The sound gave me strength I didn't know I possessed. I launched myself at Peanut again, clawing, scratching, anything to keep him away from Teddy. My nails raked across his face, drawing blood.
"Run!" I screamed again, my voice raw. "Teddy, run!"
Peanut caught me mid-lunge, his massive hands closing around my throat like a vise. The air cut off instantly. I clawed at his fingers, kicked at his legs, but he was so much bigger, so much stronger. My feet barely touched the ground.
I couldn't breathe. I couldn't speak. My lungs screamed for air that wouldn't come. I could hear Teddy crying somewhere behind us, and I wanted to tell him to run, to get away, to find his father, but no sound would come. Black spots danced at the edge of my vision.
My hands fell away from Peanut's wrists, too weak to fight anymore. The world was fading, going soft and distant.
CRACK!
The sound was sharp and final, like a tree snapping in two.
Peanut's hands went slack around my throat. His body crumpled, falling away from me, his head twisted at animpossible angle. His eyes were still open, but empty now—truly empty.
I gasped, air flooding back into my lungs in painful, desperate gulps. Strong arms caught me before I could hit the ground, pulling me against a broad chest.
"Ruby." Cristox's voice was rough, shaking. "I've got you. You're safe."
I collapsed against him, my whole body trembling, tears streaming down my face as I tried to breathe, tried to process that I was alive, that he was here, that the nightmare was over.
"Teddy," I choked out, my voice a ragged whisper.
“Mama!" Teddy's small voice came from behind Cristox, and then he was there too, throwing his arms around both of us.
Cristox held us both, one powerful arm around me, the other pulling Teddy close, his touch infinitely gentle despite the violence he'd just committed to save us.
"You're safe now," he murmured against my hair, his voice thick with emotion. "Both of you. I've got you."
I held my son tight and buried my face against my mate's chest, knowing he spoke the truth. I was safe. I was protected. I was loved.
Chapter 17
Cristox
I didn't let go of them. Couldn't. Ruby was shaking in my arms, Teddy pressed between us, and I held them both like they might disappear if I loosened my grip even a fraction. My tail had wrapped around Ruby's waist instinctively, anchoring her to me with a possessiveness I didn't bother trying to control. My heart was still hammering against my ribs, adrenaline screaming through my veins from what I'd almost walked upon. The nightmare I'd almost been seconds too late to prevent.
Peanut's body lay crumpled on the ground behind us, head twisted at an unnatural angle, but I didn't look back. I didn't want to see the evidence of what had almost happened, what Teddy had been forced to witness. All that mattered was getting Ruby and Teddy away from there, away from the violence and horror.
I managed to fish my comm out with one hand, my fingers fumbling slightly with the adrenaline still coursing through me, keeping my other arm locked around them like a vise. I hit Mei's pre-programmed number, and she answered on the first ring.
"Cristox? Did you—"
"Found them," I said, my voice rough and raw. "Ruby's hurt. Peanut's dead. We're at the park across from the bakery.Get Bartholomeus. Get Doc Pritchett, Marcus, and Tom. People we trust."
"What the fuck!" Mei blurted, shock crackling through the comm. Then she composed herself with visible effort. "On my way."
I hung up and finally let myself look at Ruby. Really look at her. Her throat was already darkening with bruises, angry purple-black marks in the shape of fingers that made my blood run cold and my vision blur with rage. But she was breathing—each ragged breath precious. She was alive. That's what mattered.
"You're okay," I murmured, not sure if I was telling her or myself, the words a desperate mantra. "You're both okay."
Teddy hadn't said a word. Just clung to both of us, his small body trembling like a leaf in a storm, his face buried against my chest.
Mei arrived first, Bartholomeus right behind her with his hand on the blaster at his belt. The relief on her face when she saw Teddy nearly broke me—raw and overwhelming, tears already streaming down her cheeks. She dropped to her knees beside us, hugging both Teddy and Ruby like she needed to confirm they were real, solid, still here.
"Thank the stars," she breathed, her voice breaking.
Bartholomeus took one look at the scene—at Ruby's throat, at Teddy's tear-stained face, at Peanut's body sprawled in the dirt—and his jaw tightened, a muscle jumping beneath the skin. He didn't ask questions. Just positioned himself between us and the body, standing guard with the stillness of a warrior, his eyes scanning the darkness for threats.
