“You’ll think of something.”

I wouldn’t bet on that.

“I’m so excited about all the entertainment for this week. I’ve seen the schedule, and it’s fab. Are you looking forward to the ceremony?”

“Yes. And no. I mean, I’m happy that I’m Binding with Jared, but I’m not looking forward to being the centre of attention. I’m not impressed that I have to spend a week away from training the squad just to have time with snooty Master Vampires.”

“They’re going to test you, luv,” he warned in a grave yet sympathetic voice. “You know that, right?”

“I know. Jared told me.” It hadn’t exactly come as a surprise. They would want to know that when the day came that I ruled alongside Jared, I was capable of protecting them, and that I was someone they could trust, respect, and follow. “I’ll try not to kill any of them.”

Fletcher cocked his head. “It’s not just that that’s bothering you though, is it?”

Again, he was right. It wasn’t that I had my doubts about Binding with Jared. It was that I couldn’t help worrying that he might back out. I had a number of reasons to worry about that. None of which I could talk about right then, because I felt that familiar pull. I felt him.

Turning, I spotted Jared talking to one of the other commanders further along the corridor, just as I’d known I would. As if he felt that same pull, his gaze found mine and he flashed me one of his devilish smirks.

“Why does he only smile at you like that?” griped Fletcher. “Then again, if he did smile at me like that, I’d probably blush like a virgin. Don’t you just love his Californian accent − especially when it’s spoken in that deep voice of his?”

I did actually, and as he liked my British accent, it worked out nicely.

Having exchanged a few more words with the commander, Jared was then striding purposely toward me. He walked like a man who knew what he wanted and would make no bones about trying to get it. He owned every step, filled the space around him with just his air of self-assurance.

“That bloke is a walking, talking advertisement for sex,” commented Fletcher, sighing in appreciation. I had to agree. Jared’s tall, perfectly defined body promised gratification. And delivered it.

Finally up close, he snaked his arms around my waist and dabbed a lingering kiss on my mouth. “Hey baby, I spoke to Antonio on my cell. Apparently, he was going to call me and arrange for me to meet with him, so I told him I’d be bringing you along.” Most likely in response to my sigh, he gave me a pointed look. “You promised me you’d talk to him.”

“And I will.”

“Then let’s go.” I gasped when he lightly bit my earlobe before whispering, “If we didn’t have this meeting, I’d drag you into our office and f**k you on my desk.”

“You’ve done that twice already this week.”

“Never gets old.”

Fletcher was tidying the papers on his desk, totally listening to every word.

“Want to go swimming later? I have this fantasy of f**king you in the pool.”

It was kind of intriguing, but I never ever gave Jared a ‘yes’. Teasing him was too much fun. “Maybe.”

Shaking his head at my teasing, he gave me another lingering kiss before simply nodding at our personal assistant and teleporting us to Antonio’s mansion − the main building of The Hollow. Situated on an off-the-map Caribbean island, The Hollow was much like a gated community, and was surrounded by tropical rainforests. Inside were stores, bars, a club, and plenty of housing for all those vampires and humans who lived there. In the centre was a man-made beach for the residents to use, but there was a private beach for Antonio, his staff, and the legion to use. I most liked the mansion’s private pool which was shaped like a bat with outstretched wings.

As usual, the meeting was taking place in one of Antonio’s conference rooms. The only people seated at the long table were Antonio, his Advisor Luther, and his tracker Sebastian.

“Ah…Sam, Jared,” said Antonio with a smile. His personal guards stood behind him as usual, while his two pit-bulls flanked him. “Come sit down.” Before meeting him, I had expected him to have a very imposing, suffocating presence. But there was something very reassuring about this particular Keja vampire.

Having sat down and exchanged smiles and nods with everyone – and having given the dogs a brief stroke – I raised a brow at Antonio. “Are we early or is this supposed to be a private meeting?”

“Private. It is not work-related. I have some news for you, Jared.” Antonio looked both sympathetic and hesitant. “Your mother…she passed away just last night. I believe the funeral will be taking place in a few days if you wish to make a discreet appearance and—”

“No.”

The one word response took me totally by surprise. Not simply because he didn’t wish to attend his mother’s funeral, but because it had been so hard and resolute.

Antonio released a long breath. “I thought not. However, I felt it better to give you the option.”

“How do you know she died?” I asked, suspecting Antonio had kept tabs on the woman but not understanding why he’d bother.

“As you know, a person must disappear when they have been Turned. Their family often reports them missing, and there are investigations and searches. In such cases, it is imperative to monitor the families and ensure that the investigations fail. The secret of our existence has to be preserved.”

“Jared’s parents didn’t stop searching for him and Evan” – Jared’s twin brother who was also a vampire – “all these years?” I frowned at the look he gave Jared. Again, it was sympathetic. Why be sympathetic about the idea that his parents hadn’t given up on finding him and his brother?

Sebastian’s tone was cautious. “You realise that Evan’s response may be different from yours?”

Jared shrugged at the tall Keja who, as always, was dressed in an Armani suit. “His decision is his own. I won’t interfere with his, just as he won’t interfere with mine.”

I’d never heard him sound so cold and hard before. “Jared, she was your mum, she—”

“She was Evan’s mom,” he corrected, “but never mine.” And then the shutters went down. Apparently that was the only answer I was getting.

When it came to questions, Jared was seriously the artful dodger. I’d quickly come to realise that he was very guarded. Whenever I asked about his past, he would instantly shut down. It wasn’t just his human years that he was vague about; it was his years as a vampire before joining Antonio’s legion. Whenever I pressed him, he turned into an arsehole, literally emitting ‘f**k off’ signals, but I knew it was just to distract me from my questions.

It didn’t seem that he was hiding deep, dark secrets. No. It was more like he didn’t want to think on life before The Hollow. When we had Merged with each other during the attack, I had automatically had access to his thoughts, feelings, and memories. I’d known he was worried for me, had known that he loved me, but as for his memories…There had been nothing from before The Hollow. Nothing that he cared to remember, anyway.

His seeming inability to open up to me was one of the reasons why I worried that he’d find himself backing out of the Binding. Not that I thought he didn’t care for me as much as he claimed to. There was no way I could doubt the extent of what he felt; it was all in his body language, in his vocal tone, the constant touches, the heated glances. And he had this way of looking at me like nothing else mattered. It was all extremely intimate. Powerful. Even disorientating at times.

The problem was that Binding didn’t allow for mental barriers. It wasn’t like marriage − the connection wasn’t something that a person could later free themselves from. Even if the couple came to hate each other, the psychic link could only be broken by death. As such, there wasn’t space for doubts. But if Jared feared being open with me, if he felt this need to hold back, there was every chance that he would back out of the Binding.

Maybe it would make sense for me to cut and run, but this was someone I cared about. If he was deeply scarred by something, I wanted to know what it was. He’d helped me with my scars. He had made me realise that my past as an unwilling consort for my Sire didn’t make me dirty or unworthy; it didn’t mean that I couldn’t have a normal, sexual, and even loving relationship with someone else. With him. I wanted to do the same for him. “Jared—”

Ignoring me, he spoke to Antonio. “There’s something that Sam needs to talk with you about.” He turned to me then. “Tell him.”

I narrowed my eyes at his swift change of topic. We’ll continue this conversation later, I told him telepathically. I wasn’t telepathic myself, but as Jared was, he could hear any thought that was directed at him by anyone. His nod was reluctant.

“I’ve been having these dreams,” I told Antonio. “I don’t think they’re anything to fret about, but they’re bugging me.”

The powerful vampire cocked his head, making his thick, black hair drape over his shoulder like a curtain. “What kind of dreams?”

“It’s always the same. I wake up, and there’s this female vampire there who wants me to follow her into the living area. In there is a huge mirror, which turns out to be a doorway. Through it, I can see a bungalow situated in the middle of nowhere. She steps through the doorway and wants me to go with her, but I never go.”

“And you sleepwalk to the living area every time you have the dream,” said Jared.

“So you may not be dreaming at all,” mused Sebastian, pursing his full lips.

Jared nodded. “Exactly.”

Antonio exchanged a look with Luther before asking me, “Does she speak to you?”

“No.”

Luther, who looked like he’d just stepped out of a J. R. R. Tolkien book with his long white hair and beard, leaned toward me. “What breed of vampire is she?”

“She doesn’t have a red or amber tinge to her irises, so I’m guessing she’s a Sventé. Wait, why are we talking about her like she’s real?”

“Because it’s possible that she is.” Luther rested his joined hands on the table. “There is a Sventé gift that allows a vampire to invade dreams, but they can only enter the dreams of other Sventés. Dreamwalkers, they’re called.”

“And you think she might be a dreamwalker?” At his nod, I asked, “Why would she come to me?”

“If she needs help – which is my guess – she will try to contact someone who can aid her. As I said, dreamwalkers can only invade the dreams of other Sventés. You’re the most powerful Sventé there is, and you are closely linked with Antonio. It makes perfect sense for her to reach out to you.”

“Or,” drawled Jared, “this could be a trap.” Luther tilted his head, allowing that.

“But it could be someone who truly needs help. I can’t ignore that,” I told Jared. I sensed his anger before he even spoke.

“Don’t think you’re going there, Sam. Not a chance will I let you take that kind of risk.”

“Let? Jared, don’t be a wanker.”

“I’m serious. If we find this place, we could be walking right into a f**king trap.”

“And that’s why we won’t go alone. We’ll take the squad.”

Antonio quickly interjected, “Jared, I realise that Sam’s safety is important to you, but you need to channel that protectiveness into watching out for her while on assignments.”

I was expecting an outburst, but what Jared did was shrug. A shaft of smugness shot through him. It wasn’t until he spoke that I understood why.

“The probability of us finding this place is second to none anyway. It could be anywhere.”

“Actually, I may be able to assist with that.” Luther’s words naturally didn’t go down well with Jared. “Sam, if you were to hold my hand while replaying the dream through your mind, there’s a possibility that I can help.”

I shrugged. “Sure.”

“Sam,” Jared bit out.

The overprotectiveness was unbelievably annoying, but sensing his anxiety and concern made some of my anger fizzle away. Holding his gaze, I again spoke to him telepathically. You know you wouldn’t stay behind if I asked you to, just as I can’t, no matter how much this pisses you off. That’s not who we are.

You don’t get what it would do to me if something happened to you.

I do, because I get just as worried that something will happen to you. So stop with the bloody sulking.

Leaning across the table, I took the hand that Luther offered. “All I need to do is close my eyes and recall the dream?”

“Yes, let it play out in your mind.” So I did. A short moment after he had released my hand, his eyes flew open. “I need a pen and some paper.”

In vampire speed, Sebastian disappeared out of the room, only to return with both.

After scribbling down some numbers, Luther slid the sheet of paper to Jared. “Coordinates. If you teleport there, you will find the building from Sam’s dream.”

Jared folded the sheet of paper and tucked it into his pocket. He then went to stand, but Antonio’s words stayed him.

“There’s something else, Jared.” His tone made it clear that this ‘something else’ wasn’t good.

Jared stiffened. “What?”

Again, Antonio’s expression was sympathetic. “I had no choice but to grant her request. Understand that.” There was disdain in the way he spoke of this woman, and that was seemingly all it took for Jared to know who Antonio was referring to. I felt his surprise quickly give way to anger.