The other vampires swarmed around Alerac.

“Two hundred years!” Lorcan cried out. “You just attacked…your leader…”

“If I had my way,” Keira said, as she stood before Lorcan, not backing down a bit, “you’d be dead.”

Lorcan yanked out the knife. Tossed it to the floor.

Eight vampires held down Alerac.

“Keira?” The voice, stunned, male, came from the open doorway.

Keira’s head turned at the call.

No, not now!

But, with his incredibly poor timing, Keira’s twin brother had just appeared. Ryan stood in the doorway, his hands fisted at his sides. His hair was as golden as his sister’s. His eyes as blue.

“Keira, what have you done?” Betrayal was on Ryan’s face. Rage.

The vampires had all turned on Keira. While she—

She chose me.

His nails lengthened into claws as the beast pushed for freedom. The wolf within him was desperate to protect his mate.

My mate?

No, no, that couldn’t be right. A werewolf would never mate with a vampire.

Fuck her, yes.

Use her, yes.

Mate?

Keira turned back toward Alerac. “I hope you…live a good life.”

She’d traded two hundred years for his survival.

The beast howled inside of him.

“Ryan…” Lorcan ignored the blood that poured from his chest. “Your sister confessed to conspiring with the wolves. She has even agreed to be punished in the wolf leader’s place.”

Ryan rushed toward her. “Keira, you can’t—”

“Imprisonment. Starvation.” Lorcan licked his lips. “Two hundred years.”

Ryan blanched. “Sh-she won’t survive! You know she won’t!”

“Then maybe she shouldn’t have spread her legs for the wolf, and then shoved a f**kin’ knife in my heart!” Jealousy and fury tore through Lorcan’s words.

Alerac knew Lorcan had planned to wed Keira. He’d locked her away because he’d wanted her. Wanted the power that she represented.

Ryan grabbed for Keira. Pulled her against him. “Kill the werewolf!” Ryan ordered, voice thundering. “Just do it—now!”

But Lorcan shook his head. “I gave a blood vow. It’s done. He lives, and so does she.”

Ryan twisted Keira around in his arms.

Alerac’s blood dropped onto the floor. The vamps would feed on him. He knew they wouldn’t be able to resist the scent of all that blood much longer.

He wanted them to feed on him. His blood was laced with a special tonic—a poison just for them. He’d known that he would be captured that night. He just hadn’t counted on Lorcan finding him just as Alerac drove into Keira’s delectable body.

That whole capture bit should have come after Keira had been told to flee from that place. But Alerac’s lust for her had been his downfall. He’d given in to his need once more.

And his perfect plan had gone to hell.

If Alerac had kept his hands off Keira hours before, then she would have escaped to safety.

Instead, she had just sacrificed herself for him.

Alerac’s breath came out in low, hard pants. Keira would be fine. The punishment would never be carried out. He’d given orders to his men already—Keira wasn’t to be hurt. Just in case he hadn’t been able to convince her to flee, he’d made sure that his men knew their attack couldn’t hurt her.

“Keira, you can’t do this! You can’t!” Ryan shook her. Her head snapped back.

Then she jerked away from him. “They aren’t monsters.” Her voice was low. Sad. “We are.”

Ryan’s eyes widened as he shook his head. “No.” He rushed toward the vampire clan’s leader. “Lorcan, please, don’t do this! I’ll do—”

“Anything?” Lorcan murmured.

Ryan nodded quickly.

Lorcan laughed. “There’s nothing I want from you. Nothing I can’t take.”

Another woman pushed through the crowd then. A pale woman with long, red hair and a twisting scar that wrapped around her neck. Jewels glittered on her fingers and power seemed to swirl in the air around her.

A witch.

Lorcan’s witch.

The same witch who’d been at his side when Lorcan slaughtered nine members of Alerac’s pack.

“But I can be merciful,” Lorcan continued as the witch approached him. He reached for his witch’s hand. “Shonna, my dear…”

She only flinched a little bit when he touched her.

According to the whispers, she’d tried to flee from Lorcan once. He’d retaliated by nearly taking her head.

She hadn’t attempted to leave him again.

“Work up a spell,” he ordered her softly as his gaze stayed on Keira. “Freeze her body so that she does not need air to breathe. Keep her aware, of every single moment. Let her know that time is passing, let the hunger for blood consume her as she remains motionless in her prison.”

Shonna nodded. “It will be done.”

No, it f**kin’ wouldn’t be.

Lorcan tapped his chin. “As I said, I am not without mercy.”

Lying bastard.

“My vampiress must suffer during her imprisonment,” Lorcan said. “For what is punishment without pain? But the instant she is free, then I want her to forget.”

Lorcan’s gaze slid to Alerac. To the vampires who were fighting so desperately to hold him down.

Keira.

“I want her to forget everything,” Lorcan said as his shoulders squared. “Everything.” Then he glanced at Ryan once more. “You see, she’ll be able to recover. She’ll be able to come back to us.”

Hope flashed across Ryan’s face.

“I won’t come back,” Keira vowed. “I won’t be like you.”

Lorcan laughed. “You already are.”

A tremble shook the witch’s body. Shonna’s lashes swept down, concealing her gaze.

Lorcan stalked back toward Alerac. He knelt down, getting too close.

Your mistake.

“Keira will come back to us, and, by then, you’ll be long dead.”

But I am not dead yet.

Alerac’s claws flew up. He scraped across Lorcan’s cheek, digging deep into the vamp’s flesh.

Lorcan screamed and jerked away. He glared down at Alerac, chest heaving.