Their Thief: Redemption

Chapter 13 (Part 2)

Her hand tightened further. A small croak tried to make its way out, but her hand crushed it in its path. All I could do was silently open and close my mouth.

Light sniffing sounded as the woman rose her head towards me. The sound made it just past the rush of blood that was growing louder to fill my ears. Her furrowed brows cleared as she pulled back, scoffing. "A human?" Her nose scrunched in disgust and her eyes scanned down my body as she leaned her head back farther than necessary. "How did a rat like you-"

Another hand entered my tunneling vision, causing me to try to flinch back from the one holding me firmly in place. Instead of reaching towards me, it only made it as far as the woman's long, slender, white neck. Thick fingers that were more than twice the size of her's clamped around her delicate neck from behind. The tips came together, overlapping.

Her eyes had widened in surprise when they first grazed her skin, but when the fingers tightened, they narrowed on me. Her fingers seemed to tighten along with them, making my legs kick out in desperation. Not even hitting her in the shin with enough force to feel it reverberate up my leg did anything to loosen her grip that was threatening to snap my neck.

"Let her go," a low voice said. The muffled words barely registered past the rush filling my ears.

She didn't. Keeping her hold firm, she opened her mouth to speak but quickly snapped it shut when the realization that she wouldn't be able to get out a single squeak dawned. She needed to be able to breathe to make noise.

A frown pulled the corners of her lips down as she tightened her jaw to reflect her displeasure. Her head tilted slightly as she narrowed her eyes at me dangerously. Flexing her hand against my throat, her easing fingers sparked hope that I may get air, deepening the burn in my chest. It was quickly smothered when she tightened her hold again, causing my feet to flail out wildly in desperation.

I clenched my eyes shut, afraid the building pressure I felt behind my eyes would pop them out. It wasn't like keeping them open was doing me any good. The black spots had overtaken my vision to the point that they were all I could see. I was sure unconsciousness would follow soon.

But it didn't.

Her hand suddenly released me moments before it could claim me. Unprepared and disoriented from the deprivation my lungs just suffered, my legs collapsed beneath me when my feet hit the ground. I crumpled to the floor as gasped breaths burned their way into my lungs, making the darkness recede. My knees slammed into the hard floor first, sending a shock of pain up my legs as the rest of my body followed to land in a heap.

As I fell, I barely managed to angle my body to land on its side. I tried to raise my arms to break my fall, but they wouldn't respond properly, moving too slow to provide any help. No, the help came from another source. Before my head could slam into the ground like the rest of me, a hand slipped under it, cushioning it before it could make the brain-rattling impact.

A sharp gasp had me choking on air. I once again found it difficult to get the air I needed as a fit of coughing rocked through my body. After it finally subsided, I blinked tears from my eyes to find Alec's cold blues one's looking down at me. It wasn't a surprise. My body knew it was him the moment he had gotten near. He sat crouched by my head while his hand lay trapped beneath it, continuing to act as a pillow.

Gurgled sounds of a struggle drew my attention away from him and to the pair situated before us. My cleared eyes widened when they landed on Luca's large frame.

He had gotten bigger.

He dwarfed the struggling woman he held in his hand. My view of them from a lower angle made them seem taller than they already were. Her strained face was clearly visible. Spit bubbled at the corner of her mouth as he held her in the air in a similar fashion to how she had held me moments ago. Except, she wasn't facing him. She couldn't see his darkened features.