Page 86 of Havik: Warlord Brides
“You’ll perish from exposure,” he said. The night was cold and she wore nothing. If she did not freeze, radiation sickness would take her. This horrible standoff in the underground tunnels was safer than the surface.
“I’m not your problem to worry about,” she snapped. “My hands?” She shook her hands at Kaos.
His eyes narrowed. “You can leave, but my generosity ends there. Go. If I see you again, female, I will end you.”
He gave Thalia a shove and Havik roared. Rough hands grabbed him, holding him back as he struggled. He would end every male present. Slowly. Painfully. They would suffer for making his mate choose self-sacrifice, believing she helped him.
She would perish above ground. There was no point of existence without her.
With a sorrowful look, Thalia disappeared into the shadows.
“I’ll find you!” he shouted. “They cannot hold me.”
An unseen hand delivered a blow to the back of his head. Bright sparks of light dotted his vision.
Havik growled, knowing he faced a harsh reality. Even if he defeated all the warriors present, by the time he reached Thalia she’d be ill from radiation or frozen from exposure. He hated them. All his past irritation, annoyance, and grumbling was nothing to the white heat that burned his heart to a black cinder. The fire would consume him, which was the best outcome because he would not go on without Thalia.
But first, they all must die.
Chapter 23
Havik
He rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck. His expression must have transmitted his every thought. He was never good at deception, unlike Kaos. The male breathed lies and deceit as readily as air.
Havik growled, ready.
“Do not be foolish,” Kaos said. “Reinforcements are coming.”
“Good.”
Kaos opened his mouth to continue boasting or making idle threats. He talked too much. How had Havik never noticed that before? Using that opening, he reached for the male nearest him and smashed his forehead into the male’s nose.
The male reeled back, clutching his broken nose.
Havik grabbed the blaster from the male’s hip and shot him in the chest. The male fell to the ground.
The warriors swarmed Havik and knocked the blaster out of his hand. He blocked blows and dodged, falling into a rhythm. Sound and extraneous details fell away. All that existed in that moment was his blood pounding, his breath laboring, and the burn in underused muscle.
He missed this. Not the betrayal from his father, though that occurred with disappointing frequency, but fighting all-out, holding nothing back. Sparring with Ren was different. Their competition was too friendly. Ren did not push himself hard enough, and Havik found he instinctively pulled his punches.
His blood sang with joy as his fists met his opponent but four on one was unsustainable. He grew slower. Their blows landed more and more. His blows hit with less strength. The more time he wasted with these males, the less likely he would be able to find Thalia in time.
This needed to end. He needed to retreat to a defensible position or at least find a weapon.
A blow landed solidly on his jaw. Havik landed on his back.
Kaos shouted an order. The other warriors puffed out their chests, like the battle was already over.
Havik rolled to his feet and retreated down the tunnel, toward the entrance. If he could reach the vehicle, there was a weapons cache in the back. If he was very lucky, his ID chip would unlock the trunk. If not, he would have to improvise.
The frigid night air slapped Havik, shocking his senses awake. Finding his mate took priority. What he needed to accomplish that task jumbled in his head. Transportation. Kill the warriors so they could not follow. Get medical care or a kit. Water. Shove a blade through Kaos’ black heart.
That.
That was his first task.
An engine roared overhead and warm air blasted down. Light blinded him. Kaos’ reinforcements finally arrived.
