Nathan turned as Jordan’s head lulled on his shoulders and rose. He blinked at them before his hazel eyes narrowed and a wave of hatred washed out of him as he wiggled his way into a sitting position against the wall.

Nathan leaned protectively closer to Vicky and rested his hand on the wall beside her head. Jordan’s mouth opened and closed three times. His gaze darted between them before falling to his bound ankles; he jerked on his wrists as he grunted in disgust.

“Is she the reason you sold us out and made this unholy alliance with the vampires?” Jordan asked.

“I’ve sold us out to no one,” Nathan replied.

“That bitch attacked me.” Jordan leaned forward and spat a gob of blood on the floor. “I was coming here to speak with you, and she attacked me.”

Vicky opened her mouth to protest Jordan’s words before closing it. This was something for Nathan to judge; Jordan was one of his people, and if he chose to believe him over her, then so be it.

“Oh, I don’t believe that,” Nathan murmured. “How did you know I was here?”

The tone of Nathan’s voice was calm, yet something about it made the hair on Vicky’s nape rise. If Jordan were smart, he’d start playing nice, but she didn’t think he realized how volatile Nathan was right now.

“I saw you leaving the stronghold one day,” Jordan replied.

“And you followed me?”

“I’d hoped to speak with you privately, but when I saw you with her, I didn’t think I could trust you.”

“Trust me with what?”

Shut up, Jordan! Vicky screamed inwardly as Nathan’s body coiled like a tiger ready to pounce. Jordan seemed to realize Nathan wasn’t as controlled as he believed; some of the hostility eased from his features, and his gaze flicked nervously to Vicky.

“I, ah… I believe some hunters are unhappy about our new arrangement with the vampires and might be planning something,” Jordan stated as sweat beaded his upper lip.

“You don’t say,” Nathan replied in a voice dripping venom. “Who are these hunters? I’ll need names to investigate this further.”

Nathan lowered his hand to Vicky’s cheek when she shifted against the wall and winced. Jordan’s lips pulled back in a sneer before he composed his face into a blank look again. Keeping his eyes on Jordan, Nathan stroked Vicky’s cheek with his thumb.

“You don’t approve of this, Jordan?” Nathan inquired.

“If you want to bang a vamp, that’s your choice.” Jordan’s tone made it clear he’d rather have all his teeth pulled out with pliers and no Novocain.

“It is my choice,” Nathan replied before kissing Vicky’s forehead and rising to his feet.

“Nathan,” she whispered.

“It’s okay,” he assured her before striding across the room to Jordan. The man’s head tilted back as Nathan stopped to stand over him. In his mid-forties, Jordan was twenty years older than him, had more training and hunting time under his belt, but Nathan would be the one to end him. “We’ll discuss this later.”

Before Jordan could reply, Nathan hammered his fist into the side of his face. Jordan didn’t make any sound as he slumped to the ground, unconscious. Retrieving a rope and a rag from his supplies, Nathan lifted Jordan’s chin, forced his mouth open, and shoved the cloth into it. Jordan’s breath whistled in and out of his broken nose.

Nathan tied the rope around the handcuffs on Jordan’s wrists before walking over to the kitchen sink. Opening the cabinets beneath the sink, he tied the other end of the rope around the PVC piping there. If he struggled enough, Jordan would be able to break free, but Nathan would hear him trying to escape before then.

Returning to Vicky, he slid his arms under her and carefully lifted her. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“Getting you cleaned up before we leave,” he replied. “Are you healing?”

“Starting to.”

“Good.”

He carried her into the bathroom and set her on the edge of the ugly, green tub. He kept his hand on her knee as he leaned around her to turn on the water, all while listening for any sound from the other room.

Rising, he pulled his knife from his pocket, flipped it open, and cautiously cut away her turtleneck, sweater, and bra. He peeled away the last of her bra before kneeling in front of her and unbuttoning her pants.

Fascinated by the care he took with her, Vicky watched his every move as he unbuttoned her pants and slid them down her thighs. There was nothing sexual in his touch, but there was something affectionate in it.

“You could have died,” he said when he’d removed the last of her clothing.

The ragged tone of his voice tore at her heart. Before she could respond, he lowered his head and his shoulders hunched up as if he were about to turn into the Hulk. She’d give anything to be able to lift her arms and embrace him against her as she sensed he needed it, but though she could feel her muscle and bone weaving themselves back together, she still had no movement in her arms.

“So could you, every time you go out to hunt, and apparently there are some vipers in your stronghold,” she said.

“I’ll be okay.”

When he met her gaze, his eyes were haunted. Frustration filled her when she tried to move her arms again to hug him. Instead, she could only sit and stare as steam rose from the tub to swirl around them. The water at her back was hot, but she felt chilled to the bone.

“I don’t know where your stronghold is,” she said. “The only one who could find it is Brian, and he vowed to Ronan he wouldn’t search for it. If something happened to you there, none of us could help you, and we’d never know what became of you. You could vanish one day, and I would never learn the truth of what happened to you.”

Her words were choked by the end, and to her dismay, a tear slid free. She’d vowed not to let Nathan know how deeply she cared for him. Because of Kadence, he’d learned something about mates and vampires, but she didn’t know how much Kadence had revealed to him, and she didn’t want to arouse his suspicions by broaching the subject with him.

She would never put him in the position of making him think he had to choose between her and his followers.

“Don’t,” Nathan whispered as he wiped her tear away and clasped her face in his palms. “Jordan is an anomaly. I’m safe with the hunters.”

“You said they don’t like the changes you’re making.”

“They don’t.”

“Jordan could be working with others.”

“And if he is, I will find out who they are. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up so we can leave here.”

“And go where?” she asked.

“To my old stronghold.”

He dipped his fingers into the water to test it before turning the faucets off. Slipping his arms under Vicky’s knees and one of her arms, he lifted her and settled her into the tub. “I’ll be right back.”

He went far enough down the hall to make sure Jordan remained unconscious before returning to Vicky. When he stepped into the doorway, the sight of her in the bathtub halted him. With her head bowed and her hair shielding her face, she looked so vulnerable it robbed him of his breath.

When she lifted her head to look at him, her eyes weren’t full of misery; they burned with fire. No matter what happened to her, she refused to let it break her. Instead, she used her experiences to fuel herself into becoming stronger.

He loved that about her.

The realization he’d fallen in love with her rocked him on his heels. He loved her heart, her fire, her energy; he loved her laugh and her brashness. He loved how bold she could be, yet also how understanding and caring she was. She never backed down from him, something as infuriating as it was refreshing.

She’d been through so much in her short life, would endure so much more, and he wanted to experience all of it with her. Every day and every night for the rest of his life, he wanted Vicky at his side.

He loved her, but he had no idea what he could ever do about it.

You could walk away from the hunters as Kadence did, but as the idea entered his mind, he knew he couldn’t. Throughout the centuries, every leader sacrificed something to lead; he would have to sacrifice his love for her.

Fury and sorrow swelled with equal measure inside him.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Yes.”

Grabbing a towel, he knelt at her side and dipped a corner of the cloth into the water to clean the blood from her face. The blood no longer trickled from her nose, the bruises had stopped darkening, but it would be a while before she healed completely.

“How bad is it?” she asked.

“You’re still beautiful.”

“Now I know you’re lying,” she teased, hoping to coax a smile from him. “I’m pretty, I’ve been considered cute, and I know I can be downright smoking hot, but beautiful might be pushing it.”

“Everything about you is beautiful to me, Victoria.”

She inwardly recoiled from him at the same time another crack raced up what little barriers she still had to keep her heart from being shattered by this man.