Devon's head snapped up as he felt the pulsing electricity within the earth. He knew what the familiar rumble in the ground meant. He braced himself for the jolt that inevitably followed it so he didn't get knocked on his ass. But the earth didn't rock, and the jolt never came.

Confusion filled him; his attention fixated on the store as the energy receded from the air. Julian was kneeling beside him; his brow furrowed as he stared at the store in confusion. He rose from the carnage of the creature before him. Liam stepped beside Devon as he searched the quiet storefront.

There was no sound, no movement that Devon could see within the interior, but something was wrong. He had become so focused on the release of his frustration, and his compulsion to feed and appease the demon inside of him, he had shut himself off to Cassie. He hadn't wanted her to have an inkling of the pleasure he had taken from the death of the monsters scattered about him.

"Something's wrong," Julian said.

Devon strained to hear anything, but the night remained completely still. Devon opened his mind to search for Cassie's. He came up against an ominous cloud that left him startled and confused. Then her mind gave way. Pain lashed into his skull and completely encompassed him as it wrapped into him.

Devon retreated before he was unable to escape, before he was buried within her torment. The street filtered back into focus as he moved with more speed than he had ever thought possible. Leaping forward, he turned sideways as he threw himself at one of the boarded windows. Glass shattered inward, the board caved against the force of his weight as he plunged into the store. Falling to the floor, he rolled swiftly before leaping back to his feet. Fury encompassed him as his attention was immediately drawn to the two creatures beside Cassie.

At his entrance they had both stopped feeding from her, but her blood still stained their mouths, and the smell of it hung heavy in the air. Her blood, blood that was only supposed to be tasted by him, had been taken from her.

She staggered forward as one of the creatures abruptly dropped her arm and spun toward him. A bellow ripped from him as the other one tried to pull her along with him as it attempted to escape. Cassie tripped and her legs collapsed beneath her as weakness engulfed her. He grabbed hold of the other one who had been feeding from her. His hand encompassed the thing’s face as he slammed it backwards, pounding its skull off the wall until he heard the reassuring sound of it caving in. Devon tossed him aside as another window shattered inward. Julian landed inside the store with Liam close on his heels.

Devon paid them no attention as he stormed after the one still trying to drag Cassie with it. He was going to tear the creature limb from limb when he got a hold of it. The creature hauled Cassie against its chest, pulling her up by her arm when her legs proved too weak to support her weight.

A small moan escaped her; Devon could sense the life just barely thrumming through her veins. The creature tried to keep hold of her as Devon shoved his arm up under its throat. The creature’s red eyes bulged as it realized it was about to be destroyed.

A moan escaped Cassie; she tugged on her arm as the thing continued to cling to her. Devon seized hold of its arm and squeezed down until he felt the bone crack within his grasp. The creature squealed, but it continued to cling to her. Wrath pounded through Devon, his vision blurred as a fiery haze of red exploded in front of him. He had never been so infuriated, never been this far out of control.

Dropping his arm down, he seized hold of the creature's throat. Its eyes bulged; a crazed cry escaped it as his fingers dug into its throat. With one brutal tug, he ripped its throat out. Wild sounds escaped the torn hole of its throat, but Devon ignored it as he shoved the creature aside.

Cassie nearly fell as its grip on her was finally lost. Devon scooped her up and held her against his chest as he turned back to the store. Her hand curled into his shirt as she strained to lift her head. Panic thrummed through him as he met her unfocused eyes. Her mouth was pinched and her jaw clenched.

"Devon," her voice was a bare whisper.

His eyes flew around the destroyed store. Bodies were scattered about the floor, blood was splayed around the room, wood and glass littered the ground. The creatures that hadn't been killed outright had fled the room the minute they arrived. Liam was helping Annabelle back to her feet; her shirt had been torn, and a deep cut marred her delicate face. Though it was deep, it would heal quickly, and wouldn't leave a scar. Luther's glasses hung askew on his face, his hair was standing straight up as he rose to his feet. Blood slid down his arm and dripped off his fingers onto the floor.

Chris was leaning against the wall, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath. He appeared uninjured. Melissa however, was unmoving. She was slumped against the wall, her breathing shallow, and her skin unnaturally pale. Blood had pooled beneath her; it poured down her side from the jagged gash that had sliced her. Julian knelt before her and turned her head as he checked for a pulse.

"Annabelle get over here," he ordered crisply.

"Hold on." She knelt beside Dani who was also unmoving upon the floor. "Just knocked out." She rose to her feet and hurried to where Melissa lay.

"Melissa?" Cassie whispered as she strained against his hold on her. "Devon?"

He couldn't move as she stared up at him questioningly. The demon in him was in control right now, and it wanted her, badly. It needed her blood, blood that was supposed to be only his, because she was his. His fingers trembled as he brushed her hair back. His nostrils flared and his jaw clenched at the sight of the jagged cuts marring her perfect skin.

"Devon?" He could hear the rapid beat of her pulse as she searched his face. He didn't know what she saw on his face, but it was frightening her.

"Cassie." She shook in his arms as he bent over her. He could smell the creature on her neck; smell its fetid breath against her skin. He gritted his teeth against the urge to bite deep in order to renew his mark upon her. Instead, he nuzzled her neck and relished the smell of her delicious scent. Ever so tenderly, he licked the jagged wounds and relished in the blood lingering upon her skin as he closed the marks. He pulled away from her, took hold of her hurt arm and also licked those cuts closed.

He trembled as he fought to control himself. She was still weak from the blood that had been forcefully drawn from her. Without thought, he turned away to shelter her from the view of the others within the store. Though, none of them were paying him much attention as they knelt by Melissa's side, trying to keep her alive.

He didn't feel the bite as he bit into his wrist. Shifting her, he held his wrist out to her to help her recuperate from her ordeal faster. Her eyes latched onto the blood sliding down his wrist. Her small fingers encircled his wrist and drew it to her mouth. A moan escaped him; ecstasy filled him as she bit down. His hand clenched upon her, his body thrummed with the pleasure her drinking from his vein brought to him. If his heart still beat it would be pounding now, if he could still breathe he wouldn't be able to do so.

Her eyes drifted closed as she bit deeper to take more of his blood into her. Her joy thrummed from her body and into his. Devon inhaled her scent as his blood steadily replaced the scent of the monsters that had fed from her. Her desperate desire to join him radiated outward, to be everything he needed her to be. Over it all he sensed her terror that she might never be able to join him. She drank deeper as she tried to take as much of him as she could into her.

"Devon, Devon." He turned further away to shelter Cassie from Julian as he came at them. "Devon stop."

A low growl escaped him as Julian's hand seized hold of his shoulder, and he tried to pull him back. He huddled closer to Cassie as she clung to his wrist; she was unwilling to let go, as was he. Julian jerked Devon back a step. "Stop this. Devon you could destroy her!" His voice was low yet frantic with urgency.

Devon wanted to push Julian away, to kill him for the interruption, but he couldn't. There was only one thing he wanted more than for Cassie to join him, and that was for her to be safe. She had sustained enough blood loss to make the consumption of too much blood dangerous to her.

"Devon!"

Anguish tore through him as he pulled his wrist from her mouth. Her gorgeous eyes were dazed at the loss of the bond she had been enjoying. His blood marred her full mouth and stained her lips an even deeper shade of red. He was barely in control of himself. The monster inside of him was so very close to the surface. If he was honest with himself, he would admit it was already on the surface, already in control, and it had been for a while now.

Julian was right, he was losing it, and he was going to hurt her if he didn't get control.

Cassie issued a startled cry when he thrust her at Julian. Startled by the sudden movement, Julian just barely managed to catch her. It killed him to hand her over to another man, especially Julian, but Julian may be the only one who could keep her safe from him. Or at least he would try to anyway. "Take her," Devon barked.

"Devon?" Cassie scrambled to escape Julian's arms.

She managed to get back onto her feet, but Julian grabbed hold of her waist and pinned her against his chest. His ice eyes were unrelenting as he stared at Devon. Though he would defend Cassie to the death, he was waiting to see if Devon continued to make the right choices on his own. He wanted to finish what he’d started, and end the torment suffusing them both. His hand remained at his side though as the man managed to briefly regain some control over the monster inside. He hastily turned away before he no longer could.

Desperation urged him faster. Grasping hold of the shattered window frame, he heaved himself over the windowsill and into the dark, wintry night. He had to get away, and though he knew he couldn't go far, he also couldn't be near her right now. "Devon!" her terrified scream followed him. The torment in her voice caused his non-beating heart to shatter into a thousand pieces, but he didn't hesitate as he raced further into the night.

* * *

Cassie stood in the shadows, her arms folded over her chest as she continued to glare at everyone. Julian remained rigid by the door, his hand resting on it and his ice colored eyes focused upon her. The windows had been boarded back up, the bodies tossed into the basement, and the trapdoor blocked by a heap of shelves piled on top of it. No one was sleeping in the backroom tonight; they had all joined her and Julian in the front room.

She knew she’d never sleep as she listened to the low snores filling the room. Chris stood by the other window, his head bowed, and his arms folded over his chest. He looked like he was asleep, Cassie knew he wasn't. Neither was Liam, who was sitting in a chair with his feet propped up on one of the counters.

They were babysitting her, and she resented them for it because the minute they weren't looking she was going after Devon. Come hell or high water, she was going out there, and she was going to find him. Once she did, she would do whatever she could to bring him back here where he would be at least a little safer, and where she knew where he was!

She didn't kid herself, and neither did anyone else, into thinking they were safe here. They simply had nowhere else to go right now. No place could be completely barricaded, and nowhere would have the supplies that the store had. There was no way Cassie was going to leave this store without Devon. She had been separated from him for too long when she had been held prisoner, she was not going to take the chance of losing him again.

A small moan drew her attention toward Melissa. Though she continued to sleep, her face scrunched up as she turned onto her side. Melissa healed fast, and Annabelle had used her powers to help mend the gashes in Melissa's side, but they were still sore. Cassie's heart went out to her; she hated to see her friend in such discomfort. Melissa settled down and her mouth went slack as sleep reclaimed her.

Cassie turned back to the window; she wished she could see through the board covering it. Her skin crawled; she itched to jump through the window and run out into the night in search of Devon. Where was he out there? Why had he left her?

A knot formed in her throat; she found it difficult to breathe. She knew why he had left her, but she would have liked to have had a chance to talk to him before he decided to just leave. Shuddering, Cassie wrapped her arms around herself as she tried not to completely unravel. She would join him. "You're not going out there." Julian issued the command in a gravelly, irritated voice.

"I didn't say I was."

His eerie eyes were oddly aglow in the small amount of rays filtering into the room. "I know you," he grumbled.

Cassie was unable to meet his gaze. He did know her, not only had he touched her, and seen many of the details of her life, but he knew who she was, and what she thought. He knew her strengths, and most of all he knew all of her many weaknesses. He knew she battled with her self-control, not as bad as Julian, and nowhere near as bad as Devon, but there was something lethal inside of her.

"I don't understand why he left," she whispered.

"Yes, you do."

Cassie shuddered as she bit on her bottom lip nervously. Yes, she did, but if he had just given her a chance, she would have agreed to give him everything he wanted. "But he doesn't have to fight it anymore."

Julian shifted; there was a ripple of muscles that reminded her of a sleek panther hunting its prey. She frowned at him; her forehead furrowed as anger spurted through her. She could sense his displeasure, his disapproval. "Yes, he does."

Cassie opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. "You may have chosen him over me, Princess, but I'm going to make sure you stay alive. We both know there is no way to know what could happen to you if he were to decide to change you, and I’m not willing to take that chance."

She stared hopelessly back at him, she knew he realized how much this meant to her, but like Devon her safety would always be his priority. "I am," she told him.

"Really?" he demanded. "Are you really? You may not care what happens to you, but I know you care about what happens to Chris, Melissa, Luther, and everyone else in this room."

She recoiled from his words and the vehemence behind them. "Of course I do!" she retorted.

"If something goes wrong you could quite possibly kill them all. If you go wrong, then Devon is going to be lost, so there is a good possibility everyone in this room will end up dead. Including me. I love you Princess, and I've lived a lengthy life, but I am not ready to give it up yet. Neither am I willing to lose you."

She swallowed back the lump in her throat. "Julian…"

"He's not going to change you, not right now anyway. None of us can take the chance of losing you."

Tears slipped down her face. "What about Devon?"

She barely caught the small ripple of motion, but he was suddenly before her. Gently clasping her chin, he lifted her face to him. "I swear to you I will do everything I can to help the both of you figure this out. I won't leave you alone in this, but Devon has to have time to himself before he hurts someone."

Her lower lip trembled as he wiped the tears from her cheek with his thumb. The intensity in his eyes burned away to be replaced with a yearning that nearly broke her heart. For a moment Cassie was afraid he would try to kiss her again. She stared back at him with pleading in her eyes, praying he wouldn't try. He cradled her face before kissing her forehead and quickly pulling away.

Cassie remained mute as he stalked across the room, his back as stiff as a board. Unable to meet Chris or Liam's gazes, she turned her attention to the rest of the room and all the people she cared about. Patrick and Joey didn't count, but her gaze landed on them. Joey's head was bowed as he slept in his chair, but Patrick was awake and watching them keenly. The creatures had never gone for them.

A new discomfort began to grow inside of her as she studied them. Why hadn't the creatures gone for them? The one had targeted her because it had seen her, and recognized her. But they would have recognized these two, and no matter how much they may have hated her, their hate for these two would have to be worse. There is no way that it couldn't be, not with what these two had done to them.

Taking a step toward them, her head tilted to the side as the wheels in her mind began to spin. She took another step toward them, her heart hammering, and her throat dry. She thought of the creatures that had escaped from here, thought of the ones still lurking within the shadows, and her skin crawled. Icy tentacles crept steadily up her neck and caused her hair to stand on end. How many of them were still out there, hunting, plotting?

"Cassie?" Chris's voice was higher than normal.

She turned toward Julian. "You have to find him Julian," she whispered. "Please, you have to go now. He can't be out there alone, it's too dangerous. They're far smarter than we thought, far smarter."

Julian's eyes were hooded and distant as he stared at her. Frustration clawed at her chest as she thrust a finger at Patrick and Joey. "That one recognized me from in there; he came at me because he recognized me. You think they didn't recognize them. Of course they did, but they didn't go after those two. Why? Because they're tied to the chairs and those creatures knew they had to come for us first. They planned everything, they calculated everything. We already knew they ambushed us, but we assumed it was the same as wolves hunting a deer. We didn't realize just how much intelligence they do still have. Julian you have to go get him, they're out there, and they're going to come back, or they're going to trap him. He can't be alone Julian, he can't!"

Julian turned to the two men tied to the chairs. Anger and hatred flitted over his defined features. "How much ability to reason do they have?"

Patrick's eyes were cold and flat as he met Julian's furious gaze. "Far more than we would have liked. It's why we were destroying them; they were more precarious than we had realized."

Cassie shuddered as antipathy and revulsion filled her. He sounded as if he were simply talking about rabid animals and not human beings with families and lives. She found herself wishing the creatures had killed him when they broke in. "They had realized you were going to destroy them all, and they plotted their escape," Cassie deduced.

"Bastard!" Julian hissed.

Patrick showed no signs of remorse as he met Julian's fierce gaze. "Insanity," Luther whispered. "Complete insanity."

Julian shook his head. "I'll find him."

"You can't go out there alone," Cassie told him.

"I'll be fine."

She wanted Devon safe, but she didn't want Julian to be hurt in the process. "Take me with you."

"No."

"Take someone with you," she urged.

"I'm not leaving you with even less numbers in here than before. I'll be fine Princess."

Her fingers clenched around his. "Don't call me Princess," she told him.

He grinned at her before releasing her hand. "Anything you say. You are to stay in here, do you understand me?" Cassie nodded. "I mean it Cass, I'm trusting you on this one. I can't save you both."

Chris, having risen from the chair, pulled her back a step. She watched helplessly as Julian slipped out the door.