by Susan Bliler
When the creature took another step forward, all but ignoring Hero, the Keeper inhaled deeply and drank in the beast’s scent, attempting to place the creature. Skin Walker! Disbelief had him staring harder at the dark one. He scented again, and it was undeniable. This thing was a Skin Walker, but not like any he had ever seen. Hero slowly shook his head at the beast, whispering, “Mine.” While he’d meant to convey that the female would be a Keeper captive, the word felt heavy, as if it conveyed a deeper meaning than he’d intended.
The dark Walker looked at him, shaking his head with a sneer and countered, “Mine!”
Just then, Battle and Valor stepped from a clearing between Hero and the Walker. They postured up, obviously having heard the exchange. It was a damn good thing too, because Hero wasn’t sure he could take the menacing-looking Skin Walker.
A noise had the woman gasping, which drew Hero, Battle, Valor, and the dark Walker’s attention.
Perion, Battle’s Soul Sentry, a Bengal tiger, stepped into the clearing and snarled at the female.
To everyone’s shock, she scrambled to her feet, balling tiny blood and ice crusted hands into fists and sneered, “Run now, Walker, before you regret the decision.”
Perion canted his head, staring at her curiously. Hero pulled his eyes from the woman and the tiger, but when he looked to where the dark Walker had been, he was gone. Hearing a roar his eyes cut back to Perion and the female, but now the female was gone as well.
“Hero?” Battle and Valor eyed him, waiting for instruction.
“Did you see which way they went?”
His gut twisted when both Battle and Valor shook their heads.
“Split up!”
Valor faltered. “What about Rohm?”
Shit! Hero glanced over his shoulder at the rundown wooden structure. Rohm was their first priority, not some female who’d betrayed the Walkers. “He is here. I can sense him.” He turned back to Valor, then cut his eyes to Battle. “Valor and I are going for Rohm.” His eyes narrowed on Battle. “GO!” he commanded on a snarl. “Bring me the woman!”
Battle was already moving. Valor turned to face Hero, but stalled to release his Soul Sentry, a mighty falcon that beat its great wings and flew high before dipping down and dropping to perch on Valor’s shoulder. Tilting his own head back, Hero spread his arms wide and light shimmered in the center of his chest before his cheetah, Favian, burst free. The two Keepers and their Soul Sentries rushed the building as Battle and Perion disappeared into the forest to hunt the dark Walker and his captive.
Chapter 13
Nyree startled awake when the lights flared to life.
“Good morning, lovebirds. How did you sleep?”
Rohm leaned over her, covering her body with his own, glaring at Chambers and his guard as they entered.
The male smiled knowingly. “Keeper, go to the back of the cage and put your arms out. I need the woman out of the cell.”
“NO!” Rohm growled viciously.
“Guard!” The male didn’t take his eyes off Rohm as the guard at his side lifted his pistol. “Go to the back of the cell, and send the female to the door, or I’ll shoot you and then her.”
“Shoot me,” Rohm challenged angrily. “You can’t have her!”
The monster pursed his lips. “Okay, let’s try this again. Give me the female, or I’m going to have the guard shoot you, and then rape the woman before he shoots her.”
Rohm’s lip curled back as he growled deep, but refused to move.
“Fine,” Chambers took a step back. “Shoot the Keeper.”
“NO!” Nyree struggled under Rohm’s massive weight, trying to shift him from on top of her, but he wouldn’t budge. “Let me up,” she growled, before shouting more loudly, “DON’T SHOOT!”
Angry, clear eyes found hers. “I am not letting them hurt you again. You are mine now to protect,” he snarled with feral possession.
“I am not yours,” she hissed as she shoved at his chest. “Now get off me before they shoot us both!”
Rohm growled, but didn’t budge. “You are mine now, and I’ll defend you with my life.”
Please be fucking joking! Or have a really good plan! That’s it! This whole ‘mine’ thing was part of some elaborate plan, right?
“Shoot the beast.” Chambers spoke coolly, and before either Rohm or Nyree could react, a loud pop sounded and Rohm’s body jerked. That’s it. Just jerked. He didn’t sprawl back, he didn’t bellow in pain. The Keeper merely jerked, then lifted deadly eyes to Chambers.
“I said move!” the Doctor yelled.
Frantic, Nyree struggled beneath Rohm. “Rohm!” Her hands lifted to his shoulder, which was now bleeding profusely. “Oh my God! You’re shot.” She struggled to get up, but he kept his big body over hers. “Let me up!”
Rohm growled and crouched lower, as if to shield her from view as his eyes narrowed on Chambers.
The man’s voice rose. “If he’s not off of you and backed to the cage in one minute, I’m going to have him shot somewhere more vital.”
Nyree’s gaze jerked to him, then back to Rohm, and she braced her feet and pushed with all her might. “NO! WAIT!” She struggled beneath him. “Rohm! Please!” Still, he refused to move, and she stopped struggling to lift a shaking hand to his cheek. She pulled his face until his angry eyes slid to hers. “Please!” she begged, as tears flooded her eyes. “I can’t do this without you. Don’t let them take you from me.” She sniffed back her emotion, shaking her head slowly. “Don’t leave me alone here…with them.”
Rohm’s expression softened, and he slowly eased from his crouch over her to a standing position. In one deft move, he manacled her wrist and pulled her easily up from the floor to tuck her behind his large frame.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Chambers clucked. “That’s not the deal. Step away from her, and go to the back of the cage.”
Rohm released Nyree and squared his shoulders, a low rumble filling the room.
Unwilling to watch him take another bullet, Nyree quickly stepped around Rohm and was advancing toward the door to the cage when strong hands gripped her waist. She stilled and turned to frown at him. “We have no choice.” She watched as indecision warred on Rohm’s strong features.
Finally, he pulled her close to whisper at her ear. “Zavier has marked you. Do not fear, my Light. Soon, we go home.”
Pulling back, she stared at him in confusion. What did he mean, they were going home? And what had he called her? My Light? Well, one night of sex and his contrary attitude was out the window. Men!
“Today!” the evil Doctor barked, reminding her that she had bigger things to worry about than Rohm’s sudden change of heart where she was concerned.
Nyree turned to pace to him. The guard quickly opened the gate, keeping his pistol trained on Rohm until the tyrant was able to jerk her free of the cage. The guard slammed the door closed, securing the lock before smirking at Rohm.
“Didn’t think he’d give her up so easily,” the guard sneered. Gun still pointed at Rohm, he turned to eye Nyree as she attempted to hide her chest with one hand while the other gripped the edges of her skirt to keep her panties from their view. “But I guess one fuck is all he needed.”
Chambers’ lips twisted cruelly. “Now, the Walker gets his turn.”
Nyree jerked. “What?”
The freak laughed, and the guard followed suit. Nyree lifted hate-filled eyes to the guard just in time to see Rohm lunge, snatching the pistol from the guards grip as he stood too close to the cage. Pulling back, he eyed the weapon in his hand while Chambers and the guard tensed.
Expecting him to lift the weapon and take out their captors, Nyree was dumbfounded when Rohm dropped the weapon on the cage floor.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” She screamed. “SHOOT THEM!”
Chambers was the first to react. He grabbed Nyree’s arms in a death grip, holding her in front of him, blocking himself from any shots Rohm would be able to fire. The dumb guard stood frozen.
“Zavier.” Rohm’s tone was deep, rumbling through the large room. Lowering his head, his eyes narrowed on Nyree. “Protect my Light!”
Nyree’s body convulsed, her back arching violently as the heat in her chest from the night before returned. She gasped, her eyes rolling back as a bright light centered in her chest before rippling outward. Seconds later, there was a flash, and then all she heard were screams and ferocious growls. She recognized Zavier’s roar as she felt herself falling. Shoved from behind, she heard another deafening roar as her body slumped against thick fur and slid gently to the ground. As everything turned gray, Rohm’s beast loosed another ear-splitting roar. She coughed once, and it was enough to snap her out of whatever daze she was in. Her eyes focused, and she realized she was on the floor, Zavier standing over her, chuffing and snorting as he shifted from paw to paw in clear agitation. Turning her head, her eyes locked on the unblinking gaze of Dr. Chambers where his body lay slumped feet from her. His throat was ripped out and his mouth was gaping in a silent scream. Scanning the room she found the guard lying in a pool of blood, head cocked at an awkward angle.
Groaning, Nyree shoved up from the floor, bumping the underside of Zavier. He turned and sniffed at her before nudging her with his snout. Rohm’s words came flooding back. ‘I need to give you something.’ She blinked hard. Oh, God! He’d gifted her Zavier to get them free! Mortification washed over her as she recalled her breathy, “Give it to me.” She hadn’t been referencing Zavier. No, she’d meant something entirely different, and then she’d told him she’d wanted him inside of her! All the while, he’d only been trying to gift her his Soul Sentry to aid in their escape. Humiliation crashed over her, but she shoved it aside. She had to get to Rohm!
Shoving up from the floor, she wobbled, then pitched to the side. Emitting Zavier had taken a lot from her.
“Zavier!” Rohm commanded, and then Zavier was at her side, steadying her with his great body as she tried her best to get to the guard for the keys. She’d just reached the body when an explosion rocked the lone door.
Nyree ducked low, covering her ears as Zavier crushed her under his weight and snarled toward the smoke that was now billowing from the door.
“ROHMULUS!” a voice shouted, and Rohm responded, “HERE!”
Nyree began coughing, her eyes burning as the thick smoke reached her. Someone gripped her hand, and she knew whoever it was had to be an ally, because Zavier eased off of her. Nyree looked up, expecting to see Walkers, but was startled to see one of the Keepers, Hero.
“Here!” He threw the keys he’d taken from her into the smoke and a second figure stormed through, making his way to the cage. Valor.
Hero ripped away part of his shirt, handing it to her. “Cover your face.”
She did, and was slowly getting to her feet with Hero’s help when Rohm was suddenly there, scooping her up into his arms and carrying her into the smoke.
More bodies poured into the room. “DAMN IT, HERO!”
Relief flooded her when she recognized Commander McCabe’s voice. They were safe! She opened her mouth to tell them about Ash and his family, but when she inhaled she began coughing uncontrollably.
“Easy,” Rohm admonished before turning his attention to Remy. “There is a Walker, his daughter, and his Angel.”
“On it!” Remy was barking orders and Nyree heard the cell at the back of the room open even as other Walkers disappeared out the door. Rohm followed.
In the hall, flanked by his Keepers, Rohm carried her in the opposite direction the Walker teams were heading. They were free. She and Rohm had survived but things had been permanently changed between them. She wondered what happened now.
Chapter 14
Nyree heard voices just on the other side of the door and she stilled with her hand halfway to the handle.
“And you and Nyree?”
It was Fatal speaking.
“What about us?” Rohm responded, and just the sound of his voice sent shivers racing up her spine.
She’d last seen him when they’d been rescued. He’d carried her from the building and into the center of an old, rundown mining town. It hadn’t been what she’d expected, but made sense considering the number of old, abandoned mining towns in the state.
Teams had swarmed them, and once they’d cleared the building she’d been taken from him so her wounds could be inspected by the medic. Her ragged gown had been covered in blood, and everyone assumed she was much worse off than she actually had been. Rohm had a hard time relinquishing her, she could tell, but Commander McCabe had exited the Megalya compound and had been more snarly than ever. She’d been taken away while Rohm had stayed behind to speak with the Commander and his fellow Keepers. She’d watched his eyes track her to one of the trucks before they’d lost sight of each other. Without anyone asking, she’d been driven halfway back to the Estate before Bronco, one of the Walker medics, confirmed that her wounds were superficial. He’d given her a change of clothes, and by the time they arrived at the Estate and dropped her off with a directive to head straight to the infirmary, she’d felt too stunned to do anything but wander the Estate instead. Hell, the mere fact that she’d been given a directive to go to the infirmary instead of being taken there told her that the things were off at the Estate.
The destruction was devastating. Because she and Rohm had been taken, they hadn’t seen the aftermath of the attack, but once she’d arrived back at the Estate, it was enough to bring tears to her eyes. Walkers, Keepers, men, and women were bundled up against the cold as they worked to repair the many damaged facilities. Nyree had foregone her required stop at Dr. Jenny’s office to lend a hand. She’d thought Rohm would seek her out once he’d returned, and she’d worked through the last part of the day eagerly awaiting him. She hadn’t seen him, and still a day later, he hadn’t sought her out.
“What I think your Ruling Keeper is asking,” Monroe cut in on the other side of the door, pulling Nyree back to the present. “Is if anything happened between the two of you.”
“What do you mean happened? A lot happened. We were taken prisoner and held against our will. Nyree was tortured, and they forced me to fight a Walker.” She could tell by Rohm’s next words that he was getting angry. “Be more specific!”
“Did anything happen between you and the female sexually?” Fatal asked.
“No!” Rohm’s answer was immediate. “They weren’t able to force us to mate and…the female means nothing to me. I had no reason to touch her.”
The words felt like ice water dumped into her veins.
“You’re not interested in Nyree?” Monroe asked, sounding skeptical.
Nyree strained to listen to Rohm’s response, and again he answered immediately. “Not at all.”
Nyree let her hand fall away from the doorknob. Not at all? Not at all! Stunned hurt quickly gave way to anger. What a mother fuc… Gnashing her teeth, she turned and paced back down the hall. She hadn’t expected him to offer up information that they’d been together, but she certainly hadn’t expected him to outright lie, to denounce her in front of both the ruling Keeper and the Dominant Walker.
She rushed down the stairs, thankful now that she hadn’t just waltzed into Monroe’s office as she’d intended. Right now, she was crushed and pretending she wasn’t, but adding the humiliation that would have accompanied hearing Rohm’s declaration in front of Monroe and Fatal would have been unforgivable. As it was, she was having a hard time figuring out why Rohm hadn’t just told her while they were still being held captive that he had no intention of informing anyone of what had occurred between them. That she meant nothing to him.
Outside, she raced to the temporary parking area where the vehicles were being stored until the garage could be rebuilt.
Nyree found her jeep. She kept the keys in it, everyone kept keys in their vehicles, it wasn’t like anyone at StoneCrow was going to steal her ride.
She backed out of her spot and hit the gas, kicking up earth as she sped away from the
Estate. The main gate had been the first thing to undergo reconstruction. It still wasn’t finished, but two Sentry’s stood vigil as she approached. Slowing, she eyed Bishop as he approached her vehicle.
“Where you headed, Nyree?”
She didn’t look at him, her eyes pinned on the road ahead of her. “Town.”
She knew by the quick inhalation that he was scenting her. “Everything okay?”
She turned her head to stare at him. “Just need to get away for a minute.”
Moke approached, peeking over Bishop’s shoulder. “Heard you were taken hostage. Heard they cut you up.”
She looked straight again and responded in a dead tone. “Yep.”
“If there’s anything we can do…”
Bishop cut off Moke’s words, stepping back to smack the hood of her vehicle. “Just let us know, Nyree. Anything!”
Afraid her voice would break, she nodded and when the gate opened, she was gone even as her ears picked up static and then a voice buzzing from a radio in the new guard house.
Walkers could communicate telepathically, but with so many human staff now, radios were typically always used.
“Anyone seen Nyree?” It was King’s voice. She knew it wouldn’t take long for Monroe to realize she’d ducked out on her appointment with him and send his second seeking her out.
Too late!
In the rearview mirror, she saw Bishop cup his hands around his mouth and knew he was calling out to her, but she needed some time alone.
Chapter 15
Nyree drove down through the mountains until her jeep found the paved back road that would lead to the city. Part of her wanted to call Beth, Thea, Lilly, or even Cindy KillsPrettyEnemy to see if one of them would meet her in town for a drink, but the attack had touched every one of the Walkers, their Angels, and the human staff, and the last thing she wanted to do right now was burden someone with her bullshit Rohm drama. So, she hit the back roads just on the outskirts of town and simply drove, music blasting Twenty One Pilots.
