Page 102 of Blade's Battle
“Ready?” he asked as he made the final adjustments while she hung in the harness suspended above the ground. She was utterly glowing, not the least bit nervous.
He kissed her, placed the helmet on her head, then lightly tapped the helmet, his signal to ‘hold on,’ and sent her on her way. Her high-pitched shrieks were soon drowned out by her glorious laughter as she spread her arms out and sailed over the valley. At that moment, flying high above the earth, carefree and happy, Anna appeared every bit an angel.
“I love this!” she squealed with excitement as she passed the mid-point.
The wind changed direction and Blade caught the foul smell of humans. Anna’s voice was lost in the wind as she neared the end of the line. . . where three men waited for her.
* * *
ANNA
Blade was amazing, not only for building this zip line but for everything he did for her. She’d been spending too much time in the lab, and not enough time with him, but he hadn’t complained. Not once. He seemed more worried about her health than anything. She’d bounce back as soon as she made a breakthrough. She always did. Then she’d take a long break from the work to spend some quality time with Blade. Time to simply enjoy being with him, loving him. And she did love him.
The very idea that she could ever love anyone as much as Kurt had seemed absurd to her two months ago, but it had happened. She had said her goodbyes to Kurt early this morning, kissing his picture and placing it in a drawer, so Blade wouldn’t have to see the photo as a constant reminder. She didn’t want him to think of himself as second place, because he wasn’t. This was simply the next chapter in her life—one that would be filled with family and friends, as well as new discoveries.
Brown eyes shone with strength and intensity as he fastened her helmet. He leaned in, having to angle deeper than usual to get past the helmet, and kissed her. A sweet kiss for good luck. The deeper kind would come later, at the bottom, when she thanked him for this fabulous experience. She couldn’t believe he was actually going to blood-bond her! For the first time, she didn’t fear the bond. Blade was strong enough that he’d held off his wolf this long, and she had made considerable progress on how to protect his shifter DNA.
With a slight jump and a push, she was flying over the gorge. The wind streamed by her face, cold and refreshing. Fabulous! As for the view,it was breathtaking. Two rivers cut through the gorge converging beyond a patch of trees like an intricate puzzle made of the deepest greens, brightest blues, and warmest orange and browns. She couldn’t wait to tell Blade about it.
The braking system engaged, slowing her down as the altitude dipped. The side of the cliff she had just cleared obscured her view, so she faced forward. Three huge men, all wearing the same black uniform. The men, armed with rifles and sidearms, were standing on the platform, waiting for her.
Her heart sped up and her mind raced. She didn’t have anything with which to defend herself. She glanced back for Blade on the zip line’s launching pad, but she couldn’t see him. Hopefully, he’d seen the men too and was racing to help her, but that zip line had taken her over agorge. It was going to take time for him to reach her—if he could.
The final descent to the platform was slow enough to allow her to take in the WSSO logos on the men’s uniforms. She’d been naïve to think they’d forgotten—or forgiven—her.
Rough hands grabbed her even before her feet touched the wood planks.
“Get away!” she screamed, but they ignored her as they unhooked her from the cable and unbuckled her harness. “What do you want?” she bit out, knowing whatever it was, it wasn’t good. She had to stall for time.
“You’re working for them. Wolf shifters,” the red-head said.
“I’m not working for anyone. Your organization sabotaged my work, and I lost my government grant. I’m unemployed, thanks to your people.”
“Hear that, Briggs?” the red-head said as he removed his glove and ran his hand over her cheek. “She remembers we’re people.” His fingers trailed down her neck to her collarbone where he slid the top of her dress off one shoulder.
The shaking started the second he touched her. It was too familiar, too much like Drake.
“Careful,” the Asian guy said. “She’s spent a lot of time with them. Was married to one. She might bite.”
She waited for Red to turn back to her. The second she saw that sickening leer of his, she slammed her head as hard as she could, into his face. Her helmet came away dripping blood, and her head throbbed from the impact.
Red ripped the helmet off of her and then punched her in the stomach. She doubled over,, the pain so intense she could barely breathe. The mercenary yanked her head up by her hair and punched her in the face. Anna’s world went black as she heard the pained howl of a wolf in the distance.
* * *
BLADE
Anna was too far! He’d never reach her in time. The terror strangling him didn’t help. It was making him indecisive. Should he send up an alert and hope that Frank or Callen was closer to Anna’s position, or retain the element of surprise for when he finally reached the men? If he made the wrong decision, it would cost Anna. The mercenaries might kill her there or take her away and she’d disappear like Alex. Blade had sent her right into the arms of the enemy.
Trees and rock formations became a blur as he poured every ounce of energy he had into running. He was only halfway there when the trees opened up and he caught a glimpse of the platform. The distance was too great to hear what they were saying, but her voice sounded steady. His Anna was a fighter, stalling for time, counting on him to reach her.
She cracked her helmet into one man’s face and Blade’s stomach dropped, as he feared what might happen next. The man punched her in her stomach and then her face. Even after she crumpled to the ground, the man kicked her, one sickening thud after the next, until she stopped moving.
Blade needed to get to her quickly, but there was only one way to ensure the speed necessary. So he did the one thing he swore he wouldn’t do. Blade freed his wolf.
* * *
ANNA
