"He's eaten recently," Kayja translated, her pointed teeth gleaming as she looked at them. "You should be fine for another week or so."
"The most important thing now is finding his mother." The demoness's black-veined wings rustled as she straightened to her full height. She surveyed them all with those mesmerizing eyes that shifted between green and blue. "Would you be willing to keep him until I can locate her? It's not safe for a pup his age in the underworld without his mother's protection. There are... things there that would see him as easy prey. If you'll keep him safe here, I will go to the underworld myself to search for his mother."
Harper and Nathan exchanged a long look. Nathan ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it back from his eyes. "We can't just abandon him." He glanced at Harper, who nodded firmly.
"Of course we'll keep him," Harper said, her eyes bright with determination. "He needs us."
Kayja's lips curved into an approving smile, her pointed teeth gleaming in the soft living room light. The demoness's wings rustled softly.
"My brother has agreed to compensate you for feeding him," Kayja said, looking amused. "Lord Damien understands such a large puppy will require significant resources."
Harper's eyes went wide. "That's... very generous, and we definitely appreciate it." She glanced at Nathan before turning back to Kayja. "But why would a vampire lord care about a hellhound puppy?"
Kayja's eyes swirled between green and blue as her grin widened, making Beth's breath catch. There was something both beautiful and unnerving about that pointed-tooth smile. The demoness turned to Tyr, tilting her head.
"Would you like to tell them?" Kayja's honeyed voice carried clear amusement.
Tyr chuckled, his blue eyes dancing with mirth as he looked at their confused expressions. "Lord Damien is half demon himself."
Beth's jaw dropped. She stared at Tyr, then at Kayja, her mind struggling to process this revelation. The vampire lord who ruled over New York City - the Dark Lord himself - was half demon?
"We share the same father," Kayja confirmed, her chin lifting in pride. "Damien is quite a bit older than me, and his mother was human." Her eyes swirled between green and blue as she turned her attention back to the pup.
Those raw, gravelly syllables rolled off her tongue again, making Beth's ears ache again. The hellhound immediately flopped onto his belly, his tail still wagging enthusiastically despite his otherwise perfect stillness. Kayja crouched beside him, running her fingers through his coat.
Beth pressed her fingers against her ears as the demoness began speaking again to the pup, who responded with a series of low whuffs and rumbling growls, his head tilting as if engaged in serious conversation.
Suddenly, Kayja stiffened. Her pointed teeth bared in a snarl that sent chills down Beth's spine. A deep, inhuman growl rumbled from the demoness's throat as her eyes flashed dangerously between green and blue. Gone was the playful, mischievous creature who had been teaching them commands. In her place stood something ancient and terrifying, radiating otherworldly power that made the air crackle with tension.
Beth took an involuntary step backward as Kayja transformed from playful to predatory in an instant. The demoness's wings flared wide, the black veins pulsing with dark energy as her eyes flashed between green and blue with frightening intensity.
"This pup," Kayja's voice turned razor-sharp, the temperature in the room seeming to drop with each syllable, "was torn from his mother's side. Summoned by a human sorcerer who dared reach into the depths of hell itself."
Outrage for the stolen pup surged through Beth, even as every instinct screamed at her to back away from the rage radiating off Kayja in waves. Around her, she heard Harper and Nathan's sharp intakes of breath. Even the hellhound puppy went still, his tail no longer wagging as he pressed closer to Kayja's side.
A low, dangerous growl filled the room. Beth turned to see Tyr's normally gentle features transformed into something ancient and predatory. His blue eyes had taken on an eerie glow as his lips pulled back, revealing extended fangs.
"A sorcerer?" Tyr's voice carried centuries of contained violence. "How dare he!"
Kayja's pointed teeth gleamed as she snarled, the sound making Beth's skin crawl. "Someone who deeply regretted their actions, I assure you." The demoness's wings rustled ominously as she placed a protective hand on the hellhound's head. "No one steals a pup from its mother without consequences."
"Perhaps the fool thought a hellhound would be easier to control than a demon," Tyr growled, the dangerous edge to his voice carrying centuries of contained violence. "Safer."
Kayja's laugh held no warmth now. Her pointed teeth gleamed as she grinned, the expression making Beth's blood run cold. This wasn't the mischievous smile from earlier - this was the grin of an apex predator.
"Well," the demoness purred, her multicolored eyes churning faster with predatory satisfaction, "he was wrong."
Beth glanced at Harper and Nathan, seeing her own mix of horror and curiosity reflected in their expressions. Sheswallowed hard, gathering her courage. "How... how did the pup get away from the sorcerer?"
Kayja's pointed teeth gleamed as her lips curved into another predatory smile - one that made Beth's blood run cold. The demoness's eyes swirled between green and blue with dark amusement.
"He ate him."
Silence stretched out for a long moment. Harper's face went ashen, and Nathan's mouth dropped open. Beth swallowed, hard, her stomach churning, but looking at Tyr, she saw something different in his expression - approval.
He crouched down beside the hellhound, scratching behind those floppy furry ears.
"Awesome." His blue eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he patted the puppy's shaggy coat. "Good boy."
