The Moonlight Breed 8: Leap in the Dark by Gabrielle Evans (chrysanthemum read aloud .txt) 📕

aside as though he was nothing more than a fly, which only made the goblins all the more terrifying. Oscar, Cicero, and the twins were already in the kitchen and escaping through the back door, but Braxton couldn’t force himself to move.

“Braxton, c’mon!” Keeton screamed at him as he grabbed Braxton’s wrist and jerked him to his feet. “Snap the fuck out of it and let’s go!”

Standing upright must have been the cue for attack, because both goblins lunged at them with their arms outstretched. Dodging the advance, Braxton wrapped his arms around Keeton’s waist, dragged him to the floor, and rolled them under the coffee table as their attackers flipped over the back of the sofa.

“Go, go, go!” he shouted, shoving at Keeton to get him back to his feet.

They didn’t make it far before they found their way blocked once again. The monsters circled them in opposite directions, moving closer with each pass. Braxton stood back-to-back with Keeton, keeping an eye on the goblin in front of him, and hoping like hell that Keeton was doing the same with the other one.

Over his attacker’s shoulder, Braxton watched as Demitrius staggered upright and wiped the blood away where it trickled from his forehead and down into his eye. The goblins must have sensed or heard his movement as well, because the cat-and-mouse game came to a screeching halt when they snatched him and Keeton off their feet and scurried for the back exit.

Keeton’s struggles were met with two, quick blows to the back of his head, knocking him unconscious so that he hung limply in the creature’s arms. The unmerciful act should have been a warning, but the assault on his best friend only served to fuel Braxton’s anger, and he refused to go quietly without a fight.

With his arms pressed tightly to his sides by the beast holding him, there wasn’t much he could do with his upper body, but he kicked wildly, swinging his legs to connect with any part of the goblin he could reach. He also thrashed his head about, jerking his shoulders in an attempt to get free, but other than a couple of hisses and grunts, his effort wasn’t getting him far.

Demitrius’s heavy boots thundered across the floor, but even without seeing him, Braxton knew the guard wasn’t going to catch them in time. Sure enough, a moment later, he was carried through the back door and into the blinding rays of sunlight. Instead of heading back toward the front of the coven, however, the goblins carted them into the nearby woods, the burden of carrying two grown men not slowing them in the least.

Demitrius was fast, and Braxton could hear the shifter stomping after them through the underbrush, but his kidnappers moved with a fluidity and swiftness that was startling. As the distance between them and Demitrius grew, some of Braxton’s hope dwindled. He wasn’t about to play the helpless damsel in distress, though.

“Xander is going to rip your fucking head off when he catches you.” He had no idea where his mate was, but there was a rage building in him that had nothing to do with his own emotions. The big tiger was on the move, and he was one pissed off kitty.

His attacker ignored him—stupid move on his part—and continued dragging him deeper into the forest toward the back property line of the coven. The most bloodcurdling, cat-like scream pierced through the shadows and echoed off the trees, causing the goblin holding him to stumble in his strides. Braxton, however, couldn’t wipe the shit-eating grin off his face.

Their kidnappers were complete and utter morons. If they’d been smart, they would have just killed them back at the cabin and ran like hell. Maybe they had bigger plans for him and Keeton, but their thirst for torture was going to be their downfall. Braxton could still hear Demitrius following behind him, and his heavy footsteps were soon joined by the sounds of stampeding paws.

“Backup is here,” Keeton mumbled groggily.

Yes, it was. The footfalls were much too loud for only one beast, and he could practically feel the vibrations in the earth. Unwilling to just wait around to be rescued, Braxton redoubled his efforts, fighting like hell as he contorted his body, using every dirty trick he could think of to get himself free.

Throwing his head back into the goblin’s shoulder, he managed to twist enough to sink his teeth into the creature’s neck. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth, making him gag as his stomach rolled, but he didn’t let go. Flailing his legs and bending his knees, he sought out the fleshy part of the goblin’s thigh with his heel, grunting in satisfaction when he finally found his mark.

The asshole just wouldn’t go down, though. No matter how much pain Braxton inflicted on him, it barely even slowed him, though he was making some pretty horrible sounds as blood cascaded down his neck to soak Braxton’s shirt.

The trees began to thin, light bathed his face once more, and the perimeter fence came into view only a few yards ahead of them. Panic seized him, and his heart flopped over in his chest. If they made it over the fence with a head start, it was unlikely the pack would catch them before they reached the mountains and its numerous secluded hiding places.

His fears proved to be unfounded, though. Only three feet from the fence, the goblin carrying him screeched like some prehistoric bird and threw Braxton to the ground as he twisted in a circle, trying to reach the dagger protruding from his shoulder. The split second of hesitation his injury caused his partner was all the time needed for a snarling snow leopard to burst from the tree line and land on his back.

Crawling across the leaf-strewn forest floor, Braxton grabbed Keeton around the waist and hauled the man to his feet. “Run!” Yes, they were saved, but it seemed pretty damn stupid to him to