Page 76 of Depraved
Thomas screams. Even in his monster form, the scream is high-pitched with pain. His hand clenches down on Elena, who struggles against his hold.
Jonah tries to push deeper, but the movement proves too much for him. His face contorts in pain, and he wrenches his clawed fingers free, collapsing to the ground. A pool of his own blood quickly forms around him.
“No!” Elena gasps, hands reaching for Jonah even as I hear her struggling to breathe.
My wolf growls. But we can’t make our move yet. Because even though he’s hurt, Thomas’s eyes are firmly on us as he takes one step backward, to the side of Jonah’s fallen body. The beta is completely passed out, having used the last of his strength in a bid to free Elena.
The Dark Night drags Elena with him, the toes of her tennis shoes barely scraping across the floor as he backs toward the hall and the alley behind the store.
I hear the guttural growl of a motorcycle coming down the alley. So, he has a plan. His little minions are coming to rescue him.
I won’t let them get away.
But … I’ve only got one shot, and I’m not going to waste it. I have to wait for my perfect moment and trust it will come.
My wolf disagrees. He lunges forward, wresting control and running toward the crazed monster.
Thomas Stone jolts in surprise, his grip on my omega slipping. Elena’s feet hit the ground, and she immediately reaches up again, but instead of stopping her hands at her neck to pry herself free, they go all the way into her hair.
As I barrel towards the pair of them, I watch her whip the tiara from her head and then stab the silver tip right into little Thomas’s left eye. I watch my tiny omega mate screech with all the fury she’s got.
My arm darts out as a barrier between them just as Stone Jr. lashes out with his teeth, muzzle going for Elena’s neck instinctively.
His fangs sink deep into the flesh of my arm, and the intense pressure of his clamping jaw is more painful than my breaking skin.
A snarl rips from my mouth as I lean forward and bite down right on top of Thomas’s muzzle on my arm. One of the most sensitive areas of touch for a shifter, I mash my jaws until I feel his bones start to crack.
His teeth loosen their grip as the pain overtakes him.
I hear Elena gasp, which means he’s probably released her.
Get back,I mind think, not wasting this opportunity to order her to do as I will. I throw my alpha command into the words, not caring that she’ll resent it.
I hear her scramble backward, tripping, then crawling across the floor. Her haggard breathing tells me this fucker’s damaged her trachea.
I lift a claw to damage his.
Both his claws come up to stop me, but I broke one of his fingers, so I know he’s got a weak side. I snatch that claw and hold it by the outside, and then shove his palm inward to his forearm. A satisfying crack reaches my ears.
Stone Jr. whimpers … a sign of weakness. Something an alpha used to fighting for his place would never do because it lets your opponent know that you’re almost broken. I was right about this fucker. He only preys on humans and weaklings.
He’d never last in our alpha ring.
I detach my jaws from his muzzle, reaching up to yank his teeth out of my arm.
His good claw reaches up towards me, but his reflexes are already dulling. He’s only got one eye and one hand.
I kick at one of his knees, just for good measure, and he falls to the floor. Defeated. But not dead. I wrap a claw around his neck and then look over to find Elena watching from next to Jonah, who still hasn’t moved.
Her eyes aren’t wide and horrified like they were in the warehouse the other day. No, my mate’s expression is full of gorgeous blood lust.
“Luna,” I call out, drawing those moon-gray eyes to me. “I think I promised you a heart.”
She smiles, and her smile is a dark, twisted thing. “Yes, you did.”
My mate watches as I collect her gift.
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