From The Grey House:
Vincent was sitting back in the seat, both feet planted firmly on the limo’s floor, hands entwined and resting on his legs. He was blocking the only door out. Charlie was seated across from him, feeling very antsy. Joseph was sitting to the side, a briefcase resting in front of his legs, watching him. Charlie got along with Joseph, and admired the vampire for his fighting skills. It was Joseph’s fighting skills that the wolf was now afraid of.
From The Grey House:
Natalia’s breath caught, and her heart was hammering in her chest. Rebecca, close enough to smell the changes, took a step back, an amused look on her face. She snorted, placed the First Aid kit on the desk, threw out the old bandages and headed for the door.
“Don’t scratch her back; she’s badly cut up.” Her hand was on the doorknob.
“And you’re leaving without my permission because?” He was looking at Natalia, who was still standing in her jeans and gauze shirt that covered her torso from breasts to hips. The look in her eye intrigued him. He had to try hard to remember his purpose here.
Rebecca snorted again and stepped out of the room. “Because three’s a crowd.”
From The Grey House:
Still lightheaded, it took a moment for her to understand why he was asking. “In the mountains, north of here. The cabin smells of pine.” She brought her hand to her now throbbing head. “Zechariah didn’t blindfold me until we were in the car when we came here. The path to the car was too rocky to try it blind. I saw the odometer before he put the blindfold on and saw it again before I got out of the car. It’s about 300 miles away. I’m not really sure other than north, which way we came from.”
“How are you going to get back to him if you don’t know where to go?”
“We’re supposed to meet at a safe house in the city.”
From The Grey House:
“We can’t burn it; the woods will catch. Who owns the land?”
“A bankrupt logging company,” he smiled as an idea occurred to him, “for the moment.” Vincent took out his cell phone and dialed his lawyer.
As Rebecca and Charlie finished searching the house and gathering all the books and artifacts, Vincent placed many calls. By the time the wolves were done, Vincent’s people were well on the way to purchasing the cabin and the land around it for five square miles. Despite the lateness of the hour, the logging company was happy to have a buyer for that land. Sometime later, still on the phone, the vampire left the cabin with his wolves, and arranged for some of his people to come and occupy the land.
From The Grey House:
She opened her eyes and gave him a frank look. “There are many things I have allowed that hurt me in order to stop monsters from destroying the people I love.”
He gave her a smirk. “Who were you protecting this time? Bethany?”
The color drained from Natalia’s face. As far as she remembered, she never once mentioned her best friend to Zechariah or any Slayer. “Why did you bring her up?”
From The Grey House:
Vincent let Natalia go. She grabbed her phone and turned off the alarm. Natalia searched for her clothing but could only find her shorts and panties. Vincent was up and searching for his own clothing. His were all together in a pile on the deck. His cell rang as he picked up his pants. He answered as he sat to slip on his jeans.
“Of course, I’m ready to be picked up.” His voice went from casual to business. “Just get here.”
From The Grey House:
Just before dawn, she was finally picked up. A familiar truck pulled up to the curb, and Zechariah, dressed as a priest, got out and came to her. He didn’t say anything, just held his hand out to her. She took it, looked in his eyes and started to cry. The tears were real. She had no desire to return with him to the cabin. She wanted to be with her lover. Crying, she was placed in the truck. They blindfolded her at some point, but she didn’t see where or notice when. She was lying on the back seat, sobbing. Zechariah and Dean were the only ones in the truck with her. Miguel might already be back at the cabin, or he might be elsewhere. She didn’t know and didn’t care.
From The Grey House:
Most humans, like Bethany, were unaware of the creatures in the shadows. Natalia felt it best to keep Bethany and other humans unaware of the creatures. She learned herself, at too early an age, that monsters existed. Not all were non-humans like vampires or werewolves, either. Some of the worst monsters she’d met were humans. Still, the human ones could be held in jails, prisons and hospitals. No one could contain a werewolf in jail. Not for long anyway.
That’s where the Slayers came in. They were sent by God to hold back the monsters. Most times, Slayers killed the monsters outright, even if there were humans around. Natalia didn’t agree with that. She felt there was a better way. She found she could approach most vampires if she was careful. Sometimes, she could approach werewolves, but they were trickier. Too close to the full moon, their rage was just under the surface. She rubbed her shoulder as the memory of Charlie’s betrayal came back to her.
From The Grey House:
Charlie nodded gratefully and followed the young man down to the dungeon. After the young man locked him in a cell, Charlie started to think about all the ways he might have been able to save Natalia from being shot. As he thought about it, even if the thoughts were erratic and impossible, he grew angrier and angrier at himself. Within moments, hair started to sprout on his body. As soon as the transformation began, Charlie felt a pinprick on his neck. His hand went to the tranquilizer dart as he fell over. He was instantly asleep.
Once the werewolf was unconscious, the human put away the gun. He then went back upstairs to help Ben with the newest member of Vincent’s household.
From The Grey House:
“We met when she saved my life.” He continued the story from there, being as thorough as Vincent asked. He wanted to avoid telling him too much but had no choice but to tell Vincent Natalia’s story as well. There was an uncomfortable moment when he told his boss about biting her to make Natalia his permanently.
“She kicked you out of her life for that?”
“She saw it as a betrayal.”
Vincent nodded. “Was that the last time you saw her?”
“No. We said goodbye after she found out she wasn’t a werewolf.” He looked away from Vincent’s steady gaze.
