Page 50 of Tethered to the World
She deserved better than to be stuck with him and the rest of the pack.
They were poison to those around them.
Most especially him.
Then why did he feel like he’d royally fucked up and lost something precious?
His skin rippled as the lizard fought him for control, the beast demanding they go after her and grovel for forgiveness. No, it was better this way. He would do what he could to free her from her past and give her a chance at a new future—one where she got to decide what she wanted.
As much as he desperately wanted to claim her for his own, she deserved a future that wasn’t tied to a bunch of fuckups who would get her killed. As much as he loved the guys, they were soldiers, every one of them too damaged and hardened to be able to claim Annora without crushing her spirit.
While he knew he was doing the right thing by letting her go, a tiny part of him screamed that he was making the biggest mistake of his life.
* * *
“You will stay away from him, understand?”
The sounds of flesh hitting flesh greeted Annora as she pushed open the bathroom door. To her surprise, the room was crammed with a pack of girls, their backs mostly turned toward her. What stopped her dead was seeing Loulou pinned to the wall by her neck, her feet dangling clear off the floor.
Her pale hair was snarled, her face was already darkening with bruises, her shirt was dirty and torn. Something in Annora snapped. “Leave her the fuck alone.”
She shoved her way through the crowd, using her elbows to make room. The girl holding Loulou was stunning, her dark hair flowing down her back, her face delicate and beautiful…until you looked at the hatred burning in her green eyes.
Annora didn’t hesitate—she rammed her fists into the girl’s kidneys twice—hard and fast.
The girl immediately dropped the rabbit, and Annora pushed herself between them. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”
A vicious smile lit up the girl’s face as she straightened. “My pleasure.”
The girl swung to take off her head, but Annora was done playing by their bullshit rules, done hiding what she was. Fuck, if she couldn’t be one of them, then she’d beat them. Knowing she wouldn’t be fast enough to get out of the way, Annora allowed herself to dissolve slightly and twisted to the side. She felt the pull on her body as the girl’s hand passed through her skull, her insides twisting slightly at the intrusion.
Then she was standing behind the bitch. Without hesitation, she grabbed the back of her head and bashed her face against the wall twice, smiling when she heard bones cracking. Claws ripped at her, the girl trying to break free of her hold, but Annora didn’t feel anything despite the blood streaming down her arms.
Then Loulou was dragging her away, the small rabbit surprisingly strong.
For every blow that hit her, she gave back twice as hard, but she allowed most of them to pass through. Every touch triggered a swirl of nausea, like they were rearranging her insides, leaving behind part of themselves.
She and Loulou slammed out of the bathroom, the pack of girls hard on their heels. Annora grabbed Loulou’s arm, pulling her to a stop. “Do you trust me?”
Sky blue eyes too large for her face peered up at her, and Loulou frantically nodded. “Yes, but we have to run.”
“Then don’t let go.” Annora wrapped her arms around the girl, practically feeling the rabbit’s hysterical heartbeat slamming against her ribs, then fell backwards just as the door to the bathroom burst open.
One second they were inside the Mill, then the next they were outside, the ground rushing up to smack them. Annora twisted, taking the brunt of the fall, and released Loulou. The rabbit glanced around them, then blinked in surprise, her mouth opening and closing before a huge smile crossed her face.
“Holy shit, you did it!” Loulou bounded to her feet, touching her body as if making sure she was whole, then turned to touch the wall. “I’m not sure what you did, but you did good.”
She twisted, then crouched, pulling Annora to her feet, then dragging her off toward the side of the Mill. “But we don’t want to stick around long enough for the bitch to find us.”
Annora smiled at the apt term, allowing herself to be led away. “Where are we going?”
Loulou flapped her free arm. “To see Lionel.” Then she continued as if she hadn’t been interrupted. “Vicki’s so not going to be happy her prey vanished, not to mention that you beat her ass in front of her pack.” When she shook her head, her blond hair went flying. “She’s going to be gunning for you next. You shouldn’t have interfered. She wants to be alpha, and you beating her ass is going to look bad.”
While Loulou’s words were spoken in a worried tone, the relish on her face made her eyes sparkle as she shot Annora an impish glance over her shoulder. “But I have to admit it was glorious to see her get what she deserves for once.”
Annora stumbled to keep up with Loulou as she zipped in and out of the crowd. The darkness wanted to pull her into the afterworld, and when she resisted, it crackled painfully against her skin. She was injured and it wanted to heal her…wanted to own a little more of her soul. The sensations left her disoriented, so when she glanced around the crowd, she easily saw the creatures resting just under their human forms.
Ignoring the way her body rebelled against her, Annora forced one foot in front of the other and followed Loulou. “She looked like she wanted to kill you.”
