Page 47 of Touched

Shit!

“Come here, little Sylph, let us have a taste,” Darren hisses as he swipes at me with his gnarly claws.

“I promise it’ll only hurt at first,” Danny adds, laughing, his coarse voice sounding like gravel.

“Fuck that. I want it to hurt the entire time,” Derek says, grabbing for me again while wearing an evil grin. “Matter of fact, the fairy princess in your arms would be mighty tasty on my tongue as well.” He sniffs the air deeply and leers at her. “If that pussy tastes like it smells, it’s like the ripest of melons.” Tipping his head back he sniffs the air again, moaning. His foul gaze rakes over her trembling body. “Comeon,’ baby. Let Derek have a taste of that sweet, sweet smelling pussy.” Licking his lips, he continues to scour his depraved eyes over Aeris. Thick saliva coats them and drips into his unkempt beard. He swipes at her, trying to pull her from my arms. “C’mere, fairy girl. Come to daddy. Let Derek have a go.”

Rage bubbles through my veins. Pulling Aeris behind me, I keep one hand on her wrist and reach for my gun with the other. Hatred and undeniable fury course through me.

Suddenly, I freeze. I’m not sure what happens next, but between the rage that ignites in my body and the fear I can physically feel consuming Aeris, there’s a shift in the atmosphere.

And said shift isme.

My back begins to burn as if someone is slicing through the skin with a hot, recently sharpened, heat-level-of-Kelvin knife, from between the top curve of my shoulders to just below the shoulder blades. A foreign object painfully pushes through the openings now on my body. I hiss with pain as Aeris gasps.

Heaviness weighs me down as if I’m wearing a Kevlar backpack. The trio of Rougarou have almost completely shifted to their wolf forms and begin to haunch down to strike. Their bodies quiver with intent and bloodlust.

“Wait a minute,” Derek calls out, confusion evident throughout his growl. “Where thefuckdid they go?” he snarls.

Bringing my hands before me, I blink in stupefaction.

What the fuck?

It’s as if I’m transparent. I’m immediately taken back to one of the Harry Potter movies I watched where the wizard kid with the scar receives the blanket of invisibility. But I’ve somehow managed to do this on my own.

How did this happen? What is going on?

“Callum,” Aeris excitedly whispers. “Howdid you do this? Oh hells, have you come into your power?”

My power? Sylph power?

I have power?

I have no idea.

Have I?

“Where are they?” Derek angrily snarls again.

“How the fuck should I know?” Darren heatedly answers, frustration in his tone.

Uh, I’ll have to figure this out… But later.

Right now, Mission: Get Myself and Aeris the Fuck Out of This Apartment is a go.

“I have no idea how I did this,” I answer in a quick whisper. “I didn’t even know Icoulddo this.” Taking a step back, I keep ahold of Aeris, still wrapped in my arms.

“Hold onto me. Tighten your grip. Now,” Aeris tells me. Fluttering her wings, she lifts us into the air. We hover a foot off the ground and the Trahans whip their wolf-esque heads toward us. Aeris promptly flings her hands out in front of her, sending a blast of wind toward the brothers, knocking them back on their asses. They slide across the floor, howling, before slamming into the wall. Plaster falls over them. My beautiful fairy woman rescues me once more, and we fly out the busted door.

Landing in the hallway, she releases me, becoming visible once more as she steps back from me slightly, rubs her hands over her own, and exhales. She glances over her shoulder into the mess of my apartment.

“Whoa,” I call out in wonder. Reaching out, I touch her wrist with my palm. She returns to being invisible. My mouth falls open as I release her wrist and… she’s back, visibly standing before me.

Her eyes widen as she asks, “How are you doing that?”

“Uh, no idea. We’ll figure it out later.” The Trahans groan as they start to move on my debris-strewn floor. I glance over at them quickly. “But right now, I need to get us the fuck out of here. Also, uh… I need to know something.” I jerk my thumb toward my back. “What the fuck happened back there?”

The Trahan brothers stand, continuing to ransack my apartment. They’re completely oblivious to the fact that we’re in the hall.

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