Savage Craving - Cecilia Lane Page 0,34

bastard swung around and caught him by the neck. His forearm screwed down tight, until Seth’s breath turned to a sickening whistle.

“Look who came to watch you die,” Zeke hiss in his ear. “Do they know your dirty little secret, too?”

“Fuck. You,” Seth ground out.

“And who’s that with them?” Zeke taunted. “Should have known you’d be involved with her. Snitches of a feather flock together.”

Motherfucker. No reason for him to give Lilah more than a stray thought, but that fucking asshole knew. All the uneasy feelings he’d carried since the meeting with Jaime flashed hot and boiled into fury.

Seth drove an elbow back and into the fucker’s side. Again. A third time. Zeke doubled over with a growl of pain, but Seth was already across the ring.

Time seemed to slow. He scanned the faces of the crowd, trying to pinpoint where he last saw Lilah. Too many people he didn’t trust. Too many potential friends and accomplices of Zeke.

His heart stopped when he spotted her picking her way closer to the ring.

Seth staggered under a fist to his lower back, then almost went down when Zeke kicked the back of his knee. He only stayed upright with a quick wrapping of his fingers in the chain-link of the cage.

“I’m collecting on a bounty tonight,” the other lion snarled. “Maybe I’ll get more if I bring your head, too.”

Something shrieked inside him. Half howl, half roar, the noise vibrated through his every cell and ripped at his control. Nothing mattered if Lilah was injured. Not the fight, not the world, not the whole damn universe. Everything standing in his way needed to be ground down to dust.

He whirled into Zeke and unleashed one blow after another. Fierce. Savage. He didn’t stop when fear sparked in the fucker’s eyes. He kept going when anger reasserted itself, but that didn’t last long. Zeke turned the fight into an act of survival. Lilah’s. His, if he lost her.

She belonged with him.

He didn’t give the thought any mind. It seemed right. Felt right. All he wanted at that moment was to make every fucker pay for touching his mate.

Snarls dripped off his lips as his inner sense pushed and shoved. More. It wanted more. This time, though, it wouldn’t be satisfied with besting another. It needed Lilah.

Zeke slumped to the floor with a snarl of his own, but pounded his fist to tap out of the fight.

“Unlock that fucking gate!” Seth yelled as he ran for the other side of the ring.

The chains wrapped around the handles clanked as the referee worked open the lock. Close. Seconds away. He shoved at the door as soon as there was enough slack for him to slip through.

And was yanked back by a hand on his shoulder.

“Shiftless freak,” Zeke snarled.

Pain exploded across his abdomen. Wetness rolled down his skin. He ignored it. Didn’t matter. Didn’t even feel it, after a second. Black ate at the edges of his vision, but he wheeled around and threw another punch right into Zeke’s face.

This time, the asshole stayed down.

Lilah. He needed to get to Lilah.

He elbowed his way through the crowd. Bodies pushed together. Drinks spilled. Angry words and threats were shouted at him, but they didn’t stop him. The throbbing along his stomach didn’t either. He had to get to Lilah. Absolutely necessary when his mate’s survival depended on him.

He shoved through the last line of strangers. Almost immediately, the others stepped in front of him, putting themselves between him and Lilah. He loved that his people—his pride—kept Lilah safe. He hated that he caused that sudden circling of the wagons.

“We need to go. Now.” Safe. She needed to be safe. That was all that mattered. He’d let them tear him limb from limb if those extra minutes got her to safety.

“What’s wrong?”

“What happened?”

“You’re bleeding like a stuck pig.”

Trent’s voice. Lindley. Dash. He felt them crowding closer, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Lilah. She lifted one hand to ring her throat. Eyes wide, heart racing, she reached for him with the other.

“There’s a bounty on you,” he told her. Over her head, he spotted Zeke and some others huddled close together. Hot rage twisted through him when their focus shifted to where he stood.

Shit. “We’re leaving.”

He slid his palm against hers. He allowed himself a split second to relish the feel of her soft skin against his and let the heat flaring to life sink deep into his bones. Then he was on the move, tugging her