Page 60 of Rebirth

An inhuman, fanged snarl is on his lips and the familiar stoic features gone, replaced by complete fury. Darkened eyes shine with what can only be hatred as he spins, taking out another of the Corrupted heading our way, the tentacle wrapped around me writhing and pulsing as he holds me steadily out of harm’s way.

He lifts me higher as one of the Corrupted tried to climb a tree, desperate to reach me. Their mindless focus should send a chill through me, but all I can focus on is him.

Something is telling me this…change has nothing to do with his Vullan physiology but everything to do with what I saw back in that cave.

He’s a hybrid. Gryken and Vullan? How? When?

Were all the Vullan like this or only him?

Was this what he meant when he said he’s my enemy?

A low, guttural noise comes from He’rox as he takes out two of the Corrupted with a single slice of his tentacle and I stare, awed at the fact that it’s such an effective weapon. With a flick of the tentacle, he tosses another of the Corrupted back. When another charges through the bushes, he grips them in a vice-like grasp as he is holding me now, the tentacle softening to twist around the female’s body before crushing it easily and tossing the shattered remains to the forest floor.

“He’rox…” I whisper.

I don’t think he’ll hear me. Not from the desperate, bloodcurdling screams of the people attacking us or the sound of his own snarling, but by some miracle, He’rox turns his gaze on me and I see the terror on my face reflected in those dark pits.

I flinch and I swear I hear the rumble of a purr in his chest.

He’rox holds my gaze, and for a moment the fury and violence seem to drain from his features. I see a flicker of the familiar stoicism…and something else I haven’t seen in those cold eyes before.

Sorrow.

He turns away, focusing again on the threats around us. The Corrupted seem endless, pouring from the trees with their pale, veiny skin and hungry snarls. I’d thought there were around ten, but some must have been hidden in the tents surrounding the camp.

The thought sends another shudder through me as I grip the tentacle around my waist, leaning into it for support as I stare at the carnage happening around me with eyes filled with disbelief.

He’rox spins, slicing through two more of them with a flick of his tentacle. Black blood sprays, covering the ground and speckling the trees.

A scream bubbles in my throat as one launches himself at the tentacle holding me. He’rox snarls, the sound feral and inhuman, as he swats the Corrupted from the air. The body slams into a tree, the sickening crunch echoing. Yet still, the Corrupted staggers to its feet, bones protruding from its skin, and charges again.

He’rox growls, the rumble vibrating through me, as he lowers himself to his feet, snapping the tentacles he’d been using to stand from the ground. A white blade erupts from his heel, and with a swift kick, he impales the Corrupted through the chest. He tosses the body aside, turning to block two more Corrupted climbing a tree.

I whimper as his grip tightens around me, my ribs creaking under the pressure at the same time that all three remaining tentacles begin to swing, cutting the damned down one by one.

Bile rises in my throat as a Corrupted drags itself forward, intestines spilling from its abdomen, still snarling and grasping upward for me. He’rox crushes its skull under his foot with a sickening squelch.

I squeeze my eyes shut, unable to watch any longer. The sounds are enough, screams and tearing flesh and the thud of bodies hitting the ground. My body trembles in He’rox’s grip, breath coming in frantic gasps.

This can’t be real. This has to be a nightmare. I’ll wake in my bed, locked up safe in my bunker, and this will all have been some terrible dream. But I can’t keep my eyes closed for long.

He’rox fights, vicious in his intent, cutting them down with swipes of sharpened tentacles, crushing them underfoot and tearing them apart with his bare hands.

Out of fucking nowhere, one of them launches at him with inhuman speed, bypassing the tentacles to grip He’rox around the neck.

“He’rox!” I scream, struggling against his unwavering grip. He looks up at me at the same time that Corrupted sinks its teeth in his shoulder. With an angry snarl, he swats the Corrupted away.

But something is different now. He’rox sways, unsteady on his feet, and I can only watch in horror as he takes awkward swings at the Corrupted, each hit less powerful than the last. They begin clinging to him like leeches, dragging him down with their mindless persistence.

“He’rox!”

Lifting my gun, I aim and fire. Only two bullets left, but I take one of the fuckers down with the first shot. Aiming again, I’m about to fire when something catches my gaze through the trees.

Her.

That woman. Maisie.

She stands there, eyes focused on me with what can only be cruel intent. But she doesn’t come forward. And I can’t deal with whatever’s happening with her right now. Because He’rox is in trouble.

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