Page 94 of Inside the Sun

I blink in shock. That kid’s got guts! Vito sees him too late, but still swings the butt of his pistol at him.

The hit’s off-center because Sun twists, but the edge still catches him. It stuns the boy enough to send him collapsing to the ground.

That sight fuels me even more.

His attack gives me just enough time to snap out of the fog.

I have to break their hold. I’ve only got one option: I unleash my spikes.

Whipping my arms outward, I flex my muscles. I jerk both of them up.

There’s a sickening crunch.

They are both holding my arms. My spikes shoot upward, punching through their chins and deep into their skulls from underneath. The gurgling sound they make is almost sweet. I pull the spikes back before anyone notices they’re not white like normal purple alpha spikes, but silver.

Vito doesn’t wait. In panic, he grabs Sun, who’s still kneeling, and pulls him tight against his stomach like a human shield, pressing the gun to the boy’s temple.

At the same time, Massimo and Franco hit the ground, face down, dead before they land.

"One more step and I’ll blow his fucking brains out!" Vito screams.

I growl. My voice isn’t human anymore. It rumbles low, demonic.

"You’re already dead. You just don’t know it yet. Step away now and you might have a chance. Don’t, and you’re fucking gone. That’s a promise."

I speak through clenched teeth. I don’t want to give him this warning. But the military taught me to try. Taught me to hold back the kill instinct that floods me when I shift.

Vito snorts. "No fucking way. I’m not backing off. One move and that pretty head goes pop," he hisses.

My eyes lock onto Sun’s.

Those wide green eyes stare straight at me, and I know I can’t let him die. I’ve already fucked up enough; I can’t fuck up this too.

"On the ground," Vito growls. "Hands behind your head."

Fine, I think. Let him make one move, anything that shifts the barrel even a fraction away from Sun’s temple, and I don’t care what position I’m in, I’ll get to him. Alphas are fast, but not faster than me.

"You sick fuck," Vito whines, almost pitifully. "You killed Massimo and Franco, you fucking stinking purple freak, I hate you bastards like dogs!"

I know he never planned for a scenario where I walk out of this alive. So I lower the plates tucked into my supraorbital ridges. At the same time, I feel warm trickles at my fingertips. What the fuck? My claws are out. That’s new. This shit never happened to me during partial transformations, especially not when the spikes aren’t deployed and the change isn’t complete.

Vito doesn’t know it, but I can read him well, I’ve seen it too many times before. Years on the front lines taught me how to recognize it. He’s going to kill me. That decision’s already been made. He jerks his arm up and fires, aiming for my eye.

I dip my head just slightly. The bullet slams into my forehead, the hardest bone in the human body, not just for purple alphas.

It all happens in under two seconds. I know that a point-blank shot like that is going to stun the hell out of me, and Massimo’s only ten feet away, but I also know this is the only window I have to save Sun. I have to survive; I have to strike.

The moment I feel the bullet hit, my body surges into motion.

The window is razor-thin. If I’m even a second too slow, Vito will tilt the gun ninety degrees and press it back to Sun’s temple. I have no room for error.

The only upside is that Sun’s head is about level with Vito’s stomach, so I’ve got a clear shot at the soldier’s neck; his arms are lowered, one just under Sun’s chin, the other holding the gun.

I don’t think I’ve ever moved this fast in my life. The jump is pure explosive force; every tendon, every muscle firing at once. I throw everything I have into the strike, my claws fully extended, gleaming metallic.

My hand slams into his neck. It’s not just a hit, it’s a slice and a charge all in one. I feel my claws tear into his throat, ripping through the larynx, the esophagus, and tendons, until they puncture his spinal cord.

With a guttural scream, I grab it and then another crunch. Vito’s head snaps off.

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