If we moved fast, we could make it to the Great Wolf before the day broke and we had to find a hiding place for the two vampires. Berget placed herself beside me as we walked. Alex led, and Faris pulled up the rear, way back. I refused to think about what happened and the things said. Refused.

Berget touched my hand. “You have blood on your mouth.”

I swiped at it angrily. “I won’t exchange blood with him anymore. I don’t care what Doran or that ass hat back there thinks about you.”

“You can’t swap who you exchange with partway through. It can do crazy things to your head. For some people, it makes them suicidal.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Of course I can’t.” I had to try three times before I got my sword back in its sheath. My body was fine, healed from the injuries with Faris’s blood coursing through my veins. But my heart . . . damn, every time I thought things were better, that I could move forward, I’d get my heart jabbed again.

Like a freaking piñata.

“My parents, I asked them about the situation with Faris and Liam.”

I glanced at her, noted she wasn’t looking at me at all, her eyes unblinking. Crap, that wasn’t a good sign. “And? Did they have something helpful?”

“They said that Faris is wrong. That Liam won’t just leave him when the veil opens.”

From behind us came a low laugh from Faris. “They aren’t necromancers, they don’t know this.”

Berget glared over her shoulder at him. “They aren’t, but they owned a few over the years. Your father being one of them.”

The tension rose about a hundred notches with that little bombshell. Awesome.

“Let her finish, Faris. She isn’t them, you know that.” I stopped him before he could start. I hoped.

Berget shrugged. “They just said they’ve seen something like this before. I guess this isn’t the first time the veil has been temporarily shut down. They said if Liam’s spirit is still in Faris when the veil opens, they . . . they could be stuck together forever.”

I stared ahead, at the dark trees and shrubs we walked past, mere shadows in the night. Alex bounded here and there, the silver tips of his coat gleaming, but all I could see was a future where any chance at being with Liam would include Faris. Could I do that? Even as it was, this could still be considered temporary.

“Fine by me.”

We both stopped and turned to look at the blond vampire, his hair all but glowing in the starlight.

“It is?” I didn’t understand, didn’t he want to have his body back to himself.

He gave me a slow smile. “If I keep Liam, you’ll never be able to truly separate yourself from me. You’ll finally be mine in truth.”

My jaw dropped open and a black and silver shape hurtled out of the night. “NOOOOOOO!” Alex howled as he tackled Faris. They rolled over and over, the dirt and bushes dug up as they wrestled for dominance.

“Faris, don’t you hurt him! One fucking hair missing and I will take your head!” I ran toward them but couldn’t get between them. Claws, teeth, fists, and feet slammed into one another. How the hell was I going to get them to stop?

“Liam!” I shouted his name and the air around us shifted. He was here, it would be okay. I had to believe.

He forced himself to the surface of the vampire, shoving the bloodsucker’s soul back. Lifting his hands from Alex’s neck he rolled to a crouch, breathing hard. “Easy, Alex. Easy.”

“Boss?”

“For the moment.”

Slowly, he lifted his eyes to Rylee’s. Damn, she was as beautiful as ever and he itched to touch her. But he saw the hesitance in her stance, the desire and the fear warring within her. Faris and his games were messing with all three of them.

“Liam, you have to go. If you stay with Faris, you’ll be trapped in his body. For as long as he’s alive.” Rylee held a hand out to him, then slowly let it drop when he didn’t reach back for her. Gods, how he wanted to, though.

Inside his head, Faris raged. Let me the fuck out, wolf!

He pushed the vamp even further back. “I don’t know how to go, Rylee. Would you really not want me here?” He knew he’d made mistakes, knew he’d gone about things the wrong way, and cursed himself every moment for it. But he couldn’t believe she was so angry with him that she wouldn’t want him close.

“If I have to share this body with the vampire until the ends of time, to stay by your side until you don’t need me anymore, then that is what I will do.”

Her eyes filled with tears and he couldn’t stop himself. He stood and pulled her into his arms, breathing in everything she was. Her strength, her love, her fear, her courage. “You can do this, Rylee. You don’t need me. I’m not as strong as you. I can’t let you go, even though I made the choice.” He brushed her hair back and smiled down at her.

Her eyes swirled with her thoughts and he knew what she was thinking. After all, he’d been there when Faris had bit her. “Don’t worry about it. In the end, it will work out. And if it’s not okay, it isn’t the end. Trust me.” He kissed her forehead and stepped back before Faris took control again. He didn’t want the vampire to realize he could break through. Better for him to think Liam was stronger.

Far better than the truth: that if Faris really wanted Liam out, then there would be no fight. Liam would have to go and Rylee would be without him.