The hell beast sniffled, cocked its head, then screamed in defiance and charged Kraft again. But it had slowed. And Kraft...hadn’t.
Now smelling like a bonded female—one who’d mated without realizing it!—she felt a touch warmer, the cold hand of death a little less gripping than it had been, which allowed her to shift back.
She lay on the ground, bleeding out, the pain so much worse in human form. But she reached into her pocket and found the vial. “Give this to Max,” she managed.
Why?
“We’re poisoned...bait. The hell beast...took...our blood. It’s slowing...him down.”
Slowing you down too.Paz looked as if he disapproved, but he grabbed the vial in his teeth and shocked her by flying—with wings—to her cousin. He managed to pull the stopper free with his paws and teeth and tilted the vial into her cousin’s mouth. Then he stomped all over Max’s face to, well, she wasn’t sure. Make her cousin swallow?
The demon quickly flew back to her, some ten feet away, and landed on her chest.
“What’s wrong...with...Kraft?” He seemed in a hysterical rage, tearing and biting. Killing bites and gouges that grew more frenzied as he attacked.
Some nachzehrers are blessed with the Rage. It’s a violence that’s out of control and can only be contained once it passes.Paz sounded impressed.The young Kraft is full of surprises.Paz watched.You say you poisoned the hell beast?
“Yes.” It took her a moment to realize what he implied. “Oh no. Kraft iseatinghim.” She tried to yell and ended up coughing up blood. “Kraft, stop. You’ll kill yourself.”
But the wolf didn’t hear her. Or didn’t want to hear her, concentrating on killing the enemy.
Paz looked from her to Kraft and sighed.Promise that when I leave, you’ll remember me.He put a paw on her chest.I want some sentimentality The vryko will be in tears, I’m sure.Paz sounded amused.But Kraft will want to consider me a nuisance. Remind him often what I sacrificed.
“What?”
Paz licked her lip.You do taste good. Bye, Riley.He raced away, a tiny ball of fur darting between lycans and undead animals going every which way.
She had one last thing to do before she could rest. Too bad it wasn’t kissing Kraft.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
Kraft couldn’t breathefor want of destroying this monster that should not be.
He paid attention to no one and nothing as he tore into it, ingesting its fire and swallowing its flesh made of brimstone and lycan. A tasty mix, the sacrifice peppery on the tongue.
And then a wash of bonding, the scent of his female layered over him.
Riley.
He sneezed a few times, heard her sneeze as well, and grinned, fighting with his mate against the darkness.
Such perfection, this ending of the beast between his jaws.
He ignored the tingles of fire and the weakness that pushed at his joints, not familiar with the concept of failure. Not in his Rage.
He continued, stepping on dead lycans and pushing through the weak spells the sorcerer thought he could cast on a nachzehrer, a vampire dead in the womb, born of blood and rage and a need for life. He’d been acquainted with death for a long time. It held no terror for him.
He grew sluggish and ripped at the beast no longer fighting back. Huh. When had that happened? But he didn’t care. He was still so angry, had so much fire left inside him.
You owe me a bloode-debt—came a deep voice inside his mind.
Kraft paused.A bloode-debt must always be repaid.Something drilled into his kind from the moment his heart first beat. He had no idea why, but that phrase was almost a sacred thing among those Of the Bloode.
The monster bit back at him, still struggling to resist.
Kraft knocked it into the wall and held it there with his flank as he looked down on the tiny kitten watching him.
Now. I want the battle now. And when I am finished, you will take this body, the one I’m in, and settle upon your own body. Since you do not breathe, we’ll exchange forms through blood. But before we finish this, I’ll need you to swipe the sorcerer’s blood with your kitten claws. It won’t be easy, but I need a touch of darkness to make our work complete.
