EXCERPT: The United and The Divided

Title: The United & The Divided (Tooth & Claw #3)
Author: L.A. Witt
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Format: ebook, paperback

Excerpt:

“Ian.” Someone nudged my shoulder. Darius, my brain figured out after a moment. “Hey, you awake?”

I burrowed my face into the pillow. “Do I have to be?”

“We’re here.”

And with that, I was awake. Apprehension burrowed under my skin and dug itself in.

Sitting up slowly, I rubbed my stiff neck. The muscle would loosen itself soon enough, and if I’d actually slept on it badly enough to do some damage, it would be healed within the hour. This vampire deal wasn’t all that bad sometimes.

Darius’s dark hair was disheveled, so he must not have been awake long himself. He rested a hand above the bunk and swayed a little, adapting to the slow rocking of the boat. That constant motion had alternately nauseated me and put me to sleep since we’d left Levi’s grandmother’s house in Sitka. Now that we’d arrived at our destination, a tiny island off the coast of Alaska near Kodiak Island, it wasn’t the rocking that made me queasy.

I took a deep breath. I was so not ready for this. An island full of wolves belonging to the same clan that had been trying to kill us did not feel like safe harbor to me.

“This still seems like a really bad idea.”

“Relax.” Darius touched my shoulder. “We’ll be all right.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair in a half-assed attempt to straighten it.

He scowled but didn’t say anything. As much as he tried to reassure me, I was pretty certain he wasn’t any more thrilled about this arrangement than I was. He kept a calm demeanor and a relaxed front, but his slightly elevated heart rate gave him away.

A pair of booted feet came down the ladder behind him. Darius turned around and, a second later, Levi dropped into full view. He looked better than he had recently. He was more put together than Darius, his near-black hair perfectly arranged except for a few strands the wind had blown into his face. Still, he was obviously exhausted. He hadn’t been a vampire long enough to be quite as pale as Darius or myself, but what lack of sunlight hadn’t yet done, pure exhaustion certainly had. The life of a fugitive wasn’t an easy one, as we’d learned all too well recently.

Levi sank onto the bunk beside me. “Grandma’s going ashore to talk to the Elders. They already know we’re coming, but she wants to make sure everything is clear with this arrangement.”

“And if it is?” Darius asked. “I mean, what happens now?”

Levi shook his head. “No idea. I know this isn’t going over well with the pack, though. And even if the pack on the island is okay with it, the clan is going to be pissed.”

“Are we sure there’s nowhere else to go?” I asked. “This just doesn’t seem safe.”

Darius shook his head, sighing heavily. “Remember? Levi and I can’t feed off humans. Only wolves.”

I groaned. That issue was going to be the death of all three of us. Levi and Darius were both wolves now, and both vampires; a bite to feed the vampire would convert a human into a wolf. Without willing wolves, we were fucked.

“So what happens if the shit hits the fan?” I asked. “Or if no one allows us to feed? This is an island. And there’s only a few hours of daylight at a time right now, but it doesn’t take much, you know?”

Levi sighed, shaking his head again. “I don’t know. I really don’t.” His shoulders sagged, and when he reached up to brush a few strands of dark hair out of his face, that simple movement seemed to take all the energy he had.

I wrapped my arms around him and let him lean against me. Watching Levi like this was hell. He’d always been the stronger of the two of us, but now he was so beaten down, demoralized, on the verge of total defeat. As much as he’d tried to stay strong, he was cracking under the weight of everything that had happened recently. His entire world had crumbled beneath him in a matter of weeks, and he was starting to crumble right along with it.

“We’ll be okay,” I whispered and kissed his cheek, wondering if he believed me any more than I’d believed Darius.

The boat listed a little to the left, and then heavy footsteps thunked on the deck above us. All three of us looked up, silently tracking the steps as they approached the ladder. Then a pair of faded baby-blue arctic boots appeared, and I released my breath.

“How did it go?” Levi asked.

“Well,” Grandma said as she came fully into view. “They’re not happy, but the Elders are explaining the situation to the rest of the pack in the morning.”

“What do we do until then?” Levi asked. “Just…stay here?”

She nodded and stepped off the ladder. “I’m not taking you into that village until every wolf in the pack knows they’re not to lay a hand on any of you.” Her expression hardened. “There’s plenty left in that shotgun for anyone who objects.” For a woman who’d originally turned us over to the wolves before deciding at the last second to save our asses, she was certainly protective of us now.

The three of us exchanged uncertain glances.

“Relax, boys.” Grandma patted the air with both hands. “The Elders and I will keep the pack in line. You three keep your heads low and don’t make any waves.” Her gaze landed on Levi, and she arched an eyebrow. “Am I clear?”

All three of us nodded. Even Levi.

“All right.” She patted Levi’s shoulder before heading back toward the ladder. “It’s just about dawn right now, so you boys hang tight for a little while. I’ll be back when the sun’s down.”

We all nodded. She disappeared onto the upper deck, and the three of us sat in apprehensive silence for a moment. I wasn’t sure which was worse: the constant running for our lives, or waiting to be running for our lives, especially since I wasn’t yet convinced that the whole running-like-hell part was over yet.

“Well.” Darius exhaled hard and ran a hand through his hair. “I guess now we wait.”

“Yep,” Levi said.

I chewed my lip, then looked at Levi. “As long as we’re just sitting here, there’s something that’s been bugging me the last few days.”

“Only one thing?” Levi smirked. “Lucky you.”

“Very funny.”

He squeezed my leg. “Sorry. What’s on your mind?”

“When we got cornered up at your grandmother’s house, and one of the wolves had me pinned down, why did you and Darius surrender? Why didn’t you just tell him that biting me would kill him too?”

The brief flicker of humor in Levi’s expression was long gone, and he slid his hand over my leg, a gesture that was as affectionate as it was protective. “Because the wolves had the upper hand, and reminding them that vampirism is contagious would have just gotten us all killed. Starting with you.”

“Not that biting me would have done him any good.”

“Shooting you—or me or Darius—through the heart would have.”

I shuddered.

He slid his hand up and down my leg. “I thought about it. Believe me, I did. Whatever I had to do to save you, I was willing, but that?” He shook his head. “I couldn’t take the risk.”

“We got out,” Darius said. “All three of us. That’s all that matters.”

“Agreed.” I put my hand on top of Levi’s. “I was just curious. Not making any accusations.”

“I know.” He kissed me gently. “I’m just glad we all made it out.”

“Me too,” I said.

“Definitely,” Darius said quietly.

And though no one said it, I had no doubt we were all thinking it.

We’d made it out alive, but how long would that last?

Since winter days in Alaska were incredibly short, sundown was only a few hours away. Shortly after, as Levi and I were sitting at the small table belowdecks and Darius was restlessly pacing back and forth, Grandma returned.

“Coats and boots, boys,” she said as she stepped off the ladder and into the cramped quarters. “We’re going ashore.”

Levi’s heart sped up. “And everyone knows? They’re…okay with this?”

“They will be,” Grandma declared. “There’s going to be what amounts to a town meeting tomorrow, with all of us and everyone in the village.”

Leaning against the bulkhead near the ladder, Darius shifted his weight. “No one’s bringing stakes, are they?”

“I dare them,” Grandma said.

Levi laughed. “I’ll take that.”

“Good.” Grandma squared her shoulders. “Now let’s get you on land so we can all sleep in real beds tonight.”

I pushed myself up out of my chair and reached for my sweatshirt. As I put it on, I gave myself a moment just to savor the soft warmth against my skin. It seemed like a silly thing, enjoying the feel of a sweatshirt, but then again, it was amazing how quickly things like this could become priceless luxuries. Tyler and Levi’s grandmother had gone ashore in one of the small towns between Sitka and here, and they’d brought back an armload of parkas and some clothes that weren’t saturated with half-frozen blood. I’d never take a clean, warm shirt for granted again.

Especially since even after the last few weeks—had it been that long?—of running around in Canada and Alaska in the dead of winter, I hadn’t begun to get used to being cold. If we were going to be here for a while, I supposed I’d better adapt. And I would. Tomorrow. Maybe.

But for now? Sweatshirt. Heaven. I’d take any little creature comfort I could get.

Once I was dressed—ahh, I’d have to thank Tyler again for these arctic-grade boots—I headed abovedeck to join everyone else.

The boat was moored at the far end of an old pier. One by one, we stepped onto the graying wood, and once everyone was off the boat, we started toward the shore. Tyler and Grandma walked ahead, and Levi stayed between Darius and me. All the way down the long dock, the pointed bows bobbed and rocked on either side of us like a fiberglass gauntlet, each hull eerily bright against the darkness, thanks to this vampire night vision. Everything was clear, like in daylight, but against a dark sky and deep shadows.

And thanks also to that sharp vision, I had a completely clear view of what waited for us at the other end of the pier: a large group of people standing on a patch of ground that was only partially snow covered, like it had been trampled numerous times since the last snowfall. The northern lights cast an eerie green glow over all of them, the light rippling across faces and glinting off narrowed eyes. Most of them were in human form, watching with everything from curiosity to outright contempt. The few who were in wolf form growled quietly. Their lips curled up over their impressive teeth, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I remembered a few too many instances of being on the wrong end of a wolf’s fury.

As we stepped off the dock, our boots crunched on the semifrozen ground. We halted in front of the gathered crowd. I tried not to think of them as a mob. Least of all an angry mob. The glares, though, and the vaguely threatening semicircle they formed around us didn’t help me get that thought out of my head.

One of the wolves in human form stepped forward, hands tucked into a zipped-up parka. “I’m Martin, one of the Elders of this pack.” His voice was as taut as his expression, and he didn’t offer a handshake. I told myself it was because of the biting cold. “We’ve heard about your…situation.”

Levi cleared his throat. “And we appreciate you allowing us to stay here for the time being.”

“Well.” Martin glanced at another man beside him, who offered a subtle nod. Martin shifted his attention back to Levi. “Before we guarantee that the three of you will be allowed to stay—”

“Hold on just a minute,” Grandma broke in. “This can be discussed tomorrow, but they need to rest. Tyler and I need to rest. The world won’t end if we let everyone catch their breath and get some sleep before we hash this out.”

“Sleep?” Someone scoffed. “With them in our community?”

A low growl rose in Levi’s throat. I touched his arm, glove to sleeve, and he quieted. He rested his hand over the top of mine, which drew some contemptuous looks from the crowd in front of us.

“She’s right,” Martin said. “This will be better handled when everyone has had a chance to rest and settle in.”

A wolf in canine form beside Martin snarled and gnashed his teeth. A wave of Martin’s hand silenced him, though, and the dog lay down on the frozen ground with a soft whine.

Martin turned back to us. “We’ll discuss this after everyone has rested. Julie will show you to the cabin that will be yours for your visit.” He emphasized the word visit in an odd way, as if to make sure we all knew damn well we wouldn’t be staying here long.

A woman stepped forward, brown hair tied up in a loose ponytail and her expression as taut as the Elder’s had been. She gestured sharply for us to follow her. She must have been the one named Julie.

“This way,” she said tersely.

“Oh, I don’t think so.” A broad-shouldered guy, hair and eyes dark like Levi’s, elbowed his way through the crowd. “She’s not going off alone with them.”

Julie glanced at him, her expression a mixture of annoyance and relief, like she was thankful not to be stuck alone with us, but also irritated at the intrusion.

“Fine.” Martin gestured dismissively. “Just go. Show them to their cabin, where they will be left alone. Is that clear?”

A few people nodded; others murmured affirmatives. Levi, Darius and I exchanged uncertain looks, but it wasn’t like we had a lot of choice, so we followed Julie and the other guy.

The night was deathly silent except for our boots crunching on the snow and the subtle chorus of heartbeats that only the three of us could hear. Darius’s and Levi’s would always be more pronounced to me since Darius had converted me and I had converted Levi, so I felt every bit of their apprehension, underscored by the varying degrees of nervousness coming from those who quietly watched us walk into their settlement.

As we crested a small hill and entered the village itself, my skin prickled. Whoever hadn’t come out to see us in from the boat was watching us now. I could feel their stares. It was a creepy feeling that reminded me of the day Levi and I had gone to the temple for that ill-fated bonding ceremony. People had watched me so intently I swore they were burning holes in my skin. I knew damn well they didn’t want me there, in their community or in their temple, and the whole place had vibrated with quiet contempt.

We followed Julie into the village, and I hoped against hope that wherever they put us would be at the very edge of the small settlement. Maybe near the forest or something.

But no, we got a cabin right smack in the fucking middle, just a few doors down from the island’s temple, the huge structure that loomed over everything from the center of several rings of houses and buildings. Far too close to everyone else. Maybe that was the only empty place. Or maybe it was conveniently located so the pack could keep tabs on us. Either way, I wasn’t at all comfortable with the arrangement.

The cabin was a lot like the ones at the farm where Levi’s pack lived back in Washington. Though the blackout curtains over the windows relaxed me about the impending sunrise, they also made me wonder who had known we were coming. If this pack was anything like Levi’s—which they probably were, since they were all part of the same clan—they wouldn’t be happy about vampires in their midst.

Especially not the three of us.

Levi, who’d insisted on bonding to a human male instead of his predestined female mate, which had been the catalyst for this endless disaster.

Darius, who’d converted Levi’s bonded human mate into a vampire.

And me, the mate who hadn’t been able to withstand the year apart from Levi after that hellish bonding, and had ultimately gotten Darius entangled in all this and had pretty much secured my spot as the wolf clan’s public enemy number one for the foreseeable future. The fact that I’d shot a wolf in Oregon hadn’t helped matters, even if it had been in self-defense. And not long after that, the death of Selena, Levi’s clan-chosen mate, had been another nail in all our coffins. All the bodies we’d left in our wake? More nails.

The last place in the world I felt safe was among wolves. Keeping us here smacked of dropping some mice into the middle of a pride of lions and insisting it was for their own good. Levi’s grandmother had turned on us once before. She’d been the one to sound the alarm and bring in the wolves who’d damn-near killed us all. Yeah, she’d turned around and been our savior in the end, but who was to say she wouldn’t change her mind again? Or that this wasn’t part of some elaborate plan to get us to complacently, quietly, willingly face the clan’s judgment?

I didn’t like this. I didn’t like it one bit.

But I didn’t have a choice.

None of us did.

EXCERPT: The Healing & The Dying

Title: The Healing & The Dying (Tooth & Claw, Book #2)
Author: L. A. Witt
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Format(s): ebook, print (coming soon)

Chapter One

Darius

I could live forever—which I quite possibly will—and still never understand how Ian or Levi slept that day.

Not that either of them slept soundly. Sometimes Levi was so eerily still and silent that, had I not been able to hear his heartbeat from the other bed, I’d have worried he was dead. Then he’d startle awake, release a weak, painful moan, and slip back into what sounded like a fitful, restless sleep. He had to be in agony, both emotionally and physically, but his exhaustion must have taken over. I wished mine would do the same.

Beside me, Ian was also still and silent, but he woke up constantly. Almost every fifteen minutes like clockwork, he’d jerk awake. His heartbeat shot through the roof, he breathed so hard he was almost hyperventilating, and more than once, I swore he was shaking. But before long, time and time again, he’d slip right back to sleep.

I, on the other hand, stared up at the motel room’s water-stained ceiling. Thick curtains kept out the sun’s deadly midday rays, but vampire eyes saw as well in darkness as human eyes did in daylight. Every bronze-ringed, asymmetrical stain in the cheap, ages-old ceiling was perfectly visible and gave me something to focus on. Something to hold my gaze, anyway. The two men sleeping fitfully in this bed and the next one kept a death grip on my attention.

Levi worried me. None of his injuries were life-threatening as near as I could tell, but what if there was something I hadn’t noticed? If there was any internal bleeding, any slow time bomb of an injury or blood flowing in places and directions it didn’t belong, I’d have sensed it. But I was no doctor. What else could the impact of a motorcycle crash do to him? None of us were sure how badly he’d broken his ribs, and I had visions of a piece puncturing his lung. Or a splinter off his broken collarbone getting into his bloodstream and fucking something up.

Taking him to a hospital was too risky. Especially after we’d left Selena’s body outside an ER in the early hours before dawn. I’d kept my face as hidden as I could when I’d carried her to the door, but a security camera might have picked up our license plate. And the car had likely been reported stolen by the wolf pack. This shady backwoods motel was reasonably safe, but once we set out on the open road, we were fucked.

I could convert him. He’d begged me to last night. With his closest friend dead on the pavement and his entire world crashing to the ground at his feet, he wanted to abandon everything he’d ever known and become one of us. But I couldn’t. Though it would heal his injuries and relieve his physical pain, a conversion was not something that could happen in the heat of the moment. That, and conversions were especially dangerous for wolves. It couldn’t be an impulsive decision.

Closing my eyes, I listened to Ian’s slow, steady breathing and his heartbeat. Almost half a century as a vampire myself, and I still expected to listen for his heart and hear nothing. Like we really were the walking cadavers legend had painted us to be, with neither breath nor beating hearts. But like me, he breathed, and his heart thudded dully in the stillness, marking a relaxed, slumbering pace that I hoped would last several restful hours.

Converting him was still one of my deepest regrets. There hadn’t been any other options, and even if there had been, there wouldn’t have been time to consider any of them because he’d been seconds away from death. Still, I’d hated this existence for all the decades I’d lived it, and regardless of the circumstances, my conscience wouldn’t let me forget that I’d condemned him to the same.

And now, in no small part because of that decision to convert him rather than let him die on my apartment floor, here we were. Question was, what the fuck did we do now? Were we safer staying together or splitting up and hoping for the best?

I banished that thought as quickly as it crossed my mind. Levi was in no condition to go on alone. Even if he were, we’d worked too hard to find Ian, come too close to losing each other, and already lost Selena. The wolves wanted to hunt us down and kill us because Ian and Levi had broken one of their sacred rituals? Fine. They’d have to catch all of us, because we were in this together, and that was the end of it.

We should have all been in it to the end. Selena’s death hit all of us hard, especially Levi, and I cringed at the memory of her slipping away after the motorcycle crash. I didn’t know if Levi heard it, but I couldn’t forget the silence that had followed her heart’s last feeble beat.

Of all of us, she shouldn’t have been the one to die. Hadn’t she suffered enough already? Destined from childhood to be bonded—spiritually married—to Levi, and then destined to be alone when he turned out to be gay. She’d selflessly given him her blessing to bond with Ian, and she’d kept Levi and me from killing each other while we’d tried to find Ian. When another wolf pack held us all prisoner, she’d used herself as human collateral to give us a fighting chance at getting to Ian before the pack found and killed him.

And last night, after the cars and bikes had stopped and the bullets had finished flying, it was Selena—Levi’s best friend and the only wholly innocent one among us—who’d died on the blacktop. She’d had no part in causing all of this to happen, and in my eyes, her suffering and death were the biggest crimes.

If only to honor her memory and keep her death from being pointless, the three of us had to continue.

I turned my head, watching Ian sleep. If there was one advantage to being a vampire, it was this spectacular night vision, and like the ceiling above me, Ian’s features were clear as day. He lay on his stomach, the pillow obscuring one side of his face, and looked deceptively peaceful. I resisted the urge to brush a few unruly strands of his dark hair back into place. Much as I wanted to touch him, just to remind myself again that he was really here and really alive—as much as a vampire could be, I supposed—I didn’t want to disturb what little sleep he’d been able to get.

On the other bed, Levi was almost completely motionless. We’d propped his injured knee up on a couple of pillows, and he hadn’t moved all night except whenever he startled awake. A dark bruise peeked out from beneath his collar and climbed the side of his neck. Just from the way his shirt rested across his chest, the swelling from his broken collarbone was unmistakable. I shivered; I’d long since converted when I broke my own collarbone some years ago, and it had healed in a matter of hours, but it was still beyond excruciating. Between that and his ribs, he’d be in a world of hurt for a while.

Beside me, Ian’s pulse and breathing shot up again as he jerked out of unconsciousness for the hundredth time. I closed my eyes, cringing on his behalf. Maybe lying awake like this was the lesser of two evils. At least then I didn’t have the dreams that must have been kicking him awake four times an hour.

His breathing slowed. So did his heart, both returning to a more normal cadence.

This time, though, he spoke.

“You ever going to sleep?”

I turned on my side and ran my hand up his arm. “Says the man who keeps waking up.”

Ian shuddered. “That’s a double-edged sword, believe me.”

“Trade you.”

“Be my guest.” He rolled over and faced me. “You’re more than welcome to these dreams.”

“On second thought…”

“Yeah, I figured.” Ian closed his eyes and sighed. “If I wasn’t so damned exhausted, I wouldn’t even try to sleep, because I just keep seeing last night happen again and again.” He shivered. “It was one thing when I killed the wolf in Grants Pass. I know he was a man too, but seeing him as a wolf… I guess…”

“Made him less human?”

“Yeah, I guess. I know that sounds cold. Killing an animal isn’t very high on my list either, but it just made it easier to deal with.” He rubbed his eyes. “Last night, though…”

“You did what you had to do, Ian.” I stroked his cheek with the backs of my fingers. “The wolf in Oregon was self-defense, and last night was keeping Levi alive. You’re not a murderer.”

“Semantics,” he whispered. “Yeah, I had to do it. Yeah, I could probably convince a jury it had to happen. Doesn’t change the fact that I’ve killed four people.”

“I know.” I rested my hand on his waist and leaned in to kiss him gently. “Believe me, I know.”

“So what’s keeping you awake?” he asked.

I laughed dryly. “You want the whole list?”

He slid his hand over my leg. “Okay, maybe I should ask if there’s something specific keeping you awake, or if it’s our whole situation?”

“Just trying to figure out our next move.”

“Any ideas?”

“Not really.” I propped myself up on my elbow and looked past Ian at Levi, who was still asleep. “He’s not going to be in any condition to drive any time soon, which means we’re limited to traveling at night. And I’m…” I hesitated.

Ian ran his hand up and down my arm. “What?”

“I’m worried about him,” I said, barely whispering. “His injuries. What if something gets worse, or I’ve overlooked something?”

“If anything serious was going to come up, it probably would have by now.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

“What can we do? We can’t take him to the hospital.”

“We might have to.”

Ian scowled. “Darius, odds are he’s fine. He had a helmet on. He probably wishes he’d lost some sensation, and if you knew Selena was bleeding internally, I’m guessing you would have known if he is or was.” He raised his eyebrows.

I nodded. “Yeah, we both would have.”

“Okay, so he most likely isn’t and wasn’t. There isn’t much anyone can do for a broken collarbone. He’ll be hurting for a while, but beyond that…”

“Yeah, but what if it’s something worse?” I asked. “A rib puncturing his lung, or some loose sliver of bone, or…”

Ian glanced over his shoulder at Levi. Then he faced me, and his expression was deathly serious. “I think you and I both know what can be done.”

“What do—” I stopped midbreath when the piece fell into place. “No. Absolutely not.”

Ian rolled his eyes and sighed. “It’s the least risky option here.”

“Is it?” I gestured sharply at Levi. “The conversion alone could kill him. It’s dangerous anyway, but for a wolf?” I shook my head. “Way too risky.”

“Why? How is it worse for a wolf than a human?”

“I…I really don’t know. But I’ve watched a wolf convert. Years ago. He very, very nearly died.”

“So did I.”

I met his eyes, trying to ignore the pang of guilt in my chest. “You were almost dead anyway. Had you been a wolf…”

Ian gulped. “Good thing I wasn’t.”

“Why weren’t you, anyway?” I nodded toward Levi again. “Wouldn’t that have made things easier with his pack in the very beginning? If you’d been a wolf?”

He shrugged with one shoulder. “Maybe. I still would have been a half wolf in their eyes, which I guess is better than being human, but I just didn’t want to be a wolf any more than—” He cut himself off.

“Any more than what?”

He shifted his gaze away from mine. “Any more than I wanted to be a vampire.”

I flinched. “I’m sorry, Ian.”

He touched my face. “I told you, I didn’t leave you a choice. You could have just let me die, but looking back, I never should have put that decision on your shoulders. I wasn’t… I wasn’t thinking clearly, or I never would have put you in that position.” Before I could speak, he gestured over his shoulder at Levi. “But he wants to convert.”

“He’s grieving.” I paused, listening to Levi’s heartbeat. When I was satisfied he was still asleep, I went on. “He’s spent his entire life being taught vampires were to be at best scorned, at worst killed. Becoming one of us is not a decision he can make that quickly. He’s got a lifetime of indoctrination to shake off before he can be remotely rational about it.”

“Maybe so,” Ian said, “but the fact is, we’re all in very real danger now, and his injuries could slow us down and get him or all of us killed. Converting him may be the best option we have.”

“It might be, but we don’t know that yet. Let’s see what our other options are first, because once we convert him, there’s no going back.”

“Getting killed isn’t terribly reversible either.”

I said nothing.

Ian put his hand on my arm. “It’s not a decision that has to be made this minute, but whether any of us like it or not, it’s an option we have to consider.” He tilted his head slightly in Levi’s direction. “And it’s what he wants.”

“It’s what he wants right now,” I whispered. “While he’s grieving Selena and the only life he’s ever known. It needs to be a rational decision. One he’s given a lot of serious thought. Two weeks ago, he hated our kind enough he was willing to kill you.”

Ian shivered. “I know him, Darius. He’s not going to change his mind.”

“Then he’ll still want it later, and we can convert him then. After I’m convinced he’s not being impulsive and making a choice based on grief and anger.”

Ian took a breath and was probably about to argue, but I said, “More immediate concern, though, is that somehow or another we have got to get out of this province.”

“Where do we go?”

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “Therein lies the problem. I have no idea. There’s wolves everywhere. Even a vampire-friendly place like Kayenta won’t do us any good now, because we’d have to get across the border and cross too damned much ground between here and there.”

“How did you guys get across the border to begin with?”

I scowled. “By walking through the snow and right into a wolf pack’s territory.”

Ian’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Probably not a technique we ought to repeat.”

“Ya think?” He sighed. “Good thing I decided to hide from you two in Canada, isn’t it?”

I stroked his face. “You didn’t know how things would turn out. To be honest, it was a pretty smart move on your part.”

“And look where it got us.”

“We’ll figure it out.” I kissed him lightly. “Before we go too far, though, we’ll both need to feed at some point.”

Ian groaned. “Great.”

I laughed. “Still haven’t acquired the taste, have you?”

“I don’t think I ever will,” he muttered.

“Give it time. God knows you have plenty of it now that you’re more or less immortal.”

“That’s…encouraging.”

“Trust me. You’ll get used to it.”

“Ever learn to like it?”

“Well, I don’t know that anyone ever gets to the point of being a connoisseur, but…”

Ian snorted. “Oh, wouldn’t that be a sight?” Adopting a snobby tone, he said, “This Type A is ambitious and has a lovely bouquet, but the aftertaste suggests it was donated on someone’s lunch break with a rusty used needle and a cholesterol-filled tube.”

I snickered. “Oh, come on, it’s not that bad.”

“Says the man who’s been sucking this shit down long enough to not notice how awful it tastes anymore.”

“You’ll get used to it. I promise.”

“I’m holding you to that,” he grumbled. “Anyway, what do you suggest for feeding? We can’t exactly go wandering around out in public.”

“Every town has its bars,” I said with a half shrug. “A shithole like this, we’ll be able to find someplace where someone’s willing to trade half a pint for a few bucks.”

“Right, except we’re getting a little low in that department too.”

“We’ll figure that out. For tonight, it’s what we’ve got.” I absently trailed my fingers up and down his arm again, and he slid a little closer. “As soon as the sun goes down,” I said, “I’ll go find another car.”

“Okay, but where do we go?”

I blew out a breath. “Best thing I can think of is Prince Rupert on the northwest coast of British Columbia. It’s a hell of a drive, but there’s a vampire commune there kind of like the one in Kayenta. Best option I can think of.”

“Works for me at this point,” he said. “I don’t have any better ideas, and I don’t imagine Levi does either.”

“I don’t imagine we have too many other options.” I touched his face and leaned in to kiss his forehead. “We’ll find a way out of this. Somehow.”

“Here’s hoping.” He raised his chin and met my eyes as he pushed a few wayward strands of hair out of his face. Then he drew me closer to him. “Try to get some more sleep,” he said, letting his lips brush mine. “Neither of us will be worth a damn if we’re too exhausted to move.”

“Easier said than done, right?”

“Easier said than done,” he whispered, and kissed me. As he parted his lips at the gentle urging of my tongue, I wrapped my arms around him. I wasn’t horny in the least—God, I didn’t have anywhere near the energy to even think of sex—but I’d take every reassurance I could get that Ian was here. That I was here. That we’d survived so far, even if the future was anything but certain.

Ian broke the kiss but didn’t let go just yet. “We really should get some sleep.”

“Try to, you mean?”

He laughed softly. “Yeah, try to.” He kissed me once more, and then we separated. He rolled onto his other side, and I molded my body to his, draping my arm over his waist.

I kissed the back of his neck. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he murmured.

Before long, he was out cold again, leaving me with my thoughts and his reassuring scent and body heat. I wanted to promise we’d get out of this, that we’d elude the wolf packs and the authorities and fuck knew who else, but I had no idea if we would or not. The only thing I was sure of was that I wouldn’t figure anything more out tonight, so I tried—and failed—not to think about anything.

Eventually, though, exhaustion got the best of me, and I drifted off to sleep.

And like Ian and Levi, I dreamed.