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D om had slept with Madeline in his arms most of the night. Her restlessness was understandable since she was eager to return to her home in St. Louis. Though his sleep was troubled also, he didn’t disturb her. He left her to her dreams as he pressed against her naked back, enjoying the caress of silky skin for the last time.

Ever since Gareth, Dom had avoided deep connections. Somehow, Madeline had slipped beneath his barriers. He’d miss her. As he stroked fingers through her soft hair, his heart ached. Taking her home was the right thing to do, but for a brief time, he’d had someone who cared for him as much as he’d cared for her. He’d had someone who hadn’t betrayed him.

Shaking off his regrets, Dom slipped silently out of bed. He stepped into his pants and headed for the kitchen. After he’d been working on breakfast for a while, Maddy stumbled in, sleep rumpled and knuckling her eyes. She wore his t-shirt, reminding him he’d miss the sight of her long legs, her wit, and her hesitant smile.

Freki prowled alongside, her hand tangled in his fur. She patted his head. “The mutt’s famished.” She yawned.

Growling, the beast said, “Damn straight. How about some gently seared steak?”

Dom sneered at the wolver but asked Maddy, “How about you?”

“Always hungry.” She snagged orange juice from the fridge and poured two glasses. Afterward, she filled the wolver’s bowl with water.

Freki lapped it up.

Dom set a plate of chopped beef on the floor next to the furry creature’s other bowl. He returned to the stove, piling scrambled eggs, potatoes, and bacon onto plates. Putting one in front of Madeline, he saved the larger portions for himself. He lugged a stool alongside her.

As they ate in silence, Maddy’s hand lingered on his thigh. Dom smothered a groan.

After a bite of bacon, she slapped a hand to her mouth, pushing her plate away. “Ouch.” With an elbow resting on the counter, she braced her chin on her palm.

“Problem?”

“Toothache. Just a twinge. Nothing serious. I guess I’ll go to the dentist when I get home.” She paused, her hand continuing to stroke up and down his leg. “Before I forget to say it, Dom, thank you for saving me.”

“No need to thank me for doing my job.”

“You do it well.” Patting his leg, she rose, gathered her plate, and reached for his.

Dom let the subject hang. He wanted Maddy to stay, but a mortal human didn’t belong in OneWorld. Wishing things were different changed nothing. “Leave the dishes.”

“Okay.” She spun around, calling over her shoulder as she sprinted from the room, “I’ll get dressed.”

Dom shoved the plates and flatware into the dishwasher, ignoring the crumbs on the counter. Maddy would gasp at his lack of perfection.

Aw, damn.

He swiped a sponge over the countertop.

There.

“What’s going on?” asked Freki, his bowl licked clean.

“I’m returning the human to Earth.”

“Who’s gonna feed me when she’s gone?” His ears flattened.

“Why don’t you catch your prey like other wolvers?”

“Shouldn’t have to. I’m special. The prototype. The first of my kind.”

“I guess you’ll have to rely on me. Besides, as I recall, I feed you all the time.” Dom leaned against the kitchen counter, one ankle crossed over the other.

“I like Madeline better than I do you. She’s softer. She smiles more. You’re mostly grumpy.” Freki snarled, flopping to his stomach and stretching onto his forepaws.

Dom glared. “Yeah? Well, adjust. Life isn’t always about what you want.”

Madeline strolled back in, dressed in a cropped tee and jeans which made her ass look spectacular. She wore sexy ankle boots. “What are you talking about?”

“You,” said the wolver. “I don’t want you to go, and Mr. Personality doesn’t give a shit.”

When she looked dejected, Dom blurted out, “Not true.”

The beast stalked to Maddy, rubbing against her legs. Her hand caressed his head before he trotted off, tail in the air, grumbling about how if she loved him she wouldn’t leave.

Madeline brushed away a tear while watching a proud but downhearted wolver leave the room.

“Weepy for the damn mutt?”

“You and Freki. I’m a sap.” She ran into his arms, nuzzling his chest.

Though they stood clutching each other for a long time, he refused to admit aloud that he’d miss Maddy. The words were too painful. He desired the impossible, and the impossible was best left unsaid.

Maddy seemed to sense that as if she knew him too well.

After they strolled wordlessly hand in hand into the salon, her chest expanded with a deep breath, followed by a sigh. “I’d like to fly over the snowy mountaintops. A little detour on the way home?”

“Sure.” He swallowed hard. Their time together would end as it had begun. Maddy would be in his arms flying over Angor. He had let her get close when he’d sworn never to repeat the past.

With a wave of his hand, he clothed her in a down jacket, gloves, and a warm hat. Placing an arm under her knees and the other around her back, he clasped Madeline to him as before.

She smiled and echoed her first demand. “Don’t drop me.”

In spite of himself, he grinned. “I’m very strong. I don’t drop hitchhikers.”

Dom’s onyx-tipped wings whipped out before pounding down to lift them off the floor and soar out of his home. He skimmed the tops of the snow-capped mountains. The weather honored her farewell trip with clear skies.

She swiped moisture from her cheek. “It’s amazing. I’ll never forget.”

Dom’s heart broke with each tear. Not wanting her to remember sadness, he swooped low, skimming the ocean. When he flew close enough that spray from the wind-tossed waves peppered them, Madeline squealed, laughter erupting from her lips. A roller coaster, he shot straight into the sky, dipped, and looped to the sounds of her delight.

With Maddy happy again and a storm on the horizon, he ended the tour. Dom swung toward the rocky-peaked Razor Mountains. North of that range, they’d take the pathway to Vast. From there, he’d travel to Earth.

As they neared the gateway, six Scourges flew at them from behind a low, dark cloud. They encircled Dom and Madeline.

Without thinking, Dom clutched Madeline tighter, pointed his head down, and arrowed toward a canyon below.

When he touched ground, he shoved her behind him, a mountain at their backs. The Scourges landed, spreading out in a line.

Flesh Eaters. All of them.

To secure Maddy, Dom fanned out his massive black wings. He unsheathed feathers tipped with onyx, sharp-honed blades. Then before the attackers were fully in place, he released two, beheading an equal number of Scourges.

Four assholes left.

He’d make this fast. Recognizing the leader, he asked, “What the fuck are you doing, Farce? You don’t stand a chance.”

The Scourge’s skin peeled from his exposed arms, revealing spots of blackened flesh, just like his buddies. This is what he’d saved Gareth from experiencing.

“Have to try, Dominion.” Farce had been an Immortal warrior, part of the OneCreator’s personal guard. An honor. Then he was caught feasting on a buddy. Off to Angor.

“Why?”

Farce spread his legs, a battle stance, preparing to fight. “To get out of the Ordeals. Can’t stand them.”

“So reform.”

The Scourge cackled. “Don’t think that’s in my future.”

“If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.”

Madeline shouted at his back, “Be careful, Dom. They look scary.”

“Just give me the female, and we’re outta here. No fuss. No muss.”

Why would they come for Maddy?

“Not gonna happen. Fuss away.”

On Farce’s signal, the four came at him, swords swinging.

Dom spun, nothing more than a cloud of dust with projectiles launching from his wings. He ducked and side-stepped the attackers while blocking access to Madeline. He curled his wings forward, hurling onyx-bladed feathers. When they missed the targets, he drew his sword from the spine sheath. He swung, lobbed off a Flesh Eater’s head, and pierced another Scourge’s heart. Farce’s remaining conspirator took to the skies, a deserter.

“Just you and me. What do you think of the odds, Flesh Eater?”

“The creats and missing the Ordeals were worth the risk.” Farce figure-eighted his blade.

Cheesy.

“Who sent you? If you tell me, I won’t extinct you.”

“That’s a lie.” He lunged at Dom. “I’ve sealed my fate for a chance at freedom.”

Dom struck with sword and feather. The first to the heart. The other lodged in Farce’s neck. Clean and mean.

The once-honorable warrior’s attack added to the questions piling up. Who wanted the human female and had the power to hire these assholes?

He sliced off the Scourge’s head before he spun toward Madeline, muttering the words, “May my blade bring you peace.” She peeked around him to check out the bodies while he pathed Harmony to pick up the fallen.

Dom grabbed Maddy, tucking her against him as he streaked toward the pathway to Vast and Earth.

No more tours or aerobatics. He’d promised to take her home. While he couldn’t be killed, she could. And somebody was set on getting her. Though it pained his heart, he forced himself to picture Madeline happy on Earth, shelving books in the library, enjoying her job, eventually married, and surrounded by beloved children. What he could not bear to imagine was her dead or in captivity as a Scourge’s plaything.

Yes . Maddy had gotten under his skin. After he returned her to Earth, however, everything would be normal again. He’d be the perfect winged assassin of the OneCreator. He’d have meaningless encounters with females. He’d keep Immortals at a distance so that he wouldn’t feel anything if he had to punish them. And if he got lonely, he’d remember the beautiful blonde, blue-eyed human who had cared for him and whose silky skin he had loved to caress.

When he spied the passage ahead, he kicked up his speed. “There it is. You’ll soon be home.” Dom held his grief in check for Maddy’s sake. Besides, what would he do with a human in Angor? She’d be in constant danger. Without wings, she had no transportation. It would rankle her to rely on him.

Yeah .

He was doing what was best, but he’d miss her. So would the damn wolver, Freki. But screw him.