Marathin. Her tormentor had found her.
“Stay calm.” Kain gritted his teeth and released the steering wheel. “There are too many for me to fight and ensure your safety at the same time, but the fact he’s not here alone means I can negotiate. He won’t want what he’s done to become public knowledge.”
Selma stared from the nightmare waiting for her on the road to the man by her side. “Please, Kain. Don’t let him take me. He’ll hurt me, he’ll punish me for leaving?—”
“It’ll be okay.” Kain’s voice was unusually soft. “Come. I don’t want to leave you unguarded in the car.”
Giving her one last, lingering look he opened the door and slid out.
Selma took several deep breaths before she managed to shakily unclasp her seatbelt and stumble after him.
Kain waited for her by the hood of the car. He closed his large hand around hers when she reached his side, keeping her steady as he led her toward the man who’d tricked her.
It’d been more than a month since she’d last seen Marathin Hershey, the demon who’d abused her when she was at her most vulnerable. His eyes lit up at the sight of her, that cruel smile she recognized all too well pulling at the corners of his mouth.
Flashes of her time with him passed through her mind’s eye—of the humiliation when he snapped the ring around her clit; the fear rising in her throat when she read his intentions for her; the anguish when he forced her legs apart and seated himself inside of her; the horror as he tore apart the people trying to save her from his abuse.
She trembled and clutched harder at Kain’s hand. She wasn’t alone anymore. She wasn’t his victim.
“That’s her,” Marathin said to his six companions. “Selma, you’re safe! You made me very worried, young lady.”
Selma shuddered at the eagerness in his eyes as he raked them over her body, before focusing on Kain.
“My Lord,” Marathin continued, “I thank you for bringing me my charge. She’s been a very naughty girl, running from her procurement in Massachusetts.”
Kain made no motion to release his grip on her hand, his focus on one of the other demons. “I am uncertain what makes you think to stop a Lord Protector, Agent, but I suggest you state your business quickly.”
The demon—apparently the leader of the group—hesitated for a moment. “Sir, we’re here to bring the Breeder back to her Procurer.”
“The man who let her escape in the first place?” Kain arched an eyebrow. “And who failed to alert the proper channels? Since when does the Agency handle runaway Breeders?”
The leader narrowed his cold eyes ever so slightly. “The Agency’s business is confidential, my Lord.”
“Confidential or not, you are proposing a Procurer who has failed to keep a new Breeder safe—and who failed to follow protocol once she escaped—simply be handed over responsibility for her care once more. No. The girl is under my protection. I will bring her to her auction—and if she requires further preparations beforehand, I will oversee them.” The massive demon by her side seemed to grow even taller as he asserted his dominance.
“You are outside your jurisdiction, young Lord,” Marathin said, his voice barely managing to skirt insolence. “The Breeder is mine. She should be of no interest or consequence to a Lord—and I am sure you have a territory to run.”
“I’m not going with you!” Selma hissed, pressing closer to Kain as she clutched his hand. “You’re a rapist and a murderer, and I’d rather slit my throat than have you touch me ever again.”
“I’m sure you misspoke—a Breeder can never belong to her Procurer,” Kain said, spearing the doctor with a dark stare. “And this one is frightened of you. I think we can all agree it would be much better to let her be handled by someone she’s comfortable with.”
“I have been a Procurer far longer than you’ve been alive, young one,” Marathin said, the barest snarl penetrating his voice now. “It’s no use coddling a runaway—she needs to learn her place, and I will teach her. These Agents are here to ensure I’ll get what’s rightfully mine, and Lord or not… I suggest you don’t stand in my way.”
“Please, my Lord,” the leader of the Agents said, holding out his hand as if he expected him to hand her over like a dog on a leash. “She is not a Pure Breeder—this girl is of no concern to you. I know your father—you’re of a strong bloodline, and I would rather not lose any men today. But I will if I must.”
They weren’t going to let her go.
Selma stared from Marathin’s barely contained snarl to the six Agents standing ready to spring into action at any moment. She knew that if she didn’t do something now, she would be back in her tormentor’s clutches before the day was over. For good this time.
“I am.” The words were out of her throat before she could pull them back. “I’m a Pure Breeder.”
She would have continued—would have begged them to let Kain take her, told them that Marathin had lied to them to keep her to himself in the hopes that their loyalty was with their kind over the doctor—but she never got the chance.
As if they were one and the same, five of the Agents lifted their right arms and pointed them at Kain. Dark energy swirled around their palms.
“Step away from the girl. Now!” The leader no longer sounded calm. His voice was hoarse with stress, though he didn't take his eyes off the bigger demon.
Kain's hand had frozen around hers, and when the Agent not aiming at him with magic moved closer to pull her away from him, he didn't move to stop it. He simply stood as if carved from marble.
