Page 34 of Kendrick

It was hard for Jonas to make sense of his words. The man was talking as if he was collecting Krsnik like Pokémons or something. “Is this what we are to you? A game?”

The Kudlak grinned, exposing his fangs. “Why not? It’s fun. Well, it was fun until I killed almost everyone. I thought I would have fun with you today, but you’re actually boring me. Can we stop talking and get straight to the fighting? Oh, and you’ll haveto tell Rowan about this. I’m sure that if you tell him my name, he’ll recognize me. I’m Parrish.”

Parrish added a little flourish of his hand when he said his name as if he expected Jonas to react. Jonas had heard that name before, and he knew what Parrish had done. He’d been hunting Krsniks for almost as long as Krsniks had been hunting him. He was a monster, and Jonas wished he’d never had to deal with him.

He glanced at Kendrick, who was fighting the second Kudlak. Kendrick was good, but this Kudlak was massive. He looked like he could bench press both Kendrick and Ryan and not break a sweat, then go and run a half marathon. Every time he hit Kendrick, Kendrick stumbled back. His expression was pinched, and he was clearly in pain.

Jonas wanted to go help Kendrick, but he wouldn’t be able to until he dealt with Parrish.

He eyed the Kudlak. There was no denying that he was old as fuck, which probably meant that he was powerful, too. The thought of fighting him was scary, and Jonas was almost a hundred percent sure he wouldn’t survive the fight, but hopefully, he’d last long enough to give Kendrick and Ryan a fighting chance. Jonas wanted to protect them, and he wouldn’t be able to if he was dead, but he still had to do this. It would give them the best chance to make it out alive.

“Well?” Parrish asked. “Will you tell Rowan about me?”

“Rowan doesn’t care about you.”

“He should, because once I’m done with you, I’ll find your little village. It’s well hidden, but it won’t stay hidden forever. When I do find it, I’ll have a little fun. It’s a new village and a new clan, so there’s not really a lot of people to kill right now. Maybe I should wait until there are more?”

Jonas didn’t answer. He shifted instead, turning into his white wolf. For some reason, that made Parrish appear even moreamused. Jonas hated Parish’s face, especially when he smiled, so he growled and threw himself at Parrish’s legs. He managed to wrap his teeth around one and bite before Parrish shook him off.

The taste of blood was strong in Jonas’s mouth. He snarled, moving forward again, threatening Parrish without saying a word.

Parrish laughed. “That’s how you want to play this? I thought you’d try to run, but I should’ve known better. You Krsnik are always ridiculously emotional. You think of everyone but yourself, and it leads to your death. Do you know how many times I’ve encountered this situation? How many times I’ve killed entire families because they didn’t flee while I was torturing some of their members? Krsnik are idiots.”

Jonas kind of wanted to tell him that while they might be idiots, they at least weren’t monsters, but he doubted the man would care. He was here to torture Jonas, Kendrick, and Ryan, and that wasn’t something Jonas could allow.

He launched himself forward, using the power of his back legs to hit high. He slammed against Parrish’s chest, sending both of them down.

Parrish shifted as they landed. Jonas scrambled off the black lion’s body, knowing he was in trouble. He’d hoped Parrish would be smaller in his shifted form because Jonas was a wolf, but of course he had to be a fucking lion.

Parrish smiled, exposing his teeth. This was going to hurt, and Jonas wasn’t looking forward to it. He needed it to be quick, though. He had to help Kendrick.

With one last glance toward his mate, Jonas growled and jumped forward.

* * * *

Kendrick had faced plenty of Kudlaks during the years he’d been a hunter. They came in all shapes and forms, just like Krsnik. Itnever changed how ruthless and cruel they were—and how adept they were at fighting. He’d only ever met a few Kudlaks who weren’t bloodthirsty, but the guy he was fighting was.

His lips were still dirty with Ryan’s blood. Part of Kendrick was panicking because he needed to check in on his brother, but another part of him knew that if he didn’t focus on the fight, they would both die. This massive asshole wouldn’t let them get away. It would be either him or Kendrick, and Kendrick wasn’t going to be the one to die today.

Or at least, he hoped not.

He had to be smart. The guy currently punching him in the side was massive, which meant he was slower. If Kendrick managed to get away from him, it would give him space to use his speed to his advantage.

He folded from the pain in his side, but he kept his mind on the goal. As soon as the Kudlak pulled his fist back to hit him again, Kendrick rushed to the side. The Kudlak blinked, and Kendrick took the opportunity to throw himself at him. He punched the Kudlak in the face, sending him stumbling back. It wasn’t enough to put him down, but Kendrick hadn’t expected it to be.

He fought with knives. That meant he always had them on him because he never knew when he might stumble onto a Kudlak who needed to be dispatched. He slid his knives out of their sheaths, raising them and grinning at the Kudlak. He was sure he looked crazed, but the dickhead just blinked at him.

Kendrick moved forward, feinted to the left, and stabbed the Kudlak in the side on the right. The Kudlak howled and backhanded Kendrick, sending him flying. He hit a tree, and for a moment, he couldn’t breathe. The air was punched out of his lungs, leaving him feeling lightheaded. He dropped his knives, and as he scrambled to his knees to face the Kudlak again, he could only find one of them.

It would have to do.

He ducked as the Kudlak tried to punch him, slid closer, and stabbed him again. The Kudlak screamed, but Kendrick wasn’t done. He leaned down and slashed behind the Kudlak’s ankle.

The Kudlak punched him again. Kendrick wasn’t sure how many times he could get up after getting pushed back, but he was going to find out because he wasn’t staying down.

The Kudlak loomed over him. Kendrick swallowed and struggled back to his feet, his eyes widening when he saw Ryan jump onto the Kudlak’s back. There was a streak of blood on Ryan’s cheek, the dark red a stark contrast with his pale skin, but his expression was both determined and terrified. He clung to the Kudlak’s back like a spider monkey, and at first, when he slid a hand in front of the Kudlak’s throat, Kendrick didn’t think much of it.

That changed when the Kudlak’s blood hit him in the face. Ryan was struggling to slit the Kudlak’s throat, but he’d managed to wound him, and blood was starting to stream down the Kudlak’s front.

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