After nicking the clothes left behind by the good doctor, Synjon had bolted from the clinic and traveled, searched and hunted for an hour in the pitch black of night. It hadn't welcomed him. In fact, its cool, gentle wind had led him astray more than once. With all the animal scents to contend with, finding hers hadn't been easy.

But he wasn't an amateur.

Tracking had always been his pleasure.

He moved swiftly across the large expanse of land toward the dwelling that held her scent, his fangs lowering with every footfall. Though his face and neck still pulsed with pain, it was the ache in his belly that disturbed him the most. He needed to nosh. And the veana's pure blood called to him, beckoned him forward, teased the shite out of him.

A low growl escaped his throat as he rounded the dwelling and searched the length for a clear way inside. Announcing himself was a certain ticket into the fighting ring, and though he loved a good going over, now wasn't the time to go looking for it. There were four heartbeats inside the home. All he had to do was get inside and find the body that didn't contain one.

After a few minutes of searching, he found a window on the far side of the house that was unlatched. The entry point was barely a foot and a half around, but he managed to get through. Once inside, he went low and silent. He followed his nose from room to room until he caught the thick scent of the one he sought. His skin vibrated with need and his fangs dropped heavy and hungry as he pulled back the door. His eyes cut instantly to the bed, the white sheet, the shape beneath, and he moved quickly, ready to strike. He was coiled over her, saliva pooling in his mouth, when he heard the thick pounding of a heartbeat in his ears.

Then a fist in his face and the bone-shattering slam of his body hitting the wall.

* * *

The irritating, rhythmic pounding woke Petra, and she jacked up in her chair with a soft curse. Her neck was stiff and the right side of her face felt numb. What the hell? She squinted in the semi-darkness, trying to pull her mind out of her ass. Dammit. She'd fallen asleep at her desk again. The pounding continued and she pushed herself up out of her chair. Rubbing her eyes, she padded across her office floor, which consisted of several dozen sanded branches from the tree her office resided in. During one of her work sessions in the Avian district the previous year, she'd come across the most amazing tree, a massive thing that she'd fallen deeply in love with. One of her transition families had built the office as a surprise, and as a thank you for helping their daughter through an incredibly difficult month-long transition process.

"Oh my gods, enough with the pounding," she called out, yanking the door open.

"Took you long enough," the blond male growled with deep irritation. "I almost knocked the fucking thing down."

Petra leaned against the doorjamb, moonlight filtering down through the trees overhead. "Sasha, it's the middle of the night. What are you doing here?"

"Checking on you."

"Why?"

That made him pause. His gaze checked left and stayed there like he was debating what to say.

"Come on, Sash," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "If you were going to lie to me, you should've come up with it on the way over here. Now, what the hell is going on?

His blue eyes shifted back to meet hers. "There's been a break-in at the house."

"What?" An invisible fist squeezed her gut. "Is everyone all right? Did you catch them? Which faction did they come out of? It better not be Water-they've got a good half dozen rebirths coming up and the last thing they should be doing is screwing with my family-"

"He's not from a faction, Pets."

Petra's breath froze in her lungs. "I don't understand." Please let me not understand. Please-

Sasha interrupted her silent begging with even worse news. "A male attacked Valentin."

"Val-"

He put a hand up. "He's fine. But, sis . . ." He cut himself off this time.

"What?" She pushed away from the doorjamb and went out onto the porch with him. "Dammit, Sasha, what?"

His pale blue eyes locked with hers. "The male didn't have a heartbeat."

Though her insides were shooting off panicked firecrackers, she held herself together. She could forget the begging, hoping. She knew exactly who had broken into her house and attacked her brother. "Did you notify anyone?"

He shook his head.

"Is the male contained at the house?"

He shook his head again.

Firecrackers turned to a churning sick feeling. "He got away?"

"Yes."

Oh, gods. The male could be anywhere, or he could be gone. She didn't know what she feared more; him coming after her or never seeing him again.

Could a bigger fool than her exist?

How the hell had he escaped the hospital? And where was Brodan? Did she get rid of her brother and go find him, or ask him to help her search? After all, the male was still injured.

Behind Sasha, the massive hawk who had brought her to the office several hours ago touched down and instantly shifted into a gorgeous pale blond female with a nose ring. She gave Petra a grin, then turned to Sasha. "Ready to go?"

Petra stared at the female. "What're you doing here, Dani?"

The blond female nodded in Sasha's direction. "Your half-wit brother begged me for a ride."

"And your perpetually pissed best friend charged me for it," he returned with a sneer.

"I was in my freaking bed!"

Sasha's mood changed in an instant. He grinned wickedly at her, his cat shifting in and out of his face. "And I promise I'll put you right back in it."

She glared at him. "You put me to bed and I'll put you in the clinic for a week."

Sasha's sensual purr echoed throughout the dark forest. "Damn, Female. You've been invading my dreams again."

She snorted. "You couldn't handle this, Feline."

"Cats eat birds, Dani, or haven't you heard? It's nature at its best and most delic-"

"Okay!" Petra said, holding up both hands. "I am officially grossed out."

Dani pointed at Sasha. "He started it."

Sasha winked at her. "And I'll finish it, not a problem."

Turning around, Petra uttered brusquely, "Going back inside now. Night night, you two."

"Wait, Pets."

She glanced over her shoulder at Sasha. "What?"

Playful flirtation no longer glittered in his eyes. He stepped forward and released a weighty breath. "Listen, Mom and Dad want you to stay here. Don't come to the house. We're not sure what this bastard was after, but we don't want you getting in the middle of it."

She had a pretty good guess as to what the male was after, but she wasn't about to discuss it with her brother. "Got it."

He nodded. "You have enough in the way of supplies for a few days?"

"'Course. That's me. Always prepared."

"Good. I'll check in tomorrow." Sasha shifted his focus to the blond female who was in that very moment shifting into her hawk form. "All right, Dani. I'm ready for my ride."

With a wry smile, the hawk turned to look at Petra. "Will I be endangering our friendship if I fly over the lake and let him slip off my back?"

"Do what you gotta do, Dani." Laughing, Petra closed the door on the sound of her best friend taking flight. But it was the sound that met her ears when she walked back into the dimly lit room that had her belly coiling with tension.

"Evening, Love."

In the light of the dying moon streaming in through the windows to his left, Petra saw the male she had rescued, the male who had bitten her, the male she couldn't stop thinking about no matter how hard she tried.

"I've come for more of your rich veana's blood." He grinned, his dark eyes moving down her face, stopping just below her jawline. "Think you can spare a pint or two?"