K A Knight - [Her Monsters 01] - Rage Read online

  Grunting against the pain in my soul, I jump from the ledge and let my wings spread, the black feathers blending into the inky blackness of the night sky. The wind flows through my body, as does the adrenaline I always feel when flying. Swooping overhead, I watch the lights below as I land in an alley, my wings folding in with perfect precision while I keep walking, straight onto the street behind the man I was following. Grabbing him around the throat before his bodyguards even notice, I drag him kicking into the alley.

  “Where are you keeping the girls?” I ask silkily, whispering straight into his mind.

  He starts to fight me, his body and mind warring as he tries to come to terms with the fact that, in this alley, he isn’t the biggest monster.

  “What are you?” he demands, trying to stay strong even as his body shakes, and I can smell the fear wafting from him. Smart little sheep, to be afraid of the monster. I don’t care about them anymore than I care about the girls he is keeping and selling, but it seems the council does. For some reason, they have taken particular interest in the crime circle that has popped up in this city over last ten years, and I am who they send. It’s a punishment no doubt, but it is still an order. One I can’t deny unless I wish them to strip my wings...again. The fallen, the damned, halfies...we have many names. The council prefers assassins. Our souls beg to save those in need, a byproduct of my angel father, but my other half, my darker half, wants to hunt, to kill. Half angel, half man. All monster. I know cruelties from both the sheep and supernaturals of this world. No, none of them deserve mercy. Both are evil and filled with the need for power and control. Humans just hide it better.

  Yet, here I am. Helping them, hunting them like the vermin they are. At least I can kill on this job, a perk I suppose. The last time I was only allowed to watch and report back. I’m nothing more than a tool for the council, they hold my fate in their hands, a deal I made a long time ago to save someone I loved, not that it did any good.

  As soon as the contract breaks, I will rain down heavenly hellfire on those bastards, I don’t care if I take this world with me. Something soft wraps around me, as if sensing my spiraling emotions.

  Growling, I push it aside, not wanting to deal with the tug still pulling at me. “I will ask once more, where are they?”

  “You fucking wanker, you think you can just—” I cut off his threat by placing my forearm on his neck and pushing down, his breath stops as he chokes. I let him hang there, between life and death, before releasing the pressure a bit. He sucks in a breath and starts coughing, clawing at my arms pitifully to try and escape. The terror now rolling off him makes me grin, I feed on it like a vampire does blood, I love the taste on my tongue.

  “Where. Are. They?” I whisper out loud this time.

  “Please, I can get you money, I—”

  I press again, but this time I reach down with my other hand, palming a knife and holding it to his junk. “You have one chance to tell me before I make you a eunuch. You will bleed to death in five minutes exactly. Now, when I remove my arm, you will speak.”

  He nods and I release the death grip on his throat.

  “I’ll tell…I’ll tell you,” he gasps out between coughs and I let him, not moving or saying anything. “And you will let me go?” he begs.

  My grin is hidden in my hood. “Yes.”

  “They are held on the south side, dragon neighbourhood. Warehouse 41.” He stumbles away and into the wall, clutching his throat as his eyes dart around the alley, no doubt his bodyguards have noticed his absence, and I’m betting he is thinking they will come and save him.

  I walk towards him slowly and his eyes bug out of his head. “You said you would let me go!”

  “I lied.” I dart forward, blurring to him in my mist form, only to appear right in front of him. “Boo,” I whisper and he screams, making me laugh before I rip out his throat with my bare hand.

  I hear the noise of a gun and footsteps before a bullet rips through my shoulder. Stupid, I wasn't paying attention, instead watching the light dim in the sheep's eyes and loving it.

  I turn to mist again, blurring through the alley and becoming corporeal before the bodyguard on the left. I grab the gun and bend it, throwing the useless weapon at the wall before blurring and appearing behind him.

  I slit his throat and blur again, circling the other man. He’s sweating now, his arm holding the gun shaking as he swings wildly, trying to spot me.

  “I am here,” I whisper into the wind and he swallows hard, starting to back away.

  Laughing, I appear in front of him, our noses touching. I cut from throat to balls and watch as he gasps and screams, the light slowly leaving his eyes as his insides drop to the dirty alley floor.

  Stepping back, I slide my phone from my pocket, walking away without looking. “Clean up, West Side, Street 78 and third. Three sheep dead. Screams heard.”

  The man on the other side starts swearing as I end the call, before sliding the phone back into my pocket. My wings spread from my back and I take a running start out of the alley, swooping into the sky. The tug is still there and as I head down south of the city it gets strong, almost making me fall from the sky with its intensity. I can’t help it. I drop from the sky and stand in an alley.

  I don’t know how long I stay there, caught between the need to hunt and the need to see her. The sky is lightening and it’s early morning when she steps out of the expensive building, home to the rich and powerful and often corrupt of the city.

  There she is. She looks around before sliding into a cab and leaving me here, watching her, wanting her.

  That glimpse is enough, I am lost.

  I am hers.

  My mate.

  Winking at the reception boy on the way out, I step outside to catch the cab a businessman is about to get in. Grabbing the door before he can, I throw my bag in the back. I hear him winding up for an argument and I look over at him and grin. He stutters and steps back with a small smile.

  Humming to myself, I slide in and shut the door on the bewildered looking man. “Downtown, please.” Picking up the papers I found in the safe, I flick through for something. When I find what I’m looking for I grin. “546 Rosewater Way.”

  “Nice neighbourhood,” the old, chubby man comments as I lean back in my seat.

  “True, maybe I’ll stay there awhile.” He offers me a confused look before pulling away from the curb.

  I spend the journey flipping through the documents, my grin only growing. It seems my dear husband has been a naughty, naughty man. Hell, they might even kill him for me if I show them this, but no. I want him to suffer first. First step: love life. Second step: money. Third step: job. Fourth step: kill him. I write it on a bit of paper, underlining the kill him section with an evil looking grin on my face.

  Relaxing back in the seat, I close my eyes while we fight through mid-morning traffic. Nos’s eyes flash in my mind, starting a burning low in my belly. The heat seems to rise in me, pulling a hunger through my body that scares even me with its intensity.

  It feels like I’m burning up, and I start to sweat and my palms turn clammy. My stomach clenches and every flick of air over my skin is pure torture. I don't know how long I’m locked this way until the cabbie interrupts.

  “We’re here miss, £20 please,” he says, looking over his shoulder at me.

  Nodding shakily, I throw over the money and slip from the cab on wobbly legs. The hotel stands in front of me. The guy I’m coming to see chooses to stay in hotels for weeks at a time before moving to another, claiming it’s safer. It’s exactly what I need. Stumbling into the lobby, I ignore the bustling of everyone else and concentrate on the elevator. It just leaves as I get there, and I don’t have time to wait for the next one. Leaning my head against the cool metal, I turn to the side to see the stairs. Groaning, I push away, the heat turning up a notch until it feels like my head might explode.

  Staggering through the door I throw myself at the stairs, gripping onto the railing and pulling
myself up. Panting the whole way, with my vision blurring, I reach a landing as the door opens, and what looks like a room service waiter comes through counting money. I fall into him and we go crashing into the wall.

  He looks angry until his eyes lock on me, then they heat quickly and he grins. “Well hello there, you didn't need to fall into my arms to get my attention,” he flirts. He's good looking and touching him is cooling my skin.

  Something guides me, something I discovered in the forest. It whispers that it will help, tide me over. Willing to try anything to get rid of this inferno, I scale his body, his hands spanning my ass to help me, and cover his lips with mine. He groans into my mouth, fumbling to chase me as he kisses me. It’s a good kiss, but still not enough. Pulling away with a pained moan, I kiss down his neck, nipping as I go. Needing more skin, I run my hands under his shirt and onto his chest.

  He yanks my head back to his, covering my lips, and it's like something clicks inside me and I know what to do. At the same time, I feel more hands on me, the new ones burning a hole through my body and calming me like nothing else. The heat retreats and the pain leaves as my darkness unfurls inside me, clambering up my throat until I’m sucking from the waiter. He freezes and shakes while I feed on his very soul.

  “That's right. Take what you need,” a familiar voice murmurs into my ear, as a soft kiss is dropped onto my neck. I shiver in need and push back into a hard body. “Good girl, feed,” he murmurs again, and I do. He whispers sweet nothings to me before kissing me again. “Okay, now pull away before you kill him.”

  I ignore him and snuggle deeper into the human, and the hands on my back grip my sides. “Dawn, stop or you will kill him,” he warns, but he doesn't sound too bothered. But the word ‘kill’ enters my mind, and I drag my mouth away as the hands and hard body disappear from behind me. Stumbling away, I fall onto the steps, out of breath and dizzy from feeding, as Nos called it. Blurrily, I see a tall man standing over the pale-faced, wilting human, with fury like I have never seen emanating from the man. I don't see horns, but I know it's him even if I can’t make out much detail, my eyes still foggy. Licking my lips, my head lolls to the side to see Nos step into the man.

  “You touched what is mine,” he rumbles, as the lights flicker in the hallway. The human shakes and cries, opening and closing his mouth like he can’t speak. I see Nos starting to change, getting bigger and thicker as the lights flicker out completely. Those glowing eyes are the only beacon in the dark. I hear a gurgle and then nothing.

  “Nos?” My voice is slurred.

  A petal soft wet kiss lands on my forehead. “I am here, Little Monster. Be good.” Then the warmth disappears.

  Slowly, the lights flicker back on and I lean my head back as my eyes start to finally clear. Blinking, I stare at the bloody scene before me. Looks like my monster had some fun—I grin. I should care but I don't. I’m done pretending to be something I’m not.

  There on the floor, in a crumpled pile, is the dead waiter, his eyes open and unseeing, and not two feet away is his bloody heart. Around it is a crudely drawn blood heart.

  I giggle, snorting as I stare at it. Nos is crazy but it warms something inside me, something I thought was too broken to work again. Pulling myself to my feet, something starts to move in my body. Ugh, not again. Grabbing my bag, I pull myself up the stairs to the floor I need and stagger out, falling into walls as I try to stop the change. A trolley rams into me, sending me sprawling and I see the waiter run from around it, an apology on his lips, but I can’t talk. He pulls me to my feet and I grab the lid covering from the trolley and smash it into his head, knocking him out. Looking around, I spot no one—shit, that was sloppy. The service elevator he came from is still open and I quickly push him inside. Tying him up with the covering from the trolley, I shove a roast potato in his mouth so he doesn't scream when he wakes up. I strip fast as the change comes over me. I writhe on the floor, but the process is quicker this time and when I push myself to my feet and look in the mirror on the back wall of the elevator wall, I spot the dead waiter from the hallway. Well, I was going to flirt my way in but this works too.

  Stripping off the other waiter quickly, I get changed and stuff my dress in my bag, before pressing the hold button on the elevator so they won’t find him for a while. Sauntering back out as a man, I wiggle my hips to try and sort out the feeling of a penis between my legs. Damn, how do they walk with thing dangling between their legs? Peeking in my pants, I grin.

  “Mazel tov, dude. Nice cock,” I whisper as a room door opens. I close my pants and grin at the lady giving me a weird look. I wink and she giggles. Grabbing my bag on the way, I push the trolley down the hall, hunting for the room I need.

  Aha, thirty-four. Knocking on the door I wait, shifting to try and jiggle the cock. I really need to try windmilling it, I’ve seen so many men do it and it looks fun. The door opens to reveal a bored looking man with no shirt on, just black trousers. He glances past me, his hand in his pocket obviously clutching a gun. He nods and gestures me to come in. I push the trolley past him as he shuts the door. He turns to face me and I smack him on the head with the covering. Damn, this thing is handy. He goes down but is still awake, shit.

  Diving onto him, I pull the gun from his pocket and pistol whip him. I knock him out and I sit back as the change comes over me again—shit, it lasted longer than last time at least. Crawling to the side, I groan and wiggle as I shift back. Laying on the cream carpet, I pant into it, my body weak and hardly able to move.

  I don't know how long I lie there for until my stomach stabs at me, making me curl up into a ball. It comes again but with an accompanying growl this time, and I realise I’m starving. Not just hungry, but actually starving. Crawling to the trolley, I pull myself onto the bed and sit in front of the food. Fuck yeah, steak, pasta, and chips. I don’t bother using the knife and fork, I rip into the meat. Demolishing the steak until I fall back on the bed with a sigh. Fuck, I’m still hungry. Grinning, I roll towards the side table and grab the phone, dialing for room service.

  “Front desk, how may I help you?”

  “Yeah, I’d like a chocolate cake, a full one, with ice cream please. Just put it on my bill. Room thirty-four.” I put the phone down and look back at the man. I guess I better do something with him, I could kill him, but he might be useful.

  Moaning again, I get up and force myself to move him. I bite my lip as I come up with a plan. Bending over, I brace my hands under his arms and drag him to the bathroom, not even breaking a sweat. Once I’m in there, I lift him up and dump him in the tub before going back to the room. Using two pillowcases I tie his feet and hands to the tub handle, and grabbing the robe from the wardrobe I stick the waist tie in his mouth.

  Stepping back to eye my handiwork I nod, perfect. Wait, I shut the shower curtain so no one can see him and saunter away, exploring the rest of the suite.

  I’m just shrugging into the robe and slippers when there is a knock at the door, strolling there, I let in the waiter who delivers the cake.

  “Fuck yes,” I hum as he stands awkwardly, obviously wanting a tip.

  “Ah, one sec!” I grin, darting into the bathroom. I take the dude’s wallet and pull out some cash. I pocket some, but I give the guy a generous tip and wink.

  He grins at me and looks around before walking backwards. “Let me know if you need anything else, anything at all.” I smile and sit in front of my cake until the door shuts. Then I grab it and devour it.

  Laying back on the bed with chocolate fudge cake smeared around my mouth, I laugh when the man in the bath starts screaming.

  The air shifts next to me and I roll from the bed, landing into a crouch, a hiss on my lips as something rushes up inside of me and takes over. It’s like before, but there is no shift and no hunger, more like the power, it’s defending me.

  I spot the man cloaked in darkness, and nothing registers as I push off the floor and leap at him. He catches me mid-air and brings me to his chest, holding me like a cla
wing kitten, and before I know it, the primal side of me which has taken over is rubbing on him like a cat in heat.

  My power retreats and I’m left looking at a beautiful man. There is something familiar about him, the look in his eyes, the hands on my arse, holding me to him.

  The eyes are a deep green, not white, and there are no horns, and his body is less animal, but it’s him. Long brown and blond streaked wavy hair is parted on either side of his head, his deep emerald eyes are framed by black lashes longer than most women’s. High arched cheekbones and a square jaw covered in a stubble frame pink plump lips. He was right, his human side is appealing, but I miss those eyes.

  “Little Monster,” he rumbles, that same deep voice from the forest.

  “Nos,” I moan and throw myself forward in his arms. He loses balance and twists mid-air so he falls back onto the bed.

  He keeps his arms wrapped around me as we land and still doesn’t let me go while I hover over his prone body.

  I search his face before slowly reaching out and caressing his cheek. He closes his eyes and sighs. “I’m still tired,” I admit, confused.

  “You are new to all of this, I keep forgetting. Your body will require twice it’s normal sustenance and rest because of your rapid shifts.”

  “So, basically I need to eat and sleep more,” I murmur and his lips turn up in a smile.

  “Yes, only for now. When you get stronger the strain will be less.”

  I nod and keep stroking my way around his face, mapping it.

  “Now, Little Monster. Is there a reason a man is tied up in the bathroom? Did he touch you? Do I need to kill him?” His eyes shoot open at the word touch and I feel his body turn solid under me, like a statue, as his eyes flicker between green and white. It makes me lick my lips, remembering his mouth on me and his hands in the stairwell.