Page 124 of Taming His Vampire Mate

“Dante senses things others can’t,” Aiden explained grimly. He clearly hated the idea of his mate in harm’s way, whichI empathized with wholeheartedly. But after a hard look from Dante, he sighed and added, “We’ll go to where the hiker was slain. We’ll determine the direction the creature came from and perhaps glean something about its intent. And then we’ll leave.”

Dante opened his mouth to protest, but Aiden gave a small shake of his head and fixed him with an imploring look. “Even being here puts you in danger. I can’t lose you. You know that.” He turned to Lindsey, his expression hard. “You can’t ask more of us than this.”

“I know,” she said softly. “I’m already asking too much. Thank you.”

“We’re family,” Dante told her, his tone warmer than Aiden’s. “It’s not too much. And if the hiker’s ghost is still there, I might be able to learn even more.”

He was a psychic, then.

“If the pack’s splitting up, I’ll protect the town,” Lindsey said, rising.

Jeremy whirled on her, eyes wide. “No! You’ll go back to Ellensburg with Aiden and Dante! This is no place for you.”

“Jeremy, I love you. But you’re my brother, not my alpha,” she countered, narrowing her eyes. “And I’ll do as I please. I grew up here, same as you. These are my people, too.”

“You can’t protect the entire town alone,” Jeremy snapped. “That’s a fantastic way to get yourself killed.”

“And if you died, who would keep our cat company while we’re away?” Aiden asked. “Creature needs you.”

“Casper would,” Dante said solemnly. He glanced at the rest of us. “Casper’s our ghost dog. We adopted him a couple of months back. Or, well,headoptedus. He loves Creature.”

“If only she loved him back,” Lindsey muttered. “Then I wouldn’t get clawed every five minutes when you two leave town.”

“I’ll stay with Lindsey,” Daniel offered. “If she can keep the monster off me long enough to cast—”

The dark-haired twins snapped their heads up, identical glares aimed at him. The one on the right said, voice hard, “We will also stay.” He met Jeremy’s eyes. “We’ll protect your sister.”

Their meaning was clear: they’d go to protect Daniel. And Lindsey, too, if she was there and needed it. Interesting. They couldn’t seem to bring themselves to look at the warlock.

“Splitting up never works in horror movies,” the blonde woman drawled, her accent vaguely Southern.

“We may not have a choice,” Jeremy said, shaking his head. “But I don’t like it.”

“I’m surprised you even care,” the dark-skinned wolf muttered. “Coming here to act like alpha after a year in the woods, like a fucking—”

“Oliver,” Emma snapped, gaze sharp and murderous. “Jeremy is back now, at the very moment we need him most.” Her voice hardened. “And he is youralpha, whether you like it or not. You will obey him.”

Oliver glared, then dropped his gaze, scowling.

“I left,” Jeremy admitted softly. Guilt rippled through the bond, heavy and raw. He looked up and met every gaze. “That’s true. There’s no way around it. Each of you has a right to your feelings about it. If we live through this, any of you are welcome to challenge me for alpha.”

His eyes lingered on mine for a beat too long before sliding away again.Look, Thierry—

Don’t ‘Thierry’ me. That’s not happening,I shot back through the bond.

Jeremy winced, then said aloud, “But that’s then. This is now.”

“I want to trust you. But you’re consorting with vampires,” the blonde wolf sneered. She cast Aiden—and then me—a waryglance, suspicion sharp in her eyes. “Are we just supposed to believe they’re somehow good guys now? And when they get hungry, what then? Do we just let them tap a vein?”

Yes, I officially disliked her.

“You’d better be very nice to me,” I said coldly, before Jeremy could reply. I let some of my power ripple outward across the ground.

Vampires carry an aura of raw power—it’s part of what lets us hypnotize others. The older we are, the stronger it gets.

The wolves felt it. The twins shuddered, their eyes widening in eerie unison. Oliver shrank back. Even Dante, not a wolf at all, flinched. But I only had eyes for the blonde, who glared back at me with murder in her gaze.

“After all,” I added, “I’m the vampire who’s going to ensure each of you lives through the night. Even you—Tracy, or Stacy, or Tiffany—whatever your name is.”