After a brisk knock, he threw open the door, then yanked on the ropes. She lowered her eyes, not even having to pretend to trip when he nearly pulled her off her feet. Rope burns stung her wrists as the bindings tore off a layer of skin, the bite of pain helping to ground her.
“There! I told you!” Tyson yelled and pointed at them. “They’re working together.”
Terrance actually growled. “That fucking idiot is losing his shit, ranting and raving about how only he can be trusted to release and move people. I caught this one wandering the halls after he let her out.” He lifted the rope dangling between them. “He’s been taking too much of the drugs, dosing himself a couple of times a day just to function. He’s as batshit crazy as Tanner before you decided to…put him out to pasture.”
“The fucker is lying!” Tyson shot forward, his snarl promising retribution and pain.
Terrance quickly kicked a chair between them, knocking Tyson to the floor when he failed to leap over it in time. Tyson went sprawling, his eyes flashing a feral yellow as he glared at her.
“This is your fault.” He focused all his rage on Annora. “You’re ruining everything.”
“Enough!” Director Erickson’s order thundered through the room, his voice echoing strangely in a way she was coming to associate it with when an alpha gave a command.
The urge to meekly bow her head trickled through her, but she was able to shrug it off without much effort, while both Terrance and Tyson lowered their heads in submission.
A low chuckle came from the doorway behind them, and she froze, the sound throwing her back in time. The laughter was usually accompanied by a lash of pain, her uncle taking wicked pleasure at punishing her.
“She’s a troublemaker. No matter how much she’s reprimanded, she never learns her lesson.” He walked into the room, circling her, shaking his head in feigned pity. “Hello, Annora. You’ve been a very naughty girl, running away like that.” He came to a stop in front of her, fury at her defiance barely leashed. “Did you miss me?”
Hatred burned along her veins as she glared up at him, the raging need to pull him into the afterworld and finally kill him churned through her, but no matter how hard she reached for the darkness, it scattered at her touch. The harder she pulled, the more her head throbbed in protest.
And she realized the nightmare last night was a warning.
Her consciousness had sensed his nearness and had tried to let her know, but she’d foolishly shaken it off.
A decision that was now biting her on the ass.
As if understanding her predicament, he gave a satisfied smile. “Nasty head wound you have there. Knocks you offline for a few hours, doesn’t it?”
She swallowed hard, realizing she’d fallen into his trap. “What do you want?”
His brows shot up in genuine surprise. “Imagine my astonishment when an associate of mine gave me a call about my beloved niece who had gone missing. He knew I had been worried sick.”
“It was, of course, my duty to report you.” Director Erickson’s smile was smug. “When he told me you were mentally unstable and dangerous, I had to take measures on behalf of the rest of my students.”
She snorted at the absurdity. “And it doesn’t hurt that he sells you my blood to help make your precious drug. Tell me, do you get my blood for free or at a discount?”
The slap came fast and hard, whipping her head to the side. Heat exploded along her cheek, her ears ringing as the cut re-opened and spilled fresh blood down her face. She slowly turned to face her uncle and smiled, licking the blood off her lips. “You know you won’t be able to hold me again. I’m getting stronger, and sooner or later, I’ll escape again…only this time, instead of running, I’m going to come for you.”
Instead of fear, he gave a throaty laugh. “I die, you die. Do your best, little bitch. But I won’t be so easy on you this time. I think you’ll enjoy our new place.”
The evil gleam in his eyes made her throat dry, but she lifted her chin, refusing to show him any weakness. She turned toward Erickson. “You knew who I was the first day you saw me. Why tell him? Why not keep me all for yourself?”
“I don’t have time to babysit you.” He lifted his head, his chest puffed up as his ego expanded. “Wolves should be in charge of the shifters, and you are the one who’s going to make it happen. Other races disgrace us by treating us as commoners when we’re clearly superior. We’re the largest pack, the strongest of us all. The drugs will give us the boost we need to finally prove our point and rise to the top.”
From the maniacal gleam in his eyes, she could tell he clearly didn’t care about having to step over the bodies of all the dead shifters he’d killed to get to the top.
“Yes, I recognized you the first day. I was even going to bid for you when you went up for auction, but when you went missing, I decided you were too much trouble. That’s why your uncle Stanley has agreed to keep you for me and allow me unfettered access. Blood loss will keep you weak and pliable. We even have a compound readied, prepared especially to hold you.” He gave her a smile that was more fang than friendly. “You won’t find the accommodations as nice as your last place. Your uncle will keep you in check for us for a modest fee.”
Familiar avarice gleamed in her uncle’s eyes.
He couldn’t wait to get his hands on her and punish her for defying him.
Director Erickson dismissed her. “Tyson, gather your men, make sure they’re loyal, then take her to the special holding cells we prepared.”
Tyson’s grin was vindictive. When he reached for her, the ferret around her shoulder hissed and leapt to the ground, puffing up to nearly twice his size.
“Kill that filthy beast.” Her uncle gave a grimace of distaste. “It’s not from this world. Its bite is poisonous and can take weeks to heal.” He unconsciously rubbed the back of his hand, as if he could still feel the ache of many such wounds.
Tyson eyed the creature doubtfully, then lifted his leg to stomp on him. Edgar gave a ferocious snarl, darted forward and removed a chunk of flesh from his calf.
The wolf cursed, leaping around on one leg, his eyes turning feral as he locked on the ferret standing protectively in front of her. She reached down to sweep him out of the way, but he leapt over her hand, determined to defend her. Tears thickened the back of her throat, knowing it would destroy something inside her to see him die yet again trying to protect her.
But when Tyson advanced a moment later, a second ferret darted around her to stop next to the first one.
Then a third.
And fourth
Joy sent her heart soaring.
If the ferrets were here, the guys had to be just a step behind.
They came for her.
They said they would, but she wasn’t sure she’d believed them.
No one had bothered to care about her in that way for a very long time—if ever.
As a fifth and last ferret joined the others, instead of attacking, they jumped on each other and exploded outward in a massive cloud of particles she recognized from the afterworld. With each ferret, the cloud grew until a shape began to take form in the center.
In less than a minute, the dust seemed to be sucked inward and began to settle, forming into a man a few years older than herself. He had hair as black as midnight, but what caught her attention when he looked at her was the pure afterworld glowing in his eyes.
“Annora.”
Recognition sent a shiver down her spine.
Her stalker had finally arrived.
“Edgar?”
Chapter Twenty-five
Annora could only stare at the guy in shock, never once having guessed the truth.
Heat burned her cheeks as she remembered sharing so many of her dreams and hopes with him, feeling embarrassed and betrayed by the subterfuge. “I don’t understand.”
When he rose to his full height, he stood a little under six feet. His build was solid. The way he moved was different from humans, even different from s
hifters. There was an elegance to him, an effortless self-awareness that she envied.
His skin was pale and smooth, the angles of his face sharp, weathered by life and hardship. His noise was long and straight, his eyebrows full, his lips generous if a bit hard, while his jaw had a strong, stubborn look to it.
Everything about him softened when he looked at her, pure joy and possessiveness shining from him. The afterworld faded from his eyes, leaving behind a blue so dark they were fathomless. “You called me from the darkness. You saved me. Now I am yours.”
Her jaw dropped at his bold claim. “Excuse me?”
At the back of her mind, a warm glow began to burn. As he stared at her, a fierce joy burst through her, absolute devotion and a pure happiness that made her throat ache.
It was him.
When he took shape, a connection between them was forged.
“You called me back into existence from the banished land. Our destinies are intertwined. Only my fated mate would’ve been able to save me.” He edged closer toward her, yearning lightening his dark eyes. “We belong together.”
Oh, fuck!
Did she just call a creature from her nightmares to life and make him into a real boy like some fucking fairy tale?
A commotion echoed down the hall, the chaotic sounds of fighting edging closer each minute. Mason’s roar actually shook the room, the walls shivering as something heavy smashed into them, as if he was plowing through them to reach her.
Edgar edged in front of her, his movements forcing her back to avoid being trampled. “Don’t—”
“Kill him and take the girl,” Director Erickson ordered. He began gathering items on the desk in front of him, his movements hurried but not rushed. When he reached for an old, leather-bound book, she knew the spell he used had come from it.
She couldn’t let him leave with it. Who knew what else it might contain?
If it had information about phantoms, she needed to get her hands on it. She needed to learn more about her heritage in order to protect the people around her.
She sidestepped around Edgar and headed for the desk.
Tyson moved at the same time, lunging for her.
Edgar whirled, his body exploding outward in a swirl of cloud and smoke, only to take shape between them. He grabbed Tyson by the throat, lifting him easily off the floor, unfazed by the slashes the wolf inflicted with his claws.
Then Tyson screamed, his terror so visceral she was held spellbound. Black sludge oozed from his eyes, nose and ears, then began to bubble and spill out of his mouth. A film of shadows clouded his eyes until they turned completely black.
Tyson clutched the arm that held him, then stopped struggling as more and more black tar began to pour down and drip off his body. His flesh began to shrivel, and he whimpered in primal fear.
Edgar was a phantom like her.
No, not like her.
He was a pureblood.
It took a considerable effort for her to jerk her attention away from the spectacle. Both her uncle and Erickson watched the process with complete fascination, and she took advantage of their distraction and grabbed the magical book out of the briefcase where Erickson had shoved it, then danced away when he turned to look at her.
She shoved the book down the waistband of her pants, the leather nestled against her spine, leaving her hands free.
Greed stared back at her, then he lifted his phone and spoke into it like a walkie-talkie. “Security to the main office. Now.”
He would want to take them both alive.
She grabbed the back of Edgar’s waistband and dragged him with her as she backed toward the door. “Let him go. We have to leave.”
He glanced at her with a frown, then very slowly released Tyson. The body dropped to the floor with a thud. She didn’t know if he was alive and really didn’t care. The black sludge coating him was pure evil extracted from his soul, and she felt no remorse for the fate he brought on himself.
Annora continued to drag Edgar toward the door. Erickson just stood watching her completely calm, firm in the conviction that she and Edgar would be captured. Her uncle, on the other hand, followed them step for step.
He had no intention of letting her out of his sight again.
Edgar stood in front of her, blocking her uncle, and shoved her gently out the door, probably with every intention of staying behind, but she stood her ground, refusing to budge. “We’re tied together. You kill him in this realm, you’ll kill me too.”
Edgar glanced down at her with narrowed eyes, but his grip on her arm was gentle. “He needs to die.”
“Absolutely,” she agreed without hesitation. “He needs to be banished to the afterworld. It’s the only way to sever the connection between us.”
Her uncle stopped short at the comment, the first hint of doubt shadowing his face.
Before any of them could move, a screech of a large bird echoed down the hall, so loud her ears felt ready to burst. “Xander!”
When she ran into the hall, it was like entering a war zone—shifter fought shifter, blood splattered every surface, entire walls were destroyed. The ones juiced up on drugs looked to be in worse shape, because they just didn’t know when to stay down.
Then she saw her guys.
Xander and Mason took point for maximum destruction. The gryphon seemed to glide through the air, never landing for longer than a second as he ripped through the opposition. Mason wore only a pair of shorts, his muscular body on full display. The solid lines of his tattoo seemed to shimmer, like they were giving him strength…and she’d swear they were spreading before her eyes. With a sweep of his arm, he knocked aside two wolves, pinning them to the wall, then proceeded to pound the ever-lovin’ shit out of them.
Camden and Logan followed closely behind. Logan threw punches right and left, burning everyone who dared to get too close. It only took a casual punch from Camden to drop his opponents, the toxin knocking out everyone who got in his way. A number of different shifters followed in their wake, restraining or incapacitating the few who were left.
A few shifters she rescued fought alongside her team.
Instead of standing in the back and giving orders, Rufus entered the fray. He wore a large wolfskin over his shoulder. One second he was human, the next second the skin seemed to wrap around him, until a two-legged werewolf stood towering in the middle of the chaos. A massive howl erupted from him, and a number of the wolves in the hall stopped fighting. A few scattered and ran, but the majority knelt and bowed their heads to the floor in submission and cowered.
Rufus was an honest-to-goodness skinwalker, able to take the form of any animal skin he wore.
The guys locked eyes on her, their expressions fierce and determined.
Their moves became more violent, practically tossing anyone who got in their way into walls or over their shoulders, uncaring about the damage. Edgar possessively slipped an arm around her shoulder, staking his claim for all to see.
Growls rumbled from the guys. Mason bared his teeth, his upper and lower incisors sticking out of his mouth slightly, the thick fangs clearly used for crushing.
It didn’t take more than a minute before they cleared the hall and were standing in front of her. When they showed no sign of slowing down, their focus on Edgar, she held up her hands. “Hold it! Wait—this is Edgar.”
“What?” Camden blinked down at her as if he didn’t understand the words.
Xander didn’t stop until her hand was pressed against his massive chest. His heart hammered away under her palm, and she couldn’t resist the urge to stroke him.
When Mason went to reach for Edgar over her head, she reached up and cupped his face. His attention immediately dropped to her, his eyes softening as warmth came back into his lavender eyes and his human side returned.
The fighting around them died down as the rest of their team corralled the wolves. Which was when she noticed her guys were a little the worse for wear. They were exhausted and on edge, their clothes torn
and bloodied, their bodies covered with bruises and scrapes, but the way they cut a swath through the fight reminded her why they were one of the best teams.
They were efficient and ruthless in achieving their goals.
She was just thankful they were on her side, or she was very much afraid the ending for her would have been very different.
Logan edged his way between her and Mason until he stood in front of her. His eyes traced her injuries, the blood still trickling down the side of her face. Only when he confirmed she was relatively unhurt did he glare at Edgar over her head, as if blaming him for allowing her to become injured. “Prove it.”
Edgar lifted a single brow at the command, then he casually shrugged. “She cares for you, so I will humor you, but if you get in my way while I’m protecting her the way she needs to be protected, we will have issues.”
Before Logan could retort or she could process his ominous words, Edgar dissolved, then reappeared at her side, easily slipping his arm around her waist and pulling her toward him.
For some reason, the action sent heat across her cheeks. His touch left her skin tingling, her hormones urging her to get closer. Needing time to sort out her emotions, she edged away, feeling suddenly shy being near a guy who knew so much about her while she knew so little about him. “I don’t even know your name.”
He gave her a funny look. “I like Edgar.”
She shook her head, unable to call him that.
Edgar was her friend—she didn’t know who the fuck he was.
“Eddie,” her voice was hoarse. “I’ll call you Eddie.”
Her eyes slid past him and settled on the room behind him…the now-empty room.
Erickson and her uncle were gone.
“What the hell!” She shoved away from the guys and hurried into the office. She surveyed the room, but could find no other doors or windows. “Where did they go?”
The guys quickly crowded in behind her.
They split up, systematically searching the room, none of them giving Tyson’s body on the floor more than a casual glance. Camden rifled through the desk, pulling out anything important. Mason guarded the door, while Xander and Logan checked the walls and floors. Eddie stood next to her, casually scanning everything. His eyes flooded with darkness, the fathomless blue eyes vanishing, and she knew he was seeing into the world beyond.
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