I opened my eyes at the sound of the beautiful male voice. The light emanating where the sound had come from hid the speaker from view. The monster moved away from my side. If only I could turn tail and run, but it appeared I was still bound by an unseen force.
“I got to her first, Hybrid. She’s mine.”
There it was again. That word. Hybrid. What did it mean?
“That’s where you’re wrong, Viktor. This woman is under our protection.”
Under protection. Maybe he was a police officer. Perhaps this Viktor was a serial killer or something, and he was under observation. The male with the beautiful voice didn’t appear to be alone, either. Another, his voice just as seductive, was with him. I attempted to say something and was unable to form words. My tongue felt swollen and dry.
“I discovered her before either of you. You can’t have her,” the monster growled at the two males.
“Are you really going to go up against both of us?” the second beautiful voice asked.
A loud roar filled the air around them. Flames came from around the demon. Black smoke and acrid fumes hung thick and oily in the air. Tears filled my eyes yet again and burned with the pungent stench.
“I’ll return for the human and I will claim her… right before I kill her.”
“Never going to happen, asshole,” the second male voice declared with confidence.
The words rang out through the cold night air, and when I finally managed to refocus my eyes, the scene from hell had vanished. As soon as the demon disappeared—was that what one of the other men had called it? A demon? —so did my invisible restraints. I attempted to stand and fell heavily to the ground. I watched in fascination as the two bright lights approached me. Way too much had happened to me that night. Taking off my high heels, I got to my feet and stumbled across the grass and back towards the relative safety of the road. In my panic, my voice wouldn’t come, and as much as I tried to scream, I couldn’t, so my focus remained on putting one foot in front of the other.
The sound of large wings flapping came from above. Jesus, the demon had returned to finish me off after all. Blind terror consumed me. My breath rasped in painful pants from my chest, which burned in agony. A breeze came directly from above. Arms caught me about the waist and lifted me from the ground. I kicked, and having regained my voice, I screamed loudly and attempted to bite my assailant’s arm.
“Let me go, you bastard. Please, leave me alone. I’ve done nothing,” I wailed with anger and fear mingled together.
“Be still, bella. You’re safe now.”
“I… I’m not Bella. My name is Angelina. You’ve got the wrong person,” I protested.
“No… you’re exactly the right person. You. Are. Perfection. And most of all, you are safe.”
At the sound of that sexy, gentle voice, my body stilled. Italian, I thought the accent was. Mediterranean, anyway. Warm breath snaked along my neck, sending a shiver of sexual awareness through me. Then I peered down to see I was above the clouds and I began to struggle again. Was that another set of wings flapping close by, too? This was going from bad to worse. Perhaps I was having some kind of psychotic episode. Maybe it was linked to my erotic dreams.
“Put her to sleep, Luca, before you drop her.”
I struggled some more. A pair of lips hovered close to my ear. “Sleep, Angelina. We will return you safely home.”
The sound of that hypnotic voice and everything I’d experienced that evening were too much. I slowly slipped into blackness. With any luck, I’d wake up in my bed to discover it was only a dream after all.
* * *
Luca
Salvatore and I had arrived just in time to save our mate, Angelina, from experiencing an horrific end at the hands of Viktor. This demon was long overdue for death, and it would come soon enough. Way too many Hybrids and humans had perished at his hands. He’d been a scourge on our territory for centuries. The priority now was to attend to the stunning woman I held within the safety of my arms. She was so beautiful. Utter. Fucking. Perfection. Her scent was beyond intoxicating, and the compulsion to sniff her skin was paramount.
I conveyed my thoughts to Salvatore. Because we are twins and with our Hybrid abilities, we shared each and every sensation the other experienced. At that moment, our excitement, desire, and fascination for this woman overrode every other emotion.
“Her scent is most alluring, is it not, Sal?”
“I have never smelled anything quite so exquisite. She is indeed beyond perfection.”
“Did you pick up her purse and shoes?”
“Of course, Luca. No need to panic. She lives in that building up ahead.”
We alighted on the steps of a tenement building in the older part of the city. Beautiful old-fashioned buildings on treelined streets. We folded our wings back inside our bodies. Good thing no one would be able to see us. Two bare-chested males carrying an unconscious female would create way too much interest at almost midnight.
“The shield is still in place. No one can see us.” Salvatore’s words cut through my train of thought.
“Excellent. We must put her to bed where she will be safe and comfortable.”
With Angelina still asleep in my arms, I strode up the steps after Sal. My body trembled with so many different reactions; never before had this happened to me. This woman was already getting to me like no other ever could.
“I feel it too, brother.”
Once in her apartment, we headed to her bedroom. I didn’t think it appropriate to undress her, even though Sal and I were itching to touch her satin-soft skin. Salvatore threw back her duvet, and I placed her on the bed. Then he healed the wound inflicted on her by Viktor. Nothing would be allowed to mar her body ever again. Once covered, we sat at either side of her, gazing at the beautiful woman. Our beauty. Our mate.
“We will have to tread with gentle care around her, Sal.”
“I know. I can smell her scent too. No man has ever touched her; she is still pure. I can’t wait until we can love her.” I felt a stirring in my loins as a myriad of fantasies filled my head.
Salvatore groaned. “Enough, Luca. We need to keep her protected until we can approach her properly.”