He has a point.I sigh, staring down lovingly at the small human female. “Now that you know I won’t hurt her… can I keep her?”
Dravik scoffs. “Keep her?No, you cannot.”
A low whine builds in my chest. “I can take care of her, though! I’ll feed her and clothe her and bathe her and make sure she has plenty of mental stimulation.”
“She is a fully sentient being, Rhune. Not a pet. You need to take her back to where you found her.”
I grip her tighter. “I don’t want to.”
Dravik sighs. “She looks half-dead, Rhune. Her body is clearly not built to withstand this place. You’re going to get her hurt, or killed. Take her back.”
With that, he turns and leaves the bathing chamber, leaving me alone with my precious human. I lean down, nuzzling her face.
“Don’t worry,” I whisper. “Dravik is just being narrow-minded. You belong to me now. And I’m never letting you go.”
3
Willow
I wake to a heavenly smell.It’s warm and earthy and masculine, and I instinctively snuggle deeper into my mattress, my lips tipping in a grin as it envelopes me fully.
Blindly, I reach out for my fiancé, and my palm connects with something large and solid—much too big to be human. My eyes fly open, and I’m met with the sight of glowing pink irises and a mouth filled with dripping white teeth.Monster teeth.
I jerk back, memories of the past twenty-four hours flooding my mind in quick succession. The morning of my wedding. Nathan, and the image of him fucking Kimberly in the bathroom. My heart, breaking. Me, running through the woods. The portal. Thedemon.
The last thing I remember is being so cold I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Now I’m lying in bed with my demon kidnapper, and he’s looking at me like a tasty snack. It’s made worse by the fact that I have nothing covering me but a thick blanket of what appears to be animal hide.
Where the hell did my dress go? Did he take it off me?
My face pales as I desperately try to remember what happened. Nothing on my body hurts, and the space between mylegs feels untouched, so I think I’m in the clear. But then… Why am I naked and lying in a bed of furs with a demon?
The monster’s glowing magenta eyes track down my body, heating my skin the lower they go. I beg my muscles to listen, to get up and run from this strange creature, but they refuse to obey. Something inside pulls me to him, demands I move closer. It’s an inexplicable desire that settles deep in my bones, poisoning my blood and pulsing through my body with each frantic beat of my heart. Growing. Consuming.
I swallow hard, summoning every ounce of bravery as I squeak out, “W-why am I here? What are you going to do to me?”
The creature smiles wider, baring sharp, pointed teeth that look like they could easily rip my throat out. Instead of answering, it leans in, scenting the air in front of my face. My heart drops into my stomach.
“So sweet,”it growls, voice low and heavily distorted. “Somine.”
Nope. Absolutely not.
My body finally decides to respond, and I roll away from the demon and land in a low crouch, keeping the hide clutched tight around my body as I scurry just out of reach of his long, muscular arms. He sits up, tilting his head and watching me with an amused expression as I gaze around the room, searching for something to defend myself with.
My eyes catch on a carved object lying on a small table at the opposite end of the room. It appears to be a dagger, made of the same strange shimmering ice-rock material that covers the walls and floor.
Before I lose my nerve, I rush toward the weapon, trying my best to hold the furs around my body. I shouldn’t care about modesty while my life is on the line like this, but I also don’twant the monster to see what’s under the hide and try to have sex with me or something.
I’m not sure if he has traditional male parts, or if he’s even attracted to humans, but I don’t want to risk it.
Thankfully, the demon doesn’t follow me, nor does he try to stop me. Holding the hide tight to my chest, I grab the dagger with my free hand and whip around, shoving the pointed end in his direction with my best “I mean business” expression.
Unfazed, the demon moves to all fours, crawling closer to me with a smirk playing on his lips.
“Don’t come any closer,” I say, hating how my voice shakes.
There’s a distorted crackling sound, almost like laughter. “My mate is a fighter.”
Mate?“J-just stay the hell away from me!”
