Chapter 6. Vane caught Stefan about the waist and the two of them went bursting through the hard oak door, into the hallway.

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Vane caught Stefan about the waist and the two of them went bursting through the hard oak door, into the hallway.

Aimee Peltier jumped away from them and started screaming for help while Vane pulled Stefan up from the floor and slugged him hard and furiously.

Instead of attacking, Stefan changed to wolf form and ran for the stairs. Vane started after him. But before Stefan could head down them, Wren, who was bounding up them in human form, caught the wolf by the neck and hauled him back into the hallway.

Stefan snarled, trying to bite Wren. The leopard held him with an ease of strength that gave Vane pause. He'd had no idea the young, quiet Katagari was so strong.

Vane stood back, breathing raggedly, as Nicolette came out of her room at the end of the hallway.

Aimee ran to her mother while Wren maintained his grip on the snarling wolf.

" What is going on here? " Nicolette asked.

Vane gestured toward the wolf. " He was in Fang's room."

Stefan switched to human form, flashed into his clothes, then pushed Wren away from him.

Wren barely moved a step away and the look on his face promised Armageddon if Stefan touched him again.

That harsh look succeeded in calming Stefan a degree as he took a step away from the leopard. " I wasn't doing anything. I was only checking on them to see if they were really here." Stefan curled his lip at Vane. " Vane attacked me. "

Stefan turned back toward Nicolette with an expression that was almost respectful. " I thought it was against the rules of Sanctuary for anyone to attack without provocation."

Vane narrowed his eyes as understanding dawned. He realized only too late that this had been a set-up.

Stefan was smarter than Vane had given him credit for.

" Vane? " Nicolette looked at him. " Is what he says true? Did you attack him? "

" He was coming to kill Fang. You know he was."

" But did he attack him? "

Vane stiffened as he glared at Stefan. " He would have had I not stopped him."

" Did he attack first, or did you? " Nicolette insisted.

Vane's anger snapped out of control. " What are you? A fucking lawyer? "

" Watch your tone, Vane, " Nicolette warned harshly. " I am the supreme law here and you know it."

Vane apologized even though it stuck tight in his craw to do so.

Wren gave him a sympathetic look that said he too would like to rip into Stefan. His whole body was coiled for it, but he stayed put.

Nicolette lifted her chin in acceptance of Vane's apology. " Now tell me the truth. Who attacked first? "

Vane wanted to lie, but Nicolette would sense it and that would only make matters worse. " I did."

She closed her eyes as if that pained her. When she opened them, her expression told him how much she regretted what she was about to say. " Then I have no choice except to banish you, Vane. I'm sorry."

Stefan's eyes gleamed.

At that moment, Vane hated all of them equally. So this was what it came down to. He was punished for protecting his brother.

So be it. It wasn't the first time this had happened. At least Nicolette didn't take a whip to him as punishment.

" Fine, " he said between clenched teeth.

Vane headed into Fang's room to collect his brother, only to discover Aimee Peltier rushing to cut him off. She slammed the door closed, then ran to block him from the bed.

He tried to step around her, but she wouldn't let him.

" Vane, listen to me. Maman is only angry. Give her time—"

" No, Aimee, " Vane said in a low, deadly tone as he fought not to take his anger out on her. " I knew the rules and I broke them. Your mother will never forgive that and you know it."

Aimee held her arms out as he tried to step past her. " Leave Fang here, " she insisted. " You and I and even maman know what Stefan is doing. I will make sure that Fang is never left alone. I will stay with him myself every moment of the day and night. No one will hurt him so long as he resides in Sanctuary."

Her offer confused him. He didn't understand why the bear female would care what happened to them. " Why? "

Her pale eyes were soft and kind as she looked up at him and dropped her arms back to her sides. " Because no one should be hurt like the two of you were. What they did was cruel and unnecessary. It was a human punishment, not an animal one. I have lost brothers and I know firsthand the pain you feel in your heart for your Anya. I will not let Fang die, I swear it."

She glanced down to his hand where his mark was hidden, then she looked to the door behind him as if she were afraid someone might overhear her. She lowered her voice. " You have another to protect now. The last thing you need is Fang with you in this state. Go and guard her. You can call me anytime, day or night, to check on your brother."

Vane pulled her into his arms and hugged her kindly. " Thank you, Aimee."

She patted him on the back. " Anytime. Now go, and I hope you kick the shit out of that wolf outside."

He laughed halfheartedly before he let go of her and went back to the hallway.

Stefan arched a challenging brow at him, goading Vane to hurt him.

But he wasn't that stupid.

Vane would hurt him all right, but it wouldn't be on Nicolette's property.

Instead, Vane turned toward Nicolette to make sure Stefan understood what he intended to do. " Fang broke no rules. Is he safe to stay? "

Nicolette nodded, then passed a meaningful glare at Stefan, who cursed. " He is under our protection and we will make certain no harm befalls him."

The look on Stefan's face was priceless. And it told him one thing. This was far from over.

Bring it on.

Vane headed for the stairs.

" This isn't over, " Stefan growled.

" I know the cliche, " Vane said wearily as he paused to look back at the wolf. " It won't end until one of us is dead." He gave Stefan a taunting smirk. " And for the record, it won't be me."

Stefan growled low in his throat, but wisely kept his distance.

As Vane started for the front door, Stefan tried to follow, Wren stopped him. " Rules of Sanctuary, " he said quietly. " Vane gets a head start and if you try to follow, you'll be limping… Permanently."

Vane tried to decide what he should do. Part of him was terrified of going anywhere near Bride lest he lead Stefan and the others straight to her. The other part of him was terrified of leaving her alone.

Especially with Fury there.

There was no way she could defend herself against any of them.

He cringed as he remembered the scars on his mother's face and neck that she had received from fighting his father and his tessera. Tessaras were small groups of wolves sent out as soldiers or scouts. They usually killed anything they came in contact with.

And he would kill anyone who touched his Bride. No one would ever cause her harm. Even if she rejected him, she was still his mate, and he would spend the rest of her life making sure she had anything she needed.

As for Fang, he was safe under the protection of the bears. Vane had no doubt of that.

But Bride…

What should he do? He wished he could remove the mark from both their hands. Of all the times to find a mate, this wasn't one of them.

If she were Katagaria, he'd only have to wait for her to decide to finish their union. Very few Katagaria females refused their mates. If they did, the male would remain completely impotent until the female died. The female on the other hand would be free to take as many lovers as she liked, but she would never be able to breed children with them.

That was why the males took great care to please their females and to woo them during the three-week mating period.

Although his knowledge of humans was limited, he didn't think Bride would approve of him flashing himself naked in her bed and then offering himself and his eternal loyalty to her.

It might even scare her.

Not that he should even be thinking of mating with her anyway. He had no idea what kind of children they would produce. What would she do if she birthed a puppy?

At least his human mother had held enough decency not to kill them as pups. She'd cast them off on their father and vanished.

But then, his mother had been Arcadian. She knew and understood what his father had been. And she hated his father for it to this day. She hated all of them for it.

Not that any of this mattered. Vane had to go back and get Fury away from Bride. The wolf was unpredictable at best and deadly precise at worst.

Vane flashed himself into her shop, taking care to choose the closet in the back room where he doubted she would be. It wouldn't do to frighten her.

He let himself out and went to the back courtyard where he found Fury outside the door in human form.

" What are you doing? " Vane growled. He'd never intended Fury to be human around her.

" Leaving? "

Before Vane could respond, Fury flashed into wolf form.

Bride came into the courtyard a second later.

Vane cursed as he was forced to zap Fury's clothes into invisibility to keep her from seeing them.

" Oh good, you're back, " she said with a smile as she closed the door to her shop. " I thought you had fallen in."

Vane frowned. " Fallen in what? "

" Your brother said you went to the restroom."

He was even more confused. " My brother? "

" Fury." Bride looked around. " Where did he go? He was just here guarding the back door while I locked up for a few minutes for lunch."

" Go with it, Vane, " Fury said in his head. " I couldn't think of anything better. "

He glared at Fury. " And just why were you in human form around her to begin with, Fury? You were supposed to be a wolf. "

" I panicked. Besides, I wanted to meet her."

" Why? "

The wolf refused to answer him. " You know, if I hadn't turned human, she would have thought you ran off on her without saying goodbye. I can't exactly speak to her as a wolf, not without her freaking out on both of us. "

" Vane? " Bride asked. " Are you okay? "

Vane narrowed his eyes even more. " Fury had to leave." And he better stay gone as a man if he wants to keep breathing.

Fury growled low in his throat.

" Oh, " She looked down and smiled at Fury. " There you are, sweetie. I was worried about you."

Fury leaped up to put his paws against her breasts and lick her face.

" Yo, down, " Vane snapped, forcing the wolf back. " There'll be none of that."

" I don't mind, " Bride said charitably.

Fury wagged his tail and smiled wickedly, then tried to look up Bride's dress.

Vane caught him quickly by the neck. " Stop! " he snarled mentally to Fury. " Or I'll rip your head off. "

Bride frowned at them. " Don't you like my wolf? "

" Yeah, " Vane said, patting him roughly on the head. " He's my new best friend."

" I'm your only friend, dickhead."

Vane balled his fist in the wolf's fur as a warning to him. " You know you have to be firm with wolves. Let them know who the alpha is."

" Your father? "

Vane smacked Fury's head.

" Owl"

" Yeah, " Bride said. " That's what my father says about all canines."

" Your father? "

She nodded. " He's Dr. McTierney, the leading expert in Louisiana on dog care. He's a vet over in Slidell. You might have seen his commercials. 'If you love your pet, neuter or spay.' He leads that whole campaign."

" Really, " he said, grinning at Fury. " Maybe we should make an appointment."

" Yeah, right. Try it and die."

Vane clenched his fists as he tried to hide his anger from Bride. He was only one step away from choking the wolf in front of her.

Bride frowned as she glanced at Fury. " Strange…" She reached for his back paw. " I don't remember him having a brown patch there."

Vane bit back a curse as he realized Fury wasn't an identical match for him. Damn, she was observant.

" Maybe you just didn't notice it before, " he said, trying to distract her.

" Maybe."

Bride led them across the back courtyard. She opened the door to her apartment and let the wolf in. She paused in the doorway.

Vane leaned his hand against the doorframe above her head and smiled at her. " You're nervous, " he said quietly. " Why? "

" I'm just not sure what you're still doing here."

" I'm talking to you."

She laughed at that. " You know, I don't exactly have a manual of etiquette on what to do when a gorgeous guy drops into my life one day, gives me an expensive necklace I've been dying for, then we have the best sex of my life, and you vanish. Then pop back in when I need a hero and pay more money than those movers probably make in six months just to help me out. You take me out for a great dinner and then spend an entire night making my head spin. I don't know where to go from here."

" I have to say this is a first for me, too." He reached out and let his fingers rub against the lock of hair lying against her cheek. " What can I say? You're irresistible to me, " he breathed.

It was hard to stay sane and rational when he looked at her like that. As if he were starving for a taste of her.

" And you're even more nervous." He sighed, then stepped back.

" I'm sorry, " she said quietly. " It's not you. Really. I'm just not used to things like this happening to me."

" Neither am I." He dipped his head and kissed her. He savored her taste until he remembered that they had an audience.

Opening his eyes, he saw Fury staring at them inquisitively.

He hated that wolf. Reluctantly, Vane pulled back. " Why don't you close the store for an hour and take a real lunch with me? "

Bride hesitated, then nodded. Lunch with him would be wonderful. " I think I will. I have some leftover spaghetti in the fridge. We could walk to a store a block away and get some wine to go with it."

He looked rather uncomfortable with her suggestion as he scanned the yard outside. Was he looking for his brother?

" That would be nice, " he said, but his body language belied the nonchalant tone.

For the first time in her life, Bride had a truly radical idea. She checked her watch. It was almost two-thirty and no one had come into her store for the last half an hour. Friday afternoons were traditionally slow for her…

" Tell you what, " she said before she chickened out. " Why don't I close up early? "

His gaze heated with interest. " Can you do that? "

She nodded. " Give me a few minutes to do paperwork? "

" Take your time. I'm all yours."

The look in his eyes told her exactly what he meant by that.

Bride bit her lip at his invitation. How often did a woman hear that out of the mouth of a man who looked like this one?

Bride returned to her shop and quickly counted down her register. She did her paperwork while Vane browsed through her shelves.

It was hard to focus on sorting receipts while he was there, distracting her. He had his back to her as he looked through her drawers of rings. He had the nicest rump that had ever graced a man's backside. Worse, she could see his face reflected in the mirror.

And he could be hers…

Swallowing, she forced herself to fill out the bank deposit slip. He came up behind her as she was putting everything in the large zippered envelope. Bracing his arms on each side of her, he bent down and took a deep breath in her hair as if he were savoring her.

" Have you any idea what you do to me, Bride? "

" No, " she answered honestly.

Vane stood there, his heart pounding wildly. His body hard and aching.

His presence here was madness. He had covered his scent before he appeared here, but Stefan and the others were damned good at what they did.

It wouldn't be long before they found him.

Of course, so long as Bride bore his mark, she bore his scent, and even if he left her, they were just as likely to pick up that and appear to her as they were to find him.

More so in fact, since Bride didn't know to hide herself.

He was desperate for a taste of her and he knew she wouldn't deny him. But he couldn't take her again. Not unless she understood the full impact of that decision.

And the inherent dangers.

He shouldn't be here, in human form. But unlike Fury, his stronger incarnation was that of human. It was how he could protect her best.

It also made him even more vulnerable to her.

Leaning over, he brushed the exposed skin of her neck with his lips. " I wish you were mine, " he breathed, inhaling the warm scent of her skin.

Bride couldn't breathe as she heard the deep, growling tone of his voice.

She felt like this was some kind of strange dream. How could this be real? She leaned back against Vane's chest so that she could look up at him.

The look on his face seared her.

A playful smile lightened the intensity of his stare. " We took things too fast, didn't we? "

She nodded.

" I'm sorry for that. When I see something I want, I have a bad tendency to take it first and then think later about whether or not I should have."

He moved away from her and headed for her door. " C'mon, " he said, indicating the door with his head. " I'll escort you to the bank and we'll get the wine."

She slid off her stool and followed after him. Outside, there was a hint of a chill in the air. And an aura of danger around Vane. She had the feeling that he was paying way too much attention to the streets around them. Every time someone came near, he watched them intently as if expecting them to leap at them.

She made her deposit and then let him choose their wine after they crossed the street and entered a package store on Canal Street. When she tried to pay for it, she could have sworn he growled like an animal at her.

" I've got it, " he said.

" You know, I can take care of myself."

He smiled at that as he took the wine from the clerk. " I know. Where I come from the only thing deadlier than a man is a woman. Believe me, I have a healthy respect for what a pissed-off woman can do."

Was he talking about the commune again? For some reason she didn't think so. " Where do you come from? "

" I was born in England."

Bride paused at that, surprised. But then, Vane had a habit of constantly surprising her. " Really? "

" Aye, luv, " he said in a perfect English accent. " Born and bred."

She smiled. " You do that well."

He opened the door of the package store for her without comment.

" Funny, " she said, entering the store. " I never really thought of Englishwomen as particularly vicious."

He snorted at that. " Yeah well, you never met my mother. She makes Attila the Hun look like a fluffy bunny."

There was a lot of anger and hurt in his tone and face as he said that. His mother must truly not have much of a maternal instinct.

" Do you ever see her? "

He shook his head. " She made it clear a long time ago that she wasn't interested in having any sort of relationship with me."

Bride wrapped her arm around his and gave a light squeeze. " I'm sorry."

He covered her hand with his. " Don't be. My kind don't have mothers like—"

Bride paused in the street. " Your kind? "

Vane stood there in shock at what had slipped out of his mouth. Damn. Bride was a lot easier to talk to than she should be. He was used to being on his guard around people.

" Lone wolves, " he said, stupidly borrowing Fury's term.

" Ahh, so you're one of those macho I-don't-need-no-tenderness types."

He used to be, but after spending time with Bride…

What he felt for this woman scared the shit out of him.

" Something like that."

Bride nodded as she started back toward her shop. " So it's just you and your brother, then? "

" Yeah, " he said, his throat tight as he remembered his sister. " It's just us. What about you? "

" My parents live in Kenner. I have a sister in Atlanta who I get to see a couple of times a year, and my older brother works for a firm in the business district."

" Are you close to them? "

" Oh yeah. Closer than I want to be sometimes. They still think they should all run my life for me."

He smiled. That was how Anya used to feel about him and Fang. It brought a bittersweet pain to his chest. " You must be the youngest."

" You know it. I swear, my mother still cuts my meat for me every time I go home."

He was unable to imagine a doting mother like that. It must have been nice to know such love. " Don't knock it."

" Most days I don't." Bride frowned up at him. " Why do you keep doing that? "

" Doing what? "

" Scanning the street like you're afraid someone is going to jump out at us."

Vane rubbed the back of his neck in nervousness. He had to give her credit, she really was observant. Especially for a human.

The last thing he could tell her was that he did in fact fear just that.

If Stefan or the others ever tracked him down…

He didn't want to think about the consequences.

" I don't suppose I could talk you into closing your store for a couple of weeks and taking off to some exotic island with me, could I? "

She laughed at him. " Good one."

Yeah. Little did she know, he was quite serious. Part of him was tempted to kidnap her, but after what had happened between his parents, he knew better than to chance it.

Four hundred years later, his mother was still emotionally scarred over his father's kidnapping her against her will. He didn't want to destroy Bride's kindness. Her open smile. God help her, she trusted people, and that was so rare that he would do anything to keep her that way.

She opened the door to her yard and led him to her apartment where Fury was waiting for them.

Rushing toward them, Fury went straight for Vane's groin to rack him in typical dog fashion. " Get down, " he snapped, brushing the wolf aside.

" He likes you."

Likes annoying me. " Yeah, I noticed."

Bride frowned as she walked over to the stereo, which was blasting the old Troggs song " Wild Thing."

" How strange, " she said, turning it off. " I didn't leave the stereo on."

Vane tightened his grip on Fury's neck.

" That hurts, Vane. Let go."

He did so reluctantly. " What else did you do? "

" Nothing, really. I just watched some TV, went through her CDs… she has some really good shit… and made some coffee."

" Fury, you weren't supposed to move in! "

" You said watch her, that implies moving in."

He reached for Fury, who darted over to Bride.

" Maybe you have a ghost, " Vane said. " It is New Orleans, after all."

" You're not funny, " she said.

She took the wine from him and headed to the small kitchenette where she set it by her two-cup coffeepot. She pulled the carafe out and looked at it. " What on earth is going on here? "

" What? "

She met Vane's gaze. " Did you make coffee this morning? "

" Oops, " Fury said. " I kind of poofed that in. I probably should have poofed it out once I was finished. "

" You think? "

" Be nice to me, man. I don't have to stay here."

" And I don't really have to let you live, either."

" Are you okay? " Bride asked as she replaced the carafe.

Vane smiled and forced his stem expression to relax. " I'm fine."

" This coffee is fresh." She looked down at Fury, then shook her head. " No way. That's just stupid."

" What? "

" Nothing. I won't even say it for fear of being put away for the rest of my life."

She put the wine in the freezer to stay cold while she opened the cabinets and pulled out a saucepan and boiler.

Without thinking, Vane went to the tiny pantry to get the spaghetti sauce. For some reason, she loved putting it on everything.

" How did you know to go there? " she asked.

Vane cringed. Damn, he shouldn't have known where she kept it. " It seemed the most likely place."

She appeared to accept that.

Fury jumped up and pushed him into Bride. Vane sucked his breath in sharply as their bodies collided and he felt her lush curves against him.

She looked up, her lips parted from her gasp of surprise.

" Sorry, " he said, his heart pounding. " The dog hit me."

" I'm not a dog."

" You're going to be dog food if you don't stop."

" Oh c'mon, you idiot. She's your mate. Move on her."

" I can't force her. Believe me, it's something I will not do."

To his surprise, Fury cocked his head and stared up at him. " You know, I think I just learned to respect you for that. You're a good wolf, Vane. Now hand me your shirt and let me outside. "

" Do what? " Vane was so stunned that he spoke out loud.

" What? " Bride asked.

" Nothing, " he said, wondering at what point tonight she was going to decide he was completely mental.

" Trust me, " Fury said. " I'll use your scent to lead the others far away from here. Hell, by the time I get through with Stefan, he'll be chasing his tail in circles. "

Vane was impressed. It was a good thought. " Can I trust you not to lead him here? "

" Yeah, you can."

What an uncharacteristic response for Fury. Vane looked at him as he debated whether or not he could trust him.

In the end, he had no choice.

Fury went to scratch at the door.

" I'll let him out, " Vane said, heading to the wolf.

" Thanks, " Bride said as she pulled out the leftover angel hair pasta.

Vane followed the wolf into the back courtyard. He pulled off his shirt, then conjured up a fresh one while Fury flashed into human form to take it.

" Put some clothes on, Fury. I'm going blind here."

" Shut up, " Fury snapped. " I'm not as talented as you are with my powers and I'm not staying human long enough to care. I just wanted to tell you to be careful. She seems like a nice enough woman, for a human. Be a damned shame to see something happen to her."

" I know."

A car pulled up to the gate.

Fury stepped into the shadows and vanished. Vane didn't move as he watched the car pull in. It was the stripper who lived in one of the upstairs apartments.

Relieved it was a friendly car, he went back inside to find Bride spooning the sauce into her pan.

He had to find some way to get her to agree to leave with him until they could safely part company.

Vane watched her and felt something very peculiar. In his world no one cooked for him. He either ate it raw or bought it in human form, then cooked it himself.

No one had ever made food for him before except when he paid them to do it. This was almost homey. Not that he understood what homey was.

Maybe it was this strange feeling in his stomach. The pull inside that urged him to touch her even when he shouldn't.

" Bride? " he asked, moving closer to her. " Do you believe in the impossible? "

She pulled a bag of salad from her fridge. " Impossible how? "

" I don't know. Fairies? Leprechauns? Wolves who can turn into humans? "

She laughed. " Ahh, the loup-garou. You're not buying into local legends, are you? "

He shrugged as his heart shrank. It was too much to hope that she would be anything other than a typical human.

" Although, " she said, making his heart lighten. " I do have a friend who chases vampires after dark. She's nuts, but we love her."

Damn.

" Yeah, " he breathed. " Tabitha is a bit out there, isn't she? "

Bride stood stock-still. " How did you know she—"

" Everyone in New Orleans knows the resident vampire slayer, " he said quickly. " Tabitha Devereaux has been around a long time."

Bride laughed. " I'll have to tell her she's a legend. It'll please her to no end."

Vane turned back toward her. " But what about you? You don't believe in weird things, do you? "

" Not really. The scariest thing I've ever seen is my accountant in April."

Outwardly, he smiled at that, inwardly he shriveled. She would never be open to his world. To the reality that sometimes the people she passed on the street weren't really people at all. That they were the worst sort of predators.

Let her have her delusions. It would be cruel to take them away from her. And for what purpose? So that he could show her a world where the two of them would be perpetually hunted?

Where their children would be outcasts?

No, that wouldn't be fair to her. He didn't need a mate, and he damned sure didn't need children.

" You okay? " she asked as she set out two plates.

" Yeah, fine."

He just hoped they both stayed fine until the mark vanished from their hands.

It didn't take Fury long to find Stefan and the others who were in human form on Bourbon Street while they tried to recapture Vane's scent.

The three of them were outside a bar, sniffing patrons who came and went.

As always, he was struck by the beauty of his people, but then, it was to be expected. In their world, ugly or different was quickly rejected or killed—usually the latter. Animals had no mercy on anyone or anything.

Not even the animals who fooled themselves into believing they were mostly human. He'd been with Arcadians long enough to see for himself that when they said they were human, they were deluding themselves.

Just as humans did.

There was nothing humane about humanity. At the end of the day, they were all animals with only survival instincts.

It was dog-eat-dog. And Fury knew more about that principle than he cared to recall.

Stefan whirled about as he caught Fury's scent.

" Well, well, " Fury said, gifting him with a smirk. " I've been standing here long enough that I could have killed all of you before you even sensed me. You're getting old, Stefan."

" Is that a challenge? "

Fury raked him with an amused stare. He fully intended to challenge the older wolf and kill him one day.

Right now, however, he wasn't in the mood.

" Don't make me hurt you, Stefan. You can prance around like an alpha all you want, but we both know who holds your leash."

Stefan grabbed for him, but Fury twirled out of his grasp.

" Don't, old wolf. I don't want to embarrass you."

" What do you want, Fury? " Petra snapped.

Fury gave her a full-fledged grin. Out of the group, she was the one who hated Vane the most. For years the she-wolf had wanted to mate with him, and when he had refused, she had moved on to Fang. She had stalked Vane to distraction. Since he was the oldest of their leader's children, the natural assumption would be that Vane would one day inherit the pack. Even though his father hated him, Vane was without a doubt the strongest of them all.

Only Fury knew why. Vane wasn't Katagaria and the rest of them were too stupid to realize it.

He had smelled it on Vane the moment they met. That twang that came only from human genes. A so-called human heart. More than that, the scent came from the most elite of the Arcadians. Vane wasn't just an Arcadian. He wasn't just a Sentinel.

He was an Aristos. A rare breed who had the ability to wield magic effortlessly. In the Arcadian realm, the Aristi were considered gods and were guarded zealously by werewolves who would gladly die for them.

It was why he, himself, hated Vane.

But patience was a virtue. Not just to humans, but especially to animals.

Petra sniffed, then frowned. She came closer until she buried her nose against Fury's shirt.

" Vane, " she breathed. " You caught him? "

" Where's his hide? " Stefan asked immediately.

Fury gave Stefan a hooded glare. " You're all pathetic. Haven't any of you ever learned that half the fun of the kill is running it to ground? "

Petra cocked her head. " Meaning? "

" I know where Vane is. But it's not enough to kill your enemy. First you screw with his head."