Well, there really wasn’t any shortage of people who could be holding a grudge, he thought grimly. He’d puta lotof shifter criminals away over the years.
But why go to all the trouble of pretending to recruit me first, if they just wanted to kill me? And what did Michael mean in his text when he said my movements –
“OOF!”
Rhys let out a grunt of surprise and pain, as, suddenly, the wind was completely knocked out of him by something falling on him from above.
Whatever it was, it was smooth, scaled – and writhing.
As he struggled to keep his footing on the deck, Rhys realized he knewexactlywhat had hit him – and what was currently twisting its way around his limbs, his torso, his legs.
Snake!
Hehatedsnakes.
And this wasn’t just any snake, he quickly realized.
Besides beingenormous, it was also clearly a shifter. Not only did Rhys seriously doubt most enormous scrub pythons secreted themselves on overhead balconies of luxury resorts waiting for their prey to walk beneath them, he could sense it. This was no ordinary snake.
“Rhys!” He heard Maisie’s panicked shriek from inside the room a moment later, as he tried to get his arm free from the massive python’s crushing coils.
It was winding itself around his arms, immobilizing them, but also curling around his torso. It hadn’t started to fully constrict yet, but Rhys knew that if he couldn’t struggle his way out of its grip, he’d be in trouble.
I could shift,he thought – and it was a tempting idea. He’d do it if he had no other choice, but right now, the edict about not revealing his shifter form to the public was too strong. Michael and Shaz might have done it, but Michael had always been a loose cannon; and it gave Rhys all the more reasonnotto now.
No, he’d fight the snake off as a human.
Or try to,Rhys thought – just as the snake wrapped itself around his legs and he finally lost his balance, toppling into the pool.
The cold water was a shock to his system, and he hadn’t had a chance to take a deep breath before he’d fallen in – not that hecouldright now, with an enormous snake constricting his chest. But the fall seemed to have shocked the snake too – just for a moment, Rhys felt its grip loosen slightly on his right arm.
I have to take this chance!
He knew he didn’t have a moment to lose. Struggling to right himself in the water, Rhys straightened out his newly free – or at leastsomewhatfree – arm, smashing the section of the python that was coiled around it into the concrete side of the pool.
It writhed, clearly in pain, and Rhys struggled to get his feet under him to stand up. His lungs were burning, both from the python’s constricting coils and from being underwater.
If I don’t finish this up soon, I’ll have to shift,he thought desperately, as, once again, he smashed the snake into the side of the pool.
But this time, it only tightened its grip.
Shit,Rhys thought, as, kicking his legs as much as he could, he tried to find his way back to the surface of the water. If he could even getonesmall gasp of air, it would be enough –
But apparently, the python sensed what he was trying to do. A coil wrapped around his throat.
Shit. This isn’t going well.
But nonetheless, with the next powerful kick of his legs, he managed to break the surface of the water.
He hauled in as deep a breath as he could with the snake still wrapped around him. Next to his ear he heard a truly evilhissssss, and turned to find himself staring into the malevolent eyes of the python shifter.
Growling, Rhys felt his griffin bursting forward, filled with rage.
This thing dares to come near our mate! We will have its blood!
The griffin’s fury ran rampant through his mind, threatening to overtake it entirely. Out of control of his own body, Rhys felt his hand, imbued now with the griffin’s strength, shoot up, grabbing the python beneath its jaw.
We will show this creature what happens when it threatens a griffin’s mate!the griffin bellowed, as Rhys tried to forced his limbs to move, to dash the snake’s head against the side of the deck –
