Another shot hit close to Zubair, sending up shards of rocks into his face.
Lachlan roared from the truck, busy with three men at once. Alexei was freezing the barrels of rifles and snapping them off. Sera had two men down and was working on a third.
It seemed like no one was watching Zubair.
But Elias was, though. "Don't," he said quietly. "We don't know what it will do."
Zubair bared his teeth. "We know what not doing it does."
His creature had already told him.
He bent.
He grabbed the man by the collar and dragged him closer, away from the open street. The man thrashed. Zubair held him down with one knee.
"Please," the man said again. "Please—"
Zubair forced his mouth open.
There was no dainty bite. No slow sip. He put his teeth into the man's shoulder and tore the meat away. Skin, muscle, blood, cloth. It filled his mouth with heat and salt and iron. He chewed. He swallowed.
