Page 47 of Forbidden Bonds
My heart is still in my throat, and I don’t need to fake my terror.
“Hold!” A tall, lean man pushes to the front of the group ahead. “Lower your weapons.”
“Who the fuck are you?” Zeb calls. He still sounds calm and confident. I mean, he looks so… regular. If you were to place him in a line of soldiers, I’d probably find a dozen more impressively built alphas I’d single out first as elite. “You’re not our contact.”
“Lower your fucking weapon and drop it to the floor, unless you want to die,” the lean man calls. “We want the omega. Everyone else is expendable. We will shoot.”
Zeb lowers his gun slowly and tosses it to the side with a clatter of metal on stone. Rhett and the final soldier follow his lead.
The mob approaches cautiously. Two men grab Zeb, shove him roughly against the stone wall and pat him down.
Another man wrenches Rhett away. Pain and panic lance through me at the separation. Rhett drops one with a swinging fist, but other hands seize me, dragging me back screaming.
All I see is a blur of boots and fists. Two men have gotten hold of Rhett, and a third one is pummeling his stomach.
I’m restrained. Hands holding me back, forcing me to watch the man I love be hurt.
I reach instinctively with my mind, seize the first ugly memory in the thug’s head, and shove it at him. He reels, choking on his own fears. His fist falters mid-swing, and he drops to his knees.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” another man snarls. Surging forward, he punches Rhett in the face.
I scream. Rhett’s head rolls back. There’s blood all over him, bruises forming swiftly on his jaw. Zeb and the other man already have their wrists bound, and while Rhett is still reeling from the blow, they secure him as well.
I just projected.I’ve never done that before. Not once. A consequence of bonding, or something else? What I’ve just done terrifies me. Did I just weaponize my gift?
The leader pushes through the mass of bodies, coming right up to me. His face is pockmarked, his hair long and dull. He brushes his knuckles down my cheek.
“Get your fucking hands off my mate,” Rhett snarls.
“Mate?” Ignoring Rhett, the leader pushes my hood back, then yanks my collar aside, exposing the bite mark.That’s going to piss the prick off.His internal thoughts are amused. There is no visual in his mind as to who the ‘prick’ is, but instinct tells me he’s referring to Cohen. He taps a communicator on his wrist. “It’s her. We’re incoming.”
Another man yanks my arms forward and a cuff clicks into place over my wrists.
“Let her go, motherfucker?—”
Somebody punches Rhett full in the face, again. My stomach churns.
Please, Rhett!This is not part of the show; this is pure instinct on his part to protect me at any cost.I’m okay. They just scared me. Please don’t fight them.
He rages anyway. It matters not to our captors. We are bound and controlled, rough hands directing us along the corridor. At a doorway, one man lifts me, tossing me over his shoulder and carrying me down long flights of stairs. We emerge into a dark tunnel where an underground shuttle waits for us.
I’m dropped into the corner. The shuttle moves off with a clackety rocking motion, the occasional flashing light emerging from the blackness. Two guards move to stand watch over me, blocking what little I can see of the rest of the interior. I can’t see Rhett anymore, and it makes me frantic. I know I can’t be of any use if I can’t control my thoughts. Deep breaths help me push through the panic, allowing my mind to search out his. He’s got his emotions locked down tight. But I know he’s hurting.
It’s going to be okay, baby. I’m here. They’ve not broken me. I’ve suffered worse.
Zeb’s mind is quiet and focused. His companion is likewise alert.
The rabble around us is full of violence and greed, but I’m thinking of the man who crumpled under a memory I forced into his head. If I can do that once, what else might I do? What else might reveal at the wrong time?
The slowing of the shuttle reignites my banked fears.
What if we are too deep and they can’t track us?
What if they take us off planet?
What if…
We are taken up stairs and into more corridors. They appear cleaner: they’re better lit, and graffiti-free. Armed men are placed strategically, eyes watchful, and weapons at the ready.At the end of the corridor, we’re shown into a long windowless room filled with soldiers—still underground. There are two exits. The one we entered through and another on the opposite wall.
