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scalded by the hot clasp of her cunt.
    â€œNo!” she cried, struggling beneath him. “Don’t stop. Please . . . ”
    How could he walk away? She’d sacrificed the life she’d built for herself to reenter his.
    He would do the same for her. He needed to do the same for her.
    â€œNever.” He growled and crushed her to him, resuming his claiming, his flushed cheek pressed to hers. “I’ll never stop. You’re mine. Mine. ”
    Victoria summoned the black robe Familiars wore when facing the Council and dressed silently. She’d preserved the garment all these years, saving it for the day she would face Them and exact her revenge. Now she donned it with a different purpose in mind.
    As she prepared to leave, her eyes never strayed from the sleeping form on the bed. Max’s powerful body sprawled facedown, the red satin sheets riding low on his hips. Gorgeous.
    She ached to touch him, to wake him, to look into those molten silver eyes one last time.
    How dangerous he was, even in slumber.
    Tears fell unchecked.
    Lost in her, his mind had lowered its guards, his thoughts and feelings pouring into her in a flood of longing and affection that destroyed. He was willing to give up all that he’d worked for to keep her, and she couldn’t let him do it.
    She couldn’t lose him like she lost Darius. The Council would be furious at being thwarted a second time. Their spite had cost her one love. She refused to let it cost her another.
    Better to lose him to a life apart from her than to death.
    So she covered her mouth to muffle her pain, and left him.

Four
    T he moment Max woke from the depths of sheer physical exhaustion, he knew she was gone. Their connection was such that he had felt Victoria inside him ever since the collar had appeared. Now the warmth she gave him was no longer there, leaving him cold.
    But he wasn’t alone.
    Once again, you exceeded our expectations, the Council said, in a tone laced with satisfaction. The Familiar is returned to the fold, a result she says would not have been possible without your power and expertise. We are pleased.
    Rolling out of bed, Max tugged on a pair of loose-fitting trousers, his heart racing in near panic. “Where is she?”
    She is preparing for the joining ceremony.
    â€œ What? ” He paused and glanced at the clock by his bed, his fists clenching. Two hours ago he’d been balls deep inside her. Now she was bonding forever to another man? “What’s the goddamned rush? I just collared her! The training wasn’t finished.”
    How could she?
    Black rage rolled over him.
    We felt it would be safest, and most effective, to partner her quickly. Her warlock will train her to suit him.
    â€œWho is he?”
    Gabriel was selected. He was the only warlock strong enough, aside from you.
    Max’s jaw ached from gritting his teeth. Gabriel was powerful, considered handsome, as popular with women as Max was, but the other warlock stayed far away from the darker edge of magic. To Max it was a weakness. Gabriel had a line he wouldn’t cross and it opened him to failure. Weakness like that would give Victoria too much leeway. She needed an iron fist. Craved it. Max had only one vulnerability, and it was one he needed to control her.
    Victoria herself.
    There was no line he wouldn’t cross to achieve his aims.
    And he proved it by abandoning his home, his ambitions, and the life he knew to go after her.
    Victoria stared at her reflection as the handmaidens adjusted her robes for the ceremony ahead. Her eyes were red-rimmed, bloodshot, bruised from lack of sleep and too much crying.
    She’d forgotten who Max was, seeing him only through smitten eyes, failing to remember that he was a Hunter and next in line to ascend to the Council. He’d spent centuries working toward his goal, and two weeks working on her—one of many assignments in his past, with more to come in his future. He