Page 11 of Fated to the Damned
I may be strong, but I am not well versed in fighting. I wasn’t trained to be a scout or a warrior, and it is showing now.
I crash to my knees, crippled by the vicious wound. The vrakken looms over me, grinning in feral triumph, claws dripping with my blood.
"Not so strong now, are you winged one?" He grabs me by the hair, wrenching my head back to expose my throat. "I'll take back what's mine."
As his fangs descend toward my jugular, my bleary gaze lands on the woman's motionless form. A primal need to protect her surges through me, overpowering the agony.
With a roar, I surge upwards, clamping my hands around the vrakken's head and slamming my skull into his. He jerks back with a roar, giving me the opening I needed.
I hurl him away. He crashes into a massive tree, blood spraying the bark as vines weave up his body to hold him in place. Before he can slide down, I grab him by the throat and slam him back against the tree. His feet dangle helplessly.
Clamping my other hand on his shoulder, I dig my fingers deep and rip downward. Flesh tears like paper, muscle shredding as I carve him open diagonally. Intestines bulge from the yawning wound.
He wails, thrashing in my grip. "Please! Mercy!"
"You showed none to her." I drive my fist into his exposed organs. They rupture under the force, acidic bile flooding the cavity. He chokes as it rises into his throat. I drop him contemptuously to the ground.
He slams his remaining palm into my knee, shattering the one and making me fall. He doesn’t even seem to notice the pain from his eviscerated stomach as he jumps on top of me. "She’s just a human," he grits out, spit and blood bubbling on his lips.
The words only enrage me. I flip us over, getting my foot underneath me as I keep him pinned to the ground. I step on his leg, feeling the bones splinter.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn’t tear you to shreds." When he remains silent, I stomp savagely on his knee, pulverizing the joint completely.
His screech echoes through the quiet forest. As I revel in it, he drives his knee up, knocking me over as my hip dislocates, but no real damage is done. He tries crawling away, dragging his mangled leg. I let him think he can escape as I push the joint back in place.
When he's a few feet away, I stomp on his back, driving him into the dirt. He chokes as I force his face into the earth. Gripping his remaining good wrist, I wrench upwards as I plant my boot between his shoulder blades. The arm detaches with a wet rip.
He screeches, thrashing beneath me. I roll him over and pin his head down with my foot. "Look at me!" I snarl.
His pain-filled eyes meet mine. I grasp his leg just below the knee. "You will not touch another human. Say it." When he just whines, I twist sharply. The limb separates, more raggedly than the last.
He howls, back arching. "I won’t! I won’t touch another!"
I toss the severed limb aside. "Was that so hard?"
To his credit, he swipes at my leg. I am slowed down by my injuries, blood coating my face and abdomen and one of my legs is practically useless. But I’m still faster than him with far less damage.
I haul him up by the hair and slam my forehead into his nose, crushing the cartilage. Limp in my grip, I hurl him into a tree trunk. He crumples at the base, head lolling, face a mask of blood.
One arm dangles by only strings of muscle. He's barely conscious, moaning weakly as his wounds sluggishly knit back together. I will leave him there, satisfied he will never threaten another again.
A soft sound comes from behind me, pulling my attention away from the vrakken – the woman shifting on the forest floor. I turn to see her eyes open, my bite having drawn her back from oblivion.
As her gaze meets mine, something unfurls within my chest. A feeling I have no name for. It steals the breath from my lungs and makes my pulse pound like war drums.
She sits up slowly, pale and disoriented. I stand frozen, unable to look away, torrents raging through my veins. I want to go to her, protect her, spirit her away somewhere safe. The instincts clash with my duty, leaving me reeling.
"Who are you?" Her voice is weak but steady as she eyes me warily.
I open my mouth but no words emerge. Something fundamental has shifted in my core, realigning my world off-axis.
And I have no idea what to do about it.
7
NIKOLAI
I’m still staring at the human woman when I notice just on the horizon the start of sunrise.