Page 7 of Savage Thirst

I snarl and slam my elbow into his ribs. He grunts but doesn't let go, yanking me sideways—harder. Fire streaks across my scalp.

"Careful," Not-Konstantin warns. "You hurt her, Darius will take your head off."

Piotr mutters something in Slavic. Probably a curse or a very creative insult. I don't care.

I can't win this by force, so I go still. Pretend.

"All right, all right. You win," I sigh, sagging just enough to sell it.

Piotr eyes me like he doesn't buy it. But his grip loosens.

Not-Konstantin moves in from the side.

Too close. No room to run. The lake is behind me, down a short drop. Not ideal.

"It's going to be all right," Not-Konstantin says, lifting his turtleneck over his nose as he reaches into his pocket.

I freeze.

No.

I know that smell. Wildbane powder.

He flicks his fingers, releasing a cloud of sharp, bitter dust.

I throw my hand over my face. Too late. The dizziness hits like a wave. Limbs heavy. Vision swimming.

I stumble back. My heel catches a root, and I fall.

Not-Konstantin lunges and tries to catch me, but his fingers slip off my wrist.

Cold crashes over me.

The last thing I hear is Piotr yelling something in Slavic before the lake swallows me whole.

And then—darkness.

Kayden

"Is it time for another Big Brother therapy walk in the woods?" I ask, ducking under a dripping branch. "If so, maybe we postpone it for a night that doesn't feel like the sky's having a breakdown."

"Rain or no rain, it won't change what I'm about to say," Asher replies, calm as ever. Infuriatingly so. "Or are you afraid to get wet?"

I scoff. Snap off a branch as we walk, twirl it between my fingers just to keep them busy. "Lay it on me, Yoda."

I'd be more into the midnight stroll if I thought it was leading to a hunt. But with my monk of a brother, it's always moral lectures and zero bloodshed.

"I know the attacks in the nearby towns weren't from wild animals, Kayden."

He says it like a fact. Because it is.

"Oops." I lift a hand to my mouth, mock-gasping. "Busted."

"We talked about this."

"We did. And I agreed to stay away fromthistown," I remind him.

He shoots me a side glance—the classic Asher disapproval look.