Page 63 of Rot In Knotty Pieces

“Well, don’t get hit.”

I bite my bottom lip so I don’t smile at the grumpy omega. He is vicious and fast. He pulls out a slim blade that I didn’t know he had. It’s long and thin and incredibly elegant. He stabs it into the massive guy’s throat and gets showered in a fountain of blood.

“Pix,” I say sadly. “That is such a headache to clean up; why did you do that?”

“Because you pissed me off!” Pix snaps and stabs again, then thrice more, glaring at me the whole time. He makes a mess. Deliberatively. It’s adorable. A teeny-tiny omega tantrum.

An alpha comes flying out of the trees and straight at me, roaring like someone having a psychotic episode and discovering they are actually a bear.

“Show me how it’s done then, Mr Trained To Kill. At least I came by my skills honestly.”

“So elitist,” I tease and kick out hard.

The guy goes down on his shattered kneecap. The force of his weight sends him barreling into the tree behind me. He slides the last few feet into the trunk and cracks his neck.

I lift my eyes to Pix, who is working himself up into a rage as he stares at my kill like he’s going to combust.

“That doesn’t count!” he roars.

“Why is it that with everyone else, you are cool and calm, but when it comes to me, you lose your panties every time,” I ask, and okay, yeah, I am provoking him, but he’s so freaking hot when he’s mad.

“PANTIES?” Pix howls.

I like this side of him. I like it a lot.

He rushes me, but I catch his arm, yank him up so he’s pressed against me, and kiss him hard. He opens his mouth, and I slide my tongue in, languidly taking possession of him, his rage, and his beautiful, delicious mind.

When I pull back, he stares at me with his eyes that are super heated.

“Are you aware I have the tip of my blade pressed against your jugular?” Pix says in a low hiss.

“Of course, it made it hotter.”

Pix makes a frustrated noise and removes the blade. “Go find King and Rolly.”

“Your wish, my command.”

I trot off, aware that he’s not following me because he’s getting rid of the bodies, and isn’t that one of the hottest things ever?

Adorable little killer.

Not surprisingly, the two alphas are together and fine with a mound of bodies. They are currently dragging them off into the depths of the forest, making sure they all disappear.

I decide to turn back and look for Blaze, while I make sure there are no more hunters. Who hired them? How did they find us? I have so many, many questions.

So many unanswered questions and lots of random answers that make me uneasy. Going through this amount of trouble, sending a tiny army to die is just a way of testing defenses.

Why does he want her back so badly? Why torture her and leave her there? Is she a message, and if so, a message for whom?

It reminds me too much of my past. Growing up under my parents’ thumb was spent being trained as a killer. No schools for me, private tutors, I was trained in the art of pain, the language of murder, the calculations of violence. By the time they made the mistake and realised that my scent was too strong, I was uncontrollable.

A weapon, trained to be the perfect dog, that had far exceeded the strength of the ones who held my lead. They had no choice. I killed everyone they sent to school me. Every person who laid hands on me ended up broken. My parents learned to fear me. I got lucky; I was able to overcome my demon.

She has not been able to overcome hers.

I follow the river around a bend and find Blaze on his knees. A quick scan sends ice through my veins. Roseland is in the water, but Merle is standing with her hair covering her face, not moving or reacting to the gun pressed to her chest.

My heart thuds violently. For the first time, I’m not concerned, I’m scared.