Destiny tiredly looked over at the motorcycle compound where Broni and her husband lived. The survivors from the city had sought sanctuary there, taking over every available space. Their hopelessness was hard to watch.

She had watched over the humans for millennia, seen them living from small groups who fought for survival to building structures that rose to the sky. To see their final days retrograded to the point that their entire existence was threatened was disheartening.

“Are you ready?” Rocque and his pack waited by the path that led to the compound.

“Did we cause this?” As far as her eyes could see, there was nothing but destruction. Burnt shells of buildings that humans had built were now nothing but rubble.

Rocque walked back to her side, staring at the same devastation. “You know that answer better than I would.”

“Dionysus and Morgana started it—”

“Maybe so, but the humans have to bear their own part of the blame. Drearien couldn’t have struck in such huge numbers if their souls had been pure. Mother didn’t start this war. It’s not the first the time gods have tried to influence human’s behavior. Each time there were enough humans to fight them off.”

“There were enough humans to fight them off this time. It shouldn’t have come to this.”

“You just answered your own question, Destiny. Dionysus, Morgana, and whoever is pulling their strings couldn’t have pulled it off without help.”

“Who? Zeus?”

“Not Zeus. Man. Man are their own enemy. I have fought this battle with them for centuries. They take the forests, only to make parks for the smallest of my animals to survive off their breadcrumbs.”

Destiny turned to face Rocque. The pain etched in his expression was agonizing.

“I have watched species be hunted down and killed, or forced to live behind cages for no reason other than human’s amusement. I can’t remember the last time I was able to run with a herd of wild elephants. Not content to exert their control of the land and the animals, they’ve caged their own selves in marking their boundaries and territories with cans of spray paint in a pissing contest that no one can win. The only way they can survive now is for man to band together, and I don’t see that happening.”

Sadly, Destiny didn’t think so, either. The only thing the gods could do now was help those who were strong enough to survive.

Rocque stayed by her side as they made their way down the path. There were massive semi-trucks lining the front gate. Behind it were the RVs with guards posted on top.

Destiny saw one of the guards scrambling down to run into the clubhouse. By the time they had reached the gate, Broni’s husband Rhys, Balder, a warrior from Odin’s court, and a man called Adam that Destiny had never met in person but had watched him making decisions that would affect his fate and others were there.

Recognition flared in Rhys and Balder’s gazes when they saw her step out from behind Rocque.

“Open the gate,” Rhys ordered. “Broni will be happy to see a familiar face.” Searching their grim expressions, Rhys welcoming expression hardened. “If you’re here to seek Broni’s help, she is mortal, and I won’t allow her to be put in danger.”

“Broni is my niece. I have loved her longer than you,” she smarted off to the warrior. “We don’t want to put anyone in danger; that’s why we’re here.”

Rhys and the men led them into the clubhouse. When her niece saw her, she squealed, running from behind the bar to envelope Destiny in a hug.

Wiping joyful tears away, she stepped back. “Why are you here?”

“Can we sit down? It was a long way here from Rocque’s home.”

Destiny could see the burning curiosity in Broni, Rhys, and the others’ eyes as she gestured to a large table where everyone could sit. Rhys didn’t sit, standing protectively behind his wife.

“Vlad wants us to ask for your group’s cooperation.”

“Who’s Vlad?” Adam spoke out as Rhys and Broni remained silent. Balder’s eyes held fear.

Destiny knew there wasn’t a way to make the words she was about to speak any less frightening, so she just said, “He’s an earth spirit, as is Rocque—” Destiny gestured to Rocque, who was sitting by her side.

“He’s king of the vampires.” Her delicate explanation was cut off by Rocque.

“Then the answer is no. You and everyone who came with you can leave.” Adam glowered at them from across the table.

“Adam, I know you don’t know me, but you know Broni. Would she let anything or anyone hurt the club?”

“No.”

“What aid we are asking for will also help your club.”

“How?” Adam still looked as if he wanted to toss them out the door, but he seemed willing to wait until she answered his questions. Rhys and Broni also silently waited to give their opinions until she had her say.

“The vampires need a safe place to stay. Many of their homes have been destroyed. Vlad has been able to keep his vampires from massacring what’s left of the humans, but if they don’t find a sanctuary soon, he won’t be able to hold them back.”

“They damn sure aren’t staying here!”

“No. Nor do they want to. Rocque and I have found them a small town in Colorado where they can live without being discovered. What they need is a way to get there.”

Adam stared at them, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to find words. “Can’t they just fly?” Adam finally asked, then looked at Broni, who was trying not to laugh.

“They can fly,” Broni answered.

Adam lifted a questioning brow to her.

“The vampires can fly, but their food source can’t. It will slow them down on the journey.”

Adam paled. “Do I want to know what their food source is?”

“Humans.”

Adam scraped his chair across the floor as he shoved it back and stood. “I’ve had to kill brothers who have turned into fucking Drearien. I’ll be damned if I’ll feed what’s left to fucking vampires. Are there really vampires?” Adam raked his long hair back to stare down at Broni.

“Oh, yes, they exist.” Broni nodded. “Destiny, I don’t see how we can help. We can’t allow them to take humans that have sought our protection.”

“They don’t want your humans. They want the Road Demons.”

Adam sat back in his chair. “They can have the Road Demons. Tell them to have at it.”

Destiny’s lips twitched. “Broni?”

Broni bit her lip. “They won’t hurt us?”

“No.” Rocque’s face hardened. “That’s why my warriors and Destiny are here instead of sending a message. We’ll make sure everyone within your gates is protected. You have another day to go outside and bring in survivors you want to protect. The vampires won’t touch anyone who doesn’t belong to the Road Demons.”

“It won’t be easy. The Road Demons have amassed a large group.”

“Vlad knows that. It’s going to take a lot to sustain them. They plan to cut themselves off, and Rocque can use his powers so they can’t be found.”

Adam, Rhys, and Balder stared at each other.

“How are they planning to get there?” As the leader of the group, Rhys asked the question they were all waiting answered.

“Vlad is asking for a few of your RVs.”

“How many?”

“All of them.”

“No. We need to keep them in case we need to get out. As it is, we’d have to leave some behind.”

Broni looked saddened at Adam’s refusal. Unlike Adam, she could sympathize with the vampires. She had watched many of their struggles since creation. Unlike the human myths, they remained aloof from humans. There were only a few hundred left, and those ones were focused on the survival of the species as a whole. They remained hidden behind the legends of old to keep other immortals away. While they used humans as their food source, it was from humans who volunteered their services.

Most of the humans had left them to return to their own families, wanting to be near them as the world grew more chaotic, leaving the vampires homeless and unable to replenish their food source without breaking Vampire law.

“How about the semis?” Broni offered hesitantly. “We could—”

“The semis provide a barrier for the gate,” Adam cut her off, looking at Rhys and Balder. “But I know where we can get more. It’ll put a target on them as they drive. There will be bands of survivors who will try to take them. Road blocks are everywhere just for that purpose.”

“Anyone who tries to attack the vampires will get more than they bargained for,” Rocque said drily.

“Then it’s up to Rhys if he thinks those semis are reachable, as long as you can guarantee the safety of those who remain behind our gates.”

Destiny noticed Adam was staring at a pretty young woman and a little girl who were eating at a smaller table.

“We can.” Destiny swung her gaze back to Adam, sensing his concern for the woman.

He looked away when the woman saw him staring.

“It won’t be easy. The Road Demons have regrouped since our last attack. We lost Jace when we went after the ones outside. They’re heavily armed and hungry. The sight of the semis going through town are going to lead them right to our door. We’ll have to fill at least two of the semis with food. While the Road Demons are going to be a food source for the vampires, they’re going to need their own source of food.”

Everyone around the table agreed.

Sleepily, Destiny listened as the men discussed their plan to reach the large trucks. Rocque had kept them moving to reach the compound, just stopping for small rests, so she hadn’t had a good night’s rest since Rocque had taken her. While she wanted to spend time with Broni, she felt herself drifting away in exhaustion, barely noticing as Rocque placed an arm around her shoulder so she could rest her head on his.

“Destiny?”

She blinked when she felt him shake her awake. The table was empty, and he was staring at her.

“Broni told me where we could get some sleep.”

She rose, seeing that the candles had been lit.

Rocque’s warriors had made pallets on the floor. He told each of them goodnight as they passed. Disconcertingly, she didn’t argue with him as they went to a hallway that led to an open doorway. A candle was lit, and the bed looked welcoming enough that she sank down in its saggy depths.

“You can go now.” Yawning, Destiny imperially gestured for him to leave.

Rocque cocked a lofty brow as he shut the door behind him.

“I thought you always slept with your warriors.”

“I’m making an exception tonight.” Sitting down on the bed next to her, he took off his boots, kicking them away. Then he stood up to unsnap his jeans.

Destiny felt the flutter of attraction as Rocque removed his jeans. She coolly regarded him as he went to the other side of the bed, pulling the sheet down.

“Blow the candle out,” he said as he placed an arm over his eyes.

She wasn’t the only one tired. He looked weary.

Blowing out the candle, she got under the sheet and bunched up the pillow under her head.

Staring up at the dark ceiling, she couldn’t fall back asleep. Her thoughts churned at the feel of him next to her.

“I can’t go back to sleep,” she complained out loud.

His faint snore had her smiling in the darkness.

Turning on her side to face him, in the shadowy interior, she saw the rise and fall of his chest. Featherlight, she ran her hand over it, feeling the curly hair on his chest narrow to a line above the sheet that fell at his hips.

Rocque didn’t have the pale perfection of Apollo, nor Adonis. His masculine perfection came from an earthy sensuality. She had avoided him like the plague during the council meetings and when she had to come to earth to change a course of a human’s destiny.

Misty-eyed, she stared at his profile. While she didn’t know her own future, she knew Rocque’s.

“Why are you staring at me?”

“I thought you were sleeping.”

He rolled to stare back at her, and her hand that had been resting on his waist went to his hip. “You being touchy-feely woke me.”

“I must be missing Apollo.” She took her hand away, lying back so she wasn’t facing him.

Rocque raised himself on an elbow to peer down at her. “Are you trying to make me angry?”

“Why would me talking about one of my lovers make you angry? There is nothing between us, nor will there ever be.”

“You are my mate.”

“Lord Rocque, you and your warriors may take the form of wolves and adopted their habits, but you’re not a real one.”

“Real enough to be able to recognize you as my soulmate.”

“You’re mistaken. Trust me; I know where your destiny lies, and it’s not with me.”

She kept cool control, but an unconscious inflection must have given a hint of the turmoil that was in her soul.

“If you don’t see me as your mate, who do you see me with in the future?”

She couldn’t see his eyes in the darkness, but she knew he could see hers clear as day. How do I tell him there is no future to see?

“Tandy.”

“You’re lying.”

“Aatto.”

“While I find your lies amusing, they don’t answer my question. You’re my soulmate, as much as you hate to admit it.”

“I don’t hate it. I loathe it.” She desperately cloaked the tone of her voice with venom. She had to protect her heart at all costs. If they made love and he proved she was his soulmate, she would have to bear centuries with his loss. Years would become decades, and decades turn into centuries that she would have to endure without him.

Tennyson said that it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Well, Tennyson didn’t have a wolf claiming to be his mate!

A knock sounded on the door, and Destiny sat up when Rocque got up to get redressed.

“Go back to sleep. I’ll wake you when we get back.”

“They’re leaving already?”

“Yes. Rhys wants to be back before the Road Demons wake in the morning.”

“I’m going.” Destiny had no intention of staying behind.

Rocque looked as if he was going to argue.

“I can warn you if they try to attack.”

“I thought the Moirai stay impartial? Won’t you get in trouble with Mother if you warn us? Besides, it’s only the immortals who are going—me, my warriors, Rhys, and Balder. Stay and sleep. I’ll wake you when we get back.”

Destiny caught the back of his T-shirt as he turned to leave. “I’m going.”

His eyes met her determined ones. “Destiny, nothing is going to happen.”

“You don’t know that for sure. Not even I know that.”

“Fine, go. But if you plan to make an escape from me, just know that I won’t give a fuck about the vampires attacking the compound. I’ll chase you down.”

“You don’t trust me?”

“Do you blame me?”

“I gave you my word. A Moirai doesn’t know how to break their word. That’s why we don’t give it often.”

“Fate has managed to avoid the promise she gave to Odin.”

“Fate will keep her vow when all three of her daughters are home safe. When they are, she’ll keep her word. And I swear I’ll keep my word. I will return home with you.”

“No conditions?”

“No conditions.” Destiny let the truth shine out of her eyes. If anything were to happen to Rocque, she didn’t want him doubting her words. She might not be able to change the path his future held, but she could make sure that, when the future played out, that was one lie she wouldn’t be burdened with.

“Then let’s go. You can ride with me.”

“Have you ever driven a vehicle before?”

“Don’t look so worried. We’re immortal; how hard could it be?”