“Finish him off.”
I meet his gaze head-on. I’m done playing. It’s time to fight our way out of this. “No.”
Ajax grins, unsurprised. “You want to go that route? Let’s do it. I’ve always wanted to mark up that pretty face of yours. We can start with that and go from there.”
Suddenly, Hunter plows into Ajax, pinning him to the wall with his elbow against his throat. It’s almost pathetic how fast Hunter pinned him. Ajax sneers at Hunter. “You gonna kill me?”
“No. Somebody else is waiting for that privilege,” Hunter growls. I take a step closer to the two of them, and Ajax’s eyes land on me. “Don’t look at her; look at me.” Hunter snaps.
Rizo moves, but I’m ready. I hold up my knife, the one I used to unlock Hunter’s restraints. Rizo doesn’t look at all concerned. “What are you going to do, Little Lamb?” He takes another step towards me. “To harm me would be to harm yourself, and you don’t want to do that.”
I take a step back but keep him in my line of sight. “You’re going to let us walk out of here.”
He smiles, but it’s cold. “I knew you wouldn’t drain him. You're too weak to do the hard stuff.”
“You mean like killing? Yeah, I’m good. Thanks.”
His eyes turn to slits. “Don’t forget you chose this.” Hunter goes rigid, and then his arm drops to his side. He stumbles backwards a moment and then stands still. I can see he’s fighting against it, but it’s not doing any good. I look at Rizo, who’s staring at Hunter with an intensity that rocks me.
“Leave him alone,” I order. Hunter’s back bows, and he drops to his knees. “Stop it!”
Somehow, Ajax is next to me now. “Rizo can liquefy his bones with his mind power.” I can see the pain on Hunter’s face, and it guts me. He opens his mouth and grits his teeth, but somehow he doesn’t make a sound, and that makes it worse.
“Stop!” I yell at Rizo, but he doesn’t listen. I grab my knife and turn on him, but I only make it a step or two. I grind my teeth and try to push forward, but I can’t. It’s like I hit a cement wall. I can’t go any closer. I try to lift my knife to throw it, but I can’t throw it. I turn back and see sweat dripping down Hunter’s brow. He falls forward after a minute, and I scream. I run towards him and drop next to him. “Stop!” Hunter’s entire body shakes, like he’s having a seizure. I can hear Ajax laughing, but I don’t even bother to look at him. Fury builds inside me, and my mind races to figure a way out of this. But there is none. Even if we made it past Rizo and Ajax, we would still have to fight all the other vampires. It would be a suicide mission. And then a solution comes to me. I try to think if there’s any other way, but there’s not. If there were, I would have already thought of it. I put my hand on Hunter’s back, hoping he knows I’m here with him. I grasp my knife tightly in my hand, but keep it at my side where no one can see it. I lean forward to whisper in Hunter’s ear. “Thank you for choosing me. I choose you too.” I give myself just one moment. One moment to think about what life would have been like with Hunter by my side; one moment to mourn a life we will never have together. And then I do the only thing I know that will stop a master vampire—kill his creation. I know I have to be fast, so they don’t stop me. I take the knife and shove it into my heart. I hear a gasp, but I can’t look over. My body falls forward, and I lie next to Hunter. I want to tell him that it will be okay. That, with Rizo out of the picture, he’ll be able to get out. Rizo won’t be able to call the other vampires, and Huntercan escape, especially if Garrett is waiting out there somewhere. Together, they can fight off whatever vampires wait outside and get to freedom.
I hear commotion further away from me, but I can’t turn my head to see it. The cold starts seeping into my body, starting with my legs and working its way up my body. I will Hunter to fight, to be free, to live well, and to maybe remember me.
Chapter Forty-Two
Hunter
One minute, I feel like every muscle in my body is on fire. The next time it stops, it takes a moment for me to sit up. When I do, I stare in horror at Sherese bleeding out on the floor. I see Rizo on the ground, and it hits me what she did. Fury burns through me, and my wolf roars at me. “Don’t you dare leave me.” And then I bite her with the mating bite; I don’t even stop to think about it. I don’t know that it will do anything; I honestly don’t know if it will take. I just know she’s my mate, and I will do anything to save her. Her body shudders, and I hold her close. Rage courses through my wolf and me. I want to burn this place to the ground as I watch my precious mate fade out right before my eyes. I am aware of the fallen master behind me, but at the moment, I couldn't care less. I keep an ear out for Ajax, but he disappeared when the master fell.
The door to the room crashes open, and a fierce growl bursts from my chest at whoever would dare to interrupt my last moments with my mate. I leap to my feet and shift instantly, the need to protect my mate coursing through every fiber of my being. My wolf rips through every vampire that comes in. Only when there are only bodies around me do I shift and grab her and hold her close to my chest. I run out into the hall and make for the exit. We will get out; there is no other option.
I race through the building, letting my vampire speed move us along. A few vampires come after us, but they seem surprised and are caught off guard. And then the front door is only a few feet away. I slow down when I see Ajax step forward. “If Rizo’sdead, she’s dead. You might as well leave her. The vamps can at least feed from her before her blood goes cold.”
I’ve felt anger in my life. Real anger. But the anger that ignites me now is something that’s too strong to hold onto. I know if I do, it will destroy me from the inside out. So, I make the decision. I set Sherese down for just a moment. Then, using my vampire speed, I explode into action and ram into him, locking my arms around his body. I pull his arm up and use it to open the door, and then shove him to the ground. I’m careful to keep his foot in the door, so it doesn’t close on me. Then I whistle loudly three times, the sign Garrett and I agreed upon before entering. I wanted something just in case we needed it. I’m glad we did. I don’t hear or see anything, and I start to wonder if maybe I’ll have to take things into my own hands. But then I see the huge black wolf running towards us. I make quick work of grabbing Sherese and getting out.
The black wolf circles a smaller wolf, now that Ajax has shifted. I leave him to his kill. Ajax’s life is his to take. Besides, I need to get my mate to safety. I care more about that than revenge. I race to the barrier, putting my vampire speed to use. But when we get close, several vampires come out of the shadows and rush us. Fear rushes over me. I can’t fight and hold Sherese. But then a black wolf charges into the group and clears the way for us. I run again and cross the barrier. I turn back, but Garrett’s black wolf clears the barrier. He staggers for a moment, and I know he has to be in pain. But he starts forward again after just a moment. I follow him for a few miles, and the airfield comes into view. We race for the plane. When we get close, the door opens on the plane, and his enforcer steps out and waves us over. I don’t stop to think and climb the steps into their plane. Garrett’s right behind us. “Go,” Garrett says to the pilot. “Get us off the ground.”
“Let me help.” I turn to see the Northwoods Pack healer. Relief flows through me so strongly that it nearly bowls me over. And then right after that, reality slams into me. “I don’t know...she...” I can’t say the words; they won’t come.
“Put her down, Hunter. Let us check her out,” Paul says.
Though I don’t want to, I do. I lay her down, and they immediately go to work. “Her heart,” I manage to get out, but they don’t even act as if they hear me. They say things back and forth to each other—medical terms that mean nothing to me. I stay back and just watch, hoping for a miracle. I see her chest rise just the slightest bit, and hope soars.
“She needs blood,” Paul says.
I’m already pulling up my sleeve. “Use mine.”
“What kind—” Paul starts, but I cut him off.
“She already has my blood in her system. It will work.”
Paul gets to work, and soon there’s a line stretched between the two of us. Once Paul’s convinced she has enough, he removes the line. “Okay,” he says to Sage. I watch as the healer bends over Sherese, closes her eyes, and then puts her hand over Sherese’s heart. Her shirt’s been torn away, so they could work on her. So, when Sage puts her hand on Sherese, it’s on her skin. Time seems to be at a standstill as I watch them work on my mate. I have no idea how long it’s been, but at least an hour has to have passed, if not longer. I watch Sage work on her for what seems like forever before she finally pulls back.
She looks up and meets my eyes. “She’s stable.”
