Page 43 of A Blackened Bond

I couldn’t dodge this attack like Leon’s.But I didn’t want to either.

Just as his fingers reach my arm, I knock him away, throwing my full strength into a hook to catch the side of his face.He stumbles sideways with the heavy hit, a small dribble of blood trickling from his mouth as his eyes widen before quickly narrowing.

“How the hell…”

“I told you, Dean,” Leon calls. “She must have taken something—”

“No.” Dean shakes his head, straightening himself. “She just got lucky like last time.”

“Dean—”

“Shut up.” Dean spits the drips of blood from his mouth to the ground, raising his fists up toward his face as he takes another step toward me.

"Let’s see you try that again.” Fangs extend from his mouth, the gold hue in his eyes shining brighter as his knuckle turns a bright white shade on his fists.

He moves toward me again, his movements more cautious this time as he circles me. He flicks a jab out, trying to catch me, but I dodge it with ease. A scowl pulls at his lips as he tries again and fails to hit me.

He shoots out a few other manoeuvers, his wolf coming forward and his patience wearing thin as I grin, easily evading each one.

Finally his frustration builds and he snaps, a loud growl leaving his lips as he charges toward me. Caution to the wind, as his annoyance takes over.

His claws extend, his fangs elongated to their fullest as he reaches for my neck. I meet his attack head-on, twisting away from his sharpened tips and hold before I slam my shoulder into him and send him tumbling across the forest floor.

Leon rushes to help him up, both of them glaring at me as Dean pulls out a small white pouch from his trouser pocket.

“Clearly, she’s gotten her hands on something. But we won’t be beat with this.” He pulls two small black circular pills fromthe pouch before throwing it to the ground. “It’s a pity that I have to waste these on you.”

He swallows his pill in one gulp, handing the other to Leon, who devours it instantly.

A dark smirk laces Dean’s lips.

“You won’t be able to get away from us now.”

I watch as a tremor works its way up Dean and Leon’s bodies, their pupils dilating. Their fangs and claws grow larger, protruding through their mouths and fingers, as a primal noise leaves their lips.

What the hell had they just taken?

What was that little black pill, and why did they seem so confident it would help them?

I silently step toward the small white pouch sitting feet from me. Maybe it would hold a clue.

Dean and Leon’s heads suddenly whip around in my direction with the slight movement, their gazes eerily similar as they watch me.

Suddenly, they blur, their movements much quicker as Dean attacks me head-on. His fists meet my forearm as I defend against the attack.

He throws jab after jab, his strength fiercer than before as his attack continues.

I block and dodge them, but that doesn’t deter him. His eyes glint a crazed look as his attacks become harder but more erratic.

I jump to the side with his next hit, my arm sore from taking so many hard punches, and watch on as his hand pierces the tree that had been sitting behind me. The bark splinters as a crazed chuckle leaves Dean’s lips. He pulls his hand back from the wood, his knuckles cut and bleeding badly as a deranged grin stretches his lips, his eyes only focused on the tree’s damage and not his own.

I hear the slight crunch of leaves behind me just a second too late as Leon attacks me from behind. He slashes his razor-sharp claws down my left arm before I can make it away.

Pain sears through my arm from the wound, blood trickling down toward my hand as a wicked laugh peels from his lips.

“Couldn’t get away that time, Micai?” A look of pure venom fills his gaze, a crazed glint pulsing through it as he watches me.

“It’s only the beginning.” Calls Dean, turning our way as he mirrors Leon’s expression.

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