother before and realized that maybe she hadn’t made a mistake.

“Tyler was…” Kayleb cut Kaylee off with a growl.

“Tyler? Your little mortal boyfriend Tyler? That idiot couldn’t fight his way out a wet paper bag and you left him in charge of protecting my…..” Kayleb stopped suddenly when he realized what he’d been about to say.

“Well you refused.” Kaylee reminded him.

“Excuse me.” Vanessa said, holding up her hand for permission to speak as if she was a child in grade school. Kayleb looked at her quickly and she was shocked by the look in his dark brown eyes. He looked… worried? Concerned? Why would this man she had never met be concerned about her?

“Well speak up.” he said harshly and his tone did not match the look in his eyes. She rolled her eyes. She was too damn tired and mentally exhausted to worry about some damn werewolf with mood swings. She looked over at Kaylee, purposely turning her side to Kayleb to show him just how much she did not care about what he had to say.

“Faith and I are really tired. Is there somewhere safe here that we could rest?”

“Of course.” Kaylee said. “I’ll get you two and the dog settled in and then I’ll take Steven home.”

“Shouldn’t I stay here where it’s safe?” Steven demanded. Vanessa could hear the shakiness in his voice and she new he’d be dying for a fix soon. “I mean so I can look out for my daughter.”

“Our daughter will be fine because I will look out for her just fine.” Vanessa replied impatiently. Her face was hurting her, her body ached, she knew her arm was bruised where Vincent had grabbed her and she just wanted to fall into a bed.

“She is my daughter too and I want to help.” Steven said. “Besides that vamp saw me too. What if he comes after me?”

“He’s not interested in you, Steven. You’ll be just fine going home.”

“Leave it to you to be an inconsiderate bitch.” Steven spat and Faith gasped as Kaylee covered her ears with her hands. “You’re going to send me back out there where I could get killed after all I gave to you.” Vanessa knew he was temperamental because he was dying for a pill but that didn’t lessen her irritation with him.

“You sound like a woman.” she replied putting her hands on her hips. “What exactly did you give me other then headaches?” Steven’s face turned red in his anger as he glared at her. Kaylee knew the whole house would be awake and joining them soon with all the noise they were making. Kayleb was wondering if this man knew just how close he was to having his head separated from his body.

“I gave you children!” Steven replied matter of factly. Vanessa laughed lightly.

“You gave me sperm. I made the children.” she replied. Steven’s blue eyes flashed with anger and he stepped toward her.

“You stupid…” He stopped suddenly when Kayleb came in between he and Vanessa and growled low in his throat. His dark brown eyes were glowing with the threat of violence and his muscles were bulging in his white tank top.

“Back off.” Kayleb warned. Steven took a step back as Kayleb’s teeth sharpened. Kayleb didn’t understand his own rage but he knew he could not fight it. The wolf in him wanted to punish Steven and protect its mate. The sound of sobbing reached his ears and he instantly stepped away from the idiot in front of him and turned to Faith crying as she clung to Vanessa’s leg.

Vanessa herself looked beyond exhausted and she looked sad and confused. Kayleb did not question why he seemed to be able to read her face and her emotions this quickly. He already knew what the answer was and he wasn’t very happy with it but what could he do? Once a wolf met his mate he was eternally bound to care for, protect and if need be die for her happiness. He just wished his wasn’t a damn mortal woman with a kid.

“Come on, I’ll take you two to a room.” he said gently. Vanessa was too tired to notice the change in his voice or the tenderness on his face. She shook her head.

“I would rather have Kaylee take us.” she replied without looking at him. Kayleb shrugged, trying to act as if her dismissal didn’t bother him in front of his sister.

“Fine. I’ll take you back where you came from.” He said turning to Steven. Steven swallowed hard and even his drug damaged mind was smart enough not to argue with the werewolf. He was taller than the muscular red head but he knew that Kayleb could probably reach out and snap his neck without even breaking a sweat.

“Daddy loves you, Faith. You call me tomorrow and let me know how you are.” he said. Faith gave him a hug and then Kayleb led him out of the house. Since he didn’t know where Steven lived, he would have to drive him where he needed to go.

“I’m only going to say this once.” Kayleb said as he pulled his truck to stop in front of Steven’s apartment building. Steven looked over at the other man questioningly. This was the first time either of them had spoken during the nearly two hour ride.

“What’s that?” Steven asked.

“I don’t know you and I don’t know anything about your life but I can smell the damn drugs on you and you are not what Faith or Vanessa need in their life. Leave Faith alone until you’ve gotten yourself straightened up and as far as Vanessa goes, you can just forget about her.”

“Who the hell do you think you are?” Steven demanded.

“I think I’m the police officer that is telling you to either get out of my truck or spend the next couple hours in a cell. It’s up to you.” Steven stuttered several times before jumping from the truck and stomping up toward the apartment door.

Kayleb didn’t wait to make sure he made it in. He just threw his truck in gear and pulled away. He put on his sunglasses as he drove into the sunrise and thought about the sudden change in his otherwise steady life.

His initial ‘please don’t’ let this be happening to me’ shock was wearing off. He had always been good in a crisis and dealt with change well. He had been in the heart of danger during his time in the military. He had been dropped into bunkers full of rebels all on his own and had to fight his way back out. He had watched friends die in front of him , the whole time cursing the weakness of mortals. He had left the military because watching men and women he had grown to care about die in front of his eyes had gotten to be too much for him.

Kaylee had quit at the same time because she hadn’t wanted to be separated from her brother. As twins they were extremely close and that was why they had both joined the police together.

He turned his mind back to the woman who was his mate. Did he want a mate? Despite telling himself earlier that he didn’t he knew that deep down he did. Who wouldn’t want to have that kind of bond with another person? He had grown up watching his parents being head over heels in love. Then he had watched his uncles both find love and he had seen his aunts fall in love with their mates.

Did he think he would find love? No. He hoped he would but he didn’t really think he would. He didn’t even know if he liked Vanessa yet. That didn’t change the fact that he was already missing her scent and wanting to be near her again. And what about the kid? She wasn’t his kid so why did he feel such a protective feeling toward her? Even before he had known Vanessa was his mate he had wanted to take care of the tiny girl.

He could talk to his dad about it but he and his dad had never had a very open relationship. There was only one man he had ever gone to when he needed to talk and that was his uncle Jake. Jake had been through a lot of the same things that Kayleb had and they had formed a bond. When he got home he would have to take time to sit down with his uncle because Jake always managed to rescrew Kayleb’s head on straight.

Chapter Seven

Vanessa felt the sunshine on her face and she snuggled deeper into the soft warm blankets she was wrapped in. She hadn’t been this comfortable or felt this rested in years.

“I think she’s waking up.” she heard Faith whisper and a tiny giggle she didn’t recognize followed this statement. The horror of the last couple of days came back to her and her eyes flew open as she sat up quickly.

Faith and the little blond girl standing beside her both squealed with surprise and jumped back. Vanessa rubbed her face and hissed in pain when she touched the scrape along her cheek. Her body still hurt and her stomach was aching with hunger.

“Who are you?” Vanessa asked the little girl. She was blond with blue eyes and chubby cheeks. Vanessa figured she was two or three years old.

“Her name is Gwen. She’s Kaylee’s sister.” Faith replied. “You should come downstairs mommy. Gwen’s grandma cooked me toast!” Vanessa looked at her daughters face and saw that it was covered with what looked like strawberry jelly.

“You’ve been downstairs?” she asked, wondering how she had slept so deeply that Faith had been able to leave the bed without waking her.

“There are lots of people here, mommy! Come down and meet them all!” Faith exclaimed, jumping up and down with her excitement. She grabbed Vanessa’s hand and yanked on her and Vanessa’s hungry stomach gave her the extra push she needed to get out of the bed.

She didn’t take time to realize how bad she must look as she followed her daughter down the long, spacious hallways and staircases. She heard voices and then they stepped into a kitchen and all the voices stopped and a lot of eyes were turned in her direction.

“What time is it?” Vanessa asked, finding Kaylee in the crowd.

“A little after noon.” a masculine voice said from behind her. Vanessa jumped and turned to see Kayleb standing less than a foot behind her. She felt her heart beat a little faster in her chest and butterflies filled her stomach and she wondered what in the world was going on with her. This man was a jerk if last night had been any indication and she was definitely not the type of woman who felt butterflies!

She turned back to the crowd but her body was still very much aware of the man standing behind her. She could feel his chocolate brown eyes burning holes in her back and her body responded by shaking and heating up.

“You look like you got hit by a truck.” a black haired, blue eyed, boyish faced man said from where he sat at the table. The plump hipped auburn haired woman standing behind him slapped him on the back of the head.

“Lane!” she snapped. Lane rubbed his head and shrugged.

“She does mom. Look at her face!” he replied. Vanessa shifted her feet uncomfortably as everyone stared at her. She felt very much like a goldfish in a bowl and she didn’t like it one bit. A dark haired, heavy set woman with a friendly face and warm dark eyes stood up and put her hands on her hips as she looked around at all the people surrounding Vanessa.

“Okay, everybody clear out and give the poor woman some space. You wolves have no idea how overwhelming you are when you’re all in one room.” A tall leggy blond with tanned skin and a perfectly sculpted face stood up and rolled her eyes.

“You better be glad we love you, Angela, because you sure are bossy.”

“It’s not that we love her, we’re just afraid to say anything because her mate scares us.” A tall, almost pretty man standing next to the blond said.

“I’m not scary.” a rugged sounding voice said from the corner. Vanessa turned her eyes toward the corner and nearly scooped up her daughter and took off running. The man standing there, leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest was easily the most dangerous and intimidating man she had ever seen. He had messy jet black hair that hung nearly to his shoulders, His face was rugged and his chiseled chin and sculpted cheek bones were covered in stubble. He was tall… At least six and a half feet and he was covered in hard rolling muscles. But the most striking thing about him were his eyes. They were golden and intense and didn’t look like they missed a single thing around him.

She wondered why her body was not responding to the sight of him since he was easily one of the sexiest sights she had ever seen but yet it was still aware of the man standing behind her. She couldn’t stop herself from sneaking a glance behind her and looking at him again. He was still watching her and his posture was relaxed but still somehow powerful. He had a strong jaw and firm lips. His nose was wide and his eyes were the color of her favorite food group.. Chocolate. His red hair was short and stuck up in all directions. He was a few inches taller than her and though he was pale skinned and covered in freckles there was no denying the fact that he was muscular and definitely masculine.

Something in her was drawn to this man and she wasn’t sure what to think about that but she was sure that she did not like it.

“Okay everybody clear out. Let the poor woman eat, she looks starved.” Angela said again. One by one the room began to clear out until all that remained in the kitchen were Angela, her mate, the plump red head, another dark haired man that looked a lot like Angela’s mate only less deadly, Lane, Faith, Gwen, Kaylee and Kayleb.

“Sit down sweetie. My name is Rebecca.” the plump red head said. Vanessa walked over to the table and sat down since she wasn’t sure what else to do with herself and Rebecca set a plate with a turkey sandwich and chips down in front of her. She forgot about her awkwardness at the sight of the food as her stomach roared to life and she quickly began eating. She was aware of the conversations going on around her though she didn’t know anyone they were talking about.

“Where are the babies?” the second dark haired man asked.

“Joey and Raquel took Charlie and Brent out to get some new shoes.” Angela replied.

“And I’m right here, grandpa Charles.” Gwen said, climbing up in his lap. He smiled and kissed her hair.

“Yes you are.” he replied. Vanessa raised her brow as she took a drink of the lemonade Rebecca had set down in front of her. She would never get over the fact that immortals didn’t age. This man could maybe pass for thirty but he definitely couldn’t pass as a grandpa.

“Mommy, can I go out to the barn with Gwen?” Faith asked as she tugged on the sleeve of Vanessa’s green t-shirt. Vanessa shook her head.

“I don’t think….”

“She’ll be fine.” Kaylee promised. “I’ll take her out there and then I have to get to work. Laney and Hunter will make sure nothing happens to her.” Vanessa sighed with defeat and nodded. Gone were the days when she had control over what went on around her. Faith laughed happily and followed Kaylee out of the kitchen.

Vanessa squeaked with surprise when she felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned to see Angela standing there with a friendly smile on her face. There was something about this woman that had Vanessa feeling instantly at ease. Vanessa felt a strange sensation pass through her and then she felt all of her aches and pains vanish. She raised her hand to her cheek to feel that it was smooth and scrape free.

“What did you do?” she asked as Angela moved away from her and sat back down on the other side of the table.

“I healed you. I used to be a mortal but after I mated with Jake, I started to realize I could heal people. Now I’m the family doctor.” she replied.

“You used to be mortal?” Vanessa asked and she tired to ignore Kayleb who had taken a seat beside her and had his muscular arms crossed on the table.

“Yeah. But that was almost thirty years ago.”

“Let’s get down to business shall we?” Lane asked. Jake crossed the room and sat down next to Angela and Rebecca took a seat next to Charles. Everyone looked at her expectantly and she pushed her plate away.

“What?” she asked.

“Did the vamp say anything to you last night when he attacked you?” Jake asked and Vanessa shivered as she remembered his cold voice and the way he had sneered and told her that eventually she would be his. She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and she looked out of the corner of her eye at Kayleb who was watching her with concern once again in his eyes. She felt something deep inside of her yearning to lean into his embrace… It felt almost as if her shoulders had been made just for his arm to wrap around them.

Everyone at the table shared a curious glance, except of course for Jake who had already had a long talk with his nephew about Vanessa and her daughter.

Vanessa wanted to pull away from Kayleb but just didn’t have the energy. She looked over at Angela, and nodded.

“He said he wasn’t going to kill me. He said that I excite him because I fight him and he’s never found a mortal that put up a fight before. He said he wanted me for a pet.” She felt Kayleb’s arm stiffen until his grasp was almost painful and she squirmed beneath him. He quickly removed his arm and stared down at the table with an unmistakable look of rage in his eyes.

“A pet? What the hell is he some kind of mortal collector?” Lane asked. “You’d probably look cute with a collar though and just think you’d have your own food bowl, a cute little bed in the corner and free access to the toilet water.” He gave her a charming toothy grin and she couldn’t help but smile back, despite the fact that the thought of being that vampires ‘pet’ filled her with fear.

“Lane, shut-up.” Jake said matter of factly and Lane leaned back in his chair and sighed.

“I’m never allowed to speak in this family.” he grumbled. Jake rolled his eyes and looked back at Vanessa.

“Did he say anything else?” Vanessa nodded.

“His name. He said his name was Vincent and that he is over a thousand years old.” Charles and Jake looked at each other.

“Ring any bells?” Charles asked. Jake shook his head.

“You were the man with all the contacts.” he replied. “I just killed things.” Charles stood up from the table and Jake and Lane did the same.

“Let’s head to the basement and get to work. I’m sure somebody will know who he is.” Charles said. Vanessa watched Jake lay a kiss to Angela’s hair before following Charles and Lane out of the room.

“Why are we helping this woman again?” Lane asked after the three of them were down in the basement. “I mean I feel sorry for her I guess but should we really be turning this vamps attention toward our house? We’ve got kids to worry about.”

“We have to help her.” Jake replied.

“Why? You’ve never been the heroic type unless it was your family in trouble. Why the sudden change?” Lane demanded.

“Vanessa and Faith are family.” Jake replied as he started looking through a book that was centuries old and covered in dust.

“How do you figure that?” Lane asked as he flopped himself down in a chair to wait for either his father or brother to find something.

“Vanessa is Kayleb’s mate.” Jake replied. “She just doesn’t know it yet.” Lane looked surprised for a moment and then he sighed and shook his head.

“Damn females. Every problem we ever have in this family can be traced back to a damn female.” Jake growled and threw a book at him.

“Make yourself useful and see if you can find anything about a Vincent.” Lane made a face as he opened the book and realized it was written in latin.

“I always thought I would like being included in your work but this stinks.”

---

“I’ll show you to the bathroom so you can get a shower and change your clothes.” Angela said to Vanessa as Rebecca went about loading the dishwasher. Vanessa could still feel Kayleb’s presence beside her and the way her body responded to it had her on edge and irritated.

“Don’t you have somewhere to go or something to do?” she demanded as she turned to face him. Angela and Rebecca both looked over at her shocked while Kayleb looked hurt.

“Uh…”

“I mean do you have to be right on top of me?” Vanessa asked as she stood up. Kayleb felt anger fill him as he too stood up and looked down at her heart shaped face.

“This is my house and I’m not on top of you.” he replied.

“It’s a big house, surely you could find your own space.” Vanessa tried to ignore the way his plain gray t-shirt hugged the muscles of his chest and showed the way his body became lean at his hips. She tried to ignore the way his jeans tightened just a little around the large muscles in his thighs. She couldn’t focus her attention on his face because then all she could see were those eyes so instead she looked at the badge hanging from a chain around his neck.

She waited for him to say something but instead he let out an angry sounding grunt, the air shimmered and he was gone.

“That wasn’t very nice.” Angela scolded after Kayleb was gone. “Why were you so rude to him?”

“Because he irritates me.” Vanessa replied.

“Why? He wasn’t doing anything.” Rebecca said as she closed the dishwasher and turned the knob to start the cycle. Vanessa shifted her feet and looked at the spot where Kayleb had been standing. What could she say? Just his presence has my heart beating out of my chest? My hands began shaking and my stomach got swarmed by butterflies when he put his arm around my shoulders? I don’t know a single thing about him and yet for some reason my body and something else inside of me, my heart perhaps, responds to him as if I have known him forever and he is the only man there is in the world?

“He hovers too much.” she replied lamely.

“He’s a good guy.” Angela replied as she led Vanessa out of the kitchen and back up the stairs. “He used to smile a lot but the last couple of years he’s changed a little. He was in the army, the navy, the marines… He was kind of the go-to guy for all of them since they could drop him into any situation and not have to worry too much about him getting killed.”

“I really don’t care.” Vanessa replied and then she winced at the hurt expression on Angela’s face.

“I’m sorry.” she said. “I’m just stressed and on edge. Two vampire attacks, learning the a vampire wants to keep for a pet, and then waking up in a house full of a hundred werewolves has taken its toll on me.” Angela smiled warmly.

“Get a shower. It will help you feel better. This family really is great and we’ll keep you and Faith safe.” Vanessa nodded and Angela showed her the third floor bathroom and then walked away.

(Jake Collins) Angela demanded so only Jake could hear. Jake knew what it meant when she used that tone and his last name and he sighed.

(Yes, love?)

(Is there something about Kayleb and Vanessa that I should know?)

(Like what?) Jake asked. He knew what she wanted to know but it was also fun to torture her now and then.

(You never used to tease me. Now tell me what you know that I need to know.)

(I love you.)

(Jake….)

(You complete me.)

(Fine, I’ll just ask Lane and if he knows and I don’t know then I’ll come down there and….)

(Calm down. Vanessa is Kayleb’s mate. He talked to me about it last night.)

(Well that explains why she’s jumpy as hell and on edge around him.) Angela replied.

(Why does that explain that?)

(Because, she doesn’t understand that she is his mate and all she knows is that something inside of her is drawn to this man that she doesn’t know and she has no idea why. And then there is the way you wolves look at us.. Mortal men don’t look us with that kind of intensity.)

(That’s because us wolves are a hell of a lot better than some mortal man.) Jake replied and Angela smiled.

(Yes you are definitely better.)

Chapter Eight

Kayleb slammed himself down in his desk and his jaw was tense as he ruffled through the papers on it roughly.

“You okay?” Kaylee asked raising her brow and watching him from behind a file she was reading at her desk across from his.

“Just peachy.” Kayleb replied before slamming his forehead down on the desk and leaving it there.

“Wanna talk about it?” Kaylee asked. Kayleb shook his head without lifting it from his desk.

“Right now I hate anything with estrogen.” he replied, his voice muffled against the papers his face was pressed against. Kaylee nodded and then she laughed.

“Get ready for an estrogen overload.” she whispered. Kayleb smelled officer Tortilonni’s perfume and groaned.

“You look stressed. Want me to rub your shoulders?” he heard her heavily accented voice asked. He swore she was that woman that played ‘The Nanny’ reincarnated. He felt her hands on his shoulders and he jumped to his feet, nearly falling over his desk to get away from her as Kaylee hid her laughter behind the folder in her hands.

“Hi, Fran.” Kayleb mumbled.

“My name’s Susie.” The annoying woman who had been a thorn in his side since he’d started working here said with a loud laugh that Kayleb was sure could peal paint off of walls.

“When you gonna go out with me handsome?” she asked cocking her wide hip to the side and laying her red nailed hand on it.

“When hell freezes over.” Kayleb muttered and Susie laughed.

“Well batten down the hatches, sweet cheeks, because I think there’s a cold front coming in.” she exclaimed and snickers filled the station.

“Kayleb and Kaylee.” Chief Michael’s called from his office door and Kayleb turned quickly. He had never been so happy to see that millipede mustache in the two years he’d been working for the chief.

“There’s been a murder over in Haggarty. Looks like it was were creatures of some sort. You two need to get over there and take a look.”

“Yes sir.” Kayleb said quickly as he headed for the door. Kaylee practically had to run to catch up to him and she was laughing lightly as she got in the passenger side of the squad car.

“Chief Michaels looked kind of disappointed when you didn’t complain about working.” she said.

“Damn that Susie Tortollinni.” Kayleb grumbled as he fired the car to life and started down the road.

“What’s got you go grumpy?” Kaylee asked as she slipped on her sunglasses. “Does this have anything to do with the apple lady?”

“Her name is Vanessa.” Kayleb replied and then he sighed as he gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands. “She’s my mate.” Kaylee couldn’t stop herself from bouncing in the seat.

“Yay! I was right!” she exclaimed. Kayleb raised his brow and looked over at her.

“What do you mean you were right?”

“I thought she was your mate… I realized it when you mentioned her smelling like apples.”

“Yeah well quit sounding so happy about it. She hates me.” Kaylee waved her hand dismissively.

“No she doesn’t. She doesn’t even know you.”

“She kicked me out of my own house!” Kayleb snapped.

“She might be a little jumpy.” Kaylee admitted.

“A little?”

“Her life has turned upside down, Kayleb. She told me yesterday that she is a single mother who works six days a week, twelve hours a day, takes care of her daughter and takes college classes online at night… She is run ragged.” Kayleb felt his newfound protective nature kick in at hearing how hard his mates life had been. He wanted to take her into his arms and take care of her. Make sure she never had to worry about anything more complicated than breathing for the rest of eternity.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts… He didn’t even know the woman and yet he was wanting to take care of her? Damn this mate business.

“Add to that the fact that now there is a crazy vampire chasing her and her daughter and she has been thrown into a house with our huge family. The woman has a right to be a little jumpy.”

“Can we just not talk about her anymore?” he asked.

“Come on, Kayleb, you know you can open up with me. I’m your twin sister.” Kaylee said. Kayleb grumbled under his breath and then turned the radio on and turned the volume up so the music was blasting inside the small squad car.

(Nice try.) Kaylee said, her telepathic voice full of amusement. (I actually kind of like this song.) Kayleb rolled his eyes and turned the radio back down. Kaylee could see how stressed her brother was and decided to let the subject drop.

“So are you going to go on that date with Mrs. Tortillonni?”

“I might…” Kayleb replied with a shrug. “She seems to like me a whole hell of a lot better than the apple lady.”

“Vanessa.”

“Yeah her.”

---

Vanessa showered and dressed and then she made her way back downstairs and out the front door without seeing anyone. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly and the late spring air was already warm on her skin. The house was surrounded on all sides by dark woods and Vanessa swore she could feel Vincent’s glowing violet eyes on her.

She stepped off the porch and turned to look up at the beautiful log mansion. It was three stories tall with a wraparound porch and wraparound balconies. Hanging baskets full of colorful flowers filled the air with a light, fragrant scent. Vanessa walked around the house and saw a large barn at the other end of the wide back yard. She made her way toward it and smiled when she saw Faith and Gwen playing on a large wooden jungle gym that had swings, slides and a fort made into it. A woman with dark curly hair was watching them play and laughing.

“Hi I’m Laney.” she said when Vanessa walked over. Vanessa saw that she had the same golden eyes as Jake but she looked almost identical to Angela, only slimmer.

“Jake and Angela are my parents.” Laney said to her unspoken question. Vanessa nodded and then she turned her eyes to the barn when she heard a horse whinny.

“Hunter is in there if you want to go in and look at the horses.” Vanessa wanted to go but the barn looked so dark on the inside….

“It’s dark in there.” she whispered as she watched Faith laugh happily as she went down the slide.

“You are safe here.” Laney promised her. “My dad is like the billy bad ass of werewolves. He and my grandpa Charles were rogue immortal hunters for hundreds of years. My mom has killed her share of vampires and my aunt Joey used to be a slayer. Kayleb and Kaylee are both capable of taking care of things and just a couple of years ago Hunter killed a female vampire that was pretty old and strong. No one will be brave enough to come after you here and if they are then they will die really quick for being stupid.”

“I’ve never seen a horse up close before.” Vanessa replied as she glanced again at the barn. Laney smiled.

“Well go on in there then.” she said. Vanessa couldn’t hide the excitement on her face as she nodded and walked toward the barn. She needed a distraction and this would provide a nice one. She walked into the barn and her eyes were drawn to the nearest stall where a large black horse was standing. She walked over to the stall gate and watched the horse as it went about eating its hay.

“That’s Laney’s horse.” a voice with a heavy country accent said from beside her. She jumped and covered her chest with her hand as she looked at the newest family member. He was wearing tight wrangler jeans, cowboy boots, a flannel shirt with rolled up sleeves and a stained brown cowboy hat. He had storm gray eyes, and dark blond hair sticking out from under the hat.

“Hunter?” Vanessa asked. He nodded and held out his hand.

“Yes ma’am.” he replied. “And you’re Vanessa?” Vanessa shook his hand and nodded.

“That’s a beautiful horse.” she said turning her attention back to the stall. Hunter clicked his tongue and the horse raised its head and snorted before walking over. Vanessa reached out a shaking hand and ran her fingers along its neck.

“This is amazing!” she exclaimed. Hunter had heard from Lane, telepathically of course, that Vanessa was high strung and moody but she seemed nice enough to him as she smiled happily. She turned her eyes back up to Hunter and he smiled at her and that is when her expression changed.

“Vampire!” she hissed. Hunter ran his tongue over his fangs and nodded.

“Yeah.” he said slowly. Vanessa backed away from him with fear in her green eyes until her back was pressed against the stall gate. She reached into the waistband of her pants and pulled her pistol. Hunter held his hands up as she pointed the gun at him.

“Where’s Hunter and who are you?” she demanded.

“I am Hunter, ma’am.” he replied calmly. He was seeing that for once Lane hadn’t been exaggerating. The woman was definitely high strung.

“You’re a vampire.” Vanessa said accusingly.

“Yes ma’am. Half vampire actually. My mother was mortal.”

“You’re not pale.” Vanessa said as if she was trying to work a puzzle out in her own head. Hunter shook his head.

“I can go in sunlight.” he replied and then just to show her he was being honest he held out his hand and placed it directly in the rays of sunshine coming through the window. “You can trust me ma’am.” Vanessa put her gun away and bit her lip, suddenly feeling very foolish as she turned back to the horse.

“Sorry.” she said. “I hate vampires.” Hunter laughed as he too reached out and scratched the horses neck.

“I hear that a lot.”

By dinner time Vanessa was feeling much more comfortable around all these new faces. She had met several more throughout the day. Lane’s mate Joey, a twelve year old girl named Kaitlyn and a mated pair who were both very short named Kent and Jordan. Gwens parent’s Raquel and Evan and two small toddlers named Brent and Charlie. Vanessa figured it would take years to really get to know everyone.

Vanessa was helping Rebecca set the table when the family began pouring in. Vanessa had never been around big family scenes and the amount of bodies and voices was overwhelming. Faith was having a great time and fitting right in as she sat next to Charles and told him stories. Vanessa had to give the man credit, he really seemed to be paying attention to everything her over talkative daughter had to say.

Vanessa watched the interaction between the family as everyone ate and it had her realizing just how quiet and lonely her life had been so far. She didn’t have brothers and sisters to bicker with or parents to roll her eyes at. She didn’t have cousins and aunts and uncles to be friends with and she didn’t have a man who looked at her the way she kept seeing these men look at their mates.

The kitchen cleared out except for Rebecca, who began cleaning up, and still Vanessa sat at the table lost deep in thought. Suddenly she felt a presence behind her and she did not need to turn around to know who it was as her heart began to beat faster.

“Hey Grandma.” Kayleb’s weary voice said.

“Kayleb!” Rebecca exclaimed as she tossed her dish towel aside and ran to him. Vanessa turned and gasped. Kayleb was covered in blood and she had a feeling, by the number of wounds covering his body, that most of it was his. His brown eyes looked tired and his face was drawn and full of pain as he limped across the kitchen, dripping blood along the way and flopped himself down in a chair.

“What happened to you?” Vanessa explained. Her feet seemed to be under someone else’s control as she jumped up, grabbed a rag from the cabinet, wet it in the sink and walked over to Kayleb. She reached out a shaking hand and began to wipe the blood from his face.

Rebecca slipped from the room silently to give the two of them some privacy and to make sure everyone else in the family knew to stay out of the kitchen.

“You sound concerned.” Kayleb replied, though he wasn’t sure how he managed to speak with his mouth so dry and his heart pounding. Her gentle hands touching his skin was the single most pleasurable thing he had ever felt.

“I’m concerned whenever someone who is supposed to be protecting me shows up beaten all to pieces.” Vanessa replied as she laid the rag in his hand and moved away from him. Her body screamed at her to be close to him again and she forced herself to sit down in a chair a few feet away from him. She wished that she understood this pull she felt toward him.

Kayleb threw the rag down on the table and looked at the bites and scratches covering him.

“I’m not beat all to pieces. I’ve healed up quite a bit already. Give me just a little bit longer and I’ll be as good as new.” Vanessa looked out the large kitchen window at the sunset and then back at Kayleb. His deep brown eyes were still locked on her and she swore he was seeing deep inside of her.

“How did you get beat up?” she asked while picking at the knee of her jeans.

“I’m not beat up, you should see the six other guys.”

“Six?” Vanessa asked with wide eyes. Kayleb nodded.

“A group of young were lions. Normally I would have been able to take them pretty easy but I was distracted.” Kayleb replied. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of her heart shaped face and shining chestnut colored hair and he found himself breathing deeper just to take in more of her sweet, apple scent.

“I don’t think that being distracted is a good idea when you’re battling a group of six killer immortals.” Vanessa said matter of factly and Kayleb found himself smiling. Vanessa felt her heart skip a beat in her chest at the sight of his smile. It lit up his face and gave his eyes a mischievous twinkle. His teeth weren’t perfect, the front ones were a little too big but it just added to his charm.

“No probably not.” he replied.

“What had you distracted?” she asked. Kayleb wasn’t about to tell her that it was thoughts of her that had had his head in the clouds when the lions had jumped him.

“I was hungry.” he lied with a shrug. She smiled and Kayleb nearly lost all control of himself. Only sheer will power kept him in his chair and kept him from grabbing her arm, pulling her into his lap and kissing her senseless. She was a beautiful woman but when she smiled she was breathtaking. Her emerald green eyes sparkled and she had one dimple in her left cheek.

“Just like a man.” she teased. Kayleb wondered what had happened to the jumpy, angry woman from this morning. He could definitely get used to the new Vanessa sitting in front of him. Kayleb really was hungry so he rose to go get himself some leftover dinner but he fell right back down in his chair with a thud and hissed in pain as his leg gave out beneath him.

Vanessa was to him in an instant.

“What’s wrong?” she asked with concern in her voice.

“My leg.” Kayleb replied his voice gruff with pain. Vanessa looked down at his thigh and realized for the first time just how badly it was injured. It quite literally looked like something had bitten a chunk out of him.

“I’ll go get Angela.” Vanessa said, remembering the way she had healed her this morning. She tried to move away but Kayleb’s hand closed around her wrist and pulled her back to him. His skin was hot against hers and she swore his touch was branding her. She was helpless to stop her body as she dropped to her knees in front of him and he let go of her wrist and cradled her face in his hands.

“I don’t need Angela.” he replied and the hunger in his eyes had her trembling. She felt a desire like she had never felt before fill her as she looked up at him and his rough thumbs gently stroked her cheeks.

“What do you need?” Vanessa managed to whisper and she could hear the husky passion in her own voice. She had not let herself get lost in a mans touch in a long time and the woman in her was craving this specific mans touch.

“You.” Kayleb replied and then his lips were on hers. His kiss was hungry and Vanessa quickly found herself lost in it. His lips seemed to devour her, brand her, claim her. It was as if he was a starving man in a scorching desert and she was the oasis. Vanessa had never had a man kiss her this way before and she quickly matched his passion. She knew nothing about him and she had never been impulsive but there was something in her that wanted to throw caution to the wind and give in to her burning desire.

Kayleb forced himself to pull away from her. His breathing was harsh and he was happy to see that hers was too. Her chest was rising and falling beneath her thin black t-shirt and he couldn’t stop himself from watching her small breasts rise and fall. He moved his eyes back to her face and saw that her full pink lips were red from his hungry mouth and her green eyes had darkened with passion. He kept one hand on her cheek and used his other hand to smooth her silky hair from her face.

“I need to tell you something.” he whispered.

“What?” she said, the word sounding more like a moan as she leaned against him.

“I want to make sure you know before this goes any further.”

“What?” Vanessa said again, this time with just a hint of suspicion. Kayleb locked his eyes with hers and his next words had her yanking from his arms and moving away.

“You’re my mate.”

“No I’m not.” she said matter of factly as she back away. Kayleb stood, his leg healed enough now that he could without much trouble, and nodded.

“Yes you are.” he replied. His eyes held so much intensity that it would have frightened her if her body hadn’t still been tingling from his kiss.

“I can’t be.” she argued. She forced herself to realize the reality of what she had just been doing. She had been kissing a werewolf. She didn’t know anything about him other than that and she had been throwing herself at him like some kind of sex crazed slut.

“Vanessa, please….”

“No. You are an animal and I won’t listen to you anymore.” she said with tears in her eyes. She didn’t really feel that way but she didn’t like not being in control. She had worked hard to take control over her life and now she was losing all of that control because of immortals. One that wanted her for a pet and another that wanted her forever. Damn Kayleb… Damn him for making her want him. Damn him for letting her get lost in that kiss. He had known all along why her body craved him and he hadn’t told her until it was too late to keep herself from doing something she had sworn she would never do. Hadn’t she always said she would kill the first immortal that came to her claiming to be her mate?

“Don’t act like this.” Kayleb said stepping toward her. “I know you feel the same things I do.” Vanessa shook her head.

“Just because your wolf is saying that I’m your mate that doesn’t mean that I have to accept you. I know how this works too. Stay away from me, Kayleb. I do not want a man of any kind. I have enough to worry about.”

“I…” Kayleb started but she cut him off.

“I have to get Faith ready for bed.” she said and then she quickly left the kitchen. Kayleb growled and slammed his fist down on the table, cracking the wood. He winced when he realized his grandma would probably beat him for that and then he ran his hand over his hair. The wolf in him was screaming to chase the mate and show her that they belonged together and he told the wolf in him to shut the hell up.

If she thought he was an animal and didn’t want him then there was nothing he could do about it. Mates were nothing but a pain in the ass and he wished he had never met his. If he had never met her then he wouldn’t be hurting and aching for her touch right now. He walked over to the liquor cabinet and stared at the combination lock. He couldn’t remember what the number was and he didn’t have the patience to try to figure it out. He reached out and tore the lock away before pulling out a bottle.

He flopped down in a chair and took several long drinks before he smelled Lane come into the room. He turned and looked at his uncle, who reached out and took the bottle away from him.

“This won’t help.” Lane said. “Trust me, I know. When I met Joey she thought I was nothing but a monster. She broke my heart more than once, though I never admitted I was heart broken at the time. Damn psycho slayer bitch is what she was but there was no denying that I wanted her and things eventually worked out. Thing will eventually work out for you too, and if they don’t, then you can lose yourself in bottles of my booze.” Lane winked at him before downing a drink for himself and putting the bottle back on the cabinet.

Kayleb let out a sigh and shook his head before standing up and heading upstairs. He needed a shower.

Chapter Nine

Vanessa lay awake in her bed, with all the lights turned on. She could not sleep. She kept looking out the window at the darkness outside and wondering if those cold, violet eyes were watching her right now. Charles, Jake and Lane had not been able to find anything about Vincent but Jake had said he would contact another old vampire they knew named Frances and see if he knew anything about him.

Vanessa shivered as she remembered the way he had looked at her in the motel parking lot. Like she belonged to him and he was simply playing with her the way a cat plays with a mouse before sinking in its teeth. She blew out a long breath and stood from the bed. She pulled on a robe that was hanging on the closet door, over the pajama pants and tank top that Kaylee had given her to wear to bed.

She felt her heart begin to race as she looked at the closed closet door and her imagination roared to life with images of what could be waiting inside to jump out and get her. She looked over at Scout who was sleeping in the corner and cursed herself for being a coward. She grabbed the closet door knob and jerked it open, only to scream and jump back when something large tumbled out on top her.

---

Kayleb was pathetic. He knew he was pathetic but that didn’t cause him to try to fix his patheticness as he sat in the hallway and leaned against the wall outside of Vanessa’s room. After his shower he had gone to his bed and laid there wide awake staring at the ceiling as the wolf in him had gone crazy wanting to be close to his mate. So here he was. Sitting outside her bedroom door like some crazy stalker. He could see the light shining from under the crack in the door and he knew she wasn’t sleeping.

He wanted to comfort her. To let her know that she didn’t need to be afraid. He knew that Faith was safe in the nursery on the second floor with Gwen, Brent and Charlie. He also knew that Jake, Charles and Hunter were taking turns patrolling the yard to watch out for any vamps. Kayleb sniffed the air and smelled nothing other than the aroma of apples but Jake had told him that some vampires knew how to hide their scent.

He sighed and leaned his head against the wall, hoping to get some sleep but then he heard Vanessa scream. Instantly he changed, becoming a large, muscular auburn colored wolf. He snarled and burst through the door, breaking the knob and landing on all fours in the center of the room. Vanessa screamed again from beneath the pile of quilts that were covering her and kicked her foot out at him. He looked around the room and saw nothing that posed a threat. Scout was currently hiding under the bed and staring out a him and he couldn’t figure out what would have made her scream.

Vanessa stood up, stepping out of the mound of blankets that had fallen on her when she had opened the closet door and looked at the giant wolf in the room with her. She figured this must be a member of the family, though she had no way of knowing which one.

“I’m sorry I scared you.” Vanessa said, feeling slightly awkward speaking to a wolf. “The blankets attacked me.” she added pointing at the pile on the floor. The wolf looked up at her face and its chocolate brown eyes locked with hers and suddenly she knew who this was. Before she could say anything else Kayleb turned and left the room.

(Is everything okay in there?) Jake’s voice came to Kayleb.

(Yeah. She got attacked by blankets.) Kayleb replied. There was a long moment of silence before Jake simply said,

(Okay.)

Vanessa ran over and shut the door once he was gone, though she couldn’t latch it because he had broken the knob when he’d burst into the room. Had he been sitting out there all night? He had jumped in here ready to protect her and that was something she was not used to. She had been looking out for herself for so long she had forgotten what it was like to have someone want to look out for her.

She had just finished putting the blankets back in the closet when a knock came to her door.

“Come in.” she said, knowing that it would be Kayleb. He walked in and Vanessa felt her breath catch in her chest. He was wearing only a pair of black pajama bottoms and nothing else. His skin was pale and freckled but his body was hard and muscular. His shoulders and chest were broad, his stomach was flat and his hips were lean.

Kayleb saw the way she was looking at him and it made him want to cross the room and take her in his arms but he made himself keep his distance. She had made her position clear in the kitchen and he wasn’t going to push her.

“Are you okay?” he asked. Vanessa pulled her robe tighter around herself and nodded as she pointed distractedly at the closet door.

“I spooked myself. I thought something was in the closet.”

“And you thought the solution to that was to open the door while you were alone in here?” Kayleb asked, raising a brow. Vanessa crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

“Yes.” she replied. “I never have had someone to open the scary closet doors for me. I’ve always done it myself.”

“You have someone to do it for you now.” Kayleb assured her as he looked at her with those deep brown eyes.

“I don’t need someone.” she said, though her voice lacked the conviction she had hoped would be in it.

“Too bad.” Kayleb replied with a shrug. “Whether either one of us likes it or not, you are my mate and I will protect you. Vincent will not hurt you because I’ll drive a stake through his heart before he ever gets close. I don’t really have a choice. That’s how this mate thing works.” His words reminded Vanessa of the other reason she had always hated the idea of mates.

She wanted a man who would protect her and take care of her and her daughter by his own choosing. She wanted a man who loved her because he wanted to, not because he had to.

“I’m fine, Kayleb. I just spooked myself.” she said walking over to the bed and sitting down. Kayleb reached behind his back and pulled a wooden stake out of the waistband of his pants.

“I know you have your gun but take this too.” he said. He laid it in her outstretched hand and then forced himself to walk to the door. Vanessa watched the muscles in his broad back work as he walked away. He turned in the doorway and locked eyes with her once again.

“If you need anything just call for me. I’ll hear you.” he turned to leave.

“Kayleb.” he looked back at her and waited for her to continue.

“Would I be wasting my time if I said I need to get back to work?”

“Yes.” he replied. “You aren’t going anywhere until Vincent is a pile of ash.” Vanessa sighed and nodded with defeat.

“Get some sleep, Vanessa.” Kayleb replied. Vanessa hated this. She hated having her life turned around like this and it was all because of that stupid vampire.

“Goodnight.” she said with a sigh. Kayleb nodded and walked out the door, closing it the best he could behind him.

Kayleb dashed himself to her house and instantly the scent of the vampire assaulted his nostrils. He growled and looked around. The vamp had been here recently. His scent was stronger than it had been the other day. He might still be here. Kayleb wasn’t good at hunting and stalking. He was good at being dropped into the middle of a fight and ending the fight quickly. He didn’t know how to tell whether or not the vamp was still here.

He had come to the house to get Vanessa and Faith some more of their things to try to make them feel more at home in his families house but now he realized that Vincent had been here he knew that Vincent was waiting on Vanessa to come home. Kayleb hated to let the blood sucking leach down but there was no way he was ever getting his hands on Kayleb’s mate.

Kayleb walked back to Faith’s room and pulled the pillowcase off of her pillow. He filled it full of toys and more clothes and then he walked down the hallway to Vanessa’s room. He chuckled when he saw the fuzzy pink bunny slippers that he had somehow missed the other day.

So it looked like the tough, independent woman had a childish side. He picked them up and then he grabbed her pillowcase as well and filled it with some more clothes and some books that were lying on her beside table. He carried both makeshift bags down to the bathroom and grabbed their toothbrushes and a hairbrush and stuffed these in Vanessa’s pillowcase. Satisfied that he had a few more things they would like to have he walked back out into the living room.

He stopped in his tracks when he heard a noise come from beneath his feet. He saw a door off the kitchen and after setting the pillowcases down he walked over to it. He pulled it open and saw that it led down a long set of dark stairs. Vincent’s sickly sweet scent was strong and Kayleb growled low in his throat.

“I know you’re here, Vincent. You might as well come on out and we can get this over with.”

“No I think not.” Vincent replied. Kayleb was confused by the sound of his aristocratic voice. It seemed to be floating in the air and for the life of him Kayleb couldn’t figure out if it was coming from the basement of from the house.

“Why the hell not?” Kayleb asked from the top of the basement stairs. Vincent’s cold, arrogant laugh filled the air.

“Now the question is, what pray tell, is a young pup like you doing in my pets home?”

“No the question, pray tell, is what is a blood sucking tick doing in my mates home?” Kayleb growled back.

“Well doesn’t that present us with a quandary.”

“Not really. Come on out and I’ll kill you. Quandary solved.”

“You are young, arrogant and foolish, pup. You have not yet lived half a century. I have lived for over a millennia. What makes you think you could fight against me?”

“Well then come on out here face to face and show me how wrong I am.”

“Give me my pet, dog.”

“Over my dead body will you ever lay a hand on her.” Kayleb growled out.

“You wolves… So loyal. So faithful to your mates and to your packs. You are not fully mated to her yet. I cannot smell her scent entangled in your own. Would you perhaps hand her over to me over your packs dead bodies?”

“You don’t know who my pack is you son of a bitch.”

“Don’t insult my mother, Kayleb. I heard that Jake Collins was asking around about me. It was not too hard to figure out where you are hiding the woman.” Kayleb didn’t reply to this. He looked through the darkened shadows for any sign of the vamp.

“Nothing to say, pup? I will kill your family one by one. You cannot protect them all at once and eventually you will give her to me. Perhaps when I get to your sisters or to your mother.” Kayleb’s angry growl echoed off the walls of the house.

“Go fuck yourself.”

“Such language.” Vincent hissed. “I think I’ll teach you a lesson.” Kayleb felt the air shift behind him and then a sharp pain shot through his back. He turned to fight back but Vincent shoved him hard and Kayleb tumbled down the basement stairs. His head struck the cinderblock wall at the bottom with so much force that the bricks cracked.

“Bye puppy. We’ll see how long it takes before you are handing her to me.” Vincent’s voice floated down the stairwell and then the house fell silent and Kayleb knew he was gone.

Kayleb’s head was pounding and blood was pouring from his nose and ears. Something was sticking into his back but he couldn’t reach it to remove it. He had to get to Vanessa. He had to make sure she was safe. His body was weakening and he suspected that whatever was in his back was made of silver. As he began to lose consciousness, he focused all his remaining energy on dashing to his mate.

Chapter Ten

Kayleb only made it to the living room of the family mansion. His head was pounding and he knew his skull was cracked and his nose was broken. His back was burning and the silver was weakening his system as it seeped into his blood. He had to get whatever was in his back out of his back.

It only took seconds before Jake, Angela, Raquel and Evan came running into the living room. They had smelled Kayleb’s blood and pain and come running. Jake stepped over Kayleb and grabbed the knife, removing it from his back with one quick motion and a wet sucking sound.

“What happened?” Raquel asked as she crouched down beside her son and used her shirt sleeve to wipe some of the blood from his face.

“I went to Vanessa’s house to get her some things. Vincent was there and he stabbed me in the back… The damn coward.”

(Kayleb is okay.) Jake called to the rest of the family. Evan grabbed his sons hand and helped pull him to his feet. Angela laid a gentle hand on his arm and Kayleb felt her energy flowing into him and the pain in his head and back quickly disappeared. He still felt tired from the silver but he knew he would survive.

“What in the hell were you doing going back to that house alone? Didn’t you think that it might be dangerous?” Evan demanded. Kayleb felt the normal irritation at his father and tried to hold his temper.

“I thought they might want some more clothes and things. I didn’t think he would still be there and I definitely didn’t expect him to jump me from behind. I figured he’d fight fair.”

“They never do.” Lane said coming down the steps with Hunter. “Damn vamps are sneaky bastards.”

“Fido is in a mood.” Hunter said matter of factly. Jake rolled his eyes and then turned back to Kayleb, who was covered in blood and looked dead on his feet. Jack looked down at the knife in his hand and he knew why. It was a thick blade that was hollow in the center and Jake was sure it had been full of liquid silver… These kinds of weapons were becoming more and more common and the liquid silver did a number on were creatures.

“What did Vincent say?” Jake asked. Kayleb hesitated momentarily. He knew he needed to tell them the truth but he also knew it was going to throw the family into turmoil just the way it had two years ago when Saraphine had been tormenting them.

“He wants Vanessa. He said if I didn’t hand her over to him then he would start killing my pack one by one until I give him what he wants.” Anger flashed across Jake’s face and he shook his head.

“I’ll kill him myself if he thinks he’s going to lay a hand on my family.”

“Let’s just give him the damn woman and save ourselves a load of trouble.” Lane said. He had meant it as a joke but Kayleb hadn’t taken it as one. He leapt through the air, changing as he went and landed on his uncle. Lane changed as well, into a smaller silver wolf and the two of them fell to the floor in a pile of tearing claws and ripping teeth.

(I was joking!) Lane yelled. He was currently getting his ass kicked by his much younger nephew who was still suffering from silver poisening… That fact didn’t do much for Lane’s self esteem but then again he never had been much of a fighter.

(You won’t give him my mate!) Kayleb growled, his mind blank to all reason and logic.

(I won’t!) Lane promised and then he yelped loudly when he felt Kayleb’s teeth close on his leg.

(Dammit. Jake! Evan! Hunter! Don’t just stand there! Do something!) Lane begged.

(You’ll learn to keep your mouth shut.) Jake replied with a shrug. Angela put her hands on her hips and glared at him and he sighed with defeat. He changed into his wolf form which was much bigger than either of the other two wolves.

(STOP!) he yelled and he let out a growl and a snarl that seemed to shake the air. That sound was enough to snap Kayleb out of his protective, angry daze and he jumped away from his uncle.

(Sorry.) he said as Lane licked at his bloody front leg.

(I was just joking, you overreacting pain in the ass. You’re just like your damn uncle Jake!) Kayleb felt his head spinning. His body was weak and he had just used up his remaining strength…

“You need to get upstairs and rest. Sleep is the only thing that will help your body recover.” Raquel said sternly to her son.

(No I need to….)

“You heard your mother.” Evan said in his no nonsense voice that he always used whenever Kayleb, Kaylee or Gwen didn’t do what their mother told them to.

(It’s almost dawn.) Jake said. (I will keep watch until then. I have the safe guards set up so that he can’t just dash into the house. Frances is coming tomorrow night. He says he knows Vincent and can help us. Go rest. Your mate will need you strong.) Kayleb nodded and then turned and used what little energy he had left to drag his furry butt up to bed.

(I can’t believe you were going to let him kill me.) Lane said to his brother.

(You have to learn that there are certain times when jokes aren’t funny…. Besides I thought for sure you’d be able to defend yourself against a silver poisoned wolf that’s over one hundred years younger than you.)

(Unfortunately the brute strength gene passed me by… But I can out charm both of your asses any day of the week.) Lane replied with a wink.

---

Vanessa walked into the kitchen around nine the next morning. She had finally found sleep a little before dawn. She was pretty sure that she had heard a rumble of thunder while she’d been sleeping but it didn’t look like it had rained outside.

“Good morning.” Kaylee said from where she was eating a bowl of cereal at the table.

“Good morning.” Vanessa replied. Rebecca turned from the stove with a plate covered in more eggs, sausage and bacon than ten people could eat.

“I’ll take that up to Kayleb.” Kaylee said standing up and tossing her empty bowl in the sink.

“What’s wrong with Kayleb?” Vanessa asked before she could stop herself.

“He’s fine, dear.” Rebecca replied. Vanessa forced him from her mind and nodded.

“Where is Faith?” she asked. Hunter walked in the kitchen.

“Upstairs.” he replied. Vanessa watched him open the fridge and pull out a jug of what looked like blood. He poured some into a coffee cup and then stuck it in the microwave. While it was warming he turned back to Vanessa. “Faith, Gwen and Kaitlyn are keeping Kayleb company.”

“I’ll take that to Kayleb.” Vanessa said grabbing the plate away from Rebecca. She told herself that she just wanted to see her daughter and not the hard bodied, dark eyed werewolf who had made her blood run hot, her heart beat fast and her head spin with his earth shattering kiss the night before….. Not to mention the way he had rushed to protect her and vowed his undying devotion.

“Did you hear me?” Kaylee asked. Vanessa shook her head.

“Sorry I zoned out.. What did you say?”

“I said to give my brother a chance. He’s a good guy and he really does care about you.”

“No, I’m just his mate and so he has to care about me… It’s nothing any more than that.”

“It’s nothing any less than that either.” Kaylee replied.

“I need more than that.” Vanessa whispered as she looked down at the food covered plate. The microwave dinged and Hunter pulled out his cup.

“Thanks for small miracles.” he said and quickly excused himself from the estrogen filled kitchen.

“I think you need to talk to Angela.” Rebecca said to Vanessa. Vanessa shook her head.

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore…” she said.

“Give it up.” Kaylee cut in. “You are family now and Rebecca will not rest until she fixes you.”

“I’m not broken and I’m not family.” Vanessa argued.

“Of course you are.” Rebecca replied. “Family.. I mean.”

Angela walked into the kitchen then with Brent on her hip and looked questioningly at Rebecca.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “You said something was wrong.”

“Telepathically talking about me behind my back?” Vanessa asked. Rebecca shrugged as she began to wipe down the counters.

“What are families for?” she asked. Vanessa shook her head and then walked out of the room before Angela could get involved in ‘fixing’ her. She couldn’t deny that her pull toward Kayleb was strong. She wanted to be near him. She wanted to see his smile and to be the one that put the smile on his face. She wanted to let him protect her and open the scary closet doors at night. She wanted to kiss him and feel his hands on her cheeks, in her hair, all over her body…This thought made her blush and she shook her head to clear the racy images.

She stopped outside his bedroom door and listened to the sound of laughter coming from inside. She heard the giggling of young girls and then she heard a deeper, almost raspy laugh and she felt her own heart fill with happiness.

“I’m happy just because he’s happy… Is that how this whole mate things works?” she asked herself out loud.

“Nope.” Vanessa turned to see Bethany in all her tan, long legged beauty standing behind her. Bethany tossed her hair over her shoulder and crossed her long slender arms over her perfect chest.

“Sorry.. I was thinking out loud.” Vanessa mumbled as she blushed red with embarrassment.

“Did it help?” Bethany asked.

“Not really.” Vanessa replied with a sigh.

“I know you’re confused and you’re overwhelmed by the whole pyscho vampire wanting you dead and my slightly brain dead nephew blurting out to you in the middle of it all that you are his mate but maybe I can offer some clarity.

“Mates do feel a pull toward one another… Mainly sexual. You know the primal urges. Men will also feel possessive and protective toward their mates. But caring whether or not he’s happy? His happiness making you happy? That sounds more like the beginnings of love.”

“Because we’re mates.”

“Why do you all you mortal women think that? Just because someone is your mate does not mean that you automatically love them. I didn’t love Greg for a long time… Jordan and Kent didn’t love one another at first. Some mates get lucky and find love right away but not all of us. And the love that those other mates find doesn’t have anything to do with them being mates.”

“I don’t love Kayleb. I don’t even know him… How do I know that he’s a good man or that he’ll be good for my daughter?” Vanessa asked. She wasn’t sure what made her open up to Bethany but she needed a friend right now and since she didn’t have any she was using the closest woman available.

“The tough ass man who served in the military, has been in countless battles and seen some pretty rough crap. The man who tries to always seem like an indifferent, aloof tough guy is currently in that bedroom having a tea party with three little girls just to make them smile… Doesn’t that tell you something about what kind of man he is and how he will be for your daughter?”

Bethany patted her on the arm and then turned on her heel and walked away. Vanessa stood in the hallway as her mind raced. She had never imagined finding another man after Steven. She had made a pact with herself to be independent and to raise her daughter to be strong and independent as well but what if she turned away from something that really could be great? Would that teach her daughter to be strong or would it teach her daughter to be afraid of reaching out and grabbing a chance at happiness?

She thought of the way that Jake looked at Angela all the time with such intensity in his eyes and then she shivered when she thought about the way Kayleb had looked at her just last night…. The way his hands had felt on her cheeks both possessive and gentle at the same time.

What kind of woman wouldn’t want a man that looked at her like that? That touched her like that? Vanessa let out a long breath and nodded. She had always hated change but at this moment it seemed like change was going to happen whether she wanted it to or not and she could either go with it and have a chance at finding love or fight against it and run the risk of regretting that decision for the rest of her life.

If there was one thing she knew it was that life was too short for regrets. She reached out a shaking hand and in the back of her mind as she opened the door, she thought about how she was opening the door to her future.

Chapter Eleven

She laughed at loud at the scene that greeted her eyes when she opened that door. Kayleb and the three girls were sitting cross legged on the floor with tea cups and tiny plates in front of them. The girls had obviously decided that Kayleb needed decoration and had adorned him with a bright pink tiara, a plastic gemstone necklace and a thick pink boa scarf.

He was holding his tiny tea cup and was just lifting it to his lips, with his pinky raised, when Vanessa’s laughter filled the air. He jumped to his feet and tossed the cup aside when he saw her.

“Uh… We were uh…”

“We’re having a tea party mommy! Kayleb was being a princess!” Faith said jumping up and running over to her. Vanessa nodded as she bit her lip to keep herself from laughing again.

“I see that. Nice tiara.” Kayleb’s cheeks flushed red as he yanked the tiara off his head and tossed it aside.

“Here’s your breakfast.” Vanessa said holding out the plate. Kayleb took it and sat down on the bed.

“Thanks.” he said as he began eating. She seemed to be happier today and the sound of her laughter had been like music to his ears but he was afraid to speak because he might say something to bring back her angry, defensive side.

“Do you want some tea mommy?” Faith asked. Vanessa nodded and sat down on the floor. It was nice to see that her daughter was still playing and happy considering all she had been through in the last couple of days. Kayleb watched his mate as she went about the rituals of a tea party with three young girls. He had made the decision to not tell her about his fight with Vincent or the threats that Vincent had made. If he was right about her, then she would be the type of woman to turn herself over to the vampire in order to keep everyone else safe and that was something that Kayleb couldn’t let happen.

Faith stood up and walked over to him and he looked at her questioningly. She grinned her crooked little grin and pointed a tiny finger at his neck.

“Can I have the scarf and necklace for my mommy?” she asked. Kayleb quickly sat his plate down and took off the necklace and feathery scarf. He handed them to Faith and she ran over and put them on Vanessa who laughed happily. Kayleb was glad the little girl had only asked for the jewelry because he had a feeling that he couldn’t say no to her. She could ask him for the moon and he would figure out some way to get it to her.

He was surprised by this because he had never been a ‘kid’ person. He had never played with his nieces and nephews but when Faith had come into his room this morning with her tea party set and asked him if he would have a tea party with her, Gwen and Kaitlyn, he had been helpless to say no.

He finished eating his breakfast and then stood up. His body was still a little sore and he stretched his arms up in the air to work out the kinks. Vanessa glanced over right at that time and felt her mouth go dry. His black pajama pants were riding low on his hips and his gray muscle tank had raised up revealing the skin and the sexy v of muscle low on his stomach. She forced herself to look away but not before Kayleb saw the look in her eyes.

“Kaitlyn! Bring Gwen and Faith down here because we’re about to go shopping!” Raquel’s voice came from downstairs.

“Shopping?” Vanessa asked Kaitlyn. The girl nodded.

“Aunt Raquel is taking us.” she said. Vanessa immediately looked over at Kayleb. He could see the unspoken question in her eyes and he pulled back the curtains to reveal the bright sun and blue sky.

“It’s a pretty day for shopping.” he said with a reassuring smile.

“Okay baby girl. Have fun and when you get home Hunter told me yesterday that he might teach us how to ride the horses today.” Faith smiled happily and then the girls ran from the room and Vanessa began gathering up the tea party supplies.

“I’m sorry for the way I’ve been acting.” she said without looking up. “I’ve been stressed out and scared and I took it out on you and that wasn’t fair.”

“You don’t have to apologize.” Kayleb replied. Vanessa stood straight and noticed that the air didn’t seem to have enough oxygen as they stood feet apart in the small room. She pushed her hair behind her ear and bit her lip. If she was going to try to take a chance with Kayleb now was the time. She opened her mouth to speak but he spoke first.

“Do you want to go for a walk or something?” he asked.

“Huh?” she asked. That hadn’t been what she had expected him to say. Kayleb shrugged and ran a hand over his hair.

“I figure you’re about tired of seeing the house aren’t you? I can take you for a walk in the woods.. You can have a little change of scenery.”

“Will I be safe?” she asked remembering how dark and foreboding the woods had looked yesterday.

“You’ll always be safe with me, Vanessa. I would never let anything happen to you or to Faith.” he promised and that intensity came into his dark eyes that both terrified and melted her at the same

“Because we’re mates.” she said with just a hint of sadness in her voice… She wanted it to be more.

“Yeah.” Kayleb replied as if that was all the reason that was needed. “And I care about you.” he added.

“Because we’re mates.” she said again. Kayleb sighed with confusion. What did the woman want him to say?

“I think I would care about you even if we weren’t mates.” he said and Vanessa was surprised that his voice sounded almost shy. This was a side of him she hadn’t seen before.

“We don’t even really know each other.” Vanessa reminded him. He gave a lopsided grin and tilted his head and she was reminded of a cute dog… or a wolf.

“Then go for a walk with me and we can get to know each other.”

They walked side by side through the woods. Neither spoke and the sounds of the birds singing was the only noise to be heard other than Scouts noisy paws on the leaf covered ground. Kayleb looked over at Vanessa and saw that she kept looking off into the shadows nervously and she had one hand on the handle of the gun stuck in the waistband of her jeans.

“Vanessa, there’s nothing around. You’re safe with me.” Kayleb promised. She forced herself to relax and looked over at the man walking beside her.

“How long do you think it will take before Vincent is caught?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” he replied honestly. “And he won’t be caught, he’ll be killed. You won’t ever have to worry about him again.” Vanessa let out a frustrated growl and kicked at the leaves at her feet. Kayleb raised his brow and she gave an irritated laugh.

“I’m a control freak.” she said.

“I hadn’t noticed.” Kayleb replied with that lopsided grin of his and Vanessa couldn’t help but slap his arm playfully.

“This is driving me crazy. Why me? I’m nothing special. I’m a single mother who works too much and never sleeps. I am moody, easily angered, and I like to be right… Why the hell does this vamp want me?”

“Maybe he likes apples.” Kayleb offered with a shrug. Vanessa raised a brow.

“What the hell are you talking about?” she asked. Kayleb chuckled and Vanessa found herself falling in love with the raspy quality his laughter had… Love? Great. Bethany was right. She was falling in love now and she didn’t even really know him. So much for being Mrs. Practicality.

“You smell like apples.”

“I do?” Vanessa asked and she turned her head and sniffed her shoulder but all she smelled was flower scented laundry detergent. This time Kayleb laughed loudly and she felt her heart skip a beat at the sound.

“Yeah you do.” he replied. “The green kind.”

“I smell like granny smith apples?” she asked in a flat voice. “That figures… I would smell like something like that instead of something hot and spicy that sounds sexy. I smell like something grandma bakes a pie with.”

“When you’re not on edge you’re pretty funny.” Kayleb said and he was proud of the crooked smile this put on her face. He loved that smile. Love? He had just thought of love and Vanessa in the same sentence. Was he going to get lucky and find love with his mate after all?

“And your scent is fine.. Trust me.” Kayleb replied. Vanessa saw that the intense and hungry look come back into his eyes and she blushed and forced herself to look away. The man must really like apples.

“So you think I’m funny huh?” Vanessa asked. She had never been accused of being funny.. She was normally too stressed out to worry about being funny but right now she felt completely relaxed… Which was odd considering that her life was currently in constant danger. There was just something about Kayleb’s presence beside her that took away all of her stress.

They spent the half hour walking side by side and sharing stories about their lives, their laughter filling the woods. They came to a small clearing beside a river and both of them took off their shoes and sat down on the river back, letting their feet dangle in the water.

“Well now that we officially know each other,” Kayleb said as he threw a rock out onto the water and watched it ripples dance in the sunlight before Scout jumped into the water after them. “Why don’t you tell me about Steven and why a woman as amazing as you was married to a man like that?”

“Well aren’t you nosy!” Vanessa asked with a laugh.

“You don’t have to answer.” Kayleb replied. “I just don’t get what you saw in him.”

“He wasn’t always the way he is now.” Vanessa replied as a sad look came over her face. Kayleb could smell her sadness and it made his own heart hurt. He didn’t think that empathy was a normal thing with mates. Empathy was something that came with love. He made a mental note to talk to his grandma about it later. There was no way he was going to his tough ass uncle with questions about love.

“Are you defending him now?” Kayleb asked teasingly, hoping to lighten her mood. Vanessa smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“I’m defending myself. I don’t want you to think I had children with him the way he is now.”

“Children?” Kayleb asked cautiously. He knew she was sad but he wanted to get to know her. Everything about her. The good and the bad. He wanted to know what made her, her.

“Yeah. I had a son. He died as an infant.” Kayleb nodded and wrapped a gentle arm around her shoulders. He thought she would pull away and so he was shocked and rendered speechless when she moved closer and laid her head on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry that happened.” he said once he found his voice. His heart was thundering with her this close to him. He could feel her pulse against his arm and her scent was filling his nostrils. He knew that he could hold her, just like this, for the rest of eternity and never get tired of it.

“It was just one of those things. I put Matthew down for his nap and he slept so long that I got worried…. I went in to check on him and he wasn’t breathing. The doctors said it was SIDS. Steven blamed me. He said I must have done something wrong. He turned to drugs and once I realized that whatever love we had once had, had died with Matthew, I packed up mine and Faith’s things and we left.” Kayleb reached over with his free hand and grabbed hers. He entwined his thick, calloused fingers with her long slender ones and squeezed gently.

Vanessa looked down at their hands joined so closely together it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began and she smiled. Being this way with Kayleb just felt right and there was something inside of her telling her that it wasn’t just because they were mates. It was something more. They were soul mates…

“I have seen you with Faith. I have seen how happy that girl is. You are an incredible woman and an amazing mother. Don’t ever let that man try to convince you otherwise.”

“Thank you.” Vanessa said as she watched Scout splash around in the river. The dog finally seemed to be getting used to being around the werewolves. “So you’ve learned all about my pain and scars… What about you? Why did you leave the military and why don’t you smile the way you used to?”

“Who have you been talking to?” Kayleb demanded, deciding that whichever of the nosy women in his family it was deserved a swift kick in the ass.

“Angela.”

“Oh.” Kayleb quickly scratched the butt kicking idea. Not only could Jake whip his ass but Angela probably could too.

“So why did you quit?” Vanessa asked again. Kayleb rubbed his thumb along the side of her hand and both could feel the heat and sparks from just that simple contact.

“I got tired of watching people I had grown to care about being killed. That’s the only bad thing about being immortal in a world of mortals… Eventually your friends are going to die.”

“I’m mortal.” Vanessa reminded him and she heard him swallow hard.

“I know.” he replied. They sat there in silence for a long time both of them simply enjoying the closeness of the other. Vanessa wanted to believe that this was real and as she felt the heat from his body against hers and the feel of his thumb rubbing gentle circles on her hand she believed that it was.

Kayleb breathed in deep to capture more of her scent when another scent came to him. It was sickly sweet and familiar and it made his blood freeze and boil at the same time.

Vincent was close. Kayleb stared into the shadowy forest and fought to keep his tension out of his body. He didn’t want Vanessa to sense it and become afraid. Not now that she was finally relaxing.

“You ready to head back?” he asked. Vanessa wanted to say no because she was enjoying the peace out here but she had promised Faith she could learn to ride horses today and she was sure Faith would be getting back home soon.

“Okay.” she whispered. Kayleb growled at Scout and the dog quickly jumped from the water and followed them as they started hand in hand down the trail. Kayleb worked hard to keep Vanessa out of any shadows and in the sunlight as they made their way home. He knew she probably thought something was wrong with him since he wasn’t talking much but he was focusing all his concentration on making sure Vincent wasn’t going to come up and stab either one of them in the back. The stupid blood sucker might have caught him by surprise once but he sure as hell wasn’t going to do it again.

The closer they got to the house the more faint Vincent’s scent became. Cleary the vampire wasn’t brave enough to come take on the entire pack at once.

Only when they came into the open where the large log mansion sat did Kayleb finally breath out a sign of relief.

Chapter Twelve

“Mommy this is so much fun!” Faith squealed from atop Laney’s black mare. Hunter was leading the mare around the yard while Faith rode and smiled and from ear to ear.

“You are doing so good, baby!” Vanessa replied. The scent of hamburgers frying filled the air as Evan cooked on the grill. There was a long picnic table set up and most of the family was already sitting and waiting on dinner. All except for Kent and Jordan who had gone to California to spend some time with their son that lived there.

Vanessa looked over at Kayleb who was currently deep in a heated conversation with his sister. Every now and then Vanessa would hear the words work or fired be thrown up in the air and she wondered what was going on.

Vanessa walked over to the large wooden jungle gym and sat down in one of the swings. She became lost in her thoughts as she stared down at the dirt at her feet and nearly screamed with surprise when suddenly the swing began moving. She looked behind her to see Kayleb grinning down at her.

“You looked like you could use a push.” he said. Vanessa smiled back and looked back out over the yard while Kayleb pushed her gently.

“So what were you and Kaylee arguing about?” she asked.

“The chief is mad because I told him I don’t know when I’ll be back.” he replied.

“Why would you tell him that? I just assumed you took today off because you were attacked by those lions last night.” Kayleb shook his head even though she couldn’t see it. He had taken today off because he’d had more important things to do like tea parties with little princesses and a long walk in the woods with a beautiful woman.

“I’m not leaving until we have this mess with Vincent solved.” he said matter of factly.

“What if you get fired?” Kayleb laughed.

“I don’t care. It’s not like I need the money. I was just working there to give me something to do with my time. Now I’ve found something else to do with it.”

“What’s that?” Vanessa asked and then she felt sparks shoot through her when he stopped the swing and she felt his warm breath blowing across her ear, causing trembles to run down her spine.

“That was a silly question.” he whispered and then she felt him smile against her skin before moving away and pushing her again. Vanessa swore her legs had turned to jello and she was thankful that she was sitting in this swing or else she probably would have fallen.

“Faith is having fun.” Kayleb said pointing over at the girl who was now waving to the crowd of onlookers as if she was a princess in a parade. Vanessa laughed.

“Yes she is. It’s good to see her having fun. I just wish this threat wasn’t looming over us.”

“It’ll be gone soon.” Kayleb promised. Just then a growl filled the air and they looked over to see Jake rising from the picnic table, his golden eyes flashing as he stared off into the darkening woods. Kayleb breathed deep and he smelled it too… Sickly sweet.

“What’s going on?” Vanessa demanded but no one answered her before Jake, Kayleb, Evan and Charles changed into a pack of very angry looking wolves and ran off into the woods.

“Mommy did you see that?” Faith exclaimed as Hunter lifted her off the horse and led it back to the barn. Vanessa nodded as she jumped from the swing and led her daughter over to the picnic table.

“What’s going on?” Vanessa asked.

“Nothing.” Angela replied quickly.

“Yeah it’s quite common for that bunch of weirdo’s to just run off snarling into the woods… That’s how they pass time.” Lane added as he walked up to the grill and took over hamburger duty.

---

(I can smell him but I can’t see him.) Evan said so only the other wolves in the forest could hear. They had separated upon entering the woods to give them a better chance of finding the vampire.

(He’s still around. He hasn’t dashed.) Jake replied. (He’s going to learn one hell of a lesson about coming around my family)

(He’s going to learn one hell of a lesson about coming after my mate.) Kayleb added and he took off in the direction that the scent was strongest but then the breeze shifted and the scent was somewhere else.

(He’s toying with us.) Charles growled.

(Dad, do you see anything?) Kayleb asked.

(No… Oh shit! Yes I see something.) Loud growls and vampiric hisses filled the woods. Kayleb ran toward the sound and dread filled his heart when suddenly the woods fell silent.

---

Vanessa could feel the tension and nervousness in the air as everyone kept watching the woods, waiting for the men to come back out. The kids didn’t seem to realize that anything was wrong, except for Kaitlyn who was old enough to realize what was happening.

They all could hear the growls and snarls that filled the air only minutes after the men had run off into the woods and then suddenly the air fell silent.

“What…?” Joey started.

“Raquel!” Rebecca screamed and Vanessa turned to see Raquel fall off the bench seat of the picnic table and onto the ground with blood pouring from her nose. Her eyes were closed and she looked…..dead.

“Get the kids in the house!” Angela said to Hunter, who nodded and quickly scooped up Charlie and Brent under one arm and a screaming Gwen under the other. “Come on Kaitlyn. Come on Faith.” he said and the girls followed him inside.

Vanessa watched in horror as Rebecca fell to the ground beside her daughter with tears rolling down her cheeks. Lane let out an angry growl, changed and ran into the woods with Joey screaming for him to come back.

“Mom! Mom wake up!” Kaylee screamed as she shook Raquel’s lifeless body.

“What happened?” Vanessa asked as she looked at the grief stricken family.

“He killed Evan… He must have killed Evan.” Joey whispered in a sad, broken voice. Vanessa didn’t know what to say. This was her fault. She had brought the monster here and now the monster had killed two members of this amazing family. He had killed Kayleb’s parents.

She watched Bethany fall to her tan knees beside her dead sister and lay her head on her chest, sobbing. Vanessa felt her heart break and she ran into the house, grabbed Faith from Hunter in the living room and ran straight up to her bedroom. She curled up on the bed with her daughter, who couldn’t seem to figure out what was going on but knew her mommy was sad, and sobbed.

Hunter and Laney had come up to Vanessa’s room about an hour later and Vanessa had allowed them to take Faith back downstairs to the library to play with the other kids. She couldn’t bring herself to leave this room. She didn’t want to have to look anyone in the eye.

She had been lying up here in this bed for what felt like hours when she heard a knock on the door. She didn’t say anything and hoped whoever it was would go away but the door opened and Angela walked in. Her kind brown eyes were red rimmed and her face was blotchy and streaked with tears.

“Are you okay?” Angela asked gently. Vanessa sat up in the bed and nodded as she wiped her face with her hands.

“This is my fault.” she said. Angela shook her head.

“No it’s not. It’s Vincent’s fault.” she replied.

“He wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for me! I brought him here and now Gwen, Kaylee and Kayleb have lost their parents and this family is heartbroken.”

“Yes we’re heartbroken but nobody blames you. Now get your butt out of this bed, stop feeling sorry for yourself and get down there and support your mate right now. His heart is broken and he needs you.” Vanessa was shocked by the no nonsense tone in Angela’s voice.

“He doesn’t want to see me.” she replied. Angela grabbed Vanessa’s hand and yanked her to her feet.

“Yes he does. He is burying his parents out in the yard and he needs you whether you want to believe that or not.” Vanessa felt herself growing angry as Angela talked to her like she was a child. She squared her shoulders and looked the other woman in the eye.

“Fine. I’m going.” she said. She felt nerves eating her stomach as she walked down the stairways. She could hear sobs coming from the kitchen and decided quickly that she didn’t want to go there. She walked into the back yard and saw Kayleb and Kaylee at the edge of the woods. They were looking down into a hole as Jake, Charles, Hunter and Lane threw shovels full of dirt down into it.

Vanessa walked over to stand next to Kayleb. He didn’t look over at her and gave no indication that he knew she was there. She stood with her hands at her sides and looked down at the single wooden box that held the bodies of the two lovers. She felt her heart breaking and she looked at the faces of all the wolves and the vampire around her. None of them were crying… All of them looked sad but also angry.

She was about to turn and walk away because she was sure that Angela had been wrong about Kayleb needing her when she felt his fingers entwine with hers as he took her hand. She looked over at him but he was still staring down into the hole. His jaw was so tense she was sure it had to be causing him pain and his deep brown eyes were full of a million different emotions.

She gave his hand a small squeeze and pressed the side of her body against the side of his. His hand squeezed hers hand back and the force he used was almost painful but she gave no indication that he was hurting her. She saw a tear form in the corner of his eyes and roll down his cheek and she turned slightly, rose on her toes and kissed the droplet where it was hanging on his jaw.

“I’m sorry.” she whispered and Kayleb turned and wrapped his arms tight around her. He buried his face in her hair and she suspected that he was crying but trying to hide it from everyone else.

“I won’t let him take you…..” Kayleb whispered in a broken, tear filled voice and Vanessa felt her own tears running down her cheeks. She wouldn’t give Kayleb a choice. She would make sure her daughter was taken care of and then she would turn herself over. She would not let Vincent take anything else away from this amazing family.

Chapter Thirteen

“I’m sorry this has happened to your family Charles. Raquel and Evan were both exceptional people.” Frances said after he settled his adopted daughter Kimberly into the library and returned to the kitchen where Charles, Jake, Lane, Hunter, Greg and Kayleb were sitting around the table.

“Yeah they were. A lot better than that good for nothing blood sucking leach that killed them.” Lane growled as he took a long drink of the whiskey in his hand.

“Rebecca is sleeping up in the bed with Gwen. Gwen doesn’t understand where her mommy and daddy are.” Charles replied sadly as he looked down at the oak table top.

“Where is Kent?” Francis asked, noticing that the man was missing from the group.

“California. He and Jordan wanted to stay out there and be close to Alex.”

“If there is anything I can do to help your family through this time just let me know.” Francis said. His voice was smooth and cold but his violet eyes were full of sincerity.

“You can tell us what you know about Vincent.” Jake growled. Francis sat the cup of blood that Hunter had given him down on the table and ran one long pale finger along the rim.

“He is my brother.”

“What a damn family! Saraphine and Vincent. I tell you what, you must the black sheep at your family reunions.” Lane muttered before taking another big swig of whiskey. Hunter nodded in agreement as he took a long drink of blood.

“I am actually.” Francis replied with a faint smile. “I am a very big disappointment.”

“Where can I find him?” Jake growled.

“Where can we find him?” Kayleb cut in and Francis sighed.

“I do not know. He does not have a home of his own. He wanders from place to place and stays in his victims homes.”

“You can contact him though, can’t you? You can contact him and have him meet you somewhere and we can be waiting for him.” Kayleb said with a desperate rage. He wanted to avenge his parents and protect his mate and that meant turning Vincent into a pile of ash as soon as possible.

“My brother is no fool. He knows I am a friend of your family.” Frances said matter of factly and this earned a snort from Lane but a sharp look from Jake had Lane swallowing whatever retort he’d been about to say.

“If I contact Vincent, and tell him I want to meet, he will suspect a trap.”

“Then what the hell are you doing here if you can’t help us!” Lane demanded and Jakes fists clenched so tightly Kayleb smelled the scent of his blood as his nails dug into his palms.

“I did not say that I could not help you, you impatient, foolish pup.” Francis replied with cold anger flashing in his eyes.

“Everybody needs to calm down.” Charles said and his voice was quiet, stern and sad and it made Frances remember that he needed to keep his patience, even with Lane. This family was hurting.

“Your best option to find and kill Vincent is to use the woman he wants as bait.” These words had no sooner left Frances’s mouth when Kayleb was launching himself over the table. Frances stood and hissed, prepared to defend himself against the snarling man but Jake stopped the fight before it could happen by grabbing Kayleb by the shirt and tossing him back down in his chair.

“Calm down, Kayleb.” he said calmly.

“That bastard is not going to use Vanessa as bait.”

“It would work.” Charles said, appearing to be deep in thought.

“Fuck all of you. I just lost my parents and now you want to take Vanessa from me to?” Kayleb exclaimed.

“We won’t let anything happen to her.” Charles promised.

“No.” Kayleb said and there was ice in his voice. “I will kill any of you that try. I will not lose her.”

(He loves her.) Jake said to the other men at the table so Kayleb could not hear.

(He is not thinking clearly. Using her is the only way.) Frances replied.

(He is thinking the same way that any man who loves his mate would think. I would kill any man at this table that tried to put Angela in danger.) Jake said matter of factly.

(Angela would kill any man at this table that tried to put her in danger.) Lane said.

(I understand where Kayleb is coming from. He has lost enough. We have to get rid of Vincent without risking what he has left.) Greg said and everyone nodded.

“There is something else you need to know about Vincent.” Francis said a loud.

“What?” Kayleb growled as he glared at him and leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest.

“He has abilities that most immortals do not.”

“What kind of abilities?” Hunter asked.

“He can enter your dreams. He cannot harm you of course but he can make you see things and torment you in his own twisted way.”

“See, this is why I hate vamps.” Lane muttered and then he finished off his bottle of whiskey.

---

“ Monster, monster go away. Let this child dream and play. Only good is allowed in here. Nothing to cause my baby fear. Go back to the place where monsters dwell. Over the lake and down through the dell. Please let my angel girl get sleep, no more here are you allowed to creep.“ Vanessa heard Vincent’s cold voice coming out of the shadows as she watched Faith sleep soundly in her tiny bed.

She felt her heart drop into her stomach when the closet door opened with a creak and she saw those violet eyes staring back at her.

“ I have come for you, little Vanessa.“ Vincent said as he stalked across the room toward her.

“ NO! Go away.“ Vanessa screamed. He smiled and walked over to the bed. Vanessa flung herself at him as he ran his long pale finger across Faith’s soft cheek. Vincent swatted Vanessa away as if she were no more than a bug and looked back down at Faith.

“ I had fun killing that wolf today. He knew he was going to die as soon as he saw me. He stood no chance.“

“ You’re a monster“ Vanessa exclaimed from where she stood against the wall.

“ So I have heard. I will keep killing them my pet. One by one or two by two I will kill this family until you turn yourself over to me. You belong to me now.“ He gave her one last cold smile and then he hissed and his fangs sharpened as he lowered his mouth to Faith’s neck.

“ NO! NO! NO!“ Vanessa screamed and then she fought against the hands that closed around her arms.

“Vanessa, love, wake up!” Kayleb’s voice woke Vanessa from her dream and she opened her eyes to see his deep chocolate eyes full of concern and locked on hers.

“Kayleb.” she exclaimed and she flung her arms around his neck. He held her tight in his strong arms as she trembled with fear.

“He was there, Kayleb.. How was he there? It didn’t feel like a dream! It felt so real.” Kayleb felt his blood boil at the thought of Vincent tormenting his mate and he held her tighter and rubbed gentle circles on her back.

“It was just a dream, baby. I promise it was just a dream. I will not let him hurt you or Faith.”

“Is Faith safe? Is she okay?” Vanessa asked. Kayleb nodded against her soft hair.

“She is sound asleep down in the nursery with Charlie and Brent. I checked on her just a few minutes ago.” He pulled away from her and smoothed her chestnut colored hair from her face and dried her tears with his thumbs.

“I love you, Vanessa.”

“Kayleb….”

“I know it’s fast and I know you probably don’t believe me because of all the mate nonsense but I love you and I love Faith and I will do anything to keep you safe.” Even sacrifice his own parents. Kayleb blamed himself for their deaths. He had known what keeping Vanessa away from Vincent would cost him.

“I need more time.” Vanessa whispered and she cursed her misfortune. She loved this man… There was not a doubt in her mind that she loved him but she couldn’t bring herself to tell him.. Not when she knew she was leaving soon. She couldn’t hurt him that way.

Kayleb kissed her forehead and stood up.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Vanessa.” he said gently. Vanessa watched him walk toward the door and suddenly she was scared to death to be alone.

“Kayleb!” she called. He turned and looked at her questioningly. “Stay with me please.” she whispered. “I want to feel you holding me while I sleep. Maybe the dreams will stay away.” Kayleb nodded and pulled off his shoes. He walked over to the bed and slipped under the covers behind her.

She curled her back into his chest and he wrapped his arm tight around her. He kissed her hair and though his body was on fire and screaming to make love to her but he forced himself to simply hold her. He had never held a woman like this before and he was surprised by the peace he felt with her in his arms.

“Get some rest, Vanessa. I’m right here.” he whispered. Vanessa snuggled deeper into his arms and squeezed her eyes tight to fight back her tears.

This was not fair. Finally after all these years of being alone she had found the one man that was made just for her. The one man that would love, protect and cherish her for eternity and she was going to have to walk away from him and her beautiful daughter, and hand herself to a psycho vampire in order to keep everything she loved in this world safe.

“Goodnight Kayleb.” she whispered.

“Goodnight.”

Chapter Fourteen

Kaylee stood out in the foggy sunrise and looked down at her parent’s grave while clutching the wooden stake in her hand so tightly it cut into her skin and caused bright red droplets of blood to drip onto the dew covered grass.

She took a deep breath to try to calm her growing anger when a familiar, comforting scent filled her nose. In the next instant she felt two strong arms wrap around her waist from behind and pull her close.

“Damien.” she whispered as she leaned against him.

“I’m sorry, Kaylee.” his deep soothing voice washed over her and she breathed in the rugged, smoky scent of the only man she had ever let herself fall in love with.

“Why Damien? Why my parents?”

“I wish I could take your pain away.” he said gently.

’I want to kill him. I want to shove this stake through his heart.“ she said holding up the stake. Damien turned her in his arms and took the stake from her gently as she looked up at his face. Pain flashed in his light blue eyes as he looked down at the bloody cuts on her palm. He brought her palm to his mouth and pressed his firm lips against her bloody hand. She felt his demonic magic at work as the pain disappeared from her hand and the cuts healed.

“I will do what I can to help make that happen.” Damien promised as he smoothed her red hair from her face and gave her a sad half smile.

“I know you will. You have always been there for me.” Kaylee replied looking up at his pale face and running her hand through his blond hair. She saw a sadness cross his features and she frowned.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I’m fine. I’m just thinking about how unfair life can be at times. People who do not deserve to die are killed every day.” he replied. ’ And people who are made to be together are forced to be apart,’ he thought to himself.

“Why don’t you come inside with me, Damien? I need you with me.”

“Are you sure?” Damien asked looking up at the large log mansion. “Your family will not welcome a demon into their home.”

“They will once they know that you are not like the others. You are good. There is nothing evil about you.”

“There is darling, just never toward you. I would do anything for you.”

“Why?” Kaylee asked suddenly. Damien raised a brow.

“Why what?”

“Why would you do anything for me? Why have you always been here when I’ve needed you for twenty years?”

’ Because you are my mate you beautiful wolf… But I have used demon magic to hide that from you because I know your family would never give us peace.’ he thought to himself.

“Because I care very deeply for you.” he replied as he brushed a gentle kiss to her cheek. “I do not think I should go in there right now. Everyone is angry and upset and they do not need to learn that you have befriended a demon just now. I will go find what I can about Vincent.” Kaylee nodded because she knew he was right. Demons were considered evil and though she knew that Damien was not, there was no way she’d be able to convince her family of that before they killed him.

“Okay.” she whispered sadly. Her heart broke whenever she had to say goodbye to Damien. She wanted nothing more than to be with him forever… But he was not her mate and she knew that one day she would have to say goodbye to him and give herself to someone else.

“Take care of yourself, Kaylee.” he warned. “Stay safe.” He gave her one last long look and then turned and faded into the shadows of the forest. Kaylee watched the place where he had disappeared for a long time before turning and walking slowly back to the house.

---

Vanessa awoke with the sun shining on her face and she realized with disappointment that she was alone. She stood from the bed and pulled on a pair of jeans and a pink form fitting t-shirt before taking a deep breath and opening the bedroom door. She knew that today was going to be a sad day as the family grieved and she wondered just how she was going to look everyone in the eye knowing that Vincent had killed Raquel and Evan to get to her.

She walked down the stairs and she could hear Faith’s voice coming from the living room.

“She can’t wear that, Kayleb. She is going to a ball with the prince.”

“Well then what should she wear? I’ve never been a princess at a ball.” Kayleb replied and Faith giggled. Vanessa felt her heart break at the sound of that giggle. She was going to miss hearing that. She quickly forced herself to smile and walked into the living room. Kayleb was sitting on the couch beside Faith and they were currently dressing Barbie dolls.

“Here uncle Kayleb.” Kaitlyn said handing Kayleb a bright pink ball gown. “This is better for a ball.” Kayleb held up his Barbie doll who was wearing a skimpy little white dress that showed her back and only came to the top of her tan thigh.

“If I was a prince and a woman showed up to the ball wearing this…. I would definitely dance with her.” Kayleb argued and Kaitlyn slapped him in the arm.

“Don’t slap him, Kaitlyn. Any man would dance with a woman wearing something like that.” Lane said as he passed through the living room on his way toward the kitchen. He saw Vanessa standing there and smiled his toothy boyish smile and a mischievous twinkle came to his blue eyes.

“Good morning, Vanessa.” he said more loudly than he needed to. Kayleb jumped up at the sound of her name and blushed crimson red.

“Here’s your doll, Faith.” he said quickly as he tossed the Barbie down on her lap.

“I’ll change her dress for you.” Faith replied. Kayleb moved away from her and walked toward Vanessa while still blushing.

“You’re good with her.” she said pointing at her daughter.

“It’s just barbies and tea parties.” he replied with a shrug.

“It’s more than that.” Vanessa replied and Kayleb nodded.

“Yeah I guess it is.” he agreed. Vanessa pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and then walked around him and joined her daughter and Kaitlyn on the floor with the barbies.

It was around lunch before Vanessa worked up the courage to go into the kitchen were all of the women were gathered.

“Where have you been hiding all morning?” Rebecca asked when she walked in. Vanessa sat down at the table and looked down at her hands.

“I was playing with Faith.” she replied. “She’s watching cartoons in the living room with Gwen and Kaitlyn now.” Jake walked into the kitchen and Vanessa stood quickly.

“Can I talk to you?” she asked. Jake gave her an odd look and then nodded before kissing Angela’s forehead and patting his food covered son on the head.

“Come on.” he said motioning for Vanessa to follow him. She walked on shaking legs and followed him out to the porch. She felt her bravery falter slightly when he turned to face her. There was something about Jake that scared the living hell right out of her.

“What are we talking about?” he asked as he crossed his muscular arms over his broad chest and looked down at her.

“Did Frances come last night?”

“Yes.”

“Did he tell you anything useful?” she asked.

“Yeah, he said we should use you as bait.” Vanessa’s eyes widened.

“He did?” she gasped. She didn’t want to be bait. She didn’t want this family to fight Vincent over her. She could not be responsible for any more deaths.

“Don’t worry. Kayleb jumped across the table and let him know real quick that that was not an option.”

“Did he say anything else?” Vanessa asked.

“He said he doesn’t know where to find him but that Vincent is his brother. Don’t worry Vanessa we will get him.” Vanessa looked over into the woods and rubbed her hands up and down over her arms.

“What if something happens to me? What if he kills me? What will happen to my daughter?” Jake was quiet a moment before responding.

“Don’t you have family she could go to?” Vanessa shook her head.

“No. And Steven, her father, has no rights to her. He lost them because of his addiction.” Jake nodded and tilted his head toward the house.

“Nothing is going to happen to you, but if it did your daughter would always have a home here. You are both part of this family now and we look out for each other.” Vanessa breathed a sigh of relief. She knew she could trust Jake. He might be intimidating and damn scary but there was also something about him that told you that you could believe every word he said.

“Did Frances leave?” she asked. Jake thought this was an odd question but shook his head.

“No, he’s still here. He and his daughter Kimberly are sleeping down in the basement. He wants to stay here until his brother is killed because his own life and the life of his daughter are in danger now that he has spoken to us.” Vanessa nodded and Jake walked away from her and back into the house.

Frances was her ticket to Vincent. Clearly Frances was open to giving her to Vincent and she would let him. She just had to wait for the cover of darkness. She walked back into the house to share the last few hours she had left with her daughter and Kayleb.

Chapter Fifteen

A couple of hours later Vanessa was sitting on one of the long couches in the living room reading a book about baby animals to Gwen and Faith when suddenly the entire family piled into the room. Vanessa looked at Kayleb questioningly and he came and stood behind her. He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before Rebecca stepped up and sat down beside of her. Rebecca laid a hand on Vanessa’s knee and then looked at Kaitlyn.

“Kaitlyn, will you take Gwen and Faith to the kitchen please? There are some fresh baked cookies out there.” Kaitlyn nodded and took both girls out of the room.

“What’s going on?” Vanessa asked.

“Angela told us why you are acting distant today.” Rebecca said gently. Vanessa glared at Angela who just shrugged.

“There’s no such thing as privacy in this family.” Bethany said tossing her hair over her shoulder.

“What I told Angela is true. What happened was my fault.” Kayleb’s hand tightened on her shoulder.

“No it wasn’t.” he said.

“Yes it was Kayleb. If it wasn’t for me Vincent never would have come to your home. He never would have…. Done what he did. I don’t understand how any of you can even look at me.”

“Vanessa, I love you and I love Faith and what happened wasn’t your fault.” Kayleb said.

’That’s right dear.“ Rebecca said through red, tear swollen eyes. “None of us blame you for what happened.”

“No we blame that heartless vampire.” Kaylee said with anger.

“But I….”

“You what?” Kayleb asked. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Vincent is the only one who has done anything wrong, Vanessa.” She felt him press his lips against her hair and her heart filled with love and then shattered apart as she reminded herself that she would never see him again after tonight.

“You people are truly amazing.” Vanessa said and she was surprised when tears filled her eyes. She did not normally cry in front of anyone. Weakness was not her thing.

“You people? What exactly do you mean by you people?” Lane asked with a grin as he wrapped his arms tight around Joey’s tiny waist and pulled her close to him.

“She is learning what the rest of us mortal women learned when coming into this family. It is an amazing place to be.” Angela said and Jake pulled her close to him and wrapped her in his arms. Vanessa found herself amused by the sight the two of them made. Everything about Jake was deadly, intense and hard. Angela looked kind, vulnerable and soft. They were complete opposites but a blind person could see how much Jake loved his mate when he looked at her.

Vanessa didn’t realize that everyone in the family could see the same thing when Kayleb looked at her.

“Come to the kitchen with us, Vanessa, and eat some dinner. I made spaghetti and then I made some peach cobbler for dessert. It was always Evan’s favorite.” Rebecca said, standing up and wiping a tear from her face.

Vanessa nodded and stood up and watched the family walk away toward the kitchen. Kayleb came around the couch and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Please don’t ever think that any of us blame you for what happened, Vanessa. It was not your fault. Vincent will die, I can promise you that. He will not ever get his hands on you or Faith. Not as long as I’ve got a breath left in my body.”

Vanessa pulled away from him and he took her hand as they walked toward the kitchen.

“I love you.” Vanessa whispered. She had wanted to leave without telling him. Hoping that somehow that could save him pain but she couldn’t leave without letting him know what he meant to her. She was surprised when her words caused Kayleb to trip over his own feet and he stumbled a few steps before righting himself.

Despite the sadness he was feeling over the loss of his parents, hearing her say those words brought an ear to ear smile to his face.

“I love you too, Vanessa.”

As everyone sat down to dinner Vanessa couldn’t help but notice that Hunter sniffed the spaghetti sauce before he stuck a bite in his mouth. Lane noticed her watching the vampire curiously and he smiled.

“He sniffs it because my mom tried to kill him once with garlic in the spaghetti sauce.” he said. Vanessa’s eyes widened and she looked over at Rebecca who was shaking her head and pointing her finger at her youngest child.

“You better hush.” she scolded. “That was an accident.”

“Sure it was mom.” Lane teased. “You’re a sneaky assassin.” Laughter filled the kitchen and Vanessa was amazed. Despite the sadness that was still hanging in the air, this family was able to laugh. Vanessa was suddenly a little jealous. She had always been alone whenever tragedy struck in her own life. Her parents had died and she had been alone. Her son had died and she had been left to deal with it alone. Her husband had turned to drugs and she had been forced to take care of their daughter alone….

“It must be nice to have family when things get bad.” She didn’t realize that she had said the words out loud until Kayleb’s arm was wrapped tight around her waist and he pressed his lips against her ear.

“You never have to be alone when things get bad again, baby.” he promised and Vanessa found herself leaning against him and the comfort and warmth that his hard body provided.

---

Vanessa finished reading the bedtime story by the light of the nightlight and then pulled Faith’s covers up to her chin. Gwen and the babies were already sound asleep and so Vanessa whispered,

“I love you, baby girl.”

“I love you too, mommy.” Faith said in a sleep filled voice. Kayleb stopped unnoticed out in the hallway by the door and smiled when he heard them talking.

“Do you like it here?” Vanessa asked and Faith nodded.

“I love it here. Everyone is so nice and the library has a gazillion books inside.” Vanessa smiled.

“Yes it does.” she said. “Do you like Kayleb?”

“Yes. He plays with me.”

“Would you like to grow up here and live in this house?” Vanessa asked and Kayleb’s eyes widened. He and Vanessa hadn’t talked about what would happen once Vincent was dead and he was shocked, in a good way, that she wanted to stay here. He knew the wolf and the man in him would not want to live without seeing her bright green eyes and crooked smile every day for the rest of eternity.

“Can we mommy?” Faith asked excitedly and Vanessa pressed a finger to her lips to signal that she needed to whisper. “Can we mommy?” Faith asked much more quietly.

“Yes baby. You can grow up here with all the other kids.” she said feeling her heart break. She knew her daughter would be taken care of and with this amazing family she would get through the pain of losing mother. She would never be alone.

“Now get you some sleep okay?”

“Okay mommy. Good night, sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite.” Faith whispered and Vanessa smiled down at her beautiful daughter.

“Goodnight, sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite baby girl. I love you.”

“I love you too mommy.” Vanessa kissed her daughters soft forehead and then stood and walked from the room. She was startled and nearly jumped out of her skin when she came face to face with Kayleb.

“Are you and Faith really going to stay here with me?” he asked and she could hear the excitement and nervousness in his voice. She knew that lying to him was wrong… But really it was only half a lie. Faith would be staying here with him even if Vanessa wasn’t.

“Yes Kayleb.” she said and she couldn’t help but smile when she saw his lopsided grin.

“You don’t know how happy that makes me. It’s probably hard for you to see how a person could be lonely living in a family like this but I was damn lonely, Vanessa. You and Faith have given me something to get up in the morning for.”

“Kayleb….” she whispered as tears gathered in her eyes.

“Don’t cry, Vanessa. I was trying to make you happy, not sad.”

“They’re happy tears.” Vanessa replied and that was partially true. Some of the tears were happy and the others were sad and bitter. She faked a yawn and was going to excuse herself to bed when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her hair.

“Let me tuck you in sleepy head.” he said as he led her down the hallway to the stairs.

“I haven’t been tucked in since I was Faith’s age.” she replied.

“Well I’ve never tucked anyone in either so this oughta be interesting.” Kayleb replied and Vanessa could hear the slightly deeper tone to his voice and she felt a tremble run down her body.

She walked into her bedroom first and she felt her heart begin to race when she heard him shut the door as he walked in. She knew what he wanted and she knew she should tell him no but she couldn’t because she wanted it to. Her body was practically humming as she thought about what it would feel like to have his strong but gentle hands touching every inch of her.

His arms circled around her waist from behind and she moaned and leaned back against him as his lips found her neck.

“You are beautiful.” he whispered against her skin and his warm breath made her shiver even as her blood heated. His hands moved from her stomach and gently cupped her small breasts through the fabric of her shirt. She could feel her body responding to his touches as pleasure coursed through her. It had been a long time since a man had touched her and never before had a mans simple touch made her feel as if she were being worshipped.

He turned her around and his hungry lips crushed down on hers as he buried his hands in her silky hair. Vanessa wrapped her own arms around him and ran her fingertips down his broad muscular back. She reached to the bottom of his shirt and he pulled away from her and raised his arms so she could pull the cotton fabric over his head and out of the way of her roaming hands.

She shouldn’t do this. She shouldn’t make love to him when she knew she was leaving but her heart and her body refused to listen to her mind. She wanted this man… Her mate.. Her lover… The man she knew would be her best friend if she could stay with him.

He removed her shirt as well and his hungry lips moved along her collarbone and the edges of her lacy black bra. She threw her head back and let his lips devour her as she clutched onto his arms to keep her balance when her legs proved to be too weak.

The air itself seemed to catch fire when he moved his lips back to hers and the kiss became hungry and desperate. They quickly removed all of the clothing separating their bodies and Kayleb laid her down on the bed as he braced himself over her and used his hands and his mouth to explore every inch of her body. His whispers about her beauty and her moans, the only sounds in the room.

When Kayleb slid himself inside of her the wolf in him went crazy with desire. He longed to bite her and mark her as his own but he knew that now was not the time… He forced his teeth to return to normal, though he couldn’t keep the wild animalistic look from his eyes as he looked down at her.

Vanessa saw the darkness in his brown eyes.. She saw the glow that made him look more like an animal than a human and instead of frightening her, it excited her. She liked knowing that she had caused that wild look. She clung to him as he moved atop her and as the pleasure built their mingled moans became louder and more fevered.

They went over the edge together and as they lay there tangled together beneath the sheets Kayleb continued laying kisses along her neck and collarbone bringing delicious shivers from her with every caress of his firm lips. Vanessa had never been loved like this before… Every inch of her body was tingling and satisfied.

He moved himself onto his side and she curled up on her side with her back pressed into his chest and her backside pressed into the heat of his groin.

“I love you, Vanessa. I am yours. Forever and always.” he whispered against her ear.

“I love you too, Kayleb. I want to make sure that you know that. I know I said some things at first but….”

“After what just happened here tonight, Vanessa, I know you love me. There is no way that look in your eyes could have been faked.” Vanessa felt tears fill her eyes as he wrapped his arm tighter around her and pulled her closer against him. How was she supposed to walk away from this? From him? She knew she had to, it was the only way to keep the family, Kayleb and her daughter safe.

She was amazed that in so short a time she had grown to love all of these people so much. She knew that some of the devotion had to come from the fact that she was Kayleb’s mate but she was also realizing that that did not make it any less real. If anything it made it even stronger and the love she felt for Kayleb even more all-consuming.

“Are you okay?” Kayleb asked, sensing her sudden sadness.

“I’m fine.” she lied. “I just wish all of this with Vincent was over….”

“Don’t worry, Vanessa… He took my parents away from me, away from Kaylee and away from Gwen but I can promise you right now he won’t take you baby. And he won’t take Faith. You two are the only things in this world that I don’t think I could live without.” These words coming from any other man would seem fake, since they had only known each other days but coming from Kayleb she knew they were the truth and she knew they came from his heart because she felt the same way about him.

But he would have to learn to live without her…. He would be there for Faith. The whole family would and that was the only thing that would give her the courage to do what she knew needed to be done.

“Goodnight baby.” Kayleb whispered and she could hear that he was already close to being asleep.

“Goodnight.” she replied. ‘Please don’t ever doubt that what we shared here tonight was real’ she thought to herself and she was helpless to stop the hot, silent tears that ran down her cheeks.

Chapter Sixteen

Vanessa waited a long time. She waited until she was sure that Kayleb was sleeping soundly behind her before she slid herself out of his arms and climbed out of the bed. She was just finishing pulling on her clothes when his voice from the bed made her jump and turn quickly.

“Where are you going?” he asked, watching her through sleep heavy eyelids. She forced a smile onto her face.

“I’m thirsty.” she replied. “I’m going to go get a glass of water.”

“I’ll get it.” Kayleb said, rising up on his elbow. Vanessa shook her head quickly.

“No. I’ll get it.” she said. “Go back to sleep.” Kayleb nodded and flopped back down on the pillow. Vanessa could tell he was only half awake.

“Bring me up an apple.” he said. “A green one.”

“A green apple?” Vanessa asked dryly as she remembered that he had said she smelled like a green apple. He gave her a sleepy lopsided grin that made her heart beat faster.

“Smelling you makes me hungry.”

“How romantic.” Kayleb gave a raspy chuckle and curled up to his pillow.

“I never promised you romance.” he replied.

“Go to sleep. I’ll bring you an apple.” Vanessa said. She wanted to kiss him one last time but she didn’t trust herself to keep from crying so she just turned and walked out of the room.

She walked as silently as she could downstairs and was relieved when she made it to the kitchen without seeing anyone. She slipped on her shoes, which were by the kitchen door and then wondered how she was going to find Frances. He and Kimberly could be anywhere in the mansion and she couldn’t just walk around searching for him because someone in the family would hear her and come out to see what she was doing.

“Frances.” she whispered. She waited for a response but got none. “Dammit, I thought vampires had super hearing.” she mumbled.

“We do.” a cold voice said from the door. “I was outside.” Vanessa turned and nearly screamed when she saw him standing there. He looked so much like Vincent that it took a moment for her to realize that he wasn’t.

“Frances?” she asked. He nodded.

“Yes. And you are Vanessa. My brother’s latest conquest.”

“I need a favor.” Vanessa said. Frances raised an arched brow and looked down his long thin nose at her.

“What?”

“I need you to give me to your brother.” Frances looked genuinely surprised by her request and he shook his head.

“Your mate will kill me if I do such a thing.”

“It’s not his choice.” Vanessa replied. “Either I turn myself over to him or else he’s going to keep hurting and killing this family.”

“They are happy to protect you.” Frances argued.

“I can’t let them do that. I know they will protect my daughter and that’s all I’m worried about. If I turn myself over to Vincent, he will have no more reason to come after Kayleb and his family.”

“This will not make them happy.” Frances said.

“This will save their lives.” Vanessa countered. After a long pause Frances finally nodded.

“Where am I taking you?” he asked.

“Where is your brother?”

“The last place he was seen was your home. Kayleb was attacked and nearly killed there just the other night.”

“What!” Vanessa demanded loudly and then she cursed the noise. “What?” she whispered more quietly.

“You did not know?” Vanessa shook her head. “He went to your home to get you and the child some things and Vincent was there and he stabbed Kayleb in the back with a silver knife and very nearly killed him.”

“He never told me….” Vanessa said. It only strengthened her belief that she was doing the right thing. The thought of Kayleb dying at Vincent’s hands filled her with fear.

“Take me to my house then. I’m sure your brother will find me.”

“Let us go. I was at your house just last night with Jake to confirm that the scent was indeed my brother.” Frances held out his arm and Vanessa hesitated a moment before looping her arm through his.

“Wait.” she said quickly. She went to the refrigerator and tore a piece of paper off the note pad that stuck there. Then she grabbed a pen from the counter and quickly wrote a letter for Kayleb. She folded the paper and wrote his name on the outside before setting it on the table. Then she walked back to Frances and grabbed onto his arm.

“Okay let’s go.” she said and Frances nodded.

Vanessa kept her eyes closed for several long seconds, giving her head time to stop spinning. She hated dashing. Vanessa opened her eyes slowly and looked around the familiar sight of her living room. She could smell bleach in the air from the recently cleaned blood stains on the carpet.

“Is he here?” she asked looking up at Frances, whose nostrils were wide as he sniffed the air.

“No.” he replied. “Not right now, but he has been very recently.”

“Leave then. He won’t come if he knows you’re here.”

“You are a very brave woman.” Frances said matter of factly. Vanessa shook her head.

“No. I am just doing what I have to do to save the people I love.” she replied. Frances nodded, took a step away from her and then he was gone.

Vanessa walked down the hallway toward her bedroom but stopped halfway there when she felt a presence behind her.

“Hello my pet. I knew you would come to me.”

---

(Jake, Charles, come down to the kitchen. ) Frances called once he got back to the mansion.

“Where did you go, daddy?” Kimberly asked Frances.

“I had to run an errand. I must run another in a moment so why don’t you go to the library and find us a book to read later.” Kimberly nodded and ran off down the hall just as Charles and Jake walked into the kitchen. Both of them looking tired and angry at having their sleep disturbed.

“What is it Frances?” Charles asked.

“Vanessa. She wanted to turn herself over to my brother and so I took her to her home to do just that. We must get there quickly and we can catch him in the act and you can kill him once and for all.”

“You let her go alone!” Jake demanded.

“She wanted to.” Frances replied.

“You better hope and pray she’s still there.” Jake growled and then without another word the three of them dashed to Vanessa’s home.

When they arrived, Jake barely had to sniff the air before the situation came crashing down on his head.

“She’s gone.”

---

Kayleb rose from the bed, wondering what was taking Vanessa so long to get a glass of water and an apple. He pulled on his jeans and didn’t take the time to button them before walking out of the room and down to the kitchen. The kitchen was empty and he scratched at his head as he rubbed his stomach and looked around.

Where was she? He saw a piece of folded paper on the table with his name on it and felt dread fill his heart. He picked it up and it smelled of apples. He opened the paper and read her words and felt his heart break apart in his chest.

Kayleb,

I’ve only known you for a couple of days yet it feels like a lifetime. I feel like I am walking away from my best friend, my soul mate, as I write this letter and get ready to leave. I have to do this, Kayleb. Vincent will not stop until has me and he isn’t going to fight fair. Because of me, you lost your parents and I can’t be the reason you lose other people that you love. With Frances’s help I am turning myself over to Vincent. Please don’t be mad at me love, I am just doing what I think is best. Please take care of Faith. She is going to need you and your incredible family. Let her know that her mother loved her very much and that I left her in order to save her. I’m sorry we couldn’t have longer together, Kayleb, but I am going to take the memories of you that I do have with me and they will protect me and keep me warm during whatever else my life has in store. I love you, fur and all. Don’t ever forget that.

Love Always and Forever,

Your Mate,

Vanessa

Kayleb swiped angrily at the hot tears flowing from his eyes as he stuck the letter deep in his pocket and his thoughts instantly turned to how he was going to save her. The woman must be out of her mind! Vincent would do things to her…. Things that had Kayleb’s blood boiling. He walked over to the kitchen wall, desperate to hit something, and slammed his fist through the hard wooden planks, savoring the pain that filled him as blood ran from the deep slices on his fist.

The air shimmered and Jake, Charles and Francis appeared in the kitchen and at the sight of them, returning from their mission of delivering his mate to the devil, Kayleb saw red.

He launched himself through the air and landed on Frances before the vampire even had time to realize he was attacking. Kayleb’s fist slammed hard into Frances’s head, snapping it back and then he jumped over the vampire and wrapped one arm around his neck, gripping his hair with the other.

He was about to rip Frances’s head from his body when Jake grabbed him from behind and pulled him off. Kayleb turned on Jake then.

“I’ll kill every fucking one of you!” he yelled. “You put her in his hands! You know what he’ll do to her and you handed her to him!”

“Calm down, Kayleb.” Jake said.

“Don’t tell me to calm down! I oughta go up to that room and stick a knife right through your Angela’s heart! I should kill your mate the same way you killed mine!”

“Don’t threaten my mate.” Jake growled as his golden eyes flashed.

“Why the hell would you do this to me! Why would you help her turn herself over?” Kayleb yelled as he grabbed the kitchen chair and threw it across the room almost hitting Bethany who was walking into the kitchen with the rest of the adults in the family on her heels.

“What is with all the noise and the throwing of chairs?” she asked as Greg positioned himself between her and Kayleb who was pacing with his fists clenched and clearly angry enough to kill anyone who got in his way.

“Ask them!” Kayleb snarled pointing at Jake, Charles and Frances. “They gave my mate to Vincent They just handed her over to him as if she meant nothing!”

“Jake would never do that.” Angela argued as she went to stand beside her mate.

“Neither would Charles.” Rebecca added.

“We didn’t Kayleb. Frances did. Frances took her there. He came straight back and told us but by the time we got to her house Vincent had been there and Vanessa was gone.” Charles said matter of factly. Kayleb nodded and walked over to the chair he had thrown seconds ago and calmly proceeded to snap off the leg of it. He slammed the leg against the wall and it shattered. He bent down and picked up one of the shards that was very sharp at one end and then turned back to Frances.

“What are you doing?” Rebecca asked.

“Looks like he’s fixing to shish cabob a tick.” Lane replied with a shrug. Kayleb launched at Frances and Rebecca screamed as the two of them went flying backward and became a tangle of arms and legs on the floor as they wrestled around the kitchen.

“Jake, do something!” Angela exclaimed. Jake shrugged.

“Frances deserves to die.” he replied. “I would kill him if it was you he had turned over to Vincent.”

“Daddy?” Kimberly asked as she poked her head into the kitchen. “No! Daddy!” She screamed when she caught sight of her father and Kayleb both covered in blood locked in a battle to the death that Kayleb was winning.

Kayleb straddled Frances on the ground and raised the stake above his heart just before he could drive it through his chest, Jake grabbed his arm and yanked him to his feet. Kayleb fought to get away but Jake wrapped his arms tight around him from behind and held him in place.

“Not in front of Kimberly.” Jake said calmly as the little girl ran to Frances who was picking himelf up off the floor.

“She wanted to go.” Frances said as he wiped a pale hand across his bloody mouth.

“I love her you son of a bitch and you killed her!” Kayleb screamed with rage.

“Kayleb, you have to calm down.” Kaylee said hoping to talk her brother down out of this uncontrollable rage he was lost in. All the mated pairs understood what he was feeling. The wolf in him was desperate to kill anyone who harmed its mate.

“He killed her, Kaylee…. He turned her over to that monster and now she’s lost and we have no idea where to find her.” Kayleb replied, and suddenly his rage was gone and all that could be heard in his voice was sadness as his shoulders slumped and the wooden stake he’d been holding fell to the floor.

“Someone’s here.” Jake said and then he growled. “What the hell is a demon doing in my home?”

“I’ve come to help.” Damien said walking through the doorway and into the kitchen. “I know where to find the woman.”

Chapter Seventeen

“Well let’s go then.” Kayleb said stepping forward. Jake growled and stepped between the demon and his family.

“Wait Kayleb. This is a demon.”

“Yeah, you can trust a tick more than you can trust one of those things.” Lane added moving Joey behind him. Jake tried to do the same with Angela but she threw him a look that clearly said, don’t start and stood by his side.

“You can trust him.” Kaylee said matter of factly as she walked around Jake and stood beside the tall blond demon.

“He’s a demon?” Joey asked.

“He looks more like an angel.” Angela added. Jake growled.

“That’s how they get innocent mortals to trust them, just before they lure them to their deaths.”

“I don’t give a shit if he’s Satan himself, come up from the fiery pits of hell, if he says he knows where I can find Vanessa then I’m going with him!” Kayleb said angrily.

“We can trust Damien.” Kaylee said.

“All demons are evil, Kaylee.” Charles spoke up while shaking his head. Kaylee rolled her eyes and glared at her family who all seemed to be in agreement with Charles, except for Joey and Angela who were staring at Damien as if he were an alien instead of a demon.

“Yes and all vampires are cold blooded, blood sucking murderers. And all werewolves are brain dead dogs who walk around sniffing each others asses all day. And all mortals are weak and ignorant.”

“I am not a dog… I’m hot.” Bethany said tossing her blond hair over her shoulder and dusting imaginary dirt from her arm.

“I think she was trying to make a point, honey.” Greg said matter of factly.

“I know that, but she didn’t have to insult me to do it.”

“Yes she did.” Greg said. “That was the point.”

“Shut up!” Kayleb snapped and he looked at Damien. “How do you know where Vanessa is?”

“Kaylee told me about Vincent and the trouble going on with your family so I checked into it. I know where he keeps his pets.”

“Been there a few times, huh?” Lane asked and Kaylee glared at him as he shrugged and gave a sheepish grin.

“Yes, actually I have.” Damien replied matter of factly.

“How do you know this when I do not.” Frances asked.

“Because I run in a slightly darker circle than you do vampire.” Damien replied. Kayleb was weak on his feet and his skin was on fire from Frances’s bites. He had built up a fairly good resistance to vampire venom over the years but it still hurt like hell.

Angela must have noticed because the next thing he felt was her gentle hand on his arm and her energy flowing through him.

(We’ll get her back, Kayleb.) Angela said so only he could hear.

“You all need to put aside anything you have against demons for right now. What matters at this moment is getting Vanessa back and nothing else. If Kaylee says we can trust Damien then we trust him. End of story.”

“How do you know this demon, Kaylee?” Charles asked with an edge of anger to his voice.

“His name is Damien and he is my friend.” Kaylee replied and then she looked up at Damien. “Can you take us to where she is?”

“Of course. Though I must warn you he is not alone there.”

“Come on, let go down to the office and we can talk about how many there are and what the place is like.” Jake said going into hunting mode instantly.

---

Vanessa looked around the dimly lit concrete room she was chained in. Her naked body was a mess of cuts and bruises from being tossed carelessly onto the rough stone floor. She was cold and this room was damp. Her skin was covered in goose bumps and she shivered as she wrapped her arms as tightly around herself as she could. There was a manacle around her wrist and she was chained to the wall with a four foot chain.

She had been left alone so far. Vincent had tossed her into this windowless, small room hours ago and she had seen no one since. She closed her eyes and saw Kayleb’s face and nearly started crying. She wondered if he knew yet that she was gone and she wondered how much he must hate her for walking away from him.

Did he understand that she had done it to save them all? What about little Faith? Was she awake and looking for her mommy? Vanessa was about to give into the tears that were building in her eyes when she heard the lock on the door slide open and she quickly blinked her tears away and stood straight.

“Hello, my pet.” Vincent said with a cold smile as he walked into the room. When Vanessa didn’t reply he hissed and took three long strides across the room before backhanding her across the face.

The sting of his slap brought tears to Vanessa’s eyes but she held them back and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out. She forced herself to look back into his violet eyes even though the sight of them made her blood run cold.

“When I greet you, I expect a response.” Vincent said harshly. Vanessa squared her shoulders and glared up at him.

“Go to hell.” she spat. Vincent laughed and squeezed her cheek so roughly she was sure it would bruise but still she worked hard to keep herself from showing pain. Vincent must have seen the flash of pain in her eyes though and he smiled at his victory.

“You will be so much fun to break, my pet.” Vanessa felt her stomach turn at the lustful look in his eyes. She had never thought about him trying to make her have sex with him but now that thought was scaring her to death.

“Are you hungry, pet?” Vincent asked and on cue four sub demons came into the room. Two of them were carrying a round table, one of them was carrying two chairs and the fourth had a covered metal dish. Vanessa nearly vomited at the sight and smell of these sub demons. She had never seen any up close before and they were really nothing more than walking corpses, all rotted flesh and rancid sores.

They set the table up beside Vanessa and Vincent and the one who had been carrying the chairs, grabbed Vanessa’s arm and slammed her down on one. The cold metal of the chair was painful against her freezing bare skin.

“Eat, my pet.” Vincent said in a gentle voice as he sat down across from her and dismissed the sub demons from the room with a wave. He removed the cover from the dish to reveal a plate of steaming chicken alfredo. Vanessa felt her mouth begin to water at the scent of her favorite food and she looked up at Vincent suspiciously.

“I know many things about you, pet.” Vincent replied with a cold smile. “Now eat.” he said and Vanessa saw the threat in his eyes. She picked up the fork from the plate and stuck a small bite of food into her mouth, surprised by how delicious the pasta tasted.

“Good, pet.” he said once she ate her fill and pushed the plate away. “I bought you something.” He snapped his fingers and another sub demon game into the room with an emerald green, silk shift gown.

“Keep it.” Vanessa replied, keeping her voice just as void of emotion as his own.

“Do not test my patience, pet.” Vincent said rising from the table and walking toward her. Vanessa knew she should just do as he told her but she had to let him know that she was not broken yet. She gripped the fork tight in her hand and then swung her arm and stuck the fork deep into his thigh.

He hissed in pain and grabbed her arm, throwing her roughly against the wall and causing her to scream in pain when the rough concrete blocks dug into her skin.

“You need to learn some manners.” he hissed and he held her against the wall with his body as he lowed her mouth to the bare skin between her neck and shoulder. She shivered and would have collapsed with fear if he hadn’t been holding her up when she felt his cold lips pressing against her and then she screamed in pain when he stuck his fangs into her skin and drank from her veins….

The pain was so intense she could not think as flames filled her blood and the burning heat filled her from her head to her toes and all she could do was scream.

When he finally pulled away his violet eyes were dark with lust and her blood was running down his chin. He ran his tongue over his blood covered fangs and she watched him shiver with pleasure and her pasta meal came back up in a quick rush and splashed across the stone floor.

“Don’t worry pet, you will not die. I have learned how to drink from mortals without causing their deaths.” Vanessa was not comforted by his words. How many times would she have to endure that kind of pain before he finally killed her? She could feel the blood from the two small holes he had opened in her skin running down her chest.

“Now put this on.” he said handing her the tiny gown. He pulled a key from his pocket and unhooked her wrist and she rubbed the bruised skin before taking the gown and slipping it on. It had thin spaghetti straps and was low cut in front, barely hiding her breasts from view and the bottom of the silk gown barely covered her backend. Dark green lace served as a hem along the top and bottom of the gown.

“Lovely.” Vincent hissed as he hooked the shackle back to her wrist. “I’ll be back, my pet.” Vanessa watched him leave the room and close the door behind him. She sat back down in the hard metal chair and as the scent of blood and vomit filled her nostrils and the pain from Vincent’s bite continued to course through her veins, she buried her face in her hands and cried.

---

“Let’s go.” Jake said. Laney looked at her family all dressed and ready to go and she nodded.

“You look ready.” she said.

“We will stay here but just call for us if you run into too much trouble and dad will trace us to you.” Bethany said. She, Greg, Rebecca, Charles and Laney were staying behind with the kids while the rest of them were going. Frances and Kimberly had already left, their friendship with the family thoroughly destroyed since he had gone behind their backs and put one of their own in danger.

“I wish you wouldn’t come.” Jake said to Angela. Damien had let them know that Vincent had hundreds of sub demons that worked for him and served as his own personal army of guards.

“I am coming, Jake.” Angela replied as she stuck the .45 revolver down into the holster on her waist. “If you die, I die remember? I will not stay behind and let you face danger alone. I’m going to be right there facing it with you.” Jake sighed and nodded with defeat. He had learned a long time ago that arguing with Angela was pointless.

“So where exactly is this place?” Lane asked as all of them that were going joined hands so Damien could dash them.

“Greenland.” Damien replied.

“Greenland? Are you fucking kidding….” Lane’s words were cut off as the air shimmered and Jake, Lane, Angela, Joey, Kaylee, Kayleb and Hunter were gone.

“Please, let them come back home to us.” Rebecca said and Charles wrapped his arms tight around her.

“They will Beccs.” he promised.

---

“Damn, that’s a big place.” Hunter said looking at the huge castle that Vincent used as his hideout.

“So how are we getting in?” Kaylee asked her uncle.

“Why not use the front door?” Jake replied with a shrug.

“Are you serious? You will bring the whole army of guards down on us.” Damien said matter of factly. Kayleb adjusted the tanks on his bank and gripped the flamethrower tighter in his hands.

“And we’ll kill every one of the sons of bitches.” he growled. Everyone nodded in agreement as they held tightly to the various guns they had brought along.

“Let’s go then.” Kaylee said. “Vanessa sacrificed herself to save us… It’s time we save her back.”

Chapter Eighteen

“Hello, my pet.” Vincent said when he walked back into the tiny room less than an hour later. Vanessa stood up and glared at him but said nothing. She saw the anger flash across his face but instead of slapping her he grabbed her by the hair and lifted her off the floor. She cried out in pain as he brought her up to his eye level and smiled.

“Hello, my pet.” he said again.

“Hello.” Vanessa replied through clenched teeth. Vincent chuckled and sat her back down on her feet. Vanessa raised her hands to her head and rubbed her burning scalp.

“You are so much fun.” Vincent said as he sat down in the chair he had used during her meal. “It is a shame that I cannot make you immortal.”

“Thank God for small miracles.” Vanessa said as she tugged at the hem of the tiny gown she was wearing and wished it was longer. She was freezing.

“Are you in a mood, pet?” Vincent asked with sadistic amusement. Vanessa just wrapped her arms tighter around herself and did not reply.

“As I was saying, I wish I could make you immortal because one of these days I will not be able to control myself with you anymore and since you are a weak mortal you will die when that happens. But alas, only your mate can make you immortal.

“I wonder if he is desperately seeking you right now…. If you are hoping for rescue, you are going to be disappointed. I am very careful about who I let into my home and no one else knows where it is.” Vanessa’s teeth were chattering and her feet and hands were becoming numb.

“I’m cold.” she said.

“Then jump around and warm yourself up.” Vincent replied as he twirled his fancy rings on his fingers and looked down at his pale hands. Vanessa just hugged herself tighter and tried to think warm thoughts. There was no way she was going to jump around in front of this psychopathic creep.

“It surprises me that your mate did not make you immortal while he had you.” Vincent looked over at her and smiled coldly.

“Of course you have already buried one of your children and so I doubt you wish to bury another.”

“What are you talking about?” Vanessa demanded. She would chew her own arm off and stab him through the heart with her bone if he thought he was going to anywhere near her daughter.

“Fully mating with Kayleb would have made you immortal but not little Faith. You would have stayed young and youthful as your daughter grew old and died. A very sad situation for any parent to face.” The look on his face told Vanessa that he did not really find it sad at all but his words had struck a nerve with her.

“Either kill me or leave me alone. I don’t want your damn company.” she spat harshly.

“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Such language.” Before Vanessa had time to realize he was moving, he used his vampire speed and had her pinned against the wall.

“So beautiful you are, my pet.” he whispered against her ear and his cold breath sent chills down her spine. She tried to yank away but his body was just as rock hard as the wall behind her and she could not move. She tried to bring her knee into his groin the way she had at the hotel but he blocked her with his own leg and then punched her in the face.

Vanessa felt blood fill her mouth as her teeth cut into her cheek from the force of his blow and her head spun.

“You will not find it so easy to defeat me anymore pet. I am in control now.” Vincent practically purred against her ear. And then she screamed as his fangs sank into the soft skin on her shoulder and that fiery pain filled her body once again.

He pulled away and ran his fangs over her cheek, leaving bloody cuts along her jaw. Suddenly he hissed and yanked away from her as his nostrils widened.

“I shall be back, my pet.” he said quickly and then he left the room, shutting and locking the door behind him. Vanessa sank to her knees as her body burned from his venom and she prayed that he would kill her soon.

---

“Knock. Knock.” Lane called loudly, just before Jake and Hunter burst open the castle door and Kayleb jumped in front of them. Just as Damien said there would be, hundreds of sub demons were standing there snarling and ready to defend their boss.

“Paid bodyguards.” Hunter said.

“I’m glad Laney isn’t here.” Angela added and Hunter nodded. Laney was deathly afraid of sub demons. As the sub demons charged toward the front door, Kayleb prepared to shoot the flamethrower in the crowd of them and Jake laughed.

“This is going to be fun.” he said with obvious excitement. Lane shook his head and readied the AK-47 in his hands.

“My big brother has some serious issues.” he said.

Screams of pain filled the air when Kayleb pulled the trigger on the flame thrower and all hell, quite literally, broke loose. As Kayleb pushed the mass of sub demons backwards with the flames, everyone else ran into the castle and began to shoot those that Kayleb had missed.

Soon the bullets were gone and the flamethrower tanks were empty. And still there were more sub demons than they could count.

“I love you Angela.” Jake said, pressing a quick kiss to her lips.

“Let’s kick some ass.” she replied and he smiled, his golden eyes flashing.

“Aren’t they romantic?” Lane asked Joey. “The air smells like a gosh damn sub demon barbecue and they’re still spouting out words of love.” Joey smiled.

“Focus, honey. There’s a sub demon coming after you.” Lane turned just in time to ram his fist into the approaching sub demon’s face.

“Thanks, my little slayer.” Lane said turning back to her with a toothy smile.

Kayleb fought side by side with his sister and during a lull in the attack on them he looked over at Angela and Joey just in time to see Angela take off a subs head with the long knife in her hand and Joey break a subs neck with a well delivered round house kick to the head with her combat boot. Jake and Lane were fighting side by side and working their way quickly through the mass of subs while Damien seemed more intent on watching over Kaylee and keeping subs away from her.

“Can you smell her, Kayleb?” Kaylee ask as she pulled her knife back out of a subs chest and the sub fell to the ground at her feet. Kayleb sniffed and over the stench of rotting and burning sub demon flesh, and the adrenaline and fear in the air he caught the faint aroma of apples.

“Yes.” he said. “She’s above us.” he added looking up at the stone ceiling and barely looking down in time to stop a sub demon from stabbing him with a silver knife.

“What are you doing in my home!” Kayleb recognized Vincent as he came down the wide stairs of the huge main entryway with a flurry of coats and robes.

“Holy shit, the bastard looks like Dracula.” Lane called out.

“Dracula was my father.” Vincent replied coldly. “Did my brother not tell you that?” The remaining sub demons stopped their attack when Vincent snapped his fingers and they gathered around their leader, clearly ready to attack again at his command.

“You!” Vincent spat angrily as he pointed at Damien. “You let them to my home!” Damien just nodded and positioned himself several feet in front of Kaylee. Just far enough away to look like he wasn’t trying to protect her but close enough to protect her if he had to.

“You,” Vincent said turning his attention Hunter. “Step forward.” Hunter did. He was covered in blood, both his own and subs. His jeans were ripped and bloody, his shirt was so badly tattered it was barely hanging on his body and his hat had been lost.

“Yes sir?”

“I knew your father.”

“Okay sir.” Hunter said as he pulled a wooden stake from the waistband of his pants.

“Are you going to kill me? I am your uncle…. Your father was my brother as well. Did Frances not tell you that either?”

“No sir.” Hunter said, his gray eyes narrowing as he thought about the best way to get to Vincent.

“At least you have manners toward those that deserve them.” Vincent said with an amused grin.

“I only call you sir because my mama raised me to do so… Not because you deserve it.” Hunter replied matter of factly.

“Subs,” Vincent said as his violet eyes flashed with anger and the subs all looked at him as if they were attack dogs just waiting for a command.

“The only way to kill him is to decapitate him. Take my worthless nephews head off.” he hissed and the subs attacked. The family jumped forward to help Hunter against the onslaught of sub demons and Kayleb saw Vincent running back up the stairs. His only thought was to save Vanessa.

He launched himself through the air and grabbed onto Vincent’s coat and threw him back down into the main room.

(Angela, Joey, we can handle them, you two get upstairs and find Vanessa!) Kaylee said to her aunts who quickly fought their way through the subs and to the stairs.

“Stop them!” Vincent called and a group of about ten subs broke off from the group and chased after the women as Kayleb started across the room toward Vincent.

“I’m going to kill you, you blood sucking son of a bitch.” Kayleb growled.

“We have discussed your language.” Vincent hissed back. Both of them lunged and met in mid air.

Chapter Nineteen

Vanessa wondered what was going on below her. She could hear the muffled sound of yelling and she had heard what sounded like gunshots. Was she going to get lucky and someone had come to kill Vincent? They would find her and set her free and she could go back to her daughter and to Kayleb. Or what if whoever was attacking Vincent was no better than Vincent and he or she would continue where Vincent had left off with her.

Vanessa jumped to her feet and backed against the wall when she heard shouts coming from behind the thick wooden door to her room.

“Get the hell off of me, you stinky bastard!” She recognized Angela’s voice and there was a loud thud before the door burst open and both Angela and Joey came inside. They were covered in blood and cuts and bruises but they were smiling and Angela shouted with relief when she saw Vanessa.

“You’re alive!” she exclaimed. “We were so worried! You were very stupid to run off like that.”

“I…”

“Don’t try to justify it. Either way it was stupid. We are family now and we have to stick together. No self sacrificing. Your mate has been going absolutely crazy.”

“Kayleb? Where is he?” Vanessa asked. Joey walked over and grabbed the chain holding her to the wall with both hands. She snapped it apart as if it was a stick and Vanessa’s eyes widened.

“When I mated to Lane I got werewolf strength.” Joey said in response to her unspoken question. “And the men and Kaylee are downstairs with the rest of the sub demons and Vincent.”

Vanessa looked over at Angela, who was standing by the door and screamed a warning as a sub demon crept up behind her. Angela rolled her eyes and delivered a back kick to the subs stomach before turning and slicing her knife across its neck, nearly severing its head.

“I hate those things.” she said. “Now come on and let’s get back downstairs.” Vanessa followed after Angela and Joey brought up the rear. Vanessa felt her stomach turn and if she had had any food in it, she would have thrown it back up at the sight and smell of the many dead subs along the hallway.

When they entered the main room, bodies were everywhere. Some were headless, others just bloody messes, and some were even charred and burnt. And then she caught sight of her mate and family locked in a deadly battle with Vincent.

She did not recognize the blond man that was holding Kaylee in his arms as she bled freely. She was shocked when the man seemed to glow as he kissed Kaylee’s pale forehead and Vanessa could see his energy flowing into her. She wondered if maybe he was an angel since that is what he looked like.

Hunter, Jake, Lane and Kayleb were circling Vincent. Vincent was looking scared and desperate as he hissed at all of them. Vanessa was relieved to see that while Kayleb was bloody and covered in wounds, he looked okay. Lane lunged at Vincent and was quickly sent flying backward and his head cracked against the stone wall with so much force it cracked.

“Lane!” Joey screamed and she ran to him where he lay bleeding from his ears and nose. He managed a smile.

“I’m fine slayer. Just a broken head… There wasn’t anything too important up there to damage.”

Vanessa heard Angela scream behind her and turned to see three sub demons trying to drag her away. Jake instantly turned away from Vincent and leapt at the subs. Vanessa turned back to Vincent just in time to see Hunter go flying through the air and land with a thud against the far wall.

This left Kayleb alone facing Vincent.

“I bit her, Kayleb. I marked her.” Vincent hissed. Vanessa saw Kayleb’s features contort with rage at Vincent’s words. She understood the animalistic light that came into his brown eyes. The wolf in him was clearly very angry that Vincent had bitten her. Kayleb lunged at Vincent and Vanessa watched in horror as the two of them battled. Vincent’s nails ripped Kayleb’s flesh as Kayleb turned to his wolf form and his teeth tore into Vincent.

Kayleb let out a pain filled yelp and Vanessa saw Vincent close his hand around his neck. Terror filled her as she realized Kayleb was about to die. She had to save him. She saw a wooden stake lying on the ground and quickly picked it up. She ran as fast as she could and sunk it deep into Vincent’s back, suddenly happy that she had taken several anatomy classes in college so she knew right where to drive it deep into his heart.

And suddenly it was all over. Vincent turned to ash and his remains drifted to the floor. Vanessa and Kayleb fell together and Vanessa wrapped her arms tight around his neck and buried her face in his bloody fur.

“I love you. I love you. I love you.” she murmured against his fur. She felt him change back to a man and as skin replaced fur and hands replaced paws he wrapped his arms tight around her and clung to her desperately.

“You stupid stupid woman.” he whispered gently. “I was two seconds away from killing him.” He heard Vanessa give a tear filled snort of amusement as she cried against his bare shoulder.

“Yeah it definitely looked like you were winning.” she replied. Kayleb breathed in deeply, savoring her scent and letting it fill his senses.

“Why would you leave me like that?” he asked as he pulled away from her and put his hands on her cheeks as he looked deep into her big green eyes. “I told you I would keep you safe.”

“I couldn’t stand the thought of him hurting any more of you trying to get to me.” she replied. He pressed a gentle, feather light kiss to her soft lips and shook his head.

“Do you know how I felt knowing you were gone? I don’t do helpless well, Vanessa, and I felt helpless… And hungry because you never did bring me my apple.” Vanessa laughed but it was more from adrenaline and relief than it was humor at his words.

Kayleb stood and pulled her up with him. Everyone gathered around them. Jake was holding Angela tightly, Joey was helping support Lane’s weight as he limped over and Damien stood several feet behind Kaylee looking just as spotless in his crisp white shirt and dark jeans as he had before the fight except for the bright red stain of Kaylee’s blood on his stomach.

“Looks like we got us another kick ass woman in the family.” Lane said and he gave Vanessa a grin. Kayleb looked at her closely for the first time and he growled low in his throat at the bloody cuts on her cheeks, the bite marks on her shoulders and the bruises and scrapes on the rest of her barely covered body.

“You should have let me kill the bastard.” he said. Jake shook his head.

“Just be happy he’s dead.”

“Oh shut-up Jake. You pouted just as hard when the grandson of Dracula here killed Saraphine.” Lane said with a laugh and then he whimpered in pain when Jake slapped him on the back of his broken head.

“Dammit Jake, that wasn’t funny.” Lane whined.

“It made me smile.” Jake replied and sure enough he was smiling. Kaylee rolled her eyes.

“I cannot look at my brother naked anymore.” she said as she walked around everyone and grabbed one of Vincent’s long coats off the ground. She handed it to Kayleb who pulled away from Vanessa just long enough to put the coat on and then wrapped his arms back around her and pulled her under the coat with him to warm her shivering body.

“I’m ready to go home.” she whispered to him and Kayleb nodded.

“Let’s go on home.” he said to everyone. “Unless you guys are into the whole cold stone palace with charred sub demon interior thing.”

“Home it is.” Angela said quickly.

The waiting adult family members let out happy exclamations when the eight bloody warriors suddenly appeared in the kitchen just as dawn was breaking.

“Thank goodness you all made it back!” Rebecca exclaimed as Laney ran to Hunter and he wrapped her tight in his arms. “Lane, your head.” Rebecca said as she tried to run her hand over Lane’s face.

“Quit fussing over me woman.” Lane said, swatting her hand away. “We’re all hurt.” Angela limped over to Vanessa, as her own fatigue and weariness set in and laid a hand on her shoulder. Vanessa felt that same strange sensation again as Angela’s energy flowed into her and she felt her wounds healing and her own soreness fade away.

Angela’s knees nearly buckled as she pulled away but she managed to hold herself up and then reached for Lane but Jake growled loudly and grabbed her arm, pulling her into the rock hard embrace of his arms. His golden eyes filled with love and exasperation as he looked down at her.

“Lane will heal.” he said.

“Yeah little sister, it’s just my head.” Lane replied. “Nothing important.” he added.

“I’m going to take Vanessa upstairs to clean up and get some clothes.” Kayleb said and he led Vanessa from the room. Kaylee looked around and realized that Damien was gone.

She sniffed the air and caught his smoky scent coming from out on the porch. She slipped away from the family and walked outside. He was standing against the porch banister watching the sunrise.

“Are you okay?” she asked. Damien nodded and held his arm out and she walked to him and he pulled her into his side and they both watched the sky turning from black to red.

“Knowing my grandma, she is going to be cooking a huge breakfast. Come in and eat with me.”

“No.” Damien replied. “Your family does not want me here.”

“You just helped save Vanessa…. They will accept you here for breakfast.”

“Kaylee, I did that for you, not for Vanessa or acceptance.” Kaylee heard a coldness in his voice that was not normally there. She realized that though she had known him for nearly twenty years she really knew nothing about him other than the fact that he always seemed to show up when she needed him.

“You’re leaving again then?” she asked. Damien nodded as he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead and pulled away from her.

“I have to Kaylee. I am not welcome here.” He also had no idea how to go about living in a family. His heart was cold and he cared for nothing and no one… Only Kaylee… She was the only creature to ever bring out any emotion in him other than indifference.

“Thank you for helping. And thank you for healing me….”

“Do not thank me.” Damien said while shaking his head. “Of course I healed you.” He pressed another gentle kiss to her forehead and then walked off the porch.

“Damien…..” He stopped and turned to face her, his blue eyes shining in the sunrise.

“Yes?”

“I…” she lost her nerve. She wanted to tell him she loved him but what good would that do? Her mate could show up any day and the wolf in her would force her to say goodbye to her demon.

“Goodbye my angel… If you need me just call and I will hear you.” Kaylee felt her heart break, just the way it always did when he left and then she quickly dashed herself to her bedroom to avoid any questions about her tear filled eyes.

Chapter Twenty

Vanessa was standing under the shower, letting the hot droplets of water wash away the blood and dirt. She arched her back and rinsed out her hair. She heard the bathroom door open and she worried about who was walking in on her until the shower curtain was moved aside and Kayleb poked his head in. She saw his brown eyes darken immediately when he saw her.

“Can I join you?” he asked. Vanessa nodded and she felt her fatigued body heat up when he stepped into the shower and the hot water ran over his hard, naked body. Vanessa stepped behind him as he washed the blood from himself and she traced the water droplets paths with her fingertips.

She heard him growl at her touch and then she let out a startled grasp when he turned suddenly, grabbed her around the waist and lifted her into the air. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he pressed her back to the hot, slick wall of the shower.

Neither of them spoke and Kayleb crushed his hungry, possessive lips to hers. The kiss was hard and desperate and there was nothing gentle about the way he made love to her up against the bathroom wall. His eyes were hungry and animalistic and Vanessa clung to him and buried her face against his neck to keep from crying out when she felt the pressure snap within her and she was sent tumbling over the edge of pleasure She heard Kayleb’s growl as he shuddered against her and still neither of them spoke or tried to move away.

She kept her legs tight around his waist and her arms around his neck as the hot water rained down on them. Only when the water began to grow cold did Kayleb carry her from the shower and set her down on her feet on the cool tile of the bathroom floor.

“I love you, Vanessa, but you and I need to get a few things straight.” Kayleb said and she looked up at his chocolate brown eyes and saw both love and a touch of anger shining in them. She grabbed her towel and wrapped it tight around her tingling body.

“What?” she asked as she went about brushing out her hair to avoid eye contact with him.

“Do not ever play hero again. From now on I protect you, not the other way around.”

“Don’t boss me around, Kayleb.”

“Don’t make me lose my mind!” Kayleb replied as he wrapped a towel around his waist and ran his hand over his red hair, sending water droplets flying.

“I lost it when you were gone! I thought for sure you were dead and then I saw Frances, Jake and Charles and I thought they all helped you. I almost killed Frances. I was two seconds away from ramming a stake through his heart when Jake stopped me. I threatened to kill Jake and Charles too. I couldn’t think straight. All I could picture was you in that son of a bitches hands and I….” Vanessa cut him off by pressing her lips against his. He moaned and pulled her up against him.

“I am not going to promise to never protect you again but how about I promise to never leave and rush headfirst into danger alone again?”

“I guess that will have to do.” Kayleb replied with a sigh.

“Let’s get dressed. I want to see my daughter.”

The day was a beautiful one and while all the adults were tired from not sleeping the night before, the kids were full of energy. None of them knew what had happened in the night and everyone had agreed to not tell them. They just knew that the threat of Vincent was gone.

Vanessa was sitting at the picnic table in the yard, feeding Brent a jar of carrot baby food and watching Faith chase Kayleb around the yard. Vanessa knew he could easily stay out of her reach but he kept letting her catch him and she would laugh with victory every time.

“I’m thirsty.” Faith gasped as she finally stopped running and the breeze blew her tangled hair around her face.

“You have some juice right here.” Vanessa said, tilting her head to the cup on the table beside her. Faith ran over and sat down beside of her and took a big drink.

“Can I feed him, mommy?” she asked pointing at Brent. Vanessa nodded and handed her the jar and spoon.

“Not too big of a bite now, he’s just a baby.” Vanessa said with a smile. Brent smiled happily at Faith as she brought the spoon to his mouth and as he took a bite he reached his hand out and grabbed her hair.

“He’s got me mommy!” Faith exclaimed and Vanessa laughed.

“Yes he does.” she said.

Kayleb watched Vanessa untangle Brent’s chubby fist from Faith’s hair and smiled. This was his life. That woman and that little girl were all he would ever need to be happy.

“Kayleb.” Faith said once her hair was free and she had moved away from the table.

“What?’ Kayleb asked, crouching down so he was on her level.

“Can you turn into a big dog?” Vanessa saw Kayleb’s lopsided grin and her heart filled with so much love she thought it would burst. She could have searched a million years and never found a man that loved her daughter as much as he did.

“No I can’t do a big dog… But I can do a big wolf.” he replied.

“Medium sized wolf.” Bethany said as she walked outside in a barely there white mini dress and tossed her blond hair over her tan shoulder before sitting at the table. Kayleb smiled at her and nodded.

“You won’t ever see aunt Bethany change though because her wolf is pathetic.”

“Kiss my pathetic behind, annoying nephew. I don’t change because I happen to find my human form to be much more fun to look at.” Kayleb grinned and turned his attention back to Faith.

“Can you change into a medium size wolf now?” she asked and Vanessa and Bethany both laughed.

“Sure can.” Kayleb said with a nod. “I’ll be right back.” He ran into the woods and Bethany smiled.

“You two are good for him.” she said to Vanessa. “He loves you both a lot.”

“Yes he does.” Vanessa replied.

“Who called it? Who told you it was more than just a mate thing?” Bethany asked with a smug smile. Vanessa shook her head and laughed lightly as she gave Brent another bite of food.

“You did. Kayleb is amazing.”

“I won’t comment on that part but I’m glad to see him smiling and happy again. It has been a long time since he’s seemed really happy.”

“Mommy look!” Faith shouted and Vanessa turned to see Kayleb, in wolf form, come loping out of the woods. He walked up to Faith and sat down in front of her. Though Vanessa knew the wolf was Kayleb , it was still intimidating to see the huge two hundred and fifty pound beast towering over her tiny daughter.

“Kayleb…?” Faith asked with a hint of nervousness and uncertainty in her voice. Kayleb gave a little yip and held up his paw as if he wanted to shake hands. Faith laughed and put her tiny hand around his paw, that was five times bigger than her hand.

“Can I ride you? Like I do Hunter’s horsies?” she asked.

“Faith!” Vanessa scolded but Kayleb threw a look that clearly said leave the girl alone and dropped down on to his stomach. Faith giggled and climbed up onto his back. She wrapped her arms tight around his neck and laughed as he stood up and began walking slowly, letting her adjust her weight and get comfortable.

“I’m not a baby! I want to go faster.” Vanessa swore she saw Kayleb get that same lopsided grin on his wolf face and he took off at a run into the woods with Faith laughing happily and clinging to his back.

“That boy has lost every ounce of pride he ever had.” Lane said as he walked outside with Charlie on his hip.

“That’ll be you one day.” Jake promised him as he too walked outside. “I used to take Laney on runs through the woods all the time.”

“Yeah but you’re whipped… I’m not.” Lane replied and then he ducked just before his older brother’s hand could slap him on the back of the head. He didn’t however duck low enough to avoid Angela’s slap as well.

“Leave Jake alone. He’s not whipped, just devoted.” she said with a smile. Lane laughed and then did his best Olivia Newton John impression.

“I’m hopelessly devoted to you!” he sang at the top of his lungs.

(Is somebody dying or is uncle Lane finally coming clean about how he feels about Hunter?) Kayleb’s voice came to Angela, Jake, Lane and Bethany and they all laughed loudly. Vanessa, who couldn’t hear Kayleb because she wasn’t immortal didn’t know what they were laughing so hard about but her thoughts weren’t on them anyway. They were on the man who had completely stolen every bit of her in just a few short days. He had her mind, her heart, her soul and her body. She was hopelessly devoted to him.

---

“….And they lived happily ever after.” Kayleb finished as he closed the book and kissed Faith’s forehead.

“Goodnight, Kayleb.” Faith said sleepily.

“Goodnight, sweet angel.” Kayleb replied as he pulled her covers up to her chin. Vanessa smiled from the doorway as she watched the two of them.

“I love you.” Faith said as Kayleb stood and was about to leave. Vanessa saw Kayleb swallow hard and his throat worked up and down several times.

“I love you too, kiddo.” he replied. “Get some sleep.” Faith nodded and Kayleb walked out and closed the door behind him.

“You’re a good man.” Vanessa said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.

“I’m a lucky man.” he replied and then he smiled when Vanessa yawned.

“Come on, I’ll tuck you in again.” he said with a mischievous grin.

“Why don’t I tuck you in. I never have seen your room.. I might like it better.” Kayleb nodded and led her to the third floor and into his bedroom. Vanessa saw all the pictures on the walls and began to look around. There were pictures from nearly every country in the world.

“Have you been to all these places?” she asked. Kayleb nodded as he sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled off his shoes.

“I’ve been pretty much everywhere.” Vanessa took a moment to admire the many medals and things that her mate had been awarded in his life and then sighed.

“I’ve never been anywhere.” she said. She smiled when she felt his arms wrap around her waist from behind and his hard body press against hers.

“I’ll take you anywhere you want to go. All you have to do is say the word.”

“Anywhere?” Vanessa asked as she turned in his arms and bit her lip as she looked up at him. His brown eyes flashed and he nodded.

“Anywhere.” Vanessa walked toward the bed, pushing him backward until he fell down onto the mattress and he smiled.

“Take me to bed.” she said.

’Yes ma’am.“ he growled and he grabbed her arm and pulled her down on top of him.

They lay hours later, spent and sweaty in each others arms. Kayleb was tracing shapes on her arms with his fingertips as they listened to the silence that filled the house.

“Kayleb, I’ve been wondering about something.” Vanessa said, turning on her side so she could look at his face.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Why would Vincent tell you that he bit me to make you mad? Why use that to get to you?”

“Because he knew it would send the wolf in me over the edge.” Kayleb replied and Vanessa could tell that just talking about it was making him angry again.

“But why?” she asked.

“Because I am the only one that’s allowed to bite you. Only my scar should be on your shoulder.” Kayleb replied.

“When we fully mate…” The words were more a statement than a question but Kayleb nodded.

“Yes.” he said sleepily and then he pulled her closer against him and buried his nose in her hair. “Let’s get some sleep, love.” Vanessa nodded and fought back the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes.

She turned in his arms so that her back was pressed against him and she stared at the wall. She knew hours must have passed as she remained lost in her thoughts.

If she fully mated to Kayleb then she would be immortal and her daughter would not…. She could not stand to watch her daughter grow old and die. Vincent might have been an evil man but he was right when he sad that that would be a terrible thing for any parent. Vanessa had lost one child already and her heart could not stand losing another.

Her heart broke in her chest when she realized that she and Kayleb could not be together. No matter how much she loved him, no matter how much her soul cried out to be with him their relationship would not work. She couldn’t watch her daughter grow old and die and she could not let Kayleb watch her and her daughter grow old and die. The best thing for everyone would be to end this now and go back to the lives they led before Vincent had thrown them all together.

She would let herself lie in his arms just for tonight. She would let herself feel his warmth and strength while she slept and then tomorrow she would leave. It was what was best for everyone

Chapter Twenty-One

Kayleb walked into Vanessa’s room the next morning to find her packing her things into a bag. He had seen Faith’s things sitting by the front door and had known something was wrong.

“What are you doing?” he asked cautiously. Vanessa didn’t look up from the clothes she was stuffing into the bag.

“I’m leaving, Kayleb.” she said, fighting hard to hold back her tears. “Faith and I are going home.”

“You and Faith are already home.” Kayleb replied gently.

“No. We’re leaving.” she said again. Kayleb felt fear fill him. He couldn’t lose Faith and Vanessa… His life would be over without them.

Vanessa turned and walked out of the room with the bag in her hands and he followed her down the stairs to the living room.

“Can I ask why you’re leaving?” Kayleb asked.

“Because we aren’t going to work.” Vanessa replied.

“What in the hell do you mean we aren’t going to work?” Kayleb demanded, his hurt and fear coming out as anger. “I love you and you love me, what’s not going to work about that?” Vanessa turned to face him and her green eyes were swollen and red and her cheeks were wet with tears.

“We can’t be together, Kayleb. I can’t be immortal with you and watch my daughter grow old and die.” Kayleb nodded and reached out for her but she pulled away.

“That’s fine, Vanessa, you don’t have to be immortal with me. Just don’t leave me… I want to spend every day of the rest of your life with you.” Neither of them realized they had an audience as the family heard the argument and came into the room.

“Don’t’ you understand, Kayleb?” Vanessa exclaimed as she wiped her face. “I’m doing what’s best for everyone.”

“Bull shit! You are not.” Kayleb replied as tears filled his own eyes. “I love you and I can’t lose you. You can’t just walk away from me.”

“You don’t really love me.” Vanessa replied, even though she knew he did. “It’s just because I’m your mate, that’s why this is so hard.” Kayleb growled with anger and slammed his fist into the back of the couch.

“To hell with all this mate business! If that’s all this was then I’d tell your ass to hit the road. After what I went through to get you back and now you’re ready to leave me again! This is much more than just pain at losing my mate, Vanessa.” he said putting his hand over his breaking heart. “I love you and I love that little girl and you cannot leave me.” Vanessa felt her knees try to buckle beneath her as she sobbed.

“I have to.” she gasped. “I’ve lost one child, Kayleb. I can’t watch another one die….”

“Then don’t.” Kayleb said earnestly as he walked toward her and she backed away to avoid his touch. If he touched her she would give in and in her heart she knew that she was doing what she had to do. “We can be together for the rest of your life, Vanessa, and I will do everything I can to make the next sixty years or so as amazing as I can for you.”

“I can’t do that to you. It’s not fair of me to ask you to watch Faith and I die in front of your eyes… Not when you love us so much.”

“But it’s fair to rip my damn heart out and throw it on the ground like it’s nothing?” Kayleb demanded as tears poured down his face.

“Kayleb, please don’t…. I will always love you but we don’t fit together. I can’t be immortal with you when my daughter is mortal and I can’t ask you to tie yourself down to a woman who is going to grow old and waste away in front of you. This is what’s best.” Kayleb was silent a long while as he stared at her and finally he wiped his face and nodded.

“If this is what’s best then by all means, go right ahead.” he said with disgust. Vanessa reached out for him but he pulled away.

“Kayleb, please don’t hate me… I love you with all my heart and soul but I love my daughter more.”

“I could never hate you.” Kayleb replied. “That’s the worst part of all this. I should hate you. You are ripping out my soul right now but I can’t hate you. You could shove a silver knife straight through my heart and I would use my last breath to tell you how much I love you.” Vanessa closed her eyes against the fresh tears that wanted to spill from them.

“Faith!” Kayleb shouted as he wiped his face clean and the little girl walked into the living room from the kitchen hallway. Kayleb dropped down to his knees and wrapped his arms tight around her tiny body before pulling away and smoothing her chestnut hair from her face.

“I love you, kiddo.” he said as his voice cracked. “You be a good girl for your mommy, okay? You can call me or come see me whenever you want to.”

“Where are we going?” Faith asked, looking up at Vanessa.

“Home.” Vanessa replied, doing her best to sound strong despite the fact that everything inside of her was broken and shattered.

“But mommy I want to stay here!” Faith yelled. “You promised!”

“Faith honey, mommy’s sorry but we have to go home.” Faith clenched her fists at her side and glared up at her mother.

“You’re mean mommy! You lied to me!”

“Faith!” Kayleb’s deep voice scolded and Faith turned to look at him. “You be nice to your mommy. She loves you very much and she would do anything for you.”

’ Even walk away from the other half of my broken soul.’ Vanessa thought to herself. She realized there were others in the room for the first time as she looked around and saw the family.

“I’m sorry.” she said quietly and then she grabbed Faith’s hand and their bags of belongings and whistled for Scout who walked over to her. Kayleb opened the door for her and they walked outside.

“Your car is in the garage.” he said and Vanessa nodded.

“Goodbye, Kayleb.” she said and her voice cracked as tears filled her eyes. “Please understand that I don’t want to leave you… You are the most amazing man in the world. You have made me laugh and smile more in the last few days than I ever thought possible.”

“Why are you running from me then?” Kayleb asked gently. “You are so used to doing things alone that you can’t seem to wrap your head around the fact that you aren’t alone anymore Vanessa. You have me…. You’ll always have me.. Walking away from me now won’t change that.”

“Goodbye Kayleb.” Vanessa said sadly and then she turned and walked as quickly as Faith’s legs would allow to the garage before she broke down again.

Kayleb stood there as the garage door opened and he watched his mate back out and drive away. Even after her car was gone from view he stood stuck in the same spot, watching the road that his entire world had just left down.

He heard someone walk up beside him and then a bottle of whiskey was held up in front of him.

“Here ya go nephew, I’ll share my liquor with you now…”

“It won’t help, uncle Lane. The woman might as well have killed me. It would have been more humane than just driving over my heart as she pulled away.”

“Your aunt Joey left me once. Of course she took my camaro with her. It could still work out for you. Don’t give up hope.” Kayleb shook his head.

“It’s not gonna work out, uncle Lane. There’s nothing I can say or do that will change her mind about this.” Kayleb turned and walked into the house, ignoring his family and their words of sympathy. He walked up to his room, locked himself inside and collapsed on his bed. He curled up to the pillow Vanessa had used the night before and breathed in the scent of apples.

He was too heartbroken to even cry anymore… He felt dead as he lay in the bed and stared off into nothing.

---

“This is one big giant mess.” Rebecca said as she flopped down on the couch.

“How could she just walk out and leave after all we’ve done for her?” Laney demanded.

“She loves her daughter.” Angela replied with a sad smile. “And she loves Kayleb. She is doing what she thinks she needs to do to cause as little pain as possible.”

“Bullshit. My brother is heartbroken and I’m the one that brought that damn woman here to him! She is going to have to give me a better answer than that.” Kaylee exclaimed, the air shimmered and she was gone.

Vanessa walked into her house and was struck with the feeling of being in a strange unfamiliar place. The home that she and her daughter had lived in for three years was no longer warm and welcoming but cold and lonely.

Vanessa took the time to go through each room of the house, making sure that everything was where it should be and that no one was here that shouldn’t be.

“I’m gonna go play with my toys.” Faith said with a pout and then she stomped back to her room with Scout on her heels. Vanessa sank down on the couch with a sigh and then she nearly screamed when she opened her eyes and saw a very angry Kaylee staring at her from across the living room.

“What are you doing to my brother! Are you some kind of slut or something, that just screws around with a mans heart and emotions and then once you’ve had enough of him you kick him to the curb and find somebody new?”

“Kaylee, I love your brother.” Kaylee snorted.

“Yeah it shows. He’s heartbroken Vanessa.”

“So am I.” Vanessa replied.

“Then what the hell are you doing here? Go back to him!” Vanessa shook her head sadly.

“I can’t. Do you have any idea how painful it is to lose a child? I can’t do something that guarantees I’ll have to watch my daughter die.”

“I understand that.” Kaylee said. “But you don’t have to fully mate to him, Vanessa. He told you that he’d love you until you die.”

“And what exactly do you think that would do to him?” Vanessa asked. She had no more tears to cry but her eyes burned and she rubbed them. “Look how badly he is hurting over losing me after just days…. Imagine what it will be like for him if he loses me after sixty years. It’s best this way.” Kaylee didn’t reply at first. She just stood there and looked at Vanessa with sadness.

“I think you’re making a mistake.” she said finally. Vanessa nodded.

“There was no easy way out of this. Either way everyone was going to be hurt. It’s better to get the hurt over with now.”

“Well, you know if you ever need anything you can come to us.” Kaylee said as she sighed with defeat.

“I’ve made it on my own for a long time, Kaylee.. I think it would be easiest if I just cut the ties completely.” Kaylee nodded.

“Fine. My family took you in. My family risked their lives to keep you safe. My mother and father died because my father went out after the vamp that was trying to get to you. You handed yourself to Vincent and my family risked their lives again to save you and bring you home just to have you walk away and say in all your selfish glory ‘this is what is best’…. I regret ever bringing you to our home.” Vanessa had thought her eyes were dry but suddenly they filled with new tears.

“Kaylee I’m sorry!” she exclaimed. “If there was a way to make Faith immortal, I would never even think of leaving Kayleb or your family! I’ve never had anyone that really cared about me before and being around all of you taught me how amazing that can be. Do you think I want to be alone? I don’t! I want Kayleb. I want his touch! I want to hear his voice. I want to see his lopsided grin. I want to feel his arms around me and be with him forever… But I can’t lose my daughter! And I cant let him watch me die..” Vanessa collapsed in body racking sobs on the couch and Kaylee quickly went to her and sat down beside her, pulling her into her arms and rocking her gently.

“There’s gotta be a way to fix this.” Kaylee said more to herself than to Vanessa. Vanessa was crying too hard to reply. Finally Vanessa pulled away and dried her face.

“I have to cook lunch for Faith.” she said. Kaylee nodded and stood up.

“Please don’t forget that you have us, Vanessa.” she said and then the air shimmered and she was gone. Vanessa rose from the couch and walked into the kitchen. She had to cook lunch and make sure she still had a job to go to the next day. The world wasn’t going to stop for her broken heart.

Chapter Twenty-two

(Kayleb, it’s been two weeks… The case load is really piling up. The chief is going crazy and I could really use your help.) Kayleb groaned and threw his pillow across the room, as if that would shut Kaylee’s voice up in his head.

(Kayleb… You have to get up out of bed sometime.) Kaylee said.

(No I don’t.)

(Please. I really do need your help. I can’t handle all of this on my own.) Kaylee was lying of course but she was desperate to get her brother out of his bed. Two long weeks he’d been lying there. He wouldn’t eat or speak. Just hearing his telepathic voice filled her with happiness.

(Leave me alone.) Kayleb said and he broke the link. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed his face. If his sister needed him that badly then he had to get out of bed and go to her.

He stood and pulled on some clean clothes. He put his badge around his neck and ran his hand over his messy hair that was getting a little too long. He knew he probably looked like hell but he didn’t care. He had no reason to care about anything anymore. He wished he could just lie in the bed and die but he’d been trying that for two weeks and it hadn’t happened.

He cracked his neck, rolled his aching shoulders and then dashed himself to the police station.

“Damn it!” Barry Hicks yelled as Kayleb once again knocked over a freshly stacked pile of folders. Kayleb didn’t bother apologizing. He just walked over to his desk, which was full of papers and folders, and slammed his head down.

“You came.” Kaylee said with shock. He looked like hell but he was alive and he was out of the bed.

“You said you needed my help. Now give me something to do … I need something to do.” Kaylee nodded as she looked at the top of her brothers head and grabbed a file.

“There’s a gang of subs that’s been hanging out in an alley behind that nightclub in Hagarty and the chief wants them to move out of there because they are causing trouble with people leaving the club at night.” Kayleb nodded, the air shimmered and he was gone.

He returned less than ten minutes later and his clothes were covered in blood, though none of it was his.

“What happened?” Kaylee asked as she raised her brow and looked up at him.

“They aren’t going to be causing any more trouble.” he replied. Kaylee slammed the file she was reading closed and shook her head.

“You were just supposed to talk to them and tell them to leave… Not kill them!”

“You never said I couldn’t kill them. You have to be more specific about what you want.” Kayleb replied. Burning off some steam had felt good and he sat down at his desk to start looking through the papers that were piled up there.

“Kayleb?” Kayleb looked up at the chief to see the millipede was still there and gave a small wave in greeting.

“Hello chief.”

“Nice of you to grace us with your presence once again.” he said dryly. “Good work dealing with that Vincent situation. I’m glad the killer is finally dead and parents can sleep soundly again.” Kaylee saw Kayleb’s eyes go right back to looking pain filled and sad and she wished she could smack the chief right on the back of his balding head.

“I’m trying to get some work done, chief.” Kayleb said burying his head in the file he was looking through about a string of murders of mortal men who were picking up prostitutes and getting more than they bargained for when the vampire hooker would drain them dry and take their money.

“You could solve that one quick. Just head over to that part of town tonight and start picking up hookers. Eventually you’ll find the right one and until you do, you’ll get to have fun with all of the wrong ones.” the chief said with a chuckle. Kayleb growled and Kaylee intervened.

“Should you really be encouraging prostitution sir?” she asked. The chief shrugged.

“We’ve gotta bigger things to worry about in this day and age than a man paying for a little sex on the side.” With that the chief walked back into his office and closed the door.

“I don’t like him.” Kayleb said. “Two weeks of absence did not make my heart grow fonder.” Kaylee groaned when she saw the woman coming up behind her brother.

“I hope it helped with Tortilonni.” she said.

“Well hello there, good looking!” Susie Tortilonni’s screechy, nails-on-the-chalkboard, voice said. Kayleb tried to ignore her and keep looking through the files. “You’ve been gone so long. You look a little sad, sweet cheeks. What’s say I give you a nice long massage and make you forget about whatever trashy women put that frown on your face?”

Kayleb felt his temper flare. The wolf in him was angry that anyone would dare insult his mate and the man in him was pissed as well. He turned to Susie and instead of speaking he let out a snarling growl that was so loud it seemed to shake the windows in the tiny station and caused everyone to cover their ears and stare at him with shock. Susie Torilonni turned and ran quickly from the room and toward the bathrooms. Kayleb cleared his throat and turned back to the papers he was looking at.

“What the hell was that about?” Kaylee demanded.

“I’ve asked her a million times to leave me alone.”

“She doesn’t mean anything by it.” Kaylee said. “She’s just a lonely middle aged woman.”

“She needs to leave me the hell alone.” Kayleb growled.

“I think you made her piss her pants.” Kaylee said with a smile, hoping to see the sad look leave her brothers eyes but it didn’t.

“Let’s just get some work done.” he muttered.

By the end of the day Kaylee was near tears. Her brother who had always like to joke and tease… Who had a bad temper but was pretty much harmless had turned into a sad, brooding, dangerous man who seemed to hate life and everything about it. Kayleb needed Vanessa and that was all there was to it.

“Kayleb, you worked today?” Rebecca asked with surprise as he and Kaylee dashed into the kitchen together around dinner time.

“Yes.” he said. And then his eyes narrowed as the scent of green apples filled his nose and his heart broke for the millionth time that day. He looked at the cut up apples sitting in a bowl while, Rebecca went about making a pie crust and he growled low in his throat.

“Kayleb, are you okay?” Rebecca asked.

“Get these damn things out of here!” he yelled and he picked the bowl up and threw it against he wall, shattering the glass and sending apple chunks flying before dashing and disappearing from the house.

“I didn’t realize…” Rebecca said apologetically as Kaylee started helping to pick up the mess.

“He’s been this way all day.” Kaylee replied. “He was practically dead for the first two weeks and now he’s full of so much rage and pain he can’t even think straight. I have to think of something to save him or he’s going to completely self destruct.”

Kayleb didn’t come back home and once darkness settled Kaylee decided to go for a walk. She walked into the forest, listening to the sounds of frogs and crickets as she looked up at the moonlit, star filled sky.

“Damien, I need you.” she said and then suddenly she felt foolish. He hadn’t really meant she could just call for him anytime… There was no way he could possibly hear her.

“I’m here darling.” Damien said walking out of the shadows and scaring her so badly she let out a little scream and covered her chest with her hand.

“Where did you come from?” she gasped. He smiled and as always she was amazed by how handsome and breathtaking his smile made him.

“I told you I would hear you anytime you called for me.” he said. “What is wrong? I can tell that you are sad and worried.” Kaylee let him wrap his powerful arms around her and though she had always been tall for a woman, the top of her head barely brushed his chin as he held her close.

“It’s my brother and his mate.” she whispered against his crisp white button down shirt as she listened to his heart beat steadily in his chest. Though Damien really did not care about what was going on between the two of them, he cared very much that whatever it was, was making his beautiful wolf sad. He would do anything to keep her from ever feeling anything but happiness.

“What is wrong with them?” he asked.

“She left him.”

“Why?” Damien asked.

“Because she’s stupid.” Kaylee replied with a tired laugh.

“All mortals are.” Damien agreed. Kaylee pulled away and he saw the temper that amazed and amused him flash in her eyes.

“I’m too wore down and tired to deal with your belief in stereotypes right now.” she said with defeat. Damien turned her around and began to gently massage her tight shoulders. The woman was clearly tense and on edge and he wanted to make her feel better.

“Why did she really leave?” he asked. Kaylee moaned beneath his hands and closed her eyes.

“Because my brother is immortal and she’s not. And she doesn’t want to stay with him and have him watch her grow old… But she doesn’t want to fully mate with him because her daughter would still be mortal and she says she already lost one child and doesn’t want to watch another die.” Damien shook his head. Mortals, were creatures and even some vampires felt too many emotions… He wondered what kept their heads from exploding as they worried about everyone and everything and felt a million different things at once.

“I am sorry that you are hurting over this.” he said, pressing his lips against her soft hair. He loved touching her and pressing his lips to her head… Everything about his beautiful wolf was so soft.

“Is there a way to make her daughter immortal too?” Kaylee asked with a frustrated laugh. “That would solve all their problems.” Damien hesitated before responding and Kaylee turned quickly and looked up into his light blue eyes.

“Oh my word! There is a way to make her immortal isn’t there!” she demanded with excitement. Damien sighed.

“Technically, yes.” he replied. “There is demon magic to turn a mortal child immortal. The demons developed the power in order to harvest young children and keep them alive through all the torture they made them endure.” Kaylee shivered at the thought.

“Would she still age till her twenties and then stop like a naturally born immortal?” she asked. Damien nodded.

“Yes. She would be like an immortal mate in a way.” Kaylee’s brown eyes lit up.

“Oh Damien this will fix everything!” she said. Damien shook his head.

“It cannot be done Kaylee. It is forbidden to be used outside of the demon castle.” Kaylee’s face fell.

“Damien please, I am watching my brother waste away and self destruct. Not to mention what Vanessa must be going through!”

“Do you know what you are asking me for?” Damien asked though he was not angry… He had not felt an emotion like anger in hundreds of years. “If anyone found out they would put a death sentence on my head.”

“Never mind then.” Kaylee said sadly. “I would never want to ask you to risk your life. It is just so hard to see my brother suffer.”

“You set yourself for too much pain by caring so deeply for so many people Kaylee.”

“I can’t help it Damien. I don’t know how to turn my heart off.” she said. “I wish there was a way you could help my brother.” Damien gave her a sad half smile.

“I must go darling. Please do not be sad. It troubles me to know you are hurting.”

“I need you.” Kaylee whispered. Damien kissed her head as sadness came over his features and then he faded away into the shadows of the woods. Kaylee sat down on the leaf covered ground and cried. She did not normally cry because she knew that crying didn’t solve anything but there were times when a woman just had to break down.

Her brother was self destructing, the one man she loved knew how to fix the problem but could not do it without risking death, and he had just walked away from her again despite the fact that she had still needed him here with her… Sometimes life simply was just too hard.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Kayleb’s strong arms closed around her waist and Vanessa trembled as he pressed his lips against her ear and whispered how much he loved her. Faith laughed happily as she ran in the sunshine with Scout on her heels. Vanessa looked behind her and saw the family all sitting around the picnic table, their jokes and laughter floating on the breeze.

“Are you gonna put that tray away or are you thinking of eating that leftover tapioca?” Janice asked with a chuckle. Vanessa was startled from her daydreams and looked at the heavy set middle aged nurse and then down at the tray full of patient 204’s leftover dinner.

“I’m not that hungry yet.” Vanessa replied as she sat the tray down on the cafeteria cart for the cooks to come pick up later. In truth Vanessa had not eaten much of anything in two weeks… Food seemed to have lost its appeal… Everything in life seemed duller and less colorful these days.

“I know you like to keep your private life private, sweetie, but you seem awfully sad these days…” Janice said putting her hand on her wide hip. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No. No I don’t.” Vanessa said quickly. “Thank you for asking though.” Janice nodded and looked up at the clock.

“Looks like your shift is over, sweetie. Go on and spend some time with that angel of yours. That will help you feel better.” Vanessa nodded and gathered her things before leaving the hospital. She drove to Faith’s daycare, completely exhausted from her twelve hour shift, and was told that Faith had once again acted out during the day and made another student cry.

Faith had been acting out ever since leaving Kayleb and Vanessa didn’t blame her because Vanessa had not been acting like herself either.

They walked into the house and Faith instantly ran back to her bedroom with Scout and Vanessa heard her door slam shut. Vanessa was too tired and emotionally sore to deal with her daughters temper just now. She wanted nothing more than to collapse on the couch for the rest of the night but dinner was not going to cook itself.

She cut the chicken she had thawed out that morning and put it and some frozen vegetable on to sauté before putting some water on to heat for rice. She was just walking back to the couch to sit for a moment when a knock came on the door.

“Steven?” Vanessa gasped when she opened the door and her ex-husband was standing there.

“Hi Nessa.” he said, calling her the nickname he had always used before their son had died.

“What are you doing here?” Vanessa asked. Dealing with Steven was not something she had the energy for.

“I want to see Faith.” he replied gently. Vanessa’s eyes narrowed as she looked him up and down. His clothes were wrinkled but they were clean. He didn’t stink. His face was freshly shaven and his eyes looked clear.

“You seem different.” she said as she moved aside and let him walk in.

“Let’s just say that someone said some things to me that I needed to hear and I’ve been over two weeks clean and sober now. I want to be a real father to Faith… I’ve missed out on too much.” Vanessa wanted to believe him. Faith needed her father, especially now that her mother was living in a fog.

“She’s in her room playing. You are welcome to stay and eat dinner with us.”

“Thank you, Nessa, I won’t let you down this time. I promise.” Steven said reaching out for her hand. Vanessa pulled away.

“Go spend time with your daughter.” Steven’s shoulders fell.

“Right… I should have known that bridge had been burnt.” he replied.

“Blown up with a whole truckload of C-4 explosives.” Vanessa nodded in agreement.

“Well you’ll make some man real happy someday. I just wish I hadn’t let you get away.” Steven said sadly. Vanessa felt her already shattered heart get a new crack.

“Just go spend time with your daughter, Steven, and leave me alone…. Please?” Steven nodded and walked away from her and down the hallway, rubbing the back of his neck as he went.

“Daddy!” Faith exclaimed happily when he opened the door and she caught sight of him.

“Hello nugget!” he exclaimed just as happily. Vanessa threw herself down in the kitchen chair and buried her face in her hands. She had always worked hard to be strong but she just couldn’t do it anymore… Without Kayleb she gave up.

“What’s wrong with you, Nessa?” Steven asked after he had tucked Faith into bed and Vanessa was walking him to the door.

“Nothing.” Vanessa replied quickly. Steven sighed.

“Something is wrong.” he said. “I haven’t been a great guy the last three years but there were six years before that, that you and I were pretty damn close and I know you.” Vanessa wanted to tell him to go to hell but that would take too much energy so she just flopped herself down on the couch and crossed her arms over her chest.

“See, something is wrong. The old Vanessa would have told me to kiss her ass and go to hell for acting like I knew her! You might as well talk to me.” he said and he sat down beside her.

“It’s none of your business, Steven.”

“Faith says she’s mad at you because you told her that you two could live with them werewolves and then you made her leave. That man, Kayleb, was he somebody special to you?” At the mention of Kayleb’s name Vanessa fell apart. She curled up into a tiny ball at the end of the couch and sobbed.

Steven stared at her in shock for several long seconds. He had never seen Vanessa cry. Even when Matthew had died, she had held it all together and been strong and that was part of what had sent him over the edge… He had wanted to see her hurt the same way he was hurting and it had made him feel alone and ashamed when she had simply held her head high and soldiered on through the pain.

He reached out a tentative hand and touched her shoulder, knowing that he might very well lose his arm for doing so and he was shocked speechless when she turned and buried herself against his chest.

“I love him so much, Steven!” she gasped through her tears. “Love isn’t even a strong enough word for how I feel. That man is everything. He has my heart and soul and without him I just can’t seem to be happy.” Steven’s heart broke to know that her heart would never again be his but it broke even more to know that she was hurting this badly.

“Why can’t you be together?” he asked. Vanessa explained the situation to him as she kept her face pressed against his wrinkled black t-shirt.

“I think that if you love him this much then you need to be with him. Just love him for as long as you have left, Vanessa. I know what it’s like to have and then lose you and I can promise you right now that that man is probably just as miserable as you are.”

“I never wanted to hurt anybody, Steven.”

“I know you didn’t, Nessa.” he said as he ran his fingers through her thick hair. “It’s just sometimes you are too strong and protective for your own good.” Vanessa gave a humorless laugh as she pulled away from him and looked at large wet stain on the front of his shirt.

“This is a change isn’t it? Me breaking down and crying on you.” Steven shrugged.

“I kind of like it. I never got a chance to be the strong one when we were married.”

“You weren’t cut out to be the strong one.” Vanessa reminded him and he shook his head.

“No I wasn’t.” he agreed. “But I’m here now.” Vanessa nodded and let him wrap her back in a hug. She laid her head on his chest and cried over how hard life could be sometimes.

Steven held her for what felt like hours and finally he realized that her tears had stopped and her breathing had deepened. He looked down at her and saw that she had fallen fast asleep against him. The poor woman worked herself to the bone.

He stood up and lifted her into his arms. She groaned and snuggled closer to him and he felt his heart break. He had made a colossal mistake when he had let this woman go but he wasn’t going to let Kayleb make the same kind of mistake. He would go to Kayleb himself and tell the man to chase after Vanessa and not let her get away.

He laid her down in her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin before pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead and leaving the room. He poked his head in Faiths room but she was sound asleep with Scout curled up at the foot of the bed.

He walked out to the kitchen, washed the dinner dishes, slipped on his shoes and left, making sure to lock the door behind him.

---

Kayleb held the pistol against his chest. This would be so simple. A liquid silver round, straight to the heart would definitely kill him and then he wouldn’t have to hurt anymore. The wolf in him was desperate to end the pain and the man in him was just as tired.

He looked around the drab New York apartment that he had run to after breaking his grandma’s dish. It belonged to Jake but Kayleb didn’t care. It was somewhere away from sympathetic eyes and people trying to talk to him about his problems.

He didn’t want to fucking talk about his problems! Talking was not going to make them any better and it sure as hell wasn’t going to fix the fact that half of his soul had been ripped out of him. He had to have Vanessa. Her scent, her touch, her gentle voice, were all as vital to him as oxygen and if he couldn’t have her then he would rather be dead.

He had been here in this apartment for nearly twenty-four hours. It was time for him to end his pain. Time for him to shut up the wolf inside his head that was crying out for a mate he couldn’t have. He took a long swig from the whiskey bottle in his hands and then pressed the gun tight against his chest. He could feel his heart beating against the barrel.

He closed his eyes, took one last long breath and was just about to squeeze the trigger when a picture of Faith flashed through his mind and his eyes flew open as he threw the gun across the room.

What was he doing? He had promised that little girl that she could call him or come to him anytime… He couldn’t kill himself and turn his words into lies. But he couldn’t live this way anymore either. It was time to go and get what was his….

Chapter Twenty-Four

Damien looked down at the little girl sleeping soundly in the bed. The dog sleeping at her feet was unaware of his presence. Demons were gifted at slipping in and out of places unnoticed. When the entire world hated you it was a very useful talent to have.

The girl whined in her sleep and curled up tighter to the pink blanket in her arms as her hair fell across her face. Damien wondered what she dreamt that frightened her because he could sense her fear.

He was very good at thinking through problems with a logical mind because he did not feel all the emotions that made decision making hard for other creatures. The logical part of his mind told him that making this girl immortal so that her mother could be with her werewolf mate was not his problem. There was no reason for him to include himself and put himself in harms way.

He would not be killed for using the forbidden demon magic… No the penalty would be much higher. Too high of a price to pay just so a mortal and a werewolf would not have to feel pain.

But then there was the part of his mind that forgot about logic when it came to Kaylee. All of his coldness and level headed thinking seemed to vanish when he thought about her. She was hurting because her twin brother was hurting and there was no penalty that was too high to pay in order to take away her sadness.

His decision made, he lowered his hand to the tiny girl’s head and closed his eyes. The room filled with a white light so bright and intense it would have caused blindness for any mortal watching but did not disturb the girl beneath his hand. The dog whimpered and jumped from the bed to hide in the shadows beneath it.

Damien felt his own power flowing into the girl as he shared his immortality with her. Not only was she immortal now but she was nearly impossible to kill. Upon coming of age she would have demon strength and be able to learn demon magic. Because his power was white, her soul would be pure. Damien had been born with the typical black aura of demons but after rebelling against certain evils his family tried to enforce on him his power had turned white.

He did not know why that was and he did not take the time to try to figure it out because it did not matter to him. He was only satisfied that nothing in the girl would be evil because of the power used to change her. He pulled his hand away and knew the deed was done. He could sense the change in the girl. She would still be a normal child but all immortals would be able to sense her immortality and the power that she held inside.

---

Vanessa sat up in bed with a start just before Vincent sank his fangs deep into her neck. She took several deep breaths, hoping to calm her heartbeat and wiped the sweat from her face. She realized that Steven must have carried her to bed and she was still wearing her dirty nursing scrubs. She looked at the clock and saw that it was nearly one in the morning.

She stood up, deciding that she at least wanted to change her clothes, when she caught a movement in the corner of the room and saw a man standing there in the shadows. His face was cloaked in the darkness and she let out a startled gasp before grabbing her pistol from the bedside table and firing a shot at his chest.

She watched with a mixture of horror and amazement when the bullet stopped in mid air. It hung there for a moment before falling onto the carpet with a dull thud.

Vanessa held her useless weapon in front of her as the man stepped out of the shadows. She saw his dark blue jeans that hugged his legs and were faded just a bit at the thigh, his crisp white button down shirt unbuttoned slightly to show the dusting of hair on his chest and then his face… Perfect and almost angelic, with light blue eyes and blond hair that had just a bit of curl as it fell around his face.

“You’re that man… You helped rescue me from Vincent.” she said as she took a step back. “What are you doing here?”

“Kaylee asked me to help. I solved the problem that was keeping you from your mate so you do not have to be sad anymore and neither does Kayleb and Kaylee can stop worrying.” Vanessa was struck by the lack of emotion in his voice. He gave off the impression that he was indeed a higher form of being that did not like being troubled by the ‘lower beings’ problems.

“What are you talking about?” Vanessa asked.

“Your daughter is immortal now. I used demon magic to give her an immortal soul.”

“You what?” Vanessa demanded. “What did you do to my daughter! What do you mean demon magic! If you hurt her, so help me God I’ll…..” Damien held up his hand.

“I did not harm your daughter. She is perfectly healthy and still sound asleep. Just because magic comes from a demon does not mean it is evil. Demons may just use it to meet evil needs at times. This was not one of those times. You can now be with your mate without worrying that you will have to watch your daughter die of old age. She will grow up and be immortal just as if she were born that way. And she will be powerful since she holds a part of my own immortality.” Vanessa was trying to wrap her head around what he was telling her. She dropped the gun back on the table and sat down hard on the bed.

“Can this be undone?” she asked. Damien raised a brow.

“Do you want it undone?” he asked. Vanessa bit her lip and closed her eyes before running her hands roughly over her face and looking back at him.

“You swear to me you didn’t do anything that will hurt her.”

“I do.”

“She’ll still grow up like a normal child and then stop aging the way all immortals do?”

“Yes.”

“When you say that she holds your own immortality does that mean her life is tied to yours?” Vanessa asked.

“No.” Damien replied. “Only her mate will form a life bond with her.”

“She’ll have a mate?” Vanessa asked finding all this hard to believe. Of course she was exhausted both physically and mentally and that probably had a lot to do with the fuzziness in her brain.

“Yes. All immortals do.” Vanessa couldn’t stop herself. She jumped from the bed and ran to him throwing her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly. He stood there as still as stone and tense until she finally pulled away.

“Thank you.” she said.

“I did it for Kaylee. There was no other motive. You do not need to thank me.”

“You love Kaylee don’t you?”

“Demons do not feel love.” Damien replied. Vanessa nodded and then walked back over to her bed and sat down.

“I have to get ahold of Kayleb.” she said as she reached for the phone on the bedside table. “I have to let him know….”

Before she could press talk on the phone the air shimmered in the room and suddenly Kayleb was there. His red hair had gotten too long and it was a mess. He had clearly run his hands through it about a million times recently.

His face was pale in the moonlight coming through the window and the dark circles around his sad brown eyes looked like bruises. He looked like he’d been sleeping in his jeans and t-shirt for a few days and he smelled like a whiskey bottle.

“Kayleb….” Vanessa gasped.

“Please, listen to me…” he said.

“Have you been drinking?” she asked. He waved his hand dismissively.

“Yes, but that’s besides the point.” he said. “I can’t do this anymore, Vanessa. I can’t live another day without you. I need to smell you, taste you, touch you…. I need you.”

“Kayleb I….”

’Before you say we can’t be together because you don’t want to hurt me let me get something straight with you. You are already hurting me! No I take that back.. You’re killing me. I don’t care if I have to tie you up, throw you over my shoulder and take you back with me against your will.. You are coming back to me tonight because I can’t live another second without you and Faith.“

Suddenly Kayleb’s nostrils widened and he turned quickly and growled low in his throat as he realized Damien was in the room for the first time.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded.

“Kayleb” Vanessa said as she laid her hand on his arm. Kayleb’s eyes closed as he leaned into her touch and then he turned and wrapped his arms tight around her, breathing in her scent and letting her fill his senses.

“I love you, Vanessa… Please come back to me.”

“Kayleb, that’s why Damien is here….We can be together now. I can be your mate, your real mate, and we can have eternity.”

“Eternity?” Kayleb said uncertainly. “What about Faith and what does Damien have to do with this?”

“He made Faith immortal, Kayleb. He swears there was nothing evil about it and nothing he did will harm her… She will grow up and then stop aging the way all immortals do.”

“Are you sure, demon? Because if you did a damn thing to hurt that girl I’ll rip your head off right now.” Kayleb growled turning back to Damien.

“I am sure wolf. The girl will be fine.”

“Mommy what….” Faith stopped talking as she walked into the room and saw Kayleb.

“Kayleb!” she squealed happily. She ran to him as he dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms tight around her. “I missed you!” she gasped as she pulled away.

“I missed you too, angel…You and your mommy. But I think you guys are coming back home with me now.” he said and both he and Faith looked up at Vanessa.

“Take us home, Kayleb.” she said with a happy smile.

Steven knocked loudly on the door to the huge log mansion. He jumped back with surprise when the door was thrown open and a six and half foot man with no shirt and rolling muscles glared down at him with angry golden eyes and a growl.

---

“Who.. Who the h..h..hell are y..y..you?” Steven stammered.

“You are knocking on my door in the middle of the night. Who the hell are you?” Jake growled as he tried to decide whether to hear the man out or snap his neck and go back to bed.

“My name is Steven… I need to talk to Kayleb.”

“You need to get the hell out of here before I…..”

“Uncle Jake, it’s okay!” Kaylee said running up and stepping in front of her uncle.

“You know him?” Jake asked, motioning toward Steven with his thumb. Kaylee nodded.

“He’s Vanessa’s ex husband… Faith’s dad.” Jake nodded and scratched at his bare stomach.

“Can I go back to bed now?” he asked.

“Yes. Go back to bed.” Kaylee said while fighting to hide her smile. There was nothing quite as scary yet funny at the same time as her grouchy uncle when you disturbed his sleep.

“Good. Because you know Kaitlyn will probably be up at the crack of dawn yelling about a sweater or something.” he mumbled as he turned and walked away.

“What are you doing here, Steven? Is there something wrong with Vanessa or Faith?”

“Damn straight there’s something wrong with Vanessa. Where is your brother?” he demanded.

“I’m right here.” Kayleb replied as he, Faith, Vanessa and Scout suddenly appeared in the living room.

“You’re together!” Kaylee exclaimed and then she caught Faith’s scent and her eyes widened. “She’s…..” Kaylee didn’t finish her statement because she didn’t want Steven to freak out but Vanessa nodded.

(Your demon friend paid her a visit tonight.) Kayleb said so only his sister could hear.

“What are you doing here, Steven?” Vanessa asked her ex-husband.

“I came to talk some sense into that damn man and tell him to go get your ass and bring it back here where it belongs but obviously he’s smarter than me and did it on his own.”

“Of course I’m smarter than you.” Kayleb grumbled but Kaylee was relieved to see the happy smile on his face… Her brother was back.

“You came here for me?” Vanessa asked.

“Of course I did. You never cry, Nessa. You are always the picture of strength and holding things together. You didn’t cry when your parents died. You didn’t cry when Matthew died. You didn’t cry when I turned to drugs and our marriage fell apart. You didn’t cry no matter what horrible things I said to you. You didn’t cry when you walked out and left me and as far as I know you never cried no matter how hard life got taking care of Faith on your own….. So when you sobbed against my chest because you loved and missed him so much, I knew I had to do something.”

“Thank you.” Vanessa said and she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Kayleb felt the wolf in him grow jealous but he forced himself to keep his mouth shut. Vanessa was his and he definitely had no reason to be jealous over Steven.

“Mommy, I’m super sleepy.” Faith said as she rubbed her eyes. Vanessa nodded.

“Kayleb and mommy will take you up to bed.” she replied.

“Can I come by and visit sometimes?” Steven asked Kayleb and Kayleb nodded.

“Yes. Faith would probably like that.” Steven nodded, said goodbye to everyone and then walked out shutting the door behind him.

Kaylee watched Kayleb and Vanessa lead Faith up the stairs with Scout close behind them and she smiled.

Finally things were going back to the way they were supposed to be. She just wished her mom and dad could be here to see Kayleb’s happiness. Kaylee walked through the house to the back door and walked out on the porch. She could see the shadow of her parent’s grave at the far end of the yard against the forest and she wiped a tear from her eye.

Then a smoky scent filled her senses and she looked closer at the tree line and saw Damien standing there. She wondered if his life was really in danger now that he had used that demon magic without permission. She hoped not. She waved for him to come to her but he shook his head sadly, gave her a half smile and then turned and faded into the woods. Kaylee wrapped her arms tight around herself, despite the heat of the early summer night, and walked back into the house.

---

Kayleb traced the scar on Vanessa’s shoulder with his fingertip and smiled when he felt her tremble. His bite now sealed their bond. Vanessa raised her own fingers to the scar on his shoulder and smiled.

“I can’t believe I actually wanted to bite you.” she said with embarrassment.

“You wanted to bite me because you’ve got a little wolf in you now.” he replied with a grin.

“Just as long as I don’t grow fur.” she replied as she snuggled deeper into his arms, enjoying the feel of his skin against hers.

“I thought you liked fur… You said you loved me fur and all didn’t you?” he teased.

“I love your fur.” she agreed. “That doesn’t mean I want any of my own.” They lay there in silence for a while, simply enjoying being together again.

“Would you really have tied me up and made me come with you?” Vanessa asked after a while. Kayleb nodded.

“Hell yes I would have.” he replied.

“I would have let you.” Vanessa admitted. “I was miserable without you, Kayleb. It was like everything in life had lost its luster. Everything was dull and drab and all the happiness was gone.”

“We’re together now, baby, and that’s all that matters.” Kayleb said and then he yawned loudly.

“Are you tired?” Vanessa asked.

“Very.” he replied.

“Get some sleep.”

“I’m scared to.”

“Why?” she asked looking up into his chocolate brown eyes.

“Because every time I’ve fallen asleep with you in my arms after making love, I’ve woken up alone.” Vanessa raised her hand to his face and he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch.

“You’ll never wake up alone again. I promise.” she vowed. “Just like I don’t have to be strong on my own anymore.”

“Finally she gets it.” Kayleb said with a sigh. Vanessa laughed lightly and laid her head back down on his chest.

“I’m a slow learner but I catch on eventually.”

“Get some sleep, Vanessa… I’m sure the family will have us up bright and early to celebrate you and Faith coming home.”

“It feels good to be home.” she replied and truer words had never been spoken, until of course Kayleb kissed her hair and whispered,

“I love you.”