"This is an emergency. We need to see you right away."

The panic in Kesi's voice alerted Raine because her friend rarely overreacted to an assignment. She'd always sweat the small stuff, but when it came to business, she had everything under control. Whatever happened to Kesi's unit must have been horrible for her to call at midday, when she knew Raine would be sound asleep, and demand a meeting.

"Just keep calm and tell me what happened," Raine said, cradling the phone's receiver between her shoulder and ear while rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"I told you. We were attacked. The operation was planned to perfection. We cornered the weasel and Saloni was beating the hell out of him when this thing attacked us and escaped with the target. You know I've seen a lot of shit, Raine, but this guy was like nothing I've ever dealt with before."

"What do you mean?"

"In the past, Saloni and I have both mixed with weretigers, but never one this powerful. And it was black. To my knowledge there are no black weretigers."

Raine's brow furrowed in thought. What Kesi just told her didn't sound good. "Well the target is a weretiger, too. Makes sense that another of his kind would try to save his ass. Just because we've never seen a black weretiger doesn't mean one can't exist. I do agree we need a meeting to figure this out."

"No shit."

"I'll ignore that."

"As long as you don't ignore the problem, that's all I care about."

"None of you are too injured to travel, right?"

"Right."

"Then come to my place. We'll be safe here while we figure out what's going on. I'll get someone back on the target and his mysterious rescuer so we can get the job done. All good?"

"It's a start. We'll get there ASAP."

A click on the other end of the line told Rain that Kesi had hung up. She switched off her cell phone and placed it back on the night table, then glanced toward the window. Sun bled through the space on the sides of the drawn shade. Usually she slept through the day, but the discussion with Kesi had her too wound up. It had been literally ages since anyone had interfered with one of their jobs. Knowing a male had stopped them irritated her even more. She could only imagine how Saloni felt, since it was her chance for vengeance. Not to mention that Kesi, known as the best fighter in the sisterhood, was absolutely beside herself.

Over two thousand years ago Raine's grandmother, along with two other magical women, had formed the Wakened Veils. Many of the original members still existed, depending on what type of supernatural powers they possessed. Vampires, Succubae, and some were-creatures for example, lived very long lives. Tired of being subject to the whims of men, they banded together and used their powers for vengeance against any man who brought harm to a woman. Their secret society grew and their legacy continued through generations until units of the Wakened Veils patrolled each continent. Raine was in charge of the units that secured the United States east of the Mississippi. Her duty was to listen to cases presented by her warriors, bring the most important ones to the three founders known as the First Wraths, and see that the cases assigned to her units were carried out with stealth and efficiency. A problem such as the one Kesi reported must take top priority. Neither she nor any of the warriors involved could rest until their target--and the bastard who had the audacity to rescue him--were punished.