Page 24 of Hidden Magic

Yanni and Lawrence were wealthy men, capable of hiring dangerous people to get her. And she believed they would stop at nothing to get their hands on her shedding endless amounts of blood along the way. The thought of Brant being wounded or worse shifted something inside her. There was still fear, but it was suppressed by determination. As something started to break the door to pieces, heat flooded her once more. Her power was surging, and this time, she wasn’t afraid. Well, not completely.

There was nowhere to go, so she waited until the door broke into smithereens and men with guns entered. Dressed in black, they looked military, but Kat didn’t care. With all her might she did what she’d done before and pushed the energy that only wanted to escape her fingertips toward them and the three faceless men went flying back through the door and out of sight.

Keeping her breathing under control, she forced her feet to move and leave when a figure blocked her way. One and then another, both clad in black, their faces bare. Yanni and Lawrence.

“If it isn’t our escape artist, our sweet Meghan.”

Ice ran through her veins as she saw them both step into the cabin. All those years came back to her and she couldn’t move, trapped in her nightmarish memories. Snowflakes swirled inside, a sign the storm was intensifying.

The two men looked as if no time had passed since she’d last seen them. Yanni with his dark curly hair and deep brown eyes, Lawrence looking as if he’d stepped straight out of a magazine, his blond hair combed to perfection. Well into their fifties, they hadn’t lost their boyish charm. Too bad they had become sharks and their minds had twisted her into a dark obsession.

Lawrence came forward with his usual swagger, always the one to steal the spotlight. “You put us through a real hunt this time and cost us a lot of money.”

Yanni smiled, but she knew better than fall for that this time. “Don’t be so scared, Meghan. We aren’t here to hurt you. We’re just bringing you back with us. Saving you from this country hell hole. You can’t want to be here, you, a city girl.”

The closer they came, the narrower her world became, the air scarcer. Suddenly, she was small and frightened again.

Lawrence and Yanni sounded exactly the same, a gleaming promise of protection, but this time, she saw the shadows edging that golden light. In fact, that light was cold, getting colder by the minute.

The way they stealthily approached reminded her of sharks.

Kat!

Brant’s voice in her head was unexpected as she believed he’d shut her out to focus on the battle. He didn’t say another word, but she was flooded with what she knew was his warmth, his trust, and his love. It was laced with deep worry, and anger at himself for leaving her unprotected, and if it was possible, Kat fell deeper in love with him. Was it the mating connection? Without knowing if it worked, she sent the werelynx all the love she had for him and lifted her head. Whatever fear or threat she faced, she would do her best to conquer them. Whatever her powers were, she would make her mate proud.

Yanni took her arm and pulled her to him. “You’re as beautiful as ever.”

Lawrence laughed. “And most of all, useful. You’re coming back with us, Meghan. You have run for too long; the game is over. You can have some fun with Yanni if you like, I’m more interested in your talent.”

Her skin crawled at the touch of his hand, but it was Brant’s mighty roar that was the trigger she needed. The lynx was letting the world know that no other male was ever to touch her. The heat she longed for made her limbs tingle—she was about to make a statement of her own.

Yanking her arms free, she stumbled back. The little orbs of light flickered as if in premonition of what was to come. For every step back she took, they came at her like the predators they were.

“I’m done with you. I’m not going back with you or being your circus freak, so you can make money from me.”

Yanni smirked, but Lawrence’s true face was showing, and it was the most frightening thing she had ever seen. “Well, you shouldn’t have proven yourself to be such a precious asset. In fact, you have opened a new universe of opportunities for us. I saw a woman turn into a dragon. There is a big cat and dog attacking our crew like they have minds of their own. There is a woman launching firebolts from her arms. You mentioned circus freaks, my dear Meghan. You’ve offered it to us on a silver platter. Once my men round them up, we’ll put them on display and money will come to us like never before. And when we’re done with them, I fancy a wildcat coat for the winter.”

As the men laughed, Kat’s fury took over all logic and she screamed. There was no way she would let the very people who were fighting for her outside be taken so easily or suffer because of her. If she had to die trying, this world, one stranger and kinder than she had ever known, would never be on display.

Lawrence made his move and she exploded in his face. All that helplessness, all that rage hit both men, making them fly against the back wall.

Not waiting to see if they were dead or alive, Kat dashed outside. Snow was falling like a thick curtain now, swirling with the gusts of wind, disorienting her for a moment. Cold seared her to the bone, but she didn’t care. Through the distortion of noise and flashes of light, Kat made her way to the fight. White shadows flashed passed her and still she ran. The more she ran, the clearer her destination became, as if she was pulled by an invisible thread. Brant.

The closer she got, the clearer she could sense what Brant had been shielding from her. Pain, violence, fear for her, and worst of all, desperation. There was a longing in him, for something he dreamed for them both. A family of his own that he’d thought would always be out of reach.

Kat ran even faster, ignoring the cold and the pain from the bare branches whipping her body or the frozen earth when she fell to her knees.

It was as if she was lost in a maze until she arrived at a small clearing. She saw a few men dressed in black lying on the ground, but she didn’t care, her eyes were only on the lynx still fighting, heaving in front of three men who all had blades out. They may have been out of bullets, but not options.

Where were the others? Frantic, she looked around, but see only the white of the snow, and the stark color of blood, both from the attackers and Brant.

Anger blurred her vision when she saw the man she loved stagger in his animal form as one man slashed his side.

The cry she let out wasn’t premeditated; it came from the very core of her soul.

The falling snow shivered like a rock thrown in a pond when a blast of energy pulsed out so hard, she noticed rock being lifted off the ground and branches crack and break. The men seem to shrivel and twist before they fell to the ground.

In the small clearing, Kat was twenty feet away from the man she loved and for the first time in her life, she felt like a true monster. And didn’t give a damn about it.

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