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coat.
    â€œWell, not know,” I clarified. “Ian and I had a run-in with them when I first came here last fall.” When I had offered Ian the Final Formula in exchange for his lab.
    â€œWhat happened?” Rowan asked.
    â€œThey followed me into his mausoleum, and Ian chased them off. They ran out of here so fast that they stumbled right into the cops who were looking for them. I later read that they’d held up a nearby convenience store.”
    â€œThat’s true,” Waylon said. “But it was their first major offense, so they got three months and community service.”
    â€œAnd once released, they decided to pay a visit to the guy they saw as responsible for their imprisonment,” Rowan said.
    â€œThey got a nasty surprise when they opened the crypt,” I said. Not that Ian would have been any better if they had found him in residence. “Morons.”
    â€œShit!” one of the agents shouted.
    I turned in time to watch an agent draw his gun and point it in my direction. That’s when I saw the open portal beside me. The agent must be a Sensitive. Clearly, he saw the portal, too.
    James leapt through the opening, landing on four paws a few feet from me.
    The agent’s dilated eyes went wide and he fired.
    A puff of dust exploded at James’s feet, then a searing burn tingled across my cheek. Surprised, I lifted a hand to my face, and my fingertips came away bloody. It took me a second to realize that the bullet had ricocheted off the floor and grazed my cheek.
    Stunned, I looked up from my fingers and met James’s glowing eyes. He lifted his lips and with a snarl, spun toward the agent.
    â€œJames, no!” Rowan shouted.
    James sprang.
    The agent screamed and fired again. James’s body jerked with the impact, but it didn’t alter his flight. Darkness enveloped him in midair, and he was human. He landed in front of the agent and in a move almost too fast to follow, caught his wrist.
    Even from across the room, I heard the crunch of bone. The man cried out, and the gun tumbled from his limp hand.
    â€œRelease him!” a new voice shouted.
    Agent Johnson and a half-dozen other men had their weapons aimed at James.
    James lifted his lips in a silent snarl. He shoved the man away from him and in another shimmer of darkness, he was again the hellhound.
    â€œNelson, stop him!” Rowan shouted at Doug.
    Doug rose to his feet, his blue eyes locking with Rowan’s. “No.”
    I stared at Doug. Was he doing this because he refused to take an order from Rowan?
    â€œJames will kill them,” Rowan said. “The Hunt has consumed him.”
    â€œI won’t give him a command.”
    Rowan frowned, glancing from Doug to James.
    James took a step toward the agents, his paws flexing to expose ebony claws that dug into the stone floor.
    â€œAddie?” Rowan said.
    â€œYes?”
    â€œScream.”
    â€œWh—”
    Fire suddenly enveloped me, blue-white flames so close that the heat seared my cheeks. I threw my arms up to shield my face, and the sleeves of my coat burst into flame.
    I screamed.

Chapter 3
    F ire filled my field of vision, and I squeezed my eyes closed.
    Arms suddenly wrapped around me, and I was taken to the floor. We twisted just before impact, and I landed on a warm chest instead of unforgiving stone.
    â€œAddie.” James’s arms tightened around me.
    I pressed my hands against his bare shoulders and pushed myself up until I could meet his glowing green eyes.
    â€œAre you okay?” he asked me.
    â€œOf course.” I frowned. “What the hell got into you?”
    He cupped my face between his hands. “Your skin is hot.”
    â€œAre you with us now?” Rowan asked from above us.
    James pulled back his lips, exposing teeth that weren’t human.
    â€œQuit,” I whispered. “He was just trying to get your attention. You know he would never hurt me.”
    James still