Kimber’s heart almost exploded with terror as she ran through, over, and around the people in her path. Her first thought had been to flee into the trees but something had stopped her, pulling her feet forward instead of launching her away from the humans. Normally she’d do all in her power to protect them from the Wolf that was in front of her and the one she felt at her rear.

She’d been daydreaming, again, about the Vampire that had gotten her so hot and bothered while she’d finished eating her breakfast. She hadn’t even tasted the remnants of her meal, and she’d been so looking forward to it, but her thoughts had gone time and again to his hot body and the way he’d made her feel as he sank inside her mouth. Damn! He’d was so large, hard, and fucking hot for her that she was growing aroused as she wandered through the park, until that Shifter stepped right in front of her.

At first fear had ran through her, quickly followed by anger, at him and herself. She didn’t think, just reacted, her years of training kicking in and she ended up putting him on his ass before leaping over him and landing a nice kick to his chest without missing a beat. One she hoped left him breathless for a few moments to give her a head start. When her feet started to pound forward she’d been shocked at their trajectory, convinced she was going to lead the predators away from the humans and any chance they could hurt anyone. She still wasn’t sure why her body was propelling forward with such abandon. But it was, and at such speed that she was certain that she was going to cause a scene that was going to be captured on camera pretty dang soon.

But, try as she might, her feet kept driving her forward. Toward what she had no idea, only that she didn’t seem to have control over where her body until . . . oh, holy crap. No.

Up ahead there was a group of preschoolers coming toward her, laughing and smiling as they were being led by several teachers. Shit, shit, shit! She couldn’t, she just damn well couldn’t lead two Wolves right toward those kids. No matter what was going on with her feet, her body, she couldn’t allow those predators anywhere near those innocents. They would trample straight through them and not look back. Kimber could see in her mind . . . blood, screams, broken bones and hell to the no! She couldn’t risk it.

She saw a flash of speed way past the kids heading toward her but she didn’t have time to focus on that, instead she veered away, the intense focus it took almost tearing her chest apart as her feet stumbled on the path causing her to lose precious seconds. She felt the breath of the Wolf on her back, the dank stench of its breath washing over her and sending even more adrenaline shooting into her system and a flash of speed down into her legs as she disappeared into a copse of trees.

At last! She could fully use her supernatural abilities away from the eyes of humans.

Kimber allowed her magic to flow freely through her body, her feet flying across the ground so fast that she felt herself pulling away from the dirty beasts chasing her. Her head spinning right and left as she decided which way to turn, but again she was pulled back toward the path, her body shaking with the sheer power it was taking for her to remain on her route. When all she wanted to do was double back and return the way she’d come . . . and right smack into the arms of those hunting her. What the heck was going on?

She was fighting against herself so much her concentration broke when she stumbled through some bushes, going head over ass, twice, and ending up with her head ringing and a flock of doves breaking free to fly around her in panic. At the same time, two fully shifted Wolves leaped through ready to rip her to shreds, claws flying, jaws snapping, and froth dripping from disgustingly sharp teeth.

Several poor doves were caught in their arrival, white bloody feathers drifting down around her as their bodies dropped like stones to land at her feet. Kimber reached down, picking one of the birds up that was injured, its heart fluttering wildly as its broken wing flailed around uselessly. “You fucking bastard mutts! I’ll make you pay for that.”

Sadness at the brutal destruction of the perfect creatures around her filled her soul, her Dragon firing up, ready to wreak revenge for them . . . but before she could do anything another evil joined them. A small dark man arrived, a tattoo covering half of his face, the unmistakable stench of dark magic leaking from him as he glared down at her.

“Don’t move a muscle, Kimber, because if you do, I swear I’ll order these two to go and rip those fragile little ones apart.” He placed a hand on each of the Wolves heads, giving their fur a harsh tug. “They’ll do it without so much as a moment’s thought and I can almost smell the blood that would pour from those sweet bodies . . . can you? They’re so small and fragile. Aren’t they, Kimber? Tiny little things that these two could decimate in minutes if you try and escape. So, what’s it to be? Are you going to run? Or do as you’re fucking told?”

She froze, still with the dove in her hand and bloody feathers all around, her heart beating against her ribs so hard she wondered if it would break through in a bloody mess and kill her stone dead. Caught. She was caught and she could do nothing. Not unless she was willing to kill those children, because she had no doubt whatsoever that this being before her would carry out his threat. His eyes were like ice, hard, deadly and she was under no illusion that his threat was not an empty one. He was stone cold serious and she knew it as certain as she knew she was screwed.

Her life was over. Plain and simple. Her heart closed down at the same time as she forced her mind to stop thinking of anything but taking another breath. Forcing air in and out was all she could do, her eyes dropping to the dove in her hands as her fight left her. She couldn’t allow those kids to be harmed just so she could gain her freedom. It was too high a price to pay and she couldn’t have that taint on her soul. It would haunt her for the rest of her life and the weight of it would be too heavy a load for her to carry. Her one and only thought was how she could get away from here and then, hopefully, put up a big enough fight that it would end in her death.

That would be preferable to being a slave to this evil man gloating before her. The way his eyes had roamed over her had left her with no illusion of what he had planned for her. Her skin crawled at the thought of what he had in mind and she knew she wouldn’t survive, rather, her mind wouldn’t. She’d break into a million shards the second he placed his hands on her. Tears sprang into her eyes, but she refused to allow them to fall, keeping her gaze on the graceful bird in her hands instead. Drops of blood marred its beauty but she concentrated on its exquisite feathers, not on its broken wing that lay lifeless against her palm, her finger gently stroking the bird’s chest trying to calm herself for what was to come and knowing she’d need every ounce of her inner strength just to raise herself from the ground.

“You need to move that ass of yours, Kimber.”

“You know my name,” she whispered softly.

“Of course I do,” he boasted. “I know all about you and soon I’ll own every part of you. Do you hear me? Every fucking part of you will be mine to do with as I want.”

Her body shivered, her soul crying out for someone, anyone to help her. But she knew it was futile. Nobody would come to her aid. There was nothing that could stand up against two hulking great Wolves . . . well, she could if she could have transformed and burned their asses to ash. But she couldn’t. Not before they’d been sent to hurt those children. She couldn’t transform in the blink of an eye and she’d never be able to morph in time.

Kimber’s future was bleak, shit, it was worse than that . . . it was going to be hell on earth and she could do nothing to stop it. Not if she was unwilling to put human lives at risk and that was something she’d always done. She might steal to survive but she would never hurt an innocent. “What are you going to do with me?”

She was stalling. Praying for a miracle but knowing that none would arrive.

“That’s none of your concern right now.”

“Who are you?” She refused to look at him. The darkness inside she’d had a brief glimpse of was enough to make her want to vomit but she couldn’t stop herself from asking. “I’ve got the right to know that at least.”

“My name is Skotall and you could say I’m a Dark Elf, although I’m not fond of that title. I’m an Elf that just happens to be powerful in dark magic, that’s all you need to know,” he snapped out, his tone sharp. “And enough with trying to stall me. Get up on your own or I’ll have one of my pets here snap at you until you do as you’re told.”

Her eyes stayed locked on the dove, unable to tear them away because she knew the second she did that her life was over. Her body remained on the ground, unable to move. Her brain shutting down piece by piece as her only defense against what she knew was surely coming. She could almost taste Skotall’s arousal and she couldn’t face it, she just . . . could not face him.