Clark POV:
You know that saying—out of the frying pan, into the fire?
Yeah. That was me.
And before you roll your eyes like, Come on, Clark, what could possibly be worse than being in the middle of two monsters—one a monstrous onyx wolf the size of a damn SUV and the other a vampire with hands on fire—trying to murder each other?
Because as horrible as that fight was, at least in that hellscape I wasn't the target. Blaze and Reed were locked on each other, ancient instincts and pride and fury pulling their focus. Sure, I was the spark, the tether, the thing in the middle—but they didn't want to kill me. Not really.
Well, apparently that was nothing. Because at least then? At least then I was collateral. They weren't aiming for me. I was… background noise. A pet. A leash accessory.
But here? Where I was taken?
I wasn't background.
I was the main course.
The vampire carrying me finally stopped.
