Samson chuckled. “She might just listen to you more than to me.” After all, Zane was her godfather, her mentor for life, and if he wasn’t mistaken, his nine-month-old daughter had a bit of a crush on him. “Everybody here yet?”

Zane motioned to the living room. “They’re waiting.”

“And Portia is gone?”

“Just as you requested. She went shopping with Maya to get a few final things for the baby shower.”

Samson smiled. “Everybody is going nuts over this baby.”

“Can’t blame them. It’s rare for a hybrid to be born.”

“How about you and Portia? Any plans yet?”

Zane quickly shook his head. “Too early. I’m not ready to share her.” Then he winked. “But it doesn’t stop us from trying.”

Samson slapped him on the shoulder. “Just watch out. It happens faster than you think.” He walked into the living room and looked at the assembled, Zane following him and shutting the door behind them.

Cain and Haven stood at the fireplace, deep in conversation. Amaury sat in an armchair, his feet up on the coffee table, his eyes closed as if he were sleeping. Quinn and Gabriel sat on the couch, checking their iPhones for messages.

“Evening,” Samson greeted them, drawing their attention to him.

Amaury opened his eyes, Cain and Haven stopped talking, and Quinn and Gabriel put away their iPhones.

“Thanks for coming here. I know this is not our usual place to conduct meetings, but it couldn’t be helped.”

“Yeah, why is that?” Amaury asked.

“I’ll go into that in a minute. But first, what I’ll tell you now has to remain in this room. You can’t let anybody else know.”

Serious faces looked back at him and heads nodded.

“Good, then let’s get started.”

“Shouldn’t we wait for Thomas?” Gabriel asked.

Samson looked at his second-in-command. Thomas was of the same rank as the rest of the assembled vampires, and excluding him clearly looked like an oversight. “No. Thomas will have to stay out of this for reasons that will become clear shortly.”

Samson rocked back on his heels. “The new vampires who’ve moved into our city are a danger to us and our way of life. More so than we could have ever imagined.” He pointed to Zane who leaned against the armrest of the couch. “Zane and Thomas were following some leads last night and were able to track them to a building in Chinatown from which they seem to operate. We don’t know yet how many followers they’ve brought in, but their leader, a vampire named Xander, claims more are coming every day.”

Zane lifted his hand, a frown on his face. “How do you know his name? We didn’t go in.”

“Thomas did.”

“What the—” Zane growled.

Samson raised his hand to stop him. “I know. It’s against protocol. But he had his reasons. It was to protect you.”

Zane shot up. “I need no fucking protection!”

“You do.” He looked at his colleagues. “I’m afraid we all do. Xander and his people are no ordinary vampires.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Zane grumbled.

Samson glared at him. “If you’ll shut up for once, I’ll tell you.”

Zane crossed his arms over his chest, but remained silent.

“You all remember when, a few months ago, a vampire named Keegan came after Rose to get back a list she’d taken from him?”

He noticed how Quinn instantly straightened and leaned forward, alert and curious.

“As some of you witnessed, Thomas and his maker fought each other with mind control.

Unfortunately, it turns out that Keegan and Thomas aren’t the only ones who have that kind of skill. Apparently Keegan sired many other vampires, who all have the same trait. They can all harness mind control in a way that makes them stronger than other vampires.”

“Fuck!” Amaury cursed.

Samson could only echo his friend’s sentiment. “Yes, because while all of us know how to use mind control, none of us would ever dare to use it against another vampire, unless somebody attacks us with mind control directly. We’re aware of our limitations, and know that a mind control fight will lead to certain death. Whose depends on which vampire is stronger. However, that uncertainty is removed when it comes to Xander’s followers: their mind control skills are superior to ours.”

“Are you saying that whoever was sired by Keegan has that skill?” Gabriel asked.