Page 68 of Sworn to Revenge
“Now that you’re all here, let the hunt begin,” I dare to respond before Luca can, glancing quickly at him for approval—he nods.
Without waiting for their reaction, I unleash my huntress’s screech, and within seconds, they’re under my control.
I turn to Luca to show off my work like a four-year-old merling catching her first lobster, but my excitement turns to alarm when I see tears filling his eyes. I rush over to him in panic.
“Are you okay? ‘The Huntress’s Kiss’ is supposed to work…” I ask frantically.
“That was the worst thing I’ve ever felt in my life!” he breathes heavily, but I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. He’s not compelled.
“What do you mean?” I dare to ask now that I know he’s safe.
“It felt like something inside me was tearing out all the pain of my past, reminding me of every loss, every hurt, even things I didn’t know happened. It was like someone took my pain and turned it into a weapon against me.”
I swallow hard. Pain is the only thing that can break a compulsion—if someone’s strong enough to fight it.
“Go bring the three men from our car. Don’t kill or hurt them. Be quick,” I command the four, and they immediately turn and run back in the direction of Luca’s SUV.
“I didn’t know it would do that to you,” I say, turning to Luca once we’re alone. He’s still catching his breath, trying to calm the storm raging inside him. I can see the deep pain and horror in his eyes, as if it were my own.Pain—I know it too well.
“When you’re hunted, the huntress’s screech strips you of all your worries, pain, sadness—it’s the ultimate release, worse than any drug out there. You’d never be able to handle your pain on your own if the hunters give it back to you—your heart would stop instantly. That’s why, once you’re hunted, there’s no going back,” I explain, and his gaze finally meets mine.
“So the bloody kiss had the opposite effect and intensified my pain?” he asks, though I can tell he’s not looking for a history lesson right now.
“Yes. The more tightly you hold on to your pain, the less chance you’ll get hunted. But it’s almost impossible to control it yourself when you hear the screech—so my blood did it for you,” I say, realizing the power of ‘The Huntress’s Kiss’ myself.
I always knew you were something special, my dear huntress.
The familiar roar fills my head again, but this time, I’m not as scared.
“Fuck off.” I dare to respond aloud, and the disturbing, rusty laughter echoes through every corner of my mind before fading away just as quickly.
“He’s not leaving you alone, huh?” Luca’s voice sounds so vulnerable now. I don’t want to know what made him feel that bad.
“Yeah, he’s annoying as hell. But we’ve got more important things to do—we’re close to the shore. Come on,” I urge him, and this time I take off running.
“What about the men?” he yells behind me, easily catching up.
“They’ll come to me. They’ll follow—the prey always knows where itsmaster is,” I inform him.
“And here I thought we humans had it tough...” he chuckles.
“Here we go,” I say, stopping as soon as my eyes catch the blue line of the water, scanning for any sign of the huntresses.
“The Guardian could’ve sent flowers if he wanted to be romantic, not a full-blown Hunters’ pod,” Luca retorts, and I follow his gaze behind me.
What. The. Actual. Fuck?!
Pedro
“I’m sorry, I just can’t understand,” Flavio says, glancing back and forth between me and Alin, his throat working hard as our tails shimmer in the dim light. Mariano, more than happy to make things worse, had upended the rest of my water bottle over us.
“I’m not imagining this, right?” He turns to Mariano, practically begging for someone to tell him he’s hallucinating.
“No, you’re not imagining it. And everything we’ve told you has to stay between us, Flavio. Not a word of this can leave this room,” Mariano’s voice turns threatening in an instant. Only he and Luca have the guts to speak to the Capo of Vegas like that.
Alin quickly restores our legs, hastily pulling on Luca’s training T-shirt—a fixture of hers since the start of this cursed training session. I can’t help but recall the countless arguments she and Luca have had about her “naked in public” tendencies. She doesn’t care, but Luca knows how to push her buttons just as much as she knows how to push his.
“I swear, I’ve seen your dick more often than I’ve seen my wife lately. Cover that thing up already,” Mariano jabs at me, pulls out the suit pants he wore to the charity event from his bag, tossing it to me. I really need to start stocking up on pants until we figure out a solution to this tail problem.
