Jonny knew something was very wrong even before the call came from Charles. His gut was heavy and twisting, the sense of foreboding distracting him from monitoring the progress of his teams.

Charles' text was shorter than last time.

Come now.

Jonny checked their location with Stu before Traveling to the abandoned factory in southern Oklahoma. He smelled blood - and lots of it - the moment he materialized. Charles stood off to one side, hand on his bloodied forehead. Tasha was on her knees beside him, holding her stomach.

Jonny scanned the bodies of the dead vamps, his heart quickening. He counted several dead rogues - and almost a dozen of his own. His losses were going to become crippling soon. "What happened?" he asked, senses alert for any additional attackers.

"Ambush," Charles reported. "He had all his vamps here waiting for us. And then they let us go."

"What do you mean?" Jonny frowned.

"They wanted to send you a message."

"What message? That this is war?" he looked around. "Where's Ashley?"

Charles said nothing, his jaw tight.

"Charles," Jonny growled, anger flaring. "Where is she?"

"Inside," was the soft response. "We did everything we could to reach her."

Jonny's chest tightened until he could barely suck in a breath. His emotions churned, and dread dropped into his belly. "Get everyone back who made it," he ordered and strode forward, into the factory.

Ashley hung by her neck from a noose tied to the ceiling. She was unconscious and bloodied almost beyond recognition. The scent of her blood made him crave her, and he hurried to her. She'd managed to take out close to ten vamps, whose bodies lay at her feet.

"Ash," he whispered and wrapped an arm around her. He lifted her to ease the tension on the rope then used his magic to cut her free. "Ashley!"

She didn't stir. Her pulse was faint, rapid, fading. Jonny rested her onto the ground, listening to her body and ignoring the compulsion to taste her with steely determination.

"Is she alive?" Charles asked from several feet away.

"Barely and not for long," Jonny replied, at a momentary loss as to what to do. Her gorgeous eyes were closed, her face cut and her dark hair dripping with her blood. Rope burn rendered the skin around her neck raw and he wasn't able to count the amount of injuries from which she bled.

She healed fast but there was no coming back from this.

"Our healer can't help Naturals," Charles said.

"I know." Jonny touched her forehead to assess the damage.

Ashley didn't have fifteen minutes. Fear tore through him, the kind of emotion he hadn't experienced since he took his position as the Black God, since the night he almost lost his sister. He hadn't wanted to care about her, hadn't considered what it meant for him if something happened to her. The thought of losing her paralyzed him, left him uncertain what he felt but sure he was already in too deep.




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