dogs ushering their charges out of the pen.
“Mom!” she cried, rushing forward to embrace her mother.
“Claire, I don’t know what’s going on. Why are you here? You should leave. I—”
“Mom,” she said, taking her mother by the shoulders. “Be quiet. Listen to me. Everything is going to be okay. You have to do what I say. Don’t ask any questions. Don’t try to do anything else, okay?”
Her mom stared. “I don’t understand.”
“You don’t get to. Not yet,” Claire snapped, knowing they didn’t have long. “Take my keys. My car is about two hundred feet in that direction. Hit the lock button to hear it beep. Get in it, and drive right home, okay? Don’t go anywhere else. Get inside and lock the doors. Do you understand me?”
“But your father—”
“Mother. Enough,” Claire barked harshly. “Shut up. Listen to me, and do as I say, got it?”
Her mom nodded shakily. Claire reached into her right pocket and pulled out her car keys. “Go.”
“Claire, what about you?”
“Trust me,” she said. “I know what I’m doing. Now go!”
Her mother shuffled to the edge. Claire winced as Aro—or maybe the other, she didn’t know, they looked similar with their grayish, pale skin and near identical features—picked her mother up and jumped down.
Claire ran to the edge, making sure everything went as ordered. She saw her mom hurrying away, and in the distance her car beeped as her mother hit the lock button.
Wind rushed, and the vampire leapt back into the building, almost brushing against her as it walked back to stand next to its pair in disturbing silence.
“Now, shall we proceed?” the preacher said, lifting an arm to lead Claire deeper into the building.
Steeling herself, Claire walked forward, once more crossing her arms, careful not to put too much pressure on her left side. She fidgeted nervously.
They led her into a room where her father was still tied to a chair.
“Claire!” he called as she entered.
“It’s going to be okay, Dad. I promise. You’ll be fine.” She turned to look at the preacher. “You had better be a man of your word.”
“God is always faithful,” the preacher said.
But you aren’t God. You’re just a man. An insane one at that.
The preacher indicated she should sit in the chair vacated by her mother. Claire shifted, hugging herself tighter, hands finding the hem of her shirt. But she sat as directed.
One of the vampires moved like a blur, going from in front of her to behind her in the blink of an eye. It bent her head sideways, exposing her neck.
“Claire what are you doing?” her father asked nervously, struggling against his bonds.
“Making things right,” she said with steely focus, not fighting as the vampire pulled her hair out of the way with a sickening caress.
“Just remember,” she said, looking up to meet the preacher’s eyes at last. “If you lie to me and don’t let him go, I will kill you. Benefits of becoming a superhuman vampire.”
The preacher smiled at her. “You’re welcome to try, my child. But God protects his own.”
Claire snorted and then grunted as the vampire wrenched her head to the side. She swore she could hear the hiss as its fangs extended.
Her fingers slipped under the left side of her shirt.
Almost there…
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Pietro
Even dragon patience had its limits.
Most of the time, Pietro could outwait whatever it was. Dragons were legendary for being patient.
All of that went out the window when his mate’s safety was in jeopardy. Pietro’s dragon had been bellowing its insistence that they act for over an hour now, even though she’d only disappeared into the building a minute or two ago.
Where is your father? Pietro asked himself the question for the fourth time.
Something was wrong.
That was his first feeling, the gut instinct building in his stomach. He’d watched her mother come out and drive away. She would be headed for their home, hopefully, where she would be safe behind the threshold. Unbeknownst to her, Kladd and Trent were trailing her on the rooftops, ensuring that nobody got in her way.
Claire and Pietro had agreed that it would be best if she didn’t know she was being followed. Her mom had gone through enough already. The dragons would remain unseen unless the vampires tried something on the short drive home.
Meanwhile, he crouched in the debris with Rann, both of them having arrived before Claire, sneaking in slowly and then waiting.
“Her father should be out here by now,” he said quietly enough that only Rann could hear him.
“Something is wrong,” his