But Az wasn’t just any man. He wasn’t a man, period.

Her Fallen. Her lover.

Hers.

“How will you love him when he’s dead?”

She shook her head. “He’s not dying.” A smile curved her lips. She’d been waiting for this moment ever since she’d stood over her parents’ graves. “You are.” She swung up with the chunk of broken iron and slammed it into the side of his head. There was a loud thud, and he went down.

She raised the iron over her head. She’d broken off the top of the fence, so the sharp point would be perfect for driving right into his heart. “Tell your dad I said hi—”

The panthers were snarling.

Jade froze, then looked up.

Oh, hell. They’d finished their shift from men to beasts.

The panther pack leapt into the air and attacked.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Before the panthers’ claws could tear into her skin, he was there.

Az appeared right in front of her, in front of them, and he wrapped his arms around her. “Close your eyes,” he told her.

She did, but she felt the force of the heat on her skin and knew that Az had used his power to burn and destroy.

The whimpers of the panthers filled her ears—whimpers from the beasts and screams from the men as they transformed.

Her feet left the earth and when they touched down again, she was a good ten feet away from the flames sputtering on the ground. The shifters were still alive, but out of commission.

And Brandt—

Where was he?

“Are you okay?” Az’s hold on her arms was too tight. “Did he hurt you?”

She still had the iron in her hands. “No.” Not any pain worth mentioning. Her throat would heal. Az had arrived just in time.

She was so glad to see him that tears wanted to fill her eyes.

The injured shifters began to edge away. “Brandt.” She licked her lips and blinked away the tears. Now wasn’t the time to get weak. “He was just here!”

“My bastard brother ran as soon as the fire started.” Jade jerked towards the sound of Tanner’s voice. He’d just grabbed a fleeing shifter and knocked him back on the ground. “Don’t worry, I got his stench.” He pointed toward a small space between the tombs on the right. “That way.”

Az nodded. “Stay here.” In the next second, before she could even get the breath to argue, he was gone, racing away after Brandt’s trail.

And leaving her behind.

Rage pumped inside of Az as he streaked through the cemetery. That bastard had dared to touch Jade again. And he’d let his pack of sadistic shifters get killing close to her.

No more.

Az pushed ahead even faster. A few quick shots from his gun, and this would all be over. Jade would be free. She wouldn’t have to spend her days looking over her shoulder and wondering when her psycho ex would pounce.

She could have a life again.

A life with me.

Because if she’d have him, he wanted to spend all of his days with her. Heaven could wait. He’d found something he wanted more.

Jade.

To him, she was . . . everything.

He’d make her happy. Get her to laugh. To smile not just with her beautiful mouth, but with her eyes.

She’d live again.

He paused at the heavy stone wall that marked the edge of the cemetery. Had Brandt left the cemetery? Run back into the city? Where had he—

“There’s something you need to see.”

Az spun at the voice and came face-to-face with Mateo. Not exactly the ass**le he’d wanted to see. “Out of my way,” he growled. The witch had betrayed him once already. He didn’t intend to give the guy a second chance to screw him over.

“I can show you the way,” Mateo said, eyes dark. “You just have to trust me.”

He wouldn’t trust that guy any day.

Mateo pointed to the right. “Come here, and see . . .”

Hell. Az could smell blood. He surged forward, heading down the path Mateo indicated.

He didn’t look back, and he didn’t see Mateo’s slow smile.

Jade sucked in deep gulps of air and stared after Az. Really? He wanted her to just . . . stay there?

It sucked being human. Or, half human—or whatever the hell she was these days. Dammit, she—

Tanner took off toward the left, running as fast as he could. Jade blinked. The left? Now why would he run that way?

I got his stench. Those had been Tanner’s words, and Tanner had sent Az running into the opposite direction.

Why?

Because Tanner wants to be the one to take out his brother.