hage came awake with a jolt. As he looked at the clock on his bedside table, he was psyched when he could focus his eyes and read the thing. Then pissed off when he saw what time it was.

Where the hell was Tohr? He'd promised to call as soon as he was done with the human female, but that had been more than six hours ago.

Rhage reached for the phone and dialed Tohr's cell. When he got voice mail, he cursed and hung up.

As he got out of bed, he stretched carefully. He was sore and sick to his stomach, but able to move a lot better. A quick shower and a fresh set of leathers had him feeling even more himself, and he headed for Wrath's study. Dawn was coming soon, and if Tohr wasn't answering his phone, he was probably doing a download to the king before he went home.

The room's double doors were open, and lo and behold, Tohrment was wearing a track in the Aubusson carpet, pacing while talking to Wrath.

"Just who I was looking for," Rhage drawled.

Tohr glanced over. "I was coming to your room next."

"Sure you were. What's doing, Wrath?"

The Blind King smiled. "Glad to see you're getting back to fighting form, Hollywood."

"Oh, I'm ready, all right." Rhage stared at Tohr. "You got something to tell me?"

"Not really."

"You're saying you don't know where the human lives?"

"I don't know if you need to go see her, how about that?"

Wrath leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up on the desk. His enormous shitkickers made the delicate thing look like a footstool.

He smiled. "One of you steakheads want to bring me up to speed?"

"Private biz," Rhage murmured. "Nothing special."

"The hell it is." Tohr turned to Wrath. "Our boy over here seems to want to get to know the kid's human translator better."

Wrath shook his head. "Oh, no, you don't, Hollywood. Lie down with some other female. God knows, there's enough of them out there for you." He nodded at Tohr. "As I was saying, I've got no objection to the boy joining the first class of trainees, provided you verify his background. And that human needs to be checked out, too. If the kid disappears all of a sudden, I don't want her causing trouble."

"I'll take care of her," Rhage said. When they both gave him a look, he shrugged. "Either you let me or I'll follow whoever does. One way or the other, I will find that female."

Tohr's brows turned his forehead into a plow field. "Will you back off, my brother? Assuming the boy comes here, there's too close a connection with that human. Just drop it."

"Sorry. I want her."

"Christ. You can be a real pain in the ass, you know that? No impulse control, but totally single-minded. Helluva combination."

"Look, one way or the other, I'm going to have her. Now do you want me to check her out while I do it or not?"

When Tohr rubbed his eyes, and Wrath cursed, Rhage knew he'd won.

"Fine," Tohr muttered. "Find out her background and her connection to the kid and then do what you will with her. But at the end of it, you strip her memories and you don't see her again. Do you hear me? You wipe yourself out of her when you're finished and you do not see her again."

"Deal."

Tohr flipped open his cell and punched a few buttons. "I'm text-messaging the human's number to you."

"And her friend's."

"You're going to do her, too?"

"Just give it to me, Tohr."

Bella was getting into bed for the day when the phone rang. She picked it up, hoping it wasn't her brother. She hated when he checked to make sure she was at home when night receded. Like she might be out screwing males or something.

"Hello?" she said.

"You will call Mary and you will tell her to meet me tonight for dinner."

Bella bolted upright. The blond warrior.

"Did you hear what I said?"

"Yes... but what do you want with her?" As if she didn't already know.

"Call her now. Tell her that I am a friend of yours and she'll enjoy herself. It will be better that way."

"Better than what?"

"My breaking into her house to get to her. Which is what I'll do, if I have to."

Bella closed her eyes and saw Mary against that wall, the male looming over her as he held her in place. He was coming after her for one and only one reason: to release all that sex in his body. Release it into her.

"Oh, God... please don't hurt her. She's not one of us. And she's ill."

"I know. I'm not going to harm her."

Bella put her head in her hand, wondering just how a hard male like him would know what hurt and what didn't.

"Warrior... she doesn't know about our race. She's¡ªI beg you, don't¡ª"

"She won't remember me after it's done."

Like that was supposed to make her feel less awful? As it was, she felt like she was serving Mary up on a platter.

"You can't stop me, female. But you can make it easier on your friend. Think about it. She'll feel safer if she meets me in a public place. She won't know what I am. It will be as normal as it can be for her."

Bella hated being pushed around, hated the sense that she was betraying Mary's friendship.

"I wish I'd never brought her along," she muttered.

"I don't." There was a pause. "She has an... unusual way about her."

"What if she denies you?"

"She won't."

"But if she does?"

"That's her choice. She won't be forced. I swear to you."

Bella let her hand drop to her throat, tangling a finger in the Diamonds by the Yard chain she always wore.

"Where?" she said with dejection. "Where should she meet you?"

"Where do humans meet for normal dates?"

How the hell would she know? Except then she remembered Mary saying something about a colleague of hers meeting a man... What was the name of the place?

"TGI Friday's," she said. "There's one in Lucas Square."

"Fine. Tell her eight o'clock tonight."

"What name do I give her?"

"Tell her it's... Hal. Hal E. Wood."

"Warrior?"

"Yeah?"

"Please..."

His voice actually softened. "Don't worry, Bella. I'll treat her well."

The phone went dead.

In Mr. X's cabin deep in the woods, O slowly sat up on the bed, easing himself to the vertical. He brushed his hands across his wet cheeks.

The Omega had left only an hour ago, and O's body was still leaking out of several places, wounds and otherwise. He wasn't sure he was up to moving, but he had to get the hell away from this bedroom.

When he tried to stand his vision spun wildly, so he sat down. Through the little window across the room, he saw dawn breaking, the warm glow splintered by the boughs of pine trees. He hadn't expected the punishment to last a whole day. And had been sure at many points that he wouldn't make it through.

The Omega had taken him to places inside of himself that he'd been shocked to find he had. Places of fear and self-loathing. Of utter humiliation and degradation. And now, in the aftermath, he felt as if he had no skin, as if he were totally open and exposed, a raw laceration that just happened to be breathing.

The door opened. Mr. X's shoulders filled the frame. "How are we doing?"

O covered himself with a blanket and then opened his mouth. Nothing came out. He coughed a few times. "I... made it."

"I was hoping you would."

For O, it was difficult to see the man dressed in regular clothes, holding a clipboard, looking as if he were ready to start another productive workday. Compared to where O had spent the last twenty-four hours, the normalcy seemed fake and vaguely threatening.

Mr. X smiled a little. "So, you and I are going to strike a deal. You get in line and stay there, and that won't happen again."

O was too exhausted to argue. The fight in him would come back¡ªhe knew it would¡ªbut right now all he wanted was soap and hot water. And some time alone.

"What do you say to me?" Mr. X demanded.

"Yes, sensei." O didn't care what he had to do, what he had to say. He just had to get away from the bed... the room... the cabin.

"There are some clothes in the closet. You good enough to drive?'

"Yeah. Yeah... I'm fine."

O pictured the shower at his house, all creamy tile and white grout. Clean. So very clean. And he would be, too, when he got out of it.

"I want you to do yourself a favor, Mr. O. When you go about your work, remember what all that felt like. Call it up, keep it fresh in your mind, and take it out on your subjects. I may be irritated by your initiative, but I would despise you if you went soft on me. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sensei."

Mr. X turned away, but then glanced over his shoulder. "I think I know why the Omega let you survive. As he left, he was quite complimentary. I know he'd like to see you again. Shall I tell him you'd welcome his visits?"

O made a strangled sound. He couldn't help it.

Mr. X laughed softly. "Perhaps not."