Mihai’s hands flew to his neck, clenching his dog tags tight in his fist. He felt the slight pull of the edict from Phaeron to seize this omega warlock and bring him before the vampire king. It was his duty as a werewolf in Phaeron’s service. It was his lot in life.

But seeing the omega warlock in front of him, Mihai felt a different kind of compulsion. While he had felt sorry for the men his pack had been hunting all along, he had never realized they could be so handsome. Or look so lost.

And, maybe, there was something else bubbling below the surface of Mihai’s mind. An attraction that had nothing to do with Phaeron’s orders.

He was drawn to this man in an entirely different way. One that he wanted to explore before he had to push this omega warlock away forever.

So he held his dog tags and silently pleaded for his will to hold out as his pulse pounded in his ears.

“Help you with what?” he found himself saying. Because, yes, he would have moved worlds to help the man before him. Consequences be damned.

The omega warlock watched him warily, suddenly unsure of himself, like he had surprised himself by approaching Mihai. Surely he felt that same pull. Surely there was another reason why he was drawn to Mihai rather than needing help.

Mihai hoped that were true.

“Out there,” the omega warlock said, panic edging into his voice. He gestured toward the main street on the other side of the pub. “There’s a pack of werewolves that are out trying to get me.”

It felt like the chain around Mihai’s neck suddenly pulled taut. Seize him! he could feel an otherworldly voice whispering along his skin, inviting and foreboding at the same time. Seize him for the glory of Phaeron!

Mihai’s hand around his dog tags went white-knuckled.

Somehow, he was fighting it. For now, at least. Because he wanted to get to know this omega warlock. Wanted to get to know him on some primal level.

Was it because this man was an omega and Mihai was an alpha? Suddenly that didn’t seem like such a bad thing.

“I know,” Mihai said through gritted teeth.

“They’ve been following me all over Pristat.”

Mihai nodded. “I know that, too.”

The man stilled and looked at him anew, fear replacing that blind trust in his eyes. “You’re one of them, aren’t you?

The accusation stung, even though it was correct. Mihai sighed and gave a resigned nod. “Yes.”

The warlock startled, glancing around to look for an escape route. Mihai let go of his tags and held up both hands in surrender. To show that he wasn’t going to do anything, even though he was under orders to bring this man back to the vampire king.

He was still fighting those orders. Damn, sweat broke on his brow from the effort. He could fight it, but with Aaron as his second, there was no way any other wolf would help the omega warlock.

“But I’m not going to tell them,” Mihai said quickly. “I do want to help you. And I know where you can go.”

The man eyed him suspiciously. “You will help me?”

“What’s your name? I’m...Mihai...” He decided to go with the truth. After all, if this were to be the only time he’d spend with this omega warlock, he wanted to be truthful in every way possible. “I’m the pack alpha.”

The warlock cursed under his breath at the realization. He combed his hand through his hair. “Stupid. I’m so stupid.”

Mihai smiled playfully. “Well, ‘So Stupid,’ let’s see if I can sneak you away from here.”

The lame joke seemed to do the trick and dispel the tension, because the warlock blinked before giving a quick, short laugh. “I’m Sean,” he amended. “And you were serious about helping me?”

Mihai nodded. “For as long as I can. Do you know why the werewolves are after you?”

Sean shrugged helplessly. “Omega warlocks are rare, I know that much. But other than that...”

“It’s because the werewolves have been ordered by King Phaeron to bring you back to him,” Mihai added. “For reasons you don’t want to imagine.”

If Phaeron ever found out that Mihai was a double alpha...

Maybe he would be paired with an omega like this one. But it would be at Phaeron’s whim. And any children he sired would be under the vampire’s control. That was the last thing Mihai wanted.

No. Better to find a way to free himself and his pack.

“And that’s what the dog tags are for?” Sean asked warily. “I’ve heard of those. They make you obey your master at all costs.”

There was an unspoken question in that statement, and Mihai nodded. “I’m fighting it for the moment,” he said. “Not sure for how much longer, but I’ll let you know if it suddenly gets to be too much to bear.”

Sean considered his words, and nodded. “Okay.”

Mihai licked his lips. “I know you’ve probably been all over the country running from werewolves—and it’s not their fault. Well,” he said, thinking about Aaron, “it’s not most of their faults. Most don’t want to do this anymore than they want to turn in their own families.”

Sean took a step closer to Mihai, watching him closely. Finally, he nodded again. “Okay. I believe you. For now.”

Mihai knew that they were standing too close to each other. Underneath the perfume and dirt—the smells that masked Sean’s status as an omega—the man before him smelled deliciously sweet. He wouldn’t have been able to pick up on it unless he had been standing so close.

Suddenly, he wanted to get closer. He wanted to get to know this omega warlock in intimate ways. Ways he’d only fantasized about before. Visions flitted through his mind, of the two of them together in the throes of lovemaking.

He gave a slight shake of his head to knock the mental image away. No, that couldn’t happen. Not with Phaeron’s orders to hunt down every omega. No matter how much he might want to sink himself into the omega. But as he looked up at Sean, he could see the man’s heated expression.

He must have been thinking the same thing. And that made Mihai even more turned on.

“All of the werewolves in Pristat are looking for omega warlocks under Phaeron’s orders,” Mihai said. Good, his voice didn’t sound as strangled as he’d feared. In fact, he seemed to be in control of everything, including his cock in his trousers. “No matter where you go, they will follow you.”

“Okay,” Sean said slowly. “So what can I do? How can you help me?”

Mihai quirked an eyebrow. “Yesterday, I wouldn’t have been able to,” he admitted. “But I just learned of a place where there are free werewolves. Where you can hide away from my kind until this blows over.”

He hated the thought of Sean hiding away from him, but it was the only way to protect the warlock. It was the right thing to do.

“Where?” Sean whispered. “A forest? Another country beyond the sea?”

“Here,” Mihai answered. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the napkin.

“That’s a napkin,” Sean said lamely. “A blank one.”

Of course it was. And of course Mihai didn’t want to see what it could read, but he pressed it into Sean’s hands. “It will tell you where to go. It came from a Drelos named Pyt, who knew of a haven where free wolves roamed. It would be safe for you, too.”

Sean stepped back, giving him a suspicious look. “Like... a sanctuary?” He combed a hand through his hair, and the short strands stood on end. “Wouldn’t that be the same as being imprisoned? Being stuck there while the world goes to hell around me?”

A fair point. “You’d be able to live without fear of being captured. Of your children being used for Phaeron’s deeds.”

Sean looked at him in wide-eyed horror as he considered those words. “I guess that would be better,” he murmured. “But why haven’t you gone there yet?”

Mihai thought of his sister being nearly killed, of his pack, and of Aaron being his second. He would need to deal with Aaron and those like him before he could bring his pack to freedom. But some chains went deeper than just their dog tags. Some of them wanted to be vicious killers. Some of them wanted to remain in the service of Phaeron.

Mihai would have to weed them out before he freed them. He wouldn’t do anything to endanger the wolves that were already free. And he wouldn’t do anything to endanger the omega warlock before him, even though they had just met.

“I have some things to take care of first,” Mihai admitted softly. “I can’t go just yet.” Even if he were able to read the napkin, he didn’t want to know anything in case Phaeron used it against him.

Sean approached him. When had they gotten so close? It seemed like the omega’s lips were only inches from his. All Mihai had to do was close the distance and...

“Do you know where this place is?” Sean asked. His eyes were heavy-lidded, like he was thinking of other things at the moment.

Mihai nodded. “Don’t tell me,” he said, thinking of the possibility of Phaeron listening in. “But it’s on that napkin.”

A pause followed by skepticism as Sean looked down at the napkin. Mihai smelled the hint of magic followed by the small flash of light, and Sean’s face fell into recognition as he looked down at the napkin and the message hidden there.

“I know where that is,” Sean said. He nodded and handed it back to Mihai, who was mildly disappointed to see that it was blank again. Probably for the for the best. “I can get there,” he said, as if deciding it for himself. He peered down at Mihai. “And you? Will you head there as soon as you can?”

Mihai told himself that it was just curiosity on the omega’s part. Nothing to do with the werewolf actually showing up. Nothing to do with Mihai as a man.

“When I can,” he said truthfully as he pocketed the napkin that held the mystery. If he ever could. Right now, with Aaron as his second, that thought seemed so far away.

“Thank you,” Sean whispered. He closed his eyes. “Thank you for helping me. And for fighting it.”

Then Mihai did something he’d never done before. Whether he had thrown all caution to the wind or whether he was feeling reckless, he didn’t know. But he crossed the distance between them, and pulled Sean’s lips to his with a feral growl.

For a shocked moment, they both stilled as they just kissed, inhaling each other’s scent through their noses as they just relished the sensation of being so close to each other. Mihai was filled with the heady mixture of Sean’s perfume, dirt, and that undertone that was all man. With his tongue, he probed open Sean’s mouth, gaining passage. He swept his mouth, tasting the omega, worshipping him.

It was the best moment of Mihai’s life.

They both pulled back at the same time, and Sean looked as dazed as Mihai felt. “Wow,” he whispered.

Mihai nodded, feeling drunk on lust. “Yeah.”

Sean looked down and took both of Mihai’s hands in his. Even though the omega was a few inches taller, Mihai’s hand were larger, more callused from years of running on all fours in his werewolf form. Their fingers fit together perfectly.

“When you can,” Sean whispered, “come find me. If I make it there.”

“I’ll try,” Mihai whispered.

It was the best he could offer the omega at the moment. With everything that was happening, he wasn’t sure what tomorrow would bring. But he knew that he would, at least, remember that kiss for the rest of his life.

A crack of pain shot through Mihai’s skull, and he cried out, falling to his knees. Capture the omega warlock! that same voice shouted at him, more insistent this time. Capture him!

“Mihai?” Sean asked, alarmed.

Through his haze of agony, Mihai held up a hand and shooed the omega away. “My control’s slipping,” he said through clenched teeth. “I can’t...”

“What can I do?”

“Run,” Mihai said. “Leave me now. Go be free, Sean.”

He would be able to live on if he knew that the omega were free.

There was a long pause, followed by the dim sensation of Sean stroking his cheek with a tenderness Mihai hadn’t felt since he was a pup.

“Thank you, alpha,” the warlock whispered. “Thank you for everything.” He kissed Mihai’s lips once more, a quick kiss that promised so much more. “Come find me when you can.”

And just like that, the sensation of Sean’s fingertips against his jaw disappeared. Mihai stayed like that for a few minutes, heaving deep breaths to regain control of his senses. As time passed—presumably, due to Sean getting farther and farther away—the pain left Mihai. Weak and shaken, but at least the ache was gone.

He groaned as he got to his feet. He cast a quick glance about the alley to make sure that Sean wasn’t still there. Of course the omega wasn’t. Of course, Sean had run to the only safe place for him.

And that was all right with Mihai.

“Be safe,” he whispered with a sad smile, holding up a hand in farewell. “Be safe.”

He managed to bring himself back into the pub, tossed a few more coppers onto the counter for the bartender for his troubles, and went out into the street.

Nathalie was there waiting for him. Dressed in her spare clothes, she looked heaps better than she had just after the fight with Aaron.

In fact, she looked surprised.

“Where have you been?” she asked.

Mihai shook his head. “Just dealing with stuff. Why?”

Before she could answer, Aaron sidled up, an arrogant bounce in his gait. Mihai had no idea how he was going to handle having the beta wolf as his second, because he couldn’t even stand to look at him.

“You must not have felt the summons,” Aaron said smugly.

“What summons?” Mihai looked between Nathalie and Aaron.

His new second crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side. He gave Mihai a wicked smile. “Phaeron summoned us to his keep in the Northern Mountains. It appears that someone in our pack hasn’t been following orders.”