Lorn leaned back, his weight slamming it shut. "We're dressed but stay out there. You shouldn't even be inside the house. I locked it up. And I don't give a damn what Brista says."

"I'm your brother. You gave me a key."

"Think of Elsa," Kira reminded Lorn. "Brista has it out for that poor girl. The sooner I'm walking around in broad daylight, the better. I'm proof that drinking blood from certain VampLycans can activate the Lycan side more. Hell, I barely had any from my dad. Elsa isn't part human. If I can withstand the sun after being turned into a Vampire, anyone in the clan could totally build immunity to sunlight."

Lorn appeared frustrated. "You drive me crazy."

"Short trip, remember?" She grinned. "Move out of the way. I'll run right back in here if I start to turn red."

"You mean burn."

Lorn wasn't one to mince words. "Right." Kira nodded. "That's not on my list of fun things to do. Move aside and let's find out how my body withstands it today."

Lorn hesitated but finally nodded. "I'm not thrilled with this."

"I see that. You've got fangs."

Lorn stepped aside and jerked the door open. Lavos tumbled in but caught himself. He'd obviously been leaning against the door. Lorn reached out and shoved him. Lavos just laughed, turned, and strode back down the hall.

"I closed all the doors but opened the curtains in the living room. It's sunny in there. Just run down the hallway if there's a problem, new sister," he called out over his shoulder.

"You stay close to me and you sprint to the bedroom the second you believe there's a problem. Promise me, Kira."

She nodded. "I will."

Lorn walked ahead of her and Kira followed. Her hopes were high, as she saw the brightness ahead, that her skin wouldn't turn pink again. A lot was riding on what would happen. Lorn came to a halt at the end of the hallway, blocking her. Worry showed in his eyes when he turned.

"I mean it. You beat feet if you even think you're about to start burning."

"I'm not going to instantly burst into flames." It was sweet that he was being so overprotective. She reached out and rubbed his chest. "Move, baby."

He backed up and got out of her way. Kira glanced at Lavos. He waited in the living room, standing in a patch of sunshine on the floor. She took a deep breath, blew it out, and put one foot in front of the other until the sunlight reached her lower legs. She paused there to keep her face safe.

Kira's heart pounded but her skin remained the same pale color, not changing as she inched farther then stared down at the backs of her hands. Lorn moved to her side but kept his body from shading hers. His presence made her feel safer. He'd grab her if the pain struck and took her to her knees or something.

"So far, so good," Lavos mumbled. "This is promising."

Kira turned her arms over and exposed her wrists and palms. Lorn bumped up against her, one arm wrapping around her waist. He was already prepared to jerk her off her feet and rush her back into the bedroom.

"It's warm but I'm good. I'm not burning." Excitement rose inside her. "I want to go outside!"

"You're killing me," Lorn groaned.

"It's been about a minute." Lavos stayed back. "Give it more time, Kira."

"You're supposed to be on my side."

"I don't want my older brother to lose his mate on day one. That would be all kinds of fucked up."

She knew he was trying to joke and she smiled. "True."

"That's not funny." Lorn tightened his hold on her.

Time crawled by and nothing happened. Kira's grin widened. "I'm not all Vampire anymore!"

"We're not certain of that yet."

She peered up at Lorn, breaking her concentration on her arms. "I must be mostly VampLycan now. I'm not burning."

"I just worry. I'd go nuts if anything happened to you," Lorn rasped.

"I know."

"It's been three minutes. I've been counting." Lavos took a few steps closer. "Your skin is still pale. I'll be damned. This is great!"

Kira wiggled out of Lorn's hold. She half expected him to protest or refuse to release her but he eased his hold. She stepped fully into the patch of sunlight from one of his big windows and stared out at the bright blue sky. The view was beautiful and she could see the sun shining above.

"Any sensitivity? Does it hurt your eyes?" Lorn kept at her back, inches from her.

"No. It's so pretty." Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them back. "I never thought I'd see a view like this again, unless it was on television or in a movie."

"Let's just take it slow. I don-"

Lorn's phone rang, silencing him. He removed it from his pocket and threw it at his brother. "Answer that. I don't want to be distracted from my mate in case she needs me."

Lavos caught the cell and put it up to his ear. "Hello?" He paused. "You dialed right. Lorn's busy. What's up, Davis?" He paused again. "No, he's not still in bed with your daughter. He's right here but he's unable to hold the phone in case Kira needs him. She's trying to see how she does with sunshine." More silence, then, "She's doing great. No burning at all. Okay. Hang on." He pulled the phone from his ear and hit a button. "You're on speakerphone."

"I just got a call on the lodge's main line," Davis stated. "I've got good news and bad news. What do you want first?"

"Just spit it out." Lorn hooked Kira around her waist, lifted her, and walked backward until she was out of the sun. "What's happened?"

Davis hesitated.

"What is it, Dad?" Kira leaned against Lorn and gripped his forearm around her waist.

"Veso called. He's alive. The Vampires drugged and kidnapped him but he escaped."

Kira was glad she was being held since her knees seemed to turn to jelly. The news shocked them all.

Lavos spoke first. "Where is he? Is he hurt?"

"I don't have many details. It was a bad connection and I lost him."

"Did he say where he was?" Lavos began to pace.

"No. Just that Vampires had drugged and kidnapped him, he got away, and then the damn line went dead. I tried to call the number back but it just rang." Her dad sounded frustrated. "I'm going to keep calling. I thought you should know right away. So that's the good news. The bad news is we don't know where the hell he is. I did a computer search on the phone number left on the caller ID but got nothing. It's somewhere within the state. That's all I could determine."

"Shit!" Lavos snarled. "I'm going to see if I can track the Vampires from where Veso was attacked."

"It's been too long." Lorn bent forward a little, studying Kira's body over her shoulder. "The scent of them being on our land would have faded. We'll double the patrols. If Veso got away, it means he'll be heading home. I would."

"Why would they take him?" That part confused Kira. "I'm glad he's alive but why drug and kidnap a VampLycan?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Lorn let her go and stepped away. "We're on our way to the lodge to coordinate a search pattern and hopefully Veso will call back. Keep the lodge's main line clear."

"Of course," Davis agreed. "I'm using my cell right now."

Lavos ended the call and stopped pacing. "Veso's my friend. I need to go find him. He could be hurt, or those Vampires could start tracking him come nightfall. They obviously wanted one of us for whatever the fucking reason."

"Maybe it was just him." Kira shrugged. "He does tend to piss people off. It's possible he killed someone important when the Vampires attacked and they kept him alive to torture him."

"Then they'll really want to get him back." Lorn reached up and ran his fingers through his hair. "Someone needs to inform Bran that his son is alive."

"I'll do it." Lavos rushed toward the door and tossed the cell phone at his brother. "Catch. I'll meet you at the lodge in five."

Lorn managed to snag the phone flying through the air and pocketed it. He spun Kira around. "You need to stay here. I'll get Garson or Kar to guard you."

"That's bullshit. I'm not burning. I'm coming with."

"Damn it, Kira! We don't have time to argue right now. The sun will only be up for so long and then those Vampires will be after Veso if they're intent on getting him back. They used drugs once to capture him. They'll probably do it again."

"And I can help. I'll man the phones. That will free up my father and whoever you'd assign to babysit me to help assist with the search. I'll be safe with you."

"The lodge is too far to walk. What if you begin to burn out in the open?"

"I haven't so far and it's been like five minutes or so. Either I go with you, or I follow you after you leave. Veso is my friend, too."

"You're so stubborn."

"I'm your mate. It's my job to stand up to you." She smiled. "You'd be so bored otherwise."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

He held out his hand. "Fine. You tell me the second you feel something wrong. The damn second." He tugged her across the room but paused at the couch, grabbing the throw over it. "Then I'll cover you up and run like hell to the nearest building."

"Deal."

He wasn't happy but Kira didn't care as she followed him out the door. Lorn stayed very close to her side, their bodies rubbing together as they quickly walked toward the lodge. She knew he glanced at her every few seconds to check her skin. She did too, just in case she didn't feel pain quick enough if she began to burn.

They passed a few VampLycans as they got closer to the lodge. Kira smiled and waved. They appeared stunned to see her but she wasn't sure if it was because they hadn't heard she'd survived the Vampire attack, or if they had, and just couldn't believe it was possible for someone who'd been turned into a Vampire to roam around in the sun. Either way, she didn't care. At least the latter would make Brista look bad for accusing Lorn of being an idiot for taking advice from other clans.

They entered the lodge and Lorn breathed out a deep sigh of relief and released her hand. "Are you well?"

"I'm great."

"Come." He headed up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

She ran behind him. Her father waited upstairs in the office, the door open. Garson had arrived too. He stood near the map, talking on his cell phone. It took her listening to him for a few seconds to realize he spoke to Kar.

"He hasn't called back," her father announced.

Garson turned. "I'm sending everyone to the area where the fight took place. Do you think those damn Vampires might be hiding on our territory somewhere?"

Lorn strode over to the map and fingered it. "No. We'd have smelled them. He used a phone, so I'm thinking the human areas on this side of the borderlands." He stared at Davis. "Kira can answer the phone. Does the main line ring up here?"

"It does now. I had it transferred up. It's line three."

Lorn studied the map again. "He'll probably try to reach humans. It would be easy to take control of one of their minds, possibly borrow a vehicle to return to us faster."

"Unless he's hurt or still drugged. It could mess him up. He might be unable to take control of one. Veso might not be a fan of humans but he'd hate to have to kill an innocent person if they saw too much, and he had to stop them from contacting others."

Lorn scowled at her.

She shrugged. "I got to know him in training and from working with him. He can be an ass but he only likes to inflict damage on poachers. I'm not broken up over that. They're scum."

Lorn addressed Davis and Garson. "Take an off-road vehicle and check these areas here." He circled an area on the map with his finger. "There are a lot of caves hidden and not a lot of human dwellings, but enough for Vampires to find a food source. They may have chosen this part of the human territory to hide in. Don't shift until darkness comes. We don't want any humans to see more than they should. Just tell them a friend went missing if you run across any, and question them about strangers."

"I'll have Kar meet us." Garson spoke quietly into the phone, nodding.

"I want you to call in. Take satellite phones. The signals are iffy in those regions," Lorn ordered.

"I have mine downstairs." Davis stepped next to Kira, peering at her. "How are you doing, baby girl?"

"Not burning." She smiled and gave him a hug.

He inhaled. "Mated."

"Yes."

He winked and let her go. "Good. Stick close to your mate. I don't trust everyone in the clan yet."

"She won't be leaving my side," Lorn promised.

Lavos and Bran arrived after Garson and Davis left. Kira took a seat at the desk, watching her mate give orders to both men, sending them to search the same area as the other two. They left fast and her mate came to her, sitting on the edge of the desk.

"I feel as if I should be doing more."

"Call everyone you think might help."

"I don't want to leave our territory unprotected. I've assigned every able guard to the night shifts, worried about more Vampires. I can't see why they would have invaded our lands unless they were planning a full attack. Most of those guards are sleeping after last night. They need a bit of rest. It's early."

He would be a fantastic clan leader. Kira felt proud of him. He actually cared about their people. Decker wouldn't have given a damn if anyone slept or not. She rose up and walked to him. He spread his legs and she stepped between them, wrapping her arms around his waist. He hugged her as she snuggled into his chest.

"Veso is one tough VampLycan. You have capable men searching for him in the area he's most likely to be."

"What if I'm wrong? I could have sent them to the wrong place."