I made it down another aisle of gravestones, and when I knew the coast was clear, I sprinted through the maze toward the exit. A scream lodged in my throat as a giant body slammed me to the ground. I pushed at the man wearing all black and a skull mask. We rolled around, fighting to overpower the other. I didn’t have a chance because of my smaller size, but I still tried. The man rolled me onto my back, and I barely had enough time to see some of his mask lift before he slammed his fist against my face. My nose cracked, and I screamed as pain shot through my face. He landed more blows, undeterred by my grappling hands.
“Dimitri,” I groaned, tasting blood in my mouth. “Dimitri!”
Screaming his name was futile, but I found solace in doing so. If the last thing I did before I died was to call his name, I hoped he’d make them pay if he ever found me—dead or alive. Which scared me because that was unlike me.
A distant roar echoed into the night, and I swore I felt the vibrations of feet pounding the earth, drawing closer and closer.
The man above me slammed his fist against my face one more time. Dots of every color danced before my eyes, and a distant ring shrilled in my ears. I went slack but stayed conscious. Holding on with every bit of spite I had in me.
My attacker breathlessly chuckled and sat on his haunches. “You look like a bloody angel. I can’t wait for your demon lover to see you like this. I’m sure it will haunt him in his grave.”
Everything went silent as nature held its breath. The wind had died, and no more snow fell from the sky. I blinked my swelling eyes and glanced past the man’s shoulder as a tall, dark figure with red glowing eyes crept closer.
Staring into my injured mate’s eyes, it took every bit of self-control to hold back my wrath and power aimed at the human who sat before her. This reminded me too much of the first time Emma had laid eyes on me. At that time, she’d been scared and in psychosis. But now? Now my little one gazed at me with relief and a small smile creeping onto her bloodied face.
“What are you smiling about?” the human spat.
Emma didn’t look away from me, as though I was her lifeline and the reason she stayed alive. I crept closer until I stood right behind the male, who was completely unaware of my presence.
“Answer me, bitch! What the fuck are you smiling for?” The man cocked his hand back, preparing to strike my mate.
I bared my teeth in a wolfish grin. “Because of me.”
The human whirled around and landed on his back beside Emma, eyes wide, and he reeked of fear. I cackled and snatched him by the throat as he moved to grab a weapon from his waist. Raising him into the air, I grinned as I squeezed on his throat and silenced his screams by cutting off his airway. I cocked my head and brought him closer to me as I inspected him. Emma’s blood coated his knuckles, and bruises formed on them. His pants were drawn tight near his groin, where his erection strained against them.
My grip tightened, and I snarled. “You enjoyed hurting her, didn’t you?” Red filled my vision. “I’ll tell you a little secret. I’m going to love every second as I hurt you. Your hand is now mine. Your cock now belongs to me. If you can survive without them, I’ll let you go.”
He let out a choked sound and grappled with my wrist. Even though he couldn’t beg me to spare his life, I still saw the plea reflected in his eyes.
I used my shadows to keep him in the air so I could use my hands. The human shrieked like the little bitch he was as I grabbed the hand he used to hit Emma. In a flash, I clamped my mouth on his wrist, cutting off his hand with my teeth. The human kicked at me and flailed his arms like a useless sack of flesh as he screamed and begged for me to stop. I shoved his pants down and ripped his dick off like it was putty in my hands.
I howled in laughter as his screams reached a pitch that only a well-trained opera singer could manage. Over him, I heard the other humans rushing toward us from the other end of the cemetery. I kept the bleeding human man suspended in the air with my shadows while I crouched beside Emma. Her eyes were now swollen, and it took every bit of my self-control to not snap the man’s neck for doing this to her. My little mate knew I was next to her because she turned her head in my direction and reached for me with a dirty hand.
“I’m here now,v’ns’kah,” I cooed. “I just need to take care of the others before we can leave.”
Her throat bobbed with a hard swallow and she tried to whisper something, but I couldn’t make out what she’d said. I cocked my head and took her small hand in my much larger one, offering her the comfort she needed. She flashed me a weak smile, her teeth coated with blood. Dimitri looked through my eyes and though he didn’t utter a word, I felt his roiling rage.
The other demon hunters didn’t keep quiet as they charged toward us. I turned in their direction, seeing through the darkness and spotting them as they rounded the corner.
“Kill him!” Mia shouted.
A wolfish smile spread across my face as they raised their weapons and aimed at me. I shot to my feet and positioned myself so Emma was behind me. A chorus of bangs echoed in the night as they shot at me. I raised a hand and shadows swiftly appeared in front of me, blocking the bullets and sending the useless bits of metal to the ground.
Using all of my demon powers, I disappeared and reappeared behind a hunter. I snapped his neck and moved on to the next, who turned to me with his gun aimed. As soon as he pulled the trigger, I shifted behind him, clamped my teeth into his neck, and ripped out his spine. The man’s scream ended with gurgles. Before he could drop to the ground, I pounced on the next one.
“He’s too fucking fast!” one of them screamed.
“Get the girl!” Mia yelled.
I snarled as a man charged toward Emma. He got all of two feet away from her before I swiped him with all of my strength. The human screamed and smacked against a headstone with a wet splat. I turned and snickered when I noticed it was down to Mia and no one else. She trembled in place, gun pointed at me. She had all the chances in the world to shoot me, but she didn’t.
Interesting.
“You demon hunters got lazy,” I said through a growl. My lips pulled back in a wider smile, and I took two strides toward Mia. I stopped when she backed up a few steps, a small whimper coming from her. “Oh? You’re scared? What happened to all of your bravado when you took my mate from me?”
“I wasn’t the one who beat her,” Mia said. I could hear her gulp from where I stood, and a perfume of fear made its way toward me, filling my lungs. “If you let me live, I’ll leave town and never return.”
I narrowed my eyes and cocked my head. “Why should I let you live?”
