Victor waited patiently for his friend to recover from his injuries. Flint had drunk enough blood to heal so now all he needed was some rest.

Damn it to hell. Flint had been gravely hurt and then he’d literally given up in the water, allowing himself to sink down into the darkness. Victor had thought he’d lost him and that had caused his heart to stop in his chest. Even the mere inkling of not having Flint beside him, in his life, was more than he could bear. It was inconceivable to even think of not seeing him every day, hearing his smartass comebacks, arguing with him, or having him at his side when they faced adversaries.

They’d been together far too long. They were closer than family. If he’d lost Flint, Victor wasn’t sure what he would’ve done…but it would’ve been horrific.

“Damn boy,” he sighed, watching his friend as he slept, healed, and grew strong again.

He could sense it as the minutes ticked by with Flint’s strength returning, and Victor finally relaxed for the first time since he’d careened toward him along the shore of the lake. His keen sight had seen it all. From the moment he’d hurled those first blades and then took off to take care of the second Wolf. It had all happened fast…although it seemed like forever while he and the rescue party had weaved their way toward him and Kenzie. The moment when the dropped beast had risen and stalked toward her had been dreadful.

They’d all seen it. Saw the moment when it attacked, and they’d feared the worst too. As had Flint. Hells fire. If that had been Kimber, Victor was sure he would’ve lost his mind. Just like his friend had. “Thank the Gods that she survived,” he mumbled aloud as Flint started to move, stretching and yawning as he slowly came awake.

“Hmm, what?” Flint mumbled before he realized Kenzie was still sleeping and then he cradled her closer,

“Nothing, I was just thinking aloud.” Victor peeled himself from the sofa and headed toward the door. “I see you’ve recovered so I’ll go see Kimber and check in with her. When you’re ready you can come and find us but no need to rush. Let Kenzie rest, she needs it.”

“Victor,” Flint stopped him. “Thanks. For everything. As usual, you were there when I needed you, and I can’t thank you enough for saving us.”

“Not required and you know it, but for the record, it was Thorne who saved Kenzie. He swam like a demon to get to her. Left me far behind and shouted at me to go after you, so I did. She was much farther out on the water and he got to her quickly. I’m sure that’s why she managed to survive, Flint. If she’d been in that water for much longer I’m not sure what would’ve happened. It’s ice cold and she’s not as strong as we are. When he got her out, he didn’t even stop for a second. He sped straight back here and got her into the warmth which I’m certain was what probably saved her. You might want to thank him personally.”

“Fuck.” His friend’s hand shot up to run down his face. “I’ll talk to him because yeah, I want to thank him…but Vic, thanks isn’t enough. Not for saving her. Two words just doesn’t cut it for that.”

Victor knew that. If he was in Flint’s position, he would give his entire fortune to save Kimber…two words? That was nothing but…it was all they had.

“Thorne did what any one of us would do. What you would do…would you expect anything in return? No, you wouldn’t. Just thank him and let him know how you feel. That’s enough because, at the end of the day, that’s all we have and all that’s needed. He’s cut from the same cloth as you. He’s a fighter but he’s loyal, brave, and would die protecting others…or saving others. Hell, Flint, come on, don’t get all soppy now. I’m tired and wrung out as it is. I need to go and find Kimber before I lose my shit here.”

“Yeah, all right, old man. On you go. Give her a hug from me and tell her we’ll be down soon.”

“Less of the old man…remember who it was that saved your young ass.” Victor stabbed a finger at him before turning on his heel and leaving, emotion overflowing inside him because he did indeed save him, but, what was worse, he also came close to losing him too.

The guards were still in evidence when he left Flint’s room, standing alert with eyes scanning back and forth along the long hallway while he went in search of Kimber. He knew she’d be with Amaya and Quinn downstairs, it was just a case of finding them. It didn’t take him as long as he thought in the sprawling castle. All he had to do was follow the raised voices.

“I’m not going outside! I don’t need a guard, Quinn!”

Amaya sounded angry and her voice was loud enough for Victor to find her. Kimber was sitting in an armchair beside the fire in the library, looking amused as her friend stomped around. Quinn, however, was most definitely not pleased. His eyes blazed as he fired back.

“I don’t give a damn where you’re going. If you’re not with me then you’ll have a guard. In fact, you’ll have two and that’s not up for discussion. After what happened earlier with Kenzie do you really think I’m playing around, Amaya? Do you? Really? Do not think for one second that I won’t lock you up with a dozen guards outside your room if you test me on this…because I damn well will. You’re the most precious thing in this world and I won’t lose you. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. Including locking you up. Hell, I’ll use the dungeon if needs be. That’ll hold you. Tiger or not. You won’t get out of there, my beauty.”

Amaya whirled toward him, fire in her eyes, and a snarl on her lips. She stalked toward Quinn like the Tigress she was. Victor wasn’t sure whether he should step in to try and defuse the situation he thought was spiraling out of control. Then he saw Kimber motion to him, her hand waving for him to stay back. So he did. Watching and waiting to see if Amaya would attack because that’s exactly what her body language said.

Closer and closer she drew to Quinn who stood with nostrils flaring, fists bunched and his chest heaving as if he’d just run a marathon. Her body lithe and loose, her head moving from side to side and her own nose twitched as she inhaled sharply. Just like a beast stalking its prey. Shit. Victor was certain she was about to pounce on his friend and attack.

He slid his eyes quickly to Kimber who looked completely relaxed and not at all concerned. Yet he could feel the tension all around them. It was thick in the room, and Amaya was prowling toward Quinn like a wild animal. He’d never felt such tension between two people as he did now, and he couldn’t take his eyes off of them, wondering when he’d have to swoop in and stop the situation from escalating out of control.

Quinn’s eyes closed to mere slits as Amaya circled around him not saying a word. Once, twice, three times she wound around him, her eyes roving up and down his body until on her fourth loop her arm snaked out so fast that even Victor was surprised at the speed of her movement. Amaya’s fingers trailed across Quinn’s back, her long fingernails leaving indentations on Quinn’s pristine white shirt as she made her way around to his side where she stopped to tilt her head and stare up at him.

He didn’t move, glaring straight ahead as Amaya’s long ebony hair hung free, her unique dark eyes with silver specks trained on her Bloodmate for a second before she carried on her journey until she stood before him. Her head high, haughty and proud.

“You look like you need to relax.” She purred. Actually purred like the big cat she was.

Victor was stunned. That was definitely not what he’d expected her to say or do. He thought she was about to rip into Quinn…and vice versa. But when he turned to glance at Kimber she merely winked at him as if she expected this all along.

“Relax you say? How can I relax when you want to go gallivanting on your own and there’s danger at every corner? I can’t do that, and you know it, Amaya. You know how much I love you, adore you, worship the damn ground you walk on. So how can I relax?”

Amaya made that sound again…deep down in her throat that sounded like the animals Victor had heard in the jungles of India when he’d visited it many years ago. She sounded exactly like them…wild, free, and ferocious.

“I can think of a few ways to help you with that.” Amaya leaned in and placed a peck on the side of his lips.

Quinn’s entire body shivered, his arms snaked around her waist to hold her in place while his green eyes darkened. “You’ll be the death of me, my beauty. The damn death of me.”

“Not at all, darling. I bring you to life, admit it. I do. Don’t I? Your heart sings for me and you’ve never felt more alive since we met.”

Amaya again reached forward and kissed Quinn, this time her mouth covered his in a demanding invasion. Her hands winding up into his hair to hold him firmly in place and he groaned loudly while she devoured him. Victor shuffled uncomfortably from foot to foot, glad when Kimber joined him, taking his hand and leading him to the door.

“Time we left, don’t you think?”

“Yes, please.” Victor sped up, not looking back when Amaya moaned louder than Quinn had moments ago.

“I’ve got news for you too.” Kimber looked up at him as they closed the door and escaped into the hall. “It’s about one of the couples, Alaric and Ashlyn.”

“What?” Victor stopped dead, his heart stuttering in his chest. Surely there hadn’t been another attack?

“Don’t worry, they’ve not been hurt.” Kimber tightened her grip on his hand to reassure him. “But they have left. Alaric asked Quinn to go and see him earlier when he heard about this latest attack. When he came back Quinn told us that Alaric was very upset. Alaric told him he refused to stay and put Ashlyn in any further danger. It’s understandable. So, Quinn arranged for them to leave. He got in touch with Jana and she arranged for one of your pilots to pick them up and take them back home.”

“Why didn’t he let me do it? I could’ve sorted it out myself.”

“He didn’t want to bother you, not with Flint and Kenzie being injured. It was no trouble, honestly. It was done in minutes and they left some time ago with a cavalcade of guards to ensure their safety with a bevy of Directive guards on the jet.”

“Did Jana say anything else?” Victor carried on walking because he could hear more noises of passion emanating from the library and he definitely didn’t want to continue to hear those.

“She did say she was onto something but that she’d call you soon. Other than that, no, I’m afraid not.”

“Damn it.” Victor was annoyed, beyond agitated that they had no more idea about what was going on.

“I know it’s frustrating, but we have to carry on as we are. We need more guards and we must keep our eyes open. It’s all we can do at this point so there’s no point in getting upset, or rather, more upset than we already are.”

“What?” Victor groaned. “We almost lost Kenzie today, and Flint. It was the worst thing imaginable seeing that. You can’t imagine what it was like running toward them and not being able to stop it. It was…”

“Horrific. Yes, I know, darling. But the worst thing for you was the feeling of being impotent. Am I right? But they’re here and they’re going to be all right so let’s move on. I’m aware of how bad it was. I love them too. Kenzie is my best friend and I was distraught too, but we can’t dwell on that right now. If we do, then our minds will be clogged up with that and we might miss something that’s important, and we can’t allow that to happen.”

“She’s right.”

Victor spun around to find Flint and Kenzie at the end of the hall. His friend looked back to his normal self, but Kenzie still looked pale and tired.

Flint nodded to Kimber and carried on. “Kimber’s hit the nail on the head. If we’re tied up with all the things that have happened then we could miss important details, and let’s face it, we can’t miss anything. Not now. Not one thing, Vic. We came close to losing this time. The next might be worse and that’s not something we can afford. So, Kimber is right. We can’t dwell on what happened, and we have to focus on catching these fucking bastards because I need to dole out some justice. My way. My terms. And that’s not up for discussion.”