Page 52 of Promise & Artem

With as gentle a shove as he could manage, Artem sent Promise into the woods and called for his beast. As he shifted, he bellowed out a call and shouted, “This ends now, Nero!”

His last words turned into a roar as his beast came out ready to fight. Like the minotaurs of legend, Artem was much taller and bigger than the males with Nero, but he still needed to keep his wits about him.

“Get the girl,” Nero said.

One of the males veered off and Artem grabbed him by the hair and hauled him toward the house, throwing him through a window.

Artem growled and settled on his haunches, daring any of the males to move.

“You can’t keep her safe forever,” Nero taunted.

I can and I will.

As Promise brushed sticks from her bare knees and stifled a groan at the sudden aches her tumble into the woods had given her, she knew that Artem had pushed her into the woods to keep her safe.

She stood in a moment of frozen indecision.

She knew she should run to get help. Get his parents and the rest of the baro, because not only was Nero and whoever he’d gathered to help fighting Artem, but the cabin was on fire and that put other cabins in danger.

But she didn’t want to leave her mate.

Her wolf paced in her mind as she watched from the shadows as Artem fought Nero’s males. He was in his minotaur form, a huge, hulking impressive male who used not only his hands and feet, but also his horns as weapons. Every time someone tried tocome her way, Artem would stop him. It had started with three, but more showed up. Most of them went airborne when they crossed Artem. Some got to their feet after their flight, but many didn’t.

How many more males were going to come for them?

And how long could Artem hold them off?

She should go for help.

Then she realized that one of the males was facing her.

She was still in the shadows, still hidden. But he seemed to know exactly where she was and she was certain it was Nero.

He took a step back from the fight, where Artem was tangling with three males at once.

And then he took another.

Artem was too distracted by the fight to see that Nero was slowly making his way toward her.

Oh shit.

She should have gone for help.

If she ran away, she could maybe get to help before Nero caught her. Was he fast? Was she faster?

Her wolf let out a demand in her head. This male had tried to kill her mate twice. He deserved every ounce of pain he’d ever inflicted on others and he couldn’t be allowed to harm anyone else for profit.

As long as he was alive, she and Artem would never be able to relax and have peace.

She couldn’t imagine what that would be like.

Pulling Artem’s shirt over her head, she tossed it aside and called for her wolf, shifting as fast as she ever had before. With a furious howl, Promise leaped forward as her beast’s words slid through her mind:I will end this for my mate and our future. Tonight.

Artem tossed one of the three males surrounding him over his shoulder, then stomped with his hoof on his chest, enjoying for a heartbeat the way the ribs cracked loudly. He was aware suddenly that Nero wasn’t watching him.

The cabin was now fully engulfed in flames.

He could see Nero heading into the woods toward where Artem had given Promise a shove to get her out of harm’s way.

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