Page 274 of Flirting with Darkness

Before he could make another move, there was a flash of purple and he froze.

Her left hand came up wicked fast. She punched the wolf right in the abdomen with the silver knuckles and a pulse of purple magic that sent him flying into the wall.

Before the other one could react, she crouched down and yanked a knife from her boot, angling it like she actually knew what she was fucking doing.

A witch? One who could fight?

“Just let me go,” she told them, voice still calm and unruffled. “I’d rather not get blood on my jacket.”

Dex covered his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing.

Good to know she kept that attitude with her at all times.

“You have no idea who you’re messing with.” The wolf picked himself up from the ground and shook the rubble and dust off of him. Dex could see him bulking up with the strength of his wolf and so could Nova.

She saw it the moment he did – the point of no return.

Nova threw her knife and it thudded into the closest wolf’s heart. She turned but was too slow.

The one she’d blasted with magic gripped her by the throat and slammed her into the wall, the brick cracking at the point of impact.

Dex leapt from the roof and slammed into the ground.

“What the fuck?”

He stood and took in the scent of fear before he gripped the male’s neck, yanking him off of Nova. The sound of her coughing and choking registered somewhere far away.

She was still breathing at least.

Dex focused on the wolf. “What should I do with you, hm?”

“Hey, look, please don’t hurt me. I didn’t realize she was one of yours.”

He tossed the male into the wall, putting his body between Nova and the wolf.

“Please,” the shifter begged. “I didn’t know.”

The scent of fear spiked when Dex stalked forward.

His control slipped, and he could feel the hellfire roiling through his veins, pushing him to make the most violent and bloody choice. It mixed with the righteous rage that demanded justice at any cost and Dex tasted wrath.

“I didn’t know!” the wolf shouted, trying to scramble away.

Dex grinned and reached for the shifter. “That sounds like ayouproblem.”

7

NOVA

Nova didn’t recognize the voice that came out of Dex. She barely recognized him at all since he wasn’t completely covered in shadow. But she remembered those boots, those gloves, and the smell of the bar clinging to him.

Her hand was on her throat, easing the strain as she watched Dex with a strange mix of fear and awe.

Whatever he was, he was stronger than a shifter. The way he grabbed the wolf and pinned him to the wall…the snarl that escaped him wasn’t anything she’d ever heard before. It wrapped around her body like a vise and her knees gave out.

Nova shivered when she hit the hard cement but forced herself to witness what was about to occur.

Who the fuck was this guy?

---