Back at the quiet structure where the Alpha twins and Ryker were, Bryan and Aiden had thought about what Ryker had said, believing he was right.
The three of them stepped outside, and Aiden immediately called out to the warriors who were guarding the place.
“Alpha!” They answered in unison, straightening up.
“Fan out and search the perimeter,” Aiden ordered, his voice ringing out with no hesitation. “Look for anything. I do not care whatever it is, make sure you find something. Broken branches, torn clothes, footprints-anything at all that will lead to where our beloved is… Find it… Find Her!”
“Yes, Alpha!” The warriors responded and dispersed, moving quickly into the surrounding woods.
After issuing the order, Bryan, Aiden, and Ryker shared a brief look and nodded at each other before turning to search as well.
Deeper in the woods, Kira’s heart raced as she was being dragged further away by Dave. His hold on her was like an iron grip, forcing her to walk.
“If you won’t use those legs, maybe I should cut them off and carry you.” Dave snapped as he was getting impatient with how Kira was slowing them down.
“That does not sound like a bad idea,” Kira responded, then bit her lips as she looked up to see his angry eyes staring at her.
Then she said, “Oops.”
“Oops?” Dave asked and let out a breath. “I see you are trying so hard to be punished. It’s okay, I will give you what you want soon.”
And just as he was about to push her further with so much anger, a strong voice rang out behind them.
“Stop right there!”
Dave’s entire frame tensed at the command, which echoed through the woods, his heart beating faster than he expected.
“Ah,” he let out, his fingers clamping down hard on Kira’s arm, making her wince. “It seems like your mates found us,” he muttered to her.
Slowly, he turned his head, his eyes showing how amused he was in a psychotic way, as Bryan, Aiden, and Ryker stepped forward.
Kira was so happy to see them, now that she was facing them. She could actually cry in relief. “Thank Goddess,” she said in her mind as she stared at her mates. She would have ran to them if not for Dave’s hold on her, and hating to admit it, Dave was quite unpredictable.
Bryan’s jaw clenched while he took in Kira’s appearance, and Aiden was also scanning her for any sign of injury. Despite her disheveled appearance, they were relieved to see that she was still alive.
“Let her go,” Bryan commanded. Although his voice seemed calm, it was actually seething with rage. “Let her go, now!”
“Let her go, now,” Dave mimicked, a crooked smile creeping across his lips. “Let her go, let her go, let her go,” he continued mimicking.
Next thing, he was laughing so hard as he mimicked Bryan, his grip on Kira still tightened. “Let her go, let her go. Come take her, let her go.”
“You know, I must admit,” he rasped and coughed after his little mimicking and laughing. “I actually underestimated you all. Totally. Who knew you would come so fast? So, soon? You all surprised me by coming sooner than I expected. I will give you that.”
“I would have also applauded you all right now. My apologies,” he continued in a mocking tone. “But you see, my hands are occupied,” he explained, and then raised Kira’s arm to show them how occupied his hands were.
“No, no, I would strongly advise against that,” Dave said to Bryan, Aiden, and Ryker, who had stepped forward and closed some distance between them.
But still, they moved forward, not agreeing to stop. They moved a bit slow and a bit fast, not wanting to rush up to him as they were not sure of what he would do, especially to Kira. That’s why they were trying to reason with him first.
“I will advise you to let her go,” Aiden warned him generously.
“Would you?” Dave asked, his smile flattering as he noticed how close they were getting.
Immediately he reached into his pocket, his hands shaking and his movement erratic and frantic like a cornered animal. “I said, STAY BACK!” He shouted at them as his fingers scrabbled and fumbled inside his pocket, his breath quickening.
“Look at you,” Bryan said to him as they kept getting closer to him. “Why don’t you give up? You are shaking, and we all know that you know how this will end. Surrender now, and we will think about what kind of mercy you deserve.”
“NEVERR!!” Dave yelled, and despite how he fumbled, he held Kira very tight to himself as he finally got a hold of what he was searching for.
His switchblade.
The metallic click of the blade snapping into place sliced through Kira’s heart as she thought it was for her, but instead, Dave pointed it at the three advancing figures. “DON’T MOVE!” he shouted, his eyes wide with a deranged gleam. “DON’T!”
The three advancing figures didn’t slow down, despite the harmless warnings from Dave. They still pressed forward.
“Don’t-!” Dave’s voice cracked, panic seeping in as his hand tightened around the blade.
Since they were not listening to him, he had no other choice. Unexpectedly, he yanked at the sleeve of Kira’s sweater quickly, tearing it roughly at the shoulder.
“I told you not to move,” he muttered to himself as the fabric ripped easily under his grip, exposing her bare skin. “You always have to make me the bad person. Fine, I will be bad, I will be bad,” he kept muttering to himself, “I will be bad for you… For you, my sweet. They can’t take you from me, for you… My sweet.”
Seeing as Dave got distracted, Bryan, Aiden, and Ryker saw this as an opportunity to rush and attack him, but it was too late.
Everything happened so fast, that it left both Kira, and the rest in shock as Dave suddenly ripped the sleeve of her sweater and sliced her arm with his knife.
“There…blood,” he smiled in satisfaction as he watched the blood seep out of her arm and then quickly turned to the three advancing figures and warned them again, “STOP MOVING.”
A sharp gasp escaped Kira’s lips, her breath hitching and her body stiffening in shock.
“H-ho-” she tried to speak as she looked at where her blood welled up quickly, darkening the sleeve of her sweater, and trickling down her arm.
Kira did not even know how to react. “What kind of a person is he?” She thought while groaning from the pain. She instinctively pulled her arm against her body, trying to press her hand against the wound in an attempt to stem the bleeding, but it only seemed to make it worse.
The cut was also deep, and the sight of Kira bleeding was the height of it. Bryan and Aiden’s fists clenched so tightly as they stopped moving, not wanting to put Kira in any more danger, their knuckles turning white as Aiden’s face hardened, his jaw clenched, while Ryker was set to attack. Their anger filled the air, and if only they could get their hands on Dave right now, Goddess knows what they would do to him.
“You touched her,” Bryan said with so much calmness that it sent chills down Dave’s spine. “You touched her.”
Dave did not like how calm he spoke even though he could see the anger radiating all over Bryan, and before they could process what next he wanted to do, he jerked Kira towards him. The motion was harsh, pulling her roughly against his chest as he laughed like a maniac, not caring to get stained by her blood.
“You can never take her away from me,” he said to them as Kira herself struggled to get out of his hold, but his arm snaked around her waist, holding her tight, and trapping her against him.
“Stay still,” he warned her, the cold steel of the knife now pressed against her throat, “Stay still, or it’s your neck next. Don’t you remember what I told you earlier, my sweet? If you are not mine, then I will just kill you so no one else can have you.”
“Put the knife down,” Aiden growled, his eyes darkened. “Put. It. Down.”
“Should I?” Dave laughed, his attention now directed at them as he snarled, “Do not take another step.”