Nikolai pulled against the strong ropes that held him in outrage and blind fury. He could feel his beast very close to the surface.

“Oh, would you like to watch? Why, certainly. I think that can be arranged quite easily.” He turned his head and nodded to his henchmen.“Get the boy down, men, and make our guest more comfortable.”

The guards came forward and untied the ropes holding Ryan and let him crash to the floor. They bent over and picked him up by his arms and dragged him over to the table in the center of the room.“Bend him over the table, and hold his arms.”

By twisting his head, he could see them shoving Ryan to land on his stomach on the table and then each of the two men took his wrists and held him securely, while Partland unbuckled his belt.“I’m finally going to take what I want from this very pretty little ass. I think after that I’m going to fill it with my cock. Any tips you can give me, Lycan? Any words of encouragement?”

Nikolai roared with rage. Whether the fury and outrage helped him overcome the effects of the stun gun, or the effects just wore off at the right moment, he never knew. But he felt his Lycan wolf spring forth with a vengeance as he shifted. Ripping and tearing his way out of the ropes, the huge creature twisted his massive body and fell to the floor. He could hear the men screaming as they tried to run from the room, letting go of Ryan’s arms and allowing him to slump to the floor. He leaped over his body and caught one guard at the door, swiping savage clawsacross his throat, the guard’s blood spurting out onto Nikolai’s chest as the man’s lifeless body dropped. Nikolai turned and snarled again as he faced the men who were huddled together on the other side of the room, holding out guns and stun sticks toward him. He heard another commotion outside in the hall, people screaming and running, loud shouts of alarm and dismay, but he was already leaping. He felt a hard blow under his chest, but his momentum brought him forward. He could feel the stun sticks burning into his flesh as he fell, and then blackness engulfed him.

* * * * Since the moment Kyle stumbled into his room, his face registering horror and rage, Blayde had been almost numb with terror.He’d been going through the motions, not allowing himself to think of what might be happening to his mate and to his well-loved cousin as he informed the ambassador and gatheredthe forces he needed to storm Judge Partland’s compound. That must be where he was hiding them. Partland must have been counting on his high status in the Alliance to protect him, but the fact that the judge had really fucked up this time and taken a Lycan, and not just any Lycan but a member of a well-respected Lycan family, helped make the decision easy for the ambassador. Without a second thought, the ambassador had arranged for a complete contingent of Lycan guards, warriors in the Lycan army, to accompany him and Kyle when they made the assault. Blayde had forced himself to wait the half hour it took for the guards to arm themselves, not that Lycan warriors would need much against the humans, but they never knew what they’d be facing inside the compound.

Now as Blayde neared the target area, he was no longer just on a rescue mission. He planned on killing the judge, slowly and with extreme prejudice. If the man had harmed so much as one hair on his mate’s head, he would keep him alive and in agony for days. The hovercraft landed on the roof and they charged out and down into the complex.Partland’s guards put up a cursory fight that ended quickly when two or more of the warriors shifted into their Lycan wolf forms. At that point Partland’s guards ran screaming from the floor, stumbling all over each other to get down to a lower level. Yipping and growling, the Lycans followed them down, leaping ahead and mauling them as they ran. One captive, begging for his life, told them where to look for Partland. He told them he was in the basement dungeon with his prisoners.

As Blayde and Kyle charged down to the basement, they could hear the howls and screams coming from the last room on the hallway. Racing to the room they flung open the door to a horrific scene. Three dead guards were lying bloody on the floor, and Nikolai, naked and bleeding, was shifting back into his human form, while Judge Partland and one of the guards still cowered in the corner. But Blayde’s gaze rested primarily on his mate, and his heart almost stopped as he saw his naked body crumpled to the floor beneath the table. He reached him in two huge steps, gathering him into his arms. When he found he was still breathing, his heart started up again, and he pulled off his shirt to cover him before standing up with him cradled in his arms. Kyle was helping a wounded Nikolai, who was bleeding from wounds to his chest, to rise on shaking legs to his feet.

More Lycan warriors rushed in behind him, and he jerked his head toward Partland and his remaining guard.“Secure the prisoners and bring them with us. Contact the embassy and let them know we’re bringing in wounded. Make sure the doctor is familiar with both Lycan and human anatomy.” Holding Ryan closely to his chest, making sure Kyle was following with Nikolai, he hurried upstairs to the waiting hovercraft. Making sure everyone had scrambled back onboard, including the prisoners, Blayde signaled to the pilot to take off before the Alliance police arrived. They had left no one alive at the complex to tell any stories about what had happened. With any luck they could make a clean escape, and avoid a galactic incident over this thing.He leaned down and rained kisses on Ryan’s face. He would never let his mate out of his sight again.

Ryan stirred restlessly and opened one eye to focus on Blayde’s face. “Oh, it’s you,” he said with a sigh.“What took you so long?”

* * * * Ryan awoke to find Blayde snuggled firmly against him, one big leg thrown over his and a tight arm around his waist.Blayde’s hard erection was burning hot on his thigh and he nudged it a little closer as Ryan tried to move out from under his arm. He woke up and tightened his grip. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I wasn’t going anywhere, Blayde, Iwas just hot.” “Oh,” Blayde said irritably. He threw the cover off both of them and then lay back down, tightening his grip on Ryan’s waist. “Go back to sleep, baby.”

“But I’ve been sleeping all day. You won’t let me out of bed long enough to do anything else. Please, Blayde. Wake up and talk to me, or let me get up and go watch some movies or something.”

“Not a chance, sweetheart. The doctor said to keep you in bed for fortyeight hours at least.”

“And it’s been more like sixty! Please, Alpha, I’m going to get bedsores.”

Blayde snorted, but he sat up, rubbing his face and stretching.“All right, but just for a little while.I guess we could have a midnight snack.” He got up and started for the kitchen, looking back over his shoulder at Ryan as he scrambled to follow him and pointing his long finger at him.“No. You stay there.I’ll bring it.”

Sighing heavily, Ryan stacked some pillows behind him and leaned back onto them. He didn’t have long to wait before Blayde reappeared, carrying a tray with some golden Vesuvian cheese that Ryan liked, along with some crackers and red wine. There was a large glass of milk on the tray too, and Ryan could just guess which drink was for him.

Sure enough, Blayde laid the tray on his lap and plucked the wine glass off to take a sip. “Before you say anything, sweetheart, you have a head injury, and the doctor said no wine or liquor of any kind while you’re taking the medicine he gave you.”

Ryan sighed and nodded.“Okay, but tell me about Nikolai. Is he going to be okay?”

“Nik? Oh yes, he’s fine, baby. Thank goodness for what he did to protect you, or they might have hurt you even more badly before I could get to you. Nikolai said the bastards were going to rape you. They shot him in the chest, but luckily it missed all his vital organs and with his fast Lycan metabolism, he’ll heal quickly.He’ll be back on his feet in no time.”

“Good. You know I could hear him talking to me when we were tied up on that rack in the torture chamber. He tried to comfort me.I couldn’t speak back to him, but I heard him and I knew I wasn’t alone. It really helped.”

Blayde leaned in to kiss him.“I’m so sorry, darling. If that bastard had really hurt you…”

“Speaking of which, where is he?”

“The ambassador turned him over to the police.”

“What will they do to him?”

“I hope they’ll execute him, but I don’t know.” Blayde said grimly. “I tried to get them to let me have a few words with him, but they refused.He confessed to your friend’s murder and to faking the vid the way we thought. He also confessed to kidnapping you and planning to rape you and Nikolai and then kill you both. The confession was given to the police and the Lycan ambassador is making sure your name is cleared.”

“A confession seems a little out of character for Partland.”

“Well,” Blayde said sheepishly.“There might have been a little persuasion used.”

Ryan laughed.“I can imagine the kind of persuasion Lycans used. Not that he didn’t deserve it.” Ryan shuddered and leaned over into Blayde’s chest. “Don’t tell me any more.I don’t think I feel very good after all.”

“I knew it,” Blayde said, taking the tray off his lap and pulling the pillows out from behind him.“Lie down, babyand go back to sleep.”

“I don’t need to sleep, Blayde.I need you.”

“No, sweetheart, it’s too soon.” Ryan turned his head and licked his chest, then let his tongue travel all the way down to his navel. He stuck his tongue inside and chuckled when Blayde gasped aloud. He continued down to his groin, then gave his cock a series of little licks until he reached the head and gave it a swirling kiss.

Ryan looked up from under his lashes at Blayde and smiled. “Sure I can’t convince you, Blayde?You promised you’d always take care of me.”

Blayde groaned and pulled his mate on top of him.“I did promise, didn’t I? And a Lycan never goes back on his promises.”