Chapter 34

Ren tried to scream, but the sound was swallowed by the blood that was flooding his mouth. With his mouth hanging open, he looked down and saw the large open wound that was in the middle of his stomach. The blood oozed from the cut. He was mesmerized for the second that was frozen in time.

He drooled. The red opaque string of saliva dripped down his chip and fell to the darkness that made up the forest floor.

The Hound tightened its mouth around him. He tried to scream once more and again it was lost to the sickening gurgle in his mouth. The Hound dragged him down to the ground and his limbs were weak with shock and pain.

The sharp splinters of pain shot through him. The large teeth of the Hound cut like hot metal and seared his skin just the same.

Ashton shot through he darkness. He jumped onto the back of the Hound. Neither of them had any weapons. Ren thought weakly about his switch blade that he'd hidden away in his bedroom, hoping that hold bury some of his problems.

Ashton punched down at the Hound's snout. He missed the first and second time, the Hound thrashing its head as it tried to get Ashton off of them. Ren was a bundle of fiery nerves. The shots of pain awoke the thing once more and he was overtaken.

The third time Ashton didn't miss. His first struck the Hunter down between its eyes and on the bridge of his snout. The Hound let go of Ren and whined as it was repeatedly struck in the face. Ashton clung to the Hound as it tried to throw him off its back. He gripped the Hound's thick hide and kept hitting it any chance he got.

Ren wasn't thinking when he sat up. The pain shooting through him froze him for a second, but the thing relished in it. The pain was just as powerful as a taste of blood was. Ren's gums throbbed and he couldn't stop his fangs from coming out. The smell of the Hound's blood was the most disgusting thing he'd ever smelled, yet, the thing was so out of control that it didn't care.

Under the things control, Ren ran at the Hound at full force. The searing pain in his gut was a throbbing spot in the background. He sunk his hands into the Hound's thick fur, gripped the course fibers, and sunk his teeth. It was like ripping through vinyl. His jaw ached and his fangs were throbbing under the pressure he was putting them through.

As much as he wanted to gag, the thing had much better control over his body than he did. It pushed down the bile waiting to be spilled.

KillKillKill

Soon, all Ren could think about was killing. The disgust settled into the back of his head and all there was left was the unsettling need to shred things apart.

Blood filled his mouth. It was like oil, slimy and hard to even keep in his mouth. But he was encouraged by the howls of the Hound—the screams of pain that were combined with the agony he felt coming from it. Ren pushed his fangs as deep as they would go, ignoring the unsettling ache that made him feel like they were going to be pulled right out of his skull.

The Hound was thrashing harder, swiping at him with its large paws. Ren screamed into the Hound's fur as he was repeatedly hit, but that only made him clamp down harder. He pulled his head back as he pushed his hands. He felt the rough skin pulled back, tearing from the Hound.

He was bashed with so much pain and misery that he was almost floored by it. If it wasn't for the thing being in control, he would have passed out.

He spat the chunk of flesh blindly out. The blood was smeared all over his face, but he didn't think twice about it before he went back for a second piece. He ripped the second chunk out with no problem, but when he turned his head to spit it out, Ashton was thrown off its back and it snapped at Ren.

He threw his arm up at the last second. The sacrifice was worth it in the end because if he hadn't it would have ripped his throat out.

Ren gritted his teeth as its teeth sunk down to the bone.

Its red eyes locked with his.

He couldn't read thoughts, but at that moment, he felt like he could.

This Hound knew him.

That one look created a black hole in Ren's universe. He was staring down into the Hound's red eyes, no longer wondering just why it was here, but why the Hound knew him.

But he second was lost when Ashton stepped in front of the two. Ren felt him—not just with the new power he had but he just knew where Ashton was all the time now.

The Hound looked up, breaking the intense stare between the two of them.

"Eat! Shit!"

Ashton brought down the large log hard on the Hound's head.

The large animal swayed and tripped over its own feet on its way to the ground. It let out a high pitched whimper that would have made Ren feel bad for it if it hadn't been trying to kill him just a moment before.

Ren watched as the Hound fall on its side. It struggled to get up as it neck was bleeding, but Ren could already see the tissue patching up.

They were stronger than the last time they'd come into contact with them. Bullets nor ripping out their throats was going to stop them.

"Let's go," Ashton eerily said.

Ren looked away from the bloody mess in front of him and tilted his head up to look at Ashton. He was standing above Ren, still holding the log. He was godly in that moment. With his cheeks flushed a dark pink and his hair disheveled, he looked like someone straight out of a Renaissance painting.

Ren gaped, not able to move because he was enraptured in Ashton's beauty.

"Holy shit," he choked out. Ashton looked down at him with a quizzical was look. "You're really fucking strong."

Ashton snorted and shook his head. He threw the log away. "That's the first thing you say?"

Perhaps it was silly, but Ren wasn't fucking wrong. Ashton has bashed the Hound's in like he was playing wack-a-mole. How the hell was Ren supposed to just gloss past that?

He was just thinking about what else would get Ashton so flushed when the Hound let out a growl.

Ashton didn't have to tell him twice to get out of there. Ren jumped to his feet and immediately regretted it.

"Ah, fuck!" He doubled over.

Ashton was at his side, pressing his hand lightly to Ren's back without being asked.

Ren ground his teeth to the point that they felt like they were going to shatter under the pressure. He heaved as the pain came hurling back. It was no longer chained beneath the thing's rage. Unleashed, it was wreaking havoc across Ren's body and mind. Tears ran down his face, but he didn't sob. He wasn't crying. It was just that he couldn't hold back the emotions any longer.

Everything he'd felt during the fight was coming to the surface and his body couldn't handle it. His mind couldn't handle it.

"Can you move?" Ashton was stiller there. He hadn't left.

Ren was thankful for that. Even if he hated Ashton—hated the Mantels—he was glad that Ashton hadn't left him behind.

And even if he was only saving Ren because of the deal they made, he was still thankful.

Ren opened his mouth. He could feel the Hound regaining its strength. It was still partially in his head—he didn't know any other way to describe it. It was there with its intrusive feelings and emotions that made it too hard to listen to his own.

But he just knew that he needed to get out of there.

That thing was here for the Hunters. It wasn't even here for revenge or to slaughter anything that it could get its hands on.

It was after him.

And the others ones were on their way.

He let out a little puff of air. He struggled to fully stand up straight, not with the large gash in his side. This was way worse than the bite in his shoulder.

This was like the Hound had gutted him and trailed his insides out to the forest floor.

The blood had turned sour in his mouth. Ashton held him—loosely and delicately like he was afraid that his strength was going to snap Ren in two. Ren wasn't going to admit that he felt exactly like that nor was he going to refuse the help that Ashton was offering him.

He might regret it in the future if Ashton decided to use it against him. He wasn't sure how that would work in Ashton's favor—or what he would want in return—but he just knew that Ashton would find a way to manipulate any of Ren's weaknesses.

The Hound was moving again. The warmth of Ashton's hand settled some of his nerves. But the rest of what remained of his calmness was dashed away when he heard the sounds of the Hunters heading in their direction.

"Fuck." Ashton turned his head to the right and then the left. He shouldered most of Ren's weight.

Ren coughed as he tried to put on a smirk, but it came out looking more like a grimace.

"You're strong enough to sling around a fucking tree trunk, but you can't carry me?"

Ashton didn't look down at him. He held Ashton close as he dragged his almost limp body hopefully in the opposite of all the chaos.

"Have you not heard of adrenaline?"

It was supposed to be snarky Ren guessed, but neither of them were in the right mind to be teasing each other.

They were going to die if they didn't get out of this fucking forest. And it was all Ashton's fault. Everything was Ashton-fucking-Mantel's fault.

Ashton was still strong. He was pulling almost all of Ren's weight and he wasn't exactly light. Ren tried to pick up his feet as much as he could, but he was quickly losing his strength. He hissed as he looked down at the deep bite on his side. He wasn't a fast healer. He was lucky that the bite on his shoulder hadn't been as bad as it could have been.

That was the only time that he was glad that he was part vampire. It would have been a bitch to stay in bed for months while he healed.

This time was far worse. His insides were starting to mend, the agonizing feeling of his flesh stitching together invited more pain. He felt the thing twisting inside of him, but it was staying under. It wanted to continue to fighting yet for some reason it was fine with being locked away for the moment.

Ren really didn't understand what caused it to go out of control. He didn't even understand what it was or why it was affecting him.

But if the Hound had been any indication, he believed that the Hound had recognized the thing inside of him. Was that what the Hound was after?

Was he fucking possessed?

At that thought, a shockwave of red hot pain shot all over his body. He cried out, clutching his side as he went down on his knees. Ashton held him up as much as he could, but he hadn't been prepared to catch all of Ren's deadweight.

Ashton frantically pulling Ren up, holding him tight against his side.

"They're coming. We have to go." The panic in Ashton's voice didn't help to calm Ren's racing heart.

"I know," he weakly said.

We're going to be killed because of me.

For a second, he thought about just giving up right there. He was sure Ashton would be happy to leave him behind, to sacrifice him to the Hounds and the Hunters. If it wasn't for the deal they made with each other, maybe that would have happened.

But things weren't like that. They were tied to each other.

Ren forced himself to keep moving. He felt Ashton's eyes on him, but he didn't want to see the judgement in them. He was weak. He knew that. He didn't need a reminder.

Ashton looked away and Ren only had a second of relief before he find out what Ashton was looking at.

Ren looked at him then. He saw the deathly angel—the vampire that had been like a fever dream in the forest. He also saw the hidden monster, the thing that he'd been afraid of when he looked at himself in the mirror.

Ashton's eyes hardened.

Ren turned his head.

The Hunters.

The two men were standing over the body of the fallen Hound. They had it pinned down and were gutting it before it had the time to recover.

And the woman—Remy—had her guns pointed at him and Ashton.