Page 2 of Blade's Battle
The male laughed as he reached forward, plucked the knife from her hand, and tossed it aside. Then, for no reason other than sheer cruelty, he backhanded her so hard she went flying into the cave wall. He flipped her over like a rag doll and pulled her hips up, placing her ass high in the air as he lined his cock up behind her.
In two bounds, Blade knocked the monster clear off of the female and ripped out his throat. A clean kill was too good for the low-life.
The coppery smell of his victim’s blood filled the air as the woman crouched against the wall. Thin arms wrapped around her legs that she’d pulled tight against her chest. Not five feet away, the cell door lay wide open, but she couldn’t find her way out in the dark.
Blade shifted to his human form and drew a deep breath, taking in her scent. Beneath the dirt and blood, beyond the foul stench of fear coming off of her in waves, she smelled good, really good.
With one hand, he gently grasped her shoulder.
“Please don’t,” she begged as she shrank from him.
He wasn’t prepared for a woman who’d been abused. She was crying, though the sobs were muted as if she had learned not to cry here. What the fuck had been going on in this pack? Damn white wolves were a bunch of sick bastards.
“I’m not the shifter who attacked you,” he whispered. “He’s dead.”
The moment he touched her hand to help her up, she jumped up and shot past him. Blade positioned himself in her path before she ran face-first into the bars.
Hands clawed at him until he grabbed both wrists, tender wrists from how she winced. “Let me guide you out of here. I’m here to help you.”
“Let go!”
Blade released her. He needed to get her out of here, but she wasn’t going to trust him. If she wasn’t going to stay quiet, they’d both end up dead.
“The shifter who attacked you is dead,” he repeated, keeping his voice calm, despite his wolf clawing at him to leave. Blade had left a dead shifter outside. They could be discovered any minute.
“If you don’t believe me, reach out with your foot, two feet to your right, and you’ll feel his body on the ground. Do it quickly. We need to get moving, Anna.”
“Y-you know me?” she asked as her foot, as bare as the rest of her, dragged through the dirt in jerky movements. A cry escaped her as her foot slipped in a pool of blood. Hell. As if she weren’t traumatized enough. . . When her foot finally struck the dead shifter, she sighed in relief.
“Tess told me your name,” he added, hoping to reassure her. “Can I take your hand? I need to lead you out of here. I promise I’ll only touch your hand.”
Her mouth opened and then closed. “Y-you’re shifter too?”
“Yes,” he admitted. “That’s why I can see in here, though it’s dark even for me. Can I take your hand, Anna? We have to go before the wind shifts and Drake’s pack catches my scent.”
One shaky hand tentatively reached for him. He wrapped his hand around hers as gently as he could, trying not to scare her, but there was no time to go slowly. The second his hand closed around hers, a slight whimper escaped her, but she didn’t pull away. Brave woman.
Blade led her out of the cave, stopping at the entrance. The wind struck his face from the south, which was perfect. He scented at least four males nearby, but the wind was working in his favor.
“Where’s Tess?” Anna asked. Her bright blue eyes, the color of Colorado’s summer sky, darted about before settling on him. How had he not noticed her eyes before, even in the dark cave?
“I’ll bring you to her as fast as I can. You don’t even have to talk. Just do everything I tell you.”
Very suspicious, she pulled out of his grip.
He pointed to the pile of clothing on the ground. “Take whatever you want.”
She nodded, the fear still evident on her face, but she didn’t move. Blade grabbed the shirt and pants that her attacker had discarded and handed everything to her. “Please don’t run,” he said, as he turned his back on her, giving her a semblance of privacy to dress.
He heard the rustling of clothing as the wind changed direction. West. If it shifted again, they’d be done for.
“We have to go. Finish dressing later.”
The red flannel shirt hung past her thighs, but the top was slipping off her shoulders. Her feet would have to remain bare. Neither shifter had been wearing shoes.
When she handed Blade the pants, he wiped her attacker’s blood from his face and chest, then tossed the pants on the ground. Her eyes grew wide and the scent of her fear ramped up. She didn’t know him. He’d thrown out Tess’s name, but other than that, she had no real reason to trust him.
Blade picked up the discarded pants. “On second thought, I’ll need these later when we’re clear of the patrols. Will you carry them for me? They’ll only get shredded if I have to shift again on a moment’s notice, and we have a way to go before we’re clear.”
