The Demon Within (49 page)

“Do you know who I am?” Like a yippy little dog, the blonde charged forward, red blotches of anger coloring her face. Her eyes shimmered a yellowish-green with her emotions, but quickly reverted back to mud brown.

Part shifter.

A weak one.

Most males could shift no matter what percentage of animal DNA they possessed, but the women had to be at least half shifter for their animal to take form. That meant Raven could take this little dog.

Raven adjusted her stance, keeping the kid at her back and met the threat, damning herself for being a sucker. “I don’t give a shit. I know all I need.”

“Oh, do tell.” The rumpled blonde crossed her arms and smirked. “This should be good.”

“You’re too weak to be a pure blood. Not even quarter, if I had to guess. You surround yourself with people who are weaker so you have someone who looks up to you. You enjoy abusing the very people you’re supposed to be protecting.”

A fist flew at her face, and Raven caught it mid-air. Anger allowed her to easily lower the blonde’s arm. She lifted her chin, relieved to know she’d guessed right. If the woman had been a true shifter, her jaw would’ve been crushed. “Are you issuing a challenge?”

A slight murmur went through the crowd. It was the only thing she could think of to get them out of there fast. A challenge meant more than possession of the boy, it meant pack position and a fight to the death. Jackie would die. Raven would see to it. Although she relished a certain poetic justice if she let the little wolf live. It would force the bimbo to the bottom of the pack, where she’d have to earn her place in the hierarchy. And something told Raven it wouldn’t be so easy to step over the very people she’d been treating like servants.

Fury darkened the woman’s eyes, the brown splintered and specks of yellow appeared, then vanished as fast as they came.

“No.” She spit out the one word, a promise of retribution for this humiliation dancing in her eyes.

Giddiness trickled through Raven. Her unique gift remained secret. She’d been foolish to risk it over a boy. The need for fresh air pressed heavily against her, effectively caging her without the use of bars. She faced the tiger and raised a brow, doing her damndest to exude a calm she wasn’t feeling. “Then I believe I’m free to leave?”

A charming smile curled his lips, but the intent stare reminded her of his animal form. He was hunting.

And she was his prey.

“There’s no rush.” He edged closer.

Raven countered quickly, pulling the boy close to her back. “Nor is there a reason to stay.”

The beautiful way he moved drew her gaze, hypnotic and beguiling.

“Except to get to know one another.” The tone of his voice was deep and soothing. So inviting. The beasts at her core inched forward in curiosity.

A movement in the crowd snapped her to attention. The Ogre. Then the tiger’s words registered, leaving a trail of cold in its wake. Clever kitty. She’d bet he lulled many people the same way, using that luscious voice, subtle movements and just the lick of wildness to lure them to him.

“I think not.” Though she tried to rein it in, power burned along her arms at the thought of being held against her will. The beasts retreated, leaving all that power behind along with the dangerous urge to release it. The leather she wore usually protected those nearest her, but direct touch couldn’t mute the effects. Not even wearing gloves kept those around her completely safe when her dander was up.

The boy sucked in a sharp breath, and she quickly dropped her hand from him. She refused to look behind her, but she didn’t need to. She could see everything in the tiger’s reaction. The way he tensed slightly, the way his eyes flickered back and forth between her and the boy.

The crowd drew closer, pressing in on her from all sides, stealing the air around her.

She needed to leave.

The music grew louder, the lights brighter.

A bulb popped, glass shattered. Three more blew in rapid succession.

She took off at a run, dodging through the crowd, ignoring the shouts. The tiger quickly closed the gap between them. She could feel his breath against the back of her neck. Desperate for space, she thrust a burst of current into the crowd. A mass of confusion ensued as everyone received a nasty shock and started shoving one another. Lights flickered, plunging them in darkness. Electricity lashed out of the floor and up into her feet, the charge filling her with power.

She slammed into the door, out into the night and took off at a dead run. She should’ve known better than to be seduced into entering a slave auction by some innocent needing her help. She had a hard enough time staying out of trouble without the need to borrow someone else’s. She just prayed no one could tie this whole, rotten evening back to her or there would be no end of trouble to land on her doorstep.

Sneak Peak

BloodSworn

“I
t’s been six weeks since you’ve been shot, yet you remain locked up in this house like a hermit. For the last two weeks, all you do is stare out that damn window. People are asking questions.”

Leo tightened his grip on his cane as he waited for the shadows to part. She was late. Worry tightened his muscles, the wound in his back throbbed. He resisted the need to send out everyone he employed to search for her. From his third story home office, he had a clear view of his backyard, but more important, he could see the entrance to the shed where a little slip of a woman hid from him and his men.

“Are you even listening?”

Leo scowled at Victor’s prodding. Then all annoyance vanished when a wisp of a figure gradually took shape out of the darkness, her ever-present stocking cap firmly on her head, darting toward the shed before disappearing inside. Despite his keen eyesight, he couldn’t distinguish much about her. Though frustrating, it didn’t matter. She was his the moment she set foot on his property. She just didn’t know it yet. Once her sleek form vanished from view, whatever spell that had ensnared him finally broke.

“So that’s why. Who is she?”

Leo turned to see Victor at his shoulder, gazing with speculation at the shed. He clenched his fists to resist the temptation to swat his friend. Goddamn lack of privacy. “Leave it alone. The shed and her are off limits.”

He would not have them scaring her off. He took a step toward his desk, gripping the cane harder when the muscles of his back spasmed. The bullet that entered his spine had torn through his muscles. Only his ability to heal fast had kept him alive. Even with his shifter DNA, he wasn’t healing as fast as he should.

At the back of his mind, he wondered if he hit CreedMark, a disease known to afflict shifters of any age. It first slowed healing, then made shifting difficult, nearly impossible before, ultimately, you turn into your animal part and lost your humanity completely. Once it reached that stage, you never gained your human form again.

There was no cure. There was no way to track the progress as it varied in each host. Nor was it communicable. With few mated pairs, there were more cases each year.

“Why are you here in the middle of the night?” Once seated behind his desk, he set aside the curse cane and grabbed the papers in front of him, not really seeing them. He wondered if Victor suspected CreedMark and came to check on him.

Despite his fear, that was not what had him on edge. He could manage and beat CreedMark by sheer will and simply refuse to fall to the disease. No, what had him perched at the edge of the seat like some virgin at her first bedding was Victor’s apparent fascination as he stared out the window. The paper slowly shredded under his hands as every instinct howled at him to protect the girl.

“It’s practically morning. I wanted to warn you Dame Judith will be attending the meeting. She wants an answer to her proposal.” Victor took his time as he turned away from the window as if bastard didn’t know it irritated the shit out of him.

“A partnership with the clans.” Leo studied the paper, his mind on the girl, worried if she found enough food, if she was warm enough with the nights getting colder with early frost, and now how to keep her hidden from his own clan.

Victor snorted and took a seat in front of the desk. “You in her bed more like it. She’s been chasing you for years. Now that she has you where she wants you, she’s not going to let you go.”

“Then we’ll have to convince her otherwise. I’m not available.”

“Hell, Leo, as of two months ago, you kept a harem of women at your beck and call. What’s the harm in adding one more?”

He lifted his attention from the mangled paper, the hackles at the back of his mane rising. “She has no intention of being one of many. She wants to be the only one.”

All humor vanished from his second in command. “People are asking questions about your ability to lead.”

“There is nothing wrong with my leadership abilities.” Frustration twisted through Leo at their ungratefulness. He’d been in charge of the clan for over twenty years when it was only a few of them, taking them from a pack of strays to one of the most powerful clans in the northern region. He’d devoted his life to bringing the pack back to the grandeur of their grandfather’s era. Since he’d been injured, a subtle shift had rippled through the pack.

“They’re just concerned.”

But neither of them believed that. There had been rumblings long before he’d been injured, discontent about his iron fist and demand for absolute obedience. “Find me someone strong enough to rule, and I’ll step down.” Both of them knew that there was no one else. Without him as leader, the pack would slowly disintegrate from within.

Victor didn’t say anything for a moment, all the good cheer he hid behind gone. “Maybe it’s time to let them find that out for themselves.”

“Pull back the pride?” Leo yearned for that very thing for a long time. They were so close, but he shook his head. “We’re not strong enough. There are too few of our kind to survive an attack from neighboring clans or the vampires. We can’t chance it.”

“Can’t we?” Victor stood and started pacing, his movements sharp, agitated. Light tinged the skyline and the city in the distance, heralding a new day. “The meeting starts in an hour. Tell her yes. Hell, tell her no, but you can’t keep hiding behind these walls.”

Leo glanced at the clock, then ran a hand over his buzz cut, absently noting that his hair needed to be trimmed again. He would love to be able to go outside, but without the use of his cane, each step would be agony. He couldn’t stand long without its assistance. Pack wouldn’t tolerate any show of weakness from its Leo.

So until he was healed, he was trapped in this house, in these room, caged like an animal. He was slowly going insane. The only distraction from his problems was the mysterious woman who had moved into his shed two weeks ago.

He watched her sneak past his security system and guards time and time again, using different methods. Each night brought something different.

He envied her the freedom and the thrill of adventure.

His fascination with her was a danger for both of them with the leadership of the pack so unsettled. Without his full strength, he wouldn’t be able to protect her. He had to be content to watch.

At least for now.

He purposely turned away from the window, a little disturbed to catch Victor staring at the shed. Protective urges roared through him, prodding him to give the boy a swipe for daring to look at what was his.