Chapter 19 · Blood Debt

"Sweep the main house. Two minutes. Anything that moves, you put it down."

Marcus's voice cuts through the ringing in her ears. Rena can't move. Cain's weight crushes her into the dirt, his heartbeat gone quiet against her chest. Blood everywhere—hers, his, she can't tell anymore. The silver bullet's lodged somewhere near her ribs, burning, and every breath tastes like metal and smoke.

She shoves at him. "Cain."

Nothing.

"Cain, get up."

His head's tucked against her shoulder, hair falling across his face. The bond thrashes inside her skull—frantic, choking, like something's trying to claw its way out of her chest and into his.

Bootsteps. Close.

She digs her claws into the ground, tries to pull herself out from under him. Her ribs scream. The shift's still half-stuck—jaw aching, spine grinding, bones trying to reshape themselves around the silver. It hurts worse than the bite. Worse than the bloodlust.

Marcus stops five feet away. Looks down at them like he's assessing a training exercise.

"I taught you better than this, Rena."

She bares her teeth. Blood on her tongue. "You taught me to protect people. That's what I'm doing."

"These aren't people." He tilts his head. "You know that.