Page 76 of Muzzled

She had nothing to worry about, as the predator’s attention was wholly focused on the woman who had dropped to her knees, her hands pressing against her temples as she struggled to regain her footing.

The strength of his brothers was the only thing holding Ryan back when Micah managed a mere three more steps before she fell again, the skulking slither of the shade worming along the grass at her heels.

Their claws dug a little deeper into the dirt while his lip curled back, his canines on full display as the shade’s misshapen fingers wrapped around hers, its bowed back cracking when it hunched over her in a bastardized display of protection. The blackened eyes scoured the darkening landscape, sliding over their position before it forced Micah’s head up and splayed its hand across her forehead.

He could hear her heartbeat stutter, the steady thrum of her fear faltering as her arms went slack, her body held up by the gnarled fingers piercing her skin and drawing out the scent of her cursed blood.

They launched from the shelter of the brush, razor claws shredding across the shade’s thigh as its head spun around, its brittle nails slicing across Alex’s muzzle before the jaws clamped down on its wrist and tossed the spirit across the grass. It scrambled to its feet as they doubled back. Locking its hollow eyes on Ryan, Ryan’s mind was flooded with images of Micah, her body broken and twisted on the stones littering the banks of the river. He reared his head back with a howl, Bo and Alex taking over control of their Cerberus form when he arched his neck toward her, the gruesome visuals interweaving with her staggering form until he was unable to differentiate between them.

Bo’s jaws snapped down on the shade’s shoulder, tearing through to the blackened bone as its contorted foot made contact with Ryan’s throat. It scrambled out of reach, beelining for Micah when she regained her footing and stumbled up the berm to the train bridge.

Injured, the shade’s speed was hampered while it fought its way up the grassy knoll after Micah. Cerberus closed in with the precision of a seasoned hunter, determined to get to the shade before it reached her.

Suddenly, Micah lurched forward with a soul-shredding scream, her hands pressing against her temples and her eyes squeezed shut. The shade’s gnarled fingers reached for her as she fell against the railway ties, the sickening crack of bone against metal ringing in the air.

Cerberus brought their prey to the ground, claws sinking into the gray flesh as Alex’s canines embedded into the shade’s flailing wrist. Ryan lined up his kill strike, risking a final look at Micah before his jaws clamped down.

Blood.

So much blood beneath her head.

With a howl, he locked their enormous paws onto the weak grass, desperate to remain topside as the ground beneath them warmed and they tumbled into the underworld with their conquest.

*

A flurry ofactivity erupted in the reception room, Hades and Persephone racing from their thrones as the lifeless form of the shade was spat across the marble floor, the black blood leaving a morbid streak on the pristine tile.

Dionysus burst through the heavy doors, the aged Atropos hot on his heels as Hades lifted their target by the throat and tossed it unceremoniously toward the waiting boat of Charon.

Ryan snarled against the mayhem, bucking away from the staying hand of his mistress.

“They must return topside immediately,” the old Fate called above the din. “The Pirithous lifeline must be cut by Cerberus.”

Cut.

Rearing his head up, he met the eyes of Atropos, silently pleading with her to give him more time.

“Now,” she said quietly, answering his unspoken question. “The time is now. She’s dying.”

He needed to remain focused, needed to drag the precise location of Micah’s bloodied body into the forefront of his mind before they ventured back into the human realm.

But he wasn’t ready.

He wasn’t prepared to be the one to drag Micah into hell.

He needed time. Time to find an out. Time to find his nerve. Time to tell her he loved her.

“Orion!” Atropos approached him slowly, her hands outstretched until her fingers cupped his jowls. “You must do this. Now.”

Alex and Bo stilled, the room falling silent.

“Don’t let her die alone.”

With the old Fate’s words in his ears, Cerberus flashed topside into the dry heat of the summer night.

Chapter Thirty

Micah recoiled fromthe rumbling train tracks, the intense pain of moments before giving way to a dizzying numbness slithering through her body toward her fingers and toes. Her arm was heavy, weighted as she reached to her face to push away the slick strands of hair stuck to her cheek.

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