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Chapter One
Thevampiredrankdeeply.
She savored the sweet nectar flowing over her tongue. Delighted by the sensation, she nearly purred her appreciation. The hunger in her gut slowly began to abate, bringing with it relief and renewal.
His arms drew around her affectionately, the embrace a side effect of her hold over the human’s malleable mind—and the intimacy that taking blood intrinsically brought. The deed was an inherent act of vulnerability for a mortal, but whether they consciously understood their fate or not, Blair had never stopped to ask.
The human had coiled around her protectively, willing her to drink deeper. Mortals nearly always succumbed to their desires when Blair took their neck. Though the underlying offer was enticing, she stopped drawing sustenance from the twin wounds on his neck.
She’d sated her hunger.
Her razor-sharp incisors retracted, and she absently flickered her tongue across the puncture marks. Any evidence of her blood kiss was erased with the small action. Almost reluctantly, the man relinquished her and, in the blink of an eye, he’d forgotten the entire encounter.
Blair watched while he leisurely strolled away and back into the near-deserted streets of the quaint Wyoming town. Nearing dusk, the brilliant summer sun filtered just over the tops of the building roofs, creating a hazy yellow ambiance that clashed with the darkness of growing shadows.
While Blair appreciated the longer nights of the winter, she’d never liked the cold. Summer heat was far preferable, and she often traveled the globe in search of better weather. It was a tribute to her nomadic nature: her gut began to churn every time she lingered in an area too long.
When the wildness inside yearned for wandering, she appeased the beast.
There was nothing tame about Blair. She’d given in to the feral, undomesticated side of her disposition centuries ago. Trying to be anything other than that was a farce.
Leather bands and beaded bracelets adorned the light cream of her wrists, jingling slightly as she walked back toward the main thoroughfare. She absently stuffed her hands into her jean pockets, the muffled sound of her black flats hitting the cracked pavement.
Gusty summer wind tangled through her golden blonde hair, twisting the strands across her face when she stepped out from the shielding confines of the alleyway. Mostly deserted, the streets were lined with old pickup trucks and rusted cars buttoned alongside one another.
Relatively few people were braving the heat tonight, but it didn’t matter in the scheme of things. With a sputtering cough, a dilapidated pickup truck parked in an open spot just ahead, the plaid-wearing human inside exiting the confines moments later to gaze at the apartment building just ahead.
Sold.
Blair’s suggestion instinctively swarmed into the man’s mind. His casual amble immediately faltered before he turned to face her with such an open optimism that it made her smile.
Given adequate proximity and proper connection, most humans were easy to manipulate with suggestion. The psychic equivalent of a flower attracting bees, the skill came in use when dealing with mortals, especially where feeding was concerned.
Vampires mysteriously stalking their screaming prey down dark alleys with bloodred eyes and dripping red fangs were obnoxiously stereotypical. No vampire drooled their blood like a toddler.
Once Blair had a hold on a human’s mind, they rolled over like a submissive dog waiting for a belly pat, completely under her control. A single mental push could erase short term memories, suggest an action, or influence a mindset.
Though she was naturally talented with suggestion, few vampires practiced manipulation more than she did. Moving from one place to the next and living as she pleased often required her to convince acquaintances to see her way.
Suggestion, however, was only one tool in the vampire’s arsenal.
The jingle of keys jerked her attention back to the male before her. With the build of a linebacker and wearing well-worn jeans that suited his physique, the sandy-haired human gazed longingly into her eyes while her fingers closed around the dangling metal he willingly held out to her.
“Thanks, kiddo. Here’s a few Benjamins for the trouble. It’ll be by the lake,” Blair dismissed, sending him on his way before her impulses got the better of her or he died of heat stroke waiting for her to make up her mind.
Humans were like that.
She stepped off the curb and into the driver’s seat. The cab was still cool, relinquishing the heat that’d settled over her form from her sun-kissed escapades outside.
Blair slid the key into the ignition and the truck grumbled to a start at her bidding. Smoothly accelerating out of the township and into the surrounding countryside, she shifted gears. Tranquility settled over her as she escaped the city, coveting the open air and stark freedom that the rugged mountain terrain offered.
Her mind wandered as she explored the familiar wilderness.
It’d been several months since Lucius, the first fledgling she’d turned immortal, had been held captive. Several months since her progeny had almost succumbed to his wounds following an infernal week of torture that he’d been submitted to while they’d forcibly detained him.
TheCitizens of the Light, a human terrorist group that’d discovered the immortals living amongst them, were hell bent on irradicating all supernatural breeds from the planet.
And they’d begun by attempting to break Lucius. Blair grimaced as memories unwillingly surfaced in her mind. Lucius, lying comatose,had been blinded by his captors, then ruthlessly tortured for days on end. His heart, barely beating, had been savaged by the liquid sunlight they’d pumped into his veins.
