The Hybrid Rule

THE GREY WOLVES SERIES

BOOK EIGHTEEN

QUINN LOFTIS

Contents

Grey Wolves Series Reading Order

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Epilogue

Wolf Divided

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Quinn’s Bookshelf

Grey Wolves Series Reading Order

To maintain chronological order, the Grey Wolves Series and the Gypsy Healers Series should be read in the following order:

GWS - Grey Wolves Series;

GHS - Gypsy Healer Series

GWS: Book 1, Prince of Wolves

GWS: Book 2, Blood Rites

GWS: Book 3, Just One Drop

GWS: Book 4, Out of the Dark

GWS: Book 5, Beyond the Veil

GWS: Book 6, Fate and Fury

GWS: Book 7, Sacrifice of Love

GWS: Novella 4, Sacred Silence

GWS: Novella 2, Resounding Silence

GWS: Book 8, Luna Mine

GHS: Book 1, Into the Fae

GHS: Book 2, Wolf of Stone

GWS: Novella 1, Piercing Silence

GHS: Book 3, Jewel of Darkness

GWS: Book 9, Den of Sorrows

GWS: Book 10, The Burning Claw

GHS: Book 4, Wolves of Wrath

GWS: Novella 3, Forgotten Silence

GWS: Book 11, Tears of the Moon

GHS: Book 5, Wolf of Sight

GWS: Book 12, Alpha Rising

GWS: Book 13, The Warlock Queen

GWS: Book 14, A Grey Wolves Howliday

GWS: Book 15, The Wolves Descend

GWS: Book 16, The Hunt Begins

GWS: Book 17, Reign of Blood

GWS: Book 18, The Hybrid Rule

Prologue

“You live your whole life being told that one day you will meet the one that was made specifically for you. You live with this hope inside of you even as the darkness grows daily. To combat the darkness, you continually remind yourself there is a light at the end of the tunnel. But then you reach the end of the tunnel, and instead of seeing the light, you hit a brick wall. Not only do you hit the wall, but you slam into it with the force of a dump truck.” ~Finn

“What do you look like?” Lizzy asked the voice in her mind. She rolled her head from shoulder to shoulder, trying to stretch her neck. Lizzy had grown stiff sitting on the cold linoleum floor. Her captor hadn’t even bothered to lock her in a furnished room. She leaned with her back and head against the wall, trying to find a position that, if not comfortable, didn’t cause her muscles to ache. At some point, she had stopped counting the days. Vampires came and went, bringing food and escorting her to the bathroom. Time had little meaning when nothing changed, and no one would give her any information as to how long or why she was being held prisoner.

The worst part was she had come willingly. Looking back, she cursed herself for how stupid she had been, how easily she’d been manipulated. Now she knew the truth. Well, she knew some of the truth. The problem was the truth was too unbelievable to believe. Vampires, werewolves, hybrids, and true mates? Strange men speaking into her mind. I am so confused. Lizzy didn’t know what to believe.

“Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.” Finn’s voice intruded on her inner ramblings. Lizzy had forgotten she’d even asked him a question. Since she had regained consciousness, Lizzy’s thoughts were jumping all over the place.

“Seems like it,” she said. “But who knows how long I would have laid there on the gurney in that catatonic state if you hadn’t come along?”

What was happening to Lizzy was almost too strange to describe. Apparently, Finn, who claimed to be her true mate, was somehow bonded to her. And he had used that bond to break into her mind. Since he’d done so, Cain had been unable to put her back to sleep. No matter how many drugs his goofy scientist boy tried to put into her, Lizzy’s body fought off their effects. Finn told her he was using the mate bond to give her some of his strength. Lizzy couldn’t begin to understand how it worked, but this whole mate-bond thing was proving to be quite useful. Cain was pissed about it, which was the most advantageous benefit, and the memory of the vampire’s frustrated cursings caused her to smile.

“Has he come to see you again?” Finn’s voice was all growly. The sound in her mind made Lizzy smile, though after Cain’s first visit, Lizzy had been forced to figure out a way to block the wolf from her thoughts. As soon as Cain had entered her room, Finn had gone into a tizzy of epic proportions. Lizzy had found the tirade charming but also distracting. She hadn’t been able to concentrate with Finn screaming obscenities at the vampire, especially when only she could hear them. Maybe she shouldn’t get a kick out of the fact that this man she’d never met was so protective and jealous of her. But hey, what girl doesn’t want a man to be jealous of her? And not jealous as in “I own your body, and only I’m allowed to sell it” sort of way. But jealous in an “I want to protect you with my dying breath, and anyone who gets in the way of me doing that will die” sort of way. Maybe jealousy wasn’t exactly the best way to describe it. She lifted her hand and tapped her chin.

“Possessive, protective, and yes”—Finn chuckled—“maybe a little jealous.”

“A little?”

“He’s gotten to lay eyes on you more than once. And you were asleep when I saw you. So, I guess it is more than a little.”

“Hmm.” She nodded. “Well, I haven’t gotten to lay eyes on you even once. So, I’ll ask you again. What do you look like?”

Lizzy could feel Finn’s irritation at the question, but she didn’t understand it. Instead of pushing for an answer, she simply waited. A few minutes passed, and then the image of a man suddenly filled her mind—an attractive man. “Whoa.” Her brow rose even as she kept her eyes closed and focused on the image he was projecting into her mind. His hair was dark auburn, and he was rocking that messy but sexy look. His eyes were dark and rimmed in black, making him appear as if he was wearing eyeliner. Finn had a straight nose and an auburn beard and mustache that he wore close to his face, allowing her to see a strong jaw and thin lips. All in all, he was hot.

“It’s the last picture I saw of myself, that’s probably better than trying to describe myself to you.”

“Uh-huh.” She studied the image. Finn was standing beside a truck. He was muscular and tall but not massively large as she imagined werewolves to be courtesy of television and movies.

“I’m six feet. Not that tall among my kind.”

“Okay, ‘not that tall.’ I’m a foot shorter. Nice to meet you,” she said dryly. “You’ve kind of got a rocker vibe going on. Though the auburn hair wasn’t what I pictured, at least not from your voice. I was thinking burly lumberjack, and I pictured you a little older. The auburn hair makes me think of a penny. Not like an old rustic penny, but instead you’re more of a semi-new, still a little shiny penny.” What the hell was she going on about? A penny, Lizzy, really? Okay, so maybe his unexpected good looks were throwing her off her game. Not that she had any game.

“How old are you, Lizzy?”

Thankfully, he threw her a lifeline. “Uh, nineteen.” Relief flowed through the bond. Then she laughed hysterically. Maybe it was tasteless to laugh at this man who had pledged to love and protect her, but Lizzy was being held captive by a vampire because she apparently had werewolf blood flowing through her veins. At this point, how was she supposed to know how to act? “Were you worried that you were mated to jailbait?”

“No.” She felt a hint of hesitancy in his answer. “Our bond wouldn’t have connected if you weren’t of the appropriate age.”

She frowned. “Who determines the appropriate age? A couple hundred years ago, it wasn’t uncommon for someone my age to not only be married but have a house full of kids.”

“The Great Luna.” He said the name with reverence. “Our creator. She determines the time for a true-mate pair to join.”

Lizzy didn’t really know how she felt about that. Not because she didn’t believe there was some sort of creator out there, but if there was, then why hadn’t they cared about her? If there was someone—a God, this Great Luna, or whoever had apparently created her and Finn— who had destined them to be together like some great love story, then why had this Being allowed Lizzy to live through nineteen years of hell on earth to get to this point in her life? Lizzy took in the bare walls and dirty floor surrounding her and  laughed out loud again. “What point in her life was she talking about?” she asked the empty room. “I’m not exactly living my best life here.” She laughed harder, almost hysterically, imagining all the crap she’d been through, everything she had survived, only to end up trapped in a six-by-six room, waiting for the king of all vampires to turn her into a werewolf-vampire hybrid. “Holy crap.” Lizzy huffed and grabbed her stomach. Her muscles clenched, partially from laughing and partially from hunger. She had refused the last two meals the vamps had offered her. “I guess I should be honored. Look at me. I’m special. Woo-hoo.” She rolled her eyes and slumped back against the wall.

“Why won’t you eat?” At least this time, he didn’t growl at her. Spoke too soon, she thought, as a snarl came through the bond.

“I’ve already told you. The food could be poisoned.”

She could practically feel him shaking his head. “And I’ve already told you, he wants you alive. He’s not going to poison you. Why would he poison you if he is planning on turning you into a hybrid? And if he wanted to kill you, he could obviously do it without poison.” A mixture of fear and rage came through the bond with Finn’s last statement.

“Even still, best not to take chances. He could change his mind at any minute and decide I’m better off dead. And yes, I’m always this hardheaded,” she said before he could ask her, because she knew he would. They’d talked so much since he’d woken her up that she felt like she knew what he was going to say. Or maybe it was because she could feel what he was feeling. Finn was like an open book. “So, Linc, how old are you?”

“Linc?”

The wariness in his voice made her smile. “Yeah, like Lincoln, cuz you’re a not-so-old penny. Remember?”

She felt his humor through the bond, which was what she’d wanted. Anything to keep him distracted. She’d realized Finn had a tendency to get cranky when he focused on things like her refusal to eat or her periodic visits from the vampire king.

“I’m…” He paused as if he had to think about the question.

“Dude, red flags are going off in my head if you’re having to think about this answer.”

“I’m not trying to lie about my age. I’m just—”

Lizzy blew out a breath. “Good. For a minute, I was thinking you’re like some really old dude who just happens to be hot and looks younger than his actual age. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. You know, I mean, to each their own. Cougars and silver foxes need love, too.”

“You think I’m hot?”

Lizzy rolled her eyes. “I think you know the answer to that question. So, either you’re actually humble or you’re a narcissist looking for compliments. Please don’t be a narcissist. I’ve never thought I could be capable of murder, but after some dealings of the narcissistic variety, I am now completely confident I could kill some of the narcissists I’ve run across. And I’m talking premeditated, first-degree, not that weak little manslaughter crap.”

“I think we all have a little bit of narcissism in us.” Finn’s deep voice rumbled in her mind. “But I don’t think my ego is any bigger than the next wolf’s. The reason I had to think about my age is because Canis lupus age differently than humans.”

Lizzy’s eyes snapped open. She didn’t even flinch at the bright fluorescent lights that glared off the white walls. “Age differently how?”

“We age one year for every six human years. But I’ve noticed that our aging slows down even more once we’ve bonded with our true mate.”

“Oh, so that makes you almost, but not quite, as cool as a dog.”

She heard Finn scoff in her mind. “I’m sorry, did you just say I’m not quite as cool as a dog?”

“Yeah, you age six years for every one of our years. Instead of a dog, which is seven years for every one of ours. So, you are almost as good. It’s okay. Not many people are as good as dogs. I learned that a long time ago.”

“Okay, with the exception of the bit about dogs being better than humans, everything you just said is wrong.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Why?”

She felt him sigh, as if her hand was lying on his chest. She could literally sense the rise and fall like a physical sensation. “Well, first, while dogs are awesome, they can’t speak into your mind like I can. Which makes me cooler. And second—”

Lizzy held up a hand, though no one was around to see it. “Hold on. I’ve never owned a dog. Growing up without a home tends to preclude pet ownership. But I’ve met a ton of them, and I’ve known some pretty intuitive dogs. It certainly felt like they could read my mind. And I felt like I knew exactly what they were thinking.”

She could tell Finn was nodding. “Okay, I’ll give you that one. But still, the rest of what you said was wrong. To begin with, you are not human. So you might as well quit thinking of yourself as one.”

Lizzy gulped. I’m not human. Then what the hell am I? A dormant Canis lupus. Even after all she’d seen, Lizzy was still having trouble wrapping her head around it.

“And your math is off. You’re thinking I age six years while a human ages one. Actually, I age one year while a human ages six.

“And that makes you…?”

“Um, I guess I would be twenty-five in human years.”

“And in werewolf years?”

“That would put me about a hundred and fifty.”

“Oh. I see.” A host of thoughts assaulted Lizzy’s mind. Talk about an age gap. Older men weren’t necessarily her type—not that she had a type. And Finn certainly didn’t look like he was a hundred and fifty. So, I guess it’s not a big deal. But then her mind jumped to the fact that she’d known guys who were actually twenty-five instead of a hundred and fifty. And they had been around the proverbial female block way, way too many times. What did that mean for a man who’d been alive for so long? He must have been around the block, the neighborhood, the city, the whole freaking state. Is this jealousy I’m feeling? What the hell?

“Canis lupus do not seek out females other than our true mates,” he said quickly, having picked up on her racing thoughts.

“Sorry, my copper-headed suitor, but I’m not buying that. Apparently, I’m a dormant-wolf thingie, which means I can only exist if a full-blooded Canis lupus had relations with a human. And from what I understand, which I admit is very little, Canis lupus and humans cannot be true mates. So someone, somewhere along the way, dipped into a cookie jar that didn’t belong to his true mate … or her true mate, I guess. I don’t want to be sexist and just assume it was the male wolfie who was doing the fornicating outside of matehood.” Lizzy didn’t like the fact that jealousy made her blood boil at the idea of Finn putting his hands on another female, especially when she’d not so much as laid her physical eyes on him. Regardless of this true-mate bond he said was between them, she didn’t have any sort of claim on him, or at least she didn’t feel like she did.

He growled again.

“You’ve got to get that stuff under control. You can’t just go around growling.”

“You have a lot to learn about Canis lupus. There will be much growling. And I’m not going around anywhere,” he snapped. “I’m sitting in a box, unable to get to you. My wolf is going stir-crazy because we cannot be by your side. We cannot keep you safe, and that is making us both a little irritable.”

She snorted. “A little?”

“Harrumph.” He huffed like a child who’d been told he couldn’t have his favorite toy.

Lizzy’s butt grew numb. She rolled over and laid on her stomach, propping her chin on the palms of her hands. “How about we talk about something that takes your mind off what’s making you cranky?”

“Nothing is going to take my mind off you being the prisoner of a bloodsucker.”

“Well—” Lizzy began, but then the door to her cell opened, cutting off the thought. She turned her head and saw a woman step into the room. The newcomer raised her hands in a placating gesture.

“Lizzy…” Finn snarled.

She slammed the visual walls down in her mind, knowing he would lose his crap, which meant he’d attempt to destroy the room he was in, which only resulted in him getting hurt.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” the woman said. “My name is Alice.”

Lizzy rolled onto her backside and took in the woman’s appearance. The visitor was dressed in black slacks, a blue silk shirt, and a white lab coat. Lizzy narrowed her eyes in an effort to hopefully see past the lie the woman spewed. “Alice, huh? Does that make Cain the mad hatter and that other goofy scientist the Cheshire cat?”

Alice’s lips twitched. “I’m sure it must feel as if you’ve fallen down a rabbit hole.”

Lizzy shook her head. “No. I’ve tripped on acid before.” She held up her hand. “Mind you, not by choice. So, I know what it feels like to fall down a rabbit hole. This is a whole new level of Wonderland. Like instead of the queen of hearts being all ‘off with their heads,’ she’s like ‘chomp, chomp on their necks.’”

Alice smirked and slipped her hands into her lab coat pockets. “It’s not quite that dramatic.”

Lizzy’s brow rose. “Really? So, Cain doesn’t want to stick a straw in me and slurp on me like I’m the best frozen smoothie he’s ever tasted?”

Something flashed in the woman’s eyes. Did Lizzy see guilt there?

Alice shook her head. “No, Cain doesn’t want to drink you like a smoothie. He wants to put vampire blood into your system, along with my blood.”

“One of the first things you learn on the streets, Alice, is that you don’t exchange bodily fluids unless you want to end up with a killer STD. I don’t think vampire blood is an exception. Hard pass.”

Alice coughed, seemingly unsure as to what to do with the prisoner’s frankness. Lizzy shrugged. Why should she be polite to her captors?

After a few moments, the woman said. “I genuinely don’t want this to be difficult, Lizzy. The process will not hurt. And believe it or not, the transfusion will be very beneficial to you. Consider it a step up in the evolution cycle, but on a much quicker schedule.”

Lizzy shifted into a cross-legged position. “Well, I’m not entirely sure I believe in evolution, Little Alice. In fact, I don’t know what I believe, exactly. But I’ve been finding out some really interesting things lately. Things sound a whole lot more like the truth than the BS Cain has been trying to sell me. So, no, I think I’m perfectly fine with the blood God gave me. Thank you very much. Find some other sucker to inject your blood into. Ha, see what I did there? Sucker? That pun was not intended.”

The woman grunted. “So, you want to go back to the streets?” Alice’s voice was incredulous. “You want to go back to trying to hide from pimps, drug dealers, and the other street people who were constantly trying to steal your cardboard sleeping box?”

Lizzy rolled her eyes. “I didn’t sleep in a box. I’m not a freaking animal. It was a large plastic bin I found in a dumpster. That’s like comparing a trailer to a mansion. Believe it or not, sometimes, I had furniture. That’s more than I can say for this place.”

The scientist didn’t look impressed. “Seriously, Lizzy. Think about this carefully before you make up your mind. You’re being given the opportunity to live a longer, healthier life—”

“Oh, so I get many more years to live on the street and fight off the other street people for my plastic bin. Jackpot!” She lifted her hands in mock excitement. “How could I turn down such an offer?”

“I assure you, that you will no longer have to live on the street. I know Cain has already explained that to you. You will be set for life.”

“But there’s a catch.” Lizzy dropped her hands to the floor and tilted her head back with a dramatic sigh. “There’s always a catch. I’m going to be in debt to Cain in some way, shape, or form. You might as well give it to me straight, Alice, or you better believe I’m going to be more than a little difficult to deal with. And in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not quite as easily subdued as I was before.”

“Hmm.” Alice nodded. “Yes, the mate bond. Cain told me about that. It’s fascinating.”

“No.” Lizzy shook her head. “You’re not studying me and Finn like we’re a couple of mated rats. You can just forget that right now.”

“I’m a scientist. You can’t blame me for being curious.”

Lizzy laughed. “Chick, I can blame you for all sorts of things because you’re a scientist. And at the top of that list? I blame you mostly for working with vampires. I mean, seriously, in what movie, book, or TV show have they ever been the good guys?”

Alice opened her mouth, but Lizzy held up a finger. “I know they’re portrayed as sexy, elegant, rich yumminess. But even those kinds killed people.”

“Angel in that Buffy show. He only tried to kill bad people,” Alice pointed out.

“Lame. And how often did the ‘tortured hero, anti-hero’ thing work out? He succumbed to his true nature more than once. Next?”

“Stef—”

“Became the Ripper more than once in his long life,” she said dryly. “I can at least respect Damon because he didn’t pretend to be good. He admitted he was a crap kind of creature who liked to suck the life out of people. He didn’t pretend to be something he wasn’t. Any more?”

Alice sighed. “Okay, so they don’t have the best track record.”

“And yet, you want me to willingly become one of these things?”

“Those are just stories. This is real life. And when it comes right down to it, what other option do you have?”

“Uh, go back to the streets and get myself murdered at a young age, just like the rest of the young, female, homeless population. It’s the natural order of things. Circle of life, blah blah, blah. That makes for a much shorter term of torture. Not to mention, I won’t be sucking the life force out of innocent people. I like my meat to be a little less bloody. Oh, and a little less human.” Lizzy folded her arms across her chest and waited to see what the chick would do. Finally, Alice sighed and stepped aside.

“The hard way it is.”

Lizzy thought the woman sounded genuinely upset, which was odd since Alice clearly had no problems working with the freaking vampire king who was willing to hurt innocent people.

Four men walked in, two large and two average. Lizzy jumped to her feet and made sure again that the walls in her mind were locked down. Finn would lose his ever-loving, wolfy brain if he saw men attacking her. She crouched and gritted her teeth, determined not to be taken without one hell of a fight. If nothing else, she would take a chunk out of one of them before they got her.

Unfortunately, Lizzy’s glorious last stand was nothing more than a fantasy. The men moved so quickly she barely saw them coming. In the blink of an eye, she was lying face down with a knee in her back. She heard a zipping sound and felt her wrists lock together. Dammit! Lizzy resolved that if she ever made it out of this place, she was going to take some sort of defense training. Fighting off pimps and drug dealers had made her tough, or so she thought. Now she realized how wrong she’d been. These guys were legitimate badasses, the kind of loudmouths you saw in movies smart-off to just before the punks realized what a terrible mistake they had just made. Lizzy hated being so helpless against them.

Two of the men yanked her to her feet and began pulling her out the door. She dragged her feet, determined to make them bear her full body weight, which was apparently like carrying a doll to them. Neither of her escorts so much as breathed hard. Their grips around her arms were like manacles, only more painful.

She tried to pay attention to her surroundings. For what purpose? Lizzy wasn’t sure. Perhaps she thought if she could memorize the layout of the place, she might find a way to escape it one day. But eventually, the turns became too many to keep straight. The place was a freaking labyrinth. She’d never figure out how to find an exit, even if she somehow managed to break out of her room. Lizzy was starting to resign herself to the fact that she was going to be transformed into some sort of wolf-vamp hybrid—a monster. What would it feel like? Would she keep her faculties? Or would she simply become a killing machine?

And what if something went wrong? Lizzy was far from convinced these fools even knew what they were doing. What if the transformation killed her?

She gulped. “You’re a good scientist, right?” Lizzy asked Alice as the men carried her along, her toes occasionally bumping the tile floor. “I mean, you didn’t graduate at the bottom of your class and skate by simply because your professors wanted to get you out of their program?”

Alice laughed. “I’m one of the top geneticists in the country, if not the world. You’re in good hands.”

“Hmm, and humble, too.”

Alice shrugged. “You asked. I’ve worked hard to make it where I am.”

“You worked hard to get here?” Lizzy scoffed. “Is this what you dreamed about when you were a little girl? Growing up to become the woman who could turn humans into something… unnatural?”

“To be fair,”—Alice glanced over her shoulder at Lizzy—“you were already something unnatural, and I had nothing to do with that.” She sighed. “And no, I never imagined myself doing something like this.” Alice spoke so softly that Lizzy barely heard her next words. “I honestly don’t want to have anything to do with this shit.”

“LIZZY!” Finn’s voice broke through her mind, causing her to wince.

“I already told you, Linc, you’ve got to tone that macho stuff down.” Lizzy wished her hands weren’t tied behind her back so she could rub her temples.

“Have they hurt you?”

“Not really. They’re just taking me to some lab to pump me full of vamp blood and this chick scientist’s blood. No biggie. I totally got this.”

Chapter One

“She’s not from my world. I don’t know if she will ever fully understand what it means to be true mates and how it affects me. Can she feel for me what I feel for her? Will she want me the way I want her? I don’t know. And the possible answers terrify me. Nothing in this life has ever truly scared me, but the idea that she could walk away evokes a fear I can’t even describe.” ~Finn

Cain looked at the two figures standing before him: a fae and a vampire that both appeared as if they had barely escaped a war. Their clothes were torn, and abrasions and deep gashes covered their skin. Half of the fae’s head was bald and blackened, and some of his scalp appeared to have been burned off. The vampire had managed to keep his scalp, though his hair was caked in blood. Cain wondered why the fae’s injuries hadn’t healed by now and why the vampire hadn’t stopped to drain a human simply to obtain the blood to heal himself. “Were there any other survivors?”

“None as far as we know,” the vampire answered.

Cain narrowed his eyes at the male. “What’s your name?”

“Sam.”

Cain frowned. “Sam? Really?” The vampire king fought the urge to roll his eyes. He looked at the fae. “And yours?”

“Raylion.”

The vampire king chuckled. “Of course it is. I get vamps like Sam and Ralph. The high fae gets Raylion.”

The vamp snorted. “His name rhymes with alien. How is that better than Sam?”

Raylion’s eyes snapped to the vampire’s. “Your name rhymes with ham. Would you rather your name rhyme with a food or a potentially badass species from outer space?”

“Damn it all.” Cain ran a hand down his face, then looked at the two supernaturals currently glaring at one another. “Sam, you have obviously been here before or you wouldn’t have known where to have Raylion bring you. Correct?”

Sam met Cain’s gaze. “I was one of the firstborn in your new army.” The fledgling vampire’s voice was thick with disdain. Apparently, he didn’t appreciate the gift the vampire king had bestowed upon him. “And I was brought to this compound a little over a month ago.” He also sounded offended that Cain didn’t remember him. “You sent a hundred vamps from here to that mountain that just got blown to hell. So, yes. I’ve been here before.”

Cain took a step toward Sam. “I have a thousand vampires under my rule, if not more, just in the United States—”

“More like eight hundred or so,” Sam interrupted. “Unless two hundred other vamps had the wherewithal to grab a fae’s arm at just the right moment and flash the hell out of Dodge.”

Cain waved his hand. “Neither here nor there. The point is, it is impossible for me to keep up with every single one of them, especially when they have names like Sam. Be a Thadrick, Perizada, or even an Alston, if you want me to remember your name.”

Cain pulled his shoulders back and lifted his chin. “Speaking of the high fae, was Alston at the mountain when this happened?” The vampire king knew Alston wasn’t supposed to be at the mountain. Cain had laid the bait for the high fae to be elsewhere—meeting with Thadrick at the veil of the fae. If Cain was lucky, Alston would have already been killed by the goody, goody, gumdrop djinn.

But Cain had yet to receive confirmation of the high fae’s demise. Cain’s contact, the fae Zeek, had yet to report in. Cain had promised Zeek he would send some of his more unhinged vamps— the vamps that weren’t good as humans and even worse as bloodsuckers—to rip the fae apart if he didn’t report promptly. The new king personally didn’t like turning those types because they were unpredictable, but his predecessor had been a tad insane, and he thought having insane vamps was an asset. Perhaps that was why the fool was dead.

“Two days have passed since the mountain’s destruction.” Raylion shifted from foot to foot. His left hand tapped against his thigh. Cain raised an eyebrow at the fae’s odd behavior. Their kind didn’t typically fidget. “We barely made it out alive. That’s why it has taken us so long to get here. I flashed Sam and myself about twenty miles from the mountain when I realized we didn’t have a chance in hell.” Raylion side-eyed the vampire. “I didn’t bring him along by choice. I want that noted. But he seems to have an acute sense of self-preservation.”

Sam glared at the fae. “It doesn’t take a genius to know you should make for higher ground when that amount of power starts gathering. I haven’t been a supernatural long, and even I recognized that something bad was about to happen. Anyone who died there must have been dumb enough to think they could take on an army consisting of multiple types of supernaturals. All we had were vamps and fae.”

Raylion shrugged. “He’s not wrong. When I tried to flash again, I couldn’t. Whatever magic was used, it drained my own like a siphon. I’ve never felt magic that powerful before.” His brow dipped low, and his lips drew taunt across his face. “I’ve never not been able to flash. That must be what being a human is like… I don’t know how they stand it.”

Cain looked out over the desert. The sun had long since set, and silver stars dotted the dark sky. They stood just outside the gates of the Area 51 compound where Raylion and Sam had appeared. “So, you don’t know if Alston was at the mountain when you were attacked?”

“I doubt it,” Raylion clenched his jaw. “If he had been there, I would have felt his power. I know his signature. And though there was magical residue left over from spells he had cast, I didn’t feel any of his active power.”

The vampire king clenched his jaw and forced himself to relax his fisted hands. He didn’t see how Alston could survive Thadrick, and if Perizada was alive, she surely would have taken the opportunity to destroy her nemesis. Cain looked at Raylion. “I want you to go to the fae veil and see if you detect any recent magic use there.”

The fae frowned. “There have already been reports of fae armies coming through the veil. The forest all around the mountain has spoken of it.”

Sam scrunched his brow and looked at Raylion. “The forest spoke of it? What, is this a J.R.R. Tolkien novel now?”

Raylion’s voice dripped with disdain. “I know you are a newbie, but surely you aren’t stupid enough to believe you understand how our world works. Do you refuse to believe there are creatures in the forest that wouldn’t speak to my kind? Creatures you wouldn’t even be able to fathom with that tiny, newly turned brain of yours? You are still barely more than a human.”

Sam seemed unable to answer the disgusted fae. Cain watched as the baby vampire appeared to come to some sort of internal conclusion. He turned to look at Cain and shook his head. “I didn’t ask for this. One of your damn vampires attacked me, and the next thing I know, I’m craving blood and doing whatever I’m told.” He glanced at Raylion. “And I don’t know what to believe. I’m living in a nightmare. You speak of humans as if they’re disgusting and beneath you”—then he looked back at Cain—"and you use them as if they’re little more than cattle or stupid sheep. Is that just a supernatural thing, or is it because of your longevity? Those who know their time is short do not treat their lives so carelessly.”

Raylion didn’t bother to respond. He simply shrugged and then turned to Cain. “So, I’m to go to the fae veil and then report back to you?”

Cain appreciated the fae’s lack of emotion. That was what he needed. Not bleeding-heart fledglings like Sam. “Yes.”

Raylion vanished without another word.

Cain looked at Sam and narrowed his eyes at the male. “Who turned you?”

Sam attempted to brush off his unsalvageable clothes. “Some pompous ass named Claude.”

Cain chuckled. Sam’s description of the French vampire was spot on. Claude was pompous. But he was also efficient, cunning, and loyal. Speaking of Claude, I haven’t heard from the pompous ass in some time. That wasn’t a good sign. Cain had been so focused on the hybrid testing that he hadn’t even realized it had been days, if not more, since Claude had checked in. Cain tried to focus on his sire bond with Claude but felt nothing. He pushed the thought aside and turned his attention back to Sam. “Do you want to continue this existence, or would you like me to end it for you?”

The male’s eyes widened, and he took a step back from Cain. His jaw ticked from side to side. His gaze seemed to become unfocused, as if deep in thought.

“You haven’t considered that you didn’t have to remain a vampire?” Cain slipped his hands into the pockets of his slacks, and his shoulders relaxed as he watched Sam. “What if I told you I will help you control those urges? I could make you walk in the day again. I can make you more than a vampire. I can even make the putrid smell that happens to our kind in-between feedings go away.”

The other male’s head slanted to the side, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I don’t want to kill people. I wasn’t a bad person as a human, and I won’t be a murderer as a vampire… or more than a vampire, whatever that means.”

“What did you do as a human?”

“I was a lawyer.”

Cain’s brow rose. “Hmm. What type of practice?”

“Criminal defense.”

Cain couldn’t stop the bark of laughter. “Wait.” He held up a hand. “Let me get this straight. You”—he pointed a finger at Sam—“have a problem being a vampire, even though you represented and defended humans who had the same killer instincts as one of mine?”

“Not all people accused of crimes are guilty, and they deserve to be represented. There is something called a presumption of innocence.” The man’s voice was full of conviction, but Cain saw the doubt in his eyes. It was clear the lawyer knew that not all of his clients were innocent.

“Of course. Innocent until proven guilty. But for how many guilty people did you help secure a not guilty verdict? Are you per chance responsible for putting a dangerous human back into the population?” Cain found himself genuinely curious. The morals of humans were sometimes interesting. He was also beginning to plan a use for the new vampire, one that would keep the “good man” from having to kill, but also provide Cain with a beneficial tool. Having legal representation against the human government might come in handy after he created his hybrids.

Cain had begun to envision himself as the king of more than just a supernatural race. He imagined himself as the head of a great nation of vampires, one that was sovereign and governed itself. If he could set that up, then the US government wouldn’t be able to control them. As a matter of fact, they would be beholden to him. After all, Cain would control an army no nation on earth could stand against, an army of hybrids. And Cain could earn a fortune by leasing his creation to the highest bidders. Cain’s exports would make OPEC’s profits look like child’s play. Yes, legal representation would be vital.

Sam’s shoulders tensed. “That wasn’t my job. I didn’t determine their guilt. That’s between them and their maker.”

“How quaint. And did that little platitude appease your conscience for the ones you were pretty damn sure were guilty?”

His arms dropped, and the lawyer seemed deflated. “Why do you want to know this?”

“Because I believe I can give you a job that doesn’t require the shedding of blood. And teach you to feed without killing your food.”

“Can’t I just drink from an animal or a bag?” Sam sounded disgusted. No doubt the vampire part of him was not in agreement with his still-present human conscience.

“Animals will make you weak. Bagged blood has a risk of being useless if it has lost its ability to transport oxygen, which is why we need fresh blood. The virus that lives in us causes our own blood to use up our own blood’s oxygen much faster than a human’s. Our hearts beat slower, if you hadn’t noticed. Therefore, we don’t carry the oxygen through our bodies very quickly. The virus is constantly working to kill us. It’s one of the reasons we begin to smell like decaying flesh. That’s why not feeding will eventually cause your death. It’s not like in the movies where a vampire just dries up until more blood is given to them and, boom, they can come back to life. We are only immortal as long as we feed, and as long as we don’t get our heads cut off or our hearts ripped out. Blood, just like it is for humans, is our life force. So, see? We’re really not that different from them.”

“Yet you see them as less than yourself?”

“Do you consider your food your equal? Are you not greater than a cow or a pig?” The words were barely out of Cain’s mouth when Raylion reappeared. And he wasn’t empty-handed.

“There was a magical signature, or rather several, at the veil. And this.” Raylion held up a bowling-ball sized amalgamation of flesh and hair.

“Let me guess,” Sam inclined his head. “That’s Alston.”

“Well, his head, anyway.” Cain’s voice might have sounded bored, but inside he was grinning like a fool.

“There’s a note attached.” Raylion pointed to a piece of paper hanging from a string threaded through a hole in the high fae’s earlobe.

Cain reached down and tugged on the paper. Alston’s ear extended toward him, and Cain half expected it to come off. But the paper finally ripped free of the string, and the ear flopped back against the fae’s head. Cain’s eyes ran across the page.

I love to play games, and I’ve been playing them for a long time. Keep them coming, vampire king. This won’t be the last head I send back to you.

Happy hunting… to me.

~Cyn.

Cain crumpled the paper in his fist and couldn’t help the smile that formed on his lips. “Well, that’s one problem out of the way.” Cain pointed to Alston’s head. “Would you be so kind as to get rid of that?”

Raylion dropped the head and then opened his palm, sending out a ball of light. The head went up in flames. In a matter of seconds, it was nothing but ash.

“Excellent.” Cain made a show of wiping his hands against each other as if he had somehow gotten them dirty reading the note and barking orders. “If you two gentlemen would follow me. I’ve got some work to get done, and so do each of you. Raylion, I’ll explain what’s on the agenda, and then I need you to head out and find the fae loyal to the cause.” Cain didn’t mention that once the cause was accomplished, he’d be wiping out the fae right along with the rest of the other supernaturals that weren’t necessary to his rule, which was everyone but his hybrids, of course. “Sam, I think you’ll appreciate the job I have for you. It will keep your hands clean, and most of your conscience, not to mention you’ll get to continue using that fancy degree of yours. No need to let that go to waste just because you are no longer human.” Cain didn’t hear any arguments as he walked back through the gate of the compound and headed toward the laboratory. They followed, and he began explaining to the pair what he had in store.

The dominoes were falling into place. His major rivals were dead: Ludcarab, the elf king, Alston, the high fae, and, thanks to Peri’s cold fire, many other Order members. Hell, for all Cain knew, all the other Order members were dead. His vampires were still gathering dormants, which meant he would have plenty of test subjects. And now that he had successfully bound the vampire virus to the Canis lupus blood, these wouldn’t simply be failed experiments. They would be actual hybrids. The vamp king picked up his steps as his eagerness to get back to the matter at hand consumed his thoughts.

“How is your plan any different from that of the Order’s?” Raylion asked as they passed through the outer doors of the compound.

Cain pulled out a security badge and held it up to the scanner. “I have no intention of destroying or subjugating humans. I intend to work with them. In fact, I already am.” He motioned to the space around them as they passed through another set of security doors. “By the time I’m done, the humans will be singing our praises, begging for our help.”

Once they were past the final security doors, Cain marched toward an office area where the administrative details of the base were handled. He found an empty office and gestured to the lawyer. “Sam, you can set up shop here. I’ll send another vampire to assist you. Tell him everything you require in order to do your job.”

Sam walked into the office and flipped on the light switch. He stared at the empty desk. With a sigh, the fledgling’s shoulders seemed to drop in resignation. “Okay, I guess I’ll get settled in.” He walked to the chair behind the desk and took a seat.

“Great things to come, Sam.” Cain tapped his knuckle on the metal door frame. “Great things.”

He and Raylion continued on their way, leaving the dejected lawyer alone with his thoughts. After they’d gone a few paces, Cain turned to the fae. “Are you with me or not, Raylion? I need you to tell me now.”

Raylion was quiet for half a minute before he answered. “I cannot remain on the sidelines. Seeing a former high fae’s decapitated head given as a gift from your enemies tells me that a war’s on. Apparently, I will have to choose sides.”

“Not entirely true. You could flee to the fae realm. If you return there and swear a blood oath to never leave, I won’t bother with you.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Cain saw the male fae stiffen. He didn’t seem to like the idea of being trapped in his own realm. No doubt he wouldn’t be welcomed with open arms after having been in league with the Order.

“I suppose I will have to take my chances with you and… put my neck out there, so to speak.”

Cain gave a single nod of acknowledgement. “Good choice. You will be an asset to our cause. Now, if you please, go round up any fae left loyal to the Order and bring them here. Flash into this room.” He pointed to a large open space that had once been used as a gym, judging by the exercise equipment pushed against the walls. “I don’t want attention drawn to us by having fae flash outside of the compound.”

“As you wish.” Raylion disappeared.

Cain blew out a breath when he reached the door that would lead him to the lab, a place he considered the most important room in the compound. He closed his eyes for a moment and tamped down his nerves. It was time to see if their discovery would actually work in reality, and not just on a glass slide under a microscope.

* * *

The vampire king watched Willis prepare the tools he would need to infuse Lizzy Fairchild with Cain and Alice’s blood. The scientist was a bundle of energy, and he seemed to Cain both anxious and excited, like a child about to ride a bike for the first time, hungry for freedom but scared of the pain that would result if he fell. Cain could relate.

The vampire was a hard person to surprise. Watching hundreds of years pass had a tendency to remove the novelty of everyday experiences. But now that he was on the verge of finally bringing his improbable plan to fruition, Cain realized he was actually experiencing emotions that hadn’t reared their heads in years. There was nervousness, stress, and—unbelievably—fear. He was surprised to find he missed the feeling. The roller coaster of emotions was something that humans took for granted.

“What if it kills her?”

Cain almost growled at the scientist. This was the thing Cain feared the most, but he hadn’t wanted to give voice to his concerns. Call him superstitious. “Then we will figure out what went wrong and try again,” Cain snapped. He stared out at the dozens upon dozens of sleeping dormants in the warehouse. “We have plenty of test subjects, and my vampires are finding more daily.” While this was true, the vampire king was growing weary of failure. It made him cranky. And when he got cranky, he got bitey.

Willis looked up from his work, and his brow rose. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. How are your vampires able to tell which human is a dormant? Do they have to just go around biting random people to see how they taste?”

Cain rolled his eyes. “Thankfully no. Something tells me that would cause quite a stir with the humans.” He got a mental image of his soldiers biting human after human and then tossing them aside like rotten food, one after the other, as they discarded those that weren’t dormants. “Vampires have a keen sense of smell, even better than wolves when it comes to blood. And all supernaturals possess a unique scent. We can smell the otherness in the dormants. Some of them smell stronger than others. But occasionally, we do have to taste them to confirm it, especially if their bloodline is very watered down.”

Willis seemed to consider this before speaking again. “So instead of biting, they wander around sniffing?”

Cain chuckled. “Pretty much. And I’ve been pleasantly surprised to discover just how many dormants there actually are. The wolves like to brag that they don’t go around copulating with those that aren’t their true mates. Well, it seems the Canis lupus aren’t quite as chaste as they make out. Somebody, somewhere, has been evidencing a clear lack of self-control.” The king glanced down at his watch and wondered what was taking Alice so long to retrieve the girl when the door opened behind him.

He turned to find Alice and four of his vampires. Two of them held Lizzy by the arms. The woman stood between them, looking bored with her hands tied behind her back. Cain smirked. “Did she give you problems?”

“Nothing we couldn’t handle.” Lochlan, one of the males holding Lizzy, released her arm, as did Nathan, who was holding the other side.

“That will be all.” Cain motioned for the males to leave.

“What if she doesn’t cooperate?” Lochlan’s eyes dropped to Lizzy. Cain noted the hungry look in the vampire’s eyes and let out a low growl.

“If you’re hungry, Lochlan, then I suggest you go hunting outside of this building.” Cain stepped closer to the male. “If I find out you’ve fed on any of the humans or dormants in this facility, I will end you myself. Am I clear?” Cain didn’t have time for vampires that couldn’t control their urges. He needed people working in the facility to feel safe so they could do their jobs, or at least as safe as a human could feel when around a superior species that could kill them in the blink of an eye.

“Yes,” the male bit out through clenched teeth.

“If you are in control of your hunger, then you can wait in the hall with the others,” Cain instructed. “If not, then go feed and come back when you’re sated. And make yourself useful and bring some dormants back with you while you’re at it.”

The four vampires left without another word, closing the door behind them.

Cain relaxed his shoulders and looked Lizzy over. “Speaking of hunger, I hear you’ve not been eating.”

Lizzy gave a bark of laughter that made her sound unhinged. Her eyes bounced all over the room, and Cain noticed a distinct wildness in them, like an animal with its leg caught in a trap. “Well, let’s see. I’ve recently discovered vampires are real, been imprisoned by those vampires, been placed into a coma, and been woken by a voice in my head. You think I should eat the food offered to me by these vampires? I may be a little thick at times, but I’m not that stupid.”

“You weren’t scared when I told you what I was, Lizzy.” Cain leaned his hip against one of the lab tables and attempted to appear harmless. “In fact, your words to me were something along the lines of ‘anything is better than living like this, sleeping with one eye open and constantly waiting for a knife in the back.’”

“Guess what, vampy? I’ve since learned that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Better a knife in the back than fangs in the neck.” Lizzy’s gaze moved from Cain to Willis. Her eyes widened when she saw the syringes arrayed out in front of him.

“You’re too young to be so jaded,” Cain flicked his hand at her.

She seemed to have her panic under control, though her eyes still looked a bit too big for her face, or at least she was hiding it better. “If you’d lived the life I have, then you wouldn’t think that.”

Cain noticed Alice wince from the corner of his eye. His little scientist was a bleeding heart. He hoped that wouldn’t become an issue once they started running their experiment. “Well, as I told you before, this is an opportunity to improve your life. You won’t be vulnerable anymore. You’ll be able to fight back against anyone who would want to take advantage of you. Isn’t that why you agreed to come with me when I found you?”

Lizzy pursed her lips. “Are we doing this or what?”

“You’re not even going to fight a little?” Alice frowned.

“And how would you have me fight back, scientist lady?” Lizzy’s head swiveled around to take in Alice. “Should I scream like a girl? Is that somehow going to sway this guy?” She motioned her head toward Cain. “He doesn’t mind kidnapping innocent people to accomplish whatever twisted plan he has. I’m betting very few of those sleeping beauties out there came of their own free will like I did. Is he going to suddenly find it in his undead heart to let me go?”

“I would like it noted that ‘undead’ doesn’t make any sense if you are trying to imply that I am not alive,” Cain said dryly. “And as I still have a heartbeat, I am still alive.”

Lizzy rolled her eyes at him. “Nobody cares.” Then she looked back at Alice. “So, after all that I just pointed out, should I fight?”

Alice shrugged. “I just expected you to because you seem like a fighter. And you survived living on the streets.”

Cain’s eyes snapped to Alice. “Why are you trying to talk her out of this?”

“If a person volunteers for this procedure of their own free will, then I’m completely fine with it.” Alice raised her chin at him. “But if this is being forced on anyone, then I don’t agree with it, and I think they should fight back.”

Cain walked over to Alice and gripped her chin in his hand. “Are you going to fight me?”

Lizzy made a gagging sound in her throat. “It looks like Mom and Dad need some adult time.”

Willis laughed and tried to cover it with a cough when Cain glared in his direction. The vampire dropped his hand from Alice and then motioned to the chair where Finn had been strapped down a few days prior. “If you please. This will be relatively painless. Just a couple of sticks.” Alice picked up a pair of scissors and cut the cable ties to free the girl’s hands.

“Oh?” Lizzy sidled over to the chair and dropped into it, rubbing her wrists as she did. “I’m sure this is a completely routine procedure. I suppose you get the blood of a supernatural being shoved into your veins all the time. No? Of course not. So how the hell would you know if this is relatively painless?”