I laughed, not a bit surprised.

Marc tilted my face toward his, claiming my attention for himself. He hesitated, waiting for my permission, and I knew what he wanted. I nodded, and he kissed me gently, as if afraid he might hurt me. But when he pulled away, his face was etched with pain, as if I’d hurt him instead.

Marc lifted a strand of my hair, smel ing it. Storm clouds rolled across his eyes, dark with the promise of danger to come. His fist clenched around the strand, and I saw the conflict raging within him. He released my hair one finger at a time, very slowly, fighting with each movement to maintain control.

“What did they do to you?” he whispered, low enough that no one else could hear. Low enough that I wasn’t sure whether I’d actual y heard him, or read his lips.

“Nothing,” I said as comprehension drenched me, cold and clear. He thought I’d let them have me, that I’d sacrificed my body for my life. He didn’t understand that I would rather have died than give in to them.

In an instant, a single agonizing instant, panic consumed me. It rolled over and around me like the incoming tide, threatening to wash me out into a sea of misery. The sudden irrational fear that he might not want me now left me numb with shock and sick with dread. After al these years of him chasing and me running, he would finally give me up because he couldn’t stand what he thought had happened.

And in that moment I realized I didn’t want him to give up on me. I might not have been ready to give in to him completely, but neither was I ready for him to stop trying.

“Out,” Marc growled at the others, his eyes stil holding mine captive.

Ethan stuttered an objection, unwil ing to leave me alone with Marc without my permission.

“Out, now,” Marc ordered again, and I nodded at Ethan. Parker ushered everyone onto the sun-bathed back porch, then closed the door with one last questioning glance at us.

I watched Marc, bracing myself for the worst. I expected more anger or disgust, but I saw neither. He wasn’t mad. Not at me, anyway. He was hurt, and trying to hide it, even from himself.

“I can taste him on you.” He leaned over and sniffed me, my face and my neck. He would have gone farther down but I stopped him, pulling him back up to eye level. “I can smel them. Two of them. I’l kil them, Faythe. Just tel me what they did, and I’l kil them.”

I stiffened and backed away from him. “You’ll have to stand in line.” His eyes widened in surprise as I continued, “They learned a lesson, Marc. That’s what they did. The one you taste is Eric. He’s downstairs with Ryan, and by my estimate, he stopped breathing over an hour ago. Right around the time I bit through his throat.

“And this one…” I touched the side of my neck, where Miguel had left his distinctive jungle scent. “This one is Miguel, and this is his.” I pulled out the front of my shirt, stiff with dried blood. Wel , the shirt was actual y Marc’s, but it wasn’t the time to gripe over technicalities. “I’m not done with him yet. But when I am, he’l bear a striking resemblance to the corpse downstairs. At least from the neck up.” I paused, amused by his astonished expression. “Any more questions?”

“Actual y, yeah. Several.” I laughed, but he just frowned at me. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.” I stepped back into his embrace. “I’m just glad you’re here.”

He tilted my face up. “Are you real y okay?”

“Better than ever, actual y. Kicking ass is surprisingly therapeutic.”

“I’ve been saying that for years but nobody listens.”

“Welcome to my world,” I said, and he laughed. “I guess we’d better let them in.”

“In a minute.” He kissed me again, and I let him, fighting the urge to cling to him like Abby had. It would have felt so good to let him hold me, to cry while he stroked my hair. But that wouldn’t have been a very good way to start my first assignment. Especial y since I was supposed to be in charge.

So instead, I settled for one more kiss, then pushed him away gently. “Go get the guys. Please.”

Marc opened the back door, and Abby came in, followed by my very first team of enforcers. I took note of each as he passed, taking mental inventory of the bodies under my command.

The man who’d rescued Marc from Abby turned out to be her oldest brother, Lucas Wade. He was built a little like a linebacker and a lot like a Mack truck, with shoulders wide enough that he had to enter most rooms sideways. People general y took one look at Lucas and walked the other way, especial y if they ran across him at night. In cat form, he was the largest tom I’d ever personal y met, weighing in at more than three hundred pounds and measuring over seven feet long, including his tail. While his human form was shorter—just under six and a half feet—Lucas was big enough to make me wonder if Miguel had known about Abby’s brother when he grabbed her. If so, I’d have to seriously rethink describing Miguel as smart.

From the doorway, I glanced around the room, counting my blessings. Along with Marc and Lucas, Daddy had sent Ethan, Owen, and Parker. Except for Jace, al my favorite guys were present and accounted for.

After a quick round of hugs and greetings, I noticed several of the guys watching me closely, as if they wanted to ask me something but weren’t quite sure how to start. “What’s up, boys?” I asked, snagging a fresh can of Coke from the fridge.

Ethan answered, after a quick glance around at his fel ow enforcers. “It’s not that we’re doubting your skil s or anything, Faythe, but we gotta know. Dad said you bit through some guy’s neck…” He paused for confirmation, and I nodded, thoroughly enjoying the look of admiration I got in return. “How the hel did you get him to come near you in cat form?”