Goblin Goo #2
She twirled and worked around a line of goblins who attempted to retreat, cutting through necks and decapitating them with such beauty I was convinced it was a dance and not a fight.
Every move she made Sloan responded to, and every action Sloan took she followed up on.
It was a perfect mix of short and long range attacks that meant both were unbelievably in sync to make it appear so effortless.
Their teamwork was what I aspired to have with Phillip one day.
The pack of wolves made quick work of a large group of goblins, wrangling them into a dense circle.
Sloan and Kris flanked the group and worked quickly to decapitate what goblins they could before the wolves finished off the rest. And in a short span of ten or so minutes, over fifty goblins were defeated.
The ground was practically liquid by the time we finished.
While Kris and Sloan managed to stay clean, the pack of wolves weren’t as lucky.
Their liquid-coated fur was the same as mine.
Basically, a matching set. Honestly, I was just happy not to be the only one covered in goblin goo.
Even when the pack shifted back to human form, they were so completely covered it concealed their nakedness.
Thank Christ for that, because staring at a group of naked Shifters would’ve made conversation difficult. I may be many things—sarcastic, book smart, cleverly tactical—but eloquent with nudists wasn’t one of them.
Phillip panned the group, lips lifted. “Nice of you lot to join us. I forgot that Shadow Goblins are absolutely terrified of werewolves.”
Tiff giggled, twirling. “We’ve got history, us and the goblins.”
“History?”
Topher cut in, surprising everyone. “We nearly wiped out their kind two hundred years ago, so yeah…history.”
That explains it.
“I shouldn’t be surprised you’d wait ‘til the last minute to text,” Kris remarked, her purple hair falling into her eyes. “And all it said was ‘Tied up. Come tout de suite’ which doesn’t exactly explain the direness of over fifty Shadow Goblins.”
“Semantics,” Phillip clapped back, not bothered.
“Having fun, were you?” she asked, her smile all but giving away her amusement.
Phillip’s eyes danced with the earlier glee. “Been a while since I got to use Blood Slayer that much, so yes.”
That would explain Phillip’s earlier excitement, which only solidified my stab junkie theory. Not a great way to start out a partnership with someone. Phillip would be the type to run into a dire situation just to feel alive, and I’d be left to be the adult in the room.
Kris’s brazen look confirmed my internal complaint because she smiled and shrugged. “That’s just Phillip. Sorry.”
“No. I figured my terrible luck would hold out,” I grumbled, causing the other female Hunter to laugh. “But when did you have time to text?” I asked my partner, not once seeing Phil’s phone out.
His smile made me instantly regret asking. “I can teach you—”
“No thanks. I’m good.”
Phillip’s smirk grew more devilish by the second. “I promise to make it a very informative lesson.”
Oh, Christ.
The Austrian’s hand cradled his own chin thoughtfully, one finger tracing his lower lip. Then a second finger joined the other, tapping back and forth in a scissoring motion. I didn’t need to be a genius to figure out what sort of sex act he had in mind.
The worst part was how quickly my body heated with the suggestion. It was quite literally my worst nightmare to be turned on in front of a group of people I knew, and I’d never wanted so badly to sink a blade into the other Hunter until that moment.
Someone grunted, and I didn’t have to look over to know it was Nigel. But after he’d made an outright asshole of himself, I barely cared.
“Again, no thanks.”
Claude, or so I suspected by his voice, spoke up. It was difficult to tell them apart when they were matted down black blobs, same as I was.
“Wait, why did everyone get a text except for me?”
Mia, who was the least covered of the group, slid fingers into her goo-matted hair. “Doesn’t matter. I got the text. I told you, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, but why only you is my question,” Claude demanded, pouting. “I’m also a part of this group.”
“So, the entrance has to be close. This many goblins in one area is a problem.” As if Claude hadn’t talked, Tiff cut in. She wiped her face with a handkerchief Sloan offered her, all starry-eyed and babbling when Sloan made his way back over to Kris.
Phillip watched the blonde Shifter wipe her face before glancing at me before skating his eyes down my body. “We should regroup. Taking on a society of Shadow Goblins is a high order with as few as we have. We’ll need a bigger team of Hunters. Not to mention showers.”
I gagged a little, the taste of dead goblin in my mouth. “No kidding. Will more come?”
“Probably. We should make ourselves scarce until we get a better action plan together. No sense staying right now if we’re dealing with a high number of them,” Phillip responded.
Nigel finally interjected, his powerful body hard to miss in all the muck. “We’ll wait to hear from you.”
The one guy I’d come to rely on before anyone else stood, slightly slouched, covered in goblin death.
He was every bit as tall as he’d always been, but he looked small tonight.
Nigel likely spent the rest of the day reflecting on what he’d said to me, and I was still pretty damn angry at him.
Because, at the end of the day, it was only really him and a handful of others who could ever hurt me so much with their words.
“The girl I knew wouldn’t whore herself out to some guy who was just going to toss her aside later.”
It still sucked balls to think about our argument. It burned at the back of my throat when I thought any part of him thought so little of me just because I had sex with someone.
I may regret what I’d done with Phillip, but not because I gave my virginity to him. I regretted the fact that I thought it would clarify anything. It hadn’t. It made everything a hundred times more complicated. But part of being young was making mistakes.
Nigel looked over to where I stood, clearly ashamed because his eyes quickly fled when I stared back. “We’re here to see this to the end.”
The pack nodded in unison, and then they were gone.
Nigel’s parting statement was aimed at me for a reason, but I couldn’t forgive him so easily. Still, I was thankful he came after our argument like I asked. If not for the pack, conquering so many goblins may have taken a lot longer and required a little more out of the four of us.
Sloan and Kris walked over to the pair of us, both sets of eyes on me. The two Hunters shared a look, and it was evident by their expressions they felt bad for me.
I was covered in thick-as-tar liquid, already drying on my skin. I looked quite the sight. It was beyond embarrassing to be the only one out of the four, but I was used to having the shitty end of the stick these days.
Sloan dug into his pocket for something, but Phillip was suddenly in front of me with his shirt off.
I offered the half-naked Hunter a confused glance, but he ignored it.
Using the shirt he’d only just removed, Phillip wiped my face and neck.
Like we were alone. Like it wasn’t the weirdest thing he could do in front of two other Hunters.
He gently caressed my skin clean, taking special care around my neck and collarbone.
I opened my mouth to lay into him, but nothing came out.
It was awfully out of character for the other Hunter, and I couldn’t deal.
I just stood there and let Phillip do whatever he wanted because my brain had all but shut off the minute his naked chest appeared in front of me and the memories of our night—and morning—together came rushing back.
Phillip continued to remove what he could from my skin with his shirt. “You okay? Anything hurt?”
“Say what?”
“Pain, do you have any?”
I clicked my tongue. “I got that part. But you know I don’t.”
“Don’t know about that. You strike me as the type to pretend you aren’t hurt. It’s okay to tell me. I won’t judge you.”
Now I was pissed off.
“Don’t patronize me, old man. I’m literally indestructible.”
His smile was gentle and by far the most annoying of the night. “Sure you are, V.”
“What are you trying to say right now?” I swatted his hand away from my chest. “Stop wiping me. I can wipe my own damn self.”
“Oh, right, because you’re an adult now.”
I nearly swallowed my tongue, eyes dodging off to the other two Hunters, who looked very close to laughing. “Shut the fuck up.” I evaded his reach and put space between us, heat flooding my cheeks.
“Wow,” Kris whispered to Sloan, eyes on me. “That’s new.”
“Guess I get it now,” Sloan said dubiously, smiling at me when I came to stand next to him.
“But we really should leave before more come.” The Brit held out another handkerchief he’d recovered from his pocket, and I used it to wipe what was left on my face.
“Stay any longer and we’ll have another fifty to battle, no doubt. ”
Phillip stared overtly at me, then at Sloan and Kris as if finally noticing them.
“Good idea. I’ll give you a ring later and we’ll come back tomorrow, daytime, to look for the entrance.
” He motioned to the area around us. “It’s probably very close to here, so we’ll have the advantage during the day. ”
“Let’s hope they don’t relocate beforehand.”
“A nest this size, I doubt it,” Phillip responded, wiping down his blade with his shirt.
I couldn’t help but stare at his chest again.
“But getting the jump on them will be necessary now. I’ll see what we can get in terms of Hunters.
If we find the entrance, we can watch it and snipe any that try to escape until reinforcements get here.
” The Austrian’s eyes flicked over to me.
“No school for a few days while we clean house. This takes priority.”
Licking my lips and instantly regretting it, I nodded. “Got it.”