Page 78 of Curses & Kitsune

“You have no honor!” one of the bosses says with a snarl.

“Traitor!”

Takada seems to shrink into his seat as the accusations pile up. There’s no coming back from this. Takada has been disgraced in front of the most powerful men in Tokyo. The most honorable thing to do would be to take his own life as repentance, but Takada has no honor.

I hold up a hand, silencing everyone. “Leave him to me.”

One by one, the bosses leave the room until only myself, Jinta, Ren, and Hirano remain.

Nostrils flaring, Takada glares at me. “You little shit. I was ready to give you everything!”

Jinta clears his throat, catching Takada’s heated attention. “He already has everything.” And he tugs down his collar and flashes his mating mark.

Takada’s claws scrape over the table. “You filthy little human. You dare taint what belongs to me! I’ll kill you!” He leaps from his seat.

I shove back my chair, claws out, and fangs sharp. “No,” I snarl, putting myself between Jinta and my old enemy. “You won’t lay a finger on him.”

With a furious roar, Takada charges me. We clash, claws flying, fangs gnashing at whatever we can reach. Razor claws rip across my chest, tearing my shirt and shredding my skin. Takada rams me into the wall, pounding his fists into my stomach. I slash both claws over his ears, making him double over with a scream, then slam my foot into his stomach. Takada crashes down, and I tackle him. Red-faced with rage, Takada grabs my throat in his clawed hand. His claws puncture my skin, drawing blood, but before he can shred my windpipe, I lunge forward.

Takada screams beneath me when I puncture his left eye with my claws until it pops in the socket. His scream is cut off when I punch him, knuckles cracking across his nose. Heart pounding, I hit him again, for the boy whose fragile innocence he stole. I hit him again, for making me believe that he cared for me. I hit him again and again, for every single time he put his hands on me. For hurting me. For breaking me down to nothing. For violating my body. For making me think every single fucked-up thing he did to me was love.

I descend into a red haze of fury and pain and hatred, hatred for myself, hatred for this monster.

Fuck him for touching me. Fuck him for hurting me.

“Raiden. Raiden, stop.”

Somewhere in this fog of fury and pain, a cherry blossom tree blooms, filling the air with the scent of spring, of renewal, and hope.

“It’s over. He can’t hurt you anymore. He’s gone, Raiden. He’s gone.”

I draw the scent of my mate into my lungs, let it heal me from the inside and out. I open my eyes, dragging in air through clenched teeth. Blood soaks my fist and my clothes and left spatters on my face. Takada’s face is a mass of swollen, bloody flesh. Completely unrecognizable.

Swallowing hard, I stumble off Takada’s body and catch myself against the wall. My fist throbs, and it’s because the bones have broken, leaving my fingers crooked and bent at agonizing angles. With loud pops, the joints fit back into place on their own, bones tingling as they heal. I stare down at the corpse of the monster who groomed me and raped me, and I let his death sink in. Takada will never haunt me again. He’ll never threaten the ones I love.

My lips tremble, eyes stinging as a sudden wave of emotion crashes over me. Jinta’s there in seconds, arms around me, and I clutch him to me.

Takada is gone. He’s gone forever.

I take in a few calming breaths, then rub Jinta’s back. “I’m okay,” I say hoarsely. Jinta kisses my cheek, then steps out of my arms. I clear my throat, cheeks warm when I look at Hirano and Ren, who have been speaking quietly among themselves and very obviously trying hard to give me space.

“Takada’s gone,” I say, catching their attention. “But the Blades of the Onryo still need to be dealt with.”

“How? We need a plan,” Ren says.

I smooth back my hair and straighten my tie. “The hunters want me, and they want the kitsune. They’ve been patient enough. It’s time we give them exactly what they want.”

Chapter 27

My stomach is twisting itself into a pretzel by the time Raiden and I arrive at Akira’s home in the suburbs. Raiden called the hunter ahead of time, demanding we meet and strike a deal. No one else came with us, except Ren, who squeezes the wheel tight and stinks of nerves. Hirano stayed in the city to spread the word of Takada’s death and assume the mantel of the pack’s new leader. Raiden was insistent we handle this alone and not involve anyone else in the pack.

Ren stops the car outside Akira’s home. It’s a gated property, and the home is huge with three levels and a vast sprawling garden. Ren glares at us. “If either of you die, I’ll pay that necromancer to resurrect you so I can kick you both in the balls.”

I snort. “Point taken.”

“Are you sure you won’t need backup?”

Raiden nods stiffly. “If anything happens to me, someone has to lead the gang.”

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