Page 85 of Crown of Chaos

“That looks like it would hurt.” I chuckled, unfazed by his transformation. “Want to see mine? I can do that, too,” I asked, clapping as he began stomping and squealing.

My claws pushed through my fingertips, and my fangs elongated, sliding through my gums. I snarled, rattling so deeply and so loudly that it echoed through the forest, making ravens scatter into the open sky. The dogs whined loudly, subdued by the bigger alpha present.

“What the hell are you?” the man who hadn’t shifted asked, his words barely a whisper of breath as fear wafted from his pores.

“A mistake that you shouldn’t have made.” I glanced to Esme, saying, “I got the one on the left, you get the one on the right, and then we’ll handle the one hanging when we’re finished with these two.”

I’d barely finished speaking before the men were gone, sprinting back the way they’d come. Ember chuckled, turning to look at Esme, who had yet to give me the name of her inner beast. Glowing violet eyes met mine, and she smiled viciously. Her fangs differed from mine, more needlelike than serrated, but they were undoubtedly just as lethal. Her nails also pushed from her fingertips, revealing longer, black rounded curled nails.

She took off, and I waited, cracking my neck as the thing in my spine squirmed and pressed against my skin. My eyes rolled to the women, who had gone quiet the moment Esme and I showed up, and I dismissed them. The dogs remained on the ground. None of the animals would meet my stare or challenge me. I casually walked forward, peering up at the man swinging lifelessly from the whip he’d intended to use on the women.

“Blessed be, bitches.” Ember chuckled coldly and shot off toward the easy meal. From within her, I saw the color fading away from our shared sight. It was something that had been happening more often, but I didn’t know why. She hunted the rapid pulse of panicked heartbeats and the delicious scent of fear through the woods.

Ember didn’t hunt like most predators. She played with her target, moving around him, circling him. Had she not been so focused on causing the man as much fear as she could before she caught him, she would have noticed the blade sooner. As it was, she barely had time to dodge out of its path and avoid being impaled.

Rattling in anger, she turned toward the man who sent his blade toward us and paused. It wasn’t the man we’d been chasing. Esme’s scream tore through the forest, and fear dropped into my stomach like a boulder. Another blade rushed toward us, and we vanished with a burst of speed. More and more men emerged from the thick forest, and not a single one of them released a scent or sound. We were being hunted, and judging from the scream she let out, they’d already gotten to Esme.

Ember rushed toward the sound of Esme’s cries, and when she found her, she slammed into one man and tore the throat out of another. She ripped his flesh until blood ran in a river down his stomach. A third man attacked, his blade already swinging, but Ember sidestepped the blow, grabbed his hand, and yanked. His arm came off at the shoulder with a wet ripping, popping sound, and she pivoted to sink her newly acquired sword—arm still attached—through the stomach of the man trying to sneak up behind us.

Esme was gasping for air, which caused Ember to stop long enough to grab her from the earthen floor and toss her onto my shoulder. She moved back toward where we’d left the women so fast that our feet barely touched the earth. When we got close, though, caution had her slowing before she stopped and tucked us behind a large tree.

The women were pointing up at the tree while men gathered around them. Ember lifted her nose into the air, and our vision became laser-sharp with focus.

Something wasn’t right with the scent we sucked into our lungs. The women’s scents shifted, becoming filled with excitement as the sound of heartbeats exploded behind us.

We spun to face them, but something slammed into the side of my head. It continued to crash against my skull, causing the world to spin around me. Voices rose to announce we were down, and my hands slid through the wet earth, drenched in my blood, as I struggled to push myself up. Laughter from sounded all around me, and again, something slammed against my skull.

I went down hard, Esme’s dead weight pinning me as I clawed at the dirt and rattled my anger until I had no breath left in my lungs. Someone kicked Esme off me, and the object assaulting me started anew. I waited for the popping noise of my skull fracturing, but Ember still struggled within me.

Power ripped through the surrounding air, and the agonizing assault abruptly ended. A strangled scream tore from beside me, and then body pieces began raining to the ground around me. I pushed Esme off me and struggled to sit up on my knees, gasping as I tried to see through the blood dripping into my eyes. Shrill screams filled the woods, and the yelping cry of the hounds began, ending in a wet gurgle before silencing. I gasped in air, sucking in the coppery tang of blood that hung thickly around me. Bright red flames tore through the area around me, sending smoke plumes thick in the air, causing my eyes to water. I coughed and groaned at my inability to move away as the flames inched closer. Dark shadows converged around me, and I fell back against the tree, seeking escape from being captured.

A soft whimper escaped my lips, and I slowly pushed up from the ground, feeling the bark scrape along my spine. My fingers trembled as I lifted them to touch the softened bone they’d battered relentlessly to subdue me. Crimson saturated my hair and dripped from the ends of it.

One shadow knelt, gripping my shoulders as it spoke in a male voice. It echoed in my ears, as if he was talking from the other end of a tunnel. The blood coursing through my ears was drowning everything else as the world began spinning around me. Blinking past the splotches of light swimming in my vision, I exhaled as the blackness drifted through my consciousness and lured me deeper with the promise of oblivion. The hands on my shoulders forced me forward, slipping around me as darkness slid through my mind, stealing away any coherent thought as I gave in to the need to let go.

Chapter Forty-Three

I jolted awake and painripped through my head, forcing a groan to slip free as nausea soured my stomach. I lifted my hand to where my skull felt as if something had forcibly cracked it wide open. My fingers trembled as they examined the wound, and when I drew my hand away, my fingertips were painted with what I assumed was blood. The room was dark and my vision was still blurred with pain, so it was hard to tell.

Ember was noticeably silent inside me. I fought to focus, seeking what was around me. A soft whimper escaped my lips, and I focused on pulling air into my lungs and slowly releasing it until the throbbing in my skull eased. Then I skimmed trembling hands over my body, searching for any other injuries, but I didn’t find any.

Thankfully, I still wore the soiled dress, but my shoes were gone. Who removed them was just another item to add to the list of shit I couldn’t remember.

I could hear people outside the room and the distant sound of rushing water outside. The scent of campfire and smoke was smothering, which drew my mind back to the last thing I’d smelled before darkness had swallowed my coherent thoughts.

The soft beating of a heart forced my attention toward the darkest corner of the room. Slowly, so I didn’t throw up, I turned to peer into the shadows. I could make out legs spread apart with large hands resting on them and boots covered in thick mud. Earthy undertones of smokey spice assaulted my nose, removing the lingering hint of smoke and fire.

He remained hidden, even knowing I was aware of his presence, which made me hesitant to speak. I tried to look over the edge of the bed, but I shifted too quickly, which sent my world tilting and forced me to focus on my breathing again.

Once I was confident I could safely move without vomiting, I sat up.

“If this is where you threaten to torture me, get on with it already,” I mumbled, but the words slurred.

Deep, rasping laughter filled the room, and I closed my eyes to smell past the scents, trying to steal my attention so I could find the one I knew would be there if I looked hard enough. When I found it, my eyes drifted closed in relief. Tears of disbelief pricked my eyes as I prayed I wasn’t wrong.

One moment, I was leaning forward while inhaling, and the next, my jaw was captured in a strong grip and lips slammed against mine. I moaned, reaching to grip his hair tightly and pull him closer to my starving lips. I ignored the pain, needing to taste him, to assure myself this wasn’t a dream. His soft mouth claimed mine, demanding my submission, which I gave him freely. His fingers curled beneath my jaw, pressing harder as he deepened the devastating kiss.

He growled hungrily, rattling as he pushed me back onto the bed. His free hand pressed against the mattress, and his shadow braced over me, making it harder to grasp his response. He hissed above me before frowning as the fresh scent of coppery blood wafted around me. Ignoring his look of worry, I lifted my mouth, brushing my lips against his with gratitude.

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