Luna walked towards the park as fast as her legs would carry her. She found herself wishing for Dragon’s wings, for teleportation, for any ability that might get her to Kirith faster.

Much as her stomach churned with nervousness at the thought of seeing him again, she needed to warn him of the plan to take him down. The Wolves already knew that he was in Hyde Park, which meant that they might just find a way inside the strange, magical flat under the lake.

Of course, he’d probably tell her to go away. At the very best, he’d greet her with a hostile grunt and pretend nothing had happened between them last night.

Think, she told herself. He’s stubborn. He won’t want to leave. How the hell do you protect a Dragon who doesn’t want protecting?

When she’d reached the first gate she came to, she somehow managed to pull it open just enough to squeeze through, shifting as soon as she was inside. Her red Wolf ran across the length of the park until she spotted the lake in the distance, its lovely tall reeds standing like watchful sentinels reflected in the shimmering water below.

She wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. Kirith was within reach. All she needed was to get to the lake, to let out a howl of warning and summon him to the surface.

When she’d left the club, the men who’d told her they were after the Dragon shifter had still been there. Hopefully they’d failed to see her slip out. They’d find themselves too late to take down Kirith. By the time they arrived, he’d be long gone.

But as Luna closed in on the lake, a pulse of fear shot through her Wolf’s body. Shadows began to emerge from all around her. Great, hulking creatures with glowing eyes, surrounding her in the dark.

Suddenly, horrifyingly, the words of the shifter in the club made sense. You will help us, without even intending to, he’d said.

He’d been right, and she’d been a damned fool.

She’d led them right to their prey.

Luna let out a howl, not so much to save herself as to send a warning to Kirith. He was somewhere down there. He’d hear her. If he heeded her warning, maybe he could save himself, escape down one of the mysterious corridors at the end of the flat to safety.

The Wolves moved towards her slowly, creeping along, their large paws soft on the earth. At first she assumed they belonged to the same Pack that had tried to assault her a few nights earlier. But as they came closer, horror consumed her as she realized that she recognized most of them. Denn and Martin’s large Wolves were skulking towards her, teeth bared, growling low. Then came Derek, Rutger. Every Wolf in her Pack except for Silver was ready to attack one of their own, on their Alpha’s command.

Luna looked around frantically, searching out the face that she knew must be out there somewhere. The face of the man who had betrayed so many of his own. His was the only one that mattered now.

If she was going to go down, she’d go down fighting Ripper.

She shifted into human form, spinning around to take in all the Wolves’ faces. Still no sign of the Alpha, but she knew he was out there somewhere.

He had to be.

“Where are you?” she called out. “Show me your face, you cowardly bastard!”

A moment later, out of the shadows walked the largest of the Wolves. A huge, charcoal-grey creature, his fur matted and greasy, just like his human counterpart’s.

“It’s all come to light then, has it?” she asked. “You’re not even trying to hide what you are anymore. You’ve just used me, like you use everyone else.”

Ripper shifted and strode towards her, a look of unadulterated rage in his glowing eyes. Crudely he grabbed her by the jaw and pulled her face up, squeezing so hard that she thought he might crush her jawbone under his fingers. Tears of pain rimmed her eyes, but she fought them back, refusing to let him see that he was hurting her.

“Where is he?” he asked. “Where’s the Dragon?”

“Fuck you,” she muttered from between clamped teeth.

Ripper let her go, violently shoving her backwards and turning to face his Pack members. “This bitch is protecting the Dragon who burned our woods. She’s turned on us. You know what we do with traitors.”

Growls erupted from all around her, and Luna looked around, heartbroken that her Pack believe Ripper’s word over her own. Much as she hated their Alpha, she’d never had anything against most of them.

“That’s right,” she replied loudly. “I’m protecting him. Do you know why?” She spun around, confronting the Wolves’ eyes. “Because our Alpha—the Wolf who’s meant to look after his Pack—is a murdering bastard.”

She turned again just in time to see Ripper’s eyes.

“Bitch!” he yelled as he drew his arm back and slammed it into her face.

The last thing she remembered was a giant winged shadow, soaring into the air behind the Alpha.

Then came the darkness.