Page 36 of Victoria's Discovery

That feeling proved dangerously true.

A collective gasp sounded from the masses before all hell broke loose. The sound of fighting reached her, the meaty thud of fists hitting flesh making her fingertips tingle with fear.

“Oohshit, this is bad, guys,” she whispered, gazing anxiously from between their bodies at the beings surrounding them. They’d been fellow abductees a moment ago. Now they were threats.

And her little group was smack in the middle of them.

The guys did what they could to protect her, but even they couldn’t stop everyone. Someone knocked into Thegan so hard he fell back into her. Victoria bit her lip, trying to hold in a cry of pain as he accidentally stepped on her foot, but when a sharp pain shot up through her leg, she couldn’t hold back.

Tears welled in her eyes and nausea cramped her stomach. A bone in her foot had definitely just snapped.

Thegan whipped a look back at her, eyes wide with obvious alarm at her cry while Vi’kail’s pet whined agitatedly in her ear. When he saw her trying to balance on one foot and the pain she couldn’t quite hide twisting her features, he cursed, his lips curling back in an angry snarl, showing off sharp, white teeth. Turning back, he shoved whomever had pushed him, trying in vain to hold off the tide. Thorn and Vi’kail joined him in trying to make some room, but it was useless.

When they realized that wasn’t going to work, they abruptly changed tactics. Like a well-oiled machine, Thorn and Thegan spread their arms while Vi’kail spun around and picked her up, cradling her to his chest and tucking her face into the crook of his neck, as he took her place in the center of the protective bubble.

They were trying their damndest, but surrounded by a teeming mass of angry, panicked people, there was only so much they could do. She could feel every movement and vibration through her foot, but she grit her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the painful throbbing. That lasted right up until another shove sent her foot banging into Thorn’s back.

At her sharp gasp, Vi’kail tensed against her and let loose a low, menacing growl that raised the hair on the nape of her neck, echoed by his pet who was again clinging to the top of her head.

Worried he was about to go postal and add to the upheaval around them, which would only make things worse, she was instead surprised and impressed when she felt him draw in a slow, deep breath, reining in his temper with obvious effort.

Or that’s what she thought he did anyway.

Apparently, reining in his temper and not retaliating were two entirely different things.

His pet gave an anticipatory warble, as though he knew what was coming, while Vi’kail murmured soothingly in her ear and calmly, almost nonchalantly, turned just enough to deliver a wicked uppercut to the big, belligerent, pink alien doing most of the shoving.

Eyes wide, she watched in stunned surprise as the large being’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. He swayed for a second before he started to tip backward.

“Oooohshit,” she breathed.

He went down like a felled tree, taking out half a dozen people behind him.

Heart racing, she cringed, fully expecting that to push everyone into a full-on tizzy. Preparing to be set upon, she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to brace, but after a couple of seconds passed and nothing happened, she cracked one open.

Lips parting, she blinked, astonished to find that, instead of attacking Vi’kail like she’d expected, the people surrounding them seemed to back off, eyeing him warily.

“Whoa. I’m glad you’re on my team,” she muttered, grimacing apologetically at the people flailing about under the pink guy.

Just then, a shockingly loud, piercing whistle echoed through the lobby, startling the hell out of her. Like a switch had been flipped, everybody froze.

Even with Vi’kail holding her, she couldn’t see over the crowd to whom or whatever made the noise, but that didn’t stop her from jerking her head around with everyone else to stare in the direction from which it had come.

“What the actual fuck is going on here?!”

Chapter 20

When she heard Queen Bee’s voice, Victoria blew out a breath of relief.

“Oh, thank fuck, she’s back. Watch this. She’s about to whip these assholes into shape,” she announced, patting Vi’kail’s shoulder reassuringly.

As soon as everyone went still, Thorn spun around and withdrew the black, healing ring from one of his pouches, expanding it and setting it on the ground before gesturing for Vi’kail to set her down inside it.

“Oh my gosh, I could kiss you right now, you brilliant man,” she breathed, tipping her head back to give him a grateful smile.

Balancing on her good foot, she stood as still as she could while the ring rose, seemingly by magic, to the top of her head before falling back to hover above the ground. The instantaneous cessation of pain was almost euphoric.

Wiggling her foot experimentally, she sighed in relief when it didn’t so much as twinge.

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