The Monster Ball: A Paranormal Romance Anthology

by Heather Hildenbrand

  “You guys are really becoming a pain in my ass,” I grumbled. “I’d sleep with one eye open once we get out of here if I were you.”

  “Why did you lie before?” the female hunter demanded. She looked pretty good for a dead woman. I had nearly drained her soul. She shouldn’t be walking around demanding anything from me.

  “Uh, I’m a demon. It’s a given that I lie, but in this case, I was telling the truth,” I shot back.

  Her gaze swung from me to Breckin and back to me. Then she had the audacity to laugh in my face. “Oh, my God. You don’t know, do you?”

  I hated being the butt of someone’s jokes. “What are you acting like a lunatic over?”

  Breckin shifted on his feet beside me, giving the hunter duo a dark scowl.

  “I think it would be more fun if he told you,” she responded, nodding toward Breckin.

  “Breckin?” My gaze flipped to his. “What is she talking about?” But I already had a sneaking suspicion, and I wanted to hear it from his mouth that I was wrong.

  “This isn’t the time or the place,” he said out of the side of his mouth.

  “Really?” I countered, my voice pitching. “Now is not the time to play games with me. What the hell did you do to me?”

  He made a deep growly sound in the back of his throat. “I knew who you were but not what you were, or I would never have kissed you.”

  Words every girl wanted to hear, demon or not. Sometimes Breckin could be an insensitive asshole.

  “What are you?” I hissed between my teeth, moving away from him as my heart pounded.

  “That’s one secret I’ll never tell.”

  Looked like we weren’t going to get that final dance, but I was about to make a grand finale in the ballroom. I made a split-second decision, grabbing Breckin by the front of his shirt, and hauled his ass toward the doors leading outside near the stage. He wasn’t going to get away with giving me nothing.

  Every bone in my body was screaming at me. Breckin was a Nephilim. He had angel blood, and I had let the bastard kiss me!

  My kiss was deadly. If I was right about Breckin, then he was my adversary. He was the light to my darkness. His kiss could heal—rid me of the evil in my veins.

  He was my worst nightmare.

  OMG. I considered having sex with him.

  The simple act would have ended me for sure.

  I hadn’t noticed the announcement from the band, my rage blocking out all other sounds. We drew more than a few eyes as I dragged Breckin from the ballroom, but I was past the point of caring. He owed me answers, and this time I wasn’t taking no for an answer. I pinned him with a murderous glare once we were outside. “If you value your life, you will start talking.”

  He shrugged. “There’s not much to tell. I’m a Nephilim.”

  Half human. Half angel. Or in my case, my worst enemy. I recoiled, fear worming itself inside me, but more powerful than the concern for myself was blind rage. Before I knew what I was doing, my hand was sailing through the air, connecting to Breckin’s cheek. “You lied to me.” My voice came out as a whisper, but much anger and hurt bled into the words. I had started to trust him. Fuck that. I had started to like him. How ironic that the human lie detector was a liar himself.

  Breckin rubbed at his chin, working his jaw back and forth. His eyes eventually found mine, making a point to look me straight in the eye. “I never lied, Alexis.”

  “Don’t say my name,” I hissed. Hearing it from his lips ripped something open inside me. There was power in a demon’s true name.

  “How could you think what you are wouldn’t be important!” I shrieked. “I’m a demon. I avoid your kind like a disease.”

  He blew out a breath. “In my defense, I didn’t know what you were when we first met. The only reason I knew your name was I overheard you talking with one of the bartenders.”

  My fingers tightened against the material of his shirt. I wanted to burn it to the ground with him still in it. “Not helping. Do you know what you’ve done?”

  He reached out to touch the side of my face, but I jerked away. “I can save you,” he said like it was a good thing, the answer to all my prayers.

  “Save me,” I echoed like a madwoman about to lose her shit. I gave one short laugh. “I don’t want to be saved.” My eyes narrowed, and I poked the idiot in the chest. “I like being bad. I like being bad more than warm chocolate chip brownies. More than coffee. More than taking my bra off after a long night. More than sex!” Hopefully, I made my point, but I should have known better.

  He scoffed. “You haven’t had sex with me.”

  And no way on God’s green earth I ever would. It would be the end of me. “You’re a fool.”

  “I’ve been called worse.”

  “Did you come here looking for me?” I asked, poking him again.

  He didn’t budge. Grabbing a hold of my finger, he held it before I could jab him a third time. “What? No, of course not. I came here same as you. I had no idea what this place was or who would be in attendance.” I shot him a stern look of mistrust. “I swear. I didn’t know you would be here. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t go looking for demons to kiss.”

  I groaned. That kiss. No wonder it had been so angelic. So mind blowing.

  He had purified some of my soul with that damn kiss. I lost my wings! Regaining them could take me decades. It wasn’t like I could trot down to Hell and explain to Lucifer what a fool I’d been. He’d laugh in my face. He was probably already laughing in his throne, watching his number one succubus have a mental breakdown.

  “Do you know what you’ve done to me? Because of you, I’ve lost my wings. They’re gone. Do you have any idea how hard I’ve worked? For over a hundred years, I’ve sucked the souls of humans, preying on their hopes, dreams, and insecurities so that I could survive. ”

  His brows furrowed together, aqua eyes lighting up with confusion. “I don’t understand. You like being evil?”

  I wouldn’t expect him to comprehend the demon I’d become or even enjoy the job I did. How could he when he had only lived a human life? “Yes. I excel at it.”

  He still had my hand and used it to keep me close. “You are too beautiful to forever be damned to the darkness of Hell.”

  A poet and a savior. Breckin was every human girl’s dream. “Beauty is only skin deep.” And although this was my original human form, I waved my hand over my face, transforming to an old hag with scraggly grey hair, warts, a crooked nose, and beady black eyes. “Do you still find me beautiful?”

  He didn’t so much as a bat an eye. “This is nothing but a mirage.”

  “One of many.” I shook my hair, returning to myself. “It’s what I do.”

  “I guess there’s a lot we don’t know about each other,” he muttered.

  I retreated back a few steps from Breckin, but it wasn’t enough space. It seemed that even knowing what he was hadn’t lessened this craving to be close to him. “I didn’t think there were very many Nephilim left.” And the world would be minus one more once I figured out how to kill Breckin Hastings. He knew my name. He had to die. When this night was over, I would hunt him. Feelings be damned.

  He rubbed a hand at the back of his neck like he was relieving a mountain of tension. “There isn’t that I know of. It’s what makes me special.”

  My lips parted on a soft inhale. It was very rare for an angel to come to Earth, even rarer yet for them to bear children. It wasn’t done. Like ever.

  Breckin was a fucking unicorn of unicorns. What were the chances that our paths would cross? Slim to none. Fate was a fickle bitch. I’d love to get the chance to kick her ass, give her a taste of her own medicine.

  I could barely breathe being in the same space as him. “You’re being hunted.” Something else we had in common.

  For a moment, I thought he was going to continue to be a smartass. “It’s nothing new. I’ve been hunted since the day I was born.”

  I knew the feeling. But I also knew what i
t was like to be the hunter. I preferred to kill than be killed.

  Those assailants had never been after me. It had been Breckin they were searching for, and I was the bait. I couldn’t believe they had used me to get to him, a stupid move on their part. If I had known it was Breckin they wanted, would I have given him up? My immediate response was hell, yes I would have helped them with their orders to execute. Nephilim were a threat to all demon-kind.

  But as I looked into his startling aqua eyes, doubt crept through my cloak of darkness. I was fooling myself if I thought I could hurt him. In a short time, I’d grown to feel something for the guy with angel blood.

  It was unheard of. Forbidden in my world. Lucifer would roll over dead in Hell if he knew that I had feelings for a Nephilim. I could barely admit it to myself.

  My lungs drew in a sharp breath.

  After tonight, I could never see him again.

  Chapter Eleven

  Two choices loomed before me.

  I could avoid him for the rest of the night and pretend I never met Breckin Hastings. Pray the evening ended soon and I was able to resist this absurd need to be near him. Or, I could give in to the temptation that was entirely Breckin, but come morning, all was fair in love and war.

  Guests had started to pour out of the exit doors into the courtyard with Breckin and me. Something was going on, but I barely paid any attention to them.

  “We don’t have to be enemies,” he offered, risking a step closer to me. And then another.

  I swatted at his hand. “There’s no way we can be lovers.”

  “There is always a way around the rules,” he answered, advancing toward me until he could have reached out to touch my cheek if he wanted.

  It irked me that his words gave me even a splinter of hope. It was impossible. We both knew it, so why should I tempt myself with what can never be? “Stay where you are,” I warned, but the rebuttal was weak.

  “This thing between us, it’s… unique. I was meant to find you.” He boxed me in, laying his palms flat on the wall at either side of my head. I didn’t fight him, letting my curiosity overrule caution and anger.

  “Probably so I can kill you,” I answered, letting my gaze get snagged by his.

  Breckin chuckled as he lowered his head, kissing the corner of my mouth. A sharp inhale escaped my lungs, and my fingers balled into a fist, trapped between our bodies. “Break the rules with me, Alexis.”

  No! No! No!

  I was cursing him and myself to seven different kinds of Hell. It was like insta-lust each time he whispered it from his lips.

  My clenched hand on his chest fought with indecision, caught between pulling him closer or shoving him across the room. This was insane. I shouldn’t be entertaining the idea of kissing him again, but my body was betraying me.

  If there was a loophole that allowed me to kiss Breckin and not risk losing my darkness, would I take it?

  I barely knew him.

  Think about what you’re doing, Alexis.

  Fireworks started to boom in the sky, illuminating the darkness with sparkly trails of colored dust. It brought me back to reality. “I can’t,” I finally answered, but the words felt like acid in my mouth. “I don’t want to be saved.”

  He put a finger under my chin, the side of his face glowing from the shimmer of gold raining over our heads. “I mentioned I could save you, not that I wanted to.”

  I gave him the squinty eyes, wondering what game he was playing. “Isn’t that an angel’s thing?”

  “Probably. I have angel blood, but that doesn’t mean I’m an angel.”

  Oh snap.

  “I don’t understand what’s happening,” I admitted, rubbing a hand over my heart.

  “They’re called feelings.”

  Smartass. I shot him a bland look. “I know what feelings are.”

  He kissed the tip of my nose, and my eyes fluttered closed. “But have you actually ever felt them?”

  What was he doing to me? Why did he have such power over my body? My eyes snapped open as I strengthened my resolve to stay away from the Nephilim. “No, and I prefer to keep it that way. I don’t like feelings.”

  “Alexis,” he murmured in a deep husky voice that would echo in my head for weeks to come.

  “Don’t do that.”

  His lips brushed over my cheek, heat sweeping through my blood. “I want to kiss you.”

  Yes! Yes! Yes!

  I desired his lips, but I valued my demon soul more. I shook my head, my nails digging into my skin. Pain kept me focused. “Not going to happen.”

  He cocked a brow, and a great nebulous of emotion swelled above my heart. “Are you sure?” he asked.

  Gathering every ounce of self-control I had, I dug deep. “I’m not sure of anything.”

  His gaze stayed fixed on me, watching me coolly. “I’ll be seeing you, sweetness.”

  I swallowed, slightly flustered by the intensity of his scrutiny, and shoved aside the disappointment. He had given up so easily. “Don’t count on it.”

  With more confidence than any man should possess, he put his hands in his pockets and stepped away from me. “You had a taste. You’re not likely to forget me.”

  “It’s a good thing I have impeccable self-control. Bye, Breckin. I can’t say it was nice knowing you.”

  A smile parted his lips. “You’ll miss me.”

  I gave him the middle finger as I turned and walked away.

  His laughter wrapped around me, following me with each step I put between us, and no matter my brave face, a part of me was scared I’d never see him again—that I wouldn’t be able to let him go.

  Breckin had been right when he warned me that someone here could hurt me or kill me.

  But he failed to mention that someone was him.

  The moment I stepped away, moving through the couples, a familiar tingle radiated over my body. I quickly spun around, knowing at any second I would be swept from the Monster Ball. Power crackled in the air with the fireworks. The night was coming to an end, and although I shouldn’t have tortured myself, I was compelled to see Breckin’s face one last time.

  I told myself it was to burn the memory of him in my brain.

  Nothing but a lie, but I was a master of deception, even to myself. I refused to admit I wanted to remember him all right but not for nefarious reasons. Breckin Hastings would haunt my dreams, and as my vision wavered, his eyes captured mine. They were eyes I was never going to forget.

  My name fell from his lips, yet there was no sound. Compelled to hear my name one last time, I took a step back the way I’d come but was surrounded by pale light as bright as the moon on a clear night.

  That was it.

  I was gone, drifting through time and space. My body was weightless, no longer a solid form I could see or feel.

  My body reappeared in the exact same spot I’d been swept away from, the little iron porch connected to my apartment. The sun was just beginning to crest in the horizon, casting pinks and oranges over the college town, and I wanted nothing more than my bed.

  Sliding open the door, I kicked off my boots, leaving them in the middle of the family room floor. The apartment was quiet as my feet sank into the plush carpet, but the peace only lasted a few seconds.

  “Looks like someone wasn’t the belle of the ball.” Finn was shirtless in the kitchen, eating a bowl of Lucky Charms.

  If I still had my boots on, I would have thrown one of them at his head. “Shut up, Finn. I’m not in the mood.”

  “Imagine that. Lex not in the mood. Said no guy ever.”

  My lips twitched of their own accord. “Fine. You want to hear about my shitty night? I kissed a few guys, one of them being a Nephilim. Got kidnapped—”

  The spoon paused halfway to his mouth. “Wait. What? Back up. Nephilim? Shit, are you serious?” His eyes were wide with disbelief. Who could blame him?

  Morphing into my flannel PJ’s, I vowed to never wear the black dress again. It had been tainted by he-who-must-not
-be-named. “I wish I wasn’t.”

  His eyes searched mine. “Are you okay?”

  “I will be,” I assured, and it was the first time I was glad to have someone else in the apartment with me. I wanted to be alone but not truly alone. “Oh,” I said, pausing at the hall to my room. “And I lost my wings.”

  This time the spoon clattered to the floor, spilling milk and little marshmallows all over my floor.

  “That mess better be cleaned up before I wake up,” I warned, strolling down the hallway.

  “Not the wings,” I heard him sob just as I was closing the door to my room.

  I knew the feeling well. It was going to take some getting used to, being a succubus without wings.

  Damn Breckin Hastings.

  The End – For Now

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  Secret

  Demons

  By Raye Wagner

  Chapter One

  I took a deep breath and focused on the form I wanted to take, a blood adder—the deadly red snake uncommon and feared among the Bidi, which guaranteed I’d be left alone as I slithered through their city. General Synam’s order to scout Datti was an opportunity to prove not only my loyalty but competence, and fierce determination pulsed through me. I was not like my father, the greed and jealousy that drove him to betray Sakari would not be my legacy. My body shifted in a pulse of heat, my leathers and Bidi armor disappearing as I went from man to adder.

  I slid through a hole in the sandstone wall and slithered my way through the city of Datti. Sandstone buildings of all sizes, growing larger the closer I got to the center. Adults and children hissed and cursed, but moved out of my way as I darted past. The heat of day was just beginning to wane, but the packed dirt still held the warmth of the twinning suns.

  I measured the sectors, even knowing Synam had probably done the same, but farther into the city, I came across an encampment of dozens of garrisons. This was why I was here. Soldiers milled around the quarters, chortling in their inebriated state as if celebrating a victory. There were more than I could count without getting underfoot, an unreasonable risk, but their numbers were significantly more than I’d anticipated.