Chapter 27 – Don't You Dare! – Cage's POV

The moment I saw her standing there, equal measures of joy and anger shot through me. Joy because she was alive and anger because the hunters had her surrounded.

Kieran, Talia and I spread out around them. I growled low, warning them of my presence. Instantly, they formed a tight circle around Raine and she was out of view again, with Hayden facing me. Shit.

I stepped forward from the darkness and commanded, "Let her go!"

They didn't move. Hayden answered quickly, "We are not here to hurt her! I can assure you of that."

I growled loudly in disagreement.

"No! The three that attacked her did not act on my orders! And obviously they are no longer a threat to her," he finished with his lips set in a thin hard line.

I smirked, "They deserved exactly what they got."

Suddenly, Raine pushed her way to the edge of the circle to face me. I was startled by the look of animosity on her face. Her eyes flashed angrily and her hands clenched into fists.

I spoke soothingly, trying to calm her, "Is this about Vlad? I swear to you, I will fix it."

Her eyes widened in surprise and then she scoffed furiously, "No, it's about me!"

My heart sank.

She hadn't run because of Vlad.

She had run to get away from me.

Maybe a better man would have let her go. She obviously wanted to. But, I wasn't that man. I couldn't just walk away. I wasn't sure I could even live without her now.  Fuck.

"I'm not walking away," I told her, leaving no room for argument.

For a moment, her angry façade broke and there was something else in her eyes – hope and then pain.

"You would fight all of us just to get to her," Hayden asked. He was thinking and I didn't like the look in his eyes. I could almost read his thoughts. He was calculating the risks if he took me out now. He said nonchalantly, "I'm surprised you came with so few."

I replied derisively, "I'm surprised you found it necessary to bring a task force of eleven men to collect one young girl."

Suddenly, Raine's features changed. Her expression smoothed out evenly, and her heart slowed. 

Oh, fuck no!

"I know what you are doing and don't you dare!" I told her severely.  This was most definitely not the time for her sacrificial lamb bullshit. Not when there was a good chance they might get lucky and kill me.

Her eyes looked at me with an incredible amount of sadness. She shook her head. Fuck. Without warning, she spun into the air, and twisted her body to face Hayden, before she landed in front of me.

The Hunters gasped at her unexpected behavior and agility. But I knew she was only beginning. Hayden asked slowly, "You would fight for them?" He didn't know she had already fought for me twice.

I wished I could see her face, but her back was to me when she answered void of emotion, "Yes."

I never saw Hayden give the order. But suddenly I heard a wooden dagger, rather than saw it, and instantly leaned my upper body to the right to avoid the impact. I tried to push Raine to the ground to get her out of the line of fire, but she literally growled and threw me off of her.

Shock coursed through my body.

She hadn't done that before.

Several daggers were released and I moved accordingly, trying to keep track of Raine at the same time. She darted forward to the closest hunter, grabbed his wrist, and used her body for momentum as she swung him to the ground. He stared at her in shock. She dropped to a knee and punched him squarely in the face. His head whiplashed to the side, but he recovered quickly and then lunged toward her legs.

She back flipped out of his reach.

Abruptly, Talia's scream pierced the night air.

I couldn't see her but I knew her well enough to know she never cried out like that – in fear. I tried to get to her, but had four hunters attacking me from each side. Adrenaline coursed through me hard. I zeroed in on the hunter closest to me and crashed my fist through his chest, before throwing his heart to the ground. Before his body even hit the ground, I had removed another of their heads. The remaining two backed off quickly, and stared at me warily.

I darted around them and saw Talia thirty feet away. She was on the ground, not moving. I could see the stake protruding from her chest. Kieran stood in front of her, defending her body and fighting off the hunters that kept trying to get close.

I didn't know if the stake impacted her heart. And Kieran was too occupied that he couldn't remove it.

Three more hunters attacked me, blocking my path again. I threw one of them into the woods, and punched the others to push them back.

From my peripheral vision, I saw Raine flip over yet another hunter to get past him and then run full out until she reached Talia and jerked the stake from her chest.

Raine spun around and flanked Kieran, engaging in the fight again. Finally, I made my way to them. At the same time Talia struggled to her feet, her chest covered in blood. I could have cried with happiness that she was alive. 

Now the four of us stood together.

A much stronger adversary.

Abruptly Hayden ordered, "Fall back!"

Immediately the remaining hunters pulled back. For a long moment, it was a standoff. Finally, Hayden looked at Raine and said, "My offer remains." Without another word, he turned and they ran, disappearing into the blackness of the night.

Raine dropped to her knees.

I darted forward and gathered her in my arms. I didn't see any outward wounds. More than likely she was just exhausted. When I turned, Kieran and Talia were already at a full run. I quickly caught up with them. We moved silently through the night, back to the estate.

..........

I hadn't spoken a word to Raine while we ran.  I knew she was conscious but she remained equally silent. I had no idea what thoughts occupied her mind. It didn't make sense to me. She never once told me she was unhappy with me. Hell, she practically begged me to fuck her.

When I saw the glow of the estate ahead, I finally relaxed enough to feel we were no longer in mortal danger. But with that release of focus and concentration, all of the emotions I had held back, started to boil and bubble at the surface, the strongest of which – anger.

I was furious that she had put herself in such extreme danger. We hadn't beaten the hunters to her. I didn't know why Hayden chose not to kill her this time, but they had her. They could have just as easily killed her.

I was furious that she had put Talia at risk.

And most of all, I was furious that she had left me.

As I burst through the door to my suite, Ella jumped. She followed us into the bedroom. I'm sure concerned that Raine might be hurt. 

I tossed Raine on the bed. She quickly scrambled into a sitting position and stared at me warily. How dare she look at me that way when we had just risked our lives for her foolishness?

I felt my irises shift to crimson and I exploded, "It is perfectly clear that you have no concern for your own life, so what about hers?!"

I grabbed Ella and sank my fangs deep into her neck. She struggled against me but was no match for my strength.

Raine screamed, "No!!! Please no!!! I'm begging you!! Please stop!!!"

I pulled back, blood dripping from my lips and yelled, "I will drain her dry if you ever try that again! Never forget what I am and what I am capable of!"

"I won't!! I swear!! I'm sorry!! Please just let her go!!" Raine pleaded with tears streaming down her cheeks.

I dropped Ella to the ground, strode out of the suite and slammed the door behind me.

Shit. What the hell did I just do?

I quickly pulled out my cell phone and called for a healer. I didn't take much blood out of Ella. It was mostly for show. But I had to do something that would scare her enough. So that I wasn't worried she might climb out of a window, every time I wasn't around.

I would give myself some time to cool off and then I would talk with her. I needed to understand what happened and this time I wasn't going to let her tell me no.

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