Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

141

Unlocking the door from the outside, Jackson shouldered the door open. Bits of remaining glass that clung to the door's frame loosened and fell crisply to the floor, littering his feet before him. He crunched on the glass as he stepped in, and he peered around through the darkness for a nearby lightswitch.

The alarm had finally finished sounding and the flashing had ceased, so he was solely relying on his heightened night vision abilities to help him find the switch. He narrowed his eyes as a shadow appeared in front of him, and suddenly a light came on in the narrow hall, revealing an angry and stout looking man.

Jackson paused, bringing his hand up to his chest in mock surprise.

"Oh dear, am I intruding?"

The man before him wrinkled his big forehead, a scowl pressed in his features.

"Yeah. Yeah you are. Get out of here if you know what's best for ya," his nasally voice made Jackson cringe. Jackson weighed him with his eyes, figuring he was a good several feet shorter than he was. He had a little extra weight on him, his pudgy belly hanging over the belt of his black trousers even though he had his blue collared shirt tucked in. The man looped his thumbs through his belt holes and cocked an eyebrow at Jackson, waiting for him to respond.

Jackson simply smirked.

"You're not as seasoned as you'd like to think. If you were, you would have recognized the scent of another wolf."

Jackson spread his arms out to his sides, stretching out his fingers. He smiled, revealing a set of pointed teeth. At that moment, the short man crouched and a growl rumbled through his chest, fangs breaking through his gums and cutting into his lips. He was narrowing his eyes at something over Jackson's shoulder, and Jackson followed his gaze. A tall man stood just behind him with a defeated look on his face.

"Where's the other man?" The short man shrieked, his voice muffled by the fangs. Jackson looked between the two of them, confused at first on who they were talking about. He soon realized that it was Link.

"He locked me out!"

"He locked you out. He locked you out?! You're a werewolf with supernatural strength, you idiot!"

Jackson arched an eyebrow, a smirk creasing his lips. This was almost too perfect. Without warning, Jackson swiveled on his heel and brought his elbow back, cracking it against the tall man's nose. He fell to the ground, and Jackson quickly stooped, grabbing him by a fistful of hair and yanking his head back. He twisted the man's body to face his companion, just so he could show his companion just how dangerous and conditioned he was.

He brought his clawed fingers to the soft flesh of the man's throat, ripping his arm in a tearing motion as the claws grazed through the skin. Red hot blood spurted from the wound, the man's eyes widening as he struggled to take his last breath. Jackson dropped his head and the man fell flat to his stomach, unmoving. Jackson rose to his feet, a dark serial killer look in his eyes. Blood splattered the front of his hoodie in various drop sizes, and the man before him lowered his eyes to the stained hoodie before his companion dead on the ground.

"I'm missing something here," Jackson cut through the silence with malice in his tone as he removed his hoodie. He waved it out before laying it flat on the counter. His plain white t shirt hugged his buff upper torso and biceps. "I can paint a much prettier picture with this canvas," he said with a scowl and the smaller man seemed to dig up his confidence he was lacking only several seconds before. He growled and crouched further to the ground before lunging at Jackson, Jackson clotheslining him with the swift movement of his arm. He choked as he stumbled backward, but quickly recovered to charge at Jackson again.