Agatha waited until the rescue party left before she slipped into the bedroom to check on Kira.  She found her lying on her back with a pillow beneath her hips while silently weeping.“I know, now, that my body does not need to be in love to enjoy coupling,” she said with a voice filled with shame.“I understand,” Agatha said knowingly.  “Do not let it upset you like I let it upset me after I coupled with Marc.  Just be thankful Edwin was not here to witness it.”“How you must have felt,” Kira said sympathetically.“You?  Ye said you?” Agatha giggled.“I am trying,” Kira said with a wan smile.“He has you on the pillow to assure his seed takes,” Agatha observed.  “He is surprisingly knowledgeable of these things.”“He said that once a male impregnates a female during the bonding ritual, the bond cannot be brok

His body ached from head to toe and he was cold; so very, very cold.  Edwin tried to sit up, but the effort was overwhelming.  Something heavy was on his chest, holding him down.It was dark, so very dark.  Too dark to see even though his eyes were opened wide.  He could hear breathing close by.  He felt a tickling sensation as a moist nose rapidly sniffed up and down his body.  A sudden jolt took him by surprise.  His arms frantically flailed around him as he tried to find an inanimate object to secure him in place as whatever had sniffed him tried to drag him by the pant leg through the snow.With every waking moment, he grew more and more aware of his body and surroundings.  It was as if he’d left it and was now making a slow reconnection.A low snarl alerted him to the fact that the animal that was dragging him had met up with another animal that coveted him. As fascinating as it would have been to watch the batt

The skies were clear, yet it sounded like thunder up ahead as Edwin carefully made his way through the forest. Ebenezer had already warned him of the battle that ensued at Claus’ estate between his good, and Malcolm’s evil, vampires.  He’d also explained that it was because Claus assumed the role as Kira’s mate and protector that his home was under attack.  Malcolm was determined to get Kira back.  He’d been searching for far too long to let her bonding with another vampire stop him from finally having her.  He was her maker. It was his right.  Vampire law be damned.Mixed emotions flooded him as he listened to his ghostly grandfather explain how Kira agreed to bond and mate with Claus if he promised to rescue him from Malcolm’s evil clutches.  The old ghost was careful to be clear on the fact that Claus coveted Kira and would expect her to honor her promise to him even if Edwin showed up a vampire instead of a