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stopped by
Ricky's security team long before he could protect his mate.
    "They know who you are," a woman
said, suddenly standing right beside him. The fur on his back and neck stood on
end as Jordan reacted to the idea that someone—a human someone by the smell of
her—had managed to sneak up to him without him noticing. Fuck. It was lucky
Ricky had a security team because Jordan was obviously more than useless in his
current state. "Rick gave the guards instructions to let you in if you
ever decided to man up and claim your mate."
    Jordan wanted to explain why that was a bad
idea, but it required turning into his human form and there was no way he was
going to do that when he had no idea if this woman was a threat. She might seem
human, but so did Adrian Alateeka. The woman's confidence and complete lack of
fear suggested she was way more than what she seemed.
    Hell, ever since he'd learned vampires were
real, Jordan had been wondering what else was out there that Lupinville's
isolation had kept hidden from them. It was almost laughable that for centuries
they'd simply assumed they were the only paranormal species on the planet.
    "Hmmm," the woman said suddenly,
her relaxed demeanor immediately replaced with an alertness that defied
description. "Some…one is approaching from the south."
    Jordan tilted his head, hoping that the
woman understood he wanted details.
    She nodded. "Ricky is in the bedroom in
the middle of the house. It doubles as a panic room. Perhaps you would like to
go inside, hit the panic button next to Rick's bed, and then stay with him
while we figure out who is paying him a late night visit."
    Jordan nodded, and then bolted from his
hiding space. Thankfully the guard must have gotten some signal from the woman
because he'd already keyed in the code and was waving Jordan into the house
when he got there. It only took a moment to figure out where his mate was, and
within a few seconds Jordan had the door closed and the panic room locks
engaged.
    "Jordan?" Ricky asked sleepily.
    "Yeah, babe," Jordan replied.
"It's okay. Go back to sleep."
    Ricky gave him a sound that made it very
clear how much he disliked the idea. "What's happening?"
    "It's probably nothing," Jordan
said in a rough voice, trying to sound calm and not completely freaked out. He
didn't like not knowing what was going on outside, but he wasn't going to leave
his mate in here unguarded.
    Instead of pumping him for information he
didn't have, Ricky simply turned to a panel of screens on the far wall of the
bedroom and started typing on a couple of keyboards. Picture after picture
flashed across the screens until Ricky found the camera feed he'd been looking
for.
    "What the hell is that?" Ricky
asked as they both stared at the creature on the screen. It looked like
something out of a horror movie—dark gray and seemingly cut from stone, but it
somehow moved with the energy and agility of a silvery gibbon.
    Yeah, so much for werewolves being the only
paranormal species.
    Jordan was still reeling from the shock of
seeing such an unexpected creature when the woman who'd been talking to him
only a few moments ago stepped into the picture. Ricky hit a few buttons and
suddenly there was sound with the video feed. Unfortunately the noise was
rather unnerving.
    Ricky frowned as he watched the woman shush
the creature and then talk quietly to it before turning to look directly at the
camera. "We've got this, Rick," the woman said with a casual smile.
"Sorry to wake you."
    Ricky held down a button on the keyboard and
said, "Thanks, Lilly, but I'd rather know what's going on."
    "Of course you would," she said
with a soft laugh, "but it can wait till morning."
    Surprisingly Ricky laughed with the woman
rather than getting upset the way Jordan was. "Now would be better, Lil ," Ricky said with a worried glance in Jordan's
direction. "Is it about the trafficking ring?"
    Lilly shook her head. "No, Rick. Just an unexpected visitor. You can go back to