Chapter 71: A Date With Yuki (4)
I reacted on total instinct, reaching out and grabbing the sharp blade of the knife to stop it from plunging deep into my stomach. I shot the waiter a fierce sneer as he pushed forward with all his hidden strength, his teeth gritted as he tried to stab me. I struggled with everything I had to hold the cold metal blade back, my muscles locking up from the strain.
I glanced down for a split second and saw bright red blood already dripping steadily onto the floor. My palm stung with a sharp, searing pain that made my eyes water, but protecting my pups mattered more to me than a bleeding hand ever could.
In a split second, Princess moved. She grabbed the waiter by the scruff of his neck and threw him aside like he was nothing more than a rag doll. He flew through the air and slammed hard into the brick wall with a sickening thud.
"Are you okay?" Princess asked immediately. Her face was filled with a raw worry I had never seen before.
I grabbed her hand and gave a quick nod, trying to assure her that I was fine despite the blood.
"Faye Grande has to bleed. Faye Grande has to bleed."
The waiter just kept repeating those words over and over like some kind of creepy chant. Something was very wrong with him. His voice sounded hollow, like someone else was speaking through his mouth.
He scrambled back to his feet, picked up the fallen knife, and faced us again. His movements were jerky and unnatural.
Princess stepped directly in front of me, her long claws out and her body tensed, ready to protect me at any cost. Just as she was about to lunge forward to finish him...
Yuki moved first.
In one swift, blurring motion, she was behind him. She reached out and snapped his neck with a loud crack. He dropped to the ground instantly, hitting the pavement like a sack of stones.
We both stood there in the sudden silence, staring down at his twisted body.
Yuki turned toward us, her violet eyes still glowing in the dark.
"Don’t worry too much about it. He’s not actually dead. It’s only temporary," she said with a small, casual smile.
"He deserves to die. He tried to kill my pups," Princess said. She was clearly not pleased that Yuki had interfered. Her chest was heaving with leftover adrenaline.
"He wasn’t in his right mind, Alpha. Something or someone was clearly controlling his every move," Yuki replied, kicking the knife away from his limp hand.
"How the fuck do you know that? For all I know, you two planned this whole thing together. Maybe I should just kill you too and be done with it," Princess snapped, taking a threatening step toward her.
"You can certainly try, but you’ll be the one who ends up dead on the floor. Look at him. His eyes were completely dark. He was being hexed by someone powerful," Yuki said calmly. "If you actually want to protect your pups and yourself, Alpha, I suggest you leave this city right now. All eyes are on you. This town hates Alphas with a passion, and they’ll gladly make an example out of you if you stay."
We both looked around at the shadows.
People were coming out of the buildings now. They were staring at us with cold, hungry eyes.
I heard the sound of low growling coming from the dark corners of the street.
"Princess, she’s right. We really have to leave. They all look dangerous," I muttered, pulling at her sleeve.
Then I turned back to Yuki. She was standing there so calmly despite the chaos.
"You saved our lives from him. I don’t even know what to say to you," I said, my voice shaking a little.
"Maybe you should try saying thank you, Yuki," she cut in with a smirk. "And just to be clear, I didn’t save her life. I saved yours. If it was only her standing there, I would’ve gladly stayed back and watched her die."
"I would have killed him myself," Princess said, her voice dripping with venom.
"But I did it first because I was faster," Yuki shot back, clearly enjoying the way she was taunting her.
Princess was absolutely not having it. I could see her muscles twitching like she was going to fly at Yuki’s throat any second. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
I quickly pulled her back by the arm before she could start another fight we couldn’t win.
"Thank you, Yuki. For tonight. And I’m really sorry I lied about everything," I said, looking her in the eye.
"Anything for my fans. I have a lot of them, but you, Faye Grande, you’ll be unforgettable," she said with a genuine smile.
I couldn’t help but smile back at her, completely ignoring the thick tension radiating from the girl beside me.
Yuki reached up, removed her bandana, and handed it to me.
"It’s too bad our date got cut short by all this drama, but here. Take this. It’s something to show your friends back home, and something for you to keep. I’m actually glad to be your very first date, Faye Grande. If we ever meet again, we’ll finish what we started."
She reached out her hand to touch my head, a friendly gesture...
But Princess had finally had enough.
Before Yuki’s fingers could even touch a single strand of my hair, Princess grabbed me by the waist and dragged me toward her car. She marched me over and threw open the passenger door.
"Get in the car," she ordered.
"Really?" I muttered, staring at her with disbelief.
"I said, fucking get in now."
I rolled my eyes at her attitude and got in. I didn’t know what she was so mad about, but I only listened because I could feel the hostile stares of the crowd getting closer.
I glanced back at Yuki. She was standing on the sidewalk, and she didn’t look pleased at all with how Princess was speaking to me.
Princess slammed the car door shut and stormed around to the driver’s seat. She jumped in and started the engine, the roar echoing off the buildings.
She reached over and buckled my seatbelt herself, her movements rough and hurried. Then she rolled down the window for a second.
Before I could even react or say a word, she snatched Yuki’s bandana right out of my hand and threw it outside.
The window slid back up with a mechanical hum.
Then she hit the button and locked all the doors.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I snapped, reaching for the handle and trying to open the door to get the bandana back.
But she had already slammed the car into gear and started driving away fast.
She didn’t say a single word. She just gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles turned white, her eyes fixed on the road ahead as we sped out of the Free City and back toward Oakland.