Page 91 of Those That Don't Exist
Please, please Red, don’t trust these assholes.I plead silently as if she would be able to hear my thoughts.
“So, shall we get going?” Ronan uses his thumb to point over his shoulder as he takes a step forward. “It’s not wise to hang around here too long, we don’t want to be seen with a mangled body covered in blood after all.”
Ronan takes another step towards us, the growl I unleash is automatic. My shadows also ripple across the ground thickening around my legs and out towards the remaining pavement between all of us.
“Come closer and I’ll end you,” I threaten, showing him my fangs again.
“Ty, come on. It's five on one. You’re no longer part of this pack. So kindly fuck off, or we will be killing you,” he says it in such a light tone but the threat is very real. I highly doubt the ‘fuck off’ option is legit, I wouldn’t make it two blocks from here before they caught me, they just don’t want to show their vicious side to Red with this little nice act they’re playing.
“You mean you’d actually let me go?” I decide to press him on his bullshit.
“If you let us all leave, including Aurora, without a commotion right now I’ll give you a head start. Adicious only said to bring you in if we grabbed you so I’ll grant you time to get to the border.”
He’s bluffing, there’s no way they’d allow me to get that far.
“Ty.” Red’s voice breaks through the intense death stare I’m firing Ronan’s way. Her arm brushes mine forcing my gaze to swing to her. “Maybe you should go.”
What?! She can’t be serious. Not a chance in this lifetime Red. In any lifetime.
She might’ve run from me tonight but I still want to make her mine. She is mine. I’m not leaving her for a second with any of these pricks. Even Atlas I can’t trust at the moment, he’s blood bound afterall.
The guy on the floor chooses this exact moment to begin to regain consciousness. Red lets out a shriek like he’s returned from the dead. Which to be fair, he basically has. Before I can do anything I hear Ronan speak.
“Deal with that already,” he orders Cairn, who moves at vampiric speed past me and Red, snapping the male’s neck with a sickening crunch before I can intervene. I wince at the pointless death.
It’s a mistake on his part though. They fucked up. Aurora gasps in horror, as the comprehension washes through her. She’s seeing the pack for who they truly are.
“What the fuck? Why did you kill him?” She turns to Ronan, sidestepping me, her voice laced in pure loathing. I quickly move with her, placing my hand on her back. It's a possessive move but I need to be able to grab her if he so much as tries to touch her.
“Easier to clean up a body than have to deal with medical staff tonight. There’s already too much to do with cleaning up all this blood,” Ronan responds like he’s bored with the drama, but I can tell he’s secretly loving this. There's a lethal glint in his dark eyes. “Anyway let's go, I’m done with this conversation.”
He goes to grab Red, but I’m quicker. I grab the back of her dress to force her backward as I step in, my fist already up to swing at Ronan. It makes a satisfying crunch against his jaw as I make contact.
All hell breaks loose. Cairn is right at our backs from killing the male on the floor, he grabs Aurora whilst I defend a punchRonan throws back my way. Tripp joins in too so it's two against one. I can handle those odds in my sleep but not when Red’s in the clutches of a third.
I swing again and again, my fists hitting flesh more than they miss but my vision is stuck on my female as she struggles against Cairn. The shadows do their best to darken around me, making my form harder to read, but the proximity of my opponents means they have little effect. I darken the entire alley to make it harder for the pack. It’ll stop any onlookers from seeing the brawl currently happening too. The last thing we need is any enforcers turning up.
As I twist away from my opponents I take half a second to find the other two males who haven’t immediately moved from their positions. Atlas thankfully hasn’t joined in yet but Demetri is aiding Cairn in getting a hold on Red. She’s never practised against multiple opponents, only me.
One of the fuckers trying to knock me out gets a lucky swipe in at my left side which I’d left exposed. The other seizes the opportunity to pin one of my arms behind my back.
I swing and snarl and almost break free of their hold several times before Ronan once again flips the tables on me and produces a knife. The blade is cold at my throat, I freeze. It's totally against our nature to fight with weapons, our entire body is a gods damned weapon. But I can’t fight it. If he slices me open I’ll have only seconds of consciousness to react. I stop struggling.
“Finally, this gets you listening,” he pants, the fight having exerted him substantially. I’d have overpowered the bastard if he fought with any honour. “Now, come quietly or I slit your throat and you come back with us with your head practically severed. Your choice.”
I stare at Aurora being held with her arms gripped tight by the two male vampires, and Atlas, having moved into the frey, at her back. Our eyes lock as I register my failure, my chest tight. Ishould’ve anticipated this. I should’ve been able to get us out of this. But I see no way out. I close my eyes, unable to look at the female staring at me with terror in her eyes.
“Ok.” I let out a defeated sigh.
CHAPTER 36
AURORA
Burning thirst consumes my entire being. My throat itches with being parched, my stomach feels hollow with the insatiable hunger. My thoughts are of blood. They’re whipping round and round my head, trying to drive me to the point of insanity.
I may have gone weeks without blood initially, before my fangs came in, but now I’ve become used to drinking it almost daily, the withdrawal is torture.
How long have I gone since my last drink? Who knows. Maybe it’s been days, maybe it’s been months. I couldn’t tell because I’d been knocked out, and woken up chained in a basement with no access to natural light. They never turn the overhead lights off, never dim them either. The sand coloured concrete room doesn’t allow a single shadow, it's lit up from every angle with spotlights on the ceiling, walls and floor. I couldn’t even guess how many hours have passed since I woke up here.
