“What do you know about these vampires?” Lila asked as she settled onto the end of the cozy overstuffed circa nineteen-twenties sofa in Jasper’s suite.  She took a moment to note that, although dated, the suite was tastefully decorated while she waited for his reply.“I didn’t even believe in vampires until recently,” Jasper replied. “Rowan is their leader or perhaps he is better considered their king.  I’m not sure.  He rescued me from an alley and saved my life.  That’s really all I know. That and the fact that he has a keen interest in developing longevity of life for humans and wants me to shift the genetics of the vampire to closer resemble that of a human.”“If you believe the folklore, vampires live forever,” Lila mused as she curled her legs and tucked her feet beneath her. “Imagine them being more human.  I wonder what that would be like.”&ldquo

The brilliance of the newly installed equipment in the lab with its walls that were recently painted a white so bright as to be borderline blinding was like a slap in Rowan’s face as he strode into the room.  It took several seconds for his sensitive vampire eyes to adjust enough to locate the scientist he’d been fortunate enough to stumble upon in the alley a few months earlier.Vampires moved with a silent stealth that allowed them to sneak up on their prey.  The fact that Jasper looked up from his microscope to greet him almost immediately upon his passing through the doorway gave Rowan cause for pause.  It was time to learn just what the man he’d rescued in that alley had turned into.  He showed signs of being a vampire, but also those of a werewolf. Over the centuries, rumors of vampire-werewolf hybrids had reached his ears, but they were simply rumor.  Or so he thought.  The stories told of the hybrids being b

It was eerily quiet on the opposite side of the thick bedroom door as Lila listened for some signs of life.Flattening her ear against the mahogany barrier, she strained to hear something… anything.  There was only silence. Creepy.  Creepy silence.She needed to take action.  Having such a void of activity in this part of the castle was a rarity that hadn’t occurred since she’d taken up residency.  The set up of the lab was completed, so perhaps that meant the end to all of the activity.  Or, perhaps it was simply a fluke, and an opportunity of this type may not come again for a long time, if ever. It was now or never.Her heart lashed against her ribcage as she slowly opened the door just enough to peek out.  Not stopping at her chest, the damnable thing proceeded to climb up into her head and beat in tom-tom fashion against her eardrums, making it nearly impossible to listen for sounds of any type.

The muscles in Marcus’ powerful thighs strained against the fabric of his faded denim jeans as he impatiently paced the anteroom of the great hall. The excited chattering and grumbling of his clan as they gathered together on the opposite side of the oak veneered door made him eager to get in front of them and share the news.Since he became the pack master a few years earlier, the werewolves had made huge strides in bringing the enemy to their knees.  What held them back was the fact that the vampires had managed to keep the location of their castle secret through magic. Now that they’d finally discovered a witch who could show them the location of the vampire’s castle with a locator spell, he had no doubt they would be able to finish the job.The door opened just enough to allow a young man to pop his head through and announce to Marcus that it was time for him to address the crowd.  Moving his shoulders in a way that would release any ten

Jasper worriedly paced between the long tables that held his research equipment while he waited for Lila to return from the errand he’d sent her on.  Getting permission to leave the vampire’s lair had been nearly impossible.  If Lila wasn’t successful in obtaining what he needed, he doubted there would be another opportunity in the near future.She’d finally found the time and the courage to confess to him that she belonged to a coven.  To her surprise, he’d embraced the idea almost too fully.  His acute disappointment in learning that she was a new member and a babe in comparison to the others with her knowledge and skills was obvious.“Why do you want a witch?” she’d asked.“I need a protection spell of some sort,” he’d replied. “I am fairly certain that I have taken on the traits of the werewolf and vampire. I can’t be sure about the zombie, as I&rsq