Nancy disappeared. One moment she was standing next to me; the next she and the warlock were gone, leaving just her father and me standing in the middle of the ballroom.

Only her father was frozen, stuck in place. Just like every other person in the crowded room.

But I wasn’t. I could move. I touched Nancy’s father. I pushed into his shoulder but nothing happened. It was as if he were a wax statue.

The warlock. He had put a spell on the room and taken Nancy. I had to find her.

I felt her. I felt her in a new way I’d never felt her before. I could sense her heartbeat. It was as if a cloud had disappeared, and now the truth was clear before me. Mine. Nancy was my mate. Had it been a spell? Something else from the warlock? I had no time to think about it now.

She was nearby. Thankfully the stronger connection made that clear. I hurried out of the ballroom.

I followed the pull, down the hall and next to a heavy wooden door. I tried the handle. It was locked. And hot. The door was hot. There was fire inside. My wolf took over, the transformation taking seconds as I rammed down the door. I started inside, but something small, black, and furry dashed inside first.

I watched as Nancy’s cat attacked the warlock, yanking a thick silver chain from around his neck.

“Get off, you beast!” The warlock tossed the small creature across the room.

I didn’t waste a second while he was temporarily distracted and lunged for him, knocking him to the ground.

“Stop!” Nancy yelled as she hurried over. “He needs to release my mom. Don’t kill him yet.”

My wolf didn’t want to wait, but the man inside the wolf would do what Nancy pleaded.

I pressed my paws into the warlock’s chest, careful to avoid eye contact. The little research I’d done after the bar fight told me that many warlock spells only worked with eye contact. Even my wolf remembered that.

“Remington, what is it?” Nancy’s voice came from beside me. I focused on her voice, the only thing stopping me from ripping the warlock to shreds.

The cat walked over with the chain in his mouth.

“Give me that, you beast!” The warlock yelled, but I continued to pin him to the ground.

“What is that?” Nancy pointed at the thick chain with a deep purple stone in the center. She took it from the cat’s mouth.

“It is not any of your concern.” The warlock focused only on Nancy.

Remington rubbed up against Nancy’s legs.

Nancy looked down at the cat. Then her eyes widened. “Oh.” She cupped the necklace in her hands and closed her eyes.

“Don’t do it. You don’t know what you’re messing with. You need me!” The warlock yelled, but he was barely able to fight me.

A bright light emulated from between Nancy’s hands. She called out as if in pain. My instinct to protect her kicked in, and I released the warlock and hurried to her just as she started to fall to the floor.

I reached for the man in me, shifting back just in time to catch her. “Nancy!” I searched her face, looking for a sign she was all right. The warlock was forgotten as I listened to her breathing. She was alive, but I had no idea what was wrong.

Then her eyes opened. She struggled to sit up, and she pointed.

I followed her gaze to a pile of ash where the Warlock had once been.

“It should have worked. I thought it would work.” Tears streamed down her face.

“It’s okay.” I held her in my arms. “Everything is going to be okay.”

“My mom. She should be here. I knew it. Remington told me. I know how weird that sounds, and I can’t explain it.”

I looked to the cat, but he wasn’t paying attention to us. Instead he was staring at something in the distance.

The cat was obviously something more than he appeared, so I watched with him. The air got hazy, and a woman stepped out of thin air.

“Mom?” Tears spilled down Nancy’s face as she stared, mouth agape at the woman.

“Nancy!” The woman ran over and fell to her knees beside us. “I am so sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“This is all my fault. If I’d only agreed myself.”

“Agreed? To be with him? To be with that horrible man?”

“So you know?” Her mother took her hand “You know what you are?”

Nancy shook her head. “Not really, but I’m getting the gist. You still have a lot to explain though. That stone. What was it? Remington told me to destroy it, but I don’t get it.”

“That warlock was far older than he looked. The stone was a life force that kept him alive. He also used it to keep me prisoner.”

“What happened to the stone?” All I saw was the chain on the ground.

Nancy’s mother stared at her daughter’s hand. “She internalized it.”

“What?” Nancy shuddered. “What do you mean?”

“It means you have a lot to learn, but first who is this?” Nancy’s mom nodded at me.

“This is Norm.” Nancy leaned back into my chest. “My boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” Her mother wore an amused smile. “When did this happen?”

“It’s been in the works since we first met.” Nancy squeezed my hand.

“There is so much to catch up on.” Her mom beamed at her.

Leaving Nancy’s side was the last thing I wanted to do, but I also knew she and her mother had a lot to catch up on.

Nancy seemed to read my thoughts. “You’re not going anywhere.” She looped her arm through mine. “You promised you’d stay by my side, and the night isn’t over.”

“I’m here for as long as you want me.”

“Then forever. You’re stuck with me forever.”

I wondered if she had any idea how much I wanted that to be true.