“Thank you for that happy thought,” I grumbled, cracking open one eye to look up at him. It wouldn’t be the first time I had been horribly wrong about Jabari and paid a high price for it.

“What about him?” the hunter asked, jerking his head toward Nicolai. “He wasn’t the sacrifice.”

“Maybe he was, in a last minute change,” I suggested.

“Sacrifice?” Nicolai finally chimed in. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Did you know you were to be handed over to the harpies?” I inquired, letting my eyes drift shut again. Nicolai’s agitation had caused his own powers to swell and brush against my skin. They weren’t as soothing as Danaus’s, and I found myself trying to huddle closer to the hunter.

“Harpies?” Nicolai’s voice jumped from its usually deep, rough tones. “That’s what was in the room with us? No, I didn’t know anything about it.”

“Why tell him when he might put up a fight ahead of their arrival?” Danaus said to me. “The naturi might not have been interested in damaged goods.”

I fought back a snicker by biting my lower lip. It was a cold and heartless way of putting it, but it was also probably very accurate. “I think what Jabari said was true. Nicolai wasn’t part of their original agreement. Maybe it was decided later that he would act as a deposit against any damage done to the female in the Coven’s custody. Maybe he was a gift. I don’t know. In the end the important thing was our appearance and us walking out with Nicolai. It implied that the Coven couldn’t stop us. The naturi now have a new reason to fear us. Nicolai was just a pawn.”

“Thanks,” the wolf grumbled.

“Look at it this way,” I countered, turning my head so I could look at him. “If you had been truly important to the Coven’s plans, I would have never gotten you out of there. And don’t worry. Once this naturi uprising has been put down, Jabari will come to claim your head the first chance he gets.”

It was a grim and ugly truth. At best I extended Nicolai’s life by a matter of days. If he was good at hiding, maybe I gave him a few months. But in the end we both knew that Jabari would eventually hunt us down.

Turning my head back to Danaus’s chest, I was suddenly overwhelmed by the scent of his blood. It wasn’t only the smell of it pulsing beneath his skin, but it was dried on his skin and soaked into his shirt from where the harpies had gouged his shoulders with their claws. Clenching my teeth, his warmth and blood beat against me, tempting me. The beast inside my chest shifted and pushed my soul down into the dark shadows of my body, fighting for dominance. The need for blood swelled within me until it nearly blotted out all thought. My head fell back, my lips parted so I could feel a brush of air across my tongue. It was only then I realized I was losing the struggle to stay in control.

I violently shoved against Danaus’s chest, tumbling out of his strong arms. I hit the ground with a bone-jarring thud, which helped clear my thoughts. Huddled in the grass beside the sidewalk that led to the Coven, I dug my fingers in the dirt and clenched my eyes shut. I wouldn’t bite Danaus. I wouldn’t drink from him if he was the last creature that walked this earth. Wasn’t it enough that he and Jabari had control of me? I wouldn’t be controlled by the hunger as well.

“Don’t touch me!” I shrieked when I heard the two men draw closer to me. “I—I just need a couple seconds.” With my eyes clenched shut, I drew my sore and protesting body into a tighter ball. “Go to the boat. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Danaus firmly replied. “It’s too dangerous.”

“What’s wrong?” Nicolai asked. I could feel the werewolf a couple feet away off to my right.

“She’s starved,” Danaus answered before I could open my mouth. “She needs to feed.” His words stunned me into silence. I forgot that he could sense my emotions. I read his so clearly, but forgot that mine poured into his mind just as easily. He knew I was fighting back the hunger and had taken a chance carrying me anyway. Was he testing me? I had no doubt that he would have cleaned my clock if I’d taken a nip at him.

Pushing down the hunger to more controllable levels, Danaus’s emotions crept back into my brain. I could hear his heart pounding in his chest as if he had run a marathon, his emotions a chaotic mix of fear and…something else. Adrenaline? Hunger? His overriding fear and frustration were crushing the other emotion, so I couldn’t clearly make it out. And in truth I don’t think either of us wanted to know just yet the other emotion Danaus was feeling.

“Mira, can you drink from lycans?” Nicolai asked, kneeling beside me in the grass. Some nightwalkers could drink from lycanthropes. Most could not. I could. I had some guesses as to why I could, but the implications were not the sort of thing that would help extend my life span; not that much could at this point.

“Go away, Nicolai,” I muttered, slowly untensing the muscles in my arms so I could move away from him quickly if he reached for me. I was in better control than a couple minutes ago, but it would be too easy to go back over that edge. “I didn’t risk my neck saving your worthless butt just to drain you a few hundred yards from the hall.”

“The offer stands,” Nicolai said, and then returned to his feet without touching me.

Shuddering, I unclenched my fingers and pushed to my feet as well. The hunger still throbbed in my chest, but I was in control again. As long as I could keep a physical distance from the two men, I could fight back the urge to feed until we reached the main islands of Venice. There, I could blend into the crowd and choose my prey from the hordes that filled the city.

The trip back to the hotel was quick and silent, with Nicolai and Danaus keeping as much distance between me and themselves as humanly possible. I nearly sighed with relief when we landed at the docks next to the Cipriani, but Nicolai didn’t give me a chance. The wolf stood in front of me as I tried to exit the boat, grabbing both of my arms in his large hands. My body instantly came alive with his energy and physical contact. I was holding on by a thread, only vaguely aware of what he was saying.

“Can you honestly hunt tonight without killing your prey?” he demanded, his voice like granite. His large hands loosened their grip on me when I didn’t try to pull out of his grasp.

“Yes,” I hissed, gritting my teeth. It was all I could do to keep from sinking my fangs in his neck right there. He was so warm, with his life and essence beating against me in endless waves. Danaus and Nicolai were slowly driving me insane. I needed to feed before I did something truly stupid.

“You’ve saved my life twice,” he said tightly. The least I can do is offer my services.” Before I could come up with some witty reply, the lycan bent down and tossed me over his shoulder. I don’t remember passing Danaus, going through the lobby, or even riding the elevator up to our suite. My mind was occupied with his tight rear end and wondering if it was worth trying to sink my fangs into one of his cheeks. I decided it wasn’t—his blue jeans would probably absorb most of his blood before I could get it down my throat.

“Mira!” Tristan’s shocked voice tore me from my preoccupation long enough to look up at the young nightwalker through thick strands of my red hair as we entered my suite.

“I’m fine,” I called as Nicolai headed for one of the bedrooms. “Go play with Danaus. We’ll talk before dawn.” My last word was cut off by the door slamming shut.

Nicolai tried to dump me on the bed and take a step away, but I didn’t let him. The second my back hit the bed, I reached out and grabbed a fistful of his dark burgundy T-shirt. I barely scooted out of the way in time before he fell backward onto the bed with a bounce. In the blink of an eye I was straddling his hips, one hand entangled in his long blond locks, pulling his head to one side to expose his beautiful neck.