Keri Arthur - The Darkest Kiss

Id like to thank:

Everyone at Bantam Dell for doing such a great job on this bookmost especially my editor, Anne; her assistant, Josh; and finally, my wonderful line editors and cover artist.

A special thanks to Miriam, my agent, Karenne for all her hard work on my newsletter, and the Lulus for their wonderful support over the years.

Being thrown out of a tree wasnt my idea of fun.

Granted, countless nestlings all over the world went through this every year, but they only had to do it once, and for them it was simply fly or die trying.

I wasnt a nestling, and I wasnt built to die. Not easily, anyway. I was dhampirethe offspring of a newly turned vampire whose dying seed somehow created life in the werewolf who raped and then killed himand my bones were extraordinarily strong.

Being pushed from a tree couldnt kill me like it did those countless nestlings. But God, it could still hurt.

I mean, werewolves werent designed to fly, and muscles used to being either a wolf or a woman were having trouble with the mechanics of being a bird.

Not that I particularly wanted to be a bird. And particularly not the type of bird I could now become. I mean, a seagull? A rat of the sea? Why that? Why not something more dignified and fearsomelike a hawk or an eagle? Something with useful weapons like talons and a hooked beak built for tearing?

But no. Fate had thrown me a seagull. Im sure she was up there laughing at me right now.

Of course, I probably could become something else. The drug in my system that had caused the initial change into a gull would probably allow me to take other forms, but I wasnt about to risk it. The other half-breeds whod been injected with ARC1-23 had changed into so many different forms that theyd lost the ability to become human again, and that wasnt a problem I was willing to face. Especially not when Id already felt that moment of confusion, right after Id first attained gull shape, when the magic that allowed me to shift shape had seemed to hesitate, as if it couldnt remember my human form.

That had terrified me.

So, much as I hated being a gull, I was going to stick with it, practice its form, until being a gull was as natural and as ingrained into my psyche as the wolf and the woman.

Maybe then I would play with other shapes.

Maybe.

Riley, you cannot stay on the ground forever, a deep voice rumbled from above. Learning to fly is a matter of perseverance. And height.

I muttered something unpleasant under my breath and rolled onto my back. A dozen different aches assaulted the muscles along my shoulders, spine, and arms, and made me long for the heat of a nice, deep bath. Though even a bath wouldnt do much for all the bruises I was beginning to collect.

Not that a bath was in my immediate future anyway, if old Henry had his way.

He was sitting in one of the top forks of the gum tree high above me, his bright red shirt contrasting sharply against the cheery yellow flowers that dotted the tree. His silver hair gleamed like ice in the dappled sunlight, and his nut-brown skin was as weathered and worn as the bark of the tree itself.

He wasnt Directorate personnel, but rather a friend of Jacks. He was also a hawk-shifter, and his family apparently had ties with Jacks that went way back. Id tried some gentle questioning in an effort to glean something useful about my boss, but Henry had so far proved an unwilling gossiper.

Riley, he warned again.

Henry, I said, mimicking his cross tone. Im not going to have an inch of white skin left if you keep this up.

Jack says you must learn as quickly as possible.

Jack hasnt been thrown out of a tree a million times.

He laugheda rich, merry sound that had a smile tugging at my lips despite my grumpiness.

Its only twenty today. It took Jack a good thirty or so times a dayfor a weekbefore he got it.

Jack might be a vampire nowthanks to the blood ceremony hed taken over eight hundred years agobut hed been born a hawk-shifter and had the advantage of coming from a family of shifters. If it had taken him so long to learn, then heaven help me.

I raised my eyebrows and pushed up into a sitting position. You taught Jack?

I am not that old, little wolf. No, its just something of a legend in our roost. Few hawks are so slow to learn. He laughed again. There are some who say thats why hes bald. He lost his hair because he landed on his head too often.

I grinned. Well, Im glad to know its not just us seagulls.

You have spent most of your life as a wolf. Its natural that you would find the ways of flying difficult. He shook the rope tied to the branch near his legs. Come.

If it was as easy as coming, Id be a natural. I rose, and bit back a groan as a dozen fresh aches erupted across my torso and legs. Damn, I was going to be black and blue by tonight. Not that it really mattered. It wasnt like I had anyone to go home to anymore.

Pain rose like an old ghost. I quickly shoved any thoughts of Kellen back into the box labeled do not think about, then reached for the rope and began to climb. It had been two months since wed split. I should be getting over it by now. Should be getting over him.

But I wasnt, and I wasnt actually sure I ever would. Id loved him, and hed walked away. And not for the reason Id most expectedthe fact that I was infertile, and a half-breed. No, hed walked away because I was a guardian and wouldnt give it up. And the fact that I couldnt, thanks to the drug and the havoc it was still wreaking on my system, hadnt made a difference.

Hed walked away. Become just another man who couldnt accept what I was. Another man whod managed to smash my heart.

Id had just about enough of the whole damn love and relationships thing. So much so that, since our split, Id been keeping pretty much to myself. Of course, I was a werewolf, so the moon heat would always ensure sex was a part of my life. But that one week was about it for me and men. It seemed that love and I were never going to find a happy medium, and as much as I still wanted the whole picket fence ideal, I just wasnt up to coping with the whims and foibles of men right now.

Chocolate, coffee, and ice cream were far more reliable when it came to providing a good time, and at least they would never disappoint me.

I just had to thank the fast metabolism of a wolf for the fact that I hadnt put on any weight over the last few months. If I were human, Id be the size of a house.

I reached Henrys branch and edged carefully past, sitting down and letting my feet dangle. My fingers were clamped around the branch tightly and I avoided looking down. Since my last fall off a cliffthe same one in which Id gained my gull shapemy stomach had been getting a mite queasy at even the slightest hint of a drop. Though I suppose that jumping repeatedly out of this tree and landing face-first on the ground belowand not breaking any boneswas going a long way toward curing a little of my unease.

I took a deep breath and blew it out softly. So, explain it all to me one more time.

A bird does not fly by simply flapping its wings, he said patiently. Hold your arms out now, and try moving them really fast.

I did, feeling like a fool. Luckily, we were on Henrys estate up in the Dandenong hills, and well out of the way of curious passersby.

Now, try turning your arms as you move them. More air motion happens as you twist your arms, does it not?

I nodded, though to be honest, the difference was negligible. But then, maybe Id hit the ground one too many times and my skin just wasnt up to feeling anything anymore.