Her whispered words soothed him a little and he opened his eyes. Glenda stared at his chest blindly, probably unable to see anything. “Yes. He gave up everything to raise me. We lived in a hut behind her home at first, until he built a cabin. He feared I’d freeze to death in the winter without a fireplace to keep us warm. He also had to leave me alone sometimes to hunt for food. She didn’t want me in her house and my father didn’t trust any of the clan with me.”

“Why didn’t your mother want you in her house?”

“She didn’t want any responsibility for raising me.”

“What a cold bitch.”

Glenda’s anger surprised him but he agreed. “She had no heart. Once she had birthed me, it proved her allegiance to Decker. She asked him to make her an assassin to help kill his enemies. Decker sent her after whoever he felt had become a threat or anyone who’d angered him. I was twelve when she didn’t return. The killer ended up being killed instead.”

Glenda’s fingers fisted his shirt. “I’m sorry, Veso. That’s so terrible.”

“She told me when I was ten that I annoyed her with my need to touch and spend time with her. She spelled out why I had been born and the future she’d signed me up for. Enforcers never cry, they don’t have any weaknesses, and I disappointed her with my love. I was born to become an assassin for Decker. She said my affection disgusted her. It was the first harsh lesson of many before she died.”

Glenda rubbed her face against his shirt. “I’m so sorry. No wonder you’re such a hard-ass. God. What did your father say?”

“He told me to ignore her. Of course I couldn’t. He said loving someone wasn’t a mistake but it could be very painful when they didn’t return the emotion. He’d know. I think he tried to love my mother at first. The years changed that though. Then he began to warn me against allowing anyone to get close, because it could cause deep pain and open me up to betrayal.”

“Is your dad loving?”

“He’s loyal to me. He backed me when I refused to become an enforcer. I accepted guard duty instead.”

“What’s the difference?”

“It’s complicated but it boils down to Decker couldn’t send me to kill his enemies. I got my revenge on my mother by refusing to accept the position in the clan she birthed me to take.”

“Well, I guess that’s good.”

“Do you have a strong bond with your parents? Siblings?” He knew nothing about her except she was a blood relation to a master, lived in an apartment in Oregon, and had annoying neighborhood kids who’d broken a window once.

“They divorced when I was four. My biological dad didn’t want to pay child support, so he moved away. We heard he married someone else and started a new family. He tried to contact me in my teens but I didn’t want someone in my life who’d just walked away the way he did. No thanks. My mom married my stepdad two years after the divorce. He wasn’t exactly father material but he was okay. They had my brother when I was fourteen. We’re night and day. I wish we were close but that’s not how it turned out. I babysat him a lot when he was little but then I moved out at eighteen and hardly speak to them now.”

“I got the impression human children tended to live at home until they marry. Do you have a husband?” The thought disturbed him so much so that he actually felt rage. He didn’t like the idea of some human laying claim to what was his.

“No. I’ve never been married. I graduated high school and got a job. I felt like a burden living in their home, mostly. They had this tight family unit and I wasn’t really a part of it. My brother got to call my stepfather daddy and I had to call him Mike. It was just awkward. I had a friend’s sister who had a job where I work now, and she got me on the cleaning staff. It paid enough to get me a cheap apartment and I took night classes. I worked my way up and then transferred into a clerical position in Oregon. I talk to my parents on the phone at holidays but that’s about it. I haven’t been home for a visit in four years.”

“Is there a man in your life?” He wasn’t sure what he’d do if she said yes. There wasn’t a scent of one coming off her and she wore no rings, but he didn’t know when the Vampires had taken her. Time would have wiped away a human’s scent and they could have stolen her jewelry.

“No. I work a lot. I’m going for a managing position that’s opening up. It pretty much means I bust my ass to get there earlier than everyone else and I stay late. It’s why I was eating at eight o’clock at night when I was kidnapped. I’d literally just walked in the door, kicked off my shoes, and opened the fast food bag when that window broke.”

The wind picked up, rustling the trees. “We should rest. Morning will come soon and we need to travel a lot of distance.”

“If you don’t get us killed crossing that ravine,” she murmured against his chest. “I still think we should go around it.”

“It would waste an entire day. I won’t let you fall,” he promised. He’d get her down and up the ravine. It stood between him and VampLycan territory. The real problem would be what to do once he reached home. The clan would be upset if he returned with a human. They’d expect him to wipe her memories and send her back to her own people. He had no intension of allowing the Vampire to recapture her. That meant keeping her with him.

Glenda nodded against him. “You’re warm.”

God, she smelled so fuckable. He tried to think of anything else. Focusing on his mother helped. He’d never end up in the same situation as his father. He doubted Glenda would just hand over a baby to him and go back to her world if he accidently got her pregnant. And no way could she take his son or daughter into hers without him there to protect them both. He’d have to leave everything he knew for his child. It was best if he not risk a pregnancy. That meant controlling his urges.

“Sleep,” he ordered. He just wished he could ask her to back away from his body but the hole he’d dug wasn’t big. He’d been more worried about depth to hide their heat signatures than width to keep more space between him and Glenda.

Chapter Eight

“It’s time to move.”

Glen jerked awake to the sound of a deep, husky voice. She opened her eyes and stared up at Veso. He stood above her on the edge of the hole they’d slept in. Morning had come and they’d survived the night without being found.