Page 51 of Ravaged Devotion

There was a flash of matted black fur, sticky with something, and the curve of a jaw bone without anything on it, as though it’d been skinned. It happened in a split second, the creature snapping downward, that horrific visage coming into view for a brief moment before it latched onto Eulalie’s right shoulder and clamped down hard enough there was a distinct wet crunch.

She screamed and somehow managed to shove Esti at the same time, sending the younger woman through the door.

No one moved to catch her, and Esti ended up falling onto her side, rolling away from the entrance and the creature who was currently dragging Eulalie into the cover of the fog.

Ryker predicted what would happen next before it did, managing to get ahead of Rue by a single second, just enough time to wrap his arms tightly around his body and haul him back, away from the danger.

Rue fought him, kicking and crying out for his mom, clawing at Ryker’s arms.

All at once, the screams cut off, the shrill sound echoing and fading into the nothingness. The quiet was somehow worse, and they all froze, Rue practically dangling in Ryker’s hold.

A long drawn-out moan reached them then, and the wet slap of a palm against a solid surface. Something dragged itself forward, and just before Ryker could order the door closed, Eulalie’s head appeared.

She was on the ground, seemingly dazed. Her movements were muddled, one arm reaching out to pull herself forward, followed by the next in such a slow motion it felt surreal to watch.

The second her fingers hooked around the raised lip of the doorframe, and she heaved herself a couple of inches over it, the rest of her body became visible.

Or, what was left of it.

Rue made a sound unlike anything Ryker had ever heard before. A broken, wretched keening that caused his whole body to shudder.

Eulalie lifted her gaze, eyes unfocused before they found her son’s. Recognition was there, and the corner of her lips turned up ever so slightly in what was clearly meant as a reassuring smile.

A large black blur shot from the fog, five dagger-like claws instantly hooking through her back.

This time when she was dragged away, she was silent.

Another crunch and a splat, the grotesque noises of chewing, finally knocked sense into the rest of them.

Ellery was at the door in a heartbeat, slamming the heavy wood shut and flicking all three locking mechanisms into place. For good measure, he yanked one of the benches over, wood scraping against wood to scratch at the polished surface of the expensive flooring. He didn’t stop until it was positioned completely across the entrance.

“Take care of them,” Ryker ordered his friend, indicating the injured. “No one goes outside. If they try—”

“Anyone who opens a door or window gets personally shoved out by me,” Ellery threatened.

Ryker didn’t linger to see if the rest of their pathetic party listened.

He picked Rue up and carried him to the stairs, taking them as quickly as he could.

Chapter 11:

Half of her had been missing.

From the waist down, there’d just been—

Rue heaved forward and threw up the contents of his stomach. The mess splattered on the floor, seeping into the thin carpet of his room, though he hardly registered it through the thick tears blinding him and the way his chest tightened to the point of pain.

Someone held him through it, strong arms banded around his waist, holding him upright while he hacked, even when there was nothing left for him to vomit up.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her flayed body, the bloody ends—Rue sobbed even harder, not having the energy to resist or worry when he found himself swept up into those arms and carried. The second he was set into the bathtub, he caved in on himself, pressing his face between his knees, rocking as he desperately fought against those gruesome images.

He didn’t want the last memory he had of the woman who’d raised him to be that. Even if they hadn’t been the closest. Even if she’d preferred the picture-perfect family image over him and his wants.

Rue had begged her not to go through with the marriage when he’d found out about it. Had broken down over the phone and pleaded with all that he had.

But she’d refused.

Told him to get over it.