Phone, police, help. Her first step was disastrous. She careened into a table and heard gla.s.s crashing as the table corner tore a stripe down her forearm. Her eyes hurt too much to make sense of the world around her.

Voices prevented her from losing herself to her pain. They came from the same direction as the phone. Whoever had brought her here was coming for her.

Dr. Czerno. The monster in the corner.

Fear flew through her. She turned, slammed into something twice her size, and fell backwards. Her hand fell away from her eyes to reveal a furry, fanged monster from a nightmare framed against the light.

Sofia screamed. It swiped at her, and she backpedaled, hopping to her feet. Disoriented and mostly blind, she ran into a wall, shoved herself off and smashed into another monster. With another scream, she bolted and careened into a door that gave.

The room was dark aside from curtains opened to allow the moon to shine through. She staggered up, cursing the drugs and Jake for her inability to balance, and slammed into several pieces of furniture as the monsters chased her. The lights went on. Blinded, she tripped over a stool and hauled herself into a corner, chest heaving and body slick with sweat and blood.

"What happened?" a m.u.f.fled voice asked.

She hugged her knees to her chest and peered through her fingers. One of the monsters pulled off its head to reveal a man. She squinted, realizing the two furry brown monsters were men in costumes from Where the Wild Things Are. Several more men entered the library, all staring at her in nothing short of total surprise. Either they were all huge enough to come straight out of an action movie, or her drugs had not yet worn off.

"G.o.ds, are you all right?" one asked finally, moving towards her.

"No!" she shouted. "Don't touch me, don't touch me, don't touch me!"

The last thing she needed was more of the gruesome visions!

"Sofi?"

While surprised to see him there, it struck her how well Jake fit in with the other men. He was built from the same mold large and muscular, the kind of man more fitted to military special forces or UFC prize fighting than financial planning.

The man approaching her had nearly reached her, and she huddled into a tighter ball.

"Han, don't!" Jake called. "Leave her be."

"She's bleeding to death!"

"Trust me. She'll go ape s.h.i.t."

Sofia wanted to pound Jake's face in. Her heart raced to the point of pain, and she felt sick enough to puke.

"Go get D," the man called Han said.

He squatted near her.

"You ok?"

Sofia's gaze cleared, and she focused on her surroundings. Her first impression was confirmed the men in the room were UFC material, all well over six feet and solid. They were all dressed for a white tie party in expensive tuxedos.

"I gave you enough drugs that you should be asleep until next week," Jake said, joining Han.

He was also dressed for the exclusive party. Seeing him well rested and well dressed p.i.s.sed her off even more.

"Can I help you up?" Han asked, extending his hand as if approaching a wounded animal. His brown gaze was friendly but cautious.

The others fanned out, and she suddenly felt like a lamb surrounded by a wolf pack trying to decide what to do with her. She didn't know these men, but her instincts told her they were 100% predators. They moved in tandem without looking at each other, their movements controlled and efficient. If she flinched, they'd snap in unison.

"What did you do to me, Jake?" she demanded.

"We'll wait on that," Jake responded. "There's a lot of blood. You ok?"

"You drugged me."

He rubbed his mouth.

"She's little, pick her up before D sees the blood all over the floors," another of the men urged.

"Don't touch me!" she warned again.

Despite being able to bench press two of her, the men actually listened.

"What happened to my floors?" another voice demanded.

If the men around her were predators, the man who entered next was their alpha. Unlike the others dressed for a white tie event, he was dressed in leather pants with a tight black Pearl Jam t-shirt, his hair braided, a chain from his spiked belt to his wallet, and heavy black boots. She didn't miss the way the others moved out of his way or the way the aura of command around him filled up the room. His gaze swept around the room methodically, coming to rest on her. He approached with a slow, steady gate, like a predator inspecting its disabled prey before going for the kill.

She tightened into her ball. He was as large as the others with olive skin, long white-blond hair, and golden eyes the unusual color of honey. His features were firm and chiseled. He was not a pretty boy but a man with rugged, bad-boy beauty and a slow sensuality about his movement that made her heart skip a beat despite her pain.

He knelt beside Han. She tensed.

"You got blood all over my floors," he told her, golden eyes taking her in.

"You can blame the Wild Things, D," Han said. "They scared the s.h.i.t outta her."

D reached out to her, and she recoiled, pushing herself farther into the corner.

"Sofi, you shouldn't " Jake started, eyes going nervously to the newcomer.

"Not gonna hurt you, ok?" D said, holding up his hands.

A sense of power swirled around him that scared her. She felt it circle her, prod her, and retreat. His honey gaze was similar to Han's: warm but wary. She ducked her head and braced herself as he reached for her again. His large hand was warm against her arm. No visions pierced her thoughts.

"See?" he said.

She looked up at him, surprised. By the look of understanding on his face, he knew what she expected to feel. Relief flooded her, and she flung her arms around his neck. She'd never known the power of a single touch until everyone who touched her hurt her!

"Sofi!" Jake exclaimed.

He touched her arm to pull her free, and she jerked as dark visions crossed her thoughts. Sofia wrenched away from both and pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes, trying to stop the visions. D touched her, and the visions fled as if at his command. The warmth of his hand drifted up her arm and through her, comforting her.

"She's special, isn't she?" Han asked D.

"Very," D replied. "n.o.body touches her."

His command was quiet and firm, but she knew no man in the room would disobey a man like him. His hand lingered on her arm, and she rested her forehead against his fingers, comforted for the first time in months.

"Jake, clean up the floors," D ordered. "Let's get you upstairs."

He lifted her and carried her down the hall, and up the stairs. Sofia's heart fluttered as she tried to take in the world of blinding lights and blurry colors. He turned the lights in her room on low and sat her down on the trunk at the bottom of her bed. She drew her legs up, feeling vulnerable and scared in the strange place.

"Han, get me some warm water and washcloths. I'll clean her up."

She didn't miss the surprised look on Han's face. He obeyed. D disappeared into the bathroom adjoining her room and washed his hands. When he returned, he pulled a chair from the wall nearer her and dipped one cloth in water, tugging her arm away from her.

"I can do it," she said, resisting.

He gave her a look that said he didn't have all the patience in the world then pulled her arm free again.

"Han, bring up some food," he said without turning to look at the blond man in the doorway.

Han disappeared.

Sofia was afraid to ask where she was, who the man was before her. Instead, she watched a man many, many times her strength gently clean the blood from her arm in unhurried, methodical strokes. His touch sent a tremor of fire through her, and she was embarra.s.sed to feel her hormones stir.

Here she sat, covered in blood, drugged, one day from being all out crazy, kidnapped, and the sight of the man before her turned her on. What was wrong with her?!

He was the s.e.xiest man she'd ever seen, and the swirling aura of command only amplified his physical appeal. It didn't take much for her to imagine what the body beneath the tight shirt was like. Wide shoulders, chiseled chest, rippling abs ... even his scent of pure man mixed with the mystery of night lured her like an animal falling for a hunter's bait. His attraction was inhuman.

He glanced up at her, amus.e.m.e.nt in the upturned corner of his full lips.

"You ok?" he asked, his quiet, gravelly voice making her heart quicken.

She met his gaze with a nod, and they looked at each other until her face flushed. She cleared her throat and looked down. The wound on her arm was gone. She pulled her arm from his grip and stared at it, twisting it left and right before lowering it.

In fact, she felt no pain at all, anywhere. She kicked out her wounded leg. It, too, was healed. All that was left was to clean was the blood.

"I'm going crazy," she said, voice tightening. "Oh G.o.d, I'm going crazy!"

Her vision blurred with tears, and she stood precariously.

"You're not so good on your feet yet," D said.

She felt his arms around her and leaned into him, surprised at how natural it felt to be held against a complete stranger who made her want to flee for the hills and strip naked at the same time.

"You're not going crazy," he a.s.sured her. "When you're well, we'll talk."

"You know what's wrong with me."

"Yes."

"Who the h.e.l.l are you?"

His warm chest vibrated against her cheek as he chuckled.

"Damian Bylun. If I'm not mistaken, you called me for help."

Suddenly, she wasn't so sure she wanted his help. Damian Bylun was not a doctor. h.e.l.l, she had serious doubts he was even human. She didn't know what he was, and she had a feeling he'd welcomed her into a world that only he could grant her leave from.

G.o.d help me.

He wasn't sure how someone going from the second to first floor had managed to get b.l.o.o.d.y enough to look like she crawled through a warzone. Most women were too intimidated to go near him, let alone get close enough to throw their arms around him. This one clung to him as if he were the only thing preventing her from being swept overboard. He'd watched her thoughts of him naked, flattered and turned on. It'd been too long since a normal woman got over his first impression.

He reflected on the images in her mind when Jake touched her. The instincts of the newly minted spy were dead on. She was the greatest find since he'd taken over the war from his slain brother.

He tried to move away, unaccustomed to anyone touching him. She tightened her grip around him, and he was amused to think of himself as any sort of comfort to anyone, let alone a little human like her. He'd not held a woman in too long, and he'd never held one for the sole purpose of comforting her. She needed him. He was surprised to realize he liked the feeling.

Damian breathed in her scent, brutally aware that all that lay between her tight little body and him was a long t-shirt. He'd never been mistaken for a gentleman, but the woman shimmered with a sweet, pure aura that made him feel obliged to behave. Her turquoise eyes had been so lost and confused, he couldn't help but take pity on her.

Her eyes shimmered with more than tears they swirled with silver, the way the eyes of ancient oracles did. He'd not seen anything like her since he sat in his father's court as a child.

"You're safe," he told her.

She sighed. With her large, two-toned eyes, flawless skin, and long, straw-colored hair, she resembled a doll. Hers was a cool beauty, and her gaze belied intelligence. That she was an oracle was fantastic. A s.e.xy oracle? Nothing short of miraculous!

"She ok?" Han asked.

Damian heard the laughter in his voice. None of his men had ever seen a human woman throw herself into his arms. His own Guardians stayed out of arms reach of him, and humans picked up and ran.

"Yeah, I think so," he said, drawing away.

To his surprise, she'd pa.s.sed out. He scooped her up and placed her on the bed, gaze sweeping over her toned, shapely frame. He felt unusually protective of the small, vulnerable human on the bed before him. Not sure what to make of her, he led Han out and closed the door.

"I think know the answer, but do we have any records that survived the Schism?" he asked, moving away from the door.

"Is she ok?" Jake asked anxiously.

"Kid, back off," Han warned.

Jake obeyed and darted to the bottom of the stairs, pacing.

"Not that I know of," Han answered. "There aren't any living oracles to mentor her, either."

"That could be an issue," Damian said, gaze returning to the door he'd just left. "I don't know s.h.i.t about training oracles."

"I don't think anyone living does, except maybe Czerno. He knew enough to find her and plot to bind her to him."

The idea of something so sweet in Czerno's depraved hold irked him. He wouldn't let someone like her get stuck in the middle of their war.

"Most oracles don't live long to be of use," Han added. "Or they're terrible."

Not this one. He felt it in his bones, just as he felt a soul deep connection to her the moment he'd touched her.

He pulled out his cell to text his confidantes.

U still online?