“What are you doing?” Dunkel whispered frantically at the Vanfian.
“Just seeing how much he likes you.”
Juston rose and started struggling against his bonds but the police were on him in a second.
“Sit back down!” Cal ordered. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Let her go!” Juston shouted as they tackled him to the floor. “Get your filthy hands off her!”
Dunkel grabbed the feline by the throat. “Stop it. Toy with the other one if you want, but that one belongs to me.”
The Vanfian’s smile was gleefully evil. “But this is so much fun.”
Dunkel wasted not a second. She punched the other female in the jaw with enough force to knock her backward. For a second, the guards clustered around his brother shimmered. It was enough to confirm Cal’s suspicions.
They hadn’t been captured by the interstellar police and the Vanfian Empire. The Seekers were still fucking with them. This was all Sanri’s doing.
And it looked like the Seekers weren’t exactly on the same page. That meant there was a sliver of hope for them. Now, if he could figure out how to get Gemma out.
The women’s heated words drew his attention back to them.
“Cold-hearted bitch,” the feline sneered.
“I’m not fucking around. I’m taking over, and you’re going to let me.”
Sanri-in-disguise looked for a moment as if she would protest. Then she shrugged a shoulder. “Do what you want. It’s not like we’ll be sticking around for much longer anyway.”
Dunkel stormed across the room, grabbing Juston by his arm and pulling him back up to his feet. To Cal, it looked like the officers moved away, returning to their line. But there were no police. Not really.
Turning back to Sanri, Dunkel jerked her head to the door. The lights flickered, and Cal could feel a drop in temperature. In a matter of moments, he could see his breath frosting out in front of him.
“Get out,” the doctor growled when Sanri just stood there. “Now.”
Sanri crossed her arms over her chest. “You and Grimm might think you run the show, but I can make you think otherwise.”
“You try to use your powers on me and I’ll freeze your heart in your chest. You’ll be dead in ten seconds.”
Sanri chuckled. “The joke’s on you. I don’t have a heart.” The Seeker turned her attention back to Cal. She jerked him up out of his chair. “I’m keeping this one. You’re not the only one who gets to have fun.”
Dunkel didn’t reply, so Sanri started tugging Cal toward the door.
Shit, she’s about to separate us.“Wait!” Cal yelled, but no one paid him any attention. The woman was strong, illusion or no, and despite his struggles, the door was slamming behind him in a matter of moments.
The hallway was in absolute chaos. The residents and staff were under Sanri’s spell, each tortured by their own individual illusions. A cold chill went through Cal. He wondered what Gemma was seeing, how badly she was being affected.
I have to get back to her!
He was about to risk making a break for it when she saw Gemma turn the corner at the end of the hall. They locked eyes, and the gaze hit him like a punch to the chest. He realized then and there that he was in love with this woman. Totally, helpless, and endlessly.
He’d known after the first time he’d possessed her that she belonged to him, but it wasn’t until this moment, when the world was going to pieces all around him, that he truly understood what she meant to him.
And then a tall and muscular blond man came out of the shadows.
He pulled Gemma back and out of sight.
Without thinking, he broke, managing to struggle out of the Seeker’s grip. He ran down the hall toward the place where his beloved had stood. Suddenly, the hallway stretched out before him. He ran harder, faster, but he made no progress. The corridor carried on forever, to a tiny point in the horizon.
What the fuck?
“Good try, Hot Stuff,” Sanri said, then jumped onto his back, hooking her claws into his skin and biting savagely at his shoulder. Although he knew that she more or less resembled a human woman under her disguise, the image of the sharp fangs and claws made his mind convince him that a cat woman was attacking him.
Sanri leaned back, putting her feet on the floor and forcing Cal to bend his back as she dragged him back down the hall. She burst into another room and slammed the door shut behind her, then threw him around her with enough force to make him fall to the floor.
The feline gave him a feral grin. She walked toward him, dusting her hands off. “Well, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, what say we get down to the real fun?”
“I’ve got just the thing for you. Just you wait right here.” Sanri snapped her fingers. All of a sudden, iron shackles appeared at his arms and legs, chaining him to the floor. Cal struggled against them even as he kept his eyes on the Seeker.
Her grin was almost girlish and she clapped her hands. “Be right back.” Turning, she rushed back out into the hall, leaving Cal to fight against chains he knew were an illusion.
