Page 15 of Reign

Head down and teeth bared, I charged forward through that force, yanking on the bond with my brothers. Had they seen her run? The crowd had. They were baying for blood. She reached the far side of the ring and blasted a hole outwards. Diving through it headfirst, she shoulder-rolled and was on her feet in seconds, running for the back of the club.

"Stop her!" I yelled at Owen as I ripped a hole in the spell wall large enough for me to fit through. He bolted past me. The others followed, all except Lionel and Stone, who waited, ready to protect my back.

Once through the curtain, the scent of fear hit my nostrils. I skidded to a halt. Balthazar held the girl by her throat. Her feet dangled off the floor, and she thrashed weakly, hitting his arms and face. Her wings, still not fully visible, hung limply, brushing the dirty floor. I cringed. It was obscene to see such beauty dragging in the filth of this place, even if they were more of an apparition than anything.

“What do you want an angel for, Shifter King?” Balthazar’s almost colourless eyes rested on me, seemingly unaffected by Velvet’s choking and weak efforts to escape.

My brows dipped. I did not want her dead before I could use her. “I didn’t know she was an angel. You know I need her to help me find Manivera. He has my mate.”

The woman stopped struggling at my words, but, if anything, her scent went from angry and scared to downright fearful at the mention of my father. I growled. She wasn't the first female he'd hurt, and I doubted she'd be the last, but my priority was to get to Ember.

"Ah, but now your Hell-power has unveiled her to the darkness in me. And an angel is worth a lot of money to some of my kind."

I didn't have time for more negotiation. If that was the case, he wasn't going to kill her—but I needed her. And he'd taken an oath...

“You took an oath, Count.”

He held my gaze. “I did. To help you find this female. I have done that.”

"She cannot help you or your kind," said B'nar, stepping forward. "You want her to reverse your oaths. She cannot. Only a full-blooded angel can do that." He glanced at Velvet, his eyes narrowed, his brows dipping. "She is terrified."

The Count snarled. “Of course she is. She hid her true self from me, and she ran from a fight. Both are rules that, when broken, leave her at my mercy.”

B’nar cocked his head. “No, not of you...of Rex Manivera.”

The Count’s ruby gaze slid to Velvet. “Interesting.”

“She has wings, but she is only a half-angel, which is why she cannot manifest her wings physically. Her angelic power is not strong enough to help your kind.”

Balthazar snarled at B’nar, but the prince was back to his stoic self and just stared back coldly.

"I could still sell her. My kind would not know that if I did not."

I growled and shifted back, pulling the molecules of my clothes to me. Balthazar's brows twitched at my neat trick. "Fine. What do you want for her?" He commanded the British vampire nation, not to mention he was close to the prince of vampires, now that the vampire king was almost dead. If the London Rift grew stronger, he could bring in reinforcements from Europe. I needed him on my side.

Velvet squealed, the sound trapped in her throat by his hand. She kicked him in the knee cap—hard. It earned her an irritated look and a shake. "Be still. You broke your contract and ran before the fight was over. Your life is now forfeit. You know the rules." He looked at me, his head tilted, his gaze shrewd. "Five hundred grand—and your blood."

“Fuck off! You don’t get his blood! He is our king.” Owen’s words were followed by his shift.

Balthazar didn’t even acknowledge Owen’s wolf. But Owen stood, hackles raised and ready to pounce. My other brothers shifted. The biggest Lion I’d ever seen prowled behind the Count. I’d never seen Lionel’s shifter form, but now wasn’t the time to admire him. Stone’s wolf shimmered with purple magic, ready to slam a shield down to keep the Count contained.

Balthazar lifted a brow.

I shrugged. “They are loyal; what can I say?”

“You can say yes.”

“Why the money?”

He shrugged. “Why not?”

I had to smile. He didn't need money, and we both knew it. He was old and had billions locked away. "Fair enough. Why my blood?"

“Because you are powerful, and your beast is like nothing I have ever met or seen before. What is it exactly?”

“Not it—them.”

Velvet shrieked and clawed at Balthazar's face, leaving scratch marks on his skin that instantly began to heal. He shook her roughly. "Cease your wriggling, or I'll throw you in my blood bin for others to use while I decide what to do with you."

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