“Yes. That’s him, I’m positive.”
The warrior called Dante hissed a violent oath.
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“He’s a Rogue,” Lucan said. “Or rather, was. A couple
of nights ago, he walked onto the Green Line train wear-
ing a belt of explosives. Niko and another of our brethren
chased him down an old track. He blew himself up before
they could take him out. One of our best warriors died
with him.”
“Oh, God. You mean that unexplained explosion I
heard about on the news?” She looked at Nikolai, whose
hard jaw was clamped tight. “I’m very sorry.”
“If not for Conlan throwing himself on that suckhead
coward, I wouldn’t be standing here. That’s for damn
sure.”
Gabrielle was truly saddened for the loss Lucan and his
men had suffered, but a new dread had lodged itself in her
chest when she thought of how close her friend had come
to the kind of evil Brent had apparently delivered.
What if Kendra was hurt? What if he had done some-
thing to her, and she needed help?
“I have to call her.” Gabrielle started digging in her
purse for her cell phone. “I have to call Kendra right now
and make sure she’s all right.”
Lucan’s hand clamped down around her wrist, firmly
yet beseechingly. “I’m sorry, Gabrielle. I can’t let you do
that.”
“She’s my friend, Lucan. And I’m sorry, but you can’t
stop me.”
Gabrielle flipped open the phone, more resolved than
ever to make the call. Before she could dial Kendra’s num-
ber, the device flew from her fingers and appeared in
Lucan’s hand. He closed it, then slipped the phone into his
jacket pocket.
“Gideon,” he said conversationally, even while his
steely gaze remained locked on Gabrielle. “Ask Savannah
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to come and see Gabrielle to more comfortable quarters
while we finish here. Get her something to eat.”
“Give it back to me,” Gabrielle said, ignoring the cur-
rent of surprise that ran through the other men when she
challenged Lucan’s attempt to control her. “I need to know
that she’s okay, Lucan.”
He came toward her, and for a second she feared what
he might do to her as he reached out to touch her face. In
front of the others, he stroked her cheek tenderly, posses-
sively. He spoke softly. “Your friend’s well-being is out of
your hands. If she’s not yet been bled dry by this Rogue—
and believe me, that’s a very real possibility—then he poses
no further danger to her now.”
“But what if he did something to her? What if he
turned her into one of those Minions?”
Lucan shook his head. “Only the most powerful of our
kind can create Minions. That gutter trash who blew him-
self up in the tunnel was incapable. He was nothing but an
expendable pawn.”
Gabrielle moved out of his caress despite the comfort
his touch gave her. “What if that’s how he saw Kendra?
What if he turned her over to someone who does have
more power than him?”
Lucan’s expression was grim, but unwavering. His tone
was as gentle as she’d ever heard it, which only made his
words harder to accept. “Then you should forget her en-
tirely, because she is already as good as dead.”
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Twenty-one
I hope the tea isn’t too strong. If you’d like a little milk in
it, I can get you some from the kitchen.”
Gabrielle smiled, truly warmed by the hospitality of
Gideon’s mate. “The tea is perfect, thank you.”
She had been surprised to learn that there were other
women in the compound, and felt she’d made an instant
friend in the beautiful Savannah. As soon as she’d arrived
to fetch Gabrielle on Lucan’s order, Savannah had gone to
great lengths to ensure that Gabrielle was comfortable and
relaxed.
As relaxed as she could be, at any rate, surrounded by
heavily armed vampires in a maximum-security bunker
housed several hundred feet below the ground.
Not that she would have guessed that, seated as she was
now, across from Savannah at a long, dark cherry table in a
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tastefully appointed dining room, sipping an exotic, spicy
tea from a delicate bone china cup while music played
softly in the background.
This chamber, and the spacious residential suite adjoin-
ing it, belonged to Gideon and Savannah. From all ap-
pearances, they lived as a normal couple within the
compound, in comfortable living quarters, surrounded by
sumptuous furniture, countless books, and beautiful objets
d’art. Everything was of the finest quality and all of it im-
peccably maintained, no different than one might expect
to find in a pricey Back Bay brownstone. If not for the ab-
sence of windows, it would have been close to perfect. And
even that lack was compensated for, with a breathtaking
collection of paintings and photographs adorning nearly
every wall.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
Savannah gestured to a silver tray of pastries and cook-
ies that lay between them on the table. Next to that was an-
other gleaming platter of dainty finger sandwiches and
aromatic sauces. Everything looked and smelled wonder-
ful, but Gabrielle had pretty much lost her appetite the
night before when she’d watched Lucan shred the
Minion’s throat with his teeth and then proceed to drink
his blood.
“No, thank you,” she said. “This is more than enough
for me right now.”
She was amazed she could hold down anything at all,
but the tea was hot and soothing, and she welcomed its
warmth both inside and out.
Savannah watched her drink in silence from across the
table, her dark eyes friendly, her thin brows knit into a
sympathetic furrow. She wore her tight black curls short
against her shapely skull, but the effect was more sophisti-
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cated than gamine when paired with her striking features
and pretty, feminine curves. She had the same open, easy
demeanor as Gideon, something Gabrielle greatly appre-
ciated, after having dealt with Lucan and his dominating
ways the past few hours.
“Well, maybe you can resist temptation,” Savannah
said, reaching for one of the crumbly scones, “but I can’t.”
>
She spooned a dollop of thick cream onto the biscuit
then broke off a piece and moaned happily as she popped
the bite into her mouth. Gabrielle knew she was staring,
but could hardly help it.
“You eat real food,” she said, more a question than the
statement it sounded like.
Nodding, Savannah dabbed the corners of her mouth
with her napkin. “Yes. Of course. A girl has to eat.”
“But I thought? If you and Gideon . . . Aren’t you like
him?”
Savannah frowned, shaking her head. “I’m human,
same as you. Didn’t Lucan explain anything to you?”
“Some.” Gabrielle shrugged. “Enough to make my
head spin, but I still have a lot of questions.”
“Of course, you do. Everyone does, when we’re first in-
troduced to this new, other world.” She reached out, gave
Gabrielle’s hand a gentle squeeze. “You can ask me any-
thing. I’m one of the newer females myself.”
The disclosure made Gabrielle sit up with piqued inter-
est. “How long have you been here?”
Savannah glanced upward for a moment, as if count-
ing time. “I left my old life in 1974. That’s when I met
Gideon, and fell madly in love.”
“More than thirty years ago,” Gabrielle wondered
aloud, taking in the youthful features, radiant mocha skin,
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and bright young eyes of Gideon’s woman. “You don’t
look even twenty years old to me.”
Savannah’s smile beamed. “I was eighteen when
Gideon took me as his mate. He saved my life, actually. He
took me away from a bad situation, and so long as we are
bonded, I will remain as I am now. Do I really look so
young to you?”
“Yes. You’re beautiful.”
Savannah giggled softly as she took another bite of her
scone.
“How . . . ?” Gabrielle asked, hoping it wasn’t rude to
press, but she was so curious and astonished that she
couldn’t help blurting out questions. “If you’re human,
and they can’t turn us into . . . what they are . . . then, how
can this be? How is it that you haven’t aged?”
“I am a Breedmate,” Savannah answered, as if that
should explain it all. When Gabrielle frowned, confused,
Savannah went on. “Gideon and I are bonded, mated. His
blood keeps me young, but I’m still one hundred percent
human. That never changes, even after we are bonded to
one of them as his mate. We don’t grow fangs, and we
don’t crave blood in the same way that they do in order to
survive.”
“But you gave up everything to be with him, like this?”
“What have I given up? I am spending my life with a
man I completely adore, and who loves me just as much.
We’re both healthy, happy, surrounded by others like us,
who are our family. Aside from the threat of the Rogues,
we have no worries here. If I have sacrificed anything, it
pales to what I have with Gideon.”
“What about sunlight? Don’t you miss it, living down
here as you do?”
“None of us are forced to remain in the compound all
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of the time. I spend a lot of time in the gardens of the
estate during the day, when I want to. The grounds are
very well-secured, and so is the mansion, which is huge. I
must have spent three weeks exploring it when I first came
here.”
From the brief glimpse Gabrielle had gotten of the
place, she could imagine it would take some time to get fa-
miliar with everything.
“As for going into town during the day, we do that
sometimes, too—not very often, though. Anything we
need can be ordered over the internet and delivered to us.”
She smiled, giving a little shrug of her shoulder. “Don’t get
me wrong, I love salon time and shopping as much as the
next girl, but it’s always something of a risk to venture out-
side the compound without the protection of our mates.
And they worry when we are somewhere they cannot pro-
vide for us. I suppose females living in the Darkhaven sanc-
tuaries have a bit more daytime freedom than those of us
who are bonded to members of the warrior class. Not that
you will hear any of us complaining.”
“Are there more Breedmates living here?”
“There are two others, besides me. Eva is bonded to
Rio. You’ll like the both of them—they’re the life of any
party. And Danika is one of the sweetest people you will
ever meet. She was Breedmate to Conlan. He was killed
recently, in a confrontation with a Rogue.”
Gabrielle nodded soberly. “Yes, I heard about that just
before you came to bring me here. I’m sorry.”
“It’s different without him, quieter. I’m not sure how
Danika’s going to cope, to be honest with you. They were
together for many, many years. Conlan was a good war-
rior, but an even better mate. He was also one of the oldest
members in this compound.”
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“How old do they get?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Very old, by our standards, anyway.
Conlan was born to the daughter of Scottish chieftain
around the time of Columbus. His father was a Breed
vampire of that current generation, five-hundred years
ago.”
“You’re saying Conlan was five-hundred years old?”
Savannah lifted a slender shoulder. “Give or take, yes.
There are some much younger, like Rio and Nikolai, who
were both born in the 1900s, but none of them are as long-
lived as Lucan. He’s first generation, born to one of the
original Ancients and the first line of Breedmates to carry
their alien seed to full term. From what I understand, those
first Breed offspring occurred long after the Ancients ar-
rived here, by many centuries, according to the history.
The Gen Ones were conceived unpleasantly and entirely
by chance, when the vampires’ wholesale rapes happened
to include human females whose unique blood properties
and DNA were strong enough to sustain a hybrid preg-
nancy.”
Gabrielle got an instant, sickening picture of the bru-
tality that must have taken place at that time. “They sound
like animals, the Ancients.”
“They were savages. The Rogues operate in much the
same way, and with the same disregard for life. If not for
warriors like Lucan, Gideon, and the few others of the
Order who hunt them down around the world, our lives—
all of human life—would be very bleak.”
“And what about Lucan?” Gabrielle asked softly. “How
old does all of this make him?”
“Ah, he is a rarity, if for his lineage alone. There are few
left of his generation.” Savannah’s expression held a trace
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of awe and more than a little respect. “Lucan can be no
less than nine-hundred years, possibly more.”
“Oh, my God.” Gabrielle fell back against her chair.
She laughed at the absurdity of the idea, and yet realized
that it made perfect sense. “You know, the first time I saw
him, I thought he looked like he should be on horseback,
brandishing a sword and leading an army of knights into
battle. He just has that carriage about him. Like he owns
the world, and has seen so much that nothing surprises
him. Now, I know why.”
Savannah was looking at her sagely, her head tilted. “I
think you’ve been something of a surprise to him.”
“Me? What do you mean?”
“He brought you here, to the compound. He’s never
done that, not in all the time I’ve known him, and not be-
fore either, from what I gathered from Gideon.”
“Lucan says he’s brought me here for my own protec-
tion, because the Rogues are after me, now. God, I didn’t
want to believe him—about any of this—but it’s all true,
isn’t it?”
Savannah’s smile was warm, sympathetic. “It is.”
“I saw him kill someone last night—a Minion. He did it
to protect me, I know, but it was so violent. It was horrific.”
A shiver snaked its way up her limbs when she pictured the
gruesome scene that took place in the children’s park.
“Lucan bit into the man’s throat and fed off him like some
kind of . . .”
“Vampire,” Savannah answered softly, with neither ac-
cusation nor condemnation in her voice. “That’s what
they are, Gabrielle, how they were born. It’s not a curse or
a disease. It’s just the way they live, a different kind of
consumption than what we as humans have grown to ac-
cept as normal. And vampires don’t always kill to feed.
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In fact, that’s rare, at least among the Breed’s general
population, including the warrior class. It’s completely
unheard of with blood-bonded vampires, like Gideon or
Rio, since their nourishment is provided regularly by their
Breedmates.”
“You make it sound so normal,” Gabrielle said, frown-
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