No.
A red haze of fury sweeps over me, and something else takes over. I’m moving almost without conscious thought, barrelling into Fox before the knife leaves his hand, teeth sinking into the soft flesh of his neck. Blood fills my mouth as I bite down hard, not stopping until I feel the crunch of bone.
“Hey.”Hands grip my fur, tugging me backwards.
I turn to snarl, but I recognise that face, that voice.
“He’s dead. You can let go now.”
Slowly, awareness returns as my mind comes back online. I let go of Fox’s limp body and step back into Lynx’s arms. I should be horrified. I just killed someone with my bare fucking teeth, but all I feel is a smug satisfaction. Even a mouthful of blood doesn’t make me want to throw up like I expected it to.
Lynx buries his fingers in my fur, and I lean into him, shamelessly rubbing against his body, making him chuckle. “As much as I’m enjoying this, I need you to shift back so we can get out of here before more hunters come. Can you do that?”
Can I?
Fuck, I don’t think so.
A whine escapes me, and Lynx cradles my head, coaxing me to look at him. “I’m going to help you, okay? But it’ll hurt, and I’m so fucking sorry, but we need to hurry.”
I whine again as I feel the first stirrings of panic.
“Do you trust me?”
Yes.
I knock my head against his hand in answer.
“Is that yes?”
I do it again and he nods.
“Okay.” He shuffles back away from me. I cock my head, wondering where he’s going when he stops and faces me. “Shift.”
Just like before, I can’t help but give in to the pull in my chest. And it hurts just as much going this way, and by the time it’s over, I’m on all fours, gasping for breath.
I glance to the side, reeling back when I see Fox’s lifeless body.
Fuck, now I’m horrified.
“Hey,” Lynx catches me by the shoulders and hauls me upright. “Don’t you dare feel guilty about that fucker. He tortured you. He tortured yourfather.” He pulls me into hisarms and holds me tight against him. I melt into his embrace. “He would’ve killed you, Morgan. Don’t doubt that for a second.”
I don’t, but that doesn’t change the fact that I killed someone.
It’s going to take some time to wrap my head around it.
“Come on,” he says, urging me forward. “We need to get out of here and get you the antidote for those cuts.”
As soon as he says it, my skin starts to burn, as if he’s activated it or something. I wince and Lynx growls.
“I know it hurts,” he whispers, pulling me close. “I’m sorry we took so long to find you.”
“We?” I glance around, not seeing anyone else. The crowd is long gone, and I neither know nor care where the hunters fucked off to.
“Yeah.” He leads me forward, arm still wrapped around me. “I didn’t come alone.”
Two figures appear from behind one of the vans. I recognise Flint easily enough.
He gives me a quick once-over, followed by a wince. “Aconite?”
