Chapter 3

He came to her room after dinner. She invited him in. It was the first time he'd seen her rooms. They were warm, simple, and elegant, clothed in shades of green. A small sitting room led to a bed chamber and that is where he would wait.

'Did you lock the door?'

She laughed. 'I always do. It doesn't stop him.'

He said no more, only watched her light a fire in the small hearth and pace nervously about the room. He felt he should say something. Tell her it would be all right. But he was occupied with his own anger eating at him from the inside. He should have known something was wrong. He should have protected her. These were foolish thoughts, he knew. He had never been in this den at the same time as Stefan. There was nothing he could have done before now.

He heard a sound in the hall and Janya heard it too. He nodded to her and then he slipped silently from the sitting room into her bedchamber to hide. They knew Stefan would smell him, so he'd sat by her side through dinner and made it a point to dance with her often and hug her before they were seen to part ways. Hopefully it would be enough for the man to dismiss his scent.

Lucian heard the lock click and the door open. Stefan was inside as easily as if the door had been left open.

'And finally, we're alone.' The door closed and he heard the quiet shuffling of boots on stone. 'You certainly made a spectacle of yourself at dinner, hanging on Lucian all night. You wish to be one of his whores, is that it?'

'No.'

'No? That's what it looked like to me.'

'I don't care what you think.'

A gasp.

'You should.' A pause. 'Do you pine for him? Is that why you continue to refuse me?'

'No. ' Another gasp. A whimper.

'Then tell me what I want to hear.'

'No.'

'No?' An angry growl. A crash. Glass shattering. 'We'll see, won't we?'

A cry. Footsteps drawing near. The sound of something being pulled across the floor.

He passed through the door an arm's length from Lucian, dragging Janya by her hair. She clawed his hand and kicked as he pulled her along.

'That's enough.'

The man stopped in his tracks and spun around but he did not release his hold on the woman. Instead he laughed, for the first time surprising Lucian with his actions.

'I see I was right.'

Lucian stepped out of the shadows. 'Let her go.'

Stefan obeyed but why was a matter of question. There was no deference in his eyes or his stance. Janya backed away from him, retreating to the wall.

Stefan dared not take his eyes off Lucian. 'She's mine.'

'I don't think so. She gave you her answer.'

'A woman's mind can be changed.'

Lucian shook his head. 'You'll never have her.'

He laughed, coldly. 'I already have.'

Another step. 'Her body, you've taken … but her heart, her mind, her soul. She will never give them to you.'

'But she'll give them to you. Is that it?'

He couldn't say why those words angered him. 'To someone. Some day.' He lunged forward, lashing out at the man, sending him careening against the stone. He took the fool by the throat, cutting off his air and held him pinned to the wall. 'But not to you. You have your answer. She's mine now, under my protection. You can either accept this or challenge me if you prefer to die.'

Stefan dared not touch the hand wrapped around his throat. He was a lycan and the instinct to submit to one more powerful was strong within him. He nodded as best he could in answer and Lucian released him. Stefan stood, straightened himself, and headed for the door. Before he left he glanced back at the woman who sat still with her knees drawn up, propped against the wall. Submitting to Lucian was one thing, apologizing to her was another matter.

'Not his whore?' he said. Then he left.

Lucian watched him go. He should have knocked his teeth in for that remark. It would make him feel better, but would have accomplished little else. He moved to where she sat and offered her a hand. She shook her head.

'Just go.'

He understood her need for solitude and turned away toward the door. When he got there he paused and looked back at her. 'You're not mine or anyone else's. You belong only to yourself.'

She nodded in acknowledgment of his words and before he closed the outer door he heard a whispered: 'Thank you.'