An hour later. Two femurs. At least, she was pretty sure they were femurs. A broken knee and a tibia. A sliced up throat and more injured organs. Things like spleens and a heart. A punctured lung. Orrick was the lucky recipient of that. Cadon had to free the rib and realign it. Then he had to pull poor Orrick’s chest closed. Thankfully the big guy had only woken up towards the end. After just over two very long hours, Cadon finally stood up from his position next to Locke and stretched. He was covered in blood and so she really shouldn’t have noticed how stunning his back was. ‘Sculpted’ came to mind. And that ass.

She was pregnant and afraid and he wasn’t even human and yet, she noticed. Did she ever! Problem was, Cadon noticed her noticing when he turned to face her. Kerry was sure to keep her eyes firmly on his. “Would you like to get cleaned up before I take you…wherever I need to take you?”

“Yes, please.”

“I think I could do with a shower myself.” He looked down and she had to will herself not to follow his line of vision. “As soon as my males are fit to travel, we will be heading back to…where we came from. I’m not sure if we’ll be back on human soil any time soon.”

“In other words, I’m out of a job.”

Cadon nodded. “I’m sorry. As soon as I’m cleaned up, I’ll take you wherever you need to go. Please don’t tell anyone anything about what you saw today.”

“Don’t worry about that, it’s not like they’d believe me. I’d end up in a straitjacket somewhere.”

“Look, you helped out today and it’s not your fault this happened. I’m going to pay you something.”

“Nah.” She waved her hand, even though a big part of her told her to take the money. “I had to help. I don’t want to be paid for that, and today was my first day on the job so it’s not like you owe me anything.”

“I do!” His voice was firm. “You just told me you had nowhere to go. You were counting on this position. I don’t want you or the baby to come to harm because this happened.” He looked around.

Take it! Take it! “I can’t possibly…” she began, not putting enough effort into it.

“Look, we’re a wealthy species. We have more money than we can spend in a lifetime, not that we need it. I’m going to give you some money for your trouble. For putting yourself in harm’s way, and that’s final.” He spoke softly but in that same commanding tone that had her nodding her head.

“Okay. Fine.”

“Good.”

“I’m going to go and shower and then I’ll pack my things.” She looked down at her ruined clothing. Turned out that holding onto a guy’s jugular would do that to a perfectly good sweater. Kerry was shocked to find that her stomach didn’t revolt at the sight of the smeared blood on the wool. In fact, she felt hungry. Her stomach rumbled.

“Please be quick. Try and get done within the next fifteen minutes.” Cadon frowned, he glanced at the broken wall.

“You’re afraid they’re going to come back.” Her heart beat faster. “Can’t you call for help? You have a cellphone?”

Cadon smiled. “No, we don’t have reception where I’m from. There is no-one to call. I would have to do that in person.”

“Oh! I’ll hurry.”

“Thank you.” He nodded. “I’m hoping the males will have had sufficient time to heal so that we can be long gone before they return, but I’m not counting on it. You definitely can’t be here if they decide to come back.”

It sounded like a plan. Kerry nodded. “I would prefer it. Those guys were…I didn’t like the way they looked at me.”

His eyes hardened up. “Me neither. Let’s get going.” He pointed to the stairs.

“Surely if they think we’re together they’ll leave me alone? They do think we’re together, don’t they?”

“They bought into it but it’s not a pretense we can keep up for any length of time.” He shrugged. “I don’t trust any of them. They’re not a part of…us,” he finally tagged on.

She could see he didn’t want to divulge too much. “That much I gathered.” Kerry headed for the stairs as she spoke.

“They’re unpredictable and dangerous. They aren’t governed by the same rules as we are. They aren’t governed by any rules.” He muttered the last, almost to himself.

Kerry glanced back at Cadon. “I didn’t like them at all. They gave me a bad vibe.”

“You were right to worry,” he said as they arrived at her door. “Fifteen minutes. I know it isn’t long but you really don’t want to be here if they return.”

A shiver rushed up her spine at the thought. Kerry nodded. “I’ll be quick.” Without waiting to hear any more, she raced into the room and packed her meager supplies. Thankfully, she had another one of those sweaters. Her jeans had smudges of blood on them, but they would have to do.

Next, she undressed and packed the dirty clothing, leaving her underwear and jeans next to the clean sweater. That left her with seven minutes to shower and dress. No time to wash her hair, which was fine. She tied it into a bun on the top of her head and headed for the shower. It didn’t take long for the water to heat.

Kerry was generous with the shower gel. It was one of the men’s brands and smelled of aftershave, but she didn’t care. It would do the job just fine. She was just rinsing the soap off when she heard an inhuman shriek downstairs. It was loud and terrifying. She didn’t know how she knew from just that one short burst of sound but she did. Cadon had been right to worry.

They were back.

They were coming for her and right now. She’d only just exited the shower and placed a towel over her front when the bathroom door flew open, coming off its hinges from the impact.

Kerry screamed, clutching the towel, as he came at her.

Worth sounded the alarm with one high-pitched burst. His cry brought gooseflesh to Cadon’s skin. He had to work not to shift right there in the shower stall. The space upstairs, especially there in the bathroom, was small, and shifting might injure him. Something he could ill afford right now. He needed to protect the human.

He needed to stay calm and collected so that she didn’t get hurt. Cadon was already at his bedroom door when she screamed. Her bedroom door was open. Her bathroom door was broken and hanging off its hinges.

“Magnar,” he growled as he entered the small bathroom. “Let her go.”

The male gripped the female’s free wrist. Kerry had a small towel clutched to her chest, she was facing Magnar. At this angle, he could see her from the side. He could see a side view of her ass, her long thighs. He could even see the plump outline of the side swell of one of her breasts.

A lump lodged itself in his throat just as his balls tightened. Right there and right then. Cadon looked up at her panic-stricken face, trying hard to stop what was happening with his body.

It didn’t work.

By feather, tail and claw…it didn’t work at all.

His prick hardened and then hardened some more. There was a pulling in his lower belly as a need to mount took hold of him. He could see that Magnar was feeling it just as acutely. Blast and damn and blast again!

“Unhand my female and do it now.” If he didn’t act, Kerry might end up hurt, or worse. He wasn’t sure what the male might do. The only thing he got from Magnar right now was lust, pure and untethered. The same raw emotions rushed through him. He wanted to yank her out of Magnar’s grip and take her for himself. He didn’t care who watched. Cadon growled, the sound slowly turning into a shriek.

His own prick was jutting from his body. He worked hard not to look at Kerry. Even her slightly rounded belly, covered by the scrap of a towel, did nothing but heighten his need to bury himself in her snatch. He growled again, softer this time. He sounded desperate.

Magnar growled as well, his chest heaving. “Your female?” Magnar snorted. “I think not. Why were the two of you showering separately? Why is she in this bedroom and not in the one you were using?”

“It was practical to shower separately. Quicker that way,” he added when Magnar did not seem to buy it. “I had hoped to get Kerry to safety before you returned. I knew you would come back.” Act cool! Keep it calm. “I hope you didn’t kill anyone, or hurt a female.”

Magnar shook his head. “They were, they…I don’t know what to make of them, and no!” he growled. “I did not kill anyone even though I was tempted.” He pushed a breath out through his nose. “I’m still not convinced she’s yours. I doubt the two of you have been mounting.” He looked at Cadon’s erection.

Cadon was tempted to cover up but didn’t. “You are jumping to conclusions you know nothing about.” What conclusions? The male was right on the money, only he couldn’t admit it. His mind raced trying to come up with an explanation. Any kind of explanation.

“I think you are lying. You aren’t mounting this female, or you wouldn’t be sporting that.” This time he pointed at Cadon’s prick. “It looks the same as mine and I haven’t mounted a female in ten years.” He kept pointing at Cadon’s prick.

Kerry followed his line of sight. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened.

Magnar didn’t seem to notice her reaction. Thank claw! The male was still too busy staring at Cadon’s prick. “I’m not sure what to make of this. One thing is for certain and it’s that you are not mounting this female.” Their eyes locked as he let her go. It was only so that he could yank her against him. “I think I’ll take her.”

Rage tore through Cadon as he watched her curves disappear against Magnar. As the male’s hand clutched her back. She arched away. “No!” she yelled before turning desperate eyes on him. “I’ve been sick. Too sick,” she yelled, anguish filling every word.

Magnar let her go so quickly she almost fell. Kerry somehow managed to find her footing. Cadon moved to stand in front of her. “No!” he snarled the word. “No…” Much calmer. “Human females sometimes become sick when they are pregnant…with clutch,” he quickly added. “It is not clutch sickness.”

“Yes.” Kerry stepped in beside him. Her towel more firmly around herself. Thank feather! It helped him get air back into his lungs. Helped him think a little more clearly.

She nodded, her hand white-knuckled as it fisted the towel between her plump…No…he needed to focus. Needed to do it now! She swallowed thickly. “I have been feeling nauseous. Just morning sick.” She shook her head. “Like Cadon said, it’s normal…for a human. I should start feeling better soon. In fact, I have been; we’ll be able to get back to…sex any day now.” She stuttered and stumbled.

She was a bad liar. Hopefully Magnar would think it was nerves. The male narrowed his eyes on her. “I’m not sure I believe you.”

“My female isn’t interested in you. She already has a male…me,” he snarled.

“Given time—” Magnar reached for her but Kerry slapped his hand away.

“Never ever in a million years.” She shook her head so hard that hair from the clump on her head broke free and fell about her shoulders.

“I would be willing to raise the chicks as my own.” Magnar smirked at him.

Cadon snarled as his fist connected with Magnar’s face. There was a satisfying crunch as cartilage splintered behind the force of the blow. Bastard! Magnar flew back, hitting the shower stall, which shattered. Good!

Instead of coming at him as expected, Magnar laughed. Blood spewed from his nose, making his teeth red. “For a second there, I thought you’d turned soft.” He nodded.

“You can be thankful I didn’t want my female getting hurt.” He pushed Kerry behind him. She was visibly shaken. He hooked an arm around her, feeling her soft skin beneath his fingers. His prick throbbed. His balls were so tight, his belly coiled with the need to come. This was no time to think about what was going on with him. That it had happened to him. The same thing as Talon. He grit his molars. He didn’t need this. Not right now.

Magnar nodded, still grinning. The male spat blood onto the floor at his feet in a red spray. “I’m more inclined to believe the two of you now. Pity! She is a fine specimen.” His eyes filled with lust as he looked past Cadon at the female.

Cadon growled, the rumble turning into a screech of warning. He needed to make it look real.

“Here’s the deal,” Magnar said.

“No deal. You leave!”

Magnar turned deadly serious. “You are in no position to make demands.”

“Oh, but I am. You may outnumber us here and now, but we outnumber The Fallen by a long shot and you know it.”

Magnar shrugged. “So what! All that matters is here and now. I don’t see any reinforcements on their way. I think that it is safe to say that it is the six of you for the foreseeable future. Time will tell either way and it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

Blast, it seemed the male planned to stay. “You would be wrong! It could end up spelling death for you and your team. Is death a risk you are willing to take?”

“Yes,” Magnar said, without hesitation. “We came for females and we are not leaving without them.”

“Good luck with getting a human to look your way.”

“I don’t need luck when I have you.” Magnar cocked his head. “You were successful. You will show us how it is done.”

“No!”

“Then I will take your female. Once she has had me…” Magnar gripped his still erect prick, making Cadon’s lip curl back in a silent snarl, “just once, I will win her over. I will take her and your clutch. Just you try me and you will be sorry!” his voice boomed. The male was crazy enough to do it.

Kerry pushed herself against his back. He could feel her shaking, could hear her tiny breaths. She was petrified and Cadon couldn’t blame her. The Fallen were savage. Misfits and outcasts, the lot of them. “I doubt that I could teach any of you anything about humans or how to behave in a way that would attract one. I would—”

“You had better hope and damn well pray that is not the case. You had better do your damnedest to ensure that we win females, or I can promise you I will have a fantastic time convincing your female that I am the right male for her.”

Kerry whimpered, pressing herself more firmly against his back. He could feel her breath on his skin, could feel the wet of her tears.

“All of you?” Impossible. Forget it! “I will agree to helping you, but…”

“All of us,” Magnar growled. “We will stay here…right here until you make it happen.”

Cadon held Magnar’s gaze. He could see that there was nothing he could say or do to dissuade him. Magnar was right, no-one was coming. No-one was expecting them.

“It will be a lot of work,” Cadon warned.

“Fine.” Magnar nodded.

“It will also require change. Major change.”

“What kind of change?” He frowned.

“Lots. For starters, you wouldn’t be able to walk around naked. You would need to cut your hair and shave. Change the way you speak. The way you think.”

Magnar snorted. “I can’t change the way I think.”

“Then you will struggle to win a human.”

Magnar seemed to ponder this.

“No killing! No fighting,” Cadon went on, “No mounting without express permission from a female. You touch anyone against their will and our deal is off.”

Magnar stared at him through hard eyes.

“My female gets to go to a place of safety—”

“No!” Magnar snarled. “I agree to everything but that. Besides, she will be perfectly safe here just as long as you live up to your end of the bargain.”

Cadon had no leg to stand on. Nothing!

“The female is collateral in this,” Magnar continued, “She is my insurance that you will do as you are told.”

“That’s unacceptable,” Cadon snarled, knowing he was on the losing end of this battle. There was a male in the bedroom and two more in the hallway. There were several more downstairs. His own males were still downed. Blast! There was nothing he could do. He was backed into a corner.

“It is what it is. You teach us, and your female will be safe. If you thwart us in any way. Try to take word to your king…” he spat the word. “If you so much as look at us in the wrong way ‒ and that goes for your males as well ‒ our deal will be off and I will take her. I will make her mine, willing or otherwise.” He shrugged, like her fate in his hands was nothing.

“Those are unfair terms. I am not in control of what others do and say. There is no way—”

“You had better find a way. I will not hesitate to make her mine. As it stands, I am sorely tempted to do just that.” The bastard palmed his cock again.

Kerry made a sobbing noise that sounded like no. The female had been through so much. Too much. She was counting on him to keep her safe.

“Fine!” he growled. “You need to listen to me throughout. You will need to follow my instructions.”

Magnar’s face warped into one of rage. “I am the one in charge.”

“Not when it comes to human females. I will be the one in charge. Me! If you go vigilante. If any of your males go against my wishes, deal’s off. You leave. I keep my female. Are we clear?”

It took long seconds for Magnar to calm down. The male finally nodded. “Fine.” He bit out the word, like it was hard for him to say. “You need to know that you will all be watched every minute of every day. If you or one of your males even attempts to escape, I will kill you all and take her.” His eyes moved to Kerry. “No,” he shook his head, a smile toying with the corners of his mouth, “I will kill your team and leave you alive to live with the guilt. With the knowledge that your female and offspring are mine. That I am mounting her every night. Live up to your end of the bargain and all will be well. Do we have a deal?” Magnar held out his hand.

No, no and no! Cadon grit his teeth, trying to uncurl the fists that had formed at his sides. There was nothing Cadon could do. Not a damn thing! He wanted to tear into Magnar. Make the male pay for his words and despicable thoughts. In the end he had to hold his hand out. It shook with the need to destroy. “Deal,” he said it between clenched teeth. They clasped wrists. Cadon squeezed. “You so much as touch Kerry and I will hunt you down and put an end to you. I will hurt you before I kill you. You’ll beg me to finish it.”

“You’d better hold up to your end of the deal then.” Magnar’s voice was low. His eyes hard…but then so were Cadon’s. He meant every damned word. “Hagan,” he yelled. “Go with them and take their communication devices.”

“Those small things that the humans hold against their ears?” Hagan frowned.

“Yes.”

“No.” Kerry shook her head. “I need to stay in contact with my family. If I don’t they will know something is wrong and come looking for me.” Her hands shook. Her voice was filled with fear.

“Take the device,” Magnar growled. “You will be permitted to stay in contact with them, but I will personally monitor all correspondence.”

Kerry made a whimpering noise.

“I would take great pleasure in punishing you if you tried anything, female.”

Cadon knew that Magnar was baiting him, but he couldn’t help but growl. How in the hell was he going to get through a few weeks of this?