A hot thrill shot through Drake’s veins. He’d found her again.

Finally.

As soon as the sun set, he’d gone out searching the city for any trace of Lily and the male she’d been with. Too bad he hadn’t caught the bastard’s name, or he could have found them both much sooner. He wouldn’t have had to waste hours upon hours quietly asking about anyone seeing a blond male pranagraha accompanied by a female pranagraha with long black hair. Digging for information like that without arousing suspicion and drawing too much attention to oneself was sadly undervalued.

He was pretty proud of himself, especially since he also managed to avoid getting caught by Seth and his guys, who were undoubtedly combing the town for him. By now, Seth would have figured out it was Drake who stole the vial, and he was coming after him with a vengeance, of that Drake was sure. Seth would want the vial back, or—once he realized Drake had used it—he’d want to claim the result.

And that, Drake could never allow.

He peeked around the corner of the railroad car he was hiding behind, checked on his female and the scum she was with. Luck was on his side tonight—she still wasn’t mated. He sneered at the other male’s weakness. That demon had to be a fucking sissy for not having claimed her yet. Well, his stupidity played into Drake’s hands.

“We can check out one more spot before sunup,” the weak-ass male said to Lily.

“All right.” She followed the SOB toward an old sewer pipe, the nearest entrance to the tunnel system, which was, as usual, protected by demon wards that would drive both witch and human away with powerful compulsion.

Drake’s heart raced, his hands shook. Though he’d hoped to find out where they holed up for the day, and to ambush them there when they were resting, he couldn’t chance following them underground. Last night he’d lost them when they entered the tunnel system. He couldn’t risk losing them again.

The chances of the male claiming Lily rose exponentially the more time she spent in his company. Drake couldn’t waste another day. He had to act now, even if it meant going up against the other pranagraha, who—for all his failings to take charge and make Lily his—still possessed enough power to pose a real threat. Drake wasn’t stupid enough to discount that danger.

He just had to be quick, strike fast and hard enough to incapacitate the other male so he could snatch Lily. Calculating the best angle from which to hit and still retain the element of surprise, he scanned the ground, picked up an old piece of rusted metal pipe the length of his forearm.

That should do the trick.

* * *

Alek could see the demon wards hiding the entrance to the sewer pipe shimmer as they drew closer.

Scanning their surrounding for signs of movement, Alek heard the clink of a pebble on metal a split second before a shadow registered in the upper periphery of his vision. He whipped up his head at the same instant he barked for Lily to get down, and jumped to the side.

Not fast enough.

Pain exploded in his skull, reverberated down his spine, and the world blackened. Somewhere behind him, Lily screamed his name. His mind locked on to the sensation of the attacker’s aura—demon, male, hot with rage—and he struck out in that direction. His fist connected with flesh and bone, and the other demon grunted. Light seeped back into his vision just as the attacker brought down his weapon again—and whacked Alek straight in the face.

The blow slammed him to the side, his head crashed against the edge of the railroad car, and everything went dark.

In the midst of the black fog around him, he fought for consciousness. Sounds of struggle registered, grew louder, clearer. Lily. With teeth-gritting stubbornness, he yanked himself out of the abyss of darkness, willed his body to function. He sucked in air, the metallic scent of blood heavy and consuming, and forced his eyes to open, his limbs to move.

A few feet away, the female who held his heart fought against the grip of another pranagraha. Alarm fired up his nerves, propelled him to stumble to his feet. The world swayed in and out of focus. Fucking head wound. He clenched his jaw, ignored the pounding pain in his head and staggered forward.

He was about to lunge at the other demon when Lily executed a series of martial arts moves that were beautiful in their efficiency—and sent the other pranagraha face-first onto the ground in a few seconds, with Lily on his back holding his left arm in a vicious hammerlock.

Alek grinned, deep satisfaction and grim pride at his female’s fighting skills filling his chest. Yeah, their demon attacker made the fatal mistake of underestimating Lily’s ability to defend herself, even without her witch magic. Served him right that he should eat dust for that alone.

“Is that the fucker who shot you?” Alek rasped as he staggered over to them, his mind still playing funny balance tricks on him. It required a Herculean effort to just walk straight.

“Sure is.” Lily increased the pressure of the armlock, and the demon shrieked. She glanced at Alek while grinding her knee into the spot between the bastard’s shoulder blades, sparks of fiery red dancing in her eyes. “Are you okay?”

He nodded, and a wave of nausea swamped him. “Just a scratch.” Fuck if he was going to let that damn head wound get to him.

Lily narrowed her eyes at him. “I’ll call you on your bullshit later. Right now, I have some questions to ask of you,” she growled at the male in her grip. “How did you make the serum to turn me?”

“Like I’m just gonna tell you,” the demon ground out.

Lily leaned down further, escalating the pressure of her hammerlock. “Do you want me to dislocate your shoulder?”

The pranagraha groaned. “Fuck you.”

“So that’s a yes, then?” She twisted his arm farther up his back.

White-hot pain spiked in the demon’s aura, and he screamed.

Lily kept his arm in the tighter position. “Talk.”

“I don’t know how the serum was made!”

Lily stilled, her eyes a storm of fire and night, her jaw clenched so tight the muscles flexed. “How could you not know?”

Alek sucked in air, realization a dawn of trepidation in his bones. “Because he wasn’t the one to make it.”

Whipping up her head, Lily stared at him. “What?”

Alek growled, went down on his haunches, grabbed the other pranagraha’s hair and yanked his head back so he could look directly into the jerk’s eyes. “Who are you working with?”

The demon spit on Alek’s boots.

“Answer me or I’ll snap your neck.”

Brittle sounds fell from the other male’s mouth, and it took Alek a second to realize he was laughing.

“They’re gonna come after you,” the fucker said, straining to look at Lily on his back. “Even if you kill me, they’re gonna find you. They need more successfully turned females. You’re too valuable for them to let you go.”

Alek gritted his teeth. “Who?”

A tremor flashed through Lily’s energy. Nostrils flaring, she twisted the demon’s arm up again. “There are others like me?”

The pranagraha cried out and then laughed some more. “Did you think you were the only one?”

She gasped, her face losing all color. “The missing witches.”

Rage a fire in his blood, Alek yanked on the demon’s hair again. “One last time, you slimy piece of trash—who else is in on this?”

A whisper in the night…and then the air vibrated with magic. A ball of power slammed into Alek’s back, making him keel over into Lily. He rolled with it, gritting his teeth against the explosion of pain across his shoulder blades, shielding Lily with his body.

“Run,” he whispered in her ear. “To the sewer pipe. Tunnels.”

She sprinted toward the entrance to the underground grid the second she and Alek rolled to a stop, and he ran after her an instant later. Another blow of magic missed her by a foot as she dashed away. He glanced back, darted sideways to evade the next spell thrown at him.

Three witches came running toward them from several yards away, active power a radiant glow around them in the dark of the night. One veered right in pursuit of the other pranagraha, who was hightailing it out of the rail yard at a breakneck pace.

The air crackled with more gathering witch magic. Alek focused ahead again, doubled his speed despite throbbing pain in his head threatening to make him keel over, his back burning where the first spell had hit him.

Lily had reached the sewer pipe, skidded inside through the shield of protective demon magic. He followed her a second later, dashed past her to the hidden trapdoor. As soon as the spell gave way under his touch, he cranked the handle, yanked the door open, and jumped in first to check for danger.

“All clear,” he shouted up.

Lily hoisted herself down, pulling the door shut above her. The clank echoed in the tunnel, sending the musty, earthy air swirling around them. The thick darkness was broken only by small lamps hung intermittently along the rough-hewn walls, providing enough light for most demon species’ eyes.

He put his hand on Lily’s lower back, nudged her forward. “Keep going.”

Though it was highly unlikely that the witches could break through the wards, it wasn’t impossible. The more distance he and Lily put between them and the witches the better. Plus, the tunnels really weren’t the best place to hang out and take a break.

“We need to find a safe spot where we can stop for a moment,” Lily said as they jogged down the tunnel.

“Are you injured?” He shot her an assessing look, worry twisting his stomach.

“No.” Her eyes flared red in the dark. “You are. And don’t you dare grumble at me now. We’re going to stop somewhere, and I’m going to check you.”

Warmth spread through his chest at her concern, at her determination to take care of him. Although he still snarled a bit. He did have a male reputation to uphold.