Page 40 of As Darkness Fall
“You’re mine now, little one.”
“That’s one thing you evil shits can’t seem to figure out,” I spat. “I belong tono one.”
Hauling my head back, I slammed it down into his face. His nose broke, and blood began to pour down his face.
“OW!” I howled. “That friggin hurt!”
Using that as a distraction, I reached down and managed to slip my arms between his. Then, I steadied and grunted, straining outward. At first, he just squeezed tighter, and I groaned in more pain.
“You lose,” he said, smirking.
Reaching into myself, I summoned every ounce of strength I could. Every bit of gusto and energy I could find in my body. I heaved and pushed my arms outward.
They moved.
I grinned as I felt myself begin to overpower him, his arms moving slightly away from me, releasing some of the pressure. The enforcer's eyebrows went up, and I set my face, staring directly into his plain brown eyes. I wanted him to watch. To know he was about to lose.
“Not possible,” he said a moment before I flung his arms out wide with a shriek, his grip failing.
“Believe it,” I snapped and, using that same burst of energy, drove my fist into his face.
The enforcer flew back five feet before his heels caught on the ground, and he slammed back onto the concrete patio. I stared at my fist. I should not have been able to do that. Where the hell had that strength come from?
Turning slowly, I found Lars staring at me with suspicion, forehead wrinkling between his brows. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one puzzled.
“How did you do that?” Lars hissed icily.
I shrugged, taking a step toward the Alpha. “Proper application of force, I guess.”
Lars didn’t think it was funny, but I was past caring. My body hummed with the adrenaline of the fight, and I was now almost face to face with the man who had sent a death squad after me, kidnapped my best friend, knocked me outtwice, and still thought he was a good person.
It was time to show him otherwise.
“No matter,” Lars growled, reaching for his belt and pulling out an odd-looking dagger. “Time for you to die.”
I bared my teeth in a challenge and took a step toward him when Vir’s voice cracked out over the melee.
“Dani, watch out! He’s got the Blade!”
Chapter Twenty-One
Lars chuckled, a wicked, vile sound, as he came at me.
My blood turned cold, and I stared at the weapon in his hands. It was a little over a foot long, the blade a strange, dark-colored steel, more charcoal than slate. The grip was a simple, leather-wrapped grip with a strap that Lars had wrapped around his wrist, ensuring that if he lost his grip, he’d keep the knife.
There was no energy or lights pulsing in the dagger. Nothing to indicate that a single nick on my skin would strip me of all life, dropping me dead on the spot. Yet, I knew it would. Vir had told me all about the Blade of Death and its powers.
Immediately, I started backpedaling, working to keep distance between Lars and me. Time. I needed time to figure out how best to fight him, to stop him from using the blade on me.
Maybe if I could get to one of Aaron’s weapons, or if one of his men was free—however, the thudding of feet through the household announced the arrival of more shifters. With a roar, Vir tore into them, causing more damage and mayhem with one arm than any three of Aaron’s men, all of whom were still engaged in their own fights.
It was up to me then. Vir would ensure nobody came to Lars’s aide, but nobody was coming to mine, either.
“Fine,” I hissed. “Just you and me, Lars. I think it’s time to teach you some lessons in manners.”
“Unrulypup,” Lars snarled, blasting me with a wave of Alpha command as he surged forward. “You will no longer be a nuisance for me.”
If I hadn’t been ready for the tactic, the sudden desire to submit might have surprised me enough to work. Lars was predictable, though, and I had been bracing for it. So instead of freezing, I howled my defiance and did the last thing I hoped he expected.
