Chapter 2

Chapter 2

2 Weeks Later

It was eight o’clock at night when Juno stepped out of the French Meadow Cafe and started walking home. With her first day of school being the next morning, Zoey insisted that she be home by eight thirty. The French Meadow Cafe was one of the first restaurants that Juno had discovered while exploring Grand Avenue, and she loved it. She loved the food, the atmosphere, the quietness in the afternoon, the busy bustle towards the early evening. On days when she wanted to get out of the house but didn’t feel like going far, the cafe was her spot. She could sit at one of the tables in the back, on her laptop, ordering tea after tea after tea and sometimes food. Their menu was almost all organic and she always felt lighter after leaving. Her favorite menu on the item was the blackened fish tacos.

The cafe was in the middle of the Macalester College campus, and less than a ten-minute walk to Zoey and Nathan’s. She preferred to walk along Grand Avenue to get to certain places, as being around the bustle of people made her feel better, and it didn’t hurt to see some of the college guys checking her out.

She had her headphones on during the walk home, listening to her mp3 player. As she turned off Hamline Avenue, she made to the alley and she felt the hairs stand up on the back of her neck and she turned around but saw no one behind her. But there was a tree, a large tree in the grass near the curb of the street. A tree big enough for someone to hide behind. She took off her headphones and stuffed them in her bag and slowly walked toward the tree. She passed the alley and glanced toward it, but only saw one car parked behind a garage, dark and seemingly unoccupied. When she came to the tree, she took a deep breath and stepped forward, but found no one hiding behind the tree. Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned back around, resuming her walk but at a brisk pace.

A figure wearing a hat stepped out from behind a fence in the alley and watched her turn the corner. The car Juno had glanced at in the alley suddenly started and inched forward quietly until it pulled up next to the figure, who got immediately got in the backseat. The car then pulled out into the street and when it passed a street light, the maroon paint of the car glowed in the light.

What do you get when you wake up every morning in house with two Hunters and five vampires?

Chaos and mayhem.

This is what Alex Buchanan was thinking as he ran down the stairs into his family’s kitchen and threw open one of the cherry cabinets and pulled out a box of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios. He set the box down on one of the titanium granite counters and then went and grabbed a bowl from another cabinet.

His adoptive brother, Trevor Buchanan, one of the vampires in the house, was already sitting on one of the high wooden bar stools, munching on a turkey breast at the island counter in the middle of the kitchen and his adoptive mother Ev, another vampire in the house, already had a pot of tea heating up on the stainless-steel stove.

When looking at both brothers side by side, there was no question that they weren’t blood related. Alex, with his light tanned skin and long, brown hair that went down to his middle back with some of it pulled back with a ponytail and standing at a five foot ten height and a leaner, muscle toned body and dressed in a black tee shirt and a olive cargo pants was a sharp contrast to Trevor, who was paler with shorter, brown hair and standing at six foot two with a burly build and dressed in a heathered gray tee shirt with a leather jacket and fitted denim jeans.

“Alex, Trevor, you’ve both got five minutes to get out of my house and be on your way to school,” Evelyn ‘Ev’ Buchanan said in her beautiful British accent as she walked into the kitchen, her two-inch heel pumps clicking loudly on the hardwood floor. She was carrying a chicken leg in one hand and the morning newspaper in the other. She glanced at them before she took a bite of the chicken and set it down on a small plate.

“Where’s Dad and Grandpa?” Alex asked. He tucked some of his half-dried hair behind his ears as he looked up at her. He had woken up late, forcing him to take a speedy shower. It would dry soon enough, and he didn’t have enough time to dry it completely before he had to leave.

“Father is still sleeping. His plane didn’t get in until three o’clock in the morning. Jethro is in his office, talking to Napoleon.”

“Napoleon?”

“The gargoyle that he met in when he was in Pakistan last summer,” Ev reminded him. “Remember? The one that almost ate him?”

“What are they talking about?” Trevor asked.

“Trying to work out a peace treaty between the Hunters and the gargoyles in Pakistan so that neither one of them goes extinct.” She paused, and then said, “Or rather, so that the gargoyles don’t go extinct. It’ll be a long while before you Hunters have to worry about getting out of the game.” She laughed.

“I thought the gargoyle tried to eat him,” Alex said, his mouth full. “I don’t know about you, but that kind of reception makes me kinda not trust them.”

Ev eyed him disapprovingly. “Don’t talk with your mouth, full, Alex. It’s very inappropriate. And Napoleon only tried to eat Jethro because he felt threatened.”

“Huh,” was all that Alex could say.

“Well, I still wouldn’t want to make a deal with anyone that tried to eat me,” Trevor remarked.

A swish and blur of red hair sped past them and slammed the door shut.

“Good morning, Marie,” Alex said in a sing song voice, grinning.

Ev chuckled.

Marie Buchanan ran back into the house at a normal speed and grabbed the rest of Ev’s chicken leg and finished it off with one bite.

“Hey!” Ev protested.

“I’m starving and I’m running late,” Marie shot at her in her native French tongue.

Ev raised her eyebrows at Marie’s overly defensive tone. “Didn’t get a good night’s sleep, Marie?” she responded calmly in English.

“How could I with Henri blasting his bullshit all night during his workout?” Marie snapped, calming herself back into her French tinged English. Living in France for nearly seventy years had forever instilled her native French tongue in her accent and twelve years in North America hadn’t diminished it. Not that Marie would let it. She made her plans to go back to France very clear as soon as she was graduating from Central the following spring and she’d already finished her Council training earlier that summer.

“That’s why you need earplugs, Marie,” Ev told her. “Then you wouldn’t hear it as much.”

“We’re vampires for crying out loud! We have super hearing! Why does the guy have to blast it that loud?”

Ev shrugged. “You two work it out. Trevor, I assume you slept just fine I assume after that daring kill last night.”

“Just fine,” Trevor said, moving to Marie’s side in two point two seconds. “The earplugs work great, by the way, Ev. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Ev replied.

“We let him get away with everything so much,” Marie muttered. “That’s why he does all of this.”

“Marie, we let you get away with a lot too, you know,” Ev reminded her.

“Like what?”

“Like the fact that you failed math last year and almost failed it again this past summer?”

Marie sighed. “And how many sleepless nights did you get over that?”

Ev rolled her eyes and ignored Marie’s jab. “Work it out with him or use the earplugs, luv.”

Marie grinned and cracked her knuckles.

“Verbally, not physically,” Ev said warningly.

Marie’s face fell, and Alex nearly choked on his cereal to keep from laughing.

Marie turned on him and was about to snap a retort at him, but Trevor deflected her just in time by grabbing her wrist and holding it to his chest.

“Come on,” he said softly, guiding her out through the back door.

“Oui!” Jethro Buchanan said as he rushed into the kitchen. He quickly walked over to where Ev was and kissed his wife on the forehead before gently nudging her out of the way so that he could get into the fridge.

Trevor walked back in and pretended to gag and Ev and Jethro eyed him.

“Question,” Trevor said to distract them. “How come you two can pull off the British accent, and I can’t?”

“Because you were raised in here in the states and they were raised in England,” Henri said, speeding into the kitchen. “And so was I, but my accent is not as pronounced for some reason that still escapes me after all these years. By the way Ev, someone needs to go to the store and get some more meat,” he added. “Jethro, give me that last bag of chicken you’ve got in the fridge, will you?”

Jethro chuckled as he opened the fridge, grabbed the bag, and tossed it to Henri.

“Henri Deveraux, you can be such a bloody chauvinistic pig sometimes,” Ev snapped. “Just because I’m a woman, you expect me to do all the grocery shopping.”

Henri shrugged. “That’s how my family did it.” He pulled out the last raw chicken and started gnawing on it. He was the only in the house who wasn’t opposed to eating meat raw.

“Your family lived in the seventeenth century. This is the twenty first. Things are a bit different now.”

“Trevor, you look like you have something to say,” Jethro said quickly. “Something about our accents?” As Ev turned to Trevor, Jethro shot Henri a pointed look.

“But I’ve been with you guys for years and I still can’t do it right,” Trevor complained, picking up right where he had left off.

Jethro opened his mouth to respond, but Ev interrupted him.

“Bloody cow,” she commented as Henri pulled out the last three chicken legs.

“I’m still a growing boy, though,” Henri said. He threw the bag in the trash and took a bite. “Mm, that’s good,” he said with his mouth full.

Alex, Jethro, and Trevor all laughed at the reproachful look on Ev’s face as she watched Henri.

“You wish you were a growing boy,” she said. “Luv, you’ve been dead for more than four hundred years.”

“You’ve been dead for a three hundred and twenty. Come on, stop looking at me like that! You eat this stuff too, you know.”

“At least I have table manners,” Ev quipped.

“While this is all very interesting,” Alex cut in, “I am more interested in hearing about your little chat with the hungry little gargoyle from Pakistan,” he said to Jethro.

Jethro looked confused for a moment, then chuckled. “Oh, that, yeah.”

“Was there a treaty written up?” Alex asked.

“Yeah, well, we didn’t really get too much business done.”

“Stop beating around the bloody bush,” Henri said. “They didn’t get any business done,” he told Alex and Trevor, winking with a mischievous look in his eyes.

“Nosy bastard,” Jethro said ruefully to Henri.

“What happened, luv?” Ev asked, looking at her husband inquiringly.

“I brought up that happy little memory of him trying to eat me, just sort as a joke,” Jethro explained. “Well, he got mad about it for some reason that still escapes me, and he starts yelling at me and throwing insults at me, which in turn made me do it right back and I ended up hanging up on him.”

“Slamming the phone down on him, from what I heard,” Henri corrected.

Jethro gave him a look.

“Jethro, the bloody gargoyles are a sensitive lot,” Henri pointed out. “I told you to tread carefully when talking to Gorgon”

“Yeah, well, they’re a little too sensitive for their own good.”

“No treaty then?” Trevor said.

Jethro shrugged. “Let’s just say that it’s on hold now. Hopefully no more killings in the meantime.” A car horn sounded from outside and he glanced at his watch and then looked at Alex and Trevor. “Shouldn’t you lot be on your way to school by now?”

Trevor and Alex looked at the clock on the microwave, widened their eyes, dropped

their bowls and rushed out the door.

As soon as the door slammed shut behind them, Ev sighed. “What are we doing today boys?” she asked as she took Henri’s plate and stuck it in the dishwasher.

“I’m on call for the next sixteen hours, so I will be at the hospital until tomorrow morning,” Henri answered. “That vacation came with a price.”

“I still can’t believe you went to Hawaii by yourself,” Ev said, giving him a weird look.

“People go on vacations by themselves all the time, luv,” Henri pointed out.

Ev shook her head. “Not to Hawaii, they don’t.”

“Well, I do.”

“Sure you do,” she said sarcastically. “I will meet this woman eventually, though.”

Henri scoffed. “For the last time you bleeding romantic, there is no woman.” He looked at Jethro with a plea for help, but Jethro shook his head and backed away with his hands up.

“What are you doing today?” Ev asked her husband.

“Meeting with Delissio to work on that blasted animal case,” Jethro said, his mood suddenly dark.

“Well, at least Trevor got it and put it down,” Ev pointed out.

“Yeah, but how in the hell did it get around the cities without being seen?” Jethro complained.

Ev shrugged. “The thing is dead. So, go hand in your report to him and makes sure he thanks you and Trevor for wrapping up the case in a neat little bow for him.”

Jethro scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, luv.”

“Is he upset at how messy the carcass was?”

“He cursed a lot with that sweet mouth of his.” Jethro chuckled. “But I need to hurry up and shower. I’m supposed to meet him in an hour.”

“Then you better get going,” Ev said.

“What are you up to today?” Jethro asked, putting his arm around his wife.

She shifted uncomfortably but smiled into his face all the same. “I think I would like to get some fresh air, so maybe going to a park or something,” she answered.

Jethro raised his eyebrow. “I wish had your life.” He grinned and let go of her. “But then I remember that I like mine a lot better because I have you in it.”

“And I have you in mine, so I think I’m good,” she said, smiling. “You better get going. You have fifty-seven minutes left to meet Delissio.”

“Zoey,” Juno complained. “Come on, I need to get to school!” She gave her aunt an impatient look as she stood at the front door with her arms folded.

“Honey, you can always wait another week,” Zoey McKellen pleaded. “It seems like you’ve haven’t grieved long enough to poss-”

“You’ve had me stuck in this house for two weeks!”

“Because I feel that maybe we should-”

“I need something else besides wandering around and exploring this place on my own” Juno snapped. “I need something to keep me busy, something to fill my days. Something normal. Like school.”

“You haven’t spent that much time at the therapists!” Zoey protested. “What about all those hours that you’re out of the house and I don’t hear from you?”

“All I do is walk along Grand Ave to downtown and then back again,” Juno snapped. “And I’ve been doing it every day and found my way back home just fine in one piece. By myself. Stop fussing over it.” In actuality, she was exploring a lot more than Grand Avenue, but she wasn’t about to tell Zoey that. Grand Avenue was beautiful scenery with lots of interesting shops and restaurants, but she’d covered everything she wanted to see at Grand Avenue in just a few days.

“Why not just wait until next week?” Zoey tried again.

“Because you’ll say the same exact thing next week. At that rate, I wouldn’t be graduating until the next millennium. And besides, we already registered for me to start today. May I go now?” she snapped as she put her hand on the handle of the front door.

Zoey sighed and nodded reluctantly. “But you be sure to let me know if you need me to take you home at any point during the day.”

“I will,” Juno promised. She opened the door and was about to rush out when she frowned, sniffed and turned to look at the glass of milk in her aunt’s hands.

“What?” Zoey asked.

“Did you check the date on the milk carton before you drank that?”

Zoey shook her head slowly, giving her glass a once over. “Why?”

“I think it’s bad. Check the carton.” She slammed the door behind her before Zoey could reply.

Juno knew that her aunt couldn’t help but worry, but she could be so damn annoying sometimes she thought to herself as she walked to the bus stop.

There were a bunch of other kids milling around at the corner and she noticed that one of the guys was wearing a sweatshirt that said CENTRAL on it, so she figured that she must be at the right stop.

One of the girls, a pretty blonde, turned as she walked up, but she ignored the girl and stood off by herself as she waited for the bus to come. She didn’t have to wait long though; the bus appeared a minute later. She was the first one to get on the bus and grabbed a seat in the seventh row and pulled out her headphones and mp3 player.

Four other people got on the bus, including the sweatshirt guy and the girl who had been looking at her earlier. The guy immediately gave her a shit eating grin and to her disappointment, sat down next to her before she could put her headphones on.

“Hey,” he said. “My name is Kevin Stone. What’s your name? I don’t think you’re going to appreciate me calling you ‘new girl’ are you?”

Juno nodded. “Juno Jensen,” she said softly.

“Where are you from?” Kevin asked.

“Wisconsin. Milwaukee.”

“Really? I’ve been there a few times. They’ve got some great night clubs, but none of ’em beats First Avenue. I should take you there sometime. What do you say?”

Juno shrugged. “If it works out, it’ll work out.”

Kevin nodded in approval. “I like that about you.”

“Like what?”

“You just go with the flow, don’t rush anything. It’s very laid back. Very cool.”

“Thanks,” Juno said, even though that wasn’t really the reason why she wasn’t rushing anything; she just couldn’t see herself going on any kind of date with this guy.

The girl who had stared at Juno at the bus stop was sitting in front of them and must’ve read her mind because she turned around and quipped, “Hey Kevin, maybe she just doesn’t want to go out with you... Did you ever think about that?”

“If she didn’t want to go with me, I think she would’ve said so,” Kevin shot back.

“Maybe she’s too nice.”

“Melanie, maybe you should shut the hell up and mind your own business!”

Melanie shrugged and grinned. “I’m just warning you so that when she shoots you down, you’re not too surprised,” she said before she turned around.

As Juno exited the bus, she shoved her headphones on and walked quickly to avoid giving Kevin another chance to hit on her. Her bus had dropped her off in front of a parking lot, where she saw other students getting out of their cars. The sidewalk along the street was really crowded with other students getting off their buses, but she saw another pathway on the other side of the parking lot that didn’t have very much foot traffic.

She was walking through the student parking lot and looking around over at the tennis courts when someone came up next to her and to Juno’s relief, it was only the girl from her bus, whom Juno vaguely remembered Kevin call Melanie. Looking around and not seeing Kevin anywhere, she pulled off her headphones.

“You know, just because you’re new doesn’t mean you have to be a doormat,” Melanie told her. “Don’t spare his feelings?”

“Huh?” Juno said, confused.

Melanie grabbed Juno’s arm and stopped walking. “Listen, I’m not trying to be a bitch, but I’m just being honest.”

“What do you mean?” Juno asked, turning to face her.

“Kevin likes you for the way that you look. And that’s the reason many other girls like him too. But when you get to know him, he is kind of a jackass. I could tell that you didn’t like him the way you evaded his suggestion. A graceful way out would to be to hint that you like another guy and pretend you’re clueless to his advances. He doesn’t like girls that he thinks are stupid and he won’t go after a girl who he knows is interested in someone else because he’s not that desperate. Honestly, don’t let him push you into starting something that you don’t want to start.”

Juno nodded, making a mental note of it. “Thank you.”

Melanie smiled. “No problemo. So, you’re new, from Milwaukee? Why’d you move from there to this old boring place?”

“Needed a change of scenery,” Juno answered, evasively avoiding the main reason as to why she moved.

Melanie shrugged. “St. Paul wouldn’t be the first place I’d choose to get new scenery, but whatever floats your boat. It’s nice enough, though. Especially now, in the autumn. The leaves turning colors, falling off the trees. And the sun turning a little red when it sets. It’s very magical in a way, but I know there’s a little town in Canada that I visited that looks even better. And Halloween’s coming up next month. Plenty of stuff to do around here at that time.”

Juno nodded and started to reply until she saw a maroon car with tinted windows pass them and she stared at it with a startled expression.

Melanie followed her gaze to the car and then looked back at Juno. “Do you know who that is?” she asked.

Juno shook her head and started to walk after the car but then the car sped up suddenly and raced into the street, almost hitting a few students who were quick enough to jump out of the way.

“Whoa!” Melanie said. “Douchebag much? Wonder what the hell his problem was.”

Juno still stared down the path the car had taken, visibly shaken and then turned back to Melanie. “Yeah, what a douche bag,” she said quietly. Then she cleared her throat and shrugged, trying to shake off her fright. “Do you um, think you could maybe help me find some of my classes? I just want to find my way around school before I try to find my way around the city.”

Melanie nodded eagerly and held out her hand for Juno’s schedule. “Lemme see that schedule really quick.”

Juno gratefully handed it to her and they resumed walking while Juno listened as Melanie went about giving her advice about some of the classes and the teachers.

Alex had been grabbing his backpack from the backseat of the car when he saw the girl walking past him with headphones over her ears. She must’ve been new, because he hadn’t seen her before, but something about her would’ve made sure he’d never forget her.

“Did you hear anything about a new girl?” he asked Marie as she and Trevor came and stood next to him.

“No,” Marie said absently as she stared at the girl. “She’s got that look though.”

“What look?” Alex asked, not taking his eye off her.

“A jail bait look,” Marie said flatly before she started rummaging in her bag for something.

“Actually, I think I did hear about someone transferring,” Trevor said slowly.

Alex turned to see Melanie Richardson rush past the trio and he watched her as she caught up to the girl, causing her to pause and turn around as Melanie spoke to her.

Alex stared at the girl and could understand why she would be trouble for any guy. Her skin tone wasn’t too far off from his, though hers was a more olive complexion. Her lips were full, and red, just waiting to be kissed. She had a slim body, but he loved her legs. She was wearing a black over-sized beanie on over long, black hair that was partially hidden by dark rust colored cardigan and underneath the cardigan, he caught a brief glimpse of a grey Nirvana shirt. She had her legs covered with a pair of dark blue patterned stretch jeans and finished off with a pair of black ankle boots. The outfit was an interesting combination with Melanie’s own cream colored lightweight sweater poncho that covered a dark brown tank top and the top of her tight indigo jeans with suede olive green knee high boots.

He couldn’t see her eyes that well, but he thought they looked big and dark green. An unusually dark green, but it complimented her pale skin tone.

Suddenly, the girl turned, giving him a perfect view of her face, and watched a maroon car that was driving past with a startled look on her face. She started walking after it, but then it immediately sped up and Alex and Trevor had to quickly jump out of the way to avoid getting hit and watched it speed into the street and disappear.

Alex turned back to the girl, who wasn’t looking at him, but after where the car had been, a shaken look on her face for a moment before she turned back to Melanie and said something before they started to walk away.

“Alex!” Marie said sharply, getting in front of him and snapping her fingers in his face.

He blinked and backed away from her. “What?” he snapped.

“Let’s go,” she snapped back.

He glanced back at the girl, but she and Melanie had already started walking away.

Ev was just loading the dishwasher when Osmund Gilmore walked into the kitchen.

“Hello, father,” she said without looking at him.

“Hello my darling.” Osmund said as he opened the fridge. He pulled out the jug of blood and set it on the counter.

Ev finished loading the dishwasher and closed it, then turned it on and turned to her father.

“I heard a bit of ruckus in here earlier,” Osmund commented as he poured himself a glass.

“You hear ruckus every morning,” Ev said bluntly. Her father hated small talk; he only did it when he was trying to work his way up to a conversation he didn’t want to have, and she wasn’t having any of that nonsense this morning.

Osmund chuckled as he put the jug back in the fridge. “Right, right, I do.”

“You hear anything from James concerning that matter in Milwaukee?”

He sighed and took a long drink before answering. “No, I didn’t. James didn’t have any new information.”

“What about the girl who survived?”

“She’s safe. Nothing to worry about.” He took another long drink. “Have you told Jethro about the baby?” He asked the question lightly, already knowing the answer.

She shook her head and subconsciously put her hands to her belly, trying to get a feel for the life growing inside her. “No, I haven’t.”

“Why not?”

Ev threw her hands up wearily. “He’s said he’s not ready for a child yet. How am I going to break this to him?”

“He won’t be mad or upset at you or the baby. He may not have liked it this soon, but he will get over that right away and get ready to be a father to your child. His heart will melt when he holds that child for the first time. I know he will be delighted, and you should have more faith in him.”

Ev glanced down at her belly, not staying anything.

“He will find out sooner or later,” Osmund said. “I can’t believe Henri hasn’t found out yet.”

“I haven’t been going to his hospital,” Ev informed him. “I’ve been seeing a doctor at a private clinic.”

“Another doctor…?” Osmund looked concerned. “How could he possibly advise you-”

“A friend recommended him. He knows of my situation as well.”

“Well, despite your efforts, Henri spoke to me again last night when I came home. He continues to notice your changes.”

Ev’s eyes widened. “What kind of changes?”

“You’re paler than usual; you look a little unwell more often than usual for you, and then there’s your new diet.”

“He told you this?”

Osmund nodded. “Yes, he did. He came to me, trying to convince me to tell you to go to a doctor and get looked at. He’s not bloody thick, darling. Hasn’t he talked to you about it?”

She nodded. “He caught me throwing up one night. I thought I had deflected it though.”

“Well, obviously, you didn’t.” He gave her a look. “When you start showing . . . Are you going to use a spell to conceal the bump like you’re concealing the heartbeat?”

“Father, I’m not in the mood for these questions,” Ev said wearily, waving him off. “Don’t you have something else to do?”

“Well, I need to go give Devin a ring about something, so I guess I shall do that right now. I’ll see you later. Feel a little better.”

“If I felt better, there would be something wrong with the baby,” Ev said. “At least that’s what I read in some pregnancy books.”

He shrugged. “I hope everything goes well for you then.” He took her hand in his and kissed it, then kissed her forehead.

Ev held onto his hand tightly and pulled him back to her when he tried to walk away. “Father, I have a really bad feeling.”

“What kind of bad feeling?” he asked, frowning.

“Something’s coming, something bad.” She didn’t release his hand, only stared into his eyes with worry in her own.

He pried his hand out of hers and cupped her face in his hands. “Nothing is going to happen to us. We’ll all be fine. If something bad does happen, we’ll get through it. As a family, just like we’ve always done. Okay?”

She nodded slowly, still looking a little troubled.

He smiled and let go of her face. “Now, get some protein in you,” he said as he walked out.

Ev watched him walk out, then looked at a picture of Jethro on the fridge and bit her lip, looking worried. She thought back to when she had first met him. He had been so daring, so fired up, so passionate. And she’d hated him because they had been on opposite sides of the fence. He’d treated her like dirt, and then saved her life when she least expected it, despite all the horrible things she had done, even after she tried to kill him with her bare hands a few times. But in that moment when she looked into his eyes, she knew she was in love with him. She realized that she argued relentlessly with him to hide her true feelings from him, and Henri.

Henri was so damn perceptive. It was like he could read her mind. He could sense even before she did that she was in love. But the logic blinded her; Jethro was a Hunter, destined to kill vampires like her. When she realized herself that she was indeed in love, she was damn determined to prove it to him. Jethro had given her a purpose, a reason to change. She would always love him for that, for being her inspiration, her drive to be the person she was now.

Jethro settled himself in the chair in a small conference room across from Detective Eric Delissio.

“Any news?” Delissio asked.

“We found the dog and it has been taken care of.” He smiled at Delissio’s surprised look. “Where would you like us to leave it?” He passed a photo of the dead weredog to Delissio.

Delissio thought for a moment and then grabbed a pen and paper and scribbled something on it and slid it to Jethro. “When did you kill it?”

“Trevor got it last night. We’re fairly certain that if there were more, we would’ve found them by now,” Jethro said. “When there’s more than one in an area, they usually stay close by each other. Hunting pack.”

“Do you believe that one of these things are capable of being responsible for twelve deaths in such a short period?”

Jethro nodded. “Just one of these beasts is even more ruthless than the two man eaters of Tsavo put together. They have a ferocious appetite and are never full. They’re also quicker than leopards and stealthy hunters. They only grow with each meal they snag. But, I think that this was the only one and Trevor got him. I’ll have the body delivered to this address and your department will then have the men you need for the president’s upcoming visit.”

Delissio breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I can’t tell you how much this means to me Jethro.”

Jethro smiled and nodded as he stood up to leave.