The stench of him hits me first; it wafts through the air like an overpowering perfume sprayed too far too heavily. The smell is intense and overwhelming. My anger fills the space between us, snuffing out even his stench.
I cut through his mental wall like it’s butter.“What the fuck did you do?”
For a moment, he doesn’t respond; he just stares at me in his unblinking, unrelenting way. But then he shifts. His massive wolf forms. That’s why he wasn’t answering me; he was concentrating on shifting. Something that used to be as simple as breathing now takes all our concentration.
“You know exactly what I did,”he answers.
“No, I fucking don’t know. Because if you did what I think you did, you’re a dead man. Fuck any promises. I’ll kill you for hurting her.”
“I made it easier for you; you should be thanking me.”
“You selfish prick! Turning her into a shell of herself does not make it easier for her to fall in love with me. She had room to love us both!”I shift, knowing exactly how I want to face him. My massive wolf form blasts into existence like it took me nothing at all despite the massive effort behind it. But I’m angry, hot, and violent. And I know exactly how this conversation is about to end.
“That’s bullshit, and you know it. There was nothing left of her heart to give,”Nyx says back, his voice calm, steady, sure. Like he has no regrets about what he did.
“Now she doesn’t have a heart to give. I could have won her over. Won her back from you. Now, she’s incapable of loving. Only grief is left.”
“Better to grieve me now, to hate me now, than mourn me when I’m dead,”he says back.
I shake my head.“She’s doing all of this to save you! And you don’t even fucking care. You’ve given up. I made a blood deal with her to save you!”
“It had to be this way. She can’t save any of us, herself included, when she’s tied to a monster like me.”
Rage tears through me, erupting like a volcano that’s been dormant for centuries. I never watched someone cry over someone else like she did last night. Never felt a heart ripping before. Never wanted to end someone for causing her pain more than I do right now.
I growl, snapping my teeth in his direction.
He doesn’t move.
Doesn’t fight back.
Doesn’t even flinch.
He’s not afraid of me or dying.
I’m not going to be the one to end the coward, but I am going to make him hurt for what he did to her.
My teeth snap, and I attack. Throwing everything I have into the leap. I aim for his neck, wanting to do as much damage as possible without killing him.
We are both of similar size. But I’m just slightly bigger. My muscles throw just a little more power than him, just enough to make the difference. While he is slightly faster. His muscles coil with the promise of speed that I can’t match.
But he doesn’t use it.
And that’s his mistake.
I lunge with everything I have, fury propelling me forward. Teeth sink into him, tearing a slash across the back of his neck in a sharp line. I feel his skin tear, taste his blood on my tongue, it fuels me further.
He growls—low and furious. With a violent whip of his neck, he flings me off of him.
I land hard, but solid, getting my footing easily. We circle each other, slow and deliberate. Both of us bare our teeth at each other in a silent threat.
It feels good to use my muscles this way. To let my muscles and instincts take over, drowning out everything else. I’ve spent too long honing my magic, strengthening my power, reciting spells. But this is who I am.
This form. This strength. This body.
I attack again, faster this time, letting my instinct take over. My massive paws strike the side of his face with a brutal force that jars me. Blood spills from his jaw as his head snaps back.
With a shove of his head, he pushes me back, forcing space between us. He doesn’t attack, though. Only defends himself.