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His hand stills, hovering in the air right next to my ear.

Fuck.

“I told her what would happen, you know. I told her exactly how this would go and she followed each of my directions beautifully,” he murmurs, like he’s telling me a secret. His smile widens into a grin. His eyes brighten with a calculating gleam.

I’m trying to make sense of his words when realization washes over me too fucking late

His words don’t make sense because they’re not fucking supposed to. Not to me. Not to anyone who knows the truth. He’s lying. Making it sound like a taunt while implying Idril set me up.

This fucking asshole! Why?!

“SHE’S NOT-”

I try to get the truth to Dax, but I’m too slow. Varenthrall rips the unit out of my ear mid-sentence, crushing it between his fingers.

Godsdamnit!

Alright, fuck this guy. I’ve had enough.

Dax will be here soon, and he’ll bring backup. Idril’s terror is palpable, eating away at something inside of me and making my instincts spiral. My Alpha snarls, already sick of the games.

Mine. Protect!

With a grin, I give into my instincts and fight.

I twist to the left, throwing my weight back and into the asshole lying on my spine.

Varenthrall must see the shift in my expression. Before I’ve much as twitched, he retreats, backing swiftly out of my way like the fucking coward he is.

The Alpha I shove off me grunts at the impact. I use the momentum to drive him forward, forcing his shoulder into the guard to my right. That one lets out a wheezing gasp as the air’s knocked out of his lungs. His hands fly to his gut and he crumples to the ground.

Now that I have space to move, I surge to my feet.

A third Alpha makes a grab for me, but he’s far too slow. I catch his wrist mid-grab, twist, and snap the bone clean in two.

The scream of pain he releases is fucking beautiful, echoing through the high ceilings like a hymn.

He cradles his wrist where it dangles grotesquely and I toss him a smirk.

This is more like it.

There’s no time to rest. Another asshole comes at me from behind, and I pivot. My gaze zeroes in on the dagger holstered at his belt.

Jackpot.

The moron doesn’t even try to cover his side as I drop to one knee, fingers closing around the hilt, and spin back around just in time to stab up and into the ribs of a fifth Alpha as he lunges for me.

With a near silent grunt of pain, he drops.

My adrenaline pulses. The smile on my face probably looks unhinged, but fuck it. This is why I prefer steel over lead. The deaths are just so much sweeter, every fucking time.

After that, the fight turns into more of a hunt.

With steel in my hand and heat in my blood, I cut down the remaining guards one after another. The air turns thick with the scent of iron, and my boots slip through blood, but I keep on killing, carving a path between me and the only thing that matters.

Idril.

Panting, I sweep my gaze around the room, gauging how many more assholes are left to put down. Varenthrall’s moved halfway across the room toward entryway⁠—