The sight before me in the living room froze me in my steps. With so many sups in the house, I hadn't bothered to check who all was inside. It appeared the past had come back to haunt me.

"Noreen." My voice came out low.

The last time I'd seen her, she'd been lying on the floor of her club office in Monterey, unconscious from the wounds I'd inflicted on her. She looked fine now, in all her manicured glory, wearing a cream pantsuit.

I resisted the urge to run as I stared at her standing next to Variola, who wore her standard black leather get-up. The two women couldn't have been more different had they tried, but their stances were almost identical. They both stood with their feet spread apart and hands on their hips. It was a poor imitation of yin and yang.

Variola spoke first, "Melena, I do believe you've met Noreen before. She was most anxious to see you again."

Pearly white teeth reflected from Variola's smile. No fangs yet, but the coldness in her dark eyes shone through enough to make me worried. Did they know I'd released Nikolas? I glanced over at Derrick, who had moved off to the side. He stood there with a blank expression that didn't give away whether he was paying attention to the exchange or not.

I turned back to them. "Yes, I remember her."

"Good," Variola said while moving forward to come closer. She stood several inches shorter than me, but the waves of power rolling off of her made up for the lack of height. Fighting her weaponless would be impossible and I hoped it wouldn't come down to that. Especially since another headache seemed to be coming on. I resisted the urge to rub my temples.

"What's this about?" I asked. "We're still looking for the vampire you want." Better to brazen this one out with the hope she didn't know the truth.

The witch-vamp's eyes hardened. "Derrick told me you were still searching. It seems to me you're taking far too long to find one vampire who shouldn't be that difficult to locate. Lucky for us, the perfect incentive arrived yesterday to help give you a little motivation."

I stiffened. Incentive?

"Robert," she called out to a vampire standing near the entryway. "Why don't you bring our guest?"

The man who'd brought Emily and her mother up to Fairbanks nodded and marched off. I recognized his name from her mentioning it several times. Robert wasn't much to look at-a small guy with history professor looks who was about ninety in vampire years, though he could pass for mid-forties in human. Before stepping out, his eyes had reflected a hint of cruelty. Variola only surrounded herself with the best.

For the next few minutes we stood waiting while the tension in my muscles continued to build. About a half dozen sups were in the room. Most were staring at me with expressionless faces. I tried to ignore them in favor of sending my senses out to find Aniya, but nothing came back to me. I had to hope they hadn't hurt her.

My head swiveled to the entryway as footsteps approached, signaling Robert's return with the "guest". I gaped at seeing Matt. He'd been worked over hard with a black eye, assorted facial bruises, and fang marks in his neck. He had to be in pain, but his eyes were filled with fury.

How could he put up such a brave front? Most humans would have been in a state of shock at this point.

"What does he have to do with this?" I asked, wishing I could pulverize the witch-vamp's triumphant face.

Variola laughed and Noreen stepped forward, running her gaze up and down my body. "You, little human, need a lesson in manners and obedience. This boy here will be the perfect training tool so there will be no more problems with you in the future."

Noreen walked over and kicked Matt between the legs with her high heeled shoes. He doubled over and cursed her. I leapt forward to try and stop the witch from doing anything more, but two vamps grabbed my arms and pulled me back. They avoided my flying feet and one of them punched me hard in the stomach. The air rushed out of my lungs and ribbons of pain sliced through my ribs. I had to wheeze through the pain.

"Leave her alone," Matt yelled out.

My head lifted to stare at him. How could he have any bravery left after what he'd been through?

Variola smacked him on the side of the head. "Young man, you've gotten yourself into enough trouble. If it weren't for your father, I'd kill you now, but don't push your luck."

His father?

Matt spit on the fancy Oriental rug laying across the wood floor before replying, "Not just my father, Theirn will be pissed at you too."

"Do not bring up Theirn with me! I'm free of him and his precious New Orleans. Your threats do no good here."

My head swung back and forth between them, trying to make sense of the conversation.

"What is going on, Matt?" I asked him.

Regret filled his eyes.

"I knew about them being here," he indicated the sups in the room, "but didn't know where to find them. When you showed your friend's photo, I didn't think about the guy with her being a vamp until later. Since you look human, I couldn't talk about it anyway. But then you started hanging around with that werewolf and I realized you had to know about them."

Derrick stood stoic during the whole conversation and wouldn't meet my eyes. Damn him. Why wouldn't he say anything?

I returned my attention to Matt. "Okay, but how do you know about these people?"

He gave me a rueful smile. "My father is a werewolf and second to the head vampire in New Orleans. Last night, I saw the vamp who'd been with your friend and followed him here hoping to negotiate her release for you, but it didn't work out like I planned. These assholes have no honor." His angry eyes roamed around the room.

The werewolf next to him elbowed his gut. Matt didn't cry out in pain this time, but he did double over again. I hated to see him hurt over this. He'd been trying to help, though I wished he'd stayed out of it.

Even though he had a werewolf father, which I hadn't expected, he was human and vulnerable. For whatever reason, he hadn't been turned. Many were-parents bit their children once they reached adulthood, others refused to change their offspring, and some gave them a choice. His father must have chosen to leave him as a human.

"Wait, didn't you say you were from Texas?" My senses would have told me if he lied.

He nodded, having recovered from the latest hit. "I am. That's where my mother raised me. It was during the summer my Dad brought me to New Orleans where he lived. I met a lot of these guys from my visits there." He indicated Variola and a few others. At least that explained where they came from before arriving here.

"How did you find out about all this?" he asked.

"Oh, I've known about the supernatural community for a while," I answered, looking away.

Variola laughed. "Still trying to hide what you are, sensor? I believe it's a little too late for that."

Matt's face reflected surprise. "Theirn has been looking for one of your kind for years. He said there aren't many of you left and the few who are still around get snatched up the minute they're discovered."

"More like killed," I muttered.

He shook his head. "No, they all think you're too valuable to be killed. You should have stayed hidden, Melena. These people will never let you go."

I swung my gaze over to Variola.

"Oh, poor dear, no one ever told you. There is always work your kind can be doing for the rest of us. What? You thought that war three centuries ago would keep us from using you? No, little sensor, the angels are long gone and they aren't coming back to protect you again."

I tried to jerk free, but the vampires held me in place. All this time I'd been running, thinking they would kill me if caught. Instead, they wanted me for some kind of slave labor. That didn't make it much better, but my perception of the world no longer looked the same. Wanda must not have known this or she would have told me. What more did they want? Would I ever be free again?

One look at Matt gave me the answer to my second question.

His eyes held sympathy in them. "I'm sorry, Melena. If I'd known what you were, I would have at least warned you."

His words rang as truth and it made me think he would have tried to keep my secret if I'd told him. Not that I would have. The instinct to protect my identity had long been ingrained into my psyche.

Noreen's insipid voice caught my attention. "Of course, we do have a problem now. If Matt knows about her, he'll tell his father. Then we'll have Theirn to deal with when he hears of this and we can't afford that."

Variola nodded her head and gave Matt a critical look. "We can't compel him not to talk either. Since his werewolf daddy makes him immune to any of our compulsions."

I guessed that to mean only a very old sup like Nik or Lucas could do it then. Another piece of information I hadn't known. It must be the older they got, the more effective and wide-ranged their compulsion.

Noreen smiled. "There are two choices-lock him up or kill him."

"No," I protested. Neither witch looked at me.

"You'll have to make sure it isn't traced back to us," Variola warned.

"Oh, I know what I'm doing," the younger witch replied with an anticipatory grin before sashaying out of the room.

Chapter Twenty-one.

"Time for a little payback, sensor. We might need you alive, but the same can't be said about your friend," Noreen announced. She came in clutching a large, curved knife in her hand and eyed her prey with anticipation. Matt's eyes flashed with a fear he couldn't hide.

"Stop, don't do this." He didn't deserve this for trying to help me.

I tried to pull away from the vampires holding my arms. They kept me in place while everyone else ignored me. Derrick twitched, but otherwise didn't move. Only a trace of agitation came from him.

"You'll regret this," Matt growled out.

I gave him a desperate look, but he had focused his full concentration on his captors, struggling against them with everything he had. They were forced to hold his legs in place after he kicked out at Noreen, missing her by a bare inch. The witch stepped before him only after he'd spent some time wearing himself out. She began tracing his heaving chest with the knife, causing small rivulets of blood to seep out and stain his shirt.

I jerked forward with renewed strength when Noreen pressed the blade into Matt's abdomen, cutting him deep. Fingers dug hard into my arms to keep me from getting to him. I kicked the vamp on my right in the knee cap, distracting him long enough to get one of my arms free. The other vampire jerked my body close and locked me in a tight embrace.

"Stop," I gasped out. "Punish me if you have to, but leave him alone."

The knife moved clockwise as it went in, opening the wound further. Crimson flowed out to create a growing puddle on the floor. Every vamp in the room eyed it, and the victim, with undisguised hunger. Matt's face contorted until he let out a ragged scream. The men holding him kept their grips tight when his knees collapsed. Noreen pulled the blade toward his ribs in a final upward thrust.

"No," I screamed. Not one of the sups in the room acted like they heard me.

Blood seeped out of the corner of Matt's mouth and his face had turned a pale hue. Gurgling sounds reached my ears as his body moved in small jerks. I wanted to look away, but his gaze rested on me. Even now, there was an apology in his expression.

Within moments he exhaled his last breath. The life went out of his eyes as the men holding his body lowered him to the floor. Tears escaped me as I struggled to draw air through the tightness in my chest. He was gone and I hadn't been able to save him. Much of it was my fault for getting him involved, but the blame rested on others as well.

"You bitch. I'll kill you for this."

Noreen turned. Her hands were bloody but she didn't bother to wipe them off. Instead she walked up and slapped me hard enough to make my head cant to the side. I felt the wet splotches on my cheek where her hand had touched.

"Perhaps now you've learned your lesson. I suggest you do as we ask and locate that vampire as soon as possible."

Variola strode forward and took Noreen's hand, licking the blood off one finger at a time. The two women smiled at each other before returning their attention to me.

"If you don't want something similar to happen to your female friend, I suggest you get moving. She has no value to us outside of ensuring your cooperation. You have three days to find him and give us his location. Do you understand?" Variola's eyes promised further retribution if I didn't do what she wanted.

My body shook with anger. I wanted to say a lot of things, but knew arguing with them would do no good. In fact, it could make things worse.

"Yes," I said through clenched teeth.

"Wonderful."

She turned away and moved to a nearby divan to sit down. Her leather clad legs spread out into a blatant sexual pose. She appeared comfortable sitting there, despite the masculine tones of the brown leather furniture. Noreen eased herself into the seat next to Variola and managed to look as relaxed as her friend. Queens of the little world they'd made for themselves, but I'd make sure to change that soon.

"You may go," she announced with a dismissive wave.

The vampires didn't release my arms, but instead pulled me along to the front door. We passed by Matt's bloody remains on the way out. No one had even bothered to close his eyes. A lump rose in my throat as I remembered the way he'd looked at me. I dug my feet in the floor, and turned back.

"What will you do with the body?"

Noreen rolled her eyes. "Make it look like a human killing, of course. Don't you worry your pretty little head about that. Just find the vampire."

"But..."

"Go," she interrupted.

Before I could get a chance to argue the matter further, the vamps pulled me out of the room. They threw me into the SUV and slammed the door shut moments later. Derrick climbed in on the other side, taking the wheel. I crossed my arms and sat rigid in the seat. Neither of us looked at each other.

About half-way to the cabin, he reached between our seats and pulled a cloth bag out. He handed it to me.

"Your weapons are inside," he said in a gruff voice.

I checked them over before shoving it all to the floor-too late to use any of it now.

"Did you know what they planned?"

Derrick's hands tightened on the wheel. "No, they gave no indication to me they would kill him."

"But you knew he would be there when we arrived?"

"Yes."

A blur of trees went by outside the window. "Why didn't you tell me beforehand?"

"Better you didn't know. You might have done something stupid and made matters worse."

My fist slammed into the dashboard. "Worse than dead? How is that possible?"

"In the supernatural world, a quick death is a blessing. It's the slow deaths that are the ones to be feared. I've known men who were tortured for years before being allowed to die. They thanked their executioner at the end."

I grunted. "Matt was human. They couldn't drag it out that long."

Derrick let out a pitying laugh. "Keep thinking that if it helps you sleep at night."

The cabin came into view and I hopped out of the SUV as soon as it came to a stop, grabbing my bag of weapons as I went. Sunset wouldn't be for a couple more hours and I wanted to be alone. That wouldn't happen in the cabin.