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I sank into my bond, frantically scanning it for pain or fear as I rushed across the street, my eyes fixed on Ark's pale face as he blinked up at the ceiling. At least he was blinking and not brain dead.
"Ark! Say something!"
He made a vicious sound in his throat and rushed to his feet when I reached him. Before I could process his intention, his arm shot out and hooked around my waist, spinning me until my back slammed against his chest.
"This is nice," I murmured, relaxing—until his forearm pressed on my windpipe. "Less—nice," I choked out, throwing an elbow back into his gut and feeling a little bad for the grunt it drew from him.
At least it got him to release me. I stumbled away—right into the path of the remaining three foxes.
"Oh, great," I hissed as they were absorbed into my body.
A red haze descended over me, and my fiery heart pumped with unadulteratedrage.
The next thing out of my mouth was a throaty hiss, and then I was launching a fist directly at my beloved mate's sharp jawline.
15
Iwinced when Arkan’s head snapped to the side, sure the hit would leave a bruise on his pale skin. But he straightened like it didn’t hurt at all, fire and rage in his eyes when his hands came up, palms flat to shove me. My legs didn't budge even though I tried to duck aside; if anything they widened so I had a better balance. I squeaked in surprise when my hands shot up and knocked Arkan's aside, throwing a punch into his gut.
Um. Not to jump to conclusions, but were the foxes …possessingme?
I was highly against possession of any sort.1
"Fuck," I screeched when Arkan's leg snapped out and hooked my ankle, sending me flying backwards. I caught myself on my hands and jumped back upright, letting out a wail of anger.
"The foxes have stolen my ninja skills! I worked hard for those."
I'd earned them in pitch black training halls, never sure when I was going to be tased or kicked or punched, and these little fox shits had just rocked up and stolen my skills. It waswar.
I threw a punch at Arkan, wholly without my permission or consent. I tried to take to use my fire to burn these fuckers out of my body, but my hand wouldn't shift. My fire wouldn't burn me either, but it was worth a shot.
"Bond," Arkan grunted, sweeping his leg out at me. I hopped aside this time, but the side of his hand slammed into my solar plexus, andfuck almighty,it hurt. "Weaken."
Bond, right! We had the circle bond that made us stronger together, but it could also make usweak.That was why we had to trust each other absolutely. I'd take Arkan's strength now, but he knew I'd give it back.
I sank into the part that connected us, just beyond the mate bond, and tried to ignore all the frayed edges, echoing pain, and screams—so many screams. Some were X's agonised howls, some were Joseph's rage-roars, and others were Taj's snarls of frustration. If Arkan wasn't so used to keeping his emotions on lockdown, I got the sense he'd be screaming, too.
Me, I did the smart thing and kept all my screaming on the outside.
"Die, you fox fuckers!" I yelled, plunging deeper into the circle bond until I found the chill of Arkan's soul—and the writhing fire he hid beneath it. I sent him a brush of apology and then pulledhard.It was the opposite of what I'd done to help Joseph get us out of Eidolon's bubble of dickhead magic.
Fuck, I shouldn't have thought of Joseph. Now my strength wavered, and it was so brutal I stumbled back, winning autonomy for a split second.
I'd stolen some of Ark's strength; I felt it suffuse me until I was more awake, my senses clearer, like I hadn't spent days being sleep-deprived, starving, and scared to death my mates would never come back to me.
It was enough for me to catch Arkan's fist when it swung at me. It worked! A puff of victorious laughter left my lips—until my own fist slammed into his ribs.
"Motherfluffer," I spat."Youtry it," I said, meeting Ark's pale blue eyes and hoping he could read the apology there.
He didn't nod, but I got the sense he'd forgiven me for the blows. Or maybe that was wishful thinking. My emotional state was so fucking tenuous right now, I couldn't handle Ark and I not being okay.
I'm going to kill you,I threatened the fox bastards and swore my body vibrated with magic and laughter. But then cold rushed from my core and through my body, ice prickling up my chest and down my arms until I couldn't feel my hands.
Well, this sucked ass.2
I wobbled forward a step, shivering as cold replaced every bit of warmth, weakness replaced the strength I'd glowed with a moment ago, and my legs barely held me up.
A brush of apology came through the mate bond, and I wavered even more, wobbly legs carrying me across the road to Arkan. I waited for him to use his stolen strength to evict the foxes from his body, and for my weakness to kick out my own intruders. This was gonna work, I could sense it and—my fist sluggishly cracked into his crown jewels.
