“You’ve been a lion like a whole fifty minutes longer than I’ve been a wolf. Don’t act like you got it figured out, princess. How, exactly, do I just use my wolf's eyes?”
Lola simply envisioned herself with her lion’s eyes, and suddenly she was able to see a whole heck of a lot better. She assumed the same would work for Katy. “Just picture yourself with your wolf’s eyes.”
“Whoa.” Katy braced herself on the side of the boat. “He has really torn this place up. I mean it looks like a tornado has come through here.”
“That light you see is a house,” Lola pointed out. Lola made a hissing sound as Azure got a little too close for comfort to her mate. “Callon, I wasn’t joking when I said I’d be pissed!” She yelled out to her mate. Suddenly, another lion joined the fight, this one without the huge mane. “Lyra,” Lola said absently as she watched the lioness move with beautiful agility.
“If Bane would get back here with Otto, he could help them finish this.” Katy sighed. Her eyes were focused on the house. “He must have gone there. That’s probably where the women are. Oh, he’s gonna free them. Then Bane could bring them to us.”
Lola thought about what the little lizard had said to Katy. He said he would make it right. Nico had pointed out on multiple occasions that killing the two human females would solve the Katy dilemma.Oh snap.Lola stared at the house. She didn’tthink Otto had any intention of freeing the women. All he was thinking about was how to save his mistress. Otto was no nonsense and all business. He would take the easiest path to the resolution he needed, which was Katy alive and healthy. Lola’s stomach dropped as her beast spoke to her.He’s going to bite them.
Chapter Eighteen
This Is The Only Way.
“There can be no love without sacrifice.” ~Zeena
Otto darted through the darkness, his feet pounding against the cold, wet ground. The scent of earth and fear filled his nose as he navigated the treacherous terrain. His body was partially shifted, the protective scales of his beast providing a barrier between him and the aggressive creatures of the earth realm.
In the distance, he could see the faint glimmer of lights from the house. He had been there occasionally in the past when he had still been Azure’s unwilling punching bag. Marissa had surprised him with her cunning abilities, and she’d also taught him a few things, like the binding spell he’d put on the bracelets.
He would give a quick bite to the human females bound to his mistress—painless and swift. It was almost a kindness,in a twisted way. As Otto reached the final few stairs leading up to the porch, he paused to catch his breath and scan his surroundings. His keen eyes caught movement in the grass nearby. Otto turned just in time to see a sleek black panther emerge from its hiding spot. Bane, always one for dramatic flair, had allowed Otto to hear him approaching. But this panther knew how to be truly silent when it hunted. He wasn’t after Otto. Not yet at least.
“Why you here?”
Bane glanced over his shoulder at the battle waging, then looked back at him.
“You not stop me,” Otto warned and then walked up to the door. He scurried up to the latch and pushed down. It clicked and then swung open. A slight breeze blew in and unsettled the dust, causing Otto to scratch his nose. He jumped back down to the ground and stood still, listening. As soon as he heard their voices he took off running.
“Otto,” Bane’s voice bellowed from behind him. The panther had shifted back to his human form.
The lizard’s heart raced as he heard the heavy footsteps of his pursuer behind him. Ignoring the thudding fear in his chest, Otto pushed through the door with all his might, bursting into the room where two human females sat huddled together on the floor. He could feel their fear radiating off them like heat waves, their wide eyes fixed on him in shock and surprise. Even the dimly lit room didn’t hide their trembling forms or tear-stained faces.
“Otto, you don’t have to do this.” Bane stepped into the room. He glanced at the females, then looked back at the lizard.
“My mistress dies,” Otto said as he looked up at the panther.
Bane slowly knelt down. “I know.”
“Are you going to save us?” one of the females asked, but Otto didn’t look her way. He knew there was only one being in the room that might be able to stop him.
“They alive. She not,” Otto said, as if Bane didn’t understand the first time.
“There’s another way,” Bane said, gently.
Otto shook his head. “Otto think and think. This is only sure way.”
“Don’t let him kill us, please,” one of the females pleaded.
Bane did not look away from Otto. Smart panther. Otto watched as Bane pulled out his phone and pressed the screen. There was a ringing, and then his mistress’s voice filled the room.
“Bane, how on earth did you carry a cell phone while in your cat form, and where the hell is my lizard?”
“Magic,” Bane answered simply. “He is here, with the two females drawing from your life force.”
“Why? Why are you there, Otto, and not on this boat with me where you trapped me?”
Tears welled up in Otto’s eyes. “I told my Katy. I make this right.” His voice shook as he stared at the phone, wishing it were her face he could see. Even mad at him, there would be kindness in her eyes.
