"The shorter dagger on the left." The man stood, his chains clinking against the floor. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders.

Confidence. I could appreciate that in an opponent.

Nodding, I hung the broad sword back on the wall and took down the dagger. I dropped the smaller weapon in the center of the floor as I walked toward him. His choice didn't matter. I could kill him no matter which weapon he chose.

He extended his manacled arms toward me. I pressed my thumb to the security reader on the electronic steel cuffs and stepped away quickly as the chains dropped with a clang.

I stood off to the side as he rushed to the center of the room, grabbing the dagger. He held it up toward me and snarled. "I'll kill you, a.s.shole. You'll wish you'd killed me while I was in the chains."

Reaching behind my head, my palms gripped the hilts of the two samurai-esque swords I carried with me everywhere. One was mine; the other my brother's. They slid from their sheaths with a grating sound that was music to my ears. The perfectly balanced, perfectly weighted, razor sharp dragon steel blades were the original swords my brother and I had carried from the Veil when we escaped.

His eyes widened to the size of tea saucers, and I allowed the wicked grin I'd been holding at bay to spread across my face.

"I thought you would use a dagger, too." He gulped audibly.

I shook my head slowly, letting his mistake take root deep in the pit of his stomach. "You a.s.sumed wrong."

I drove the shovel into the hard cold ground. Lifting a heavy load of soil, I tossed it to my right -onto the mound covering a fresh grave. He'd fought well, and his death had been swift and clean. It made a point to the other men. Tomorrow I would give another the chance at his freedom.

Glancing across the land behind my barn, I took a deep breath. Dozens of pine saplings swayed in the wind, their crisp evergreen scent filling the air. One for each grave.

Chapter Six.

EIRA.

I wandered through the large lodge the Masons purchased decades ago in Ada to use as a headquarters for the pack. Chad nodded to me as I pa.s.sed an open living s.p.a.ce. He and several other guys were crowded around a coffee table, playing cards.

Continuing down the hallway, I reached the kitchen and sat on an empty stool at the island counter in the center of the room. Charlie had her back to me, cooking her favorite chili. The scent of tomato sauce and cayenne powder was strong, mixed with hints of coriander, c.u.min, garlic, and oregano.

She turned, releasing a sharp gasp of surprise. "You always sneak up on me like that. A girl could use some warning."

"You're a Lycan. You should be able to hear everything," I answered, a grin splitting my face.

"Everything except a vampire trying to be sneaky," she muttered, shaking the chili spoon at me. "When did you get home?"

"Just last night."

"How is Diana?"

"She's doing well. The pregnancy is making her eat like one of y'all, though." I chuckled, still astounded after all these years at the appet.i.te a grown Lycan possessed.

"Babies make any woman hungry." Charlie turned to her giant pot of chili and resumed stirring. "Did you see Travis and Garrett while you were there?"

"I saw lots of Lycans. The town is crawling with them. Why are you interested in those two?" The reason for her interest wasn't lost on me, but it was more entertaining to draw out my friend's discomfort than answer her right away.

She spun to face me and narrowed her gaze. "Quit being a pain in the a.s.s."

"Oooh, grouchy, aren't we? Do I need to dig you out a pint of Rocky Road?"

"It won't help."

The defeat in her voice instantly filled me with regret. She'd been struggling since the two brothers had showed up and taken Diana earlier in January. One of them had triggered her heat cycle, and she'd been miserable since. But no amount of coaxing had convinced her to visit Sanctuary with me.

She knew as well as I did that, if she'd go to Sanctuary, she wouldn't leave. Charlie wanted to quit the smuggling runs. She wanted a family of her own, but her parents wouldn't let her leave the pack to look for a mate. The problem was... none of the males in the pack were viable mates or they would've already presented themselves.

Lycans could and did sleep with whomever they pleased whenever they wanted, but only a magickally compatible pair could conceive and have children together.

"Sorry, hon. I didn't mean it."

"I know, Eira. I'm just more than a little irritated. Mom and Dad are planning a run into Savannah to rescue a large family group that was taken into custody last week. Manda came in yesterday with her cousin Shalem and told us where they were being held and how to break in. It should be an easy run, but all I want to do..."

"Is run the other direction?"

She nodded, her eyes filled with a pain I recognized. I'd felt that same pain the first time it sunk in that I would never have a normal life. Never carry a child within my body. It was a pain only another barren woman could understand.

"I'm eighty years old, Eira. I know that's nothing compared to you, but I'll only be able to bear children for another forty. And I still want to have a family of my own. I'm so jealous of Diana. She has her mates and a baby on the way. It's everything I've dreamt of for decades. Then I finally, maybe have a chance, and my parents won't let me leave the pack. They just keep saying to wait. That eventually someone in the pack will be a good match."

She chunked the spoon onto the stovetop and crossed her arms over her chest.

My face twisted into a grimace. It wasn't fair. I knew her parents were overprotective and a little on the controlling side. But they were old and hated the way the world had changed. Both of them wished they'd taken the pack and left the country when the whole thing started.

"Why don't we do this run to Savannah and then you tell your parents you have to take a step back? There are plenty of competent wolves in the pack that can help lead. You don't have to be the only one they depend on. You have to take a stand for your life, Charlie. If one of those McLennon brothers is supposed to be your mate, you have to reach for it."

"I want to. But I'm scared. This is all I know. I'm old enough to remember this country before it split into dictatorships."

"Republics," I spit out, sarcasm dripping from my voice. The Republics were a hairsbreadth from dictatorships. Even Texas with its more open-minded viewpoints still had a military presence in almost every town. The advantage to living in Texas was that they wanted the Others. Wanted them living in their towns. And really wanted them enlisted in their military.

"Yeah, they use that term to make themselves feel better." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "And I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be with both McLennon brothers."

I opened my mouth to tease her more about the dictator comment, but snapped it shut, surprise rendering me momentarily speechless. Multiple partners between Lycans were very rare. Wolves were intensely territorial, and I'd only met one other couple in my long lifetime that shared a female between them.

No wonder she was scared.

Her parents would have a hey-day with that tidbit of information. Lycan tradition was important to them, and multiple partners weren't traditional. Another reason the Masons bought this lodge was from the tradition. Throughout history, strong packs lived together in large plantations, mansions, compounds. Whatever worked for the time period. The packs that survived kept their living arrangements in close proximity, and pack was stronger for it.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded slowly. "I wasn't positive until I saw them when they came for Diana."

"Do they know?"

"I'm pretty sure they could tell. They could also tell I was nervous, and I think that's why they are giving me my s.p.a.ce. Having two mates just isn't..."

"An everyday occurrence?"

She snorted. "That's putting it mildly."

"I still say you need to talk to your parents. You'll regret not having the life you were meant to have much more than taking the initial leap of faith."

Charlie picked up the spoon again and waved it at me. "Thank you for your advice oh-wise-and-ancient-friend." Sarcasm dripped from every word.

I dropped my fangs and hissed. "Fine, don't listen to me. But if I had the chance to be with the man I loved and have his babies, I would jump at it. Believe me. Even after a thousand years, the ache for love and children doesn't fade."

Her expression changed, regret evident on her face.

"I'll see you later tonight." I spoke quietly before leaving the room in a blur. Her apology floated in the air behind me, but it didn't matter. Being a vampire had changed me in many ways. One of the first things to fade was being easily offended. I knew Charlie hadn't meant what she said in a spiteful way. Plenty of persons through the years had said much more hurtful words. Time could heal almost all wounds.

My friend was suffering in a heat cycle she couldn't escape. It really wasn't right that she was going on this run. She'd be distracted, and that was dangerous, but it wasn't my place to tell her parents to give her a break. She was a big girl. If she wanted to find her happiness in this messed-up world, Charlie needed to reach out and grab for it. No one was going to hand it to her.

I found a chair on the sprawling back porch of the lodge. The sun was setting, and a wash of reds, pinks, oranges, and yellows painted the sky. Being a part of the day and night again was a gift for which I could never truly repay Hannah and Meredith. The ring that made it possible for me to walk safely in the sun not only allowed me to worry less about being trapped somewhere, it also returned a piece of my humanity that I'd begun to lose over the years. Living in the dark with other monsters can bring out the monster inside anyone.

Chad's familiar scent tickled my nose long before he emerged from the tree line yards away. He jogged toward me and planted his firm a.s.s on the chair next to me with a huff.

"How's it going?"

"Just finding a quiet spot to rest until the pack heads out tonight."

"Are you coming to Savannah?"

I nodded.

"That's good. We need you."

"Chad?" I asked as a dark thread of fear wound its way around my soul. "Charlie mentioned that Manda had another Djinn with her -someone named Shalem."

He stood from the chair. "Yep. He was quiet. Didn't say much. Manda vouched for him, though. I listened in to most of the meeting. It seemed normal. Charlie's parents were grateful for the intel. Yada yada. You know."

I nodded. It was possible Manda was recruiting more of her own people away from Xerxes. The more Djinn against him, the better it would be for us and the rest of the world. Still, it just seemed strange. I wished I'd been present for the meeting. Perhaps I was overreacting.

"Gotta get some of that chili I smell. See you in a bit, Eira."

"'Kay," I replied, watching him disappear through the back door into the lodge.

Protecting people had been my MO since before I was a vampire. Only the strongest and most skilled could become shield maidens, and I had surpa.s.sed everyone in my training cla.s.s. My instructors had called me a natural warrior. Fighting came as easily to me as feeding did now. My sword was just an extension of my body, and my heightened senses as a vampire had only made me more deadly through the years.

I listened to the voices inside, to the mix of family and friends that lived within the walls and formed the Mason pack. They loved and fought for each other no matter what. Some had sacrificed their lives so that the rest of the family could survive. If one word summed up Lycans, it would be loyalty. They would die before they would let you down. It was also one of the reasons Charlie was having such a hard time telling her parents she needed to leave.

Leaving the pack was tantamount to desertion. But if she didn't go, she'd likely never find another magickally compatible mate in time and would live her life alone and childless.

Just like me.

My thoughts strayed from my lack of children to the one in particular I'd met while staying in the Castle after Diana and I first arrived in Sanctuary. This adorable little girl with red ringlets had walked up to me without a care in the world and told me I belonged in Sanctuary as a Protector. She couldn't have been older than six or seven, but she spoke with authority and such surety in her voice that it struck a chord within me.

I'd told her she was mistaken, and she responded that "I don't make mistakes." To which I'd replied that she'd made one with me. I had no intention of remaining in Sanctuary to do the bidding of a woman I barely knew.

It hadn't fazed the child, though. She'd simply stared up at me and scrunched her little nose like a rabbit. "You'll see." That's what she'd said before scampering off down the garden path to leave me to contemplate her words in quiet.

In all my years on this earth, nothing had stuck with me so strongly. Her words came into my mind anytime I wasn't busy. So far I'd done everything I could to ignore the child oracle.

I was needed more right here where I was than as some security guard for Sanctuary. But a nagging feeling told me those words were just the beginning.

Chapter Seven.

XERXES.

Manda Farrok was prostrate on my white marble floor next to my three harem girls. Their steady breaths huffed a small foggy cloud of condensation on the stone. All four of them would remain in that position until I gave them permission to move.

Seeing her there--Silent. Obedient. Once a queen and brilliant leader of her people reduced to a b.i.t.c.h that came when I called--invigorated me. Knowing that I had conquered such a woman, that she feared the sound of my voice, trembled under my touch...

"Roshanna, Lily, Iris. Leave us." My three Persian beauties rose from their positions on the floor and disappeared into their bedroom. It was private and could only be entered via my personal suite.

The muscles in Manda's shoulders twitched, but she didn't move from her place. Not even a peek between the long strands of loose, shiny black hair. She'd left it down today, and it cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall of ink. A stark contrast to the sparkling white marble floor.

"Rise, Manda."

She raised her head slowly. Her lavender gaze caught mine in a glare that would've made my blood run cold... if I cared at all how she thought of me. I didn't. And she had no power. She was no better than the humans she commanded for me in the SECR.

I let my gaze rove over her body. I'd made her strip to her panties upon entering my suite. Since I'd pierced her nipples and l.a.b.i.a with enchanted rings, I enjoyed looking at my handiwork each time she came with a report. Today was no different, and her rosy nipples were hard as rocks under my scrutiny, whether she liked it or not.

She stood slowly, widening her stance so that her feet were spread just a little farther than shoulder-width -just as I'd taught her. Her shoulders were straight and her b.r.e.a.s.t.s forward, projecting a sense self-confidence I didn't like. That show of poise made me distrust her still. Made me remember that--even though I'd taken away her power, taken away her pride, and her dignity--she was still an intelligent and crafty b.i.t.c.h. As much as I wanted to believe she would do anything I ordered because she feared me, I knew she would still attempt to further her agenda before bowing to mine.

I just didn't know what her agenda was... yet.

"The Mason pack plans to cross the Mississippi in a few hours. I fed them the information about the Lycan families that we captured and imprisoned."

"You mean the two families I had you execute?"

Her stance twitched, and she nodded. "Yes, Sir. But everything has been made to look like they are just being held."

"I'm going with you. Killing the Mason alphas has been on my wish list for far too long. Perhaps with their pack incapacitated, more of the surviving families will finally come to my side instead of siding with the Masons and my b.i.t.c.h of a sister-in-law. It's high time the SECR started using more Others to their advantage. Texas is ahead of everyone on that game."

"Texas managed to stem public fear before it grew out of hand. The humans in the SECR will not accept Others openly."

"Figure out a way to start changing the laws and the stupid humans. Find some vampires to start influencing opinions. If I need to place more of my people into elected positions, I will. What have your lackeys come up with on the president of the Washington Republic? I'm ready to start moving into that area as well."