The dangerous intent in his voice made goosebumps rise on her arms.

“All right, she’s strong again. Not get away from her.” Ryan’s words rapped out. “It’s time for us to leave, Keira.”

“Jane,” Alerac corrected in a hard, tight voice. “She wants to be called Jane now.”

Ryan blinked. “What? Jane isn’t her name. It’s—”

Her shoulders straightened. “I don’t know Keira. I don’t…I don’t know you.”

He blanched.

“I’m Jane, and—” Oh, crap, this could be one huge mistake. But with his blood strengthening her, with his arms still around her, with Alerac’s eyes on her in that intense look that seemed to be breaking her heart, she could only say, “And I’m not leaving him.”

She couldn’t tell who was more surprised by her announcement.

Ryan.

Or Alerac.

Or, hell, maybe even me.

***

“Alerac O’Neill has Keira at his compound. The wolf has his whole pack around her, and they’re going to be guarding her constantly.” Lorcan Teague stalked around the small room, circling the human. “It’s now show time for you, Heath. Time to prove just how much you want that precious immortality.” Heath Myers was sweating as he sat at the small table. “I can do this,” the doctor said, his words a fast rush. “If I can talk to her, I can convince her that I’m on her side. That I’m trying to help her.”

They were only an hour away from Alerac’s home on the mountain. Lorcan didn’t dare go any closer. He wasn’t sure where Alerac would have his guards positioned. Some of those dogs could catch a scent from miles away.

“It’s not going to be just a matter of walking to the gates and getting instant admission,” Lorcan murmured.

Heath’s shoulders straightened. “I-I don’t smell like a vampire.”

Don’t you?

“I’m just human. All I need to do is get close to them. If Jane sees me, she won’t let the werewolves hurt me.”

The guy was an idiot. “You think that woman controls the werewolf alpha?” Laughable.

“I think—I think Jane will listen to me.” Sweat leaked down Heath’s temple. “Just give me this chance, okay? I can get to her.”

Lorcan stilled. Then he leaned over the table. He made sure that Heath saw the threat in his eyes. “It’s not about getting to her. It’s about Keira coming to me.” They needed to be very, very clear on this point. In two hundred years, no other blood princess had been born to his clan. They were too damn rare.

When he’d first learned that Keira had defiled herself with that wolf, his rage had nearly driven him mad.

But two hundred years had passed. The world had changed. There had been a few more werewolf and vampire matings over the years. He’d heard of those instances.

And been surprised by their results.

It seemed that when a vampire and werewolf bonded, when they shared blood, they also shared power.

Lorcan liked power. I will be the strongest vampire to walk this earth. He’d ruled his clan. Now it was time to rule all the vamps. It was his time.

He needed Keira back under his control because he wanted to study her. Heath wasn’t the only doctor at his beck and call. Sure, magic was still his favorite pet, but Lorcan had also learned the value of science.

On its own, Keira’s blood was useless to him. The power was only active when she bonded with the werewolf.

So I let the werewolf have you, for a time. He could have taken Keira from that little bar at any point. He hadn’t. He’d waited. He’d let Alerac get to her because he needed for those two to exchange blood once more.

He was sure that the werewolf had given into his hunger for Keira by now.

So I have to get the blood now. The blood, and Keira.

Since making the discovery about the vampire and werewolf matings, Lorcan had drained his share of werewolves. He had received a slight strength increase from that wolf blood, but nothing like what the stories said the mated pairs enjoyed.

Lorcan didn’t want a sliver of power. He wanted everything.

Keira was his key.

“You get to her,” he told Heath and he smiled, letting his fangs flash. “Or you die.” Simple fact. Either the werewolves would kill the doctor for stumbling onto their land—

Or I’ll kill the fool when he fails.

Heath jumped to his feet. He hurried for the door. But then, he stopped. Glancing over his shoulder, the doctor said, “When I do this, when I bring her to you, promise that you’ll turn me then.”

Hell, no, he wasn’t turning this prick. But he vaguely remembered making some sort of offer, so he just said, “Of course.”

Heath’s eyes became suspicious slits. Maybe he wasn’t as dumb as he appeared.

“You’ll live forever, never aging, never changing,” Lorcan murmured, with a bored wave of his hand, “once Keira is brought back to me.”

Heath nodded and reached for the door once more.

“Not so fast,” Lorcan said. This was going to be the fun part. “If you go running to them with a sob story about me, you have to at least look as if you suffered a bit while in captivity.”

The color bleached from Heath’s skin.

“If you go to them all hale and hearty, then they’ll never believe you were my prisoner.”

The human’s pulse was racing.

“So, let’s make sure they believe,” Lorcan said. “Let’s make real sure.”

He attacked.

***

“We have traitors in our midst.” Alerac’s voice boomed out into the night. He wanted to clear the air, f**kin’ then. If any others had turned on him, Alerac wanted to face them.

The werewolves—all in human form—were gathered around him. At his announcement, there were uneasy murmurs from the group.

Jane stood just behind Alerac, with her brother close at her side.

Ryan. That man was going to keep being a f**kin’ thorn in his side.

But Alerac owed him. Because it seemed that Ryan had saved Jane’s life at that stream.

“What do you mean, traitors?” Finn demanded, his eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed.

“Liam attacked my mate tonight. He took her blood. He tried to take her from me.” The rage was still there. The rage and the pain of betrayal. Liam had been at his side for so long. How had he missed this? How? “Three werewolves were with him. Saul. Benjamin, and Mitchell.” He let his gaze sweep the group. “Those three are dead, killed by my claws, but Liam escaped.”