Page 14 of Hell Kissed
Is it possible to fall for a complete stranger? Because I think I just fucking fell in love with this murderous asshole.
“I’ll have your head for this!” Kyvain bares his teeth, but it’s a pathetic attempt to make himself seem more menacing. He’s like a kitten left out in the rain at this point.
Aric’s evil laughter skirts down my spine. Inch by inch he lifts Kyvain off the ground until he’s kicking and flailing, scratching at the giant hand collared around his throat.
“Stronger men have tried. And in the end, I still feasted on their eyes like little cocktail weenies.” The deadly man’s threat is odd but honest, it seems.
“No one knows tiny cocktail weenies like Kyvain,” I add, despite my grimace at the thought of what the psycho to my left just described.
A heavy thud resounds as Aric drops him in a heap at his feet. My classmate lies in the mud like a crumpled up wad of paper.
It’s a good look for Kyvain. I like it.
My tormentor surges to his feet with death blazing in his eyes, but Aric doesn’t even blink, let alone flinch. More danger radiates from Aric’s adorably tattooed pinkie than Kyvain’s entire body.
Calvin’s chest is smacked with the back of Kyvain’s hand in a manly gesture that, in previous generations, would have been a summon to stand as second in a duel.
Two against one aren’t bad odds, but Aric’s clearly the kind of man who defies mathematics. Attacking Aric would be suicide, but I won’t say a word if this is how Kyvain decides to die.
Unfortunately, I’m out of time to witness his demise. Moonlight kisses the tops of the trees and the buzz under my skin has grown from a mere itch into a searing need to shift.
I have more questions than I can count, but it seems they’re going to have to wait.
Pain splinters through me.
The deafening howl of my wolf splits my skull with its intensity. Bending at the waist, I dig my fingers into my hair with a silent scream.
The Dark Moon has officially begun.
Chapter Five
Dark Moon
Rhys
Magic lashes out like a wave of chaos.
Kyvain and Calvin both pant heavily as the moonlight washes over them, calling to the wolves buried inside their souls. Twin agonizing cries break past their lips, and Kyvain sends one last angry glare toward Aric.
“This isn’t over,” he threatens, but his voice is rough, not nearly as human as it was a few minutes prior.
“Anytime,boy.” Aric grins with pure manic amusement. It’s scary as fuck. “In this realm or the next.” Pressing on his knuckles, he cracks them like this is some bad eighties mafia movie, but somehow the gesture looks completely natural on him. Like he’s used to threatening people daily.
Maybe he fucking is.
Why doesn’t that make me want to run? The warmth in my chest pushes me to get closer, but the pain tearing at my joints makes me stumble toward the woods while I still remain upright.
Cold sweat breaks out across my brow. A whimper cries from my lips.
Three monstrous steps is all it takes for Aric to reach my side.
He doesn’t hook a finger under my chin all gentle and sweet. He full out grabs my chin, his fingers pressing into my cheeks as he lifts my entire face up to stare into his soulless gaze.
This close, I can see the scar that lines one eye, slashing straight through his brow and leaving a pink, jagged line I want to trace with the tip of my finger. And his eyes. They’re so much more vibrant this close. Hellfire spits at the center of the golden brown irises. I have no doubt this man doesn’t belong here.
They’re like burning comets streaking across a pitch-black sky. Flecks of gold glitter in the dark depths, warming them.
I’m fucking transfixed, even as my body tries to turn itself inside out.
