“Let’s go, Blackwood. We don’t have all day,” Drayker snaps, singling me out again, but instead of rising to her bullshit, I seek Willow out and trudge across the field to face off with her.
Once everyone is in their own little space, Drayker’s voice booms over the field. “You stop when I say you stop. No deaths. I’d rather I didn’t have to deal with that paperwork.” She blows a whistle that dangles around her neck and I finally give Willow my attention.
“This is going to be so much fun,” she sings, flicking her curls over her shoulder, and I sigh.
“Of course you would say that,” I mutter, rolling my shoulders back as we start to circle one another.
“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you too much,” she promises before launching herself at me, claws exposed from her knuckles, and I lurch back, sidestepping her attempt with a huff.
“Oh, you need your abilities to come at me, I see,” I bite, stretching my neck from side to side as adrenaline zaps through my veins.
“You’re just jealous because you don’t haveany.” I roll my eyes, dancing in a circle with her as hers narrow into slits. “Don’t worry, my mother has ensured I’m well aware of your defects. A scythe? How embarrassing. But a powerless scythe? That’s just fucking tragic,” she jibes, lunging toward me with her claws aimed at my chest, but I swoop out of her way. Another inch and she would have nicked me.
My hands curl into fists, the leather stretching around my fingers as I glare at the bitch before me. “Your mother should learn to keep her mouth shut. DIscussing people she knows nothing about is distasteful,” I state with a smile, refusing to lower myself to her standards. It only serves to piss her off more and she swipes at me again, her claw catching the bridge of my nose, but I use her momentum against her, slamming my fist into her upper arm.
She topples, losing her balance, and hits the ground with a grunt. “You bitch!” she spits, her curls tousled around her face as she rushes back to her feet. Her chest heaves with every breath as she snarls.
Her movements become more erratic as her rage takes over, and I’m sure she’s one step away from completely shifting into her wolf. There’s no precision in her slashes, so I manage to dodge themall, despite the trickling of blood down my face from the scratch on my nose.
“You’re not good enough for him, you know,” she grinds out, reverting back to trying to get under my skin when her attempts at striking me fail.
“If you say so,” I mutter, assuming she’s referring to Kael. I should tell her I don’t want to be anything to him, but even though I can’t stop myself from putting more and more distance between us, my body and mind are not aligned. Like hell am I adding my heart to the mix too. I don’t need any of it.
“Do you want to know why?” she pushes, taking aim at me again, but instead of connecting with my stomach, it’s me who lands the hit, punching the side of her face. “Fuck you,” she glowers, her face reddening from the touch as anger burns in her eyes, making her eyes water as she envisions me dead. “You’re not good enough for him because you are nothing. You’re from a broke-ass trailer park with deadbeat parents and more trauma than any man will ever take on. He doesn’t want to deal with your pain that he didn’t cause, he doesn’t want to try and put you back together when he played no part in breaking you, and he definitely doesn’t want to dip his dick into a bucket so used he can’t even feel the sides.”
Rage burns through me and all I see is red.
On a rampage, I charge at her, knocking us both to the ground as I press my legs into her arms, blocking her ability to cut me as I punch her in the face.
“I’m not nothing.”
Punch.
“I healed my own pain.”
Punch.
“I put myself back together again.”
Punch.
“You can call me a whore, you can badmouth where I come from, fuck, you can even poke fun at my parents, I don’t give a shit, but you don’t get to tell me that I am nothing because I sure as hell amalwaysgoing to be more than you.”
Punch.
Blood splatters across her cheeks, her nose definitely busted as I shove up off her, expecting her to stay down, but I should know by now that cockroaches always find a way. Just as I reach full height, she kicks my legs out from under me and I fall backward at the same time as she reaches for me. Her hands wrap around my fingers, but I continue to slip from her hold as she tears the leather from my skin.
My back hits the ground with a thud, stealingmy breath as I gape up at the sky, certain death is upon me, when a shadow casts over me. She doesn’t bother to taunt me this time; the sneer on her lips tells me she’s ready to let her abilities do the talking. I act on instinct, slamming my hands in the air despite the inability to breathe, and my palms meet her chest before her claws can sink into me.
She freezes midair, a guttural groan ripping from her lips as my magic decides to make an appearance. Her face turns gaunt instantly and she turns into dead weight on top of me. I desperately try to pry my hands away, but it’s impossible in this position. Managing a deep breath, I shift our weight, careening us both to the side so my hands are no longer trapped between us, but with the freedom of her no longer being on top of me comes further dismay as pain radiates through my body from head to toe.
I scrunch my eyes as a sob catches in my throat, and when I finally manage to open them again, it’s not my hands I see splayed among the blades of grass beneath me, but paws.
Furry fucking paws.
My head sways as a lightheaded feeling washes over me, and I think I’m going to be sick.
What have I done?
