Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 159487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
“As my mate,” Ravik snapped. “Not yours.”
Severin’s mouth tightened.
“I never claimed otherwise.”
“That’s a fucking lie and you know it! If you weren’t acting like she was your mate too, then why did we share her?”
Ravik swung again.
This time, Severin didn’t let the blow land unanswered. He blocked it with one forearm and drove his shoulder into Ravik’s chest, shoving him back a step. Ravik snarled and came at him again, and suddenly the two of them were grappling like a pair of wild animals, boots tearing up the damp grass, massive bodies colliding with enough force to make Cassie’s stomach twist.
“Stop it!” she screamed. “Both of you, stop!”
Neither one listened.
Ravik threw a punch that Severin ducked at the last second. Severin retaliated with a hard blow to Ravik’s ribs, and Ravik grunted but barely seemed to feel it. Then the Beast Kindred drove forward, caught Severin by the front of his shirt, and slammed him backward against the base of the tower hard enough to make metal shriek.
Severin’s oculars fell halfway down his nose.
Ravik hit him again.
This time there was a sharp crack as the lenses shattered.
“No!” Cassie cried.
The broken oculars flew sideways into the grass, one lens spiderwebbed and the frame bent. Severin’s head snapped back and blood appeared at the corner of his mouth, bright red against his pale skin. For a moment he looked almost shocked—not by the pain, Cassie thought—but by the fact that Ravik had actually broken something he knew Severin needed.
Then the Blood Kindred’s expression went icy. He shoved Ravik back and punched him hard in the jaw. Ravik staggered, then lunged again. They were going to kill each other—Cassie was sure of it!
She didn’t think—she just moved.
Darting between them, she threw up both hands as though she could somehow stop two enormous alien warriors with sheer panic and attitude.
It was a stupid thing to do—she knew it the second she did it, but by then it was too late. Ravik had already swung and Severin was already moving to deflect the blow.
The punch glanced off Severin’s forearm and clipped Cassie on the side of the head.
For a moment, the world flashed white.
Pain exploded near her temple and the ground seemed to tilt sideways. She heard someone shout her name—maybe both of them—and then she was falling.
Her knees hit the grass first, then one hand, and the damp ground rushed up beneath her as the sky spun in a sickening circle overhead.
Everything went muffled…then both males were there, bending over her with terrified expressions on their faces.
“Cassandra!” Severin’s voice was sharp with horror.
“Cassie!” Ravik dropped beside her, his big hands hovering over her as though he was afraid to touch her and afraid not to at the same time. “Gods, baby—did I hurt you?”
Cassie blinked hard, trying to make the world stop moving. Her head rang and her stomach rolled, but at least she was conscious—that had to count for something. She hoped, anyway. She touched the side of her head and winced when her fingers found a tender spot already beginning to throb.
“I’m fine,” she said, though she was absolutely not fine. “I mean, I’m not dead, which is apparently the bar we’re working with today.”
Ravik looked stricken and Severin’s face had gone pale except for the bright red smear of blood at the corner of his mouth.
“You’re dizzy,” he said, reaching for her chin with careful fingers and tilting her face up to his. “Look at me, Cassandra. Follow my finger,” he commanded, moving his index finger from side to side.
“Do not give me a concussion test while I’m mad at you,” she muttered, but she followed his finger anyway because he looked genuinely terrified.
Ravik made a rough sound and touched her shoulder with unbearable gentleness.
“I’m so fucking sorry—I didn’t mean to hit you, baby.”
“I know.” Cassie closed her eyes for a second, then opened them again when that made the spinning worse. “But you two idiots were so busy trying to beat the crap out of each other that I got caught in the middle.”
Severin looked down and Ravik’s jaw worked. For once, neither of them had anything to say, which was good, Cassie thought.
She sat up slowly with Severin’s hand under one elbow and Ravik’s big hand on her back. Her head hurt and her pride hurt and her heart hurt most of all, because the look on both their faces made it clear they were horrified by what had happened. They would never have hurt her on purpose—she knew that.
But they had hurt each other on purpose…and somehow that felt almost as bad.
Ravik rose to his feet first, breathing hard. His hands were clenched at his sides and his gaze moved from Cassie’s face to Severin’s broken oculars lying in the grass. For half a second, shame flickered over his features. Then he pushed it down and looked back at Severin.