Page 73 of Midnight of Ashes
“She came on to me,” Brent snapped.
It was the wrong thing to say.
I lunged forward, my fist connecting with Brent’s cheekbone. His head snapped back, hitting the wall. He howled in pain as the door flew open.
Maddox stalked inside. “What the hell is going on?”
“I’m going to sue you!” Brent yelled.
Maddox’s gaze jumped from me to the professor and back. “Cáel.” He approached me slowly. “What happened?”
I recognized Mad’s posture, his tone. It was as if he were approaching an injured animal. He thought I was overreacting to some perceived slight.
“He attacked Hayden.”
Maddox froze, his eyes swirling gold.
“He’s lying!” Brent shouted, scrambling to his feet.
“Where is she?” Maddox demanded.
“Knox has her.” Pain flashed through me. The two parts of my soul battled against each other. The need for vengeance, for blood, and the need for her.
My jaw worked back and forth as I struggled to get the next words out. “He hit her. Split her lip. Strangled her. Ripped her blouse.”
“Lies!” Brent shouted. “She came on to me. I was just trying to get her off me.”
Maddox straightened to his full height and turned slowly to face the professor. He stalked forward, each step deliberate, a predator stalking his prey. “She’s half your size. You could shove her off with one push. You sure as hell wouldn’t have to strangle her. Wouldn’t need to rip. Her. Blouse.”
“Y-you weren’t here. You didn’t see,” Brent argued.
“I know that Hayden wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole. And now I know that you’re a sick fuck who’s going to pay for his sins in blood,” Maddox snarled.
Brent’s face reddened. “She’s a slut. She was begging for it.”
Fury swept through me like an inferno. “What. Did. You. Say?”
My dragon shoved at my skin so hard it was physically painful to hold him back. He wanted to end this human, but he wanted to play with him first.
“Everyone knows that she’s fucking everyone who looks her way. Why should I be any different?” Brent huffed.
“I am going to remove your organs one by one, but I’m going to keep you alive while I do it so that you feel every ounce of agony.” My voice had gone completely cold—no warmth in it at all.
Brent paled. But it was too late for him.
My fist struck out again. I went for the temple this time. One carefully placed blow, and he was collapsing to the floor, unconscious.
Maddox glanced at me. “I’m impressed with your control.”
“I did it for Hayden,” I gritted out. We needed answers before we ended this sack of shit. Needed to make sure he was just your run-of-the-mill monster and not someone the Corbetts had set on Hayden.
Pain streaked across Maddox’s face. “How bad was she?”
I tried desperately to shove the images out of my mind. “It wasn’t good.”
“We called the caster,” Pete said, stepping forward. “He’s making some salves to help with her healing.”
“Cillian wants you to bring the teacher to the shed,” Terry added, glaring at the heap on the floor.
