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been…interesting lately and I’m dragged out of my bed too often. Better to just have something on already.
    As I headed to the door, I flexed my hand and smiled. Good as new.
    A glance out the peephole wiped the smile from my face.
    Not somebody I wanted to see.
    Sighing, I tipped my head back to the sky. Why me ?
    “Open the damn door,” Doyle Channing snapped.
    Doyle. The reason Damon and I were together. Four months ago, Damon had come to me to help find the kid after he’d run away. The kid had ended up caught in an awful mess—humans had decided to make up their own hunting game, with non-human kids as the prey.
    I’d tracked him down, with Damon an ever-present shadow.
    Doyle had been the previous Alpha’s nephew, but Damon was the one who raised him. Damon was the one who loved him. Because of that, I tried to tolerate the kid.
    Even though he hated me.
    I wasn’t entirely fond of him myself. He’d freaked me out from the moment I met him. He reminded me of somebody from my past, and he looked at me like I was food. I could handle that. But each time he saw me, he made it clear that he loathed the very air I breathed and it’s hard to live with that kind of apathy without letting it affect you.
    Pasting a bright smile on myself, I opened the door. “Hiya, Doyle. Lovely morning, yes?”
    “Sure. Some of us actually have a job , though, and can’t spend it sleeping.” He glared at me, making it clear that he’d rather be doing said job—whatever it was he did for Damon. “Why in the hell aren’t you answering your phone? He’s been calling.”
    I scowled and looked around, not even sure where the damn thing was.
    Doyle made a move to come inside but the wards pricked at him.
    He hissed under his breath and I smiled at him. “Felt that, did you? I’d think you’d remember after last time.”
    Wards were expensive as hell but they helped. After I’d helped bring Doyle home, I’d used ten thousand dollars to bolster up the protections around my house and office. The one pricking at him now would feel like ants eating at his skin. It wouldn’t stop him. The stronger ones were laid on my bedroom, with the strongest in my bathroom. This was just a warning.
    One he ignored. His eyes gleamed a wild blue as he pushed through. I saw stripes dancing just under his skin before fading away. The mantle of his energy hovered above him like a giant cat stalking in a circle before settling back down.
    Sighing, I planted my hands on my hips. “Why did you do that?”
    “That won’t keep anything out.”
    “It’s not supposed to,” I said. “It’s just a warning. And a distraction. And I didn’t invite you in, jackass.”
    He smirked. “I’m not a vampire. I don’t need an invite.”
    Sometimes I really disliked this kid.
    “Why haven’t you called him? He’s worried. Didn’t you hear me?”
    “Yes, I heard you,” I said, turning away from him and searching the living room. Colleen had been in here when I got home, so…ah-ha. There was my vest. I grabbed it and found my phone in the front pocket. “Dead battery.”
    I plugged it in and then went over to my landline. It was an old-fashioned thing, but I sort of liked old-fashioned things. They didn’t fail you when hurricanes came blasting or when you forgot to charge your phone. Old-fashioned was good . Reliable.
    Numerous calls had gone to voicemail. I hit the button as listened to the first few. I felt the smile spreading across my face and kept my head tucked so the pain-in-the-ass kid wouldn’t see it while I listened to Damon’s voice.
    By the fifth message, though, my man was getting a little cranky.
    “Call me, damn it,” he snarled.
    “Good grief.” I grabbed the phone and punched in his number, waited.
    I didn’t wait more than three seconds.
    “Where in the hell have you been?”
    “Sleeping.” I flexed my hand again and studied it. It wasn’t sore. That was good. The headache was fading, too.
    “You couldn’t answer