His brow arched. “You want to run off to Switzerland? That’s your plan?”

“No, we’l be Switzerland. You and Lindsay wil form a loop, Syre and I wil form a loop, and you and I wil remain one unit. We’l bridge the gap between the two. Right now, the biggest priority for everyone is the Wraith Virus. If we’re al fighting the same enemy, it makes sense to combine forces.”

“Since when did common sense prevent war?”

“I don’t think Syre would go to war without me. He would certainly think twice about it if I objected. If you can convince Adrian that the risk to the Sentinels is too great without your support, we might be able to hold them both back. Especial y if they know we’re al being set up. They’re not going to want to play into that any more than you do. It’s worth a shot.”

“Okay.”

Vash came to an abrupt halt, shocked that he’d capitulated so easily. “Just like that?”

“It’s messy, complicated, and wil probably come back to bite us in the ass. And the Wraith Virus isn’t real y a lycan problem—”

“Aside from the fact that you seem to be especial y tasty to them,” she interjected.

“There’s that, I suppose.” He resumed packing. “But we’l do our best.”

Relief hit her like a Mack truck. That might’ve been why she blurted, “And I want to mate with you.”

Elijah froze, his hand suspended in the process of zipping his duffel closed. “Vashti.”

She spoke in a rush, her heart racing and her palms damp. “I know it’s selfish. If someone’s real y out for my blood and they manage to get to me, I’l take you down with me. I know lycans don’t live long after losing a mate, but—”

He faced her and the look in his eyes nearly leveled her. “I’l go down whether we’re mated or not. I thought you knew. I’m already there, Vashti. I think I’ve been there since you gave me that pep talk in the cave.”

Vash stumbled straight into his arms. “You’re the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. You’ve fucked up everything.”

He laughed, and the sound unknotted the stress and fear inside her. “And we’re just getting started.”

“We’l be able to communicate without words, right? We’l have that advantage.”

“Among others.” He brushed her hair back from her face. “We’l be stronger as a connected unit…and more vulnerable. They’l know how to hurt us.”

“So we won’t tel anyone. I’l be your fanged piece on the side and you’l be my boy toy. We’l let those who want to believe that we’re using each other believe it, but we’l know better.”

“You don’t have to do this,” he said softly. “I can wait until you’re ready.”

“I’m more than ready. Just try and stop me, baby.”

She cal ed Syre and told him about what she’d learned of Charron’s attack. While she did so, Elijah cal ed Lindsay and told her he needed to meet with both her and Adrian. Then Vash and El finished packing and headed to the Huntington Jet Center to wait for one of Adrian’s private planes.

They were finalizing the paperwork for the return of their rental car when an agency employee rushed in with a manila envelope in her hand.

“Mr. Reynolds,” the pretty strawberry-blonde cal ed out, wearing a winsome smile that made Vash take a possessive step closer to her man. “You left this in the backseat.”

“That’s not mine.” He frowned and soothed Vash by failing to even register the clerk’s attraction to him.

“It has your name on it.”

He accepted the envelope and opened it, withdrawing the contents. Photographs. Shots taken through a paned window, like something a private investigator would snap of subjects unaware they were being surveil ed. Vash recognized the Sentinel in the photos instantly.

“Helena,” she murmured. “Wow. She’s being naughty. With a hunky guy.”

“Mark,” he identified grimly. “A lycan from the Navajo Lake pack.”

The import of a Sentinel shagging a lycan slowly sank in. Hel , a Sentinel shagging anything was earthshaking news. “Fuckin’ A.”

He flipped faster, turning the frame-by-frame shots into a mini-motion picture. The couple came together in a passionate embrace, their mouths melding…clothes shedding… Then a masked figure was in the room with them, standing over the bed, his posture so menacing it caused the fine hairs on her arms to rise. The next shot was of the window with the curtains drawn, fol owed by several photos from inside the room, scenes of a carnage so horrifying her stomach knotted—Helena with sightless eyes, her beautiful wings clawed from her back, her lover lying pale and bloodless on the floor with twin punctures in his neck. The time stamp in the lower-right-hand corner of the pictures told her the shots had been taken nearly a month ago.

“What is this?” she whispered, devastated. “Where did it come from? What the fuck are we supposed to do with it?”

Elijah shoved the envelope into his duffel. “Someone’s sending us a message we’l have to decipher.”

They swiftly wrapped up their business at the rental counter and headed over to meet their plane. The silence stretched out, comfortable between them even when thick with a clusterfuck of lies and questions.

Vash linked her fingers with his while they waited in the concourse. “Are you sure about going to Alaska? It’s a long flight, El. Maybe a video conference would be better. Or we can wait until Lindsay and Adrian get back.”

He glanced at her. “Didn’t I mention that Adrian’s jets have a sleeping cabin?”

“Oh?” Heat swept through her, melting her trepidation over the days to come. “No, I think you forgot that part.”

He bent toward her and pressed a kiss to her temple. “You’l be a mated woman when we land.”

“Wel , then.” She rested her head on his shoulder, al owing herself to savor the precious gift of having someone to lean on. “You may just learn to like flying after al .”

Dr. Karin Al ardice was running late, as usual. Grabbing her briefcase off the passenger seat of her sleek black Mercedes AMG, she unfolded from behind the wheel and set one stiletto-heeled foot on the ground.

The morning was cool, the sun stil hovering low in the sky. In front of her stretched the wide lawn that fil ed the space between her designated parking spot and the entrance to her laboratory. The lush blades of grass stil glistened with dew, and the parking lot around her remained silent and empty. In a few hours she’d be brownnosing one of the most prominent philanthropists in Chicago. A donation of several mil ion would give her a good start, but she knew that was wishful thinking. The best she could hope for was a fund-raising gala, another endless evening of overpriced food and drinks during which she’d grovel en masse with her hand held out.

As she straightened from the driver’s seat, she was startled to find a man standing by her car. She was briefly confused as to how he’d appeared out of nowhere, then the question fled her mind. Everything she’d been mul ing vanished from thought as she faced the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen.

He extended his hand. “Dr. Al ardice?”

Dear god, his voice was as delicious as the rest of him. Throaty and warm, like fine, aged whiskey.

“Yes? I’m Karin Al ardice.” The moment her fingers touched his, a spark of awareness shot up her arm. Shaken by the strength of her physical response, she shut the door and took a quick, deep breath to regain her composure. “Can I help you?”

“I certainly hope so. I’ve been told you’re a preeminent virologist. Is that correct?”

“That’s very flattering.” She pushed her hair back from her face. “My primary focus is virology, yes.”

The soft light of the early-morning gilded him, enhancing the natural sheen of his thick black hair and the beauty of his caramel-hued skin. His eyes were the most unusual shade of amber, quite breathtaking when framed by such thick, dark lashes. His mouth was a voluptuary’s wet dream.

Firm and sculpted, the lower lip was just ful enough to make her think of sex while the upper was etched with the sharpest edge of sin. He wore a three-piece suit like nobody’s business, and when his mouth curved she lost her breath.

“I’ve recently been made aware of a new viral strain, Dr. Al ardice. I’d real y like your opinion on it.”

“Oh?” She forced her brain to resume functioning. “Wel , I’d be happy to take a look, Mr.—”

“Syre,” he provided. “Excel ent. I was hoping you’d be cooperative.”

The flash of unnatural y long canine teeth was the last thing she registered before the world went dark.