The Kitten Has Claws

The Kitten Has Claws [Chapter 42]

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Chapter Forty-Two

Too much pain. Hard, black pain that was eating her brain out. Noelle's eyes were watering with the burning sensation that prodded her mind, she could barely remember her name much less what was happening to her. When the torture finally subsided she saw that she was in a weapons room, curled on the floor in the fetal position. She looked around dazedly, trying to put a time and name to the place, but she got nothing.

"Bonjour, mon ami," a sultry, wicked voice cooed from behind her.

She turned around quickly, too quickly, because the room spun a bit before focusing on a dark figure. "What do you want?" she moaned, recognizing Ayumu's wicked grin. He had weapons strapped to every inch of his body, and a predatory gleam in his eyes.

His lips lifted into a mocking smile, "I just wanted to let you know that the Hunters are on their way to attack the estate." He licked his lips and leaned in dramatically, "And, half of them are possessed by demons."

"What?" Noelle breathed worriedly. She took a couple steps away from him, placing her back against a wall of weapons. Moving slowly, she shifted her arm behind her back, keeping her eyes on Ayumu. "What do you mean?"

He raised his eyebrow cockily, "I thought the meaning was quite obvious. Hunters are on their way to kill everyone you love." He took a step closer, keeping his eyes locked on hers. Noelle grabbed the handle of the first weapon she brushed against, breathing an inward sigh of relief when she realized it was a knife. "Some are possessed by demons, so that we can capture you and use you for our benefit."

Ayumu was in her face now, so close she could see the flickering red flame in the center of his pupils. "Personally, I hope to be the one to 'use' you," he murmured.

Noelle gasped in outrage and whipped the knife out from behind her back, pressing it against his jugular. "Hell no."

He chuckled slightly and pressed his neck harder against the blade, drawing blood. "Are you really going to hurt me?" he grinned mockingly. "Little Noelle, injuring a powerful demon, hmm?" She flinched at the sight of blood, but didn't let up on her hold of the knife.

"I'm not messing around," she hissed, "Neither you nor your filthy demons will put their hands on me. Raine and I are married now, you can't do anything to me!"

"Sweetheart," he cajoled, "just because you're married doesn't mean you can't have a little fun with someone else. Besides, you'll be a widow anyways."

Noelle's hand trembled dangerously as she tried to fight past the anger. She really didn't want to hurt Ayumu, but he was pushing her to her limits. "You sleazebag," she growled out. "I should kill you for that."

His eyes narrowed as he reached up and wrapped his hand around hers, pulling the blade off his neck slowly. With a quick squeeze she was forced to drop the knife. It hit the floor with a sharp clatter, echoing in the deadly silence. Ayumu's gaze was fierce as he stared at her with a challenge in his eyes. He knew he was more powerful than her—knew that with a flick of his wrist he could break her neck—he had nothing to fear.

Noelle on the other hand was balancing anger and fear. "S-send me back," she stuttered, hating that Ayumu had such a strong hold on her life.

Ayumu leaned in close to her face and grinned like a madman. "Want to know a secret?" he whispered. "All this power I have—power that Raine can't match—it's from blood." Noelle flinched, but he didn't let her move very far. In fact, he pressed himself closer, whispering in her ear. "If we drink just a little bit of a species' blood, we gain a small amount of immunity to them. The only downside is if we drink too much," he paused dramatically, "we go insane."