Night Falls on the Wicked - By Sharie Kohler Page 0,34

a favor and tell me what your particular talent happens to be, my lovely.”

She pressed her lips into a hard line, her hand tightening where she clutched Aimee.

“Not talking then? Shame.” He snapped his fingers at the lycan called Marcus. “Take her to the master suite and lock her in.”

Marcus didn’t disguise his displeasure. “We’re not having her?”

“She’s too valuable,” Cyprian replied. “Sooner or later, we’ll learn of her gift … and how we might use it to benefit us.”

Devon nodded, the motion not even bouncing one of his blond dreadlocks. “Good idea.” His handsome faced smiled at her. “And I rather like her. Wouldn’t mind keeping her around. She’s got spirit. That’s what we need.”

“No,” she shouted as she was dragged, kicking and flailing, from Aimee and Pam. “Please! Let them come with me. If you harm either of them, I’ll never talk! Never tell you anything!”

Marcus’s hand on her arm twisted cruelly. “Don’t be stupid. We gotta eat. Count yourself lucky that you won’t be the meal—”

“Wait.” Cyprian’s hard voice stopped Marcus.

The alpha moved toward the child, stroking the cloud of her brown hair. Aimee gazed up at him with unblinking eyes, wide as saucers, her little form frozen as if she sensed he was something else, something more than a man. Something worse.

“Cute girl. I can see how you’re fond of her. You are, aren’t you?” His lips twisted in a cunning smile.

Darby could utter nothing, only stare, beseeching him with her eyes.

After a long moment, Cyprian thrust the little girl toward Darby. “Very well. Take her. She’s my gift to you. For now anyway. If you don’t come around, she’ll endure the same fate as her mother.”

As Aimee was shoved into her arms, Darby looked in horror at Pam. She could do nothing. Nothing to save her. Not if she wanted to save Aimee.

At that moment something came over Pam. It was like the woman woke from a deep sleep. She jerked where she stood, tossing her too-long bangs back from her eyes. She looked around, searching with wild eyes for her daughter.

“Aimee!” she shouted, diving for the child. “Where are you taking her? Come back here!” She was instantly caught up in the arms of one their captors. She thrashed fiercely, her hair flying in every direction.

Aimee struggled in Darby’s arms to reach her mother. “Momma! Momma!”

Cyprian glanced at the window. Holding Aimee tight, Darby followed his gaze, her chest tightening, clenching painfully at the muted blue light suffusing the air.

“Quickly,” Cyprian declared, waving a hand at Darby and Aimee. “Take them. Go. Before it’s too late.”

“Wait, please, I beg you.” Her gaze slid to Pam, shrieking and fighting with surprising strength. “She’s her mother. Please let her come with us. I’ll give you what you want.”

“Oh, you will. I have no doubt. But we have to feed. There’s no choice in that. As it is, we’re only left with her and she’s sadly thin. Hopefully, she’s enough and we won’t try to break into your bedroom.” Eyeing Pam, he frowned. “Now, unless, you want to lose your life as well—and the girl’s—you better get behind that locked door.”

At that moment, Cyprian winced and bent himself at the waist as if he had a stomach cramp. When he straightened, his eyes were gleaming an even brighter pewter. “Go,” he rasped, his voice thick and garbled from teeth that looked sharper, longer than a second ago.

There was no time for talking anymore, only time for survival.

With a pained gasp, she swung Aimee up into her arms. Devon led the way, showing no signs of transitioning yet. Her legs worked fast, desperate to remove the girl from danger. Pam’s screams rang in her ears as she carried a sobbing Aimee into the bedchamber.

Devon stared at her intently. The brightness of his gaze chilled her to the bones. “Be sure to lock the door. We might try to get in. Whatever you do, don’t unbolt this door until morning.”

She squared her shoulders. “How do you know I won’t keep us locked in here forever?”

“Because you’d starve. Also—” He flicked a glance to the hinges. “We can get some power tools in here and remove the door if need be. But you can bet that would seriously annoy Cyprian.” He shut the door then, the slam reverberating on the air, its solid steel sealing them in tight. She rushed to bolt it against them.

The room was dark, its one window boarded up tight. The door was no ordinary door.