Page 36 of Property of Karev

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

– KAREV –

I feel my mate’s torment through our bond, and the gut-wrenching scream inside my head. I want nothing more than to turn around and go to her, but I can’t. I have eyes on Drexel which means I can end that fucker right here, right fucking now.

As if on cue, Drexel spins around and digs his nails in to leave deep grooves in the dirt as he comes to a stop. I shove my own paws out and create piles of dirt as I come to an abrupt stop. He starts to slowly walk to the left, and I mimic his actions as we circle one another.

One of his heads is focused on me, and the other one which Levan has bit off has clearly grown back. Though, it’s unnatural. The eyes are white and there’s no fur covering the neck and head, the skin looks burned and raw.

I brace myself as he opens his jaws and releases hellfire. My three streams against his two streams easily block his attack. Yet, the heat of his flames feels different and the fire from the grown back head was a faded yellow. The fucker jumps at me and I meet him midair, knocking both of us to the ground.

I can feel the fucker’s teeth sinking into my shoulder, the same thing I do with one of my heads while the other two attack his good neck. He yelps and I feel a painful electric current going from my shoulder to my chest.

My jaws release him and Drexel stumbles back. We continue to circle one another, each of us breathing fire to lash out at one another. I stumble when the electric current from my shoulder to my chest intensifies.

It’s a split second of distraction and Drexel takes his shot to launch himself at me once more, sinking his teeth into my other shoulder. All three of my heads attack his weird furless neck and manage to rip it off. Again, he roars and stumbles back, bleeding black blood from the neck where his head once was.

The shooting pain inside me continues while I try and focus on the fight. I breathe fire, knowing it won’t harm him much since we both use hellfire. Where we can incinerate other supernaturals, it won’t have the same effect against the same supernatural.

For killing one another we have to rely on our strength, to rip this fucker’s head off when he’s in his human form. Which basically means I have to hurt him, drain his energy until his beast has no choice but to shift to kick in an excessive healing spurt.

I attack and make sure to bite down on his front paw, feeling the bones break on my mouth. Pressing the fucker to the ground, I bite down on his body, his howls feeding the need to kill. The sudden loss of strength in my shoulder and front paw causes an opening for Drexel to fight back.

Pain is fading from my shoulder and instead a numbness takes over, spreading through my veins until I can’t make my limbs work. The roar trying to rip free gets stuck in my throat.

Drexel is about to attack me when a flash of red smoke blocks my vision...instead of fighting Drexel, I’m fighting my own body...and I’m losing due to the darkness pulling me under.

– AZALEA –

My father is dead. Alora is dead. Annetta...she’s dead. They’re all dead.

Triton’s voice makes me turn my head his way when he says, “She was already dead, Lea. He must have killed her when he murdered the others. He must have somehow gained the witch’s power. She might have given it to him freely when he took her soul and with it her life. The hex bag and your sister’s appearance made it clear there was no consent with Annetta. She didn’t have her power, and Drexel couldn’t control her either. It was just the shell of her body that was left, Lea.”

Overwhelming sadness and anger hit me hard, ripping a tormented scream through my mind as I softly whimper. He’s right, there is no other explanation. Which means Karev is in danger as Drexel is capable of stealing powers...did he get my father’s, even if he didn’t have much left? Alora’s? Fuck. Who knows what other supernatural he killed to get it.

I spin in the direction of where I saw both Drexel and Karev run off and start running. I can’t fly because the trees are blocking the view. Through the bond I can feel the location of my mate pulling me in his direction.

The growls and flames up ahead are a clear indication I’ve found them. In the clearing two hellhounds are circling one another, one bigger than the other. I can easily make out Karev who has three heads and looks much stronger than the one-headed hellhound.

The large wound on Drexel’s shoulder shows Karev must have ripped off the part that was regrown after Levan bit it off because it’s oozing black fluid. Fear creeps into my veins when I remember Triton’s words. If the witch freely gave her powers before Drexel took her soul, then the black blood indicates the deadly change in him.

Karev lunges for Drexel and I can hear the bones in Drexel’s leg snap. He’s pushed to the ground by Karev’s massive form. My mate is definitely winning this fight until his shoulder suddenly sags as if his strength falters.

This gives Drexel the chance to fight back. Through our bond I can feel Karev’s confusion and the panic setting in. I can’t simply step into the clearing because I don’t want to distract Karev.

On the other hand, the way Karev is looking? He’s not going to last and the slight vibration surrounding him lets me know the need to shift is there. Something that definitely cannot happen. If Karev shifts to his human form, it will leave him vulnerable for Drexel to murder him. Drexel is about to attack and it takes the decision right out of my hands.

Rushing forward, I step in front of my mate and make sure my fire is surrounding both of us when I snarl, “You killed my family.”

The hellhound grins and digs his nails into the dirt. Behind me I hear a loud thump and deep down I know Karev just hit the ground. I curl my fingers into fists and with everything I got I stay focused on the threat in front of me. This man has taken many lives and I’m not going to let him kill me or Karev.

The only way this asshole has managed to get the upper hand on Karev is to fucking cheat. He stole a witch’s power. I’m going to completely ignore her giving her consent because sucking souls is freaking insane. He opens his mouth and I brace myself for the fire he’s about to spit in my direction.

I don’t feel a sliver of fear, instead there’s only anger. Knowing this idiot has tried to kill his twin sister inside the womb, and has been on a twisted power-hungry journey since sparks an idea inside my mind.

Drexel’s stream of flames hits me head-on, but I don’t feel a damn thing.

A grin slides across my face when I start to taunt the fucker. “Is that all you got? Don’t you know a hellhound’s mate is immune to hellfire? Well, maybe it’s a detail you’re not aware of due to your whole upbringing, or you’re way too obsessed with legends.” I snort. “More like fairytales that won’t ever happen because this is real life, asshole. A life where a leopard can’t change his spots. So, you, lower-level hellhound won’t ever become the strong and ferocious alpha hellhound your half-brother is.”