37. Draven

J ust breathe…

"You hold your breath a lot, you need oxygen to flow to your brain, Buba. I can't have you dying on me, jeez. Deep breaths, you'll always make it work out in the end."

I was hoping that when I told her she didn't need to do this, she would have agreed. That she'd tell me what it was she wanted, and I'd willingly give it to her.

Perhaps it's a sense of redemption for me. Max feels like the world's way of giving me a chance to forgive myself for failing Alyson, offering me another opportunity to get it right. It's hard to see it as mere coincidence that seven years ago, I lost my reason for living, and at that same time, Max's life was nearly taken from her.

No that is wrong. Her life was taken from her that day, but… she became a survivor and has been fighting to get it back.

Although infuriating at times and I've only known her for coming up on forty-eight hours, she deserves to win that fight. She deserves to get the revenge she seeks—and so much more.

I've been standing at the end of the maze for coming on ten minutes, my arms crossed over my chest and my foot tapping incessantly. We will have some time before she needs to enter Gabe's maze. She should have a full meal and rest for a bit. I'll do my best to keep my hands off her until then. When it's all over, I'll have plenty of time to praise her with both my cock and tongue.

Eleven minutes.

Twelve minutes.

My jaw sets, and I tuck my phone back into my pocket. There should be no reason this is taking so long. It's possible there was someone in front of her, but they would have been pushed out the moment she stepped into the center with Po.

"She's not out yet?" I don't turn to meet Troy's gaze as he approaches.

"No," I reply, my tone sharp.

He hums and comes to my side. "How long has she been in there?"

"Thirteen minutes and counting. Too fucking long."

As he comes to stand beside me, he releases a sigh. "Agreed. Did Sasha say where she was going to go? I assume you've been standing here the entire time, did you catch her as she exited? "

It feels like every muscle in my neck tenses up, making my gaze shift slowly toward him. "Sasha…?"

"Yeah, you know, Max's—"

"Shut the fuck up, Troy, I know who Sasha is. What do you mean come out?!" I shout, ready to punch him in the face for acting stupid. "When did she go in?" A pit forms in my stomach as realization hits me.

How could I have been so blind…

I don't think I've ever seen Troy go paler; it pulls out the red splotches on his nose that possibly could be considered freckles. "Twenty—" The tremble my entire body succumbs to makes my bones physically ache.

A choice… an impossible choice—why had I not fucking seen that coming!?

I'm in motion before my brain consciously attributes the action in my legs. The door swings open, nearly knocking me in the face, and Sasha comes barreling into my arms. I can't focus on her injuries, and she's lucky I didn't just fling her behind me as I barely catch the door with my foot.

"Draven—Draven don't go—She doesn't—" I don't think hysterical is a good classification for the way she is acting. Her face is swollen, but I can't concentrate on anything else.

I'm preparing to let her go when she grabs so tightly to me, her nails threaten to pierce my skin. "He is going to KILL you Draven, don't. Don't—"

Then I hear something straight out of my nightmares. The instant her scream pierces my ears, rage blinds me. Red edges into my vision, and my skin feels as if it's been set ablaze, like a match finally igniting .

Knowing the door will lock behind me, I kick it with such force the top hinges snap, leaving it to dangle loosely.

Without so much as a thought I toss Sasha behind me and strain my throat to whistle for Shade. However, I am not going to wait for him to be by my side. I can't. I won't .

The point between me entering the darkness that was Po's maze and finally seeing a red light, is indiscernible. I think my anxiety and rage is threatening to end my own life, my heart beating at a pace it hasn't been since my first time being in these mazes.

I can't tell which sends me into a fury more, seeing Max, or seeing Po on top of her . There is no awkward hesitation, no stopping my momentum like in a movie to give him any second to register I'm there. I don't announce my advancement to him with a scream, just my heavy footsteps. The room around me is void of anything because I only see him, and his bloody head soon to be separated from his body.

He jerks around to face me, a filthy, provoked snarl crossing his face. "Knew you couldn't resist, pussy-boy."

I'm two large strides from him when he rounds his arm, a silver pistol pointing straight up at me. I can see the twitch in his index finger as it goes taut against the trigger. I've been shot before, but with the gun aimed directly at my head, I know I won't survive that. I'm not an idiot.

As the bullet rings through the barrel, Max screams, "No! Draven!"

I'm already ducking out of the way, slamming into a structure that I can't comprehend what is, nor do I care. I shoot my gaze to Po who is coming from on top of Max, raising the gun back down at me. "Never took you as a man to fall victim to a woman. "

My gaze narrows on him, and I can't take the chance to look at Max. If he incapacitates me here, or worse…

"Max, go."

Po bellows out a laugh. "You have no say here, Grim. This is my maze, and now you have to play by my rules."

Ninety seconds. Come on boy.

"What's my choices?" I'm slowly placing my hand onto my knee, watching between the nose of the gun, and his eyes which blaze as if he has won this little game of ours. All I need for him to do is slip the barrel lower than my head, I'll survive anywhere else.

The hardest part is not looking at Max. I can hear her soft whimpers, each one a struggle to suppress.

"I've been waiting for this moment, Draven. You walk around here all high and mighty, all because you won. "

Keep talking you piece of shit.

"Come here, boy. I don't need to give you the choices because I already know what you'll pick. Lovesick puppy—" The hand that isn't holding the gun points down to the ground. "Kneel here so I can introduce this bullet to your skull."

"No!!" Max's scream is so piercing I lose the fight to look at her, and I'm glad I do. Her heel kicks against his shin so hard I can hear the crack. His shriek of pain and distracted gaze gives me the moment I need to push from my stilled position and go straight for his wrist. The gun has lowered, so I direct it to the side instead of upwards—away from Max.

His finger pulls the trigger twice, and the sharp pain in my shoulder registers briefly before adrenaline takes over.

Po's back slams against the ground, my fist making contact with his cheek and causing him to roar in pain. I grunt, trying to knock the pistol out of his hand.

The punch he lands on my jaw makes me shift slightly. Although I'm taller, his brutish strength is equivalent to mine with two good arms. I can't get the gun from his grip, but I have to focus on keeping him from raising it again. My right arm's strength is failing, and I curse through clenched teeth.

"Max, run!" I scream—once she's out, he can't touch her. Troy and the staff won't allow for it. Shade will also tear Po apart for even thinking about it.

"I can't, Draven, I won't!" The crack in her tone makes my body flush.

Damn it, listen to me, please!

I can't say anything more; I'm using every bit of breath just to keep my grip. As he swings at my face again, I raise my good hand to block it. Unfortunately, my right arm can't apply enough pressure to hold him down, and he manages to throw me off balance.

I'm bucked off, and as I'm scrambling to my feet, the cold press of metal against my temple halts me.

Through bated breath, Po laughs, "Should have thought before coming in without a weapon. Too hasty to save this beautiful cunt."

I inch upward, but he pushes the barrel forcefully against me. It's still hot from the two bullets he shot into my arm, and I groan.

I'm truthfully not afraid of the bullet, but what will happen after it enters my skull. I don't think I'll even live more than a few seconds, which doesn't give me any time to try to take Po with me.

Suppose it's a good thing he is dramatic, and hesitating, because I can hear the low growl that's emanating from the hallway I had only just entered minutes ago. Placing my hands up as if in surrender, I release a breath. " Abattons notre proie, mon gar?on ."

"Your final words? Suppose I didn't take you as a romantic, but still… not even an I love—"

Blood splatters across my face as Shade's jaw wraps around Po's wrist. The fire of the gun rings in my ear but I don't give into the vibrating sensation echoing in my head. I'm up at my feet quick, and shattering his nose with my fist.

His body tumbles as my mighty wolf pulls him down to the ground, thrashing his head from side to side. Po's piercing scream echoes as he tries to pull free from Shade's grip, but it's futile. While Shade prepares to tear off Po's hand, he attempts to kick him. I intercept the kick with the back of my calf before it can land.

Then, with brutal force, I step down onto the shin where Max had kicked, completely fracturing the bone under the pressure. The blinding cry of pain makes the room around us shudder.

The gun is somewhere in the room, and I look at Shade. "Subdue," I command him, and as if he had received a slew of orders, he releases Po's wrist and moves to his neck, where his canines come to rest against his throat. His jaw remains slack, not applying pressure.

"Move, and he will begin chewing—slowly…"

The soft footsteps behind me draw my attention, and I quickly turn to see Max just inches away. I don't think I have my arm around her quick enough, and I immediately regret the action as a sharp hiss of pain follows my embrace, and I instinctively pull away.

I'm finally able to assess her, and my teeth crack under the pressure of my fury. She's soaked, and I can see the red in her eyes isn't from tears, but as if water was drowning them. Her arm is slack, and I can discern the dislocated shoulder blade.

I swallow hard. "Let me kill him, and then I'll—"

"No, I want him to hurt—I want to watch—I want to hurt him!" She cut me off, demanding to perform her own punishment.

Anything for you.

I look between her eyes. She's in pain, and as strong as she's forcing herself to be in this moment, I know she's struggling. My hand moves to her waist, and I pull her close to me. "Let me put your shoulder back into place…" I whisper, and despite Po's cries of agony in the background, she hears me and nods.

"Do you know how?"

I release a breath, quickly looking over at Shade who is in control, then return my gaze to her and nod. My hand that was gently caressing her at her hip, moves to her affected arm. This will be much easier with both hands, so despite the ache in my injured arm, I use them and apply steady, gentle traction without excessive force.

She rolls her lips together in discomfort, so I distract her with my words. "Do you want to know what Shade's second favorite part of the body to eat is?"

As I look from her to the cross awkwardly in the room, I step us the few feet to it, placing her against it, which gets another cry of discomfort. I'll have to look at her back, she's only in her bra and that alone is barely keeping me sane.

"Yes…" she groans, "What is it?"

Using the cross as countertraction, "Breathe, baby." She does as I command, and I move her arm externally, away from her body, in a slow controlled manner. "A cock." The moment laugh bubbles from her throat, I rotate upward and feel the joint pop back into place.

Her eyes widen in shock, but she doesn't scream.

After giving her a moment to catch her breath, I struggle to say, "I…" Closing my eyes, I release a shaky sigh. "I'm going to brutally kill him, Max, I don't want you see what I'm—"

"I'm not leaving. Give me your knife…" The fierce gaze in her eyes tells me even if I tried to argue, I'd be losing. "He hurt me… he… he hurt you. I want him to suffer by my hands too, Draven. I told you…" her fingers draw a line up toward my shoulder where I am bleeding, "I once had a guy's dick in my hand from a motorbiking accident, and—"

I lean in and silence her, my lips pressing against hers in a brief, fleeting kiss.

"Okay, I get it," I breathe against her. "Would you like to feed Shade, Petit Mouton ?"

"Fuck yeah I would."

I'm not nervous to kill in front of Max, not at all, but I do worry about showing a side of me that she actually might not like. I'm going to make him hurt—hurt so fucking bad for touching her. I know she wants him to suffer, but I'm not a balanced person.

"Release," I command Shade, and he does so without question. I can see the bitemarks he left along Po's neck. Inspecting him, one shin bent inward, his nose sunken further than I made Marcella's, and his left hand barely holding on, it all makes me fill with joy.

Turning to Max to check on her, I brush the back of my hand against her cheek. "Give me a moment, and then he is yours." Once I'm sure she is as good as she can be for the moment, I step away and round over to him. The burn in my shoulder now coming full force as my adrenaline is dying down. The danger he had caused just moments ago, fleeted with his subduing.

Groaning through clenched teeth, I drop to one knee.

"Listen, Dr—"

"Shut it," I spit. "Did you waterboard her?"

His eyes widen.

"Did you lash her?" When I grabbed her waist, I felt the welts beneath my fingertips.

Slowly, I lean down toward him. "Were you going to… rape her…? You know the fucking rules!"

I drag out my hunting knife and rip down his shirt, immediately finding—of course his pierced nipple—and without a moment of hesitation slice through his skin, peeling it back as though it were pepperoni on a pizza.

His scream is immediately enhanced by me moving to his other, and instead of feeding them to Shade, I dropped both of them into his wide-open mouth. He was about to spit, but I shoved the bottom of the blade in, forcing not only the pieces of his flesh down his throat, but equally his tongue.

The sound of him gagging blending in with the growls of Shade right above my shoulder. I can feel his saliva seeping into my shirt and down my chest.

He is just as furious as I am.

"Swallow quickly," I demand, and while he fights, I can see the bob of his throat as his flesh travels down. "I could take days… weeks to torture you, Po. I'd keep you alive, make you feel every part of your body fracture until you begged me to kill you and even then…" I point the tip of the dagger at his temple and move his head. He doesn't resist and turns willingly. "I'd keep you alive. Only when my Max told me you could die, then would you."

With a decisive slice, I cut upward through his ear, and as he finds movement to swing, I see Max stomp down onto his wrist. "Don't touch him!" She seethes.

I may have come a little.

Smirking, I weakly grab at his ear to keep it up while I slice it off. I struggle to get through the cartilage, but I make it happen. If it weren't for my arm slowly losing any feeling, I may keep this going, but I can't. Not only that, I need to look at my girl's back and make sure she's okay.

" Petit Mouton, " I outstretch the knife to her, and gestured for her to do as she pleases. "I can kill him if you don't want to—"

"Fuck that, I'll end his worthless life."

I give her a nod, and say no more.

After feeding Shade Po's ear, I whistle and point toward the hand that was being pinned by Max. My wolf obeys, and goes around to subdue it from moving.

I think I block out his sounds, because as I look down at Po, he is crying and screaming words that to me, are unintelligible. I drag my gaze to Max, who is staring at the dead man below her with complete, utter hatred.

"You hurt Sasha…" Her teeth chattering through her rage filled words. She brings down the blade and sits it against his chest. "Before I kill you…" I'm not sure what I expected, but I sense she can be as lethal as I am—and soon, as crazy. "You asked me to scream for you…"

With as much force as she can, she grabs at the side of his head and presses her thumbs into his eyes. "It's your turn to scream for me." I grab his short hair and hold him in place just as he begins to thrash around. The count barely makes it to five seconds as he screams through a grunt at her applied pressure, and soon, the guttural pop of his eyes squelching.

You know when someone is going to die, their body begins to vibrate and soon, they fall into a state of unsettled stillness. Po is currently screaming and shaking from his head all the way down to his feet.

She sits firm on his chest and grabs hold of the knife, tightly gripping the hilt.

I drag my finger to the side of his neck. "Quick." She looks up at me, and I then point down at the lowest part of his throat, right between his collarbones. "Slow."

The tremble of her lower lip as she brings her gaze back down to him makes me want to take them against mine. The feral need to have what is mine in this moment nearly makes restraint impossible. This was so fucking hot, especially as she raises the blade and brings it to the point in his chest that would hurt the most, and kill him the slowest.

As Po's mouth fills with blood, she doesn't stop. Snatching the knife out of his chest, she raises it further above her head and before I have time to protest, Max is stabbing him mercilessly. Puncturing his chest with my blade over, and over again.

The rage she releases is building a desire in me I may not be able to contain .

"You motherfucker!" she screams, piercing him with unrelenting force. Blood covering her bare breasts almost entirely, her arms coated crimson as she continues her onslaught.

"Max." She doesn't hear me. "Max!" I shout louder. Commanding her attention, but she's gone. Her focus solely on the task at hand. I need to stop her, because we need to go. Reaching forward, I grip both of her arms, dragging her over his body and toward my chest.

Her breathing is ragged, her eyes wide and blown out. "Look at me, Petit mouton." I brush my hand against her face, angling it up to me. "Max!" I bark, and she instantly snaps her attention to me.

"Draven," she whimpers. "He was—he t-touched me— I didn't want him to, I swear I—" Tears brim at her lower lashes and I find myself further enraged, not at her, but because I can't punish him the way I want.

"I know you didn't." Pulling her closer to me, I envelope her in my arms.

After a few moments, her breathing finally calms, moving back out of my grasp, she slowly looks up to me, waiting for me to speak. I offer a weak smile, bringing my bloodied hand up to her cheek and caress it.

"Good job, Max. So fucking good, baby…"