“Selma, there’s someone I’d like you to meet,” he said, not missing how her wide eyes did a double-take of Meredith’s rounded belly. “This is Thomren, my second-in-command, and his mate, Meredith. She’s agreed to look after you while he and I work out a few details.

“Details?” Her voice was filled with suspicion.

It pulled at something in his gut—that innate urge to protect and soothe that her presence forced upon him—and he’d crossed the floor and placed a calming hand on her shoulder before he’d even realized what he’d done.

She shivered under his touch, fear mixing with uncertainty, and Kain cussed internally as his cock stirred.

Fucking pheromones.

“Yes. Details. If I am to follow through on my promise to you, there are preparations to be made, and we will need to leave before your presence in my territory becomes common knowledge. My men are loyal, but if you linger in my residence, rumors will spread. The sooner you are out of here, the better.”

Except the longer he stared down at her, the harder it became to bear the thought of handing her over to whichever divine being hosted the sanctuary his mother had noted in her journal.

Again with the fucking pheromones. He’d never been this riled up by a Breeder—she had every instinct in his body on edge, desperate to claim and possess.

But even if he didn’t keep his promise to her, he’d still have to give her up—and to lowly demons who’d fight over the right to rut her like common beasts.

“We leave in half-an-hour. Be ready.”

Brusquely, Kain released his grip on her shoulder and motioned at Thomren to follow as he strode through the door, doing his level-best to keep his raging instincts at bay. Entertaining the urges flooding his mind and body would bring nothing but frustration.

Thomren followed him, clearly unhappy about releasing his grip on his mate, but the fact that there was only another Breeder left behind with her seemed to dull his second’s protective urges enough that he managed to obey his Lord Protector.

Kain led him to his study, leaving the door cracked so they could hear the women. It was for his own sake as much as it was Thomren’s.

“All right,” Thomren sighed, folding his arms across his chest. “I’m gonna guess you didn’t ask me to bring my pregnant mate around if I’m just here to take the girl back to her master.”

“She’s scared of us,” Kain said, fingering his shirt sleeve in an effort to keep the anger at Selma’s ordeal down. He needed a calm, rational mind to plan his next move. “She wasn’t given to a mate. Her Procurer tried to keep her for himself—abused her in the process.”