Two days had passed since Hunter had last seen Laney and he was more miserable than he could ever remember being in his life. He couldn't close his eyes without seeing her beautiful smile or hearing her gentle laugh. Fate was a cruel thing. He had come here to try to make peace with a part of his father's past and had instead met a woman who had him so tied up in knots he couldn't even think straight.

He was glad that she had not contacted him since that day at the park. He didn't know if he would have the strength to stay away from her if she came after him.

He was laying on the bed with the curtains drawn to keep the morning sun off his face when the phone beside his bed rang. He sat up quickly and looked at it warily.

Answering that phone was like playing Russian roulette. Sure it could be a wrong number. Some complete stranger who had dialed his number on accident but there was one person who knew he was here. And if it was her on the other end of that line that would be like a bullet straight through the last of his defenses.

It rang ten times before whoever was calling hung up. Hunter cursed himself for being a coward and laid back down. His head no sooner hit the pillow and the shrill ring of the phone filled the room again.

He stood up, grabbed his hat of the dresser and walked out the door letting it slam behind him.

888

Laney hung up the phone and fought the tears that were threatening to pour from her eyes. She had always seen tears as a waste of time and energy. They never solved anything and yet for the last two days she had done little else.

She heard a knock on her bedroom door and ran her hand through her dark curls.

"Come in." she said. The door opened and she smiled when her grandpa walked in carrying two cups of cappuccino. He walked over to the bed and handed her one before sitting down next to her.

Laney knew he was going to talk to her about Hunter. Over the last two days it seemed like everyone in her family had tried to offer advice or sympathy. Her father had even asked her if she wanted him to kill Hunter and she had hugged him tighter than she had in years.... Coming from her father those were words of love.

"How are you, Laney?" Charles asked. Laney offered him a smile. She could tell he was unsure of what to say or how to act but she loved him for trying.

"I'll be ok." she replied. He nodded.

"I don't doubt that. You are a tough girl." he said. She took a drink of her cappuccino and he picked at the comforter on her bed.

"So what is going on with this Hunter guy?" he asked. She sighed and gripped her cup with both hands.

"He wants me. He might even love me but he says that he can't be with me." she said.

"Well why the hell not?" Charles asked. Laney knew that he had probably already heard the story several times but she was blessed with a grandpa who cared enough about her to want to talk to her.

"I don't really understand it myself. Something about he is a good man now but his father was an evil vampire and he's afraid that one day he'll turn into what his father was." she replied. Charles nodded.

"And being your mother's daughter you are determined to save him from himself." he said.

"Mom helped you a lot didn't she? Back when you were lost." Charles smiled.

"Yes she did. She likes to tell me that she didn't do much. She says she just cut through my bullshit. And I guess that really is what she did. She made me open my eyes."

"Well I tried to open his eyes but apparently he sealed them shut with superglue." Laney replied before taking another drink. Charles chuckled. His granddaughter had her mothers kind, generous soul, her uncle Lane's goofy spirit, her aunt Bethany's impatience and her fathers temper when she was mad.. He wondered if that vamp realized just how lucky he was to have her for a mate.

"You're just going to have to have patience Laney." Charles replied matter-of-factly. Laney made a face.

"Patience are overrated." she said.

"Actually sweetheart I think it goes, patience is a virtue." he said taking a drink from his cup.

"Maybe I should just let dad beat the crap out of him. Maybe that will knock some sense into him."

"He would be glad to do it....." Charles replied.

"I know. I know that no one is happy about Hunter being half vamp. I know that this family has had some bad run ins with vampires." Charles was quiet for a minute before replying.

"Laney, if this man is your mate and he is good to you and makes you happy then this family will except him" Laney knew it was the truth. Though she was worried about her aunt Joey and her uncle Lane the most. Uncle Lane's hatred of what he called blood sucking ticks ran deep and she wondered how aunt Joey would respond when she found out that Hunter's father had killed her family.

"If the man can't see how lucky he is to have you then he is a damn fool. Sometimes men get caught up in the demons of their past and they have a hard time seeing ahead to the future. He'll come around, Laney. He wont' be able to stay away from you forever." Charles said after a long moment of silence.

"And I guess if he doesn't come around I could always just take dad up on his offer to kill him." she replied with a smile. Charles chuckled and patted her back before standing up.

"Yes you could always do that." he agreed. He walked to the door. "Your grandmother has breakfast ready downstairs. You should come eat before you leave for work." Laney nodded and Charles left the room.

Laney walked downstairs a short time later dressed for work. She went to the kitchen and found her family sitting around the table.

"Good morning beautiful." Rebecca said as Laney sat down next to Jordan and Bethany.

"More like good morning destroyer of dreams. Crusher of first loves." Lane pouted from across the table.

"Would you shut up about that damn car? The body shop said you could come pick the damn thing up tomorrow and it'll be good as new." Jake growled stuffing a huge bite of eggs into his mouth. Angela looked at his heaping plate of food and shook her head.

"I still to this day don't understand it." she said. "If I ate like that I wouldn't be able to fit through the door."

"Yea well being a constant pain in the ass burns a lot of calories." Lane said. Laney couldn't help but laugh and Jake looked over at her.

"Glad you think it's funny that I'm a pain in the ass because I'm about to be real funny right now. Every dime you make for the next two years is going to be going toward the bill to fix his damn car." he said. Laney took a bite of toast off the plate her grandma had set in front of her and nodded.

"I know." she said. Jake looked over at Angela who shrugged. Laney rarely just agreed with something that someone said without offering her own two cents about the situation.

Gwen cried out from her bassinett in the corner and Laney quickly jumped up and ran over. She pulled the screaming red head up into her arms and the baby quieted almost instantly.

"How is my favorite girl this morning?" Laney asked. Kaitlyn let out a sigh over at the table.

"I'm ok I guess." she replied. Bethany shook her head at her daughter.

"She wasn't talking to you." she said. Laney nodded.

"Sure I was." she said walking back to the table and sitting down. Laney sat quietly and ate her breakfast while listening to the chaos that was always around whenever the entire family was in a room together. The only people missing were Kaylee and Kayleb who were in the navy and currently somewhere on the pacific ocean and Alex who was probably somewhere rocking out as they ate breakfast.

Laney stood up after a while and handed Gwen to Raquel.

"I've gotta get to work." she said. She said her goodbyes to everyone and walked into the living room to grab her purse and apron when someone knocked on the living room door.

Laney opened the door and screamed when two strong arms reached out and grabbed her, picking her up into the air and spinning her around until she was sure she would lose the breakfast she had just eaten.

"Laney! I missed you!" Alex exclaimed as he sat her back on her feet. She clung to his arms knowing that if she let go she would quickly hit the floor.

"Hi Alex." she said hoping that the room would stop spinning soon. Her cousin Alex was easily as tall as her father Jake and super skinny. It was funny to think that this tall man had come from Jordan and Kent who were both very short. As the spinning in Laney's head began to slow she really looked at her cousin.

He hadn't been home in months but hadn't changed much in that time. He still had the Mohawk but had changed it from purple to green.

"I like your hair." she said. He smiled happily. Alex was always smiling. He was one of the goofiest people she knew. Of course people always said the same thing about her so she guessed it ran in the family.

"Thanks. I thought about piercing my nose just to freak grandpa out a little more but I've heard that it hurts." he said. Laney shrugged.

"I'll pierce it for you later." she said. "You've got such a big ass nose though I'll have to go down to the basement and get one of my dads metal spikes." Alex growled and put her in a headlock.

"Don't make me kick your butt cousin!" he warned. Just then a throat cleared in the doorway behind Alex. Alex turned quickly but didn't release Laney's throat and yanked her around. She barely managed to keep her feet underneath her as she was slung around.

She looked up to see who was there and felt her heart skip a beat when she saw Hunter. Then she almost had a heart attack when she saw just how angry he looked. His lips were pulled back in a snarl revealing his fangs and his gray eyes were darkened to almost jet black. She could see his muscles bunching and tightening beneath his tight flannel shirt.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked his voice low and threatening. Alex quickly let go of Laney who was squirming in his arms and took a step away from the newcomer with his hands held up.

"I didn't mean anything by it dude." he said. He had heard from his mom the day before about Laney's half-vampire mate and figured this guy was him...

"You're such a chicken shit." Laney said to her cousin as he retreated yet another step. She tightened the scrunchie she had in her hair and smoothed out her shirt.

"You ok?" Hunter asked.

"Of course. He's nothing but a giant string bean. I could have taken him." she replied. Before Hunter or Alex could respond to this Jordan, Joey, Lane and Angela came into the living room.

"My baby!" Jordan squealed standing on her tip toes so she could throw her arms around Alex's neck. "You should have told me you were coming." Alex shrugged.

"I wanted to surprise you." he said. Then everyone's attention turned to Hunter.

"Hi." Angela said stepping forward with her hand held out. "You must be Hunter." Hunter tipped his hat and shook her hand. He could tell by her scent that she was Laney's mother.

"Hello ma'am." he replied.

"Just like a tick. Smooth talking sons of bitches." Lane grumbled as he walked over and sat down on the couch. Joey shook her head and sat down beside him.

"Forgive Lane. He doesn't like vampires very much.." Angela said throwing Lane a look that told him to either be nice or she would kick his ass later. Jordan grabbed Alex by the hand and pulled him toward the kitchen.

"Come say hi to everyone else." she said as they walked away.

"Come on in and sit down Hunter." Angela said motioning toward the loveseat. Hunter took off his hat and nodded.

"Thank you, ma'am." he said. Hunter could feel Laney's eyes on him as he walked over to the loveseat and sat down. When he had walked up to the open door and seen her being attacked he had nearly jumped into the house and torn the green haired man's head off.

His reaction had shocked him because he was not high tempered or protective by nature.

Now being in the same room as her, with her sweet scent filling his nostrils, his entire body seemed to be on fire. He had hoped that she wouldn't be home when he got here. He had hoped that he could come, speak with Joey and then leave town without ever having to see her again...

"I have to go." Laney said walking to the door. Hunter fought to keep his eyes trained on his boots on the floor. He did not want to look at her. If he looked at her, then he would go to her and if he went to her then he would hold her and if he held her then he would never be able to let her go.

Angela looked from Hunter to Laney. She could tell that Laney wanted Hunter to look at her but she could tell that Hunter was determined not to. She wondered what was going on in this mans head.

"Can't you stay a little longer, Laney?" Angela asked. Laney shook her head.

"I don't want to be late." she replied. She looked at Hunter again to see if he was going to acknowledge her but he was stubbornly looking at his boots. She rolled her eyes and walked out the door shutting it behind her.

Angela sat down in the recliner chair and looked over at Hunter who was now staring hard at Joey. Angela looked at Lane to see if he noticed and saw that he did and that he didn't look to damn happy about it.

"What are you doing here, vamp?" Lane demanded wrapping his arm tight around Joey.

"I'm looking for a woman named Josephine Fuller." Hunter replied. Joey's eyes narrowed as she looked over at him.

"That's my name." she replied. "But everyone just calls me Joey." Lane chuckled.

"That's because it's not right for you to have a name that's bigger than you are." he said pulling her tiny body into his lap. Then he looked over at Hunter.

"Why are you looking for my mate?" he asked. Angela could tell how dangerous this situation was. Lane was the ultimate jokester most of the time. He rarely took anything seriously. As a matter of fact he had only fought and turned deadly a couple times in his life and that was when either Joey or Angela's lives had been in danger. Lane would kill Hunter, or at least try to, if he made a wrong move.

Angela had made Jake go out with the rest of the guys for a run when he had smelled Hunter in the living room. Jake was an intimidating sight in the most relaxed of situations and he could scare people shitless when he wanted to.. She didn't want to put Hunter through that just yet.

"Joey, ma'am, when you were ten there was a vampire that attacked your family....." Hunter started but Lane cut him off.

"Yea and she shish cabobbed his ass.... I think she's still got some of those skewers if you want to see how she did it."

(Lane, this is Laney's mate so be nice. Let him say whatever it is he wants to say,) Angela scolded so only Lane could hear. Lane glared at her but nodded.

"No sir, that won't be necessary." Hunter replied. He knew that Angela had not intended for him to hear her scolding Lane but he had because she had not blocked him.. Sometimes he wished he wore a flashing sign that told people he could hear their thought conversations if they didn't make a conscious effort to block them from him.

"Yes my family was killed by a vampire back when I was a girl and yes I killed him." Joey said in her quiet voice. Hunter let out a long breath...

"That vampire was my father." he said. Three sets of eyes widened as they stared at him. "Now before anyone tries to shove a stake through my heart I'm not here for revenge." Hunter added quickly.

"Why would you think any of us would shove a stake through your heart?" Angela asked even though she could tell by the look on Lane's face that he thought it was a good idea.

"Well, ma'am, your daughter warned me.. I told her about my father and she made it clear that there were four members of this family that could kill me without blinking.. I think that's how she put it anyway."

"What four?" Lane asked. Hunter was caught off guard by the question.

"Excuse me?' he asked.

"What four of us?" Lane repeated.

"Her dad of course. Her grandpa. Joey and you, ma'am." Hunter replied looking over at Angela.

"Why that little brat... What about me?" Lane demanded. Angela shook her head and rested her cheek against her palm.

"She didn't mention you, sir." Hunter replied honestly. Lane was about to say something but Joey covered his mouth with her small hand.

"Can this wait, egomaniac?" she asked gently. Lane's blue eyes softened as he looked down into her dark green ones and he nodded. She pulled her hand away from his mouth and looked back at Hunter.

"If you didn't come for revenge then what are you here for?" she asked. Hunter gripped his hat tight in his hands and leaned forward.

"My father was evil and what he did to your family was terrible. I know that me apologizing for his actions probably doesn't mean a whole lot to you and can't bring back what he took from you but that's what I'm here to do.. I'm sorry for what my father took from you." Hunter said. The living room was silent for several long moments. No one had expected him to say anything like this.

Lane was wondering why it seemed like he was always being made to feel like a giants horses ass.... Since when did vampires say things like 'I'm sorry'? Then again this guy was only half a vamp. Maybe that meant that Lane should give him half a chance.

"I don't know what to say." Joey said finally.

"I'll just leave then, ma'am. I didn't mean to waste any of your time..." Hunter said. He put his hat on and started to stand but Angela reached out and laid her hand on his shoulder. He looked over at her questioningly and she nodded over at Joey.

Hunter looked at Joey and saw that she had stood up and was walking over to him. She sat next to him on the loveseat. Hunter glanced over at Lane and could clearly see the threat in the werewolf's eyes.

"Hunter, I don't blame you for what your father did." Joey said matter-of-factly. Hunter looked down at the floor.

"That's awful generous of you ma'am but the same blood flows through my veins that flowed through his. Since he can't apologize for what he did..."

"Because I killed him." Joey reminded him. He nodded but continued like she hadn't spoken.

"I've always believed that the sins of the father are the sins of the son..."

"Are you saying that since he was evil and did bad things you are responsible for them now that he's dead because you are his son?" Angela asked. Lane stood up off the couch. He no longer thought that Hunter was a threat to Joey or Angela. Even if the half-vamp tried anything he knew that between the two of them they would make short work of him. And this conversation was getting way too deep for him....

"I'm gonna go to the kitchen. I'm thirsty." he said and quickly left the room. Hunter looked at the two women next to him and suddenly wished that he could dash.. But that was one trait he had not gotten from his father.

Angela reminded Hunter of his own mother. He could tell she had a sweet, gentle, caring soul like his mother had had. But Laney had seemed certain that her mother was dangerous so Hunter knew there was more to her then what his first impression was.

Joey seemed quiet and withdrawn but Hunter had seen the evidence of her temper the other day when she had turned into a red-haired tire slashing machine. Hunter had never been comfortable sharing feelings but he had a feeling of his own that he was not getting out of this living room without bearing his soul.

"Hunter, is that what you are saying?" Angela asked again. Hunter nodded.

"That is ridiculous." Joey said matter-of-factly. Angela nodded in agreement.

"My mother was a drug addicted alcoholic who worked with my ex-fiance' to have me captured and tortured just to make a few bucks... Am I responsible for her sins because one of the men she was working for killed her?" Hunter shook his head.

"No of course not." he said.

"Am I evil because my mother was?" Hunter saw where she was going with this and he sighed.

"That's different." he said.

"No it's not." Joey disagreed.

"My mother did bad things.. Terrible things.. According to your way of thinking that makes me evil. If I'm evil then that means Laney's evil... Poor Laney has a double whammy of evil because Jake has done questionable things in his own past.. Are you trying to sit here and tell me that you think my daughter is evil?" Angela asked her voice rising as she faked anger. She wanted to get a reaction out of him.. He was sitting here so still and calm. Almost like he was a robot on autopilot. She wanted to see him react and saying that about Laney did the trick.

"Hell no!" he shouted. "Of course not, ma'am." he added more calmly.

"You can't have it both ways, Hunter. You say you're evil because of who your father was but yet at the same time you say that Laney is not evil and she has had bad people in her family as well. What one is it Hunter? Are you, Laney and I all automatically evil because of who our parents are or what they may have done in the past or do we get to be judged by what's in our own hearts?" Angela asked. Hunter didn't' respond. Angela could tell he wasn't going to. She stood up and Joey followed her.

"You're welcome to stay as long as you want to." Angela said and then the two women walked away to the kitchen. Hunter sat there for a long time thinking about what Angela had said to him. Laney hadn't been joking when she'd said that she got being outspoken from her mom.. Angela hadn't known Hunter for more then five minutes and she had said things to him that not even his own mother ever had.

888

Charles came into the living room and found Hunter sitting on the couch. He had not gone out running with the other men. He had been sitting in the kitchen with his daughters and had heard every word of the conversation in the living room.

He sat down on the couch across from Hunter and Hunter looked up startled.

"Hello sir. Sorry I didn't realize how long I'd been sitting here...." he said looking embarrassed.

"She's good at making you think isn't she?" Charles asked. Hunter tilted his head.

"Who sir?" he asked.

"Angela. She's good at making you look inside yourself and see just what kind of fool you've been." Hunter shook his head.

"She is definitely a lot like her daughter. Neither of them care what they say." he replied. Charles shook his head.

"Nope they sure don't." he replied. "They are good at cutting through your bullshit." Hunter stood up and held out his hand but Charles stayed where he was and didn't offer to shake it. Hunter dropped his arm back down to his side.

"I'm gonna go." he said and started for the door. Charles cleared his throat and Hunter stopped with his hand on the doorknob. He kept his back to Charles as Charles spoke.

"I'm sure that you know who Laney's father and I are and what we're capable of. I'm getting awfully tired of hearing my beautiful fun loving granddaughter cry herself to sleep at night over you. I wasted a lot of years with my mate and my family because I was lost in anger and hatred and fear... Don't make my mistakes son. I'm gonna warn you not to come back to this house again unless you're here to take your place next to Laney.

"I'm not gonna lie.. I don't like the idea of having a vamp be with my precious granddaughter and Jake's not too crazy about the idea either but we won't stand in the way whenever you come to your senses. But until the day you come to your senses stay the hell away from that girl."

Hunter didn't reply as he walked out the door, letting it shut slowly behind him.

888

Laney walked into the diner long enough to tell the head waitress that she would not be able to work today and then had gotten back in her Saturn and driven to the motel. She was not going to let Hunter do this to her. He was not going to ignore her and treat her like she didn't exist. She was far too stubborn to let that happen.

She walked down to room twenty one but of course it was locked. She used her werewolf strength and broke the doorknob, letting herself in. She looked around the messy room and shook her head. Men were slobs...

Laney grabbed the remote off the dresser and turned on the television. She sat down on the unmade bed to wait for Hunter. She found a show on the TV featuring grown men launching pumpkins out of homemade cannons. She laughed and leaned back against the wall to watch.

Laney picked a pillow up to put behind her back and couldn't believe her eyes when she saw her blood stained t-shirt from the other day laying in the bed. If she hadn't known she was in love with him before then she knew it now.

The man had been sleeping with her shirt just to be close to her scent. It made her even more confused that he wouldn't just accept her and be with her the way a mate was supposed to. She smiled when she thought about how she had slept curled up to his flannel shirt the last few nights since meeting him.

She grabbed her purse off the floor next to the bed and pulled a small photo album out that she kept inside. There was one picture of her in it. Of course she was standing next to Alex but she just ripped the picture in half and put him back in her purse. She laid her picture on the table next to the bed and went back to watching TV.

Hunter pulled in front of his motel room and got out of the car. He had gone hunting after leaving from Laney's house to burn off some steam, clear his head and satisfy the vampire inside of him.

He walked up to the door of his room and realized the door knob had been broken. He was ready for a fight when he opened the door and was surprised to see Laney laying in his bed.

A million different images of what he'd like to do to her in that bed flashed through his mind. He closed the door behind him and that's when she noticed him and looked his way.

"Hi Hunter." she said happily. He tipped his hat and then looked at the TV.The crazy woman was watching a show about pumpkin chunking.. Nothing about her was ever what he expected. She was incredible.

"What are you doing here" Hunter asked looking back over at her. She moved over to the edge of the bed.

"That's no way to speak to your mate." she scolded teasingly. Hunter shook his head.

"Ma'am, we've talked about this." Hunter replied. Laney shook her head and twirled her long ponytail in her hand.

"No you talked. I just pretended to listen." she said. Hunter smiled but this time the smile didn't surprise him. He was becoming accustomed to the fact that it was impossible for him not to smile when he was around Laney. But she should not be here...

"Laney...." he said with exasperation.

"I love hearing that." Hunter tilted his head.

"What?" he asked.

"You saying my name instead of calling me ma'am all the time." she replied. Hunter sighed and sat down in the chair next to the door. He wondered if Laney realized just how hard it was for him to control himself when she was this close. His body was screaming at him to wrap his arms around her. Kiss her soft lips. Taste her pale skin.

Hunter pulled his hat off and sat it in his lap before crossing his long arms over his chest.

"What are you doing here Laney? I thought you were going to work." he said. She shrugged.

"Changed my mind. I wanted to come here and let you know that you have plans for tomorrow."

"What plans?" Laney smiled.

"You are taking me over to the homeless shelter in Mason County. It's about a two hour drive. I like to go down there once a week or so and help serve meals and give toys to the kids."

"Laney, I don't know...." Hunter said. He'd done a lot of thinking in the time since both Angela and Charles had given him their opinions on his beliefs. He wanted them to be right. He wanted to believe that he was not destined to be what his father had been but forty years of convincing himself that he was evil was not going to just disappear overnight.

He still wasn't sure he could trust himself enough to be with Laney. He had no doubt in his mind that she would be the best thing that had ever happened to him but would he be the best thing for her?

"Aw come on cowboy loosen up." Laney said teasingly. "I'm just asking for a ride." Hunter nodded in defeat. One thing was for sure. Telling her no didn't seem like something he could do.

"Great!" Laney exclaimed. She practically skipped to the door her black ponytail bouncing. "So you'll pick me up around nine tomorrow morning then?" Hunter stood up putting his hat back on his head and reaching out to open the door for her.

"Yes ma'am." he replied. She rolled her eyes at being called ma'am and his lips curved slightly. They were standing close. Less than a foot separated their bodies and both could feel the sparks and the pull between them.

Laney looked up into his eyes and wished that he would just take her into his arms and love her in the way that no other man ever had. She had never been with a man. She had wanted to save herself for her mate and now here was her mate and he was determined to refuse her.

If her aunt Bethany was here she would tell Laney to forget about letting the man make the first move and just kiss him herself but Laney wouldn't. She had dreamed her whole life about the day her mate would come to her and even if she had to wait forever she was going to make him make the first move.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." Laney said. Hunter's mouth was so dry he couldn't reply. He simply nodded and opened the door. Laney gave him one last smile and then walked out. Hunter watched her get into her tiny black Saturn and drive away before going into his room and closing the door.

He walked over to the bed where she had been sitting and breathed in her scent which was strong now on his sheets. He could tell by the way that his body heated up at that smell that there was no way he was going to get any sleep tonight.

His eyes moved to the small table beside the bed and he smiled at the picture she had left there. He picked it up and ran his finger over her bright smiling face. He closed his eyes and for the first time in his life allowed himself to imagine a life where he was happy. A life where he got to wake up to Laney's beautiful face and golden eyes every morning. And fall asleep in her arms every night.