T. Grey - Bonds of Fire

A special thank you to the readers for encouraging me to keep on writing! And faster!

And of course a special thank you to Regina at Mae I Design for creating the wonderful covers for this series!

Oh, and to my love, you know who you are, for telling me to do this.

frimar – A vampire’s blood concubine, highly respected and honored among vampires.

host – A vampire who uses a frimar .

idummi – A bottom feeding demon from the deepest layer under the rift. They are aggressive, easily manipulated creatures with poisonous talons.

jaheera – Dark and dangerous demons that live at the lowest rung of the rift and are capable of incredible dark magic.

lilit – A demonic term for a succubus.

new moon – The time when a succubus grows into sexual maturity.

Protector – The male in charge of protecting and caring for a succubus.

revargen - A demonic pact formed between two demons.

rift – The division between earth and the nether-realm where demons reside. The rift is guarded by the Atal Warriors.

shahoulin - A breed of demon that lives at the top of the rift. They have magical powers and superior strength.

sica tawicue – Pronounced ‘sheecha duhwheechua” is common phrase among shapeshifters meaning “wicked wife.”

wakipajan – A shapeshifter’s term for a fighter or rebel.

And to my second child,

my strong Willow,

I bequeath to you the summer home in Florida

and of course, my snow globes to add to your collection.

Most importantly, I command that on the day of your 29th birthday

in this year of 2011

you will be in the Protection of

Alpha Lyonis Keelan, Alpha of the Shapeshifters,

to be protected by,

to facilitate a relationship with,

and to mate and breed with.

This I so order on the 8th of May, 2010.

Signed, dated and ordered at the event of my death.

Sir Francis Jeremiah Bellum

May 8th, 2010

Run.

Her feet couldn’t move fast enough.

Bring back the Alpha anytime over that thing in the forest. Him, she could handle. But whatever that was, she wasn’t so sure.

Her heart beat a mile a minute and the sweat wouldn’t stop coming. What was going on? That was not the demon that climbed out of the cemetery in London. This beast was unnatural in a different way. The demon after her sister Chloe was gray with glowing red eyes; this thing had black sc¬aly skin and a mane of thick dark fur around its head. She didn’t stay to take pictures of the thing though. She quickly ran back into the train station and jumped on the next available ride—to Leipzig.

When Chloe had called, she’d said that the demon after her was dead. So what was that thing and why was it yelling her name for the whole world to hear?

Willow impatiently waited for the train to take off. Her foot beat against the carpet, fingers drummed on her thigh. First the stupid Alpha chasing her, and now this. How was she supposed to deal?

Willow took her first deep breath as the train started moving. She didn’t relax into her seat though until the train safely left the station without a monster smashing into it. Was it still out there? What if it came for her?

“Dammit, I don’t know,” she growled under her breath. What had she and her sisters done? Willow needed answers.

She sighed and argued that she wasn’t scared. Even though her sweaty palms told her a different story. She dropped her head against the small window and stared out at the snowy sky as they ascended back to earth. From now on, and for the rest of her life, whether she lived to be a hundred or two thousand, she required sex daily.

A yawn escaped her. Her eyelids threatened to close and stay that way. She had to think though, no time to sleep. She had to plan. Her new moon has passed. She had to figure out some way to survive from now on, because according to Papa, this didn’t have to be real sex. God, Willow still remembered that conversation. Humans thought they had it bad hearing about the birds and the bees. Willow and her sisters had to sit through “the different ways you can have sex to survive for the rest of your life.” Most uncomfortable situation, ever.

Willow swiped away a tear. She hated crying, just another form of weakness in her mind. Not that she cared much when her sisters did it. It just wasn’t for her. She’d rather throw something. Preferably, at whoever made her cry. But she couldn’t throw anything at her dad.

She knew she wasn’t supposed to mourn him outright, it wasn’t the succubus way. He’d lived a long and honorable life, but that didn’t change the fact that she missed him. Missed playing chess and drinking beer with him late into the night by the fireplace. Missed talking competitive smack with him until they were both laughing. But she was angry with him too. Out of all the things he could leave for his daughters, he did the one thing none of them ever expected.

How she wished Lyonis were right when he teased her that she had a boyfriend back in America. Everything would be so much easier if that were the case. He actually wanted her.

“Stupid male ego,” she muttered.

That’s all it was. She knew it and a part of her wanted to scream at the thought. She was a challenge to him, and his stupid dominant nature couldn’t stand it. He must fight her until he wins. Well, she won’t have it. She’d done the whole relationship with a dominant shapeshifter. No thanks. Hell no.

Willow plastered her face against the small window and squinted into the night of blurred trees and houses. She had to keep moving. She might not have Chloe’s gut feelings or Lily’s interpretive dreams, but she knew that demon in the trees was bad news.

She would rather the Alpha find her, because that demon actually scared her. For the first time since she split from her sisters, Willow wished she wasn’t alone. At this point, she was going to be living on trains for the rest of her life.

She hadn’t planned on going across Germany. She’d wanted to go to Russia and get far away from that demon. God, what if it killed people because of her? It’s not as if no one would notice a giant lumbering monster taller than the trees in the forest. People notice that kind of stuff.

She had to get to her sisters. They’d help her figure out what to do. Had to figure out what the hell was going on. Soon, she thought, her eyelids fluttering shut. With the lolling motion of the train, Willow let her eyes shut and dreamt of an Alpha shapeshifter.

Lyonis landed on the ground, his body instantly morphing into his human form. Leaning down, he snatched up the piece of clothing behind the trash can.

He grinned as he inhaled the scent.

“What are you planning, my Willow?” This was the third piece of clothing she’d left for him. It wasn’t to lure him to her that he knew. If she thought she could outwit him and send him off track, she was mistaken. Greatly so. He was going to find her again and next time she wouldn’t escape easily. She’d won last time only because she surprised the hell out of him—with a knee to the face.

Lyonis hesitantly threw the clothing away as he followed her scent behind the train station. Her scent lingered, exhilarating his senses with her fresh, womanly scent. He’d always pictured his mate to be a curvy, submissive woman. Soft, gentle, and beautiful. What he’d actually gotten was quite different. Willow was anything but submissive. Or gentle for that matter.