Page 51 of Roar Letter Word

Throughout the battle, Mahes had a sense of Addie. He didn’t need to look at her. He felt her like the low hum of machinery. She was getting close to unraveling the rope, and someone was helping her.

While Mahes fought Zorrtan, he spotted the shadowy movements of Bruce. He was using his teeth to help undo the knots in the cord wrapped around Addie’s wrist, and he was succeeding.

Mahes needed to end it and soon. He couldn't have Addie or Bruce getting in the way.

That was when Zorrtan’s lackey sunk his teeth into the king's ankle, a cheap shot that sent agony through Mahes’s bones like electricity. It rendered him defenseless for a moment, allowing Zorrtan to take advantage once again and leap on top of the Tellahn King.

Mahes tumbled backward, using his wide paws to shield his face. Zorrtan slashed wildly as Skoll gave the lackey a sharp uppercut. Zorrtan managed to surge through his shielding and swipe at Mahes’s chin, his teeth knocking upward into his skull.

He saw stars, and it was at that moment his fate was sealed. Zorrtan would’ve had the upper hand if his savior hadn't come in the form of a sleazy manager, who had somehow wriggled into the turbulent fight with a thick length of pipe in his hands. He swung it at Zorrtan’s hindquarters with the strength of a professional batter.

Zorrtan was not wounded but extremely nettled. His attention left the king momentarily, letting out a deafening roar. Mahes knew that it was a command. Bruce was utterly fucked.

“Bruce, NO!” Addie screamed.

The lackey lunged forward, taking out the frail human. He crumbled like a soda can between massive jaws. The stabbing of the fangs into Bruce’s thin neck was enough to take the light from his eyes.

“Nooo!” Addie belted out.

Skoll grabbed the lackey by the ankles before he could go for Addie. Zorrtan was still on top of Mahes, attempting to crush his windpipe with his sheer weight.

Unfortunately for him, Mahes was much larger and much more lithe. The power and confidence of his link with Addie allowed him to claw into the fur of his enemy and then drag them upward all the way up Zorrtan’s forearm.

The lion screeched in pain. When Mahes reached his neck, he wasted no time and, in a single swipe, nearly decapitated the head from the great beast’s body.

Blood spewed out in long, thick sprays, and Mahes kicked him off his body to thump against the stone floor.

Addie was on him. She was weeping and shaking him with all of her might.

“Mahes? Mahes!”

He rolled onto his stomach, finding an inconsolable Addie. Exhausted with wounds that weren’t life-threatening but still stung, the king shifted into his human form. He cradled Addie in his arms, trying to keep her from shaking and going into shock.

“My King, let’s get her back,” Skoll said, standing bloodied but triumphant.

Mahes nodded. He scooped Addie into his arms, holding her close, wishing he could absorb all of her trauma into his skin. She then became still, having fallen into a fatigued unconsciousness.

TWENTY-FOUR

ADDIE

When Addie woke, it took her a moment to realize where she was. A part of her was afraid she would still be in that dank cell. But she wasn’t. She was in Mahes’s home, in her own bedroom.

At that moment, Nova Aurora and this house felt more like home than they ever had before. Even if she had woken on Earth, she wouldn’t have felt safer than she did here with the smooth sheets, high ceiling, and the little pieces of art on the wall.

Mahes.

He had tracked her down and saved her from kidnappers, and the last time they’d had a real conversation, it had been a fight. He must have been the one who brought her here when she passed out. But where was he? There was so much to talk about, so much to figure out.

Addie didn’t even know for sure everything she had to tell Mahes, but she knew the moment she saw him, it would all come out. The only question was, where was he?

She sat up. She saw she wore the nightgown he had bought her. She smiled. It smelled like him from where he’d snuggled up to her.

She went to the cabinet and dressed quickly before stepping out into the hallway. As soon as she was out the door, she heard talking somewhere in the mansion. The sitting room, she figured. That was usually where Mahes liked to meet with people.

Carefully, she made her way down the hallway.

As she walked, she tried to recognize the voices. Mahes, certainly. Ruzyll, she was pretty sure. But there was another man she didn’t recognize and a woman. And was that Gerri? What was Gerri doing here? There was still a day until her week was up … unless she’d lost track of time?

---