"You recognize me, don't you, beauty? I've been watching you, as many of us have. We're everywhere, little girl, and we watch your every move. I've enjoyed watching you work out and play at being a warrior princess. As if you could defend yourself against me with a pair of boxing gloves. It's really a shame such a delicious creature has to die. I would love to show you the darker side of life, but the master wants you desperately. It's become sort of a thrill for him to chase you, to play cat and mouse. You've been great fun, but it's time for the game to end."
She had to try getting free one more time before she passed out. Kayden would never forgive himself. It seemed as if he could hear her, so she looked into his eyes and reached out to him.
Kayden, I'm gonna try again to lift you off of me telekinetically. I can't hold out much longer. Her mental capacity was waning. She used all her strength to try lifting him, but his hands were so tightly wrapped around her neck she couldn't break free. The dark warrior in the corner laughed at her efforts. Kayden's eyes were tortured and shining with tears of anger.
Plan B, Kayden. I'm going to try breaking his concentration in hopes it will help you move. If you feel any release, I need you to take off and go for help. Do you understand? I need you to leave so he can't use you against me. It was getting darker and speaking to Kayden was difficult.
Lack of oxygen was finally taking its toll. She went limp under Kayden. Her eyes were open and unseeing, as his tears continued to fall on her face. The dark warrior jumped up from his seat to evaluate her condition. He wasn't supposed to kill her. He had to deliver her alive, or the master couldn't take her energy. He removed Kayden's hands from her neck and checked for a pulse.
That was all the distraction she needed. Danielle threw Kayden's body toward the door, then threw everything else in the room that would move at the warrior. The chair he'd been sitting on struck the back of his head with force, and unbalanced his concentration enough to give Kayden a chance to run.
She caught a second wind when she realized Kayden was safely out of the room. She scrambled off the bed. Everything, from the mirror on the wall, the brush she left on the dresser, to the lamps, pummeled the rogue warrior. She cursed a blue streak when he attempted to cross the room toward her. She used her few remaining seconds to call out to as many people as she could, not knowing if it would work from so far away or if she could reach someone she'd never touched telepathically before.
The telepathic mayday call was for Kayden. Her targets were Gage, Chase, Griffin, and Mason. Then, the huge man was on her. She could hear Kayden, through their brand-new connection in her mind, screaming for her to follow him. She couldn't. It was going to be a fight for her life, and either she or the warrior was going down. She refused to be taken alive again. If her power was what they wanted, she would make sure they lost it, in the end. Her strength would not be turned on her friends and family, or anyone else, for that matter.
He had the advantage of strength, but she had telekinesis, and neither of them could use mind control on the other, so it was going to be a brawl. Every time he slammed her, she threw him. If he hit her, she bombarded him with the various objects in the room. He tried to hold on to her, but she had enough training with the warriors at that point to make herself a hard target, and the battle raged for what seemed like an endless time. Broken glass, broken furniture, and blood riddled the room. Finally, he got her by the throat and tried to finish his earlier mission. It was working. She was exhausted, and he was choking the life out of her.
"I'm going to have some fun with you before I turn you over, beauty," he hissed into her face. "You've excited me with all this foreplay. I'll have to satisfy my hunger for your sweet little body now. Would you like to be awake for the fun? I promise you all those little boys sniffing around your skirt haven't nearly given you what you need."
He pushed the length of his body against hers, and the ridge of his huge erection pressed into her belly. Nothing but her panties had remained by the time the beast descended on her and Kayden in bed. That seemed like hours ago, but in actuality, it had been only minutes since Kayden fled the room in search of help. After fighting in that state of undress, her body was cut and battered, and she was all but defenseless. There was no damn way he was getting anything but his ass handed to him that night. She prayed that help was on the way and gathered every ounce of energy she could muster. The warrior released her throat and held her against the wall with his body, while he did his best to get her panties down. The violation made her so angry the building energy in her gut bubbled over. She reached up to grab him by the neck. She wanted him to feel the same pain he'd inflicted on her. He would see her little body was not his to touch as he wished. In an explosion of fury and terror, she unleashed the overflowing energy that throbbed inside her. It launched them both across room. Her hands still around his thick neck, they hit the far wall with force and slid down, until the full weight of his body crushed her to the floor.
Kayden had to wait for reinforcements to arrive before he could return to Dani's room. It killed him to leave her there, but she was right. That guy could use him against her, and it would be two on one. She wouldn't be able to beat those odds. He sat on the curb with his head in his hand, the image of her delicate neck wrapped in his huge hands replaying over and over. It was one of the worst experiences of his life. When she went limp under him, he thought he'd murdered her. She'd looked up at him with the blank eyes of a corpse, and he knew he'd killed her.
Her thoughts and senses reached out and crept into his mind. He saw himself through Dani's eyes. He'd felt the deep affection and connection she felt for him. He knew exactly where he stood in her mind. There was the consuming passion that enveloped them both, but beyond that was trust and devotion he knew he hadn't earned. He sat there reliving that time and praying that she'd survived without him.
Up to a certain point, he knew for sure she was still alive, because he caught her thoughts and brief glimpses of the scene through her eyes. He guessed, since Dani allowed him into her mind, their connection hadn't been truly severed. He intercepted vivid flashes of pain and battle. The last thing he saw was a huge man crushing her against the wall. Her thoughts ran toward a dark place Kayden didn't want to imagine. The assailant was going to violate her before taking her away. Try as he may to reach her, Dani was silent.
The entire ordeal had lasted twenty minutes, but it had been an eternity since he'd left her in the room with that man. Kayden hadn't seen the man, because he wasn't able to turn his head, but he saw recognition in Dani's eyes when she looked at him. The man had said he'd watched her train. He was a warrior, one of his brothers. No one else would have access to the Enclave's training facilities.
All at once, everyone converged on the scene. A Wrath truck pulled up and males poured out. Chase sped onto the lot with Griffin hot on his tail, Mason in the passenger seat. The people at the front desk looked frightened and confused when the mass of black-clad, gun-toting males entered the lobby. On the way up to the third floor, Kayden filled in his father, and the rest of the men listened intently. Chase looked like he would vomit when Kayden relayed having been in bed with Dani and distracted when the attack hit.
They had to kick the damn door in, due to the key card locks. The room was a disaster, and, at first, they didn't see her. Only the body of a huge vampire male that was facedown at the far end of the room. Once the room was secured, and they were sure no one else was hiding in the room, they crossed to the body on the floor.
"Help me! Danielle is under this piece of shit!" Mason called.
It took several Wrath guards to lift the huge male off of her, and the shock wave that crossed the room was tangible. He was a well-known Wrath leader in full uniform. There was a large chunk of glass protruding from his back, and blood coated the floor. The glass had come from a light fixture that was crushed into the wall. He'd died from blood loss. She'd killed one of their own. He was a loner and a mean bastard to work with, but nobody had ever suspected he was a traitor. The warriors started rumbling about the law and the expectation of a trial, should the girl survive. Kayden ignored them and slid to the floor at the bottom of the bed.
Griffin and Mason were in a meeting about the betrothal agreement when a scream for help and vivid pictures starting bombarding them both. There was no doubt in Griffin's mind who had been calling them. They were already in the car and deciding where Danielle was when Kayden called, pleading for help. At the hotel the scene was far worse that he expected.