“This is going to hurt.”
“Do it,” she replies, her voice as hard as iron. Her gaze locks onto mine, her dark, crystal eyes shimmering with a fierce determination. Not an ounce of fear. Just that steel will I’ve come to know so well. Admiration flickers in my chest.
“That’s my girl,” I murmur, pressing a soft kiss to each of her palms.
There’s no time for second thoughts. My body shifts with ease, a low growl rumbling from deep within me. My jaws clamp down over the pin securing the shackle around her fragile wrist, the taste of blood sharp and metallic in my mouth. I bite down, teeth sinking into the cold metal, and with a brutal twist, it snaps with a loud crack.
Ash gasps, her arm trembling as she stares at her freed wrist in disbelief, but I don’t stop. I shift to the other hand, ignoring the slick taste of her blood coating my teeth. It’s a matter of seconds before the second shackle falls to the ground with a resounding thud.
Her legs come next, the chains barely holding up against the force of my bite. Each snap is like a small victory, but the taste of her blood gnaws at me, a constant reminder of how broken she is. It tears at me to see her like this—to know what she’s endured while I wasn’t there. My anger swells like a brewing storm, filling me with an all-consuming urge to tear the world apart for letting this happen to her.
Before I can shift back into my human form, Ash’s arms encircle my neck, her face burying into my fur.
“I love you,” she whispers, her voice barely audible, yet it crashes into me with the force of a tidal wave.
For a moment, everything else fades away—the noise of the world, the rhythm of my heartbeat, even the breath in my lungs. I never expected this confession from her. Ash, the one who guards her emotions so fiercely, who keeps her feelings hidden away, locked behind an impenetrable wall. The last person I thought would ever let those three words slip past her lips.
The air between us thickens, heavy with the weight of her revelation, and I can almost taste the uncertainty hanging in the space we share. It mingles with the familiar scent of her, earthy and warm, tinged with the faintest trace of something sweet, something uniquely Ash.
With one final squeeze, she takes a step back, and in that instant, I shift, enveloping her in my arms. I hold her tightly against my chest, wasting no time as my lips meet hers. A rush of desire and affection overwhelms me in this very moment.
Ashand I have always had a deep connection, but something has shifted; it feels like an invisible thread now connects us. There’s a constant ebb and flow of energy that moves between us, a push and pull of magic. Before I can utter those words back to her, a roar shakes the ground beneath us, and we break apart, Ash’s eyes wide in alarm.
“Shit,” she whispers.
“What was that?” I ask, although I have a feeling I already know.
Chapter twenty-one
Ashwiyaa
“Listen to your gut, or your girlfriend.”
Dread coils tightly within me, my body weakened under the relentless surge of adrenaline. My heart races, hands trembling as I desperately pull on Kai’s arm.
“We need to run, now!”
Kai’s gaze locks onto mine, incredulous, his grip tightening on my hand, stopping my frantic attempt to flee. The ground beneath us shudders with another thunderous roar, the earth quaking as shards of rock tumble into the salty abyss below. The sound reverberates through my bones, and my pulse quickens as my eyes remain glued to the edge of the cliff, where the danger feels all too close.
“Since when do you run from a fight?” Kai’s voice cuts through the chaos, disbelief lacing his words.
My eyes snap back to his, and I’m unable to tear away from the intensity of his piercing blue stare. His question hangs heavy between us, but I can’t focus on anything except the threat looming beneath us.
“Kai, I’ve already lost to him once. I’m not at full strength,” I admit, my voice strained. “But he is. We need to run.”
Indecision flickers across his face, and for a split second, I see the war raging inside him—the fury, the need for revenge, the desperate desire to fight and destroy whoever has hurt me. His fists clench, and the anger radiates from him like heat off a fire.
“Kai,” I say softly, reaching for his hand. “Trust me.”
He blinks, the storm in his eyes shifting as his focus sharpens, his mind finally catching up to the reality in front of him. The fire of revenge dims as he takes me in fully—my weakened state, my exhaustion. His drawn brows relax as it clicks for him,
and he realizes that I’m not asking him to run out of fear, but out of necessity.
“You’re right,” he murmurs, the fight leaving his voice.
Relief washes over me so suddenly that my legs nearly buckle. I’m running on fumes, low on blood and energy, barely holding on. Kai’s hands come up to cup my cheeks, his touch warm and grounding. Another furious bellow sounds from below, shaking the ground again, but this time, Kai is ready.
“I’m going to shift,” he says, his voice firm. “Climb on. I’m getting you out of here.”
