Page 84 of Blood of Vengeance

Locklyn sat on the edge of the bed with Zella beside her, both girls looking haggard and disheveled. Whatever had happened tonight had definitely affected them negatively.

“Lock, baby. You okay?”

She didn’t even look up at me, but Zella did. Zella shot me a glare that turned into an almost embarrassed sort of look as she reached to grab Locklyn’s hand. A hand that looked red and inflamed. Burned. Motherfucker.

“What is this?” I practically fell at their feet, crouching in front of both women.

“Jesus, Flinch,” Zella said, not looking my way at all. “Cover that thing up or something.”

It was only then that I came to the realization that Cutter and I were completely naked. Our clothes never shifted with us, and while I was used to being balls out around my brothers—and Locklyn—the presence of Zella added a twist to the moment I had not contemplated.

“Sorry.” Keeping my feet planted, I stretched behind me to the dresser and opened the drawer that held my more comfortable clothes. It took two seconds to tug on a pair of baggy gray sweats, another one to toss a pair to Cutter, and then my focus returned to the women before me. “Now, what happened here?”

Cutter growled in a warning from behind me. I had no idea if the growl was intended for me or Adam or fucking Santa Claus, but it didn’t matter. I had gotten close enough to smell the burned flesh, to see the damaged skin encircling both women’s wrists. To notice the appearance of a perfect line around the one side, as if someone with short, chubby fingers had grabbed them and somehow burned his flesh into theirs.

“Who did this to you?” I asked, my words more growl than voice. My wolf breaking through as the scent of exactly who had done this to them met my senses. My fingertips turned to claws, and I saw my nose lengthen as my snout appeared. There would be no holding him back this time, and yet I tried. Tried for Locklyn because I knew she would be more comfortable with the human version of me than the animal one. I tried to hang on to my control because I knew once my wolf wrested it from me, it was game over for Adam.

I really didn’t want to have to kill a fucking demon, but I was about to.

“Cutter.” I rose to my feet, knowing I wouldn’t be able to hold off the shift much longer. Turning to face the man who had fucked up royally. “It’s him.”

Adam didn’t move a muscle. Not at first, but when Cutter’s snarl joined in with mine, he finally looked our way.

And he grinned.

“Vampires don’t like the taste of demon, Wolf Flinch of the Desert Hellions, so you had better be thanking me for that move.”

“Thanking you for burning my mate?” I snarled long and low, ready to attack the fucker. “You’ve got a fucked-up idea of what actions deserve thanks.”

“Perhaps, but at least I wasn’t the one who left them alone to be vampire snacks.” His grin only grew as his words stabbed into my chest. I had left them, even though I had thought my brothers could keep them safe. Locklyn and Zella being anywhere close to vampires was my fault. One hundred percent mine. And he knew it.

“That doesn’t?—”

“We can argue about this later,” he said, flames forming in his eyes. “For now, perhaps you should watch your back.”

No sooner had the last syllable passed his lips than something big and hissing landed on my back. I allowed more of my wolf to take control out of instinct, flipping and snapping my teeth at whatever had attacked me in my half-human, half-wolf form. A vampire I hadn’t seen yet screeched and lunged at me again with his mouth open. I’d gone up against a number of vamps that night, but this one fought differently—harder, swifter, more cunning. He gave me more fight than the others. We crashed through the room, neither of us giving an inch to the other. Bouncing off Cutter more than once as he stood in place, guarding the women like a sentinel. Which was good because I had to focus on the motherfucker trying to bite me.

I yanked my adversary around to face me during a spin, wanting to grab the son of a bitch by the throat. He rolled with me as I tried to get my hands in position to pop his fucking head off, snapping and lunging in a frenzied sort of way that was easier to block than it should have been. That was when I felt it—something cold and wet on my arm. A lot of cold and wet right under where his mouth hung open.

“Are you drooling?” I pushed off the foot of the bed, ignoring the loud crack as I shoved the fucker against the wall. “You’re drooling all over me.”

“You’ll be bleeding out soon enough and won’t care about that.”

“Pretty sure I’ll always care about unwanted oral secretions, motherfucker.”

He hissed, spraying spittle all across my face, and tried to lunge again. Head cocked, mouth open, eyes wide. He truly looked like some sort of movie villain vampire, except he had a weird film over him. Something almost cold that didn’t aid in my grip and yet felt oddly…sticky.

“Are you… Is this wax?” I growled and pushed him into the wall again, ignoring the crack of falling drywall dust. “Why are you waxed like an apple?”

“Focus, Flinch,” Cutter said. He stood across the room from us, keeping his body in front of Locklyn and Zella. Making sure they stayed safe while I fought the vamp. And apparently riding my ass for no good reason.

“I’m focused.” I leaned closer, holding his jaw. Smiling as a glint of fear appeared in his otherwise dead eyes. “What’s with the wax?”

“Part of my skincare regimen, dog. You might want to try some yourself.”

I snarled and snapped, knowing I had again partially shifted. Seeing the end of my snout where nothing should be. That was likely what had ignited the bit of fear in him. Wolves didn’t play well with vamps.

But it was the sound of my mate’s voice that stopped me in my tracks.

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