Feeling the cold blade pressed against her neck, with the metal biting at her, Kira felt some fear creep in and a shiver down her spine, her breath hitching. Dave was indeed unpredictable as she watched him snarl at Bryan, Aiden, and Ryker, warning them not to come closer, his eyes wide with madness.
Kira’s entire body tensed, muscles locking in place as if she had become a statue. She would rather not move even if it was a little, considering how dangerously close the knife was at her neck, making an involuntary gasp escape her lips.
“What are you doing?” She forced out, questioning Dave.
“Put the knife down Dave, this is not like you. Yes, yes, no one else will have me and I know I can be quite stubborn, but I never thought you would hurt me. It breaks my heart,” Kira said to him, trying to reason with him and maybe soften his heart?
“Shut up, woman,” Dave hissed at her, pressing the knife closer as he muttered, “Your little tricks don’t work on me, so shut up. You broke my trust once, you will have to earn it after this.”
There was nothing more Kira could do at the time than keep shut, her eyes darting towards the angry faces of her mates as she gulped and tried to calm her breathing.
“Drop the knife,” Bryan spoke, warning Dave. “You do not have to make things worse.”
“I do,” Dave answered while he nodded, “I do have to make things worse for you though, not myself. One more move and I will-” he threatened and pressed the knife harder against Kira’s throat almost causing her to bleed as Kira sucked in a breath, her heart racing.
Bryan and Aiden could barely contain their anger anymore and let out a low, feral growl from deep within their chests that rumbled. Their fists clenched and unclenched at their sides- they were going to rip him into shreds. The urge to just charge at Dave was strong, but they remained where they stood, not moving.
They did not want to do anything that could cost Kira her life. The only way out of this would be to think and not to act… at least not yet. Acting can come later.
“Love, are you okay?” Bryan asked, his voice resonating within Kira’s mind at their shared mated mind link. It was the first time they were using it since they completed their mating.
“Tell us,” Aiden joined in, worry filling his voice, “Are you okay? We are here, love. Hold on, please.”
“I’m okay,” Kira whispered through their shared link, gulping at the blade’s pressure at her throat. “The cut on my arm stings, but I will live. Don’t worry.”
“We will worry,” Bryan said, “We won’t let anything happen to you. We will get you out of this, safe.”
“Trust us,” Aiden added, “We will get you out, my love.”
“I trust you both to do whatever you can,” she responded with a smile, her heart aching, but not just from fear. She could feel the warmth and care from the way they spoke to her.
“Impressive,” Dave shouted, drawing their attention to himself as he let out a sharp chuckle right after.
“Oh are you done?” he asked them, his voice dripping with mockery. “Please go on,” he said as he leaned closer, his breath fanning against Kira’s ears as he whispered, “Chatting with your mates secretly? How sweet. Here you go again, betraying my love for you.”
Kira simply ignored him and flinched when he pressed the knife harder, a thin line of blood threatening to bead at her throat. “I should kill you for this betrayal,” he said to her, his grin splitting wider, “But I won’t.”
“We stopped moving Dave,” Aiden called out to him, “Stop hurting her and put the knife down.”
“If you are done,” Dave raised his head, staring straight at the Alpha twins, “oh wait, you are done with your little secret talk. Well, since you are done,” he drawled, each word vibrating with dark glee, “I would like to spice things up for myself. You know, add some fun,” he smirked as he muttered the last word.
“What do you want Dave?” Aiden asked, his voice low. “What is your problem? Is this how you are? I may have forgotten your face and name earlier, but seeing you now, I did not ever think we would be in this situation. You were never like this.”
Bryan and Ryker knew what Aiden was up to. They needed to buy time to keep Dave talking and distracted and so Aiden went on with whatever he had to say. “We took you in as one of our own, part of our pack and this is what you do?”
“This is what I do?” Dave questioned, his head cocking to the side as he smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “What is my problem?” he repeated, chuckling under his breath.
“You think this is about me?” Dave asked them, his expression tightening. “Do you really think this is about me?” He asked again, pressing the knife more against Kira’s neck, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut against the pressure and catch her breath. “This is about all of you, not me.”
“I want to see the mighty Alphas fall,” Dave said, his mouth now stretched into a grin so large it showed the whites of his teeth. “Kneel,” he ordered, “Kneel, with your heads to the ground, and beg for her life.”
“And if we don’t?” Bryan asked, his voice strong, and the challenge clear in his tone. “If we do not do as you have asked?”
“Then I will take her as my mate,” Dave replied, as he leaned in closer to Kira and pecked her cheeks, making her recoil in disgust. “Or maybe I will just kill her right here, so none of you can have her.”
At this point they were all on alert, Bryan, Aiden, Ryker, all of them, but Bryan wanted to see how far he could reason with Dave.
“Then what happens if we do as you have ordered?” Bryan asked with such poise and nonchalance, as if testing Dave’s reaction.
“Then…” Dave’s grin grew wider as he moved the knife away from Kira’s neck and then lightly dragged it across her skin, tracing her shoulders and arms, but careful not to touch the cut he made on her arm earlier, “I won’t kill her,” he replied, his voice almost singsong. “I will only take her with me. But if any of you try to follow us or take her back, well”- he paused for a second as he continued tracing the knife across Kira’s skin and licking his lips, “I’ll kill her. Sounds fun right?”
“It does,” Bryan pretended to agree, “But we don’t get anything. How about we kneel, and you let her go with us? You will get to be the first man, who has made the most powerful Alpha twins kneel and beg before him. It can’t be compared to any other thing and even men, wolves would fear you.”
“Mmm…” Dave gave it some thought, “The first man ever, being feared, I like the sound of all of it. I accept,” he finally agreed, “Now, Kneel.”
Kira could not believe what was happening as she watched Bryan and Aiden prepare to kneel while Ryker stood by the side, looking helpless. “No,” she thought to herself, “I won’t let them do this, they can’t. They shouldn’t.”
She quickly reached out to them through the mind link, telling them, “Don’t kneel. Don’t kneel for him, don’t trust him. Don’t you both dare kneel for this fool.”
“It’s okay,” Aiden reassured her, his eyes meeting hers as did Bryan’s. “We will do everything to make sure you are safe.”
As they bent and their knees almost touched the ground with Kira telling them not to, a loud scream ripped through the woods, sharp and guttural, making Kira’s heart skip a beat.
A scream that belonged to Dave.
His eyes had gone wide with shock and pain as the hand holding the knife snapped back with a sickening crack.