“That’s enough.” His growl split the air, and as he stepped between them, both eyes blazed silver, ringed in darkness—the wolf and vampire rising within him.
Taren’s hands fell to his sides, fire already flaring at his fingertips.
“Fenn!” Rynna sprang forward, catching his arm just as it tensed to strike. “Look at me.” Her hands planted firmly over Fenn’s heart. “Only me.”
If he let the demon force him to action, he might never return.
Fury rolled off him in waves, searing through her palms, sinking straight…
Empty night.He’d always affected her, but this… She shook her head, trying to clear the sensation.
Her hand fisted in Fenn’s shirt, dragging him closer, the fabric twisting between her fingers. She shouldn’t want him like this—not now, not here—untethered and thrumming with lethal intent in the middle of a goddamn war. But her body didn’t care.
As if sensing her thoughts, his hand snapped to the back of her neck, and before she could draw another breath, he yanked her forward and crushed his mouth to hers. Gasping, pain flared, then folded into something hotter as his teeth caught on the swell of her lower lip.
Fuck. Her knees buckled.
Then—
“As much as I’d love to see where this goes—” Kaelith’s voice, his laugh slicing through the tension like a blade wrapped in silk. “We have places to be.”
He rose with fluid grace, eyes gleaming as he watched them.
“Hollow-born control tactics won’t work against the beast inside you, wolf,” he added, tongue darting out to lick a stray drop of her blood from her chin. “You need to ride it, guide it.” A beat, then a smirk. “Just face it, man. The monster’s already won; she just hasn’t admitted she likes it yet.”
Jerking away from the kiss, she was ready to smack the smile from Kaelith’s face, but she never had the chance. Fenn’s fist connected first, sending the other man flying into a nearby tree with a crack of splintering bark.
Immediately, Rynna’s head whipped back as if she’d caught the blow herself. Her balance faltered, body reeling as she staggered back from Fenn, hands instinctively reaching for his chest to keep from crumpling herself.
“Guess that answers whether the beast’s in charge,” Kaelith coughed, a grin still twitching at his lips, until he caught sight of Rynna doubled over, and the humor drained from his face.
Fenn’s breath came in ragged bursts. The silver in his eyes rippled, swimming in a sea of deepening black, the edges of his pupils bleeding out like smoke. Whatever tether he had to his human self was fraying fast.
“Fenn, stop!” Rynna straightened, ignoring the sting in her cheek, and seized his face between her palms.
“I’m here.” Her gaze fixed on the darkness churning behind his eyes, even as the silver fought back, flaring bright in sudden flashes.
“You’re not the infection.” She held her voice soft.
“You are the Unit Leader. The Commander.” Her thumbs traced over the stubble along his jaw. “The man who owns my heart. Remember who you are.”
His frame shook with each exhale, struggling to take back control as Taren’s firelight danced between them.
“You’re not alone in this.” She eased forward, resting her cheek over his heart, listening to the pounding within. “We’re here. I’m here.”
His throat worked as his teeth clenched, but, slowly, he managed to swallow the darkness. His muscles slackened by degrees, tension draining from his frame as his head dipped forward. And soon, the silver glow flickered once, then faded, as well.
“We’re okay.” Rynna’s hand found his, praying she wasn’t lying.
And, for a moment, the clearing held completely still before the soft rustle of leaves and chirping of insects returned in fragments, only to be silenced once more by the screech of an enormous bird in flight approaching their position.
She cast a worried glance at Kaelith, who was making his way back to them as the eagle circled once, then landed, talons gouging deep into the earth. Wiping her sleeve across her face, Rynna blinked hard. She hadn’t noticed the tears until her vision blurred.
She’d saved Fenn from Skarn—ripped him back from death, and everything that should’ve ended him. But at what cost? What if, one day, she wasn’t enough to bring him back from the vampire’s hold? Her gaze lingered on his profile, the light still flickering faintly behind both eyes. He’d never forgive her if that happened.
She forced air past the stiffness in her throat and looked up at the eagle.
“Looks like our ride’s here,” she said, voice hoarse, keeping her face neutral as something small and fragile ruptured within her.
