“Yes, Dad.” I roll my eyes with a laugh. “I know the drill.”
“You knew I would cave.” He follows me into the parking lot, taking my hand and pointing to the small bar at the corner. “We’re walking.”
Stepping into the bar, we’re hit with a wall of heat. Bodies are packed into the hole-in-the-wall, and the bass is pounding so hard I can feel the vibrations in my chest.
“Must be the only bar in town,” I shout over the music.
“Appears that way.” He nods.
Squeezing through the crowds, Lu inches us over to the counter, positioning me in front of him, and picks up the menu. Holding up two fingers, he shouts to the bartender, “Two beers now, bottles, and two number fives ready to go in roughly an hour.”
Nodding, the bartender pops the top off two bottles and hands them over, and then he moves to the next yelling patron.
“Wanna dance?” Luca asks, leading me to the floor and spinning my back to his chest, grinding against me to the beat.
Next thing I know, the bartender is holding up a bag and waving us over.
“That was fast!” I complain.
“Fast? It’s been over an hour.” Luca laughs, taking the bag from the man’s hands and passing over some cash. “Time to head out.”
“Fine,” I huff, following him to the door, and step out into the silent parking lot, shivering when the cool night air hits my sweaty skin. “Lu? Something feels-”
“Off? Yeah. Pick up the pace, Oats. We need to get back to the room.”
We jog quickly to the motel lot, nearing our bike, when a man steps from around the side of the dumpster, blocking our path.
“Get behind me, Oats.”
“Hard pass,” I hiss, pulling a knife from the lanyard hanging under my top as Luca pulls one from his waistband.
“What the fuck do you want?” Lu grunts, muttering a curse as two more advance from the shadows.
“We’re outnumbered,” I whisper, stepping closer to him. “Now what?”
“You will make a run for the room. Lock the door as soon as you are inside, and call your Pops.”
“Again, hard pass. I’m not leaving you.” I keep my eyes on the man to my left while he watches the other two, but they seem hesitant to attack.
Taking the moment, I reach into my pocket, holding down the button I know will ring my father’s emergency cell, praying he can hear us.
“Why haven’t they attacked yet?”
“I don’t know. Keep them in your line of sight, and let’s back toward the room. I think they’re stoned.”
“Don’t move!” The largest one seems to shake from a trance with our first retreating step and nods to Luca. “Come on, Princess. Keep your hands down and come with us. You fight, and your pet dies.”
“Look, I don’t know what you want, but my father is just inside,” I lie. “You picked the wrong girl, man.”
“Your father is inside there?” The man to my left snorts. “Right. The King of Bergljot is inside some dumpy motel room.”
“They suppressed her magic to barely a blip. This realm has made her soft. She can’t hurt us.” The smaller man tilts his head, studying me. “Let’s just grab her and go.”
“Drugs,” Luca shakes his head. “Get ready to run.”
“I-” I argue.
“No. We can’t fight them and win.” Luca presses his lips into a thin line and nods to my pocket. “Axel?”
“Yeah,” I breathe out, my body tingling with the tension in the air as we wait for someone to make a move.
“Good. I need you to run and hide. He’ll come for you.” Lu takes my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I love you, Oats. Now- Run!” He shoves me out of the way as a shot rings out, and the parking lot seems to explode.
Bright lights burst to my right, and I stumble, crashing to my knees. Pressure builds behind my eyes, and I slap both my hands over my ears, trying to block out the ringing as my vision darkens. I scream for Luca, and the last thing I remember, before I lose consciousness, is a pair of green eyes, the weightlessness of being lifted, and the overwhelming feeling of safety.
“I’ve got you, Love. Finally.”
6
Domantas
I burst into the tent, waking Rais immediately, and toss an empty bottle at a snoring Berk.
“Why- what was that for?” He rubs his eyes, sitting up quickly.
“Get up, both of you!” I shout, tugging at my hair. “Something is wrong!”
“Fear. She’s terrified. Can you track her, Berk?” Rais spins to where he is pulling on his boot.
“On it.” We follow him out into the yard, focusing on the location he is pushing through our bond. “We need to open a portal now!”
“Go, go!” Rais shouts when the hole separating us from where our mate is in danger opens, and I send up a silent thanks to Bergljot when we arrive seconds before we would have surely lost her.
Looking around the darkened lot, I gasp at the beautiful girl cornered by three men with weapons far beyond the small blade she holds in her hand, ready to fight.
When the tall man to the left shoves her, shouting that she should run, I sprint in her direction. I know he meant well, but if it hurt her, I will rip him apart. Lifting her limp body from the dirt, I watch her eyes flutter, meeting mine, and our bond connects right before she slips from consciousness.
“Get her out of here,” Rais grunts, snapping the neck of the largest man, and lifts his arm to swing at the next just as the man who shoved our mate slices a blade across the guy’s throat. “Nice job.”
“Put her down!” he shouts, rushing me.
“Not going to happen.” I shake my head, holding her tightly to my chest.
“She’s bleeding.” He holds out a hand, slowly taking another step toward me. “Give her to me, you don’t want to do this.”
“And what is it you think I want to do?” I shake my head. “We just saved your ass.”
“Please. Don’t.”
“Okay, everyone needs to calm down. Dom, look closely,” Rais gestures toward the man heading our direction. “Could he be the one from the prophecy? Her mortal companion?”
“I? Her what? Are all of you insane?” he asks, never taking his eyes from the slight trickle of blood on her chin.
“We won’t hurt her.” Berk places a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s get inside, and then we can talk. I don’t like being out in the open like this.”
“Agreed.” Rais nods. “You have a room here?”
“Yes.” The man is hesitant but leads us to a room at the end and unlocks the door. Motioning to the unmade bed- the only bed in the room- he says, “Lay her down there. I’ll grab the bandages.”
“Sharing a room, huh? What is the nature of your relationship?” I eye him up and down while placing her on the bed.
“She’s mine.” He quickly approaches the bed with a small box in his hands, kneeling beside her and brushing the hair from her face.
“Watch it,” I snarl.
“Or what?”