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For a woman to be chucked into one like yesterday’s garbage.
The shift change happened with much frivolity. It was clear that the guards were happy to be let off. The night shift would only have two guards who would stand over the pit.
Only two guards. Idiots. Hammer smiled. His body relaxed as he flexed his wings. He took several deep breaths. Then he merged back into the shadows.
Dusk had fallen when he arrived at the pit. He was still in the air and had moved from one tree to another.
He saw her as he moved over the tree branches that obscured his view. She was beautiful even though she was covered with muck. And she had climbed out of the pit like a pro.
She might be some rich kid, but she vaulted herself out of the pit with ease. Her arms and legs were strong and lean, and her hair was pulled away from her face. She was also smart enough to remain in the shadows.
The tension left his body as he watched her move. She managed to take care of the guards who tried to grab her, and she didn’t wait for anyone to notice but fled quickly. Hammer followed the line of her movements toward the edge of the camp. He heard her breathing as he watched her. Her breath was controlled, steady. Her heart thudded on time, not one beat out of place. She was in complete control. Hammer swept aside his admiration as he lifted into the air.
It was time to grab her and go. She had already done most of his work, and he didn’t mind. He liked a woman who took the initiative.
“Let’s go for a ride,” Hammer muttered. He lifted easily into the air, and it was beautiful. Being in his dragon form was always beautiful. His dragon form was streamlined, and he moved smoothly, his body buoyant.
Hammer swooped down, his shape cutting through the air as he headed for Charlie. She had just crossed over the boundary of the camp when his dragon claw closed around her arm.
She tried to jerk away from him just as the heat sparked through him. It burned him, inside and out. Whatever it was. But there was no time to ponder over it.
Hammer could tell that the other guards had just discovered the two guards in the pit and that Charlie was missing.
The heat sparkled and trembled through him as he flew several feet away from the camp. It clung to him, radiating from Charlie’s skin into his claw. He couldn’t ignore it any longer.
He headed toward a hilly area, and perched on a ledge, then took a deep breath.
And there it was. Her scent permeated him instantly. He drowned in it, let it wash over him.
Holy shit. His eyes opened, and he looked at her. He was still holding on to her.
She was his mate.
But it didn’t matter right then. It couldn’t. In a few minutes, Ajmal would send guards out into the darkness to search for her. He lifted into the air again, adjusting his body to shield her. To shield his mate. Her scent still lingered around him. If he wasn’t careful, it would consume him.
She squirmed beneath him, trying to wriggle out of his grip. “Let me go!” Did she not realize they were several hundred feet above the ground? He rolled his eyes as she tried to bite down on his claw.
What did she think would happen? Did Charlie assume she would just land safely on her own? The thought of anything happening to his mate sent anxiety skittering over his skin.
That was not happening.
Stop fucking moving.The message was telepathic, and the annoyance he felt glared through. He gripped her arm tighter, ensuring that the message was clear.
Surprisingly, she listened.
As he flexed his wings, reaching a higher altitude, something came whistling by. It just missed his right wing, and Hammer growled with fury.
The fuckers were shooting at them. At him. At Charlie. They were endangering his mate. It didn’t matter that he didn’t care about Charlie. His feral, baser instincts had emerged. Instincts that demanded he retaliates against those who threatened Charlie. It was a good thing that his dragon drives aligned with his agenda.
At least his desire to protect her would serve them both well. He swooped through the air and narrowly missed another bullet. Whoever shot at them was a sniper, and a good one.
The bullets were light, probably hollow points. Designed to kill. Not maim.
As Hammer headed for safety, he wondered what Charlie had done to anger Ajmal like this. He couldn’t help admiring anyone who could piss off his old ally to this degree.
He had stashed his things on the porch of an abandoned cabin about fifty miles from the camp.
Hammer let Charlie drop when they were only a few feet from the ground. She rolled neatly onto the ground. Then she jumped up on her feet and tossed her hair out of her face.
