He wondered for the umpteenth time what had possessed him to come here. And what he had gotten himself into by staying.

“Why are you telling me all this?” Jaden asked quietly. All the tension had left the air with Dorien’s confession, leaving behind it nothing but a faint sense that he was about to ask something of Jaden. Something he should stay hundreds of miles away from, if he had any sense. Yet Jaden felt glued to the spot. Over a couple hundred years of life, he’d rarely had any sense that his destiny was unfolding before his eyes. Mostly he’d just tried to get by, saving his own skin and lending a hand if anyone else’s skin seemed worth saving without much trouble. But this was… different.

Sort of like knowing a piano was about to fall on your head and being unable to get out of the way. But if he bolted, Jaden thought, as he should, then he would be haunted by the image of Lyra’s golden eyes, so full of life, closing forever.

Gods, he was losing it.

“I’m telling you this because I’m desperate, of course,” Dorien said with a dry little chuckle, his small smile humorless. “You were interested enough in Lyra’s welfare to bring her necklace—my late wife’s necklace—back to her. Maybe you’ll be interested enough to listen to my proposition. You seem to be an odd one, for a vamp. And frankly, I’ve got nothing to lose.”

“Except your daughter,” Jaden said.

Dorien’s expression turned grim. “If I do nothing, I’ll lose her anyway. Better to take a leap of faith, I think. At least then I will have tried everything I can think of.”

He hated to admit it, but Jaden was inclined to agree. The chances of him even being alive right now had been slim, and yet here he was… because he and his friends had taken a huge risk and taken on an entire dynasty.

Realizing that he had any of this in common with a creature he would normally have considered a big, worthless, violent beast was uncomfortable, to say the least.

“You may as well tell me what I’ve stumbled into,” Jaden said. “I have no idea how I can help with your problem, but I guess you’ve thought of something.”

Dorien’s gaze was unnervingly direct. “I have. While you were dealing with Simon’s… welcome… in fact. You made short work of him, and he’s a hell of a fighter.”

“He’s young,” Jaden said with a shrug. “He let his anger get ahead of him. He’ll learn. Hopefully.”

“You also danced circles around him,” Dorien said. “I’m no expert about vamp fights, and I’ll deny I said this to my dying day, but you’ve got impressive skill, boy. I can’t say I’ve ever paid much attention to one of your kind in battle… usually too busy trying to take his or her head off… but I expected you to fight dirty. You didn’t need to.” He paused. “I don’t suppose that says much for Simon, though.”

Jaden lifted an eyebrow, bemused. He hadn’t been called “boy” in a very long time, and then certainly not by a man who was a good two hundred years younger. Still, he appreciated the compliment, even though he was well aware he was being buttered up. It was funny. Dorien looked like a prizefighter, not a negotiator, but looks, it seemed, were deceiving.

Jaden found it hard to be anything but gracious in return.

“He’s just young, like I said. I’ve had a few years to work on my technique, if you want to call it that. And you still haven’t told me—”

“Teach her to fight like you do. I’ll pay you anything you like.”

Jaden blinked, not sure he’d heard the man correctly. “Teach her?”

Dorien’s gaze was direct, completely confident. “Lyra. She’s built more like you… not that you’re built like a woman or anything, but size-wise, you’re more in line. She’s strong, quicker than most of the males in the pack. And if you want grace, she’s got that too. I can’t help her. You could.”

For the first time in ages, Jaden found himself caught completely off guard. He’d expected a request to maybe watch Lyra’s back. This, however… hadn’t even crossed his mind. Probably because it was completely insane.

“I don’t know if that would work, Dorien. I mean, even setting aside the fact that I’ve never taught anyone to fight before, she and I aren’t exactly the same species.”

Dorien waved his hand dismissively. “So she’s not a vampire. Wolves are fighters. And she’s sharp, she’ll pick up quickly. You’re telling me you knew how to move like that the moment you were sired? You turned into a vamp and could miraculously take out random wolves in under five minutes?”

“I… no. No, I guess I was shown a few things,” Jaden admitted, trying to remember. “I think most of it was on-the-job training, though. I wanted to stay alive. So I watched the others, picked up the skills I needed. And when the Ptolemy grabbed me, I got better at everything.”

“So you could teach her, like you were taught,” Dorien said with a nod. “She hasn’t had a sparring partner in quite a long time. The males wouldn’t spar once she got older. But I know she stays in shape. Lyra will get it. Or get whatever she can out of it as a wolf. What do you say?”

Jaden had a sudden mental image of sparring with Lyra. Except they weren’t fighting. And they were both naked. He shuffled his feet, trying to come up with an answer that would make some sense. The process was incredibly frustrating, since there didn’t appear to be an answer for him that made any sense.

“You’re as crazy as your daughter,” Jaden finally said, his voice carrying plenty of bite. “You honestly think I can just… just magically turn her into a fighter who can take on wolves twice her size? This is insanity! Just tell this nephew of yours he can’t be Alpha, then pick someone else!”

Dorien’s frown returned with a vengeance. “That isn’t how it’s done. And outwardly, he’s fit. As far as taking down a big wolf… you did it just now when you sliced up one of my men. Be grateful you’re not hearing my offer while I’ve got you pinned to the ground by the neck.”

It was Jaden’s turn to bare his teeth. “You’re not going to railroad me into this. I don’t know how to teach someone to fight.”

“You’ll figure it out.”

“Your daughter doesn’t even like me!”

“Last I checked that wasn’t necessary to teach someone. I hated most of my teachers.”

Jaden shoved his hands into his hair and growled at the indifferent moon. “Damn it, Black, you’re asking me to set up camp here, in a town full of wolves who are going to try to kill me on sight just like Simon did, to try and show Lyra how to win a contest of brute strength that I’m completely unfamiliar with! I don’t care how much you want to pay me, what about any of that sounds like a good idea?”

“The part where what you teach her saves her life.”

Dorien said it so calmly, but he must have known his words would take all the wind out of Jaden’s sails in an instant.

“I don’t have any idea if it would even come close,” Jaden replied. He hadn’t had to pull out any of his real tricks to take Simon down, it was true. If he had, Lyra would have been out of luck. No wolf could toss around psychic energy, for instance. But to teach her how to move, how to use her smaller size to her advantage… he wasn’t sure if that was possible. He had memories of being banged around a fair bit before he’d really come into his own. The natural ability had been there, but it was raw, much like Lyra’s probably was. He’d had to hone his skill, learn to fight well.

But he was a vampire. And he’d had a hell of a lot longer than a month to prepare.

Dorien stared at him, into him, it seemed. His eyes were so wolflike in that instant, full of pride, power, and an instinctive intelligence that vampires tended to pretend didn’t exist in their bestial counterparts. They were the eyes of a being that demanded respect. Jaden had the queerest sensation, like a rush of cool wind over his skin. He knew, suddenly and without any doubt, he wasn’t going to walk away from this. Maybe it was because he’d always been told to do things, and this was completely his decision. Maybe it was because he knew what it was to be in a desperate fight you were unlikely to win. Or maybe it was simply because, for whatever reason, he couldn’t bear the thought of walking away from Lyra and letting her sacrifice herself for nothing more than a bunch of stupid werewolves.

Whatever kept him glued in place, Jaden knew that if he left now, Dorien’s request would haunt him. With an eternity ahead of him, that wasn’t a prospect he relished. He heard his own voice speaking as though he were hearing himself over a great distance.

“What are you offering me, here?”

Dorien gave a curt nod, and Jaden didn’t miss the flash of relief in the Alpha’s eyes. The wolf knew he had Jaden… though Jaden hoped he didn’t understand exactly why. If the father had any idea that Jaden had entertained some enjoyably impure thoughts about the very daughter he was supposed to teach, Jaden thought Dorien might try to take him apart regardless, Proving or no.

Fortunately, the man seemed more concerned with money.

“I don’t know what a creature like you needs or wants. I can’t give you blood, but there is some money. You’d have complete safety while you were here, of course. I’ll come up with something to tell the others.” His voice hardened and grew intense, vibrating in his rich baritone. “Look. She won’t budge and I’m out of options. I won’t have my daughter die for this. Even if it doesn’t look good at the end, I’ll… well, we’ll talk about that. But I’d rather have her hating me and alive than dead proving me right. I’ll give you whatever is in my power to give if you’ll teach my Lyra. Give her a chance. She might surprise you.”

And that, thought Jaden, was exactly what he was worried about. Still, the acceptance was right on the tip of his tongue.