Unchained Beauty (The Deadly Beauties Live On 5)

It doesn’t work for shit, because all I can see is this beastly man who looks like he’s undergone a hellish, painful transformation, as his muscles bulge unnaturally, and the deformations on his club-hands and distorted face.

I also see the man who betrayed Amy and stole her from us. Stole a girl who’d only ever wanted to be in love so bad that it broke her what little she wasn’t already broken.

Another lash of power strikes before I can do it myself, as Slade appears in the room, his fist slamming into the beast’s face.

He curses when his hand simply breaks, then growls as he forces out enough power to fling Adam outside, tearing down the rest of the front of the house.

Chaz rushes to catch the top before the whole damn front topples down, and I let him fix it while I dart outside to help Slade, dematerializing from the porch to be behind Adam.

Another slash of power slips from me, striking across his back the way I did Alton when I was still somewhat sober.

It’s enough to make him howl into the air and turn on me.

My eyes widen in horror when the marks on his chest visibly heal right in front of me, the hellacious hit Slade landed on him already gone like it never happened.

Slade hits him next, his orbs crashing against the monster’s abdomen as I fight the dimming vision, refusing to black out right now. Not until this thing is dead. Then I’ll spit on him and send a picture to Sierra so she can come back and shred him and piss on him and whatever she else wants to do.

A growl rumbles out of me, and my bones crack, causing my breath to catch as I’m forced into a shift. My scream turns into a roar before all my senses are suddenly heightened, and my eyes go tunnel vision.

Freedom rushes through me, because I shifted! Into a lycan!

And then pain explodes in my side when Adam bowls into me because I’m stupidly inwardly celebrating how good it feels to shift. I’ve gone too long.

Turning, I snap my jaws, latching onto his forearm and biting down. But I gag and release him as the rancid blood enters my mouth.

He’s knocked off me as another lycan leaps over me, tackling him to the ground, and I raise up, seeing the scars and smelling him.

Slade latches onto his throat, but then he’s gagging and shaking his head, slinging the blood out of his mouth like he’s disoriented. The monster kicks out, landing a hit in Slade’s side, and he yelps as he crashes to the ground and rolls.

A tiger is suddenly rushing into the fray with a wolf right on his heels, a howl radiating the air as they both tackle Adam.

“Magic isn’t working on him very damn well!” I hear Kya shouting as she launches streak after streak of it, hobbling on one good leg. “He heals too fast!”

Chaz, bloodied and still slightly disoriented, comes out with more flames, pummeling Adam’s skin to no avail. It’s not even leaving a mark anymore. It’s as though the monster is absorbing the energy.

Not feeling as tempted by the darkness like this, I charge again, tackling Adam as soon as he shakes off Thad and Roslyn, sending Roslyn’s wolf crashing into a tree so hard she cries out.

Thad rushes to her as I slam into Adam with all I have, almost blacking out from the harsh impact. But I manage to make him roar in pain this time too, and I start raking my claws against him, remembering the widow’s venom Alton spoke of.

I’ve got widow venom too.

The venom oozes out of my claws, tugging at the darker edges of my mind as I use it, but when I make him really bleed for the first time, I grit down and keep digging until he manages to nail a shot to my head that sends me toppling and seeing stars for a second.

Slade leaps onto his back just as familiar orbs of power start hitting Adam from behind me.

“What the fucking hell is that?” I hear Gage shouting.

Slade is doing exactly what I was, probably smelling the venom the way I smell his from here, as he digs into Adam’s back.

But Adam turns, rolling over on him and slamming an elbow into Slade’s side hard enough to make Slade howl.

More familiar orbs join the fight, and I see my father as he concentrates all his power into one shot of energy. But Adam barely grimaces as he strains to stand against it.

Then, as if he’s been toying with us this entire time, he launches his own power in a wave so strong we’re all blown back. Something slams into my back or I slam into something.

I’m not really sure, since it all goes black for a second. In the next, I’m back in flesh, and I’m shooting every ounce of power I have, no longer holding back.

It’s like I can sense it—sense what he’s doing. He’s draining everyone’s power to use it back against us, but he won’t be able to resist fighting back against something like this.