Page 125 of The Scent of Vengeance

“Let’s go,” Spencer ordered, and I could sense how keen they all were to get home.

For me, I was leaving home, but I couldn’t say that I was sorry about it. A large part of me never wanted to see this world again, especially if it meant facing my mother. Guilt and worry churned in my gut as I thought of how I was leaving Cordelia to face the Queen by herself, and Hawk’s arms tightened around me as he felt me stiffen.

“You don’t want to leave?” he asked gruffly, speaking aloud for the first time in hours. I was used to his silence now, but I couldn’t deny the pleasure that his deep, gravelly voice gave me every time that I heard it.

I shook my head as Linc stepped through the portal door and disappeared. “I’m worried about my sister.”

He nodded in understanding. “She has her pack.”

“And I have this,” I grumbled, gesturing at my broken ankle. “So I’m useless. As usual.”

He frowned at me and grunted his displeasure at my words, but Spencer yelled his name pointedly and he walked us towards the gateway.

“Give her here,” Spencer said as we passed him. “I’ll take her through.”

Hawk paused, seeming hesitant to hand me over, and I had to assume that he didn’t want to listen to us fighting again. I shook my head and wrapped my hands into Hawk’s shirt to hold on.

“No, I’m good here, thank you.”

The last thing I wanted was to hang back with Spencer like the last time we used this portal, facing his judgemental words and disdain.

He huffed and went to argue, but Hawk solved the issue by striding into the portal light without a word. Magic swirled and flashed around us as we moved across realms, his foot landing steadily in the human world within a single heartbeat.

I immediately knew something was wrong. Hawk’s body stiffened beneath my palms as I turned to see Linc on his knees, his hands on his head as several large men pointed small black devices at him.

Attention swung to us, many of the devices that I assumed were weapons pointing our way as a voice rang out to demand our surrender.

“Drop the girl!” a harsh voice barked, but his grip only tightened on me.

I looked at him and dropped my voice to a barely-there whisper. “Will those things hurt you?”

He glanced at me with a frown before understanding flickered in his eyes and he gave a short nod. I smiled sadly and released my death grip on him.

“Put me down, Hawk.”

He grunted at me in protest, but I shook my head. “No, fighting is a bad idea, just put me down and do as they say. Please?”

It was my final word that got through to him, the stubborn tension leaving his body as he slowly set me down. Voices began to scream louder as I heard Spencer step through the portal behind us and the magic snapped the doorway closed, both Hawk and Spencer kneeling beside me as we were surrounded by hostile figures.

Sitting helplessly between them, I looked up as a tall, dark-haired man strode towards us, a beaming smile on his lips that made me uneasy. It reminded me too much of my mother – it was the smile she would use when her evil schemes were falling into place and she was getting her way.

“Well, well, well!” he called, his teeth gleaming white as he grinned widely down at us. “What perfect timing. We have been watching out for you, you know.”

He came to a stop before me, dropping into a crouch as he looked me over, taking in my injured leg and the hand holding my battered ribs before his eyes settled on my face.

“You look just like your mother,” he breathed, several emotions flitting across his face that were quickly covered by his smile again. “But not your eyes, darling. Those are all mine.”

I frowned as I looked at him, seeing that his eyes were the exact shape and colour of my own. “Who are you?”

He laughed at my question and patted me on the head like a child. “I see that you didn’t inherit her brains either, Briar. Which is a shame, as that may have been helpful.”

He stood, dusting off his dark pants and gesturing at the guys around me. “Friends of yours?”

I swallowed hard, my throat dry as I tried to figure out what the hell was going on. “Yes, please don’t hurt them.”

I felt Spencer’s gaze on me, but didn’t dare look away from the man before me as he pouted in consideration and shrugged.

“Shifters mean nothing to me whatsoever. I don’t have any need to keep or kill them, provided you comply of course.”

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