With thirty seconds left on my watch, Lucas and Yvonne appeared again. She had the supplies in her hands and set them down to get to work right away. I didn't pay a lot of attention to how she did it, but my eyes willed her to finish as soon as possible. By the time she found the location, it was five minutes past the deadline and I was shaking with impatience and fear.

This time Lucas offered to go alone and get Aniya, saying he couldn't take anyone with him since he would need to be able to move her back here. I hadn't even known he could move a single person with him before tonight. After giving him my assent, he flashed off once again.

When he returned two minutes later, he held my limp friend in his arms. I gasped. She had a gaping wound in her stomach. She still breathed, but who knew for how long. She'd already lost a lot of blood if the deep red coating her faded jeans and cream sweater were anything to go by. I moved closer. Dread was closing my throat at seeing her olive skin with an ashen hue to it. Nik came to stand beside me and examine her as well.

"She has a thready pulse, Mel. Her heart is working too hard. I'm not sure she can be saved," Nik told me with regret-filled eyes.

"What do you mean she can't be saved?" I touched her cheek to find it cold. "Your blood healed me. It could do the same for her."

He shook his head. "You weren't this close to dying. She is dangerously low on blood and already in shock. If I give her my blood now, it will upset the balance."

"The balance?" I asked in confusion.

He nodded. "I'm not sure how much you know, but to turn a human into a vampire they must be bled out to the brink of death, and then be fed our blood. She is at that point now and wounded to the degree I would have to feed her a great deal of my blood to heal the wound."

"Okay," I said, still not getting it.

"If she lives, Mel, she'll turn into a vampire."

I dropped my head, not liking the idea of having to make such a decision for my friend. What if she didn't want it? There had to be another way.

"Wait," I looked at Lucas. "Can't you heal her?"

His eyes roved over Aniya still cradled in his arms and he shook his head. "No, she is too far gone for my skills."

"But you were able to save Derrick," I argued.

"He's a werewolf. His body merely needed a nudge in the right direction to survive. Your friend requires far more than that."

I turned away, frustrated. Would Aniya hate me for whichever choice I made? Was it right to not even give her the chance? Death was permanent, but if she didn't want to be a vampire we could deal with that later.

I swung back around.

"Do it." Resolve strengthened my voice.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded.

"You are aware that this may not work and she could still die," he warned. "Not everyone makes the transition."

"They don't?" I'd known changing into a hybrid was risky, but not that it was for humans. Wanda's teachings really left something to be desired.

"No, they don't. The best estimate is about half survive."

"I don't understand. Why would that be?"

"No one is sure, but we believe some people are fated to die and their death can't be cheated. A higher power decides, not us."

"You mean God," I stated.

He inclined his head. "That is what some believe."

Lucas snorted, but said nothing. Nephilim weren't in the best graces with heaven and didn't appreciate mentions of "the Higher Power".

Whatever the odds, she was going to die for sure if we didn't do something. "I still want you to do it," I told him. "We have to at least try to save her."

Nik nodded and took Aniya's body from Lucas. Her breaths were coming in too light and I felt guilty for delaying with all my questions. After he took care to lay her on the ground, he sliced his wrist for the second time tonight and eased her mouth open. His blood began dripping down between her pale lips.

With his other hand, he massaged her throat, forcing her to swallow. Within a minute, the cut on his wrist closed and he sliced it open again. This occurred several times as he worked to save her. The wound on Aniya's stomach didn't change at first, but after agonizing minutes of waiting the skin finally started to knit back together. I let out a sigh of relief.

Nik had paled considerably by the time he thought she'd had enough. One of the werewolves stepped forward and offered him his arm. He bit right into it.

"Will she live?" I asked Lucas.

He shrugged. "There is no way to know at this point. She took his blood well enough and continues to breathe, but the turning process is not easy. Your friend could die at any time in the next three days before she becomes a full vampire. All you can do is wait and see what happens."

"Thanks for sugarcoating it," I grumbled.

He lifted his brows. "Would you rather I lie?"

He had a point, even if I didn't have to like it. Time to change the subject. "What did you do with the deputy?"

A smile twitched at his lips. "He had an unfortunate accident with his gun."

I gazed at him in suspicion. "What do you mean...accident?'

He gave a light shrug. "His gun went off after I arrived. It happened to be aimed directly at his head when it fired, which was unfortunate."

Trust Lucas to create an "accident". The deputy had been under compulsion, and might have been innocent, but that wouldn't have mattered to the nephilim. He didn't see things the way I did.

"So what do we do now?"

Nik walked up and answered before Lucas could. "We take back control of my house."

Sounded like a plan to me.

Chapter Twenty-seven.

"Well, this looks interesting." The familiar voice pulled me out of a comfortable sleep. I cracked an eye open to see Lucas standing over me next to the bed. His arms were crossed, but his lips were quirked in amusement.

"What are you doing in my room, Lucas?" I glared at him.

"Perhaps you should be asking yourself what he is doing in your room, sensor." He nodded toward the left side of my bed.

I slowly turned my head, not wanting to know what he meant-even if my senses were already telling me. One glance had me leaping from the bed, shouting as I went.

"Nikolas!"

The naked vampire lay there, not far from where I'd been sleeping, with his arms folded behind his head. I could see his pale, muscular chest and a light trail of hair leading lower before the sheet covered him up. His abs were the kind you could bounce a quarter off of and the rest of him looked every bit as hard...and rigid. He grinned at me, not even trying to hide his extended fangs.

I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the visual image he produced. How could a twelve hundred year old vampire have crawled into my bed and I not notice? It was clear I had fallen off my game if this could happen.

"Nik, get the hell out of my bed." I swept my hand out in a shooing manner. "Now!"

He yawned and gave me an amused smile. "We need to talk."

I glanced at my watch. It was four o'clock in the afternoon. Since the battle with Variola a few days ago, my sleep schedule had gotten off track. I crossed my arms to glare at him.

"You couldn't wait until I woke up?"

His eyes dropped to fixate on my chest. My hand shot up to cover the small bit of cleavage I possessed that wasn't hidden by my tank top, but it only made him grin more. A groan escaped me-it wasn't like my curves were that impressive. Working out regularly kept me on the smaller side.

I stomped across the room to my overnight bag, grabbed a t-shirt from the top, and yanked it over my head. My glare didn't faze him. He skimmed his gaze down to my legs, bared up to my thighs thanks to the skimpy length of my shorts. He wagged his brows.

I huffed in indignation. "Nikolas, eyes on mine. If you must ogle a woman, go do it in Fairbanks."

He shook his head. "It's still daylight. For now, you're the most appealing female around."

"Go find Kariann, or the other five women staying here right now. I'm not the only one."

He frowned. "They shooed me away. You're the last one left."

I wasn't sure whether to be offended by being the last one or not.

Lucas cleared his throat. "You want to get to the point of this conversation?"

The vampire and nephilim's friendship had resumed in the past few days. I hadn't seen them work things out, but their getting along so well now worried me.

"Oh, right," Nik jumped up to stand next to Lucas.

I averted my gaze from his naked form to find a pair of my black lacy underwear resting on the floor. I worked at trying to shove it under the bed with my foot. Then I saw the matching bra a few feet away and didn't think they'd miss me getting rid of that.

"Wait." I held my hand up. "Give me a chance to shower. Whatever this is about, it can wait until after I'm dressed and had some coffee."

The two men exchanged looks in another one of their wordless conversations they liked to have. Nik had a glint of amusement in his eyes when he drew his gaze back to me.

"By all means, get yourself fixed up," he eyed me up and down. "We'll be out in the living room when you're ready."

I nodded and made a shooing motion. "Good, then go. And please, Nik, get dressed."

Lucas left without a word, but the vampire gave me one more heated glance before strutting away. His back looked as good as his front, I noted with annoyance. He left the door open, forcing me to close it myself.

Since the night of the battle, Emily and I had been staying at Nik's house. It would have felt like a betrayal to leave my friend to a group of sups she didn't even know. They had to keep her in the basement where she could be contained until her bloodlust subsided, but I couldn't bring myself to go back to the cabin. Emily had insisted on staying at the house as well. She'd explained Nik's friends weren't anything like Variola's and that she liked it here. I was too tired to argue or find someplace else for her to go.

Over the last few days Aniya had awoken several times screaming. I'd had to resist the urge to run outside and escape the agony I could feel in her voice. As it was, there were a couple indents in the wall where I'd punched it in frustration.

Nik had "recruited" a group of humans to donate blood, as it was the only thing that could relieve the worst of the pain for her. She wouldn't complete the change until tonight, but her body had begun needing human blood within the first twenty-four hours. Somehow, as Aniya's sire, Nik could control her enough to keep from killing her donors, but it took a lot of them to get her through the transition. I hadn't liked using innocent people, but he promised they would be returned to their homes after their donation, none the wiser as to what happened.

It had been a touch and go process. I hadn't eaten or slept much with all the guilt tying me in knots. Nik had assured me she would survive now that she was past the worst of it. We were waiting for her body to rest on this final day before she woke up fully transitioned. He promised her personality wouldn't be any different. I hoped he was right.

After showering and changing into a pair of jogging pants and a loose sweatshirt-for Nik's benefit-I headed downstairs and grabbed a cup of coffee. Someone, probably a werewolf, had made a pot already. The kitchen was on the opposite end of the house from the living room, forcing me to walk some distance before reaching the "meeting".

My previous visits to what was Variola's home had been so limited I hadn't seen how many rooms there were until we re-took control of the place. I'd also discovered a security room filled with monitors. As it happened, several cameras were pointed in various directions outside. It explained how they'd known I was out there a couple weeks ago. A few vampires and werewolves were still here when we arrived, younger ones who wouldn't have been much good in the battle. They must have been watching for us because they fled as soon as we got close.

Nik had them all tracked down and "dealt" with, except Emily's mother who I insisted be allowed to go. He hadn't liked it, but for the girl's sake he didn't argue the point. I didn't like Stephanie either, but I couldn't have that death on my conscience. She didn't stick around or even ask to take Emily with her-not that I would have let her. She packed a bag and left in under fifteen minutes.

Now many of Nik's followers were staying here, though some had already relocated to nearby houses and cabins. Others planned to find their own homes soon so that only a small contingent would remain before long. There had to be at least twenty bedrooms in the house, if you counted the ones in the basement, making it ideal for a vampire leader's needs. We'd had to do some clean-up that first day, but it was comfortable to stay in now.

Emily slept in her own room next to mine, and loved the attention everyone gave her. She hadn't seemed upset about her mother running off, but she refused to talk about it when I first tried prodding her. Sometimes we needed space to work things out on our own. I'd made sure she understood she could talk to me anytime, but I chose not to push her too hard.

The living room turned out to be more crowded than expected. Hanging around sups all the time had numbed me to the point I didn't pay as much attention to their movements as I used to. Nik sneaking into my room this morning had made that clear.

Almost all the key players since arriving in Fairbanks were waiting on me. Charlie sat across from Nik, both seated in high back chairs near a window draped with blood red curtains. They spoke in hushed tones. Felisha giggled with Emily where they sat next to the fireplace. Luc stood alone next to an empty book shelf, drumming his fingers on the dark wood. I missed seeing Derrick, but he'd gone back to his own home after the battle and hadn't been seen since. He had promised to visit me sometime soon, but I guessed that day wasn't going to be today.

Every head turned toward me as I made my way in. Something was up. Everyone's eyes watched me a little too closely. I leaned against the wall near the room's wide entryway and sipped my coffee. At least I could make a quick getaway if needed. Throw the coffee and run. That was my plan.

"Want to tell me what this is all about?" I asked.

Nik stood and moved over to me. "Why don't you have a seat?"

He grabbed my elbow and tried to prod me over to a stuffed leather chair. I didn't budge. When he pulled harder I let my coffee slosh a little. He blanched. All it took was a glance at his new furniture and rugs, delivered just yesterday, to make him back off. Nik liked nice things, but he hadn't wanted any reminders of Variola and her gang. Everything in the room had only been there for a day or two. It must have cost him a fortune.

"I hope you aren't going to make this any more difficult than necessary," he said.

"Stop the delaying tactics and tell me."

"We want you to stay here in my home on a permanent basis."

I lifted my brows. "We?"

He swept an arm toward the others gathered around the room.

"Yes, everyone here."

Well, that explained Derrick's absence.

"No." The word popped out of my mouth without a thought. I wanted to go home as soon as Aniya was ready to make the trip. There was no need to consider it further.

Emily spoke up, imploring eyes bored into mine. "Please, Mel. You said I'd be staying with you, but I don't want to go anywhere else. I like it here."

I could understand she didn't want to be uprooted, but that didn't mean I wanted to stay in this place. Enough bad things had happened here to last me a lifetime, and there were way too many supernaturals. My senses had begun to get used to the constant deluge of their signatures and power, but it still gave me headaches if their moods ran too high. Plus I didn't think it was good for Emily.