2013 BRONZE MEDAL AWARD WINNER for ROMANCE-Independent Publisher's Book Awards (IPPY) Opening line: The house loomed out of the darkness like a hulking beast, its windows black eyes, the front door left gaping wide in a permanent scream. "If you like Kresley Cole, Gena Showalter, Lara Adrian, Larissa Ione & J.R. Ward, you have to read this new series by Tracy Tappan!"~ Fan review Dr. Toni Parthen never knew she carried a unique, supernatural gene until the night she was kidnapped for it. Imprisoned in a secret underground community, she is asked to do the unthinkable: procreate with a vampire male in order to save their dying race. Headstrong and independent, Toni doesn't cower in the face of her new, sinister reality. Instead she incites the other captured women to mutiny. But danger lurks around another corner. A ruthless demon faction is also after her powerful DNA, and she is suddenly thrust into the middle of a bloodline war. As her world explodes into violence, her only hope of survival lies with the dark, formidable vampire who wants nothing to do with her. A rare half-vampire, half-demon, the leader of the Warrior Class, Jacken Brun, has vowed never to allow his tainted bloodlines into the community. Already a heavy burden, this oath becomes nearly impossible to bear when Toni's special scent and infuriating troublemaking ignite a voracious hunger in him. Avoidance is key. But when war wages around Toni, led by the man who devastated her years ago, Jacken must choose between honoring his pledge or claiming a forbidden love. Content guidelines: contains profanity, violence, and adult situations.