Page 8

“Same here.” Another woman with curly brown hair and piercing multicolored eyes said.

“That’s Frost. Her husband, Xander, is the white-haired man next to her.”

By that time, the other vampires were standing behind Hunter.

“You’ve met Liv—”

Neri stiffened when the tiny vampire wrapped her arms around Neri. It surprised her when she hugged Liv back. She was a warm bundle of energy and she smiled at Neri.

“Hi.”

Liv laughed and then reached her arm behind her. The most deadly looking man Neri had ever seen stepped up and all her instincts screamed at her to run. “This is my husband, Kai. He would never hurt you. I promise.”

Still wary and keeping her body in place, she nodded at Kai. He returned the gesture, and it helped Neri relax when he wrapped an arm around Liv’s waist and pulled her close.

The next were Thomas and Isaac, Kane, and then Seth and Aubrey, the sweetest couple out of them all.

As she met each of the vampires, she realized that none of them had white hair like hers. She noticed Xander did, but he was a shifter, and another, quiet man had the same shock of hair as she did. But since he stood back, she assumed he was a shifter.

After Seth and Aubrey hugged her in welcome, she realized their body temperature was warmer than hers. They weren’t hot to the touch, like the shifters, but they were warmer than she was.

“Why am I so cold compared to everyone else?”

Liv cleared her throat and Neri turned her attention toward her.

“Once you left Standard, did you go into a homicidal rage anytime during the months and years after? Have you tried to kill any humans?”

Neri laughed. She doubled over and held her stomach as the innocuous question came from an innocent-looking vampire who she would describe as bubbly.

“Fuck, no. I avoided everyone.”

“Have you ever craved blood? Do you even have fangs?”

Neri shook her head and opened her mouth, pulling back her lips for inspection. Liv, who must have trusted her, pulled one of her lips back to view her teeth and hummed.

“Well, that’s interesting. You don’t have fangs and your skin is cool to the touch, which doesn’t happen to any of the others. You don’t drink blood, but you also can’t shift…”

Neri shrugged. “Pretty much.”

“What about before the men captured you at Standard? Do you remember a successful shift?”

“I have no recollection of my past besides the memory I showed Hunter when I was on the table.”

Neri flinched back when she heard gasps around her. Her heart beat calmed when her back pressed against Hunter’s chest. She scented him and it was becoming as familiar as his touch. It was if he imprinted on her. So it was more touch than anything else that kept her grounded. She relaxed back when he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Being this close to Hunter, a rumble passed through her, taking her by surprise. It was almost as though he was purring, or his panther was.

“Are you purring?”

Hunter huffed out a laugh. “I’m happy and so is the panther.”

“Neri?” Liv pulled her attention away from Hunter. “Have you ever run into another shifter or vampire after your transition?”

“No.”

A beautiful auburn-haired woman, leaning back against a giant blond man, spoke next. “What did you do after you escaped?”

Neri flinched as she thought about the first few months by herself. She needed to survive, but saying anything in front of this group of immortals was embarrassing.