Raphael watched the taxi pull away, surprised she'd taken it. Elena was proving the most unpredictable of all those under his command. Of course, she'd argue with that description, he thought, amused in the way only a lethally powerful immortal could be.

The door opened behind him. "Sire?"

"Dmitri, you are to stay away from the hunter."

"If the sire so wishes." A pause. "I could reduce her to begging. She would no longer disobey your orders."

"I don't want her to beg." Raphael was surprised to find that to be true. "She'll be more effective with her spirit intact."

"And after?" Dmitri's voice was full of sensual anticipation. "May I have her after the hunt? She . . . draws me."

"No. After the hunt, she's mine." Any begging Elena would be doing would fall on his ears alone.