Gracie frowned. “Maybe it has something to do with the amount of vampire in you. I mean, it’s genetics, right? Maybe you have more shifter or something like that.”
Daniel frowned. He hadn’t thought of that before… Perhaps his mother had drunk more shifter blood and was, therefore, more human when he was conceived than Typhoon’s father… “My mother is a vampire; his father is a vampire. You think it could be that? Like the difference between a Liger and a Tigon? We’re different types of hybrids?”
“Maybe.”
Well, they couldn’t exactly compare DNA to find out. He rolled over and pulled up his pants, still frowning. “Typhoon always suppressed his vampire side, too. But I grew up with vampires… for the longest time, I couldn’t shift into a wolf. I thought that maybe I didn’t have enough shifter in me. I wondered if maybe… maybe I embraced the vampire side of me enough that it’s not overpowering the shifter side of me? I don’t know if that makes sense.”
Gracie wrapped the blanket around herself and frowned. “It does… maybe him suppressing that side of him meant that he didn’t have control of it and that it left him vulnerable?”
“Yeah. Something like that.” Daniel nodded, relieved that she understood. It was also a relief to be able to talk about these things with someone. His family and Mia remained the only ones who were accepting of his half vampire status, but even they feared he might suddenly be taken over. There was just so much pain with the whole situation, too. It was just… messy. “If we could figure it out, though… maybe there is something physically different about me. I haven’t had even the urge to obey Apep, not even when he first appeared.”
“Maybe it’s the hybrid thing.” Gracie frowned as she sat up and reached for a book. “I’m not a geneticist, but maybe there’s something in legends… Uh… Sekhmet was a shifter! I think. If she was real like Apep, then maybe she was a hybrid? The legends say she fell to bloodlust and was only stopped by beer that looked like blood.”
Daniel chuckled under his breath as he watched her. The determined furrow in her brow made him grin. “So, what you’re saying is we need to get Typhoon drunk?”
“It couldn’t hurt.”
“Well, I’ll get right on that.”
“Typhoon said he was training you to take over after him.” Gracie shut the book again and gave him a hard look. “So why aren’t you their leader? You say that someone needs to take leadership… what’s holding you back?”
Daniel’s brow arched. He hadn’t been expected that question, certainly not with the level of accusation in her voice. He wasn’t certain how to respond at first, but her expression made it clear she wasn’t going to back down until she had an answer. He chewed his cheek then shrugged.
“Guess I don’t want to cause more troubles. They don’t trust me. I’m half bloodsucker, as Tornado said. I could turn on them at any moment.”
“Yet you were the one who was able to get him to back down.”
Daniel rolled his eyes. “Ava did that.”
“But you followed it through,” Gracie insisted. Her eyes flashed as she shoved her hands into her sleeves for warmth. “You have the strength to be the leader, and I think you’re right. Whatever strategies you’re using aren’t working. Apep is getting stronger and those who oppose him are getting weaker. So. Why not you?”
“They think if me as a kid.”
Gracie’s brow furrowed. “But they all look the same age as you! So what, do shifters age slower once they hit their twenties or something?”
Daniel shook his head. That dread was returning, but he attempted to keep his voice casual and his expression smooth. “No. Well, shifters live longer than humans, but it’s more along the lines of not deteriorating as fast in old age. No, the reason they think of me as a kid is because vampire-shifter hybrids age more rapidly than humans or shifters.”
Gracie’s brow puckered.
“You have to understand,” he said slowly, watching her for the strike of realization, “that when I was born, I already had the mental capacity of a ten-year-old. I’ve never really been a child, and I am mentally and emotionally as old as I look physically.”
Understanding started to dawn, and her eyes widened.
“I was born less than two years ago. I matured to adulthood by my first birthday. Then… well, we don’t really know the details. Typhoon had similar development as me. He’s aged normally from that time.”
Gracie paled. She drew back from him, a look of horror coming over her face.
“I am not a child,” Daniel was quick to assure her. He didn’t want to lose her now… not when she felt like his anchor in the waves of doubt that ate at him. “I might lack a bit in life experiences, but I am as much an adult as you are.”
Gracie nodded, looking sick. His heart sank, and he withdrew a little. She wasn’t going to accept it. Like the others, she was going to ignore the fact that he wasn’t a child in a man’s body and think only of his age. His wolf nudged his chest, trying to get him to embrace her, to prove with his body that he was no child, but he shoved it back angrily. He didn’t need that right now.
“You can ask the others,” he said, glancing away. “Since I understand why you wouldn’t believe me. But Gracie… You have been with us for a few weeks. Have I ever acted like a child?”
She didn’t respond. Not that he expected her to. Andy called from below and Daniel stood, making sure he was covered before he headed out of the attic. He glanced back just before Gracie was out of sight to find her holding her head in her hands. A pang hit his stomach, but he dropped out and headed to join with his father and the others.
If she couldn’t accept it, then he’d have to step back. That was the adult thing to do. Besides, with a god risen from the dead and wanting to kill them all, he didn’t have the time to be distracted by a girl. If circumstances were different… but he couldn’t take the time right now. And it hurt, yeah, but he’d get over it.
He’d get over her.
Chapter Eight
Gracie
Children in the other room were crying and she could hear Melanie trying to soothe them. In the tiny kitchen, hardly big enough for the table shoved into the corner, the older kids peeled vegetables, helping prepare the stew for when the others returned home. Ava had gone out some time ago and returned with a handful of rabbits, which she had skinned expertly and was now chopping into bits for the stew.
Gracie brushed some of the hair from her eyes as she finished pealing the last potato. It had been hours since the others left, and her stomach was tied into such knots that the lack of conversation was stifling. She wanted to say something, anything, to get her mind off what was happening out there, but her mind was an utter blank.
“We’re done,” the oldest girl, Artemis, declared as she pushed herself to her feet. Her sisters, Freya and Sekhmet, followed suit. “We’re going up to the attic to read now.”
Gracie grimaced. She knew why they would want to get away from all the noise, but she still thought of the attic as her and Daniel’s space. She didn’t want to share it. Still, she nodded at them, letting them go. It wasn’t like it would take her long to chop up the vegetables.
The girls streamed from the room and Ava tipped her cut-up meat into the stew pot. She let out a heavy sigh, heavier than Gracie had heard, and rinsed off the cutting board before washing her hands. Once she was done with that, Ava joined Gracie at the table, cutting the potatoes.
“It’s like this,” she said unexpectedly. “The waiting. When you’re mated to one of the Savage Brotherhood, it’s your life. Always waiting for them to return, always fearing something will go wrong. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve waited up all night for Jackson, wondering what I would tell our children if he never returned.”
Gracie flinched. “That sounds… awful.”
“It is. But he’s always come home.”
“What about before the vampires? I mean… the Savage Brotherhood is a well-known gang. I’ve heard some pretty te
rrible things about them.”
Ava’s expression darkened as her shoulders hunched. “That was the hardest part to accept. But they have always, first and foremost, been an army against the vamps. The criminal activity was just a way to fund it. You can’t exactly hold down a full-time job when you can be called to go fight the undead at any moment, after all.”
“That’s the thing that almost pulled me and Zane apart before we were even mates,” Melanie spoke from the doorway and Gracie jumped. She came in, holding a five-month-old baby. “I was terrified of the Brotherhood. Thought they were nothing but no-good gangsters. Even after I learned the truth, it was difficult for me to accept. But I knew that Zane had a deeper mission. He would sacrifice so much of his personal happiness to stop vampires from taking over…”
She trailed off, and Gracie knew what she was thinking. Vampires had taken over anyway.
Melanie shook her head and sighed. “I’m just glad his mother passed away peacefully before all of this happened. She had a good, full life and got to meet her grandchildren, and they got to meet her. I don’t think she would have survived Apep’s return.”
Ava reached out and squeezed Melanie’s hand. “Have you heard about your father?”
“Safe, for now.” Catching Gracie’s confused look, Melanie explained. “My father has been sick for a long time. We couldn’t risk dragging him all over the place. But he’s not a shifter, so the vampires don’t seem to care about him. Apep has not gone after non-shifter family.”
Gracie shivered at the thought. She almost preferred the silence to this.
Melanie sighed. “I’m sorry if this makes you more anxious. We try not to talk like this around the children or Mia. I have to say, though, you seem to be doing quite well. Considering everything that’s been thrown at you, you’re holding up well.”
“Thanks. I feel like I could fly apart at any second.”
Ava paused a moment, then a sly smile crossed her face. “Bet Storm helps with that.”
Gracie’s stomach twisted tighter. She dropped her knife and leaned her elbows against the table. “Is he really only two years old?”
She glanced up to see the other women glance at each other. Their expressions sobered; Melanie shrugged as she passed the baby to Gracie and took over chopping vegetables.
“He’s the first vampire-shifter hybrid I heard of,” Ava said. “I mean, I know that Typhoon is now, but I have no idea how old he is. From what I recall, he only showed up in the Brotherhood about fifteen years ago. Storm has never acted like a kid. The first time we met, he started talking about the allegory of Plato’s Cave.”
That wasn’t helpful. Gracie shifted the baby to be more comfortable and sighed. “It’s just… Yeah, he looks grown up and he acts it, but if he’s really only lived two years… I mean, he doesn’t have the experiences, right? No matter how mature he might be, it’s the experience…”
Melanie looked thoughtful as she nodded. “I get what you mean. I think it’s something you should probably discuss with him. I know that you’re not the first woman he’s had a relationship with. I don’t know. You could talk with Mia about Typhoon.”
Gracie thought about the tiger shifter’s sad face and the way she always seemed to be on the verge of tears. Bringing up her lost mate wasn’t what Gracie wanted to do at all. She nodded doubtfully anyway, wanting to get off this topic. She cast her mind about, but no other topic came, really. Except for getting back to the vampires. Melanie said her father was still out there. As she glanced between the two of them, though, she wondered why it was just them, their mates and their children. Surely out of all of them, there had to be brothers, sisters, parents?
“Have… have you lost anybody?” she asked hesitantly. “To the vampires.”
Ava shivered. “Not anybody that I was close to. We’ve lost plenty of the Brotherhood but—”
“I meant… family. Friends.”
Melanie shook her head. “No. Not yet, at least. It’s something we can be thankful for at least.”
“And you?” Ava’s voice was so soft Gracie almost missed it. “Have you lost anyone?”
Gracie sighed. “No. I never really had anybody to lose. I’ve lived a pretty isolated life… and now I’m glad I did. I can’t imagine how it would be, waiting to hear if the vampires were going after someone I cared about. But my parents never really had anything to do with me, and they both died when I was in my teens. My grandparents took me in, and they passed several years ago. Don’t really have friends…”
Melanie opened her mouth, but before she could speak there was a shriek from somewhere in the house. The word wasn’t clear, but the tone of fear was. Vampires.
All three women leapt to their feet. Melanie snatched the baby back from Gracie, and they all dashed from the kitchen. Snarls filled the air as Gracie ran for the emergency packs; she was to gather the supplies while Melanie and Roxy gathered the children. Mia and Ava both shifted into their feline forms and attacked the vampires as they streamed into the safehouse. Artemis and Sekhmet joined them while Freya raced to help Gracie.
Gracie grabbed the packs, putting herself between Freya and the oncoming vampires. Blood tainted the air and there was a thick smell of rotting fruit that made her gag. Gracie headed for the van, her heart thumping as the little ones raced ahead of Melanie, the baby still clutched in her arms. They got them into the van parked in the garage, and then Gracie remembered—the books. They needed the books! If they had any chance at finding what Apep actually was…
“Go,” she told Melanie urgently, struggling to buckle in the little ones. There wasn’t any more time; the vicious snarls were growing more desperate. Gracie’s heart thumped hard. “I can take one of the bikes. Go!”
“Gracie, we stick to the plan—” Roxy started.
“Just go!”
Gracie slammed the door and rushed back into the house. She didn’t turn back as Melanie stomped on the gas and peeled out of the garage, smashing the door open as she did so. She leaned on the horn; the signal to the other women it was time to split. There was a yowl and a scream of pain. Gracie rushed to the attic, hoping desperately that the vampires would try to chase after the feline shifters.
She got to the attic and shoved the books into the pack when she heard footsteps below. Her heart slammed against her chest, and then the smell of smoke started to curl into her nostrils. She looked around rapidly, trying to find some escape route—there was none except to go straight down.
Holding her breath, she slipped down the ladder. The sound of flickering flames reached her ears, and she dashed across the hall, headed for the bikes…
A hand snaked out of nowhere and grabbed her arm. She turned, gasping, and something heavy hit her head. Everything went black.
***
The blackness greeted her when she awoke. A chill seeped into her bones as pain pounded through her head. Nausea swirled in her stomach, and she took a moment to try to orient herself before she moved. Not that it did much good—as soon as she sat up, a grating noise pieced her skull and lights stabbed her eyes.
A vampire—the vampire she had seen at the bank, Daniel’s mother—entered the room and lifted Gracie to her feet.
“Easy,” she murmured as Gracie tried to rip herself away. “I’m sorry.”
Gracie’s stomach churned with bile as she tried vainly to free herself from the vampire’s strong grip. “What’s going to happen to me?” she gasped.
Guinevere didn’t answer. She brought Gracie out of the room and down a long, cold hallway. Within moments, they were standing in a lavishly decorated office. Typhoon knelt by the desk, an expression of hatred on his face. A collar was latched around his throat, a bowl of water and another with some raw meat in it beside the first. Gracie’s stomach churned harder as his eyes widened and a look of devastation crossed his face.
“Ah, and here she is.”
The smooth voice from behind her made her shudder. Fighting the urge to be sick, Gracie turned to see Ape
p smiling down at her. He sauntered forward to cup her face with one heavily jeweled hand. “Finally, we get to meet. I have been looking for you for a long time, Gracie Underhill. You are a hard woman to find.”
Guinevere released her and stepped back, hands clasped before her while her chin fell to her chest. Gracie bunched her hands. If she had a stake, she could stab Apep in the heart! If only she had some sort of weapon…
Apep sighed happily as he released her. He stepped back, his gaze traveling down her form before he nodded. “You look stronger than the others… Let’s hope you survive, shall we?”
Dread swept through her. Apep laughed and Gracie began to tremble. What was he going to do to her?
Chapter Nine
Storm
They saw the smoke rising from the safehouse before they arrived; Daniel’s stomach clenched, the victory of their successful bank robbery swept from his mind. Tornado and Thunder both sped up, leaning over the handles of their bikes; Daniel put on a burst of speed and got ahead of them, turning his bike sideways to cut them off.
“We stick to the plan,” he snarled. “We get to the beta site, meet up with them there. It won’t do anybody any good if we end up dead here.”
Thunder growled at him, but Daniel snarled right back. His heart slammed into his ribs, and he wanted to rush to the burning safehouse as much as any of the others—he could see the fear on Shadow’s face, the paleness of Hurricane’s skin. His stomach twisted in knots as he thought of his aunt, his cousins, of the children they left there… and of Gracie.
But he took a deep breath and glowered at the others, forcing himself to think instead about what would happen if they went to the safe house and were ambushed by vampires as their mates and children were at the beta site.
“We have to stick to the plan,” he reminded them and wheeled his bike around.
The bags of money strapped to the back seemed to weigh him down; luckily, Andy, Stewart, and Polaris turned with him; after a moment, Josef did as well. And then Thunder reluctantly came, followed by Tornado. Shadow was the last to obey, her expression one of terror now; that more than anything made Daniel feel like he was about to be sick. He’d never seen Shadow, of all people, look so afraid.
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