As Gale moved in to attack Valora, Janet and Jude bit and swiped at her legs. If they separated the two, they could make headway, but the woman was quick on her feet and Evelo caught her leg in his mouth to drag her aside.
“Killing you won’t help Haley,” Keon acknowledged, though he wished it could. “Letting you live won’t give her anything. But if she can see one person in this world she can trust, if she can see the laws are enforced and evil can be beaten, she can rebuild her life.”
“I didn’t do anything to her!”
Vega hadn’t hurt her physically, but he’d been equally heinous. Despite her behaviour, Haley hadn’t done anything unforgivable. She had a sharp tongue, a wicked mind, and didn’t think twice about using them as a weapon, but she hadn’t yet done anything to be ashamed of. Keon had seen her shake with fear, when Vega scent-marked her, an unwanted act as cruel as a sexual advance to a young girl, alone with three maniacs. Likely afraid of what came next, of how far they were from lands she was familiar with, convinced no one would come to rescue her.
Keon couldn’t suppress the instinctive growl as he drew Vega closer. “No! You did this to her,” he admitted, hoping Isaac had her safely at the copse. “For your sake, I hope she recovers. If she doesn’t, I know who I’m hunting,” he warned, not afraid to visit the shevoo outpost if it meant having one last go at the man.
Vega swallowed as a flash of white moved out the corner of his eye.
His attention drifted, and Keon’s breath caught as he realised what was happening. Afraid to release Vega, unable to help, he spun Vega into a tighter hold against his chest. Covering his mouth to prevent Vega shouting a warning, Keon prayed to the Mother.
Milo crept by the warren, where Haley had been held. His rear leg shook with excessive strain, but he didn’t hesitate when Evelo pulled Valora to safety a second time. When Evelo released her, Milo pounced, flying through the air.
Milo’s leg wobbled on his spin into the air, and he soared…crashing into the pair of strangers and knocking Valora off her feet. She struggled to stand, disorientated. Jude crept in behind, grabbed Valora’s tail in his mouth, and tugged her to the ground. Janet bit the m’weko’s front paw, sweeping it from under her.
Keon held his breath, eyes darting between moving bodies as Gale leapt over Janet to land by Milo’s side. He helped push Milo’s unsteady body off Evelo, whom he’d landed on, unaware of the jaws opening by his left hip. Before Keon could shout a warning, the jaws locked on and a howl of rage erupted from the silence of the space.
Jude growled, tugging Valora by the tail to toss her into Janet’s hold. He was a step toward Gale when Milo headbutted Evelo’s weight off him. In a blur of movement, Milo fell to the ground and pulled Evelo with him.
Within seconds, he wrestled the m’weko and buried his muzzle in his neck, wounding but not killing. Evelo whimpered in pain and panted heavily, feet scrambling for purchase despite his weakness. Milo used his body weight to hold him and grabbed a skinny leg between his teeth. Twisting until a tell-tale pop and a roar of pain announced a broken limb.
As Usher had, not long ago, Evelo sagged to the ground in surrender.
“Bloody hell,” Vega whispered, realising he’d lost. Not the fight, but Keon. Because, no matter what he thought, Milo wasn’t weak.
Milo had won this fight.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Milo
WHILE THE JOURNEYto find Haley had been exhausting, seeing her rejuvenated Milo’s energies. Too many people had tried to hurt his sister over the years, primarily his own father, and Milo hadn’t yet let anyone get away with it.
However she behaved, Haley was a child and remained his responsibility to care for, protect, and raise right. Better than his mother or father had been capable of.
No matter how he felt?the pain, the fatigue, the utter physical exhaustion or the pins and needles?Milo would fight until he dropped to save her from pain. Not knowing what she’d already gone through, but able to see she was dishevelled and clearly upset, the only thing that mattered was getting her home to safety. Anything else could come later.
It was hard to stay back and evaluate what was happening, but with multiple bodies moving in a contained area, Milo saw no other way to be useful, without the risk of getting in someone’s way. Staying away from Keon was harder, because he could see the strain of his hold on Vega. Restraining himself from killing the man he hated with every fibre of his being, as he was a bargaining chip for the three unpredictable threats who remained.
The only consolation was knowing Isaac was heading towards Haley, and he’d felt the mate bond flare between them. Though it was new, and Haley was too young to sense it, Isaac was a smart young man, and Milo trusted him to treat her well. To protect her, tonight, while the rest of the team focused on fighting the enemy.
Until these strangers were subdued, they couldn’t safely take Haley anywhere. And Milo wasn’t leaving without her.
Refocusing on the fight, Milo watched closely to calculate what the others were planning, in the hope of anticipating their next move.
“Kill me,” Vega murmured, choking around Keon’s grip on his neck.
“No. You’ll live,” he said, determined but furious. “You’ll live to face Farley to be punished for what you did to Haley. You’ll face her to confess your crimes, so she doesn’t go to sleep every night, terrified.”
Milo almost nodded, feeling the same about whatever punishment Vega faced. He didn’t want Haley being afraid of him her whole life, or being afraid ofanyone, but if they could force Vega to admit to what he’d done to the Meskli to be properly punished, perhaps she could find some closure.
Across the distance, around the fire, Jude snapped at Evelo’s neck, while Valora broke free of Gale’s hold to slam against Jude’s hip, knocking him off his feet. With the whole team in m’weko form, that wasn’t an easy feat, which meant Valora was stronger than Milo had anticipated. But despite his surprise, Janet didn’t hesitate to rush in to assist.
Taking a slow, steady breath, Milo dropped his body lower to prepare for a moment he may need to spring into action. As he watched, Valora and Evelo worked as a team, baiting the others and proving their strength came from trust, backs to each other as they circled. Jude, Gale, and Janet took whatever opportunity they could get to slash and attack, darting in and out of the circle of vicious claws and teeth, but they made little headway.
Milo saw no clear opening for a real attack. They were wasting time, but he was afraid to mind-speak with Keon or Isaac for fear of distracting them.
