Page 18 of Fanged Desire
The other men jerked back, startled by the sudden appearance of this dark, lethal force. I blinked in shock, my captor’s hold on me loosening just long enough to stumble free. My eyes darted to the newcomer, breath catching in my throat.
A woman, lithe and tall and radiating righteous fury.
Hunter.
But this wasn’t the composed, casual Hunter I had come to know. This was something else. Something fierce. And from the look in her eye, something deadly.
The men surrounding me hesitated, clearly taken aback, but not for long.
"Who the hell are you?" one of them spat, his hand darting to his waistband where the glint of a knife appeared. He lunged forward, but Hunter sidestepped with impossible speed, catching his arm mid-strike.
I watched, wide-eyed and terrified, as she twisted the man’s arm, wrenching it through impossible angles until his shoulder popped with a sound that was anything but healthy. The guy howled and the knife slipped from his fingers. Without missinga beat, Hunter shoved the man to the ground, bringing her heel down on his ruined shoulder for good measure.
Before I could blink she was right in front of me, shielding me from the remaining assailants who stepped closer, glowering at the both of us like they hadn’t picked this fight to begin with.
“Back off,” Hunter spat, voice dripping with venom.
One man incomprehensibly froze, his will seemingly folding like paper. A few of the surrounding men hesitated too, arms dropping to their sides like they were caught in a stupor. But others – those with similar charms – tightened their fists and came at her, barreling over at full force.
Another guy lunged with a knife, slashing at her midsection, but Hunter was faster. She dodged the weapon like it was the easiest thing in the world, and kicked the guy squarely in the chest, sending him flying backward. Another came at her from behind, but she ducked, elbowing him hard in the ribs before sweeping his legs out from under him.
How did she…?I backed away, pressing myself to the chain link fence and holding on for dear life as I watched the scene unfold before me. My mind reeled. Hunter was fast – faster than any normal human should be. And strong. The way she moved, the way she fought... it was inhuman.
The others weren’t backing down, though. They swarmed her, three of them rushing at once, shouting in a language I’d never heard before. But Hunter was a blur of motion. She grabbed one by the collar, lifting him off his feet and slamming him into a van with a crack so loud it made me flinch.
One of the guys had pulled another charm from his pocket, a kind of hand-made talisman from what I could catch, and Hunter’s eyes flickered with recognition. He tried to hold it up as if to ward her off, his face twisted in a sneer.
“Stay back, freak,” the guy spat, but Hunter only smirked. In a flash, she tore the charm from his grasp and crushed it in her fist.
Without the charm, the man’s defiance crumbled. He stumbled back, his eyes wide with fear as Hunter stalked toward him.
“You’re done,” she hissed, voice sharp as a blade. He collapsed, unconscious, a dull thud on the pavement.
The fight was brutal – and quick. Over in a matter of minutes.
When the last man was finally down, groaning in pain but somehow still breathing, Hunter crouched over him, ripping another strange charm from his neck.
My heart was lodged firmly in my throat, my body still coiled with tension.
What the fuck just happened?
I looked at the scattered bodies of the men who had jumped me, all of them downed, most of them unconscious. And Hunter, standing tall, her chest heaving slightly, her eyes wild with something unmistakably dark.
I stood by in mute observation as she crouched over each man, one by one. She took her time, removing their necklaces and charms, and murmuring over them in some strange ritual. One guy seemed to have caught her attention and she knelt on her haunches at his side, gripping his chin and tilting his lolling head to look into his eyes.
My brain struggled to make sense of it. Had she just tried to...commandthem? Some of the men had seemed ready to flee, others hadn’t moved at all. And the way she fought – no weapons, no backup. Just raw strength and incomprehensible speed.
My gaze flicked back to Hunter as she got to her feet, stepping over the sprawled man and striding toward me.
“Let’s go.”
She didn’t give me a chance to respond, grabbing my wrist and guiding me through the minefield of groaning bodies.
“Wait, I – how did you…” I started, still shaken.
“We can’t stay here,” Hunter muttered. Her grip was gentle but insistent, guiding me toward a sleek car parked just around the corner. “It’s too dangerous. You need to leave before they wake up.”
“I can’t just leave.” I resisted for a moment, glancing back at the club. “They’ll know I’m gone – ”
