Nobody saw it coming. Not Damon, and not even Voren himself.
One second Voren was standing by the door, and the next his boot connected with Damon's side with enough force to send him clean off his feet and onto the floor in a heap.
The sound of it was sharp and ugly in the quiet room. Voren stood over him, chest rising and falling, and there wasn't a single flicker of apology anywhere on his face.
Damon lay there for a moment, letting the pain move through him in waves, giving his wolf just enough room to start working on it. He stared up at the ceiling and breathed. And then slowly, provokingly, he started to smile.
"So I hit a nerve ha?" He pushed himself up onto one elbow, his voice rough but steady. "Good to know." His eyes found Voren's from the floor. "What, you gonna kill me now? Go ahead. Get it over with. Because I'm telling you right now, I'm not backing off."
