I went inside alone to grab a few things and didn't bother turning any lights on. Being a werewolf has its perks, one of which is excellent night vision. Wolves in the wild rely mostly on their sense of smell, but they also have good night sight. In a wolf's eyes, the abundance of rods, or nerves that are sensitive to low light, is what gives it the ability to see in the dark.

Unfortunately, rods are monochromatic, and in the dark the number of rods washes away my ability to perceive colors other than those of a black-and-white film. Fortunately, if there's light, my vision is normal. Not being able to perceive color in the dark may seem like a downside. Truthfully, it isn't such a high price to pay given the fact I can actually see. When you make a living hunting and killing things that aren't human, you learn to appreciate life's small mercies.

In the bedroom I opened the top drawer of my dresser and pulled out two pairs of undies, socks, and a clean bra. It really didn't matter what color they were. I fished my backpack from beneath the bed, tossing the undergarments in, along with a nightshirt that was originally black and white.

Lauren had given me the shirt that promoted the club she owned. The two little white Vs on it, like upside-down mountains, were supposed to be vampire fangs. Underneath the fangs in cryptic bleeding letters was The Two Points. I yanked two pairs of jeans off a hanger, what I was hoping was my green thermal, and what I was pretty sure was a black-and-white striped sweater.

I stashed everything in the bag and tossed it over my shoulder. My leather jacket was in the car. I thought about grabbing another coat, but I was just going over to Lauren's, not to a fashion show. Hell, she had seen me when I'd woken looking like the Bride of Frankenstein.

Of course, not a curl on Lauren's head was ever out of place. Looking perfect in the morning so doesn't count if you're a vampire. They don't move. Trust me, I know, because trying to move them is a bitch. I learned not to fall asleep on the very edge of the bed with Lauren holding me, because when I woke about to fall off, she wouldn't budge. Being a lycanthrope, I could have moved her, but it was easier to just move myself.

There was an upside. I didn't have to worry about accidentally kicking her in my sleep and we never fought over the covers.

I shut all the doors in the apartment, grabbed my laptop, and left. After I nodded in Shawn's direction, letting him know I was ready, the Mustang's lights flicked on and I squinted, stifling a growl. Sudden bright lights shattering my night vision hurt like hell. He was just messing with me. I unlocked the Tiburon, tossed the backpack into the passenger seat, and carefully put the laptop bag flat on the floorboard.

Shawn waited for my lead.

He had, after all, never been to Lauren's house, so I was curious to see his expression when we got there. It was a house worth staring at.

Shawn followed me to the porch with only the sound of our boots crunching the dead grass. I knocked on the door, lightly, waiting for footsteps on the other side. I could usually hear Dinah, friend and beta werewolf of the Blackthorne pack, bounding down the stairs. She was the one who customarily opened the door. Dinah was one of the many residents living under Lauren's roof. She also worked for Lauren at The Two Points.

Shawn hadn't so much as blinked at the size of the house. What kind of place did he live in? I'd never seen it. We had a bet several months ago, when he'd told me to try and find out where he lived. But the last case I'd worked on with the police had interfered and I'd never figured it out.

It was silent before the front door opened to reveal Lauren's blank and beautiful face. The long black curls of her hair were pulled off her shoulders and piled at the back of her head, held in place by a metallic hairpin decorated with rubies.

A stray curl had broken free, falling over her pale cheek. Against her dark hair and pale skin, her eyes were striking. At first glance one might pass them off as the green-gray some humans have. But Lauren was not human, and her eyes were the true green of misty moss clouds that changed to liquid emerald when she embraced her power.

I'd never seen anyone with eyes like hers.

Her crimson gown had a spill of white lace around the collar and wrists. It appeared to be a Victorian dressing gown, but when she stepped back, I caught a glimpse of long white leg peeking through a slit in the velvet. As I raised my gaze to the gown's scoop neck, a jolt of longing shot through me. The dress was tight, offering a demure amount of décolletage. It was definitely too risqué to be truly Victorian.

"I see you have brought a guest." Her expression was unreadable as Shawn followed.

"You don't mind?" I asked, hopeful she wasn't irked with me for bringing a friend without her consent. It was her home. I hadn't intended to be discourteous, but you never know how someone will react until they do so, especially vampires.

She gave me a not-so-happy look before turning to walk into the parlor. "You could have asked." She didn't have a thread of anger in her voice.

The calmness of her words surprised me. "I know." I placed my things on a white armchair just inside the room. "I didn't think about it. I apologize."

"I am disappointed you did not ask my permission. You did not take my feelings into consideration," she explained, stepping closer.

I looked up into those intensely emerald eyes and felt like an ass.

"I'm—"

She placed a finger against my lips. "You have already apologized. There is no need for you to say you are sorry again." She touched my cheek gently. "All I ask is that you do not make the same mistake twice."

I suddenly felt like I was being scolded. I began to defend myself against the comment when she moved, catching me off guard. Her arm snaked behind my back and she pulled me against her.

With her body so close to mine, her curves against me with only our clothes as a barrier, I gasped.

She cupped my cheek, and though she held me gently, I knew the strength she carried in her mere fingertips. She bowed her head.

"You are always so torn between love and war." Her words caressed my lips, tickling. I shut my eyes, unnerved by the sudden closeness, by the heat building between my legs. I felt her other hand at my back, tracing the raven tattooed on my skin. The beak started between my shoulder blades. Lauren's hand swooped downward, following the line of tail feathers to my lower back.

"You're always distracting me from a good fight."

"If you want to fight, we can fight, but neither of us holds our tempers on a short leash." Her lips moved against mine, terribly and utterly distracting. "I can think of far better things to do with you than fight."

She kissed me, drawing me roughly into the circle of her arms. She held me against her like a prisoner. Her lips parted against mine and I opened my mouth, catching her bottom lip between my teeth.

Lauren moaned.

My stomach lurched. I liked a little bit of pain in the bedroom, but I had not known Lauren had similar interests. I released her lip, slowly, and started to pull away from her. She buried her fingers in my hair, cupping the back of my skull. She kissed me again, this time exploring my mouth with a recklessness that had nothing to do with control and everything to do with passion, with need. She kissed me until I was breathless, until that need burned between my legs and threatened to buckle my knees. I put my hands on her shoulders, holding on to her like a life preserver as I drowned in her kiss. The tips of her fangs glided over my tongue. My hands trembled on her shoulders.

The room no longer existed. The only thing that mattered to me was Lauren's mouth, the feel of her, the taste of her. I was aware only of the line of her body against mine, the soft swell of womanly curves hidden beneath the folds of her clothing. I searched for the opening to her gown, trying to free the first button, but my hands trembled too badly to unfasten it. Lauren caught my wrists, pushing my arms behind my back. Her slender hands were suddenly shackles that trapped me and kept me from touching her. A growl of frustration escaped me.

"Please." Instead of sounding like a plea, it sounded more like a demand.

Lauren turned her head, brushing her mouth across my cheek. Her voice was breathy as she said, "We are not alone."

"Sorry." Shawn's voice startled me and made me come back to myself. "I didn't mean to interrupt," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Most guys would feel," he paused, searching for the word, "honored. But this is like watching my little sister make out with her lesbian girlfriend." I felt the blush creeping to my cheeks.

As if on cue Lauren and I both stepped away from each another, wiping our mouths. It wasn't a sloppy kiss, but a deep kiss like that leaves some evidence. I used the back of my sleeve. Lauren used her thumb and index finger to daintily dab at the corners of her mouth. The gesture made me think of more nefarious things. She watched me while she did it and I knew what that dark look meant. She was hungry, and it wasn't for blood.

I wanted to kick Shawn out and tell him to shut the door behind him.

"Thank you," he said, stepping out of the doorway. He picked up my bags, moving them over to the couch so he could sit in the chair.

I debated excusing myself to make a trip to the bathroom before I sat down, but decided it was best not to because then everyone would know why. Lauren took a seat in the opposite armchair. I moved to the couch, slightly narrowing my eyes. Sitting in a puddle of your own wetness isn't exactly comfortable.

The corner of her mouth twitched into a smirk.

"What?" Shawn looked at us both.

Lauren didn't say anything.

I shook my head. "Nothing."

"You may be a werewolf, and she may be a vampire," he glanced at Lauren, "but you're both still fucking women."

"Yeah," I said, "pretty much."

Lauren said, "Do not try to understand, Shawn. It will only give you a headache."

Indeed, it would.

Thankfully, Shawn changed the subject. "What did you see tonight?"

Lauren looked curious enough for me to realize that she too wanted to know what I had seen. I walked over to the fireplace, running my fingertips across the edge of the mantel. I couldn't give either of them a run-down on what I had seen tonight while sitting. I needed to partially distract my mind from the words I had to say.

"Do you remember the last case I worked on with the police?"

I turned, then rested my shoulder against the fireplace, facing them. Shawn gave Lauren an accusing look, which she met unflinchingly.

"How could I forget?" he said grumpily.

"Why, I am glad you find me so unforgettable, Shawn." Lauren sounded rather sarcastic, clipping his name at the end. When they'd first met, Shawn and I had followed Dinah back to The Two Points. Lauren had helped calm my beast so I didn't shift all over the place. To my knowledge, she'd never been discourteous to him, but he'd made it clear that he didn't trust the vampires.

"You two," I said. They both looked at me. "Play nicely or don't talk to one another."

Lauren circled the edge of the armchair with a fingertip. "Do not think you can boss me around, little wolf."

"Lauren, can the crap and put your ego back in its coffin." I couldn't stifle the growl that built in my chest. "This isn't about Shawn or you. Do you remember my last case? I questioned a family and their son. That sixteen-year-old boy is dead."

My words were like a piano crashing into the middle of the room, invoking silence and everyone's attention.

"All right, Mila," Shawn said, "you win. I can ignore my dislike of your bed partner in order to hear what you need to tell me."

"And you?" I looked at Lauren. "Can you do the same?"

Her tone and the set of her shoulders told me she was being careful. "I do not dislike Shawn."

It didn't seem to bother her that he didn't like her. In fact, his dislike seemed to amuse her.

"Thank you," I said.

"You're welcome," Shawn said. "Go on."

I nodded. "The boy's body was found between six thirty and seven thirty this evening. When I reached the scene rigor mortis had already set in. The body had been exsanguinated."

"Which means he was dead for at least three hours," Shawn said.

I nodded. "Exactly."

"Who found it?" he asked.

"The father."

"He was drained dry?"

I nodded, again. "Not a drop of blood left in his body or on the scene. I checked the jugular and the carotid. Neither of them had been pierced. I checked the ulna and radial, nothing."

Lauren moved slightly.

"If there were no visible bite marks that leaves—"

"The femoral area. I'm pretty sure it was the femoral vein but anatomy is not my area of expertise. I won't know for sure until Dylan calls me with the examiner's report."

"If it was the vein, that indicates an intentional feeding and a slower death," Lauren said, impressing me, although she was a vampire, after all. "Choosing a vein over an artery cannot be done in a moment of blood frenzy. The vein would require patience on the vampire's part."

"Right, since veins bleed more slowly," I said. "The artery would be more ideal for a quick fix. How would a vampire know where to bite to get the vein?"

"Pulse," Lauren said. "Arteries have a beat. Veins do not."

Duh.

"Would the anticoagulant in your saliva make the vein bleed quicker?"

"A little," she said, "yes."

"Someone made a deep cut with a steady hand. So I agree. It was definitely intentional." I took a breath to calm myself.

"They cut the vein to hide the puncture wounds," Shawn said.

"Yeah."

He looked at Lauren. "Would one of your vampires have done it?"

Lauren shook her head. "No."

"How do you know for sure?" he asked. "You can't keep your eyes on them all the time."

"They are bound to me," she said, as if that explained everything.

Shawn said what I was thinking. "That doesn't tell me much."

"Shawn has a point," I said. "I don't know shit about vampire clans, or whatever you guys call them."

"Camila, it is similar to a wolf pack. To provide control, instead of absolute chaos, clans exist in every state in this country, in every city in this country. Each clan has a ruler, much like an alpha werewolf. A ruler provides for their clan, protects and punishes."

"Dinah once told me you were one of the most powerful vampires in Miami," I said.

"Mayhap. Every clan has a Countess or a Count at the head."

"All vampires are tied to a leader?" Shawn asked.

"For the most part. There are very few solitary vampires, but as Camila is a stray among the wolves, so there are those among our kind who, if powerful enough, break the ties from their original makers. Even then, most wayward vampires do not have the power to conceal and protect themselves. Thus they seek the protection of a more powerful vampire."

"A stray?" I asked. "I didn't exactly follow you to your doorstep. That's a nice way to put it."

"Do not take offense. You are a lone wolf. I apologize. I should not have called you a stray, but that is the term most wolves would have used."

"No," Shawn said, "I like
stray. It suits her. She did show up on my doorstep when the accident happened."

I flipped him off. He laughed.

"On your doorstep?" Lauren inquired.

"Yeah, bled all over the damn place. You have no fucking idea how long that took to clean up."

"You never told me that," I said.

He shrugged. "Why bother? You're my friend. I would rather you be alive than dead because I went all OCD at the wrong moment."

I shook my head. "OCD just doesn't seem your style, Shawn. It sounds more like my mother."

"Your mother?" Lauren looked thoughtful. "You never mentioned your mother."

"I had to come from somewhere."

"Have you met her?" she asked Shawn.

"Once. If you ever meet her you'll see where Mila gets her stubborn streak."

I suddenly had an image of taking Lauren home to my family and laughed.

Shawn caught it. "You just pictured it too, didn't you?"

"Yes, yes, I did."

"Pictured what?" Lauren asked.

"The look on my mother's face if I were to introduce you two."

Shawn said, "Your mom wouldn't care."

"She probably wouldn't." I pictured my mother's reaction.
Oh, honey, she's cute. A little tall, don't you think?

"All right," Shawn changed the subject, "we were talking about the crime scene. Was there any other evidence besides the bite marks?"

"The boy was naked."

"It was intimate," Lauren said.

"Definitely intimate."

"It must've been someone he knew well to get that close to him," Shawn added.

"Not necessarily." Lauren looked contemplative. "Did anything at the scene hint at any type of sexual activity?"

"I didn't see or smell anything."

"What did you smell?" she asked.

I made a disgusted face. "Death."

"You should call Dylan," Shawn said. "Let him know that the ME needs to run a test for any type of bodily fluids on or around the body. They may have already done one, but make sure."

Why hadn't I thought of that? See, friends are very important. Especially those with more experience.

"Right, but what about the vampire?"

"I will see what I can do," Lauren said.

I walked around the couch and sat down, rubbing my temples. "This puts my other investigation on the back burner," I said, and looked at Lauren.

"What other investigation?" Shawn asked.

"Taylor Swift," I said, "the alpha female of the local werewolf pack." It took a few weeks but I'd finally told Shawn that I'd been kidnapped. I couldn't lie to him. He seemed worried and pissed that he hadn't been there. I assured him that Austin Mahone was one dead puppy. He'd told me he was happy and sad. Happy, because I'd personally filled Austin's body with silver ammo. Sad, because he didn't get the pleasure of doing it himself. I'd met Taylor once. I don't like her. I especially don't like the things I've heard about her from Dinah and Lauren. So, I was watching her and trying to see what dirt I could dig up. I had a gut feeling she would pull some new stunt, probably one that would get people killed. I just didn't know when or how.

"Do you want me to take over?"

"I can't ask you to do that. If she's into the same kicks as her brother, your life would be seriously at risk."

"My life is always seriously at risk."

"She's a werewolf, Shawn. I don't think you could handle that." I wasn't trying to be rude, just truthful. I wanted to keep my friends safe. If I had to tell them something was too difficult for them, that's what I'd do, but I should've known it wouldn't work. Shawn's hazel eyes went cold and hard, like water freezing. If looks could've killed, I might've dropped dead. I'd seen the expression on his face only a few times. It'd scare the shit out of any bad guy. To have it directed at me, to feel the full force of it, made my blood run cold. The wolf perked her ears, ready for a challenge. I tightened my shields.

"You have no idea what I can and cannot handle." His tone was grave, dropping a few octaves with each syllable.

"You want the case?" I asked. "Fine, but I want you to call me if you need help."

"I need all the information you have on her, whereabouts, history, etc."

That didn't take long, because I didn't know much. I told him about Taylor's history of being a sadist and where she lived. Some of it, Shawn knew from our talk about my being kidnapped. Austin had revealed things about his and Taylor's childhood. I told him what I could about the pack.

In the end, Shawn stood. "I'll see if I can find out more about Taylor. I may be your friend and I don't mind taking this load off of your shoulders, but you still owe me." I caught the flicker of a faint smile.

I laughed. "Go figure."

"Twice now," he said.

"For what?"

"For the last time I went hunting with you. I was almost werewolf kibble."

"You were not! We were fine."

His hazel gaze flicked to Lauren. "Then, there was a certain situation where one of her chicks with fangs tried to use me as a punching bag."

"She has been punished," Lauren said, "as she was not meant to cause you any physical harm."

"Nice to know, but I still don't trust you."

"It is your prerogative to think of me what you will," she said idly. "Only remember your thoughts do not affect me."