him murmur her name, heard the love in his voice as he closed the tiny pinpricks in her throat. his hands were gentle as he moved her to a more comfortable position.

you called me an arrogant jerk, jaxon. that was not very nice. your bedside manner needs to improve immensely . you're lucky i didn't kick you. you scared me to death. and just remember, mr. arrogance, it was a human that nearly did you in. i knew you were the type of woman who would say "i told you so."

despite the weariness in his voice, there was a hint of laughter.

if she had the strength, she might have hit him, but she was far too tired to make the effort. she lay slumped on the deck, unmoving.

i knew you had a penchant for violence, he teased.

jaxon felt it then, her stomach clenching in a hard knot.

he is here . yes, my love, i know. do not worry. this monster will never harm you or anyone you love again.

his voice, his beautiful, black-velvet voice, was as tranquil as ever. he did not tell her, as he saw no need, that he was incredibly weak and that gabriel with francesca was aiding him from a distance, their combined strength pouring into him.

you must be careful this time.

her words, even without her voice to speak them aloud, were slurred in his mind.

sleep, my love, and do worry about me. no!

her protest was sharp. do

not try to force me to sleep. i must be aware in case you have need of my help.

lucian did not point out that she was too weak to fight her way out of a paper bag. he sat up carefully, not wanting to undo all the repairs jaxon had so meticulously made. he needed several days of sleep in the rejuvenating soil before he would be back to his full strength.

drake was only a few yards away now. lucian could hear him as he moved through the brush toward the lodge. he waited, sitting beside jaxon, one hand tangled in the mop of wild silky blond strands he loved so much.

this was the one then, the monster who had taken control of jaxon's life at such an early age. tyler drake. lucian could feel her tension, although she tried to conceal it.

lucian sent her a wave of warm reassurance before he turned his attention to the approaching monster. he sent his voice, the perfect weapon, out into the night. "you will come to me unarmed, drake."

there was no way to disobey that voice that could so easily enthrall. under compulsion, drake moved out into the open, both hands empty and in plain sight. his eyes were restless, blinking rapidly, repeatedly. he was sick, his mind twisted, his thought processes unnatural. lucian realized then that he had thought drake a camper or hiker because the man wasn't actually thinking of killing anyone. he wasn't planning it. he considered himself a good man, a man who loved his child.

"you have caused jaxon much sorrow in her life, mr. drake," lucian said quietly, his voice gentle. "i can do no other than ask that you no longer walk this land with her. you must go to a place where one much greater than myself can pass judgment on you."

jaxon's slight body was trembling visibly. she was far too weak to sit up beside her lifemate. she lay on the deck with her head in lucian's lap and his hands in her hair. she touched lucian's mind, found him tranquil, at peace. even with one such as drake, he felt no anger, no sympathy, no remorse. he carried out his responsibility without emotion, as he always did. she slipped into his mind, allowed his peace to wash over her, through her. she didn't hate drake, and she didn't feel sorry for him; she only knew that lucian had to destroy him.

lucian stared at drake, unwilling to utter the command aloud for jaxon to hear. drake brought his hands up to his throat as he began to fight for air. lucian concentrated on the man's chest. inside the man, his heart was shutting down, chambers clogging as his blood thickened. veins collapsed, arteries shattered, and tyler drake shuddered and went down abruptly, sitting on the snow-covered ground, then toppling over to lie still.

jaxon could only stare in astonishment, half lifting her body in astonishment. that was it? after years living in torment, she couldn't be free so easily. so quietly. she glanced up at lucian.

is it over? he's really dead?

lucian wrapped his arms around her protectively. "he is dead," he said out loud, knowing she needed to hear the words spoken.

jaxon closed her eyes and slipped back toward the deck, fainting for the first time in her life. lucian moved with his preternatural speed, his arms cradling her head before it could hit the wood. she wasn't going to be very happy with herself for fainting.

exhausted, lucian allowed gabriel to do most of the work as he gathered energy particles from the sky and sent them flaming into tyler drake's body. when there was nothing left but ashes, he lay back beside his lifemate, pillowing her head on his shoulder. it was only then that he noticed she was covered in his blood. the last thing he wanted was for jaxon to awaken in that state. he was going to have to concede to her that he might have been a little arrogant where drake was concerned. she would never let him get away with anything less.

right now you need to go to ground.

that was gabriel, acting as if his twin needed to be taken out behind the proverbial barn.

gabriel, easily picking up lucian's thought, gave a rather rude snort of derision.

i do not think that will happen anytime soon. francesca says get beneath the earth immediately, and take your lifemate with you. she has given far too much of her strength in healing you .

lucian shook his head as he gathered jaxon into his arms. gabriel had to have the last word. he was like that.

only because i am always right.