Midnight Awakening (Midnight Breed 3)

Tess shook her head as she ran her hands under the counter tap and scrubbed up. Love betrayed him once. That's what left him the way he is now. I don't think he'll let anyone get that close again. All he's living for is to get back out in the field with the other warriors. Dante and I are trying to convince him to take things slowly, but when you try to slow Rio down, he only pushes harder. In some small way, Elise could relate to the warrior's determined need to take action, even if only in the name of revenge. She was driven by a similar need and, like Rio, hearing others advise her to step back didn't make the need burn any less.

From outside the infirmary room came the soft gait of female footsteps, accompanied by the quick, rhythmic click of a four-footed companion. Savannah and a perky brown terrier appeared in the doorway. Gideon's pretty Breedmate offered Elise a warm smile. All set here?

We've just wrapped up, Tess said, drying her hands with a paper towel and bending down to scratch the chin of the little dog who quite obviously adored her. The mutt jumped all over her, showering Tess with wet kisses.

Savannah came in and carefully ran her fingers over Elise's healed arm. Good as new. Amazing, isn't she?

You're all amazing, Elise answered, meaning it totally.

She'd met Savannah and Gabrielle a short while before, when both women had come down to check on her soon after her arrival at the compound. Savannah with her gorgeous mocha complexion and velvet brown eyes, had instantly made Elise feel at home with her gentle, caring demeanor. Gabrielle was sweet as well, a ginger- haired beauty who seemed wise beyond her years. And then there was pretty, quiet Tess, who'd taken care of Elise as compassionately as she might her own kin.

Elise felt humbled before them all. Having been raised in the Darkhavens, where the warriors of the Order were considered at best to be an antiquated, dangerous faction within the vampire race--at worst, a deadly gang exercising vigilante justice--it was surprising to meet the intelligent, kind women who'd taken members of the Order as their mates. She couldn't see any one of these women binding herself to anything less than a male of honor and integrity. They were too smart for that, too confident in themselves.

Surprisingly, they seemed so pleasant and warm, not unlike the Darkhaven females Elise considered her friends.

Since you're finished here, why don't both of you come with me? Savannah said, breaking into Elise's thoughts. Gabrielle and I just made some sandwiches and a fruit salad. You must be hungry, Elise.

I am...or at least, I should be, she admitted quietly. It had been several hours since she'd eaten and her body felt depleted, in need of nourishment, but the idea of food held little appeal. Everything tasted bland, even the things she used to enjoy when Quentin was alive.

How long has it been for you, Elise? Savannah's tone was cautious, concerned. I've heard that you lost your mate about five years ago...outh, Tegan thought. He held the curious journal under his arm, but ancient protocol made him hesitant to discuss potentially disturbing Order business in front of a female. It did not escape his notice that instead of getting up from the room or requesting privacy from Gabrielle, Lucan reached out to take her hand in his. The slight nod he gave her as she sat back down beside him was one of respect and solidarity.

The statement was clear: they were a unit, and while Lucan would walk through fire to protect her, the venerable warrior kept no secrets from her. No doubt the female would have it no other way.

It had been like that between the couple from the day she arrived at the compound as Lucan's mate. The same could be said of Gideon and Savannah, who were paired more than thirty years and an equally solid match. Dante and Tess were two halves of one whole as well, though they had only been together a few short months. Breedmates had their freedoms, even those bonded to members of the Order, but there wasn't a male among the entire vampire nation who would stand by and condone what Elise had been doing the past few months she'd been living topside. What she intended to keep on doing, even if it killed her.

Tell me what this is about, Lucan said, indicating for Tegan to come into the library chamber. Gideon said you phoned in that you were with an injured Darkhaven female.

Tegan arched a brow in acknowledgment. Elise Chase. No longer of the Darkhavens, as it turns out.

She left?

After the death of her son. She's been living in the city by herself.

Jesus. What happened to her tonight?

Tegan smirked, still disbelieving the woman's tenacity. She attracted some unwanted attention from the Rogues. They came gunning for her at her apartment.

He left out the fact that one of the bastards got to her before he could stop it. The thought still burned in him, self-directed anger seething beneath his cool veneer.

Gabrielle frowned. What would they want with Elise?

This. Tegan held the book out and Lucan took it, scowling as he touched the faded tooling on the aged cover, then flipped through some of the yellowed pages. It was waiting for overnight pickup by a Minion. Somebody was in a big rush to have it.

Lucan's look was grave. No question as to who the somebody was.

And the Darkhaven woman?

She intercepted it. Christ. What about Marek's human mule?

The Minion is dead, Tegan stated simply. Marek must have gotten wind of that fact and unleashed his hounds to retrieve the book. It would have been easy enough to track down Elise from the store's closed-circuit feed.

What is it, some kind of diary? Gabrielle asked, peering past Lucan at the fanning pages.

Appears to be, Tegan said. Apparently it belonged to a family named Odolf. You ever hear of them, Lucan?

The vampire shook his dark head as he ran through the journal again. Before Tegan could direct him to the disturbing symbol at the back of the text, Lucan flipped to the page himself. As soon as his eye lit upon the hand-drawn dermaglyphic marking, he muttered a curse. Holy hell. Is this what I think it is?

Tegan gave a grim nod. No doubt you recognize the pattern.