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  “We reenergize during the day. The sun is rising. Just rest, my love.”

  “Thank you, Dara,” I say after I lick her wound closed. “You taste yummy.”

  The maid laughs and shakes her head. “Never been called yummy before, but thank you. Mr. Zargonian takes care of me and my family. It’s a pleasure to serve.”

  It’s been days of learning to curb my thirst. There were times I thought I would die, but Laurent always got me through it. Each night, I’ve visited Jude in a dreamwalk, those times with clothes on. I’ve learned I can fuck Laurent a million times and never grow tired. I also learned I can spike and glamour too. Once I learn to teleport, I’ll find Mercy. I miss her terribly, but Laurent doesn’t think I’m ready.

  Dara leaves and I continue my pacing. I’m full of nervous energy. Laurent says that never happened to him, so he’s unsure what it means.

  I know what it means.

  I need my daughter.

  I won’t rest until I have her in my arms.

  I’m afraid that I’ll want to sink my teeth into her tiny neck, but I trust that when that time comes, Laurent will intervene.

  Something flies into the bedroom through the door Dara left open. It flaps around the room before landing on a table. A bat. Not just any bat, but—

  “Dracula!” Mercy shrieks.

  I freeze, shocked and overcome with joy when my daughter runs into the room. She runs. My little baby girl who was so fragile and weak runs.

  “Sorry, Mommy,” Mercy says. “He’s a bad bat. Flies all over the place. Are you better yet?”

  Laurent is tense and ready to pounce, but I don’t need him to protect her. That’s what her mother is for.

  I squat down in front of her. “I sure am, sweetie. How did Dracula learn to fly?”

  “Beck!” She grins her toothy smile at me. “Did you know Beck can visit me in my dreams? He said one day you can too!”

  Beck, the man in question, appears behind her, his red eyes flashing when he realizes our proximity.

  “What did you do to Dracula?” I ask Beck.

  “I healed him with some opal-root water Marlon gave me when I returned the twins,” Beck says, his sharp gaze thick with warning.

  Just to test him, I reach forward to brush a hair out of Mercy’s eyes. He spikes my way, gripping her shoulders.

  “Did you give Mercy opal-root water too?”

  “No,” he clips out. “I performed a blood halfectomy.”

  Laurent prowls closer. He must sense my growing desire to rip Beck’s hands from Mercy’s shoulders.

  “What’s a blood halfectomy?” I demand.

  “It means I’m a vampire now!” Mercy says with a loud giggle. “I’m going to teleport to Aunt Loey and then to Uncle Jude.”

  I snap my glare up to meet Beck. “What. Did. You. Do?”

  Laurent clutches the back of my neck in a comforting move that also feels like he might grip me to keep me from killing Beck.

  “It’s something they did a lot when children were dying left and right from the typhoid fever. Elders would suck the infected blood out and replace it with theirs,” Beck says. “It’s similar to the way we heal humans when they are hurt.”

  “But,” I growl.

  “But because they’re infused with so much elder blood, their small bodies require it to live.” He holds up a hand when I scoff. “It’s not that unlike a transfusion that she’s already used to, except this time, it only happens once every year.”

  “Until…” I rise to my feet.

  Beck sighs. “Until around the age of sixteen. Then, I’ll have to turn her or she’ll die.”

  “You motherfuck—”

  “Mommy,” Mercy interrupts. “I’ll be a vampire like you and Laurent and Beck and Aunt Loey.”

  I want to kill Beck for telling her all this shit.

  “Honey,” I start, but Beck shakes his head, stopping me.

  “We can take care of her,” Beck says. “She’ll live and then she’ll remain with us for eternity. It’s a gift, darling. Accept it.”

  Laurent nods at me. My mind pulsates with confusing emotions. But seeing Mercy so alive and well and happy sends joy right to the forefront of my mind.

  “Ready to take a walk under the stars, little one?” Beck asks, grinning at Mercy.

  “Yes!” She squeals when he scoops her up and places her on his shoulders. “Let’s go!”

  “We’re not done talking about this,” I warn Beck. “I have a lot of questions.”

  “I presume you will,” Beck says.

  “When we get married like Mommy and Laurent, can we get a Ferris wheel at our wedding?” Mercy asks Beck as they exit the room.

  Married?

  I start for them, but Laurent is quicker and stronger. He holds me back despite my snarling.

  “Let me go!”

  “Nope,” Laurent murmurs. “Not after that bomb she just dropped.”

  “He better not be filling her head with sick, perverted fantasies!”

  “He’s not a pervert. Calm down.”

  “She thinks they’re getting married!”

  He kisses my temple. “That’s because they are. When he finalizes the blood-halfectomy when she’s sixteen, they’ll become mates for life.”

  “Over my dead fucking body!”

  “Castilla,” Laurent rumbles. “It’s the way the procedure works. He gave her most of his blood for her life. He runs in her veins now. One day, he’ll have to complete the process or she’ll die. If she dies, he’ll become feral and overcome with rage.”

  “I will not have him hurting a sixteen-year-old girl,” I snap. “You know what Griffin did to me. I can’t let that happen again.”

  “Shh,” he murmurs, nuzzling my hair. “Beck has never had sex. Ever. He has a body of a child himself.”

  “He’s like eight hundred years old or something!”

  “Which means he’s had plenty of practice in restraint. He won’t hurt her. Being that she’ll one day be his mate, he’ll protect her with everything in him. And one day, when she’s old enough, he’ll court her like the old ways.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  “Beck has a library full of books. I’ve learned a lot about the history of our kind.”

  “You swear he won’t touch her until she’s eighteen?”

  He laughs. “I can assure you he won’t even think of her as a romantic prospect for at least another sixteen years. On her twenty-first birthday, he’ll begin the courting process.”

  “What if she says no?”

  “He’ll have to work harder to woo her. Some of the books said the courting took decades until the female was won over.”

  “Why is he spending time with her now? Is he trying to get a head start?”

  “No,” he says with a chuckle. “She calls him Uncle Beck right now. To her, he’s a protector and nothing more. He doesn’t see her as a future wife. Just the girl who he’s destined to give up his life for if necessary.”

  “This isn’t romantic to me,” I grumble. “I don’t accept it.”

  “It’s not your love story to understand.”

  I let out a frustrated sigh. Beck has only been kind to me, Laurent, and my daughter. He’s definitely old-school and gentlemanly. I’ll be reading up on those books and watching him like a hawk, though. A mother can never be too careful when protecting her young.

  “If he looks at her weird, I’ll behead him,” I finally say.

  “I would expect nothing less. But the ruby stakes now belong to her,” he says, a smile in his voice. “They showed up on her pillow the night you turned. Perhaps you could teach her a thing or two about how to use them for the next eleven years. Could offer you some peace of mind.”

  “I’ll teach her that boys are horrible and rotten.” A smile tugs at my lips. “Beck will have his work cut out for him in another sixteen years when he thinks it’s time to date my daughter.”

  “So feisty and fierce.” He turns me to face him an
d kisses my lips. “I love you, Castilla. Don’t ever change.”

  I stare up at the man who I loved when I was only five and never understood just what that love would morph into one day. So maybe this bonding thing goes deeper than blood after all. A soul mates kind of thing.

  “I love you too, Laurent.” I lift myself up and wrap my legs around his waist. “Now fuck me like you’re trying to keep me forever.”

  “Ahh, so you want to skip right past the courting phase and straight to the honeymoon?” he teases, his red eyes gleaming.

  “You can buy me flowers and call me sweetheart after you give me an orgasm that Loey will hear all the way in whatever realm she’s in.”

  “That sounds like a challenge.” He grins at me like a predator about to devour his prey. “Challenge accepted, my love. Hold on. I was going easy on you before. I’m about to blow your mind.”

  And he does.

  Every day from now until the end of time.

  (If you enjoyed this paranormal romance,

  check out Delinquent Demons by K Webster!)

  Thank you to my husband. I love you to the full moon and back!

  A huge thank you to my Krazy for K Webster’s Books reader group. You all are insanely supportive, and I can’t thank you enough.

  A gigantic thank you to those who always help me out behind the scenes. Elizabeth Clinton, Ella Stewart, Misty Walker, Holly Sparks, Jillian Ruize, Gina Behrends, Wendy Rinebold, Ker Dukey, J.D. Hollyfield, Nicole Blanchard, and Nikki Ash—you ladies are my rock!

  Misty, thank you for loving me even when I go rogue. Love ya, my friend!

  A big thank you to my author friends who have given me your friendship and your support. You have no idea how much that means to me.

  Thank you to all of my blogger friends both big and small that go above and beyond to always share my stuff. You all rock! #AllBlogsMatter

  Emily A. Lawrence, thank you so much for editing this book. You’re a star!!

  Stacey Blake, thanks so much for making my books so pretty! Love you!

  Lastly but certainly not least of all, thank you to all of the wonderful readers out there who are willing to hear my story and enjoy my characters like I do. It means the world to me!

  K Webster is a USA Today Bestselling author. Her titles have claimed many bestseller tags in numerous categories, are translated in multiple languages, and have been adapted into audiobooks. She lives in “Tornado Alley” with her husband, two children, and her baby dog named Blue. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and researching aliens.

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