*”We were meant to rescue each other, not cut down the forest to rescue one.” Shannon L. Alder*
***Third Person POV***
Navigating through the dark was hard, but trying to fight against unholy apparitions was another challenge.
The long, winding tunnel leading to Neron’s prison was guarded by sickly specters carved jaggedly from the shadows. It didn’t take Kiya nor Asim long to understand that a higher power summoned the misting beasts. Jonathan wanted to make sure no one but him and his lackeys were to get to his son, a significant sign of who he really wanted under his wing.
Unfortunately, the phantoms were horrifically weak against a powerful flash of light. Asim lowered his hand as lines of liquid gold sunk under his hickory flesh. He twisted his head behind him to glance at the shorter woman behind him. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah,” Kiya responded with a curt nod. “Those damn things didn’t touch me. We should probably get going before those things decide to put themselves back together again.” She tried to walk past the sun’s avatar but was stopped with a gentle hand on her shoulder. The woman paused and looked up at Asim, gesturing with her eyes for him to speak.
“I know you want to get to Neron badly, but we need to be prepared in case we’re ambushed before you can.”
Kiya blinked, exhaling quiet puffs of anger through her lips. Her body vibrated with the desire to dash forward and snatch her boyfriend from his cage, but she knew Asim was right. Violetta was fighting the mysterious woman at the entrance. Phoebe went to rescue Nuria, and here they were about to rescue the alpha; there was no doubt Jonathan was aware of their presence.
What bothered her the most was that the beast in the suit had yet to appear in front of them. If Jonathan knew they were slipping into his ‘home’ and taking the three people he wanted the most, wouldn’t he have put more preventative measures in place to stop them? Or was Jonathan so overconfident that he didn’t believe anyone would find him?
But there was the other option that he was *expecting* the infiltration, and the bastard was watching the events unfold behind the scenes.
Whether or not Jonathan was watching, it didn’t damper Kiya’s desire to get to Neron. In fact, the thought made the blood burn hotter. She wanted to prove to the old man that his interference won’t scare her away. It had been almost two days since he forcibly separated them, and her chest ached to have him close again. No, it was her *heart*. Kiya raised a hand and pressed it over her left breast, feeling the rapid thumping of the organ under the pads of her fingers.
She inhaled and exhaled slowly, letting Asim’s words marinate in her mind.
“You’re right. I’m getting a little too excited.” She lowered her hand. “Gotta stick to the plan. right?”
“Of course. You’re the one who made it.” Asim craned his neck upward to listen out for any anomalies in the now growing darkness. Waving his hand, he gestured for Kiya to follow behind him. The two trod carefully, using both stealth and the serrated walls as their guides as their flashlights gently illuminated the path for their feet.
Five minutes later, the woodsy aroma of sandalwood hit Kiya’s nose.
Her body grew warm, and her heart thudded faster.
Asim’s nose flared. “Not too far now.”
Another three minutes passed, and the two forced their backs against the wall when two voices floated in from the distant, barely lit entrance.
**Not so tough now, are you, Neron*?”
“Another woman?” Asim asked in a whisper, flicking off his flashlight. He turned to Kiya to see her youthful face marred in a deadly scowl. He knew that look too well. It was the same look his Nailah would have if another woman got too close to him.
**Get the hell off of me, Odessa!” They heard Neron’s exhausted, almost pained voice shout.”* What is wrong with you*?!”
**Why should I*? *You can’t even fight me*. *But that’s okay*!* I’m going to take care of you, just like old times*.”
Asim inhaled sharply and stepped to the side to allow Kiya to march past him with fire burning at her every step. An angry woman was a force of nature he couldn’t fight against, especially if another touched what belonged to her.
Odessa stuck her hands on Neron’s shoulders and straddled his waist, unable to contain the smile plastered on her face. She leaned forward to kiss the alpha, but Neron twisted his head away, narrowly avoiding his lips. The undead woman rolled her eyes. “Don’t be like that, Neron. If you kiss me, I’ll unchain your arms from the ceiling. They must hurt a lot.”
A dangerous growl left Neron’s lips. “I rather remain like this than to ever kiss you again. Get the fuck off me.”
“No. I like us like this.”
“Are you fucking hard of hearing?” He moved his body to push Odessa off him, but she hung on by tightening her knees on his waist. “GET OFF!”
“Nope! I’m going to take what I’ve always wanted. You don’t have the power to stop me.”
***But I do*.”
Odessa shrieked when her head was tugged violently backward by the hair, a pain so sudden that her grip loosened around Neron, allowing her body to be extracted from him. Kiya dragged the woman against the ground, hauled her on her knees, and delivered a punch so powerful broken bones sang with the impact.
Kiya’s vision flashed red. “I should cut off your fucking hands for touching what’s mine!”
Odessa roared and surged forward to tackle her enemy to the ground, thus beginning a brawl between the avatar and the undead lackey. Ignoring the attention they might bring to themselves, both women screamed and assaulted each other; kicking, punching, scratching, and more. Asim stepped in and saw the scene and did what every sensible man would do.
He walked past as fast as he could. “Pardon me, ladies.”
Neron looked up at the hybrid with tired eyes. “Asim, how did you and Kiya get here?”
“It’s not just us. Phoebe and Violetta are here as well.” Asim examined his chains, catching the nasty red stretching outwards from the clasp. The women continued to fight and scream behind them. “Your father is a monster for using pure silver on you. How long have has he chained you up like this?”
“Long enough to lose feeling in both my arms.” Neron huffed. “Get me out of these damn things, but be careful. Silver can hurt you too, right?”
“To some extent.” Asim inhaled deeply and reached for the chains. In seconds, he pulled them from the ceiling, taking some rock with it. Neron groaned in relief when he lowered his arms, allowing the hybrid to rip the cuffs off his wrists. “Vampires aren’t affected by silver as much as werewolves are. Since I’m half of both, I rely more on my vampiric abilities in case I encounter silver or wolfsbane. Silver won’t hurt me if I don’t touch it for so long.”
“Lucky you.” The alpha winced as he rubbed his wrists. “Every bone in my body fucking aches.”
“Can you stand?” Asim offered his hand and Neron took it.
“Yeah, but I appreciate the help.” A shot of pain erupted from his side, forcing him to grasp it.” Dad did something…I don’t know what, but I feel like my head is in the clouds.”
“Can you feel your wolf?”
“I can. Onyx wouldn’t go down without a fight.”
“We need to get you out of here to get properly examined.” The Egyptian encouraged, wrapping Neron’s arm around his shoulder to support him. “And we need to help Kiya-”
The men were silenced when Odessa’s body whizzed past them and crashed into a wall, forming a crater almost twice her size. Rocks tumbled to the ground and dust accumulated in the air. Kiya charged forward like an angry bull and continued to punch her opponent deeper into the hole in the wall.
Neron’s lips rose into a grin, his eyes shining like sapphires. “I think my angel has it taken care of.”
Suddenly, Kiya was slammed on her back with Odessa standing over her, hand squeezing her throat, and her blade raised. Her pale skin was decorated with plum-colored bruising and blood dripped from the cut on her left temple, but all it did was enhance her already-menacing appearance. “This time, I’ll make sure you die!”
Before Odessa could plunge the blade into the avatar’s chest, a hand gripped the back of her neck and yanked her off Kiya’s body. The woman on the floor watched as Neron lifted her opponent to his eye level, her legs dangling from the ground because of his tall, almost-bear-like stature. Flames of hatred licked behind his blue eyes, stabbing daggers into Odessa as she stammered and scrambled to appease him, dropping her blade.
“Neron, baby! Don’t do anything you’ll regret!” She insisted, shining a nervous smile. “You wouldn’t hurt me, would you? I’m a lady, remember?” Odessa blinked her eyes innocently. folding her hands in front of her.
The growl that erupted from Neron’s chest shook the ground Kiya laid on. Tremors rocked through his body as his lips curled into a snarl. A sound left his mouth, a mixture of an angry grumble and a pained moan.
His eyes flashed gold.
And Odessa went flying yet again, this time through the hole she made earlier.