Page 46 of Her Silent Knight

Kill them all.

“With pleasure.”

Roaring, Kaede lunged forward, releasing his claws as he raced toward the beasts waiting at the end of the hall. They all let out an ear-splitting call that could wake the dead. He stopped one from finishing his call by swiping his claws across the creature’s throat.

His hand came away covered in blood and flesh. The creature stumbled backward, bumping into the other two standing behind him as he clutched his throat. Together, the trio tumbled backward onto the flaming door.

Their guttural howls of pain were music to his ears. The smell of their burning flesh fueled him. He rounded the corner and stepped into the front hall to find two more waiting for him at the front door.

They bared their dagger-like teeth at him and hissed. He’d been around enough of them to know that meant they were pissed off. Probably because he’d just scorched three of their comrades.

Fuck with my mate and you get burned, Kaede thought. Flexing his claws, he strode in their direction. Shredders usually roamed in packs of ten. Three down. Seven more to go. The two standing near the front door would be the next to go.

Though shredders typically avoided fire, they would never pass up the opportunity to have fresh meat. They were too stupid to realize that this ‘fresh meat’ was going to kill them. The never-ending hunger that plagued them prevented them from passing up a meal.

He’d once seen a pack of them devour a poisonous anaconda. Everyone in the Frostlands knew those snakes were poisonous. That pack of shredders died seconds after attacking and ingesting the snake.

Stupid sons of bitches.

Though he was a walking blaze, the idiots refused to run. They refused to leave this house. They’d smelled his mate’s blood. They would fight to the death to have her. What the bastards didn’t realize was that this particular witch belonged to him.

And he’d fight to the death to protect her.

With her lying ass.