are in no state of mind to receive it just yet. Sleep, and be at ease.”
Brooke felt her eyelids grow heavy, and she yawned unwittingly. “But…I don’t…” Her words drifted off as exhaustion overwhelmed her. She thought she saw the man reach out for her; and then all at once, she felt a tender tug, and her head fell back against a strong, well-defined arm. As her consciousness faded, she became vaguely aware of his commanding presence, the power of his touch; and she could have sworn she heard his voice drifting all around her, floating as if inside her, asking her strange questions about her stepfather—his name, his occupation, his birthday…
Why his birthday , she wondered.
The strange question faded away as she gently nestled into his beckoning warmth and drifted off to sleep.
Brooke’s stepfather was named Angus Monahan.
Adams must have been Brooke’s mother’s maiden name.
And his date of birth was October 13, 1956.
Napolean let the information settle into his consciousness, seep into his pores…knowing he possessed the power to do what no other vampire could do—kill a human being from a distance. He sat back in his seat and pondered: What was he to do with Angus…
As the sovereign leader of the house of Jadon, and an Ancient Master Justice, his primary obligation was to maintain harmony between the Vampyr and their human counterparts, see to a just balance among the earth’s inhabitants. Like all vampires, he was a predator who had to feed to survive, but he rarely killed—even when it was warranted. Should there be an enemy that needed to be destroyed, he called upon his Master Warriors to see to the task; and up until recently, he had even kept conflicts with the Dark Ones to a minimum in order to avoid creating a ripple effect of natural disasters: The earth’s response to a vampire’s emotion was simply too volatile, and Napolean was simply too powerful.
But this was an entirely different matter. This was his destiny.
His woman .
As her chosen mate, Napolean was honor-bound to protect her. As a member of the house of Jadon, a male who understood and upheld the laws, the right of Blood Vengeance was his. He could always attend to the matter later, but truth be told, seeing through Brooke’s mind that the despicable man was still alive really ticked him off.
A low, feral growl rose from Napolean’s throat, and Ramsey peered through the rearview mirror to glance at both of them, no doubt sensing Napolean’s predatory energy. To his credit, the male held his tongue.
Napolean closed his eyes and gave full vent to his psychic power—an unparalleled command of the laws of nature that few, even among his own kind, could even comprehend. He was quantum energy in motion, ruler of the force which created worlds. As his heart rate slowed and his breathing grew deeper, he began to explore the precise date of Angus Monahan’s birth: the distinct cosmic imprint of the stars and the particular alignment of the planets associated with the day he was born.
Although few humans understood the depth of their connection to the world around them, as a descendant of Celestial Beings, Napolean knew that energy amassed in a very specific way whenever a soul entered a physical body—that the unique configuration of variables existing on that date, in that predetermined moment, was neither random nor unrelated.
It was a direct reflection of the soul, itself.
A psychic fingerprint, as traceable as it was recognizable.
Napolean sighed and entered an even deeper state of awareness. Thoughts were also powerful markers. Their individual vibrations created eternal imprints as every thought ever projected existed forever, vibrating in the nonphysical realm, either active or inactive. Taken as a whole, a being’s name, their nature, thoughts, and actions left as clear of a stamp on the cosmos as their individual fingerprint on a piece of paper.
All Napolean had to do was search the universe. Align the
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