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escape.
    "We're not done."
    "No, Dupree, I think that's exactly what we are," she said stiffly, trying to tug her hand free.
    "It's not like you to run from a fight, especially with me," he murmured, pulling her into the circle of his arms.
    "I'm not in the mood for the same tired argument."
    It was hard to stay angry when he held her this close, rubbing soothing circles over her back. She rested her cheek against his chest, heard the hammering of his heart and felt his gusty exhale.
    "Darlin', I am not giving up on this argument."
    Of course, he wasn't, but neither was she.
    "There's nothing left to talk about then."
    This time he let her go.

Chapter Six
    Why do I feel like Contee's death is a catalyst that will shake the foundations of the Order? And the southern region will be right in the center of it. The idiot just had to go and get himself killed here, didn't he?
    --From the notes of Dupree Jackson
    Fuck. He'd handled that badly. Come to think of it lately that was the way he handled everything with Kara. He'd meant to make sure she was okay and ask if Contee had contacted her, then apologize for yelling at her after Winter's bonding ceremony. He had to reason with her, convince her merging was the wrong thing to do. But she tied him into knots so tight he couldn't think straight, couldn't explain. His demon side rose aggressively and he stood, fighting the urge to go after her and bury himself to the hilt inside her. To show her finally once and for all exactly what he felt for her, what he wanted from her. What he'd demand from her if she gave him half a chance.
    The long day took its toll, though. He swayed and sat down hard, weakness in his extremities forcibly reminding him that he was a long way from healed yet. It was frustrating as hell to have his mind racing way ahead of what his body was currently capable of. When had everything got so fucked up? Contee dead. Gia missing. Ben rogue.
    A condition Dupree was dangerously close to and he knew it. He also knew bonding with Kara would save him. But even as close to the edge as he was, he wasn't letting her make that choice without understanding what she was getting in return for saving his life. It was a hell of a bad deal for her. He wasn't blind or young. He'd lived almost eighty years now, even if he looked only in his early twenties. He knew his shortcomings. He was possessive, autocratic, jealous. Most of all protective. Bonding would likely make him worse.
    His instincts were only heightened by her intention to merge. He couldn't stomach the idea of her going through with the ceremony. It made him physically ill to consider it, that the woman who was all the sweetness and light in his life would become the carrier of something so vile. He'd done it out of rage and vengeance, and he didn't regret it. But she wasn't full of the same fury. She could have a good life here with them, a nearly immortal one if he bonded with her. As long as he lived, she would.
    Merging, assuming it was successful and she didn't die in the attempt, wouldn't make her any safer, either. That was an illusion he'd seen shattered far too many times. He tried not to think about Liza, the woman he'd loved years ago, but her image seared his brain anyway. She'd been such a fierce fighter and so beautiful that he'd ached every time she smiled at him. The last time he'd seen that smile they were fighting side by side. One careless move had ended her life. A life he'd expected to live with her, fifty long years ago.
    It had taken decades for the stabbing pain and guilt to dull. He'd been right there and unable to save her. He'd wrapped himself in indifference after her death, only allowing himself to care about Winter and Gia, but Kara had chiseled her way through that wall with hardly any effort at all. She'd burrowed so much deeper in his heart. What he'd felt for Liza paled in comparison to what he felt for Kara. He would never survive losing her.
    Maybe the truth was she didn't want to