I knew that I was chattering too much about things he probably could care less about, and I met Alexis' eyes anxiously. He nodded. He wasn't even looking at the room. He was watching me. "Feel free to make yourself at home on the main level. The office is strictly my assistant's area and … you might not be very comfortable in the family room. It's where my daughter plays.""Show me the family room," he requested."Sure." I began to walk out of the room, but Alexis clasped my wrist. "Let's use the shortcut," he said."Oh. Right." I flashed us to the large and cluttered family room. We always ended up here whenever the Ladies in Waiting or the Wolf Pack gathered. The sectional was big and comfy and had been broken in nicely.Alexis stepped forward and looked around. He stooped to pick up a stuffed bear that had been washed so many times it had gone thin in in the paws. We couldn't get rid of it, though, because BJ had named it. It was Bee Bee. You can't throw away a toy that yo

Damn, I thought. She was obviously in a bad mood.The young vampire cringed and transported away. A split-second later, Monica disappeared after him. None of us moved. We'd seen the young ones do this often enough. A split-second later she returned, holding him suspended in the air by his throat. She had gone "hissy face," her teeth longer than normal and her face etched in a monstrous scowl. She brought the vampire down to her mouth and ripped out his throat. Seconds later, young vampire Charles was nothing but ash."Monica," Tony began, his brow gathered in a frown."Leave it alone, Tony!" Monica snapped.My mouth formed an O while a faint smile crossed Kaniji's lips. I could tell that Kaniji thought Tony's and Monica's relationship had run its course.I looked up at Alexis to get his reaction, but he was only staring at Monica. With a flick of his wrist, Malarias cleaned away the blood and ash and replaced the white tablecloth with one that wasn't splattered by gore. "Per

I sat up with a jolt and looked around. I was on a pristine white sofa in a strange room. The pale, dusky light of dawn seeped through windows and a French door that did not obstruct the light with sheers or blinds.I saw Alexis standing at one of the windows, gazing out, his back to me. And then I saw that Monica lay opposite me on a hunter green velvet chaise. We were in her home. She slept, and although the sun crept over her porcelain skin, she did not burn. As my child she also had the ability to withstand the sun."She will awaken soon," Alexis said. "This one is very strong." I rubbed my head feeling as if I had a hellafied hangover. It had been a long time since I'd felt that way. "Ugh. I gotta get to BJ.""Samantha is awake and tending to her needs." Alexis turned and joined me in the living room where he stood with his hands clasped behind him.I shook my head. "Oh, Alexis, this is trouble," I said as I looked at Monica, my progeny, my child, my friend. "Why me? Why is

BJ looked up and patted her daddy's cheek until he gently kissed her hand. "What happened after that?" he asked in a much calmer voice. Hmm. Maybe I had better set the baby in his lap whenever I had to tell him news I know he wouldn't like. "Well, she admitted that she's wanted us to be lovers but that my 'many' lovers are always in the way." I rolled my eyes when I made the air quotes around the word "many."Paul was not amused. "Funny how she waited until she thought I was indisposed. She is one sneaky bi—"He glanced down at our daughter. "Individual.""Or else she's just not in control yet. We gotta give her a learning curve, too, honey. We're still on ours." He didn't seem to care. "And why is Alexis with her instead of with you?""Alexis says she's like me and that we're both powerful." After he'd returned home that night when she'd attempted to seduce me, Alexis explained that he intended to find out just how useful she could be to our cause. And then he said no more abo

We were missing something big here.Paul said that by the next full moon they expected to have the one hundred and ninety-six able bodies, which included Paul, Jason, and Tyler. "We could use a few months to gain control of the wolf," Paul said. "However, the army will be complete by the next full moon. I suggest that Malarias be made aware of our existence.""So soon?" Frank gestured to Ran. "You can barely control that one.""Just keep in mind that we are not targeting vampires but rogue werewolves," Paul said. "As long as you're not in the way, we don't need to control ourselves around you.""But," Frank whined, "I thought the wolves would be like our bodyguards.""That is what you're going to tell the Council," Paul said. "The Elders need to know that the Wolf Pack was created for the purpose of protecting the vampires in our sector. That's all you need to know. We have an agreement to create werewolves for the purpose of protecting the vampires that are in your territories.