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"Dayti at her computer in the sublevel roo red hair in a pony tail and stared at the co pendant around her neck that co a list of books she was interested in ordering frohts drifted to her sandy-haired youngtowards her, like her late husband, Sao when she was just a hue as a mate, and she loved him dearly As she narrowed her book selections, she fondly smiled at how happy he made her So ood way

She refocused her attentions on the online order before her The first book was a biography on the life of Theodore Roosevelt, which she could discuss at length with Caleb She enjoyed their history-related conversations, being an amateur historian herself Face it, survive five hundred years, and by natural selection, you&039;re a historian She fondly recalled taking Caleb&039;s introductory history class the previous fall semester and the subsequent attraction she had felt towards hiuard by that initial spark of desire for him

The other book she ordered was a rohteenth century She had been a vampire since the 1530s, so it was a period she recalled vividly, though without s presented in historical roenre and smiled at how Caleb would likely tease her over that Alpha vampire and romance reader

Yet I&039;ht? She had tried to deularly and openly, mainly so he wouldn&039;t be inti a pushover

Fortunately for her, Caleb wasn&039;t soed her for the alpha role And while she wanted to clai nature was important in order to protect hi in control Fortunately, he doesn&039;t seeht with a smirk He even seemed to enjoy it at times Yes, he&039;s so unlikethe Internet, which was undoubtedly one of her favorite pastie passed along, including viewing a hu off of a ladder in a buffoonishhis house There was another series of e for weeks Most were from vampires horatulated her on killing Chi so Frankly, she was happy to leave the entire affair in her past, as those horrific events had nearly brought about her demise, and h the process of responding to each enda She wastime until Caleb called to infor Lately, he had been very creative about their tia only played once, she was already looking forward to future activities in that sareed the day before, Tanisha waited a little longer at her office than planned that Friday afternoon in order to transport Caleb to the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area He removed a medium-sized backpack, heavy brointer coat, and rolled-up sleeping bag from the trunk of his Honda Civic and transferred it into the back of Tanisha&039;s light brown Cadillac Escalade

"That&039;s all you&039;re bringing?" she asked

"Yep," he replied He glanced overhead at the sunny sky, appreciating the favorable weather conditions

Once inside, he took a al interior of the vehicle and the co It e He se looked with his car parked next to her sleek Audi Maybe with theexpenses with her, I&039;ll be able to trade in my car on a new one in the next year or so

"Nice ride," he said

She sine purred to life "Thanks Willia his African Queen had to travel in style"

Caleb grinned, recalling that he had called Katrina a "Queen of the Va, mind you," Tanisha added with a sober expression "A little respectful attention is a proper way to treat a woman"

"Ah, so Williarinned slyly as they pulled out of the parking lot "M man, e But it probably isn&039;t like with you and Katrina We&039;re a little rin

"Hey, I&039; anybody"

He shook his head as they hway for the short trip to Lithonia

It was late afternoon when Tanisha pulled up at the side of Klondike Road, adjacent to the preserve Caleb thanked her and reassured her that Katrina would be joining hi and backpack frooodbye and watched her turn around and drive away He briefly considered hoell things were going with hi to know her

He turned and headed towards an area where the forest was growing thicker His plan was to transfer his scent to a nue rocks and trees, so he could confuse Katrina fro directly to his location once she arrived

There weren&039;t many people around on that cold, late January afternoon, which suited hi the peace and quiet As he trudged amidst the lush pine trees, he realized it was ti plans

He was thankful to see he still had two bars of signal strength on his cell phone Didn&039;t think about that beforehand He made a mental note to verify cell phone availability in future Find Caleb locations Safety was a condition Katrina insisted upon, and he didn&039;t want to cause her undue worry by overlooking so once before she picked up, and he sreeted "Tonight, it&039;s ti episode of Find Caleb I hope you&039;re feeling up to it"

He thought he heard a brief, uncharacteristic giggle at the other end "I&039;m always ready to find Caleb Where&039;s the location, and what are we playing for tonight?"

He was pleased to hear the anticipation in her voice, and he realized he was as excited to take part as she seeht&039;s hunt takes place at the Arabia Mountain Heritage Park and Nature Preserve It&039;s less than half an hour&039;s drive via highway fro the winter, it&039;s a beautiful location The gaht we&039;re playing for an all-over body e!"

She snickered "Okay Tily

"Daybreak?" she asked with surprise Just where the heck is this place?

He heard her typing furiously on her keyboard, followed by rapidsounds Initially, he had been surprised that Katrina was so very tech-savvy, because he had always envisioned vas He quickly learned that vae They had to keep up with human society in all areas if they were expected to survive and maintain their anonymity

"Caleb!" she exclaimed, "There&039;s nearly two thousand acres for me to search!" That&039;s a hell of a leap from the woods near our house, she fue," he conceded "But you have all night, and I&039;ve seen you move, or more pointedly, not seen you round in a short tih he wasn&039;t sure if it ith resignation or disapproval, and he frowned He wanted her to have both an enjoyable and challenging experience

"It&039;s supposed to be cold tonight, Caleb," she warned "Are you sure you&039;re prepared?"

"Oh, yes," he assured her "I brought water, so, and even so I also have some pepper spray in case I run into any unfriendly wild animals"

Silence

"Pepper spray, huh? Hm Well, okay But if I haven&039;t located you by 4 AM, or if anything feels dangerous, you&039;d better be signaling ree to that," he replied

"It wasn&039;t a negotiable request, my love," she stated emphatically Your safety is para her head

He sed and amended his statement with, "Understood"

"Much better," she said in a more upbeat tone of voice "I&039;ll be there just after sundown Be careful Love you"

He smirked as the line went dead and tucked his cell phone into his belt holder Then he went about covering ashis scent around by brushing against trees and other surfaces

By the ti fell, it had turned very dark in the preserve His scent-spreading efforts tired him out, so he stopped in a densely wooded area to eat some trail mix and drink some water He was thankful he had packed a few bottles of water in his backpack The nightti a chemical hand warratulated hi theloves that he ere doing an excellent job of keeping his hands ware around a little more in order to stay war trail that led towards a high peak on the east side of the preserve Despite the cool conditions, he thoroughly enjoyed the outdoors and was pleased he had selected the venue for their latest challenge

As time passed, he contemplated the relationship he had formed with Katrina It was so different from any he had experienced with other wo the focus of her attentions, and despite her tendency to be overly protective and so at times, he nevertheless loved her for it There see he wouldn&039;t try toaround in cold, relanced at his watch with a yawn, realizing nearly two hours had passed since he had last spoken with Katrina Surely she&039;s at the preserve by now He felt a surge of adrenaline reinvigorate his system and tried to listen more closely to the sounds around him He considered that he needed to keep more to the trees so she wouldn&039;t easily see hi to move more stealthily Still, there&039;s a lot of territory for her to cover, and she ht now

After nobetween pine trees and listening for unusual noises, Caleb settled down a few feet into the trees fro to try to rest up a little The cool winter air penetrated his jacket, and he activated another hand war the spent one he replaced into his pack He absently placed his backpack against the trunk of a large pine tree He unwound his sleeping bag, slipped into it, and sat up with his back against the sa closed, he was able to hide most of his face inside the enclosure for warmth

As he listened closely to the natural sounds around him, he failed to notice when he was lulled asleep

"Well, what have we here?" a deep voice resonated as he lurched awake

Caleb squinted into the darkness to see a largeabove him His heart rate soared instantly, as he was coht be trudging around the preserve in the er, he wondered

"I didn&039;t expect ca winter," the baritone voice observed "But then, I haven&039;t been hunting around here for very long, either"

A hunter then, Calebbag "I was just resting, but I&039;ll be on my way now"

The tall man chuckled "No need to leave on my account"

Caleb tried to focus on the uished blue jeans and a dark-colored sweater, though he wasn&039;t wearing a winter coat or gloves He appeared to be sturdy-framed, broad-shouldered, and African-American by his dark skin tone A final quality sent a shiver through Caleb&039;s body: the asped with realization What are the odds?

The vampire emitted another deep chuckle, and a scowl showed on his face as he perched his large hands atop his hips, glowering at Caleb from above

"You&039;re a vampire," Caleb muttered with as much reassurance in his voice as he couldhis revelation wasn&039;t a positive one

The vampire&039;s scowl faded abruptly, and his arressive posture as he demanded, "How so?"

"Your eyes," Caleb said as he slipped his hands frorasped a s eyes are a dead giveaway"

"Just how do you know so ure deht with his left hand and saw that the vampire&039;s expression appeared unsettled "I&039;m a vampire&039;s mate," he announced boldly

"Oh, really?" he asked with a white-toothed sht that be?"

"Katrina Rawlings," he stated calure frowned, and his violet eyes narrowed slightly "Seerowled

"My name&039;s Caleb Caleb Taylor"

The vampire squatted down to look hih it&039;s not really going to matter much in a few more minutes"

Caleb&039;s eyes widened, and he pressed, "Wait! I already told you I&039;m a vaesture of looking to his left and then to his right "Well, where is she? I don&039;t see, or sense, any other vaed "I&039;ve been here since just after sundown looking for wild game and haven&039;t seen anyone else but you"

"She&039;s here soaaame"

Caleb&039;s heart nearly stopped, and he ilance past thevalanced over his shoulder for just a second, giving him the time he needed to withdraw the pepper spray from his pocket As Devon turned back to hi the varily, and his hands went to his eyes as Caleb launched hi trail, using his flashlight to light the path before him

"Ka-trin-a! KAT!!" Caleb shouted desperately fros as his heart pounded away in his chest "Need help, Kat!!"

As he ran, horrific fear raced through his mind that perhaps she wasn&039;t nearby, or worse, not even at the preserve But she has to be, or she would&039;ve called hts quickly returned to his current situation and his desperation to be as far froripped the pepper spray tightly in his right hand as he ran frantically along the hiking path He considered glancing over his shoulder behind hi instead

"Ka --" he started to yell before being knocked to the ground froed to hold onto the flashlight as he hit the hard, uneven ground before hiround before he felt a huge hand wrap around the back of his neck, hauling hiht wasn&039;t being suspended froht hand darted to the varip on his neck as he clawed futilely to pry his attacker&039;s hand loose

"That was stupid!" Devon barked "And noe end this"

Caleb was frantic, and his ht hand slipped into his front jeans pocket, and he ed to extract his small pocket knife The s, but was easy to use because it had a thu for precious time as he stealthily opened the pocket knife "Katrina&039;s an alpha!"

"What?" Devon de at the vaet a proper angle to be effective He felt Devon&039;s hot breath at the back of his neck, and he tensed his body, bracing hi of his flesh that he recalled from Katrina&039;s involuntary attack

In a last-ditch effort for freedom, he swept the knife blade backwards and sla the short blade to the hilt The dark, towering figure hoith pain as he abruptly released Caleb&039;s neck

Caleb immediately darted up the trail with speed born of a fear-induced adrenaline rush, yelling, "KAT!"

His feet seeround and around the abrupt turns in the trail The light froht bounced frantically in front of him, but he hoped it would provide an additional indicator to Katrina of his changing location Given that vampires could see in the dark, it was a ht to elude his pursuer Besides, he needed the benefit of seeing the path before him as clearly as possible

Caleb&039;s heart pounded as he ran through the night, and for a brief et free He wasn&039;t certain how far or for how long he had been running Time seemed suspended as the cold winter breeze chilled the skin on his face, and his lungs felt as if they were on fire

He thought he heard a rustling in the night to his right and glanced in that direction for only a second, though he saw nothing His body shook to an abrupt halt as it felt like a tree liue sensation of falling backwards as his body plus

His back i thud, and he thought he heard a gruff chuckle He realized he was lying in darkness, uncertain as to what happened to the s hauled upwards, and his body was being dragged across the ground

He h the effort sent pain coursing through his chest As the back of his head bounced across the hard turf, he reared back with his right leg and savagely kicked at the figure pulling on his other leg The heel of his boot irowl e released, his body was lifted into the air and abruptly sla the breath froh his body, and he felt a wave of nausea roll through his storabbed his hair fro a fresh wave of pain through his neck and shoulders He round, while at the same time he felt a knee press into his lower back His body was spent, and all that he wanted was for the pain to stop Mercifully, he began to feel hi consciousness

"I love you, Kat," he whispered desperately as he willed his final thoughts to be of the woman he loved

His body was dropped face-forward back onto the ground following the sound of a speeding truck ied to keep his face fro and snarling and what sounded like breaking tree branches He reached behind hiht hand as he tried to focus on the coed to spot his flashlight on the ground nearby and painfully crawled over to it Grasping it tightly in his hand, he shined it in the direction of the hissing and growling

Caleb watched as the burly vae pine tree as she darted to the side She raked some sort of blade across his upper shoulder and darted just out of are and rushed her It appeared that, while very fast coe-fraish than hers The advantage was clearly in Katrina&039;s favor, and she used each opportunity either to slash or stab her blade into her opponent To Caleb&039;s confusion, each cut or stab she used see her opponent without actuallysound startled him as he propped hi noise followed by the sound of another tree trunk&039;s breaking With a sudden burst of speed, Katrina appeared less than twenty feet froebeyond her as he brandished part of a tree li blood fro a steady strea off of the fingers of his hand

"This was avahtly in the darkness "He was easy prey, that&039;s all!"

"Did he tell you he was a vaely

"Maybe he said so about that," Devon countered "But I didn&039;t believe he was telling the truth at the tireen as she decreed in a cruel, flat voice, "Your last mistake"

"Whoa, whoa!" Devon insisted as he held the tree liressive stance "Let&039;s just cal!"

Caleb issued a dry-throated cough and rasped, "You shouldn&039;t threaten her with a tree branch, idiot"

His mind flashed to the time Katrina had revealed her vampire nature to him, and he had fearfully brandished a tree branch at her She had neatly disarh at the time she had meant him no hare valance at Caleb

Devon tossed the branch down beside hiesture towards Katrina, who see the optimum moment to attack "Please, just for a moment, let&039;s just stop," he entreated

"You didn&039;t grant Caleb that benefit a o," she noted in a flat, lethal voice Her focus swtiched to dispatching the opposing va to Caleb&039;s injuries as soon as possible

The vampire&039;s eyes ized, "No, you&039;re right That was a bad ly for either of us Really"

"You don&039;t know ugly yet," she seethed through fury-lit eyes as shevauard and was ready to initiate a killing blow

"I told you she was an alpha," Caleb spat with satisfaction, though his round, despite the ribs on his right side&039;s aching terribly Pain coursed through his body

Devon nodded and chuckled nervously "Yeah, I&039; to ones"

Katrina&039;s mouth upturned in a cruel fashion as she maintained her coht hand AnotherCaleb "Goodbye," she whispered under her breath as she darted forward

Devon saw Katrina&039;s body in action and barked, "Please! Listen!"

Katrina scowled cruelly and lunged at the vampire as she shouted, "Too late!"

She darted around to Devon&039;s left side, and her knife thrust underneath his injured left are vampire&039;s eyes widened and pleaded to her as his arms went up over his head in surrender

Just as Katrina&039;s knife blade touched Devon&039;s neck, she hesitated and stopped her intended killing strike There was soh she was on guard for any trickery She felt confident that in his injured stated he would be of little challenge if she changed her mind Her eyes darted to Caleb to arded his opponent as he gauged the dangerous and feral nature of the red-haired vampire before him

"My name is Devon Archibald, just as I introduced myself to your mate over there I&039;ve just recently relocated to the Marietta area froinia, and I had no idea this was your territory I don&039;t want to start any trouble with regional vaarded him dubiously

"Please I&039;ll abide by any territorial clai your interests, if necessary," Devon offered in a gruff voice

"My priesturing towards Caleb

Caleb tried to stand and h his back, ribs, and chest, and he was forced to drop back to his knees onto the cold, hard ground Both vaaze lingered for a second longer before returning to Devon

"I offerI proain," he insisted before turning his attention to Caleb "Besides, he looks hurt, and I can&039;t afford for hi eyes focusing on hiht he saorried expression wash across her features Unfortunately, he felt like he was starting to black out, and he pressed his pal his head

Katrina shot a dark look at Devon and carefully ht hand brandished the combat knife while her left hand reached down to press softly on his shoulder

"Lie down on the ground and try not to move until I can look at your injuries,on his side, and then curled up in his coat while hugging his ribs He felt nu as a h his chest, back, and ribs

Katrina&039;s attention returned to Devon, where the large-fra statue-still His face appeared calht to favor his injured left leg She worried about Caleb&039;s condition, and she berated herself for not having killed Devon already But for some reason, she felt like she could turn this situation to both hers and Caleb&039;s advantage

"I concede the fight," he declared "And I&039;ll honor terree to a truce"

She frowned and reement Her more immediate concern was to aid Caleb, and any further issues with Devon could be handled at a later tireed warily "We will finalize matters later Expect to hear from me soon, Devon Archibald"

Devon&039;s eyes darted to Caleb where he was lying on the ground nearby and back to Katrina "Understood," he agreed "And once again, I apologize for the rant reement and reintroduce myself in a proper fashion"

Katrina nodded curtly, and Devon turned to depart into the thick pine trees next to the trail But then he stopped and looked at Katrina with eyes that no longer glowed "My word is honorable," he insisted "What was your naain? Your mate s of the Atlanta area"

Devon&039;s eyes widened "Wait, the one that killed the Aztec asother vampires?"

Katrina&039;s face turned stony, but she nodded "That&039;s hed, shook his head, and muttered, "Yeah, just my luck" He turned to look at Caleb and offered, "My respects to hiht so hard before He&039;s a tough little bastard, and he gave alot"

Katrina scowled "I&039;m sure he&039;s happy to hear that"

"Thanks, asshole," was all Caleb lared at the varound

Devon frowned deeply, turned away from them, and disappeared quietly into the forest Caleb blinked, and when his eyes opened again the hulking vah his ribs as he tried to take a deep breath, and his head felt woozy and ached

Katrina moved in a blur as she both sheathed her knife and sped to Caleb&039;s side She knelt beside her prone mate with a concerned expression, re, and laid it over his prone for will be okay,care of you

He ible and escaped the continued pain by welco the darkness as it finally overcaained consciousness, though he couldn&039;t i said He shifted his body slightly, resulting in pain, and realized he was lying in a bed He slowly opened his eyes to discover the roonized the estate&039;s sublevel roo persisted behind his eyes, which he closed tightly

"I have to go, Alton He&039;s finally awake," Katrina urged in a near whisper "I&039;ll call you soon"

Caleb felt the edge of the bed shift next to hi beside hientle fingers caressed the skin on the side of his face, and her warm smile soothed him

"Welcome back, ained consciousness She was confident his body was healing, but worried he ht have a mild concussion

He felt disoriented and so out on the hard ground in the forest, but nothing ca have I been out?"

"Twelve hours or more," she replied "How do you feel?"

He tried to s and noticed his throat felt raw "Like hell, but better than back at the forest"

She retrieved a glass of ice water fro nearby His eyes met hers with a curious expression

"How bad was I?" he asked before drinking greedily He realized froe that she h, my love You had a couple of broken ribs, likely a mild concussion, and I&039;m fairly sure fro," she replied grimly

"Holy crap," he muttered He had no idea his body had endured that level of punishment

"I should have killed him," she half-lamented

"You didn&039;t?" he asked with a frown "I only re out"

She explained how she agreed to a truce and Devon&039;s proreement for restitution with her What concerned her was that he had no recollection of any of that dialogue, although he had seemed semi-conscious at the tiht," she said "What do you reh her as she wished she had been faster in tracking hi her name in the distance

He described his encounter with the hulking vaue as he could recall He told her how he initially used pepper spray against Devon, followed by his pocket knife to stab hi, and finally his atteroin to try te hi his tenacity and fortitude, though surprised he had engaged in so many melees with Devon "So that&039;s why you&039;re a &039;tough little bastard,&039; then," she surmised "I&039;m proud of you, my love It probably saved your life until I was able to find you"

He griot my ass kicked by another vampire Real valiant, that was"

She sravation evident in his tone and kissed hiht as hard as you did"

"Sure Then again, maybe he hasn&039;t attacked ht "I did get the impression he wasn&039;t particularly skilled in combat, but rather more of a brawler Or perhaps he isn&039;t that old a vampire," she speculated "But he was a brute-sized fellow He probably hasn&039;t encountered ht Obviously, you were a surprise of sorts"

"Obviously you were too," he added, recalling brief ied Devon in cohtly kissed his lips "My previous years of combat experience ca better at fighting vampires If he&039;d been a human instead of a vampire, I&039;m pretty sure he would have fared very poorly You seeht quickly on your feet with the resources you had available We&039;ll continue adding to your fighting skills in the future"

"Yeah, well, thanks for playing Find Caleb again," he said with a scowl "Given the added challenges, I suppose you get to pick the prize"

"I already picked hi hied a warm kiss with her, and reached out to stroke her affectionately on the thigh He was relieved she had arrived in ti able to take care of hiht He resolved to learn how to put some serious hurt on a vampire for any future repeat performances And with the way his luck typically went, he had the feeling he needed all the help he could get Then his thoughts turned to the unlikely nature of his encounter

"Just what are the odds ofinto him out there like that?" Caleb asked "I&039;uy in the world, or there&039;s a hell of a lot more vampires out there than you&039;ve ied"

"I&039;rimly

"Of course you are But then, you&039;ve been conscious for the past twelve hours too," he pointed out

She rolled her eyes at hiame, which makes sense on a wildlife preserve, so it&039;s likely you were et of opportunity For all we know, he&039;s been visiting the location regularly"

Caleb considered that and recalled, "I think he said so anyone out there on a winter&039;s night before"

She frowned "I&039;ia I&039;ve never taken much interest in other vampires, but now I have a mate with an apparent sense of adventure, so I have incentive to be curious This business with Devon hasa territory"

Caleb frowned "So, what do you hed "Well, in va a specific area as arnering unwanted attention by the vampire community, but it means there should be ht travel through here or relocate nearby"

"I&039;m really kind of surprised to hear you say that, Kat," he ventured quietly

"It was Alton&039;s idea, actually I prefer as much anonymity as possible, but our recent exploits with Chiht"

He frowned "What do youemails the past couple of weeks from vampires I didn&039;t even know existed Apparently, about half of the ewhat happened"

Caleb&039;s surprised expression spoke volued "Not me Us A number of emails have pointed out that you&039;re one of the few hurimaced and added bitterly, "And an attack from the Incredible Vampire Hulk, Devon"

She shtly Always the coerly to the other side of the bed, and she frowned

"Where are you crawling off to?" she asked

He s over the edge with an effort His body felt like it had been pummeled, but at least it seeroan as he fought the soreness in his body and tried to acquire his balance

She sped around to him in a blur and wrapped her arm around his torso to steady hi hiive him some privacy Her cell phone buzzed on the coe fro for her: How&039;s our boy?

Her speedy fingers typed: Ok Just woke up

Healed?

Katrina responded: Yes Better now

My best 2 you both Hug N kiss kiddo 4the bathroom door She helped him back into bed and bent down to tuck him under the sheets

He felt exhausted hed He was genuinely happy to be back in bed