Then he came inside of her. A hot rush of release that just sent the pleasure crashing over her again. She held onto Gage, digging her nails into his flesh. Marking him because no matter what the hell else happened between them, there was one thing that she was sure of. One absolute thing.

Mine.

Gage belonged to her.

New clothes were brought to them. A good thing, because the ripped look wouldn’t have worked so well for Kayla. She dressed quickly and tried to peek at Gage’s ass only three times.

Four.

Clearing her throat, she turned away. “I need to talk with the demon.” Curtis might be able to tell her more about what had happened to her brother. She’d drill him, then start a search plan.

If her brother had left the compound, that meant he’d realized the truth about Lyle. He’d known she wasn’t lying.

He believed her.

“I’m afraid that’s not gonna be possible.”

Frowning, she glanced back over her shoulder. Gage was dressed now. No more sexy peeks at his ass. Pity. “Why not?”

“Because I had two of my pack . . . escort Curtis to a safe location.”

Her eyebrows rose. She’d thought they were already in a safe house. “Then escort me to this same location.” Seemed simple enough to her.

But Gage didn’t exactly look agreeable as he said, “I didn’t want the demon knowing where I’d hidden the rest of the pack, so I didn’t let him get close.”

Right, okay, sounded fine to her. “He probably had a tracker on him anyway.” Unless he’d dug it out. Without Lyle knowing? Maybe . . . the demon seemed to have plenty of secrets. “I would have mentioned that tracker bit to you,” she muttered and some nice, remembered fury spiked her blood. “But you know, you drugged me first.”

His lips tightened.

Speaking of trackers . . . “We need to check Davis’s body. If he was tagged, then Lyle could already be on his way here.”

Gage didn’t look particularly worried about that. “Yes,” he said slowly, with a faint nod. “He could be.”

Just like that, the light finally dawned. “You . . . want him here.” Gage wanted Lyle to come after them.

Gage held her gaze. “I dug the tracker out of the demon before I let him go to the safe house.”

So he hadn’t been so clueless after all. Tricky wolf.

“And I brought it here with me.”

What? Her breath expelled in a rush.

“So I figure with Curtis and Lyle both giving off a signal to this place, we’ll be having company soon.”

The killing kind of company. “Why?” Why would he want to bring the hunters to him?

“I brought in reinforcements,” he said with a shrug and didn’t even look a little bit concerned about the coming attack. “Wolves from other packs. Wolves who aretired of being hunted.”

She couldn’t read his expression. Nothing showed past the stoic wall of determination that hardened his strong features. “You’re setting your own trap.”

“It was my turn.”

Or had it been his plan all along? Suspicion slipped through her.

“Shamus will be coming soon. He’s going to make sure you’re taken away from this place during the battle.”

Was the guy saying she couldn’t handle a fight? What? Did she look like a piece of fluff? “I’ve been battling since I was sixteen years old,” she pointed out.

“So aren’t you due for a break?”

She blinked at him, then forced her clenched jaw to relax. They’d gone from hot sex straight to him kicking her out? That was too fast of a one-eighty for her. “I’m not going to leave you when you need me.” That was not who she was.

His lips tightened. “And I don’t want you to see what I do to the men you once considered friends.”

Her heart was about to slam through her chest. “You’re not killing them all.” That wasn’t an option. “They think they’re making the world a better place! That they’re out there fighting monsters—”

“Then they should be prepared for when the monsters fight back.”

She shook her head. No, no, she wouldn’t let a bloodbath happen on her watch. “They only thought they were taking out killers. We had files, reports! We didn’t attack innocents!”

But he just stared back at her, and her words seemed so hollow to her own ears. Nausea rolled through her.

So many lies. Lyle had fooled them too well.

They’d let themselves be fooled.

“He’s the one who should be stopped,” she muttered and refused to back down. “The others—give them a chance, Gage.”

“So they can fill my heart with silver? Cut off my head?” His smile held a cruel edge. “Sorry, sweetheart, that’s not happening, not even for you.”

A light rap sounded at the door.

Gage’s nostrils flared. “Shamus.”

“I don’t want you to lose your damn head.” She didn’t move. She could still feel the guy inside her. She wasn’t walking away and leaving him to a bloody battle. This was more than sex. The guy had better realize that.

“I won’t. I’m rather attached to my head.”

He was driving her crazy. “This isn’t a joke!” She tried to keep her voice calm and make the wolf see reason. “The hunters . . . they’ll come in expecting a trap. Lyle will be ready to use and lose them all, if he can take you out.” Because she’d seen the fury in Lyle’s eyes. He wasn’t stopping, not until he’d taken over this town.