Page 137 of Their Pretty Little Monster

Wolfe and Nyko are already stalking toward the beast while I’m desperately scanning the woods, spotting more exposed rock, for gaps, anything we can hide in.

“All right, let’s move.”

Killian’s bleeding badly, but he still pushes along with me, refusing to place his weight on me, the stubborn ass. He staggers, wincing with each step. We pick up our pace when shouting comes from behind me. I glance back to Nyko and Wolfe charging to the right, away from us, from the galloping beast behind them.

Except, when the creature doesn’t take the bait and has its gaze on us, my stomach drops.

“Oh, fuck! We need to run!” I call out.

Killian grunts, and he tries, but the moment the other two catch up, they practically carry him between them. We madly run for our lives. The forest is a blur of dark shapes and filled with snarls. Branches snap, paws pound the ground, and I hear the damn thing crashing through the underbrush behind us, getting closer.

“Faster!” Wolfe shouts.

Reaching the open rock face, we run alongside it, and I’m scanning it when I spot a lofty fissure in the wall, a black gap beyond it.

“Here,” I call out, already shoving myself into the hole in the rock, fitting through easily, and I pop out into a cave. It’s cold and musty, and I pray there’s nothing else here.

Seconds later, my true mates are desperately shuffling through sideways to fit in. Wolfe’s last, and he bursts out, stumbling as an explosive roar bellows from the gap. A shadow falls over the opening where the beast pauses, scratching at the wall with those huge claws.

I rush over to Killian, who’s propped up against the wall, looking ready to fall over. Every inch of me shudders at his injuries. My heart is still racing, my breaths coming in ragged gasps. Wolfe’s there, as is Nyko.

“Fuck, that looks bad,” Nyko states the obvious.

“Please tell me Shadowfen have fast healing or something,” I murmur.

Killian shakes his head, clutching at his wounds while Wolfe’s getting him to lean on him.

“Let’s get you to lie down. We need to stop the bleeding.” His hands are already on Killian’s wounds to apply pressure.

“Stop fussing. I’ll survive,” Killian groans, panting for air. His brow glistens with sweat from the sliver of light coming through the crack in the cave.

I rip off my shirt, thankful I wore a tight sleeveless shirt underneath. All eyes are on me, but I’m too busy folding the fabric and using it as a makeshift bandage. Applying it to his wounds, I press lightly to help stop the bleeding. The sight of so much blood makes me slightly nauseous.

Killian grimaces, and Wolfe’s sitting next to him, doing the same on the other side of him with his bare hands. Nyko’s pacing near the entrance, watching the Nythrax.

It slams that spiky tail against the cave walls, the impact making the ground tremble beneath us. Dust rains down from the ceiling with every hit.

“How the hell are we supposed to defeat it when we haven’t pierced its skin once?” Nyko roars.

“Unless…” Wolfe begins. He’s staring at me, and I know exactly what he’s about to say. “You’re so powerful, so strong. We’ve seen it, and you need to remember the energy you used to tap into it. Use me, drain me, whatever you need, because right now, your power might be our savior.”

I nod, trying to steady my breathing, but the fear is suffocating.

The beast roars outside.

“I tried before, but it’s not working.”

“Try again,” Killian croaks. “You’ve got this.”

I attempt to center myself, feeling my true mates’ energies humming around me, their strength. Closing my eyes, I concentrate on the feelings I experienced when facing the snake creature back on the vessel.

The ground shakes, and all I can think is that the Nythrax beast is coming for us.

My insides are on fire, my mind screaming, and that light, familiar sensation wraps around me as though I’m floating… as if I can walk on water. I recognize the power. It’s there but so faint that it’s barely there. I reach for the power swirling within me, but it’s like trying to grasp smoke.

My hands are shaking, my thoughts spiraling. “I can’t… I can’t do it,” I stammer, tears stinging my eyes.

“Yes, you can,” Wolfe insists firmly. “You have to for you, for us, for your sister.”

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