“That's it,” he said. “Take him in your arms, gently now. You don't want to hurt him.”

A harsh laugh rose in her throat. “Why are you worrying about my hurting him? I'm going to kill him.”

“No, you don't have to kill.”

“I don't? But I thought…isn't that what Vampires do?”

“Not all of us. Whether you kill him or not is up to you.”

“What if I can't stop myself?”

“That's why I'm here.”

With a soft cry of resignation, Susie wrapped her arms around the man and buried her fangs in his neck. His head lolled back against her arm, his body quivering, but he made no sound, offered no protest, no cry of pain.

Rafe stood nearby, his own hunger rising as he watched Susie feed. When he judged she had taken enough, he put his hand on her arm and drew her away.

She turned on him with a feral hiss, her eyes blazing.

“No more,” Rafe said. “If you're still hungry, we'll find someone else.”

She stared at him, her gaze fixed on his throat.

“Vampires don't feed on Vampires,” Rafe said, his voice sharp. “They take a drink now and then, but never more than that.”

Rafe spoke a few words to the man, erasing the memory of what had happened from his mind, and then sent him on his way.

Susie stared after him. Gradually, the heat faded from her eyes as her fangs retracted. “I have a lot to learn, don't I?”

“It'll come to you, bit by bit. Or,” he said, grinning, “bite by bite. How do you feel?”

“Wonderful! Like I could fly.”

Rafe grinned. “You will, in time.”

“What about my kids? Will they be safe around me? And what about my parents, my friends? How will I explain my sudden aversion to food and the fact that I can't go out during the day and…” Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Maybe you should have just let me die.”

“Stop it. You've got a lot to live for. And, unless I miss my guess, Cagin will be right there to help you.”

Her expression softened at the mention of Cagin's name. “He asked me to marry him.”

“I'm not surprised.”

“How can I? How can I trust myself to marry anyone, or trust anyone I marry?”

“Do you love him?”

“I don't know. I think so, but…” She shook her head. “He killed Rick, and even though he did it to save my life…how can I live with the man who killed the father of my children?”

“How can you live without him?”

“I don't know.”

Rafe put his arm around Susie's shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “It'll all work out, one way or the other. Now, do you want to go back to my place, or are you still hungry?”

She licked her lips, her eyes glowing. “I want some more.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I was watching the news, or pretending to, when Rafe and Susie entered the room. I hadn't heard them come in and couldn't hide my surprise at seeing them, nor could I stop staring at Susie. She had been a pretty young woman before, but now she was radiant. Her skin seemed to glow, her eyes looked brighter, her hair appeared thicker and more lustrous. Apparently, becoming a Vampire was better than a face-lift or a day at the spa. Of course, there were a few trade-offs, like giving up food and sunshine for blood and moonlight.

Cagin sprang to his feet when he saw her. “Where the hell have you been?”

She looked at Rafe, as though for reassurance.

“We've been hunting,” Rafe said calmly. He glanced around the room, making me wish I had cleared the empty pizza box and plastic coffee cups from the coffee table.

Eyes narrowed, Cagin looked at Susie as if he had never seen her before, and then he sighed. “I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, but, dammit, didn't you think I'd be worried when I went in to check on you and you were gone? For all I knew, those crazy hunters had you again.”

“I'm sorry,” she murmured, moving closer to Rafe. “I didn't think about that.”

“All right, everybody just calm down,” Rafe said. “If anyone's to blame, it's me. I thought it would be best for all concerned if Susie went hunting with me the first time.”

“So,” Cagin said, obviously ill at ease with the idea of his lady love hunting for prey, “how was it?”

Susie smiled up at Rafe. “Not as bad as I thought it would be. Rafe was very kind and patient with me.”

Cagin glared at Rafe. “Is that right?”

“Back off, Cagin,” Rafe said, bristling. “She needed someone to teach her what to do. If I didn't do it, who would? You?”

Cagin clenched his hands at his sides.

For a minute, I thought the two of them were going to fight again.

“Joe, please don't be angry,” Susie said, moving to his side. “Please don't make this any more difficult than it already is.”

Cagin muttered an oath, but the anger washed out of his eyes. “I'm sorry.” He glanced at Rafe and then at me. “If you two will excuse us, I think Susie and I need to talk.”

Rafe inclined his head, and Cagin and Susie left the room.

“Where did you go?” I asked. “What happened?”

“Just what I said. I took her hunting, just as my father once took me.”

“You're not her father.”

“That's where you're wrong. She's my fledgling, and I'm her sire. She belongs to me now, in a way she'll never belong to Cagin.”

“I don't think I like the sound of that. In fact, I'm sure of it.”

Rafe smiled indulgently as he sat beside me on the sofa. “We're not bound the way you and I are bound,” he assured me. “No one else will ever share what we have.” His knuckles slid over my cheek. “Don't you know that?”

When he looked at me like that, how could I doubt him?

“So, she's going to be all right, then?”

“I think so.”

“She looks different. Does becoming a Vampire affect everyone that way?”

He nodded.

“Too bad you can't bottle it,” I muttered. “You could make a fortune.”

“You're angry.”

I tossed a lock of hair over my shoulder. “Why should I be angry?”

“Jealous, then.”

I would have denied it, but what was the point? He could read the truth in my mind. I blew out a sigh, annoyed with myself for being jealous of a Vampire, no matter how pretty she was. So what if she would never grow old, never get sick? She would never enjoy a good meal again, never take her children to the park on a sunny day, never share her whole life with her sons, or with the man she loved. Shape-shifters lived longer than humans, but not as long as Werewolves or Vampires. Susie, it seemed, was destined to live a long life as one creature or the other. Barring accidents, she might outlive Cagin.

“Kathy?”

I didn't want to talk about Susie anymore, didn't want to delve too deeply into the reason for my jealousy, so I changed the subject. “What do you suppose Edna and Pearl are up to?”

“I don't know,” Rafe said, his voice brittle, “but I intend to find out.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“I'm going after them, back to the lab, if necessary.”

“Are you crazy?”

“Don't worry. They won't take me unaware this time.”

“But…”

“Someone has to stop them,” he said. “If I don't do it, who will?”

“What about Mara?”

“Mara's not here.”

“What about Clive? Or…”

He silenced me by pulling me into his arms and kissing me.

Mumbling, “You don't fight fair,” I closed my eyes and lost myself in his touch.

I forgot everything else until I heard Cagin clear his throat.

“What do you want?” Rafe asked gruffly.

“We need to decide what to do. Susie and I can't stay here forever.”

Rafe kissed the tip of my nose, then drew me against his side. “I'm going after Edna and the others.”

“When?”

“Later tonight.”

“I'll go with you,” Cagin said.

“Me, too,” Susie said.

Rafe nodded. “We'll wait until after midnight.”

“Where do you think they'll be?” Cagin asked. He sat in one of the chairs, and Susie sat in the one across from him.

“No telling. We'll start at Edna's place. If she's not there, we'll assume they're out at the lab.”

“And if they aren't there?” Susie asked.

“Then they're probably out looking for us,” Rafe said.

“Maybe we should bait a trap and let them come to us,” Cagin suggested. “Take them on our turf, on our terms.”

Rafe frowned. “What do you have in mind?”

“We could let the girls go to Kathy's house. Sooner or later, one of the hunters will come looking for them there, and when they do, we'll be waiting.”

Rafe shook his head. “Forget it. I'm not using Kathy for bait.”

“I think it's a good idea,” Susie said. “Don't you think so, Kathy?”

“I guess so.”

Rafe glared at me. “I said forget it.”

“Susie will be with me,” I argued. “She's a Vampire now. Doesn't she have the same powers that you do?”

“More or less,” Rafe admitted grudgingly.

“No matter what we decide to do, I need a change of clothing,” Susie declared. “I can't stand my own smell.” She looked at Cagin and wrinkled her nose. “You could do with a change of clothes, too.”

“Dammit,” Rafe said, “we've got more important things to worry about than that.”