His Miracle Mate

Chapter 44

I expected Ezra to growl, break some glass or something. But as my hand fisted the back of his shirt in panic, his own hand went around me, pushing me closer to his back. He was silent. Calm. Too calm.

His end of the bond felt like the deep ocean. Placid. Dark. With the promise of a monster lurking in its murky waters.

"You're going to lose your heads before you take her away from me," Ezra said in a bone chilling voice. It wasn't the voice I was used to. His words held a pledge of death.

"You will give her to us, your highness, if you don't want the humans to discover our little secret," the man replied, his voice smug. "I'm going to shift right here, right now, if you don't."

My eyes widened. The three skyscrapers standing in front of me stiffened. I peeked through a gap between Sam and Ezra's arms. The man looked dead serious. His eyes started to glow. Oh my God, he wasn't bluffing.

Ezra's hand pressed me tighter to his back. I glanced at the doors. The other rogues were still waiting right outside. People walked in and out of the store. Unsuspecting humans. I glanced up and around. Surveillance cameras. If he shifted here, it would be a disaster.

There was no way out of this. Except maybe...

"Ezra. The guards are still outside right?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied, his voice tight. Sam threw me a glance before fixing his glare on the wolves, still waiting for Ezra's response.

"Do the other rogues know about them?"

"No, they're still hidden, waiting for my instructions."

"Good. Look, maybe I-"

"No."

I sighed. Of course he would have thought of it.

"So? What's it going to be? People are starting to notice," the rogue said, grinning. His canines were already longer than normal.

And he was right. One of the cashiers had her hand on a phone. She'd probably call the police if we didn't move.

"Listen to me," I said firmly. "That's the only way. You know that. Besides, we have an advantage, they don't know I can link you and they don't know about the guards."

"Dammit," he hissed, looking over his shoulder at me. The bond was strained with a sense of panic. "We can get just slaughter them and take care of the humans later."

"You know that's going to be difficult. There are too many humans for you to contain the situation." I put my forehead on his back. "You'll come for me. I know you will. Nothing is going to go wrong. Please, let's do this."

There was a moment of silence. He exchanged a look with Sam, who nodded.

Ezra cursed. "Fine."

"I'll go," I said out loud, stepping between Sam and Ezra. Ezra's hand found mine, and he clutched it like a life line, keeping me from moving forward.

"Come on, prince. The girl has a good head on her shoulders. It's better this way," the rogue said, his eyes scanning me from head to toe. For his sake, I hoped Ezra hadn't caught his look, because he would rip his body apart faster than I could say decapitation.

"Be careful," Ezra linked me, still not letting go.

"Don't worry," I told him with more bravado than I felt. "Just don't be late."

I pried my hand out of his and walked toward the rogues. They instantly closed their ranks around me and turned to the door.

The rogue leader looked over his shoulder at Ezra. "There's more of us outside. And we have the girl anyway. I don't think she'll mind missing a finger or two if you guys decide to be heroic."