by Lucia Ashta
Alek sat on the edge of the bed and took my hand, the one attached to my good arm. “They’re going to come after you again, am I right?”
Filled with reluctance, I nodded.
“Then I’ll be there with you.” I opened my mouth to complain; he stopped me. “Kitten, there’s no way in hell I’m going to let my mate walk into danger alone. It doesn’t work with who and what I am, will you honor that?”
I hesitated.
“Please.”
Dammit. If roles were reversed, I’d be saying the same thing, and I was a small woman. He was a bear with a penchant for sharp blades. I pursed my lips. “Fine, but I don’t know what you’ll be able to do to help. That demon leader will kill you in an instant if you give him the chance.”
“Then teach me to do what you do.”
I blinked. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, but I am, of course I am. Teach me and let me help you.”
Again, I just looked at him, racking my mind for a good reason to say no.
“Come on, if things are as bad as our encounter yesterday, then you need my help.”
A man nearly as large as Alek opened the door without knocking and walked through. “It sounds like you might need my help too.”
I blinked up at a platinum blond man who looked like his hair actually came in that shade.
He smiled like a cat. “I’m Mick.”
“I’m Katsumi.” I honestly had no idea what else to say.
“It sounds like fun. I’m in.”
No way, un-uh, and eff no slid through my mind, but after my conversation with Alek, I doubted my complaints would do me any good. Mick looked as much like a brick wall as a man—er, shifter—could.
“It’s not fun,” I said in a voice that squeaked.
“I think you and I, my dear, have a very different idea of fun.” Mick sat on the bed next to my bad arm. “Now let me examine your arm. It looked like Alek mistook you for a chew toy when he first brought you here.”
Like a compliant child, I handed over my arm. I had the feeling these shifters were used to getting their way. And there was a small part of me, a selfish part I was trying to keep quiet, that liked the idea of them joining me.
Everything was better when you fought as a team, right?
“You might want to close your eyes,” Mick said. “It’s a nasty sight.”
He knew just what to say to keep my eyes wide open. I might be among shifters, but I didn’t shy away from anything—not the reality of my life as a huntress, and not at the wild turn it was taking now.
“I’ve seen nastier.” This time my voice held steady. “I’m a demon fighter.”
Mick grinned, and I instantly liked him. “So I hear. I’m glad Alek finally brought someone interesting home.”
Alek winced. “Mick.”
“What? It’s true. I’ve been waiting for centuries for you to bring someone like this home. It’s about time.”
I was slipping down the rabbit hole. You might as well call me Alice. There was no turning back, of that I was sure.
Chapter Nine
My arm got better, but it didn’t improve fast enough. New flesh was drawing together as it was supposed to, but what should have been entirely raw pink remained tinged with gray.
“Is there anyone else who can help you with your arm?” Alek was saying. “Someone you haven’t thought of yet?”
“I’m pretty sure I’d remember somebody who could help me recover from a demon injury.”
“Hey, you never know. You’ve been through a lot the last few days.”
I wouldn’t deny that. But it wasn’t as much the demon attack that still shook me. It was more the part where the demons had gotten to Alek because of me. I’d come close to losing him. No matter how invincible he believed himself to be, I knew demons, and I understood they could rip a person from this world in a blink.
And I was mostly shocked because the first man I’d allowed myself to fall for—really fall in love with—was a shapeshifter. I kept trying to wrap my noodle around that one but failed spectacularly.
“I’ll be fine,” I said. “I’m always fine.”
My good arm was laced in his; he squeezed it. “You’d better be. Now that I’ve found you, I’m not letting you go.”
“About that. I think I’m well enough to go home now.”
Alek stopped our leisurely stroll around the perimeter of the grounds to look at me. “You’re not serious.” But he didn’t sound angry, he sounded sad. “Is it really that hard for you to stay here with me and let me take care of you?”
I smiled to avoid the emotion that was tugging at me. Demon fighters weren’t supposed to cry. “It’s not that, even though it is a bit silly if you stop to think of it.”
“Oh?” He raised his eyebrows and suddenly looked so devilishly handsome that all I wanted to do was stay in his arms and forget that the outside world was a scary place filled with monsters.
“You’re a huge, strong man. And you’re a shapeshifting bear!”
“So?”
“Men like you don’t take care of people like me.”
He dropped my arm entirely. “Who taught you that nonsense?” He looked genuinely affronted.
“No one taught me that, it’s just how it is. It’s how it’s always been in my family. The woman takes care of the home and anyone in the family who needs support.” I shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I can take care of myself.”
Piercing eyes stared into mine. “Look, I’m not knocking traditional gender roles any more than I’m prepared to knock non-traditional ones. Everything has its place... when it’s possible, appropriate, and healthy for all parties involved. But the way I look at it, when people love each other, they look out for one another—no matter what.”
I stared back at him and blinked away the bubbling emotions.
“You need my support, whether you like it or not. You have no one else to help you with this right now, and I want to be the one anyway.”
I must have given him a face because he added, “You can’t even wash your own hair with your arm like this.” His voice softened to the husky tones of a lover. “Let me care for you, kitten.” He took a step closer.
Even though we were out in the open where any of his roommates could see us, my body responded as if we were alone in the world.
“I want to.” His breath teased against my ear and a shiver ran through my body, making me forget the dull throbbing in my arm.
He drew me close and wove his big, solid arms across my shoulders, mindful of the sling, which held my injured arm still. “I love you, kitten. You’re just going to have to learn to accept all that comes with that.” His lips stretched into a smile that made my heart thump.
Who was I kidding? I’d take whatever this man offered me. What he was selling, I was buying. But... I was a demon huntress.
I forced myself to subdue my desires and emotions. “I love you and I love that you feel this way, trust me, I really do. But fighting demons is a real risk. I can’t bring you into that world—”
He opened his mouth to interject.
“I know what you’re going to say, you’ve said it already. But just because you think I should accept putting you at risk doesn’t mean I can live with myself if I do.”
He sighed, injecting enough frustration into that one sound to make me wish I hadn’t brought it up again. “Be fair to me. If roles were reversed, what would you do?”
I knew the answer even before I met his even gaze. I didn’t like it, but I had to let it go. It was twisted, but to respect and honor him and his love for me, I had to let him do this. “You’d better not get yourself killed fighting these monsters, you hear me?”
“Yes, kitten.” He nipped at my ear, and my train of thought derailed for a quick second.
“I’ll kill you myself if you don’t stay alive.”
“Of course. I’d expect nothing less of you, my warrior woman.”
“You’ll stay on your toes and
prepare for the bizarre and unexpected. The demons of the underworld are nasty things. They can hurt you in a flash.”
He kissed my neck. “I’m a bear. I can take care of myself.”
It was precisely that sentiment which had me worried. “You don’t know what it’s like.”
“No, but you’ll teach me.” He kissed the skin above my clavicle.
I bent my head out of the way to expose more skin. My long hair tickled my lower back through the gap between my top and the waistband of my jeans.
“The others will help too. Those things won’t stand a chance. You’ll see.”
My heated blood chilled. “I don’t like being responsible for delivering others to danger. I don’t know your friends much yet, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to be the one to bring them harm. Talk them out of joining us. If I can’t convince you, at least convince them. Please. Do it for me.”
His lips stilled on my neck. They hovered for a moment before he pulled back. “I won’t be able to talk them out of it. They’re stubborn.”
“You don’t say?” I pushed aside sarcasm. “Why do they even want to fight demons? It’s not like it’s a pleasant experience. Have you explained to them that these beasts are terrifying?”
“I’ve given them an idea, but it only made them more excited about the prospect.”
“That’s... frightening. Okay, then, don’t they have better things to do? Work? Play? Anything?”
“No. None of us need to work anymore. We invested wisely some time ago. We live off interest.”
“What? Really?”
He put his hands in his jean pockets and rolled on his heels. Immediately I missed his touch. I wished I knew when to keep my mouth shut. I could’ve been enjoying his kisses...
“Yeah.”
“So, uh, how long ago did you make these investments?”
“A good while ago. And I didn’t make them. We have a money person in the group. She handles all that for us. We work as a team, see, playing to our strengths.”
“What’s your role in the group?”
He grinned and I moved toward him, wanting him to kiss me again, but he only brought his hands to my waist. “I’m the weapons expert. I lead the training. We all like to keep in shape. You never know what might happen. Everyone here is in prime condition, I make sure of it. All of them will be able to handle themselves with the demons.”
“They don’t know how—”
“Once you teach us, they’ll know. We’ll know.” He squeezed my waist. “Now, will you let this drop?”
I deliberated, but it made no difference. “All right.”
He ducked his head down to meet my eyes head on. “All right? For real, all right?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
His smile was brilliant. “Excellent.”
I pushed my good arm into his and started walking again. “So tell me, why do your friends even want to fight demons? I really don’t get that. I hate it.”
But even as I said it, I knew it was a lie, and I think he realized it too. I might not like the idea of fighting demons, and I might not like hardly anything it entailed, but I couldn’t deny that I was particularly adept at it, and when you’re really good at something, it’s hard to truly hate it.
“My friends love danger and excitement, whatever package it comes in. They’ve lived a long time, and they’re stronger than most. They like using their skills in the fighting arena. There aren’t many people we can fight though, just other shifters and supernaturals.”
I let the comment about others slide for now. I had to completely accept my lover as a changeling before I could move on to what other people—or not people—might be.
“It’s just how they are, how we are,” he continued. “We like a good challenge, and when you’ve lived as long as we have and have the abilities we do, there aren’t many challenges left.”
“So you’re all a bit crazy, is that what you’re really trying to say?”
“Precisely. But I get the sense you might know a thing or two about that.”
I refused to meet his questioning gaze. I looked ahead at the sprawling hills, which were apparently all their property. “Yeah. Maybe.” There was a certain edge I touched when I fought demons that I’d never given words to before. It was strangely satisfying. I refused to examine the feeling closely, but it did make me understand a bit what adrenaline junkies were all about.
“The team will really enjoy learning how to fight demons. New skills are hard to come by after a time.”
“So it’s ‘the team’, huh?”
“I hope so.”
“Hmm.”
We walked in silence for so long that it became possible to believe the world was as idyllic a place as it sometimes seemed and that demons were nothing more than a nightmare. The plants were lush and green, and the trees that lined the hills were old enough to suggest that time would move on regardless of a silly demon fight or two.
The day was warm but not hot, and the sunshine colored the landscape in a hopeful glow. My arm would eventually heal. I was sure of it the way I was sure that my love for Alek would endure. It might be some time still, but I would pick up my katana again, and I’d reclaim the role of demon huntress, a role I never—ever—would have chosen for myself, but that was mine just the same.
A side of me that had refused to accept this part of my purpose fell into place. I no longer experienced resistance for who I was and what I had to do. Simply, I was a demon huntress, with the power and the skill to do my job. And each day I’d grow stronger and better at what I did, until I had a real chance at waging a war against the underworld.
With a team of shifters fighting alongside me, maybe we had a shot at changing the world. There was too much darkness. It was time to secure victory for the light.
Neither I—nor Alek and his friends—were ones to back down from a fight. We had the mother of all fights on our hands now.
A flutter of excitement rushed through me. I grinned at my big warrior man.
“What?” His lips stretched wide. “What is it? That’s a devilish smile if I’ve ever seen one. What are you thinking?”
“That you couldn’t have chosen your words more aptly. I’m ready to be this warrior that I am, and I’m ready to fight along with you.”
We were almost back to the house—more of a manor, really, now that I saw it from all sides—but he stopped to draw me fully against him. I didn’t even mind the sharp stab of pain when the sling pressed against his torso.
He dipped his head down. “Those are the sweetest words you’ve ever said to me.”
I had plenty more sweet things to say, but he claimed my lips.
I kissed him like it was only he and I in the world—and a few thousand demons. I kissed him like I didn’t care who might be watching—because I didn’t.
For the first time in my life, I didn’t shy from who I was.
I was a demon huntress with a passion for life. I’d make the very most of it for whatever time I had.
When my lover’s lips left mine for my shoulder, I pushed into him, and when he unbuttoned my shirt—on the front lawn—I didn’t do a thing to stop him.
Life was meant for living.
I kissed him and made every moment he and I would share fully mine.
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Acknowledgments
I’d write no matter what, because telling stories is my passion, but the following people make creating worlds (and life) a joy. I’m eternally grateful for the support of my beloved, James, my mother, Elsa, and my three daughters, Catia, Sonia, and Nadia. They’ve always believed in me, even before I published a single word. They help me see the magic in the world around me, and more importantly, within.
I’m thankful for every single one of you who’ve reached out to tell me that one of my stories touched you in one way or another, made you smile or cry, or kept you up long past your bedtime. You’ve given me reason to keep writing.
Read more by Lucía Ashta
SUPERNATURAL BOUNTY HUNTER
Magic Bite
Magic Sight
Magic Touch *
SIRANGEL
Siren Magic
Angel Magic *
Fusion Magic *
MAGICAL CREATURES ACADEMY
Night Shifter *
Lion Shifter *
Mage Shifter *
POCKET PORTALS
The Orphan Son *
MAGICAL ARTS ACADEMY
First Spell
Winged Pursuit
Unexpected Agents
Improbable Ally
Questionable Rescue
Sorcerers’ Web
Ghostly Return
Transformations
Castle’s Curse
Spirited Escape
Dragon’s Fury
Magic Ignites
Powers Unleashed
DRAGON FORCE
Invisible Born
Invisible Bound
Invisible Rider
THE WITCHING WORLD
Magic Awakens
The Five-Petal Knot
The Merqueen
The Witching World Omnibus, Books 1-3
The Ginger Cat
The Scarlet Dragon