I was always on the thin side, not athletic, but not scrawny either. Now, the muscles in my arms, shoulders, even my forearms had definition! My legs looked like those of a runner, long and lean quad muscles stood out proudly. It was fucking amazing! Unbelievable, but still amazing!

  I spun to check out my butt and the way my hair swirled out from my head made me catch my breath! My hair was longer, thicker and way shinier! Happy fucking birthday to me! I don’t know about the other shit, but this was a pretty goddamn good birthday present!

  I turned back to the clothes lining the closet and decided that I needed to wear something that made me feel as amazing as this new body. Up to this point I’d definitely been the weakest one, the one who had to be protected by everyone else and had caused others to be hurt.

  No more! That shit stopped today!

  I slid into a pair of stretchy black leather pants, that were actually more like leggings, because they hugged every inch of me. It was still pretty hot outside, but fuck it… they looked badass!

  I pulled on a beautiful black lace bra and it was actually a bit snug. Shit, had my boobs gotten bigger too! A black tank crop top looked perfect with the pants and I slipped into a pair of black lace up boots.

  I checked my look in the mirror and I liked it! A high pony for my hair and I was ready.

  When I stepped into the kitchen, two heads turned to look, and I wasn’t sure why they hadn’t heard me coming.

  Raife and Dallas both stared at me with stunned expressions and it felt good… exactly what I was hoping would happen.

  I slid onto a stool at the island like it was any other day.

  “Good morning.”

  “Jules…”, Raife stammered.

  It brought a grin to my face to see Raife, normally so calm and in control, flustered. Dallas was still just staring at me.

  “Jules sweetheart…”, Raife began again.

  “Yes”, I inquired sweetly.

  “What is this?” He managed to get out a whole sentence.

  “Oh, you mean this outfit? Well, I found it in the closet, so…”

  “Not the outfit”, Dallas growled, stalking towards me. He waved his hand up and down in front of me, indicating my body.

  “Birthday gifts?” I squeaked. Dallas towered over me where I sat on the stool, his eyes raked up and down my body, the heat from his gaze felt like it burned holes in my new outfit. My newfound confidence was wilting under the intensity of his gaze.

  Raife walked up behind me, placing both hands on my shoulders and grazing them up and down my bare arms, leaving chills in their wake.

  “Birthday gifts indeed”, he whispered against my ear. “So beautiful”, he murmured.

  His breath on my neck made me arch my back and warmth pooled low in my belly. An ache started up between my legs and I saw Dallas stiffen slightly.

  “Stand up and let us admire your gifts”, Raife whispered as he lay kisses along my neck.

  Dallas reached a hand out and I took it, rising easily, and I almost felt graceful….so fucking not me.

  “Squeeze my hand”, Dallas said.

  I looked at him quizzically and he just nodded, so I squeezed his hand. It seemed the same as always so I just sat back down and pulled my hand back from his, a bit confused.

  “You’re far stronger than you were”, Dallas said, looking me straight in the eye.

  “I don’t feel any different!” I wondered, feeling confused”,

  “Did you use all your strength?”

  “Maybe?”

  “Try again, and give it all you’ve got,” he growled.

  “Noooo! I won’t hurt you Dallas, don’t ask me to!”

  “Do it,” he snapped.

  I looked imploringly at Raife and reached for his arm to tug him closer to me. I couldn’t miss the slight flinch he made as I did it. I immediately dropped his arm as I gasped.

  “I hurt you! Raife!”

  “You didn’t hurt me love, just surprised me.” He rubbed soothing circles on my back as I tried to make sense of this. How could I hurt Raife? He was stronger than anyone I’d ever seen! This was a lot after what happened yesterday, a lot to fucking process.

  Dallas reached over and took my hand again, this time rubbing his thumb on the inside of my wrist.

  “Let’s just get you something to eat, then we’ll go outside and talk about this. Okay?”

  I just nodded, the thoughts running through my head. Maybe this was a good thing. If I was stronger, I wouldn’t be such a liability to them anymore, always putting them in danger trying to protect me. Maybe I could protect myself!

  Outside, the three of us stood about a thousand or so feet from the house in an area with some small trees but not yet into the forest itself.

  “Don’t be nervous.” Raife smiled at me and I relaxed a little. I could do this!

  Dallas lifted up a rock, maybe the size of a bowling ball and balanced it in the palm of his hand. He tossed it up and caught it a few times as I wondered what he was planning to do with it.

  “Can you throw this for me love?”

  I squinted a bit as I looked at the rock. I could probably throw it less than ten feet, if that…it looked pretty heavy.

  “I can give it a try.”

  He placed the rock in my outstretched hands and I waited for the weight of it to hit me. I balanced it on my palm like Dallas had, but surely something was not right here. It felt no heavier than a cotton ball, a marshmallow! I cocked my head and looked at them both.

  “Are you two fuckin with me? This is not a real rock, right… it’s made out of styrofoam or something like that.”

  “You saw me pick it up off the ground, it’s a real rock Jules.”

  “Okay, I’ll play.”

  I knew that whatever it was made of, it wouldn’t travel far when thrown, it had no weight. So, I pulled my arm back baseball style and flung it with everything I had. I watched as the rock arced high and sailed way above the treeline of the forest. I waited to hear it land and finally caught the faraway thud of the rock hitting the ground.

  “What the fuck! How did I do that?”

  “Birthday gifts.” Raife turned to me with a dazzling smile on his face.

  Dallas just stared at me, then he walked over to a much, much bigger rock and put his foot up on it. It was probably the size of the coffee table in his family room.

  “Try this one.” He just nodded at the rock.

  I snorted at him, not really on purpose, but what did he think I was.

  “I can’t pick up that fucking rock. What’s wrong with you?”

  Raife placed his hand on my lower back and nudged me forward, toward the giant ass rock. Okay, I guess I’d just have to show them both that they were fucking nuts! I looked at the rock, trying to figure out where to put my hands, because why the hell not… I’d give them a show like a damn weightlifter. I squatted down, because gotta lift from your knees, right, and sort of got my arms around it and stood up. Shit! I’d lifted the huge ass rock, and it startled me so much that I jumped back a foot as I let it crash back to the ground.

  I looked frantically between Raife and Dallas.

  “This is freaking me the fuck out you guys!”

  Raife immediately wrapped me in his arms, stroking my hair and making soft shushing noises in my ear. My heart was beating frantically in my chest and I was practically panting from the adrenaline.

  “How does your power level feel now? Any sort of electrical tingles anywhere?”

  Dallas just stood there with his hands on his hips, waiting for my answer and it was kind of pissing me off! What was this, some kind of fucking science experiment for him!

  I did not answer him, just turned in Raife’s arms until I was facing him, and wrapped my arms around his neck, running my fingers through his silky hair. I looked into Raife’s perfectly blue eyes…yes perfect was the only way to describe them, and I fused my lips to his. He tightened his grip on me as his tongue danced with mine and I could not stop the moan that escaped me, even if I wanted to, which I didn’t.

  That kiss just pulled me under and I lost myself in it completely. My leg lifted, hooking over his hip and trying to pull him even closer to me as I shamelessly ground myself against his hard length. Raife’s hand was tangled in the hair at the back of my head as he positioned me so he could deepen our kiss even more.

  I could hear the hammering beat of my heart as I felt the wetness at my core and the bond connecting us swelled with the love I felt for this man! I could stay here, just like this and not mind if the world fell to pieces around us.

  A deep, menacing growl penetrated the haze I was wrapped in with Raife.

  “We don’t fucking have time for this”, Dallas snapped the words out.

  Raife gazed into my eyes as he cupped my cheek in his hand.

  “Are you okay now Jules?”

  I nodded slowly and he placed a lingering kiss on my forehead, before gently turning me in his arms so I could see Dallas again.

  His normally warm brown eyes were almost completely black and turbulent, a storm raged within them. His lips were set in a hard line and his entire body was rigid. My heart softened as I looked at him.

  I really didn’t want to be mad at Dallas, but that didn’t mean I was okay with him acting like an asshole either. How could he not see how crazy this was for me? I was completely out of my element here, and I had no fucking idea what I was doing! I raised my hands out to my sides, palms up and looked at Dallas, questioning.

  “I don’t know what you want me to do. I need you to show me, not just bark orders at me.”

  I tilted my chin up and met his gaze, unflinching, I straightened my spine and stood straighter.

  He sighed and let some of the tension go from his shoulders, as he raked his hand through his hair.

  “You don’t understand the pressure we’re under, time we don’t have, even now we have to be prepared for an attack.”

  “If I don’t understand, it’s because you don’t tell me.” I would not back down on this.

  “Jules, I would never expect you to understand everything, it’s been less than a week, and we’ve been fighting for our lives almost the entire time. Now, we need to train you with this strength, speed, and whatever else came with your birthday gifts.”

  The corner of his mouth tipped up ever so slightly at that, and his eyes were again the deep chocolate brown that I loved.

  “We can’t risk what happened yesterday, happening again. So, you need to tell us as soon as you feel anything like the power build up that you had yesterday. We think that maybe letting some of the power out as soon as you feel it, may be small enough to control.”

  “You could have just said that before, instead of snapping at me when I was feeling completely out of control.”

  Dallas reached for my hand and pulled me into his broad chest, wrapping his arms firmly around me and nuzzling into my neck. He inhaled deeply and whispered into my ear, “I’m sorry love.”

  With my hands on his back I pulled him firmly against me and inhaled deeply where my nose was pressed into his chest. He smelled so good!

  I pulled back a little to look up at him. “Will you teach me now?”

  An hour later and I still wasn’t tired, after running across the field, increasing my speed with each pass until everything became a blur as I ran past. I took down small trees with a push or a kick and then hurled them hundreds of yards like a javelin thrower! I really wasn’t sure this was reality, or I was going to wake up in a hospital bed and have a nurse tell me I’d been in a coma for a year!

  Raife took my hands and tipped his head down so we were eye to eye.

  “Can you feel where your power was centered? Do you feel it there now?”

  Huh, I really didn’t feel it at all, unless… I concentrated on the spot, low and deep in my back. There was a tingle there, not something I noticed without paying attention, which I hadn’t been with all the running and throwing.

  “I can feel it.”

  “Tell us what it feels like.”

  “It’s just like a small ball of energy, but if I concentrate, it feels kind of tingly.”

  I looked at both their faces, trying to tell what they were thinking, but I wasn’t very good at that yet. It was easier with my new senses, because I could pick up the minute changes I’d been noticing as they thought about what I’d said.

  “Let’s see if we can tap into that, just a bit”, Raife said as he guided me toward the center of the field.

  “I want you to think about it, just like yesterday, but no trying to push the energy out. Just let it flow through your arms and hands, then you need to try and stop…shut off the flow of energy. Do you want to give it a try sweetheart?”

  “We’ll be right here with you Jules”, Dallas added.

  I nodded and tried to center my mind on the glowing ball of energy, let myself sink into the feeling of it. I allowed tendrils of it to flow through my arms and when my hands prickled, I raised them in front of me. Like Raife had said, I didn’t try to force anything, just let it flow out of me. A strong wind blew from my raised hands and the small trees at the edge of the forest began to sway, their trunks bowing beneath the force of the wind.

  “You’re doing so well Jules. Now try and stop the flow.”

  In my mind I pictured that ball of energy tightening and spinning, bring the tendrils back into the ball and sealing it tight. When I could feel the lessening in my arms, I clenched my hands into fists and lowered them to my sides. The power stopped.

  Dallas leaned toward me, his big hands cupping the sides of my face and he leaned in with a gentle caress of a kiss. He whispered in my ear, “You’re amazing.”

  Raife rubbed large circles on my back, his palm warm and intoxicating at the same time.

  “You did so well sweetheart. One day, and you’re gaining control over your power. Truly amazing!”

  Their praise felt so good, knowing they were proud of me. I wouldn’t tell them how terrified I really felt! I just needed to be strong. I refused to be the weak woman who got them both hurt. I would do this!

  “Again.”

  I stepped a few feet in front of them and prepared to go through the same exercise until it was second nature to me. I would not fail, I would practice until I was exhausted.

  Turns out, it took a lot longer than I expected to tire me out! I ran, and I lifted. I worked with my power until I was able to narrow it into a single bolt of energy that I could aim at one tree, slicing the tree in half up the middle like a laser beam. It was pretty fucking cool!

  When the sun sank behind the tree line, Dallas insisted I needed to eat, so we headed back to the house.

  “I’ll race you to the house”, I shouted before taking off. I felt like Raife could probably beat me, so I dug in and powered toward the house with everything I had!

  I skidded to a stop, ten feet from the back of the house as Raife came to a stop beside me, not two seconds later. Dallas slid to a stop right behind us, and I threw both arms over my head and jumped up and down.

  “I win, I win!”

  They both grinned at me and I jumped at Dallas, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. His arms closed around me as he dipped his head into my neck, inhaling deeply. I gave a tug on his hair and he lifted his face to me. I peppered his face with kisses, saving his lips for last. He tightened his hold on me as he kissed me, good and hard. I pulled back and grinned at him.

  “That was your consolation prize since you were the loser.”

  “Hah!” A laugh burst out of him and I felt good for causing it. I really didn’t know why this was happening to me, why these two gorgeous, kind, men were with me, but I certainly wasn’t going to complain!

  I was awakened hours later by voices and the sound of footsteps running through the house. I flung open the door and raced out into the hallway, not sure what was happening and a bit disoriented by all the noise.

  I stopped at the top of the stairs…it seemed like the noise was coming from the back of the house and maybe the cellar. I crept down the stairs and peered into the hallway leading to the kitchen. At least three vampires were standing in the doorway to the cellar stairs where the sounds of fighting were coming from!

  I glanced around before slipping into the kitchen where I crouched down behind the island. The sounds of fighting were louder here and I worried where Raife and Dallas were. If they were in the cellar I felt like I needed to get to them! The three vampires at the top of the stairs were in the way!

  I crept up behind the closest one and grabbed the back of his shirt in both hands before flinging him down the stairs. He took one of the other vamps with him and the third spun to face me. I shoved him backwards with both hands to his chest, launching him down the stairs where he hit the cement wall at the bottom! His head made a hole in the cement from the force of his body hitting it and he lay crumpled on the floor.

  Halfway down the stairs I peeked into the room below, just in time to see Raife plunging a dagger into the chest of a vamp who turned to dust! Holy shit!

  The first vamp I’d thrown down the stairs had gotten to his feet and was heading for Dallas when I jumped from the stairs and kicked him squarely in the back, sending him into the wall on the other side of the room. I ran at him before he could get up and grabbing his head with both hands I slammed it into the wall! He stayed down this time!

  I looked around wildly, seeing at least four more vamps that Dallas and Raife were fighting! I crept up behind one and grabbed him by the neck before slamming him into the floor with everything I had! His head literally shattered before he turned to dust!

  Jesus fucking Christ! I had no idea they did that!

  Dallas glanced at me with wide eyes, but the second he took to do that, the other vamp leaped on top of him, knocking him to the ground.

  I screamed and charged them, grabbing the vamp and throwing him off Dallas! He hit the wall and I ran at him, throwing both hands into his chest. I let a shot of power hit him through my hands! He burst into dust and….Wow!