Werewolves Be Damned - By Stacey Kennedy Page 0,37
realized why he’d been so tense, also telling her how bad this challenge would be.
“You’ve got this,” Drake called from the corner of the room with a quick nod of encouragement.
Beside Finn, Haven pumped her fist. “Kick some ass.”
Nexi chuckled, unable to help herself at cute Haven looking so serious. However, when she heard a deep growl behind her, her amusement vanished. The rich scent of woodsy werewolf filled her nose, and her heart hammered.
She spun, instantly facing a snarling wolf barreling toward her. In the same reaction she had with Jaxon last night—before she wised up and killed him—she froze. The memory of the wolf charging her at her house paralyzed her in fear.
A blink of an eye passed before the wolf smashed into her and sent her flying. Before they’d even landed, the wolf’s teeth latched onto her thigh, biting deep into her skin, and she screamed out in pain.
The agony ripping through her snapped into focus and her mind became clear. Her fear vanished and the odd sense of strength she’d experienced last night rose within. How dare he—and the other wolves—strike against those unable to defend themselves?
Drawing on the burn of fear from the night the wolves attacked her family, she fed the fire with the desire for vengeance. She bashed the side of his head and kicked out, hearing bone crack. The wolf howled loudly before he dropped to the floor.
Jumping to her feet, she grabbed the sword from her back in a motion more natural than she expected, and stabbed his chest. The tip buried into his fur, blood pouring from the wound. That wasn’t what bothered her.
How the wolf lay on his side removed a smidgen of the hot anger in her veins. She hadn’t fought anyone but Kyden, and with Jaxon, it all had happened too quickly to realize her own strength. She hadn’t taken the sheer power contained in a guardian into consideration. When she hit Kyden with the force she had used against this wolf, she’d barely hurt him. Now the wolf’s body was contorted as if his back were broken.
“Oh, shit,” she gasped. “I’ve killed him.”
The wolf’s sudden whimper jarred her away from her own personal horror, since the test hadn’t included murdering an innocent wolf, only beating him down. Sheathing her sword, she knelt in front of the wolf. With guilt driving her on, she ran her hand through his fur to comfort him. “Zia.” she called.
Zia knelt next to her, and whispered, “You’re doing well. Actually, I’m surprised at how fast you were able to defeat him.” She rested her hand on the wolf’s head, and he yelped before he shifted.
Nexi blinked at the sight of the man lying on the ground—fully clothed—before her. She was sure her mind was playing tricks on her, but even after two more blinks, he remained. “Holy crap.”
Holten, Master of the Werewolves, smiled. “Outstanding.”
Talon happened to leave off an important detail to this test. She was sure as shit shocked they had put her up against the top dog where it came to werewolves, making her wonder if that’s why Talon didn’t tell her. Would she have agreed? “The test is my fighting against the Council?”
Sitting up, Holten gave his head a quick shake, his dark hair fluttering around his face. “If you can fight against the strongest werewolf in the Otherworld, you can do well as part of the Council’s Guard.” He cleared his throat, his grin bashful. “It’s been quite some time that I’ve been defeated that quickly. Impressive.”
No, actually, it wasn’t impressive. It was the desire for revenge and hot anger that made her fight as strong as she had, but shoving that thought away, an alarming suspicion rose. If she had fought Holten, and she still had to defeat a vampire, did that mean…?
Before she could process the dread of where her thoughts had taken her, the Master of Vampires, Zade flew down at her from the fancy ceiling above.
Vampires can fly?
Her amazement lasted a mere second before he crashed into her and the world, for all of a couple seconds faded away. She landed against the hard floor with a groan, but forced herself not to give into the blackness.
Drawing on every skill Kyden had taught her, she lunged forward with the intent to inflict the same amount of pain onto Zade that he had not so kindly delivered to her. Each hit he offered, she blocked, and moved quickly as she looked for any opening.