Page 94 of Cats Never Fly

Thedrugs that had made me groggy a minute ago were draining quickly from my system.Ithad to be because ofSimon.Thatwas the only explanation.

AndnowIwas ready to kick some asses.

“Ineed to find the keys,”Simonsaid as he squirmed in my arms to get free. “Getyou out of here.”

“No.”Thesingle word came out more like a roar, my dragon adamant about not letting my mate risk himself again.

“Ogden.”Simonpeered up at me.Hisyellowy-green gaze met mine. “Idon’t take unnecessary risks, remember?Ilike having my…”Hiswords stopped abruptly.Aflash of pain shot over his face.

“What?Whathappened?”

Heshook his head.

“Idon’t take unnecessary risks,” he repeated, leaving off whatever else he’d been about to say.

Somethinghad happened.Someonehad hurt my mate.Mydragon thrashed for freedom, eager to devour my enemies.Ididn’t care ifIhad to swallow them whole.Iwanted to destroy them.Somesmall rational part of me recognized it’d take a long time to digest something the size of a human, though, andIdidn’t want to be stuck in my dragon form that long.ButifIgot free,Iwasn’t sure my rational thoughts would have any sway over my desire for revenge and the need to protect my mate.

“Ogden, please…”Simon’ssoft paw touched my cheek. “Ineed you out of this cage.”

Iglanced through the bars of my cage at the fight going on around us.Mymate’s friends fromWillowLakewere fighting my enemies, fighting for my life and my freedom, while allIcould do was sit on my ass and watch.Ihated it.

Andif they lost…

Ineeded to be free soIcould help.Itcould be the difference between winning or not.Betweensaving myself and all these other supes or living in a cage for the rest of my life.

Iswallowed hard.Witha shaky hand,Iloosened my hold onSimon.Icupped his head in my hand, and he looked up to meet my eyes.

“Youneed to be careful.Besafe,”Ichoked out. “Ifyou need to run to protect yourself, then run.”

“Ipromise.”Simonswallowed hard. “Doyou remember anything from when they brought you here?”

“Iwas unconscious.Thefirst timeIwoke up was just as that bear went for you.”Icouldn’t help him.Itwasn’t my fault,Iknew that, butIstill felt like a failure.

“I’llfind them.”Simonlicked my hand with his rough tongue like he was trying to soothe me, then he darted out of the cage.

Igripped the bars, ignoring the zing of foreign magic, and watched my brave mate sprint through the room.Iwas determined to help him, ifIcould.Thelarge bear shifter still hadn’t moved from whenI’dfried him earlier.Overthe cacophony of noise,Icouldn’t hear if his heart was still beating or not.Ihoped not.He’dthreatened to kill my mate.Hedeserved death, but even if he survived, it would take him a long time to heal from the woundsI’dinflicted.Good.Ihoped his burns got infected.

AndIwas ready to do the same to anyone else who came near me.Myfires were slowly building up again.Normallymy recovery period was quicker, butIwas obviously still impacted by the summoning.Theywere coming though.Soonthey would burn for release.Mygaze darted from one of my captors to the next.

“Getback,” the little bitch of a troll screeched.

Somewherealong the line, she’d armed herself with her favorite cattle prod, butIdoubted it’d help her.Shewas trying to work it with her non-dominant hand, since her dominant one was still wrapped up and injured from when she’d gotten too close to me the first time we’d met.

“Putthat down,”Isaacdemanded, keeping her attention on him and away from the wolf—Ithought it was probablyAdrian—who was stalking her from the other side.

Herback was against a line of cages.Theimprisoned supes, showing a surprising amount of initiative compared to the last timeIwas here, clawed at her to hold her in place.Shestruggled against their grasping hands as she shifted into her alternate form, which would harden her skin, making it more difficult to penetrate.Thatwas her only defense, though.Sinceshe couldn’t activate her cattle prod, her fight moves were limited to swinging the prod around wildly while cackling like a witch in a low-budget movie.

ShesmackedIsaacacross the face.Beforeshe could lift the prod again,Adrianhad her arm clamped in his teeth.Shethrashed her arm from side to side to dislodge him.

“Run,Edgar,” she shouted.

Butit was too late for the human.DavinaandTeaguehad already cornered him.Good.Heand his cohorts deserved to be at the mercy of a death mage.

“Don’thurt me!”Thehuman lifted his hands in the air.Hispants were shredded, andIwondered if that was my mate’s work. “Isurrender.”

Thatwas the first thing the human had done that showed he wasn’t a complete idiot.

“Perfect.I’lltake this one,”Davinashouted to her teammates.Shewas laughing as she manhandled the man until he was belly down on the dirty concrete floor with his arms and legs spread out.Shemight only have been amedium, but the way she moved,Ididn’t doubt she could have taken down any of the supes.Thehuman sobbed asDavinachecked through his torn pockets.