"You're hurt."

Reid stared at Kane from across the table. "I'm fine."

Has there ever been a bigger lie spoken?

Everyone was upstairs, in the backroom with the baby, or outside. They'd been given privacy for this hour-long talk that had left Kane sick. Reid hadn't cried once while recounting finding his mother on the edge of death. He'd held his mother's hand while the ambulance came, but she'd been so out of it, delirious from pain, that she'd thought he was Azrael.

Reid looked dead.

Kane couldn't blame him.

Witnessing his mother's last moments after she was brutalized was terrible enough for Reid. But carrying the memory of her fear of him and pleading with him to stop had haunted Reid so profoundly that it was no wonder Reid wanted the hurt taken from him with that spell.

Rowan had been crying enough tears to compensate for Reid's lack of emotion.

Sitting to Kane's right, Hannah had wiped at her teary eyes a few times, too, especially when Reid told them how kind and patient his mother was. Imogen was beautiful, and all those things and more. She loved Reid and risked her life to free him from Gabriel's clutches.

All she ever wanted was for Reid to be safe.

"I can give you some of my blood," Kane offered. His veins thrummed uncomfortably. "In a cup." At this point, if he let Reid's fangs cut his skin, there would be no coming back for him.

Reid scrunched his nose.

Okay, fuck you.

"No, thanks," Reid rasped.

"You can't starve yourself," Kane said with an edge.

Reid stared. The deadness in his gaze spoke enough. It said, Can't I?

No, the fuck he can't.

Kane would force blood down his throat if Reid went another day with bruises on his face. After giving Lucas and Kane blood at the bar, Reid suffered the torture Azrael had forced on him, then threw up all the blood Azrael had given him.

Reid must be starving.

Hannah spoke up, "You can't hold on to what your mother said in her last moments. She wasn't herself." She reached across the table and gently held Reid's hand. He let her, his blue gaze downcast. "She wouldn't want you to hold this pain. Would she?"

"No," Reid answered quietly, and Hannah patted Reid's fingers.

Reid was having difficulty catching his breath, his chest rising quicker and his nostrils flaring slightly.

Here it was.

The break.

Kane knew it was coming and necessary, or Reid wouldn't heal. But still, it scared him shitless. Because Reid wasn't known for choosing the healthier path, there was a good chance Reid would spiral and not return from where he'd fallen.

Rowan rubbed Reid's arm soothingly. Her freckled cheeks were wet from tears. "We're here for you, hun. Whatever you need. Just ask us. Okay?"

So slowly, as if he were worried Rowan would back away from his touch, Reid reached up and grazed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. The sadness in his eyes snuffed the warmth from his gentle smile.

"I love you, Rowan."

"I love you, too," Rowan whispered back.

After a shaky exhale, Reid rose, and Kane followed, his chair hitting the wall behind him with a soft thud. Hannah grabbed Kane's arm to stop him from chasing Reid through the kitchen. But he wouldn't. He didn't know what he'd say to Reid if he did.

Reid had watched his mother die. He'd had to relive it when that spell broke. Then, a few hours ago, he'd fought and failed to protect Lucas. Kane knew what that failure felt like. He was doing it now, failing as he did nothing to stop Reid from escaping into himself again.

How long until Reid tried to numb the pain with anything or anyone within reach?

"Reid..." Rowan said warily as Reid stalked across the kitchen.

Reid stopped, holding the wooden framing of the doorjamb.

"I'm here for you," Rowan told him, rising from her chair.

"I just need to be alone for a while," Reid declared tightly.

"Okay," Rowan whispered, her eyes miserable.

Before Reid could flee the kitchen entirely, Kiernan emerged from the dimly lit hall with a deep frown, blocking the doorway.

"Don't," Kiernan said to Reid sternly. "It won't help."

Kiernan must be sensing something they couldn't because Reid looked away sharply, breathing quicker.

The vampire stepped closer to Reid. Kiernan had unbuttoned the collar of his plum silken shirt. Somehow, dressed casually, he seemed far more dangerous. Or it could be the glare Kiernan was fixing on Reid as he seized Reid's chin.

Some freaky vampire shit was going on that Kane couldn't follow.

Whatever it was, Reid made a soft noise of despair that sent Kane's instincts to protect on high alert. The only reason he didn't race across the kitchen was because Hannah still held his arm, her touch keeping him grounded.

Reid shoved Kiernan and took the chance to slip away.

He ran.

It was the only reason Kiernan wasn't able to grab the back of Reid's shirt and drag him back. Reid was down the hall and out the back door before Kane let out his held breath.

The patio door slammed, resounding through the house.

They stood in silence for a long moment.

"How is he doing?" Kane asked Kiernan tightly. "He's not telling us shit."

"He's on edge," Kiernan answered with a tired sigh. "He's a newly turned vampire, and with his extra circumstances, it's difficult for him." His gaze lingered on the hallway, his expression forlorn. "After what happened this afternoon, we should watch him closely."

"He remembered some stuff about his mother's murder," Hannah revealed sadly.

Kiernan's gaze fell to her, shock plain on his face. Then, he nodded grimly, looking for a moment much older than he appeared. "That's..." He exhaled shakily. "All we can do is provide our support."

"Should I chase after him?" Kane asked.

"No. He'd probably run away again. He's closed off. It's difficult for me to reach him. Our bond had been healing since... It's worse than before. He's keeping me out. He doesn't need me and that means I can't reach him."

Hannah rose from her chair. "You can't do anything for him right now," she said to Kane gently. "Let Reid get some stuff out while he's alone."

"That's what I'm worried about," Kane grumbled.

He knew what happened when Reid was left alone. He self-destructed.

"How is everything?" Hannah asked Kiernan, her palm soothingly rubbing Kane's arm. She was trying to change the subject.

Kane appreciated the sentiment and her support, but it didn't work. He was actively fighting the urge to run after Reid.

"Alexander's child has been born. At the worst time possible," Kiernan replied to her, walking to the table and sitting heavily. "We allied with the Rosewood Coven but at the cost of losing Lucas. Truly, I don't know how everything is." He ran his fingers through his hair tiredly. "I feel as if we take one step forward only to take another back."

"What's the baby's name?" Rowan asked, sniffing a little. She wiped at her teary eyes with the backs of her fingers.

"Penelope." Kiernan leaned an elbow on the table, propping his chin on his palm. "I do not know the origins. Alexander seems to be happy with it. Crystal has been adamant she will be called Poppy."

"She chose the name from a baby book," Hannah said, smiling. She'd helped Crystal look through it for hours. It had been nice—a mundane reprieve amid so much tragedy and stress casting gloom over the house. "It's pretty."

"It's a flower," Kiernan returned.

Hannah just smiled at Kiernan wider, and the vampire raised an eyebrow in a way that Kane didn't like in the slightest. The guy was attractive; Kane could even admit that. Most vampires were.

Rowan had a flush to her cheeks, too.

What the fuck?

Kane cleared his throat, breaking Kiernan's siren power to subdue their women effortlessly.

"What about Darren's son?" Kane asked Kiernan. He'd nearly forgotten they'd kidnapped another person. "How is he? Any trouble?"

"He's playing cards with Wyatt, Anna and Uriah upstairs," Kiernan said. "He seems to be unbothered that he's been kidnapped to use against his father. Gianna said he seemed...lonely."

"That's so sad," Rowan said, frowning.

Kiernan shrugged. "He was easy to subdue."

Could he sound more villainous?

"Sterling?" Kane asked. "I haven't seen him in hours." He really should be keeping tabs on their other prisoner. But whatever. At this point, Sterling was their second house cat. He'd disappear, but he'd always return.

Fortunately, Sterling didn't scratch the furniture like Micio.

"I believe," Kiernan replied with a growing frown, "he's with your father. Readying spells of some kind."

"Yeah," Kane said with a sigh. "We have to be ready for tomorrow. I'll help them in a little while. Once I'm finished with Nyx and Stanton."

Kiernan leaned back in his chair. "Tonight. Someone will need to be on watch. We cannot trust the wards after they've been breached. And it's paramount that we keep ourselves safe. This war is important, but we cannot fight it if we are besieged."

"Sounds good," Kane replied absently, gaze flickering to the window.

"There's something else," Kiernan said, the seriousness of his voice dragging Kane's attention back.

Kiernan shifted in his seat slightly. The note of vulnerability, in the stony vampire's expression sharpened Kane's gaze instantly.

"I'll be meeting with Gabriel tomorrow morning," Kiernan said.

"No fucking way." Kane's heart hastened. That wasn't the plan. "You were supposed to have our backs when we went after that portal ring."

"It wouldn't look good for me to decline."

"I don't give a shit. It's not an option."

"You're not my keeper Rainer."

Hannah squeezed his arm, trying to calm him. It didn't work. "You're going alone?" Kane snapped. "No. We just lost Lucas. We can't lose you too."

Kiernan sighed exhaustedly. "Yes. I am aware it's dangerous. But this meeting with Gabriel is crucial. With the wards broken, we cannot be sure that Azrael doesn't already have our location." He sounded so authoritative that even Kane couldn't argue. "The only other place safe from Azrael is, I'll admit, somewhere I never wanted to return."

"Fawnhill's not a fucking option," Kane growled.

"It's our only option," Kiernan returned harshly.

"Reid will never step foot there again."

Reid had said many times that he'd kill himself before going back to Fawnhill. There had to be another way. After everything Reid had just been through, Kane couldn't drop this on Reid's shoulders. It would break the idiot completely.

"It's the only place safe from Azrael's influence," Kiernan explained gently. "This safe house was always temporary, but I had hoped that the wards would hold until this winter. I'm sorry. I hadn't thought of a contingency."

Kiernan looked so apologetic that Kane's anger dissipated. They all had pressure, but Kiernan had more than most. It was beginning to show in the vampire's exhausted voice and tired eyes.

"What if this meeting with Gabriel doesn't go well?" Hannah asked Kiernan. "If there's nowhere that's safe from Azrael, are we completely screwed?"

"If that happens," Kiernan explained, "then we'll have to keep moving, never staying somewhere long enough for Azrael to pinpoint our location. I honestly don't know how this meeting with Gabriel will go. But if we can come to an agreement to become allies in defeating Azrael, the outskirts of Fawnhill would give us enough land and provide safety as we assemble everyone who has pledged their aid in attacking Shadow Peaks."

Fuck. When did Kiernan become so reasonable? Maybe he always was, and Kane ignored it because the guy was an asshole. Now, Kane's shoulders slumped. His natural desire to argue still burned in his throat, but he kept his mouth shut.

They had no choice.

That didn't mean he wouldn't begin taking heads if he smelt a whiff of treachery.

"Who should tell Reid?" Hannah asked Kane nervously.

Kane sighed. "I will. Later."

Kiernan nodded. "I'll explain the plan to the others."

"Yeah," Kane grunted.

"Now that the matter is settled..." Kiernan said tiredly. "I have to write an email to one of the most influential vampires in the city. Blackmail him into helping us and threaten to kill his son if he does not heed my words. Does anyone wish to assist me? Or, better yet, write it?"

Rowan waved her hand in the air. "Oh, me! I'll help!"

"Have you ever written a threatening letter before?" Kiernan asked her, smiling a bit.

"Yup," Rowan answered, popping the p. "Remember the email that was sent to you from Uruguay?"

Kiernan sat straighter. He looked genuinely shocked, and Kane snorted a laugh.

"You sent that email?" Kiernan asked Rowan carefully.

"I did."

"It detailed personal information."

"Freaked you out, huh?"

"It threatened to kill me in numerous ways."

Rowan rubbed her palms together evilly. "Mhm."

"Why?" Kiernan said, looking utterly disturbed.

What the fuck was in that email?

"No reason in particular," Rowan answered with a shrug. "Presley said I didn't have the courage to send an email to Gabriel to freak him out. I did one better! I sent one to you."

"But why?" Kiernan asked again, voice cracking slightly. "Were you in need of funds?"

"Not really. See, that week, our cable got cut out. I forgot to pay the bill, so to entertain ourselves, I sent out some blackmail. All were secure and untraceable. It was for fun. I didn't actually want you to wire me ten thousand dollars."

Kiernan shook his head slightly. "But I did...You threatened to reveal my personal secrets if I refused."

"Yeah," Rowan said. As if realizing what she'd just admitted, her gaze became sheepish. "Do you want your money back?"

Kiernan stared at her. "No." From the table of messy tomes and papers, he pulled Reid's laptop closer and opened it. "Help me write this letter. That'll be your recompense."

"Okay," Rowan replied happily, nearing the table with a little hop in her steps.

Hannah's fingers tightened on Kane's arm. "Ten thousand dollars," she whispered shakily to him with wide eyes.

Rowan had stolen it, admitted to it, and then had the audacity to ask her victim if he wanted it back cutely.

Please, Reid, marry her!