At this, Gideon said nothing. She glanced at the back of his head, frowning as she waited for him to say that they could succeed. That they would. After all, what was the point of all this if he didn’t believe she had a chance?

“And you, my little dove?” Darius’s glowing gaze drilled into her. “You think this killer of lycans will save you?”

Claire opened her mouth but no words came. How could she claim what Gideon himself could not?

“Interesting.” He tossed the gun down with a noisy clatter. “You are both full of confidence. I’ll leave you to it.” His gaze hovered on her a moment longer. “Maybe we’ll meet again.”

“Don’t count on it,” Gideon replied.

Smiling vaguely, Darius turned.

“Wait!” Claire cried, rushing around Gideon.

Darius looked back over his shoulder, a dark brow arched.

“I was infected by a boy.” She held her breath, searching his face, hopeful. “His name was Lenny.”

“And you want to find him?”

“No. He’s dead.”

“Ah. You want to find his alpha, then.”

She nodded jerkily.

His silver gaze shifted to Gideon, then back to Claire, assessing, measuring. “I don’t know anything about a boy named Lenny. Or the alpha you’re looking for. What you’re trying to do is impossible. You’ll never find and destroy the alpha you seek before the next moon. You’d best adjust to the fact that you’re a lycan now.”

“A monster?” she cried, his words filling her with a keen sense of hopelessness. “Never!”

“A monster,” he echoed, cocking his head to the side. “Yes.” A humorless smile curved his lips. “I am that. And so are you.”

That said, he stepped back through the club’s door, his words ringing in her ears. You’d best adjust to the fact that you’re a lycan now.

Claire stared at the door he had disappeared through. “Why would he let us go?”

“I have no idea,” Gideon muttered, his expression troubled as he stared at the door Darius had disappeared through.

“He called himself Darius.”

“What?” Gideon’s gaze shot to her face with startling intensity. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, why?”

Gideon snatched up both their guns. After reholstering his gun and stuffing hers into his jacket pocket, he grabbed her hand and dragged her into the parking lot.

“Gideon,” she demanded, running to keep up with his long strides and trying not to sound panicked. “What’s going on?”

“Remember that lycan I told you about? The old one?”

Claire thought for a moment before recalling the twelve-hundred-year-old lycan he’d mentioned. “The one rumored to be dead?” she asked, a tight knot forming in the center of her chest, making it difficult to breathe.

“Yeah. His name’s Darius.”

A shudder ran through her and she nearly tripped over her feet. His hand tightened around her fingers and he increased his speed, pulling her along faster.