Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 125179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Still, her mood was super low. She’d been kidnapped. Attacked. Shot in the head. Learned some heavy shit. And now had no choice but to walk the fuck home.
More, she was all sticky from the blood that had matted her hair and dried on her skin. The smell of it taunted her nostrils and made her stomach lurch every now and then. To make matters even more annoying, the now-dry stains on her clothing had roughened the cotton, and it chafed uncomfortably against her flesh.
As she walked, she occasionally felt an otherworldly brush of air—an encouragement to keep moving, a reassurance that she wasn’t alone. Her monster wasn’t the least bit bothered by the situation. It was once more deep in slumber.
The sun soon set, and darkness gathered around Wynter. Still, she walked and walked and walked, only taking small periods of rest here and there. But eventually her posture stooped, her muscles began to weaken and cramp, and her dry throat felt so scratchy it almost hurt to drag air into her lungs.
The walk through a forested area was particularly shit. Especially when she could barely see. Branches slapped at her. Pine needles clawed at her. Rough tree bark scraped her skin. Her jeans got repeatedly snagged on thorns or the underbrush. Little rocks stabbed into the soles of her feet through her shoes.
More, her tired muscles burned like a bitch. At this point, she weaved more than she walked.
Licking at her dry lips, she was about to stop for a rest when she heard an almighty screech. Her head snapped up. And there in the evening sky was the source of the sound. It looked like a mere dot at first. But that dot grew bigger seriously fast as it flew closer.
A shaky smile splitting her chapped lips, she let out a blast of magick that would act as a flare, worried the dragon wouldn’t otherwise notice her. It responded with yet another screech, and then it was flying toward her. Staggering to a halt, she almost dropped to her knees in relief.
*
Waiting near the tunnel, Cain willed his consort to walk through it. He loped back and forth like a tiger in a cage. That was essentially what he was. A predator trapped in a prison. Helpless. Powerless. Caught up in an animal fury.
Seven hours. It had been seven fucking hours since he’d received word that Wynter was missing. It was possible that she’d been gone even longer, since her coven hadn’t thought to check on her until a potential customer went to the cottage asking if Wynter was inside.
The pressure to find his consort seemed to batter every cell in his body. It pushed him. Pinched him. Goaded him.
But he couldn’t answer that drive to search for her. Couldn’t pass the boundaries of the town. He’d sent others to search—some by foot, some in vehicles. Dragon shifters had taken to the sky, able to cover a lot of ground fast.
Most of those who went out on foot had already returned—not including her coven—reporting that they were no signs of her. The tire tracks they’d discovered were days old, too faint to follow, and were apparently left by an all-terrain vehicle. Seth had confirmed that a small nest of vampires had left Devil’s Cradle a few days ago in an SUV that belonged to the leader. It couldn’t have been them who’d taken her, they were long gone.
So where the fuck was she?
Cain cricked his neck, his nostrils flaring at the headache that was beginning to build in his temples. “Maxim, have people search the town and city again.” He fairly barked the order, unable to temper his voice. “Anyone who took her would have needed a vehicle to get her to Aeon. If none are missing from the storage facility, I can’t see how else someone got her away.” It was possible, of course, that she’d been teleported away from here—various creatures possessed the ability—but it was equally possible that she’d been hidden by someone who might have the idea to smuggle her out of Devil’s Cradle at a later date.
Maxim nodded and hurried away.
Azazel, Seth, Lilith, Dantalion, and Eve remained close by. Cain wasn’t sure if they were there as a show of support or to be ready to take him down in the event that his rage swallowed him whole. If it was the latter, their presence was pointless. Even collectively these people stood no chance of subduing him or his monster.
Whatever the case, none dared get too close to Cain. He couldn’t blame them. He was a hair’s breadth away from losing it.
There was no getting his pulse to calm. No stopping adrenaline from shooting through his blood again and again. No getting rid of the burning sensation in his lungs.
Every muscle in his body seemed coiled with tension. His clothes felt tight and confining. Fuck, his own skin felt constricting. Just the same, his ribs seemed too snug, making him feel like he couldn’t drag in enough air—a sensation that was worsened by the phantom weight on his chest.