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Gage needs no further prompting. He leaps over the porch railing. It’s at least ten feet to the ground, but he shifts mid-air—tearing through his pants in the process—and lands as a brown wolf in front of Kian.

Kian meets my gaze for a split second, then shifts. The borrowed sweatpants fall off him, too, and the white wolf shakes out his coat. In this form, he’s larger than Gage. I don’t think I really took the time to admire how beautiful he is compared to others. I can’t say I have much experience with other wolves, so, there’s that. But seriously. He stands with a regality that can’t be faked.

The wolves form a circle around them, tightening it until there’s no room for either of them to leave it. And they’re all on Gage’s side, although they stand still and silent. Sonia and I have the perfect view from up here.

Gage makes the first move. Kian takes the hit, and they roll across the grass. My knees go weak. I haven’t stood this long in a while, and I lower myself to a crouch. I can’t watch this. But there’s no way to turn off the sound of their hits, the snap of their teeth. The snarls and howls of the shifted members of Gage’s pack. And not watching is worse, because my imagination runs away with me.

They’re a flurry of movement, trading glancing blows and lunges, until Kian sinks his teeth into Gage’s shoulder. Hard. He releases Gage to move out of range, and blood drips from his jaw. In seconds, Gage’s shoulder soaks with blood. The brown wolf limps around the edge of their cleared space, his lips curling in a snarl.

Gage catches Kian in the side, raking his claws down his ribs. The blood stands out in sharper relief against Kian’s white fur, and drops fall to the torn-up snow. They’re both circle each other a little slower.

I’m going to be sick.

Kian continues to go for Gage, and I watch it all through the vertical slats. Something tells me he was playing with Gage at first, but now that’s done. He figured out the missing puzzle piece, and the fight shifts dramatically in Kian’s favor. He pins Gage under him, his teeth in his neck. He shakes once. A cruel warning.

The hate in Gage’s eyes is visible even to me. But he stops fighting. The submission comes as a wave of relief.

Kian tips his head back and howls. The wolves around him are still, maybe shocked, but then… they disperse. They back away, heads lowered and avoiding Kian’s gaze, until they get to the edges of the clearing and disappear.

Kian steps off Gage and bounds up the deck stairs. The white wolf is bigger than I remember. Funny how memory distorts. My ass hits the floor, and I lean my shoulder on the slats. Sonia stands beside me. One look at Kian, though, and she doesn’t need any more excuse to flee—she rushes back into the house with vampire speed.

His eyes track her, his lips pulling back until he seems satisfied that she’s gone.

His attention zips to me, and he shifts back into human form. I’m too tired to follow the transformation. But he comes and crouches in front of me, and his expression is so fucking worried. The bond in my chest is a little stronger now that he’s right in front of me, but it’s not what it was.

I throw my arms around him.

He catches me, rocking back on his heels, but his arms band around my back. Just for a moment, I can breathe.

“Break later,” he whispers in my ear. He rises and sets me on my feet.

He’s right. Now isn’t the time to show weakness in front of the enemy, although they all seem to have disappeared. Even Gage, the spot he was lying in the snow now empty.

This time, my legs hold me.

Kian’s lips flatten into a line. I don’t know if Gage has more tricks up his sleeve, or if Kian planned for them. My thoughts are still sluggish.

He tips his head and starts for the stairs, but I don’t move. I glance back toward the door, my heart lurching. I need to get these cuffs off, and I don’t think Kian will be able to manage it. It’s strange magic, and I don’t—I can’t handle being separated from mine for longer.

“Sonia,” I call. I break away from Kian and go into the house. I catch myself on the frame of the sliding glass door, then force myself inside. “Sonia.”

Kian growls behind me. “Astra. It’s not⁠—”

There’s a slight rush of wind, and suddenly the vampire hybrid skids to a halt in front of me. Her chin tips up, her eyes appraising.

She’s not immediately going for my throat, so…

I lift the cuffs. “Please. I don’t know you. I don’t know what kind of life you have here. But please.”

She eyes me. I can see the thoughts moving behind her gaze. She wants something. She’s not hungry, she can’t be. She just had her fill of me, didn’t she? She’s brimming with my power.

But maybe she wants it anyway.

I nod to her.

She lets out a grunt and presses her fingers to the cold metal. Magic slides across it, and the cuffs crack open. They slip from my wrists, falling to the floor and rolling away. Immediately, my magic flickers back to life.

It’s a weak, pitiful flame. But the mate bond strengthens, and I exhale.