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Frank tilts his head, barely moving as the boulder flies past him, scratching his cheek, drawing smoldering blood which pisses him off. His horns flare, tips glowing white-hot, and a low rumble rolls out of his chest, a growl that causes the ground to quake.

Flames pour from Frank’s palm, a living inferno that surges over Tek. The stench of burning flesh and pine tar fills the air. Tek screams, a shrill, inhuman screech that makes the marrow inmy bones vibrate. He staggers, blistered, but still tries to charge because monsters like him don’t know how to quit.

Frank moves, flash-stepping like my boy Zenitsu when he KO’s. One hand… more like claw, reaches around Tek’s throat. The sound is wet, crunchy, like someone stomping on a bag of celery. The other grips an antler, and with a vicious twist, Frank wrenches his antler off.

CRACK

Then he slams Tek head-first into the floor, bones cracking with each smash.Fuck…Tek’s body spasms, then goes slack, smoke curling from his skull smashes into the ground repetitively.

“YOU. TOUCHED.HER!”

My man’s voice sounds sinister as fuck. It drips with hate as he continues to smash Tek’s head on a stone, or what’s left of it, anyway. I fist my hands, shook when I hear one last

CLANG

My right arm is free, and I don’t even rejoice. I just place it against my chest, shook, trembling feeling my own heartbeat, somehow horrified and turned on at the same time. Damn, is this really the man who tucks me into bed with sweet kisses every night?

“There!” Duval calls out as the last of the chains fall from my hands and feet. I want to run over to him, but my feet won’t move. My instincts keep me at bay.

Something is wrong…

“Come on, feet!” I mutter to myself, but they won’t move, and I glance up and I see why…

This isn’t right…

And I’m not just saying that because of Tek. Like yeah, he was my friend and all, but that nigga tried to eat me.Fuck outta here with that sympathy shit…

No, I’m saying that because of his aura. He doesn’t feel like the Frank I know. He’s distant…evil.The laugh he lets out is maniacal and villainous. This… what’s he’s doing is cruel. What my heart is aching for is Frank because he looks, for lack of a better word,gone…

I stand there, watching as Tek still wheezes, tries to crawl away surprisingly still alive, but Frank pins him with one boot, eyes flaring, kicking him hard as fuck, smashing his body to pieces with a gleeful smile.

I swallow, taking a step towards him, and his head snaps over to me. His eyes are red, but his pupils are like a goat’s. He glares at me as if to say, “How dare you move while I’m having fun.”

“Baby,” I call out,forcingmy feet to move until I reach him, even though I’m shaking. I crouch down in front of him and by his eyes, I can tell he the man in front of me isn’tmyFrank. Still, I smile bright and lean in to kiss his lips. “Th-thank you for coming to save me, Daddy,” I whisper against them and his body jolts. Suddenly, hands crash against me tight and he lets out a gasp of air.

“Jessica!” he pants, holding me tight, picking me up and I wrap my arms around his neck.

“Baby! You came!”

“Did you think I wouldn’t?” he smirks, but I can tell something is wrong, though I don’t speak on it.

“Nope!” I cheese, running my hands through his hair. “I didn’t doubt it for a second.”

“Oh? And why is that?” he teases and I place my head on his.

“Because one thing I do know is my man don’t play about me,” I say confidently and he chuckles, turning to carry me off.

I barely have time to gasp before my feet leave the ground and my man lifts me effortlessly, cradling me against his bare chest like something precious with one massive hand gripping my thigh, the other curling possessively around my back. His claws graze my skin, but never break it, like even in this form, this feral power, he still knows how to be gentle with me.

I bite my lip, loving the feel of his arms that are locked around me tight. My heart races looking him over, checking for injuries, surprised that after all of that fighting, there’s not a scrape or bruise on him.Wow!

“As long as you know,” he growls low, primal, every word a warning to the world. “No one touches what’s mine,” he declares as he holds me tighter and carries me off like a beast with his prize.I don’t want to be anywhere else.

“AHHHHHHHH! JESSICA IS MINE! I WILL NEVER LET ANYONE HAVE HER!”

I frown, gasping, looking back, and I see Tek pour something on a spear and throw it at me, but Frank casts a fireball at him, making him screech. Just as the spear is about to hit me, Frank side steps and it grazes his side, making me scream.

frank