Page 12 of The Secret of Pain

“Fucking infantile Lycans,” Kain growls. He pulls his guns from their holsters and aims them at the two Lycans in the alley. They’re cornered, and Lycans hate being cornered. The high wall behind them means past us is their only way out. Unfortunately for them, the human they ripped the throat from is still bleeding out at their feet. Rule number two. Don’t kill humans.

“We don’t bow to your rule, Hunter,” one of them says as I step forward, and he eyes my sword in its scabbard on my back. If only this idiot knew how many different ways I have to kill him available to me right now. My sword isn’t what he should be afraid of.

“Well, that makes you a little stupid. I wonder what Roman would say about that?” I tilt my head as my words hit their mark.

“You’re… You’re Remy Bennett?” the quieter Lycan asks, his voice husky from the partial change of his form. The two look at each other before dropping the human.

“How old are you?” Kain asks from my right flank.

“This is our first moon,” the first says, his anger palpable and filters through his words, and I swear. Why the fuck doesn’t Roman have these guys locked up? First fucking moon.

“You know I can’t just let you walk away from this. You killed a human,” I tell them, and fear flickers in their eyes.

“You won’t kill us,” the first says cockily. “You couldn’t, look at you. You’re tiny. Even with him backing you up.”

“Oh, boys, you have no idea,” I say, throwing the obsidian dagger from my hip into his shoulder before drawing my gun on the second Lycan. Dead shot. He falls to the ground as his brains paint the alley walls.

The first simpers, the coating on my dagger poisoning his blood.

“We never meant to…” he cries. “It was our first moon, and we avoided round up. Please don’t. I won’t tell.”

“Roman probably isn’t going to be happy about this,” Kain reminds me, covering the street for us, knowing that two Lycans is nothing that I can’t handle alone.

“Well then his alphas should have a better handle on their wolves. The Alpha of Alphas can come and see me if he has a problem with how I handle things.” I kneel down and pull my dagger from the remaining Lycan, his breathing staggered as the obsidian does its job. Blood spurts from the wound. I nicked an artery.

“You have two choices,” I tell him. “I can let you die somewhat slowly, in agony, the same way I’m sure you did to that human, or I can put a bullet through your skull.”

“Fuck you,” he stutters, and his breath becomes shallow.

“Have it your way,” I say and stand, putting a bullet through his thigh—this time I know I got the artery. The shot won’t kill him, but my bullets are obsidian. Lycans can heal from most wounds, but not those from obsidian. He’ll bleed out here, and I’ll send a clean-up crew to come and get them.

I holster my gun and wipe down my dagger before sheathing it back at my hip.

“The young ones never get any less cocky.” Kain grins, death no longer affecting either of us really. When you’ve done what we do for as long as we have, it becomes almost a part of everyday life. Literally.

I notice the blood on my top and sigh as Kain wipes some from my cheek.

“Want to head back and clean up? I’ll call my guys to deal with this,” he offers, and it warms me. No matter how much people would hate what I have with him, I love him.

“Sure.” I smile up at him, and he grins back.

“Want a lift?” He laughs, and I nod. He lifts me into his arms and I wrap mine around his neck, holding tightly as he runs faster than the wind. No human would see or hear us—it’s what makes him so dangerous.

“We’re here, milady,” he chuckles as he puts me back on my feet, opening the door to his one-story. It’s smaller than you’d expect considering his status, but I know that no one apart from us knows about his place. Well, other than Luc.

“The shower is all yours if you want it first?” he offers coyly, shutting the door behind me.

“Thanks. Want to join me?” I take his hand and lead him down the hall to the bathroom. He takes me by the waist and lifts me onto the counter, my head level with his.

“I have no idea how I’m meant to live without you,” he says softly before capturing my lips with his, hard and full of passion, and he devours me until I’m breathless.

CHAPTER SIX

It’s been two weeks since dinner at my dad’s, and I’m still angry. I’ve ignored every call, every knock at my door, every attempt at contact. I’ve even shut out Jack. I can’t deal with any of this, but I know it’s true. I noticed changes before they told me. Just stupid little things that I thought nothing of. Like catching something I’d have never been able to catch before. Being able to run farther, dance harder. Things seemed easier. I thought I was just in better shape.

But it was all a lie.

Am I overreacting about the lying? Maybe a little, but give a girl a break. What even is this life? A life of monsters, of all the things that go bump in the night being real. Dracul and Lycans, they said. Nephilim. Thanks to Google, I got way more information than I ever thought I cared for. Vampires and Werewolves. The children of Angels. It’s all more than a little unbelievable.

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