Page 9 of Betrayed Bullied Mate

They look confused but immediately disengage from their fights. Byron joins us from the back, flashing an external hard drive at me victoriously. I nod at him, then, in a swift motion, sweep Linnea into my arms, bridal style.

“Put me down,” she says.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” I say, glancing down at her, my eyes catching on her freckles as I do. “Not going to happen.”

“Fuck you, Aris,” she spits, and I have to physically remind myself what’s at stake here, that I can’t just stop and do that very thing. She must see the look in my eyes because she quiets down, a blush erupting over her cheeks.

On your left, Bigby sends, as we near the exit. I react before I see what he’s saying, and a shifter goes flying past me, directly into Percy, who turns with a delighted grin and slices clean through his throat. Linnea screams as the blood rains over us, and I hunch to protect her from it.

Percy is waiting outside when we tumble out, breathing heavily, rogue shifters still on our tails.

“Bad news,” Percy says, already motioning for us to keep moving. “Tires are slashed.”

“We’ll go on foot,” I say as we sprint toward the woods. I know where to take them, a place Varun and his lackeys don’t know about. We tromp through a stream, hearing the commotion of the rogue shifters in the street, looking for us. After we’ve disguised our scent, we continue running through the woods.

Should we shift? Byron broadcasts. Might be faster.

I would have already given the order if it weren’t for Linnea, still held firmly in my arms as we climb up the side of the hill. She’s gone practically comatose, her head lolling around loosely, and I hate the empty look on her face.

We move on foot, I return. I can feel the team’s confusion—why would it make sense to move slower when the rogue shifters are probably all shifted and coming after us as fast as they can? But I can’t carry Linnea if I shift, and I’m not leaving her behind.

When I glance down at her again, her eyes are closed, and I hope she’s asleep. Something inside me feels like she’s been exhausted lately and needs the rest. I grip her tighter in my arms, knowing that taking her was the worst thing I could have done for the mission, yet it was the only real choice I had.

Chapter 6 - Linnea

A cold wind whistles through the trees as we wind our way through them. I can feel Aris’s heavy presence at my back, his eyes drilling a hole in the back of my head.

I’ve always felt him, always been aware of the budding connection between us, but now it feels raw and scraped, like an exposed wound. Aris’s team walks around me, and I can only imagine they’re pissed they can’t shift.

Go ahead, I think, wishing they would just leave me behind. If I could make it back to my house without Varun finding out, I might be able to get back in touch with the doctor. I could break this blood-marriage with Aris and follow through with my plans to escape.

We come to a clearing, and several members of the team stop to drink. I notice a look pass between Aris and Bigby—I recognize him from high school—and I marvel at the fact that they’re friends now. Bigby was always nice to me during the few interactions we had. He and Aris are like totally different people.

Back in high school, Bigby was cool-headed, leading the debate team and winning student class president in a landslide. Aris was known as a hot-headed bully, the kind of guy who banged on lockers and whose voice you could always hear hollering down the hallway.

I get the feeling they’re communicating silently as the short, blonde man with the lethal look to him turns wordlessly and starts heading a little further west. I wish I could tap into whatever silent, mind connection they’re using. Then I might be able to get away. Once again, without saying a word to me, they’re falling back in line and continuing the march up the side of the mountain.

Stubbornly, I plant my feet and refuse to go with them. I wait for a moment, thinking they might just not notice I’m not in their ranks, but Aris turns back immediately, his eyes narrowing at me. His team halts just ahead, turning and looking at us. The woman looks especially impatient, her hand on her cocked hip.

“Let’s go,” Aris says, his voice cold. Though it’s dark, I can still see his eyes glinting in the moonlight, the dark bags under his eyes. This close, I can feel the body heat coming off him in waves. He smells like sweat and pine.

“No,” I say, sounding much more confident than I feel. Up ahead, a ripple goes through the team. Even from here, I can tell they’re surprised I’d defy Aris. What do I have to lose? “I’m going my own way.”

Aris stares back at me, disbelieving. I feel that connection between us tug, get a hint of the tidal of emotions he’s experiencing right now. One of which is just barely contained rage, and the feeling of it makes me gasp as he takes a step toward me.

“No, you’re not.”

“Look,” I say, holding my hands up. “Thank you for not letting them kill me, but I have no interest in whatever’s going on here. You can continue with your mission or whatever you’re doing, and I can go back to my life. We’ll never have to see each other again.”

Aris’s hands ball into fists, and he takes another step toward me. My body feels like a magnet drawing toward his, and suddenly, I desperately want to obey it, to follow the urgent pull that insists I step into his arms and fit my body in his. I see his nostrils flare and wonder if he’s feeling the same thing.

“I told you you’re coming with us. End of story. Don’t make me carry you again.”

At the thought of Aris wrapping his arms around my waist and throwing me over his shoulder again, a thrill rises through me, and my stomach clenches. I internally shake my head at the notion—him abducting me should not create more desire for him.

“I’ll scream. I’ll fight you every step of the way,” I counter, stepping back. No way am I about to be kidnapped twice in a row and thrown around like a sack of potatoes. Never mind how nice it felt when Aris was carrying me like I weighed nothing, I’d still fought him to be let down so I could walk on my own.

His hands lingered on my waist as he lowered me to the ground, his stare deep and intense.

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