Page 28 of Forsaken By Night

“We don’t recognize Raven law.” Hunter’s voice lowered ominously. “Luckily for you.”

Kars sputtered and cursed before getting hold of himself. “Even Crow worshippers can call for the death penalty when someone impersonates a clan chief. This is a major violation of vampire law, Hunter.” He practically spit Hunter’s name. “When the tribes convene in Sedona—”

“When the tribes convene in Sedona, I will make it very clear that my authority in this instanceislaw.” Hunter’s black smile reeked of self-satisfaction and the arrogance that came from knowing you held all the cards. “Multiple clans have sworn allegiance to me, and I guarantee that the tribal elders will fall in line. War with the humans is coming, Kars, and without MoonBound and the power we wield, vampires will lose. Iwillhave my way in this.”

“Dude,” Baddon whispered to Lobo, “if I was into males, Hunter’s speech would totally have made me hard.” He jabbed Takis in the ribs with his elbow. “Right? You hard?”

Takis whacked Baddon upside the head with his palm even as he kept his crossbow aimed at a ShadowSpawn warrior. “You’re an idiot.” He shrugged. “And I might be a little hard.”

Damn, things at MoonBound had changed. Back when Lobo had belonged, no one would have gotten away with joking like that. Hunter really had chilled out.

Lobo left Takis and Baddon to their banter and joined Hunter, who had just finished telling Kars to fuck off. At least, he assumed those were Hunter’s words, spoken in a language Lobo didn’t recognize. Kars clearly understood, but even as his face burned scarlet with rage, he turned stiffly and disappeared into the forest with his dead and wounded warriors on the backs of surviving warriors.

“Just so we’re clear, you believe Su’Neena was a traitor now, right?” Lobo asked.

Hunter nodded as he shoved his bone-handled blade into the sheath at his hip. “I believed you when you told me. I just had to make sure my clan believed it too.”

Well, that would have been good to know. Hunter had changed, but he was still a bit of a dick.

“Before Kars shot her, she talked about a mutual friend.” Lobo did a quick distance check to make sure no one was within earshot or listening, but lowered his voice anyway. “Hunter, I think you have another traitor in your ranks.”

“I know.” Hunter met his gaze, and in the depths of his dark, intelligent eyes, Lobo was stunned to see a spark of respect. “Thank you. Both of you.” He bent to pet Tehya, his hand smoothing over her sleek head. “Maybe Nicole or our other mystic-keeper can find a way to turn her back. You’re both welcome at MoonBound.” He straightened. “Permanently, if you want.”

Tehya took off, ears up and tail erect, which meant she was after a rabbit or a squirrel. He smiled, but his heart wept. This wasn’t right. How could he have found the female of his dreams—literally—only to have her gone so soon? How could he go back to the way things had been, knowing that the vampire he loved was trapped in another body?

“Yeah,” he rasped. “I’ll bring Tehya in tomorrow.”

Hunter gripped his shoulder and shook him a little. “Hey. Listen... Nicole will figure it out. And when Tehya turns back, there will be no repercussions for mating her.”

Lobo blinked, unsure he’d just heard that right. “What do you mean?”

“I mean just what I said to Kars. Things are changing, Lobo. The vampire race is evolving, and our laws and customs need to evolve with it.”

“Damn,” Lobo said under his breath, unable to believe this was the son of one of the most brutal clan leaders in the vampire race’s history. “You’re not the male I remember.”

“Yeah, well, I can’t take all the credit.” Hunter dragged his hand through his hair and gazed longingly in the direction of home. “I have a mate who has some experience with animal-based abilities, and she sort of led me to some revelations.”

Lobo thought of Tehya and nodded slowly. “I know what you mean.”

“Come on,” Hunter said. “Let’s go home.”

Lobo’s heart turned inside out, because, yes, he had a home. And he had Tehya. But it was no longer the same.

It would never be the same again.

11

Tehya woke to the sound of Lobo building a fire. She watched him as she always had, from her rug near the door, but this morning something was different. It was the way he was moving. Instead of his usual brisk, sure movements, he was slow. Mechanical. As if he was going through the motions.

How long had it been now since she’d turned back into a wolf? A couple of weeks, she thought. A couple of weeks of daily treks to MoonBound so she could be poked, prodded, dosed with strange herbs, and subjected to bizarre chants. She was starting to lose her patience with it all, had even snarled at the mystic-keeper a couple of times. But, damn it, she wanted to be a vampire again, and nothing was working. She was frustrated and angry and on the verge of giving up hope.

Maybe Lobo was feeling the same way.

She nudged his arm as he crouched in front of the woodstove, forcing him to acknowledge her. But when he looked at her, the sadness in his eyes broke her heart.

“I know you’re in there, Tehya,” he said roughly. “I know you can understand me. And I know I shouldn’t say this because you can’t help it, but I miss you.” He took a deep, shuddering breath, and when he spoke again, his voice dripped with pain she felt all the way to her soul. “And you know what I think? I think taking you to MoonBound after you were shot wasn’t as much about saving your life as it was about saving mine.” He gripped her by her scruff and buried his face in her neck, his big body trembling as he held her.

She whimpered, sensing his distress as if it were her own. Probably because it was.

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