Chapter 180: Book 2. Mina - The Mercenary King 4

Suddenly she was flipped on her back, strong arms pinning her to the ground, one of the mercenaries hovering over her. The rest squatted around her. Fingers touched her above her thighs and beneath her breasts, others grabbed her arms and feet while the mercenaries laughed and made fun of her, calling her all sorts of names. She waited for the right moment to strike.

“I have never been with a woman so beautiful,” a third said.

She tried to free her hands from the men, but they were too strong for her. Blood roared in her ears. If she didn’t get away from them, they would force themselves on her. She would rather die than let another man who wasn’t Jayden touch her.

Abeel, she reminded herself.

The men started pulling at her undergarments, trying to undress her. Tears stung her eyes, and felt like she could not breathe.

The wind blew harder, lifting leaves from the ground. The melody sang into her ears, bringing resolve to her. Her breath evened. The knife was cold against her skin, and she knew what she had to do. If only she could free her hands… or someone would come to her rescue….

She was about to jerk her arms hard so she could stab herself in the heart when a huge wolf appeared out of nowhere and attacked the mercenary pinning her to the ground. The mighty beast sank his long canines into the man’s neck. The sound of bones breaking followed. The other mercenaries forgot about Mina as they rushed to attack the wolf.

Not wanting to become a meal to the wolf, Mina rose quickly from the ground. Ignoring the pain coming from the cuts on her feet, she ran faster than ever—even faster than on the night of her mating on Isyleon Island. It had been different then as Jayden chased her because he wanted to show her how much he cared about her. Now she was running for her life, so she could return to Jayden.

A yelp and a loud whine reached Mina’s ears, and she knew the mercenaries killed the wolf. At least one mercenary was dead.

She started to move the blade up and down against the rope, trying to free her hands.

The howls and roars sounded closer to her. Fallen branches snapped behind her. The wind danced around her, the melody constantly echoing in her ears.

The forest seemed alive, beasts growling and howling from behind the trees. She jumped over a fallen log, the mercenaries behind her.

Who would kill her first—the wild beasts or the mercenaries? But if she died, what would happen to Jayden or the children? She had to live. And when she would return to the Archduke’s castle, she would kick Fherax between his legs as hard as she could.

Mina kept running deeper into the Enchanted Forest. Her feet carried her in the direction of the melody. The beautiful trees with silver leaves disappeared, being replaced by a swamp. Trees with twisted trunks grew along the edge. Her eyes adjusted to the low light, but even so, she could barely see around her. Listening to the melody and following the musical tones, she kept moving, running between the strange trees.

Mina had managed to cut the rope when the mercenaries caught up with her. Freeing her hands, she turned around to face them. Five of the initial seven mercenaries were in front of her.

“Let’s kill her and get out of here,” one said as he lifted his left hand at the same height as his eyes. A dagger was in it. The last two fingers were missing, blood dripping from the wounds. He sounded nervous. The others looked around, probably afraid more wolves would appear from behind the trees.

It was not the first time Mina was in danger, but it was the first time she had to fight against five men with an old, rusty knife on top of that. She got into a defensive position, and the mercenaries pulled out their swords. Before they could make their first moves, the branches of the trees moved, grabbing one of them and stabbing the other two in their backs.

Mina’s eyes went wide as she watched the trees moving and tearing the limbs of the three mercenaries they attacked while the two remaining men tried to help them. Blood drops spattered her face, and she screamed. Without thinking, she started running. No wonder people never made it out of the Enchanted Forest.

The two mercenaries still alive yelled after Mina, demanding her to stop, but she did not dare to do so, trying to find the way out of the forest back to Jayden. She was so scared, her heart felt like it would break free from her chest. The two unwound mercenaries abandoned the ones attacked by the trees to ther fate and resumed their chase.

Soft light came from between some trees, and Mina followed it.

Mina was almost at the end of the swamp when she tripped on a tree root and fell. Her feet hurt, and exhaustion was starting to overcome her. Never had she run for so long in her life.

The melody sounded louder.

She tried to get up, but her foot was stuck between the roots, and she couldn’t pull it free. Was this her end?

The two mercenaries reached the place where Mina was. She yanked on her foot hard, scraping her skin against the roots.

The men stood in front of her, their swords in their hands, anger in their eyes.

“Say your last prayer.”

Mina didn’t want to die, not yet at least, but if the mercenaries didn’t kill her, then the forest would. And her foot was still stuck.

The mercenaries raised their swords in the air, the light coming from between the trees bouncing along the blades, and swung their arms, aiming for her neck.