Gideon broke the neck of the first man, tore out the heart of the second.

The woman fainted.

He had just enough time to catch her before she hit the ground. He held her in his arms a moment, then, while she was still unconscious, he lowered his head to her neck and drank. Since he had just saved her life, he didn’t think she would mind.

Kay stared at Gideon. “You killed them? What did you do with the bodies?”

“You don’t need to know. No one does.”

“Rudolfo is sure to come here, asking questions. And even if he doesn’t, he’ll blame us for their disappearance.”

“If he comes here, just tell him the truth. You never saw them. You don’t know where they are.”

“Like he’ll believe me!”

Gideon shrugged. “Only time will tell.”

“What do we do until then?”

“You’re going into training.”

“What?”

“You heard me.” He ran his hands along her arms. “We need to put some muscle on you.”

“How do you intend to do that?”

“Proper diet and good, old-fashioned exercise.”

Gideon was as good as his word. He wrote out a schedule for Kay and enlisted Greta and Brett to make sure she followed it. And the next thing Kay knew, she was spending three hours a day working out—lifting weights, hitting the heavy bag, swimming.

Greta put her on a high-protein diet.

At night, Kay went jogging with Gideon. And each night, she drank a little of his blood. It was like a narcotic—the more he gave her, the more she wanted.

“Lovemaking is the best exercise,” she remarked one night after they’d gone to bed.

“Is that right?”

“I read it in a book somewhere. Burns up a lot of calories.”

He grunted softly. “Maybe I’ve been remiss in that area.” He rolled her onto her back, then covered her body with his. “After all, we’ve only been making love once or twice a night.”

“Maybe we’d better try for three.”

“Whatever you think best.”

“Definitely three.” Kay waggled her eyebrows at him. “I never realized exercising could be so much fun.”

Rinaldi never came snooping around to see if Kay knew the whereabouts of his missing men, which led her to the conclusion that Rudolfo was convinced the Shadow Pack was to blame.

The night before the full moon, he sent her another missive. It was short and to the point. Meet me in the valley tomorrow night when the moon is high so we can end this once and for all.

“Well, that’s blunt,” Gideon said, reading over her shoulder. “Are you ready?”

“It doesn’t really matter, does it?” Kay asked, her voice tight. “I’m out of time.”

“You won’t be alone. We’ll all be there with you.”

“I’d rather be alone.” She didn’t want anyone watching her when she met Rudolfo.

“It’s in your power to order the pack to stay away if that’s what you want,” Gideon remarked quietly. “But I’m not letting you go without me.”

“I had a feeling you’d say that.”

“Are you serious, about not wanting the pack there to back you up?”

She nodded. “I think so. I’m not sure I have the courage to meet Rinaldi.” Admitting it out loud made her cheeks burn with shame. “If I chicken out, I’d rather the pack wasn’t there to see it. And if I find the courage to fight him and I lose …” She made a vague gesture with her hand. “Well, I’d just as soon no one saw that, either.”

“Kiya, listen to me. You don’t have a cowardly bone in your body. You’re the bravest woman I’ve ever known. You’ve survived every challenge you’ve ever faced, and you’ll survive this one, too.”

Seeing the love in his eyes, hearing the confidence in his voice, gave her just the boost she needed. But later, when they were lying alone together in the dark, her doubts returned.

Wordlessly, Gideon drew her into his arms. Murmuring tender words in her ear, he made love to her until the rising sun chased the darkness from the sky. She waited for him to leave, as he always did, but, to her surprise, he stayed by her side, his arm around her shoulders, his presence comforting her even after he had succumbed to the darkness.

Kay stayed in bed until hunger drove her downstairs. Greta and Brett were in the kitchen. They both looked up when she stepped into the room.

“How are you?” Greta asked.

Kay shrugged, then slid into an empty chair.

“Let me fix you something to eat,” Greta offered. “What would you like?”

“I don’t care. Whatever you’re having is fine.”

“Pancakes, eggs, and sausage okay?” Greta’s smile looked forced.

“Fine,” Kay said.

“Whatever happens, we’ll all be there for you,” Brett said.

“About that,” Kay said. “I’d rather go alone.”

“Alone!” he exclaimed. “Why the hell would you want to do that?”

“I have my reasons,” Kay said, “and I won’t really be alone. Gideon will be there with me.”

Brett shook his head. “No way!” Rising, he pushed away from the table. “No way in hell!” he declared, and stomped out of the room.

“Are you sure, Kiya?” Greta asked quietly.

“Yes. I have my reasons.”

Greta smiled faintly. “I think I know what they are. Don’t worry about Brett. I’ll explain it to him.”

“Were you afraid when Victor challenged you?” Kay asked.

“Afraid? No.” Greta filled a plate with pancakes and eggs and added six sausage links. “I was terrified.” She placed the plate and a cup of coffee in front of Kay. “You’re your father’s daughter, Kiya. Your courage won’t desert you.”

“I hope you’re right,” Kay said. “But if you’re wrong, I don’t want anyone else to witness it.” She sighed heavily. “It’s bad enough that Gideon will be there.”

The hours until the moon rose passed slowly, and yet all too quickly. Kay showered, dressed in a pair of black jeans, then pulled on a bright red sweater to bolster her courage. She tied her hair back in a ponytail, stepped into a pair of black sandals, and she was ready to go.

Gideon, who had been remarkably silent while she got ready, followed her downstairs to where the pack waited.

“Don’t worry about me,” she said, forcing a confident smile she was far from feeling. “I’ll be back soon.” Whole or in pieces, she thought morbidly.

Every member of the pack came forward to give her a hug and wish her well, Brett and Greta last of all.

“We’ll be with you in spirit,” Greta said. “I know you’ll make us proud.”

Too choked up to speak, Kay nodded and hurried out of the house, with Gideon at her heels.

“Ready?” he asked.

“I have one stop to make,” she said.

He didn’t question her, merely fell into step beside her.

He waited outside the fence while she went to kneel between her parents’ graves, felt his heart constrict as she bid them good- bye.

Returning to where he waited, she said, “Now I’m ready.”

The Green Mountain Pack was waiting for her at the appointed place. Head high, shoulders back, she strode toward Rudolfo Rinaldi.

“I’m here.”

He glanced around, his eyes narrowed, his nostrils sniffing the wind. “Alone?”

“My husband is here with me. Are you ready?” She was surprised that her voice didn’t shake at all, that her hands were rock steady. And even more surprised to discover that she wasn’t afraid anymore.

“Where’s the rest of your pack?” Rinaldi asked.

“I thought this fight was between you and me,” Kay said boldly. “Do I need to call them?”

“No.” Rinaldi removed his jacket and tossed it aside, then cracked his knuckles. “You understand this is to be a fight to the death, with no quarter given.”

“I understand. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were stalling.”

Rinaldi flushed at her accusation.

“Hold on,” Gideon said.

Rinaldi frowned as Gideon moved to stand beside Kay.

“I know this is between you and Kiya,” Gideon said. “No one will interfere.” Holding Rinaldi’s gaze with his own, Gideon bared his fangs, knew his eyes had gone red. “But if Kiya loses, the next fight will be between you and me.”

“You have no right to challenge me,” Rinaldi said. “You’re not pack.”

“That’s true. But she’s my wife and if she dies by your hand, you will die by mine. Just like those two men who disappeared.”

“You killed them?”

“I did.”

“One of them was my son.”

Gideon shrugged. “You should have kept him home nights.”

Fury rolled off the werewolf in waves. There was the sound of shredding cloth and in the blink of an eye, an angry brown wolf hurled itself at Gideon’s throat.

Sidestepping, Gideon called up his own wolf, spun on his hindquarters in time to fend off Rinaldi’s next attack.

Kay stared at the two wolves. They were evenly matched in size. Had it not been for the difference in color, she would have been hard-pressed to know which was Gideon. Light on their feet, their movements quick, controlled, and savage, they drew blood again and again, until the heavy metallic scent of it permeated the air.

Excited by the scent of blood, several of Rinaldi’s pack members shifted.

But Kay had eyes only for Gideon. Both wolves were splattered with blood from numerous bite marks. She noticed Rinaldi seemed to be tiring. And then, from the corner of her eye, she noticed one of Rinaldi’s wolfs moving closer to the battle, creeping up on Gideon’s back, getting ready to spring.