No! Adrian screamed in Lavinia’s mind, hoping she would finally heed his counsel.

Lavinia’s small wolf sent him her thoughts, enveloping his mind and heart with unwavering love, letting him know that she would die for him if necessary. Before he could do anything to stop her, she launched herself at the majestic wolf, her fur shining under the bright sun.

The she-wolf attacked, her fangs aiming at her opponent’s jugular. Her speed gave her the advantage of surprise at first, but the alpha wolf soon regained the upper hand. Rainier’s wolf turned at the last moment, his large muzzle closing around the she-wolf’s neck. Like a big dog playing with a chew toy, he shook his head back and forth.

Fear and rage drove Adrian forward, his heart galloping madly as his eyes zeroed in on the vein throbbing at the side of the alpha wolf’s neck. His unsheathed fangs lengthened further in his mouth, cutting his tongue. Bloodlust took possession of his senses, governing his actions.

The alpha wolf’s eyes snapped wide, but it was too late. Adrian had already bitten the beast, his fangs cutting through hide, flesh, and sinew. The wolf’s blood sprayed all over Adrian, marring the golden-white sand with dark-red splatters. Driven by a savage thirst, Adrian gorged on his enemy’s life essence. His fangs burrowed deeper until his face was buried inside the wolf’s neck.

Rainier’s heartbeats slowed to a faint pulse. Adrian’s fury didn’t abate. While sucking the wolf dry, he slashed through the animal’s thick skin with his nails. The satisfying sound of breaking bones reached Adrian’s ears before his fingers found the soft, wet organ pulsing in the wolf’s chest. Adrian’s hand closed around Rainier’s heart.

One moment, the frail organ beat against Adrian’s hold. The next, his hand squashed it, silencing its owner forever.

A strong emotion entered his mind as Lavinia’s wolf called through their link.

Adrian blinked. Slowly removing his hand from the wolf, he stepped back as the alpha shifted into his dead human form. Adrian spun toward Lavinia. As if in the midst of a violent change, she wavered in between forms—first a wolf, then a human, and back and forth, bleeding profusely from her throat.

I’m here. Everything’s going to be fine, my little wolf, he said to her in his mind, bending over her and cradling her shifting body in his arms. Her shifting throes made it difficult for him to hold onto her, but he didn’t let her go. He caressed her gently, feeling her smooth skin ripple and sprout fur as she tried and failed to remain in wolf form to heal faster.

“I’m here,” he repeated out loud, covering her mouth with his lips. He cut his tongue and let his blood drip into her. He brushed her throat to coax her to swallow and only stopped feeding her his blood when her shaking subdued.

Finally stable, Lavinia relaxed in his embrace, her body settling in the human form. Her jagged wound closed before his eyes soon after.

“Adrian—” Her eyes opened, and she gave him an adoring look that melted his heart.

“It’s over,” he said.

Her gaze went to the dead werewolf.

“He won’t hurt you ever again.” Adrian kissed her softly.

“The world is a better place without him,” she whispered.

He could sense the pain lacing her words and held her closer.

“It’s finally over—” She shook her head, trembling.

“It is. And with his lieutenant dead, the Caliban Wolf Clan is officially no more.” He kissed the crown of her head.

Lavinia moved in his arms. “Dead?”

“When I went to the house to fix your breakfast, Mark called—he had been calling for a while, actually, but with us being otherwise engaged and the bad reception, I didn’t notice earlier. He told me they had discovered Berlizzi had been communicating with Rainier all along, using their pack link to give up our location. In the meantime, a Caliban squad burst into the Directive’s headquarters to rescue Berlizzi and, in the fight that followed, he and the rest of his gang were killed.”

“Good riddance to bad rubbish,” Lavinia said, snuggling closer to him.

“Indeed.” Adrian’s hands kneaded her cold skin that immediately warmed.

Adrian, she whispered in his mind, her longing loud and clear as if she had shouted her request.

“I’d like nothing better than to whisk you to our bedroom, but Mark is arriving,” he said, pointing his gaze at the horizon.

A small dot hovered in the sky, getting larger as he stared at it.

“I’ll get rid of him in record time. I promise.” He smiled at her. “And I’ll ask for another day in paradise. We’ve earned it.”

Lavinia pressed her hand against his head and pulled him down to her for an earth-shaking kiss that lasted until the helicopter landed on the beach.