Fang looked past Wren’s shoulder and felt the blood drain from his face as he saw Aimee’s intent in her eyes. “Don’t you dare get into this,” he mentally projected to Aimee.

As usual, she didn’t listen. “No!”

They all turned to see Aimee in the middle of the hallway behind them. Only Wren and Fang knew whose room she’d been inside.

She swallowed as she looked from her father to Fang. “Papa, please. Don’t do this. This is wrong and you know it. Wren poses no threat to us.”

“Are you insane, daughter? He’s here to kill your mother.”

More doors were opening now. More animals were coming out to investigate the disturbance. This was looking worse and worse for Wren.

“You’ll never make it out of here alive,” Papa Bear said in warning. “None of you.”

Fang looked at Aimee. “What the hell are we going to do?”

“Take me hostage.”

That sucker-punched him. “What?”

“You heard me, Fang. We’ve got to get Wren out of here before they kill him.”

“If I do that, I’ll be banned from here. Forever.”

Tears glistened in her eyes. “I know, baby. I know. But if Wren dies, I won’t be able to forgive myself. Please help him.”

Fang wanted to scream. She was asking too much of him. And yet when he looked at Wren who was so young… and innocent, he knew she was right.

They couldn’t let the kid die. And more to the point, now that Vane and Fury were here trying to protect him, they’d be killed too. He had to protect his brothers at all cost even though the demon inside him was laughing at the prospect of watching them die.

Damn it!

A heartbeat later, Fang grabbed her into his arms, manifested a knife in his hand, then held it threateningly to her throat. The irony of this wasn’t lost on him. He was about to lose her the same way he’d met her.

“Don’t you dare follow us,” he warned her family. “I’ll kill her if you do.” Fang turned to look at the three of them. “Fury, Vane, get Wren out of here.”

Wren started to protest, but before he could, Vane grabbed him by the neck and flashed him from the hallway.

Fang leaned his head against hers and wanted to weep at what they were doing. Using his powers, he tracked his brothers and flashed the two of them into a dark room with no windows.

The only light came from two dim lamps on two tables at opposite ends of the room. The modern furnishings were chic and hightech, not to mention the walls were made of dark gray steel.

This was a boat.

Fang had barely realized that before Aimee turned in his arms and hugged him close.

Vane cursed. “Have you two lost your friggin’ minds? Between you and the tiger, we’re so screwed.”

“No, you’re not.” Wren tried to flash himself back to Sanctuary. “What the hell?”

“I’ve got you locked down,” Vane said.

Wren knew better than to go after Vane-the wolf was too powerful to take down-but by the look on his face, it was obvious the tigard wanted to try. “Lift it.”

Vane shook his head. “No. I didn’t just jeopardize my entire clan to see you commit suicide.”

“This isn’t your fight.”

“Yes, it is. I’m not going to sit by and watch an innocent die because some asshole got greedy.”

Wren scoffed at Vane’s heroism. “Well, thank you, Mr. Altruist, but the tiger doesn’t want your help. So sod off.”

Someone started clapping.

Fang, still holding Aimee to his side, saw the Dark-Hunter Jean-Luc entering the room from a door on his right. A pirate in his human life, the immortal vampire slayer still retained much of his old look.

With a small gold hoop flashing in his left earlobe, he was dressed all in black in a pair of leather pants, a silk button-down shirt, and biker boots. His long, straight black hair was pulled back into a sleek queue that emphasized the sharp angles of his face. His eyes were so dark that not even the pupils were discernable and those eyes were dancing with amusement. “Nicely put, tiger.”

“Shut up, lapdog, this isn’t your fight either.”

Jean-Luc sucked his breath in sharply at the insult. “Boy, you better counsel that tongue before you find yourself without it.”

Wren took a step toward him, then froze as the human he’d been making time with came through the door behind the pirate. The relief on her face was more than obvious.

The human rushed to Wren’s side and threw her arms around him. “I’m so glad they got to you before it was too late. You weren’t really going to do something stupid, were you?”

“Oh, no, hon, we were too late,” Fury said snidely. “Tiger boy done pissed down the wrong honey tree and got all the bees, or in this case bears, going wild.”

Fury glanced to Fang then to Aimee. “Then again, knowing the bears, they’ll be gunning for wolf before tiger. Good move, Fang. Making off with their only daughter. Real swift. You know chocolate is lethal to our kind. I’m thinking if you want to commit suicide, that’s the much less painful way to go about it.”

“Knock it off, Fury,” Vane said, moving over to where Fang and Aimee were standing. “We have to send her back. Now.”

Fang contemplated the death and burial of Fury. Brother or not, that wolf still got on his nerves, but Vane was right. “I know.”

Tears glistened in Aimee’s eyes and they tore him apart as he ached to kiss them away. “I don’t want to leave.”

Those words shredded his resolve.

Vane looked as sick as Fang felt. “And I thought my relationship with Bride was doomed. Damn it, people and animals, this shit sucks.”

Fang couldn’t agree more.

Fury snorted. “You’re the leader, Vane. Lead.”

Vane looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “If I had any brains at all, which obviously I don’t, I would never have gotten involved in this. I would hand my brother and Wren over to the bears and just take my wife and go find a nice, quiet place to raise our children.”

He swept them all with an irritated glare. “But obviously, I am truly the dumbest man on the planet.”

Jean-Luc pulled a long, thin stiletto out of his boot and offered it to Vane. “Here, mon ami. Either for you or for them. One cut and all your problems are solved, eh?”

“Don’t tempt me.” Vane growled low in his throat as he surveyed the lot of them. “Wren, listen close, ’cause, buddy, your chances are running slim. You kill Nicolette and you’re dead. There’s no way back from that.”

Wren scoffed at him. “There’s no way back from an execution order. Period.”

Shaking his head in denial, Fury stepped forward. “You weren’t there when the vote came down. The council was divided on the order.”

Wren frowned. “What are you saying?”

“That you have a shot at redemption,” Vane said, “but not if you kill Nicolette for vengeance.”

Wren hesitated as if he were inwardly debating.

Vane sighed. “You give the council proof that you’re innocent of killing your parents and Savitar will rescind the Omegrion’s order.”

Wren scowled at him. “What the fuck are you talking about? They’re trying to kill me because I’m dating Maggie.”

Fury made a sound of disgust. “What are you, stupid? Your dating the human is only the catalyst for why Mama Lo tossed your ass out. The death warrant is because you murdered your parents.”

“Says who?”

“Your cousin Zack.”

Wren clenched his jaw shut as if he wanted to kill something. The demon inside Fang knew for a fact the tigard was innocent. And outraged. Not that he could blame him in the least.

But that only pissed him off. Had Wren kept his ass with Maggie and away from Sanctuary, Fang wouldn’t be forced to abandon Aimee.

Damn that selfish bastard.

“We can help you, Wren,” Vane said calmly. “But you have to trust us.”

Wren sneered. “I’m not putting my faith or life in anyone’s hands. All that ever got me was screwed and my ass is currently sore from it.”