He nipped my chin playfully. “There’s one thing we’ll find really hard about ruling: confining ourselves to The Hollow.”

Now that was an extremely good point. I bit my lower lip. “I really don’t think I can do it. For one thing, I’ll go crazy – or, at least, I’ll go crazier than I already am. But for another thing, I like the life we have now. I like being a commander, going on assignments, protecting people, and whipping the living shit out of dickheads.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I’d miss that too. So maybe we should make some changes.”

“Go against tradition?”

“Face it, baby, we’re not much for rules, are we? So we’ll come up with new ones. We can’t become different people. If we do, we’ll run the risk of drifting apart.”

That was true. “I’m liking this idea of making up new rules.”

Keeping me tight against him, he stood upright and urged me to curl my legs around his waist. “Later. Now I’m going to f**k you until there’s not a thought in your head except how hard you want to come.”

Sounded like fun.

At dusk, Jared and I headed to Antonio’s mansion for the usual meeting that was held for the commanders. Strolling inside the conference room, we found Antonio seated at the head of the table with Sebastian and Luther sitting either side of him. His personal guards and two pit-bulls were standing unobtrusively in the background, as usual. But the other commanders were strangely absent. Instead, there were two vampires that didn’t belong inside The Hollow: one male Sventé and one female Sventé. Both were very familiar and a long way from their home in London.

The cute, tiny brunette leaped from her seat, dashed around the table, and was suddenly hugging me so tight that I was worried a rib would crack. Not the most affectionate person in the world, I awkwardly returned the hug, patting her back.

Entertained by my discomfort, Jared smiled. I take it you know her? Thanks to Antonio’s ability to impart power – thus allowing vampires to develop additional gifts – Jared had three gifts: teleportation, electrokinesis, and telepathy. He wasn’t able to read minds, but he could hear any thought that was directed at him. Antonio had once rewarded me with additional power as well, and I’d developed a second gift. But the ability to Merge wasn’t a gift I liked to use much as it wasn’t exactly comfortable to join your body with someone else’s.

Quick warning: the girl is like the energizer bunny, I told Jared. Pulling back, I went to speak, but she beat me to it.

“Oh my God, it feels like it’s been years since I last saw you! How are you doing? I’m doing just fine. You look absolutely amazing! I heard through the vampire grapevine that one of your Binding presents was the Keja allure. In my opinion, you didn’t need it, but it must be nice having it. Oh and I love the mercury ring in your eyes! I’m so sorry that I missed your Binding. My brother will explain why.”

Everything had come out in a rush in the sweetest voice filled with excitement and optimism. See what I mean? I could easily pick up on Jared’s amusement. Ordinarily, someone like Ava would annoy the shit out of me. But there was something very endearing about this female. “I’m great, thanks.” I turned to Jared, who was clearly holding back a laugh. “Jared, this is Ava Sanchez. Ava, this is my mate, Jared Michaels.”

As I’d expected, Ava had the same response to him that every female did: she went jaw slacked and wide-eyed. I couldn’t really blame her. His alluring eyes demanded a person’s full attention, practically took them hostage. It was impossible not to wonder just how it would feel to run your fingers through his short, tousled chestnut hair, or to skim your hands over his tall, perfectly sculpted body.

Most males would relish and bask in that kind of attention, but Jared hated it. He resented the fact that he got his looks from his deceased twisted mother. Also, it annoyed him that much of the reason females flocked around him was that he was Antonio’s Heir. He didn’t find being wanted for his looks and position particularly flattering. Although I’d repeatedly told him that he had more to offer than this, he didn’t agree. He didn’t see himself clearly.

To Ava’s credit, she snapped out of her daze quicker than most did. “It’s nice to meet you. It was wise of you to choose Sam as your mate – she’s the best.”

“I can agree with you on that,” he replied.

As the pit-bulls, Achilles and Nero, dashed to my side, I gave them a quick stroke before meeting the gaze of the smirking dark-haired male seated next to Sebastian. “Can’t say it’s particularly a pleasure to see you again, Cristiano.”

“Now that’s not very nice, is it,” he said, amused. The bloke wasn’t bad as vampires went. In fact, he was relatively decent and was extremely protective of his sister, Ava. He had actually helped me on a number of occasions back when I’d lived in London. But he was also a taunting prick who lived to annoy people just for the fun of it. He could actually be quite charming, which I had learned the first night I met him when I was still human. As his expression turned nostalgic, I had the distinct feeling that he was remembering that night.

I could sense that Jared was a mixture of suspicious and agitated by the way Cristiano was looking at me with such familiarity. Glaring at Cristiano, Jared spoke to me. Tell me nothing happened between you two.

Nothing happened…exactly.

Define ‘exactly’.

I’ll give you the long version later. The short version is that he once kissed me and he…drank from me. I felt jealousy and anger zoom through Jared, which was understandable since drinking blood was an intimate and sexual act for vampires.

“Why don’t you sit down,” Antonio suggested with a smile, his eyes warm.

Having exchanged greetings with him, Sebastian, Luther and the guards, Jared and I took seats opposite the two Sventés. Jared draped a possessive arm over the back of my chair, staring hard at Cristiano. Every muscle in Jared’s body seemed coiled to strike. Not wanting him so tense, I patted his thigh. It didn’t seem to help. He briefly massaged my nape, but didn’t otherwise react.

Cristiano gave Jared a respectful nod. “My name’s Cristiano Sanchez. Ava is my younger sister. We shared the same Sire as Sam, and we were once all part of the same nest. I took Victor’s place as leader of the nest after Sam killed the bastard here at The Hollow.” And Victor really had been an absolute bastard.

“Why didn’t you attend the Binding?” asked Jared. Most of the vampire community had attended the ceremony, particularly any leaders, Masters, and High Masters.

“It wasn’t out of any disrespect. Two other vampires had wanted the position of leader. A voting was held and I was eventually pronounced leader, but there were still some who were sour about it. I knew that if I left the nest before my position had been properly established, one of them would have taken it while I was gone.”

“And your position has now been accepted and established?” Jared began gently playing with my hair in a very possessive move.

“Yes.” Cristiano’s gaze slid back to me and his smirk returned. He probably got a kick out of the fact that he’d once drunk from the Heir’s mate.

That was when Jared spoke to him very matter-of-factly. “If you don’t stop staring at Sam like that, I’ll gut you open right here and I’ll truly enjoy it.”

Cristiano lost his smirk, and I didn’t blame him. Jared had a well-earned reputation as someone who wasn’t to be f**ked with. Although he could be playful, loyal, and respectful, Jared could also be ruthless, pitiless, and kill without blinking. I’d seen him in battle-mode, watched him destroy other vampires without a lick of conscience. Just his presence alone was enough to intimidate those around him; he exuded confidence, power, and authority.

“Cris, could you please refrain from antagonising these people?” groaned Ava, shooting apologetic glances at everyone. “We need their help, remember.”

I arched a brow. “Our help?”

“Cristiano,” began Antonio, “tell Jared and Sam why it is that you and your sister are here.”

Cristiano straightened, suddenly solemn. “Although I didn’t go to your Binding, three of my vampires did. Afterwards, they called me to say that they were going to spend a couple of weeks in New Zealand with some vampires they had met here and befriended from Quentin Foy’s line.”

Quentin Foy had been recently appointed High Master vampire over New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, and all the little surrounding islands after the previous High Master had betrayed Antonio and tried to take over The Hollow.

“The problem is I’ve heard nothing from them since then.” Cristiano shrugged helplessly. “Their mobile phones are all switched off and my psychic connection with them has turned…fuzzy.” All Sires have links with their vampires, though they weren’t anywhere near as strong as the type of bond that came from Binding with another vampire.

I frowned. “Fuzzy?”

“It’s like I’m picking up static. Occasionally I sense their thirst, but that’s as good as it gets. All I know for sure is that they’re not dead. Something’s not right. As you know, Quentin’s extremely territorial and rarely grants permission for anyone to step foot on his territory. But getting in touch with him to ask for that permission would be difficult since it’s not as if someone like me would ever have a High Master’s personal number.”

“From what I know about him,” began Jared, “Quentin’s a luddite. He hates most forms of technology and doesn’t use phones.”

“That is why they need an escort,” Antonio said. “They need someone to take them there, make sure Quentin doesn’t feel threatened, and help them find their vampires.”

“And you want those escorts to be us.” Jared didn’t veil his irritation. “With all due respect, Antonio, I think it would be easier to send Sebastian to investigate the matter and find the vampires.”

When Sebastian didn’t object, I cast a glance at him. Although his peppery black hair was slightly obscuring his expression, I could see that the Keja’s penetrating eyes were eager and willing.

“You are right. Sebastian could indeed find them. But I have a bad feeling about this, Jared.” Antonio’s usual calm expression was anxious. “It could be nothing, but something about it feels wrong. Luther is also uneasy. My instincts have always served me well, and I have learned not to ignore them.”

I was curious enough about the situation to want to agree to Antonio’s request, despite that Cristiano, who was again smirking at me, would undoubtedly be a pain in my arse. Though he was like this with everyone other than Ava, he’d always taken extreme delight in irritating me for some reason. It wouldn’t take much to push me into conjuring my energy whip and slashing his face with it.

As if he sensed my reservations, he said, “You might not like me, Sam, but let’s not forget that I saved your life. And I looked out for you during your time with Victor.”

Jared looked at me. “Is that true?”

Yes, but I wasn’t about to go into the specifics of the situation until Jared and I were alone. I simply nodded.

Jared’s gaze drilled into Cristiano. “If you saved Sam’s life, then I’m grateful to you for it. So we’ll escort you to Quentin’s territory and ensure your protection. But you need to understand one thing: whether you helped her or not, if you keep staring and smirking at her, I will kill you and I won’t f**king care.”

Cristiano nodded, again dropping his smirk. Very wise of him.

Antonio relaxed into his chair. “In that case, prepare the squad. You should all leave in an hour.”

Ava gave me a small but genuine smile. “Thanks so much. We appreciate it.” She really was sweet. I had to wonder how she and Cristiano could possibly be related.

After debriefing the squad, Jared and I made a pit-stop at our apartment to top up on NSTs, wanting to be at full strength. Otherwise known as Nutritive Supplemental Tonics, NSTs were a mix of blood and other vitamins.

The second we arrived in the kitchen, Jared expectedly began interrogating me. “Now that we’re alone, you can tell me what the deal is with that guy, Cristiano.”

Having retrieved a couple of NSTs from the refrigerator, I handed him one and then leaned against the counter. “I was still human when I met Cristiano. It was back when I was a student in college. My friends and I often went out to the local student bar. Vampires love student bars because most students are eager to have fun, like getting drunk, and aren’t fussed about memory gaps – all part of getting rat-arsed, right? So if they wake up feeling weak with a vague recollection of flashing irises or fangs, they’re simply going to blame the alcohol or believe their drinks were spiked, just like I had.”

I paused to take a long gulp of my honey-flavoured NST. “One night in the bar, I met Cristiano. He laid on the charm, but I’d just come out of a relationship and I wasn’t in a kissing-perfect-strangers frame of mind. So he left me alone. But there was this bloke who kept pestering me. He made me feel really uncomfortable and kept trying to kiss my neck. I couldn’t shake him off. Then he tried dragging me outside into the alley. That was when Cristiano appeared again. He acted as if he was my boyfriend and he’d been looking for me, and I played along. He got me away from who I just thought was a creepy bastard, which I was totally grateful for. His payment was a kiss.”

Jared’s growl wasn’t a surprise. When I hesitated, he pressed, “Go on.”