I was a storm, unleashed and merciless. Every step was a kill, every movement soaked in blood. The night filled with their screams, their shrieks cut short as I tore through them one by one, ripping, shredding their bodies into pieces.
Nothing mattered but getting to her. Not the demons, not the war, not even the burning in my own veins. Only my Sorcha mattered.
Through the chaos I heard her voice, faint but sharp, a cry from inside the SUV. My name, and if I’d been deadly before, I became unstoppable then.
“I’m coming, Sorcha.”
I ripped the last demon in my path apart and sprinted for the crushed vehicle, Demon blood steaming on my skin, my chest heaving as the night bowed beneath the weight of what I had become.
The SUV was mangled, metal groaning where it had buckled against the rail. Troy was half out of the driver’s side, blood down his temple, still firing his weapon into the swarm. Jericho stood braced by the rear door, a shield of muscle and fury as he cut down anything that tried to reach inside.
And behind him was Sorcha.
Sorcha’s wide eyes met mine through the shattered window. Her face was a mirror of panic and then relief when her eyes clashed with mine. The bond between us sang, sharp and desperate.
I ripped the rear door clean off its hinges. Jericho barely had time to step aside before I was there, my arms locking around her. She was trembling, her heartbeat like a drumbeat against my chest.
“I’ve got you,” I growled, my voice rough, raw. “You’re safe.”
She clung to me, and for a moment it almost broke me because I could feel it, the way her fear wrapped around the bond and bled into me, twisting like barbed wire. I didn’t think my fury could escalate any higher, but when I felt her fear I saw red. The fucking Demons frightened her, they would all die, every single one of them.
But there was no time. A demon lunged from the side, claws swiping, and I spun, shielding her with my body. The strike carved down my back, searing like fire, but it only fuelled the rage already burning through me. I slammed a boot into the thing’s chest, sending it skidding across the pavement in a smear of black blood.
Behind me, Draugr’s roar split the night, his blade carving through another as he fought his way closer. “Get her clear!” he barked.
“I want them all fucking dead, you hear me…Dead” I roar before I tightened my grip on Sorcha, lifting her against me as if she weighed nothing. “Hold on to me,” I ordered, my lips against her hair. “Don’t let go.”
She buried her face in my neck, arms locking around me, and that was all I needed.
The demons came like a tide, shrieking, clawing, their glowing eyes fixed on the one thing they wanted…her. But I would die before they got to her.
Every step I took was violent. One handheld her tight, the other became a weapon, ripping, tearing and striking with all my might. Claws raked my arms, teeth snapped at my throat, but nothing broke my hold on her. The rage had me, carried me, made me more monster than man as I carved a path through the handful of demons to keep her untouched.
Her scream ripped through me when one demon got too close, jaws snapping inches from her legs before I raked my claws across his neck, pieces of his flesh falling to the asphalt.
“Look at me,” I ordered her, my voice a guttural rasp even as I raced towards the SUV. “Not them. Me. Only me.”
Her eyes lifted, glassy and terrified, but they found mine, and the bond pulsed, steadying her, steadying me. Her trust in me keeping her safe is evident in her eyes.
I pushed forward, step by brutal step, until the air was thick with smoke, iron, and the reek of demon blood, until Draugr’s blade finally carved the last of them down.
Silence fell, broken only by the ragged sound of Sorcha’s breath against my chest and the hammering of my own heart. I didn’tset her down. I couldn’t, I nearly lost her, it was too close. My arms wouldn’t let her go.
“You are safe now,” I whispered, my voice hoarse, my mouth pressed to her temple. “You’re mine. And no one touches what’s mine.”
The street was carnage. Demon carcasses smoking on the asphalt, the SUV half-crumpled against the guardrail, the tang of iron and sulphur still clinging to the night. Draugr kicked one of the twisted corpses aside, his blade dripping with ichor.
I didn’t put Sorcha down. My arms refused to listen, even as Draugr came closer, his gaze dropping to the deep gouges across my back. His jaw clenched.
“You need that cleaned,” he said, voice flat but edged with warning. “And you need to feed. Now Lucien. Demon claws carry venom you know what it does, if you don’t clean your back soon and feed you…”
I gritted my teeth, but the truth was in the burn crawling under my skin, the heat threading through my veins like acid. “I’ll deal with it.” I didn’t want him frightening Sorcha more than she already was.
“No,” Draugr snapped, sharper this time. “You’ll deal with it immediately or you’ll be worse than useless soon.”
Sorcha stirred against me, lifting her head. Her eyes darted from me to Draugr, then back. “Venom?” Her voice was small but sharp, full of fear.
“Don’t worry,” I said quickly, brushing my lips against her temple, trying to smother the panic I saw blooming in her. “I’m fine.”
