He sighed and levered himself upright, before rubbing his big hands over his face and scrubbing them through his hair. He had never seen that woman before. It was unusual for humans to make their way into his dreams. His female dream partners were usually much toothier.
Was she really human? While her scent seemed to confirm it, the bite mark indicated otherwise. Male Weres bit their mates as part of the bonding process. The injection of their individualized virus started a chain reaction. Until the bond was finalized with a mating on the night of the full moon, the bite ensured that the female was irresistibly drawn to the male that bit her.
Kade’s heart twisted as he gathered the plates and made his way to the kitchen. The condo was as silent as a tomb. Since his sister Kitani had moved out to be with her mates Ryan and Cody, the place was far too quiet.
He plunked the dishes into the sink and contemplated washing them at two in the morning. Kade decided it was a task better left for daylight and wandered back down the hall toward the bedrooms. He paused at one door, then opened it.
The primary bedroom. He didn’t sleep here. Not anymore.
A thick layer of dust sat on the furniture. The curtains had been pulled back, and the light from the moon streamed in to define every surface, even to his human eyes.
Kade walked to the bed, lay down on it, rolled his head into the covers, and inhaled. After two years, all he smelled was dust. Some days, he almost forgot the details of her features. It always panicked him and sent him scurrying for the photo in his wallet.
Isa. His dead mate.
His bond brother, Cas, had only lived a couple of months longer than her, making his own choice after Isa’s death. Kade had been forced to carry on alone.
He’d managed it for a short time. He’d functioned, kind of. Fooled everyone, including himself. Then it had all gone to hell. He’d lost it. Lost himself. He wouldn’t have come through the other side if it hadn’t been for his sister, his friends, and others.
Saving him had been a group effort.
He admitted to no one that there were times he still teetered on the edge. A shattered mate bond was a terrible thing. His people mated in triads, two males to a female. It was much more than a choice. The triad was a bond that bridged them mentally and physically. They even shared a three-way telepathic link. Once formed, the bond was for life. There were no divorces in Sabre culture.
He, Isa, and Cas only had three years as a triad before tragedy had struck. Three years, when they should have had a lifetime together.
Kade rolled upright, rose, and left the room.
Turning his back on his past, he returned to the couch.
* * *
Jessie didn’t wake up slowly, with a usual yawn and stretch. She roused like a wildcat, all thrashing arms and pounding heart, her mouth open in a silent scream.
She woke remembering gold eyes. Gold eyes that glowed.
But she was alone. Alone in a room she didn’t recognize, lying on a single mattress sitting directly on the floor, covered in a thin blanket. There were no windows, only bare, featureless walls with lights recessed into the ceiling that showed her a ten-foot square room.
Her new quarters included a mattress and a bucket in the corner. That was it. The floor was bare concrete. Dirt showed geometric designs. Dented, torn, and filthy drywall lined the walls. The entire place stank of mold.
Storage. This room had been used for storage. Where the hell was she?
For a second, the walls seemed to close in on her. She took a deep breath and pushed the panic aside.
The thrashing arm scenario revealed something else. Her left shoulder hurt like hell, up high near her neck. Trembling fingers pushed at her scrubs. That side of the neck opening was stiff. She tugged the cloth away from her body.
It pulled at her skin, and a wave of pain flooded through her. The scrubs were stiff withdried blood.
Her blood.
What the frigging hell?Images swirled through her memory, but Jessie rejected them outright. No way she’d seen what she’d seen. Maybe some guy in a costume? With being so tired, and the wind, and the rain, her imagination had gotten the best of her.
But a guy in a costume hadbittenher? Because that was what she remembered. Hot breath against her skin. A wet tongue, licking her. Then the bite.
Even now, it made her shiver.
Her mind raced, attempting to fit things into a pattern she could accept. Vampire cults. There were people out there that believed in vampires. That regularly took blood from humans. Some even had their canine teeth altered. She’d seen pictures.
So... What? Twisted-vampire-cult-kidnaps-innocent-woman-outside-hospital? One so-called vamp had even come into the ER. Had he been watching her? Waiting for her to come out, so they could kidnap her?
