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hand.
    “If there is anything that you need, you know you can count on me, Bobbie,” Victoria said and meant it. Her parents might be spoiling to break up this union, but she was all in favor of true love.
    After all, she hoped to find some of her own one day.
    With a last good-bye and consoling handshakes with the other Carrera family members, she walked back toward her car. Sammie was leaning against the bumper of the Jeep, watching her approach.
    “Was he the one?” Sammie asked, sensing her upset, but misinterpreting the reason for it.
    Victoria shook her head and peered back over her shoulder to where only Adam and Bobbie remained by the casket. “You know how family can be. They always hoped something would happen between us.”
    With a diffident shrug, Sammie replied, “Actually I don’t know about family. Dad and I were always pretty much alone.”
    Victoria had suspected as much from what she knew of her friend. Even now Sammie kept to herself, for the most part. When she wasn’t hanging out with her and Jan, she usually occupied her time by running several different businesses and doing secret hacking stuff for people she would not mention.
    “Well, now you have me and Jan,” Victoria said and linked her arm through her friend’s.
    Sammie nodded and squeezed Victoria’s arm reassuringly. “I’m headed back to the T-shirt shop. How about you?”
    “It’s a light afternoon. Some parasailers that Mike will handle and one kayak tour for me. Then I’m going to go pack a snack and go for a long paddle. Want to come with?”
    “Maybe another day. I’ve got tons of orders to fill,” Sammie replied and with a hug, walked away to her vintage World War II Willys Jeep. She somehow keptthe classic in working order, which was evidence of her friend’s ingenuity and skill with anything mechanical or electrical.
    Once again it made Victoria wonder about Sammie’s unique abilities, but she drove those thoughts back. She had other things to consider, like whether her parents were going to continue to push for a bonding with Adam Bruno.
    She had no intention of allowing them to do so, especially since the fruit of Adam’s Equinox had clearly taken root. Any mating between them now would be second best. If she could make her parents realize that, maybe they would let her choose her own mate so that when her Equinox arrived, she could bind with the right someone.
    The first hurdle, convincing her parents, would be difficult.
    But the second obstacle would be even harder: finding a suitable mate.
    She had delayed that hunt for a long time because of the uncertainty of the situation with the Desert clan’s missing heir. Now it could not wait any longer. She was approaching her first triad, and at any moment her Equinox might emerge, seeking a path to compatible and powerful energy in order to ensure the continuation of the Light Ones.
    Even though her biological clock was ticking, Victoria would not let that alone determine her fate. She wanted a partner for the future. Someone who would share her joys and her sorrows and help to lead her people. But more important, someone she could love.
    Christopher and Ryan rowed in unison, the strong pull of their arms driving the skiff through the waters, spewingsprays of seawater up and over the bow of the boat. They stroked efficiently, arms moving rhythmically until they neared the deserted beachfront of the island located in one of Jersey’s inland waterways. On such a beautiful day, it made no sense to rush and use their Hunter speed to reach the island. Besides, the physical exertion was welcome, working their muscles and strengthening the physical forms holding the Hunter core of energy.
    They slowed their strokes as they neared the shore and then stopped at the first nudge of resistance when the flat bottom of the skiff hit sand. Their momentum drove them forward until the friction of sand against the bottom of the boat halted their progress.
    Ryan jumped overboard