inches away from the carnage and
barely had the car in park before I was out the door.
My every step was a loud crunching of heavy soles melting
through gravel-covered snow. I was far beyond stealth and didn’t give a fuck.
“What the hell?” I growled, grabbing Ella by the arm and
ripping her away from the blade cutting into her skin.
The line of red I’d seen from several feet away now dripped
down her face. I curled my hand into a fist and swung out, connecting with the
solid surface of Eiven’s cheek. Crunch. The wolf’s head jerked back. His growl
ripped through the air and he came at me swinging. I leaned back, the blow
missing me and swung in from the side, landing another solid hit that filled me
with vindication and made me crave more.
The blow knocked Eiven forward and I took the opportunity to
shove my knee into his gut with a satisfying grunt. He looked up at me and
snarled, blood dripping from his mouth.
His packmates circled close and I spared only the briefest
of glances at Ella. She stood, hands loose at her side, staring at the dead
body on the ground.
Eiven’s voice drew my attention to the fight. “You cripple
her, demon.”
I lunged, ready to inflict more pain. I needed to hurt him
with a ferocity that scared me. We came together in a clash of fists. I felt
nothing except the red-hot burn smoldering in my gut.
Between hits, I grunted, “You’re supposed to be protecting
her.”
I threw him off me and swiped my bleeding nose on the sleeve
of my jacket as we circled each other, both looking for an opening. By some
unspoken rule, the wolves at his command held back, waiting until they were
invited into the fray to try to kick my ass.
Eiven rolled his neck. “I did my duty.”
“Yeah, that really looked like duty, your fucking knife
pressed to her face.”
“It was her knife and I had it because she was too weak to
do what needed to be done.”
I stopped and looked at the corpse on the ground. It took me
a few seconds before recognition took hold. Jared. He was an agency hunter, a
douche if I remembered correctly. I swept the grounds, taking in the severed
heads and other limbs from two other bodies. Blood drenched the snow.
“What happened?” I asked, forcing the heat inside.
Eiven spat on the body at his feet and kicked the corpse.
Disgust and fury radiated, mixing with the neck-ruffling press of his wolf
straining for freedom. His eyes shimmered with the barely restrained beast. “Your
agency happened. These assholes slaughtered two of my wolves and then came
after Ella.”
Disgust filled me. Richard. I should have known the Shadow Agency
hadn’t planned on playing fair. “It’s not my agency, not any longer.”
Eiven jerked his head as if nodding. “You want to protect
her? Wake her the fuck up. Playtime’s over. This isn’t a game.”
I glared at the packmaster, hungry for the taste of his blood.
“I’ll get right on that, asshole.” I cracked my knuckles and
tilted my head to one side, then the other, readying for more brutality. “Touch
her again, and I swear to God I’ll make you pay.”
Eiven sneered. “Noted.” He turned to his wolves. “Get rid of
these bodies.”
With one last disgust-filled glare aimed in Ella’s
direction—as if the he blamed her for the death of his wolves—the packmaster
strode in the direction of the woods. Mid-step, amidst a burst of light, he
shifted forms and sprinted into the darkness.
Where the fuck was he going?
I turned to Ella and cupped her cheek, pulling her gaze from
the dead to me. Had she even heard the fight?
I thumbed the blood on her cheek and found the wound beneath
healed. Her gaze was far away, in a place I didn’t know if I could reach.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head but said nothing. The two Fenrir worked
silently, not sparing Ella or me a glance as they followed orders. They stacked
bodies, throwing dismembered limbs on top of the pile as if they were firewood.
Were they going to burn the
barely had the car in park before I was out the door.
My every step was a loud crunching of heavy soles melting
through gravel-covered snow. I was far beyond stealth and didn’t give a fuck.
“What the hell?” I growled, grabbing Ella by the arm and
ripping her away from the blade cutting into her skin.
The line of red I’d seen from several feet away now dripped
down her face. I curled my hand into a fist and swung out, connecting with the
solid surface of Eiven’s cheek. Crunch. The wolf’s head jerked back. His growl
ripped through the air and he came at me swinging. I leaned back, the blow
missing me and swung in from the side, landing another solid hit that filled me
with vindication and made me crave more.
The blow knocked Eiven forward and I took the opportunity to
shove my knee into his gut with a satisfying grunt. He looked up at me and
snarled, blood dripping from his mouth.
His packmates circled close and I spared only the briefest
of glances at Ella. She stood, hands loose at her side, staring at the dead
body on the ground.
Eiven’s voice drew my attention to the fight. “You cripple
her, demon.”
I lunged, ready to inflict more pain. I needed to hurt him
with a ferocity that scared me. We came together in a clash of fists. I felt
nothing except the red-hot burn smoldering in my gut.
Between hits, I grunted, “You’re supposed to be protecting
her.”
I threw him off me and swiped my bleeding nose on the sleeve
of my jacket as we circled each other, both looking for an opening. By some
unspoken rule, the wolves at his command held back, waiting until they were
invited into the fray to try to kick my ass.
Eiven rolled his neck. “I did my duty.”
“Yeah, that really looked like duty, your fucking knife
pressed to her face.”
“It was her knife and I had it because she was too weak to
do what needed to be done.”
I stopped and looked at the corpse on the ground. It took me
a few seconds before recognition took hold. Jared. He was an agency hunter, a
douche if I remembered correctly. I swept the grounds, taking in the severed
heads and other limbs from two other bodies. Blood drenched the snow.
“What happened?” I asked, forcing the heat inside.
Eiven spat on the body at his feet and kicked the corpse.
Disgust and fury radiated, mixing with the neck-ruffling press of his wolf
straining for freedom. His eyes shimmered with the barely restrained beast. “Your
agency happened. These assholes slaughtered two of my wolves and then came
after Ella.”
Disgust filled me. Richard. I should have known the Shadow Agency
hadn’t planned on playing fair. “It’s not my agency, not any longer.”
Eiven jerked his head as if nodding. “You want to protect
her? Wake her the fuck up. Playtime’s over. This isn’t a game.”
I glared at the packmaster, hungry for the taste of his blood.
“I’ll get right on that, asshole.” I cracked my knuckles and
tilted my head to one side, then the other, readying for more brutality. “Touch
her again, and I swear to God I’ll make you pay.”
Eiven sneered. “Noted.” He turned to his wolves. “Get rid of
these bodies.”
With one last disgust-filled glare aimed in Ella’s
direction—as if the he blamed her for the death of his wolves—the packmaster
strode in the direction of the woods. Mid-step, amidst a burst of light, he
shifted forms and sprinted into the darkness.
Where the fuck was he going?
I turned to Ella and cupped her cheek, pulling her gaze from
the dead to me. Had she even heard the fight?
I thumbed the blood on her cheek and found the wound beneath
healed. Her gaze was far away, in a place I didn’t know if I could reach.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head but said nothing. The two Fenrir worked
silently, not sparing Ella or me a glance as they followed orders. They stacked
bodies, throwing dismembered limbs on top of the pile as if they were firewood.
Were they going to burn the
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