The Wild Hunt (Downworlder Series, #1)

Chapter Twenty-One: The Cat and The Mouse

A week later

Ajax was sleeping, hugging the covers on the bed I had shoved towards him to get him to let me go. I let my eyes trail over his form, a habit I had gotten after his fight with Benjin. His skin, while scarred from his time in the wilds, was unmarked from his fight. I looked at my own arms, I was absolutely covered in heavy bruising still. My ribs were still slightly fractured and Ajax hovered even more. His hands gently trailed over the bruises on my skin, his expression dark as he did so.

Benjin was already up and running and dragging me back to the training room. He took it easier on me than he normally did, showing me technical moves rather than actual fighting. Which was probably a good idea anyway. My beast had come back with a vengeance, willing to challenge anyone and everyone regardless of who they were.

Benjin said it was normal and that we had to simply deal with it until she settled down. Until then I had to deal with her reacting to everything with a rather unnecessary amount of anger. Even Ajax got the reaction but all he had to do was flash some teeth and give a deep growl and she instantly went belly up. The moment he saw that he would give me a toothy grin and pull me close to his chest, telling me that my beast had fire and he was proud. In his rather stunted and monosyllabic way.

He was managing to worm further and further into the walls I had built around myself. He was just so... different from anyone I had ever encountered. Men on downworld had always been the same when I encountered them. They were forceful, vulgar, and grabby. While Ajax was grabby he never attempted to force me into anything, he never said anything vulgar and I doubted he knew enough too. He was one of the most genuine people I had met on downworld and he had lived in the fucking wild for years. If that didn't explain the state of the world I lived in, I didn't know what would.

I looked to the window as I wiped at my eyes. I was too tired to be awake but I hadn't been able to sleep. My brain seemed a bit too busy for any type of rest. I frowned when I heard a rather timid knock on the door. I glanced at Ajax but he buried his face deeper into the blankets, inhaling deeply. The knock came a bit more forceful and I sighed before heading towards it. I didn't want Ajax to wake up and question why I wasn't sleeping. It would be impossible for me to let him know what it was because even I didn't.

I pulled open the door, rubbing my eyes again. "What?" A guard motioned me to step out and I sighed. "Octavia better have a good fucking reason for this." Bothering me at three in the morning was not a good way to get on my happy side. My beast gave a rumbling growl and I was inclined to agree with her.

"She didn't give a reason." He shrugged and I let out another heavy sigh before closing the door behind me. He gestured me forward and I crossed my arms over my chest as I moved passed him and down the hall. He walked behind me and my beast wanted to snap her teeth at him in agitation. He was walking too close for her comfort.

"Can you back u-" I was cut short as he jabbed something into my neck. I gave a deep growl and whirled around but my body suddenly felt heavy and disjointed, my movements sluggish as I tried to retaliate. I hit the ground, not feeling the impact against my bruised body as the fog wrapped around me tightly. My consciousness flitting in and out of reality. The bastard had drugged me.

I wasn't sure what was doing on but I was aware that he had taken me from the tower as streetlights passed over head, brightening the dark behind my eyelids momentarily. I couldn't feel my beast but I was aware she was there, wrapped up in just as much fog as I was. When it wore off I could murder the bastard. The thought of being kidnapped barely phased me, all I wanted was to kick the shit out of the guy who took me.

I felt the drugs lessening in my system. My metabolism burning through them rather quickly. I wasn't sure how long I had been in the heavy fog but I was more than irritated and my beast seemed to speeding up the process with her own anger. I was pulled from whatever I was lying on and I was able to find some strength in my limp legs as I was practically dragged across what felt like pavement. My vision was becoming more and more clear and I realized we were on the far side of the territory, right close to Revan's territory. It was dark out and I could see several figures standing in the circle of a street light.