Echo had one last hope, and he only prayed it would work. “Syx!” he screamed inside his head. He didn’t know what the limit was on the distance Syx could hear a person’s mind. With any luck, he was still close enough to his lover for it to work.

  The farther the man carried him into the woods, the more Echo’s hope began to fade. He called for Syx over and over inside his head, telling him where he was and in which direction the stranger was carrying him.

  After a few minutes, and he still didn’t hear anyone shout his name, Echo knew he was on his own. He began struggling madly, biting at the hand over his mouth as he kicked behind him, trying to connect with any part of his abductor he could reach. Without someone to syphon power from, he was virtually helpless.

  “Be still,” the guy snapped.

  Echo ignored him, jerking his head to the side until he could sink his teeth into the fleshy part of the asshole’s hand.

  “Fuck! You bit me, you little shit!”

  He probably should have realized he was in some deep trouble at that point, but Echo kept right on struggling—until he was dropped to the ground and a hard fist connected solidly with the back of his head.

  Falling face-first onto the cold earth, Echo moaned, blinking rapidly to clear his blurred vision. He tried to push up, but a swift kick caught him in the ribs, causing him to cry out and crumple to the grass again.

  Sickening pain lanced through his side, and his head pounded as blackness closed in around the edges. Gods, he didn’t know if he was going to pass out or throw up. He really hoped it was the latter. He knew he didn’t have any hope of defending himself against the giant of a man, but if he could remain conscious, maybe he could figure a way out of this.

  Then the heavy, steel-toed boot caught him under the jaw, snapping his head back, and lights burst behind his closed eyelids. He didn’t even have time to cry out before the darkness swallowed him.

  Chapter Four

  Onyx sighed when the last of the taillights disappeared down the long, winding drive. “Well, that went well,” he mumbled to Syx. When he didn’t receive a response, he turned to look at his lover, his eyebrows drawing together when he found Syx staring off into space.

  Grabbing the man’s shoulder, Onyx shook him lightly. “Syx?”

  Syx blinked and shook his head several times before his eyes finally focused on Onyx. “Sorry about that. What did you say?”

  “Where did you go?” Something wasn’t right. He could feel it, and Syx’s little episode only cemented his certainty.

  “I don’t know. My brain went kind of fuzzy for a minute. It was like when I hear thoughts, but there wasn’t anything there, just white noise.”

  Onyx didn’t know why, but he suddenly needed to find their mate. “Where’s Echo?”

  “I’m not sure. I saw him heading toward the kitchen earlier.”

  “He wouldn’t go outside, would he?”

  Syx chuckled under his breath. “I think Echo will pretty much do whatever he wants.”

  “We need to find him.”

  His urgency must have finally gotten through to the warrior, because Syx’s eyes widened briefly before he nodded and hurried back into the house. “Has anyone seen Echo?”

  “Not since the little episode with Craze,” Fiero answered slowly.

  Onyx pushed past his lovers and marched toward the kitchen. He didn’t find his mate there, but he hadn’t expected to, either. Hurrying back to the living room, his heart pounded up into his throat. “Check upstairs. Look everywhere.”

  Thankfully, no one argued with him. Onyx paced back and forth in front of the coffee table, rubbing his hands through his short hair as panic threatened to seize him. This could not be happening. They’d just gotten Syx and Echo back after almost losing them in that cave. They were working to bring Hex back from whatever dark place he’d fallen into lately. He couldn’t lose them again.

  “He’s not upstairs,” Eyce called as he flew down the stairs, Hex right on his heels.

  The sight of their alpha went a long way in calming Onyx’s nerves. Hex would know what to do. The demon always had a plan. They could always count on him.

  Their eyes met across the room, and Hex rushed right over to Onyx and wrapped his arms around him. “We’re going to find him.” He released Onyx and turned to address the rest of the men. “Get Jet and Pax, we’ll see if they can track him. Someone find Mac. Maybe he saw something.”

  Though his heart still pounded in his throat, Onyx gave a shuddery sigh. He felt better now that they were doing something. “We watched everyone get into their cars, so we know he wasn’t taken in a vehicle. Whoever took him is on foot.”

  Hex clapped him on the shoulder. “Nice thinking.”

  Jet and Pax hurried into the room, stripping out of their clothes as they came. “We’re going to shift,” Jet explained. “We’ll go out back. Jinx and Syn don’t quite have the same sense of smell we do, but it’s better than yours. They’ll take the front.”

  “I’m going with them,” Craze announced and immediately crossed the room and slipped out the front door with his mates.

  “I haven’t seen anything,” Mac called as he came down the stairs with his lovers following behind him. “No visions or anything like that. I don’t know where he is. I’m sorry.”

  Though a little disappointed, Onyx knew it wasn’t the guy’s fault. Still, he was just desperate to find his mate. “I’ll go with the shifters.”

  Jet smirked at him as he streaked past. “Try to keep up.”

  “I’m coming with you.” Syx jerked his head toward the kitchen, then took off jogging toward the back of the house. “If they find anything, Jet can tell me without having to shift back.”

  Onyx hadn’t thought of that, but he liked it. The more time they saved, the more likely they would find their mate alive. A cold shudder racked his body at the thought of what could happen to Echo if they didn’t find him.

  A loud howl rent the air, and Onyx froze for a split second before sprinting to the back door and out into the night. Two enormous wolves stood in the moonlight, along with Syx and Eyce. “What happened?”

  “Footprints,” Eyce snarled, pointing to the ground beside one of the wolves’ feet. “They lead out toward the forest.”

  “Then what the fuck are we waiting for?” Onyx pushed Eyce’s shoulder, then Syx’s. “Move your asses.”

  “Go get Hex,” Syx whispered as his face paled. “Jet says he can smell blood, and he thinks it’s Echo’s.”

  * * * *

  Hex was just about to step out the back door when Onyx came barreling through it. He stopped abruptly, and Hex could tell just from the look on the warrior’s face that it was bad news.

  “Jet says he can smell blood, and he thinks it might be Echo’s. There are footprints that lead out into the trees as well.”

  Hex showed no emotion as he pushed past Onyx and out the back door. “Find the others and follow us,” he called over his shoulder.

  He didn’t wait for a response, but he knew Onyx would follow his instructions. Sprinting across the back field, his heart hammering inside his chest, he called out to the others. At this point, it just no longer mattered if there was anyone in the woods to hear him. He actually hoped someone heard his angry shouts and knew what awaited them when he finally found whoever had taken their mate.

  Within minutes he caught up with Syx and the shifters, jogging alongside his lover as they followed the wolves deeper into the trees.

  “Have they found anything?”

  “Not yet,” Syx answered. “Jet says the trace of blood is fading away.”

  “Maybe we’re going in the wrong direction.”

  “I don’t know, Hex. Something’s not right. We found footprints from what looks like a large boot by the back steps. Once we made it inside the trees, they just vanished.”

  A few minutes later, Onyx and the others caught up with them as well. “Find anything?” Onyx asked the minute he stepped up beside Hex.

  Hex shook his head. How the hell was he supposed to make a decision when his brain was still trying to rebel against the fact that Echo was actually gone? Shaking his head to clear away the depressing thoughts of what could happen if they didn’t find him in time, he noticed the others watching him, waiting for him to give them directions.

  “Okay, I think we’re searching in the right direction. If the footsteps led this way, and Jet scented the blood, I say we keep searching in this part of the woods.”

  Everyone nodded their agreement, but they looked dazed and disoriented as if they couldn’t believe this was happening.

  Join the club.

  “I think we should stick together,” Jinx said quietly.

  The vampire had a point. There was something dangerous in the trees. Hex could feel it like an electrical charge in the air. If they split up, they’d be able to cover more ground, though. The quicker they found Echo, the better. Why the hell did he have to make the decisions all the time?

  “We stick together,” Eyce said in a deep commanding tone. “We’ll spread out, but within shouting distance. Everyone got it?”

  Apparently they did, because everyone started moving. Stepping up beside his beta, Hex bumped him with his shoulder and sighed. “Thank you.”

  “You don’t have to do everything on your own, Hex. Now, let’s go.”

  It was just one more thing that Hex adored about the man. Eyce took charge when he needed to, and he never made a big production of it.

  He didn’t know how long they trekked the woods, calling out Echo’s name and searching for any sign of him. The farther into the trees they traveled, the darker it became, and Hex started to panic.

  It had been too long. What if they didn’t find him? Or what if they found Echo, and it was too late for Hex to help him? He sent up prayers to every deity he could think of, promising all sorts of things for the safe return of their mate.

  “Jet smells something,” Syx announced almost an hour later.

  They quickened their pace, knocking aside low-hanging tree limbs and stomping through the underbrush. The trees began to thin, letting the moonlight filter through the branches and illuminate the forest floor.

  Stepping around an enormous tree trunk, Hex lifted his head, and almost dropped to his knees and threw up. “Oh, gods, no.” He shoved his friends and lovers aside as he raced through the trees and snarled bushes. “Echo! Open your eyes, baby. C’mon, open your eyes.” Hex could heal a lot of things, but death wasn’t one of them. “Get him down!”

  He cradled his angel’s face, stroking the bruised and battered skin softly. His precious angel, the center of his very world, hung upside down, swaying gently in the cold breeze. His ankles were bound together and tied to a large branch high above them. His wrists were tied together in a similar fashion as they dangled over his head.

  Echo looked so pale beneath the dark purple bruises marring his face and body. He’d been stripped naked, beaten, cut, and bled from what Hex could tell. Sets of twin puncture wounds littered his body—at his neck, his wrists, the insides of his thighs, and even his stomach.

  The warriors gathered around him, Eyce sawing at the rope connecting Echo to the tree with a wicked-looking dagger. When the rope finally snapped, Hex and Fiero caught Echo, lowering him gently into Hex’s arms. Fiero whipped his shirt off over his head, and draped it over their unconscious mate. “Tell me you can fix this,” he choked.

  With a heavy heart, Hex shook his head. “I can’t fix this.” The search had taken too long. They’d hiked miles through the trees looking for their missing mate. Maybe if they’d found him sooner, Hex could have done something. But now, it was too late.

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” Vapre demanded. “Heal him! Bring him back! He is not fucking dead!”

  “No,” Hex whispered. “He’s not dead, but I can’t fix this.” He cradled Echo in one arm and brushed the hair back from his face. “Everyone calm down. He’s going to need us more than ever.”

  “I don’t understand.” Myst stepped forward and trailed his fingertips down Echo’s cheek. “Why can’t you fix him?”

  “He’s not broken,” Jinx answered quietly before Hex could speak. He patted the hand Craze rested on his shoulder then eased away from his mate to come closer to them. “His wounds will begin to heal themselves once the transition is complete.”

  “Transition?” Syx spun around so fast, Hex was amazed the warrior didn’t fall on his ass. “You mean…he…but what about…Oh, fuck me,” he finished his ramble with a groan. “This is not fucking happening.”

  “He’ll be thirsty,” Syn added quietly. “It is a good thing there are so many of you.”

  “We’ll give him whatever he needs,” Hex vowed.

  “He can’t be in the sunlight.” Jinx bit his lip and his shoulders slumped. “He can have the attic, and we will return to the basement.”

  “No,” Vapre answered immediately. “Thank you, but Echo would have a fit. We’ll take him to the basement for now, and figure out something else tomorrow.”

  “What the fuck is going on?” Onyx roared. “Why are we taking Echo to the basement? Why can’t he be in the sun? And what fucking transition is he talking about?”

  “Onyx, come here.” Hex waited for the demon to step closer to him then wrapped his free hand around the man’s neck and dragged him into a tender kiss. “Everything is going to be okay,” he mumbled a minute later.

  Releasing Onyx, Hex pinched Echo’s chin gently between his thumb and index finger, urging his mate’s mouth to open. His plump lips parted, and Echo moaned as he tried to snuggle closer to Hex’s chest. Before he turned his face, however, everyone in the clearing had a clear view of two wickedly pointed canines gleaming in the moonlight.

  “So, he’s…he…” Onyx’s eyes were as big around as dinner plates, and he shook his head back and forth frantically. “What does this mean? Is he still going to know us? Will he still be our mate?”

  “Of course he will,” Jinx said kindly as he patted Onyx on the back in comfort. Then he turned, crossed his arms over his chest, and smirked at Myst. “He’ll just be your little bloodsucker now.”

  “Does it hurt? I mean, when he drinks from us, will it hurt?” Myst rubbed at his neck and grimaced. “I’ve never had someone bite me before.”

  “It doesn’t hurt,” Eyce and Hex said at the same time.

  Hex remembered the two vamps drinking from his wrists, but there hadn’t been any pain. That’s not to say it had been a pleasurable experience. Maybe it would be different with Echo. The thought of his blood flowing inside his mate made Hex’s heart pound and his dick throb. Pushing away his less than noble thoughts, he returned his attention to Jinx. “Is there anything we need to do for him?”

  “Just be there when he wakes up. He’s going to feel like he’s on fire, and his throat will ache as though he’s gargled glass. It shouldn’t last more than a week or two, though. I was born this way, and I’m afraid I don’t know much about made vampires.”

  “I don’t know anything about vampires, so you’re one up on me,” Eyce said with a shake of his head. “Is he going to have to answer to the vamp that changed him? That’s how it works in the movies. They’re bound to their makers.”

  A feral growl rumbled in Hex’s chest and right up through his snarling lips. His mate would be bound to no one but them. He was already set on finding the bastard that had hurt Echo and ripping him apart slowly. This only cemented the fucker’s fate.

  Jinx chuckled, though. “No, it doesn’t work that way. He won’t be bound to them, though if they’ve had his blood, they’ll be able to find him until it works its way out of their system. He’s completely yours, however, so no worries.”

  Though relieved to hear his mate wouldn’t be condemned to walk beside someone else for all eternity, Hex couldn’t help but snort at Jinx’s reassurances. No worries, indeed. Their troubles were multiplying by the minute.

  * * * *

  Hot. It was so damn hot.

  Echo rolled to his side with a groan, his legs sawing back and forth against each other. The sheets beneath him were damp, his hair clung to his sweaty face, and his skin felt like it was melting off of his bones.

  “Echo?”

  “Drink,” he croaked. His mouth was desert dry and so sticky his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. His throat burned and ached, the muscles convulsing as he tried to swallow. He was so damn thirsty.

  “Echo, baby, come here,” Hex whispered and gathered Echo into his arms. “I’m going to help you, but you have to do exactly what I say.”

  Crying out in pain, Echo curled into a ball on Hex’s lap as sharp pains ripped through his stomach. It was like one of those sci-fi movies, and he just knew there was an alien trying to crawl out of his stomach. What the hell had happened to him?

  “Drink,” he whispered again. “So, thirsty, Hex.”

  “I know, baby. I’m going to help you,” his lover repeated. “Can you open your eyes?”

  With a great deal of effort, Echo managed to drag his eyelids open and blink up at his mate. His eyes didn’t go to Hex’s face, though, but locked onto the pulsing vein throbbing in the man’s throat. He inhaled deeply, a soft growl slipping through his panting lips when the sweetest smell hit his nose.

  Uncurling himself, he pushed up straighter in Hex’s lap, leaning closer to his lover’s throat as he followed the rich scent. His mouth went even drier if possible, his gums ached, and he darted his tongue out to lick a long line along the column of Hex’s throat.

  There, right there. That’s where the amazing smell emanated from. He licked again then skimmed his nose along the same path, inhaling deeply as his body shuddered.

  Hex’s large hand came up to cradle the back of his head, urging his mouth closer. “Drink, baby. Take what you need.”