Page 37 of Runt's Haunted Ride
And then she burst into flames. The fire erupted from her core, golden and brilliant, with such intensity I felt it from thirty feet away. It consumed her completely, her wings spreading wide as the flames raced across every feather. She raised her head toward the top of the tent.
The crowd screamed and gasped, some backing away from the sudden heat, others pressing closer for a better view.
But I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't do anything but watch as my mate burned. Every instinct I had was screaming. My gorilla was roaring inside my head, demanding I shift, demanding I stop this, demanding I tear apart everyone and everything that had ever hurt her. My hands were shaking, my teeth clenched so hard my jaw ached.Shift. SHIFT! SAVE HER!my head screamed.
My mate mark burned, reminding me of Kai's words.
This is normal. All phoenixes do this. It doesn't hurt. I'm alright.
I forced myself to take a breath. Then another.Kai needs me,I told myself firmly.She's helpless after this. She needs me in control, not rampaging. Hold it together. For her.
The flames intensified, growing hotter and brighter until it was almost impossible to look directly at them. Kai's form was barely visible within the inferno, a silhouette of wings and grace consumed by her own fire.
And then, as quickly as it had started, there was a flash, and the flames died.
Kai was gone.
In her place, on the golden table, was a pile of shimmering ash. It glittered in the spotlight, made to look like nothing more than a reflection of the table. Several in the crowd gasped, others stood to see the sight.
Mortis looked pleased—no, triumphant—as he gestured toward the ashes. "Ladies and gentlemen," he purred, "a royal phoenix. The rarest treasure in existence." There, in the center of the ash pile, something small and golden was moving.
Kai. My mate.
I sucked in a breath.
Mortis picked her up and placed her on top of the ashes. "Reborn as a small, fragile chick."
The crowd erupted. Everyone was on their feet, screaming, clapping, cheering.
The chick's eyes opened. Her head swiveled from side to side, looking confused. This was it. The most vulnerable moment for my helpless mate.
The moment we'd planned for.
I looked at the President, whose eyes were locked on that pile of gold with naked greed. Fang stood beside him, equally transfixed. Around the tent, my Silverback brothers were all staring at them, waiting for the signal.
The President caught my eye and gave a single, sharp nod. The President and Fang stood on the bench and raised their arms. Our sign.
President Bruno boomed over the crowd, "NOW! NOW! NOW!"
That's when chaos erupted.
The Silverbacks moved as one, pulling weapons and surging toward the center ring. Diesel raised his gun and fired a shot into the air. The VIPs and crowd screamed, scrambling out of their seats as the crowd turned into a panicked mob. Mortis' head snapped in the direction of the shot. His expression shifted from triumph to rage in an instant.
"You dare—" he started, his voice already deepening as his transformation began. He moved toward the stands, leaving Kai defenseless. The clowns surged forward from behind the stage.
But I wasn't watching him. I was moving.Kai first, then Mortis.
I shoved through the crowd, using my size and gorilla strength to barrel past anyone in my way. My eyes never left that golden table, never left the tiny chick stumbling through her own ashes.
Almost there. Almost—
One of the clowns—the orange-haired one—stepped into my path, his filed-tooth grin widening. "Going somewhere, big boy?"
I didn't slow down. Just shifted my fist mid-swing, letting my gorilla power flow through me as I caught him with an uppercut that sent him flying backwards into the crowd.
The table was right there. Right fucking there.
Somewhere, I heard the President shouting orders, heard Fang's distinctive laugh, heard the meaty sounds of fists hitting flesh as the fight spread through the tent. An occasional gun fired.
