Page 61 of The Mating Need
She turned her head and now terror filled her. In the shadows among the pines, Troyhovered.
All her confidencefled.
He fooled her all along and sought to bring her to Perry. Troy betrayed her. He was a member of Perry’s dark cult. What was the use? Her best friend, the one she planned to mate with for life, desired power more thanlove.
Jenny sank back onto the stone. Defeated, she stared at the blade one of the cultists brought to Perry. Sunlight winked off the sharpsteel.
Maybe it would be quick. No, he wanted to draw it out, make her scream and beg formercy.
While givingnone.
The agony in her injured leg throbbed harder. Crashing from an adrenalin high made her fully aware how weak she was, andvulnerable.
She craned her neck again for one last look at her betrayer.I love you, even if you never lovedme.
Stunned, she watched Troy’s dark gaze meet hers as he put a finger to hislips.
Then he mouthed something. But she didn’tunderstand.
Troy slipped between the trees, inching closer. Think,Jenny!
If Troy were one of them, he would not skulkabout.
He was here to rescueher!
The knowledge fed her strength, and then fear renewed itself. Troy was strong, but eleven against one loneLupine?
Perry finished sharpening the blade against the stone. He held it up, admiringit.
“The flesh tastes so much better when it is flayed slowly from the victim’sskin.”
Terror rose in her throat. She fought it. She must not fear, for it would cripple her. This evil must be extinguished before others were tortured andkilled.
Before the Dark Lord’s forces grew stronger andundefeatable.
Perry’s weakness was ego. Jenny smiled at him, buying Troy time to draw closer. Time to gamble and throw out everything to see if anything wouldstick.
“You’re such a cliché, Perry. What happened? Academia snubbed you so you formed your own cult of admirers? Or did the desire to follow in daddy’s footsteps falter because no matter what you did, it wasn’t good enough for dear old daddy’sapproval?”
Soon as she mentioned his father, Perry’s expression dropped. Ah, gotcha. She pressedharder.
“All those years, trying to please your daddy when you were invisible. He never cared about you. You weren’t good enough for him and then you ruined yourlife.”
“That’s not true.” The knife slipped to the ground as Perry shouted. “I have more power than my father ever will! The Dark Lord gave it to me when I turned over my soul to him. My father is a puny mortal compared tome!”
Jenny barely heard. Taking advantage of the distraction she’d caused, she focused all her energy on culling her powers. The knife, the sweet song of the blade that delivered justice, not pain. The blade wielded in expert hands, slicing down evil anddarkness.
The knife, oh, the knife that itched to be in her palm, free for her to slice this evil down before it created moreevil…
Suddenly from her right, a swift blur of movement. Troy! He raced around the ring, tackling the acolytes, throwing them to the ground so fast she saw only a streak of clothing.Now!
Jenny threw all her magick at the chains holding her fast. They snapped as she pulled hard. The knife Perry abandoned flew into her hands as she slid off the stoneslab.
Twirling it as she hopped on one foot, she glared at the astonishedPerry.
“You look so different with your jaw hanging down like underwear that lost itselastic.”
He lunged forward. Dancing on her uninjured leg, she jabbed at the air, tauntinghim.
