“It was my pleasure, and my honor, to speak of my son, his lovely mate, and the others who I have met, grown to know, and grown to care about deeply,” Jian-Li replied.

The presenter smiled.

The red light on the camera blinked out.

“Excellent!” the production manager exclaimed, rushing up to Jian-Li.

But Gregor watched the television as the presenter finalized things, summing up, injecting humanity into every word she spoke about The Three, and finally concluding.

“We are not privy to what awaits these couples, husbands and wives, kings and queens, partners, or as they refer to themselves, as do we, mates. We have only been told that they have selflessly agreed to undertake a very dangerous mission to see to it that the human, vampire, werewolf, wraith, and phantom races can live peacefully, harmoniously, and safely.”

Her gaze intensified as the camera panned in subtly.

“And I, for one, with all my heart, thank them for their service and hope each one of them, Lucien, Leah, Callum, Sonia, Abel, and Delilah, emerge unscathed. To this end, I will pray for them. I do hope for these brave souls that you pray with me.”

She drew in breath and dipped her chin.

“Thank you for watching. Stay calm. Stay safe. And stay hopeful,” she finished.

The program ended and a newscaster came on.

The volume was muted and Gregor felt Jian-Li touch his arm.

“That went very well,” she stated.

“It did, indeed,” he agreed, moving his hand to cover hers on his arm. “You did beautifully.”

“I hope so.”

He gave her a small smile.

“What the hell?”

This came from the man with headphones and Gregor’s attention moved to him immediately.

Then his body locked.

“What’s that?” a woman carrying a clipboard and standing behind him asked, her eyes glued to the bank of monitors.

“Don’t know. What…? I…Fuck!” the man with headphones cursed. “The feed has been taken over. I don’t…Shit!” he exclaimed, rising from his seat.

Jian-Li’s hand had become a claw on his arm as he felt her body strain against the tightness in it, doing all it could to survive the unhealthy speed of the beat of her heart.

And Gregor knew why.

Because on every screen was Etienne, standing in the middle of a street somewhere.

And with her back to the camera, facing him, stood Delilah.

Chapter Twenty-Six

We Are The Three

Delilah

I walked down the street cautiously, my stomach knotted with panic. I saw faces in windows peeking out from behind curtains. I felt eyes on me from everywhere. I felt fear choking the air.

I had no idea where I was. I had no memory of putting on my tee, my jeans, my motorcycle boots.

I had no idea how I got there.

This couldn’t be right. I couldn’t be here.

Why was I here?

Alone.

No one with me.

Not a single one of The Three.