Fated

Chapter 17

Quiet pressed in on the truck with a dangerous beat. Her breath panting out, Cara peered into the barely illuminated light for any sign of movement. All was still on the deserted roadway.

“I can sense them.” Katie ripped off her seat belt. “There are at least five.”

“Damn it.” Cara removed her belt and grabbed both of her guns before turning to check on Bigsby.

“I’m fine,” the doctor said wearily as he too undid his seat belt. After a thoughtful moment, Cara handed him one of her guns. He nodded in response and turned toward the night. Terror and determination flowed from him in strong waves, and she concentrated on blocking both.

“So, we weren’t so clever, huh?” Cara asked softly.

“Nope.” Katie’s eyes swirled to a lighter brown. “I’m stronger if I change.”

“But they’ll know about you.” Thoughts zinged through Cara’s brain. “Let’s use the guns, then if you need, you can shift and—”

A figure appeared outside the vehicle and ripped her door off the hinges. She cried out and reached for Katie, but rough hands ripped her from the car. Her scream turned silent as she looked into evil purple eyes. Raw, dark rage emanated from him, and she struggled to yank shields into place.

Yellow teeth gleamed as the Kurjan dragged her onto the road before leaning in to sniff her neck. “She’s mated,” he growled over his shoulder at the Kurjan dragging Katie and the doctor toward them. Cara started to struggle against the strong hands holding her. She had dropped the gun when he’d pulled her from the truck, and her mind worked furiously to come up with an escape.

The Kurjan soldier gave her a sharp shake. “Stop.”

Cara looked in desperation at Katie, who stood with one Kurjan while the other held the doctor. The moon shone down on a quiet scene made for love—not blood. Dressed in all black from their boots to thick vests, the Kurjans had various weapons tucked throughout. Their thick hair glowed an unearthly red in the soft light.

Another Kurjan strolled out of the forest to stop before Cara. He stood taller, broader than the others, and two metallic red bars decorated his shoulders. He shot out a sharp nail against her chin and tugged her head up to face him.

“I’m Lorcan.” His voice resonated through the night, and Cara struggled not to cringe away. “You were to be my mate, Cara.”

She stared in surprise at his use of her name, and then fury washed over her. “I guess you’re too late, asshole.”

The claw under her neck sliced the delicate skin. Sharp pain lanced through her followed by pure terror. He forced her face farther up, and she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

“Not necessarily, human. Our scientists have been working on more than our aversion to the sun.” He stepped back and put his red finger into his mouth. “Delicious.”

Cara’s stomach revolted. Strong hunger, dark and evil, slammed against her shields, staining her. She stamped down the bile rising in her throat.

“Where’s your daughter?” He stepped closer and almost gently scraped the same overly long fingernail down the side of her face. The Kurjan behind her prevented her from backing up, so Cara could only stand there and glare.

Bigsby began to struggle and the soldier holding him brought an elbow down on his neck, sending the scientist sprawling to the ground. Unconscious.

Cara peered at Bigsby, sighing in relief when the man’s chest moved as he breathed. He was still alive. “You’ll never find my daughter.” Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Katie pivoting to stand between two of the Kurjan soldiers.

Lorcan smiled sharp yellowed teeth at her. “We’ll see about that. The lives of our oracles depend on their being correct about the future. They always are.”

Cara kept her face calm as Katie gave a signal and tossed a green gun her way. Then the air started to shimmer around the young woman.

“Fuck,” the nearest Kurjan bellowed as a force of air blew him back several feet. He landed with a sharp thud on the dark asphalt. The other Kurjan went down to all fours as a mountain lion stood over shredded clothes where Katie had been. She wasted no time in going for his throat.

Cara caught the gun and fired into Lorcan’s chest, throwing him back several feet. She turned to run, only to have the Kurjan behind her wrap both arms around her, effectively immobilizing her. She kept her wide gaze on Lorcan as he struggled to regain his balance, which happened sooner than she would have liked. With a fierce roar that raised the hair on the back of her neck, he rushed forward and wrapped one bony hand around her throat. He squeezed, cutting off her air supply. Her eyes watered and her lungs clenched. He nodded to the monster holding her. “Go take care of the shifter.”

Cara’s arms fell uselessly at her side. Her vision going grey, she swayed toward her enemy. Lorcan lowered his face to an inch of hers, his foul breath washing over her mouth as he spoke, “Breaking you shall be enjoyable.”

A sharp feline yelp pierced the night followed by a furious howl miles away.

Awareness hit her as she realized she still held the gun. She lifted and pulled the trigger. Lorcan released her and fell back two steps. The air started burning down her throat to her screaming lungs and she gulped it in. A murky haze still clouded her vision, but her hand kept firing at the monster in front of her.

Lorcan fell back with a shrill howl. Then he leapt to the left and lifted Bigsby’s limp body off the ground to use as a shield. With a sob of fury, Cara stopped firing and searched for a way out. Katie lay unconscious in naked human form with a decapitated Kurjan next to her. The Kurjan soldier thrown by the blast still lay prone several yards up the road. He slowly climbed to his feet and started prowling toward them.

The one who had bound Cara stood over Katie and deliberately placed his booted foot on the back of her neck, pressing her face into the rough asphalt.

Lorcan gave a high-pitched hiss. “Drop the gun, or I’ll have him crush her neck. Even a male shifter wouldn’t heal from that, Cara.” He continued to hold an unconscious Bigsby in front of him.

With one last desperate look around, Cara dropped the gun at her feet.

“Kick it over to me.” Lorcan’s fangs flashed bright and dangerous.

Shivering in the damp night, Cara kicked him the gun.

“Cara,” Lorcan spoke softly, “watch what happens when you challenge me.” With a dark gleam, he lifted Bigsby’s body a foot off the ground, latched his fangs into the doctor’s neck, and began to drink with sharp pulls. His eyes darkened to black, then swirled to red.

“No,” Cara cried as she started forward, only to have the returning Kurjan grab her by the hair and tug her back. She struggled as Bigsby’s color turned from a healthy flush to pasty white. Until his blood was drained. His eyes remained shut until Lorcan gave an unconcerned shrug and dropped him to the ground. Lorcan shot his tongue out to lick the red liquid off his stained lips.

He took a step toward her. “You tasted better.”

A grey fog descended across her vision, and she began to sway. A roar sounded, the Kurjan holding her was ripped away and the ground rose up to meet her. The last thing she saw before succumbing to blackness was Talen, his eyes a wild green, his face a feral mask, and his fangs covered in blood.

Talen hadn’t truly felt fear in centuries and thought furiously that he didn’t like it. He swiftly ripped the head off the Kurjan who had dared to touch his mate. Then he lunged toward Lorcan, taking the leader to the ground in a crunch of bone. Blood splayed by his hand before two soldiers tore him away.

Throwing elbows, he knocked them back and turned. They both jumped for him. He stopped the younger one in midflight with a mere thought. But he allowed the second one to tackle him to the ground. So he could feel the warm blood of his enemy. He vaguely heard Jordan roar into the clearing.

His knife flashed out, sharp and wicked. Deep red blood coated the asphalt while the Kurjan’s head rolled away from its body. Talen rose, his gaze on Lorcan, his canines elongating until the animal within hungered.

The one he’d froze broke loose with a shrill shriek of anger and rushed him in a crushing tackle. They hit the road, leaving a bowl-shaped dent in the hard surface. Talen shot an elbow into the soldier’s windpipe and rolled until he straddled the struggling enemy. One swift slice through the neck and the struggles stopped.

Talen stood, fury filling his pores at the now empty roadway. Lorcan had disappeared. The strong urge to hunt warred with the need to take his mate to safety. As always would be the case, his mate came first.