Asher and Logan stepped onto the walkway.
“We have to go,” Saxon said to Declan.
Declan jerked his thumb at the SUV. “Leave the rental cars; it’s time to say goodbye to New York.”
“Is she a threat to us?” Ronan demanded.
“Not anymore,” Saxon said. “I’ll tell you more when we see you.”
“Where is this nest of Savages?”
“In Maine. I’m not sure of the exact location. The map is in the room.”
“Let me know where it is; we’re going to meet you there.”
Saxon had known Ronan would join them, but he’d hoped to keep Killean away from Elyse for a little while. “I’ll get the map.” Opening the door to his room, he discovered the shower was off. “Elyse?”
The door opened, and she poked her head out. Her long hair hung in wet tendrils around her shoulders and her pretty, flushed face. She looked so innocent and beautiful it made his heart ache. She’d been through so much in her short life, and there was still so much more to come. He wanted to take her somewhere safe, but he couldn’t; until they were at the compound, there was nowhere safe for her.
“We’re leaving,” he told her. “Get dressed and meet me outside.”
She paled. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes. It’s time to get out of here. Hurry.”
“I will.”
She shut the door, and Saxon walked over to retrieve the map before returning outside. Lucien was climbing out of the now running SUV as Asher and Logan tossed their things into the cargo hold. Saxon glanced up and down the walkway before resting the map on the hood of the SUV.
“I’m not sure of the exact location,” he said to Ronan.
“Location for what?” Lucien asked.
“A nest of Savages,” Saxon answered.
“How do you know how to locate a bunch of Savages?”
“Later,” Saxon told Lucien as he studied the map. “We’ll meet you in Clayton Lake. That’s the closest town to where we’re going.” Although, it was still miles away from the X.
“Oh shit,” Asher said as Ronan said, “I’ll meet you there.”
Saxon didn’t have to ask what oh shit was; he smelled the potent stench of rot on the air. Turning, he spotted the Savage as it stepped onto the walkway at the end of the motel. Its eyes reddened when it saw them, and its smile revealed its fangs. Behind it, more Savages emerged and started toward them.
“Elyse.”
Saxon sprinted for their room, and the phone tumbled from his fingers as he grabbed the knob and shoved it open. He’d expected to find her getting dressed, but she wasn’t in the room. The door to the bathroom remained closed, but he heard no movement inside.
He leapt over the bed. “Elyse!” he shouted as he threw the bathroom door open and stumbled into the room.
His gaze fell on the shattered glass lying on the ground beneath the broken window across from the shower. Blood splattered the floor, and he didn’t have to smell the scent of cherry blossoms to know it was hers.
His fangs burst free; whoever took her would regret ever laying a hand on her. He’d make sure of it.
Gripping the edge of the window, he ignored the glass biting into his palms as he pulled himself through it. As he jumped out the window, he flipped over to land on his feet. He rested his hands in the snow while he studied the footprints and blood splattering the snow.
It looked as if the Savage had pushed her through the window first and she’d fallen outside. She’d scrambled to get to her feet and tried to run along the back of the motel, but the Savage caught her before she made it five feet. Elyse’s footprints ended there, and Saxon assumed the Savage was carrying her.
Rising, he tracked the Savage’s footprints through the snow as he ran into the woods and toward the bar. Power thrummed through his veins as his blood rushed in his ears. All he could think about was getting her back and destroying whoever had dared to take her from him.
Through the trees, he spotted the Savage fifty feet ahead of him. Draped over his shoulder, Elyse’s arms hung limply over her head while her hair dangled almost to the Savage’s knees. She’d gotten a chance to dress before they attacked her, but she wasn’t wearing a coat, and with her wet hair, she would freeze out here.
Saxon gritted his teeth against the violence he sought to unleash. Pouring on the speed, he closed the distance between them. Finally sensing him, the Savage turned a second before Saxon hammered his fist into the bastard’s face. Bone crunched as its face caved in. When it staggered back, Saxon pulled Elyse’s from the Savage’s arms before the bastard fell into the snow.
Saxon knelt to examine Elyse as she remained limp in his arms with her eyes closed and her head turned to the side; he detected the beat of her heart as her chest rose and fell with her breaths.
“Elyse.”
He wiped her hair away from her face to reveal the knot on the side of her temple. It was already starting to bruise. There were cuts on her hands and belly from when it shoved her through the window.
His lips skimmed back, and when his hand stilled on her face, he noticed the black and red color rising from his fingertips and spreading up his arm to vanish beneath the sleeve of his jacket. He’d seen this happen to an infuriated purebred when their mate was in jeopardy, but he’d never expected it to happen to him. Gone was his normally easygoing demeanor, and in its place was the demon who would tear the head off anyone who got too close to her.
It may not be who he usually was, but he welcomed it.
Elyse’s eyes moved behind her lids as her fingers twitched in the snow. From a few feet away, the Savage’s breath rattled in and out as it turned in the snow and started crawling away. Saxon lifted Elyse and stalked toward the creature. He’d love nothing more than to pulverize this thing boneless, but he couldn’t put Elyse down while he beat it to death.
Reaching a hand into his jacket, he pulled out a stake and knelt to drive it through the prick’s heart. He yanked it free and returned it to its hiding place as he listened to the clicking of the branches swaying over his head. He cradled Elyse against his chest as he tried to warm her.
The bar was only a hundred feet away, the music was louder here, but it didn’t hide the crunch of approaching footsteps on the snow. From the shadows of the trees, more Savages materialized.