Chapter 9

Nicholas Lucas (Noah's father) was feeling strange so was his cat Jin they felt sick to their stomach, and the pain in their chest was starting to get unbearable. He decided it was best to go and see the doc about this.

He tried to call Judith, but she was acting childish again; he should have waited for his true mate. Judith was excellent enough when they met for the first time after his parents set them up.

They had a mate bond, but it wasn't anything like true mates would have. It was more like a mind link, but they did develop a connection of sorts with time.

While waiting for the doc to come into the exam area, he decided that Noah was in a good spot and age to take over completely. Perhaps he should divorce Judith and spend some time alone for a while.

They didn't meet up too much anymore; the last time he saw her, though, he was surprised; she looked much younger and slender like she was when they first met.

He didn't think much of it. First, she was spending quite a bit of money. Perhaps she had some work done. He thought on it some more, trying to remember her face that day.

The more he thought, though, the less likely it became because no surgeon is that good, and she shouldn't age so fast that she would need one.

At that moment, the doctor walked in, and he made a mental note to look into it later.

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He watched her for a while longer until he decided to take her tonight; why wait to start his fun? He has been patient for far too long now.

Edna Johnson was getting ready to go to bed; as she removed her clothes, she got that feeling again of being watched.

She felt it all day as she delivered the mail and most of the evening after getting home. She looked around the house, and even in her yard, she found nothing. She made sure that every door and window was locked.

Edna felt a little better by locking her bathroom door, something she had never done before. The steam from the shower made the room feel worse for some reason; chastising herself for being an old fool, she stepped into the shower.

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He loved hiding in the steamy fog of the shower; he could be right there with her as she stripped off her clothes and got under that water, unknowingly getting herself ready for him.

Waiting till she was almost done, he materialized right there on the other side of the shower curtain. When she turned around to pull the shower curtain back, she could see the silhouette of his figure there; oh, the fear coming off her will be delicious.

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Edna couldn't shake the feeling; if anything, it got worse when she was in the shower; halfway through, she pulled back the shower curtain to get a clear view of the bathroom. Nothing. No one.

Just as she was turning to get out as her hand reached for the curtain, she saw a dark silhouette of a man. She pulled back her hand, paralyzed in fear. Her whole body was shaking with fear.

She barely let out a scream as the figure launched at her, wrapping her in the shower curtain tightly. She was passing out from the fear as she gave herself into the darkness of the unconscious.

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Micheal Deveroe sat across the desk staring at Raymond Deslaires. He now knew what it felt like to stare down a snake. He decided that lying was the only way to deal with this creep.

On paper Raymond Deslaires was squeaky clean; everyone knew that he was doing something behind the scenes, no one knew what. Just looking at him, you knew that all he was letting you see was a very cleverly constructed mask.

"I suppose you are wondering Mr. Deslaires why I have summoned you for a meeting?"

"I was wondering Mr. Deveroe what this was about; I am not due for another evaluation for another ten years."

"I have asked you to come here because you have shown interest in the territory that borders yours. The council and I have been wondering what to do with it. Perhaps you would wish to purchase it?"

Raymond nodded his head; he couldn't believe that they would offer it to him. That meant that he would have a more extensive territory which also meant his chances of gaining the seat on the council was close.

Micheal watched as the look of scheming was coming over his face. You could almost see the wheels turning; He really did think that the council was made of fools.

"Yes, I am interested in expanding my territory."

"Very well, the paperwork, once completed, will be sent to you for your perusal and, if all is as you wish, your signature. Also, of course, the money."

With that, Raymond left the office, barely containing his excitement.

Once Raymond was gone, Micheal sat pensively, looking out the window. It was time to find out what Mr. Deslaires was hiding. It was time to call out the hounds. The Hounds were a nickname for the enforcers of the council.

They were very good at what they did, invisible and practical when needed. He required them to start sniffing out what was happening in Mr. Deslaire's district.

Without Mr. Deslaires finding out.

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Daisy was walking about the mansion exploring; she didn't tell anyone. She just wanted to be alone for a little while.

She came out onto an indoor garden area. It was huge, and it felt beautiful, all the flowers and plants in bloom.

She looked out the windows to see a vast pool. As she went further into the greenhouse, she noticed that the pool was part of it, a quarter of the pool was inside the greenhouse.

All you had to do was dive under the diving wall, and you were outside or inside.

There also appeared to be some doors that could be shut to block off entry into the house. The doors were open at the moment. She wondered if someone planned on swimming later.

She went further into the greenhouse. There was a trail almost like outside that you traveled along to access all the plants.

As she came back into the open area with the pool, she noticed movement from outside. She realized that it was Noah the second she saw him; he had a robe and a pair of slip-on shoes.

She watched as he kicked off the shoes and then removed the robe. Oh, my, he was naked. He was magnificent. As he turned to dive into the pool, she got the full view of him. She felt hot all over; her panties were getting wet.

That was something new she perved on many a handsome guy, but she never got wet from it. He was graceful like a cat as he dived into the pool. She realized then that he was swimming right for the opening into the greenhouse room.

In a panic, she snuck back into the foliage of the plants. She couldn't make the door. It was too far away, and he was swimming too fast for her to get away unnoticed.

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Noah decided he needed a swim to work out some of his tension; both he and Raja enjoyed it. He decided it would be best to stay in human form, though. Raja informed him that they were being watched as he kicked off his shoes.

They scented the air; their little mate was in the greenhouse. Noah decided he would pretend that she wasn't there, give her that first look at what will be only hers.

With a chuckle as they hit the water, they decided to swim directly into the inner pool to see what she would do. He dived under the divider and popped back up on the other side.

He sat on the inner bench with his back to her, knowing that he blocked her escape route. She could still leave, but he would know she was watching.

He waited, but nothing happened, and then to his surprise, she came out of her hiding spot; her face was flushed, but she pretended that she didn't know he was there as she tried to walk out the door leisurely.

She gave them a slight nod in acknowledgment and then bolted out the doors. He and Raja were both laughing happily.

So our little mate was turned on by what she saw. That is an excellent thing; she is going through a bunch of crap right now, but knowing that she found him attractive made him over the moon happy.

The funeral will be held the day after tomorrow. He was going to be there for her. He was also going to be looking for anything or anyone out of place. The Killer was still roaming about freely.

He wanted to make sure that the Killer disappeared forever into the forest. He hadn't heard back yet from his friend, but he knew he would sooner or later. Then there was the scent of another vampire just outside of his house.

The scent was of a very old Vampire; it smelled of power though he didn't get any negative feelings or dark emotions.

It felt like it was just looking. Still, he didn't like any uninvited guests. He decided that Raja was going to do some territorial marking. Just in case whoever is roaming out there didn't notice that a shifter was living here.

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Sheriff Thompson sat at his desk with his morning coffee still in his hand as he stared at the scroll on his desk. It looked old, and it had an old-style wax seal on it.

The feeling it gave him made him think it was an invitation from the Devil himself; not to accept would cause you just as much pain as it would to take it. He had hoped that it was some prank or joke. His gut feeling from looking at it, though, said otherwise.

He continued to stare at it for a while, and then he had no choice. It was his job to dance with the devil, after all.

It felt old as much as it looked old, even smelled old. He didn't like things like this; it was trouble to trace if it could be traced—perhaps fingerprints, who knows. He knew one thing for sure he wasn't going to like whatever was written on this scrolled parchment.

He put on a pair of gloves and gently started to break the seal and unroll the scroll. It was written in a very old-world fancy script. He read it, giving him a pit in his stomach that he knew would not go away till this had all ended.

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My Dear Sheriff,

I want to introduce myself before I get too far into having fun to forget the niceties.

There is a woman in your town who knows everyone's secrets. Through my watching of her, I now know all of hers. There is no point in finding this one; I intend to keep my first trophy.

I just wanted to leave this friendly note to let you know that I have arrived and that my fun is just beginning.

Thank You for your time,

The Wraith

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Sheriff Thompson sat there in unhappy disbelief; a fucking serial killer had come to my small town. He got on the phone and called his deputy back to base for a meeting he had hoped that he would never have to have again.