Werewolves Be Damned - By Stacey Kennedy Page 0,34

truly frightened her, but that only fed her rage. She fought him as an equal and dug deep to offer him the same force he offered her.

Soon, though, she weakened, and he appeared to grow stronger. Her hits didn’t cause half the impact that they had, and her body exhausted. She delivered a high kick to his chest, and he retaliated by sending her ass first to the ground.

Struggling with herself, she didn’t want to walk away from this, but she couldn’t take anymore. That last hit left her dizzy, and everything ached. Sure, it wasn’t his hits that had caused her injuries, it had been her falls to the ground or her slams into the wall. But she couldn’t overpower him. He had her beat, and dammit, she knew it. Staggering to her feet, she snarled, “Go fuck yourself.”

“Trust me, Álainn.” He stood, breathing heavily, sweat glistening across his chest. “In that capacity, I work much better as a team.”

Scowling at him, she spun away. She only managed one step before he stopped her with a gentle grip on her arm, which made no sense considering how rough he’d been moment’s ago. “Nexi—” he murmured.

She jerked out of his hold. “Don’t you say a goddamn word.”

“Listen–”

Lunging at him, she smacked her hand over his mouth. “Not one fucking word, Kyden.”

With a reaction she couldn’t believe, he smiled beneath her hand, and her anger quadrupled. Before she could blast him one, he stepped forward, quickly placing her over his shoulder.

He chuckled. “Come on, you.”

She pounded on his back. “Put me down. Right now.”

“Umm…” He hesitated, striding out the Guardians’ Hall door. “No, I don’t think I will.”

“First you beat up a woman, then you kidnap her.” She hit his back and fought against a vice grip of an arm around her butt. “Such a gentleman.” Maybe the ‘beating up a woman’ was a bit harsh, since she did ache more from him blocking, and things like floors and walls, than any hits he inflicted.

Not like she’d point that out now, she was too busy beating the hell out of his back to even bother looking where they were going. His grip never loosened, but at least she’d cause a bruise or two. He deserved that.

Laughter suddenly erupted around her, and even so, she remained too pissed to give a shit. Her only focus now: getting out of this caveman’s grip.

After she delivered a few more wicked thumps to his back, he grunted, then lowered her from his shoulder. “You can stop that now.”

She got right in his face. “If you ever do that again, I’ll—”

“Turn around.”

Spinning on her heel, she discovered that not only Talon stood in front of her in the Council’s Foyer, but Drake and Zia were there too, all eyes on her. Before she could stop herself, she snapped, “What?”

Zia glanced over her from head to toe. “You have some injuries.” Before Nexi could retort with a Wonder why, and a death look at Kyden, Zia added, “Here, let me help.”

The second her fingers wrapped around Nexi’s, heat shot up her arm and tingles—almost like pins and needles—rushed through her veins, all throughout her body. But in the places that ached the most, she noticed a slight sting, even if it only lasted a second.

When the magic disengaged, Nexi exhaled, giving her body a little shake, realizing all her discomfort had vanished. Maybe she even seemed a little more energized now, as if Zia had given her a couple shots of espresso. “That is beyond strange your magic can do that.” She stretched out her fingers and confirmed that all her aches were gone. “But handy. Thank you.”

Zia smiled. “Anytime.”

“Now then,” Talon said, commanding her attention. “Kyden told us last night he thought you were ready for the guardian trials. ” He looked to Kyden. “You wanted tonight to be sure, so what’s your verdict. Is she ready?”

He nodded. “She is.”

Everything about their whole exchange made her head spin and she fought to catch up, giving her head a firm shake. “Wait. Ready for the what?”

Talon turned to her. “To go through your final tests as a guardian. If you pass the trials, you’ll join the Council’s Guard. If you fail, you’ll become a shield.”

Again, like usual, it seemed, what had come out of his mouth made no sense, and for some reason they expected that it would. Of course, her mind still hadn’t caught up, and now she realized she’d be wrong…again. “Wait a damn minute.”