She expected to have her arm jerked or pulled to the side when Killean yanked the Savage away, but all she felt was a breeze when the man left her side. Then she realized she felt the pressure of fingers still gripping her bicep. It took her a few seconds to gather the courage to glance down.
She nearly screeched when she realized Killean had somehow managed to sever the man’s arm at the elbow, yet it still grasped her. The suspended arm flopped against her side. Bile lodged in her throat as she gripped the severed appendage and tossed it aside. Skin crawling, Simone wiped frantically at where the fingers had left bruises on her flesh.
“Easy,” the word came from beside her.
Still feeling slightly hysterical by what she’d seen, Simone pulled back her hand and spun to punch whoever spoke. She stopped herself from launching a fist into Declan’s face. His silvery-gray eyes were filled with concern as he glanced between her and Killean who had already dispatched the armless Savage and was now rending the head from another.
On the other side of the SUV, Saxon and Lucien emerged from the woods to battle the Savages there. The cavalry had arrived, but would they be in time to save Killean, and would they be enough to destroy the Savages who seemed to be multiplying like cockroaches as they glided through the woods?
Simone gulped as her mind spun with the horror unfolding around her. The sounds of fists hitting flesh, the cries of the dying, and the stench of blood permeated the air. Killean left a trail of mutilated and dead bodies behind him as he carved a path through the Savages toward Joseph. She’d never imagined such carnage could exist, and the horrible sounds filling the night would haunt her nightmares for the rest of her life.
The red of Killean’s skin blended with the blood soaking his hair, skin, and clothes. Though Joseph seemed unfazed by Killean’s steady approach toward him, he did watch Killean with the keen interest of Dr. Frankenstein waiting to see if his monster would come to life.
A sick feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. With the power and ruthlessness Killean displayed now, she understood why he intrigued Joseph so much, but Joseph’s interest could only spell horrible things if he got his hands on Killean.
Joseph turned to the Savages closest to him and flicked his hand at Killean. “Suppress him; then bring him and the girl to me. I want them alive.” Raising a hand, he waved it forward until a couple dozen Savages emerged from the woods to gather behind him. “If you can, bring at least one more of Ronan’s men to me alive; the rest are expendable. Go!”
Some of the Savages wavered while the others plunged toward Killean. Joseph stared at the hesitators in a way that made it clear he would kill them if they didn’t move. After they jumped into the fray, Joseph remained on the edge of the woods with his arms folded over his chest. He smirked as he leaned against an oak tree.
Hatred for the sick, twisted freak coiled in her belly. “Coward!” she hissed.
“Yes,” Declan agreed and rested the tips of his fingers on her arm. He quickly moved his hand away when she turned her attention to him. “You have to stay out of this as much as possible. Stay away from the Savages, and most of all, keep away from Joseph.”
She searched the woods behind her but didn’t see any shadows slinking through the trees from Savages who might be creeping closer. It seemed Joseph’s raised hand had drawn all the Savages to him.
Still, she wasn’t about to take any chances, and if Killean needed help, she would give it. “Give me a weapon.”
Declan’s auburn eyebrows drew together over the bridge of his nose. “You have to stayoutof this. The more jeopardy you’re in, the more out of control Killean will get. If something happens to you, he’ll completely lose it. With the state he’s in, there might benostopping him then.”
Simone’s skin prickled against his commanding tone, but though she was better trained at defending herself, she wasnotprepared for a battle of this magnitude, and she wouldn’t do anything to put Killean in danger.
“I’ll stay out of it,” she said through her teeth, “but I need something to defend myself in case someone comes after me. Killean’s been teaching me to fight, and I will do whatever is necessary to keep us both safe.”
Declan studied her before giving a brisk nod. “Yes, you’ll need a weapon.”
He dipped a hand inside his shirt and pulled a stake free as Saxon let out a muffled shout. She turned as Saxon yanked a stake from his chest. Judging by the blood spreading across his shirt, the stake had been a couple inches off his heart. Saxon spun the stake in his hand before plunging it into the heart of the Savage who’d stabbed him.
“Stay close to us,” Declan said as he shoved the stake into her hand. “We’ll keep them away from you.”
Simone gripped the stake as he ran to help his friends while more Savages spilled from the trees behind Joseph. The Savages were still on the other side of the road, but there was little distance separating her from them as she edged toward Declan and the others. The Defenders were working to hold back the horde of Savages who had split away from Killean to come for her.
Killean was only thirty feet away from her, but it seemed like an infinite distance as she barely recognized him. None of the Savages could stop him as he tore the head from one and the heart from another before using a third as a battering ram against the others. When those Savages fell back, Killean bashed the Savage he held against a tree until nothing remained of its head.
This Killean who appeared to be more monster than the man she loved, should petrify her, but no matter what he became, she would never fear him. However, she was petrified something would happen to him, and she had no idea how to help. If she tried to jump into the fray and was captured, they would have control over him, and if she were killed, he would be lost.
She hated standing here, watching as the Savages surrounded Killean and swarmed toward his friends. From the other side of the SUV, she locked gazes with the reddened eyes of a Savage. Its lips skimmed back to reveal the saliva dripping from its fangs.
Placing its hands on the bottom of the SUV, the Savage vaulted onto it and raced toward her. Simone drew on the training Killean had given her over the past month; he’d drilled it into her head that staying calm while under attack was the most important thing.
The Savage leapt off the SUV with its arms out to grab her. Simone waited until he was almost on top of her before darting out of the way at the last second. She swung her hand down, catching the back of its head with her fist and the stake. The vamp grunted when it crashed face-first onto the ground.
Pride over taking this thing down shot through her; this thing had assumed she was an easy target and been wrong. Before the Savage could rise, she knelt and drove the stake through its back and into its heart. It was the first time she’d ever killed anything, and though she knew it was necessary, she couldn’t stop a twinge of regret. She would have to get used to the feeling though if she were going to help Killean and the Alliance stop the flood of evil Joseph was trying to unleash on the world.
And shewouldhelp them end this.
She forgot her guilt when leaves rustled behind her. Pulling the stake free, she spun to take on her next adversary.
Instead, Nathan emerged from of the trees. His white-blue eyes clashed with hers before traveling to the Savage at her feet.
