Tempting the Jaguar. Katie Reus

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      Estrella pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them as she began to talk. “My parents died when I was five. I got put into the foster system and was eventually adopted by a very nice older human couple who couldn’t have kids. They never knew anything about my shifter abilities. I grew up in Miami, went to college there, and only recently moved here with my best friend. Living here is a lot cheaper, there’s a growing art market and I have no one to return to in Florida anyway. My adoptive father died of a heart attack about two years ago and my adoptive mother died six months later of heart problems. I don’t think she was able to live without him.”

      “Miami,” he murmured, her lack of knowledge making sense now. There were no packs living in central or south Florida and vampires never made their homes in the state. Not even day walkers. Living in a place called the Sunshine State just went against their nature. “Have you ever met any of your own kind before?”

      She shrugged, the action jerky. “I met a couple wolves in college.” Something else rolled off her then that made his inner wolf still.

      “Did someone hurt you?” He knew too well what could happen to an unprotected female shifter in this world. It wasn’t as bad in modern times but centuries ago, you either lived with a pack or you didn’t survive for long.

      Her spine straightened. “They tried.” There was a snap of anger in her words that made him smile, even while the thought of anyone attempting to hurt this beautiful woman made him see red.

      He started to respond when his senses went on high alert. Without thinking, he turned off the lamp, sending the room into darkness. Light from the moon streamed in through the sheer curtains and with their extrasensory abilities they could see fine.

      “What’s going on?” she asked quietly. Estrella had dropped her arms from around her knees and was tense with anticipation.

      He held up a finger to his mouth as he listened carefully. With his hearing, he had no problem picking up outside sounds. Normally he tuned everything out but it had suddenly hit him that he didn’t hear anything outside. This time of year crickets in Alabama were bad and he’d heard them when they arrived.

      Now, silence.

      Which meant there was a predator—or more likely predators—outside. It was a few hours from dawn. The vampires shouldn’t have had time to regroup. Rainer had been battling them long enough to know how they operated. They’d never have a base of operations so close to someone they were targeting. Not to mention if they’d set up shop in the state, he’d know about it. So if they planned to take Estrella—and that would happen over his dead body—they’d be cutting it down to the wire trying to get her back to wherever their base was over the state line.