Pierre drew nearer, and Linda waved her forward again. Sofia went, trailing them down a hall with antiseptic-laced air to an open bay with beds separated by curtains. Traci was alone at the far end of the bay.

"She'll be all right. We had a scare there, but she pulled through. We've stopped the bleeding. She'll have to remain here for a couple of days."

"Thank God," Linda breathed. "And ... uh, her babies are okay?"

"She's in the early stages of pregnancy, no more than eight weeks. We'll be watching for signs of trauma. It'll be another two weeks before I'll feel comfortable imaging her uterus to see the fetus."

Sofia listened as she approached Traci's bed and gazed down at the unconscious woman. The woman was hooked to a ventilator and IVs, her battered face clean and pale. The doctor left, and Linda joined her.

"Czerno is a monster," Sofia whispered.

"He is," Linda said. "Lon-my husband-has had his own run-in with Czerno."

"So have I," she said. She felt Linda's gaze.

"It's why they do what they do, to protect humanity from that fate."

At her curious look, Linda continued.

"Their war, it's been going on for thousands of years. Damian is their leader. Lon says he's not ... normal, if you'd call any of them normal. I guess D is something less normal than my Lon. Anyway, the war between Czerno and D is for the fate of us puny humans," Linda explained.

"Why would creatures like them bother?" Sofia asked.

"I don't know, but I'm glad they do. I've only met Damian once, when he saved Lon's life after Czerno chewed him up and spit him out. His men worship him. He's helped all of them somehow, though he terrified me the time I did meet him."

"He has that effect on people," Sofia said dryly.

"Are you one of the Naturals, like Traci?"

"Not really."

"Is she having boys?" Linda asked.

"Girls, two of them."

"Rainy with two girls? No way! He'll be inconsolable," Linda said with a delighted laugh.

Sofia smiled and looked at the pretty woman beside her. There was a natural sense of cheerfulness to her that she liked.

"May I ... could you shake my hand?" she asked lamely.

Linda's brow furrowed, but she held out her hand. Sofia gripped it, the touch enough to reveal a future like Traci's, filled with love and joy.

"Am I pregnant, too?" Linda teased. "That's an awesome pregnancy test, by the way."

"No, you're not," Sofia answered with a smile. "You will be soon."

Linda grinned. "We better get Rainy in here before he tears down the hospital looking for her."

"I'm not staying. He's an inch away from wringing my neck," Sofia said, following. Her stomach growled.

"You wanna get some food?"

Sofia bit her lip and crossed her arms, unable to admit she couldn't really eat. "Sure."

Linda sent Rainy to Traci and walked with her to the cafeteria. Pierre trailed them at a distance just out of earshot, and Linda looked at her curiously.

"He's wearing the color of the bodyguards," she observed. "You must be someone important."

"Not really. I'm a lost sheep," Sofia said.

"Strange. You seem to know what you're doing."

"I'm ... new to Damian's organization. One week new, to be exact. I don't really know which way is up right now."

"Wow, Sofia. First, welcome, and congrats! These are the finest men you'll find anywhere," Linda grinned.

"Thanks."

"Second, who's your sponsor?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, no one gets in without a reason. Someone brought you in," Linda said wisely. They sat at a table near the windows.

"Why did they bring you in?" Sofia asked.

"Lon found me. I'm a Natural. I have the ability to levitate things."

"Really? Like anything?"

"Yep."

"So, if Lon said something stupid to you, you could toss him into the air and leave him there until he agreed to treat you with an ounce of respect. And if he didn't, you could leave him there and do whatever the hell you wanted for the day?" Sofia asked with more emotion than she intended. Linda looked at her, and she cleared her throat, anger spiraling through her again.

"I guess I'd never thought of that," Linda admitted, a smile pulling up the corners of her mouth. "But yeah, I could do that."

Sofia watched her take a bite of a muffin, at once longing and agitated. She was hungry. After her explosion at Damian, she'd have to beg for food. And she'd never demean herself to that man. She'd just have to starve to death.

"I do understand how frustrating this all seems when you first join," Linda went on. "Well, you don't really choose to join."

"You're telling me," Sofia said with emotion. "One day I'm normal. The next, I can't stand daylight and Damian is beating down my door."

"Damian?" Linda's amazement increased. "Damian's your sponsor?"

She nodded.

"I totally have to tell Lon. Hold on a sec." Linda whipped out a phone to text Lon. "You have no idea how special you are if D is your sponsor. Or how lucky."

"Lucky?"

"Yeah, sure. He's dreamy, runs his own um, business, and he's got, like, Superman powers. He's like a modern-day king who's in charge of the superheroes trying to beat down the evil villains."

Sofia recalled how much her first meeting with him had scared her. His aura of power, his command and confidence, the sense that-whatever he was-he was something humankind wasn't prepared to face.

"He's just a good guy," Linda continued. "He's been after bad guys for thousands of years, and he's never gone to the Dark Side or quit or anything. That says a lot for someone, you know? He's good to his men. Lon and the others adore him. I like him, even if he scares me."

This world is so fucked up I don't know why I bother. His cranky words echoed in her thoughts, and she smiled to herself. No one but her saw the other side of Damian.

"They do so much to help people," Linda said, looking down as her phone dinged. "Lon doesn't believe me. Oh, well. Where is Damian?"

"I'm definitely not his keeper," Sofia said with a shrug.

The sun peeked over the horizon, reminding her that she'd gotten only a few hours of bad sleep. Linda texted back and forth with her husband for a few minutes.

"Traci's awake. I'll be right back," she said, hopping up.

Sofia gazed out the window, mulling over the night. She began to suspect Damian sent her there so she could meet the other women dragged into his organization. Or maybe he just wanted her out of the house so he could kill the traitors.

Oh, ye of little faith, he said into her mind.

"I hate that," she answered.

I know.

"What do you want, Damian?"

I owe you an apology.

"Well, man up and do it in person."

"A little testy today, aren't we?"

She jumped, watching as he folded himself into the small chair across from her. His scent made her heart quicken and her drowsiness dissipate. Her breath caught as she gazed at him, and she looked for any sign he was still angry at her. His golden eyes were calm, his large frame relaxed with the feline grace that made her hormones wild. His power was checked but his unusual presence enough to draw the looks of those around them. Most moved away quickly, sensing there was something about him that just wasn't normal.

His gaze was trained on her with an intensity that made her body warm from the inside out.

"Well?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, Sofia, for being a dick."

"Apology accepted," she said and looked down. "I'm so sorry about Claire. I knew it would hurt you."

"No worries." His aloof response made her look up. His gaze was wary and moving, and he was guarded once more. Even after thousands of years he was reliving the pain of his brother's death. If she closed her eyes, she'd see the home video of Darian's funeral pile. Her heart went out to him. "I think I'd known for a long time and didn't want to face it. I probably could have gone much longer ignoring her."

"She would have killed you."

"She would have tried."

"You can risk your life, but I won't," Sofia retorted.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you cared."

"I do care about you, Damian, even though you're a total jackass," she said.

"For the record, you're the only person in history who could get away with half the shit you say," he told her.

"I know."

The warmth of his smile was not lost on her, and she thought about what Linda had said about him. Maybe the cheerful woman was right-maybe there was more to Damian than she gave him credit for.

"D." It was Lon, whose gaze went to her as he approached.

"Morning, Lon," Damian said and twisted to face the Guardian.

"Guess I lost that bet," he muttered. "She's okay and says thanks. The doc can't figure out what happened. He should release her today."

"Glad I could help."

"Rainy would have come, but he won't leave her side. Poor sap."

"No worries. How's Linda?" Damian asked.

"Good. Still won't let me live down almost dying." His gaze went to her and then back to Damian expectantly. Damian ignored his hint, and Lon didn't press.

"Women are stubborn like that," Damian said.

"See you at the next barbecue?" Lon asked, holding out his hand.

"Wouldn't miss it," Damian said and stood to shake his hand.

"Linda says you can call her whenever you want," Lon said, handing Sofia a tissue with a phone number and smiley face written on it.

"Thanks." She watched him go then turned to her bodyguard. "Pierre, you want my croissant?"

"I do," Damian said and snatched the pastry.

"It's because I'm French, isn't it? You assume we French all eat croissants," Pierre complained.

"This is sooooo good," Damian said, pinning her with a look as he wolfed down the second half.

"Just when I start to like you ... you know, it's amazing even a man who's thousands of years old can act like a twelve-year-old. Pierre. Car. Now." She glared at him. Furious, she stood and breezed past him, not surprised when he opted not to ride home with her.

She didn't see Damian until afternoon, when he strolled into the library from sparring, ear to a cell phone. He was naked from the waist up and sweaty, a combination that made her sit up and pay attention.

"I don't know what she's talking about," he said with a grimace and handed the phone to her before striding out.

"Hello?" she took the phone and asked curiously.