Page 22 of Hunted for the Holidays

"Oh, he's already down at the rendezvous location," the man says, coming closer to me. "We found him first and he said you'd wandered away."

They don't know Kit is dead.

"Why didn't he come for me, then?" I question.

His jaw tightens, lips pressing together in a thin line. He’s clearly getting frustrated at my unwillingness to go with him.

"Listen Charlotte," he grits out, closing the distance between us. "We need to get going, if you will just-"

"No!" I interrupt as he reaches out to grab me.

I scramble backward, but my heel catches on something, sending me straight to the ground.

Reaching down, he roughly grabs my wrist and yanks me to my feet. “I don’t have time for your fucking attitude, you little brat."

“No!” I scream, “I’m not going anywhere with you!”

“Let’s go,” he spits, jerking my arm harder to pull me along with him. My shoulder burns as he drags me behind him.

I go slack his grip, throwing my body to the ground and catching him off-balance in the process. He lands on top of me, the weight of his body punching the wind from my lungs. I gasp for air as he rolls off, and the moment fresh oxygen hits my system, I hurry to stand, the forest spinning around me as I find my feet. I stumble, bracing my palms against the nearest tree trunk.

“Stop being a stubborn bitch,” he growls, fingers digging into my bicep.

"Hands off our fucking girl,” the deep timbre of Derek’s voice rumbles, rattling all the way down to my bones.

11

THE SUMMONING BY SLEEP TOKEN

"No!" Charlotte screams.

The sound of her panicked voice elicits something animalistic within me. There is no reason she should be screaming, especially when I'm not there. Her screams belong to me and my brother.Only us. She’s ours.Anyone else who makes her scream will suffer. My fingers curl tighter around the ax handle and the heavy footfalls of my boots crunching in the snow are echoed by the sound of Wyatt's as he runs behind me.

We reach the spot I left Charlotte, and anger boils in my veins as I see a man with his hands on my bunny. For the last seven years, all I’ve wanted–all I’ve thought of–is revenge on Kit for stealing my life from me. But as I watch this asshole roll his body on top of Charlie, I see fucking red. I realize in that moment that I’ve never wanted anything as much as I wanther.

"What the fuck," Wyatt grumbles as he stops beside me.

"Hands off our fucking girl," I spit, stepping closer.

The man whips his head around as he pulls Charlotte against his chest, narrowing his eyes on me and my brother. "Stop right there, boys."

"Or what?" Wyatt asks, his voice even, his eyes feral.

"Listen," the man starts to reason. "She's important to her father. He’s worried about her, and I need to get her back home."

"Sheishome," I state, advancing on them.

His eyes flicker between me and Wyatt. Staggering backward, he tries to drag Charlie with him and run, but Wyatt lunges after them, tackling the man. They all fall to the ground, a mess of limbs and screams. Wyatt manages to stand, ripping Charlie away and pushing her behind him protectively.

"Hey!" the man on the ground shouts. "You can't do that! You don't know who she is! What she's worth!"

"She'sours, that's who the fuck she is," I snarl. “And she’s worth more than you’ll ever fucking know.”

He darts out a hand in one last sad attempt to touch our girl.Wrong move. Blood-curdling screams fill the air as I swing the ax down, severing his hand from his body. Crimson sprays out as the bloodied stump that was once his arm falls to the ground. The chunk of flesh twitches as it hits the snow, and Charlotte's eyes go wide, her face draining of color. Her pale lashes flutter as she passes out from the gruesome sight. My brother catches her, cradling her body against his muscular chest. The sight of them together warms something inside me.

"Take her back to the cabin," I instruct Wyatt.

Instead of his normal snarky comments, he doesn't object–he just nods as he cradles her protectively against his chest. Our sweet little captive is too pure to see any more of this. Part of me wishes she was awake to see this though, so she could see what we’re capable of, how far we’re willing to go for her.

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