I was no match for him.
Charlotte lifted her head. Slowly, she opened glassy eyes. But no recognition gleamed there. She was still under Henry’s spell.
One arm locked around her waist, he used his other hand to pull a handkerchief from his pocket. He dabbed at his mouth, the cloth coming away red. “Charlotte and I have a bond you can’t break, bear. She was mine long before you met her.” He tucked the handkerchief somewhere, the sleight of hand so swift I couldn’t track it. “I’ve been cultivating her since she was fourteen. She’s my creature, not yours.”
“Leave,” I snarled, the words more growl than speech. “Now. And don’t come back.”
I couldn't let him take her. Even if it meant my death. Even if it meant the clan’s destruction.
Henry’s smile widened. “I’ll leave when I’m ready. But first…” He shoved Charlotte away. She stumbled, only to right herself. She faced him, her brown eyes wide behind her glasses.
“Dr. Henry?” she asked in an uncertain voice.
My heart clenched. Blood roared in my ears. How many times had he done this, feeding from her? She’d lost her parents, only to be found by a monster. He’d betrayed her trust, stealing her blood and her free will.
Henry snapped his fingers. “Come, Charlotte.”
She stepped toward him.
“Charlotte!” I barked.
Her gasp echoed through the alley. She swung toward me, and confusion flickered in her eyes. So did recognition…and hope. “Beck?”
I held out my hand. “It’s me, baby. And you’re stronger than he is. I need you to fight for me, okay?”
She hesitated.
“Don’t listen to him,” Henry said. She looked at him, and he bared sharp fangs, his mouth stretching wider than any human’s could.
Charlotte whimpered.
I risked another step forward. “You can do this, Charlotte.” She swung back to me, and I kept my hand outstretched like I approached a frightened animal. “I love you, sweetheart. Fight him for me, all right? Fight him for both of us.”
Henry growled, like sound rising and falling in an eerie wave. When he spoke, his voice boomed off the alley’s brick walls. “Obey me, pet, or I’ll rip out the bear’s throat.”
“He won’t,” I said, my beast roaring under my skin. “If he wanted me dead, he would have killed me already. He’s not going to hurt us, baby. Come here.”
Charlotte hesitated, the recognition in her gaze swelling. “I love you, too,” she whispered.
Hope surged in my chest. I was just two steps away. Close enough to touch her. “Let’s go home.”
She reached out. Then she froze. Doubling over, she clutched at her head. “No!”
Henry’s eyes glittered like headlights in his skull.
Charlotte fell to her knees, releasing an agonized scream as she held her head. Blood dripped from her nose and splashed the concrete.
I flung myself to the ground in front of her and grasped her shoulders. “Charlotte!”
A sharpcrackechoed through the alley. She gasped and collapsed against me, her scent flooding my nostrils. For a moment, magic buzzed in the air. Then it dissipated.
Henry stared at her with obvious surprise on his face. Then he met my gaze, and cold, steady anger replaced the emotion. “Impressive. She broke the compulsion on her own.” He raked his gaze down my body. “You must be a good fuck, Antonovich.”
Icy disdain slid down my spine. My bear roared, but I shoved it down. Shifting was out of the question. Henry could kill me before I finished, leaving Charlotte alone and weak from blood loss and mind manipulation.
He focused on her. “Look at me.”
She jerked her head up, an angry gasp escaping her lips. Hatred burned in her eyes.
