There was something to be said for desperate times and what one can endure when they had no choice.

Somewhere in the back if Paul's mind he knew he was doing irreparable damage to his shoulder, a shot of fire shooting down his front leg every time his paw hit the cobblestone like path he was directed down. His fur was matted and stained with blood from the bite to his shoulder. He had no idea why those weren't closing, or at least why the punctures hadn't stopped bleeding, but he did his best to ignore the burn they caused. The dislocation was much harder to advert his focus from, but he kept his jaw clamped and just put one paw in front of another, taking the run one sphinx statue at a time.

There was two miles between Luxor Temple to Karnak Temple, and the wolf barely made it over half way between the two before the sounds of growls and hisses reached his ears. He didn't pause, or really even slow, but he did look back and had to bite back a whine at the sight of the four cats that had been buried in the sand behind him and closing.

Oh, come the fuck on. Give me a break... just one.

Facing forward again, for the first time, Paul had no idea what to do. If he believed the vampire that pointed him this direction, his girl was at the end of the path, and he certainly didn't want to lead those demon cats straight to his human imprint; especially since he had no idea what kind of state she herself was in.

That time, he wasn't fully able to silence the whimper.

Still, he didn't stop running, not wanting to have any major decisions made for him right at the moment. If he stopped, he was positive that decision would bite him in the ass, in the most literal sense that could be taken. He couldn't take on the pride by himself, not in the state he was in, but he was pretty sure there wasn't going to be a lot of help at the other end of the walkway.

Bella was, though...

Lips pulling from his teeth in a snarl, a growl ripped from his throat as his claws dug into the path. Whipping himself around, his momentum and the blood on the pad of his paw causing him to have to scramble for traction. He tried digging his extremely fucked up claws into the pavement, but that proved to do nothing but put him right on the edge of crying actual tears.

When his chest hit the ground, it actually knocked the wind out of him, but he tried not to let it stop him completely. It was an absolute struggle to get himself back to his feet, but his front leg couldn't take his weight enough to do much more than stand his ground. If Bella was still alive, the only thing he had left to offer was to hold these cats off as long as he could so she didn't vampires and shifters to deal with.

Paul was seconds away from facing martyrdom when his view of the cats was obstructed and his nose was assaulted with the scent of overly sweetened koolaid. With a staggering stumble that followed a hard sneeze, Paul opened his eyes, watching in a state of awe as a lone figure dove into the ring of cats. His attention didn't stay there for long, though, before the scent of apples and honey caressed his senses and his massive head dropped to the unconscious body laid out on the pavement.

The shock of seeing Bella and hearing her heartbeat all but forced him back to human form, but he was so drained, be actually crawled to her side, leaving scraps across the skin of his knees and the tops of his feet. He had absolutely no use of his arm, but that didn't stop him from pulling his imprint into his arms, holding her closes and giving her as best of an inspection for injury as he could. He could smell her blood, but from first glance, he didn't see any teeth marks.

Lifting his eyes from Bella, he watched as Demetri absolutely laid waste to the cats that wanted no part of facing off with him. The quiet of the night was shattered by snarls, growls, high pitched howls, and snaps that Paul was positive was breaking bones. It took him two minutes to kill two, bite a third, and Paul actually had to swallow the bile that rose when he watched the vampire sink his teeth into the neck of the last remaining feline. When that body hit the ground, he then moved on to the one he bit, drinking from that one as well.

It was morbidly fascinating to the wolf to watch a vampire eat, and he could die happy if he never had to do it again.

Throwing the only partly drained body in his hands from him, Demetri ran the pad of his thumb across the corner of his lip to get the drop that escaped, his sights now trained on the wolf and his human. The second cat might have been a mistake, but he would rather be overly full than ever be that hungry again. Licking the blood from his thumb, he made his way back where he left Bella under the guard of her male, but he was looking at Paul. "Can you run?"

Paul, having more than a couple of questions for the vampire, didn't answer him, and instead asked what was probably the most important question there was to ask. "Where the fuck did you come from?"

Growling in his throat, Demetri narrowed his eyes. There wasn't time for the pup to play twenty questions, not with the fact Amun was closing in on their location. "From underground. Now, can you run?"

Still not answering the question, Paul glared at the vampire then. "Did you feed from her?"

This time, Demetri growled loud enough to actually be heard. "No, though certainly not due to lack of trying on her part. Last time, Dog... can. you. run?" When Paul once again went to open his mouth, Demetri was sure to ask another question there wasn't time to entertain, Demetri snarled. "Allow me to explain to you the situation we are in at the moment. You cannot defend yourself much less your morsel, and my sire is closing in. I fed from shifters, not humans, which means I do not have the ability to fight off his orders made to me. The only thing their blood will do is allow me the ability to not kill your bleeding mate. If Amun gets here before we are gone, you two will die. Now, can you fucking run?"

Rearing back, Paul grunted, but finally answered the presented question. "Yeah, but not as a wolf, and I'm not as fast like this."

Nodding, Demetri knelt down in front of Bella, gently removing his jacket from her, Paul lifting her slightly up so he could slide it from under her. Once he was in possession of his jacket, he moved to crouch next to Paul, getting a good look at the damage to his shoulder. He could see the dislocation, but the more concerning issue was the puncture wounds from feline canines. Clicking his tongue, Demetri rolled his head on his shoulders. He didn't have a lot of time to come up with a better option and, licking his palm, he clamped his venom covered hand over the holes, hearing a sizzle, and squeezing his grip to keep Paul in place while he seared the wounds closed. Demetri, not saying anything before doing so, then popped Paul's shoulder back into its socket.

Fire erupted from his shoulder, and Paul damn near dropped Bella. The flames sent up his neck and down his spine, but he couldn't even yelp, his throat completely closed off. Breathing hard and shallow, he fought back the urge to vomit, and as the burn began to recede, he dropped his head onto Bella stomach.

Demetri, once he checked to make sure the holes stopped bleeding, rolled Paul's shoulder, much to the wolf's displeasure, and once he was convinced it was going to stay where it belonged, finally released him and stood. Looking around them, his eyes locked on a place to the north, but it was fifty miles away, and there was no way to get there with a human and an injured shifter in the time they had.

He needed a phone, and he needed one now.

Looking down at the wolf who was coming back to his senses, Demetri crossed his arms. "Do you have a phone?"

Paul, in pain and pissed off, made no attempt not to give a stupid answer to such a stupid question. "Yup, sure do. It's nestled nice and cozy up my naked ass."

Face losing all emotion, Demetri deadpanned. "Forgive me for thinking you traveled halfway around the world with more than just the clothing on your backs."

Rolling his shoulder himself, Paul then slid his fingers into Bella's hair as he heard her moan in the back of her throat. He was looking at her when he spoke to Demetri. "We did. Your mate gave us a phone, but it's back at the hotel by the river."

Closing his eyes, before looking to the stars, Demetri grunted. "Fifteen miles in the opposite direction we need to go. Wonderful." Glancing back to where he knew Jade and Felix to be waiting, he ran his tongue along his teeth before nodding once. Looking at Paul, he let out a breath. "You have a choice to make. You can either work with me, or we will all die."

Paul snorted hard at the presented 'choice'. "What's the plan?"

Bending at the waist, Demetri snatched his jacket off the ground and held it to Paul. "Give me her and put this on. I know you're fatigued, but you need to run, and as fast as you can."

Though it literally killed a part of him to do so, Paul didn't put up a fight against the statement. He even helped somewhat in settling Bella in the arms of a vampire before climbing to his feet. As he was pulling on Demetri's jacket, he looked at the vampire. "I'm not going to be able to keep up with you like this."

Demetri snorted hard as he shifted the waking human slightly into a better position to run in, and rolled his eyes. "You couldn't do that even on your best day. That's irrelevant though. You're going to go the opposite direction." Glancing at Paul, Demetri's lip curled as he watched the wolf button his jacket closed over his dick. There was disgust in his voice when he spoke then. "I won't need that back."

Paul just glared. "The fuck I am, and I did just fine keeping up in Washington."

Looking at the pup, Demetri grinned. "So? Compared to now, Washington was a playdate. I am the fastest creature on this planet, and would have already have made the fifty mile run to my mate... four times... in the time I've been out of my cage. The only reason I haven't is because you two risked your lives to save mine, and it's only fair I return the favor. I will get you both home, or die trying."

Feeling a very oppressive weight begin to settle on his shoulders, Demetri's head snapped to the north, and he growled. "I have to move." Jetting his chin toward the direction he knew Jade and Felix were. "Head that direction and do not stop. You're wearing my jacket, so you will smell like me and, The Gods willing, trick my sire into following that scent instead of following me personally. You will not be on your own for long, I swear it. Three minutes is all I need to get a hold of Felix, and he is fast enough to intervene before anything too terrible happens. While you two are distracting my sire, I will get your mate to safety, feed properly, and then come back for you."

Looking where he was pointed, Paul made a noise in this throat. "Wouldn't that just put you back under your sire's thumb?"

Demetri shook his head. "No. The only reason he was able to before is because I was underfed, and that won't be a problem this time."

Something in his mind told Paul to question that. Instead, he looked back where he was told to go, and nodded. "Then you better go before he gets any closer."

The vampire and the wolf looked at each other for a long moment, mutual respect and understanding in their eyes for the other. Shockingly enough, they both wanted the same thing; all three getting out of this alive. However, the two supernaturals were of agreement that so long as the human survived, neither cared if they didn't.

Before Demetri bolted from the Sphinx lined path, he dipped his head to the wolf. "Good luck, Paul."

Paul, watching as Demetri vanished before his eyes, sighed. "You too, Demetri."