Daniella gasped. What was Alexander doing in her house? She had made sure he left this morning. How did he get in here?

"What the fuck are you doing in my house?" She thrashed, trying to break out of his hold as he tightened his arms around her from behind.

"Not so fast, sweetheart." He grabbed her chin, forcing her head to the side. "You love to think you're in control. It's a bad complex that you have, really, but you're not, nor have you ever been."

Daniella squirmed and fought against him, but his arms held her in place. No matter how hard she tried, he was unmovable.

Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. Calm down and think! Remember your self defense lessons. Focus on your opponent.

He was stronger than her, so she had to be smarter than him. She had to wait for her chance. Daniella couldn't reach her phone, and no one would hear her scream from here. Alexander would give her an opening, eventually. She just had to wait. By then, Luke would find them and she'd have an ally in her fight. Hopefully. She just had to wait.

Keep him talking, your life depends on it. "What do you want?"

Alexander shrugged behind her. "It depends on the day. Some days it's world domination, other days to feed, others to fuck, and, occasionally, to take everything away from my enemies. I appreciate you for assisting with all of them."

Daniella shuddered. World domination? To feed? What the hell is wrong with him? "You're sick."

He snickered. "No, I'm driven. Besides, you only have yourself to blame for the situation you're in." His hand slid over her breast and he squeezed it hard.

Daniella's body recoiled in disgust.

"If you had let me get inside of that thick head of yours earlier, I would have spent the rest of the day fucking you. Then, who knows? I might have been able to spare you. But alas, you were too stubborn for your own good." Alexander purred. "Although, there's no reason I can't have fun with you before I rip out your throat." He bent his head to her neck, sucking at her skin.

Daniella held back the bile that rose in her throat.

Just a little more, she told herself.

His hold on her torso loosened as he moved his hand to grip her through her pants.

Now! She bent forward and then snapped back as hard as she could, slamming the back of her skull into his nose.

Alexander yelped and his arm dropped. Daniella fought against the dizziness and stumbled toward the door, but she wasn't fast enough. Before she knew it, he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against the wall so hard she saw stars.

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy this," he said, and when her eyes focused, she could see a smirk playing on his lips.

The door to her home blew apart. Alexander swung her around, using her body as a shield from the debris. Daniella's heart stopped when she saw the cause. Greg. He looked furious and his eyes were ... red?

Gregori moved toward her but stopped when Alexander tightened his grip on her neck.

Alexander tsked. "Now, you wouldn't want me to break your mate's neck, would you, Gregori?"

Mate? She didn't have time to focus on the word as Alexander's nails dug into her throat.

"Let her go," Greg demanded.

Alexander chuckled. "I don't think so. That was never going to happen, not when I found out this tasty little morsel was your mate. She's quite delicious, really, and a fantastic fuck."

She could see the wheels turning in Greg's mind. Daniella wanted so badly to reach out to him, to connect with him, her salvation, but she knew she couldn't, not until she was free of Alexander's grasp.

His grip tightened again, forcing her to gasp for air. She tried to claw Alexander's hand from around her neck, but her eyes filled with tears and her vision clouded. Even though she couldn't see Greg, she could feel him. Her body responded to his, nerve endings firing under her skin even as breathing became difficult. She fought recklessly, struggling, gasping, writhing to break free.

Please, I don't want to die here.

Greg snarled, and a dark, deep-seated rage filled her. Something crawled beneath her skin, ripping her apart. The chains of her consciousness rattled until they snapped, and a single certainty filled her mind. She would not die here.

"Ella!" Greg yelled.

Daniella's hands fell from Alexander's grip around her neck as her body hummed with energy. "Let me go," she choked out.

Alexander laughed. "This one's a handful! She really thinks she can take on a vampire. Cute. Does she know that you and your little family are vampires? How weak and pathetic you all are? You've spent centuries trying to stop the vampire wars when so many lives could have been saved, including hers."

"I said, let me go!" Purple sparks of electricity shot out from her, attacking the thing that held her hostage. She no longer saw it as a human, no longer recognized it as a lifeform. She wanted it to bleed, to suffer, to no longer exist in this world.

Alexander screamed, throwing her away from him as he fell back against the wall. Daniella clutched at her throat, coughing, spasming with each new full breath.

Greg leapt onto her attacker. They tumbled, and hissed curses and growls came from their tangled bodies that moved much too fast. The blurs careened back and forth, crashing against the walls and into objects, shattering glass and wood, denting metal. But then their bodies flew, smacking against the glass in such fury that it shattered and the blurs were no more. They had fallen out of her window and into the night.

Her vision darkened and she collapsed with one final thought. Alexander couldn't have survived that fall, and neither could Greg.