• 𝓢𝓮𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓱 •
I was going to fucking kill the two guys she drank from, then I was going to kill Titus for making her. Then I'd kill Doyle for the fucking fun of it after he watched Mae kill his fucking son.
One of the three men holding me tightened his grip, and while I'd love to rip his fucking hand off, I was too busy watching Mae. Two minutes ago, she looked somewhat scared. Now? She had no emotion on her face. It looked like she was taken over by someone else completely.
I liked it.
She lifted her foot and rolled her ankle - something that should have still been healing with how young of a vampire she was.
Either Zero was ignoring it, or was too stupid to notice the change in her. Because he puffed out a laugh and went for her again.
If he hurt her I'd kill him. Or...I'd help Mae kill him. By the look on her face, she needed to do it.
One of the guards gripped me tighter, as they usually did when Zero went for her. I didn't bother looking at the other three. I wasn't worried about them. I assumed Kite was busy seething at his father and his comment about how malleable Mae was between worrying about whether or not Mae would win this shit. Noah had been training, but he would be next to useless without his powers. Luca was silent, but I assumed he was watching.
But honestly I didn't give two shits about what they were doing. The moment the fuckheads let me go, I'd break their fucking arms for forcing me to my knees and then I'd go for everyone else's fucking throats.
Zero moved with an experience I hadn't even known he possessed as he twisted and threw a fist straight at her stomach. She didn't move for a moment, but then she stepped out of the way at the last second before spinning and slamming the heel of her foot into his sternum. He coughed and slid back, clutching the obvious dent in his chest.
I raised an eyebrow, my eyes finding her again. At the way she held herself. She still had no emotion. She just stood there, staring at him, her arms loose at her sides.
He went for her again, and once again, she moved out of the way at the last second, turning and bringing her elbow down hard into his back, knocking him to the floor.
What in the world? She'd been training, and she was better than she had been in the beginning...but this was something completely different altogether.
He grabbed her ankle and pulled, throwing her to the ground. She gritted her teeth, then opened her mouth to say something, but Zero bit into her leg. He caught the foot coming towards his head and ripped off a chunk of skin from her calf with his teeth.
She didn't even scream.
I finally looked at the other three, and they all had varying degrees of shock on their faces. So it wasn't just me.
Kite looked at me, and he shook his head. He was confused.
I attempted to shrug but soon-to-be-handless had a death grip on me.
Really, why did I need three guards?
'Because you have a habit of wanting to commit mass murder,' Titus answered in my head. 'And I'm not risking it.'
I looked directly at the mind reader. 'Tell him one more of my thoughts without my permission and you'll be on my list too, you piece of shit.'
The mind reader blinked, then looked back at Mae, a frown curling her lips. I wondered if she'd listen. I wasn't big on killing women, but at this point the itch was so bad that I didn't care who it was.
Since no more bullshit came into my head, I assumed the mind reader decided to keep that little tidbit for herself.
I looked back at Mae and saw her leg had already healed itself, the once bloodied skin now smooth with just a smear of red where the chunk had been taken from her.
Soon, Mae had the upper hand. Her fists flew at Zero, punching him without ever breaking a sweat. Her eyes and expression never changed. She looked almost...bored. Even as Zero started to attempt to back away.
"Now who's running?" Her voice was quiet over the sound of Zero's grunting and fists landing on a hard body, but everyone heard it. How emotionless and dead she sounded.
If what Zero said was true and he did drink from her children...it should have been punishable. Children - especially the ages hers were - were not to be drunk from. The effects of our bites weren't meant for children.
'He didn't,' Titus's voice answered in my head. 'But it'll be investigated regardless...if he survives.'
I turned and looked back at the mind reader, who did everything she could to look at anything but me. Apparently she didn't learn her lesson. Titus was strong, and likely would offer her protection. But something we learned the hard way with Mae was that it didn't matter how close an eye you kept on someone...there was always a break.
The mind reader's eyes flicked to me, then away, her frown deepening. Maybe she should focus more on the thoughts going through Zero's head than what I was thinking about.
There was a cough and my eyes immediately zeroed in on Mae, at the way she gritted her teeth, the first emotion showing on her face since the fight really started. Pain.
Why was she in pain?
I followed her eyes to where Zero's hand was. Or...where it would have been if it hadn't been for the fact that his hand was inside of her chest. He was bloody, his nose and mouth covered in the red, thick liquid. And he was pissed. More so than I'd ever seen before.
What in the fuck happened?
I attempted to stand, but two guards put more pressure on my shoulders and kept me down, even as a slow, evil smile grew on Zero's face.
Blood poured from her chest and her eyes flared the brightest red I'd ever seen.
How-
She pushed against his hand, forcing it deeper within her chest cavity as she raised a fist. She bared her fangs, taking in Zero's sudden shock for only a moment before slamming her fist into the side of his face so hard that the sounds of bones breaking and Zero's choked scream was just as loud as each other.
Mae's eyes widened, and she looked absolutely feral. Blood spurted from her mouth as she pushed even further, throwing her other hand against the other side of his face.
I couldn't stop looking at her. At the righteous anger on her face, glowing in her eyes, and the way she pushed through the pain of Zero's hand in her chest.
Zero fell back against the floor. And in his hand was her heart.
I struggled again, pulling away from the guards' grasps. My eyes were on her heart in his hand. But they were too damn fucking strong and pulled me back.
"Mae!" Kite yelled.
Zero, even with his face broken, grinned wickedly.
If he crushed it, she'd pass out. And she'd lose. He didn't want her to die. He wanted her as a trophy.
He squeezed his hand and she cringed, clutching her chest like her heart was still in there. Then she did the strangest thing of all - she pushed her hand into the closing chest cavity, raised her foot, and kicked Zero's wrist so hard that it broke, the bones breaking through the skin from the force.
My mouth opened and I looked at her again. At the way she knelt and plucked her heart from his hand with her free hand and stuck it back inside of her.
I've never loved her more.
I paused, my eyebrows furrowing.
Wait.
I was saved by those foreign as fuck thoughts when Mae threw her foot back, kicking Zero in the head so hard that his body jerked before going limp.
She turned, then pulled something familiar out of the pocket in her pants.
My knife.
I stared at it wide-eyed before she turned and slammed it into Zero's chest. Over and over and over again, her eyes still a bright red, her mouth pulled down into an angry grimace as his blood sprayed onto her.
And then a fucking guard was there, pulling her off of Zero and taking her powers. The red behind her eyes died, though the angry expression never left her face as she tried to stab the guard.
I chanced a look at Doyle, and the scary fucker stared straight at Mae, murder in his eyes.
'You can tell Doyle that if he so much as tries to touch her,' I thought, knowing the mind reader could hear, 'I will kill him myself.'
Both Doyle and Titus looked at me and I flashed my fangs. I hoped his fucking son was dead, the pathetic piece of shit, and I hoped he fucking tried me. I'll rip his goddamned heart to shreds and fucking feed it to him.