Page 3 of Elusive Mate

Shifters could generally be turned one time—by a superior species into that hybrid species. Vampirism held the one trump card that all shifters feared; in that they held the ability to turn any creature they bit—human, shifter, witch, et cetera—into one of their own: a vampire with no trace of their former selves remaining.

And no living creature in their right mind wanted to live like that.

Lucian put down his coffee mug. “We end him and any other vamps we find.”

Wolf Creek, Alaska

The village was little more than a collection of tents with floors and their lower halves made of wood and steel. Lucian couldn’t even imagine how primitive the living conditions must be. How the canvas could stand up to the brutal winter conditions of Alaska was anyone’s guess. As Stephen had been spotted at the tent that was Wolf Creek’s designated watering hole, he and Zaiden waited in the alley where they could see the exit used by sex-workers with their clients as well as the front of the building.

They didn’t have long to wait before their worst fears were realized. Stephen stumbled out with a woman who had seen better days. Lucian supposed without the backing of his clan, Stephen had little money, and she was probably all he could afford.

Lucian scented the night air. The man who had told them of Stephen’s whereabouts had not been wrong. Stephen was no longer a tiger-shifter. In fact, he wasn’t a shifter at all. His distinctive metallic, coppery smell identified him as vampire. Glancing at Zaiden, Lucian knew he smelled it too.

Stephen spun the girl around him so that she had her back against the wall. He stepped in close to her, pressing her against the building, his hand encircling her neck as he lifted her chin, baring her throat. Two men shimmered out of the shadows. Only two creatures could do that: hellhounds and vampires. The girl realized too late the danger she was in. Stephen muffled her screams with his hand as he bit down into her throat and his companions each grabbed a wrist beginning to feed. They meant to drain her, leaving only a dry husk behind.

Like wraiths in the night, Lucian and Zaiden moved in. They had come prepared for the worst, and each carried a wooden stake. In a coordinated attack, they each staked one of the vamps from the back, carefully ensuring they were able to drive the stakes deep enough to pierce the hearts of the two vampires who had joined Stephen. They knew they were successful when each of the vamps turned to ashes and dust and drifted to the ground.

Stephen turned, hissing, his fangs extended and dripping with the girl’s lifeblood. Without regard for what his clan member had once been and thinking only of what he had become, Lucian staked Stephen and watched him turn to ash before his eyes. The woman dropped dead at their feet.

“We need to find the nest,” said Zaiden. “They need to pay for what they did to him.”

Lucian nodded. “We will, but first we need to see her buried properly.”

“Shouldn’t we burn her so she can’t rise?”

“That’s what I meant. Let’s take her down to the beach where we won’t be easily observed. Have three of our warriors join us as soon as they can. Tonight, you and I will lay her to rest. Tomorrow, the Baihu Clan will begin the hunt.”

CHAPTER 2

ZENYA

University of California

Davis, California

Present Day

Standing in front of the mirror, Zenya took a deep breath, let it out and shook her hands. Just a few more hours and she’d be free. There was a lot to get through in that small space of time, but it had to be done. Once she’d entered the hallowed halls of UC Davis, she knew she would never return to Alaska. Never.

She’d played the long game for over eight years, and it was finally time for everything she’d been planning to come to fruition. A little smile touched her lips as she combed product through her hair. Lucian and her brother had no idea that the entire reason she’d chosen veterinary school was to get her away from Alaska for as long a period of time as was humanly possible. The eight year program gave her the perfect excuse.

Drying her hair and using the curling iron to get the look she wanted, she looked around her room. Most would have found it depressing that all of their worldly possessions were packed in boxes, all of which were labeled to go to Alaska.

She found it invigorating, though.

Lucian had arranged for a moving company to come to pick up the boxes and clean the apartment after she and her friends were gone. By tonight, it would be empty, and she would be on her way.

The apartment had been furnished when she and two of the other female vet students had rented it. They’d started out as strangers and become good friends. Well, as good friends as a white tiger-shifter could be with humans who knew nothing of shifters. Her two friends had been grateful for the assistance in closing down the apartment, as had their families—no fuss, no muss.

Her plans to elude Lucian and all of his plans had been in the works for the past two years. It had taken a while to find a member of the elusive Shadow Sisters, but Zenya had been determined and had been convinced obtaining their help was her best bet for getting away and living free. Part of the difficulty had lain in evading the two warriors Lucian had sent to discreetly keep her safe.

That had been an exercise in futility on his part. She had known about them from the very beginning.

There weren’t a lot of white tiger-shifters at the university, and she’d spotted them by the second day of class. Lucian had changed them out over the years she’d been at the university, but she’d always spotted the new recruits, as she liked to think of them, within a matter of days. It was something of an odd dance to studiously avoid them and pretend she didn’t know they were there.

She had never lied to Lucian or her brother Zaiden. She had said all along she did not want to return to Ice Storm Stronghold and the Baihu Clan. Lucian had been insistent and Zaiden compliant. Both had told her repeatedly she was Lucian’s fated mate, and as such she would return and take her place as first lady of the clan. Where she had deceived them was in allowing them to think she saw no way out for herself and would put up little in the way of resistance to being returned home.

Putting the final touches on her makeup, Zenya got dressed, pulled on her graduation gown, and then pinned the mortarboard graduation cap to her hair. As she did so, she went over the day’s events in her mind, making sure she hadn’t left any loose ends. Her plans were in place and by this time tomorrow, she’d be well on her way to her new home and her new life. That alone made her anxious and excited, and she schooled herself not to let that show. As far as her big brother and Lucian were concerned, she was none too happy about, but was at least resigned, to her future.

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