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His grip on me tightens. “Come on now. We’re going to walk out of here nice and quiet. And you’re going to do exactly what I say.” There’s enough menace in his tone for me to know he means business. But I’m trained. And I’m powerful in more ways than this dolt probably knows.
“And if I don’t?”
“Then I’ll go and come back during the day, when everyone is asleep, and I’ll gut Phantom first, then the other, then the dumb one. And I’ll take you anyway.” He’s a shadow beast, and I don’t doubt that he thinks he can do this. I only doubt whether he could ever be successful. “And don’t try anything. You’re the outsider here. You’re the one they all fear.”
Okay, so is he going to torture me now if I don’t go with him? Or is he going to come back for me later and kill my men?I don’t know, but the guy definitely seems to be unstable, and I don’t think he’s bluffing either way. All I know for sure is that I need my hand free to touch him with my energy, maybe kill him if I can the way I did with the rot monkeys. Then I need my leg free to put him down if I’m able to catch him off-guard with my magic in any way.
Okay, that’s the plan then. Catch him off-guard, get him on the ground, then run for my guys.
I don’t know how far away my guys are, or why I’ve suddenly taken to thinking of them asmy guys, but I breathe out slowly because I’m determined to see them again. And I’m going to use that determination to get free.
“Remember, peaceful. Quiet.” He brings his knife hand to his mouth. “Shh.” I nod, and he spins me toward the forest and presses his knife into my back, while he holds me by my shoulder with the other hand. “Walk.”
As we walk, a plan forms in my head. It isn’t much. It’s nothing really, just a self-defense tactic I saw in a movie once. I’m going to drive my foot into his instep, jab my elbow into his gut and run like hell screaming like a fool every step of the way.
It isn’t until I stop walking and lift my foot to stomp that I lose confidence in the self-defense plan. I summon the power to my hands. It’s darker and angrier than the healing energy I used on Onyx, and I savor it for a second before I turn it on him. I twist, jab my hand against his heart, and nothing.
Now, I don’t have a choice. I try to stomp his foot, miss, and he picks me up again, both arms around my waist because I’m writhing and wiggling, twisting and using my body weight to fling myself around.
Finally, I remember I need to scream. “Help me! Phantom, Onyx, Du--!” When this bastard tries to clamp his hand over my mouth, I bite his finger as hard as I can until I taste blood and he jerks it out of my mouth.
Footsteps pound toward us, or maybe that’s my heartbeat in my ears, but he drops me and I crumble to the ground as Phantom, Dusk, and Onyx race through the brush to where we are.
“Ann!” Phantom comes in and passes me with a flying kick that levels the prick.
Dusk helps me stand and Onyx sits in a crouch in front of us, a dagger in his hand, in case Phantom needs help. But Phantom has the other guy on the ground and is busy pounding his fists into my attacker’s face. Dusk pulls against his side and holds me there, safe against him as the adrenaline takes over, and I start trembling.
Eventually, Onyx pulls Phantom off, and the other guy lies groaning on the ground. Onyx, Phantom, and Dusk all check on me. Then, Wraith moans again and says, “The king will get her…it’s only matter of time.”
A look of cold fury comes over Phantom’s face, and he rises from beside me and goes back to the man on the ground. I don’t realize what’s happening until Phantom’s knife is stuck in Wraith’s heart.
I gasp as the shadow beast’s head flops to the side. “Oh, shit.”
But none of my men seem surprised. Sullen maybe, but not surprised.
“Take her back to the cave.” Phantom motions with his head. “And stay with her.”
Dusk hides my face in his chest, and I breathe in the earthy scent of him as he walks me away. His hand is warm at the center of my back, and eventually, my heart rate slows and my breaths come evenly.
“It’s okay, now. I’ve got you.”
I nod against him, safe.
At least for now.
SEVENTEEN
Onyx
Fucking Wraith.We need every man we can get, but even so, Phantom had to kill him. Right now, we don’t know if he took her for himself or the king, but either way, he’s too dangerous to allow to remain alive. I only wish I was the one to end his miserable life, but Phantom got there first.
I’m still wired. Dusk is holding Ann in a corner of the cave, away from where Phantom and I are by the fire. After we told the others what happened, they apologized profusely for not watching her more closely and left, taking their wounded with them.
Yes, I felt a small bit of guilt watching them leave, but they knew enough that it was safer for them to leave than to stay. With our current state of mind, we could end up hurting them. They knew that, understood the strength of the mate bond, and left without argument, also promising to destroy the bastard's body when they came across it.
She looks up and I nod at her because while I’m ready to go out and slay the world for her, I also want to be the one holding her against me.
“One of us should stay with her at all times. We can trust no one,” Phantom says, while signing.
