Only one woman had ever been strong enough for him. Only one had ever battled for him.

Jade.

She’d fought the one thing he feared in this world. She’d given him freedom. Life.

All by dealing out a little death.

The panther inhaled the scents around him. His body tensed. Azrael. And . . . another.

He rushed outside. His pack—some still in the form of panthers, some standing back as men—tensed.

The beast swept past them. He ran. Ran, following the trail Jade had taken.

Then he stopped.

Because the trail had vanished. The panther tossed back his head and roared.

“I thought I’d be able to get away from him at first.”

Lightning flashed outside, sweeping in with the growing darkness. A storm was coming in with night.

“I thought I could find a safe place to hide from him. That I could just start a new life, and he’d forget me.” Her smile faded. “I’d have nightmares about him, but I would get my life back.”

Az waited, his body tense.

“Months passed. Eventually, I stopped waking up, screaming. I got a job as a waitress at a diner in Arkansas. I even . . . I even met a man who didn’t scare me.”

She’d backed away, just a step, as if she sensed the dark energy that had come to surround him. But Az was fighting that darkness—fighting it, even as he drew the energy from the magic that stained the land like blood. When she’d backed away, his hands had fisted so he wouldn’t touch her again.

The darkness had already touched her enough.

“Brandt killed Paul in front of me. Told me that I couldn’t be with another. That I was his, forever.”

Not his.

“I screamed and I begged, but Brandt sliced his throat right open. Paul’s eyes were on mine when he died.”

You could always see the life drain from a human’s eyes at the moment of death. When the soul left, nothing remained.

“How did you escape from him that time?” Az wanted to know. Brandt would have been on guard then. Even more desperate to keep her at his side.

Thunder rumbled, echoing his words. He glanced toward the windows. The storm had rolled in so suddenly. Angry, rough . . .

And Az realized that his powers were slipping past his control. He was pulling in the storm even as he pulled in the latent energy from the unhallowed ground.

“Brandt actually thought I’d be glad to see him. He acted like he’d done some grand gesture for me.” Her lips twisted. “He sent his men away. We were alone together. I don’t think he ever even realized I had the knife. Not until I drove it into his chest.”

Az blinked, surprised. Impressed.

She caught his stare and inclined her head. “Let’s just say that at that time, I never went far without a silver knife. When it didn’t kill him, I thought I must have missed his heart. I knew I wouldn’t get another chance right then, so I ran like hell.” Jade shrugged. “I think that’s when he started to enjoy the hunt.”

The fur melted from Brandt’s body. Bones contorted, broke. His back paws turned into feet. Human fingers gripped the dank earth. He bowed his head a moment and sucked in deep breaths.

Jade.

Then he looked up and found his men assembled around him. They feared him, as they should. He’d earned the alpha title, slicing his way through all that came into his path.

Now, they waited. Ready for orders.

“We’re hunting,” he told them, voice calm despite the beast still clawing inside. But he was always calm on a hunt.

It was easier to track prey without emotion.

Find. Hunt. Capture.

But this time, his prey was different. Because this prey had stumbled right into his path. You’ll give me the power I need.

“Jade?” Duncan demanded. Ah, Duncan. He’d just joined the pack when Jade had first escaped. He knew just how much Brandt valued her.

But Brandt shook his head. “Not this time.” Not yet. Because before he could get to Jade, he’d have to take out her protectors.

Two. Two men not of this world.

“First, we’re catching us some angels, and we’re gonna show them just what hell on earth really means.”

“For years after that, I was afraid to get close to anyone. But . . . I made a mistake.” Her shoulders slumped. “Found another man who was so kind. Johnny . . . we’d barely even begun to date when . . . when Brandt found him.”

And killed him. Yes, Az could figure out how that story ended.

“After Johnny, I knew the only way to truly stop Brandt was death. Either his . . . or mine.”