Chapter 9
NINE
JACK
Isee red. My vision is tunneled as I desperately try to maintain my composure so I don’t terrify her by unleashing my full fury.
I stare at the pathetic sack of shit manhandling my girl as I crawl through the now broken window.
The jagged glass scrapes against my skin but I don’t fucking care.
I need proof of wrongdoing in order to feast on souls and if this isn’t fucking proof, then I don’t know what is.
“You?! Did I not make myself clear?” Hans seethes as he watches me crawl through the window I just smashed out. “Get the fuck out of here, old man.”
My eyes flick to the girl he has roughly pinned to the bed—my girl. Her eyes are glazed and tear-filled. The look on her face pleads for help. I may be a monster, but for her, I can be a fucking savior.
“No, I don’t think I will leave,” I state as I step fully into the room. With one final glance at my girl, I let the disguise fall.
My limbs lengthen. My teeth sharpen. Claws unfurl.
Flesh tears and shreds, peeling away to reveal the leathery hide beneath.
Bones crack and snap as my spine elongates and my shoulders widen.
Horns rip through my skull and curve back over my head.
I turn from man to monster in front of their wide, horrified eyes.
Hans’ limp dick flops down as it deflates in fear.
What a sad motherfucker.
My eyes flash to my girl. Her mouth hangs open in disbelief. Her face is tear-streaked and terrified. But even through her fear, her eyelids droop. This asshole thought he could drug and rape my mate and get away with it? I’ve never wanted to fuck someone up more than this sack of shit.
“Help me. Please,” my sweet Snow Angel whimpers, her eyes pleading for me.
Despite me shifting right in front of her, she’s not afraid of me. No, she’s afraid of the man holding her by her hair and trying to take from her what she’s unwilling to give. Her pleas for help make me even more angry.
She is a goddess. My goddess. She should never have to cower. He will pay for what he’s done.
“Don’t worry, litill snaer, you’re safe,” I reassure her.
I want her tears, her submission, but I also want her fight, her fire. I need to make sure she not only feels safe, but that I let her have the justice she deserves.
“Wha—what the fuck?” Hans stutters as I prowl towards them. He uses his grip on her hair to push Elisa in front of him. Pathetic coward. “What are you?”
I cock my monstrous head to the side, savoring his fear. He cowers. What a bitch.
“Release her,” I demand, my deep voice shaking the walls of the tiny cabin.
“You need to get the fuck out.” Hans puffs out his chest as he attempts to gain his composure. It’s laughable. “You’re trespassing.”
“And you tried to shove your sad little cock in my mate’s mouth after drugging her,” I growl.
I let my tongue unfurl and slip from between my lips.
I flick it against the air, tasting his fear.
His eyes widen as he takes in my large, forked appendage.
His fear is rank, like rotting apples. But there’s a hint of something else in the air…
something sweet. My eyes slide to my Snow Angel.
Her gaze is wide as she watches my tongue.
I flick it again, this time in her direction. Cinnamon and sugar. Is she…?
“Do you like that, litill snaer?” I ask her as I approach. My entire focus shifts to her. It’s like she’s the entire center of the fucking universe, pulling me into her orbit without even trying.
“You’re real?” she asks.
I grin. She’s so fucking delectable. The way she’s being held makes the column of her neck lengthen. I want to bite her, mark her, cover her in me.
Mine. The urge to claim her is so strong I can barely resist.
But it’ll have to wait.
“Release her, and your death will be quicker, human.” I turn my attention back to Hans.
His eyes flick between me and my girl, as if he’s assessing his options. Fool, he has none.
“You can have her.” His hand slides into his pocket, and before I can react, he pulls out a knife. He holds the blade to Elisa’s throat, the sharp tip staining red with her blood. “But I’ll be walking out of here unharmed.”
A low growl of warning rumbles from my chest. His hand trembles, cutting her more. Fuck.
“You’ve been a very naughty boy, Hans.” I take a step towards him, and he grabs tighter onto my girl. “You had to know the time would come when you would reap what you sowed.”
“Maybe, monster.” He pulls Elisa up roughly, pinning her back to his front. Her blue dress hangs off her shoulder, the neckline torn and ripped. “But not today.”
With a rough shove, he throws her to the ground. I roar, shaking the shack as I reach out to grab her. She screams as she hits the floor. Hans’ footsteps thunder down the hall as he flees.
“I’m fine,” she whispers as I help her to her feet. “You have to catch him.”
She doesn’t have to say it twice. Without a second thought, I tear from the room like a demon out of Hell.
The hallway is narrow. Too narrow. My shoulders scrape against the wood planked walls but I shove forward.
When I enter the open space of the main living area, Hans is grabbing keys off the front table.
He spins to look at me over his shoulder, terror in his eyes.
“I’m going into town. When the other men hear about this, you will be hunted down and slaughtered. Your head will be hung above the fireplace like the beast you are!” he hurls as if that will scare me.
Lifting the coffee table with a single hand, I launch it across the room. The wood shatters and splinters when it hits the wall above his head. Hans cowers like the bitch he is.
“I am going to enjoy ripping you limb from limb and eating your entrails, human,” I gloat as I step towards him.
He panics, picking up the glass dish on the table, where he just grabbed his keys, and thrusts it at me. It misses my head by a mile, and glass shatters behind me as it hits the wall and explodes.
A fully bellied laugh leaves my lips at his pitiful fight. “Is that the best you’ve got?”
And then my frozen heart turns to ice when I catch sight of the figure behind him. Running into the woods, without shoes or a coat, is my Snow Angel. Her blonde hair glows in the moonlight as she stumbles and struggles through the snow.
What the fuck is she doing?!
My monstrous instincts kick in—chase, hunt, claim.
My eyes snap back to Hans. He’s backed out of the doorway, his eyes trailing back and forth between me and the figure getting smaller and smaller with each second.
She’s about to enter the treeline and head into the forest. I watch as she stumbles, her hand flying out to catch herself and landing in the cold snow.
The drugs are clearly still in her system.
Fuck. I can’t let her wander these woods alone, especially not at night, and absolutely not in the state this asshole has put her in.
These woods are full of ancient and dark things. Myrkvier is no place for humans.
Hans’ lips spread into a smug smile as he takes another step towards the snowmobile. “Me or her, monster. What’s it going to be?”