Page 32 of Reign

“Good girl, now get me out of here.”

“Move,” she whispered in my ear and urged me towards the keypad. I didn’t fight. A flick of her wrist is all it would take for her to slice open my throat.

Behind us, Jed bellowed a guttural, ferocious sound. He pounded the glass, and I felt the vibrations through my body.

Rex grinned as Valentina let him out. She handed him the circle of gold. I couldn’t see it clearly but did get a quick flash of metal with runes of some kind on it. Rex grabbed it and tucked it in his waistband under his shirt. The hateful look he gave Jed turned my blood to ice.

Jed snarled, and though I couldn’t see him, that animalistic sound told me he was a shifter too. Another barrage of thuds hit the glass, and there was a huge crack.

Rex grinned. “Give me your gun.”

Valentina did, and then she spun me around. “You have to watch this.” Her breath fanned my ear. “Let’s see my papa kill my lover.” She giggled, an insane sound, and I shuddered. Protruding from under her top lip were elongated fangs. Long and sharp.Don’t scream. Don’t scream.“You’re avampire?” I managed to whisper, my eyes wide.

She giggled again. “I am.” Looking at Jed, she licked up the column of my throat. “Mm, your heart is racing. All that blood ready for the taking.” She lifted her chin at Jed. “So, puta, what do you think now? Still think him sexy?” she asked.

I gasped.

From behind the panel of thick glass, a huge silverback gorilla stared at us, snarling and looking really, really pissed.

Rex raised his gun.

“Don’t!’ I shrieked, earning myself a deeper cut on my neck. I froze at the stinging pain.

Rex still had his gun aimed at Jed when a shard of glass suddenly penetrated his shoulder, right through from one side to the other. “Fuck!” Rex yelled.

From out of the shadows, a huge and terrifying creature charged. Rex yelled and raised his gun, shooting it over and over. Valentina shoved me away, and in one swift move, threw the blade. It slammed into the creature’s shoulder, but that didn’t stop it. It didn’t even flinch. It barrelled towards Rex, who backed up against the glass of Jed’s cell. Another shard of glass—no, not glass, ice, speared Rex’s forearm. He dropped the gun, and it clattered to the floor.

Seeing his prey was cornered, the creature’s fiery eyes fixed on Valentina. Her eyes widened, and she suddenly disappeared. But she didn’t stand a chance. The creature vanished into shadows as if it were made of them, reappearing on the far side of me, clutching Valentina’s throat. If vampires were fast, this creature of shadow and fire was quicker.

I blinked, unable to tear my gaze from it. Lava like veins flowed across its skin and under its fur. It was huge, its head brushing the ceiling. Razor like claws tipped its fingers, and its huge elongated jaws were rammed full of sharp teeth. It was terrifying. I scrambled away until my back was up against the glass of Rex’s cell. This was the demon that had haunted my dreams. I yelped as the cut on my neck opened further. The creature inhaled, and its burning gaze locked on me, its eyes narrowing on my wound.

“You cut her!” It roared and snapped Valentina’s neck like it was snapping a twig, then dropped her body to the ground.

Jesus fucking Christ!

My eyes widened further as the huge demon werewolf twisted, his eyes searching the floor in front of Jed’s cell. “Where’s Manivera!” he bellowed. My hand shaking, I pointed at the open panel in the wall between Jed’s cell and the next. From the darkness, a pack of wolves appeared, followed by the man with blue hair. I gulped. He definitely wasn’t human either. He was too beautiful and exuded power just like the others.

“Go!” the creature ordered. The wolves howled and charged down the narrow passageway.

“What about him?” the blue-haired man calmly asked as if it was perfectly normal to have a raging gorilla nearby.

“Leave him. I’ll deal with him.” The creature growled, and suddenly I was scared for Jed. He wasn’t who I’d thought he was, but he had still tried to help me. I wouldn’t let anyone hurt him. I let go of my neck, ignoring the fresh blood that trickled down my skin. Diving across the floor, I grabbed the gun and lifted it, staring the huge creature in the eye. I gulped, but instinct told me he wouldn’t hurt me...I hoped.

“Don’t you hurt him!” My voice hurt, but I held the gun out even though my hand trembled, and a wave of dizziness hit me. I shook myself, aware that my headache had settled again. Jed stopped pounding the glass, instead just huffing air through a crack behind me. His warm breath fanned my neck. Was I stupid getting this close to a pissed off gorilla? Probably. But no matter if he was a shifter and I didn’t understand what the fuck was happening, he was my friend, and I’d fight for him, even if I would lose.

The creature cocked its head and stared at me, then slowly moved its gaze to Jed.

Silent seconds passed by. Then it changed. One moment the terrifying creature studied me; the next, Connor was staring at me, his blue eyes burning. Somehow, that change didn’t surprise me. My heart had known it was him and that he would never hurt me.

His nostrils flared. “You’re bleeding. Let me heal you.”

“No. Not until you promise me Jed will be safe.”

He stalked closer. There was no way I could do anything when he pulled the gun from my weak grip. I couldn’t shoot him. The thought of hurting him made my chest ache.

Jed snarled.

“Quiet!” Connor snapped. His attention moved over my shoulder. “Move away from her.”

---