surge around me, their fists raised and weapons ready to shoot. With a snarl, I rip through the first, flinging him away before I grab the second and punch him in the face repeatedly as blood sprays and my knuckles split. Grunting as something hits my side, I slash his throat and turn to the last man with a narrow-eyed look. He gulps nervously, but he still comes at me, impressing me slightly with his tenacity. I snap his neck easily and then step over his corpse as five more men take their place.
I glance over to check on Remi, knowing she isn’t likely the type to ask for help. My eyes widen when I spot four bodies on the floor around her as she slashes at a fifth who’s trying to back away.
Smirking, I turn to face the others and crack my neck. It’s time to show them what a skinwalker can do besides shift skins. I let that power flow through me, the kind I never really use or rely on unless the circumstances are dire because it’s addictive. The darkness and strength of it made me become a monster, like the ones I hunt now, but tonight, I use it to protect my mate as much as myself.
My claws slide through my skin, slipping between my knuckles, the long black talons sharp enough to cut through flesh and bone. I let a burst of power break free, and it knocks the first one back while the second one screams, taking the full brunt of it. I smirk as I watch his skin start to melt, his body and muscles too, liquefying with horrific shrieks as the others look on. I use that to my advantage and slice them to pieces until only limbs remain around me. Panting, I bounce on my toes, ready for more, needing it as adrenaline pumps through me.
I feel my face slipping and yank it back on, not wanting her to see the real me. I’ll need to change soon. I’ve used so much energy while in this disguise that it’s corroding away. What will happen when I change though?
I’m distracted when she dances around me. “Duck,” she yells, so I do, but a moment later, I hear the click, and she snarls and throws us both behind the sofa as an explosion rocks the room. Her hair hangs around us, her black eyes locked on the sofa like she can see through it. A snarl tips her mouth where fangs now protrude over her luscious lips. Her body also seems different, longer, taller, and skinnier. But fuck, the beauty in the danger of her has me hard as hell, even in the middle of a fight. She looks down at me, ordering, “Stay here,” and then leaps over the sofa.
“Stay here,” I mutter with a snort as I get to my feet. “Not a chance.” I grab the back off the sofa and jump over it too, pressing my back to hers as more of the council’s lackeys stream in. They didn’t send a few or even a team. They sent them all, including the fucking fallen to kill us. They want us dead and clearly don’t care how it happens.
They aren’t playing, but neither are we.
Reaching for the first man, I touch him and then step past as his scream begins, his skin sloughing from this body. I touch as many as I can before I start slashing with claws, losing myself in the rhythmic movement. Bloodlust rages through me as I rip and stab over and over again. The adrenaline pumping through my body, my racing heart, and all the good feelings I get when killing returns.
When it’s over, I’m panting and staring around me at the corpses, fighting the urge to attack, to carry on.
“It seems the council wants us both dead now,” I snarl.
She’s breathing heavily, holding the machete in one hand and a knife in the other. Her naked body is covered in blood from head to toe. Remi’s hair is wild and her chest heaves, and an excited smile curves her lips. Bodies are spread around her feet. Fuck, she looks so beautiful, and too goddamn deadly, like a warrior queen riding into battle, covered in the blood of her enemies. I can’t resist. I stride towards her, grab the back of her head, and kiss her hard. She groans and bites my lip before throwing me backwards. I sail through the air and land on