Chapter 1

Aweek later

In the pouring rain, Jacqueline Anderson stalked across the cracked asphalt parking lot to a red brick building where Hunters turned by Vampires Group Therapy was meeting in Dallas, Texas—not that she wanted to go to it at all. No other vehicles were there yet, and she was hoping no one was coming. She had a list of five rogue vampires to eliminate, and she felt this was a total waste of time.

The brick building looked like it had seen better days, the asphalt shingle roof sagging, moss and ivy growing all over the red brick walls, the door needing to be sanded and revarnished. Inside, one of the rooms was serving as the meeting place for the therapy group. She wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her parents and brother forcing her to do this. They were hunters still and they believed after she was bitten and turned, she was living on the edge—taking risks she could ill afford, going after rogues without a hunter partner to back her up, working all hours of the day and night and not taking time to rest. She was a ticking timebomb some hunters said. Rogue vampires had given her the tag that she was the huntress unleashed. Which truthfully, she didn’t mind at all. Though it could make her more of a rogue vampire target.

She considered the look of the building again. She’d learned Anne Struthers had purchased it after she was turned a month ago—the building standing idle after the ring of rogue vampires who had owned it had been terminated thirty years ago and no one had wanted to own the building since, some saying it was cursed.

Jacqueline didn’t believe in curses or ghosts, like she suspected Anne didn’t, and opened the door and headed inside, brushing wet strands of hair off her cheek. She headed down the hall past empty rooms. She stepped into room five and observed the mostly bare walls, a clock hanging on one, but only shadows remained where framed pictures had been removed. Plastic chairs had been hastily thrown together in a circle, so it appeared. It looked like a place for members of an Alcoholic Anonymous group to meet, except that this was a meeting place—first meeting ever for a group of hunters who hunted rogue vampires down for the murderous killing of innocents or turning innocents into vampires so they would be at their beck and call. But these hunters had been turned by such rogue vampires and were now considered hunters turned.

Jacqueline smelled stale coffee, nothing freshly brewing in the coffee pot on a table against one wall. It looked like it had seen better days—grimy, a can of coffee, and a half-crushed box of filters sitting next to it. At least the coffee can wasn’t rusty.

She pulled off her rain jacket on the bleak March day where the sunlight hadn’t shown in four days and wind and rain had sent the temperatures dropping. She wondered what the vampires had used this building for before they were terminated, and the place fell into disrepair.

And where everyone was! She had to be early—always. She glanced at the clock, and it said she was two hours late. She glanced at her watch and sighed. The clock on the wall was wrong. Naturally. She hung her rain jacket on the back of one of the chairs and then did stretches in the form of sword practice.

She heard the main door shut that she’d walked through a little earlier and stiffened. She really didn’t want to be here, exposing her feelings to a bunch of strangers. But they would be like her, wouldn’t they? Their worlds turned upside down because they had viciously been attacked by a rogue vampire and turned.

She listened to the footfalls of the person walking down the hall, like a good hunter always did—on edge, watching for someone to initiate an attack. She couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. If they ended up with hunter turned vampire sponsors, they better be of the same sex. Unless the hunter was gay and then they had to have a sponsor of the opposite sex. That was to keep the therapy on a professional level and for it not to turn into a sexual relationship. At least she hoped it was like AA meetings in that regard.

Not that she’d attended them for herself, but she’d had a human friend who’d needed them for her own sobriety and had told her what the protocol had been.

A woman walked into the room looking wetter and more haggard than Jacqueline even. She was about thirty, her curly blond hair hanging over her shoulders, wet, spots of water on her raincoat. She was wearing nice slacks, boots, and when she pulled off her coat, a sweater featuring a butterfly. “Sorry. I’m Anne Struthers. I set this group up and didn’t mean to be late. Six others are coming, but one is having trouble finding a sitter for her baby girl. One is on a job on Sixteenth Street”—which meant she or he was probably tracking a rogue vampire—“and said he would be here if he finished the job before the meeting was over. The others, I’m not sure about. I wasn’t able to get a hold of them to confirm they were coming.”

“You organized this?”

“Yeah. You know how it is for things like this. It’s all so new. We’re the first group like it in all of Texas. It might be a while before we get real active participation. I’m excited about it. Though I can see how most might feel reluctant to share their stories. At least at first. So what do you want to do? Have a one-on-one meeting between us and if others show up late, they can join in? Or should we skip it and try for next week when more can come?”

In truth, Jacqueline was ready to keep her story to herself. Most likely no one could think her story was all that traumatic. She did like Anne though. She was outgoing and organized. Jacqueline admired her for it. And she felt she owed it to Anne for setting up the meeting in the first place. Maybe Jacqueline would feel better if she spoke with someone who was like her now.

“We can have the meeting, just you and I.” Then it wouldn’t be a wasted trip out here. The five vampires that she needed to track down were on the other side of town so she wasn’t even close to where she needed to be. And she needed to do it before they learned she was the one hired to take them down. At least they were individuals, not working together in their criminal enterprises.

“Sure, great. Let’s take a seat then. Okay, so unless you want to talk, I’ll go first,” Anne said.

“Yeah, sure, go ahead.” With just the two of them there, Jacqueline felt more comfortable with the notion of sharing how she was feeling about all the changes in her life. But then she wondered about the huntress and her baby. “Oh, what’s the situation with the woman with the baby? Had the mother been turned while she was pregnant? Is the baby a mix of hunter and vampire, or just a hunter, if born before the mother was turned?”

“Doreen’s baby was born before she was turned. The baby is nearly a year old. So the baby is a hunter, not a vampire mix.”

“Wow, that’s scary.”

“Yeah. She said when her daughter is an adult, it would be her choice if she wanted to be turned or remain a hunter.”

“Oh, sure.” Jacqueline just couldn’t imagine a situation like that. “What about the baby’s daddy?”

“He’s out of the picture.”

Maybe if he hadn’t been “out of the picture,” the huntress wouldn’t have been turned.

Jacqueline and Anne took seats opposite each other, but then heard footfalls headed their way.

Jacqueline let out her breath in annoyance. Just when she was feeling like she could do this, when she normally wasn’t afraid of anything, more participants would be listening in.

“Looks like some more folks found us,” Anne said, sounding cheerful.

A woman was saying to the other person, “Well, I know what you’ve been doing.”

A man laughed. He had a lovely, deep laugh that sent a whisper of a thrill up Jacqueline’s spine, which annoyed her. Hadn’t she gone through enough of an ordeal with her ex-fiancé? She wasn’t about to show any interest in a man after that had happened. She had enough to deal with now that she was a vampire and a hunter.

The young woman came bouncing through the doorway first and smiled. She was a pretty brunette, dark brown eyes, tall, model-like, in good shape, perfect for fighting vampires. “Oh, good, we’re not too late. I’m glad I didn’t skip the meeting since just the two of you showed up. I’m Stacey.”

“Welcome, Stacey. I’m Anne.”

“I’m Jacqueline.” She couldn’t help that she didn’t sound enthusiastic to greet the newcomer.

Then a dark-haired man of about thirty walked in with a limp, wearing a shredded shirt, where he’d been clawed—most likely by a rogue vampire—blood on his black button-down collared shirt, but the man’s cuts appeared like they had mostly healed. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to change. I’m Dane.” He had a wet rain jacket slung over his shoulder, wearing cargo pants and boots meant to fight in.

“You could just remove the bloody shirt, if anyone’s bothered by the blood,” Stacey said, giving him a sexy smile.

He cast her one back.

“It would be fine with me,” Anne said, winking at him.

Jacqueline hoped he wouldn’t hear her heart beating triple time at the sight of him. He was gorgeous. All six-foot, one of him. He appeared to already have an admirer in Stacey, and Anne was smiling just as brightly at him. He appeared to be alpha to the max.

“What about you?” he asked Jacqueline.

“It’s your call.” But Jacqueline didn’t smile or wink at him. She gave him more of an evil eye, annoyed he would even ask her as if she cared one way or another. She wasn’t interested in getting to know him beyond these meetings and maybe not even here.

“Who did you fight, and did you take him or her down?” Stacey asked.

This wasn’t supposed to be a “show and tell” about taking down rogue vampires!

“Astrophel, and yeah, he’s terminated,” Dane said.

Jacqueline’s jaw dropped. That was one of the men she was after! Hunters were hired to take down rogue vampires and she didn’t think a ton of other hunters were searching for him. Though she was exaggerating, but still…

Dane noticed Jacqueline’s reaction right away. “Uh, were you after him too?”

“Yeah. He was on my list.”

Dane nodded. “I was told there were four hunters hired to take him down because he was so…slippery and difficult to eliminate.”

She wasn’t told that other hunters had been tasked to take Astrophel down. From now on, she would ask to make sure that there weren’t a ton of other hunters trying to eliminate the same person. It was a waste of her time. Then she got a notice on her phone, and she checked it. The police force who had hired her notified her Astrophel was dead and they no longer needed her services. Great. She shoved her phone back in her pocket.

“Well, that’s great that you terminated him,” Stacey said, all smiles.

“Yeah, he was bad news.” Dane ran his hand through his wet hair.

“Okay, so we had four others who contacted me that they were coming. But they might not be showing up,” Anne said, “so we’ll get on with the meeting. Unless someone else wants to start, I’ll go first.”

“Sure, that sounds good,” Stacey said.

Dane agreed and glanced at Jacqueline, but she had already agreed that Anne was going first, and she didn’t feel she needed to do it again.

Anne said, “Okay, so like all of you, I was turned by a rogue vampire. Before I could kill him, he bit me and forced me to drink his blood. I was his to control. A hunter friend killed him thankfully, and I was free of the vampire’s will. Not only did I have issues with myself for being too slow in killing him, I hated the changes in me—the need for blood, that I was one of them and no longer strictly a hunter—I also hated the looks of sympathy from friends and family, who felt sorry for what I had become.”

“But don’t you love being able to vanish like vampires do? To be able to fly and leap into the air to fight? I love being able to do that,” Stacey said.

Then why was Stacey here if she was so happy with her life? This was a place to talk about their ordeals with dealing with this, not the wonders of being vampires. Jacqueline wanted to shake her head but caught herself before she did.

“I have to admit I enjoy the new feats I have. It has helped me to take down rogue vampires,” Anne said.

Jacqueline was ready to leave.

“What about anyone else? Does anyone want to tell us your story of how you were turned or the effect it has had on you?” Anne asked.

Stacey held up her hand as if she had to ask the teacher permission. “I do. Okay, so I was making out with this guy, and I didn’t even know he was a vampire.”

Jacqueline rolled her eyes, and wouldn’t you know, Dane caught her at it. He gave her a smidgeon of a smile.

Then Stacey said, “Anyway when he showed his fangs, I knew it was too late. I had my folded sword with my clothes on the floor beside the bed?—”

Way too much information…

“But I couldn’t reach it. I was furious when he bit me when I had thought he was just human. Then, as everyone knows, I couldn’t end his miserable life because he’d turned me. I ended up finally getting away from him. He knew he could let me go and call me to him anytime he wanted. But my brother came for him and ended him. Then I was free of the vampire’s control.”

“How do you feel about being turned?” Anne asked.

Other than great things, Jacqueline thought.

“Well, no one understands me. I mean my hunter friends and family,” Stacey said. “But what do they know?”

Anne nodded. “Do you want to go next, Jacqueline?”

Jacqueline motioned to Dane. “He can go next.”

“I was turned by a female rogue vampire.”

Oh, God, like Stacey was making love to a male vampire rogue, except he was fooling around with a female? Jacqueline didn’t want to hear about it.

“Yeah. I believed she was alone. In fact, a blood bond had told me she always went after homeless men alone, which made us believe she didn’t want any witnesses. But truly, I believe I was set up.”

“By the blood bond? Maybe the vampiress knew you were targeting her. Or maybe a hunter had it in for you?” Jacqueline asked, then chastised herself for wanting to know. But if she had been set up by either, they would be on her assassination list.

Dane smiled at her, but this time his smile had taken on a slightly sinister tone. “I’m still trying to learn the truth. Anyway, the vampiress had four male vampires with her. I wasn’t prepared to have to fight that many. I’m ashamed to say she got the best of me and turned me. But I was lucky my three brothers had been looking for me, were close by, and they came to my aid and killed the vampiress and the other two vampires. Not that my brothers didn’t have some choice words to say to me about going to fight the rogue vampire on my own,” Dane said.

Okay, so at least he was humble enough to tell his story and he hadn’t been making love to a rogue vampire when he was turned.

Everyone looked at Jacqueline, waiting for her to tell her story. She didn’t want to share, but she took a deep breath and let it out. “I was turned during a fight with a vampire where I lost control, like others have said here. My fiancé was furious with me when he learned I was turned. He dumped me and started dating my best friend, a huntress I had known since we were five. My parents are sad about it and can’t deal with it. I can’t be around them. They…make me uncomfortable. I make them just as uncomfortable. My brother hasn’t spoken to me since it happened except for telling me, along with my parents, to get some therapy. And my hunter friends that I’ve known for years no longer want to be around me. Yeah, sure, some of the vampire skills are handy to have, but it has changed everything for me. And not in a great way.” There, she said it. She wasn’t going to sugarcoat the way she felt.

* * *

Dane was impressedwith Jacqueline for having shared her story. He could see how reluctant she’d been to do so. Him? He figured it was the only way to heal from the trauma and the whole change-to-their-lives aspect. He was fortunate his brothers were behind him all the way. Of course, they were angry with him for going off alone to fight, but he’d had his reasons. Still, he felt a hunter might have even been responsible for setting him up, if Lucilla hadn’t lied to him about it. He still couldn’t believe someone close to him could have been involved in his downfall either. He needed proof though. Which is why he didn’t mention at the meeting any names or that a hunter and someone close to him might be responsible. It would be irresponsible to out any hunter who might not have been involved in any kind of shenanigans. He hadn’t even mentioned it to his brothers who would be sure to take down a hunter or two if they believed their actions had led Dane to have his current vampiric condition.

He couldn’t believe Stacey had sex with a guy she thought was human and turned out to be a rogue vampire though. That was one for the books. At least Anne and Jacqueline had both opened up more about how they truly felt about being hunters turned vampires. He wasn’t really able to do that yet. Maybe in the future.

He had wanted to change out of his bloody shirt before he came into the meeting, but he hadn’t had a spare one with him and if he’d returned home to do so, he wouldn’t have made it back in time for the meeting. As it was, he was a quarter of an hour late. Besides, he figured whoever was there would be used to seeing someone after a fight with vampires. He really thought some other men would be here too, so he felt a little uncomfortable that he was the only male here who had been turned. Maybe in the future, they would have more men in the meeting. Though being with all the ladies had been a boost to his ego when he’d kind of needed it.

He still couldn’t quite figure out Jacqueline. She was a gorgeous redhead with penetrating blue eyes. She looked like she could fight most any rogue vampire without any problem.

Anne and Stacey were intrigued with him. Jacqueline seemed to be immune to him—in a way—like she was trying really hard to not show she was interested in him. Maybe. Perhaps he was seeing things into it that were not truly there.

That was one of the problems he was having with being both a hunter and a vampire. He couldn’t quite figure out his place in the world, so he was glad that some of the women who were in the same boat as him seemed to think he was all right. Like Jacqueline, he’d been engaged to be married and that went out the door as soon as his fiancée learned he had been turned. She might have come back to him in time when she realized he hadn’t changed all that much, but her parents were dead set on him never showing up on their doorstep again. Period. And she was close to her parents, so it was a foregone conclusion marrying her wasn’t a viable option any longer.

“Well, if no one has anything else to add,” Anne said, “we’ll meet the same time next week, and I’ll be sure to bring a new coffee pot, coffee, and filters. Oh, and I’ve shared everyone’s emails and phone numbers with everyone else so we can do group chats or individual chats if anyone is in need of an understanding ear.” Anne was a pretty woman who was in great shape and probably could take most of the rogue vampires out that she had to fight. She was a vibrant brunette with dark chocolate eyes, and he was glad she had organized the group.

“Thanks,” Dane said.

Stacey and Jacqueline also thanked her, and then Stacey rose from her seat, waiting for Dane to stand and walk out with her. Dane stood, but he wasn’t leaving yet. He knew Stacey was hoping to make a deeper connection with him. She was a lovely dark-haired woman with soft green bedroom eyes, but he wasn’t biting.

Jacqueline was still sitting, and he suspected she wanted them to leave before she did so she could avoid talking to them. Finally, Jacqueline let out her breath and said, “Night, all. See you next week.” She rose from her chair suddenly and stalked off.

“Until next week,” Dane said, and found himself inexplicably trying to catch up to Jacqueline.

Stacey hurried after him, and Anne closed the door to the meeting room and followed the rest of them out. Jacqueline suddenly vanished, surprising him.

“Don’t you hate it when they do that?” Stacey asked, catching up to Dane and taking hold of his arm.

He was not into women who forced themselves on him. Though, as he left the building and saw Jacqueline driving off in a black sedan, he wasn’t used to women fleeing from him either. He smiled. He had every intention of getting to know her better. She was a challenge and a puzzle, and he loved managing both.

“So do you have anything going on tonight?” Stacey asked him as he pulled his arm free of her hand.

“Yeah, sleep. I’ve been busy the last few days and if I’m going to continue doing my job, I’ve got to get some rest.” Would he have said that to Jacqueline had she asked him the same question? No way in hell. He would have had a cup of coffee with her, though he guessed that wouldn’t have been a great option the way he was dressed right now.

“Oh, yeah, me too. But you know you can call me or email me, text me, whatever, any time,” Stacey said.

Anne locked the door behind her to the building and said, “We need to do group emails, no dating between males and females. Unless one of you is gay and then you can share chats and the like. But no romantic involvements while we’re trying to sort out our feelings.”

Stacey looked at Dane as if she was hoping he would tell Anne that he wouldn’t go along with it.

He smiled. “Yeah, Anne’s right. If a guy joins the group, I can meet up with him to discuss how I’m feeling and vice versa. Unless he’s gay and then Stacey can talk to him.”

Stacey shrugged, then got into her chartreuse-colored, Flower Power VW Bug. She smiled and waved at him and drove off.

Anne just smiled and got into her Jeep. “See you next week.”

“Unless I’m fighting evil, I’ll be here.” He got into his black pickup and followed them off the parking lot, thinking maybe this therapy group wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all. Of course, as soon as he was in his vehicle, he swore his brothers knew it and one of his middle brothers Ryan called him right away.

“So, how did it go?”

“Better than I expected. It’s kind of too early to tell.”

“How many showed up?” Ryan asked.

“There were only four of us. The other three were women.” All three were damned attractive too and none of them appeared to have any mates.

“Bummer,” Ryan said, sounding facetious.

Dane knew he was thinking he had all the luck. But really, all of them had issues, so it wasn’t like they were all there to get together for fun. Well, maybe Stacey was. Anne seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. All four of them seemed to be about the same age. But Jacqueline was the one who really intrigued him. Go figure.