“Nope, get up.” I bend down, grabbing the back of his neck and hoisting him to his feet. He stumbles back, hitting a tree and leaning his head against the bark. His teeth are bloody as he smiles, a laugh gurgling out of his throat.
As his lips part, about to fully revel in his mirth, I slip my bloodied fingers into his mouth. I’m not at all surprised when he sucks them in, swallowing my blood and sealing his fate. He knows he’s dead, and there’s no point in fighting it.
Good. At this point, I’m tired and I want to save my energy. He is nothing compared to Lars and Tali.
After he opens his mouth, I drag my fingers out and take a deep breath.
“For so long…” I step into him, my hand coming to the point where his missing arm and shoulder should meet, and press my nails into the muscle. He hisses, but I continue over his sounds of discomfort. “Pain and suffering is all I’ve knew.”
Grabbing a piece of hismeat, I pluck it out as if it were nothing but a layer of fat on a piece of chicken. It stretches, and the moment it separates, his hand comes up on instinct to attack me.
I would have taken the blow, but a sharp smack echoes, drawing my gaze to see Kai gripping Chase’s wrist.
“I don’t care, Xera,” the Shifter says while rolling his eyes and scoffing. “Ask me what you want to know, and then kill me.” He takes a steady breath, resting his head back against the tree once again.
“You don’t know anything worth keeping you alive for. I’d love to torture you, though. Take your teeth out and make a necklace for myself. Cut your fin off and feed it to my cat.”
A soft chuckle rolls from someone, but it’s not Kai or me—I’m far from finding anything funny.
I want to torture him, but I’ll save all of that rage for Lars.
“There are onlytwothings that I care to know, and then you die.” Several sets of feet catch my attention, and I jerk my head to the side. Past my monster, I can see Niyla, Sydni, and a gigantic Werewolf approaching us. All of them, including my princess, are covered in blood nearly headto toe.
Syd’s eyes capture mine, and she smiles, giving me a nod that she’s okay. I knew she’d be a killer when she needed to be, and I hope those demons she kept locked tight had fun.
Bringing my attention back to Chase, I release a sigh through my nose. “First, how the fuck did you find us?”
“GPS,” he says through a filthy grin. “No, Xera, a certainsnakegot wind of acatmaking its way to its master.”
Is he talking about Mister?What the fuck?
That answer is annoying and unhelpful, so it gets him a slap to the muscle in his arm, his blood splattering across my face with the action. He hisses, and I can easily see his teeth cracking under the pressure.
Suppose it doesn’t matter… we need to get going anyway. How they found us won’t do me any good.
“Fine… Next question. The Siren.” His brows pinch, a look of confusion etched over his face. “Did you kill her?”
“That’s it?” He chuckles nervously. “Not where is your mother? How can you kill her? What exactly she?—”
“Did you… kill the Siren, Chase?” I lean closer, delivering the words through my teeth.
There is a short moment of hesitation, before he says, “No.”
The moment the word comes from his mouth, I grab around his throat, and thrust him down onto his knees. My leg lifts, and I press it onto his shoulder. “You enjoyed choking me.” My words are monotone, void of pain or joy. “Choke on this.”
I punch through his teeth that bare as he smiles up at me, the pain it causes me vibrates throughout all the bones in my hand and arm. Every marrow that is in my way to his throat shatters, and I swear I black out because I don’t see anything but red.
Knowing what I’m going for drives me, my fingers expanding after getting through the back of his throat. He gags and attempts to wrench away, but I keep him down with the pressure of my leg. Feeling his throat contract before going still, I break through the tissue and muscle that separate me from the cervical.
Once I feel the smooth, hard, surface of his bones, I force my arm further down to grab hold of it.
He’s dead, I’m physically holding him up at this point, but I’ll get his fucking spine out. With my foot pressing hard down onto his shoulder, I pull and let out a loud, angered scream that echoes for several seconds after I’ve lost all of my breath to keep going. The tear and popping of his insides mute as thethumpingof each vertebrae ladders through his throat.
As it comes free, I stumble backward, a strong arm wrapping around my waist to keep me from going too far.
My chest heaves as I struggle to steady myself, the only sound in the silent forest being the harsh rhythm of my breath.
I hate that I’m not satisfied. As I look at my shaking hand holding the spine of my victim, I just know itisn’tenough. I’ll never have enough, and maybe my destiny is to be that monster everyone fears.
