Captive Mate - Eliot Grayson Page 0,29

needed to depend on him for anything but knowing he was most likely to be able to interpret whatever I was not-seeing, but as I opened my mouth, it was already too late.

With a roar of challenge, Tyler leapt forward and slashed his claws at Matthew’s neck.

Chapter 8

Cheats Never Prosper

Almost too quickly for me to follow, Matthew ducked under Tyler’s swipe and came up with his own claws extended, slashing across Tyler’s belly. He connected, but Tyler lurched back quickly enough to confine the damage to his shirt.

Matthew twisted into another attack, more quickly than I’d expected given his bulk, going for Tyler’s shoulder with his left hand. That drew blood; droplets spattered from Tyler’s shoulder, and I heard the faint scrape of claws against bone. Tyler growled in pain and staggered back. Matthew’s claws stuck for a split second, though, and that was enough: Tyler lashed out, raking his claws down Matthew’s extended arm.

Crimson blood soaked through Matthew’s white t-shirt, spreading like ink. Matthew took a step back and shook his head as if to clear it.

When he threw himself back into the fight, his movements were slower. Noticeably slower. And he was still bleeding — he wasn’t healing.

And Parker was grinning, his eyes fixed on Matthew’s blood.

“Something’s wrong,” Ian said at my side. Well, no shit, Sherlock.

He moved as if to intervene, but Nate caught him by one arm and Jennifer dodged in front of me to grab him by the other arm and around his waist. “You can’t,” Jennifer said, quick and low. “You know you can’t. If you get in the middle Matthew forfeits.”

I sidestepped behind Jennifer and closer to Paul to get my view back. Sweat dripped down my spine. Matthew was staggering, keeping his guard up as best he could, but getting his ass kicked. Tyler swiped and swiped again, avoiding getting in too close because Matthew outweighed him by a lot, but doing damage every time. Blood ran in rivulets down Matthew’s arms and stained the front of his shirt.

His reaction time was fucked. Someone was using dark magic to cheat, and if my life and freedom hadn’t been on the line I might have respected them for it, because it seemed to be working like a charm.

“Finish him off quickly, Tyler,” Parker drawled. “Show some respect for the Armitage pack leader.”

Gravel flew as Ian tried to shake Jennifer off, and then Dor lunged forward and caught him by the back of the neck. The Kimballs were smiling, Parker was laughing, and I was poised to run, to try to seize my last few moments of liberty on my own terms — and then Matthew stumbled back out of Tyler’s reach and looked up.

Our eyes met. I’d have expected fear, or rage, or pain. But he looked at me levelly, calmly, like he had it all under control. And then he smiled, just a little bit, and slumped, his arms falling out of a guard position. Like he was too weak to hold them up for even a second longer, or like he was — playing it up for effect.

Tyler fell for it, howling his triumph and diving right into Matthew’s trap, going for Matthew’s neck with his descended canines. Matthew’s right arm came up like lightning, and as Tyler grappled him and bent to his neck, Matthew sank his claws so deeply into Tyler’s side that half his forearm was embedded in Tyler’s guts.

It was one of the grossest, most wonderful things I’d ever seen. For a moment they froze like that, their faces inches apart. Matthew was smiling, a bloody baring-of-teeth. I couldn’t see Tyler’s face, but he started to convulse, and he choked blood all over Matthew’s front.

Matthew jerked his arm free with a hideous squelch, with something that had probably been important to Tyler’s bodily functions clenched in his hand. He stepped back. Tyler toppled like a tree. Matthew dropped whatever he was holding — I wasn’t particularly squeamish, but I also didn’t want to look too closely — onto Tyler’s prone body.

Parker started to shout and jumped forward, Fenwick called out sharply that the fight was over, and the Kimballs leapt forward to pull Parker back. Ian was cheering and jogging forward to congratulate Matthew.

But all of it was background noise to me as I stared at Matthew, who’d gone white as a sheet and was slowly, painfully collapsing onto his knees. He kept his eyes on me the whole time, and I couldn’t look away. He looked