Page 4 of Kidnapping Their Third

“Is that vampire your family?” Cora asked, breaking the silence and pulling Pike out of his admiring thoughts.

Pike blinked at her, unsure how to answer that question. “I’m his flock.”

Now it was her turn to look confused. “Flock?”

Right, she knew Kimble was a vampire, but probably not much else. “Let me start at the beginning, okay?”

She picked up her bottle and leaned back in her chair. “Sure, go for it.”

“Eight months ago, I got a flat tire down on 12th street, near Kimball Park,” Pike started. “I was in naga territory at about three in the morning. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was, so instead of leaving on foot and coming back for my car later, I got out and started changing the tire.”

“What’s a naga?” Cora asked.

“Snake shifters. Most of us shifters aren’t very territorial, but nagas were almost hunted to extinction about a thousand years ago. They claim territories, mark clear boundaries, and get violent if you cross them.”

Cora tilted her head. “What are you?”

“I’m a shifter too, black bear,” he answered. “I come from a long line of West Coast black bear shifters.”

She nodded her head. “And the snakes didn’t want a bear in their territory?”

“It wasn’t that I was a bear, it was that I was anything. The only species they don’t care about are pure humans who don’t smell like any magic.”

Cora leaned forward with an intrigued look. “You can smell magic?”

“Um yeah,” Pike said. It must be weird for humans who couldn’t smell magic. “Even in my human form, I have almost as good a sense of smell as my bear. Vampires can’t smell it, but they can see it. They can read what you are by looking at your aura.”

“Does that mean you knew what Imani was the moment you met her?” Cora asked.

“It would’ve been hard to miss,” Pike said. “The magic that comes off vampires is really distinct.”

“I have more questions about that, but later. I need to know what happened after you got stranded in naga territory.”

“I’d gotten as far as getting the flat tire off when a dozen shifted nagas showed up.” He gave her a rueful smile. “I’m big and strong, but I’m not hold-off-twelve-adult-nagas strong.”

“Don’t stop there,” she said, making a keep-going motion with her hand. “What happened?”

“Kimble,” he said simply. “It was like he appeared out of nowhere, completely naked and covered in dirt. I thought he might be a golem at first. He killed two of the nagas and the rest ran away. Then he turned to me. By then, I knew he was a vampire, and I figured I was dead. My back was against the car and when he got close, I closed my eyes and asked him to make it fast.”

“But he didn’t kill you,” Cora stated. “Why?”

“I’m his flock,” Pike reminded her, then remembered she wouldn’t know what that was. “A flock keeps a vampire sane. Vampires can live for a long time. Age makes them more powerful, but it can also cause them to lose their mind. Kimble can’t tell me his name or anything about himself or his past. I named him after the park near where he saved me.”

Cora glanced back at the closed bedroom door with a pitying look before returning her gaze to him. “This almost sounds like a soap opera plot line but for magical creatures.”

“It’s so much worse than some fictional daytime TV show,” Pike pointed out. “When vampires get as bad as Kimble, they’re declared feral and hunted down by other vampires. It’s the only thing that vampires agree on. They worry a feral vampire with no control will expose their existence.”

“Does this mean all vampires need shifters to keep them sane?” Cora asked.

“Eventually, yes. If a vampire can’t find their flock, they will slowly lose their minds,” Pike said. “But the flock doesn't need to be shifters. A vampire could pick a human, pixie, naga, or anything to be in their flock. Do you remember those two men with your friend Imani?”

“You mean her boyfriends, Mac and Lex?”

“Yeah, them. They aren’t simply her boyfriends, they’re her flock. She has shared a piece of her soul with them and taken a piece of their souls inside herself. They’re bound for life. She’ll keep them from aging, Mac and Lex will keep her sane, and they’ll all get more powerful.”

“That doesn't make sense,” Cora said with a slight frown. “Why didn’t Kimble pick someone to be in his flock before he went feral?”

Pike shook his head. “Finding your flock for a vampire is like finding your mate for a shifter. They’re special and precious. They are the ones chosen by magic to match with you. It’s one of the reasons why there are a surprising number of vampires in San Diego. There’s a belief that it’s a lucky place.”

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