Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 99285 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99285 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
I didn’t think, just reacted as I charged forward, let the phone drop out of my grasp so I could curl my fingers tightly around the baseball bat, and brought it down as hard as I could on his hand.
He made a harsh bark of sound, but the pleasure I got from hurting him was short-lived when I heard someone shouting from downstairs.
Oh God. There was more than one inside. This was a home invasion, and I was going to be raped or tortured or killed right in my bedroom.
He laughed, and I took a step back at how terrifying that sounded. He didn’t curse at me, didn’t threaten me. He just laughed through his pain. His black ski-mask face came into view through the broken door. His eyes were as dark as the clothing he wore, his mouth a snarl, showing a flash of teeth. I could see his mouth moving, knew he was talking, but his voice was suddenly distorted, as if the words were trying to penetrate my ears, but my pulse was running so hard and fast that nothing sounded normal.
He used my frozen panic to reach his hand through the broken door once more.
I swung the bat, tears streaking down my cheeks and causing my vision to blur. The bat connected with the door and missed his arm. He was fast as he found the lock and disengaged it, pulling his arm out fast just as I swung again. I was screaming, saying words that I was pretty sure were unintelligible.
I scrambled backward and searched for the cell on the ground as the door swung open, but God help me, I couldn’t find it. I prayed it was still connected to the 911 operator and she was hearing all of this.
I heard the growl come from the man before I felt his big body tackle me to the ground so hard the air left my lungs. My feet came out from under me, the back of my head cracking against the floor so hard I felt it rattle, like my brain was being shaken around in my skull.
I groaned, blinked over and over again to try to keep my eyes open, but my vision was blurry, and I knew I wouldn’t stay conscious for long. But I’d fight going under. I’d fight the darkness and this asshole until I couldn’t fight anymore.
The man stood above me with a malicious grin on his face, one that felt weird. But then I saw his body tense just as a loud shout sounded close, and he glanced over his shoulder. The man in black turned fully around, no longer focused on me.
A red glow filled the hallway and wove its way into my bedroom, brighter… redder.
And then I heard it. A low, rhythmic purring, a hum that filled the entire house, seemed to shake the walls, vibrate the floors.
No, not a purr, not a hum. A growl. An animal was in the house, a predator, and the man in black was terrified. I knew that by the way he took a step back. I felt it in the rippling tension emanating from his body.
I forced my upper body off the ground, my palms flat on the cold, hardwood floor as I stared at the bedroom door that hung from its hinges. I moved backward, crab walking until the wall stopped my retreat. I was panting, hyperventilating. I knew I should be afraid just by the glow, the sound… the way the man before me took a fighting stance.
But I wasn’t. Because I knew, God, I knew who was here and that he wasn't here to hurt me.
But that alone should have scared the shit out of me. Especially when the man from the club stepped into my room.
He was larger than life, with the glowing red eyes that had nothing to do with the club lights, the twin canines that were too similar to fangs… and the fact that before, he’d lapped at my blood like it nourished him.
He was here, for me, and I knew he brought death with him.
12
Adryan
I let my grin spread slowly as I stared at the human bastard in front of me, the poor fucker who was facing off with me like he actually had a chance in defeating me.
He took a fighting stance and reached behind him to grab a weapon I’d never seen before. It wasn’t a gun, not in the obvious sense, and I knew right away they weren’t trying to kill me. They wanted to incapacitate.
I didn’t need to know this male to know who and what he was. An Assembly prick who I’d take great pleasure in killing nice and slow. But even if he wasn’t part of some twisted-as-fuck—and that was saying something if I was calling them that—group, I’d still kill him, because he thought to hurt my mate.