"Have it sent within the hour," was the last thing the shifter said before he abruptly hung up.

Lucan cursed softly as he returned the phone to his coat pocket and quickened his pace. He knew the shifter's rules well enough to know that the shifter had just given him one hour before he turned his attention to another contract.

Shit!

He was so close to freedom and he'd be damned if he allowed it to be ripped away. He'd waited centuries for this and had more than earned his freedom. Once he delivered the female to his Master all of his obligations to the Master would be fulfilled. He may have to stay a little longer to ensure the female did as she was asked, but once his Master's safety was ensured he would leave and then.....

Well, he wasn't sure what he would do first, but he knew one thing, he was going to enjoy being a free man.

"You son of a bitch!" Greg snarled as he came around a corner.

With barely a thought, Lucan caught the fist sailing through the air towards his face and gave it a twist that dropped the human to his knees with a strangled cry of pain. Lucan gave the human's hand a light squeeze of warning that kept him on his knees as he glared up at him, panting hard as he clearly struggled with the need to attack Lucan once again.

"Is there a problem?" he asked flatly.

"You set me up, you son of a bitch!" Greg shouted, moving to stand up only to cry out again as Lucan squeezed his hand again.

"And how exactly did I do that?" he asked as he scented the air.

If the man's rage didn't tip him off to the problem then the scents covering the man and competing for his attention did. He knew the Master had taken the man last night. The Master's insatiable appetite for his minions wasn't exactly a secret within their nest, but what gave it away was the fact that Lucan hadn't been called to calm the Master down when he went on a killing spree, which he often did when he was upset. That of course meant that the Master was busy f**king the minion he'd invited to his chambers, this minion.

Not only had the Master fed from the man, but he had clearly enjoyed himself and so had this man. He could smell the man's lingering excitement and release and had to wonder how the Master did it. The Master seemed to enjoy making straight men enjoy the act. Not that he was interested. He wasn't and thankfully would never be put in a position to bend over for the Master.

"You knew what he wanted and you didn't warn me," Greg bit out.

Lucan simply shrugged. It wasn't his job to tell the minion what should have been obvious from the start. Then again, it wasn't like anyone kept the Master's preferences a secret here or what he expected from his minions.

"If you had been paying attention from the very beginning you would have known the type of Master you signed your life over to, human," he said, moving to release the man's hand when curiosity got the better of him. "Did the Master submit for you?" he asked, noting the way the man's face suddenly turned red as he averted his gaze.

That would be a yes, Lucan mused as he released the man's hand. That was actually interesting. He certainly hadn't seen that coming. For a while there he'd been concerned that he was going to be stuck with the annoying human for a while, at least until the Master grew tired of him and changed him and Lucan could stake him.

"When he changes me you're going to be ash, you ass**le," Greg snarled cockily as he got to his feet.

Lucan shook his head ruefully. "He allowed you to f**k him, human. Surely you know what that means." If the man didn't then he truly was an idiot.

"It means that he wants me and that soon he'll change me," Greg said evenly as he shook with suppressed rage, at Lucan or at himself for liking what happened, he wasn't sure and didn't really care. Greg was no longer a problem. "And when he does I'm coming after you."

"No," Lucan said as he turned his back on the man and headed for his office where his own salvation waited, "it means that you were a lousy lay and the Master is done with you."

*******

"You really want to know what's wrong?" Danni snapped as she snatched up the lavender sheet and made quick work of wrapping it around herself. "Because I'd be more than happy to tell you what's wrong."

Actually, he kind of wanted to get back to having his dirty way with her, but her clipped motions, red eyes and the fact that she'd shoved him off of her a minute ago and actually growled at him when he went to touch her clued him into the fact that, that wasn't happening anytime soon. Unfortunately his c**k hadn't got the message yet and was currently straining towards her. The venomous look she shot his poor misunderstood c**k had him discretely grabbing a pillow off the bed and placing it in front of his lap.

"Okay, what's wrong?" he asked, thinking that it was a reasonable question. The disbelieving scoff she let out said differently.

"You seriously have the balls to ask me what's wrong?" she demanded in a disbelieving tone as he struggled to come up with an acceptable answer that would save the poor misunderstood appendage standing at attention between his legs and perhaps get him back to where he belonged, right between her legs.

After an uncomfortable moment of silence he went with a hesitant, "Yes?"

She opened her mouth, probably to let him have it, when she suddenly shut it, shook her head and headed for the door as she tucked the end of the sheet between the two gorgeous br**sts that he wasn't finished worshipping yet.

"Where are you going?" he asked, following after her as she opened the door, stormed outside into the dimly lit yard.

Thankfully it was early so he wouldn't have to worry about Jax or his pack witnessing this little meltdown. Last night had been the second night of the full moon so by now they should already be shifted back to human and screwing the excess energy out their systems. They had two, maybe three hours before the pack returned. That was more than enough time for Danni to lose it, make it up to him by getting down on her knees and for them to get ready to get the hell out of here before Jax came to take them to the airport.

"Danni, hold up!" he said, feeling like an idiot with the pillow in front of him so he tossed it aside as he jogged down the stairs. He followed after Danni as she headed towards the private dirt road that bordered the southern part of Jax's large property. Thankfully the shifter's property was well away from any prying eyes so he didn't have to worry about this little meltdown of Danni's being witnessed or the fact that he was jogging after her with a damn erection that wouldn't take a hint and go down.

Instead of stopping and talking this over like a rational adult, she flipped him off and kept going. That wasn't exactly surprising. She'd always been stubborn, too damn stubborn for his peace of mind, he thought as he blew out a breath. He debated on going back inside and catching up on his sleep while his stubborn mate blew off some steam and calmed down and came to her senses, but then he remembered who he was dealing with and moved his ass.

She wasn't a typical woman and she wasn't throwing a tantrum. She was pissed and when Danni got pissed she moved on. This wasn't a ploy for his attention or an apology. She was walking away and he knew that she was too angry to care that she had no money, clothes or a place to go. Once Danni set her mind to something she did whatever it took to get it done. So, if he didn't find out what had her feathers ruffled now then he'd be stuck hunting her down later.