Page 62 of Fanged Temptation

He landed on his back with a wetsmack, and I wasted no time straddling him, unleashing blow after blow, raining my fists down as he writhed and spat. Pain thrummed through my knuckles, but I refused to stop.

I drew my claws, slashing and raking at his chest, his face—releasing every swallowed scream I had clamped down since the moment I’d been promised to him.

Blood spattered across the drenched pavement, Gregor’s eyes glazing over with shock. His lips pulled back in a final, hateful sneer. “You… worthless… child,” he choked, spitting scarlet in my direction, a final pathetic insult.

My chest heaved, rain and blood mixing in a bitter cocktail on my tongue. “That’s quite enough out of you,” I hissed, lifting my clenched fists in tandem. With a vicious crack, I landed the final blow.

Gregor’s body went limp, and a split second later, so did his minions.

The moment his breath left him a shudder rippled through the swarm of wax models. In eerie unison, they collapsed, limbs folding in on themselves. The hush that followed was deafening, the only sound the relentless rain and my ragged breathing.

I staggered to my feet, clenching and unclenching my fists, claws digging into my palms, reeling as one single thought rang through my head.He’s gone.He’s finally, finally gone.

The others stood among a sea of fallen wax bodies, drenched and shaking from exertion. Addison sprinted over to Hunter, catching her in her arms as she stumbled and staggered, kicking at the oozing wax mounds with residual rage.

The others surveyed the mess, shifting back into their regular bodies and tattered clothing, exhaling in relief.

“Maxine!”

I looked up to see Leah running toward me.

She locked eyes with me through the rain and I reached out, arms trembling. She flung herself into my embrace and I pulled her tight, oblivious to the bruises and the aches. Her body was so warm, soalive.

“You’re okay,” she breathed, voice cracking. Her tears mingled with the downpour on her cheeks.

I cupped her face, my own eyes stinging.

And then I crushed my mouth to hers, a kiss of victory, of survival, of a promise that we’d never be separated again. The storm roared on, but nothing mattered in that moment. Nothing except the two of us.

Alive. Together. And at long last, free.

28

Leah

“I get that you came to our rescue or whatever, but do youallreallyhave to be here for this?” I narrowed my eyes at the assembled Leyore women, all of them crowding the grand entrance of what Maxine had explained was their coven’s (very fancy) headquarters.

Jordan leaned against the massive pillar at the entrance, arms crossed over her chest, smirking down at me. “Considering you two ran off on your own and then needed all of us to help you, you know, not die, I’d say yeah, we’ve earned the right to be here for this.”

“Exactly,” Addison piped up, slinging an arm over Hunter’s shoulders and wiggling her brows at me. “Besides, we’re emotionally invested now.”

They had all apparently decided thatmybusiness wastheirbusiness and so, while Maxine and I waited for my grandfather to arrive, the rest of them clustered around us, eager to witness my atrocious acting skills.

Our story was that I’d had a terrible asthma attack and mydear friendMaxine, fearing for my health, had called on her wealthy friends to summon my grandfather to the city. Once he arrived and found me perfectly fine, Maxine would pretend to have overreacted and I would pretend to be my usual disgruntled self.

Sky, River, and Dylan had pulled off the first part of the plan without a hitch. Apparently it had taken very little convincing to get my grandfather on a plane to see me once they explained the “dire situation”.

They had left him in Amara’s care to come and help with the final fight, though I had no idea how that interaction must have gone. Once we were cleaned up, regrouped, and no longer shaking with adrenaline or covered in waxy goop, we all converged in the grand hall of the Leyore coven headquarters, waiting for Amara to arrive with my grandfather.

I rolled my eyes at the other women, casting a quick glance at Maxine who stood at my side. She was looking a little tense, so I took her hand and wove my fingers with hers. “You all right?”

“Yeah.” She hiked her shoulders up and dropped them again, a nervous little laugh on her lips. “It’s just… I haven’t seen your grandfather in years, what if he doesn’t like me anymore?”

“Oh please.” I nudged her with my elbow, squeezing her hand in mine. “He’s never stopped talking about you and how fucking great you were. God, it was actually awful.”

That earned me a sheepish smile from Maxine, complete with pointed canines—which reminds me.

“As for the rest of you.” I lifted my head to the other Leyore women, barring Addison who was the only one of them without fangs. “No sharp teeth, no claws, and no… transformations—orwhatever the fuck it was that you did out there on the airstrip. My grandpa doesnotneed to see that.”

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