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"I must be patient with her," I tell him. "So, I have none left for you. And right now, I need a punching bag, and your face will do just fine."

He raises his glass to me and nods.

"So, what is the plan?" Georgy asks.

"The plan is as it has been. She is coming with us. She will save Alex. The only difference is that she will never leave."

Georgy gives a sharp laugh. "I'm sorry, brother. It didn't seem like she understood that message when you bullied her onto the plane."

"She understands that she's my mate," I respond. "Once she's in my bed, she'll learn why she should never leave. Why she'll never want to leave." I shrug. "And if that isn't enough, then I'll chain her to it."

"Just like Dad," Konstantin says.

"Mother didn't mind. And she came from a much stronger bloodline than this one."

"So, that's the plan?"

I turn to Georgy. "Yes. I just need to hold my tiger in check until she fixes Alex. She has everything she asked for, and if she needs something else, I'll get it. Hopefully she'll be able to examine him, set up her equipment, and operate within twenty-four to forty-eight hours."

"And if she can't?" Georgy asks.

I look at him. "Then she can't. I'm not going to have her cut my brother open before she's ready just because I'm impatient to get her into my bed." I set the glass, already cracking in my fist, down before I crush it.

"I still don't get it," Konstantin says. "Why not mate her, let her fix Alex, and mate her again?"

I twist around, pick up my glass, drain it, and call for another. "I'm holding my tiger back by the thinnest thread. I don't dare let him snap off his chain. Because when I start, I don't know if I'll have control enough to give her up — even to save Alex."

"Why not just bring her partner and her assistant or someone else who can do the surgery? She could just supervise in between?"

I think of her wide-eyed assistant, that partner—whatever the fuck he was—and the way Cienna's eyes widened when she saw him in the lab. She waved him away with a flick of her hand so that he didn't approach us. And the fucking coward actually backed up. Obeying her. She made the announcement to her staff. Informing them that she was going away on an emergency assignment. He raised his head, but then quickly lowered it. My fangs were already dropping, ready to curl around his neck—especially when I saw him look at her ring finger as she spoke. She fielded their questions. When I turned away to handle more preparations, she pulled him aside, and they talked quietly. He was protesting—as if he had a right to protest anything between me and my mate. But before I could say anything, she walked to me, head held high, as we left the lab.

I reached out, turning my hand effortlessly into my tiger's paw, and raked it down the door. She turned to me her brows lowered, before she finally said, "Seriously? Was that necessary?"

I looked back at the trembling beta — cowardly, unworthy of her — and said, "Yes."

I pressed my hand to the small of her back. Sitting it comfortably above the curve of her ass soothed my temper. "Do you know why tigers mark their territory, little one?" I asked, propelling us forward and looking straight ahead. "So that anyone who dares to trespass knows exactly what to expect."

Chapter 3: Cienna

I scramble back under the covers as soon as the door opens, yanking the blanket up under my chin. I'd taken off my skirt when I'd finally laid down. "You couldn't knock?" I screech at the big brute opening the door.

He steps inside and closes it, looking around the room. "Why would I knock?"

"Everything here is mine," he says, and the look on his face is so smug I want to throw a pillow at him.

"You promised me privacy," I say. "You said I wouldn't be disturbed."

"And you haven't been. Did anyone come in here? Something I should know?"

I lean back against the bed. It isn't rumbling. I closed all the airplane's shutters yesterday but I peek towards the windows anyway. I don't see any hint of the sun.

"Have we landed?"

"Yes," he says.

"Where are we? What time is it?" I rub my eyes.

"A little before eleven."