Page 55 of Captured By the Monsters
“I don’t answer to you,” she seethed with a disgusted look on her face.
I advanced upon her in anger, but her Trifecta ran in to surround her, to defend her from me. Smart of them to do so, because right now, no one was safe in my war path.
It didn’t matter who I had to kill in order to get Sera back. No one else mattered.
But if this woman was the only one who could give me answers and her Trifecta wouldn’t let me near her, I’d have to try a different approach. My heart sank at the thought of her refusing to answer me, denying me the information I needed to help Sera.
“Please,” I croaked, my mouth dry with fear for what was happening to Sera. “Please tell me where she is.”
The woman shoved her mates aside and brushed her clothes off like they were infected from their touch. “Don’t touch me. I’m fine.”
She gave me an assessing stare, seemingly determining if I was worth her time before she admitted, “The guards took your mate. If you cared that much for her, you shouldn’t have left us alone. But you were all nothing but a bunch of savages, chomping at the bit to steal human women and use them to repopulate your species.”
I shook my head, stunned by her vile accusations. Did she think we wanted to watch the fight? That we enjoyed the savagery?
Shaking my head, knowing now wasn’t the time to figure out what her deal was, I asked, “Please, do you have any idea where they are?” I stepped forward cautiously, trying to convey the urgency to the woman before me, pleading without begging.
“They’re going to the crystal, I think,” she finally muttered. “They mentioned wanting to see if they could match with any of us, wanting to be Rumilus so they could take over.”
The feeling of relief nearly crumpled me to my knees as she gave us a direction to begin with. “Thank you!”
“Don’t thank me, you monster,” she spat right back.
My relief was suddenly overridden with fury as I processed her words. They were trying to match with already claimed women? What the fuck had our species come to?
This was a new, vile low.
I grabbed Rowen and Sylan, and we rushed out of the room, racing down the halls until we found the door that led to the basement. Historically, the crystal had been kept in the throne room, present for all to see back when it glowed in its vitality. But after the fall of the True Queen, it had been taken down to the dungeons to protect it from being stolen.
Together, the three of us raced down the steps below. The castle was set up like a labyrinth underground to confuse those who wished to steal the crystal. I doubted the guards had made it to the crystal with our mate unless they knew the exact route already, but they still had a head start no matter what.
We barely slowed as we approached the three entrances into the labyrinth. “I’ll go left. Rowen, you go right. Sylan, you’ve got the middle.”
Rowen nodded, already rushing off, but Sylan hesitated. “Do you think we should separate? We’re more powerful together.”
“I understand, but we can’t afford to stick together. She could be down any of these paths. The sooner we find Sera, the better, and we will always be a thousand times stronger than the Specters.”
Our true form of Rumilus could take on a Specter Trifecta any day of the week. As Sylan nodded his understanding, I took off. Quickly swerving left, I raced through the labyrinth in and out until I heard sobbing and pleas for someone to help.
It wasn’t Sera’s voice, but she had to be near.
Following the cries, I turned a corner to find a Trifecta holding the raven-haired woman who’d seemed to quickly take to Sera. Their tendrils were wrapped around her neck, and I yelled, “Stop it! Don’t hurt her!” but my commands did nothing.
They wrapped their shadows tighter until her neck cracked and they dropped her to the ground. I was too far still to stop them as they raced away, but I was determined to pursue until I captured them.
They would pay for their crimes.
As I ran after them, suddenly a door popped open to my left and Sera tumbled out, weeping, “Axton!”
Sera.
She was safe.
She was here.
I stopped in my tracks as she threw herself into my arms, shaking as I held her tightly.
I’d never leave her alone again. We had been fools to trust in any semblance of honor within this twisted world we lived in now.
