Addict (Hunter #2)(90)

I was natural, the end product of a lone wolf and his one love. My father’s instincts lay in my DNA, and I called on them when I had nothing left.

I stopped and breathed in the air around me. I don’t smell like a wolf. They can pick out a single scent from a landfill. I don’t have that power. What I have is instinct. I’m not sure why, but I turned to my left and began walking. “Jamie’s this way.”

“How can you be sure?” Gray asked.

“I just know.” Jamie is my brother. We might not share a biological father, but Jamie is in my pack. When I close down the human parts of myself and let the she-wolf have a little sway, I can find my pack.

“Kelsey, your skin.” He was staring down at my exposed forearm.

Yep, I was getting used to frostbite. “It’ll heal once we get inside.”

I’d taken a nice cocktail right before going to Gray’s. Donovan had insisted. I will state now and forever that royal blood is a trip, and I was absolutely certain it would heal the damage once I got somewhere I wasn’t being bombarded by ice shards.

We tried to run, but the wind picked up. Naturally it was coming in from the very direction we needed to go. Gray pressed on, his demonic strength pushing us through.

I was almost sure we were to the end of the drive when I was pulled back. I screamed out as something infinitely cold wrapped itself around my ankle and pulled. When I looked down, I saw a creature dragging me back.

Snowmen. The bastard had sent crazy, creepy f*cking snowmen after us. I was so never telling my niece about this.

“Kelsey!” Gray screamed.

I glanced behind me and could see Gray struggling in the arms of some kind of big-ass white creature. It was at least seven feet tall but it could have been bigger. It blended in with the snow, meshing with it until I almost couldn’t tell where it ended and the storm began.

I shot at my snowman.

The bullet went through and he simply kept pulling me back toward the house.

I tried kicking and clawing. Nothing. He was solid ice and nothing worked on him. I wished I’d thought to bring a blowtorch with me.

One crazy f*cking snowman became two and then three. They surrounded me, the winds howling when they opened their mouths. One stared down at me. There were hollows where its eyes should be, but it seemed to have no trouble seeing me. When its mouth opened, I saw sharp teeth. Ice as fine as any blade. Those teeth were razors and I wasn’t sure what would kill me first—the cold that was making everything seem to slow down or those murderous teeth.

There was a pop and suddenly one part of me wasn’t cold anymore. My shiny demon arm seemed to have a built-in heater.

The snowman who had been holding my newly red arm howled, and when I looked at him, I saw those cold hands that had held me were melting like the sun was shining down on them.

“They can’t handle demon skin, Gray!” I shouted over the winds as I punched at the snow * with all the teeth.

He shattered the instant I touched him.

Snowman number three ran.

I struggled to my feet. There was no chance that I was coaxing my arm back to normal. I didn’t care how freaky I looked. I kind of loved the hell out of that arm. I was warmer than before, stronger. My she-wolf and I worked in tandem as another wave of the things came after us. I wasn’t afraid of them now. Now they might be strong, but I wasn’t helpless against them.

I kicked at one, thrusting him back while I shattered the second with my hand.

Up ahead, I saw Gray in the middle of an army of monsters. His fancy shirt was in tatters and he was trying his hardest, but it was easy to see he was losing.

There were big spots of red on his exposed chest where the blood had frozen on his body as quickly as the wound had opened.

“Gray, you have to change!” I shouted as I shoved my clawed hand into one of the creatures.

It shattered, sending shards of ice exploding through the air. I dropped, covering my abdomen and torso. Anything else I could heal quickly given the king’s blood inside me.

It struck me that once again, the king’s blood was boosting Gray’s. It would be days before Gray’s blood was out of my system and until then, a good dose of Donovan would bolster it, making it super strong.

But we were surrounded. No matter how strong I was, I couldn’t take them all out myself. A mountain of winter surrounded us as I made my way to Gray.

“You have to change,” I insisted, driving back one of the bigger monsters.

“No.” Gray’s eyes were shining violet, a sure sign that his body knew what it needed to do. I could see the beginnings of his horns blooming through his dark hair, but he was a stubborn man. “I don’t want you to see me like that.”

And vain. He was quite vain.

A blast of cold punched over me and I turned, taking out another monster with a swipe of my arm.

It wasn’t enough. I needed Gray.

“We’re going to die if you don’t change.” While my arm was feeling all toasty and warm, the rest of me was kind of going to shit and fast. My legs had turned a nasty shade of purple. “I’m not going to be able to walk soon, Gray. I have to get somewhere I can heal.”

His eyes closed briefly, and I could practically feel his pain. He didn’t want this. He didn’t want me to see him as a monster.

When he opened them again, his eyes were as dark as obsidians.