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checking out some little chit who may or may not have a hand in her
father’s crimes.” He almost added that the elders had forbade him to go near
the Nostrums the day Diana was born, but he’d learned at a young age that it
was safer not to give his mother more information than necessary.
    Back then, he hadn’t questioned the elder’s edict. Frank
Nostrum had been nothing more than an annoyance, a harmless human mocked by
vampires and humans for traipsing through the mountainside and along the banks
of the lake each night in search of the ever-elusive vampire he claimed to have
seen as a child. Sebastian had no interest in Nostrum or his baby girl.
    Back then.
    But for the past several years, Nostrum had managed to kill
some of their strongest vampires in his pen. No amount of surveillance had
revealed what weapon he used to lure and restrain them. In the last few months
he’d taken down four.
    The only preacher in Mina’s Cove, Marek had protected
Nostrum from retribution for years with sermons on forgiveness. Sebastian’s
indifference and the hunter’s safety net vanished the moment dawn’s fiery rays
touched Marek’s skin.
    “This changes everything. Everything!” His mother brushed
past him and paced along the hemlocks, stopping occasionally to peek into the
yard. “Okay, just let me think a minute.”
    His mother suddenly stopped pacing and nodded. “I’ll watch
her this week. Then you could give me your blood and I—”
    “ I will follow her. I will prove she knows
about her father’s crimes.” Sebastian’s voice shook. “And I will avenge
Marek’s death.”
    “Of course she knows about his crimes! Any fool can see that
she’s the weapon.”
    “I swear on Marek’s soul and all those before him, if she
lured him into that pen, I’ll pour so much of my blood down her throat she’ll
drown in it.”
    “No!” His mother clutched his upper arms. “One drop,
Sebastian. No more! And wait the damn week. If you don’t, they’ll think I had a
hand in it and banish us both.”
    One week. An eternity for a vampire intent on revenge. He
despised Frank and Diana Nostrum, hated putting off their punishment and prayed
the week would pass swiftly. Diana’s innocence meant nothing.
    A soft mewl brought his attention down to the kitten
struggling within the tight grasp of his hand. Cold fingers skipped down his
spine when he realized how close he’d come to crushing the fragile body. He
immediately relaxed his grip and compelled the kitten to sleep while he sped up
its natural ability to replenish its blood. “One week. Not a day more. Whether
I find out how Nostrum captured Marek or not, Diana pays for his death a week
from tonight.”
    “Remember, not a drop of her blood.”
    “Just the thought of her blood makes me sick.” Sebastian watched
his mother vanish. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d just joined forces
with the devil.
    Striding a short distance into the woods, he carefully
placed the kitten near the base of a towering pine. “I’ll be back, little one,”
he whispered.
    When he returned to the hemlocks, he was surprised to find
Damien waiting for him. Sebastian lowered his head in deference to his elder
and stepfather.
    “What’s happened to you, son,” Damien asked, raking his
fingers through his hair and mussing the bittersweet chocolate spikes falling
over his furrowed brow. “How could you even consider punishing an innocent
woman for her father’s crimes?”
    “Her innocence means nothing,” Sebastian muttered, wishing
he felt as convinced as he sounded.
    “That’s Olympia speaking, not you.” Damien’s voice was calm
but, Sebastian heard the steely edge of his rising anger.
    “Mother’s right, Damien. We’re fools if we think the man
hasn’t brought Diana up to follow in his footsteps.”
    Damien continued to stare intently into his eyes.
    Sebastian mentally swatted away the doubt and guilt Damien’s
mere presence inspired. “Marek wasn’t just my