It didn’t feel priceless. At times it felt more like a curse.

Thorn held his hand out to him. “So will you join me?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Of course you do. I would never impose on your free will.”

Funny, it didn’t feel that way. There didn’t seem to be much choice in this at all. He took Thorn’s hand into his. “You keep Aimee safe and I’ll give you my soul.”

Thorn’s pupils flashed red so fast that for a moment, Fang thought he might have imagined it. His features stone, he released Fang’s hand. “Boy, I need to teach you to take those words out of your vocabulary. Believe me, they’re not child’s play and neither is what you’re about to join.”

Dev?”

He pulled Aimee behind him as he faced the demons coming out of the shadows. “We need to get out of here.” He shoved her toward the street.

Aimee started to run, but didn’t make it far before another demon cut her off. She tried to flash and couldn’t. “Dev? Can you get us out of here?”

“That power appears broken.”

She put her back against Dev’s as the demons drew so close, she could smell the sulphur on them. “What’s going on here?”

“I have no idea. But they don’t look like happy demons.”

No, they didn’t. In fact, they looked like they intended to make nice bear meals out of them.

Aimee manifested her staff. “Any idea how to kill them?”

Dev shrugged with a nonchalance she knew he couldn’t possibly feel. “Beheading works on most things and if it doesn’t work on these, we are seriously screwed. I’d put away the staff and draw a sword.”

“Or you could just stand there and stay out of our way.”

Aimee scowled as two men flashed in beside them. Not demons, they appeared human, yet they moved with a speed that belied that designation. Before she could even put her weapon away, they had the demons cuffed and on the ground in nice bloody heaps.

She shook her head as she tried to run through the events, but honestly, it’d happened so fast, all she’d seen were streaks in the air. “What was that action?”

Dev flashed a grin at her. “Chuck Norris meets Jet Li.”

The demons growled and thrashed while the men beat them down.

“Shut up already.” The taller man jerked the female demon up. “Just once, could I get a demon with no vocal cords?”

The other man laughed bitterly. “At least they’re not puking on us this time.”

“Small favor that.”

And without acknowledging them at all, they were gone.

Aimee exchanged a perplexed stare with her brother. “That is totally out of my realm of experience. And given the freaky stuff we deal with, that says a lot.”

“Yeah, I’m trippin’ myself.”

Aimee shook her head, trying to make sense of all of it. “Did Tony sneak the special herbs into our food again?”

Dev laughed. “I don’t think so. But we’ll definitely have to ask him when we get back.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

They separated to find a woman in the alley, right where the others had vanished. Her dark red hair was braided down her back and she wore a skintight black leather halter and pants. She was absolutely stunning and made Aimee feel rather lacking in comparison.

Dev flashed his most seductive smile. “Hello, gorgeous. Where have you been all my life?”

She rolled her eyes. “You are very handsome, bear. But no. You’re not my type.”

Aimee stifled a laugh at her putdown that Dev took in good-natured stride. “And you are?”

“Call me Wynter.”

Dev chuckled. “Nothing like a fire on a cold Wynter’s night.”

Wynter gave him a droll stare. “Do those cheesy lines work on other women?”

“You’d be amazed.”

“If they ever do, then yes, I would be.” She walked past him to address Aimee. “Thorn has sent me here to help you find the Daimons who have Fang’s soul.”

Aimee frowned at the name she’d never heard before. “Thorn?”

“My boss. We don’t question his orders. We simply obey. He wants the wolf saved, so here I am.”

“We?” Dev asked, looking around to see if anyone else was lurking in the shadows.

Wynter gave him a tight-lipped smile as she ignored his question. “So the Daimons vanished while you were chasing them?”

Aimee nodded. “We think they went into a bolt-hole.”

“That could be tricky.”

Dev shifted his weight to his right leg as he leveled an irritated smirk at Aimee. “I still say we should hand it over to the Dark-Hunters. This is their job, not ours.”

Aimee was growing tired of having this argument with him. “They can’t identify the right ones and they can’t go into a bolt-hole to flush them out.”

“And neither can we. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re special treats for them and I don’t want to end up like Fang, lying in my bed in a coma… or worse, dead.”

“Then go home, Dev.”

“Go home, Dev,” he mocked. “Like Maman wouldn’t skin me alive if I left you out here and you came home in a coma. It gets back to that whole ‘I don’t want to die’ scenario that I’m trying so hard to avoid.”

“Then back off me, or I’m going to put you in a coma myself.”

Wynter sighed. “Do you two fight like this all the time?”

“Yes,” they said in unison.

“But she’s the one who always starts it.”

Wynter rolled her eyes and made a sound of supreme disgust. “Thanks, Thorn. I really needed this and I intend to make you pay for it.”

Fang?”

Fang opened his eyes to find Aimee leaning over him. It’d been weeks or months since he last saw her. Relief filled him at the sight of her whole and unharmed. Somehow Thorn had actually done what he’d promised. “Hey.”

She smiled a smile that radiated through every part of his body and when she spoke, her tone was light and teasing. Most of all, it made him feel almost normal again. “You look a lot better than you did the last time I saw you. Maybe I should leave you here after all.”

He laughed even though the very thought of it horrified him. “I’d really rather you didn’t. But I don’t want to see you hurt either. I’d rather you be safe and me stay here than for something to happen to you.”

She took his hand into hers. The warm gentleness of that touch radiated through him. His body ached for a real taste of her.

Oh, to have one minute in the human realm…

“We got three of them tonight.”

Fang nodded. “I know. It’s why my wounds have healed as much as they have.” It was also why he was so much stronger now. “Thank you.”

She kissed his hand. “You’re welcome. We’ll have you back soon. I promise.”

Gods, he hoped so. It was hard to stay here, day after day. He felt so alone and out of touch. But at least she was here with him and for that comfort alone, he’d never be able to repay her. “How’s Vane?”

“We haven’t really heard. He’s staying with one of the Dark-Hunters for now to help protect his mate.”

“Which one?”

“Valerius.”

Fang cursed at the name. Had that bastard done his job in the swamp, Anya would still be alive. Why in the name of Olympus would Vane have gone to him given that? What was he thinking? “The Roman?”

Aimee grimaced and nodded. “I’m sorry, Fang. I didn’t think that would upset you.”

Yet it did. Not just because of the fact that Valerius hadn’t been able to help them protect Anya, but because Fang wasn’t there to help Vane when his brother needed him most. He couldn’t stand the thought of Vane having to turn to someone who’d already let them down.

“Do you know who in our pack is hunting him?”

“Stefan is the only one we’ve seen. He’s come into Sanctuary a couple more times-no doubt trying to get a shot at you.”

Fang cursed. “I’ve got to get out of here. Vane can’t stand alone.”

“He’s not.”

Fang froze at her unexpected contradiction. “What do you mean?”

“Fury’s with him.”

“Fury?” He gaped in indignation. Obviously Vane had snapped a serious wheel since Fang had been injured. What the hell was his brother thinking? “That guttersnipe? What’s Vane doing with him?”