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“Max Cronin.”
“He is a friend, Lucian.”
Recognition flashed in those dark eyes. “Of any relation to the grand wizard of the same name?”
Max thought only briefly before he answered, “No.” He would claim no relation to the man who’d done this to Drew. His mind was still fragmented when it came to her, but he knew he must have felt deeply for her. That was the only way his instincts could be so possessive, so protective, when it came to her.
Lucian’s eyebrows lifted a fraction, and he looked down at Drew. He sniffed, and his expression was of pure disgust when he turned to face Kyros. “What favor can you wish me to perform on a dying human?”
Kyros looked to Max, and Max understood the warlock was giving him one more chance to change his mind. He nodded once, and clutched Drew tighter to him.
“I want you to change her.”
Lucian’s answer was immediate. “No.”
“You gave me your word, Lucian.”
“No!” The vampire’s previously serene face was now a mask of anger. “It is against our laws, Kyros. Choose something else.”
“Since when have you cared for laws, Lucian?”
“Things have changed in the years you haven’t seen me, cousin. To change a human would be to break the sacred laws I have sworn to uphold.”
Kyros said nothing in the face of such opposition, and Max felt fear course through him. He looked to Drew. Without asking for permission, he walked over to the blood-red sofa, and gently laid her down. She didn’t even protest. The only movement of her body was the rolling of her eyes under their lids. He sat next to her, placing a hand lightly to her cheek.
“I’ve broken sacred laws too, Lucian,” Kyros returned. “Or have you forgotten? I’ve done things on your behalf that—”
“I remember, Kyros,” Lucian answered, cutting off whatever the warlock was going to say. “I remember well.”
Max felt movement next to him, and looked up to find the vampire standing there. His eyes ran the length of Drew’s body.
“If I do this, we are even, cousin. Every favor I owe you will be considered complete. Do you agree?”
He didn’t see Kyros nod but Max assumed he did, because Lucian nodded.
“It seems you’ve made a good friend, Max Cronin-of-no-relation-to-the-grand-wizard.”
Stooping low, Lucian easily swept Drew into his arms. Her head fell backward, exposing her neck, as her broken arm hung limply away from her body. With the bloodied sheet around her, she looked like some type of sacrificial offering.
Max jumped up immediately, and the vampire narrowed his eyes. “Be at ease, warlock.” When Max reeled himself under control, Lucian addressed Kyros. “I will change her. There are no guarantees she will survive it—” he paused and looked briefly to Max “—but I will change her.”
Lucian turned and began walking to the wall.
“When can I see her again?” Max called after the vampire, who did not stop but looked over his shoulder. A vicious little smile curved his lips.
“Kyros has apparently been lax with the information he’s given you. You will never see her again.” And with that, they both disappeared.
Max whirled on Kyros, whose hands were clasped behind his back. “What does he mean?”
“Come, Max. We have to leave.”
“No! What does he mean?”
Sighing, Kyros explained, “Whenever a human is changed to vampire, she is removed from everything familiar to her. It is to ease the transition, and create bonding into her new coven.”
Max nodded, slowly absorbing that information. “But she will live?”
“If she survives, she will live as one of them,” Kyros clarified. “Lucian is one of the most powerful of his people. Her chances of survival are greater with him.”
“That’s good.” Max’s heart hurt.
Kyros’s hand landed briefly on his shoulder. “We have both been severely weakened, Max. Come, we both need to feed.”
Nodding, he followed the warlock from the room. He could never see Drew again, never seek her out to ask her what they’d shared in the past. Somehow, he had to accept that.
***
Conall managed to persuade Vivienne it would be best for her to remain at Cedar Creek while he paid a well-deserved visit to Maximilian Cronin. His fight with Rafael had been postponed in the face of more important matters, and he left Sloan behind to ensure Rafael kept his distance from his mate. He’d even given Sloan permission to kill him came too close, which seemed to genuinely please his beta.
As Maximilian Cronin’s covenant sat in the middle of a particularly quiet neighborhood a mere thirty minutes from the city, they would have to be careful on how they infiltrated the community. There was no doubt in Conall’s mind the neighborhood was littered with security cameras, that the few humans who lived there thought them government-issued to ensure their safety, when in actuality they were for the protection of a covenant. He’d already called Santiago, Dominic, and Drako, and the wolves were gathering their packs and meeting him at Fangs. Conall had hand-chosen his team for tonight, twenty of the fiercest wolves in his pack. He’d left enough to protect his base as well.
