The musky scent of urine perfumed the air, making me laugh with unnatural glee.
“No. Please.”
The sound of his begging only made me more eager for the kill. I needed it. My veins were screaming for it.
Staring him straight in the eye, I lifted my foot and brought it straight down on his face. Again. And again. And again.
Until Chad was nothing more than a smear on the forest floor. An offering for the woodland creatures he’d preyed on in his other form.
My chest rose and fell in an attempt to draw air into my lungs. A small whimper from my left had me spinning back toward Sunday. The barrier around her had collapsed, but she was still bleeding heavily.
The sight of her blood sent something primal screaming through me. A beast rattling the cage of my bones and begging to be unleashed.
“Alek, you... your eyes.” She looked at me with a mixture of fear and intrigue as she stood.
Footsteps crashed through the trail behind me, the sound harsh in ears far more sensitive than they should be.
A feral growl filled the air, but from the labored breathing accompanying it, I knew something wasn’t right. I shoved her behind me, protecting her with my body.
Five demons broke through the trees, black blood streaking their skin, the one in the back dragging a bound wolf behind him.
“No!” Sunday cried out, and her distress only added to the rage pumping through my veins.
Destroy.
Once again, my body acted purely on instinct. I grasped the arm of the closest demon, and when the burn of its tainted blood met my skin, I knew nothing but violence. It was my birthright. My destiny. My reason for being.
Sunday’s scream echoed in my ears, calling me back from the bloodlust that had taken over. I held a man by the throat, just as I had done with the other shifter who’d tried to hurt her. Around us lay dismembered demon parts, crushed and torn, unrecognizable. The man in my grip gasped for air, kicking at me all while Sunday begged me to release him.
“Please, Alek. Let him go. Kingston won’t hurt me. I’m safe now.”
I blinked, a shudder racing down my spine as some semblance of rationality came crashing back.
I dropped Kingston, staggering away from him.
What had I done?
Sunday came to my side, her small palm resting on my shoulder, but I flinched away, unsure if I’d lose control again. “Take her,” I growled at Kingston. “She’s not safe. There could be more of them.”
As Kingston wrapped an arm around Sunday’s waist and pulled her trembling body against his, the air beside me began to shimmer and shift. I recognized the effect instantly. They were coming for me.
Before my mind could give name to the magic, a portal stretched open. Two familiar faces peered out at me. One apologetic. One brutally determined.
My uncle... and my father.
The Warrior of Odin was here for his mischievous son.
Fuck.