Page 26 of Claimed By Fangs and Darkness

“We need to take them out quickly, so no one else is alerted to our presence,” Kylo said, in a tone that was rarely used with me. It was all-business, authority that spanned decades. “Remember everything we discussed.”

I nodded. The two guards on the front porch were scanning for us. One was armed with a crossbow, and another wielded a dagger in each hand, weapons no doubt imbued with blood onyx.

A growl ripped through the night.

“Fuck, I’ll take out the beast,” Kylo whispered. He eyed me with hesitation for only a blink before kissing the side of my head.

A large black panther sniffed us out immediately—a shifter in animal form. It barreled for us.

All of my senses heightened at once. I called on my power, channeling every drop of rage I’d suppressed all my life.

I wielded my shadows with control, careful not to allow too much through.

No strange weather,I commanded the darkness.

The glamour dropped. I visualized a shadow as sharp as a blade, like I’d seen Kylo wield before. My mind melded with my magick, and a third and fourth limb sprouted from me.

The shadows shot forward, and with a degree of clumsiness, I impaled the two burly men the moment they leaped for us. One of them clutched at his chest, crimson blooming in the center of his green shirt. The other had been impaled at the throat, and he dropped immediately as he gurgled and choked. I quickly tilted my head, maneuvering the second shadow to finish off the man bleeding from his chest before he could yell.

The shadow sped through the air. My stomach lurched when it sliced clean through his neck, unintentionally removing the man’s head from his body.

Kylo had made his own move at the same time as I had, his shadows lassoing around the panther and snapping its neck. Now he was beside me, barely exerted, chuckling softly.

“They were really sharp! And I didn’t want him to scream,” I hurried out, horrified as I turned toward Kylo.

Kylo laughed harder. “Angel,” he mock scolded. “Absolutely ruthless.” He stepped forward, staring down at the severed head on the bottom of the steps. “Andverymessy. Bad girl.”

His voice was a sinful purr. My body was reacting to his words incredibly inappropriately, given the context.

Or maybe Kylo and I had the kind of sick minds that couldn’t quite tell the difference between sex and violence.

“Cleanup crew will handle it,” he assured me as my lips twisted. “Come on,” he said, still laughing and shaking his head.

I followed him up the steps. A grand marble pillar was now splattered with blood.

Kylo lifted another brow, and I glowered at him.

A voice from beyond the ornate, polished front door startled me. My ears pricked with recognition.

“I’m sure it’s fine, Cindy. Just another false alarm like last week,” Roger called from behind the door. His voice nearly carried the façade of a doting husband, but irritation bled through the cracks in abundance.

Like father like son.

“I heard agrowl!” Cindy’s shrill voice called. “And commotion!”

“Oh no, notcommotion,” Kylo whispered.

I bit my tongue on a laugh.

The door flew open, and Kylo moved quickly to shove a cloth gag in Roger’s mouth before he could utter a sound.

“Roger?” Cindy called, whiny and pathetic.

Like mother like son, too.

We slipped inside, and I closed the door behind us as Kylo kept a dagger to Roger’s throat. The sight of his favorite blade and its spilled secrets pissed me off, but I decided to use that as fuel too.

Kylo had fucked up. But Jacob and his family had fucked upfar worse.