Page 43 of Property of Blade (Kings of Anarchy MC: Alaska #1)

“Back up, the two of you,” Jasper says, his grin widening, but there’s a dark edge to his words. “Let’s take this into the backyard. It’s nice and secluded back there.”

Blade turns to me, his hands going to my shoulders, his touch grounding me. “It’s going to be okay,” he says, his voice low and soothing, though the tension in his body tells a different story.

Swallowing hard, I fight the fear rising in my chest. I trust Blade, but the situation is spiraling out of control. Nodding slowly, I try to steady my breath as Blade leads me toward the backyard.

Once we are outside, Blade positions himself in front of me, his body a protective shield, his every movement purposeful as if he’s already anticipating the worst. Jasper paces in a wide circle around us as he watches with a predatory glint in his eyes.

“Does she know what you are?” he sneers, his voice dripping with venom. He quirks an eyebrow at Blade. “Did you tell her before you fucked her?”

Blade’s head moves slightly, the muscle in his jaw tightening. A deep growl rumbles from his chest, low and menacing. “If you hurt her, I’ll—”

“You ain’t gonna do nothin’!” Jasper interrupts with a loud, mocking cackle. He grins, and it unsettles me further. “She’s used goods now. I don’t want her anymore.”

His words land hard, each one a blow. My heart races, the pit in my stomach growing deeper with every cruel word Jasper spits.

“Jasper, I don’t understand,” I say, my voice shaking. I don’t know if I’m asking for clarity or trying to buy time.

Jasper’s expression softens as if he’s playing some sick game.

“He should have told you.” His gaze shifts to Blade, and there’s malicious satisfaction in his eyes.

“She has bad taste in men. First, that other fella, you should have heard the way he spoke about her, how she’s disfigured, ugly.

How he thought no one would want her, but she was already moving on with a Neanderthal with long hair.

Didn’t take much to figure out it was you . ”

My breath catches in my throat, the weight of his words suffocating me.

Travis.

His words pull everything I’ve tried to bury to the surface. For so long, I’ve told myself Travis didn’t matter anymore. But hearing them again, through someone else’s mouth, stirs up everything I’ve tried to forget. The hurtful things he said. The fact that Jasper knows makes my stomach churn.

“What did you do to Travis?” I ask, my voice barely more than a whisper, a tremor in it.

Jasper’s smile widens, and it makes my skin crawl. “Took him hunting. Told him he didn’t want to leave Alaska without making a kill.”

“You killed him,” Blade states flatly, his voice stone-cold.

“Yep.” Jasper shrugs, unfazed by the accusation. “Was going to make it look like one of your kind did it.” He scoffs. “By the time I got you out of your house and back to the body, the animals had carried it away. There was nothing left to plant evidence on.”

“Oh my God.” The words slip from my lips, my hands trembling as I clutch my chest, my mind reeling with the horror of what I’m hearing. Tears well in my eyes, and I can’t blink them away fast enough.

“It was you who shot the bean bag at my house?” Blade’s voice is hard, almost as if he’s already calculating the consequences.

Jasper laughs again—this is all a game to him. “Yep. Thought you’d seen me hiding in the woods, but I knew well enough to stay upwind from your kind.”

The cold reality of what he’s saying settles like ice in my veins. “How do you know about my kind?” Blade asks, his voice steady, but the tension in his shoulders betrays him.

“You think you’re the first to come here and hide?” Jasper sneers. “My granddaddy hunted your kind back in the day. He figured out how to mask our scents so we couldn’t be tracked. Exterminated them right out of Alaska. Didn’t you think it was odd that there were none of your kind here?”

The words crash into me like a tidal wave. Granddaddy ? Hunted your kind ?

“Blade, what is he talking about?” My voice is a whisper, panic seeping through my skin. I feel as if the ground beneath me is collapsing.

Blade shakes his head, his eyes never leaving Jasper.

“You don’t want to tell her?” Jasper steps closer, a gleam of malice in his eyes as he levels the gun at me. “How about I put a bullet in her and see how fast you turn into a blood-sucking freak?”

I gasp. Blood-sucking freak? What is he talking about?

To my surprise, Blade laughs. It’s a dark, bitter sound that makes my heart skip a beat. “You think I’m a vampire?” he asks, his voice laced with disbelief and something darker.

“I don’t think, I know ,” Jasper sneers, his finger tightening on the trigger, his gun now pointed directly at me.

Everything happens in an instant, a blur of motion. The air around us feels electric, thick with tension.

Blade’s body tenses, and before I can even react, a low, guttural growl rips from his throat.

He’s not the man I’ve known. In a split second, his body starts to contort, his muscles rippling with power.

His skin shimmers, and his bones crack in a sickening snap.

I scream, my heart racing, but my voice is swallowed by the sound of his transformation.

Blade’s shape shifts before my eyes, his body growing, his form elongating. His face morphs, his features melting into something savage, something primal. Fur sprouts across his skin, and in mere seconds, the man who stood beside me is gone, replaced by a massive bear.

The world seems to slow as I stare at the enormous creature now standing in front of me.

His fur is dark and sleek, his eyes still the same—still Blade, but not.

The sheer power radiating from him is overwhelming.

His jaws snap open, revealing sharp, glistening teeth.

His massive paws scrape the ground, each movement terrifyingly graceful.

Jasper’s eyes widen in shock, but there’s no time for him to react.

Blade moves faster than I can process, his massive body charging toward Jasper.

I watch in horror as Blade’s claws tear through the air, reaching Jasper in seconds.

The sound of ripping flesh fills the air as Blade’s jaws lock onto Jasper’s neck with brutal force.

Blood splatters across the ground, and I feel the weight of it in my chest, my stomach turning.

Jasper’s body goes limp, his gun falling from his hand as Blade lifts him effortlessly into the air, his massive jaws tearing into his throat.

The blood drips from Blade’s mouth, a river of red that stains the ground beneath him.

His eyes— Blade’s eyes —meet mine for a brief moment before he throws Jasper’s lifeless body aside like a ragdoll.

I stagger back, my breath ragged as the reality of what just happened sinks in. The bear that was Blade stands there, breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling with the effort. Blood drips from his claws and mouth, and the world spins faster than I can keep up with.

I can’t speak. I can’t move.

The terror is suffocating.

Blade, the man I thought I knew, is a monster.

And yet, in the depths of my fear, I can’t look away.

It takes a step toward me, and I take a step back, then stumble and fall on my ass. The thing takes another step, and I skitter backward until I hit the fence, but the monster keeps on coming.

Its nose touches my face, and I feel wetness.

“P-Please, d-don’t.” It’s barely a whisper.

My eyes are shut tight as I try to block out the bloody scene, the monstrous bear, the wreckage of Jasper’s body.

I can still feel the horror pulsing through every inch of me.

I feel his breath—hot and heavy—on my face, and it makes my skin crawl.

My tears mingle with the fear, dripping down my cheeks as I try to block out what I just witnessed.

The monster huffs, an almost dismissive sound, and then, slowly, I hear him retreat. His heavy paws crunching the earth grow quieter, and with that, I can finally breathe.

But not fully.

I don’t know how long I stay pressed up against the fence, my body shaking uncontrollably. It could have been minutes, hours, or just a single, endless moment. Time has no meaning when your world is spinning out of control.

Suddenly, a hand lands on my knee, and I scream, the sound ripping from my throat as if it’s someone else’s. “No!”

“Hannah, it’s okay. It’s me, Prophet,” a calm voice says, close to my ear. “And I’m here with Hollywood.”

I suck in a sharp breath, trying to gather my wits. “I-is it still here?”

“No, Hannah, it’s just us,” Hollywood’s voice replies, soothing but firm.

Finally, I open my eyes, but the first thing I see is not comfort—it’s Jasper’s lifeless body, sprawled on the other side of the yard, a grotesque reminder of what happened.

The sight of him sends my body into overdrive, my muscles twitching with the need to flee, but I can’t move.

My body betrays me, and then the sobs come, great, body-wracking sobs that shake me to the core.

My vision blurs, and my chest tightens with the weight of it all as I stare at the mutilated remains of what was once a living, breathing man.

Prophet kneels beside me, his presence is solid. “Hannah, how about we get you inside?” he suggests gently.

I can’t speak. I can’t find the words to make sense of anything. Nodding, I let Prophet help me to my feet, his grip steady, guiding me gently as if I might crumble at any moment. He practically carries me inside, and the world outside fades into a blur of nothingness.

“She’s in shock,” Prophet says quietly, and I can hear the concern in his voice. I can’t look at him. I can’t look at anyone.

“Yeah,” agrees Hollywood, his voice distant as I hear him move about the room. “We’ve gotta warm her up.”

“Go find a blanket,” Prophet adds.

“I’ll call Flint,” Hollywood says.

Prophet nods as he moves me carefully, setting me down on the couch. The softness of the cushions feels like a distant thing, a strange comfort I can’t quite reach.