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“No,” I said softly, maybe too softly for her to hear. She wasn’t listening; she kept murmuring about how dangerous it was, how we had to get out of here, how they’d tear us apart. I looked over my shoulder again but couldn’t see the fight, the wind and rain making visibility almost impossible. I could hear them though, deep grunts and rough growls. I swore I even smelled the coppery tang of blood in the air.
“No,” I said even firmer, yanking my arm from her grasp hard enough that something popped in my shoulder. But I didn’t worry about the pain. I turned and faced her, realizing she’d dragged me to that same minivan that had screamed families and road trips.
But right now it looked like the very thing trying to take me from Cian, and every part of me revolted at that idea.
“We have to get out of here,” she pleaded. “Don’t you want to survive?”
I was shaking my head. He wouldn’t hurt me. I didn’t know how I knew that, but I was as sure of Cian’s protection as I was of the air moving into my lungs with each involuntary inhale I made.
It was only seconds that we stared at each other, but she was now the one shaking her head and moving a step closer, her expression changing from shock to cold, hard apathy.
“Do you want to be the human whore of one of those creatures, Evelyn Williams?” The loathing in her voice, the way she sneered the words out… the fact that she knew who I was, had me stumbling back. But she still had her hand wrapped around my wrist, dragging me closer, her face right in front of mine. “We don’t really want you, but you’re tied to that animal now, and so the Assembly will use you as we see fit to control these monsters.”
“W-What?” That one word was nothing but a whisper from me, and I tugged on my hand again, but her hold was unrelenting. “How do you know who I am? How do you know my name?” What in the hell is going on?
Her laugh was low and more menacing than anything I’d ever heard. “We’ve been following you, found out you Linked to that animal.” The way she said that last word was like he was the most disgusting filth she’d ever encountered. “Knew the moment he touched down, knew it was only a matter of time before he’d find you. So we kept close.”
I shook my head so hard and fast I grew dizzy. “What’s going on?” The question was rhetorical, because I honestly didn’t think I wanted to know even more than I did.
I heard a deep male grunt and looked at the fight, as if an invisible thread connected us. I still wasn’t able to see anything clearly but worried it was Cian getting injured. I didn't know how long I watched him, but I felt like I was in a trance, ensnared and unable to move, let alone think clearly. Is this shock?
“We found the Lycans and have his human mate. Incapacitated one of them, and Maxwell is attempting to take down the other mark. It’s clear they didn’t know about us. Caught them off guard. Intercepting now and will report back once we have the beasts in custody.”
I looked at the woman again, seeing she had procured a cell phone and spoke into it as she stared at me. My pulse beat too wildly and loudly in my ears, and coiled with the fierce weather, hearing what was said was almost impossible.
Dark ink on her wrist drew my attention, and I focused on the design. A circular starburst with a crescent shape cradled in the center.
I tore my focus from the tattoo just as I saw movement in my peripheral a second before pain exploded against the side of my head. I cried out and stumbled back, losing my footing and falling backward onto my butt. My hand cupped the side of my head, my vision blurry, the pain in my skull enough to have my eyes squeezed tight and nausea rolling through my belly. I opened my eyes just as I pulled my fingers away and saw a thick amount of blood coating the digits.
Another roar carried through the air, and I looked to where the sound came from, seeing Cian watching me with a rage-filled expression on his face, his body bigger than I’d ever seen it. That… that wasn’t a human, and I’d never been more sure of the supernatural world than I was right then.
I felt the woman grab a chunk of my hair, wrenching me up so hard I cried out. I reached up to grip her hand, trying to alleviate the pressure. Her focus was maniacal as she stared at me, then looked at presumably Cian, who was in the distance.
I used her distraction to my advantage and brought my fist up, clocking her in the side of the nose. She made a low cry, her grip loosening, but she was strong, given her small size, and backhanded me hard enough I was cast to the side before I could catch my balance.
Another feral sound came through just as I lifted my head, my gaze on Cian once more, and saw him charging right toward us with murder on his face.
14
Cian
Adeafening—agonizing—roar exploded out of me as I charged forward. There was no logical thought in my head, no clear vision. My eyes were bleeding red with rage as I watched Evie drop to the ground, the scent of her blood coating the air.
I wasn’t human right now, clearly working on instinct, my animal in complete control. I let my beast take over, my Lycan rising up, my body growing bigger, thicker, just on the precipice of changing fully into my massive wolf.
I didn’t care if my target was male or female, human or Otherworldly. I would destroy anything and anyone who hurt my mate.
And that was what I kept thinking over and over again, those words echoing in my head in a crashing wave as I reached the person who’d hurt my female. I grunted when I felt a sting in my shoulder, but I was too far gone to care as I wrapped my hand around the thin, narrow neck, felt the pulse fluttering beneath my palm fast and filled with fear, and twisted my wrist until I heard the snap of the bone break.
I let the body fall to the ground and was brought back to the ache in my shoulder. I looked down and saw a bullet hole. An entrance and exit wound. Nothing fatal and one that would heal by tomorrow. It was also the least of my worries.
I dropped down to the ground before my female and picked her up as gently as I could. She was out cold, her tiny body so light in my arms. I cradled her to my chest and bowed my much bigger body over hers, blocking out the rain, letting my gaze search over her for all her wounds. She had a massive cut at her temple, blood steadily flowing from it.
I stood with her in my arms, the most precious cargo I’d ever held, would ever hold. The silence suddenly descended behind me, and I looked over at Odhran, seeing him standing over the prone body of the male I’d been fighting with earlier before I’d come to my female.
Even from the distance, I could see Odhran had a bullet wound in his side, the blood seeping through his white T-shirt. He also had what looked like taser prongs in his neck, the wires hanging down, the weapon dangling from his massive form. But he wasn’t moving, just standing there looking down at the body, his brows low, his dark hair wet and plastered to his forehead, his chest rising and falling with his almost violent breathing.
The human male had been the strongest one I’d fought yet. He’d been professionally—Otherworldly—trained. It had become clear he hadn’t wanted to kill us. He wanted to subdue us. He wanted us alive.
