Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75539 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75539 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
But I couldn’t hold it. I couldn’t swing my sword fast enough.
Time found its rhythm again. The man shifted into his wolf form and leapt through the air, crashing through a window and escaping. A resonating howl echoed behind him. Many of the shifters listened to his call, following in his escape. They abandoned their fights and ran, some being caught but many escaping.
I nearly stumbled to my knees but managed to keep my footing. Blake stood over Cassius, helping him up. The Enforcers made quick work of the stragglers that didn’t flee with the red-eyed wolf. The ones that didn’t resist were being held on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs, velvet red mana cutting into their wrists. The ones who did try to attack were dead on the floor, mana wounds riddling their bodies.
Blake took one look at them and shuddered. His skin went a pallid pale, except around his mouth, which was covered in blood. I went over to him, my steps steady but my vision blurred, the oxygen in my lungs working on overtime.
“Are you guys okay?”
Blake nodded. He kept his eyes pinned on me. I knew he must not want to see the multiple holes that the mana projectiles made in their targets.
“Come,” I said, pulling him against me. We were bloodied and bruised and breathless.
Most important of all, we were safe. “The Enforcers can handle it from here. Let’s clean up.”
“Okay,” Blake said, voice shaken. He looked up at me like a blood-covered ghost. Something in his shaken golden gaze made me want to protect him well past my contract’s end date. As I took stock of the death and destruction that surrounded us, all of it seeming to insistently be following Blake, I wondered if we’d even make it to that point in one piece.
Chapter 10
Big Ask
Blake
We were back in my father’s office.
The broken pieces of furniture and trash on the floor had been cleaned up. As was all the blood I had on my face and clothes.
I could still taste the copper. It made me shiver as I sat on the couch next to Xavier. He placed a reassuring hand on my leg, which helped some of the tremors. Warrick sat in a chair while Cass paced in an anxious circle.
I’d never killed anyone before. I’d never seen so much death before. Today eclipsed the traumatic memory of seeing my stalker killed, making that day seem like a fluffy little dream in comparison.
We waited for my father, who was still being debriefed.
“That was wild.” Warrick took off his glasses and blew a puff of air at the lenses. He cleaned them off with the clean white shirt he had changed into.
“Thank you for protecting my mother,” I said, still grateful after being told that Warrick was the one who had gotten her out to safety before running back in to help the others. “Seriously.”
“No thanks needed,” Warr said, smiling. “Besides, she held her own. She saved my ass when a shifter crept around the corner and took us by surprise. She dropped a huge vase on the sucker and gave me enough time to restrain him.”
“She is a pretty kick-ass woman,” I said. I’d felt a swell of relief when Warrick told me my mom was safe. If anything had happened to her, I would have been ruined. Completely devastated.
“You did really great out there too,” Xavier said to me. He grinned, looking as if he’d just come in from a brisk job and not a fight for his life. After the chaos of the last few hours, having him sitting next to me made me feel oddly reassured. More so than expected for just having a client-bodyguard relationship. I didn’t question it. I just let myself relax into it, fighting away the sensations of teeth tearing through skin, fur getting caught in my throat.
I gagged.
“You okay?” Xavier asked.
“Yeah, I just, I need some water. That’s all.”
Cassius walked over to the minifridge hidden inside the mahogany desk and tossed me a water bottle. “Here, drink up.”
“Is there anything stronger in there?” Warrick asked, looking over his glasses. “Maybe like moonshine? Tequila? Anything?”
“Just water,” Cass answered. “I don’t think you want the vice president getting hammered during work.”
“This is true,” Warr said and slumped back into his chair.
I chugged half the water bottle in one breath. Some of it spilled down my chin. I wiped it with the back of my hand and chugged some more.
“Did either of you spot a trigger? A tell that an attack was imminent?” Xavier asked. Even though he wasn’t in dragon form, I still felt that imposing presence in the room with us. I could tell he wanted to stretch his wings and take to the skies, where he could hunt down whoever had tried to escape.