by J. E. Cluney
I gasped as the one behind me pounded into me, hitting my walls just right and pushing me over the edge.
The one in front took the chance to slide his dick even deeper into my throat, and I choked but took him as my body spasmed from the animalistic orgasm. Heat flooded me as the bliss pulsed inside me, and I could tell they were both drawing close to their own orgasms as I cleared my mind and forced away my orgasmic bliss.
The man before me threw his head back in a snarl, gripping my head as he face-fucked me.
Now.
I gripped my scalpel and swung it up into his inner thigh, hitting the femoral artery as he howled in agony. I slashed it downwards, tearing it wide open before lurching forward.
The man behind me snarled at the loss of my body, so close to his finish. He didn’t even notice his companion bleeding to death.
I spun around, using my kitsune aura to drive me faster as I slammed the scalpel into the side of his neck.
He collapsed backwards, clawing at the blood spurting from his neck as I held onto the scalpel.
I leaped to my feet, turning on the closest guy, who still had his dick in his hand but looked beyond shocked and confused.
I kicked him fair in the chest, knocking him backwards as the remaining two guys moved in. I willed my power forth, the fiery pink and white aura flaring to life around me as the two arms shot out and captured the two men moving in on me.
I turned to the one on my right, driving my scalpel up through his throat and jaw as he whimpered then gurgled.
And then I spun to the other one, slashing the blade across his throat and watching as the crimson liquid flooded forth, cascading down his neck and white dress shirt.
The one I’d kicked was only now regaining his feet, and I shot towards him.
He threw up his arms protectively, but I used my aura arms to yank them down.
“I hope you enjoyed the show, nighty night,” I hissed. And then I lodged the scalpel into his throat before turning and searching for my panties. Thankfully, they were away from all the blood.
I slipped them on, giving my bra a wishful look. But it was sitting in a pool of blood. I may be a warrior and fighter, but I was not about to wear the blood of my enemies in my escape.
I abandoned it as I headed back out into the hall, wiping at the splatter of blood on my cheek and chest. Ugh. I’d just have to live with it for now.
Now to find my way out of this hellhole.
27
Tristan.
I played with my demon blade, twirling it in my fingers as Dominic and Chris assisted Mr Oxley with tearing down the warding on the house.
I hated waiting when we were so close. Sav was just inside that building.
I stared at the mansion through the iron gates, praying she was okay in there. What did the Collector want her for? Just to show her off? Or was there something more to it?
“Don’t lose this one,” Damien muttered as he eyed my demon blade.
“My last was destroyed by hunters. Not lost. There’s a difference. And I always have extras,” I sighed. I’d brought two this time, just to be safe.
“We should’ve killed the guards,” Benny sighed. They’d all returned from their scouting while Mr Oxley worked on lifting the warding with the witches.
“Could’ve raised the alarm,” Leon murmured as he leaned against a streetlamp. The light had gone out long ago, and we were actually grateful that we were tucked in darkness here. The Collector probably didn’t care much for it.
“Yeah, but we’ll have to dodge them on the way back in,” Benny said.
“No. We needed them to not be suspicious. When the warding is down, we will all go in. From the feel of this barrier around the house, once I remove it, Declan won’t know even if we cross the outer barrier. We can take out the guards then. Either knock them out or kill them. The Council will not hold it against us,” Mr Oxley’s voice vibrated with energy.
Good. That sounded like fun.
“Tristan, you will take care of as many of the guards as you can as soon as the warding is down,” Mr Oxley added.
He knew me too well. I’d send in both my blades and take them out quickly and silently.
I’d have to go for the throat if I was to silence them as well.
No argument there, I was more than happy to make them pay. They were helping protect the piece of shit that had Sav. That made them just as bad.
“It’s a big building,” Samson stated.
“Once the warding is down, the bond between mates will be working again. You’ll be able to find Izzy,” Soren said as he gave his son’s shoulder a squeeze.
And Sav. We would find Sav.
And I’d kill anyone who got in my way.
28
I pushed through the door at the end of the hall as laughter rose up behind me, spinning around and holding the door shut when I sensed no one else in the room with me. I hadn’t found another staircase yet, and I needed to get out of the open before someone else came across me.
What I wouldn’t do just for a shirt right now, since my boobs were visible for all to see.
Considering I was still covered in splatters of blood, I was certainly unappealing right now. And sticky. The blood was drying and begin to itch too.
I listened through the closed door, the laughter fading. They must have gone into another room.
It seemed the Collector liked to have visitors. Hell, he was probably always throwing parties or something considering our fights always had a crowd.
What a weird place this was.
I frowned as a strange pulsing light caught my attention. The room was eerily dark compared to the hall and all the other rooms.
I turned, my eyes adjusting to the darker room.
My breath caught at the sight that greeted me.
Preservation tanks, or tubes, whatever you wanted to call them. But they lined the edges of the red carpet that ran straight down the center of the room.
And there were supes inside them.
Dead supes.
I knew that already, considering I could sense nothing from them.
And some of them were in their shifted states.
My feet moved with their own free will as I just gaped at the tanks, completely mortified.
The first one I stepped up before had a strange reptilian half-form. A man half-shifted into something.
I read the plaque at the bottom of the tank.
‘Basilisk, half-form.’
My stomach flipped as uneasiness flooded through me. So the Collector collected even the dead. Or did he kill them?
The next one had a mermaid, her long, purple tail coiled up on the bottom of the tank as she floated in the strange preservation liquid.
At least their eyes were closed. I’d be even more creeped out if he had their eyes open when he submerged them in these tanks.
What kind of sick bastard had a trophy room like this? How had they died anyway?
The next one took me a moment. A strange, bull-headed man, larger than any man I’d ever met with hooves for feet and furry legs with a tail.
‘Minotaur’ read the plaque.
“Hercules,” was the only word I murmured as I looked at the horns jutting from the bull’s head. I didn’t even know they were a real thing.
Too bad I couldn’t see auras of the dead, otherwise I’d be interested to see what they all looked like, even if I was disturbed by it.
I continued on down the aisle, the pit growing in my stomach. Siren, true fae, Tasmanian tiger shifter, in full shifted form. He even had an angel halfling, and the sight of the black wings curling around the fair haired woman made me shudder. Just like my guys.
I turned to the line on the other side as I spied something familiar, and my gut twisted as I choked.
A kitsune in half-form.
She looked just like me, her pink patterning a little different. But she had four tails as well.
Who was she? What was her story? What was her name?
<
br /> The plaque only read that she was a kitsune.
Was this where we ended up? She looked to be the only kitsune as I scanned the aisles.
No, scratch that, there was a full shifted one on the far end.
There had to be at least fifty tanks in here with all unique supes.
Fifty supes that had died to become his trophies.
My blood boiled at the thought.
If I’d conceived, would he have stuck my child in one of these things? Was he wanting the whole growth chain in here too?
I growled softly as I spied a large door at the far end of the hall.
I needed to get out of here. No more wasting time, even if I was beyond disturbed.
I turned away from the kitsune in the tank, hating that I was leaving her here. She deserved a burial. They all did. Did their families know they were dead? Hell, I didn’t even know how long they’d been here.
But I did know one thing, when I escaped and freed everyone, I was burning this motherfucking place to the ground.
I tore off down the carpeted aisle, determined to find a way out of this damned place.
When I reached the far door, I tried to sense anything through it, but nothing greeted me. I could feel the slightest hint of magic, but that seemed to be everywhere in this place.
I pushed through the large wooden door, the music hitting me instantly. Classical music.
The sight was what made me freeze.
I’d opened up a door to a masquerade ball.
Seriously, what the fuck?
People were dancing in lavish ball gowns and suits, a rainbow of colors filling the dance floor before me.
The room was huge with polished wood flooring, the high ceiling was sculpted stone with intricate carvings, and cages hung from the ceiling with various half-shifted supes dancing in exquisite costumes.
Whether or not they were there by choice or not was beyond me. Some looked unhappy to be there, as if they were forced, while others were putting on a show.
Some of those dancing closest to me had stopped to stare, and I knew I would look like a disgusting mess to these fancy folk.
A few of them murmured in disapproval and shock as I stepped out onto the floor. I’d found no exit behind me, and this, this was just a mindfuck.
My eyes moved to the balcony looking down on the dance floor, and I scowled as I spied Lucy, all dressed up in a dazzling emerald dress that glittered in the lighting of the glass chandeliers.
She was hanging off a familiar man, and even though he wore a hooked crow’s beak mask and top hat, I knew who he was right away as my blood ran cold.
The Collector.
The music died off and everyone stopped dancing as more and more people took notice of me.
Me, the almost fully naked woman with blood splattered all over her and in need of a shower.
“Well, isn’t this a surprise,” the Collector called out over the murmuring of the crowd. They all shut up instantly.
I hated how all eyes were on me now. Normally I never cared, but this was different.
I felt…vulnerable.
Lucy looked down at me and visibly winced before biting her lip as she looked to the Collector.
“How did you find your way into these halls?” the Collector asked as he leaned over the balcony, his black-gloved hands gripping the white marble balcony. His white suit stood out against all the darker suits and vibrant dresses.
Did he send out an invitation stating that no one else could wear white? It wouldn’t even surprise me.
I didn’t humor him with a response as I checked the auras of the crowd. Werewolves, assorted shifters, other werecreatures, witches, and a few other supes mingled in there. Even a handful of humans apparently.
“Cat got your tongue?” the Collector chuckled, and the crowd joined him in soft chuckles.
Freaks. They were all freaks to me. If they were actively partaking in whatever the hell this shit was.
“Guess it’s the sight of this freak-show that’s got me stumped,” I finally said, loud enough that they could all hear me. This earned me a few mutters and growls.
“Now, isn’t she sassy,” the Collector said, a hint of pride in his voice, as if he was showing off a prized pet.
I was no one’s pet.
“You can’t escape, Savage, this is my home, and those who are invited are the only ones who can leave,” he said as he shifted his mask.
Magic. I knew it.
He had magic on the building. That’s why I couldn’t find an exit.
Fuck.
I forced my heart to slow down as it began to pound, a sliver of fear sliding into me.
How was I meant to get out now? I couldn’t run. I knew the Collector would use his magic on me.
How was I meant to get out of this situation now?
“I’m sure you’ve been ever so curious about why I’m breeding the kitsunes,” the Collector said, a smile forming as I narrowed my eyes. “Would you like to see?”
See? See what?
“Children! Would you please deal with this pesky woman. She needs to learn her place,” the Collector called out.
I heard a door open up beyond the crowd, and they all shuffled around as the supposed ‘children’ headed my way through them.
I did not like the sound of this at all, and my stomach was making it clear that something was wrong.
The fiery pink and white auras flared up in the crowd, and I watched as children, ranging in age from six to ten, stepped out of the crowd. They all wore a unique uniform, black long-sleeved tees and black pants with a pink fox face on the left breast.
Guess he liked them to be easily distinguishable.
And the way they were all looking at me, it creeped me right out.
It was the look of a soldier, a look I’d seen on Jackson as we’d grown up hunting.
Except right now, I was the prey.
29
I dodged as the young girl snarled and attacked, taking on a few characteristics without half-shifting, like claws and fangs.
Crazy little bitch.
She knew how to fight too for someone so young.
I dodged and retreated, discovering that the door behind me had shut and locked.
No doubt thanks to the Collector.
I ducked and rolled as a boy joined in, kicking out at me as his aura flared to life around him.
Child super soldiers. That was what these kids seemed like.
Great. Just what I needed.
I yelped as the older boy shot towards me with insane speed and landed a harsh punch to my gut.
I instantly reacted, punching him square in the head and sending him sprawling to the floor.
The guilt of hitting a child quickly vanished as they all began launching at me.
Little psychotic shits.
I flipped backwards as a screaming blonde-haired girl dashed at me. I kicked her in the chest as I flipped, sending her head over heels.
These were not normal children. So I wouldn’t treat them like normal children.
I could feel the Collector watching us with amusement as I blocked and dodged blows from the children, knocking them away and deflecting their attacks.
There was no reasoning with them, not with that look of pure determination in their eyes.
I snarled as a small boy dropped to his knees and slid past me on the floor. He slashed my leg with his claws, drawing blood.
That was the last straw.
The eldest boy leaped onto my back, but my aura flared to life, tossing him aside as I dropped down low, feeling the energy pulsing and protecting me.
No more.
I grabbed the nearest girl, wrapping my arm around her neck as my aura knocked away the other children.
She clawed at my arm, the scratches bleeding and blood smearing as she gasped for air.
I didn’t release her until she was unconscious.
The crowd had moved to give us space, watching in tense silence as the children took
me on.
And one by one, I rendered them unconscious.
I was careful, not wanting to hit them and cause permanent damage, so I went with careful choking instead. This resulted in me sustaining numerous gauges and gashes to my arms, nothing I wouldn’t recover from. But it sure as hell hurt a bit. I’d survive though.
I was not about to become a child killer.
Even if they were created monsters.
“Well, that was quite impressive,” the Collector called out as the last child fell limp in my arms. Blood was trickling down my arms now, and I just laid the young girl down on the floor as I rose to my feet, surrounded by fallen children.
“You like to make children do your dirty work?” I snarled at him, hating what I’d had to do.
“Soldiers, not children. Carefully raised and trained, much like you were,” he stated.
Growls and murmurs were filling the room as I glared up at the Collector.
“Any of my companions here feel like they can handle this disobedient kitsune?” the Collector sighed as he waved his hand at me.
Some of the nearest men, werecreatures, began closing in on me. I stepped away from the children, not wanting them to be stood on.
Looks like I wasn’t done fighting.
The first man shot towards me, intent on slamming a fist right into my face.
I ducked at the last second, catching his arm and jamming my shoulder into his chest as I launched him over my back.
I kicked out at the next incoming man, landing a heavy blow to his chest and sending him flying back into the crowd, crashing into a few of the highly dressed folk.
The Collector clapped and encouraged his companions on, and more people moved in on me, even a few women.
Now I was getting outnumbered, even if I could fight like hell.
Fear and adrenaline drove me now as I dodged and weaved, deflecting punches and kicks, using their weight against them. I tried to move around so that I only had two attackers at once, but they were closing in on me.
I was not about to die half naked on a dance floor.