The Delta's Daughter Chapter 361

RHETT

My men and I moved fast. Navigating the terrain. We dumped the vehicles some miles away.

Mike hadn't even cut the mind link before I was up stuffing my gear in my pack and less than an hour later, we rolled out. Heading to Golden Circle.

The Blood Alchemist, AKA Senko or the Shadow Witch, had my Jonda. He had given them twenty-four hours to trade her life for the kids and his breeder. Who I could assume was Lyric. Mistaking her for her sister.

I knew there would be no trade. It wouldn't even be thought of. I was in the same mind.

Despite Jonda being my mate, I honestly felt a deep attraction to her, but I didn't feel the full pull of the bond like full shifters would. I was without a spirit animal. I was a hybrid. A hunter. Not a shifter. Still, I could never in a billion years think of trading the life of a child into the hands of a monster.

I hadn't slept and I wouldn't let my men or the trackers and warriors that were with me rest either. Time was of crucial essence.

It didn't matter to me how Mike felt about Jonda. If he was still in love with her or not. And it didn't matter to me if she wanted him rather than me. Those two impending matters did not factor in my drive to get there to save her, to rescue her.

We had been tracking her movements and following up on leads for the better part of two weeks with nothing but finding her car to alert us to the area she was in.

We found footage of her at a fill-up station. I had to watch as she was knocked unconscious, a rag stuffed over her face, and then thrown into the back of a car. We managed to track the direction of the car, but that was as far as we got. Up until now, we were working on hunches.

That was until Mike linked me, telling me that the Shadow Witch had her.

Now it was a race against time.

All I could think about was getting to her.

If only I had gone after the day she ran from the cells. If I hadn't fought with Mike then maybe, just maybe, she would be here with us. I felt guilty. Ashamed. She was meant to be my mate and I let her down.

I was meant to be the one who could break her curse. But what did I do when faced with the facts? I acted like a fool. That's what I did.

Well, not this time. We would get her back and out of the madman's clutches. Mike and I together. I knew he loved her, how could he not? I wasn't sure if I loved her. I hadn't been given the chance to find out, to get to know her. Everything happened so fast.

But what I can say is: I never stopped thinking about her after that night. A chance meeting in a dive bar. She turned me down, but in the end, there had to have been something there. I remember feeling protective of her. I remember her telling me no and trying to walk away. But fate had other ideas, I guess. Because like two stars on a collision course, we came together, and it was explosive, magical. Life altering.

"Ten miles out Gamma." One of the trackers advises.

At this point, we are on foot. It was faster and a shorter distance instead of taking the roads. We were early. I thought we wouldn't be there until nightfall - after the deadline. But the gods were on our side, allowing me to run faster than ever before. Allowing me to push harder. Maybe that was the determination and resolve to get Jonda back that gave me the adrenalin push I needed.

For once I wasn't behind the shifters. I was front and center leading the race towards the woman I had feeling for. The woman who was the sister of Queen Tala and the woman my best friend had fallen in love with and chosen to be his mate.

The idea that they may still want each other didn't sit well with me, but in the grand scheme of what was going on that was, or should be, the least of my worries.

Get her back and deal with the shit once she is safe. I tell myself.

I push myself, calling on all the power I was gifted as a knight. Tapping into that hybrid strength and speed to propel myself faster.

It seems like hours, and it probably was, by the time we reached the border of Golden Circle.

The snow is pelting down at this point. Blanketing the ground with fresh powder, covering scents and thick dense air that looms heavy with more snow, blocks out surrounding sounds.

Through the thickness of the falling snow, we hear muffled growls, the clash of swords, and screams. The fight had already begun.

My feet turn slightly toward the sounds of fighting. I knew we had cut it close, but it seemed like the fight had started without us.

We reach a clearing and all around are the forms of wolves and men fighting against creatures and other inhuman beings. The crack of a whip catches my attention, and my eyes slide left and right becoming very aware of our surroundings.

My heart thumps wildly, whether it's because of running or because I spot the familiar color of a female's hair. "Jonda," I whisper to myself.

I don't let my men take a break. Our brethren are falling as we watch. Some being ripped limb from limb, others falling to the ground in agony from a wound.

*I'm here* I mind link Mike and jumping into the fight, drawing my bow and arrows, wasting no time to send a few flying into the enemies. Fighting my way to the beauty that's being held against a strange-looking male. The same male we saw in the footage of the palace and the fill-up station.

Beats as big as Lamia's wolf pounce on wolves and warriors. Shredding them in seconds. The ground is saturated with blood. So much blood that even the thick covering of snow can't absorb it all and the crimson liquid pools around the lifeless bodies and dismembered limbs.

A mighty roar is let loose, shaking the bare branches and ruffling the evergreens. I look to see Mike rushing toward Jonda. Who drops to her knees, slipping out of the grasp of the thing holding her.

My heart drops as the air becomes still, thudding as her knees hit the ground and she slumps into the snow. Not moving. I too roar out and fuck anything in my path as I draw my sword and slice and slash making my way toward her. To my Jonda.

The sky darkens quickly. Unnaturally quickly. The snow falls faster, harder. The flakes are bigger. A thunderous rumble cackles and a bright and brilliant blue light fills the sky. The sound electrifying as a bolt of lightning crashes into the middle of the battle and hits Mike. Right as he reaches Jonda.

*****

JONDA

It's cold and dark. I lay on my back staring at the metal ceiling. I know I'm not at the master's compound, I want to know where I am but every time, I try to think the black veins push the heat of scorching fire through my body.

Every time I want to remember, my head pounds. My mind feels broken, used, and controlled. I think it is.

The burning comes again.

I try to remember why I'm here, and where I am but I can't. I try not to lose myself. But it's useless. I'm useless. I try to break free of the prison that holds my mind. I just can't.

A clanging and rolling noise stirs me. I avert my eyes to where the noise is coming from.

Twenty-Nine opened the back of the truck, a vile smirk on his face. His mustard eyes gleamed with excitement and dare I say a foretelling that it was time.

"Let's go little beta mate." His tone was condescending and full of maliciousness.

I fought the urge to do as he told me. But it was no good. I couldn't deny his command any more than I could deny my masters. I stood from the mat I had been laying on and no sooner than I did his nasty cold and curled hands snatched at me. Pulling me roughly from the back of the truck.

"Maybe if they brought the boy, the master will let you live. Though I doubt it." He chuckled lowly. I couldn't only stare at him. No emotion graced me. I couldn't even hate him. It was wrong to hate the master's children.

"Where are we going?" I asked not understanding why Master would want to kill me. I try to frown. I think I frowned as Twenty-Nine pulled me forward.

Beasts, big and scary, jowls drooling and growling were pacing back and forth in cages. An army of men and women stood waiting in formation for their master's orders.

I was drug through the snow and cold, to goddess knows where. The forest seemed familiar, but I could recall why.

Everything was a blur. I didn't even know who these people were or why we were here.

"You better hope your beta mate loves you enough." Twenty-nine went on.

My beta. My mate.

Mike. His name came to me. My love. Internally I smiled remembering his face. But the burning pain seared through me as I dared to think for myself.

The army marches forward. So many men. The creatures gather to the side of another beast, much larger with more spikes and horns than the others. The biggest and the only one whose skin is black.

Master sits on top of it. Like a lord of his subjects. His slaves. As one they all move forward and Twenty-nine drags me with them walking by the side of the master's beast.

I hear the master speak when we come to a stop. His voice is loud and commanding. Consuming and I listen if only to hear his voice. "I have come to claim what is mine."

"We don't make deals with the enemy. I told you this Senko." My eyes shift to the familiar voice, landing on a face that I barely recall. "Give me the female and no one needs to die."

The female? The familiar and handsome face turns his eyes on me. I'm the female. He is my mate. My love. My Mike.

"Give me the boy and my breeder!" Master shouts annoyed. I scowl, at least I think I do.

"Never!" My love snarls back.

Bits and pieces begin to come back to me. I was meant to be traded for a child. No!

The sharp tip of a knife digs between my shoulder blades. Twenty-Nine sneers behind me - a hiss-like growl.

I couldn't let them trade me for a child. My inner conscious told me it was wrong.

Snarls and barks filled the air. Growling and baying. The army breaks formation rushing toward my love and the fighters that stand behind him.

I watch with bated breath and horror as blood spills. Pouring from limbs on both sides. The internal burning begins, gripping me with agonizing pain.

This isn't right. I think. The carnage and butchery taking place because of… me.

A moment of clarity hits me as I once again lock eyes with my love. My Beta. My Mike.

He swings his sword fighting off the beasts and master's army, coming to me. He's coming for me.

I can't let him die. Not for me.

The searing pain amplifies. I almost doubled over. But I stand fast. Knowing they will all die, and I will still be locked in this mental prison.

Mike fights his way toward me, his eyes on me the whole time with a promising look. But he can't keep that promise. I won't let him.

I leaned back feeling the tip of the dagger at my back again. Twenty-Nine's arm braces against my chest.

I know what needs to be done. I shake my head at Mike and open my mouth. I know he will hear me. "It was always you Mike. Always you."

I shove my body backward as hard and fast as I can. The sharp blades pierced through the skin and bone in my back, the blade hot and scorching as it digs deep.

I feel myself scream, but I don't hear it. I feel the heat of my blood as my life force drains away.

Everything becomes dark, the air becomes heavy, and my breathing labored. I slip from Twenty-Nine's arms. The cold snow cushioned my fall as my knees hit the ground. I fall forward, accepting death.

"Jonda!" Warm hands turn me over, brushing the hair from my face, "Jonda." The voice weeps. My eyes stare up, fluttering to see who is holding me.

"Mike," I lift my hand, brushing it over his face, trying to smile as mind and body wane on the brink of the afterlife. "I choose you." I splutter as pain ebbs its way through me. "It was always you." I choke on the blood in my mouth.

My hand feels heavy and drops from my love's face. His hazel eyes bore into me filled with tears.

"No, no, no." His hand frantically touches me.

It's too late. Maybe now the fighting will stop. I'm going to miss him; I know I will. I feel it, but I can't remember why. Because he is my mate, that's what Master keeps telling me.

"I love you." I manage as he roars out his pain and a flash of blue light surrounds me.