Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 69734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
I didn’t need to look around him to know there was a threat. I could smell the Otherworld creature, a scent that was far too familiar.
Torvic.
I glanced around Sebastian’s shoulder to see the Diablos standing five feet away, his head cocked to the side, his eyes narrowed as he stared down Sebastian.
We didn’t have time for this. If they got into a pissing match, no matter how strong and powerful Sebastian was, Torvic was a damn beast. He also had sharp teeth, hands the size of damn clubs, and let’s not forget his razor-sharp, claw-tipped wings.
“You…” Sebastian said that lone word on a growl. There was no mistaking the menace behind it. “…took my mate from me.” He squeezed his hand around my hip so tight I felt a sting of pain.
He adjusted me so my back was to the wall beside us.
Oh Gods, he was really doing this. But then again this was our only way out. And of course Torvic was blocking our exit.
The Diablos didn’t speak, but even though I was behind Sebastian, I could see past his shoulder to spot Torvic grinning.
The two males faced off with each other, shifting ever so slightly into positions that were ones of attack.
I felt the back of my neck tingle and found myself looking behind me and down the hall we’d just come from.
First I didn’t say anything, but after a second a human came limping around the corner. Blood and soot covered him, and I could see he was bleeding on his temple from a massive gash.
My heart stopped, my stomach felt like it was suddenly full of lead, and my throat tightened.
I knew him. Gods… I knew him. He haunted my nightmares and had stolen my happiness.
They called him V.
The human male stopped and looked at me, our gazes locking, his nostrils flaring as he narrowed his eyes. He smirked, just the corner of his mouth lifting up as he puckered his lips.
I was vaguely aware of Torvic and Sebastian speaking in harsh, clipped words behind me. Slowly I heard a buzz in my ears. Everything else faded away as I was once again taken back to that night.
I felt the pain all over again. It was a burning, tearing sensation, my back screaming out even though the wounds had healed.
But I wouldn’t allow myself to go back to that darkness. I hadn’t had a nightmare since that one time in the cave when Sebastian had first seen me break down. He made me feel so much more than the darkness that had consumed me for the better part of a year.
As my head cleared, I heard what Sebastian and Torvic were saying.
“I have no interest in your female. She was a means to an end in that fucking pit of despair.”
Sebastian took a menacing step forward.
“But now that I’m out of there…” Torvic chuckled. “I have a whole world of females to explore.”
I didn’t take my focus off him. I couldn’t, not as he moved a step closer, his grin spreading, the large knife he held catching the light overhead and glinting. Blood dripped off the blade and my stomach clenched.
“If she was my female, I certainly would be more focused on keeping her safe right here and now than shit that happened in another time. Literally.”
Suddenly things were far too quiet, and I watched as he stilled as well, his gaze glancing over my shoulder, his breathing visibly stalled as he moved a step back.
I glanced back to see Torvic smirking at Sebastian, but my mate was looking down the hall at him.
“This isn’t over, motherfucker,” Sebastian ground out to Torvic even though he wasn’t looking at him. “For taking my female, I will hunt you down, beat the shit out of you, and maybe if you’re lucky, I won’t slice off your balls and watch you bleed out.”
Torvic snorted as if he found that all so humorous, but then turned and stalked down the hall in the opposite direction without another word.
And then it was just the three of us.
I hated that the human asshole made me feel any kind of way. I was strong in my own right. But seeing him again after what he’d done, after he’d cut into my body and took pieces from me… I became this frightened mouse hiding in the corner.
Sebastian adjusted my body so he was now partially in front of me, but I could still see the human across the way. I would’ve given him credit for having a semblance of courage and not backing down or cowering in front of a very angry, very dangerous vampire, but fuck him.
“This is the fucker who hurt you.” Sebastian didn’t phrase it like a question, and I knew he wasn’t expecting an answer.
He already knew.
From my body language, the change in the air, and the way the human glanced at me.