“Dude, that sounds sick. How do you cure it?” Shayna asked.
“There is no cure. The vampire must be destroyed,” Malika answered stiffly.
“But how did you know David had chronic bloodlust?” Shayna pressed.
Malika smacked her lips like she could still taste her breakfast. “The first sign was the aggression David demonstrated toward your sister. Violence toward our food is unnecessary. We have no need to kill our prey to feast well. The second was that there was no reason for deprivation. You live in Tahoe. Millions visit there each year; David could have easily fed anytime he wished. Now, if there are no further questions, leave.”
Judge Zhahara scowled with majestic beauty, likely bummed we wouldn’t be sentenced to some miserable death. But when she turned her sights on Misha she smiled with all the warmth of a cobra. “Sir Aleksandr, step forward. Explain to the court why you allowed chronic bloodlust to go unnoticed and undisciplined in your family.”
We tried to exit the courtroom. Misha blocked our path. At first I thought he’d poised himself to attack. I leaped in front of my sisters to protect them. He ignored us, addressing the judges instead. “I assure the court I hold the strictest control over my family.” His voice belied his rage. “On my honor, I will not only discover how this infestation occurred, but I will also hunt and kill all those responsible.” He then turned to us and bowed. “Ladies, you have my deepest apology for this unfortunate incident.”
Incident? Between my date with Destiny and the legions of orthodontically challenged waiting to munch on us, “incident” didn’t quite sum it up. “Take your apology and shove it up your—”
Shayna covered my mouth. “Dude! Are you nuts?”
“Oh, Celia, please. Let’s just leave,” Emme begged in a frantic whisper. “It’s almost their lunchtime, for goodness’ sake.”
I allowed them to escort me out of the courtroom while keeping my eyes on Taran. She runway-strutted the entire length of the aisle. Before making her grand exit, she threw one last comment. “By the way, Sir Aleksandr, your vamp sucked in bed.”
I continued to watch Taran until she safely returned to my side. But unlike most males who met Taran, Misha wasn’t captivated by her. No. His hungry gaze fixed on me.
CHAPTER 3
I thought of Misha as I jogged my tenth and final mile alongside Lake Tahoe’s shore. Fangs and master vampire status aside, he was a beautiful man. A beautiful man who should have tempted me as easily as a fish to a line. And yet there was no temptation. Strange, though, to have someone so attractive see me with desire. Most men ignored me to gawk at my pretty sisters. On the rare occasion a potential suitor did glance my way, my predator side unleashed and intimidated the crap out of him. But what did I expect? My inner beast remained my powerful and loyal guardian, sharing my heart and spirit. She made us tough, strong, and a little scary…she also made us lonely.
I was only nine when our parents died. As mere humans, they hadn’t stood a chance against the gun-wielding burglars who broke into our home. I took on the parental role, willingly if not fiercely. Someone had to step up. Someone had to keep us safe. But as much as I tried, as hard as I fought, sometimes it wasn’t enough. Even a tigress could become prey, especially in a foster system full of predators.
Years of fear and betrayal made it difficult for us to trust anyone. We didn’t really have friends, except for Bren, the only were we knew and our Wiki into the supernatural world, and Danny, my buddy from college. It was hard to let others in. Especially for me. In many ways, I remained that young girl determined to keep herself and her little sisters safe.
I increased my speed, gliding along the cold, moist sand and trying not to let the pain from my past and the solitude of my present consume me. It was better for men to fear me, I reminded myself. If they feared me, they couldn’t hurt me. Again.
Go to your happy place, Celia. Go to your happy place.
That was easy, considering where I ran. A cool April breeze swept along the lake, rippling light waves to splash along the large boulders and bringing a fresh whiff of Tahoe’s magic to my nose. My inner tigress purred. God, I loved it here. It was strange to think of a lake as a friend, but it was. Tahoe made me feel happy and welcomed—a rare feat, considering the crap we’d been dealt….
I scented the werewolves before they appeared around the bend. They ran with the natural grace of their wilder sides and jumped easily over the small chunks of snow that remained along the beach. The breeze blew against me, so they couldn’t track my scent, but they would notice me soon enough.