The Night Series - Entire Series Boxed Set : New World Immortal Mayan Vampire Romance

by Lisa Kessler

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him nod.

  “Tell me something.” His voice was soft and low, like the tide. “Why haven’t you ever been married?”

  “I had bigger plans than a wedding.” Gretchen shrugged, unsure where the conversation was headed but encouraged that Lukas finally asked about something unrelated to work. “I had a couple boyfriends in college, and I dated one of my professors after my doctorate, but relationships don’t travel well, and I like to travel.” She hesitated for a second, glancing his way. “My mom left us when I was little, and a few years ago I lost my dad suddenly. He used to love to take me places camping…” She let out a small sigh. “I feel closer to him when I’m out exploring, I guess.”

  Lukas smiled at her, and her stupid heart fluttered in her chest. “Your father raised an amazing woman.”

  The brief moment of light was quickly extinguished, though, and his features smoothed back into the chiseled mask of a tormented man.

  “What about you?” Gretchen asked. “You’re a good-looking, intelligent guy. Have you ever been married?”

  “No.” He clenched his fists, and his forearm muscles contracted. Gretchen did her best not to think about his strong hands as he went on. “I would never wish my life on anyone I loved.”

  “You need to look in a mirror, Lukas. Your life is not so bad.” Gretchen straightened up, her brow furrowed. “Maybe you’d notice that if you didn’t waste all your energy pushing everyone away.”

  He shook his head, still staring out at the water. “This isn’t what I want.” He stood up and took her hand, sending a jolt of electricity through her body. His gaze demanded hers, and her breath caught in her throat seeing the hunger in his dark green eyes. “There are sins in my past that can never be forgiven, Gretchen. My only solace is to find answers. Anything beyond that…love, passion…it’s all an illusion for me.”

  He leaned toward her, and Gretchen’s chin tilted up instinctively, aching to taste him, to heal his wounded spirit. The moment his cool lips brushed hers, her pulse jumped. His kiss, like rich chocolate, infused her senses, making her hungry for more. A moan escaped her throat as his tongue swept along the crease of her lips, enticing her to open her mouth and surrender to the passion she’d been trying to bury.

  His fingers slid into her hair and awareness bloomed through her body, forming a pool of heat in her belly. Gretchen let her hands explore his chest, living the fantasy she’d harbored for months, when he suddenly took a step back, breaking the contact.

  “T’fu! Dammit.” Lukas shook his head, cursing under his breath. A rich undercurrent of a Russian accent flavored his words. It reminded her again that “Smith” was probably not his real last name.

  He released her hand. “Forgive me. I usually have more self-control.”

  Gretchen wished he had a lot less. Her legs felt rubbery, her senses on overload, and he apologized for it? She thought he’d finally given up keeping a “professional” distance, but no, Lukas was like an onion with never-ending layers. Would he ever let her in?

  “Did I give you the impression I didn’t want that, too?” She did her best not to shout, but the kiss had jostled whatever control she might’ve had. “Don’t apologize for something we both wanted.”

  His gaze darkened. “I don’t want to bring you into something you don’t understand.”

  “Then help me understand.” She waited. He stayed quiet. She did her best not to explode. “Fine, you know what, don’t tell me.” Gretchen spun on her heel toward the hotel.

  He caught her elbow. “Gretchen, wait.”

  “For what?” She glared at his hand, then up into his eyes. She shook her head, pulling her arm free of his grasp. “I wish you would trust me with the truth.”

  “You’re safer without it.”

  She rolled her eyes and walked back to the hotel with Lukas, her silent partner, beside her.

  “Are your sins illegal?” The words were out before she remembered it was best not to ask questions when she might not want to know the answers.

  Lukas pulled open the glass door to the hotel lobby. “I’m not a fugitive, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  Gretchen passed through into the lobby, barely glancing up at him. “Good to know.”

  They rode up to her room standing on opposite sides of the elevator. She felt his gaze on her face, but she didn’t break her staring contest with the elevator doors. She’d never met a man who openly admitted he found her beautiful and enjoyed her company, kissed her like she was water in the middle of the desert, and at the same time kept a formidable wall between them.

  Frustrating didn’t begin to describe the mixed messages he sent.

  She stopped at her door. “If I invited you in, would you accept?”

  He reached to touch her cheek, his thumb stroking along her jawline while his stare held her with more intimacy than his arms ever had. “Please believe me that I wish I could accept.”

  His touch sent hot shivers down her spine, but his words were like a nasty cold shower. Gretchen stepped back. “Yeah, I’m sure you do.” She jammed her hotel key card into the slot and pulled open the door. “I look forward to hearing what your historian has to say.” She looked over her shoulder at him, hoping her face masked the pain she felt in her chest. “You don’t have to worry about me crossing the professional line again. Goodnight.”

  She slammed the door closed behind her.

  Chapter Eight

  Lukas soared, navigating the night wind as his great horned owl toward the La Jolla coast. Seeing the hurt in Gretchen’s eyes and knowing he was the cause reawakened the bitterness in his soul. He could still taste her lips, feel her hands on his chest.

  She was everything he could have hoped for in a mate. Throughout his long life, she was the first person he’d ever considered a partner. Until Gretchen, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled or laughed. He’d never wanted a woman so intensely, either.

  Which was exactly why he couldn’t allow himself to be with her.

  The owl screeched over the dark water of the Pacific as Lukas struggled to push Gretchen from his thoughts. He needed to keep his mind focused and shielded. The last thing he wanted was for his maker to see Gretchen’s face in his mind or hear her name in his thoughts. He had every intention of keeping her out of this Night Walker world. He had to protect her.

  He flew silently over the sands, scanning the area below for any sign of life. Using his preternatural sight, he spotted Calisto on the beach below. He carried a woman in his arms, heading toward his large home.

  Lukas batted his silent wings, pushing further north to land safely in the shadows as a man. He straightened his clothing and started toward the house. Calisto surprised him, storming out toward the waves.

  Without the woman.

  A gust of wind carried the scent of the ocean but not even the slightest trace of human blood. Lukas’s brow creased, and he opened his mind, reaching for his maker’s thoughts.

  Calisto’s mind was locked down, shielded, and his dark eyes glowed crimson. Lukas raised his hands. His maker didn’t relax his stance, but the red glow gradually faded from his eyes.

  “Why are you here, Lukas?”

  “I’m here to talk.” He noticed his maker’s hands were fisted at his sides, his brow furrowed, his jaw set. Lukas raised his chin. “I have some questions I hope you can answer.”

  Calisto shook his head, turning back toward his house on the cliff. “There is nothing to talk about.”

  Lukas took a step closer. He had to struggle to keep from growling in frustration. “You really think I came this far just to walk away?”

  “What I think is none of your concern,” Calisto replied.

  “You arrogant bastard.” Lukas raised a brow. “You don’t even know why I’m here.”

  Calisto spun faster than any human man ever could and knocked Lukas to the ground. They both tumbled onto the sand, and Lukas wrestled to gain leverage, struggling to break
free of his maker’s clutches. Centuries ago, this man was a healer for the local Kumeyaay people. He saved Lukas’s life that night and mistakenly made him immortal, but now his hands tightened around Lukas’s throat.

  “I know why you are here, and I will die before I let you anywhere near her,” Calisto growled.

  Lukas shook his head, gasping for air. “I don’t know… what…you’re talking about.”

  “I think you do.” Calisto tightened his grip. Lukas shoved Calisto’s chin up and back. Arching his back, he kicked his legs and twisted, tossing his maker off of him.

  “You’re insane.” Lukas’s voice sounded raspy, his vocal chords strained and swollen but already healing. A positive side-effect of being a Night Walker.

  He scrambled to his feet, his gaze locked on his maker. “What happened to you?”

  Calisto stood and raked his fingers through his hair. He stared at the waves and shook his head. “Open your mind to me. I need to know your true reason for returning to San Diego.”

  Gretchen filled his mind, and Lukas ground his teeth. There was no way in hell he could open his mind right now. “Since you were the one who attacked me, I think you’ll understand when I decline your request. What the hell is going on here? Do you always greet old friends with such a warm welcome?”

  Calisto’s dark eyes cut over him. “You and I were never friends, Lukas.”

  “Maybe not.” Lukas shrugged. “But you still have no reason to kill me on sight.”

  “So, why have you come?”

  “To find out more about what we are and where we came from.”

  “Then you have come to the wrong man.” Calisto turned toward him again, his gaze shifting to his house before focusing back on Lukas. “I know very little about our race.”

  “Have you ever met another Night Walker?”

  Calisto finally released his fists, calming. “Why would you care after all these years?”

  Lukas pressed his palms to his temples, attempting to control his growing irritation. “My reasons don’t matter. Have you met other Night Walkers or not?”

  “You ask questions, yet you give me no reason to answer them,” Calisto said.

  “You still talk like you’re a riddle-loving three-hundred-year-old Spaniard.”

  Calisto raised a brow. “And you speak as though you were born in this century.”

  “This isn’t getting us anywhere.” Lukas took a step forward, his gaze locked on his maker’s. “Look, you’re the only other Night Walker I’ve ever known. Since I left, I’ve been researching, trying to find out why we exist and what we are.”

  Lukas waited but Calisto remained quiet. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, realizing he’d wasted his time coming. “I know we’re similar to vampires, but they don’t have animal spirits like we do. They’re not tied to the earth like we are.”

  “You left before I could teach you about the animal spirit inside of you.” Calisto grumbled, then sighed. “We each carry a connection to one animal.”

  “I know.” Lukas tried not to remember the night he vanished. “I found out on my own eventually, but it wasn’t until I started researching our origins that I learned more about why we change.”

  Calisto crossed his arms. “If you already know so much about our kind, then why do you question me?”

  “Because I’m an archeologist now. My colleague and I found something in the Yucatan jungle… Something deep inside the earth.” Lukas swallowed the fear brewing in his gut and met his maker’s eyes. He lowered his voice. “I found something evil.”

  That’s all it took for Calisto to finally invite him inside his spacious home. Lukas related his discovery of Mayan blood altars, the glyphs of the Goddess of the Moon and the wolf.

  A muscle in Calisto’s cheek clenched.

  Lukas watched as he rose from his chair. “Well?”

  “Please wait here.” Calisto hesitated for a moment. “There is someone I think you should meet.”

  He left without another word, leaving Lukas alone in the living room. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected his maker’s home to look like, but this wasn’t it. The neutral interior exuded calm and peace, but it also felt lonely. Empty.

  Lukas didn’t own a home of any sort. He never had any interest in staying in one place. As far as he was concerned, his tiny studio apartment in New Mexico, the one he hadn’t set foot inside in over two years, was plenty.

  The purpose of a home was to have a safe place for a family. A place to put the people that mattered most.

  But he would never have that, so he saw little point in owning a house to remind him of that fact. The few pieces of equipment and books he chose to keep were back in his apartment, collecting dust, he assumed. It was just as well.

  Lukas turned when he heard the door open. Calisto held hands with a woman. A moment later, Lukas noticed her scent. Or lack of scent. Mortals had an aura of warmth, the metallic scent of blood. This woman had none. Her dark eyes sparkled, her long, black hair shone in the light, and her peaceful smile seemed to calm his maker.

  But she wasn’t mortal.

  Calisto had made another Night Walker.

  Lukas frowned, too stunned to speak.

  His conversion had been accidental. He’d suffered a rattlesnake bite, and in trying to save him from the venom, Calisto had stolen his humanity in the process. Once the Night Walker blood swam through his veins, his thirst became unquenchable. Instantly.

  His maker later theorized that the snake venom had somehow enhanced the bloodlust.

  Either way, Calisto vowed to never convert another.

  But apparently he had succumbed to the loneliness and made a companion for himself, just like many of the vampires Lukas had met over the years.

  Unless…

  During his conversion, while he drank from Calisto, he saw a woman’s face. They’d danced together in the waves, laughing. She had an interesting crescent of light in the bottom of her right iris, like a tiny moon in her eyes.

  The woman holding Calisto’s hand looked very similar. In fact, she could’ve been the same person. When she approached him, he noticed her eyes.

  Impossible. But there it was, a tiny crescent moon.

  “Lukas?” She held out a hand, taking his own in a firm handshake. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kate. Calisto has told me a lot about you.”

  “Really?” Lukas glanced at his maker as he released her hand. “And you still agreed to meet me?”

  Kate smiled. “You don’t sound like a two-hundred-and-something-year-old Russian fur trapper.”

  “Thank you.” He tipped his head slightly. “I’ve spent a few lifetimes learning to fit in with today’s world.”

  “Calisto told me you’re an archeologist now?”

  Lukas shrugged. “I’m really just a man searching for answers to a never-ending existence.”

  “Have you found them?” Kate asked as she leaned back against Calisto’s chest.

  “Answers? Some.” Lukas laced his fingers together.

  “He found something in the Yucatan jungle,” Calisto said quietly. “In the Mayan writings, there are stories of Night Walkers and a wolf.”

  “Really?” Kate stared at Lukas. “What did it say?”

  “It’s not quite that simple. Deciphering glyphs isn’t like reading a book, but from what we’ve discovered, the Night Walkers originated from four supreme gods—immortal brothers.”

  “Gods?”

  “Yes. In order to balance the universe, the Mayans believed you must have a god of the North, South, East, and West. We haven’t learned their names yet, but that wasn’t why I came here.”

  “So why did you come?” Kate asked.

  “Calisto is the only Night Walker I’ve ever met. I thought he might know some of the old stories about our beginnings.” Lukas paused a beat. “Something is happening in the Yucatan. I think it has something to do with the glyphs we found. There is a story of the Goddess of the Moon being sacrificed to silence a Demon.”


  Kate frowned. “You can’t sacrifice the moon…”

  “My colleague thinks there was a woman, representing the moon, like a goddess. The immortal brothers sacrificed her and threw her body into a hole they believed led to the center of the earth. I’m guessing here, but it makes sense to think they believed it would contain this Demon.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “And how does the wolf fit in?”

  Lukas glanced at Calisto and then back to Kate. “I think the wolf was her spirit animal. Judging by the glyphs we’ve found, she was probably a Night Walker, too.”

  “Oh God…” Kate gasped. “The Demon… It’s free again, isn’t it?” Her voice was a whisper.

  “I don’t know, but something is affecting the animals in the jungle. We’ve had some tremors.” Lukas hesitated for a moment. “Why?”

  “Because”—Kate took a deep breath, looking up at Calisto for a moment before meeting Lukas’ eyes—“my spirit animal is a wolf. And tonight, Calisto’s maker came to us. An ancient named Mulac. He told me I’m in danger.”

  “Danger? Of what?” Lukas perched on the edge of the sofa cushion, body tense and on alert.

  Calisto growled. “He told me I broke an ancient Night Walker law by making more than one.” He stared at Lukas. “That is why I attacked you tonight. I believed you came to hunt Kate, the one who should not have been made.”

  Lukas’s brow furrowed. “In all my research, I’ve never come across a law like that.”

  Kate interrupted. “Mulac gave me his blood tonight before you arrived. He said it would make me stronger when his brothers came for me. It would protect me.”

  Lukas’s mind whirled, patching the pieces together. “How long have you been a Night Walker?”

  “Almost a month. Why?”

  He closed his eyes for a moment. That was exactly when the atmosphere in the jungle began to shift. The animals became agitated, the tremors started. He opened his eyes, staring at his maker and the woman with the moon in her eyes. It had to be connected.

  Calisto took Kate’s hand. “Tell him what you saw as you drank…”