Page 155 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

‘I see it,’Adrien said.

‘Wait, don’t attack!’I called out.

‘I’m not attacking, but it doesn’t look like it wants to stop,’he answered a little nervously.

‘Fuck. I’m almost there,’I grunted.

‘I got it!’There was a thunk ahead of me and then Adrien said,‘Don’t got it.’

‘Adrien, are you okay?’Violet’s worried voice came in.

‘Chris, behind you!’Luna Bells screamed through the mind-link.

I jumped again just as the thing was getting ready to attack Chris. I felt its jaws close around my shoulder, and I groaned but didn’t let go this time. Moments later, I felt a bigger weight falling on top of us, and the jaws disappeared.

‘Fuck! That hurts,’Chris grunted.

‘Yeah, a little help, guys,’I called out.

‘I’m right here. Bells, you get the bottom legs. I’ve got the snout. Let go, Chris,’ Adrien instructed.

“If I let go, it’s going to go for Elim’s throat. Start wrapping it. I’ll let go when it can’t open wide anymore. Bells, one of the back paws is digging near a very sensitive area,” Chris advised out loud, making Luna Bells giggle.

“I’m trying. It’s very wiggly,” she answered.

“It is not!” The indignation in Chris’ voice sent Luna Bells laughing again.

“Not your thing, Chris, the demon dog,” she replied before she and Adrien began laughing hysterically, and even I let out a few chuckles through the pain.

“Alright, you can let go of the snout now,” Adrien announced then looked down at me. “I’m going to reach in and try to grab the front leg.”

“It’s dug in pretty good on my side. Be gentle,” I grunted.

“Shit, Elim that’s a little more than dug in,” Adrien said as Chris shifted a little to give my cousin a better look.

“Just pull it. I’ll heal fast.” I grunted in pain when I felt the claws retreating, tearing my flesh more.

“Alright, you guys can let go,” Luna Bells said.

I moved back, happy not to feel the leathery skin and sharp claws. I scrambled up, and Adrien was next to me in an instant.

“You okay? Let me see,” he asked as he viewed the blood on my torso with worry.

“It’s not too bad,” I answered, watching Chris standing up next to me. There were a few claw marks on his upper body and another on his thigh, but otherwise, he looked okay. At least I thought so until I heard Violet through the mind-link.

‘Why are your hands still dripping, Chris?’

“Let me see,” Adrien grabbed his hands. “Shit. They’re shredded. Let’s get you and Elim into the pack house. Helios said there’s likely an anti-coagulant venom in the chupacabra’smouth so we need to clean the wounds quickly if you want to heal properly.”

I caught a look at his hands before he fisted them with a wince and pushed them back at his sides. Rows of sliced flesh were going across the palms from where he’d held the jaws away from me. I owed him big time.

“It’ll heal. What are we doing with this thing?” he motioned to the demon dog trying to squirm out of its restraints.

“We can’t keep it alive. Helios said if the guardian hasn’t come for it, something didn’t go well and it might not know it was loose. There’s no taming it or releasing it in the wild. It’ll just keep killing,” Adrien stated.

We stood around looking at the depressing-looking creature still wiggling in its bindings.

“It looks so pathetic, though,” Luna Bells voiced what we were all thinking.

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