Smooth long strokes. Fire on his body. Electricity charging through his veins.

Eddie’s fangs lengthened.

“Better give one to Eddie first,” Thomas remarked. “Looks like he’s hungry.”

Eddie willed his fangs to retract.

Shit!

He should have more control over himself. After all, he wasn’t a newborn vampire anymore.

He was over a year old already, and he was past the worst cravings, past the most difficult time.

But whenever he was near Thomas, his reactions were unpredictable.

7

A year earlier

Flanked by Ricky, Eddie walked into Samson’s study. He couldn’t help but fidget. After the mausoleum had gone up in flames, and Luther had been arrested and brought before the vampire council for sentencing, Eddie, as well another former Scanguards bodyguard, Kent, had been held under house arrest at Ricky’s place—Scanguards’ operations director.

Luther, the man who’d promised Eddie eternal life as a vampire, had lied to him and duped him into joining his evil plan to take revenge on Samson by killing his wife—a plan that thankfully had failed. He’d told Eddie that Samson and Amaury had killed Luther’s wife, when in fact, she had refused Samson’s and Amaury’s offer to turn her into a vampire, and thus save her life, when she lay dying in childbirth.

Eddie had unwittingly chosen the wrong side and nearly paid for it with his life.

Finally tonight, Eddie had received word that his future had been decided. He looked at Samson, who sat behind his massive desk that housed two large computer monitors. He glanced up and motioned to the chair in front of the desk.

“Take a seat.” He lifted his head to look at Ricky. “I’ll take it from here.”

Ricky nodded and silently left the room.

Eddie shifted nervously in his chair. His foot tapped on the rug beneath him, and he laid his hands on his knees to stop them from shaking. He already knew that they wouldn’t kill him; his new brother-in-law, Amaury, had promised him as much. After all, Amaury had blood-bonded with his sister Nina and wouldn’t do anything to make her unhappy. And that meant he would not hurt her brother.

But they would punish him nevertheless. After all, he’d committed a crime under Luther’s influence and had helped plot the attempted murder of Samson’s mate.

“Relax,” Samson said. “I didn’t ask you here to rip your head off.”

Eddie tried a smile and failed miserably. “Sorry. I mean . . . I didn’t know what I was doing.”

Samson held up his hand. “Stop right there.”

Eddie pressed himself deeper into his chair. Shit, this wasn’t going well. He sounded like some kid who’d been dragged in front of the high school principal, and not like the newly-minted vampire he was. Hell, he shouldn’t have those concerns and fears right now. Weren’t vampires supposed to be invincible? At least his sire, Luther, had seemed that way. Of course, now, he was sitting in a cell somewhere, not so powerful anymore. Probably crapping in his pants.

“I called you here because you’ll need to be retrained. Luther is your maker, and I can never take that away from you, but the things he taught you are not the rules we live by. We don’t kill indiscriminately; we protect the innocent. As Nina’s brother, you’re part of our family, and we can’t ignore that fact. Luther used you and the others for his own nefarious plans, and the blame lies with him. But it is our duty to make sure this won’t happen again.”

Eddie nodded. “I won’t do anything criminal ever again.”

“You can’t honestly promise something like that, because you’re still not the master of yourself. There are many more temptations that will come your way. Many times you’ll want to use your new powers for your own gain. Only when you’ve conquered those urges will you truly be able to make such promises. In the meantime, I’d like you to meet your new mentor.”

Samson pointed to a spot behind him.

Eddie turned in his chair and jumped up in the same motion. Behind him stood a tall blond man dressed in leather gear: black leather pants, a white T-shirt, and a black leather jacket.

“This is Thomas. You’ll follow all his orders. You’ll eat when he tells you to eat, you’ll sleep when he tells you to sleep. He’ll teach you everything you need to know.”

Eddie looked at the vampire. He’d seen him briefly during the fight at the mausoleum, but hadn’t been formally introduced to him. Now the biker stretched his hand toward him, and Eddie clutched it immediately. His handshake was strong and firm, his hand surprisingly warm. His palm felt smooth, and the scent that emanated from Thomas now engulfed him.