We ran over the rough terrain as the wind blew past us. The sun was high overhead, but the heat didn't affect vampires the way it affected humans. None of the elements did. We ran over mountains and even jumped over a gorge, not losing one vampire. Within minutes, the sound of running water rushing by filled my ears and I knew we were getting close. Soon, the black and red mountain peaks rose up before us. Within minutes, we were on the edge of Promontory Point, on the west side of the Hoover Dam.I looked down at the blue lake and at all of the surrounding igneous rock formations that created mountains, just as Xander came up on my right side. "She could be anywhere."Xander clasped a hand on my shoulder. "We'll find her." Then, he turned to his wolf pack, who had joined us. "Split up! Look for any sign of Leila and the baby!" Xander then began ordering his pack to go in every direction. Immediately, they leapt and turned into werewolves in midair, digging into the sand and pushing
"Leila?!" I yelled at the top of my lungs as the screams of dying vampires resonated within the cave behind me. I closed my eyes for a moment and then silently prayed. "Please, help me to find them."I opened my eyes. As I looked at the caves, the one in the center of the humongous cavern stood out. I ran down the narrow path, throwing vampires over my head behind me as I ran, letting my coven tear them apart, and killed several at once, taking their heads off easily with my sword. I threw several against the wall with a wave of my hand, who were ripped apart by shifters. Then, I shoved my hand into the chest of another vampire with milky white eyes when he got too close and listened to his screams as he burst into flames. I jumped over his flaming body when I saw a faint light at the end of the tunnel, running my sword through another vampire that was coming at me. As he lay on the ground, I stomped on his throat and ripped his head from his body. As I rushed down the tunnel toward t
"Something tells me that you won't need to bite your wrist for me anymore," she joked, suddenly sounding more like herself."Leila!" I said, crying openly as I pulled her to my chest. I pulled back and crushed my lips to hers, and she responded with all of the pent up passion that we both felt. "Leila, love. I'm so sorry ""Shush," she cooed, looking into my eyes. "It wasn't your fault.""Yes, it was!" I said, as tears ran down my cheeks. "I should have protected you. I should have been there for you!""Shush," she said, then smiled. "You were." I looked at her, puzzled. "You were with me in my heart. Before I died, you were the last thing I thought of; your face was the last thing I saw in my mind. I love you, Lance.""I love you, too," I cooed, "always and forever."Suddenly, the noise behind us began to die down. I helped Leila to her feet. Drake and Amy were behind us, still protecting us, having never left our sides. Amy was holding her scythe, and Drake held my sword. "Than
Leila reached over and took her from me. "Well, Amy and Angela went through a lot of trouble to organize a surprise anniversary party for us, so you'd better not disappoint them and look surprised."In the last several months since The Outsiders attacked and Leila was turned into a vampire, the cure had been perfected and several vampires were turned successfully back into humans. We had to set up a secret relocation program for them, as well, as they would no longer be able to protect themselves from supernatural creatures. Many of the innocent Outsiders were also turned into humans again, successfully. Once they had the cure, their bodies reverted back to their human form, to our relief. Also, Drake had built a private facility just for vampires going through The Change, headed by Amy and Elias. They both would be busy for a long time.I raised my eyebrows and opened my mouth, over exaggerating mock shock. "How's this?""Silly Daddy!" Sirena said as she laid her head on her mothe
VOLUME ONE: Eternally YoursPrologueLaying in the darkness, pain wrenches me, sending electrical currents throughout my body. As the pain subsides, I can see nothing at all in this black fortress, not even my hand as I hold it before my face. My breaths are shallow when pain suddenly jerks within me again, but I cannot let on that anything is amiss, for danger is all around. I turn over on the small bed and wrap my arms around myself, trying not to attract attention. I need blood, even though I am human, but I won't give my captors the satisfaction of knowing.My thoughts go immediately to Lance: his touch, his dark, chiseled good looks, his bright green eyes. When love finds you, you recognize it, commit it to memory and lock it in your heart forever. You know it in your soul. You sacrifice everything for it.As I lay in the dark, I remind myself that there are many types of love. Some, you would die for. I steel myself and silently prepare to fight when another sharp pain grab
I walked to Examining Room Eight and lifted the chart from the tray. Trying to be inconspicuous, I lifted a page of the chart and stole a quick glance back down the hallway again. He was leaning against the wall, watching me."Thank you for your most generous donation to our hospital, Mr. Steel," Dr. Drake Summerfield, the hospital administrator, said to him as he walked around the corner.I looked down at the chart in my hand again, pretending not to notice.A brunette woman suddenly walked up to stand between the two men, dressed in an impeccable Channel woman's suit with her hair pulled back into a tight bun, carrying a leather legal-pad folder. She was gorgeous, despite her effort to downplay her looks by wearing square, black glasses that matched her black suit. But on her, they were chic. She looked over at Mr. Steel and followed his gaze to me. She quickly snapped the leather folder shut in an effort to claim his attention, but he didn't notice.I tried not to pay attention.
I knew from the way he said it that he wouldn't take no for an answer. Mr. Summerfield was my boss, after all. The patient could wait another moment. I closed the chart and gave the two men my full attention."It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," I said, extending my hand."The pleasure is indeed mine, Dr. Reynolds," Mr. Steel said, accepting my hand. Then, he raised it to his lips, never taking his eyes from mine. His hands and lips were unusually cold, but it was probably just from the air conditioning.Just then, Rosa appeared outside the examining room and gave me a look."Well, I really must go," I said, turning to leave. "I have patients.""Until we meet again," Steel said, as a smile played at the corner of his luscious lips.Man, is he hot, I thought to myself. As I walked away, a shiver shot down my spine. There was something about him that I couldn't quite place, but I quickly brushed the thought aside. I was married, after all, even though our marriage had lost a bit of
The alarm rang all too soon the next morning, jolting me awake. Slowly, I opened one eye and hit the snooze. It was five o'clock in the morning. Ugh, I groaned as I turned over and shoved a pillow over my face. I was almost asleep when the alarm blared loudly again, causing my body to jerk. I closed my eyes, but all I could think about was Lance. I sat up on the edge of the bed and shook my head, then shut the alarm off and got up to take a shower.A few minutes later, the heat from the water blast rushed over my body, waking me up. I squirted body wash into my hand and rubbed it slowly over my body, closing my eyes, imagining that my hands were Lance's. I rubbed across my breasts and over my nipples as images of Lance danced through my mind. Slowly, I ran my hand between my thighs to my heat. The water rushed over my body and my breaths quickened as I imagined that I was with Lance under a waterfall on a tropical island. My clit swelled at the thought and I let my thumb graze over it
Leila reached over and took her from me. "Well, Amy and Angela went through a lot of trouble to organize a surprise anniversary party for us, so you'd better not disappoint them and look surprised."In the last several months since The Outsiders attacked and Leila was turned into a vampire, the cure had been perfected and several vampires were turned successfully back into humans. We had to set up a secret relocation program for them, as well, as they would no longer be able to protect themselves from supernatural creatures. Many of the innocent Outsiders were also turned into humans again, successfully. Once they had the cure, their bodies reverted back to their human form, to our relief. Also, Drake had built a private facility just for vampires going through The Change, headed by Amy and Elias. They both would be busy for a long time.I raised my eyebrows and opened my mouth, over exaggerating mock shock. "How's this?""Silly Daddy!" Sirena said as she laid her head on her mothe
"Something tells me that you won't need to bite your wrist for me anymore," she joked, suddenly sounding more like herself."Leila!" I said, crying openly as I pulled her to my chest. I pulled back and crushed my lips to hers, and she responded with all of the pent up passion that we both felt. "Leila, love. I'm so sorry ""Shush," she cooed, looking into my eyes. "It wasn't your fault.""Yes, it was!" I said, as tears ran down my cheeks. "I should have protected you. I should have been there for you!""Shush," she said, then smiled. "You were." I looked at her, puzzled. "You were with me in my heart. Before I died, you were the last thing I thought of; your face was the last thing I saw in my mind. I love you, Lance.""I love you, too," I cooed, "always and forever."Suddenly, the noise behind us began to die down. I helped Leila to her feet. Drake and Amy were behind us, still protecting us, having never left our sides. Amy was holding her scythe, and Drake held my sword. "Than
"Leila?!" I yelled at the top of my lungs as the screams of dying vampires resonated within the cave behind me. I closed my eyes for a moment and then silently prayed. "Please, help me to find them."I opened my eyes. As I looked at the caves, the one in the center of the humongous cavern stood out. I ran down the narrow path, throwing vampires over my head behind me as I ran, letting my coven tear them apart, and killed several at once, taking their heads off easily with my sword. I threw several against the wall with a wave of my hand, who were ripped apart by shifters. Then, I shoved my hand into the chest of another vampire with milky white eyes when he got too close and listened to his screams as he burst into flames. I jumped over his flaming body when I saw a faint light at the end of the tunnel, running my sword through another vampire that was coming at me. As he lay on the ground, I stomped on his throat and ripped his head from his body. As I rushed down the tunnel toward t
We ran over the rough terrain as the wind blew past us. The sun was high overhead, but the heat didn't affect vampires the way it affected humans. None of the elements did. We ran over mountains and even jumped over a gorge, not losing one vampire. Within minutes, the sound of running water rushing by filled my ears and I knew we were getting close. Soon, the black and red mountain peaks rose up before us. Within minutes, we were on the edge of Promontory Point, on the west side of the Hoover Dam.I looked down at the blue lake and at all of the surrounding igneous rock formations that created mountains, just as Xander came up on my right side. "She could be anywhere."Xander clasped a hand on my shoulder. "We'll find her." Then, he turned to his wolf pack, who had joined us. "Split up! Look for any sign of Leila and the baby!" Xander then began ordering his pack to go in every direction. Immediately, they leapt and turned into werewolves in midair, digging into the sand and pushing
I pulled the phone out of my pocket and dialed Javier's number."Mr. Steel," he answered on the first ring. "Who was standing guard?""Gregory and Cal," he said in clipped tones, knowing that I meant the penthouse"The Outsiders took Leila," I said, headed down the stairwell. "Round up some men. We're going after her. Meet me in the lobby in five.""Yes, sir," he said as I hung up the phone and dialed Ferdinand's number. "Mr. Steel?""How the hell did The Outsiders get into the castle?!" I demanded."The fire alarm sounded and there was smoke," he said, his heels clicking against the hard, tiled floor of the lobby. He was in the casino. "We were busy evacuating the guests ""While they came after my family?!""They must have come in the back way," Ferdinand said. "There was chaos ""Tell me about it later. We're going after Leila." I hung up the phone just as I reached the bottom of the stairwell, flung open the door, and looked around, spotting him walking toward me. The
I pulled out my cell phone and quickly dialed Adeline's number, but there was no answer. I shook my head, realizing how close I had come to becoming human. Just a few minutes later and I wouldn't have been able to save my family. I just hoped that I wasn't too late. I quickly dialed Javier's number as I headed out the front door of Kalyssa's cottage."Lance?" he said, answering on the first ring. Chaos erupted in the background as my heart sank."What happened?""Oh, thank God it's you," he said. "Leila has been ""I know. Xander just told me," I replied. "Where is she?" I was already starting to run, not waiting for Amy, Xander, and Elias."I don't know, but someone had to have taken her." Sirens sounded loudly in the distance.Anger filled my body. "Tell me about it when I get there. I'm on my way."I clicked off my phone and ran at super speed across the desert, faster than a car could travel. My vampire seethed for vengeance, pushing me harder, faster, as memories of the y
I woke in a cold sweat. Moonlight was streaming in through the window, piercing the darkness. Hunger rose within me; a hunger like I'd never known before. I needed blood and I needed it now. I rose from the bed and stalked toward the door.I could smell blood and it smelled luscious.My fangs extended immediately as I skulked down the hallway, closer to the delicious scent, closer to what I wanted, closer to what I craved. The scent grew stronger, more delicious, more tempting as I drew near and it was clearly, fully human. I placed my hands on the wall, beyond all reason, beyond sanity, as I inched closer to my target. I turned the corner, ready, as saliva rushed into my mouth in anticipation of the meal in which I was about to indulge. My heart pounded against my ribcage, as if it wanted this kill just as much as I. My vampire seethed within my chest, inching me closer, but when I turned the next corner it was Leila."My God, Lance! You scared me!" she said as she reached for t
"Have you thought of becoming human for her?" I asked in a low voice.Kellen let out a deep breath and sat back down on the couch. "Yes, I have.""And?" I knew that I was prying, but he had been a vampire for a very long time, and becoming human again was a big step.Kellen bit his lower lip, thinking, and then looked directly into my eyes. "Yes. I would do it. If I could grow old with her, I would do it in a heartbeat," he said without hesitation. "That's why I get it, Lance, between you and Leila. I get why you're doing this. I would do the same thing, if I were in your shoes."I reached out and clasped his hand, giving him a man shake. "What does Crissy say about it?"He shrugged. "She wants to become a vampire for me."I nodded. "And how do you feel about that?"He shook his head. "Man, I love her with all of my heart, but I don't want that for her." He pushed up from the couch, walked across the room, and then turned around abruptly. "I want her to go to college. To have
She smiled. "Well, after tomorrow, it won't be a problem.""Well, after tomorrow, you won't be able to find me.""Not until after the baby's born," Amy corrected. "After Leila's fully recovered, then you can go anywhere you wish.""Sounds good to me." For a moment, I wondered if we had another child and we were both human, would the child be human, too? But I brushed the thought aside. After this baby was born, we would have two children, which was more than I had ever hoped for."Well, I'm off," Elias said as he headed toward the door. "Amy, I hate to leave you alone with him in this state."She smiled. "I'll be fine. Go! Your patients await. I, on the other hand, am off from work for the next few weeks."Elias laughed. "Yeah, yeah! Don't rub it in.""You really need to take some time off, too, though."Elias laughed. "Well, with my staff taking time off ""Okay, don't you have to go?""Why? Trying to get rid of me already?""Yes! How'd you guess?"We all laughed when ther