and tear off into the sunset. But I tried that once. Running doesn’t work. The shit-storms always track you down—
Lily’s got one of my MC strung up on her scorpion tail. Another’s torn open at her feet. And now she whirls to face me. There’s no shock of recognition when our eyes meet.
Just ruthless, murderous intent.
The All Encompassing wants my blood.
Lily’s glowing so hot I have to lift a hand up to shield my face.
Some dumbass with more snout than sense leaps at Lily and fucking bursts into flames before he even touches her. Lil raises her head to the sky and roars a challenge.
A wall of gunfire opens behind me.
The End of Days Chapter of the Pureblood Predator MC is settling in for a fight.
Shit’s getting out of hand.
A hundred or more Purebloods are raging for the kill. I scent their bloodlust. Their…wildness. I have no idea who most of them are. Not my MC, that’s for fucking certain.
First things first.
I call the rest of my wolf, drop to all fours and run at Lily, expecting to feel her unnatural heat sear into me. But I get to within biting range and there’s no heat. Huh.
I nip at my bloodmate’s neck. She ducks right, lashes down with her scorpion tail. I step to the side. The tail smashes into the ground. Lily growls, uses her wings to hop ten feet in the air and drop at me.
She feels…slow.
Like she’s moving through mud.
My reflexes are lightning fast.
My wolf’s roaring, nose scenting the wind. There’s prey nearby.
This upstart bitch needs to learn what real apex power is.
I lash out with my claws. They slice into Lily’s flank, not deep but enough to slow her. She responds by snarling and opening her jaws. The blast of shimmering white heat she releases makes the Harleys around us glow red hot, then the gas tanks ignite and suddenly we’re enveloped in a thundering fireball that rolls into the sky.
The heat doesn’t harm me.
Lily pauses. Scratches the ground.
Her head dips a quarter inch. A tiny gesture.
But my wolf senses it.
Hesitation. Uncertainty.
The Pureblood pack has us ringed in. I see Nash’s wild-eyed hyena and Blue the Kodiak and my bro Tate all pie-eyed smoking a giant bat and—
Mia ?
Fucking hell.
The shit-storm of my life just got upgraded to hurricane.
Boom. Lily’s on me, snapping for my throat. A moment’s distraction was all it took. Her fangs sink into my fur deep enough to make me howl and her claws rake into my belly and for an instant I think she’s going to gut me. I manage to twist to the side and dodge her spiked tail. That fucking thing. I feel like strangling her with it.
Then the thought hits me.
What if Lily’s animal doesn’t yield?
I’m powerful enough to murder her. Even if she is a Risen. At least now I am, with her pack gone and her creature uncertain of her rank in the world.
What if my bloodmate keeps attacking?
Self defense.
I’d fucking do it.
I’d murder her to save myself.
To survive.
The truth makes me numb with sadness. What did the sick motherfucker Vuk say? That we’re cut from the same cloth, him and I. Two apex predators whose only concern is survival.
I laughed him off.
But maybe he was right.
My wounds heal up faster than ever. I leap at my bloodmate, land on her back, let my weight carry her to the ground. Lily howls and thrashes beneath me. The fires burn bright. I sink my teeth into her back. Lily looses a pained moan. Her stinger slams into my side, just in front of my hind leg. The pain makes me chomp down, through fur and muscle and sinew, until my fangs rake against Lily’s spine.
Lily’s front legs buckle.
A roar of triumph rises from the Purebloods surrounding us.
They think I’m going to murder her.
Feed on her heart.
They’re right.
I’ve had enough of this bitch. Nothing but drama since day one. And I’m still pissed at what she did to—
A low growl escapes my lips.
Lily’s blood’s driving