The urgency in her voice and the fact her sixth sense had kicked into high gear since they’d become mates caused his fangs to lengthen. The demon within him stirred and came alive with its need to destroy anything that came near her.
“I agree,” Kirha said as she gave Charlie a quizzical look.
“This way,” Jack said.
They jogged deeper into the woods. He wanted to run as fast as he could away from the mansion and whatever menace Charlie sensed, but rushing could prove as deadly as remaining where they were.
They were only twenty feet away from the maple when something exploded behind them. Though they were far away from it, the heat of the explosion licked against Jack’s back as he wrapped his arms around Charlie’s waist and pulled her to the ground beneath him. He shielded her body with his as pops and screams pierced the air. Beside them, Kirha and Clifford hit the ground and covered their heads with their hands.
“Are you okay?” Jack asked Charlie.
Before she could reply, the fire flashed through the trees overhead. The flames caused sweat to coat his body as the fire consumed the pine needles and leaves. The roar of the flames was almost as loud as the explosion before they died back to reveal the bare limbs of the scorched trees.
“Charlie, are you okay?” he asked again.
She lifted her head to look at him, and her eyes landed on the trees overhead. If they’d still been by the maple, they probably wouldn’t have been killed, but they would be a lot worse off.
“Charlie?” Jack asked.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m fine.”
Jack released her and rolled over to survey the damage. He suspected the explosion had come from the same area of the cameras. Whether it was set off manually, or if someone tripped something to cause it, he didn’t know, and he wasn’t going to stick around to find out the answer.
Through the rolling, black smoke, four humans charged out of the woods toward them. After the initial burst of whatever accelerant caused the explosion, the flames dwindled. The fire had gotten smaller, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t devouring the trees closest to it as it spread through the underbrush toward them.
“Shit,” Jack hissed.
As one of the men ran, fire licked up his shirt and curled against his nape. The man howled as he beat at the flames, but he didn’t stop to put them out. Jack took that to mean there was something worse than fire on the guy’s ass.
Clasping Charlie’s arm, he pulled her to her feet as Clifford and Kirha leapt to theirs. “Run,” he said as he released Charlie’s arm.
Rushing might get them killed, but the fire and whatever was coming with itwouldkill them. He’d rather avoid the certainty of death and deal with the possibilities of another trap.
“What happened?” Kirha asked as she ran beside them.
“I think they set up more than cameras around the mansion,” Jack said. “They set traps too.”
“And someone triggered them,” Charlie said. If she hadn’t sensed those cameras in the trees, they could all be dead or mutilated.
“Those humans,” Clifford said.
“I think they would have been nothing more than bits if it was them,” Jack said. “But probably someone they were with.”
Jack chanced a glance behind him to discover security guards charging out of the smoke. The man on fire collapsed to the ground. His wails resonated through the trees while the scent of burning flesh permeated the air. The other humans screamed as the Savages pounced on them and, like a vulture on carrion, tore into them.
A cluster of thin pine trees came into view, and then Charlie glimpsed the reflection of light from a camera lens on one of the trees. She was about to shout a warning when a click on her right drew her attention and the world exploded around her. The concussive strength of the blow flung her backward. A scream built in her throat when she saw the fire flash over Jack and he vanished.
Chapter Thirty-Six
The breath rushed outof Charlie when she hit the ground. A ringing filled her ears as she gazed at the clouds swirling in the sky. It took her a minute to realize they weren’t gray storm clouds over her but tendrils of smoke.
Her back felt as if someone had taken a hammer to it, and she realized she’d landed on something, most likely a rock. The smell of burning clothes alerted her that she was on fire. Unable to take stock of her injuries or surroundings, Charlie rolled across the ground before realizing she wasn’t the one on fire.
She was disoriented, but if she were on fire, she would feel pain, and other than her back, she didn’t feel any discomfort. Then tortured screams broke through the ringing in her ears.
Jack! NO!The last image of him flying through the air with fire all around him burst back through her mind.No. No. NO!
Terror clawed at her chest and throat as she pushed herself up to search for Jack in the chaos. She didn’t see him, but through the rolling smoke, two of the security guards charged at her. Charlie scrambled for her knives and pulled one free as the first Savage hit her.
