Dozens of black-clad attendees began to filter out the back of the church, occasionally stopping to genuflect before exiting of their rows. Dominic studied their careful departure.

The other members of the Rossi family sat near the front of the chapel. Dominic's father stood off to the side surrounded by other stoic men. Dominic's brother, Gabriel, had wandered off at some point, no doubt to investigate the rumored tunnels.

The mourning husband began walking down the center aisle to where the hearse waited to carry him and his late wife to the cemetery. Dominic frowned. "This is the third source we've lost this year."

Crockett nodded. "None by natural causes."

Dominic reached out to stroke Dane's head; the Great Dane sat beside him in the aisle, occasionally growling lowly at passing attendees whose skin may have been too pale or their teeth too white.

The Rossi clan may have composed most of the funeral, but Dane despised all vampires—not just ones from other families. All vampires, that is, except Dominic.

"We'll find out who's doing this. They don't know sources are Rossi's by blood." Dominic's eyes darkened. "And we protect family." Dane growled at another passing member.

Crockett nodded. "Speaking of sources, the sample you requested is in your office. I'll take the Muci's place at Loyola tonight."

Dominic nodded. "Tell me what you find." He glanced down at his watch. "You'd better not be late for class."

&&&

"I won't, Mom." Rae hurried up the steps from the Red Line to street level. "I stopped running late in, like, middle school."

Her mom laughed on the other end. "I distinctly remember having to drag you out of bed a few times in high school."

"Okay," Rae conceded, "but now I'm an adult." She emerged onto the street, weaving through pedestrians and dog-walkers toward campus. The scent of ramen floated past her, mixing with the distinct tang of human waste.

"How are classes?"

"Good." Rae glanced down the road before jaywalking at the intersection. "I'm ready for this semester to be over, though."

"That bad, huh?"

"No. Not that. It's just," Rae sidestepped a bicyclist, "that I'm ready to start working, you know? Not having to pay for classes will be nice."

Silence lingered on the other side. "Are you not able to pay for classes? Are you—"

"No, no, no, Mom. I'm fine. I'm working fulltime. We're good. I got a nice savings cushion." The lies emerged from her mouth like water from a sponge. "Okay, well, I am about to—" Rae stopped. "Mom. You will not believe me if I told you." Pedestrians pushed past her, annoyed that someone had interrupted the flow of traffic.

Her mom's voice grew tense. "What?"

"There's a dog that looks exactly like Pepper."

A slow sigh of relief. "She was one-of-a-kind."

"Mom, I'm not kidding." Rae glanced down the street and beelined toward the dog. "Okay, I'm going to say hello to this dog and then go to class. Love you."

"Love you, too, sunshine. Make sure you don't stay up too late."

"I won't. Love you."

"Love you more."

"Not possible." Rae hung up, pleased she earned the last word. She and her mom had a tenuous relationship for most of her life. Her mom determined once she got pregnant that she would raise a daughter who wouldn't follow in her footsteps. She once threw Rae's phone through the garbage disposal after she came home with a B+ in Trig. Their home housed hundreds of books, but not a single television. She loved her mom, but the distance of college had done them well.

Raelyn jogged up to the enormous Great Dane. His fur was jet black, and corded muscles ran down his body—this dog could have been Pepper's twin five years ago.

"Excuse me?" Rae then noticed the giant cathedral a few feet away and the mass of people wearing black. She had crashed the after-party of a funeral.

When the dog's owner turned around, she grimaced, but pressed on. The dog turned to her, tongue flopping to the side. Rae couldn't help but smile.

"May I pet your dog?"

"He's not too friendly with strangers."

Rae grinned and petted the Great Dane's ears. The dog sniffed her faced before licking her neck. "I've yet to meet a dog who doesn't like me."

"Maybe because we're not strangers."

Rae paused from her canine affection to look at the man again. Sure enough, soft chocolate curls cascaded down to the nape of his neck—black eyes stared at her. "Mister..."

"Rossi," he said softly. His voice, like his eyes, seemed to drown out everything around the two of them.

Her breath caught in the back of her throat for a second, but she managed to extract herself from the shock. "Mr. Rossi." Rae shook her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt..." she gestured at the mourners. "I just saw your dog. I used to have a dog just like him."

"His name is Dane."

Rae reached out and scratched between the dog's eyes. "Hi, Dane." Dane responded by digging his nose into the crook of her neck and rumbled in happiness. She smiled and pushed him away, giggling as his wet nose tickled her throat.

Dominic frowned and cleared his throat.

"Sorry." Rae took a step back. "I'm..."

"Not you." Dominic shook his head as if clearing his thoughts. "What are you doing out here so late?"

"Headed to class." Rae shifted on her feet and lifted a hand in goodbye. "Well, nice to see you again, Mr. Rossi. Thanks for the... dog."

"Don't I get another guess?"

"Guess?"

He nodded. "We can't be friends until I know your favorite snack, yes?"

Rae glanced around at the group of black-clad mourners outside the church. The hearse began to pull away and the crowd dispersed. "Yeah, okay."

"Pretzels."

Rae froze for a moment, an odd mixture of relief and anxiety dripping into her veins. Finally, she nodded. "Yeah. Good guess."

Dominic nodded. "You grabbed them at the blood donation center. It should have been my first guess, honestly." He lifted an eyebrow. A silky authenticity had supplanted the cocky façade of their last conversation. "Your name?"

"Raelyn."

He nodded and set a hand on Dane's head. "Nice to meet you, Raelyn. My name's Dominic." He glanced down at his watch. "You'd better not be late for class."

&&&

Dominic watched as Raelyn hurried down the street. His heart felt tight, as if a thousand rubber bands had wrapped around the center of the organ, threatening to burst it top and bottom. As she walked away, the bands grew tighter.

He took a deep breath, mesmerized by the scent of her that lingered in the air. The bands loosened as he inhaled. Strange.

Dane glanced back at him, wagging his tail. Dominic frowned in jealousy. "I know she likes you." Dane simply started to pant, gazing at Raelyn's vanishing form. Dominic nudged his dog. "You don't have to get so...handsy." Dominic rubbed his face, trying to clear the image of her face from his mind. "Going crazy. Talkin' to my dog."

He glanced back to see the girl disappear down the street.

Raelyn.

He liked that.