Page 81 of Shadow Bonds

“Good,” I tell him. “I’ll be waiting.”

CHAPTER 25

Aportal opens a few feet away from us, and Malakai catches me watching it.

“It only goes two ways. From here to the gray zone,” he tells me with an amused smirk. “And the portal that brought us here to the camps is also only a direct link. They won’t bring you anywhere else. You’re stuck with us whether you like it or not.”

I give him a teasing smile. “The family visits obviously were only two-way, and those little tests the commander does bring down the barrier. You never know, I might just find another way,” I tease while also being half serious.

He leans closer to me, his smirk growing wicked. “Run all you want, baby. But no matter where you go, we’ll find you.”

“If you’re playing hide and seek, I want an invite,” Knox says, appearing beside me. “I’m very good at hunting my prey.”

“And what will you do if you catch me?” I ask.

His smile grows wolfish. “Run and find out.”

A warm shiver slides down my spine in anticipation.

Knox moves closer to me. “You’re in my bed after this,” he says like it’s already a given. But he forgets. I don’t listen to his rules. So maybe he’ll have to hunt me down after all.

We step through the portal and straight into darkness as if the entire space is cloaked in shadows.

I stick with the guys as we make our way toward a colossal area of ruins. Large brick buildings that must have once been magnificent are now crumbling, without roofs and decaying to rot.

“Keep your eyes peeled for anything,” Theon says as we make our way inside.

“Remember, bullets will injure them but not kill. Use your weapon,” Cyrus says and points to one of the many black coated blades he gave me this morning. “Or call on one of ours.”

“Why here?” I whisper.

“The females are never out in the open. They’re guarded. Hidden. It’s more likely they’ll be among the ruins than anywhere else,” Malakai answers as his eyes scan the open building we are walking into.

It seems in every species; females are not to be messed with.

The more we move in among the ruins, the more the air feels stagnant and eerie. Almost foreboding.

Screams and gunshots ring out before chaos explodes around us. Terrigons appear from nowhere and strike, attacking everything in their path.

The guys move quick, placing me between them, their weapons and guns in hand.

I move beside them instead and ignore their glares.

“Aim for their chest. It will injure them enough to get the kill,” Malakai says.

I aim and shoot one of the smaller terrigons coming closer to us, hitting it directly in the chest. It goes down but tries to get up, so I keep shooting, ready to move toward it when a black blade flies past me and slams into it.

Following the blade’s return to its owner, I turn and glare at Malakai, but he’s too busy with a couple of larger terrigons.Instead of using his guns, he has his weapons in hand, each hit and strike brutal and savage. Like he wants each kill to be personal.

I glance around for the others and find Theon a few feet behind me, his long, dark shadows spread out around him and curling around a group of terrigons, holding them in place while he strikes each one down.

I find Cyrus next, moving like a ninja and slicing through the terrigons like they’re nothing.

And Knox… It takes me a couple of minutes to spot him, his dark shadows practically making him invisible to everyone. He moves almost too quick for my eyes to catch but leaves only death in his wake.

Each of their eyes flicker over to mine every now and again, making sure I’m okay while also stopping anything from reaching me.

Dozens of more terrigons flood the ruins around us, coming at us from every angle. The guys quickly get overwhelmed, but they soon gain ground, all holding their own.

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