The Atlantic took on the sheen of black onyx, which added to the creep factor as my demon escort walked me to the beach. My new wings commanded my full attention as they messed with my equilibrium, but I also had to focus on my taloned feet, which had me stumbling like a drunk. Would Christoph be able to carry me now that I had adopted my gollum form, or would I be too heavy and awkward? Unless he knew the terminus mantras, he had no choice. He was stuck with a flightless gollum. Although my initial objective for changing was to give me a fighting chance if I had to defend myself, I actually felt more vulnerable. I might end up putting my own eye out. Of course, being a female, I had other weapons in my arsenal, and I felt no shame in pulling out all the stops.

"The water is beautiful at night," I said as Christoph helped me overcome the obstacles of walking across the sand with three inch toenails. "Do you see the ocean much in your travels?"

"Yes."

"Do you like to fly over the water?"

"Yes."

Hmm. Christoph's one word responses made me suspicious. Five minutes ago, I couldn't shut the guy up. Was he closing himself off? Was he regretting letting me in? I wasn't foolish enough to believe Cecile, or even Willem, had my best interests at heart. According to the gollums, demons were the scourge of the earth, and most of the literature supported this belief. The two species had been enemies since the beginning. Maybe it was best to avoid the subject of demons and play the naive female.

"Can you give me some pointers on how to operate these wings?" I asked as I stretched for the thick ribs that protruded from my back. I was only able to touch them with my claws, so I abandoned my efforts, fearing I might damage them.

Christoph watched my every move. In fact, he hadn't taken his eyes off me since we left the tree line, and his piercing gaze worried me. I knew that gaze. Heath used the same one just before he tackled me to the bed and fucked me senseless. Vincent also used the gaze whenever he lost control. It seemed my hybrid nature brought out the beast in the men in my life. If only I knew how to tame them.

"We can worry about that later," Christoph said, and I noticed his tone had no inflection to it. The friendly demon had vanished, and his shoulders shifted forward subtly, locking into predator mode. When he glanced at the sky, I knew my moment was nearly past, and bolting was not a good option. The heavy wings and my gollum feet were definitely an obstacle I could not overcome. So, I opted for my secret weapon. I puckered my lips and whistled as loud as I could.

"Reese, stop!" Christoph swiftly bridged the gap between us, slapping his clawed hand over my mouth. It all happened so quickly, I found it hard to believe he hadn't gouged me with his nails. My pulse ramped up when I felt his other hand grasping tightly to my wing. "You'll never be accepted by the gollums once they know the truth about you," he said. "Do you really want to go back to them?"

Really? Now, he was using brainwashing techniques? I wasn't even sure I believed Christoph's story about my supposed demon grandfather. Maybe he had lied in the hopes I would follow him more willingly. Slowly, he released my lips, and although my impulse was to whistle again, I spoke first.

"Maybe I won't tell them."

He cocked his head as if he needed to see me from a different angle. "You wouldn't do that, Reese. You already have the pack mentality. Hiding a secret like that would be betraying your clan, like Emile did."

I swallowed and the sensation felt like I'd eaten broken glass with an arsenic chaser. Christoph was right. I could never keep a secret like that from Vincent, and when he found out, he would tell me we could never be mated. There would be no offspring coming from these loins. Was that such a bad thing? I had never been eager for kids, although I would never tell my parents that. In fact, I hadn't even considered kids until I met Vincent.

"C'mon, Christoph. I'm not stupid. You told me most demons think I'm pond scum. Do you really expect me to believe they would accept me? I don't really belong anywhere."

I swallowed even harder after that last comment, and I felt like the air had been extracted from my lungs. I wanted to be angry. It was my go-to response, but I was finding it difficult to keep from crying. Never cry in front your enemy had to be rule number two on the villain versus damsel instruction guide, right after keep your enemy talking to delay your death. For his part, Christoph had not tried to carry me off. Maybe he was figuring out how to manage it. I could only hope.

"Maybe you belong with your brother," he offered. "You seemed excited when I mentioned you had one."

"And you said my dad never told anyone about his illegitimate hybrid daughter, so how does that help me?"

Christoph had nothing immediate to offer in reply, and I felt the tension build as he kept our bodies snugged against each other. Once again, I sensed the conversation deteriorating, and I began my whistling assault, getting a long one in before he silenced me. Only, this time, he used his mouth, capturing my lips with his. I shoved against his chest with all my strength, but he had me by the wing, and struggling only caused me pain.

He forced his tongue past my lips with no regard for my fangs, and I felt the brain buzz start up. I knew what he was doing. He was using the kiss of submission to subdue me, a demon's weapon of choice when their options were limited, but I knew a thing or two more than I did when Kelly seduced me at Dungeon Masters.

"Et receptum release," I said as I pushed Christoph away, although my body didn't seem as eager to retreat as it had before.

Christoph's arms relaxed around me and he relinquished my lips. I took a tentative step back as we exchanged a long, searching stare. I could see his dilated pupils, and his fangs grazed his lips as his tongue darted out to wet them. Apparently, he had nothing to say, and I couldn't come up with anything either. My mind was busy wondering why he had stopped kissing me. I was starting to enjoy it.

That's when I heard the hum, or was it a whoosh? Either way, the sound made my skin prickle with chills, and Christoph blinked rapidly as he craned his head to look at the sky. I followed his gaze over the stand of pines beside us. How had we gotten to the beach? For the life of me, I couldn't remember. My brain wanted to panic, but a pleasant calm had washed over me, and I rested my head against Christoph's shoulder, using his muscular body to take the weight off my back.

Christoph startled at my gesture, taking his eyes off the horizon to point his gaze at me, and I smiled shyly back at him. It looked like he wanted to kiss me again, but he spoke instead. "Stay with me, Reese. I will protect you from the gollums. They are your enemy."

Gollums? Had he seen them approaching? Were they really my enemy? I thought they were coming to rescue me. I glanced past his head, zeroing in on a line of winged creatures descending out of the southern sky, at least six of them, and I felt Christoph's arms stiffen around me as he whispered a curse. A moment later, a scream pierced the silence. It sounded more like a war cry than a plea for help, and Christoph spun us around, turning his back on the flying beasts to face the source of the cry.

"It's about damn time," Christoph growled against my head. "Here's our backup." He gestured upward as more winged beasts angled for the beach. "Remember, Reese. Gollums are your enemy."

He finished his sentence by capturing my lips again, pressing an urgent kiss to my mouth and dragging me under his spell until all I heard were his words repeating 'Gollums are your enemy'. Another scream echoed from the heavens, only this one came from the gollums descending from the south. I had a feeling the shit was about to hit the fan, but Christoph's arms felt strong around me, and somehow I knew he wouldn't let me come to harm.

I watched with numb curiosity as the pack of gollums flew over the ocean, dropping in synchronicity to meet the dark horizon like fighter pilots on an airstrike. At the front of the line, one gollum led his troops. His body out-bulked his comrades, and the icy shimmer of his eyes cut through the night like steel. I knew this gollum, and a not-so-distant part of me knew his name was Vincent. Did he intend to hurt me? Was he here to do battle with Christoph?

As soon as Vincent's taloned feet hit the sand, he broke into a run toward us, and the others followed suit behind him. I vaguely recognized the dark-haired gollum making haste to catch up. A brother, maybe. I shook my head to loosen the memories, but the buzz held me captive. Was I Christoph's captive?

"Let her go, Christoph!" Vincent bellowed as he skidded to a stop in front of us. The other gollums flanked him, each one sporting bloody cuts on their face and arms. They appeared to have already engaged in a battle.

"I don't think so," Christoph said as his grip tightened painfully on my arm. "She won't be fooled again. She knows who the enemy is now. Don't you, Reese?"

I glanced at the faces of the gollums, willing myself to remember them so I could fill in the blanks. Had Christoph snatched my memories when he kissed me? Had he tricked me on purpose or was he trying to protect me? I should be able to decide who my enemies are.

"Reese, please. Come." Vincent uttered his plea as he held out a blood-stained hand.

"I... I don't..."

A series of thuds interrupted my incoherent stuttering, and the distinctive sound of flapping wings told me the demons had arrived behind us, but I didn't turn around. I was lost in Vincent's gaze as his eyes churned like molten hot mercury. They bored into me, drawing a memory from my head, the memory of him kissing me passionately in the elevator of Twenty Exchange Place. His home. My home.

"Haven't had enough, gollum scum?" said a demon as he pulled up beside Christoph. He looked pretty beat up, and he a favored a leg that had been wrapped in a bloody shirt.

"It looks like you have," Colin shot back. Yes, that was Colin. Vincent's brother. My friend. The gollums were my friends, not my enemies. Christoph had been feeding me a line.

"Et receptum release." I spoke the mantra into Christoph's ear, making sure he heard me. As soon as his grip loosened, I staggered away from him.

Christoph made a desperate grab for me, but Vincent was quicker, snatching my arm and hauling me into his chest. The impact felt like I'd hit a brick wall, and I flinched when the pain radiated through my back.

"Are you injured, Reese?" Vincent's deep voice resonated in my head like a loudspeaker, sending hot spikes of desire through me. What was that about? This was not the time to get horny.

"I'm fine. Just having a hard time maneuvering with these." I gestured to my wings sandwiched against his chest.

Vincent stared at me in what appeared to be pride and awe, but his attention was quickly drawn to the demons, who made a collective move toward us. The gollums were outnumbered by three, although everyone appeared to need medical attention and a hot shower.

"This battle is over, Christoph," Vincent said. "Go home and nurse your wounds."

Christoph laughed but his amusement waned when no one joined in, and he assessed the sorry condition of his comrades with a scowl. "The battle may be over, but the fight is not," he said. "And now the stakes have been raised." He directed his dark-eyed gaze at me when he spoke again. "When you are ready to accept the truth, Reese, just whistle and I will be there."

With a broad sweep of his arm, Christoph motioned his pack into the air, and my weary body collapsed into Vincent's possessive hold. He growled low and menacingly as he watched the demons vanish into the night sky, but I suspected he was damn glad the demons hadn't pushed their advantage. When he turned me in his arms and stared into my eyes, I sensed his uncertainty.

"Christ, Reese. I thought I'd lost you." Vincent nuzzled my hair, and I lifted my face to look at him. There wasn't much distance between my mouth and his, which made it easy for him to claim my lips as he kissed me hard. Our fangs collided but it didn't distract us from our mission to devour each other, and we didn't let go until one of the gollums cleared his throat.

"I suggest we save the reunion until we've returned to the city. Lucy will have my head on a platter if I stay out past dawn." I glanced at the speaker and realized Charleton had joined the rescue party. This both surprised me and made my throat tighten with emotion. He had left the safety of the domus to come to my rescue, and I noticed he was the only one without any battle wounds. Rafael was also in attendance, sporting a bloody welt over his left eye. Had Vincent given it to him or one of the demons who attacked them? Had the challenge been decided before the attack? Who won? Did it even matter anymore?

Vincent seemed apprehensive to release me, but when he did I felt a hand come down on my shoulder. When I turned, Colin was smiling down at me.

"It looks like you found your inner gollum without us," he said. "I was hoping I could be there for that. How was it? Painful?"

"Worse than a kick to the gonads." I raised my eyebrows for effect, and Colin automatically grabbed his crotch. No further explanation appeared to be needed.

With Vincent's help, I recited the terminus mantras, and spent the next few minutes returning to my human form. Fortunately, I didn't pass out during the transformation, but I would have appreciated the distraction of a shower. As I traveled over the city in the clutches of Vincent's firm arms, I replayed the events of the day in my head, making sure all my memories had returned.

One memory stuck out among the others, the promise Vincent made about having his way with me after the challenge. I wanted that more than anything, especially after the ordeal we had both endured, but Christoph had revealed a painful truth during my abduction, and I knew I would have to tell Vincent. The only question was... when.

PLAYLIST SONG: Voices by Rus Ballard