Chapter 41 Chapter 41
The word kill hit the air like a gunshot.
Mimi stiffened beside Zarlia, her fingers tightening around her wrist. For a heartbeat, everything went eerily still—the city noise fading, the streetlights humming overhead, the three men in black standing far too calm for what they had just said.
“The only option,” the one in the centre continued, voice smooth and cold, “is to put you down.”
Zarlia’s breath caught. Her eyes flew to Mimi, wide with horror.
Kill her?
Her heart slammed violently against her ribs. These weren’t threats meant to scare. These men didn’t posture or raise their voices. They spoke the way executioners did—like the decision had already been made.
Mimi’s jaw tightened, trying to stop her lips from trembling.“No,” she said, voice low and steady. “I’m not coming with you.”
The man sighed, almost regretful. “Then you leave us no choice.”
Everything happened at once. One of them lunged.
His nails elongated mid-stride, claws snapping out with a sharp, metallic sound that sliced through the air. Zarlia gasped—but Mimi moved faster.
She yanked Zarlia backward and twisted, her body snapping into motion with lethal precision. The man’s claws slashed through empty space as Mimi ducked and drove her knee hard into his gut.
He grunted, stumbling back.
“Stay behind me!” Mimi snapped. Zarlia barely had time to nod before the second man charged. Mimi shoved her aside and met him head-on, ducking under a swinging arm and slamming her elbow into his ribs. Bone cracked.
The third man circled, eyes locked on Zarlia. Her pulse roared in her ears. She tried to move—tried to run—but fear rooted her in place.She was a little kitten in a den of vicious wolves. “Mimi!” she cried.
“I’ve got you!” Mimi shouted back, spinning just in time to block another attack.
The first man recovered quickly, snarling as he lunged again. Mimi grabbed Zarlia’s arm and pulled her sharply to the side, using her momentum.
“Now!” Mimi yelled.
Before Zarlia could think, Mimi kicked the charging man square in the face—sending him staggering forward, his face landing right in front of Zarlia.
Pure instinct took over. Zarlia raised her hand and slapped him hard across the cheek. The sound echoed. The man blinked, stunned.
“You go, girl!” Mimi shouted, laughing breathlessly even as she ducked another clawed strike. Zarlia threw her new diamond covered heels at one, along with a heavy shopping bag.
The fight grew chaotic—feral.
Mimi moved like a storm, fast and relentless, always positioning herself between Zarlia and the attackers. She kicked, clawed, twisted, and struck with brutal efficiency, but there were three of them—and they were learning.
One feinted. Another went low.
Mimi barely managed to shove Zarlia out of the way before claws raked across her back.
She screamed. Blood bloomed through the fabric of her shirt.“Mimi!” Zarlia sobbed.
“I’m fine!” Mimi lied through gritted teeth, staggering but staying upright. “Move!” Zarlia backed away—but there was nowhere left to go.
The men pressed in, forcing them backward step by step until Zarlia felt cold brick slam into her spine.
Cornered.
Mimi stood in front of her, chest heaving, shoulders shaking with exhaustion. Blood streaked her back, her breathing ragged.
The central man smiled.
“Enough,” he said calmly.
He struck.
Mimi shoved Zarlia aside just as claws tore across her shoulder, lifting her clean off her feet. She hit the wall hard, the impact knocking the air from her lungs.
“MIMI!”
Zarlia dropped to her knees beside her as the men advanced.
Mimi’s eyes fluttered. Blood smeared her lips. She tried to push herself up—and failed. Blood oozed from the side of her head, desperately trying to keep her eyes open. “Z… Zarlia…” she whispered.
The men raised their claws. “This ends now.”
A roar split the night. Not human. Not animal. Something older. Deeper.
The ground shuddered.
The men froze.
A blur of motion tore through the darkness—violent, unstoppable—and slammed into the nearest attacker. The impact sent him flying across the street, his body crashing into a parked car with bone-shattering force.
The other two spun—
Too late.
Stetson stood between them and the women, eyes glowing silver, teeth bared, his control hanging by a thread.
“Run,” one of the men hissed. They didn’t argue, they fled, vanishing into the shadows as fast as they had appeared.
Stetson turned instantly. “Zarlia!” She was already crawling to Mimi.
“I’m here,” she sobbed. “I’m here, I’m here—”
Luke appeared beside them, face grim, moving fast. He scooped Mimi into his arms gently but urgently. Her eyes barely opened. “M…Mr. know-it-all?”, Mimi muttered.
“Hey,” Luke said softly. “Stay with me.”
Stetson knelt beside Zarlia, hands shaking as he checked her for injuries. “Are you hurt?” His voice cracked.
She shook her head violently. “Mimi—she protected me. They were going to kill her.” His jaw clenched, fury rippling beneath his skin.
Luke carried Mimi toward the car. “She’s alive,” Luke said over his shoulder. “But barely.”
Stetson pulled Zarlia into his arms, holding her so tightly she could barely breathe—and she clung to him just as hard, trembling. “I was so scared,” she whispered.
“I know,” he murmured, pressing his forehead to hers. “I felt it. I came as fast as I could.”
As the sirens wailed in the distance and the night slowly reclaimed its silence, Zarlia looked at Mimi—bloodied, unconscious, but alive—and knew one thing with terrifying clarity:
This war had found them. And it would not stop.