Page 7 of Forsaken By Night

But how was he going to react? He knew her only as a wolf. He’d even named her Tehya. She had basically been his pet for twelve years, and now... now she was a vampire. A vampire who had been human until only a month before she shifted into a wolf and couldn’t shift back. A vampire who was in love with a man who knew her only as a canine.

God, how was she going to explain this?

Her stomach contracted sharply, reminding her that she was truly a vampire, and she needed blood. Desperately. But did she dare risk approaching the human campsite by herself? She didn’t know how to hunt or feed. She’d only fed from one human, a sleeping homeless man she’d attacked during the mindless insanity of her transformation. The campers would be healthy, awake, and perhaps even armed.

Worse, something besides hunger was gnawing at her. A need she couldn’t quite identify, one that required blood, but also... something else. A... male?

An instant ache bloomed deep in her chest and in her pelvis at that thought. Of course! If what she’d learned about vampirism was true, it wasn’t human blood she would crave during the new moon phase. She automatically looked up at the sky, but the only celestial body hovering overhead was the sun. Still, her instincts were telling her what she needed.

She needed to feed from a male vampire.

Lobo’s handsome face filled her vision, his glossy black hair pushed away from his neck so a female could feed from his vein. Possessive anger clawed at her the way it always had when she found him with a female from one of the nearby West Coast clans. Even as a wolf with dulled vampire senses and memories, she’d understood that he needed the blood exchanges to survive... but that hadn’t meant she’d liked it.

Cursing, she started toward his cabin. This was going to get interesting.

4

Two days spent with GraveBorn clan’s chief had given Hunter a powerful need for a shot of whiskey and a few hours in bed with Aylin. Ever since the battle involving humans and multiple vampire clans had shifted the balance of power within the vampire community, the clans had been attempting to set aside their differences and build alliances... with Hunter taking on the unofficial role of leader.

But despite the growing call to unite the clans, the process wasn’t an easy one. Too many egos, too much distrust and bad blood, and too many different lifestyles made it nearly impossible to put together a coalition to defeat the humans who had enslaved so many of Hunter’s people.

At least GraveBorn, like MoonBound, followed the Way of the Crow instead of the Way of the Raven, so ideology hadn’t gotten in the way of negotiations. In addition, GraveBorn’s leader knew as well as Hunter did that their ideology was false; they were both aware of the truth behind their origins, and both thought it was bullshit that, with the exception of their mates, they couldn’t reveal it even to their own clan members.

Really, what had caused the most tension between MoonBound and GraveBorn was that Hunter had refused to force one of his warriors to wed the other clan chief’s daughter. For now, though, GraveBorn would support Hunter’s authority and had pledged to fight as part of a united front against humans if—when—the time came.

Hunter was pretty sure that the time would come far too soon.

The entrance to MoonBound’s headquarters was a welcome sight, especially given the timing. Tonight was the new moon, and even though it marked the time of month when females needed to feed, males felt the need like a vibration in the soul. It was an instinct not only to feed, but to provide. It was an instinct so powerful that the moment he and his contingent of warriors stepped inside the safety of MoonBound’s earthen walls, they went their separate ways instead of holding an arrival briefing, with Hunter making a beeline to his quarters to surprise Aylin.

He found her curled up on the sofa reading a book, but she bounded to her feet and threw herself into his arms before he even closed the door.

“Now,thatis a greeting.” He swung her into his arms and spun her as she laughed. Damn, he loved the sweet sound of her voice. He hated being away from her, but until she’d perfected the art of summoning portals, he didn’t want her to accompany him on missions that could potentially be dangerous.

“I’ve missed you,” he said as he set her down and bent to nuzzle her neck.

“Not as much as I missed you,” she said into his ear, her voice dripping with unspoken naughty promises. “But you’ll be happy to know that when I checked on your wolf earlier this morning, she was still alive.”

Frowning, he pulled back and stared down at her. “My... wolf?”

“Well, I know it’s notyourwolf, but she’s hanging on. For such severe injuries, it’s amazing she’s survived this long. Nicole hopes—”

“Aylin.” He shook his head, utterly lost. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“The wolf.” Her smile faltered a little and her brow came down in confusion. “The one you brought to Nicole yesterday.”

“I didn’t bring Nicole a wolf. It must have been someone else.”

She looked at him as if he were crazy. “Isawyou with that wolf’s blood all over you. We talked about it. Don’t you remember?” She reached up and pressed her hand against his forehead as if checking for fever. “Are you okay?”

Washeokay? Aylin was the one who should have her temperature checked. “Aylin, honey, I wasn’t here yesterday. Maybe you had a really vivid dream?”

Shadows flickered in her eyes as her concern for him grew. She probably saw the same shadows in his eyes. “Maybe we should go talk to Nicole.”

“I think that’s a good idea.” What was wrong with her? Maybe opening portals came with side effects. If so, she was never doing that again.

As they walked toward the lab, Aylin’s limp keeping the pace slower than he’d have liked, Hunter watched her warily, and she eyed him with just as much concern. “Aylin, are you sure you saw me yesterday?”

“Not just saw. Touched.” She took his hand, and he found more comfort in that small gesture than anything else she could have done. “I know the feel of your lips on mine, Hunter. I felt you.”

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