She frowned.

“I’m a VampLycan. Long story short, Vampires and Lycans once held alliances but it turned out bad. The male Vampires figured out they could get the female Lycans pregnant. They attacked the women, willing or not. I’m a result of both races.”

She chewed on her bottom lip.

“I can’t tell packs to leave you alone. We’re not in control of them, and we don’t have sway with the Vampire Council. They hate and fear us. We avoid them too so they don’t think we’re trying to start another war. Vampires can be paranoid about that shit.”

Jadee leaned back a few inches, staring at his mouth with a little trepidation. “You drink blood? I hope you’re not hungry.”

She wasn’t screaming or trying to get away. Her mild reaction amused him. “Your neck is safe.” He glanced down at the towel. Her body was another matter. He swallowed, attempting to ignore how easy it would be to strip her. “We get the ability to control minds from Vampires. We shift forms thanks to our Lycan blood. It pretty much means we got the better qualities of the two, and far fewer weaknesses.”

“Do you have a council?”

“No. We have four clans, with a leader for each one.”

“Will they get notified about me and start trying to take me out?”

“Not if I can help it.”

“I’m starting to feel like a unicorn.”

He laughed, her response totally unanticipated. “Why is that?”

“It seems it’s pretty rare to be immune to your eyes. I must be unique if this many people want to kill me.”

“The Vampires will fear that you’ll start hunting and taking out their nests. There are other humans like you who are immune, and in the past they became Vampire hunters. The council used to actively track and take them out in the old days. It’s probably why there aren’t as many of your kind as there used to be. They’d slaughter entire families so their children couldn’t continue the tradition of becoming hunters. They believed it could be a hereditary trait.”

“I just want to live and let live. I have no intention of becoming a Vampire slayer. I wouldn’t have used an axe on that jerk except he came after me. I was just taking out the trash at work, not asking for him to flash me his goods and order me to blow him.”

“I understand, but you have to remember that a lot of these masters are hundreds of years old, if not thousands. They run the council, and therefore, they rarely change the way they think.”

“Thousands?”

He nodded. “Some are. My Vampire ancestor was over two thousand years old. I never met him but I heard the stories. He was one of the few ancients who came to America once it was discovered. Most stayed in Europe, since travel was highly dangerous for day sleepers. They’d starve or be discovered by humans during the long journeys by ship if they fed from passengers.”

“They didn’t have redeye flights.”

He chuckled. “No, they didn’t.”

“Where is this antique Vampire ancestor of yours?”

“It’s uncertain. He may have been killed during the war.”

“The civil war?”

“The war between Vampires and Lycans.”

“I missed reading about that one in my history books.”

Jadee amused him; he enjoyed her sense of humor. “Humans who did know wished they hadn’t. Most didn’t survive. They were food for Vampires.”

“Who won?”

“We did, obviously, considering we’re not under the control of Vampires. They wanted to use Lycan women as breeders to create an army of children like what I am. They believed they could control them the way they do their nests.”

“How is that?”

“A master rules everyone in his nest to an almost slave-like degree. They planned to use the children to protect them during the day, and Vampires can also survive off Lycan blood.”

“Dual purpose. It sounds great for the Vampires but not so much for the kids. Slave labor and blood donors.”

“Exactly. The Lycan women weren’t too thrilled either. Vampires didn’t care if they were willing to become breeders or even if they were already mated. They just attacked them once they realized they could get them pregnant under certain conditions. The Lycan men defended their women. That started the war. The Lycans fought while the women of breeding age ran away. Then the children were born…and the Vampires had something to fear as we matured.”

“You are a badass.”

He grinned. “We have their strengths but not their weaknesses. Let’s just say the war was over once we grew up. It’s against the law for a Vampire to force a Lycan to breed anymore. If they tried, we can hunt them down during their day sleep and take them out. We have claws to rip their heads off. They just have fangs and sharp fingernails, if they let them grow out. They tend to avoid us to stay alive. The Lycans avoid us because we upset their pack structures.”

“English?”

“Almost every VampLycan is considered an alpha because of our strengths and abilities. A Lycan pack exists because a single alpha holds them together. They survive by living in small groups to help keep them stronger as a unit. We show up and it makes them nervous.”

“They’re afraid you’ll take over their packs?”

“Yes.”

“How do your clans work?”

He sighed. “It’s complicated. It not only takes strength to lead a clan but respect.” He paused, instantly thinking of Decker. “Or fear.”

“It sounds complicated.” She broke eye contact with him and glanced at his arms. “So who was that woman?”

“The one at the lodge? No one.”

She locked gazes with him. “She looked like someone.”

Lavos knew she wasn’t the type to just drop something. It was one of the things he liked about Jadee. “She’s visiting from another clan.”

“Have you ever slept with her?”

“No.”

“Ever wanted to?”

She was bold. He liked it. “No.”

“Ah. Okay. Does she want to sleep with you?”

“Yes.”

Her mouth compressed into a tight line. “I knew it. She seems really interested.”

“It isn’t going to happen. I’m not interested in her.”