I closed my eyes and hung my head, thinking back to the moment I’d gotten confirmation that Larkin was here. My mind had come up with the horrendous, awful things that had been done to her, how they’d hurt my sweet, fragile female. And with each passing day, I grew more and more angry, rage filling me until it was a black hole inside my body.
I no longer had a heart. That had been taken away from me the moment Larkin was ripped from my arms.
I replayed the rainy night months ago when Cian and I had been fighting Assembly members—an organization run by humans who kidnapped species of the Otherworld for the sole purpose of using us as zoo exhibits—who’d come to abduct his mate. I clenched my teeth when one of the fucking humans admitted they had Larkin, that they tortured her, hurt her… that she’d called out my name over the years.
And ever since we’d found the location of a US base of the Assembly, I’d been more determined than ever.
I was going to infiltrate their facility and would destroy every single one of them. Even if it killed me in the process.
I opened my eyes and saw them flash blue, my wolf ready to tear throats out. Before I knew what I was doing, I was rearing my arm back and slamming my fist against the mirror, easily shattering the glass.
I felt my knuckles burn, looked down to see the cuts along the back of my hand, shards of glass lodged in my skin. I left the bathroom, went over to my duffel that sat on the shitty motel bed, and quickly donned a black long-sleeved shirt, black fatigues, and my combat boots, then tossed a dark jacket on.
Although I didn’t need to blend with the shadows, I was going to use every advantage I had to succeed in bringing home my girl.
Chapter
Four
Larkin
Something was different today, and it wasn’t just because I sensed others in the adjoining cells in this block.
It was something I felt as soon as I woke up, this tension in the air, a rolling, sick feeling that had my stomach tightening and my instincts rising.
But everything had gone as it normally did. They took me out of my cell, humiliated me in front of a room full of humans for their “session,” and now here I was, being taken back to my cell, all my energy gone, my strength depleted, so I just let them drag me like I was a rag doll.
But in my mind, I was somewhere else far, far away. I thought about memories of my mother and father, how my ma fussed over making sure I ate all my supper. I pictured my father, who was a master carpenter and was also working on a new project.
And then I imagined I was sitting on a boulder in a grassy knoll, staring at the clear sky, smelling the fresh flowers and grass, and listening as the wind blew through the treetops. And sitting right beside me was Odhran, his strong presence a silent companion that gave me more strength in these dark times than anyone would ever know.
I smiled a secret smile, one no one else could see because my head lolled forward, and my hair was a curtain hanging around me.
They could take a lot of things from me, but what they could never steal was the memories, the happiness that I clung on to with the last of my energy.
They opened the cell and unceremoniously dropped me onto the cot before leaving and locking me back in.
I breathed out roughly and sensed someone in the adjoining cell, but my mind was so foggy I couldn’t make out what species they were.
“Come on. You know Tore doesn’t want anyone messing with her,” one of the guards muttered. “He’s already gonna be pissed about her face.”
When I heard the door shut, I groaned and lifted a hand to rub my eyes. I wanted to get cleaned up, to wash away the sweat, dirt, and blood. A long moment of silence stretched out, and I felt the person in the cell beside mine staring at me, the focus a heavy weight.
“Assholes,” I said hoarsely, and shifted on the bed, groaning, and forced myself to rise.
“I believe the term ‘asshole’ is kind of a compliment compared to those guys.”
I looked over at the sound of a very clear, female voice. I blinked until I could focus on her. She was human, with long dark hair and a slender form. She also looked pissed, which had me smiling.
She stood there, staring at me, not saying anything else for a while. I was sure I looked like I crawled out from under a rock.
“Are you okay?” She took a step closer but then stopped.
I lifted a hand to push the heavy fall of my hair away from my face. “I’m okay. Thanks for asking.” I glanced at the ground. “I can’t remember the last time someone asked me that.”
The female reached out to grab the bars, but after a second, she let go and looked at her hands, turning them over. She lifted her palms again and hesitantly touched the bars, her brows pulled down in confusion.
“Magically enforced. It keeps everyone in order. Since you’re human, it doesn’t have the same effect, because you’re weaker and can’t break or bend the metal.” I supplied her with what was clearly confusing her. I knew she could probably feel something when she touched the bars, but it wouldn’t be painful. Maybe just a low-level hum.