Brynne was formidable enough as a Breed female. What he saw in her just now was something far more lethal.
Ancient.
Or something damned close to it.
He didn’t know how it was possible, but the proof had been right in front of his eyes.
If relations between the Breed and his people were tenuous, it was nothing compared to the visceral loathing that every Atlantean felt toward their otherworldly enemies who had spawned the Breed on Earth. That hatred was especially strong in Zael and his former comrades of Selene’s royal legion, who had been on the front lines of every war with the Ancients.
Yet despite what he saw in Brynne just now, it wasn’t hatred he felt for her.
Holy hell. Far from it.
Glancing down at her, he watched as the dermaglyphs that had been so livid and pronounced on her face and neck and limbs now began to subside. The glyphs on the backs of her hands had vanished, along with the black talons that had sprouted from the tips of her fingers in her transformation. She rested now, forced into a heavy calm.
The light had done that for her, just as he’d hoped it would.
He didn’t know what she needed, but one thing was for damned sure—he had no intention of leaving her side. Nor would he let her endure her torment alone.
He needed to get her out of the city. He needed to see that she was safe.
They both needed to get somewhere secure, before the recklessness of using his power brought even more problems down on them.
Although he could teleport using the crystal amulet at his wrist, he couldn’t take her with him that way. Only Atlanteans could connect to the energy and use it to leap from one location to another.
Scooping her up, he rose to his feet and carried her out of the alley. The city was ghostly quiet, no sign of the warriors on this dark, empty stretch of asphalt.
Zael felt a jab of guilt for concealing Brynne and himself in the alley when Chase swept through earlier, searching for them. The Order was his ally, but if the warriors had a right to know about the secret Brynne was keeping, it would be on her terms and no one else’s.
On the main street, the Order’s SUV still sat vacant at the curb. Zael brought Brynne to the vehicle and carefully set her in the passenger seat. He couldn’t resist reaching out to stroke her cheek. She stirred slightly under his touch, but her eyelids remained closed. Her face was slack and peaceful in her sleep, as sweet and innocent as a kitten.
Zael gazed at the dark-haired beauty who had come into his life so unexpectedly and turned it upside down. He couldn’t deny the surge of possessiveness—the fierce protectiveness—that ran through him as he looked at her.
Brynne Kirkland was no helpless kitten in need of saving. She’d be the first to tell him that, more than likely with her fangs bared and claws unsheathed the instant she awoke from the drowse he’d put her under.
And given what he’d seen here tonight, he would do well to keep his distance.
Damn it, if he were smart, he’d leave Brynne and her problems to the Order right here and now, and vanish back to the colony and his people where he belonged.
Except he couldn’t stay away from this woman. Not since that first morning on the Order’s terrace patio. And sure as hell not after seeing the anguish in her eyes as she faced off against him, looking like something out of an old nightmare.
She could fight him all she wanted. She could hate him for refusing to do what she begged of him and leave her alone.
It wouldn’t change what he felt when he looked at her now.
She was his.
Zael closed the passenger door, then went around to hop into the driver’s seat of the SUV. As soon as he hit the ignition, the dashboard comm unit illuminated with Gideon’s face on the display.
“Zael,” the warrior said, surprise in his expression. “Jesus, where’ve you been, man? I’ve got two patrol teams scouring the city looking for you. Any sign of Brynne?”
He nodded. “She’s here with me.”
“Glad to hear it. Is she hurt?”
“No.” Zael glanced at her resting in the seat beside him. There was no trace of trouble in her features. Nothing left of the Ancient that lurked under her skin. “She’s fine,” Zael said. “I’m bringing her in now.”