Before I could blink, Troy and Jericho were there, guns raised, eyes like sharpened steel as they flanked me. My chest went tight, breath catching.
“Upstairs,” Troy ordered, his voice clipped. “Now.”
Ivan came running from the hall, barefoot, only in black slacks, his hair rumpled from sleep but his weapon steady in his hands. His chest rose and fell hard, bare and scarred, but his voice was calm, commanding. “What happened?”
A man from outside burst through the back door, his tone hard as he faced the men. “The demons have breached the perimeter!”
My blood froze. My heart lurched into my throat. Demons were here...and Lucien wasn’t.
Troy’s hand pressed against my back, guiding me fast, Jericho close behind. Ivan fell into step, already giving orders in that clipped soldier’s tone, his voice a low growl.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. My hands shook as I pulled it free, Lucien’s name glowing across the screen.
“Lucien!” I gasped, my voice breaking as Jericho shoved me toward the stairs. “The demons…they’ve breached…the estate…”
His voice roared down the line, fury so sharp it made my ears ring.“Where are you? What the fuck happened?”
I stumbled, my panic spilling into the bond, “We’re…I’m…”
The phone was snatched from my grip. Troy pressed it to his ear, still moving, his other hand steady on my arm. “We’re securing your mate. You need to get here Lucien and bring men.” His tone was iron with no wasted words.
Behind us came a crash, shattering wood and stone. My scream caught in my throat as Jericho cursed, scooping me up like I weighed nothing. My arms locked around his shoulders, every muscle tight as he bounded up the stairs, two at a time, the sound of destruction echoing below us. He moved so fast that I was dizzy by the time he stopped.
Ivan darted ahead, his hand flying to a hidden panel in the wall behind Lucien’s suits. He pressed something, and a soft click sounded. The panel slid open, revealing a narrow passage that led into a reinforced chamber, the walls were steel, there was a low hum sound which identified the locks engaging, the cold press of safety.
A panic room, a room that I didn’t even know existed. Even though I was carried here I was gasping with fear.
Jericho set me down inside, his grip firm, his eyes fierce. “Stay.” The door slid shut between us before I could even breathe a protest.
I spun, palms slamming against the steel. “No! Don’t…don’t stay out there!”
I could hear them, Troy was barking orders, Ivan’s voice was steady and calm. My chest heaved, terror clawing at my ribs. They were out there against demons, protecting me.
My legs gave out, dropping me to the cold floor of the panic room. My phone was gone. My hands were empty. All I had was the muffled sound of chaos beyond the walls and the pounding of my heart.
And the bond.
Through it, I felt Lucien. His rage, sharper than knives. His panic when he felt mine. And beneath it all, the relentless vow that I knew he would do everything in his power to protect me.I knew he would come for me.
Chapter 20
The second Troy’s voice cut off, I was already moving.
I don’t remember leaving Roman’s estate. I don’t remember Draugr shouting after me or Volken swearing at me to think instead of run. All I knew was the bond, Sorcha’s terror slamming through me like a blade to the chest.
It burned. It hollowed me out. Every heartbeat was her scream.
By the time I hit the gates of my estate, I wasn’t a man anymore. I was nothing but rage, nothing but hunger.
The demons had breached. When I screeched to a stop outside the mansion the first one came at me before the car had even stopped moving. Black eyes, too many teeth, claws dripping with venom. I tore the door off its hinges as I stepped out, my hand snapping around its throat. Bones cracked under my grip, black sludge spraying as I ripped its head clean from its shoulders.
Another lunged and I drove my fist straight through its chest, ripping the heart free. Its scream was cut off as I flung the carcass into the stone wall, shattering both.
More. Always more.
The grounds writhed with them, shadows crawling over the earth like a living plague. They came in waves, sleek black bodies darting under the silver wash of moonlight, their claws catching the glow as though mocking the stars themselves. Their hissesrolled across the estate, a chorus of venom and hunger, high-pitched and guttural, layered until it felt like the night itself was screaming.
My men were already fighting, steel flashing in arcs that left trails of dark ichor through the air, gunfire snapping like thunderclaps as rounds found targets. The stench was everywhere, sulphur, rot, old blood burned to ash. I caught sight of Troy, his blade cleaving through a demon’s chest, Jericho slamming another to the ground and driving his dagger into its skull. Ivan’s weapon cracked, splitting heads with precise, efficient brutality.
