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A human male wearing a green sweater and black pants stood in Cazar’s doorway, hands fisted in his pockets. His scent was unfamiliar, but whoever he was, he was terrifying Evie. A deep growl of warning rumbled from Cazar’s chest despite the vicious throbbing in his head, and the male froze.
“Caz,” Evie called from behind him, her voice panicked. He pivoted around. Her face was as white as a sheet, eyes wide as she frantically looked over his shoulder. “That’s Steph–No!”
Two quick steps was all Cazar heard as he turned back around, and then a blistering pain ignited an inferno in his chest. Shock registered from the cloud of dizziness and pain, taking him far too long to understand what was happening.
The male was holding a knife that was now buried to the hilt in Cazar’s heart. The male ripped the blade free, stabbing again and again in rapid succession. Evie screamed, rushing forward, but Cazar held out an arm, forcing her back, his only thought to keep her away from danger as he stumbled backward.
He grabbed the male’s wrist on the fourth swing, twisting harshly as his vision dimmed, his mind clouded with so much rage and pain he thought he would burst from it.
Bones snapped and his assailant screamed. Cazar kept twisting, determined to sever the appendage completely. But his body betrayed him as blood pumped from multiple wounds, drenching his shirt. His knees buckled, and his grip on the male loosened until he lost hold of him altogether.
Evie screamed again, shouting his name as he collapsed to the ground in a pool of silver blood.
Chapter 30
“Caz!”Eviescreamed,droppingbeside her mate. He was on his back, sprawled in the entryway between her and Stephen.
Stephen, who shouldn’t be here. Stephen, who was wearing a green sweater that she’d seen in the crowd of humans earlier. Stephen, who was holding a knife covered in silver blood. Caz’s blood. And Cazar… Cazar wasn’t moving. His eyes were open, fixed on the ceiling.
My mate–
Evie’s vision blurred with tears, a small sob escaping. This couldn’t be happening, not to them. Not after everything. Not because ofthis. It couldn’t be real, it didn’t feel real.
Please don’t let this be real.
“Caz?” she whispered, her voice hitching on another sob.
She clutched Cazar’s chest, hoping to stop some of the bleeding with her trembling hands, but it was already too late. She couldn’t feel his heartbeat, and his chest was still. He wasn’tbreathing–
“Baby?” she asked brokenly, face crumpling as agony overwhelmed her, tears sliding down her cheeks.
“I’ve missed you, Evie.” Stephen took a step toward her, kicking Cazar’s leg and glancing at him with a look of repulsion on his face.
“Don’t touch him! Get away!” she screamed, heart breaking as she clutched Cazar.Get up, get up!
Stephen laughed maniacally, and the sound sent a chill down her spine. “I’ve done much more than just kick your precious alien.” Stephen waved the knife in his good hand, the silver-coated blade gleaming in the sunlight. “You’ve had your fun here,fucking this thing. It’s time to go home now.”
“You’re insane if you think I’m going anywhere with you,” she spat through her tears, feeling copious amounts of warm blood drenching her hands as she kept pressure on her mate’s chest. Cazar couldn’t be dead, he couldn’t.
Another sob caught in her throat and she choked on it, struggling to breathe past the pressure on her chest. How was she supposed to go on without him? They’d only just started figuring out what they wanted and now he was...
Taking advantage of her anguish, Stephen stepped over Cazar’s body, invading her space. He placed his knife in his other hand, grabbing her roughly by the bicep and attempting to yank her up.
That slimy, lukewarm touch was like a volt of electricity hitting Evie’s heart, waking her from her pain-filled stupor. A venomous scream exploded from her throat and she punched at him, hitting him square in the balls. Stephen dropped his hold with a harsh grunt.
“You bitch!” Stephen bellowed, his eyes shining with a demonic rage she’d unfortunately seen before. She punched him again and again. He swung at her with the knife, slicing through flesh.
Searing heat slid over her outer forearm and she yelped, wrenching away from him and scrambling to her feet. Stephen hunched over, straddling Cazar to block the front door. He swiped wildly at her with the blade, pain and fury written all over his face.
Stephen might have one arm out of commission, but he was stronger than her, completely deranged, and she had no doubt that he would kill her if provoked enough. He’d already proven how dangerous he was. Going through the front door would likely get her killed.
But where could she go? She wasn’t familiar enough with this building, didn’t have any idea where another exit was–
No, that wasn’t true at all! There was another exit; a secret underground tunnel in Cazar’s laboratory. The same one that she and Alex had used as a getaway when the labs had been attacked a few months ago. Relief coursed through her. It was Cazar that had shown her the escape hatch built into the floor. Even now, he was protecting her.
Evie ignored the flare of blistering pain that spread up her arm and the trickle of blood that was running down her skin. Turning away from Stephen, she ran down the hallway, hoping like hell she could remember which route to take.
She’d only ever explored Cazar’s lab itself, but the hallway leading to it was long and lined with several doors. Frantically, she remembered that she’d taken at least two turns to get there. The placards beside each door she passed by were written in the Aragnokan language, completely useless to her.
