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By the time the tiger landed again in the middle of the yard, the lion was charging at the fence, aiming at the spot where the vines changed directions. The fence groaned and creaked, threatening to come apart. Then the snow leopard was charging at it. Parts of it broke and shifted, but not enough for anyone to get out.
By now, an alarm was blaring, and more guards would be out anytime. Surely there had to be more than two guards in this whole place.
The lion was about to try again when the silverback shoved him aside. He pounded his chest, then charged. That did it. The fence broke, simultaneously coming apart at the weak spot and tearing out of the ground. The concrete blocks that had once held the fence in place crumbled from the force of the roots.
It was chaos as everyone made a mad dash for it. But with only two legs, my bare feet slipping on the wet ground, and shivering from the cold, I had only just made it over the rubble when the door slammed open, and several more guards charged out.
Fuck!
One of them shot at me, but missed. I dropped to the ground to hide.
“What the fuck, man?” came an angry voice. I recognized it as belonging to the guy who’d taken pity on me and let me out for a bathroom break last night. “Are you trying to kill her? These darts are dosed for big cats. She’ll never wake up.”
I peeked over the rubble.
“Yougo catch her then,” said one of the other guards.
“Fine! Whatever.” The guy started running towards me.
I bolted, running across the slick field on my bare feet. Wet grass and smooth skin did not make for speed, and I only made it a quarter of the way to the trees before he grabbed me.
“Gotcha!”
I struggled, flailing around wildly, and my paws came out to swipe at him. I got him good across the face, and he dropped me hastily. I landed on my feet but slipped, twisting my ankle, and ended up on my ass instead. Why, oh why, couldn’t I make boots with the fur? Then I wouldn’t be slipping all over the place.
I expected anger or disgust from him now that he realized I’d lied and could shift a little, but what I saw was worse. He leered at me lecherously, his hand covering the scratches on his face, which were now oozing blood.
“Oh, that’s sexy. Paws and ears? You and I are going to have some big fun once I get you back into the facility.” He grinned lewdly and reached for me. “Did you know the boss doesn’t care what we do with the animals, as long as there are no permanent injuries?”
I scrambled back, kicking his shin. From my downed position on the ground, it was the only thing I could reach.
He yelped and stepped back onto a slippery patch of grass. Down he went. I scrambled to my feet and limped away, realizing that my ankle was very sore and could barely hold my weight.
The douche canoe grabbed me again, this time hauling me against his body and groping me with his free hand. Gross. I freaked out, but he was ready for my claws this time; he trapped my arms easily behind my back.
There was a shadow, and suddenly, I was being torn from his grip. I stood facing a gray wall of stone. It took me a moment to realize that it wasn’t a wall but a very well-muscled back from which sprouted a pair of magnificent wings, still unfurled.
“Release. My. Mate.”
Gunnar!
With a swipe of his claws, he sent the asshole to the ground. He didn’t give him a chance to get up. He stomped on him hard, twice, and the man never got back up.
Then Gunnar was in front of me, checking me anxiously for injuries. He slicked my wet hair off my face.
“Gunnar!” I threw my arms around him. “I’m fine, except for my ankle. I can’t run.”
“I will carry you, mate.”
In one smooth motion, he pulled me into his arms. Then he jumped, and we were in the air. His wings flapped hard behind him. What the—I tightened my grip on him, wrapping my legs around too for extra hold.We were flying!
“It’s okay, Kitten. I’ve got you.”
“What the hell is that thing?” one of the men on the ground bellowed.
“I don’t know, but shoot it.” The words were followed by the sound of real gunfire, not just that of tranquilizer guns.
Several of the shots whizzed by us, and Gunnar grunted. Then we lost a bit of altitude. He adjusted me in his arms, angling his body to shield me from the hail of bullets.
