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Then there was the government. Mack didn’t know all that much about what was going on, only that King Vincent had been working with world leaders—the UN—and so they had been calling for calm.

Those outside the UN were demanding answers and accused the US of knowing for a long time. The usual bullshit, in other words.

The king had demanded vampires stay silent, but some were calling for a vampire rights movement. How long Vincent was able to keep that under control, Mack wasn’t sure.

They were predators, essentially, who’d learned to live in a human society peacefully. But like any predator... threaten them and they would bite.

No one wanted any biting to start.

Well, not that kind of biting.

Religious groups had lost the fucking plot and were calling it the end of days. Something about Satan. Last he heard, the pope was leading some thirty-day prayer.

Good luck with that.

He hadn’t turned to ash yet.

The only Satan he knew was the guy who lived near downtown Seattle who everyone knew sold hashish. So yeah, he definitely wasn’t their leader.

Mack also snorted as he closed the door behind him.

“Hey.”

“Mack,” Ari said, tossing his pen on the desk. “How can I help you?”

Say it. Just spit it out.

“I want you to train me.”

The ancient original vampire didn’t react. Didn’t say anything. Just sat staring for a long moment.

Then a little bit more.

“Why? You are a skilled soldier.”

Mack nodded. “Yeah, good question.”

God, he sounded like such a newbie idiot.

Ari’s brows lifted and he shifted farther back into his seat and leaned an arm on the desk. “We’ve fought side by side. You’re also a hybrid.”

“Yup.” He nodded again.

Ari waited.

“Except I’m not a trained warrior like the others in the SLC team. I’m here by default because Callan bit me.”

All facts.

“Fair.” Ari picked up the pen and tapped the end of it on the table. “However, Marcus is our trainer, and Brayden has already said you can join in any of his sessions.”

He had.

But shit was about to get real—correction, shit was already real—and he needed to protect...

Someone.

“Yeah,” Mack said, rubbing the back of his neck and making to turn away. “You’re right.” Then he stopped and turned back to the Moretti vampire. “It’s just that...my grandfather was trained by you.”