Page 32 of Primal

“Exactly. You’re a goddamn riot to hunt.”

And to stalk. No need to tell her—unless she ends up in my basement someday.

“With that bargain-bin mask?” She snickers. “Couldn’t even commit to being a badass slasher, huh? Also—watch for tree roots, really?”

“Wouldn’t want you to trip before the fun even started. As for the mask—”

“Ohmygod.” She leans in, eyes sparkling. “You actually stabbed that guy.”

“He’ll live.”

She gives me a look. “You’re not gonna get in trouble?”

“The Verge’s got a ‘no lawsuits, no questions’ policy. Besides”—my teeth graze her earlobe—“guy was handsy with what’s mine.”

“Kade.” She swallows. “You wanna know why I came here?”

I already do. I’ve read her texts. Seen the way she bites her lip, scrolling through Brett Tanner’s Instagram at 2 am.

“I just went through a bad breakup. And I’m—”

“Looking for a distraction,” I cut her off. “Got it.”

Her fingers trace idle patterns on my stomach. I catch her wrist before she can drift lower.

“What? Scared I’ll find your ‘power’ button?”

I nip her knuckles. “You already pressed it.”

She rolls her eyes, fingers skating down until they graze the jagged slash above my hip.

I go rigid.

She doesn’t notice, too busy tracing the scar’s raised edge. “Did you get stabbed or something?”

“Belt buckle.”

“Kinky.” She snorts. “No, really, how’d you get it?”

I could lie. Feed her some bullshit.

The truth spills out instead. “My mother wrapped the pickup around a goddamn pole two blocks from our house. Lucky Max called me from her phone. He was bleeding out in the backseat. Used my belt as a tourniquet.”

“Oh, God. I’m so sorry, Kade.”

“Mom wasn’t. She was fucking wasted.” I laugh. “Hell, maybe she even did it on purpose.”

“You think she—”

“I think some people don’t deserve to have kids,” I snap, rolling off Payton.

She sits up. “That’s why you stay. For Max.”

I don’t answer. Don’t have to.

“You covered it up,” she murmurs.

I smirk, hollow. “Some monsters don’t get tragic backstories. Just glow-in-the-dark paint and a cheap mask.”