Page 59 of Huntress

“Who?” Elsie asked, backing a step for every one they took forward.

“The piper, you dumb bitch.” A wicked glint flashed in his eye. “You’ll see soon enough. He likes breakable girls like you.”

Elsie used her borrowed time and sent as much healing magic through her body as possible. It wouldn’t do much, but every minor ache healed was one less to hinder her.

“Why are you guys working for him?” she asked. “You’re strong enough to take over the nest yourselves, why take orders from them?”

Uro snickered, and the female laughed, but the dissenting male from earlier had a thoughtful look in his eyes. Uro leaned forward.

“I can smell the youth on you, girl. You’ve never met one of them before, have you? You don’t say no to a piper unless you’ve got a death wish. Piss one of them off, and they’ll eat you up, bones and all.”

Elsie thought of the disproportionate reactions she’d been getting out of Franklin during their meeting. She’d noticed how out of place his anger had been, but had chalked it up to male intolerance for a woman giving orders on his turf. In her ignorance of what she was actually facing, she’d oversimplified the issue.

“What do you get out of this agreement? Other than the occasional human to split among you?” Elsie asked.

“Are you dumb or something? Pay attention!” the female asked. “We get to keep our lives.”

“Along with the right to hunt their territory,” Uro added.

“The Hunter Clans were under the impression that this was originally your territory,” Elsie said, miscalculating. One of the males hissed and charged forward.

“You knew?!” he bellowed, aiming his claws at her stomach. It seemed disemboweling was a pack specialty. “You pieces of shit knew that this was our home, and you took it anyway?! We lost pups because of you!”

The demon’s killing intent spiked; orders or not, he wanted her dead. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, allowing her to temporarily ignore the pain.

Repeating what she’d learned earlier, Elsie thrust her dagger, bracing for the impact. His weight carried him onto the blade, and her magic surged through him, crystals materializing and shredding his organs. His eyes went wide with surprise, and he coughed, blood splattering from his mouth.

The kill came with a price. She looked down, unable to take her eyes off his fist buried under her skin. Stumbling several steps backward, she pulled his lifeless claws out of her abdomen.

Gasping for air, Elsie curled the hand on her torn-apart arm over the hole, trying to keep her insides from pouring out. The adrenaline was no longer enough. Her entire body screamed with pain. The venom from his claws coursed through her body while her life spilled into a puddle at her feet. Her muscles trembled involuntarily, and she wheezed, in too much shock to do anything more than feel it all in the moment.

“Shit,” the more rational male cursed. “Uro, she will die. That’s the one he wanted.”

“Let her die!” The female licked her lips. “I want a taste of her flesh. Can’t you smell her blood? She smells delicious.”

“Try it,” Elsie sneered, barely hearing them over the ringing in her ears. She’d never taken this much damage before. Weakness stole over her, and she realized she might die here. Her words came out in gasping spurts. “My squad will avenge me. You’ll end up like him. None of you will make it out of here alive. Is a little taste worth it to you?”

“No,” the rational one said softly. He stopped advancing and took a good look at their surroundings. His family and friends had fallen all around them. “No, it’s not.”

“Leave,” Uro spat. “But don’t you dare come crawling back. You’re no longer welcome.”

“We’ve sacrificed too many of our people for the pipers. I can’t support this.” The banished rat’s ears were flat against his head, his body slouching with the weight of his decision. He turned and shuffled toward the treeline.

Two remaining. Elsie’s feet were spread wide, bracing herself. She fixed them with a hard stare. Then the female pulled out a sword. Not a dagger. Not a shortsword. Not some cute little rapier. A fucking two-handed greatsword, the steel blade almost as long as Elsie was tall. Her eyes widened. She couldn’t beat that, not like this.

“Pretty, isn’t she? How about we fuck you with this?” the female suggested. Uro gave her a shove.

“Not until I’ve had my fun,” he repeated his earlier line. Elsie didn’t care how fucked up she was. She’d be cutting his dick off and trampling it into the mud with the heel of her boot before she’d let him near her.

“Are you able to get it up?” Elsie taunted. Uro leered at her, looking her straight in the eye as he reached down to fondle his erection. She shuddered with disgust. As a hunter, she’d been around plenty of naked men. She’d rarely been interested, but never had she been this repulsed.

She’d had plenty of female lovers, but never a man. This disgusting creature would not be her first experience with a dick. She’d die before letting that happen.

“I’ve seen eunuchs with more impressive cocks,” she lied. The only eunuchs she knew of were slaves in the vampire kingdoms down south.

“It’s more than enough to handle you.” Uro palmed his cock, stroking it as he walked toward her. The female circled around to Elsie’s side, intending to get behind her.

“That’s not what I heard,” Elsie continued, standing her ground. Not that she was capable of much more. Her body was healing, but the amount of blood spilling from between her fingers was alarming. “I heard rats only last a few seconds, and it’s why your females like to watch. They’re so dissatisfied that they have to find pleasure wherever they can.”