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  “What else would he want? It’s what you’re good at.” The words came out her mouth before she could stop them. Damn it. Daedalus killed. It was a fact she couldn’t seem to live with. They’d been round and round this barbed subject so many times she had scars on her scars. He probably owned as many. Saying sorry just didn’t mean the same after the amount of arguments they’d had. He knew she’d be lying because once again she’d tossed her stupid high morals at him. They stared at each other as the canyon between their hearts grew wider. What was a few more inches when they had miles to bridge?

  Daedalus leaned close enough that she’d only have to go on tiptoe to kiss him. Her broken heart ached that she couldn’t manage even that simple task. His blue eyes had gone dark. “He represents the seat of power of my people. They want me to stop neglecting my duties and return to my position.” He smirked, but it didn’t hide the hurt in his voice. “Please, try to remember that I have more skills than just killing. I am Prime of this part of North America, and I haven’t been a very good one since I’ve met you. I’ll take care of Pallas, just like I do everything else.” Daedalus stormed into the house, leaving her to limp back alone.

  She stared at the uneven ground and ignored the heaviness pressed against her chest. He had finally given her the space and independence she craved, and it stung.

  Chapter Two

  Inside the house, Daedalus paused at the threshold. Part of his soul ached watching Sugar’s measured progress, but she'd shown a remarkable spark of courage challenging Pallas. Or maybe it was more suicidal ideation.

  He rubbed his chin. The Sugar he’d first met never would have confronted Pallas. She’d been so frightened of his kind. Over the years she had grown more comfortable with supernatural people until the day of the attack. The shifter bastards who broke into their home and hurt her had stolen all her self-assurance. She doubted herself and friends—even him. Tonight was the first glimpse he’d had of her true spirit in a very long year.

  She reached the entrance.

  He began to offer her his hand and hesitated. Fuck, he didn’t know right from wrong anymore. Shattered eggshells had littered his path since she’d come home from rehab. Nothing he chose to do appeared to please her anymore.

  With a tired sigh, she met him halfway and offered him her elbow since she still clung to her cane. “Thank you,” she whispered as he helped her up the steps. Those simple words seemed so difficult for her to utter lately.

  His nature demanded he scoop her in his arms and carry her to safety. It warred with her insistence for independence. “You're welcome.” A wall had grown between them. He held the power to tear down fortresses but lacked the ability to break through this thin layer of awkwardness. Someone should write a Dealing with Human Women for Vampires book.

  “Will you be leaving then?” She pulled her arm free of his hand and leaned on her cane.

  “I don’t know.” He couldn’t meet her frank stare because she gave him the impression she was asking him if he was leaving her.

  “You should.”

  His head snapped up as if she’d bitch-slapped him. She wanted him to leave. He really had lost her and didn’t know how to get her back. “Who will watch over you?” The question left his lips before he could bite his tongue.

  Her shoulders straightened. “I can take care of myself.”

  “That’s not what I meant.” Who was he fooling? Of course he meant it. Taking care of the woman he wanted to marry shouldn’t be against the law, yet somehow Sugar acted like it was a crime.

  “Either way, like you pointed out, you’ve neglected your responsibilities because of me. Go home and take care of things.” She hobbled out of the kitchen back to her bedroom, ignoring the pack of wolf shifters and a strange vampire in her living room. “I’m tired.”

  This was his home. Wherever Sugar lived would always be home, but she was right. He had responsibilities. How long before the next slayer arrived on his doorstep? He couldn’t continue to place the Vasi and Sugar in danger.

  She closed the door to her room. He once considered it their bed, but he spent so little time there now. Spice and her pack would take care of Sugar in his absence.

  Gathering the pieces of his heart, he shielded his pain lest Pallas use it against him. His old friend sat in a chair surrounded by the shifters still in their beast forms, legs crossed and leaning to the side. “Which one will you offer me to drink? You know I’m partial to females.”

  Sam snarled at the comment.

  “Easy.” Daedalus sat across from Pallas and nodded to Eric. “I’ll take it from here. Go see to your mate and pup.” He glared at his brother. “I’ve only cold blood stored here for guests.”

  The other shifters glanced at their alpha for direction. Pride was a poor description for what he felt toward Eric, but the only word that existed that came close. The shifter had grown into a fine alpha and beyond Daedalus’s expectations.

  In beast form they couldn’t speak aloud but could communicate to each other’s minds. He wasn’t privy to the orders, but they dispersed, Eric being the last to leave.

  Daedalus turned his attention on his brother. “The council approved my hiatus. It’s not like I abandoned my post.”

  Pallas nodded. “Quite right, but now it is time to return.”

  “You could take my place.” In his estimation, they were equal in all things but the desire to live. Pallas’s heart had always been made of stone. He’d been born that way.

  His nod transformed to a shake. “No.”

  “You’re more than capable.”

  “Of course I am, but I’ve never craved power.”

  “No, only blood.” Daedalus sighed. Some things never changed, and some vampires never evolved.

  His brother licked his lips. “It’s in our nature.”

  “I will return. It’s about time I cleaned out the rats invading my…home.” He hadn’t thought of the empty mansion as home since moving to Chicago. Even when it had been full of his vampire nest, it lacked the life of this brownstone.

  Pallas clapped his hands once. “Good. My duty is done.”

  “It is?” He raised an eyebrow at Pallas, taking pleasure at his confused expression. “I would think the council would want you to make sure I follow through with their orders.”

  His brother’s face fell. “Yes. They probably would.” Pallas jabbed a finger in his direction. “Why do you have to make everything so difficult?”

  Daedalus leaned forward. “So next time you’ll think twice before fucking with me.”

  “Like I had a choice. They dragged me out of my crypt so I could come scold you like an errant child.” Pallas twisted so he didn’t have to look directly at Daedalus, leaning his chin in his hand. “Do you remember the hot springs in Siberia?”

  Daedalus laughed aloud at the old memory. The spring’s temperature had been freezing yet warmer than the winter air, so steam rose from the water. He had convinced Pallas to dive into the pool, telling him how warm the waters were. “Are you still carrying a grudge?”

  “It took a week for my testicles to drop.” His frown grew deeper. “Is this another hot spring?”

  Rolling his head, Daedalus tried to relieve the knot forming in his neck. “You’ve been gone from the world too long. In an odd way, I’ve missed your company. You need to acclimate to civilization before you don’t even recognize it anymore.” Nosferatu were capable of hibernating. Like bears, when they woke, hunger controlled every action. Inwardly, Daedalus cringed at how many humans it must have taken to quench Pallas’s aged thirst.

  The dull light of disinterest still shone in Pallas’s eyes though. In three centuries the world had changed. When he’d gone to sleep, horses had been the best mode of travel and America was just beginning its struggle for independence. Maybe he could find some relevance in this time period worth existing for.

  Pallas’s frown grew deeper. “The council agrees with you.”

  “For once.”

  Pallas
shot him a glare before joining him in a laugh. It wasn’t from mirth but resignation. Once more they were forced into duty against their will. It was an old song and dance that they knew all too well.

  “We’ll leave tomorrow night. Stay here with me. You can use my resting space. I’ll bunk with Sugar.” He sighed at the prospect of having to creep into her bed. She’d been the center of his universe these last few years, such a short time. The flutter of nerves in his stomach should be from anticipation, not anxiety. He couldn’t spend another night staring at her back, wanting to hold her yet knowing any of his advances would be turned away with a sharp word.

  He also hated to leave her side since she refused to become a vampire. Their time together was limited, and he wanted to savor every heart-breaking minute.

  “You love her?” The incredulity was obvious in Pallas’s voice.

  “Is that so surprising?”

  He snorted.

  Fine, Pallas had a point. Daedalus had never been a romantic. “People change.”

  “We’re not people. Nosferatu are eternal.”

  “For fuck’s sake, our lifespan, not our personality.” He rose, already tired of Pallas’s company even after his centuries of absence. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Sam, in his human form, hovering by the doorway. The Sigma’s protective nature couldn’t be controlled.

  Daedalus waved him over. “Can you show Pallas to his room in the basement? Maybe introduce him to a television. I doubt he’s ever seen one.”

  Sam quirked an eyebrow. “No joking?”

  With a slow shake of his head, he left Pallas in Sam’s shocked care. He overheard the shifter mention something about the Playboy channel. Who had ordered that package? He suspected Spice, Sugar’s twin.

  Silent as sin, he slipped into his lover’s room.

  Sugar lay in the moonlight spilling through the window. It glimmered on her blonde hair, which reminded him of his long-lost sunlight, but it was the kindness in her soul that shone the brightest.

  He lowered his head and sighed heavily. She was already asleep. It didn’t take much to exhaust her, and as she aged it would only get worse. What the fuck was he doing?

  Immortality, or as he liked to think of it, immunity from death, was something he once considered a gift. However, in an endless conscious existence, bathed in a plethora of hedonistic sensation, he’d forgotten who he was until what remained of his human soul went dormant. Things had faded, and life had become one long routine until he met her.

  Sitting on the edge of the bed, he traced the lines of her face, committing them to memory. He could live another thousand years and he’d never forget. The traumatic stroke she’d suffered sucked away her energy, and she couldn’t remain awake late. He saw less and less of her light or heard the joy in her laughter.

  Blood and death were a constant in a Nosferatu warrior’s existence. Be it aggressor or defender, he truly didn’t care. The Vampire Council had wielded them like a weapon, but he wanted to shrug off the yoke of responsibility and curl next to her forever.

  He’d once been like Pallas. Disinterest had lived in his black soul.

  Even when humans had learned of their existence and carefully embraced vampires to their bosom, the novelty of sharing their streets didn’t hold his attention long. Not until he received a plea for help from a small pack of shifters searching for someone to teach them how to fight. What a unique opportunity.

  He taught them more than how to throw a punch. They were now the largest wolf shifter pack in North America, ruled by just laws and a good alpha. In return for his good deed, his heart had been stolen and consequently enslaved by their human friend. Fate had rewarded him, or at least he had thought so until recently. A broken heart was a difficult thing to mend when no wound actually cut through its flesh.

  Unable to resist any longer, he ran his fingertips over the silken mass surrounding her face.

  Her rosebud lips spread into a secretive smile. All that was playful and filled with joy in his Sugar had vanished.

  The old Daedalus would have found the Asian pack and rained terror upon them so that even their great-great-great grandchildren would shudder at his name. He’d grown with Sugar’s guidance. The alpha responsible for the attack was dead. Killing his pack mates wouldn’t repair the damage done to her weak human body.

  He hadn’t allowed himself a second away from her side to exact useless revenge. Maybe that was selfish. Maybe this was why she pushed him away. He didn’t understand, and no one would explain these things.

  Her clear green eyes fluttered open and focused on his face. “Daedalus?” She blinked and searched the room. “Where’s Pallas?”

  Daedalus lay next to her. Bending over her neck, he gave her a playful nip. “You are wearing too many clothes.”

  She sighed and turned her face away. He’d said the wrong thing again.

  He flopped onto his side next to her. “Sam is instructing him on the use of a television. With any luck, he won’t destroy it.” He wasn’t the only one worried about Sugar’s listless interest in the world. The pack watched her in earnest during the day while he slept.

  “Why?” She struggled to sit, using her working arm to support her weight, and shrugged off his helping hand. “I can do it.”

  “Have you taken your pills tonight?”

  The look she tossed his way would have frozen any warrior’s balls. “Spice made sure I took them.”

  He chuckled. Her twin sister could compete with him for the title of Bane of Sugar’s Existence. Together they worked to make sure she received the best of care. Sugar still had decades to live. If she’d let him, he’d make them the best she’d ever had.

  He remained on his side, curled along her hip. “I’ll leave for Pal Robi Inc. tomorrow night.” Would she miss him?

  She twisted to face him, not an easy feat. “They tried to kill you.” Was that a hint of concern in her voice? He could only hope.

  “Not everyone working for me was behind the assassination. I’ve narrowed it down to five people. It’s time I take matters into my own hands.”

  “Oh…” She stared at the ceiling for a moment then settled her head on his chest as if the space were made for her. “Will you be gone long?”

  Decades of practice kept him from sighing. “I’ll be back before you know it.” The fake chipper tone he used wanted to choke him. Regaining control of Pal Robi Inc. didn’t pose a problem, but keeping it would.

  Chapter Three

  Daedalus slept like, well, like the dead. The sun had risen, but the heavy shutters over Sugar’s window kept the rays from entering her bedroom. The world sat heavily on her shoulders this afternoon. She lay on the bed in darkness, staring at the ceiling.

  He was leaving her.

  Pressing her palm to her forehead, she fought back a sob. She’d known this day would come, however the amount of grief overwhelmed her expectations.

  Ever since she’d been helpless in bed during her stay at the rehab center, she’d known she couldn’t bear to keep him close. The Sugar he’d fallen in love with was gone. She lay shattered in forgotten memories. What lived in this broken body was a mockery.

  Getting to her feet, she shambled pass the metal-shuttered windows to the mirror. A white silk scarf hid her reflection. It was the one Daedalus had used to tie her to the bed years ago when they’d first met. He had snuck into her apartment bedroom through the window to seduce her. She missed the passion they'd shared.

  Shaking the cobwebs of the past from her head, she limped to the kitchen. Sizzling reached her ears. Everyone worked outside the house now, except Sam and Spice. She was Sam’s job and the babies were Spice’s. Or vice versa depending on who needed a break.

  Sam flipped burgers at the stove. “Hey, Shug.”

  She leaned on the counter and watched her Sigma make a late lunch. His vampire mate, Clementine, slept in the basement in their bedroom, so he spent most of his nights awake. “Where’s Spice?”

  “Out i
n the garden with the babies, getting some rays, before the big storm rolls in.” He shot her a look. “What’s up?”

  “Daedalus is leaving.”

  “I heard. I think I overwhelmed his brother with the wonders of television. Where’s he been all these years?”

  Sugar gave him a one-shouldered shrug. Underground would be her guess.

  “Do you want cheese on your burger?”

  “I’m not hungry. Just put mine in the fridge for later.” She ambled toward the sliding glass door to her garden. It was her one solace, something she could do without help.

  “Shug, he’s not leaving for good.”

  “I know.” Yes, he was. He just didn’t realize it yet. Daedalus was a Prime of Northeastern America. His people needed him. They would give him purpose to live when she passed away.

  Daedalus should forget her.

  Or at least she had thought that’s what she wanted.

  Sunlight warmed her skin as she stepped outside. The squeal of baby laughter caressed her ears. Spice pushed the children on the double swing set by the flower garden. Nothing pierced her gloom better than the sight of these babes.

  Her twin met her gaze across the yard, and Spice’s amused expression transformed to concern. Spice knew her pain. The twin bond transcended conventional understanding.

  Sugar sat on the bench by the swing set and made a face at her nephew.

  He gave her a toothless grin in return. At six months of age, he could be a sumo wrestler. Katrina’s seven-month-old daughter, on the other hand, was built like a fairy princess. She resembled her mother in every way except for the crazy curls she’d inherited from her father.

  When the babes first came home, a lead weight sat in her stomach each time she held one. She had yearned for her own. “They grow so fast.” How could she ever take care of a baby when she couldn’t care for herself?

  “Next thing I know he’ll be asking to borrow the car.” Spice blew a raspberry on her son’s plump cheek. Behind her chipper exterior, her sister hid something.

  “It’s not like you to hold back what you’re thinking.” Sugar relaxed against the bench and enjoyed Spice's annoyed frown. Even though their exteriors were identical, their personalities were polar opposites.