Suddenly, Titus felt a tug on his shirt, and he froze. He slowed his breathing just like his uncle had taught him, and then searched for the wolf inside of him. The boy was still learning how to connect with his other half so he could use his beast’s senses. Voices filled his ears. As his hearing adjusted to that of the wolf’s, Titus grinned. He glanced back at Uncle Gavril, who gave him a thumbs up.

  “Now see if you can get closer. They’re distracted,” his teacher explained. “Distracted prey are vulnerable.”

  Titus eased his head around the corner and checked the foyer. It was clear. He hurried across and hid behind a large stone column. Uncle Gavril quietly joined him. They paused and waited. When no one moved into the large open space, Titus scuttled to the next column. Again, the boy stopped and listened. Together, silently, Titus and Gavril made their way through the foyer.

  This continued until Titus heard the voices mere feet away. Still, the young hunter couldn’t see the owners of the voices, but he knew who they were—Uncle Decebel and Aunt Jen. They were just around the corner, arguing again. He covered his mouth with his hand to keep from giggling. They seemed to bicker a lot.

  Titus had asked Rachel why this was so. Rachel had informed him that Aunt Jen thought it was her job to aggravate Uncle Decebel, which the boy found confusing. Titus asked if Aunt Jen got paid for her job. Uncle Gavril had muttered something that sounded like, “That’s one way to put it.” Aunt Rachel had swatted him with one of the small blankets she used to wrap baby Slate.

  “I’m not sure I understand, Uncle Gavril,” Titus said. Gavril winked at him and told the boy he would understand one day. That was an answer Titus seemed to hear a lot. Raised voices pulled him from his thoughts as Aunt Jen’s voice became growly.

  “We’ve already discussed this, Jennifer.” Decebel sounded grumpy, like Titus felt when he had to do chores.

  “I want to discuss it more,” she told him. “If our alpha is willing to take his mate, then why won’t you take me?”

  Decebel sighed. “Why do you have to make everything so difficult?”

  “Everything?” Jen’s voice rose even higher.

  Titus glanced over his shoulder at Uncle Gavril. He leaned toward Titus’s ear and whispered, “One day when you have a mate and her voice gets that high, know that it’s time to give in to whatever she wants.”

  “Don’t you think that’s a little unfair?” Aunt Jen asked. “To say that I make literally everything difficult? Does that mean I make being a mom difficult? Am I difficult when I get ready for bed? How about when I walk? Do I exasperate you with my difficult walking, mate?”

  “You’re exaggerating my words.” Uncle Decebel snarled. Now his voice was getting louder.

  “I am so close to exaggerating my claws across your chest,” she snapped back.

  Uncle Decebel chuckled, but it didn’t sound like he found anything funny. “Like you did my clothes? Real mature, baby.”

  “Oh, dear,” Gavril muttered. He gave a small jerk of his head to Titus. “I think it’s time we take our leave.”

  “Gavril.” Jen barked. “Perhaps you aren’t the best teacher for Trent. I can smell his Lucky Charms’ breath from a mile away.”

  “I don’t think she’s ever going to learn my name,” Titus whispered. “Do you think something is wrong with her memory?”

  “My memory is fine, you tiny cretin.” She huffed.

  “Let’s go, little man,” Uncle Gavril said. “Aunt Jen needs to cool off, and Uncle Decebel needs to think very hard about choosing his battles.”

  “I heard that,” Decebel snapped.

  Gavril grinned and took Titus’s hand. “I meant for you, too, Beta. Consider it a bit of free advice.”

  Decebel tilted his head back and looked up at the tall ceiling. He was tired. He loved his female with everything inside of him, and perhaps that was why she frustrated him to the point of madness, but sometimes he just wanted things to be easy between them. Sometimes—

  “Sometimes what, Dec?” Jen’s voice was quieter, but just as lethal. “What do you want?”

  Underneath the anger, he heard the pain in her voice. Damn, he hated hurting his mate. “I want to have a meal with you and our daughter,” he told her. “I want to play with Thia, read her a story, and then put her to bed, knowing she is safe.” He dropped his head down so he could meet his female’s eyes. “Then I would like to spend some time with you, just talking, laughing, without us arguing. I’m tired, Jennifer.”

  She bit her bottom lip, and he saw her eyes shimmer with the beginnings of what would become tears if she let them fall. But Decebel knew his mate—his strong, stubborn female—wouldn’t. She would draw blood from her lip before she let a single drop run down her beautiful face.

  “I’m sorry I exhaust you.” She lifted her chin and dropped her hands to her sides, balling them into fists. “I’ll go get Thia. Can you find something to eat and bring it to our room?”

  She was shutting down. Decebel could feel the icy anger flowing through their bond as it seeped into his bones and chilled his blood. “Jennifer,” he whispered as he reached for her. But she took a step back.

  “You’re right. I’ve acted immaturely.” She glanced down and swallowed so hard he heard the sound in her throat. “It’s a wonderful part of my difficult personality that I can’t seem to shed. I’ll work harder to keep from bickering with you

  “Mate.” He tried to keep the growl out of his voice. Jennifer didn’t respond. She rushed away from him, her back ramrod straight and her shoulders pulled back. Decebel didn’t know how to fix the situation. He thought by now she would understand how deeply his need to protect her and Thia ran. Sometimes it felt as if she purposefully ignored his feelings because she just wanted her own way. But he knew his mate was not a vindictive person. Even in her angriest state, she wouldn’t purposefully desire to hurt him in such a way. Decebel sent a prayer up to the Great Luna asking for wisdom and patience. He often forgot how much younger his feisty mate was compared to him. Perhaps he expected too much? He headed toward the kitchen to gather food for his family and took the time to gain control of his own temper. He couldn’t very well gripe at her about her attitude if he acted no better.

  Jen hastily wiped the moisture from her eyes as she marched to the room that Rachel and Gavril had essentially turned into a playroom/nursery for the children of their pack. Decebel felt exhausted by her. Okay, she could understand that. But what he didn’t understand was that she felt exhausted of herself as well. Did he think she wanted to feel so intense all the time? Did he really believe she lived to antagonize him? Okay, sometimes I do. But never in a cruel or disrespectful way. She liked to push his buttons and see him get riled up. She didn’t want to make him tired of her. And that was what she’d felt through their bond. He’d tried to keep it shut down, but powerful emotions were difficult to hide from a true mate. And it came through loud and clear that her mate, in that moment, wanted a break from her.

  Jen covered her mouth as a hiccup of emotion broke through her clenched teeth. “No,” she gritted out, hating being emotional. Well, she hated feeling inadequate, sad, or helpless. Other emotions she could deal with. But this mix of anger, defiance, disgust with herself, and bitterness at her mate was a hurricane inside of her that threatened to explode outward and crash into everything and everyone around her. Why was she like this? “Why can’t you just stop?” Jen asked herself, her voice raspy with emotion. “Why can’t you be more like Sally, or Zara, or anybody but yourself?”

  She reached the door and heard her daughter’s laughter. Thia was a happy toddler. She could be obstinate on occasion, but mostly the girl took life as it came and found everything around her amusing. Where the hell she got that trait from, Jen didn’t have a clue. The door opened before Jen could reach for the knob, and Rachel stood staring back at her with narrowed eyes. The healer stepped outside the room and pulled the door closed behind her. Jen took a step back and frowned. “Is everything okay?”

  “You tell me,” Rachel said in that gentle voice that seemed to always put everyone at ease. She was a lot like Alina in that way. “Titus came back with Gavril going on about hearing you and Decebel growling at each other. He seemed worried.”

  “Thomas worries about everything,” Jen quipped.

  Rachel shook her head slowly. “Don’t do that, Jen. Don’t marginalize a disagreement between you and your mate.”

  Jen blew out a breath and fidgeted with the bottom of her shirt. “I don’t mean—”

  “It’s a defense mechanism,” Rachel interrupted, though her voice was not unkind. “We all do it. It’s painful to fight with someone we love. We don’t want to hurt them, but neither do we want to be hurt, so we get our own sharp words in to protect ourselves.” Rachel reached out and placed a hand over Jen’s. “It’s going to be okay, even if it doesn’t feel that way right now.”

  Jen looked down and shook her head. The tears she so desperately tried to hold in dropped to the floor. “How can it be okay when we argue about the same things over and over again? It’s like two countries that just continue to bomb one another, destroying each other’s homes because they can’t get past a couple of differences of opinions. They fight and fight until they’ve destroyed what was once their beautiful homeland.” She sucked in a breath. “There’s nothing okay about that.”

  “You and Decebel aren’t anything like that,” Rachel said. “You love one another. You’re passionate about one another, and passion can sometimes cause discord between mates. Gavril and I don’t always agree. We’ve been mated for a very long time, and still we have things that we have never seen eye to eye on and probably never will. It’s what makes us individuals.” She squeezed Jen’s hands and then released them. “We just need to remember we aren’t enemies. We can’t let the things we disagree on divide us to the point that bitterness takes root and chokes out the good things between us. And we have to compromise on the things we disagree on.”

  Jen closed her eyes as more tears fell. “I suck at compromise.”

  “Most of us do.” Jen heard the smile in the healer’s voice.

  After taking a deep breath and swallowing her pride, she looked up at Rachel. “Did Gavril ever ask you to stay? I mean—” She waved her hand as if that would somehow make her question more clear. Jeez, I’m a mess. “When there were battles or whatever. Did he expect you to just let him go without you?”

  Rachel leaned against the wall and nodded. “It’s a common argument in almost every mated pair’s relationship. The males have a need to protect their females. It’s obsessive to the point that they sometimes forget their words can hurt just as much or more than a physical blow.”

  “Decebel wasn’t cruel. I was the one dealing out tongue lashings.” Jen tipped her head side to side, her ears nearly touching each shoulder with the movement. “I mean, he said some things that hurt my feelings, but he didn’t completely mean them. I blew them out of proportion, as I am prone to do.”

  The healer smiled. “I know you think you’re the only female on the planet who does that, but you’re wrong. We all wear our feelings on our sleeves, and when they’re hurt, we immediately throw up a shield that doesn’t just block any other possible hurtful words but also responds in kind.”

  “I don’t know how to fix this, Rachel. I can’t lie and say I’m fine with staying here while he puts himself in danger. And I can’t stand the thought of not being there to fight with him. These freaking males go on and on about us being at their side where we belong, and then, when it’s inconvenient, they tell us we don’t belong there.” Jen’s shoulders dropped as she tried to regain control of the temper she felt rising again. “Why can’t I just give in? Submit?” She bit out the word. “He’s tired of me.” Jen’s voice quivered as she spoke the words that threatened to rip her heart from her chest.

  “No,” Rachel said firmly. “He isn’t.”

  Jen nodded quickly. “I felt it. The bond doesn’t lie, not when emotions are that strong.”

  “Are you sure you didn’t misconstrue those feelings? Maybe he’s tired of the strife between you two. But not tired of you.”

  Jen chuckled, a self-depreciating sound. “I’m tired of me. How could he not be as well?” After a moment of silence, Jen shoved her emotions in a box and then smiled. “I need to get Thia.”

  Rachel stared at her for a second without moving. Jen wondered if the healer could see into her mind. Did the woman know that Jen was unraveling at the seams with no clue how to hold herself together?

  “All right.” Rachel stepped aside, opening the door.

  Jen moved past the healer, grateful to escape Rachel’s gaze. As soon as Thia saw her mother, the girl’s face lit up, and she ran to Jen. “Hell, momma.” Thia laughed and raised her arms to Jen.

  Jen sighed. “Are you ever going to say anything else?”

  “She says other stuff all the time,” Titus said from where he sat with Slate. “But hell is almost always included in the sentence. Hell food, hell blocks, hell hello. That one is quite amusing to her.”

  Jen rolled her eyes. “I get it, Treyvon. She’s a hellion with a hell obsession.”

  Thia patted Jen’s cheeks. “Hell bye bye.” She pointed toward the door. “See hell daddy.”

  Jen snorted and then said under her breath, so the girl couldn’t hear, “Yep, I’m pretty sure your daddy feels like he’s in hell at the moment.” She turned to Rachel and Gavril. “Thanks, you two.” She looked down at Titus, patiently restacking the blocks that Slate had knocked over. “And you, too, Tracker.”

  “That’s not a real name, Aunt Jen.” He didn’t take his eyes off the blocks.

  “Says who?” she challenged. “Famous people name their kids weird crap all the time that doesn’t sound like a real name.”

  “But you’re not a famous person.”

  “Hate to break it to you, kid, but I’m a legend in my hometown. That means I get to name you ridiculous things. Hell bye,” she called over her shoulder before shutting the door on whatever Sally and Costin’s overly intelligent son was about to say. Thia laid her head on Jen’s shoulder and put her thumb in her mouth. “Do you really have to suck your thumb?” As usual, Thia ignored the question. Jen shrugged. “I suppose it will make your immune system strong, sucking in all those disgusting germs and whatnot.”

  As she walked toward their room, Jen’s stomach began to feel as if a huge rock had settled in it. Her mouth got dry, and she found it hard to swallow. She really did not want to face her mate right now. But Thia needed to eat and get ready for bed. And at some point, she and Decebel needed to work this out. “Adulting sucks, mini-me,” she told her daughter.

  “Aw hell, momma,” Thia said softly and patted Jen’s face again.

  “You said it, kid. You said it.”

  Chapter

  Five

  “Many supernaturals think humans are useless, not worthy of our regard. And I, too, used to hold that mindset. But that was before I stopped taking orders from the likes of Alston and Ludcarab—those too shortsighted to understand the value of the humans. Once I realized that humans are more than just blood bags, well, that was when I realized I could rule the world.” ~Cain

  “How many more dormant wolves can you get me?” The scientist standing before Cain was ridiculously young. Cain had asked for the top mind in the field of genetic studies to oversee his project, and he had assumed he would be working with someone geriatric, or at least old enough to have high cholesterol. He certainly didn’t expect this … this … child in his mid-twenties dressed in a T-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops. Cain had almost ripped the whelp’s throat out just on general principle. But now he was glad he hadn’t. Willis had proven to be as intelligent as the human leaders had claimed, even more so. Perhaps there’s hope for humanity yet. Though, considering what Cain had planned for them, there was definitely hope, but it wasn’t as humans. It was as something more. Something better.

  Cain stood in front of a large window that revealed a room with rows and rows of beds. On those beds lay unconscious humans. But not just run-of-the-mill normies. These were the coveted dormants that Vasile and his allies had yet to find. And as Cain stood here speaking with the child prodigy, his vampires were scouring the human world for even more dormants.

  “How the hell should I know?” replied the vampire with a sneer. “I do not have a magic ball that shows me the location of the dormant mongrels. And I couldn’t guess how many there are in existence.” Yes, humans were useful, and this particular one was intelligent, but Cain still didn’t like them. “My people bring them in as they find them. Until then, you will have to work with what you have.”

  Footsteps sounded from behind him, and Cain turned to see another of his valuable assets—an American military general called Carl Brock, who went by his last name for some dumb reason.

  “Are we any closer to our goal?” Brock asked, his lips drawn tight across his face. The general’s jaw was sharp, though his cheeks drooped slightly with age, and his blue eyes were surrounded by creases as if he’d spent a lifetime squinting at the horizon. He carried himself with the confidence of a man who was used to getting things done. And Cain needed such authority to accomplish his plan.

  Willis clapped his hands together and bounced on the balls of his feet. He glanced from the room of dormants back to the general. He looked like a Jack Russell Terrier whose owner had just pulled out his favorite toy. “I’ve isolated the virus that causes the vampirism.” His shoulders suddenly slumped forward, and he looked like a kicked puppy. “But when I separate it from the cells and inject it into a dormant wolf, the immune system attacks the virus and kills it.”

  Cain clenched his jaw and considered the problem. A thought occurred to him. Perhaps it matters how much of the wolf gene the human carries. “Is there a way for us to tell how diluted the Canis lupus gene is in the dormants?”