“Mmm, so good,” she said, tipping her head back and letting out a wicked chuckle. Warmth radiated through me at her praise, and I continued to kiss and lick her leg, savoring the taste of her.
Peering down, she smiled at me and brushed aside more of her dress, revealing tan skin even further up her thigh.
My tongue slid higher, and desire made my core spasm. I’d give her anything she wanted. She was my queen and—
Thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance, but I dismissed the sound, my tongue inching higher up Samara’s thigh.
Anything she needed, I would—
The rumbling grew louder, and this time the sound vibrated in my skull. The sound was so familiar and so full of fury that I blinked once. Twice. Slowly, I realized it wasn’t thunder, it was growling, and the sound called to me like a familiar song.
Kade.That one thought freed my mind from whatever prison it had been in, but it wasn’t enough to break Samara’s power. My body kept moving, my tongue continuing to taste the newblood as if I was a puppet and Samara was the one pulling my strings. Slowly, sensation began to return to parts of my body, but it wasn’t happening fast enough.
I could see Samara’s cruel smile for what it was now. She wasn’t just trying to win this fight. She was trying to humiliate me.But why?My gaze flicked to the stands, and it didn’t take me long to figure it out. Along the front row, Zacal sat among his wolves. He was leaning forward, his chin propped on his hands, and his yellow eyes watching me with an intensity that made my blood cold.
His gaze went to someone across the amphitheater, and though I couldn’t turn my head to see who he was looking at, I could take a guess.Kade.This whole thing wasn’t just a fight between newbloods. Zacal had somehow made a deal with Samara, and this was a message to Kade that we shouldn’t have fought against him.
Well, fuck that. Like hell was I going to lose now. I had regained control of my toes, lips, and jaw, but my tongue was so damn close to reaching Samara’s pussy.Had she planned to make me eat her out in front of everyone?If we were back on the island, I never would have thought something so absurd, but we were in Katakin now, and Samara was no longer human.
With what felt like a monumental effort, I managed to pull my tongue back into my mouth, but my nose still slid higher up her thigh. Kade’s growl grew louder in my ears, continuing to ground me. Shit, I was so damn close…
Feeling returned to parts of my neck and jaw, and it was enough. Reaching forward, I opened my mouth and clamped down hard at the top of Samara’s inner thigh.
Warmth filled my mouth accompanied by the coppery taste of blood, and Samara’s shriek pierced the air. She recoiled from me, jumping backward as if I was a crazed animal. The moment we were no longer touching, her power released me entirely, and I rolled my shoulders and shook out my limbs, once again in full control of my body.
Lifting to my feet, I spat her blood onto the ground and wiped my lips with the back of my hand.
She bent over, glaring at me as she clutched at her wounded thigh. “You fucking bitch! You bit me!” she yelled.
“Maybe next time you should try finding a willing participant,” I said coldly.
Her cheeks turned beet red, and she straightened, ignoring the trail of black that dripped down her leg.
Whoa. Did my teeth really do that?
“You’re going to pay for this,” she seethed. In a rage, she reached forward, trying to grab at me again, but I was ready for her and easily dodged her outstretched hand. Springing upward, I landed a fist on her stomach, followed by another on her nose. She staggered backward, grabbing at her face, but I spun and delivered a side kick to her head, and she fell to the ground.
Around me, monsters in the amphitheater cheered and howled, but I ignored them. My chest heaved as I stared at Samara’s crumpled body, her red dress tattered and smeared with black. Now that she was unconscious, she almost looked human again, but just as guilt started to seep into me, I remembered Zacal’s intense gaze and Samara’s wicked smirk.
In the front row, the wolf alpha glowered at me now, his top lip bared and fangs protruding from his gums. I knew I should have been worried. From the look on Zacal’s face, it was clear I was now on his shit list. But then again, I probably already had been.
Not far from him, Losak was standing as he applauded me, his slitted eyes fixed on me with way too much interest. I tried not to return eye contact and turned my head to Kade and the others.
All four of them were standing and staring at me. Kade was gripping the railing in front of him as if he was about to jump into the arena and sprint to me, but he nodded and remained where he was. Darian smiled at me as he clapped slowly, and Asher had the widest shit-eating grin stretching across his face.
Locke stared at me as if he wasn’t quite sure whether he should be applauding me or punishing me, but slowly he lifted his hands and brought them together in two slow claps. That was it.Two.Maybe he wasn’t the hard-ass he always pretended to be. Or maybe he was, and he just enjoyed the bloodshed. Either way, I grinned at him.
CHAPTER 20
~ Raine ~
“Isgoingtotheparty tonight the best idea? Zacal didn’t seem too happy that I took Samara down,” I said as I walked with Kade, Asher, and Darian through the tunnels toward the after-party. A scarlet red dress pulled tight against my body, the silky material wrapping around my neck, crossing over my breasts, and molding into a skirt that ended above my knees.
“Zacal won’t attack durin’ the party. He’ll be too afraid of losing,” answered Asher.
Kade grunted his agreement. The wolf shifter hadn’t stopped frowning since they’d met up with me after the fight.
Darian straightened the collar of his shirt as he walked. “Unfortunately, all newbloods must attend the after-parties during the Week of Orash. If we don’t make an appearance, Perene and the council will make our lives difficult.”
