Fuck, that hurt.
Before I can recover, his fist crashes into my temple. Again and again. Stars explode across my vision as I fall. I’m dimly awareof him pulling a cloth from his pocket and pressing it against the woman’s mouth. She struggles briefly before going limp in his arms. He pulls her away. I try to get up, but my vision swims.
Before I can recover, he grabs my arm, dragging me toward a guard truck parked behind the storage shed. The world spins, tilts, rights itself again. I try to fight, but my limbs feel disconnected from my brain, heavy and unresponsive.
“You’re more trouble than you’re worth,” he mutters, hauling me.
I manage to swing an elbow back, connecting with something soft. He grunts but doesn’t let go.
I see his unconscious wife already tossed in the back of the truck under a tarp, her face slack and peaceful. My stomach lurches at the thought of what he might do to her, to us, once he gets us away from here.
A low, guttural growl cuts through the air.
The man freezes, his grip on me loosening just enough that I slump against the truck. I blink hard, trying to clear my vision.
“Luna!” Hudson’s thunderous roar fills the air.
Three figures emerge from around the corner of the building. Hudson stands in the center, Ethan is to his right, his usually kind face transformed into something cold, and Axel…
Axel looks feral, his eyes wild, his teeth bared in a snarl, his hatchet gripped tight in his hand.
“Step away from her,” Hudson commands, his voice deadly quiet.
I can feel the man’s fear, but he doesn’t release me. Instead, he yanks me forward, using me as a shield.
Axel moves so fast he’s almost a blur. One moment, he’s standing several feet away; the next, he has the abuser in a chokehold; his eyes are wild with barely contained rage.
Hudson lunges forward, grabbing me and passing me to Ethan, who cradles me against his chest protectively. His fingers gently probe the side of my head, checking for injuries.
The man’s face turns purple as Axel tightens his grip, a feral growl rumbling in his chest.
“I’m going to rip you apart,” Axel spits.
“She’s mine,” the man struggles in Axel’s grip, pointing at the shifter female. “She’s my fucking wife. My property.”
“Not anymore. She’s under our protection,” Hudson says, advancing on the man.
The man wheezes, trying to speak, but Axel’s hold is unrelenting.
Hudson steps closer, his massive frame casting a shadow over the cowering abuser. “We protect our own,” his voice low and dangerous.
“And you hurt our little Wildcat,” Axel says, his voice eerily soft, almost gentle. “See, I made her a promise. Anyone who hurts her, I get to play with.” He places his hatchet at the man’s throat, the blade drawing a thin line of blood. “And I like to play rough.”
“You okay, Luna?” Ethan asks.
“I’m okay. A little out of it. Check on her.” I gesture weakly toward the truck where the unconscious female lies.
Oli is already there, his gentle voice soothing as he wraps a blanket around her while she stirs.
“How the hell did he get past our security?” Ethan growls, his arm tightening around my waist as he steadies me. “If one desperate asshole can slip through, we’re not as locked down as we thought.”
Still holding the man in a vice-like grip, Axel lets out a dark chuckle. “We’ll make him talk. He won’t be keeping any secrets from us.”
Hudson shakes his head, his expression grim. “Fuck. This can’t happen again.”
“It won’t,” Axel says with unsettling confidence. “By the time we’re done with him, he’ll wish he never set foot on our land.”
“Get him to the basement,” Hudson orders.
