Page 24 of Captured

Forcing herself to ignore the sounds of the fight, she turned her attention to the pile of debris against the wall. It only went about halfway up, still leaving a space almost her height she’d have to cover before she could get on the roof. With her hands bound in front of her it might be possible, but it definitely wasn’t going to be easy.

Casting a last glance over her shoulder to be sure the males were still distracted, she backed up and braced herself. She wasn’t likely to get more than one shot because falling would hurt like hell.

Clenching her jaw, Flea pushed off, running at the pile of debris. The jumble of rocks and building materials dug into the soles of her feet as she tried to maintain her momentum up it, digging her toes in at the last moment to launch herself. Arms stretched out before her, time seemed to freeze as she hung midair, gaze locked on faded brown tiles.

Air was forced from her lungs as her chest impacted the edge of the roof, reducing her cry to little more than a squeak of pain. Hands scrambling for something to hold, she dug her elbows in and kicked her feet in a vain attempt to propel herself the rest of the way up. It didn’t take long to realize she simply didn’t have the strength to do it without being able to spread her arms to brace herself.

Panting and refusing to give up, she swung her dangling legs to the side and hitched her elbow forward before repeating the motion on the opposite side. It was painful, her ribs scraping over the sharp edge as she inched her way up, but it was working. Expending all her energy, Flea was able to get her entire upper body onto the roof before pushing up onto her elbows and dragging her knee over the edge to pull up the rest of her.

Though the snarls below had lessened to pained grunts, her body demanded a break. Flattening herself to the tiles to catch her breath, she never saw the hand that tangled in her locks and lifted her to her feet.

“Fledorina. I heard you’d returned. It’s nice to see you.”

Shocked blue eyes stared up into muddy brown, mouth hanging open as she panted, mind scrambling to find a way to stop what was coming.

“I’m tempted to throw you from the roof and watch your little body break on the ground below, but you’re smelling rather lovely. Is your heat finally coming? Considering the stories I’ve heard of your antics over the last few months, perhaps giving you to my soldiers would be a more fitting punishment since you seem to have an aversion to alphas.”

Movement on the roof behind the male holding her showed he wasn’t the only one. She should have known none of Deacon’s men would move in a group as small as three.

“So,Flea,” Deacon sneered, layering her name with all the disgust he could as he gave her a shake, “what’ll it be?”

Chapter Sixteen

Gra’ar

Gra’ar let instinct and training take over. He’d faced better opponents than the alphas who’d attempted to ambush them many times, but he wasn’t usually handicapped by being unable to use his wings. The males seemed to have picked up on the weakness, focusing their blows on the more delicate limbs, though he managed to block most and take the hits on his arms and shoulders instead.

He didn’t have time to look around for Flea. His blood boiled at the way she’d blatantly ignored him, running for the opposite corner instead of the one he’d directed her to. If she’d have listened he could have protected her and used the two walls to guard his flanks instead of being stuck in the middle of the courtyard trying to keep from being surrounded. Every time he tried to edge around them to put himself between the omega and the threat, they found a way to cut him off.

The alpha whose arm he’d broken scooted far enough away to get to his feet, but he kept his distance. Keeping an eye on him to be sure he didn’t go for Flea, Gra’ar continued to block the other two, looking for an opening to take them out. The blow that landed on his secondary wing bone had him releasing another roar and deciding he no longer cared about casualties. He doubted command would find out, and he was doing them a favor by eliminating the vermin anyway.

With the mental block of trying not to kill them gone, Gra’ar snarled and took another hit to close the space between him and the alpha on his left. His hands went around the male’s skull, thumbs digging into his eye sockets as he brought his opponent’s head down with as much force as he could, slamming his knee up in the same move. The neck snapped on impact, the same moment his thumbs sank into warm mush, leaving the male nothing more than dead weight.

Gra’ar shook his hands free, turning his attention to the other alpha still capable of fighting. Gra’ar’s sudden attack on his partner had left him momentarily stunned, staring at the still body lying in a spreading pool of blood. The distraction proved to be his downfall.

Catching the wrist that raised to swing the metal bar at him again when he lunged, Gra’ar flared his wings to help him spin the male around, pushing him off balance without releasing his hold. The alpha cried out as his shoulder popped from the socket when he hit the ground. Keeping the arm twisted high, Gra’ar placed his boot on the back of the man’s neck before reaching for his other arm. With the leverage from the one still properly attached, it only took a moment to snap that male’s neck as well.

Chest heaving, blood trickling from where his skin had split open under the blows of the rough metal the attackers had used, Gra’ar’s eyes lifted to search of the third alpha. Not only did he not find him, he also didn’t spot the pale little omega who should have been in the corner.

His frustration ripped from him in another roar before he spotted movement on the roof. Expecting to find Flea trying to make an escape, he wasn’t expecting to see her in the grip of a new alpha.

He swallowed the urge to growl a challenge, the sight of more large bodies moving in the dimness behind the male holding Flea telling him it wasn’t a good idea. He wasn’t injured enough to give up, but he needed a plan to face that many on his own.

“That was impressive. I’d be tempted to offer you a place with us, but I have a feeling you’re on the wrong side of the law for that.”

Gra’ar snorted, forcing himself to stand up straight and release the tension coiled through him. It was hard to fight the adrenaline still pumping through his system, but he couldn’t jump into another fight facing that many, especially when Flea could be hurt in the middle of it. It wasn’t hard to guess this was one of the gangs that had been mentioned.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He kept his voice controlled, just loud enough to reach the alpha on the roof. The other male’s brow twitched but otherwise he didn’t react to Gra’ar’s lie.

“You’re not from around here, and your clothes look like military fatigues.”

Gra’ar glanced down at his pants and boots. While he chose to wear custom shirts that allowed for his wings, the alpha was right as far as the rest of his outfit being standard uniform. He’d never seen the reason to wear anything else.

Shrugging one shoulder, he looked back up, not bothering to deny it. There were surplus stores that sold the same thing to civilians, but it wasn’t worth the argument and even trying would make him seem more guilty.

“Why are you here?”

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