Chapter 125

Ears ringing…

Blind as fuck…

Bones screaming…

Beast raging…

The growl that built in me was deafening. I curled into myself, struggling to hold back the thing inside me. I did my best to regain my composure in the aftermath of the blast, but it was fucking difficult.

Screaming…

Breaking…

Crying…

“Genevieve!” I yelled—was I yelling? Fuck, I couldn’t tell over the goddamn ringing.

“I got her!” Cade’s voice was muffled, but I heard him. That was a fucking plus.

I managed to push off the ground in time to see the light fading from Finn’s body. The kid was the only thing that hadn’t moved in the entire building. Even the ceiling was fucking gone—blown to kingdom come.

And more notably, Sadie was fucking gone.

“Sorry,” Finn said but not a single one of us fucking bothered to reply. It wasn’t the time to deal with whatever the fuck the kid was. Magical? Yes. What kind of magic? Who the fuck knew?

Lane swore profusely as he kicked off the legs of Nolan’s chair. Nolan’s chair had tipped over on the floor with him unconscious. Declan worked alongside him to take apart the entire chair from underneath the kid.

“We need to get him the fuck out of here,” Lane snapped. He yanked off another leg. “He won’t make it much longer if we don’t. Watch his breathing. I need to know if it gets worse.”

“Yeah,” Lucas answered shakily.

Nearby, Cade helped Genevieve to her feet. The minute she was within arm’s reach, I pulled her closer and inspected every goddamn inch of her. She was shaking, visibly distressed, but otherwise physically okay.

“Are you okay?” I demanded.

“Nolan! What about—”

“Nolan is being taken care of,” I interrupted. Grabbing her face, I forced her to look at me. “Are you okay, Genevieve?”

She nodded rapidly, eyes wide as she glanced around the fucking room. God, she was all over the place—a deer in fucking headlights.

“Gabby? Where the fuck is Gabby?” I asked, my head snapping around.

“Pissed off and right here,” Gabby growled. I caught sight of her climbing out of a fucking freezer. “If you don’t fucking kill her, I will.”

“Get your sister out of here,” I ordered instead. I’d deal with her angry ass later if I had to. Right now, I only cared about three things: saving Nolan, getting Genevieve out of there, and killing Sadie.

Nothing else mattered.

“Come here,” Gabby said, her tone significantly gentler as she took Genevieve by the shoulders.

“Get out.” I kissed my wife once—short and simple. “I’ll find you when I can. Cade, with me.”

With that, I walked away. Declan and Lane almost had Nolan out of the chair. I went straight for Finn, shaking him hard out of his stupor.

“Hey!” I asked. “Where did she go?”

“Who?” Finn whispered.

“The hunter, kid. Where did she go?”

“Out the fucking building that way.” Lane pointed over his shoulder. “She’s running because she didn’t fucking count on him. That’s what I’d do with an unknown variable. Regroup and return.”

I started for the door but noticed the way Cade hesitated. He glanced back at Declan, who looked close to having a panic attack despite helping.

“Keep them safe,” I told him. It was better if he stayed. He couldn’t help me if his mind was elsewhere.

“Are you sure?” he replied.

“They need you more than I do right now,” I said. “He needs you more.”

Lips pressed together tightly, he nodded slowly. I could see him fucking struggling with the idea, so I made the choice easy for him. I ran.

I turned on my heel and ran like hell after her.

I caught her scent long before I ever saw her. Whatever the hell Finn had done to her, it sent her fleeing into the next building over. Lavender and lemon mingled horribly with the smell of old fish and blood.

The warehouse was a wide open space lined with tables that led back to a massive freezer. I managed all of two steps into the building before she was on me. The slam of her knife into my side sent a spiral of pain through every nerve in my body. Fuck her and her magical fucking knives that cut straight through my goddamn uniform. She ripped it out just as fast. I snarled as I snatched her wrist when she tried to stab me again. With a sharp twist, I yanked the knife free and ignored it as it clattered along the floor.

The blast had done a fucking number on her. She was bleeding and pissed off. The monster inside me raged, twisting my perception.

Blow for blow, we moved across the room. Anger fueled by loss radiated through me.

Charlotte.

Michael.

The thought of everyone she’d hurt spurred me on.

Nolan.

Genevieve.

Mom.

No more.

No fucking more.

When her boot came up to kick, I blocked her. I didn’t, however, anticipate the blast of magic she put into it. It threw me across the room and right through the freezer door. The groan that came out of me was feral, vibrating off the metal walls.

“Come and get me, Killian,” Sadie taunted from somewhere in the warehouse.

“With fucking pleasure,” I snapped as I climbed out of the steel fucking door. If it fucking hurt, I didn’t feel it. The rage swirling inside me was something else—something wildly intense in a way I’d never experienced before. It threatened to be my undoing.

I got one step outside the fucking door when something wrapped around my neck. Before I could react, it tightened with a familiar zip.

Fuck, she had a catch-all noose.

One strong pull made me lose my footing. I gasped for air. My boots slid on the floor as she yanked me backward. I struggled to grab her hands, knowing full well I wouldn’t be able to. It wasn’t designed to be easily broken.

“You have quite the collection of weapons, but I’m keeping this one,” she hissed in my ear, giving the catch-all another hard tug. “A trophy for killing the biggest pain in my fucking ass.”

The edges of my vision pulsated with black while my lungs burned from the lack of air. I wouldn’t last much longer.

I leaned into the dark monstrosity inside me.

The change was flawless but intoxicating. Fangs, claws, magic. I felt it in every fucking cell of my body. Strong. Powerful. Deadly.

My claws slid under the metal wire, cutting into my skin as I made a fucking opening. While I did, I tapped my heels to activate the dig-ins. One powerful kick and I shattered the concrete. I used the leverage to pull on the catch-all as I righted myself.

A vicious growl rumbled through me as the locking mechanism fucking broke on the catch-all under my power. It slid loose while I rounded on her, baring my fangs.

That look on her fucking face was worth it. Because me? She wasn’t fucking expecting me.

I dragged her toward me and locked a hand around her neck. She was a fucking rag doll in my control as I slammed her down on a table, wood splintering apart. Rolling, she coughed and struggled to her feet.

“What the fuck are you?” Sadie demanded, her voice hoarse.

Fuck answering her.I tossed the table aside, flipping it across the room as if it weighed fucking nothing.

Purple magic shot my direction in an attempt to stop me. It grazed off my skin. I felt the fucking burn, but it wasn’t enough to slow me down.

I refused to stop until she was dead.

Sweeping her scrambling form off the ground, I threw her roughly against the wall. A sick satisfaction rolled through me at the crack of her skull on metal. The blow to my jaw was nothing but a goddamn nuisance. I snarled. With the second hit, I grabbed her wrist and snapped it. That scream she let out was fucking music to my ears. I planted a hand on her chest and pinned her against the wall. She fought against me, but I was stronger in every fucking way.

“It won’t matter,” she whispered with a breathy laugh. She spit blood, but nothing wiped that twisted smile off her goddamn face. “I left my fucking mark. You think your brother will live? Even if he does, he’ll never be the same.”

I tightened my hold on her, pushing her up the wall until her feet were fucking dangling. I felt the way her sternum cracked under my strength.

“And that stupid little wife of yours?” she dared to continue. “You think that baby of yours will survive? I’ll be the fucking reason she broke. I’ll be the reason she wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. There’s not a damn thing you can do about that—”

A shriek cut her off as I dug my claws in her skin. It dissolved into a crazed laugh as she gasped to regain her composure.

“And what about you, Killian?” Sadie whispered, her breath hitching in her throat. “Look what you turned yourself into.”

“That was your mistake,” I growled. “I’ll do anything to save what’s mine.”

When she opened her mouth to say more, I lunged forward and ripped out her throat with my fangs. Hot blood filled my mouth, and I spit it out. A waterfall of blood spilled on the floor as she gurgled through her last breaths.

As her body went limp, I let her go. A deafening roar rattled the warehouse as I threw my head back, feeling myself slip away and the monster inside me take over.