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The vile creature was so hard to read. I could tell he was serious, but nothing more. For the first time, I couldn't tell if he was an alpha or beta, the dark aura around him hiding it from me. He was a supernatural black hole, and it made this confrontation so much creepier.
"And you need to leave, effective immediately," I told him firmly. "No refund either. Your behavior is vile enough to go against our policies."
"Nice try, little girl," he said. A hazy purple glow began forming in his eyes that now swirled with power. It was the first time I’d detected anything from him, and it was the most chilling thing I'd ever felt. The icy magic prowled toward me, then slowly crawled up my body. I tried to move, to fight it, but I was frozen in place the moment it touched me.
Even through the fear, I noticed the same shadows filling the room, almost like a barrier cutting me off from the rest of the hotel.
The cold, creepy feeling stopped when it reached my throat, and I watched sick satisfaction settle into his face as my throat closed, like an invisible force was putting pressure there. Invisible hands were suffocating me. A glow emanated off of my neck, just in my field of vision. The moment it started, my skin felt like it was blistering off, burning on a level I never knew was possible.
“Tell me where she is,” he said calmly, like I was in any condition to speak.
Knowing it was fight or die, I let Zehra come out, not to shift, but to protect. A partial shift was tiring, but we'd practiced enough that it was now second nature. The tingle of magic along my skin was intense, and I prayed that my amulet would remain intact when all was said and done.
His eyes widened before he was lifted and thrown toward the ceiling. He immediately fell like his body was filled with lead, slamming into the lobby floor loudly enough it sounded like a bomb had gone off. The hardwood cracked under him, and the demon’s eyes slipped closed before the darkness dissipated and I could move once again.
My throat burned, and every breath was agony. My body slipped to the floor as Zehra receded. I tried to crawl to the desk, but a coughing fit overtook me. The burn and pain were getting worse by the second, and I realized a moment later that the sound breaking the silence was me. I was whimpering, a pitiful noise that I couldn’t remember ever making before. This was no ordinary attack; the darkness had left some kind of poison behind.
"Farren!" My name echoed in the lobby, but I didn't have the strength to rise or even call back. The pain was trying to consume me whole, and right now, I had no choice but to let it.
"She's back here." Angela's voice joined the mix before Kane's heavy footfalls ran our way.
"I'm so sorry I failed you," Kane said solemnly as he lifted me into his arms. I closed my eyes and focused on breathing, his own breath catching before gentle hands ran over my neck. "Fuck, I'm so sorry." He sounded broken and worried, but I couldn't reassure him outside of lifting my hand to his chest and giving a single pat. That was all I managed before darkness overtook me, and I gave in to the exhaustion and overwhelming agony.
Kane
Walking into the lobby, I instantly knew something was wrong. A dark aura hung in the air, though it was receding quickly. The first thing I saw was the empty desk, then the limp body of the demon on the floor, a crater engulfing him. He was alive, his breathing ragged but there. The floor was cracked around him, so someone must have used insane force to knock him out.
"Farren!" I called, needing to know where my mate was. Panic flashed through me, and I searched around, wishing I could rewind this entire fucking morning.
"She's back here." I turned to Angela, who was pointing behind the desk, looking terrified. I ran, horrified that my mate was in as bad of shape as the demon. When I saw Farren, I knew it was worse. She was pale, to the point she looked dead. I'd have panicked more if I couldn't hear her trying to breathe, the sound wheezy and off, but steady. Pain lanced through my chest. Niko had tasked me with keeping her safe, and I’d stupidly left her, wanting to impress her by showing her I wasn't always a dick.Fuck.Now she’d just think I was an irresponsible idiot.
"I'm so sorry I failed you," I told her, trying to fish out my phone and call for help. She patted my chest, and fuck, if my heart didn't threaten to break. Even half-dead, she was reassuring me that it was okay, that she didn't hate me. ButIhated me enough for the both of us. I’d failed her. I couldn't change what had happened, but once she was safe, that demon would die for what he’d done to her.
Contacting West first, I ordered him to the lobby before calling Niko and doing the same. I threw my phone to the side while ordering Angela to clean off the top of the desk. She did so with shaking hands, and I laid Farren down. With her body flat, I could see the bruising on her skin. It wasn't a typical strangulation bruise; it was a mix of purple and red, a magical bruise that still hummed with power. On top of that was a blistering that seemed to have come from fire, yet her skin wasn’t charred. Whatever magic he'd used, it was meant to take hold and not let go. Even unconscious, she fidgeted uncomfortably in her sleep.
Basic healing was all I knew, so I rubbed my hands together, pulling my magic to them before hovering them over her. But as I tried, the magic deflected it. Her eyes fluttered, and my omega groaned before passing out again. Her scent was twisted with pain and panic, and even her magic smelled strange.
"Oh gods, what the fuck happened?!" West yelled. As I glanced up, I saw a crowd was gathering.
"He attacked her," I explained, gesturing to the stirring demon. With a flick of West’s hand, the demon was pinned to the floor by glowing chains. "There’s something about this wound. I can't heal it." I was pleading, which was a shock to my system. For the first time in my life, I was full of desperation and uncertainty.
"Demon magic is different," he said solemnly as he inspected it. "I'm calling the healer, then I'll deal with him." He'd known Farren longer, so I couldn't blame him nor would I deny him, though I wanted to be the one to rip the demon apart limb by limb for harming my mate. "Then I'll get details from you." There was a hint of anger in his face, and I knew he thought I’d failed her too. He stepped away to make the call, returning less than thirty seconds later.
"Farren!" Levi's voice broke at the sight of her when he and the others rushed into the lobby, just as freaked out.
"How?" Nikolaus kept his voice calm and accusation free and his eyes on her, but he was demanding answers. I knew my fellow alpha would likely be blaming himself even though he hadn’t been there.
"Angela came down for food. I escorted her to the kitchens, and we were gone for maybe ten minutes. Not a sound could be heard," I admitted, perplexed. How had I missed the demon crashing to the floor?
"Not if he created a barrier," West said with a shrug. "Demons move quickly, sticking to the shadows, and work without being seen. Farren never would have allowed you to hover. This is the consequences of mating with a stubborn, independent woman." He sounded so proud of her in that moment. His eyes were tight with worry as a gentle hand stroked her auburn hair. She was lying there, a broken angel, hair in a halo around her head, skin pale but still beautiful, and I knew that I'd dedicate my life to never letting harm come to her again.
West’s hand froze on her necklace, pulling it free from her shirt and inspecting it. He didn’t say anything or react, but I didn't miss a flash of magic before he dropped it.Interesting.
"She's lived a rough life. It's hard not to rise up under those kinds of circumstances," Levi said. West nodded, not denying what we'd all noticed. "I recognized it in her immediately."
"She's strong, boys," West reassured us, though that didn’t stop him from pacing the floor while we waited for the healer.
A man burst through the door a few minutes later, his curls dotted with snowflakes. He had a doctor's bag in hand, and he spotted us right away, rushing over.
