Page 31 of Within Shadows

Knox

Our perfect night is just getting started, and I struggle to hold back my rage to keep a level head.

My beautiful muse looked so stunning as she watched the sunset, her eyes wide to take in every moment with a look of wonder.

The stuffy dinner was my poor attempt at wooing her and treating her how I thought she deserved to be.

In reality, cuddling on the blanket to watch the sky and being chased into the woods and fucking her like a wild beast was what she wanted all along.

But the peace couldn’t last, and somebody was following us.

Keeping Maeve safe is all I can think about, but I still had plans to wrap us in a cocoon of blankets and watch our favorite show until she fell asleep in my embrace.

Which means I need to deal with whoever this is and quick, but I have an inkling that I know who it is.

Another shot rings out, splintering the tree to my right as I race between the trees, ducking low to limit their target.

The moron behind the gun had a terrible aim, but I wasn’t going to complain.

Pulling my knife out, I take a steadying breath and press my bare back to the rough bark of a massive tree. The woods are eerily quiet, except for the stomping of somebody running around with too much confidence—or ignorance.

“I think I hit him,” an unfamiliar, masculine voice quietly calls out.

“No, you hit a tree, dumbass. He went this way,” a second man says, a lot closer than I’d like.

I have my knife against two men, and at least one of them is armed.

I like my odds. Launching around the tree, I use the element of surprise and swipe the blade, dragging it down the chest of one of the attackers.

It’s too dark to make out features aside from the dark gray hoodie that has blood rapidly seeping through the gash in his chest. I do know that I’ve seen these guys before, but I can’t place them.

“Devin, help!” he cries out, falling back as he clutches his chest. This was going to be far easier than I expected.

I spin to face the second man and flip my knife, catching it by the slippery blade and throw it at the other man.

It lodges into his neck before he can pull the trigger on the gun aimed in my direction.

He falls back, letting out a gurgled scream that fades as his body stills.

The first man is crawling now, struggling to get his body to cooperate and stand as I calmly walk over to the one he called Devin.

I put my boot on his head and rip the knife free, striding back to the other man. Slamming a kick to the middle of his back, I send him sprawling face down into the dirt and sit on my heels next to him. He’s sobbing, rambling as he begs me to let him go.

“Why were you following us? How long were you watching us?” I grit my jaw and try to seek out an ounce of patience.

Every minute I’m out here while Maeve is hiding is a moment too long, and I keep replaying the horror on her face.

It was different from the excited fear I see when she’s running from me. These pricks genuinely terrified her.

“We didn’t have a choice, please just let me go.” He finally stops babbling and trying to crawl away, but still won’t lift his head up to look at me.

“Why, and how long?” I snarl the question, pressing the tip of my blade into his neck.

“He was blackmailing us and said he’d get the charges dropped if we helped.

Or else he’d go to his father and get us kicked out of school.

” The man’s voice is higher, more frantic as he starts talking.

“It was a stupid mistake, and we didn’t mean to hurt the chick.

We didn’t know how strong the drugs were and just wanted to have a good time. ”

My lip curls in a sneer as I stand, rage rippling through my entire being. He takes me stepping back as a sign that I’m showing mercy and tries to stand.

“Oliver?” I ask, and he nods.

“He told the three of us that we just had to deal with you, and he’d do the rest,” the man sniffles.

I swing my arm upwards, lodging the blade firmly between his ribs.

His mouth drops open wide as he collapses, and I rip the blade free.

Maeve’s scream rips through the cold wind, splitting my heart as my head whips in the direction of the house.

My body moves before I can think, my boots slamming to the ground with enough force to crush every branch that crosses my path.

My breath puffs in a cloud with every harsh exhale, whipped away as I run towards the open gate.

I don’t have time or rational thought to sneak up on them; the cracking sound of my feet hitting the paved driveway announces me as I run towards them.

“Come closer and your pretty little toy will be dead before she hits the ground,” Oliver shouts, his gun pressed to her temple as he chokes her from behind.

He is less than eighty feet away, but I can see the horror in her eyes, her face bathed in the garage lights.

He presses his face to her ear and disgust has her recoiling, but Oliver holds her tightly.

A single tear tracks down her face and I watch as she tosses something onto the ground.

My gun clatters as it slides away from her, the metal almost glowing as a beacon just beyond her reach.

“How cute, she actually cares about you. It’s honestly a shame that you nearly ruined such a pretty little thing,” he sneers at me, kissing her cheek even as she tries to turn away.

“Get your filthy hands off of her, Oliver. I’m giving one fucking warning. That’s more than your friends got.” I hold the knife tighter, gripping the handle until my hand aches.

“That’s funny, because your hands are covered in blood.

Do you see what a monster he is, Maeve?” Oliver tsk’s, his arm tightening around her throat as she claws at his sleeve.

“I’m taking her home, where she belongs.

Right, Maeve?” he asks. A single tear tracks down her cheek as she holds my gaze, nodding once in agreement.

I shake my head, putting a hand to my heart and forcing my feet to stay locked in place.

“Her home is with me. Where she chooses to be.” I spit the words at him but never take my eyes off of her. I need her to know that I won’t let him hurt her. Rage contorts his face and he jerks her as he points the gun at me, staggering a step closer.

“You only wanted to play with the weak, broken little bitch because she was desperate and easy! You are nobody to her and everyone else! Maeve belongs to me.” He grins, and I snort a laugh. His rage is directed at me, along with the gun, and that’s exactly how I want it.

“There is nothing broken about Thalia. You really think that you mattered enough to break her? To tear her down? A goddess doesn’t bow to a pathetic man.

” I take a step closer, and the hand holding the gun trembles with his rage.

“She begs for my touch, for my embrace, and Thalia only kneels for me. Because I drop to my knees and worship her as she deserves. When she screams for God, she is screaming for me.” I hold my hands wide and wink at Maeve.

Her eyes are round as she shakes her head, clearly thinking I’ve lost it if I’m egging on the guy with a gun.

But I mean every word of what I’ve said.

“Knox, behind you!” Maeve screams, sinking her teeth into Oliver’s arm as she frantically claws at his other hand that holds the gun.

A gunshot registers a split second before agony rips through my back and ribs.

My knees buckle as I fall forward, struggling to suck in a breath through the blinding pain.

I drag my eyes upwards even as my body begs to collapse.

Oliver has lost his gun as Maeve fights like hell, ripping her nails over his right eye.

The look on her face is nothing short of animalistic as she screeches.

Biting, clawing, and slamming her fist into his throat until he shoves her away.

Oliver is choking, gasping for air as Maeve grabs the gun and whirls on me.

She raises it, pointing over my head with a crazed look in her eyes.

Warmth spreads through my body at the sight of her, disheveled with my oversized shirt hanging on her small frame, hair like fire is licking at the ends, and hands steady. I am truly kneeling before a goddess, just as I said, and if this is the last breath I take, then I will die with a smile.

She pulls the trigger with a scream. Over and over bullets whiz above my head, and I turn to look past my shoulder.

It’s hard to move, like the air around me is hardening to concrete.

My pulse thrums softly in my ears, muffling all sounds as I watch a man fall to the ground.

I was shot from behind, so focused on Maeve that I didn’t realize somebody else had slunk up the driveway.

Cold hands cup my jaw and the smell of gunpowder tinges past my dulling senses. Maeve turns my head until I meet her tear-filled gaze.

“Beautiful.” The word slips from my lips, a soft whisper as I wrap my arms around her.

Her body shakes as she collapses against me, her sobs cutting through the haze.

I brush a hand over her head, softly humming as I hold her to me.

She snaps her head up and stands, holding her arm out to block my body with hers.

Oliver is pointing my gun at us, and he’s snapped, losing all control.

“You’ll die for this, you stupid bitch!” he roars. Maeve pulls the trigger first, the soft click of an empty chamber is the only response.

“No,” she whispers, but doesn’t move from in front of me. Oliver smirks and I force my body to move, snagging an arm around her waist as I twist, fighting through the agony in my back as I slam her to the ground and brace my body over hers.

He fires, the bullet sinking deep into my shoulder as a new wave of pain riddles my mind and body. Maeve screams and I want to move, I want to kill the man taking leisure steps towards us. I want to rip his heart out, but my eyes won’t stay open, my body heavier with each breath.

“S’okay, muse,” I manage to grit out. The sound of a car engine rumbles as it speeds right towards us, and my eyes burn.

Tears drip onto her face as I force myself to look at her one last time.

Headlights glide over us and I can no longer keep my weight from crushing her, but I will protect her with my last breath.

My sweet, beautiful muse. She will live on to see hundreds of sunsets, and with each one she will think of me. With less pain in her heart than the last. My dying wish, as everything goes dark, is that she finds peace.