CLAWS

The nearest creature barely reached him before Jace slammed into it hard enough to send both bodies crashing into the side of a parked car, metal folding inward beneath the impact. Glass shattered across the street as the creature screamed, but the sound barely lasted a second before Jace’s claws tore through its throat. Blood sprayed across the pavement while he drove the body downward hard enough to fracture the concrete beneath them.

The second creature lunged from the side with terrifying speed, but Jace caught it midair effortlessly. One massive claw clamped around its skull while the other tore straight through its chest, and the crack that followed turned my stomach before the body collapsed lifelessly onto the street.

The man restraining me cursed sharply behind me as panic finally slipped into his voice while he dragged me backward against him, his grip tightening painfully around my arm.

“Move!” he snarled while I struggled immediately, trying to pull myself free from him.

“Jace!”

Jace turned the instant he heard my voice, the murderous rage burning in his silver eyes shifting sharply into alarm the moment he saw me still being held.

The creature dragging me took advantage of that hesitation immediately and bolted down the street while dragging me with him. My feet stumbled repeatedly against the pavement as I fought against his grip while enraged growls tore through the street behind us. Then suddenly the pressure around my arm vanished, and I stumbled away instantly, my legs giving out beneath me as I backed myself against the nearest wall, trembling uncontrollably while the creature’s body hit the pavement several feet away with a sickening thud.

The street fell eerily silent while Jace turned toward me slowly, his broad chest rising unevenly as blood dripped steadily from the claws hanging at his sides. Those glowing silver eyes fixed on me, and for a moment neither of us moved.

The thick black fur receded slowly beneath skin while bone cracked sharply back into place, his massive frame shrinking with visible strain as the claws withdrew from his hands. The transformation looked painful even as he forced himself toward me, breathing heavily through it, and by the time he finally reached me, he was fully human again.

His hands lifted slowly toward me, but before he could touch me, my eyes dropped to the blood covering them and I stared silently.

Jace blinked once before a soft scoff escaped him, and he glanced away briefly like he already understood exactly what was running through my mind before meeting my eyes again.

“Don’t stare at me that way,” he said calmly, though his voice sounded rougher. “You also owe me explanations.”

I parted my lips slightly, but no words came out, my breathing still unsteady while my eyes remained fixed on him despite myself.

Jace’s expression dimmed faintly before he let out a slow breath and lowered his hand again.

“Selene,” he said more quietly, “I am not going to hurt you.”

Hearing those words while blood still stained parts of his skin should have sounded ridiculous after everything I had just witnessed, yet some part of me still believed him, and that frightened me more than the creatures lying dead across the street.

“You killed them,” I whispered finally, struggling to steady my voice while Jace held my gaze without flinching.