He didn’t need to be locked in a silver cage, of all things.
Snatching up the SUV keys from the counter, I made another mad dash to the car. Potato meowed loudly and sprang into step with me. I half expected the cat to make a stand between me and the soul-torn shifter.
He wasn’t in his wolf form, though. He stood at the end of the driveway in his human form. Even as I stared at him, his face blurred before me. It was like his existence was being wiped away. Without a complete soul, he was only a fraction of the person he used to be.
Maddox didn’t have a soul at all. At least…not within him.
I tucked that bit of information away for later. I didn’t have the time to deal with it now.
“You’re going to let me leave,” I told him. “I’ll run you over if I have to. You can stop my arcana, but you can’t stop a car.”
It sounded funny once I said it out loud, but there was no taking it back now. I just had to plow forward. Potato hissed at my ankles. Even she wasn’t bold enough to go near this man. She would die again, and I wouldn’t be able to pull her back with all the portals closed.
I bent and scooped up my cat before taking a half step towards the car.
That’s when he spoke.
“You can’t escape me, Maria. We’re bound to one another. Nothing will separate us. Not even death.”
I somehow kept my jaw from hitting the ground. He thought I was someone else? Could he not see me for who I was? It was like he was under a compulsion spell that altered his perception of reality.
“I’m not Maria,” I said, backing towards the SUV door.
It didn’t matter which door. If I could get inside and lock the doors, it might give me enough time to scramble into the driver’s seat and get it started.Mightbeing the operative word. He was a shifter, one whose mind was addled. There was no telling what he was capable of.
In my mind’s eye, I could see him eating his victim’s hearts again. The shades were still here, but they couldn’t do anything. They were nothing but memories.
Potato squirmed in my arms. I held her tighter. “Don’t you dare. I’m not losing you.”
The cat had survived so much already. There was no way in Hell that I was going to let this bastard take my cat away from me. I’d much rather let him kill me, instead. It was only a matter of time, and I was pretty certain that he couldn’t claim my soul if the afterlife still had a bid on it.
Right?
Oh, man. I didn’t want to risk finding out.
“Maria,” Vince said, dragging out the name in a sing-song voice. “You’re my mate. I’d never hurt you. I just want to be close to you. We need to be closer. Closer…closer.”
Vince rushed me.
I startled and yelped before spinning back towards the SUV. Keys in one hand and Potato in the other, I fumbled for the door. Just as I got it open, Vince’s hand touched my shoulder. He jerked me back around and used his body to press me against the SUV.
Potato yowled as Vince leaned in and sniffed the crook of my neck. He breathed deep, taking in my scent. I stood there frozen, but Potato had another idea. She bit down on Vince’s arm.
He howled and leapt back. My heart jumpstarted. I yanked on the SUV door again only to be caught again. Vince threw me to the ground. I let go of Potato, so I wouldn’t crush her. How had she survived Vince’s aura? He hadn’t cut the threads that bound her to this world.
Potato knew what was going on, though. The cat somehow knew that if she lost contact with me, it was all over. She dug her claws into my shirt—and my chest. Though she drew blood, it was nothing compared to the pain of the vision the shades shared with me.
“You’re not Maria,” Vince snarled over me.
“You’re right.” I cradled Potato to my chest and rolled under the SUV.
It sat up high enough that my small frame fit under it easily. Vince roared in anger.
“Where is Maria? Why are you hiding my mate from me? She belongs to me!” He grabbed the SUV’s back tire and pulled.
I had just enough time to realize what he was trying to do. The metal made a jarring sound as Vince ripped the tire off. I was already rolling in the opposite direction when the SUV crashed down in the far corner.
Out from under the SUV, I pushed Potato away and shoved a wisp of my arcana into my next words. “Run! Get out of here!”