Victor saw the cold steel in Flint’s eyes, in the way he held his body taut and in the way his fingers edged inside his pocket…must have a weapon there.

He wasn’t going to argue with him. There’d be no point. Nobody. Not even his best friend would be able to deny Flint his vengeance when the time came, or if they managed to catch any of their enemies alive.

Goddess help them if Flint got his hands on them.

Victor had witnessed first-hand what Flint did to the man who’d hurt Kenzie when his friend first found his Bloodmate. He’d never seen anything so bloody, so vicious, so brutal. The punishment Flint doled out was something the man deserved but the severity of it was…viciously ruthless.

“I’m taking Kenzie to get some food. Want to join us?”

“Sure,” Kimber grinned, “I’m starving too. Let’s go see what we can scrounge up.”

She swept forward, grabbing Kenzie’s arm and whisking her away down the corridor leaving Flint and him in their wake.

“How is she?” Victor asked as they followed after them.

“She’s lying to me. I know that,” Flint whispered. “She’s tired and pale and I’m certain she should still be resting but she’s hungry so I agreed to bring her down for food because she wanted to see Kimber. But, as soon as she’s eaten, I’m taking her back to bed.”

“It’s late anyway so we’ll be heading up to bed, too.”

“Good, that’ll make it easier.” Flint smirked over at him. “You know what she can be like, headstrong, and I don’t want to argue with her. I just need her to rest and get her strength back. I’m worried sick about her.”

Victor knew he was. He could sense it flowing out of him and feel it all around him. His friend was hurting, and he wasn’t sure he could do anything to help him. Not a hell of a lot anyway. Reassurance was all he had.

“She’ll be okay. I promise. She just needs food and rest and then she’ll be fine.”

“Sure,” Flint mumbled as they joined the girls in the kitchen to find them rummaging around.

“There’s loads here but we’ve decided on sandwiches. That’ll do us. Kenzie you sit down, and I’ll do this.” Kimber already had her arms full and set about fixing them both some food. “Victor, could you find us something to drink? Soda is fine for me. Kenzie, what do you want?”

“Water for me.” Kenzie sat at the wooden table in the middle of the massive kitchen, putting up no argument which testified to her fatigue as she was normally the one who would tend to everyone else before herself.

Victor quickly found bottled water and cans of soda in one of the large fridges and brought them over then found clean glasses. By the time he placed them on the table, Flint had found a bottle of decent whisky and was already sitting next to Kenzie, pouring out a drink for himself.

“Want one?” He held the bottle over another glass, hovering and waiting.

“Yes, I could do with one.”

Flint poured him one and slid his drink over the table to him as he sat down. They drank quietly and before long Kimber joined them with a plate piled high with fresh cut sandwiches.

“Here we go, get stuck in.” She sat down next to him and took one while he poured her a drink.

“Thanks, I’m really hungry.” Kenzie tucked in too and soon they were chatting away as if nothing were wrong which seemed surreal.

Only this morning she and Flint were gravely injured and Victor couldn’t get that out of his mind, yet here they all were talking about mundane things as if nothing was wrong. He didn’t get involved, not really, only answering when he was asked a direct question but his mind was elsewhere. It took him a moment or two before he realized his phone was ringing in his pocket.

“Victor, your phone.” Kimber prodded him a second before he fumbled it out, his heart speeding up when he saw the name lit up on his screen.

Jana Noskova.

“Jana, do you have any news?” He was desperate for news. Any damn news.

“Yes, I do and it’s not good I’m afraid.” She paused, and he could see her pacing back and forth in her office.

“Tell me.”

“One of the clerks here hasn’t appeared for some time and we couldn’t figure out what happened. We sent our best men to find out and we’ve uncovered some disturbing facts I think link him to someone that I’ve had my eye on for some time.”

She again paused which had Victor jumping right in. “Christ, Jana, will you just spit it out.”

“Arthur Dawson is the name of the man we think the clerk has been in contact with. He’s an evil son-of-a-bitch with a history of being a sadistic Dominant. He’s been banned from every club he’s been in but more importantly, he’s a jealous fucker. Jealous of just about everyone from the information we’ve gathered and here’s the bit that my operatives’ have uncovered that’s got me concerned. He’s got an unhealthy obsession with Bloodmated couples and it looks like the clerk accessed information he shouldn’t have. As in, the details of your gathering.”

Victor hissed, his blood boiling inside him at the implication in her words. Implied but not yet said. “What you’re saying is that one of your clerks got hold of the details of the Ball and passed it onto this guy. Is that right? One of The Directive’s lowly clerks managed to bypass the highest security and hand it over to a jealous, sadistic and insane Vampire. Or have I got this wrong?”

Jana didn’t respond. Not for long seconds. The line remained silent, but Flint did not. He cursed loudly behind him, his glass smashing onto the table with a crash.

“What the fuck? The Directive allowed this to get out? That’s why we were attacked? My Bloodmate almost died today because of them? The people who’re supposed to protect us? Ain’t that just fucking great?”

“Tell Flint I’m sorry. I am. I can’t believe this got out, Victor. If I could do anything about it I would, but it’s done, and all I can do now is help you in any way that I can.” She stopped, and he heard something thud loudly on the other end. He wondered what had got kicked or thrown by the obviously furious Wolf. “Anything, tell me now, and I promise you it’ll be done.”

“Do you have anything else on this Arthur that we can use? What does he look like? Does he have contacts here in Scotland he’d use that we can send our men to? Does he have any weaknesses we can exploit? Is he a daywalker? What other information do you have? Don’t hold anything back, Jana. Now is not the time for that.”

“I won’t. Damn it. Do you really think I would? I’m on your side, Victor. You honestly think I’d keep anything from you? Really?” She must’ve thrown something else because the next sound he heard was glass breaking and a shriek from a female in the background before she shouted an expletive and came back on the line. “He’s rich so resources aren’t a problem for him, but we don’t have any known contacts for him over there. He’s blonde with blue eyes, ice blue from the picture I’m looking at right now. Oh, and he has a scar above his left eyebrow. He’s tall, kinda thin but not reedy, slim looking is what I’d say. Looks cold to me, not someone to be messed with but I guess we know that now and from everything I’ve read about him, he likes to hand out pain and misery. An all-round bad guy. You need to be careful, Victor, and if you see this fucker…put him down and do it quickly. Don’t take any chances with him. Not one. You hear me? Take him down. Fast.”

“If I get my hands on him he’ll suffer. Don’t think he won’t,” Flint spat out viciously. “And I’ll take my time.”

“Tell that hothead to cool his fucking jets and just do the damn job and that’s to kill this guy. No damn Directive cell for him. He needs putting down, plain and simple.”

“I’ll do it myself if I can.” Victor turned to glare at Flint, knowing he was itching to get his hands on this guy and knowing he’d do his best to ensure his friend didn’t get the chance.

“So, is there anything I can do? You didn’t answer me.”

“We’ve got this, Jana. Nothing more you can do for now. Oh wait, can you send me what you have on this guy and email the information to Quinn too? And his men, Ace and Thorne? Give them all you know about this guy and a picture of him would be good, so we can keep an eye out for him.”

“Will do. Take care and be safe.”

“We’ll try.” Victor hung up and turned to three sets of faces. One, Flint’s, was angry and fired up. Two, Kenzie’s, was white and worried. The last, Kimber’s, was a mix of the two.

She looked at her friend, then Flint, then back at him. “We can’t give into this man, or the people he’s got helping him. He can’t win, Victor. If he’s still even here. He could’ve given up now. After all, he’d not succeeded in any attack and he’s lost two men today. So, maybe they’ve gone, we don’t know. All I do know is that I refuse to allow him to get to me. I will not bow to him, or his kind. Not now, not ever.”

Her head lifted, and her chin jutted out. Oh. He knew that look. Stubborn and feisty didn’t come close to what was running through her right now. She was ready for a fight. The only thing he was glad about was…it wasn’t directed at him.

“We won’t give in, Kimber. The Ball is tomorrow night and Quinn’s men are all on high alert. We are going ahead with this and we’re not giving into terrorism, because that’s what this is. I refuse to allow this insane fucker to stop us doing this and I will not allow him to stop us doing what we set out to do…bring us together and celebrate the amazing thing that’s happened recently. The fact that Bloodmates have come to light after such a long time is astounding and it deserves to be celebrated. We won’t bow down to this man and run. We’ll stay and fight if necessary and hell mend him if he shows his face because if he does then he’ll find out exactly what we’re made of…what I’m made of. I’ll rip him apart, baby. I’ll kill him myself if he dares to show here.”

Flint’s face darkened further, his chair flying back as he jumped to his feet. “I’ll be right there with you. If he appears I’ll fucking show him what pain is. He’ll beg me to end him, I can guarantee that…for what he’s done that’s what he deserves.”

“He does deserve to be punished, there’s no denying that,” Kenzie agreed, speaking up for the first time since Jana had called. “But I don’t need you to do anything drastic…not for me, Flint. I don’t want that on my conscience. Please.”

Flint looked like he was going to argue, his face full of outrage and anger, but when he looked down at her upturned face he changed. His face softened, and he sank down onto his knees, taking her hands in his and leaning forward to kiss them. “Hey, don’t distress yourself, babe. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Kenzie sighed. A long drawn out breath escaped her as she gazed into Flint’s face before she answered him. “There’s been too much, Flint…too much fear and death. I don’t want you doing anything too…extreme. If this man, this Vampire, if he comes and tries anything else, then of course he has to be dealt with. But torture? No, Flint. I don’t want that. I don’t want you to do that. Not for what’s happened to me. Don’t do that for me. Please.”

Her words were low, soft, barely a whisper. But she might as well have screamed them at the top of her voice for the impact they made on everyone present. Kimber let out a soft noise, a whimper. Victor’s eyes flew to her and he saw her wiping a tear away. He knew how she felt because Kenzie’s plea had affected him too. She was a Faery, soft, kind and gentle with a heart that was pure but also filled with love and a strength he’d seen over and over again. And this was one of those times.

She was showing them…again, that she was much stronger than any of them believed her to be. She was showing them that even those that would do them harm like the bastard Arthur Dawson that had wreaked bloody havoc on them. Who had caused her grievous injury and had inflicted terrible injuries on her beloved Flint. Who had been the cause of deaths and fear in their midst…she would still not allow them to go beyond what was necessary to keep them all safe.

She was their conscience.

“Baby.” Flint fell forward, his arms encompassing Kenzie and holding her close, murmuring into her hair, “Anything you say, darling, anything you say.”

“Thank you.” Kenzie fell back, stroking his face. “I love you and I know you’re angry but don’t let it take over.”

“I won’t.” Flint shrugged. “Or I’ll try hard not to allow it to. You know I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask, my warrior.” Kenzie leaned forward, kissing his lips softly before she whispered, “I’m tired. Can we go to bed now?”

“Tired? Shit, of course.” Flint swept her up into his arms, cradling her gently against his chest before he turned to him. “If there’s any further news let me know. Okay?”

“Of course.” Victor watched as his friend, the hard and cold man who could dole out the harshest punishment he’d ever witnessed, carried his Bloodmate as gently as a newborn out of the room.

For long seconds, Victor stared at the empty space where Flint had been. Silence surrounded him as he stood with memories of his friend flashing through his mind and of the changes since he’d bonded with Kenzie. The change in him was nothing short of miraculous…the change brought by a Bloodmate.

“The Ball has to go ahead, we’ve gone through too much to cancel now,” he mumbled to himself, knowing he’d made the right decision.

“Yes.” Kimber joined him, her hand slipping into his, her fingers lacing with his. “She’s really changed him. Hasn’t she?”

“Indeed she has…the magic of a Bloodmate.”

“Her words were powerful. Her plea was…shoot, I was on the verge of tears.”

Victor had to agree. How could he not?

“I forget sometimes that our way is not always the only way. Kenzie reminds us of that. But if this guy does show up, I can’t say I won’t kill him, Kimber, because I will. He’s behind all of this and after what he’s done he deserves to die.”

“I know.” Kimber leaned her head against him, sighing. “I think her words were more for Flint, to rein him in.”

“I agree.” Victor turned to his love, taking in the beauty of his own miracle. “Want to turn in? We have a big day tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.” She smiled up at him, her gloriously beautiful eyes causing his belly to clench with the possibilities those two words held as he led her away to their room.