Page 57 of Cruel Mate

He came at her again quickly, forcing her down onto the mattress as he reached for something on his belt.

Layla gasped when she saw the glint of a knife.

“Maybe I’ll just cut that thing out of you here and now and save us all some trouble.”

“No! No!” Layla screamed, fighting back. She hammered at his chest with her fists, but he was bigger, stronger than he ever had been before. Being alpha had strengthened him tenfold. She wasn’t sure she stood a chance against him, but she was going to fight with all she had. “Stop! Get off me!”

“You didn’t really think I believed you, did you?” Christian demanded as he yanked up the skirt of her dress to expose her stomach. “You didn’t actually think you’d fooled me into bringing you here because I thought you wanted me, did you?”

He sliced open her dress with his blade then. “It doesn’t really matter what you want. This place just gave me somewhere to have my way with you while my men take care of the rest.”

The malice and satisfaction in Christian’s eyes was too much. Layla fought harder than ever before, kicking and screaming, chomping at him with her fangs but never quite able to get him.

Then, she managed to plant one knee right between his legs.

“Fuck!” he snarled as he reeled backwards, cupping his manhood.

Layla didn’t falter. She flipped off the bed and raced for the bathroom.

Just as her hands reached for the door frame to yank herself through, Christian appeared before her, slamming her arms down to her sides and gripping them tight around her waist. The knife still glistened in his hand, and Layla gulped at how close it was to her stomach.

She slammed her heel down as hard as she could on the top of Christian’s foot. The force of it sent pain lancing up her leg, but she struggled forward, headed for the nearest shuttered window.

“You fucking bitch! You will be my mate whether you like it or not! I’ll break you. I’ll tear that baby out of you with my bare hands and break your spirit any way I have to. I’ll kill your mate, bury your best friend and make sure there’s nobody left to care about you but me!” Christian yelled at her as he rubbed his foot while she tried desperately to remove the shutters from the window.

Why isn’t he attacking me? she thought, but deep down she knew the truth. It was because there wasn’t really anywhere for her to go.

She had just managed to clear the window of its shutters when he charged at her again, the knife dropping from his hand as if he no longer cared to bother with it.

He grabbed her by the shoulders from behind and yanked her away from the window, wrapping one arm around her to hold her arms down while he forced her head to the side with his free hand. His fangs grazed the side of her throat and he moaned, “You still taste as sweet as before.”

He pulled her back around to face him, his hand cupping her throat, and she knew what was coming next. He was going to kiss her.

She remained still, waiting while he leaned toward her. Waiting, waiting, waiting, and then she slammed her forehead into his, so hard it made her head spin.

It gave her just enough time to drop to her knees and crawl for the knife that had landed near the door. And when he came down on top of her again, she twisted onto her back just in time to jam the knife into his eye.

“Ah! You crazy bitch!” he cried, cupping both hands over the knife in his eye as she kicked him away with a foot square in the center of his chest.

When it became clear he meant to pull it out, Layla didn’t stop to think. The sooner he pulled it, the quicker he’d heal. She had only a few seconds to get on her feet and get out of the front door.

And that’s what she did. She threw open the door, not caring who might be on the other side to stop her. What Gary and the others might do to her was nothing compared to what Christian had been describing. She would fight every one of them if she had to in order to protect her baby.

But it never came to that.

Fingers grabbed the roots of her hair at the back of her head and yanked her backwards, almost carrying her off her feet. Christian pinned her back against him, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the ruin of his face. The knife was gone from his eye, but the socket was nothing but a bloody mess. Crimson fluid leaked down his cheek and dripped onto her shoulder.

“I’ll make you pay for this, bitch,” he snarled in her ear.

“You’ll do no such thing!”

Layla’s heart swelled to hear Jack’s voice.

“You’re surrounded, Christian. Give it up!” Zander’s voice sounded seconds later from the trees.

Layla glanced all around them. She couldn’t see anyone, not even Christian’s men.

“Come out here! Show yourselves!” Christian yelled back at them. “My men will get you before too long.”

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