Amanda was swaying back and forth as her fingers tingled with anticipation. Something didn’t smell right, making Amanda anxious to search the house without waiting for the Warriors. Willow, her wolf, was anxious to get in there and look around.

Hudson could feel her uneasiness. “Amanda, you need to be patient. The Warriors will be here soon.”

As much as Amanda wanted to listen and follow directions from her mate, there was still that stubborn side of her that wasn’t willing to give in entirely to him and submit. Amanda lifted her brow at her mate as a smirk crept across her face. “Catch me if you can,” Amanda said before she took off and headed toward the house. Amanda knew Hudson would be on her heels in a matter of moments. He was still faster than her, but she enjoyed pushing his buttons and getting him frustrated. Amanda welcomed the shivers that traveled down her body as she made it to the steps to the house. Before Amanda could unlock the door, she was flipped around and pinned against the wall with her hands above her head.

Hudson’s eyes glowed as he stared at her. “You drive me crazy, mate,” he growled at her. He held her hands with one hand as he took his other hand and ran his finger down the side of her face; he leaned in and left soft kisses down her neck before he kissed and nipped at the mark he gave her at the base of her neck. He pulled back and smirked at the look of frustration that was in Amanda’s eyes.

Amanda narrowed her eyes. “I learned from you,” she told him as she yanked her hands out of his hold like it was nothing and wrapped her hand around his neck and squeezed.

Hudson sucked in a breath as his eyes filled with desire for his mate.

She laughed as she kissed his nose before she released her hold on him.

He shook his head as he followed his mate into the house. Artemis’ senses were going wild as Hudson started to sniff the air. “Be careful; someone was here,” he warned her.

Amanda closed her eyes and started to chant a spell to show where the intruder had been. A green mist filled the room as a lighted powder fell to the floor, revealing the outline of footprints. Hudson sensed the warriors were getting close and ordered them to do a perimeter check and wait outside momentarily while they checked the ground floor.

Amanda followed the marks that were lit up on the tile. She stopped as she looked at the pattern on the floor. “Hudson, they must have searched the entire house; these marks are everywhere,” she said as she pointed to the foot pattern’s different directions.

“Are we sure they’re all from the intruder?” he asked, crouching down to look closer. “Or, more than one person was here at the same time. Look here; the sizes of the length are different. We should have the warriors help us look in here. We’ll cover more ground with bigger numbers.”

Amanda nodded. “I suppose you’re right. I will go check down the hall and look in the library.”

“I’ll follow you, just to make sure.”

Amanda turned to look at him and smiled. “I appreciate your over-protectiveness, but I can take care of myself.”

He wanted to interject his opinion, but he knew Amanda was right, and she could take care of herself. Hudson raised his hands in surrender, “Alright, I’ll just check the other rooms down the hall,” he told her.

Amanda reached up and kissed her mate on the lips. “Thank you.” She turned and started to walk down the hallway first. There was a faint smell of something she hadn’t smelled before. It wasn’t a horrible smell, but it wasn’t pleasant either. Amanda continued slowly walking down the corridor until she reached the door she vaguely remembered as the library when she was here for the first time when Deak rescued her from the fire at the frat house. Amanda sighed as the memory flashed in her head. It seemed forever ago when that happened. It surprised her when she realized it was last year.

Amanda opened the door to the library and smiled; she had forgotten how large the beautiful room that held her family’s history was. Amanda stepped into the room and immediately felt the vibration of power that flowed through her, bringing the room to life. She heard voices calling out to her, begging her to read them.

Willow started to growl as the voices grew louder. Amanda pulled away from the shelves, hoping that would dull the voices from calling out to her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow move across the brackets on the second landing.

Willow tensed and warned Amanda that they weren’t alone.

“Illuminate,” Amanda whispered as all the candles ignited and lit the room.

She circled the room as she stayed guarded while looking for the intruder. The hair on the back of her neck raised as she sensed someone approaching her. Amanda turned as the figure leaped at her and pinned her to the couch. Their eyes flashed red with anger as they hissed at her and showed their fangs.

Amanda frowned as she continued to keep the man at arm’s length. He didn’t smell like a wolf. How could he have fangs unless he was a —

Her eyes widened as she realized who she was fighting with. She had never ran into a Vampire before and didn’t know what they were capable of.

“Well, well, what do I have here?” he hissed at her. “Such a pretty little wolf,” he cooed at her. “I bet you taste delicious.”

Amanda huffed as she pushed away her insecurities and flung the man across the room with a swish of her hand.

She quickly mind-linked Hudson, telling him someone was still there.

The man got up and looked at her with hatred and confusion. Amanda smirked when she watched the realization hit his face when he figured out what she was.

“Hybrid,” he hissed.

She flung her hand into the air forcing the man to knock into a set of shelves knocking him and a bunch of books to the floor.

Hudson flung open the door and growled at the man.

The man got up and looked at both of them before disappearing into a cloud of mist and moved through the air to the opened window and left.

Hudson rushed over to Amanda and pulled her into his arms. A sigh of relief flowed through him, knowing his mate was okay.

He pulled her back to double-check.

“I’m fine, Hudson. I was just caught off guard,” Amanda admitted.

“What do you think he was looking for?” Hudson asked as he looked up at the window.

Amanda shook her head. “I’m not sure, but I think we now know who took Tristan’s body.”