Page 46 of Bitten, Marked, Obsessed

He doesn’t blink. “We don’t have much time.”

A wind moves through the broken tunnel like a breath warning us of what’s to come.

“Others are coming,” he says. “Not pack. Not PEACE. The other kind.”

My gut twists. “The ones that’ve been looking for her.”

He nods again. Jaw tight.

Then wehear it.

Scrapes against stone. Shuffling. Laughter that doesn’t belong in the air.

Edmund and I move at the same time—low and fast toward the sound. The air is thick with her scent now. And blood.

Then we see her.

Backed against a concrete barrier, panting, eyes glowing that Bolvi gold. Her hands are halfway shifted, her body shaking. Four figures circle her, all lean and twitchy with predatory glee.

Rogues.

Not ours.

Notanyone’s.

Isnarl.

I leap without warning, catching the nearest bastard by the ribs and slamming him into the wall. He yells, more in surprise than pain, but it’s enough to scatter the others.

Edmund roars in from the other side, colliding with the tallest one like a meteor.

“Kendall!” I bark, turning to her. “Move!”

She stares at me like she doesn’t know whether to cry or collapse. But she moves—ducking low, crawling behind a busted support beam as claws rake the concrete behind her.

I catch another attacker mid-lunge, this one smaller but fast. He hisses, slashing at me. I twist andbite, deep into his shoulder until he screams and goes limp.

Edmund takes down the last one in three precise hits—bone, neck, then spine.

It’s quiet again.

Breathing hard, I shift back, bones cracking as I drop beside Kendall.

She’s shaking, covered in dust and blood. But she’s alive.

“Kendall,” I say, softer now.

Her eyes snap to mine.

And the bond—fuck, thebond—surges. Itsings. Hot and loud andreal.

I reach for her, then stop.

“I’m okay,” she says, voice raw. “I think.”

I nod once, jaw clenched. “They would’ve taken you. Or worse.”

“I didn’t mean to shift,” she whispers. “It just… happened. Then when they came… I couldn’t, I froze.”

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