Page 88 of Kidnapping Their Third

Oh damn, Cora hadn’t thought Lucy would have a partner. She didn’t hesitate to swing the pipe again, but there wasn’t much room between the two of them. Without the proper momentum, the blow wasn’t substantial. The guy didn’t even flinch when it landed against his torso.

Wrenching the pipe away from Cora, he tossed it aside and raised a hand, knuckles out. He was going to back hand her and because he was so damn big, the blow might kill her. His other hand was only gripping the shoulder of her shirt.

Thinking fast, she dropped to her knees and slid out of the shirt. Before he could reach down to grab ahold of her, Cora punched his groin. She hoped to at least startle him, but what happened next was as much of a surprise for her as him.

She felt the warmth from the necklace flow over her entire body. She’d felt strong since bonding with Kimble and Pike, but at the moment, she felt like a superhero. The blow was so solid, she knocked the guy off his feet. Curled up on his side with both hands covering his crotch, the stranger whimpered and moaned.

“She punched my dick! The human punched my dick!”

Shakily getting to her feet, Cora moved so she could see both shifters. The guy was still clutching her shirt, but she didn’t want to get close enough to get it back. Should she run? Hit both of them again?

“Oh damn, that’s impressive Cora.” Looking over her shoulder, Cora found Luis from three houses down standing at the end of her driveway, eyeing the man with lifted eyebrows.

That’s when Cora remembered she was standing there in nothing but her bra. As if reading her mind, Luis pulled off his overshirt and tossed it to her, leaving him in a white ribbed tank top.

“Thanks,” she muttered while pulling it on over her head.

“Why did this bear attack you?” Luis asked as he stepped a little closer to the growling stranger. “Where is your vampire? It’s well past dark, he should be here protecting you.”

Cora gaped at him. “What?”

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Luis asked. His eyebrow moved from surprise to scrunched up. “Weird, I thought you’d know since Mikey told me to keep an eye on you and your mates.”

“Mikey?”

“Yeah, Mikey,” Luis said with a little nod. “Alpha of the Lobos Gris Pack and friend of just about everyone including Imani.”

“You’re a wolf?” Cora guessed, relieved to hear one familiar name in the mix. Luis nodded his head; then his expression turned worried as he focused on something behind her. Cora pivoted to see what caused the reaction. Even as she turned her body, she heard Luis start sprinting up the drive while shouting for her to run.

Lucy had gotten to her feet and was rushing at her.

Without thinking, she dodged to the left at the same time she used her entire upper body to throw a jab to Lucy’s throat with her right. She wasn’t playing nice with these bear shifters; they were just too damn big and tough.

Again her entire body went warm, and the punch was strong enough to send Lucy flying back. She landed hard on her back just as Luis reached them and stuttered to a stop. They both stood over the gagging and gasping Lucy.

He cast her an admiring glance. “Woah! I didn’t think humans could do that.”

“I’m stronger than I was,” she murmured, shaking out her right hand. Her knuckles hurt from delivering two powerful blows, but that was better than the alternative. She raised her left hand to grasp the necklace through her shirt. “I think I might have had a little power boost.”

“What do we do with these two?” Luis asked. “I think Imani’s flock knows a guy who could take care of them.”

Lucy whimpered at Luis’s implied threat, but the strange man only cursed and moaned. Neither shifter was getting up any time soon.

“I’m not sure,” Cora said. “Watch them for me, ‘kay?” Luis nodded and skirted around them to find her phone in the garage. It had ended up under the van and was still working.

She knelt next to Lucy to show her the screen. The woman started crying fat tears when she saw the phone had been connected to Pike the entire time.

Tapping the speaker, Cora spoke into the phone. “Pike?”

There was the loud sound of wind and then Pike spoke. “Kimble is in his griffin form, and we’re flying to you. We’ll be there soon!”

“Take your time, guys,” Cora drawled. “None of us are going anywhere.”

While they’d waited, Luis dragged the shifters into the backyard. Then he’d stood over them, glaring. Neither tried to get up. It wasn’t long before a griffin appeared with Pike clutched in his front talons.

There was a rush of wind as Kimble set Pike down, then landed while shifting. Cora didn’t think anything of it since she’d seen him do it before, but Luis let out a low whistle of admiration.

“Damn, vampires have all the cool magic.”

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