Page 76 of Teeth To Rip & Tear

I blinked, unable to see through the darkness save for the odd shadows of the scaffolding. I stepped forward, and a floodlight sensed the motion, bursting to life—revealing concrete foundations and rebar.

I waited for an alarm, but none came.

Complete silence.

It leaped from a pile of bricks, like a house cat stalking through the night, though its face was oddly human. Serene. Its tail lashed once, cracking like a whip as it hit the dirt.

Dean maneuvered himself in front of me.

“Who has been hunting me?” The beast purred, its lips peeling back, to reveal an unholy amount of teeth. “Do you seek to become my prey?”

Dean held up a hand. “You don’t have permission to be here. The Arch-Fey have declared a bounty on your return. We are here on behalf of the Huntsman.”

The lion-bodied beast sat, kicking up dirt with the weight of its colossal rump. It lifted a paw and licked it, the motion cat-like, though the monster wore a human face.

“But the Huntsman let me through the door.” The Manticore’s blue eyes flashed in the darkness. “Why else would he have a portal amid the Forest of Beasts? So inviting, so promising, the taste of human flesh.”

I shuddered. “Dean?”

“Mind the tail,” He whispered. “And run for the trailer over there. Bar the door, and don’t come outside. Not for nothing.”

The manticore laughed. The sound was like broken glass and razor blades. “Volunteering to go first?” The monster crooned. “Or do you hope my stomach will be too full to eat your mate when I’m done withyou, Wolfkin?”

“Now.” Dean snarled as he leaped forward, meeting the manticore with his fists raised.

The thing was ten feet long, and though Dean was the tallest man I’d ever seen, the monster had the body of alion.

I burst into action, kicking up dirt as I skidded to the right, racing for the trailer at the edge of the site. Running in a straight line was almost impossible as I darted around the piles of rubble and still machines. My vision was red with the magic in the air, blinding me to the finer details. I tripped over fallen debris, and my toes screamed with every stunted step.

The beast let out a screech, a brutal thunderous roar mixed with a shrill human cry of pain. I didn’t dare look back.

I flung myself onto the steps, grabbing the door handle. I jammed it down repeatedly, looking over my shoulder in panic. My hair clung to my face, and my heartbeat was so loud I felt it in my skull.

Locked. Fuckinglocked.

I hit the door with my open palm, cursing. I turned just as the beast swung its body, knocking Dean clear across the construction site.

A gasp lodged in my throat as the wolf hit the crane's base. The giant machine loomed over the site, disappearing into the night sky unaffected by the blow. I waited for Dean to move, but he didn’t. Face down in the rubble, his arms and legs spread where he had fallen.

The monster turned toward me, his mouth growing in size until the jagged teeth took up more than half its face. His blue eyes flashed, the color unnaturally bright in the darkness.

I couldn’t move.

I couldn’t breathe.

“Will you scream when I tear into your flesh, little wolf?” The manticore licked its lips.

“No.” My voice shook.

I wasn’t going to die.

I looked around for anything I could use to protect myself. A brick or even a rock.

A sledgehammer sat six feet from the bottom of the steps, its handle sticking in the air, just waiting for me.

The manticore grew closer, its segmented tail dragging on the floor. The sharp pincer on the end snapped in anticipation. Its tail was twice as long as its body. I had to be quick.

Before my mind caught up, my body was already moving, sliding across the dirt. I grabbed the sledgehammer like wrenching the sword from the stone. I didn’t think twice as my hand gripped the handle, and I pulled it up on a swing.

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