Page 339 of Light Leech

Her body. Face. Delicate fingers. Slender legs. Carnal passion triumphed over the love that I had felt. I reached for the opening of her dress and used my other hand to raise my shirt.

The body of an enraged Kell saved me from going too far. He slammed into me.

“Focus, Bakuh.”

Zhu ate up the rest of my reserve. My mind cleared for a second as the fix dissipated and anger returned to fuel me. The only reason I could hold any sense was because I understood that this rage was the path towards feeding.

I punched his face, but he did not relent. I punched it harder, using my enhanced strength and knocked a tooth free. I looked to see where it had fallen but felt it embedded in between my knuckles. I had enough sense to hide my next action as I bushed my hand against my bleeding mouth and slid the tooth into it. I chewed and instantly absorbed it to gain another step towards mental clarity.

I kicked him off and stood, but he did not let a second pass before charging me.

I ran to the balcony and stood my ground. I checked over the edge before he slammed into me. We were on the second level but would soon hit the artificial terrain below.

He attempted to strangle me as we plummeted, but the shock of the ground took the air out of the both of us. We had fallen onto a hedge, saving him where I was sure I would have survived either way. Looking up–though it was hard to concentrate with his hands still back on my neck–I saw that the second level was higher than I had thought.

I gave him an uppercut and heard something crack, but he did not let go.

My vision was darkening. I should have been focusing on him, but my attention was fixed on the balcony as more spectators gathered to see what had happened. He attacked first. That was all I needed to confirm the narrative I would give them.

As long as I survived.

At that moment, I didn’t care about breathing.

I had burned my reserve to the end. He might have been enhanced by a wrath-driven fix, but my voracious hunger was more feral and a lion compared to his rat.

I reached inside his jaw and pulled down before he could bite. I ripped it down and felt the tearing of mandibular tendons. My previous punches had loosened enough teeth for me to pry a few free and save them in my hinds.

The quick rip of his jaw distracted him enough to weaken his grip. I kicked his crotch and threw him off.

I crawled a few feet, then stood and with my face away from the audience, I threw his teeth into my mouth and ran towards Ralia’s designated map marker.

I kept my head forward but heard the pounding of his feet as he cried out for bloodlust.

I felt my Bite reserve fill and burned it to surge forward. The sounds of the palace drained. All I could hear besides my breath was the pounding of Kell’s feet and heavy breathing that reminded me of a raging Zhu.

Fake trees extended ahead, but I could already see the cityscape beyond. The property was a small illusion of ancient glory, one that could not fit in this modern world.

My hypermetabolism had digested the teeth. I was still close to empty, but it was enough to function and utilize some of my abilities, should I need to.

I slowed, stopped, then turned back to the gnashing bull of a man who cried out as we locked eyes.

I burned my reserve to dash forward with inhuman speed, meeting him far earlier than he expected with a jab to the throat.

He fell back, choking, but was quick to jump to his feet. He tossed his jacket, revealing large muscles with pulsing indigo-lit veins.

Had I chosen the worst target?

I tried to dodge his punch, but it took me right in the side of the head.

I burned my reserve to regain my focus, then jammed him in the stomach with enough Bite-enhanced force to feel something being crushed within.

He vomited blood onto me, but that did not stop him from swinging again.

His fist collided with my shoulder, just clipping it with enough pain to make me feel some of the rage I had forced upon him with the fix.

I swung at his face, knocking him onto the ground.

I stepped back to recalculate, but he did not let a moment pass. In the second I had to see him before he could charge again, I looked into his eyes with popped blood vessels. Any self-preservation had been replaced with the need to kill. His bloody jaw hung open and as he moaned while charging, I doubted he could close that broken mouth.