Page 233 of I Never Stopped Loving You

Snuggs’s vicious growl is all I hear before Vallero’s body goes flying to the side with a giant white blur with teeth wrapped around his arm. I can hear the sound of teeth ripping into flesh as Vallero rolls and tries to dislodge his arm from Snuggs’s jaws.

His screams echo off the trees around us as I watch him rip his arm free from Snuggs and turn to run. He doesn’t get more than two feet away before his leg is gripped and he’s dragged to the floor. Snuggs won’t release his leg unless I tell him to.

The world tilts, nearly sending me to my knees before I close my eyes and center myself to try to get the dizziness to stop. Vallero is still screaming and the sound is making my head feel like it’s being crushed. I just want him to shut the fuck up.

When I look over at him, he’s on his back trying desperately to defend against the snapping jaws of my protector. His snow-white fur is now stained red with blood. My bloodthirsty, fluffy hero.

He backs off for a second before lunging again, grabbing him by the shoulder and thrashing his head back and forth. Blood sprays with each jerk of his head, and Vallero’s screams grow weaker.

“Good boy,” I say calmly as I get closer to them.

He stops thrashing his head, releasing Vallero’s shoulder.

“Off,” I command and he obeys, stepping off to the side of Vallero then glancing at me.

Vallero tries to roll to his stomach, but I quickly straddle his chest and then drop down hard, knocking the wind out of him. He chokes, gasping for air as blood bubbles fill his throat. Snuggs is right next to his face growling menacingly and keeping him in place.

I can feel the blood leaking down my face from my nose and below my eye. The vision in my right eye seems blurred, but a dark object in the dirt catches my attention. I reach for it, gripping the large stone and prying it from the ground. It’s hefty, definitely enough to do damage. I glance back at my knife, which I dropped when I nearly fell from standing. It’s too far out of reach, so the rock will have to do.

“You asked me before who I was,” I snap, getting his attention off of Snuggs.

When he looks at me, his eyes drift to the large rock I’m holding with both hands above him. His eyes go wide as he stares at it. He lifts his hands in defense, but he’s too weak. Snuggs has caused a lot of damage judging from the amount of blood pooling beneath us.

“I’m the one who’s going to end your miserable life,” I growl, lifting the rock high.

“Pl…Please,” he whimpers as he chokes on his own blood.

“Please? Did you stop when Maddison said please?” I ask, and that gets his attention.

His mouth drops open as he starts to stutter. He realizes now why I have him here, and it’s the most beautiful sight. The flicker of hope fades from his eyes when he fully realizes he isn’t making it out this forest alive.

“I saw the photos. I saw everything you did to her. Couldn’t you just accept the divorce and move on? No, because if you couldn’t have her, then no one could. Right?”

“I didn’t…mean to,” he gasps before turning his head and spitting up more blood.

“You did. You knew exactly what you were doing when you stabbed her repeatedly, over and over.”

“No…I,” he cries, but I cut him off.

“You did. I saw the carnage. I saw the previous medical reports of all her accidents. You knew what you were going to do that day. You went there to kill her, didn’t you?” I demand.

He closes his eyes as his body trembles beneath me. He’s lost a lot of blood, and this might not last much longer.

“Say it!” I scream.

“Yes,” he admits. “I wanted to kill her.”

He cries, tears flowing down the side of his face into the blood-stained ground. Snuggs has stopped growling and is now just sitting here next to me, patiently waiting.

“Well, that’s one thing we have in common. When I found you at the bar four nights ago, I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted to kill you, Antonio Vallero. I wanted you to feel everything you did to her, but I think this might be more fitting.”

“Wh…”

With a primal scream, I bring the rock down full force against his skull.

*Crack*

Noah