Page 78 of Her Males

Rock looks hesitant, his grip creasing the paper. He hands it back, and I hurry to return it to my underwear.

“I’m only going to be able to teleport you once. Even with the ring, it’s going to take everything I have,” he warns.

I’m grateful he’s not immediately shooting down my idea. I have no idea where these coordinates are, but I trust Kato. The man’s a tactless brute who showed me his penis within minutes of meeting him, but fuck if I don’t trust him.

“This is where we need to go.” I double down.

Rock groans and throws his head back, visibly annoyed.

“You’re infuriating. I can only teleport from the sitting room. Follow me,” he says, giving in.

He opens the door and peeks out. My heart’s practically beating out of my chest as he grabs my hand and tugs me down the maze of hallways. I’m grateful he seems to know where he’s going.

A few shadows give us sideways glances as we pass, but it’s not until a guard catches sight of us and turns to follow us that Rock speeds up. He pulls so hard, I’m sure my arm’s about to be yanked from its socket, and eventually, he moves so quickly, he’s full-on dragging me.

Fucking demons.

Rock shoves open the sitting room door just seconds before a guard reaches us. The room around me vanishes, and immediately, I can tell this is about to be the worst travel I’ve ever experienced.

16

_____

CHARLOTTE

I’M PRETTY SURE my eardrums have burst. If they haven’t, I’m pretty sure they’re about to.

I squeeze my eyes shut and cover my ears in the hopes of stopping the agonizing ringing, faintly aware of the ache in my knees as I drop onto some unknown hard surface. Light flashes behind my closed eyelids, and I hear the faint sounds of talking behind my covered ears, but I can’t make out anything specific.

My body instinctively curls into a ball, my forehead pressing into the ground as I dry heave.

Somebody’s touching me, and I shoulder them away as another loud cry rips from my throat.

What the fuck did Rock do to me?

I feel embarrassed for how I sob into the ground, the dirt sticking to my cheeks and finding its way into my mouth, but the pain is so consuming, I can’t stop.

It feels like every vein in my body has burst and every nerve ending’s been fried.

Air struggles to make its way into my lungs, and I rock back and forth as I wait for the pain to diminish. Objectively, I know it won’t last forever, the uncomfortableness from teleporting typically only lasting a few minutes, but when it’s happening, it feels never-ending.

“Charlie, Charlie!” Rock chants, running his hand up and down my back.

I release my right ear so I can shove him away.

“Where did you send us to?” he continues, pushing at the hand I shove against him.

My heart pounds, and I force myself to get up on my knees and look around. It takes a second for my eyes to adjust, my eyelids fluttering as they try to shut and cut off the bright light.

I’m not surprised to see we’re in the middle of the forest, but I am slightly taken aback by the army of giant men who surround us. Their leather skirts tell me they’re shifters, but their bulging arms crossed over their chests and prominent frowns tell me we’re not welcome.

“Who are you?” The one closest to us steps forward as he speaks.

He’s tall and muscular—all the shifters are—and I spot the red marking of a bear on his thigh. I can barely make out a white line above it, but only a sliver of it peeks out below his skirt.

He clenches his jaw and shoves his brown hair out of his face before holding out a hand for me. I wave it away, knowing he doesn’t want to touch me but feels obligated. He doesn’t offer the same help to Rock, not that I’m surprised.

Rock grimaces as he stands and helps me up, his arm wrapping around my hip to support most of my weight. I appreciate the gesture and lean into his side.

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