Only two people did not step back when his presence was freed: Officer Vladimir Koloff and Melissa. Koloff was an alpha wolf, so he had power against the vampire lords, but the girl? "Why do you not tremble?" he asked her.

"Because I've seen scarier things than you," Melissa said, so calm that she even surprised herself. "My lover and mistress is a thing beyond your power and . . . my mother," she whispered, deciding she liked the sound of it, "is a vampire that you've never been able to control." She stood up, her body feeling lean and powerful. For the first time, she was realizing what Sadie...