Salvaged Read online

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Also by Maya

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Salvaged: Releasing the Magic Book 2 © 2019 by Maya Riley

  This is a work of fiction and is for mature audiences only. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced in, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any mechanical, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  Cover Art and Formatting: Jessica Campagna

  Editor: Jess Rousseau with Elemental Editing

  **18+ Reverse Harem Romance. Warning: this book contains some scenes and references of abuse that some readers may find triggering**

  Created with Vellum

  Dedication

  To everyone who has taken a chance on a new author

  Blyss

  My feet tripped over the ground and I practically flew through the air, but the hands around my waist prevented me from face-planting into the mud. The farther we ran, the more the pain in my head eased. The relief was very slight, and I still clutched my head.

  We ran as fast as we could, severely outnumbered by the hundred or so rotters that were hot on our trail. A blur of orange appeared from the side and ran straight toward us. I screamed as it bounded straight into Lincoln.

  The psycho rotter latched on to his leg and sunk its teeth in, holding on with impressive strength and accuracy. My chest tightened at the sight. I’d just gotten these guys back, only to lose them again. This couldn’t be happening right now.

  I regretted every bad thing we’d said to each other, if only I could take all the negatives back. If only I could turn back time and not run out of the cabin, leading us all here to this moment right now.

  Jonah reacted first, reaching out and snapping the rotter’s head back with a sickening crunch. He pulled it so far off, it was barely hanging on to the neck anymore. A small jet of fire followed and soon, the rotter was engulfed in flames.

  “Run!” Lincoln yelled, when he saw me backtracking to get to him and Jonah, even though the pain in my head grew greater with each step. My hands pressed against either side of my skull, trying to suppress the throbbing.

  “Get her out of here!” Lincoln’s yell cut through the haziness, but I didn’t want to listen. I couldn’t leave them. Whether or not he was infected, I still couldn’t leave them. I couldn’t leave any of them behind. Never again.

  Firm hands grabbed my arms and hauled me back, halting my progress and dragging me away. I tried to dig my heels into the dirt to stop the movement, but the throbbing in my temples clouded my brain.

  I saw another rotter run into Lincoln from behind and then knock him to the ground. My screams filled the air as someone hefted me over their shoulder, tears threatening to break free as I was carried away from two of the only friends I’d ever had.

  Lincoln and Jonah grew farther away, their forms growing smaller as they fought their way through the rotters coming at them. Leaves on branches above them erupted in flames, and the smoke swirled high into the sky.

  Every cell in my body screamed at me to help them. My skin heated with something beneath trying to break free.

  “Let me down,” I demanded. Each word was punctuated with my pounding fists against the muscled body beneath me, but it was useless. We kept moving away, and I watched the vegetation get thicker as we ran swiftly through the woods. Maura was next to us, throwing worried glances my way as we moved. She’d gotten some of her strength back since we’d found her, but she was still no match for what we were leaving behind.

  The pain in my head lessened a bit with each step my carrier took. Each second that passed felt more like an hour, with the image of the rotters attacking Lincoln flying through my mind.

  My pulse turned into a beating drum, and my mouth went dry.

  Finally, my pounding fists stopped. I ceased fighting, choosing to save my energy so I could run back as soon as I got down. Both of my arms dangled uselessly below, my nose bumping against my carrier’s waist, and I smelled pepper. I didn’t understand why he’d carry me away from his friend. From our friends.

  Constantly being toted away while on the run was getting pretty old.

  Maura tripped over an upraised root and fell to the dirt. “I can’t run anymore,” she panted. “So. Tired.”

  Adam stopped and turned to face Maura. It’d only been seconds, but days of running low on fuel would really take a toll.

  Sounds of the night called out, insects and creatures going crazy with noise, as if to warn us to turn back, but we all stopped. Taking advantage of the distraction, I managed to break loose of his hold and tumble to the ground, just in time for the crazy fast rotters to catch up. They moved across the ground, quick on their clumsy legs. We were thrown into the fight again before I even had a chance to clamber to my feet. I was on my hands and knees when the first rotter reached me.

  Still weaponless, I threw my hands out, ready to rip something to shreds. “Maura, get behind us,” I called out to her, as the rotter leapt into me, sending us both rolling backwards. Sharp twigs dug into my arm as I pushed the rotter off with a grunt and gained my balance.

  Energy surged through me, and I felt the almost familiar prickle of electricity underneath my skin.

  Puppy growled next to me and jumped up, straight for the nearest rotter. She sank her teeth into the decaying flesh and dragged it to the ground. I would be forever grateful the virus only affected humans, although sights like that always made the hair on the nape of my neck stand up.

  My furry fearless warrior made sure the rotter would never move again.

  Adam and Mateo stepped in front of me and each took their own rotter, their swords glinting in the moonlight as they swung about. One rotter flew past them faster than they could move, and headed right for me. Throwing my hands out, I grabbed its head and twisted, ripping it straight off the spinal cord with a sickening sound. Blobs of red gore and tendons hung down, dripping, and coloring the ground red.

  “Ew,” Maura commented, from where she was peeking out from behind a tree, her face twisted up in disgust. The tree was large enough to hide her slim frame from sight, but it wouldn’t be able to mask her scent of living flesh from the creatures who craved it. She remained watching from her hiding spot behind the tree, too grossed out by the sight before her to even move.

  I shrugged. “It came off super easily. I guess it must have been really decayed.” I released the decomposed head and it landed on the ground with a thud next to the body. I wiped my palms against my pants and looked around, assessing the situation, trying to find the direction we’d come from so I could get back. The rotters were still coming at us, but fewer than before. Dr. Crazy must be running out of decayed ammo. He only could have had so many rotters to let loose… right?

  A chill ran down my neck at the thought of the madman and what I’d recently learned about where I came from. That was a worry for later, though, since we needed to regroup and get out of here now.

  My eyes were frantic, roaming the forest around m
e, until they settled on the path we’d come down. My breath hitched in my throat and I urged my legs to move. One foot after the other was all I needed.

  Mateo’s gruff voice was sharp as it cut through the air after me, but I was already running. The worn soles of my shoes pounded the ground beneath me, desperate to get back to where I needed to be. I could see a faint glow from where there was smoke swirling through the sky, and my throat constricted. I knew the fire was Lincoln’s doing, but it didn’t ease the worry. Even if he was immune to harm from his own fire, what about Jonah? I had no idea what was going on over there. If they were even alright.

  Two figures emerged from the smoke. I could only see their outline since they weren’t fully visible yet, but a small cry escaped me at the familiar sight. I picked up my speed and closed the distance, only stopping once I’d barreled into something hard and Lincoln’s arms wrapped around me, pulling me into his chest. His chin rested on top of my head, giving me the feeling of being closed in somewhere safe.

  “I…” The words caught in my throat. It was difficult to speak. I couldn’t handle the thought of losing anyone else I cared about.

  Several voices could be heard around us, muffled by my erratic heartbeat. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but I also didn’t care at the moment.

  Lincoln’s head bent down slightly to whisper into my ear. “We’re all okay. I promise.” His breath was warm as it carried the reassuring words.

  I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, and tilted my head back far enough to look him in the eyes. I smiled at him, letting the relief show on my face for a moment before I pulled out of his embrace and smacked his chest. “Don’t you ever do that again,” I said before taking a step back and crossing my arms. I put my insistence into my glare, communicating my dislike for what happened.

  His face fell slightly as he rushed to explain. “B—”

  “Don’t ‘B’ me. I’m glad you’re okay, but I’m still mad at you. You can’t split up the group like that. Don’t take on a shit ton of rotters while making the rest of us stay away. It doesn’t work like that.” My glare pierced into him, trying to convey exactly how not okay things like that really were.

  “I’m sorry. I was about to light the forest on fire, and I didn’t want any of you to get caught up in it.” His hand dropped to scratch his thigh, and he took a step forward. “I needed to know you guys would be okay. That I wouldn’t hurt you while trying to destroy them.”

  I huffed and lessened my glare. “Still. I don’t approve of it. But okay, I can see your reasoning,” I muttered.

  “Plus,” he said, adding to his reasoning, “we wanted to get you as far away from that place as possible.” He raised his hand to reach out, his gaze fully focused on me. For a second, I forgot I was supposed to be upset. That we were supposed to be getting away from the peril that was within our reach. Instead, I ended up lost in the deep coffee colors that swirled within his irises.

  Branches crackled somewhere behind him as they detached from their tree trunks and fell into the fire below. Sparks flew up into the air, mingling with the smoke as the fire grew. We now had something else to add to our list of problems.

  Lincoln stepped forward, and lightly pressed his hand against my upper arm to lead me away from the spreading flames and smoke. “Come on. There are too many dangers around here right now. If the fire doesn’t get us, the mad scientist will.”

  I turned. “I don’t want to wait around to see what Dr. Crazy has in store for us next.” I stepped over and around the pile of dismembered rotters and began to hurry away, with the others following close behind. We moved in no particular direction other than away from the flames licking at the forest in our wake. All I knew was that we were moving away from danger.

  At least, I hoped so.

  The distinct sound of dead limbs sliding along the dirt sounded out behind us. Some rotters managed to make it through the carnage and were slowly following after us, stumbling down the same path we were taking. Their pace was so moderate, that we didn’t need to pick up our speed much. I spotted the flow of water that could separate us from the threat behind.

  “Come on, a little farther. We’re almost there.” I reached a reassuring hand out to Maura, who wrapped her own small hand around mine with a smile, and I tugged her along with me the last several feet.

  We reached the creek quickly. The whine of mosquitoes and the humming of dragonfly wings were nearly enough to trick us into thinking all was right with the world. That some cheap bug spray could fix all our problems, as though there was such a thing as rotter-be-gone.

  Water sloshed around the bottoms of our shoes as we hopped from stone to stone, crossing the creek with little trouble. Once we made it to the other side, we turned around and watched as the few remaining rotters, one by one, slipped on the wet stones, stumbled into each other, and fell into the creek with a splash. Their bodies tangled together, unable to stand or really even move, as they slowly began to roll away with the gentle current. Unable to go back the way we came, we decided to keep moving forward.

  Maura pulled her hand from mine. “I got it; I can walk on my own.”

  “Alright then,” I said as the cool air creeped over the warm skin where her hand was, and started moving. I set the pace, and everyone fell into step around me, with Maura only a few paces away.

  Lincoln was at my side first. “How are you doing?” I asked, unable to get the sight of the rotters out of my head.

  “I’m great.” He tapped the side of his thigh. “Prosthetic leg comes in handy sometimes.”

  I slid my hand into his as we walked, the anger and worry from earlier continuing to ebb away. The guys formed a protective circle around Maura and me, with Puppy trotting just ahead, keeping an ear out for any more threats.

  All was eerily silent around us. Normally, small wildlife would be running rampant, however the ground remained unlittered with tiny footprints. A rustling of leaves in the tree canopy above us as some birds settled in for the night was the only sign of life.

  The light around us dimmed as the sun began its descent. We were quickly running out of daylight and had no idea where we were, or where we were headed. All we knew was that we were moving forward—hopefully toward something safer than the threat we left behind.

  “We should try and find shelter soon,” Mateo suggested, his serious gaze set straight ahead.

  “Do we have any idea where we’re headed?” Maura inquired as she looked around for some sign of a shelter and was met with a collective silence. “Or are we just walking and don’t know where we’re going until we get there?”

  “I think it’s option B,” I responded.

  “We didn’t exactly get much choice in the matter.” Adam closed some of the distance between us as he appeared near my shoulder. “When the rotter horde came at us, we fought what we could and took off. I don’t know about you guys, but the only destination in my mind was to get away.”

  I tightened my grip on Lincoln’s hand. “I’d say that’s pretty accurate. I don’t really care where we’re going as long as we stick together this time.”

  A slight discomfort filled the air and I sighed.

  “There,” Mateo stated, interrupting the awkward silence. “Up ahead.” Our gazes snapped to where he was pointing, and a giant oak tree loomed in the distance. “We can sleep there. The branches should be wide enough for us to sleep on for the night, and get us off the ground from any rotters.”

  I internally groaned, hoping that sleeping in a tree every night wouldn’t become a regular thing.

  Realistically, we couldn’t have continued much farther if we hadn’t stopped now. With no idea where we’re going, what lay ahead, or what dangers were hiding in these woods, it was safer to stop here and rest for the night.

  I released Lincoln’s hand and began to swing around and stretch my arms as we walked, the memory of the last night sleeping in a tree still fresh in my mind. It would suck, and we’d be sore as hel
l tomorrow, but at least we’d be off the ground and out of reach of any nighttime rotters, or anything else that may lurk in these woods.

  Puppy, realizing what was going on, found a spot at the base of the tree. She turned in circles several times until she was content enough with the patch of dirt, then plopped herself down and let out a wide yawn.

  “She’ll be alright. The infection doesn’t bother animals. We’ll still take turns staying awake anyway.” Adam reached the trunk of the massive oak and held out a hand to me.

  One by one, we helped one another up and onto the tree limbs that could support our weight. We ended up spread out, one person per limb, with Adam on the one closest to me.

  With my bag slung from my tree branch, I shifted around, trying to find the perfect angle to sit with my back against the trunk. It took a bit of maneuvering to get to the point where the bark wasn’t stabbing me in the back. Once I was situated in a position that could be deemed semi-comfortable, I looked over and noticed Adam was fiddling around with the little round object that hung from his neck.

  “You’re a little closer to the sky at this point,” I commented, making a small joke and trying to lighten the mood. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized they weren’t nearly as funny as they were in my head. This was another one of those times I wished I could take back what I’d just said.

  He turned his head toward me, trailing his eyes over my face, trying to gauge my intent before he formed a response. Finally, he smiled. “Yeah. Maybe not in the way I’ve always wanted, but I’m a few feet closer at this point.”

  He stared straight ahead, his eyes out of focus as if he was seeing something from the past. The noise from the others around the tree grew lower as each of them settled into a spot they could manage.