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PROLOGUE

Colton growled low, even in his sleep, he couldn't bear to see the fear in his rew in the pit of his stomach as he watched her pace back and forth in her family room He watched in terror as the front door was kicked in and ferals rushed in

"Run! Call for help! Come to Lycaonia!" he yelled

It didn't matter how loud he shouted, she couldn't hear him He watched helplessly as one of the ferals stalked closer to his

Colton's eyes opened and he stared into the darkness Groaning he rolled over onto his back He went over every aspect of the dreaure out where his mate was The previous drea worried or anxious, never before had she been in any physical danger

He could only pray that she was safe; it was all in Fate's hands now

CHAPTER ONE

Rheia Bradley paced back and forth in front of the large picturein her faht's dream had spooked her so badly, she'd asked Radek Carson, one of her oldest friends, to swing by the house He had taken over as Sheriff when her father retired and always kne to cheer her up

She breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw headlights flood her driveway She walked over to the door and waited, she knew if she si to see who there, Radek would never let her hear the end of it A minute later, there was a knock and she checked the peephole Sure enough, the bastard had covered it with his thumb

"Stop wasting tih the door

"Just checking," was his rinned; Radek hadn't come alone Beside him were the other members of the paranormal squad that patrolled their small town of Jefferson Outside the confines of the four paranoruard squads blended into hueless, the Vanguardto an active duty status as a Unit Warrior in one of the four pillar cities

She opened the door wide; Radek walked in and ruffled her hair Ever since she was a child, she always likened hie and barrel-chested When not in his sheriff's uniform he stayed in jeans and his favorite, worn biker jacket She always joked with hi around on his bike, there would be less crime She crinkled her nose as he leaned down to kiss her cheek, his scruffy beard was scratchy Laughing, he kept walking to make roouez, a jaguar shifter, winked and she blushed He chuckled and kept walking through to the fao hall feel beautiful He epitoeously To this day, despite the nu it, he could make her cheeks burn Levi Sorrel stepped over the threshold and gave her a hug He was one of the town's police detectives and excelled at co, the witch handed her a sht her about different herbs and their uses; she knew that these two herbs in particular helped to sooth frantic nerves She squeezed his hand in thanks Dax Vi'Eaereson followed behind Levi, his huge body filling the doorframe Dax worked with Marco in the fire department She'd heard more than one woet the two men to save them Where Marco was dark eyes and lean olden hair, a a word, Dax leaned down and kissed her forehead beforeforward The last of their squad, Athan Durant, a va the door behind him He was the squad's only paramedic His vampire senses and attunement to blood, helped him treat irlish infatuation with the grace of a gentle her His royal blue eyes s She let herself sag for just a th and support

"We're here now, honey Come into the family room so I can visit with htened Then we can kill it and head ho, she let him take her hand and lead her to the family room

Radek had already scooped up her daughter, Penny, and she was fir with Penny's favorite hidden object book It had been alo to the day since Penny came into her life Radek and his team had arrived at the scene of a brutal double hoed between the wall and the bed The blankets not only ht Radek bundled her up and gave her to Athan, so he could bring the child to her Athan upon arriving at her house, thrust the girl into her aro into the system, she's one of us"

Radek told Levi to manipulate the computer systems so that Penny was officially hers, but they all soon discovered, that forging adoption papers had been the easy part Penny, when found, had been nearly catatonic for the first six months that she'd lived with her Rheia had tried to balance the needs of a traumatized child with her career as a doctor at the local hospital When it beca, she took a leave of absence She used the inheritance she received upon the death of her parents to raise her daughter It saddened her that her parents would never get to meet Penny, but she believed that, in a way, the hter