Page 109 of Bride of Choice

Snapping out of it, he knelt and handed over whatever it was he’d found, daring a peek at me to scowl at my tear stained face and free flowing sobs, and Berkr’s panicked grimaces.

“What you do?” Kirch grunted out at Berkr.

“Say Jo’s mates all broken,” Gopher gruntingly supplied for him as he served as a living wall to help block my view.

Kirch growled as he stood, baring his teeth and letting out a snarl that promised retribution as he made his way over to Rek.

“Is he- is he okay?” I blubbered, as Kirch looked over Rek.

“Rek fine,” Kirch rumbled out softly.

“Promise?” I sounded like a pathetic, sniveling simpleton. I couldn’t help it.

“Break Jo brain, Kirch break Berkr,” he warned the warrior male.

“Harm one hair on Kirch’s head and Mina will tar and feather you,” I finally got enough ahold of my sniffle fest to mumble at Berkr.

“Berkr not break Jo,” Berkr grumbled. “Jojo males break Jo brain long time ‘fore Berkr make Jo cry like babies.”

“I’m not crying like a baby!” My voice was shrill, tight, and I was a thousand percent crying.

Kirch, Gopher, and Bum-bum let out a communal, you done fucked up, dick. Best fix it, at Berkr.

Grimacing, Berkr’s voice grew high as he started to coo unconvincingly, wincing as he did so in a falsetto sing song, “No- No cry. No cry, Jo. No cry. Shh. Sh.”

“Are they chopping off my leg?” I mumbled as I felt wetness and a weird tug and pull and then nothing. “Why can’t I feel my leg?” Tears turned to fear as I struggled to survey the damage. “What’s wrong with my leg?!!”

Kirch left Rek’s side to join Berkr in holding me down.

“She panic,” Kirch barked, forced to lean on me, practically sitting on me, in an effort to wrestle me into submission.

“Of course I’m panicked! They’re chopping off my leg!” I wailed.

“No chop off leg,” Kirch grumbled down at me reasonably, and yet he had to glance over his shoulder as if to double check.

My non ravaged leg kicked out, getting Gopher in the face, sending him flopping back and right into Kirch, nearly unseating him.

“She move!” Berkr warned Bum-bum.

Twin loud cracks sounded, and I totally lost my shit. My leg wasn’t broken! What was snapping?!!

It was a risky move but I was running on adrenaline. Kicking both legs out, they both made contact. Bum-bum let out a startled yelp and shot back, which caused him to slam heads with Kirch, who dropped forward clutching at his skull to then crack noggins with Berkr.

It was a whole-assed Three Stooges kinda deal. Slipping from beneath them as Berkr and Kirch started to snarl at each other, I shot up, got one good look at my leg, a bone needle dangling from partially stitched skin, and screamed.

I castigated myself even as my mind reeled.

Odix jumped into the fray, snatching me up before I could even think of taking off like a madwoman.

Like he’d had some practice doing this, he subdued me with scary crazy ease. Cuddling me close, he pinned my arms with one arm, snuggling me into him, one leg under me, the other over me, boxing me in between incredibly thick thighs. His free hand gripped my jaw and he forced me to stare at him, gazing deeply into my panicked, doe-wide eyes.

Purring down at me softly, he had me slipping from wild and wooly and right into soft and submissive.

Glancing briefly over his shoulder, he barked something sharply at the males beside him, and then his focus was right back on me.

“S’okay,” he purred down at me, his thick thumb brushing across my cheek gently. “Jo ‘kay.”

The savage Odix had soothed this wild beast.

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