Thank you, Donny, a line muse if I’ve ever met one, for sharing your time with the Rangers with me.  Jean, your red pen, is always appreciated, extra comments in the margin most of all.  In addition, I’d like everyone to remember the men and women in the Armed Services who are, at this very moment, putting their lives on the line for our freedom.

Chapter 1

            Peren Matthews sat and listened to her friends yak away about their stressful weeks.  She turned her green eyes to the window and stared out at the night sky.  Her gaze flickered to the crescent shaped moon, and she had to fight the urge to trace the edges of it with her fingers.  She’d always been obsessed with the wonders of night.  As a small child she’d sit in her window and long to be among the stars.  They seemed so peaceful, so free from care or concern.  That had been what she wanted most as a child—peace.  Now, on her twenty-fourth birthday, she sat in the back of Melanie’s cramped Escort and tried to wish herself somewhere serene.  She found little amusement in the fact that she’d come full-circle. 

            She shifted awkwardly in the seat and pushed the pile of used tissues away from her feet.  Melanie was far from a neat freak, and the lipstick stained tissues on the floor told her that Mel had a habit of tossing trash behind her as she drove. 

Missy fixed her dark brown eyes on Peren and looked disgusted.  “Girl, you need to lighten up—it’s your birthday.” 

            Peren let a fake smile creep onto her face.  Yeah, it’s so easy to lighten up, Kyle’s gone and he’ll never be back.  It’s wrong to be celebrating with him not here.  She tried to hide the emotions on her face, but Missy’s expression told her she failed.  

            She couldn’t get angry with Missy or Melanie.  They were only trying to help.  Since Kyle’s disappearance they’d gone out of their way to try and help her deal with her loss and move on.  “You need to climb back up on that dick again, darling…that’s bound to make you feel better.”  Mel had told her this on more than one occasion.  Sure, she still had the same desires as the next woman, maybe even more, but moving on was the last thing on her mind.  She just wanted to go home, curl up, listen to sad music, and wallow.  She didn’t need or want their planned interventions. 

            “Let’s go to that new country music club…you know…”  Melanie said, eyeing Missy, “the one that has the line dancing.  Maybe we could find some hot guys there tonight?” 

            Peren sighed.  She was committed for the rest of the night to them—their prisoner until dawn.  She’d agreed to be a willing captive and they’d agreed to leave her alone about dating other men.  Most of their blind date choices had been disasters.  The first two were your typical college guys.  They had one thing on their mind and that was to get into her pants.  Melanie was upset that Peren didn’t give in to their advances.  Sure, they were hot, and she could have used a good fuck, but she wanted something more. 

The third guy they’d fixed her up with, Ben, had been decent enough.  His short black hair and light blue eyes had made for a fantastic combination.  His conversational skills were far better than any of the men she’d been out with before.  That wasn’t the best thing about him, though.  The best thing had been his smell.  As silly as it sounded, he smelled like musk and fresh morning air.  Kyle had had that very same natural scent.  It drove her wild with lust. 

Missy had been most surprised to find out that she’d gone on multiple dates with Ben.  She’d really enjoyed his company, but felt guilty about betraying Kyle and cut it off.  The nameless, faceless other dates meant so little to her that she’d lost count of them. 

*****

            “Do you smell that?”  Lukian Vlakhusha asked his long-time friend, Roi. 

            “Smells like teen spirit alright,” Roi said, his tongue running across his lips. 

            Lukian ignored the comment because he’d known Roi long enough to know what his tastes in women were, and teenage girls weren’t one of them.  He turned and looked at a gaggle of young women as they walked into the nightclub.  Nope, not the ones they were shadowing.  These girls didn’t look legal.  The ones they were after were a bit riper.  Not old, no, just a little more mature. 

            “Tell me again why we’re here?” 

            “Because we have to be,” Roi said sardonically.

            The answer wasn’t the one he wanted to hear, but it was the truth.  They did have to be here.  Lukian knew what their mission was, probably better than Roi.  He was, after all, first in command.  Search and destroy, that was the mission.  The target was what he had a problem with.  It’d been a long time since he’d been forced to take a woman’s life.  He didn’t look forward to it now. 

            He glanced down at the photo of the auburn-haired girl he’d been carrying in his back pocket.  Her large green eyes had haunted him since he’d first been given the assignment.  He knew the rules: don’t get attached, don’t put a face to the name.  He’d broken them both.  He’d been fixated on Peren’s picture since he’d received it.  He silently hoped that he wouldn’t have to be the one to deliver the killing blow.  He’d been doing this kind of work for too long, and was too good at it, to let this one get to him. 

            “Showtime,” Roi said, watching the tiny turquoise car containing their target pulling in. 

*****

            “We’re here,” Melanie told Peren, as if she couldn’t come up with that one on her own.  She looked out the window at the hordes of people in cowboy hats and boots heading into the club.  She smiled as she ran various rodeo scenarios through her head.  Maybe she’d get lucky and they’d have a mechanical bull. 

There’s nothing like watching a wanna-be-cowboy get jostled around. 

She looked down at herself and felt overdressed.  Melanie had hinted that they’d end up somewhere like this, but she’d never come right out and announced it. 

            She fumbled around with her black skirt and wiped unseen pieces of nothing from it.  It was a nervous habit—one of many she’d hoped would pass with time.  Kyle’s disappearance had only served to enhance her already neurotic behavior.  Of course, sleep deprivation had also been playing a role in it. 

Having the man you love vanish one day will do that to you. 

            “Come on, you look great,” Missy said, opening the car door and thrusting her hand in at Peren. 

*****

            Lukian watched as the tiny, black-haired girl with the tanned skin opened the car door.  She had a bit of Asian blood in her somewhere, that was for sure.  He looked at Roi, to see how he was holding up, because he knew this was his type of woman.  If things went badly, they’d be forced to take the friends out as well.  Their directive had been only the one target, but they were cleared to do whatever was necessary to eliminate her.  If that meant additional casualties, then that was fine too. 

            Lukian watched his friend lick his lips again.  He knew that Roi was picturing his mouth running all along the exotic one’s body.  He reached his hand out and touched Roi’s shoulder.  “It is best to not think too hard about that one.  Trust me, I know.” 

He watched as the black-haired girl stepped back from the car, pulling the target with her.  He slid his fingers over the photo in his hand.  Peren, yes, there she was—average height, around five six or so, with anything but an average build.  His gaze fell over her white blouse.  Its v-neck was low cut and showed the swelling white mounds of her breasts.  Her tiny waist only made her chest look larger from his vantage point.  He wanted to suck on her nipples as he rammed his cock deep within.

  What’s the hell’s your problem?  You don’t think about targets as sexual objects. 

Lukian shifted uncomfortably, trying to get rid of the growing problem between his legs.  His cock had a hard time understanding why something so perfect had to be destroyed.  Come to think about it, so did he.  “Let’s go.” 

******

            Missy grabbed Peren’s arm and led her into the club.  The bouncer at the door spent more time flirting with the girls than he did checking their ID’s.  Melanie stopped and reciprocated his advances as Peren stood silently on the sidelines.  He kept ogling her, but she just stood there pretending to be oblivious to it.  She had little interest in hooking up with a man who probably found a new piece of ass to slip it into on a nightly basis.  ‘Pass-around-penis’, (that’s the pet name they’d given men who got around), didn’t do a thing for her. 

            Why am I here?  God, this night is dragging on.  Somebody make it end!

Her own lack of interest in her birthday did startle her a bit.  It was especially bittersweet for her because it was to be the day that she and Kyle told her parents that they were engaged.  It’d been eight months ago that they’d made that decision.  He’d done it in the most romantic way.  He’d set up a blanket under the stars and had a picnic laid out for them.  They’d spent the evening making love and discussing their future.  Kyle had managed to slip under her radar and finally sweep her off her feet.  Eight months hadn’t even begun to heal her wounds.  No, she stilled mourned the loss of him daily.  Everyone kept telling her that he’d turn up. 

            “His grant was approved, he’s got you…” She could still hear the police and Kyle’s parents defiantly listing the reasons why he’d resurface again.  She knew better, though.  Kyle would never leave to begin with, not of his own free will.  He was too jazzed about his research project for one, and he wouldn’t quit talking about marrying her. 

            “I don’t understand why we can’t tell your parents that we’re engaged right now?”  The hurt in his voice still echoed in her ear. 

            “Because, for one, you’re my professor.  Two, my father runs the science department here, remember?  You could lose your job over this, Kyle, and you know it.  Just give it a few more months, that’s all, okay?  I’ll graduate, your research will be well underway, and no one will be able to stand in our way.” 

            Maybe he wouldn’t have stormed off that night if she’d just agreed to his simple demands.  Maybe, if she’d given in and told the world about their affair, maybe he’d be here with her now.  She didn’t need someone to tell her that he was dead.  There was no way that he’d just not come back to her.  As much as she hated to admit it, Kyle was dead. 

******

            “Damn, they are… fine,” Roi said, a cross between a whistle and a growl. 

            Lukian turned to him.  His normally even temper was suddenly on the verge of going out of control.  He didn’t need any one of his men making a stupid mistake because they’d let their dicks interfere with their better judgment.  “Control your beast.  We don’t want to have to blow the place up to cover our asses here.” 

            “The only ass I want to cover is hers,” Roi said, still fixated on the black-haired girl. 

Lukian wondered if she was the one he’d talked to on the phone.  She’d seemed nice enough, and very eager to see Peren happy.  A stab of guilt hit him again.  Why was this one getting to him so bad? 

That’d be something to see. 

            “Alpha, this is Bravo.  Do you read?”  He touched his earpiece and spoke softly, looking at Roi in the process.  

            He heard the rest of his team confirm their locations and nodded to Roi.  He was his second in command and his right-hand man.  They had entered this six-man test team not knowing a soul.  Now, they were brothers in every sense of the word.  The DNA manipulation had finally been successful.  The only regret Lukian had was that now he would forever be a pawn, a killing machine, the government’s play toy.  Had he really helped mankind by sharing his secret?  He wasn’t sure yet. 

            “Move in, Lance, it’s a go,” he said slowly into his transponder. 

            “Roger that, Captain.” 

*******

            “Where the hell is he?”  Melanie asked, tapping her long painted pink nails on the table.  Peren’s ears perked up.  Where was who?  That sinking feeling she’d been getting lately was back.  The girls were trying to set her up again.  Damn, she thought she’d made it clear that they were to leave that area alone. 

            Missy glanced over Peren’s shoulder, and smiled wildly.  “I spy something blonde with my little brown eyes.” 

            Both Peren and Melanie turned to see a tall, buzz cut blonde coming towards their table.  Melanie stood and offered him her hand.  “Nice of you to finally show up.  I was starting to think you weren’t coming.”  Her lip puckered out, in a semi-pout.  She did a very on purpose, yet casual, toss of her white-blonde locks over her shoulder. 

Mel had a way of getting men to eat out of her hand.  Peren wasn’t sure if it was Mel’s demeanor or if it was because she looked like a Swedish supermodel. 

            Ah, to be five-ten and blonde…

Silently, Peren cursed her mutt blood.  Half German, half-Italian, she was left with a slightly olive complexion, auburn hair, and eyes that weren’t sure if they wanted to be green or brown.  Hazel was too strong a word.  Her eyes rarely were both—usually one or the other. 

            “I thought you said that you were bringing friends?”  Melanie’s voice managed to be accusatory and sexy all in one fell swoop.  It was an art that Peren had started to pick up on. 

            The tall man with the wide shoulders kissed Melanie’s hand gently.  “They’re at the bar getting drinks.  What would everyone like?”  His light blue eyes went to Peren.  She sat back in her seat from the weight of his stare. 

            “Nothing…water,” she managed to spit out, suddenly uneasy and unsure why.

            “I’ll have a Long Island Iced Tea, and Missy will take a beer.  Thanks, Lance.” 

*****

            He watched Lance walking towards them.  Lance was focused, no surprise there.  Lance was the go-to-boy, his field op.  Lance nodded at them, but Lukian waited for him to get closer before acknowledging him. 

            “It’s a go,” Lance said. 

            Lukian’s stomach dropped out.  Something suddenly didn’t set well with him.  They’d spent a fortune beefing up his natural abilities so he’d learned to pay attention to them.  When he sensed that something was wrong, that generally meant they had a problem.  He put his hand out and caught his best friend by the arm. 

            “Roi, abort the operation.  Tell the men and meet me at the table in five minutes.” 

            Roi’s eyes widened.  He felt it too, Lukian was sure of it.  “Bravo, this is Alpha dog-two.  Abort mission, and stand down.” 

            Lance moved along side Lukian as he made his way to the table.  The closer Lukian got to the target, the harder it was to breathe.  His heart felt as though it would beat out of his chest. 

*****

            “Yummy,” Melanie said, as she watched Lance walking back with his tall, dark and handsome friend. 

            Missy had been watching Lance since he’d left to get their drinks.  “Where’d the other one go?” she asked, looking right past the man with Lance. 

            Peren turned to get out of the chair.  Missy grabbed her arm.  “What’s wrong?” 

            Peren’s blood boiled.  “What’s wrong?  I’ll tell you what’s wrong.  You two can’t seem to stop meddling in things you don’t understand.  I don’t want to be here.  I don’t want to be fixed up with another one of your ideas of the perfect man.  Contrary to popular belief, we all don’t want to get fucked by the first thing that shows any interest in us.  Besides, testosterone-driven sex machines with little to no brains do not appeal to me!” 

            “Now that’s a shame.  For a minute there, I thought I actually had a shot.  I could do my best to pretend to be stupid, but I can’t do much about the testosterone thing.  As for showing an interest in you…that shouldn’t be too hard.” 

            Peren turned to see who had spoken to her.  Her gaze fell on the tall man who stood with Lance.  As much as she hated to admit it, he was breathtaking, with his wide shoulders and a head of shoulder-length black hair.  Its waviness actually rivaled her own, although her hair was at least a foot longer than his.  She noticed right off the bat that he had a tiny scar above his right eyebrow, and that his eyelashes were blacker than hers.  The thick lashes drew attention to his royal blue eyes.  It wasn’t a color found in nature.  She was sure they were contacts.

 The beginning of a five o’clock shadow softened what could easily be taken as a too masculine a face.  His jaw tightened as she took a step back.  He wasn’t pleased that she hadn’t taken an instant interest in him.  Oh well.  It wasn’t like she hadn’t given any thought to having sex with him…I’m grieving, not dead.   

            Her cheeks flushed, and she wondered what was happening to her.  She’d only ever thought of one man sexually before, and he was the reason for her depression.  She had no business concentrating on the contours of another man’s face, or being out on the town celebrating when Kyle was gone. 

            Peren turned and went quickly towards the club door.  She heard her friends calling out to her, but didn’t turn to them.  They could busy themselves with their new finds all night.  She hoped they’d be too sore to walk after spending the night getting ridden hard.  It’d serve them right.  No fear of that for her.  No, she’d be sleeping alone again, because she was going home.  Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Sexy would have to be reserved only for her dreams. 

Thankfully, I’ve got fingers.  And, if need be, the will to use them. 

*****

            “Shit,” Melanie said as she watched Peren leave.  She turned to run after her, but found Lance holding her arm.  “Peren…” 

            “I’ll go.  Maybe I could throw up a white flag or something,” Lukian said, smiling widely at the girls.  Not wanting to alarm them. 

            The girls exchanged glances, then nodded.  Leave it to women to trust a cold-blooded killing machine with their friend’s life.  He looked back at Roi and nodded in the direction of the door before leaving.  Roi gave him a thumb’s up as he left to retrieve Peren.

            Lukian hit the outside and took a deep breath.  The scents of the night filled his lungs.  He craved the night air, and it him.  Tonight he craved something else too, and it was headed down the darkened street in a frenzy.  He could almost taste her emotions as he tuned into her distress signal.  This was too much, too fast for her.  She’d suffered a loss recently and wasn’t ready to start trying to find  Mr. Right yet.  She was riddled with the guilt of lusting after Lukian when she should be at home mourning the loss of her dead lover.  

            Lukian took off in a slow run in the direction of her scent.  Even in the darkness of the night, he could see her clearly.  His night vision was excellent.  It had to be.  The blood of the wolf that ran through him would not have it any other way. 

*****

            I’m done with friends.  I’m done with dating, I’m done with everyone.  Peren thought to herself as she walked down the side of the highway. 

What in the hell had possessed her to come out?  She’d been doing just fine holed up in her tiny apartment.  Now, she was even angrier that she’d let Melanie drive.  Peren had a perfectly good Saab waiting for her at home.  She wasn’t one to flaunt her money.  She tried, in fact, to hide it whenever possible, but a ride home would have been worth the hassle of everyone knowing she was loaded. 

            “Hey…wait up.” 

            She froze and looked down the darkened road.  She was miles from town and alone.  She wasn’t sure how much distance she’d put between her and the bar.  She cursed softly and prepared her body to react, if need be, with violence.  She’d grown up being trained in martial arts.  Being the only child of a wealthy man who had wanted a son equaled having a hell of a good roundhouse kick. 

            She turned slowly, preparing to strike.  The ebony-haired man from the bar chased after her.  She looked at him and raised her eyebrow.  He was a persistent bastard, she’d give him that much.  His black shirt rose slightly in the wind as he ran to her, exposing his toned abdomen.  Damn, the guy must do at least a hundred sit-ups a day.  That could only mean one thing…he’s an ass. 

*****

            Lukian slowed his pace and read her, mildly amused with her opinion of him in the process.  She was definitely attracted to him, but found him to be, like most men in her life, an ass. 

Reading her thoughts was easy for him.  Most humans weren’t too difficult for him to eavesdrop on, but Peren was like an open book to him.  That caught him a little off guard. 

            He stopped and put his hands up in the air slowly.  “I come in peace.” 

            Her full lips curved into a smile so white that she lit-up the night, causing his insides to lurch forward.  His cock wanted to be in her so badly that he wondered if he could control himself.  He was far too old to be behaving like he was still twenty.  He was experienced now, and wise enough to be able to control his erections at will, or at least he had thought so prior to meeting Peren. 

The wind caught her long black skirt and blew it up.  Shiny black leather boots that ran up to her knee showed through.  He waited for a better glimpse at what kind of panties she wore under that skirt, but the wind refused to help out any longer. 

            Just as well.  I’d probably jump on her right here and now. 

This target of his, Peren, stirred things in him that hadn’t existed in over a century.  He watched her take a wider stance and realized that she thought his intent was to do her harm.  She was ready to try to protect herself.  It hit him then, that if all had gone according to plan, she’d be dead already, so her instincts were good; but so were his.

*****

            “What do you want?”  she asked the tall stranger. 

            He gave her a large smile and shrugged.  “I’m not sure, maybe to know that I wasn’t what chased you off.  That could leave lasting effects on a man’s ego.” 

            I’ll just bet you’ve got ego problems. 

No, he looked like the type that was incredibly comfortable in his own skin.  She thought about how comfortable she’d be in his skin too, and shook her head. 

Cut it out.  You don’t sleep around.  You leave that up to Melanie.  She’s good at it. 

            “I’m Lukian, and you must be Peren,” the man said, extending his large hand out to her.  She took a small step forward and grabbed it quickly.  A spark of energy flew between them.  Something similar had happened to her once when she was a child and the circumstances surrounding that encounter were anything but pleasant.  Having little desire to relive that ordeal, and the overwhelming urge to flee, Peren gave into her instincts and screamed. 

            What the hell?  Was all that ran through her mind as she turned fast from the man.  The boots she’d worn were thankfully low heeled or she’d have killed herself trying to run on the uneven terrain.  She didn’t look back to see where Lukian was, yet she knew he was close behind her.  Sensing things came naturally to her.  It had been a curse she’d hidden all her life.  The curse, so to speak, had just allowed her a very bold glimpse into the intentions of the man on her heels, and they weren’t honorable.  He wanted to fuck her hard.

            She hit the edge of the woods and never skipped a beat.  She knew she didn’t have that good of a lead on him and that he’d catch up if she dared to stop.  A limb scraped her cheek and she screamed out, pushing onward wildly. 

It’s just a scratch, definitely not worth dying over.