Page 74 of Ember's Claim
She kicks out of my shoes as the tattered bits of my clothing hit the ground. Her gaze darts around, checking for any additional foes who might be hiding. It’s unreal how she can pick up heat signatures, but it’s a blessing.
There are only three.
The man in the middle is the asshole from the cells the first night; she’s sure of it. He’s also the only one with a spear, as the other two have tossed theirs. But they could have daggers or other small weapons laced in the same poison.
My wolf lowers her head, snarling a warning that they won’t get any closer to her mate.
The man on the far left glances over his shoulder, taking off away from the other two guys he came with.
My wolf shoves off with her back legs, but she doesn’t aim for that idiot. We can find him later. She goes for the one on the other end, but only after acting like she’s chasing the original runner. Once she’s past where the two remaining men are, she circles behind them.
She aims for the one on the far end, tackling him. He rolls around, tossing an elbow back and clipping her in the face.
Movement comes from her right, and she backs off the man under her just in time for the third spear to go flying past. She pivots, throwing every bit of her body weight at the larger man. She hits him, sending him to the ground under her impressive weight.
His scentisfamiliar. She’s sure he’ll fight just as dirty as last time, and she can’t allow this to go on much longer. She snaps at his face, but he slams his fist into her eye over and over again. She bounds off his prone form at the sound of the other wolf approaching from behind.
Nothing like a little two-on-one action to get the blood pumping. She focuses on the memory of the spear sticking out of Lorcan’s chest and the pain still radiating in her heart.
My vision through her eyes gets hazy, and she blocks me out completely.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Veryn
Agony rips through the bond.
My eyes widen as they meet Anders’s.
I shove myself off the couch, not bothering with a shirt or shoes. Hitting the door, I rip it open to the sounds of Anders’s feet hitting the floor behind me. We make it onto the deck, and even though I have no idea where Lorcan intended to take Ember, my head still whips in the direction I know she is.
My wings erupt from my back, and I don’t think it through. I spin and grab Anders in a bear hug before taking off.
“What the fuck happened?” I hiss more to myself than him. I should have grabbed my phone, so I could call in backup.
“No fucking idea.” Anders turns in my hold, scanning the ground as we fly. “But whatever it is, it couldn’t be happening at a worse time. Lorcan is the weakest the night before the full moon.”
The exact opposite of a wolf shifter. They’re strongest approaching the moon and on the night of.
I curse under my breath, doing my best to keep us from bumping any trees in my haste to get to my fucking woman.
The only thing keeping me from losing my goddamn mind is that she’s not the one who’s injured. There’s a filtering throughthe link that leads me to believe it’s Lorcan, but I felt him join the bond, meaning losing him would have dire consequences on Ember.
Anders’s hair blows around everywhere in the wind as I grit my teeth to pick up the pace. He’s heavier than he looks, but I’ll deal with the discomfort because Ember is going to need both of us.
“There,” Anders growls, pointing into the heavy trees. “Someone is trying to flee.”
I frown, shaking my head. “We’ll have to come back for them. We need to get to Ember. She’s not far.”
Anders turns, releasing my back where he was holding on. “Drop me. I’ll handle that asshole and cover the rest of the ground on foot.”
“Fuck, no,” I snarl, tightening my hand that now rests on his stomach. My grip is the only thing keeping him flying with me at this point.
“Cats always land on our feet.” He chuckles, prying my hand free. He falls through the air, and I curse under my breath.
My system is torn.
Everything in me says you’re supposed to use the buddy system, but that’s only one guy, and Anders is, at the very least, the anti-aging kind of immortal. Even if he falls wrong and breaks his back or something ridiculous, he’ll be fine until I can kill whatever is bothering Ember and come back to scrape him off the forest floor.