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“Does Zahava command you not to?”

Again, no words but he tilted his head to the right and continued to stare at Hunter as though he were a specimen in a jar. Taking his time, he then moved his head to the other side and stared.

He clenched his hands into fists, ready to beat this man to death, when he felt the first pinch in his neck. Jerking his hand up, he ran his fingers over the dart sticking out of his neck.

“What the fuck?”

Hunter yanked it out and pushed down the panic when the area around the dart had already numbed.

Help!

“If you’re trying to call for the other’s you can’t,” Zahava said.

His eyes turned toward the steps leading down to the back of the property and growled at the woman smiling at him with glee.

“Why?”

She shrugged. “I created something like a force field that jams cell and electronic signals and mutes the mind link, so no one will hear you.”

“What do you want?”

Another smile. “Why, to dissect you and figure out why you are so much stronger than my own shifters. But don’t worry, it will take several weeks before I kill you off, so you’ll have plenty of time to think about all those days, months, years, and decades you could have had with Neri before you die.”

Hunter forced himself to concentrate on Kai’s living room, but his brain grew fuzzy and he another pinch, this time in his shoulder, made his thoughts scatter.

Fine, I’ll fight.

Hunter lunged for Damian, who flashed away before he reached him. It brought him closer to the back door, and he ran for it when another fucking dart hit him in the chest, right above his heart. Damian flashed in front of him and Hunter wrapped his hand around his throat. With great effort, Hunter crushed his throat and smiled when Damian’s mouth gaped open and closed several times.

Zahava pulled Damian away from Hunter and with three animal tranquilizers running through his system, Hunter dropped to the ground.

Hunter patted his pocket, the one that held the ring, and found it missing. He surged to his feet and glanced around, his brain fuzzy and his vision blurred. He heard Zahava and Damian, but he spotted the ring and made a dash for it and scooped it up. His free hand wrapped around the doorknob and as he turned it, a hard blow from somewhere behind and he dropped to his knees. The ring box dropped to the ground, and he whimpered at the sight.

Neri, I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a future. I love you, angel.

A hard strike hit him in the head and he felt nothing.