“Don't the hunters think they're descended from the sun or something?” Bella asked carefully. “It sounds like they want revenge on the vampires and werewolves for killing that prince in the legend.”“It's certainly a possible motive,” muttered Victor. “The hunters were nothing if not zealous until their most recent leader took charge. This sudden shift back to their old behavior makes me think he’s either been killed or deposed. Old age isn’t really a factor for them.”“Would they do that to their own leader?” Foster asked in disbelief.“The Family is capable of anything,” said Hunter, his voice an urgent hiss that made Foster and Clara jolt. He collected himself, but the facade was growing thinner with each passing moment. “We have to wipe them out.”“I'm inclined to agree with you,” said Victor. “But it would take far more than our small pack to do it. In order to rally the kind of support we'd need to go up against the hunters, Ulric's connections would be essential. He
“Please don't take offense to this, but how are you a vampire hunter? You're not as, um, robust as the other wolves I've seen,” Bella said carefully. He laughed. “Don't take offense to this, but vampires aren't that hard to kill. It's the feral wolves that give me a run for my money. I might be small, but I'm fast, good with weapons and I don't do reckless shit. Plus, my beastform is pretty badass. They reflect our spirits, y'know, not just our bodies.” Victor shifted uncomfortably. “Hunter is more than capable of holding his own against a variety of supernaturals. The hunters present a challenge for even the strongest among us.” “It sounds like your pack was a lot more prepared for this than ours is,” Bella said, unable to hide her concern. Hunter shook his head. “No, the truce made us complacent, too. My grandfather warned us never to let our guard down and my father ignored him. My grandfather taught me to always keep an eye on the enemy no matter
“Aren't you going to ask me what Hunter wanted to talk to me about?” Victor asked, crawling into bed. He had spent the past ten minutes showering and now he was wearing a pair of red cotton pajama pants that rode low enough on his hips for Bella to admire the deep V that disappeared into his waistband. Small droplets of water clung to his torso and made the still-damp hair that stuck to the sides of his neck even blacker. He was a sight for sore eyes and it felt like she hadn't seen him for weeks even though it had been less than one. “No,” Bella said, moving over to make room for him. It was admittedly hard to be nosy about hunters of any kind when she had such a glorious distraction. “Oh?” he grinned, pulling her to him. “Was the Bella who stuck her ear against the wall whenever there was a fight in one of the other rooms part of your werewolf side, too?” Bella rolled her eyes. “No, it's just that I've been interacting with the other wolve
Bella's tongue traced the path of his jugular, and she felt it pounding beneath his skin, just as surely as she felt it pounding inside of her. The scent put her earlier encounter with Prentice into a different context. The hunter's blood was maddening; Victor's was purely alluring. It didn't threaten to turn her into something she wasn't with its undeniable drive, but it was infinitely more pleasing. "Go ahead, Pup," he said in a warm, husky voice, his movements becoming slower and more deliberate again. As soon as permission was given, Bella sank her fangs into his neck and marveled at how much bolder the taste was when it was fresh. She had missed this inexplicable form of intimacy almost as much as she missed being in his arms at night. Intoxication mingled with heavy bliss as she came, and all she could do was feel and taste him. He moaned and thrust into her even deeper. With a deep growl, he came and collapsed on top of her. Bella's nails trailed
When Bella awoke, Victor was gone. There were traces of blood on the sheets, so she gathered them up and shoved them in the hamper to take downstairs. She wanted there to be no evidence of the night before when he came back from his meeting with Ulric and Hunter. At least, that was where she assumed he had gone. After a quick shower, she changed and noted with surprise that he still wasn't back. For someone so insistent about never leaving her on her own, he stayed gone for a long time. She took the time to dry her hair until it was bone straight before she gave up on being good and went to find Victor, armed with the laundry hamper as a decoy. "Late night?" asked Brendan, who came out of his room a second after Bella did. She gave him a look. "I'd avoid Victor if I were you. He's on a warpath because you and Darian didn't keep me on a feeding schedule." "He didn't say anything this morning, but I did hear him tearing Darian a new one in Ulric's study," B
As Bella listened, her eyes widened. “That's why you never made him alpha. I could never understand why you didn't choose Victor, even when I was with Darian.”“They both have their strong suits,” he admitted. “If they were two halves of the same person, I dare say they'd make the strongest alpha any pack has seen. Up until now, Victor has demonstrated every quality needed in a pack leader. Self-sacrifice, wisdom, bravery, strength. Every quality but one.” He paused, watching her. “Any idea what that might be?”She shook her head. She couldn't imagine that Victor was lacking in any way, but she didn't want to show her bias by admitting it.“A backbone,” he said with a snort. “You can't represent the interests of your pack as an alpha if you don't even have the stomach to stand up and take what you want. Darian might be a bit lacking in sophistication, but that boy has a spine made of steel.” “So now that Victor and I are together, you're going to make him the alp
“I appreciate that, Ulric. I would have appreciated it more when I was a human,” Bella admitted. “But thank you for being honest with me.”He looked deflated, but he smiled. “Ignorance isn't an excuse for absence. I don't expect a warm reception now that you know who you are to me, but I would like the chance to start a new relationship. I would very much like the chance to get to know you.”“Even if I'm an emotionless vampire now?” Bella half-teased.“The only thing you need to be in order for me to want a relationship with you is my daughter, Bella.” His eyes were glassy with the slightest hint of moisture.Bella smiled a little and reached over to put her hand on his. “I'd like that, too.”For the first time since she had known him, Ulric looked visibly relieved. It was hard to imagine fear coming from the man who had slain a lion. “Wonderful,” he said, giving her hand a squeeze.“Maybe we could start this new relationship by not forcing me to marry whoever takes over t
“Thank you,” Bella breathed. If he thought there was even a chance she would be mated to Darian again, he was crazy, but she knew that arguing wasn't going to help matters.“Let's go see if they're both still alive or if they've solved my dilemma for me.”His face was stony and unreadable as usual, but Bella was beginning to be able to tell when he was being sarcastic. “Not funny,” she grumbled, quickening her steps a little just in case.When they got closer to the study, the sounds of fighting were over. That could either be a good thing or a terrible thing, but she knew Victor wasn't dead. She knew she would feel it somehow, just as she had felt he was alive back in Austin.Ulric opened the door, and Bella darted inside, looking for signs of bloodshed. There was plenty of blood on the floor and some on the coffee table where it looked like someone's head had been bashed in, but not enough blood for a murder scene. She would know. To her relief, Darian and Vi
Bella froze when she realized what she was doing and tossed the pieces in the empty bread basket to hide the evidence. “Sorry,” she murmured, blushing. “You uh, get my blood boiling.”“I can tell,” he said, blinking. He looked down at his hands. “I'm sorry. I had no idea I was that intolerable.”“But you're not,” Bella said earnestly. “You make me angrier than anyone else, but you also make me laugh more than anyone else. You push me, sometimes to the brink of sanity, but she's a better person when she's with him. He's all of those annoying things, but he's also sweet and funny and protective and so compassionate toward the other members of the pack. He's a natural-born leader, and a good one. Whenever she sees the way he is with the other wolves, the way he cares for them and puts their needs above his own without even thinking, she falls a little more in love with him.” He stared at her in shock. “You love me? And you're admitting that freely?”Bella laughed, embarrassed. T
Bella reached across the table and rested her hand on his forearm. “You make it sound like I'm the one who's out of your league and not the other way around.” His eyebrows knit into a perplexed frown. He finally relaxed as if he'd given up trying to figure out whatever it was that was bothering him. “You are. Even aside from the fact that you're probably one of the mythological creatures our entire religion is based on, I don't deserve you. Neither does he, but I'm a big enough man to admit that Vic is a hell of a lot closer to being worthy of you than I am.” “Don't be so sure about that,” Bella said with a wry smile. “You both have your positive qualities.” “And negative ones, I'm sure.” Bella smiled wider.“Well, let's have it. Give me the side-by-side analysis,” he said, sitting back and folding his hands studiously on the table in front of him since he had already finished his meal.She laughed, but stopped abruptly when she realized he wasn't kidding. “You're
Bella reached across the table and rested her hand on his forearm. “You make it sound like I'm the one who's out of your league and not the other way around.” His eyebrows knit into a perplexed frown. He finally relaxed as if he'd given up trying to figure out whatever it was that was bothering him. “You are. Even aside from the fact that you're probably one of the mythological creatures our entire religion is based on, I don't deserve you. Neither does he, but I'm a big enough man to admit that Vic is a hell of a lot closer to being worthy of you than I am.” “Don't be so sure about that,” Bella said with a wry smile. “You both have your positive qualities.” “And negative ones, I'm sure.” Bella smiled wider.“Well, let's have it. Give me the side-by-side analysis,” he said, sitting back and folding his hands studiously on the table in front of him since he had already finished his meal.She laughed, but stopped abruptly when she realized he wasn't kidding. “You're
“Not sweet, innocent Clara,” Bella said doubtfully. “Oh, I've caught Jason coming out of her apartment once or twice.” “Jason and Clara?” Bella blanched. “But he's so... He chuckled at her reaction. “I know. Doubt he's her type, but the moon makes everyone go crazy, especially unmated fleurs. The rest of us try to stick to our subs, but what happens on a full moon stays on a full moon.”“Until now,” Bella reminded him. “You just told me.”“Hey, you didn't hear it from me.”Bella grinned mischievously. “Nope. I'm thinking now I own you.”“I don't go that way, kiddo. Not even for you,” he scoffed. “Now, if you ever decide you want a new master...”“My contract with Victor isn't exclusive. And don't try to change the subject.”“Sheesh. Okay, fine. It's probably already pretty obvious, but Brendan and Clarence don't just take care of Foster's emotional needs. They share him as a sub, but there's no relationship there otherwise. I'm pretty sure even that's tapered off since
"Are all the others out?" Bella asked, noting that the lot was almost empty. "Most of them," he said. "Clara and your dad are still around, as usual. Vic has been holed up in his office all day. Hunter and Clarence are still frolicking in the woods somewhere. Brendan was heading out with Maverick last I heard and uh, I think I saw Sarah with Jason." Anger started to boil inside Bella, but it couldn't take hold for some reason. "Oh, whatever," she muttered. "As long as she's leaving Dad alone." He glanced at her as he turned onto the road that led past campus. "That's a surprisingly zen attitude you got there." "I'm trying out a new approach to life," Bella said, admiring the heavily forested path. He shrugged. "Hey, I'm not complaining as long as you're okay.""I'm okay," Bella said. For the first time in a long time, she meant it.No one said a word for the rest of the ride. Darian took them into the city, or at least what passed for one in their little section o
A knock at the door jolted Bella awake from the most delightful nap. Despite the dull throbbing in her head, she woke feeling more refreshed and alive than she had in recent memory. “Be right there,” she called, yawning as she sat up. Her head spun a bit once she got to her feet, but it wasn't bad enough to make her stagger.On her way to the door, she noticed something strange about her room. All her stuff was there, but it looked like half of the room had been cleared out. Before the thought could trouble her too much, she remembered that Victor had probably just come for the remainder of his old things. She did have his old room, after all. Strange that he wouldn't have mentioned it, though.She shrugged it off and pulled the door open to find Darian waiting on the other side. At least, she thought it was Darian. The man before her had lightly slicked back hair, a stark contrast from his usual tousled brown locks. He wasn't wearing a suit or anything, but for Darian, a gray b
When Bella turned around, he was walking toward her calmly. She pressed herself against the door and struggled to slow her fluttering pulse as she looked around the room for escape. The window was too far to reach, and even if she did somehow manage to escape, she would only be prolonging the inevitable. Once Victor set his mind on something, no matter how horrible that something was, he got it. It briefly occurred to her that maybe that was why he was doing this. Maybe he thought his will had been strong enough to conquer her own and that removing all traces of it was the only way she would truly be free to choose. “I'm sorry, pup. I didn't want this to be a traumatic experience,” he murmured. “I was planning on waiting until tomorrow night, but it's just as well that I don't have time to talk myself out of this.” “Please don't do this,” she begged for what seemed like the hundredth time. “I don't want to forget you.” “You won't forget me,” he said softly. “J
“Of course,” Bella said, startled that he felt like he had to ask. “Well, I know you didn't like him so I just thought...” He trailed off, losing his enthusiasm for a moment. “Thank you. It would mean a lot to have you there. Victor is coming, and he said your dad would probably want to come, too.” He glanced toward the stairs. “I'll let you go; I have to find Brendan.” “He's probably still out with the others celebrating, but I know he was planning on seeing if you wanted to go out later,” Bella said carefully. “Oh, darn. I wanted to invite him, but I'll just have to wait until later. Bye, Bella!” he waved, already halfway down the hall. “Bye, Mav.” Bella waved back, mystified. Barely recovered from the macabre interaction, she knocked on Victor's office door and waited for permission before she entered. “Aren't you supposed to be with him?” was his immediate response. “Hi to you, too,” Bella muttered, walking over to his desk.He gave her an apologetic sm
“I'm fine,” Bella lied, brushing past her. She grabbed Bella's arm before she could head up the stairs. “You're a terrible liar,” she said, sounding a bit disappointed. “You get that from your father, obviously. Tell me what's wrong, maybe I can help.” “I went out to watch the others shift,” Bella said, leaning on the railing. “Now there's an all-American pastime,” she said, casting a lustful glance in the direction of the forest. “Honey, trust me, if your boy toys are upset about you sneaking a little peek at the competition, they probably don't have the equipment for the job in the first place.” “That's not it!” Bella snapped. “And they both have plenty of equipment for the—they're both well equipped, okay?” Bella stammered. “That's not what this is about.” “No?” She blinked. “Then what?” “I left the Lodge by myself. Months ago, Victor put a mental block up that would keep me from leaving the Lodge without permission,” Bella said. “It was our trade