Kira, who'd started to walk away, came to a stop.
Did that man just touch her niece?
Kira did an about face. A sweet smile touched her lips, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she took a step toward the oshota.
"Girls, step back. Step back now,” Jin ordered, sounding alarmed.
Elena moved quickly, drawing Ziva and Joule with her. "Third and most important piece of advice—never, ever, ever insult someone Auntie cares about."
Ziva nodded with an intent expression, looking like she was taking mental notes.
Joule's eyes widened in understanding and alarm. He, more than his sister, knew what Kira was capable of.
"Someone sure is brave," Kira said in a silky voice.
She'd tried to be kind. Everyone had seen it.
She'd let him off without extracting even the tiniest bit of revenge, but did he learn from his experiences? Did he appreciate her leniency?
No. He did not.
He just had to go and show his ass. Now it was time to learn what happened when you mooned a predator more dangerous than the ones he was used to.
"Kira, do not kill him," Jin warned.
Kira padded closer to the dead man walking.
"I mean it," Jin said when she didn't answer. "Roake is not going to back us in a blood feud if you nuke the oshota of another House."
"Are you sure about that?" Maksym asked.
Blood lust rose off him, matched only by the intensity of his companions.
Auralyn looked at the oshota and those behind him as if they were dog shit she'd found under her shoe. Simply scraping them off would be too kind a fate. Only complete annihilation would do.
Kira noted all this distantly, too fixated on her prey to care.
For the first time since she'd donned the inhibitor, she could feel her primus form crouched in her psyche. A solid wall separated her from it, but that didn't stop the lust for vengeance from seeping through.
The other wanted to rip and tear and, then, howl its supremacy to the sky. It wanted to teach these lesser beings to fear where it trod.
The concept of right and wrong was hazy for that creature. All it cared about was protecting those it considered theirs.
Power flushed through Kira's veins as the primus pressed against the barrier. Pain followed swiftly on its heels; Kira's body unable to withstand the influx.
The inhibitor contracted around her wrist in warning, sending jolts of agony up her forearm.
Sensing the shift, Elena's attention shot to Kira, a cautious look entering her expression. "Auntie. No."
Kira stopped, taking a deep breath to compose herself. Elena was right. Losing herself to the primus would be self-indulgent and reckless.
Only when the pain abated and herkisettled did Kira focus on the oshota again. It was his lucky day. He got to live.
Raider threw himself forward as Kira started to speak. He hammered a punch into the other man’s face.
Not content to end it there, Raider snapped a kick against the side of the man's knee. The man fell to the ground, catching himself with one hand. Raider didn't give him time to recover, kneeing him in the face.
The man's companions stepped forward with the intention of assisting their friend.
