Then Dane got a call from Anne. “Hey, I’ve been out of state and just saw what happened to Jacqueline. I called her, just not believing she could be dead. But since she didn’t answer, I guess I have to realize it’s the truth. We have more problems though. I’m calling for a meeting tonight to discuss this. The Bremertons are back in town, and I called them to come to the meeting. Do you know Adonis, Danai, and Zachary?”

  “Yeah, they’re friends of mine. Same location? What time?” Dane asked.

  “Fifteen minutes, same location. I believe all of us are targets. I’ve called Stacey and the others who didn’t come to the last meeting that we had.”

  “See you in a few minutes, Anne,” Dane said.

  “Okay, two of us are staying here with Jacqueline and one of us is going with you, Dane,” Matt said.

  “All right by me,” Dane said.

  Jacqueline sighed. “I wish I could be there with you all.”

  “Yeah, me too, alive and kicking. I want to get these hunters taken down so you can be yourself again.” Then Dane hugged and kissed her and said to his brothers, “Keep Jacqueline safe.” But he wondered what was going on that Anne thought that all the hunters turned were now on a hit list. He figured just the ones who had been at the hunters’ club that night were. Then he and Ryan left in Matt’s car.

  Jacqueline hoped all the hunters would be all right. The thing of it was, that meeting place wasn’t that safe, she didn’t think. Then again, she assumed the hunters who would be there were good fighters.

  Not long after Dane and Ryan left the house to go to the meeting, they heard a noise at a window in back of Dane’s place. “Someone’s breaking in,” Jacqueline said, her voice low. Then she grabbed her sword and vanished.

  “Hell,” Matt said.

  Then she was in Dane’s office, saw the window broken, but nobody inside yet. Matt and Trey came running up behind her, and she put her finger to her lips, and they all backed out, waiting for whoever it was to enter the office.

  But no one tried to come in. Then another window broke, this one in the laundry room. “Laundry room,” she whispered. “One of you watch this window. I’m afraid they’re coming in from different directions.”

  “They must have been watching Dane leave the house and probably think no one is here right now. Then they would ambush him when he returned,” Trey said, his voice hushed.

  “Brother, you stay here and watch this window. Let us know if someone comes in. We’re going to check out the laundry room,” Matt said to Trey.

  But Jacqueline wanted to get an eye on who was outside breaking the windows in the first place. She vanished and reappeared outside and was near a shed that would give her some shelter from whomever was breaking the windows. Then she saw them. All five hunters that had hassled them at the hunters’ club. They weren’t bothering to hire someone to do the job this time. She wondered how their neighborhood watch had missed seeing them. But then she saw four more hunters in addition to the five original men! All of them were dressed in black, but they weren’t wearing anything to cover their faces.

  Then one of the hunters saw her and made a mad dash to fight her. “What the hell. You were supposed to be dead. Well, you will be now.”

  Not this time either, if she could help it. She told Dane, “The hunters are here! I’m in the backyard by your shed fighting one of them.”

  “Where the hell are my brothers?”

  “In the house where the bastards broke the windows into your house. Laundry room and your office.”

  Then she took on the hunter, a hefty blond-haired guy. She knew Dane would be there momentarily. But then two of the other hunters saw her fighting the one guy, and they raced toward her to kill her.

  She was going to vanish because she couldn’t fight that many hunters when Matt and Trey rushed out through the back door once they realized she was outside in a fight.

  But then the other hunters turned who had been at the meeting—Anne, Stacey, Dane were there, right in the middle of it. Right after that Adonis, Danai, Pasha, Michael, and Zachary joined them, swords swinging, striking metal.

  No one had any time to say anything, but Zachary and Danai terminated one of the hunters while Dane and Jacqueline fought another. Adonis killed another hunter, who was not giving up for anything. Anne and Stacey worked to finish off another. Some were just not going to allow themselves to be taken prisoner. The goal really was to turn the hunters over to the League so they could deal with them but terminate them if the hunters were determined to kill the hunters turned.

  Matt took out another hunter. Trey pulled out some zip ties for the hunters they’d been able to take down without killing them.

  Another hunter fell, wounded, but still alive and Dane zip tied his wrists. “You’re a disgrace to our kind, Felix.”

  “You are, as a vampire. You should have died rather than have been turned,” Felix said.

  As if they’d had any choice, Jacqueline thought.

  Four of the nine rogue hunters were dead. Two were injured, but their wounds would heal faster than a human’s would. The other three hunters finally dropped their swords and gave up, raising their hands above their heads.

  Ryan showed up in his car and hurried to join them. “Hell, I missed helping out.”

  Dane slapped his back. “Sorry we had to leave you behind.”

  That was the great thing about moving in the vampiric way. The vampires had all arrived instantly, while poor Ryan had to drive from the meeting place to get there.

  Adonis was on his phone to call Tobias, who would notify the League that they had caught all the rogue hunters. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that these men were rogues, but now the League would take care of them in their own way.

  Then Jacqueline took Dane into her arms and held him tight, never wanting to let go. She couldn’t believe there had been so many hunters who had wanted them dead. What was wrong with them? The hunters turned had only been after rogue vampires. They hadn’t once hurt a hunter. Not even one who was a rogue. Not until now.

  They had no worry about killing the ones here that they did. Not when they were defending themselves against the threat on Dane’s property and they had other hunters who had witnessed the fight.

  This would hopefully prove that hunters and those who were turned would stick together to fight against the hunters who thought to kill those who were now vampires.

  The police were also called. Ambulances arrived, and the EMTs took care of the two injured hunters. Tobias finally arrived. “Has everyone been identified?”

  “Yeah,” Matt said. “We have their IDs.”

  “All right. We’ll take the ones still alive in for questioning to learn if there are any others that have the same mission as these hunters,” Tobias said.

  “I can’t believe you didn’t kill me or the others who you gained the upper hand on,” Felix said.

  “We didn’t want you dead,” Dane said. “We wanted you to be held accountable for your actions.”

  Jacqueline said, “It will be up to the League to decide your fate.”

  More hunters arrived, some of them who were neighbors in the neighborhood. One of them inclined his head to Felix and immediately, Adonis grabbed him and took him into custody.

  “Get your filthy hands off me,” the guy said.

  “You were in collusion with Felix. You were the one who allowed these men to come into the neighborhood. And you’re here now to try and see what happened to the hunters you were working with to take us down,” Adonis accused.

  “Hell, I wasn’t. I just live here. And like the others here, I wanted to know what was going on.”

  “You signaled to Felix. Don’t lie.”

  “Yeah, I saw it too,” Dane said.

  “Me too,” Zachary said. “You can try to dig yourself out of the situation, but the League will uncover the truth.”

  Then the police cuffed the neighbor and took him with the others.

  In the meantime, Dane’s good neighbors congratulated them for exposing the rogue hunters. “We can’t have murdering hunters like them among us. Any of us could face what you already had to,” George said. “None of you deserve this kind of treatment from our kind or from anyone else.”

  The hunter neighbors all looked at Jacqueline, smiling. Josh said, “We’re glad you’re fine.”

  “Yeah, it was the only way we could think of to make sure they wouldn’t try another hit on me. Then the human hunters told us they were going to eliminate Dane also,” Jacqueline said.

  “Thanks to everyone. We appreciate it,” Dane said.

  The hunters from the neighborhood there gave them hugs, wished them well, then walked back to their homes.

  “I guess we can leave the two of you alone to take care of your own business,” Matt said to Dane and Jacqueline.

  “Thanks so much for coming to help us,” Jacqueline said.

  “Moving like you do as vampires sure is a great ability,” Ryan said. “When we were at the therapy meeting place, Dane told me the news. All the hunters turned left me, and I ended up jumping into our car to return here, but man, I wished I could have traveled like you did and gotten here a lot quicker.”

  “Yeah, I was so glad to do that since Jacqueline and our brothers were in such a dire situation,” Dane said.

  “We felt the same way,” Matt said. “We were in the house when she ended up fighting them. Hell, we didn’t know there were so many of them.”

  “I didn’t either. I saw the one who suddenly observed me. The others were spread out at different locations on Dane’s property. I saw two others suddenly coming toward me, but I was trying to concentrate on the one I was fighting. But I also let Dane know I was fighting one at his home. I really thought there were only five of them, the same five hunters at the hunters’ club. I never expected them to gather more hunters who had gone rogue,” Jacqueline said.

  “Two of them were already rogue hunters on an elimination list for hunting down vampires who aren’t rogues. I guess Felix knew them so they could do this hit with them,” Dane said.

  Then everyone helped to make the steak dinner they had planned on making before all the craziness began, except that they had a few more guests and a couple of the guests brought more steaks to their place.

  “I guess we’ll be packing up our things again,” Matt said.

  Jacqueline and Dane laughed. “Well, thanks for coming to stay with us,” Dane said.

  “We’re glad we were here for you when you needed us,” Trey said.

  They all enjoyed their steaks, asparagus, and rice.

  After they finished eating, Dane’s brothers packed up their bags and gave them hugs, then they left the house.

  With promises to see them at the next meeting, Stacey and Anne left. The Bremertons said they would also attend the next meeting and they all vanished.

  Then Dane and Jacqueline cuddled on the sofa together as Princess sat on their laps. “Love you, Dane.”

  Dane said, “I love you, Jacqueline. I’m so glad this is all behind us.”

  “I would say we could go for a moonlit walk now finally, but I’m more interested in joining you in bed. What about you?”

  “Oh, yeah, absolutely.”

  Then they vanished and ended up in the bedroom, poor Princess left back on the couch. But she didn’t need to participate in their next activity.

  “We need to get your handyman in to replace the windows,” Jacqueline said, as they began removing each other’s clothes. “And we need to know if you were setup before Lucilla ambushed you.”

  “Absolutely, but first things first.”

  She smiled as she ran her hand over his chest. “Naturally.”

  22

  After the fight with the hunters, the adrenaline was still flooding Jacqueline and Dane’s systems and making love was a great way to use that adrenaline up. He lifted her off the couch and they reappeared in the bedroom, and he left her on the bed. He removed her boots before she barely was aware that he was doing it. He’d used his vampiric speed to remove them. Now she had never done that to dress or undress. That was nifty.

  So she tried it too and quickly jerked his shirt off him with her vampiric ability and she heard it rip. She stared at the two pieces in her hands in shock.

  He laughed, kissed her, and started to remove her pants, at a normal pace. Removing clothes with vampiric speed might take some practice. She started to unfasten his belt and then unzipped his pants and began to pull them off. Once they had their pants off, he pulled off her shirt—at least hers was intact! She owed him a new shirt.

  Her panties and bra were ditched, and she tugged his boxer briefs off. She realized he had used his speed to remove his boots and socks and she hadn’t even seen him do it.

  But now they were naked together and were kissing and moving against each other in a lovers’ embrace. Then they were kissing deeply and teasing each other’s canines, which was such a turn on. Not only because of the sexual nature of being a vampire and the eroticism she felt from their pheromones kicking into high gear, just stroking each other’s canines made her wet with anticipation.

  She was so ready to have his erection deep inside her. He changed things up by pulling her with her back against his chest and pulled her left leg over his. Then he pressed his arousal deep inside her, but he reached over her hip and started to stroke her between her legs. Then he brushed his warm lips over her shoulder, sending shivers of pleasure through her. She turned her head to meet his lips and he pressed his mouth against hers, still stroking her, still thrusting into her.

  So hot! Their blood was pumping, and she realized she wanted to do the vampire bite with him again. But she wasn’t stopping what they were doing right now for anything. He was pushing her closer to the top and she was soaking in the sheer pleasure of his touch.

  She couldn’t believe how far they had come in such a short time, yet he uplifted her and fulfilled her in life-changing ways. The physical attraction, though important, wasn’t all that made her feel such a strong, unbreakable bond with him. He was there for her through all life’s ordeals, as she was for him. This was just the cherry on top.

  “Oh, yeah,” she moaned as he continued to stroke her, dipping a finger into her, and swirling it around and then poking in and out, sending her racing to the heavens above.

  He was still thrusting into her as he nibbled on her ear, then licked it. She wanted to roll around in his arms to kiss him, but she didn’t want to lose the connection between them while he thrust into her. Nor did she want him to stop stroking her. This was just too perfect. His hot, muscular body coveting hers and giving her the utmost enjoyment. Then she felt the climax coming and she came in a burst of pleasure and cried out with exaltation. She felt him groan and fill her at the same time, making her even wetter.

  He continued to pump into her while she turned her head to meet his mouth with hers and he deeply kissed her, their tongues toying with each other’s until they stroked their elongated canines.

  “Have I mentioned how much I love you?” she rasped out.

  “I feel the same way about you. You are the only one for me. Love you, honey.”

  Dane pulled out of Jacqueline, and she rolled over into his arms. They just held each other tight for several minutes, just loving the closeness and the satisfaction he had felt when they had climaxed. The adrenaline was still running through their veins, their hearts still beating fast. Before they fell asleep in each other’s arms, he asked, “Do you want to take a shower?”

  “Yeah, I sure do.”

  Then he carried her into the bathroom vampirically. She turned on the water, and then they began kissing and washing up. But the next thing he knew, she was scraping her teeth on his neck. And he quickly realized she needed to bond in the vampire way, and he was all for it.

  “Bite me,” he said.

  And she did. Then she sucked a little and he felt the intense pleasure racing through his whole body. He had to admit that ability was something he had never thought he would experience in his lifetime. She sealed the bite marks with a stimulating lick and then she offered her neck to him. He was so ready to make love to her again! He licked her neck before he sank his teeth in and then he drew about the same amount of blood from her. She moaned with delight. He sealed her wounds, then he lifted her up, she wrapped her legs around his hips, and he penetrated her with his full arousal.

  “You light my fire,” she mouthed against his lips.

  “With you, once is never enough.” Then he was thrusting inside of her, enjoying the close connection they had when they were making love under the hot water. Princess purred outside the shower as if she finally realized where they had gone to.

  He rocked into her until he finally climaxed again and for a moment, he just held her tight. He loved how when they were through, they still kept the connection, proving it was more than just sex.

  He set her on the floor of the shower, and they soaped up, kissing other. Being with her was like being in heaven. Once they left the shower, they dried each other off, which added to the intimacy between them. Princess hurried off.

  He was glad Jacqueline had said yes to marrying him. They kissed and he could have let her walk on her own, but he loved lifting her in his arms and carrying her to bed. Especially after all they had been through.

  “You are the most romantic man I’ve ever known,” Jacqueline said, cuddling with him in bed.

  “You are the sexiest woman I’ve ever known and the love of my life.”

  Suddenly, Princess hopped on the bed at Dane’s back and they both chuckled.

  “It appears she was waiting for everything to get quiet so she could join us in bed,” Jacqueline said.

  “At least I have you in my arms for the night.”

  “For sure.”

  The next morning, Dane and Jacqueline just laid in bed, snuggling, loving being together. Princess left the mattress when she got too hot. “Okay, we need to learn if you were set up when that vampire turned you. Whoever it was, he needs to face the consequences. Maybe it’s someone else you haven’t considered. Or even informant Green was just loyal to Lucilla, or she might have even ordered him to do it. Wouldn’t that make more sense?”