Chapter 27
Alaric
Igazed around at the piles of bodies and then at my soul-bonded mate. Maverick had appeared from nowhere, arms and chest covered in blood, still naked after shifting.
“Wow,” Zane breathed out. Unlike me, he seemed happy about the carnage.
The vamp and the merman arrived a few minutes later, followed by a huge mountain of a man. My eyes narrowed at the stranger. He, too, was naked.
For fuck’s sake, would it be too much effort to put some pants on?
“You’re going to have to get used to seeing dicks swing free, vanilla popsicle.” Zane smirked at me before stalking over to a shriveled corpse. “It’s like she sucked all the life from them.”
“I don’t have to get used to anything,” I muttered to myself. If I had my way, the witch and I would ditch these morons and go live somewhere peaceful, away from my father’s influence.
Fuck knows where he’d disappeared to. He must have left via a portal the minute shit went sideways.
“We need to go before my father sends reinforcements,” I said. He might already have called on Mage Council security operatives. Those assholes could arrive at any time.
“No, I have to find what I came for,” the big dude rumbled.
I recalled Raven’s plea that we help the other magicals trapped down here and sighed. Fuck my life. She would never forgive me if I left innocents in this hellhole. At least I could access my magic now. If the Mage Council did send reinforcements, I'd deal with them.
“There are others here, including a vampire,” I told the guys. Rasmus was at my side in a heartbeat.
“Why didn’t you say so?” The bastard looked like he wanted to tear my throat out, but I held my ground. He couldn’t hurt me now that I’d sealed the bond with my witch.
“I’m telling you now, aren’t I?”
“Where are they?”
“No idea, but we should spread out and check all the cells. There may be more than one level to this place. I didn’t exactly get offered a guided tour.”
“Too busy fucking my pet, eh?” The incubus winked.
“Jealous?” I sneered.
“Fuck no! I love to share my pretty pet, oh stormy one.” He closed his eyes and sighed happily. “Your lust is…chef’s kiss, Fritz.”
“My lust is none of your fucking business, you fucking pervert!” Sparks formed and I threw a bolt of lightning at Zane, but the asshole blinked out of the way, cackling like the lunatic he was.
“Enough!” Maverick growled, still holding my mate, which irritated the fuck out of me. She should be with me, not him. Or any of them. “My little mate needs peace and rest. She’s exhausted, and you fuckers are not helping!”
A twinge of guilt rippled through me. He made a good point. Given how much magic she burned through when killing all the mages, it was no wonder she’d collapsed. Goddess, did she need a healer?
I rushed over to check, but the bear growled menacingly.
“Get your fucking hands off her!”
“Excuse me? She’s my mate too!”
“You took her from the club and handed her to your father, you fucking cunt!”
His words hit hard. Fuck, he was right. It was my fault she was here. My fault she nearly died at my father’s hands.
I didn’t deserve a mate like Raven. Or any mate.
Worst of all, my father was still out there, plotting and scheming with his evil bitch of a wife. The moment he reorganized his forces, he’d come after Raven.
I was the weak link.
Dad could have easily embedded a dormant dark magic enchantment in my brain, one that activated on command.
I had to get away from them all.
Maverick threw a disgusted look at me and then turned his back. The others watched curiously but said nothing. Eventually the other big male cocked his head to one side and then spoke.
“I will look for my treasure. We don’t have long.” Then he strode off, dick swinging like a fucking anaconda chilling in the breeze.
“If there’s another vampire here, I must find them.” The vampire zipped away right after him.
“Come, fish boy, let’s search for strays.”
The moment they left, I headed for the office where my father had kept his files. If I knew the old fucker, he’d have a few portal spells stashed in his desk. He liked to be prepared in case Brianna wasn’t here to save his miserable ass.
Sure enough, I found one in a locked drawer, along with a pad of sticky notes. I scribbled a message to the witch so that she didn’t chase after me and then threw the portal potion bottle at the wall.
A glowing portal opened. Without giving myself time to think about my next steps, I pictured where I wanted to go and dove through.