Night Light. Amy Blankenship

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      Night Light

      Blood Bound Series Book Two

      Amy Blankenship, RK Melton

      Copyright © 2012 Amy Blankenship

      Second Edition Published by TekTime

      All rights reserved.

      Chapter 1

      Quinn Wilder looked around Warren's office not knowing if finding out who was behind the murders was a good thing or a bad thing. Most of the shouting match was over… or at least he hoped it was. He glanced at Kane now that the vampire had his back toward the room. Kane hadn’t bothered to defend himself… Michael had done a good job of that for him.

      He should have been mad at the blonde vampire and he should apologize in the same breath, but right now all he felt for Kane was an odd fear and, as an animal of prey, he didn’t like that feeling.

      Kane smirked as he stared out the window. He really needed to turn the volume down on hearing other people’s thoughts. So, the jaguars and the cougars were together again… big fucking deal. What did they want him to do, a happy dance? Well tough, he wasn’t in the mood.

      â€œThe soulless vampires outnumber us at least ten to one. If I remember correctly, Devon was always an aggressive fighter. Maybe we should call him and have him come back and help.” Steven offered his two cents, “At the rate the vampire army is growing, it’s quickly becoming a losing battle. If we don’t rally an army of our own, then we might as well pack it up and get the hell out of Dodge.”

      â€œIf the families hadn’t been banned from each other for so long, you would have known Devon is busy chasing his reluctant mate half way around the world right now,” Kat answered Steven, but she was glaring at Quinn when she said it.

      â€œSarcasm noted,” Steven grinned. His big brother had pissed Kat the hell off by kidnapping her. Glancing back at Quinn, he wondered why his brother hadn’t said anything about Dean helping them with the vampires near the club. Having one of the fallen on their side was bragging rights… not something to keep a secret.

      He’d heard about the other fallen who had helped retrieve Devon’s mate and her friend, but now that he’d left with Devon and the two girls, Dean was their only trump card. “I second the motion of calling Devon back home in hopes that the fallen… what was his name?”

      â€œKriss,” Kat offered.

      â€œIf Kriss comes back with Devon, then we’ll have evened the odds because we already have one of the fallen here that is willing to help us,” Steven finished.

      â€œAnd just how do you suppose we get them back?” Quinn asked glancing toward Warren. “You know how the males of our species react when we’ve found a mate. The only way Devon will come back is if his mate is with him.”

      â€œHere’s a new idea for you… Tell him the truth,” Kat growled and locked eyes with Quinn when he turned to look at her. She cocked an eyebrow at him then smiled in satisfaction when he jerked his gaze away.

      Quinn inwardly winced at her barb but said nothing in retaliation.

      Kane took a cigarette out of his case and lit it. “I dare say, the young lady among us does have a point. If you want the kittens to come back, you have to entice them.”

      â€œSure,” Michael said trying to lighten the mood in the room. “I’ll just set a bowl of cream outside the back door and wait there with a butterfly net.”

      Kane and Kat both grinned at the visual of Michael sitting in the dark with a butterfly net in his hands waiting for some unsuspecting kitten to come and start lapping up a bowl of cream.

      â€œKriss does need to come back,” Kat finally conceded. “I’ve seen him fight and it’s the equivalent of a serious f-bomb. But if I read him right, he won’t come back without Tabby.”

      â€œHow do you get a fallen to leave his charge and pick a side in a war?” Steven asked.

      â€œYou don’t,” Michael stated. “The fallen are few and far between. The only two I’ve ever met are Dean and Kriss, and you don’t want to piss either one of them off.” He glanced at Quinn, “Is there any chance Dean would ask Kriss to cut his vacation short?”

      Several more questions were asked from the jaguar side of the room but Kane felt cold chills crawl across his skin as he blocked them out. He knew exactly who they were talking about. If Kriss came back… then Tabatha would follow.

      Everyone but Michael twitched when Kane suddenly turned around and faced them.

      â€œThe war’s already started, so when you guys are finished kissing and making up, maybe you can join in the hunt.” He pushed the window open and jumped out, not caring that it was on the second floor. His long black duster flapped out behind him looking very similar to dark wings before he dropped out of sight.

      As Kane disappeared, Michael rolled his eyes at his friend’s dramatic exit and reached over to close the window. Everyone else thought Kane had landed on the ground but he could sense him above them, on the roof. The meeting had actually gone better than Michael thought it would.

      Michael wondered if Kane even realized what he’d done when he’d shoved that bloodstone deep into Kane's flesh. When he bit his own wrist and bled into Kane's wound, it had been for two very good reasons. One was to help the stab wound heal faster, but the second reason had been purely selfish. With his blood now deep inside Kane’s veins, he could track his friend’s every movement.

      It still ticked him off that Kane had been within the city for quite a while and he’d not known it. He hadn’t even been looking for him because he’d thought Kane was dead. If he’d found Kane a little sooner… maybe he could have stopped this mess before it had spiraled out of Kane's controlling hands. But now that he’d given blood to Kane, it would be better than a tracking device. If Kane decided to run… he wouldn’t get far.

      â€œI don’t see why Kane has such a bad attitude about this since he’s the one who caused the vampire explosion to start out with,” Nick said from where he was leaning against the door. He didn’t mind Michael in the mix, but counting on Kane was a bad idea. The man didn’t exactly seem stable.

      â€œYou’re just pissed because Kane decided not to be the enemy,” Warren informed him even though he wasn’t too happy with Kane himself. But he wasn’t going to bring up the fact that Kane had also set his sister up for Quinn to kidnap… not until he had a better idea of just how sane the resurrected vampire really was.

      Michael started to take up for Kane, but there were too many toes to step on and enough guilt to go around. He knew Kane was still hiding something from him and he was dying to find out what it was before it wound up eating his friend alive. He wished Kane would hurry up and realize that he wasn’t alone anymore.

      On the other hand, Michael knew Kane had gone through an experience he would never be able to completely understand the horror of. If faced with the same situation, Michael wasn’t so sure he could keep his sanity either. Kane was betrayed by one of his best friends and sentenced to an eternal exile with almost no hope of escape.

      His eyes narrowed toward the window realizing that was one question he’d completely forgotten to ask. Just how had Kane been freed from the grave?

      *****

      Kane paced back and forth on the roof of Moon Dance, his hands fisting and uncurling at his sides. He could still see the look on Kriss’ face when he’d thrown him across the warehouse like trash. He couldn’t fight the fallen… no one could stand up against the power one of them possessed.

      Even if they did call Kriss in as reinforcement, and Tabatha came back with him, Kane knew Kriss had no intentions of sharing her. It didn’t happen very often, but Kane would bet the bloodstone buried in his body that the fallen was in love