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“Love doesn’t work out well for me, and I never intended to fall in love again.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” he murmured. “Unlike you, I’ve never loved, never thought I was capable of feeling that much emotion. You’ve shown me different. I love you, and whatever happens next, it was worth the price.”

Something relaxed inside her at his words. She’d lived a long life, but death came to everyone in the end, even the immortal races. What was important was making that death matter as you strove to make your life matter. She sighed, then slid her hands into his thick hair and tugged him toward her for one last kiss. A kiss that held everything they would never have together. After long seconds, he raised his head.

“We have to go.”

“I know.”

She stepped away from him and reached down to pick up her discarded clothes.

“So, how do we do this?” she asked.

“You distract Sardi, I’ll get Catrin out.”

“You can’t take on a whole pack of hellhounds.”

“I can hold them long enough to get Catrin away.”

“They’ll kill you.”

He shrugged but didn’t answer. What was the point?

They walked back hand in hand, Satan and Diablo padding silently behind them. Caleb squeezed her fingers then dropped her hand as they stepped back into the clearing.

Regan strode toward Sardi. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Caleb moving closer to where Catrin still knelt surrounded by the snarling pack of hellhounds. She forced herself to focus on Sardi, coming to a halt only a foot from where he stood. “So how do we do this?”

Sardi looked at her with narrowed eyes. He leaned close and breathed in deeply. “You reek of sex,” he said.

Regan shrugged and allowed a small smile to play across her lips. “I had to persuade him I was worth a life in exile.”

His gaze wandered down over her body. “And are you?”

She lowered her eyes, and then looked up at him through her lashes. “What do you think? I’ve learned a lot in two thousand years.”

Heat flared in his eyes until they glowed golden. His tongue flicked along his full lower lip.

“Do you remember how good it was between us?” he murmured. “Do you think of me when you lie with your dog?”

She moistened her own lips, saw his eyes follow the movement. “I’ve tried to forget but seeing you again has brought it all back.”

She thought she might have gone too far as his eyes narrowed on her. Then she heard the sound she’d been waiting for, the roar of an enraged animal, and the rush of air as a huge black wolf leapt into the midst of the hellhound pack, followed by Satan and Diablo.

She kept her attention fixed on Sardi. His gaze swung from her, and his eyes widened as he took in the attack. Regan lashed out, kicking his legs from under him. He lost his balance, and she leapt for him. She knew she couldn’t take him, but she had to give Caleb a few extra seconds to free Catrin. She landed across his hard body. For a moment, he lay still, and she glanced up to see what was happening.

The circle of hounds was broken, but Catrin still knelt in the middle.

“Catrin, run,” she screamed.

Catrin shook her head as if coming out of a daze. She stared, wild eyed, at the chaos surrounding her, then she scrambled to her feet, ran a few steps and turned back to look at where the wolf fought furiously against the hellhounds.

“Run,” Regan screamed again.

This time Catrin took off, disappearing into the forest without a backwards glance.

Beneath her, Sardi shifted. He was immensely strong, wrenching himself free of her grip with ease. She whispered a word of magic, but he held up his hand, and the spell bounced harmlessly from his palm.

“Bitch,” he snarled, and flung her from him.