Bitter Sweet Love

Chapter Five

Stomach lurching, I studied the horrific-looking creatures. Terriers were lesser demons, ones rarely seen by the human eye. They were controlled by Seekers—demons who were in charge of finding something for an Upper Level demon or for Hell itself. If there were Terriers, it meant they were rooting around for something.

I’d only seen a demon once—an Upper Level one who had made it past the males protecting Danika and me while we’d traveled from a nearby town with our mother. I had been six, and a simple outing had turned into a tragedy.

“Stay in the car,” Dez ordered, throwing open the car door. “No matter what.”

In a second he was outside the SUV, slamming the door shut behind him. One of the Terriers cocked its long, narrow neck to the side as it lifted its nose, sniffing at the air. A squawking sound came when it opened its mouth.

Two more Terriers appeared between the trees, answering the call. I lowered my hand to the seat-belt clasp. Four of them? One against four? Icy fear embedded deep into my soul. It was like being six again, helpless and only able to watch the horror unfold.

A stuttered heartbeat later, Dez phased into his true form. The back of his shirt shredded and slipped from his body as his wings unfurled, arcing high on either side of his broad shoulders. The change took only seconds, but the end result was magnificent. His skin turned a dark gray and his jaw widened, nose flattening. Two horns erupted from the messy spikes of auburn hair, curving back.

Seeing him in his true form for the first time in years, I could no longer view him as the handsome boy I had fallen for.

Dez was now a full-grown male—a warrior at that.

A Terrier shrieked as it went airborne, wings flapping as it charged Dez. He didn’t hesitate. Leaning back, he planted his foot in the Terrier’s midsection, kicking the large birdlike creature into another. Both creatures hit the ground, a mess of rolling talons and beaks. Another raced toward Dez, and he bent at the knees, muscles tensing along his back. Launching into the air, he caught the Terrier around the neck. Dez twisted in midair, throwing the Terrier the way one might swing a bat.

The demon flew through the air, smacking into a tree. The impact cracked like thunder. Tree bark splintered and the tall fir snapped in half, falling into another fir. The Terrier hit the ground, unmoving. A second later, the body shuddered and then collapsed into itself, disappearing in a spewing of black smoke.

The three remaining Terriers were up, circling Dez. He spun under the closest, narrowly avoiding the razor-sharp edge of its beak.

His lips curled up on the sides as he rose into the air. Confidence oozed from Dez, but a Terrier struck, its claw catching and ripping through Dez’s jeans. Blood immediately welled and darkened the pant leg. Their claws could cut through our skin? Oh, God...

My heart leaped into my throat as fear exploded into panic.

Dez laughed as he dropped to the ground in a crouch. “Is that really the best you can do? A scratch?”

The Terrier responded with a shriek, lashing out. The other two rose into the air, swooping down on Dez. He didn’t seem afraid. If anything, the half smile said he was quite enjoying himself, but I knew how quickly a battle could turn. One minor slip and it would be all over.

And here I was, cowering in the car.

My mother hadn’t shown any fear. She’d battled the demon, as ferocious as any male. She’d lost her life protecting my sister and me, and I wasn’t going to sit and watch the same thing happen to Dez or anyone.

Fingers chilled and trembling, I opened the driver’s door and stepped out. Inhaling the scent of pine and soil, I forced my body to phase. The second my wings spread out from underneath my tank top, two of the Terriers whipped around, sniffing the air.

They shrieked shrilly, a cross between a bird being strangled and a bobcat, and headed straight for me.

“Jasmine!” Dez roared, kicking off the ground. He’d made it halfway into the air when the remaining Terrier intercepted. Grabbing on to him, it slammed them both into the soil, their impact eating up several feet of ground along the shoulder of the road.

Too late to reconsider the act of stepping out of the vehicle, I crouched and shot into the air, tucking my wings back. I was fast, but these things cut through the air, their outstretched hands inches from me. My stomach and chest seized as I powered through the air, reaching the tallest point of the nearest tree.

I grabbed the thickest branch, snapped it free and whipped around. The touch of the closest Terrier whispered over my skin as I swung the branch with every ounce of strength I possessed.

The branch cut through the Terrier’s elongated head. Black liquid spurted and the red, beady eyes rolled back as it fell down to earth, skull shattered. A plume of black smoke rose as I swung at the other Terrier. Having seen its buddy take a homerun swing, it darted out of my reach and then arced in the sky. Moving incredibly fast, it gripped the end of the branch and tore it free from my grasp, flinging it aside.

“Shit,” I muttered, flying back and then dipping down. Hair streamed out from my face and then fell forward as I landed on the ground in a crouch. Popping up, I lurched back a step and the Terrier’s claws caught the front of my tank top, tearing the fabric across my stomach and barely missing my skin.

Another burst of black smoke erupted, signaling the end of the Terrier that Dez was dealing with. He spun around, his eyes electric-blue pools. Loose soil and rock flew into the air as he pushed off the ground, catching the last Terrier from behind. A quick twist of his hands, and he’d snapped the creature’s neck. He flung black goo off his hands as he pinned me with a dark look.

Uh-oh.

Before the last puff of rotten-smelling black smoke evaporated, Dez was in front of me, his large hands slipping under the hem of my torn shirt.

“Are you okay?” he demanded. His warm palms flattened across my tummy, shocking me. “Jasmine.”

Heart pounding, I gripped his arms. “I’m fine. It didn’t cut me, but you—”

“I told you to stay in the car!” He withdrew his hands, but then clasped my shoulders. The pupils of his eyes stretched thin. “What were you thinking?”

“You were outnumbered.” I slipped out of his grasp and shifted into my human skin. The residue of adrenaline was a bitter taste in the back of my mouth. “I couldn’t watch and do nothing, but your leg—”

My words ended in a squeak as he pulled me into his arms, holding me tight against his hot, bare chest. His hand balled in the mass of my tangled hair as his wings curled forward, closing me in. I stiffened at the feel of him, so very warm and alive. When he held me last night, the embrace had scattered my senses, but it was nothing compared to this.

Dez shuddered. “When I saw you get out of that car, my freaking heart stopped.”

Muscle by muscle, I relaxed into his hold, allowing my cheek to rest against his chest. I could feel his heart pounding. “I couldn’t just sit and watch again.”

“Again?” And then his powerful arms tightened around me. “Your mom? This was different,” he said quietly, his chin dipping down. “I could’ve taken on five more Terriers, Jas.”

Closing my eyes, I didn’t respond to that.

His lips brushed the top of my head. “There was nothing you could’ve done to help your mother. You know that, right?”

“Yes,” I said, my voice muffled. Females weren’t expected to defend themselves, let alone fight, an ideology Danika and I strongly disagreed with. If our mother had been trained, she might’ve escaped the attack with her life.

He held me for a second more and then let go, stepping back. When I opened my eyes, he was in his human skin. I’d seen a lot of the males running around shirtless, but for some reason, seeing Dez in that state made me feel as if I’d never seen a male stomach before.

His chest was cut and his stomach finely chiseled. He was broad, yes, but his muscles weren’t bulky. His jeans hung dangerously low, revealing those curious indents on either side of his hips. There were little nicks in the skin of his stomach and chest; old injuries I imagined had to have been serious for them to leave a scar. Somehow those blemishes didn’t deter from his masculine beauty but only enhanced it.

I was staring.

Forcing my gaze up, I saw that he was grinning slightly. My cheeks flushed. “You can’t be too upset with me for getting out of the car.”

He arched a brow. “I can be as upset as I want to be over it.”

I shook my head while I struggled to keep my eyes on his face. Now, I knew how most guys felt. It was a lot of work. “You promised to hunt a demon with me. I can’t stay in a car while we do that.”

Sinew stretched and muscles bulged as he folded his arms. Good God... “Well, technically this would count as hunting a demon, so—”

“No, it doesn’t. We didn’t hunt anything. They just popped out of nowhere.” I glanced over my shoulder, back to where they had appeared. “Why so many?”

His stare turned icy when I faced him. “They’re hunting for the mansion. They know a Warden clan is nearby and they’re trying to find it.”

I gasped, horrified by the idea of these things descending on a homeful of children. “Is... is that common?”

He nodded. “More common than you realize. They just don’t usually come out during the day. They’re getting bolder.” His lip curled in disgust. “We must get back. I need to report this to Garrick immediately.”

How had I never known about this? Demons were getting that close to our home on a regular basis? How much did I not know? In a daze, I walked back to the car. Dez drove this time. I was cool with that.