Anger unfurled low in Gideon’s belly. What exactly went on between Claire and this lycan to make her trust him? “Why would she trust you?” he demanded, refusing to believe that she would turn to a lycan for help over him.

“We have an understanding.”

Gideon had no reason to feel betrayed. He and Claire had exchanged no words of love, made no promises. He shouldn’t feel betrayed that she accepted the help of another, of a lycan—but he did.

“What kind of understanding?” he growled.

“Whether you believe it or not, I’m not your typical lycan.”

Gideon had no trouble believing that. So far this lycan had displayed behavior far from customary. The fact that Gideon was talking to him and Darius had not tried to rip out his throat said a lot.

Darius went on, “I lock myself up during every full moon so that I won’t feed.”

“Right,” Gideon snorted. He didn’t know what was more unbelievable. That Darius claimed to lock himself in a room or that he didn’t want to feed. Once a lycan fed and tasted human blood he lost all conscience. The beast ruled him. “No room can hold a lycan in the throes of blood hunger.”

“I’ve built one that can. A tank couldn’t crash through these walls. It’s impenetrable.”

Gideon stared at him. It couldn’t be that easy to save Claire. Could it? True, he had never thought how one might save someone from shifting. Before Claire, he had never wanted to.

“Don’t believe me.” Darius shrugged. “Claire does, and I promised to keep her safe.”

Darius’s words ripped through him like a bullet, reminding him that where he had failed, this lycan had managed to deliver.

Then he remembered one important fact. “Locked up with you is safe?”

“The rest of the world is safe from us, yes.”

“But she’s not safe from you.” Gideon was no fool. He knew what would happen between them in that room once they shifted, and he couldn’t stomach the thought.

“She is what she is. As am I.” He waved a hand at Gideon. “She doesn’t belong with you.”

“But she belongs with you?”

“I’m a lycan. She’s a lycan. You are not. Think about it. I’m offering her a chance, a way out without risk to others or her soul.”

Gideon struggled against Darius’s offer, wanting to deny it, wanting to reject it as a possibility, knowing that releasing Claire meant giving her up—that she would belong to Darius. He couldn’t deny his feelings for her any longer. He loved her. He wanted her to live. Even if it meant living without him. Even if it meant giving her to this lycan.

He lowered the gun until it hung loosely from his fingers.

“All right. Let’s find her.”