“I’m not a dog, you asshole!”
“Hmm… I think the first thing I’m going to teach you is how to speak to your mates, then I’m going to teach you how to obey us.” He takes a step towards me and I can see the truth in his eyes, this man is pure evil. I don’t think I can get around him without him grabbing me, so I choose my next best option and hope that I can outrun him with my smaller frame. Turning on my heels, I dart further into the forest.
I hear him running behind me, his heavy feet hitting the forest floor as he yells at me to stop. The rain is coming down faster now, causing the ground to be slick and my foot slips and as I go crashing towards the ground, I’m suddenly caught by a pair of strong arms.He’s caught me!How did he get in front of me? I look up and I’m both shocked and relieved to see the masked man who saved me when I faced bandits in the forest with Indy.
“Get the fuck back here, woman!” Yariff yells from behind me, making me jump. My masked savior must see the fear in my eyes because he quickly moves me behind him, placing himself between us. I cling on to the back of his cloak, praying he’ll protect me. I know this man is a killer and yet somehow I feel way safer with him than I do with Yariff.
“Who the hell are you?” Yariff asks angrily.
“I think a better question is, who the hell are you, chasing a woman through the forest who clearly wants nothing to do with you?” His voice is deeper than I remember, and it somehow rolls right through me, settling something inside me. Why was I feeling this way?Do I know him?My fingers clench tighter in his cloak and I’m not sure if it’s from fear of Yariff getting me or fear of the masked man running off again.
“She’s my mate, now give her over.”
“No! I’m not, I swear,” I whisper yell into the masked man’s back.
“It seems she disagrees. Now be on your way.”
“I don’t care what she wants, now give her over, or else,” Yariff threatens.
“Or else what?” he asks calmly.
“Or else I’ll have to teach you a lesson, too.”
“Well, she’s not going with you, she’smine. Now, teach away.”
Umm…Did he just say I was his?His voice and body shape definitely don’t match my three husbands… or Silver, for that matter. I don’t know anybody else besides Silver’s friends. I wonder if Silver knows what an asshole his friend is?
My masked savior turns his head towards me and, with a gentle voice, he says, “Penny, let go of my cloak.” Instantly, I release my clenched fists, and that’s when he darts forward, surprising both me and Yariff as he punches him in the face, making him stumble back a step. Yariff is bigger than the masked man, but you can tell that he is nowhere near the fighter the other man is. Even with the mask and hood on, he moves around with such grace it’s hard to even put words to what I’m seeing as he darts around Yariff, dodging blows and using his fist to make contact every time he lashes out.
I watch with wide eyes for several minutes as the two of them move around, the rain pouring down around us. And when Yariff stumbles back a few steps from the latest hit, it puts him only a few feet from me, and we all realize it at the same time as we exchange looks. I try to move away at the same time Yariff leaps for me, making me scream. He falls on top of me and quickly moves his hand to my throat and starts strangling me. I frantically claw at his hand as I stare into his manic eyes, but his hands starts to go slack and his eyes go wide before rolling back in his head. His body is thrown to the side and the masked man is there, picking me up and setting me on my feet.
His fingers trail over my neck as he studies my skin. “Love, are you okay?”
“H-he tried to kill me!” I rasp out, moving my own hand to my throat. I didn’t expect it to feel sore when I spoke. I look down at the man in question and realize he’s dead, stabbed through the back of the neck. “You killed him?” I ask as my surprised gaze turns back to my masked savior.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“You know why.”Did he do it for me?I was afraid to ask.
“Who are you?”
“I—”
“Penny!” I hear Braxton’s voice boom through the forest, making me quickly turn around in the direction of the market.
“Braxton!” I try to yell in relief, but it comes out as a whisper as my hand flies to my throat. A loud whistle rolls out from behind me, and I turn and see the masked man quickly readjusting his mask. Did he just whistle to get my mate’s attention? Who was this guy, and what was he doing here?
“Penny!!” It’s Indy’s voice I hear now, and I turn back to see if I can see them.
“Who—” I turn to ask who he is again, but there’s nobody behind me. Nobody alive anyway.
“Indy!” I try to yell unsuccessfully over the rain.
“I see her, over here! Penny!” Ryker yells, as he comes running through the trees, he barely slows before he barrels into me, scooping me up and spinning me around. I throw my arms around his neck and sniffle quietly into his shoulder. “Penny, we were so worried, what happened?” When he tries to pull back to see my face, I cling to him harder, not wanting to face him yet as my body starts shaking from the adrenaline crash combined with being wet and cold. “Oh, Pen, it’s okay, I’ve got you now, I’m not going anywhere.”
I really hope he meant that. The whole point of coming out to the market was to prove to them that I was capable of doing something for them, that I was worthy of keeping around and not a hassle. But once they realize that I put myself in danger again, I’m not sure that I even believe that I’m worthy of them anymore.