Her Mortal Mate

Chapter Forty Eight: Cornered

Adam

“What the hell is that!?” I shouted as a ginormous black and grey monster rose from a fast spreading, thick black mist. The mist covered the lower sections of the theatre in a matter of seconds, blinding everyone as it went. Screams rent the air as the crowds scattered, trying to escape the beast and the dark army he came with.

I shot to my feet as I stared open mouthed at the monster. His head was huge. It was shaped in an upside down triangular shape with red eyes. Huge plated horns curved up and out behind his head, a thick forked tongue lashing from its mouth. His face was armored with other sharp boned tusks and horns protruding from his face. The shape of his body reminded me of a dragon. There was a thick, tentacle like beard that stretched from under his chin to halfway down his neck. And while I could only compare him to a dragon, his webbed feet and more aquatic-like features, such as the tentacle like appendages, suggested he was some kind of sea monster.

Suddenly, those long tentacle like appendages started to whip down towards the ground. The very earth shook, creaked and groaned by the force of his wrath. And it wasn’t just the building that shook.

Everything he touched he laid to waste.

The dark army that rose from the mist surged forward and started to attack those who came to counter attack.

Suddenly, a figure rose before the beast, catching and holding its attention. It looked like Constance, but I couldn’t be sure because the figure was engulfed in a red hue of light.

“That’s Leviathan,” Garret snapped as everyone jumped into motion. He grabbed me under my arm and literally pulled me towards the monster, towards the stage where Jadea was at.

“He’s the demon lord of envy,” Blade continued, his shouted explanation coming just before the monster’s ear splitting screams rent the air.

“W-Why are w-we running towards it?” Shouldn’t we be running away from the danger?

“Following orders,” Garret yelled over his shoulder as Lucien suddenly took the lead.

Whose orders?

“Mine, vanilla,” Jadea’s mind forcefully and fully merged with mine and through the bodies, I caught a glimpse of her as she was taking on a few enemies. My heart fairly dropped as one moment I saw a black sword flying towards her back. She disappeared as Garret and Lucien blocked my view again. The next glimpse I caught of her she was the only one left standing, a bloodied enemy sword in hand. “Take a deep breath and then work on controlling your breathing. You’re going to be running. And you won’t stop until you are out of here,” she explained urgently as we ran right past her.

“You’re coming, right?” There was no way in hell we were leaving her! I would throw a damn fit if she even suggested it—

“I’m right behind you. Promise! Just follow Garret, he will get you out of here.”

Garret’s hand dropped away right as another several earth shaking jolts shook the ground. I heard cracks forming in the stone. Dust and small bits of rock started falling from above.

“He’s going to bring the whole damn place down!” Garret seethed as we played follow the leader through hallways and doors.

It felt like an eternity, but it probably was only a minute, before Lucien flung open a door and motioned all of us out. Garret stopped and turned around. By the looks of it, we were somewhere behind the building we initially entered.

I glanced back too and saw Jadea pausing next to Lucien.

“I have to go back in there,” he stated, leaning in to kiss Jadea’s cheek.

“No you don’t—

“Jadea. I’m still a councilor. The Phoenix is in there and she needs help! I have to go!”

Jadea pursed her lips and nodded once. She hugged him and then bounded out in front of us.

“Blade, you protect our asses. Garret, you’re right behind me. Adam, then Derrick and Briar,” she snapped in our minds.

“The nearest exit is the one we entered from,” Blade announced.

“Then we best get a move on,” she fairly growled in our minds as she led the way, weaving a path that stayed away from the main walkways.

As we ascended towards the top of the cavern, I caught glimpses of the clogged walkways between the shops and alleyways.

The way she took us, we barely fit. I wasn’t the widest of the group and my shoulders were scraping along the sides of the buildings as we ran at a grueling pace. I was having to run at such an awkward angle. I could only imagine what Derrick was having to do.

“Focus Adam,” Jadea scolded as I tripped and Derrick’s large hand snagged the back of my vest before I could fall flat on my face.

Several more quakes shook the ground beneath us, tripping all of us. While Jadea forced us to press on we slowed down so as not to fall as the quakes continued.

“You don’t think he’s trying to trip the natural fault line, do you?” Derrick asked nervously and I felt him look up towards the cavern ceiling.

“If he does, this whole place will definitely collapse,” Blade added.

“He’s doing a great job of trying to bring the place down as it is,” Garret grumbled.

As they casually talked about the cavern collapsing, I felt my stomach starting to revolt, suddenly aware that we would be crushed, potentially even buried alive. How could they so easily talk about such things like it was just a walk in the f*****g park—

“Adam. Breathe! Deep breath in. Count to five. Deep breath out,” she commanded, her order curling through my mind as my panic leaked into the collective group’s minds.

I was winded. And my panicked brain was having a hard time following her orders. It had been a very long time since I’d had to run like this and it was adding to my growing terror.

Hell! I knew I was out of shape! I hardly had the time to work out being a single dad and all…

She was there suddenly. Her very essence seeping into my body. I felt her calm my nerves as she tricked my body somehow. I felt her nearly breathing for me, as she helped regulate my body’s physical response both to the stressors and the physical exertion.

Wow!

I felt the rest of the pack’s amusement at my shock as I was suddenly calm. My breathing even. My lungs still burned but not as bad.

“How..?”

“Alpha.” Garret’s single word response was all I got.

“We’re almost there,” Jadea stated. “We might have to shove our way in. Derrick, I’ll need you to take point—

Right as Jadea entered a rather large space—where the solid backs of three buildings made a U shape and the side that didn’t have a building was wide open, leaving a sheer drop back into the belly of the city—she was blindsided. She was knocked straight off her feet by someone and she nearly rolled to the edge of that sheer drop off.

I ran full body into the back of Garret as he stopped suddenly and it damn near felt like hitting a brick wall. My body ached from the impact, the air knocked from my lungs, but he was unaffected.

“We’ve got company back here,” Blade announced. “I can’t turn around,” he snapped and suddenly there was a surge from behind as I was forcefully pushed back into Garret.

He gave and exited the little walkway, carefully keeping his back against the wall. His iron grip returned to my arm and he and Derrick placed their bodies in front of mine. It was embarrassing how they treated me like some damsel in distress.

“That’s because you are,” Garret teased. Even as we faced certain death, the guy had a sense of humor? “Let’s discuss this, shall we? You were captured and held prisoner by wolves. You were saved. You’re still being hunted! And you are a f*****g mortal!” He enunciated the last two words in particular.

“That’s enough!” Jadea’s command ripped through all of our minds as she shifted everyone’s focus to the problem at had.

What were they looking at?

What wasn’t I seeing?

“Jadea?” Garret asked hesitantly as Briar rushed to her side and Blade took up a defensive position in front of us, two short swords held in his hands.

Where had those come from!?

“Well well well,” a voice fairly purred from the shadows. When the speaker stepped out from between two of the buildings, I recognized him as the one the pack had pointed out earlier. He had very distinctive features.

This was Hans.

Jadea’s biological father.

My stomach plummeted as I realized he had us caught dead to rights. All exits were blocked. There was nowhere for us to go.

“Looks like you all are in a bit of a pickle,” he sneered as the ground shook again with more force. It rocked so hard that I lost my balance. And then it rocked again and again. There was a very notable crack. My gaze shifted from the terrifying sight in front of us to the bottom of the cavern behind me. To my utter horror, I watched as the massive stone building in the center collapsed almost in slow motion, sending a massive dust cloud mixed with black mist out into the cavern.

“There isn’t much time,” Hans announced nearly gleefully. “I can keep you here for as long as I want to, because I have a way out regardless.”

What did he mean by that!?

“I can even hold you here till the cavern starts collapsing in on itself and there is no hope of you, of your pack and your mate getting out alive. However, I’m willing to make a deal. I’ll teleport all of you to safety if… You agree to pledge your allegiance to me and submit to my rule.”

Jadea had regained her footing and stood proudly before us, facing them down as stoic and as strong as ever despite the debilitating fear for her father, Lucien, and her growing concern over our current situation.

“I know who his shield is,” Garret suddenly announced, as if that were more important than the situation at hand. “It’s the cloaked woman.”

“Good work Garret. Everyone. Prepare yourselves.”

Prepare?

Prepare for what!?

Jadea took a calming breath before saying viciously, “No matter the circumstances, no matter how desperate I am, I will never submit to you.”