LOVE.

Time had stretched unbearably thin as Stephen waited, each passing moment gnawing at his patience. He knew something had gone amiss.

Wherever she had gone, she would not have tarried so long. The moment the others had settled, he had begun his search, uncertain of her reasons for leaving but unwilling to intrude upon them. Perhaps she had business to tend to. 

It was her scent that led him to her. A vampire's memory of his beloved was never weak when it came to such things. While she had been too far for him to catch even the faintest trace, the nearer he drew, the clearer her presence became.

And when he had found her—cornered by those men, their intent as plain as day—his fury had nearly consumed him. He would have slain them all had she not stopped him.

He shuddered to think what he might have done had her voice not steadied him.