Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Harris
Another day passed with no surprises. I was already processing our next move when the vacation ended tomorrow.
She would go home and pack a few things and then stay with me until I convinced her to make it permanent.
I needed to find the perfect engagement ring to make that happen.
She probably thought I was joking, but I would marry her now if I could.
Fifteen years of waiting, not to mention the time before that, was enough. We already knew each other well.
No, I would scare her with the ring too soon.
I’d give it a week of living together. We could still have an engagement period if she wanted.
Just as long as she had my ring on. And if she refused my ring, I’d just keep scent marking her until she said yes.
She was going to be claimed one way or another.
Was that still me controlling the situation?
Yes. Did I care? No. This fell into a non-negotiable. She was mine. No question.
A hand waved in front of my face, and I looked down at Camilla’s smiling one, her head resting on my lap. We were watching a movie together on the couch during our last night at the beach.
I grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Yes, my love?”
“What are you thinking about?”
“How I plan to get you to move in with me.”
She gave me a playful roll of her eyes. “Plotting and scheming, of course.”
“Naturally. Doesn’t sound like you’re against it, though.”
She opened her mouth, probably to uselessly protest, but a loud bang against a door and shouting startled us. Something was going on in front of the house. Alarm instantly seized me, my body tensing.
Camilla shot up, looking around with wide, fearful eyes. “What the hell was that?”
I stood up. “We’re most likely under attack.”
She clutched her chest. “What?”
I walked to the kitchen island and opened a drawer, removing a handgun I had hidden there. “I need you to hide in the safe room.”
“I have magic. I can help.”
I rushed back to her and pulled her to my chest in a tight embrace. “You can, but I don’t need you to. What I need is your safety. I’ll try to compromise more, but not this. Okay?”
She pulled away and nodded, although she looked sad enough to break my heart. I’d have to get over that because I’d be more broken if something happened to her. I moved away and headed to the front, telling her to hide again before I reached the door.
When I got to the front, I found several of my guards on the ground, dead or wounded. Also, on the ground, unmoving and presumably dead, were beings I’d only seen one time before. Black humanoid forms that looked more like clawed, dark, opaque masses. Shadow creatures.
I didn’t even wait to listen to what Paulo was stating as he ran in my direction.
I was already heading back inside, a cold feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach.
I heard her calls and what sounded like a struggle before I could get to the living room.
When I finally got there, my body lurched forward to grab her, but I wasn’t fast enough.
A large dark portal, oblong in shape, hovered behind her like a door.
She was already halfway through, with only her head, an arm, and one leg remaining out.
Her face was filled with terror as she reached out to me.
I grabbed her wrist, pulling with all my strength.
To my relief, more of her body reappeared. But she wasn’t back.
I dropped by gun and pulled her with both hands. I was getting her back. More of her body pulled through. She looked so scared and helpless. “I got you,” I said through gritted teeth.
Whatever had her on the other side was not weak. What looked like long, shadowy tentacles wrapped around her waist, yanking her backwards into the portal. I was losing her. I heard running behind me, and soon Paulo appeared by my side. “Get those things off of her!” I ordered.
He was already pulling at them, slicing with his nails, as I continued to hold tightly to her.
She screamed, and at first, I feared Paulo had cut her, but the strain in her face let me know that it was him who was causing her pain.
We, the entity and I, were tearing at her.
One of us had to let go, but the thought made me sick.
The black tentacle shadows fell to the ground, an echoing scream pushing through the darkness.
Paulo had hurt it. I wrapped a hand around her back, pulling Camilla to me.
However, more cold tentacles surrounded her.
With a force I was not prepared for, they yanked at her, ripping her from my arms. I held on to her wrist with my other hand as she disappeared into the blackness, reaching out to nothingness in the void.
If I pulled too hard, it would hurt her.
This creature didn’t seem to have that same concern.
Soon, all that was left on our side was her hand, and then that was gone, my own moving through the coldness of the portal. It felt like pushing through Jello, the invisible texture slick against my skin. And then the portal shut. Closing in on itself like an imploding star. And with it, my hand.
Leaving me nothing but a bleeding stump and the loss of the love of my life.