“I will come back here, Braelyn Haralson. I will return, destroying you and everything you love,” he’d whispered, silent tears pooling in his eyes, but he’d never let them fall. Saint hadn’t shown weakness at any point during my rejection of his mating claim. Only pure hatred had burned in his stare, and the scent that once soothed like a balm had become a curse that turned bitter.
“Fuck! Run!” I shrieked, watching as more faces from my past became visible.
Saint hadn’t returned alone. He’d brought his pack of misfits with him, and the scent of these alphas inside the yard was smothering. Tora still held my arm, even as both of us rushed back inside, closing the door and placing a bar across it. My heart thundered against my ribs, and breathing past the pain from seeing my true soul mate again was difficult, forcing short pants of air to escape my lungs.
“Holy shit! They’re back!” Tora exclaimed.
“They brought hunters and monsters with them!” I seethed.
In the short time I’d been able to look out onto the battlefield, I’d not only spotted hunters, but I’d also seen demons and a variety of wolves forming a make-shift pack. Saint hadn’t come back to be accepted. No, he’d returned to do what he’d promised when he and his misfits were banished. Saint had returned to destroy us all. The door cracked, and I yelped, turning to watch as an ax cut through the wood.
“Hide,” I demanded, and Tora shook her head. “Tora, get the children out of here. Saint will follow me, and his men will follow him because he’s their leader. You must get the children out. Tell me you will do it. Find Chaos, and get him the fuck out of here, now!”
“Not without you, Brae,” she started, but the ax slammed into the door once more, making us both jump.
“Get my child out of here, now,” I ordered, starting toward a dark hallway that led to a dead-end.
My eyes slid to Toralei, watching as she rushed off to the playroom where the pack omegas were entertaining the children. I exhaled past my fear as the ax continued tearing into the thick wood of the door, moving deeper into the mansion that Saint and his misfits had once considered home.
In the hallway I paused as their voices echoed in the main room. Turning my head, I peered at the doorway that led to the outcrop building, and I rushed toward it. I didn’t think I would escape Saint and his men, not when I knew how they tracked and their ability to do so. I was merely buying Tora time to run with the children, hoping they wouldn’t end up as collateral damage.
“Come on, Brat. Don’t play hard to get,” Saint’s deep baritone voice filled my ears, sending a wave of unease into my belly.
“She always enjoyed when you chased that ass,” Eryx injected, which caused the hair on my nape to rise with awareness.
Laughter echoed around me as I slid behind a large shelf inside the newly renovated library. My heartbeat was erratic, and the scent of my fear was smothering to my senses. I projected it, allowing them to catch it before I shed my robe, shoving it onto a shelf and rushing to the other side of the room.
“Mmm, she always smelled like trouble, too. A little fear, a little woman, and a whole lot of promise for the sexy little bitch she’d become. Come on, Princess. We want to play with you,” Sian chuckled, his laughter wicked and dark like the soul he held within him.
Another voice entered the one-sided conversation. “Her lips are to die for, but then they’re as poisonous as the bitch that owns them,” Phenrys grunted. “I always wondered if they’d feel as good around my cock, but then little Miss Prim wouldn’t ever give up the goods. Would you, Brae?”
I almost snorted, listening while they moved through the library’s large, elaborate layout as one unit. It was how they did everything. They had hunted me once, which had terrified and excited me. It ended with Saint discovering me and our link igniting in this very room since the library was where I’d spent most of my time.
“Come on, woman. Don’t keep us hanging. Let us see you. You know you want to play with us. This brings back memories, doesn’t it? Us hunting you down, and you finding out your mate was one of us, only to fuck him over in the cruelest way? I didn’t take you for a sentimental bitch, Princess.” Zayne’s tone held amusement, causing a shiver to rush down my spine.
I heard them pounce where I’d discarded my robe, and grunts of laughter escaped to fill the room. I lifted my eyes to the window that led into the courtyard, beyond where the pack had gathered. My body trembled as I dashed forward, hearing their cries of discovery as I left my hiding place, rushing toward the window.
I launched my body into the air and yelped as something solid collided against me. I bounced, landing on the floor with a bone-jarring thud. Flipping onto my ass, I stared up as Saint looked down at me. His men formed a V behind him, all foreboding in their attire.
They’d grown up. Saint was the largest and roughest around the edges. Phenrys was smaller than the others, but he was Saint’s beta and always had been. Eryx was sex incarnate in his impeccable suit. Tattoos peeked from beneath his rolled-up sleeves and the collar of the crisp white shirt, running up his jawline to vanish in his hair. Cassian, aka Sian, was covered in blood with too much flesh showing. A deep V-line led into his jeans, whispering promises of sin, tattooed in the lines leading to his cock. Zayne, the nerd of the pack, wore red suspenders with a bright blood-red bowtie, also covered in blood that had splattered his glasses. Not that Zayne needed the glasses, but he still wore the things because he thought they made him look smart. And Bowen, the brute of the group, known to make women scream for hours on end, even before he’d become an adult.
“Miss me, Brat?” Saint asked, causing the surrounding men to chuckle.
His stare slid over my scantily clothed body with hunger and a glint of something sinister and cold in his eyes that terrified me. My chest rose and fell with my labored breathing as they all watched me, hoping I fought against them. Saint’s generous mouth curved into a wicked grin as he strode closer, lowering to his haunches and grabbing my thighs painfully.
“I asked you a fucking question, Braelyn.”
“Why the hell did you come back here? You were free. All of you were free of this place. You could have gone anywhere and done anything you wanted with your lives. Yet you came back here?”
“I promised to destroy you. Don’t you remember? I’ve always kept my promises, haven’t I? Unlike you, Princess. I should have known you were just like your father. Guess I won’t make that mistake again. Right, boys?” Their sinister laughter filled the library, sending a tremor of fear rushing down my spine. “Get up, now.”
Saint stood, watching as I struggled to get to my feet. The moment I succeeded, I kicked my foot out, gasping as he dodged it, grabbing my arm to yank my body against his. The nearness caused my wolf to peer out, itching to get to his. My body heated from his touch, burning for what we’d failed to do the last time we were together.
Saint’s eyes glazed over, turning crimson as his wolf peered into my gaze. Our bond wasn’t something either of us could ignore, but apparently, he intended to fix that issue. The scent he oozed caused my lips to part as a soft moan escaped my throat. He walked me backward until my spine slammed against the wall, and his hand slid up and around my throat. He didn’t apply enough pressure to cut the air off to my lungs, but it was enough to feel the dominance he held over me.