Thank fuck, the male finally released him. Not that it helped much. Air still would not find it’s way down his throat. The pain went from grossly unbearable to plain unbearable. A slight improvement. He’d take it!

Torrent could hear the sounds of battle over the roar of his heartbeat in his ears. Coal was fighting the approaching male. What? Why? Why didn’t he just go and claim his prize? It would take a few minutes for his throat to heal enough to get air to move through it. The extra time would have put Coal well ahead.

Instead, he was choosing to waste his time by taking out the lesser. There was a crunching noise as the fire prince punched the other male’s face. Over and over. He pulverized the poor male. Torrent couldn’t help but feel a begrudging respect for the bastard. Fast, strong and clever. The male was also a prick, and if there were even an ounce of strength left in him, he would fight him.

The poor bastard finally fell into a heap and Coal walked back to Torrent. It was only when he had to look up to maintain eye contact with Coal that he realized that he had fallen onto one knee. He managed to draw the tiniest wheezing breath. Thank claw. The dark patches in his vision cleared, but only marginally.

“The others are a few minutes behind.” Coal glanced to the horizon and Torrent could barely make out the grunts and growls that gave credence to his words. There was a large group approaching at a speed. “You still have time to claim her.” The male glanced at the human who was just a few feet away from him.

Her eyes were wide and filled with fear. Something in him clenched. A need to protect rose up in him. She was so small and fragile. Not the female that he wanted but she would do. What did it matter anyway? The female was fertile. Their kind had watched a group of females for months before making final decisions about who they were going to take. The females needed to meet various criteria. Amongst other things, they needed to be destitute, not easily missed by loved ones and fertile. That meant that she would have gone into heat at least once while they observed her.

Coal was going to get the dark-haired one, whether he liked it or not. It was take this one or wait for the next hunt.

The fire prince narrowed his eyes on Torrent. “Take her,” he said. It might be another trap, though to what end? Torrent was still pretty much fucked. At least he could get some air through his broken windpipe. It wouldn’t be long and he would be back on his feet. Right now, he was no threat.