Zoë tried to sleep on the couch, constantly aware of the eyes on her. She wasn’t used to sleeping under observation and if sleep came, it was in blind fragments. The night was too long, especially when she didn’t know what was waiting on the other end.

She tried to think about Lucien’s beauty, tried to worry about Ainsel and their parents, tried even to go through her mental catalog of photos. But instead no matter what she tried, she couldn’t stop thinking about how once upon a time she’d wanted Tyler to be attracted to her. She’d imagined dating him. She’d wondered about kissing him. And in her dreams it had been wonderful.

But now she couldn’t erase the terrifying memory of his mouth hot against hers. He’d told his followers that once they’d done the hard work of solving the mystery of Lucien, he’d have something nice waiting for him. Somehow Zoë didn’t think whatever it was would be nice for her, unless she failed to manage to resist his power over her mind. Then who knew what she’d enjoy.

She’d done all this to save Ainsel’s foster mothers. She hoped they’d managed to make it to Lucien, and that Lucien had opened his sanctuary to them, after she’d been taken. She hoped this was all worth something.

She tossed and turned and wondered if she could escape. Once, she got up to find the bathroom. She wasn’t going to be able to squeeze through the tiny bathroom window, but Jae rose silently from where she’d been crouched against the wall and followed her, right into the bathroom itself. The wolf girl hadn’t said anything, just watched her like she was waiting for Zoë to break and run. It had not been a very relaxing experience.

Worse was when she left the bathroom, brushing past Jae. Danui stood at the end of the hall, looking out a tall window. Zoë hesitated, then went to stand beside him.

“You seem nice,” she whispered. “Why are you doing this, why are you helping him?”

He glanced down at her, sadness darkening his eyes. “You couldn’t understand. We can’t beat him, him or his kind. We never could. We were their slaves and it turns out when they show up again, we still are.”

Stubbornly, refusing to think about his words, Zoë said, “You can resist him. I did.”

Danui shook his head. “I’m not special like you. I’m just a wood keeper’s son. I didn’t deserve what Remy did for me and I certainly can’t resist a Night Master. I thought—but now I know better than to even try.”

“That’s just his power talking. He’s convinced you—“

“Jae!” called Danui. “Take the girl back to her couch. Don’t let her wander around again. She might get into trouble, and then Tyler would be disappointed.”

Jae’s slim hand, as strong as steel, closed over Zoë’s arm. “Come on. I won’t let you disappoint Tyler.” She pulled and Zoë followed, stumbling over her own feet because Jae was just that strong.

Zoë was put back onto the couch like a bird being pushed back into its cage. She curled up there, under the blanket they’d found, and tried to relax enough to sleep. As she watched the room slowly lighten as dawn approached, she felt numb. She was no longer afraid of what was going to happen, only desperately tired. Her body was still and warm and she thought that if only the dawn came and they left her alone she might finally fall asleep.

Instead, Tyler reappeared. “Did you sleep well, lovely? Time to rise and shine. I’m going to bring you along, just so I can show off.”

The numbness vanished in a flash of burning fear, leaving her exhaustion ashes. In the aftermath, she thought, I have to escape. I can’t let him do this.

She rose to her feet, shedding the blanket. “What are you going to do?”

“It’s a surprise,” said Tyler, grinning. “You’ll be impressed. And then you’ll be mine, for real. I’m looking forward to it. I think you’ll make an excellent Night Master eventually, with a will like yours.”

Before Zoë could really process his words, he added, “Bring her outside. No, not you, Jae. I want her without any jealous pinches and bruises. Orli, you take care of her, there’s a good puppy.”

Jae flushed and turned a furious glare on Zoë, while Orli came up to take Zoë’s wrist. He held it behind her back, twisted at an angle that would hurt if he applied more pressure. Another of the werewolves joined him, ready to grab her other arm if she was difficult.

There was a knock at the door. Tyler’s brow furrowed. “Jae, you can see who that is. We’re going out the back door.” Jae vanished toward the front door for only a moment, as the rest of the pack organized themselves to leave. Then she called, “It’s that woman. Andrea.”

Zoë’s heart squeezed as Tyler paused in opening the sliding glass door to the back yard and brightened. “Let her come in.”

Jae and Andrea appeared. Andrea looked rumpled and unfocused. She didn’t even seem to notice Zoë in a wrist lock. In a distracted voice she said, “I’ve brought Kishar. I think she knows something about Ainsel but she won’t tell me.”

“Andrea, no!” Zoë burst out, knowing it was useless. Whatever she’d used to break through Tyler’s mind control, nobody else seemed to have it.

Andrea’s gaze flickered over her with a cold disinterest. “Kishar’s outside. I had to lie to her to get her here but she doesn’t trust me anymore.”

“Aren’t you a good girl? I’ll have to keep you around later,” said Tyler, to a strong, accomplished woman in her fifties, and Andrea accepted it with a smile. “All right. We can go out the front, and I’ll pick up your partner.”

It was a cold, clear dawn, still dim enough that stars were visible. Clouds piled on the horizon, the sure sign of a wet morning to come. Zoë was cold despite the warmth of Orli and the other werewolf right behind her. When she saw Kishar leaning on their car parked along the curb, the chill against her skin seeped inside.

Kishar met her gaze. Her lips pursed. “What’s going on here?”

“Get out of here!” called Zoë. “Before it’s too late.”

Kishar’s mouth curved in a little smile. “Not without you. Now!” As she spoke, she pulled a large day-glo blaster out from behind her back and started shooting it. Little darts sped everywhere and exploded, just as there were bangs and flashing bright lights all around Tyler, Zoë and the werewolves. Zoë’s eyes immediately flooded with tears and her nose started running. Her face felt like it was on fire and her breath rasped in her throat. But Orli was hit too, and he let go of her hand to rub at his face with a hoarse, crackling cry.

Zoë tried to run, but the bright lights confused her. She started to fall, when somebody caught her arm. It was Andrea, who was wearing a thin plastic mask over her face. “Come on,” she said, her voice muffled. “He’s waiting for you.”

With a massive exertion of willpower, Zoë made her legs obey her and staggered in the direction Andrea pushed her, mostly because it was away from Tyler. More lights flashed around while the werewolves snarled and howled. She thought she heard Tyler cursing. She thought she heard her mother calling her name. Then—

“Zoë!” That was Lucien. He was right there beside her, one knee bent. “Climb on.”

Zoë scrabbled at his mane then toppled onto his back. He surged to his feet, stepping sideways as Zoë overbalanced in that direction. “Let’s go.”

Tyler’s cursing stopped, to be replaced by wild laughing. Lucien’s muscles surged under Zoë and she tangled her fingers in his silken mane. “What… what about Kishar?” Her nose was so swollen she couldn’t recognize her own voice.

“They have a plan. I’m taking you to safety and they’ll meet us there.”

Zoë had to accept that, because Lucien was moving, and moving fast. She crouched low over his back, burying her burning face in his mane. Even through the pain in her sinuses she could smell Lucien’s scent. She concentrated on it, and on clinging to his back with every muscle.

It only took a few moments for the burning in her face and nose to fade away, although her eyes were still uncontrollably tearing up. Once she felt Lucien’s feet leave the ground and wondered blearily if he’d taken flight. Then he came down again, stumbling once and catching himself. “Sorry. Not used to jumping with a passenger.”

His voice wasn’t affected by running at all, even though Zoë herself could barely manage to catch her breath. But after what seemed like only a few more minutes of running, he slowed to a smooth trot and then a walk. “Are you all right?” He came to a halt and looked over his shoulder at Zoë and she realized they were once again within his sanctuary.

Gratitude rushed through her. She slid her hands from his mane to twine around his neck, pressing her cheek against him. She’d been so afraid of whatever Tyler had in mind. But Lucien had come for her. She’d felt so alone and desperate, but she hadn’t been.

A thought occurred to her and she straightened up, then awkwardly slid off his back. Her legs wobbled, but as she started to fall, he stepped around her and ducked his head so she sagged against the top of his neck. One ear twitched at her waist level and then he nudged her back to standing.

“Lucien,” she said, then stopped to cough extensively. Even when Lucien rested his horn on her shoulder, the wracking cough continued. It just hurt less, which was odd.

When at last she’d cleared the irritant from her system, she wiped her streaming eyes and looked up at Lucien again. She kept remembering Tyler’s laughter when Lucien had appeared.

“He saw you. Tyler. He’s looking for a unicorn and now he knows you’re here. You were hiding and you came out for me…”

Lucien shook his white head. “I wasn’t going to leave you with him. And your friends came up with such a good plan.”

Zoë shook her head. “I don’t really understand what happened.”

Lucien lowered himself to the ground. “Come, rest against me and I will tell you while we wait.” He looked up at her with his deep green eyes, and lowered his head partially in invitation.

Tyler’s kiss flashed through Zoë’s mind: a physical memory of his mouth on hers. Her face grew warm and she rubbed her cheeks, wondering why. Then, feeling strangely shy, she sat down beside Lucien and leaned on his side.

“I was extremely upset when the wolves took you, but I was still groggy from the magic working extending the sanctuary so it was hard for me to think about what to do. But a few moments later as I was gathering myself again, your friends Kishar and Andrea came down the hill. They were arguing but I realized I needed their help. So I came out of the sanctuary and showed myself to them, just as you’d planned. I brought them into the sanctuary, cleared Tyler’s influence from Andrea, and then we talked about what had happened to you.”

Zoë absorbed this, sorry she hadn’t been able to see how Ainsel’s moms reacted to seeing Lucien for the first time. “Were they hard to convince?”

Lucien gave her a look she was starting to recognize as thoughtful. “Not really. They did react differently than you in a few ways. One important one.”

“What was that?”

Lucien hesitated, turning his ears toward the edge of the sanctuary. “They approach now. You can see.”