LOGINLila POV “It’s been a long day.”“You know the big bad wolf I told you about?”Knight stands to attention right away.“What’s wrong? Which foe must I unleash my mighty wrath on to protect my family?”I fall silent for a moment and scratch Dragon’s belly.“I fear this is a foe neither of us can defeat,” I say, my stomach clenching. “At least not right now.”Knight hops beside me. He doesn’t crawl onto my body like Dragon, but he sits close, which is his way of showing affection.“Why not right now?” he asks and cocks his little head at me.I stop petting Dragon, my thoughts straying to the past. Images of victor at my family’s kitchen table, my parents' dead bodies sitting beside him, with blood on the floor and my hands, flit through my mind. But they each merge into one single object—a golden trophy, a figurative symbol of my winning the Demon Hunting Trials.“Because I haven’t won the Trials yet,” I reply, petting Dragon again. He’s curled up on his back with his tail wagging betwe
Lila POV “It’s been a long day.”“You know the big bad wolf I told you about?”Knight stands to attention right away.“What’s wrong? Which foe must I unleash my mighty wrath on to protect my family?”I fall silent for a moment and scratch Dragon’s belly.“I fear this is a foe neither of us can defeat,” I say, my stomach clenching. “At least not right now.”Knight hops beside me. He doesn’t crawl onto my body like Dragon, but he sits close, which is his way of showing affection.“Why not right now?” he asks and cocks his little head at me.I stop petting Dragon, my thoughts straying to the past. Images of victor at my family’s kitchen table, my parents' dead bodies sitting beside him, with blood on the floor and my hands, flit through my mind. But they each merge into one single object—a golden trophy, a figurative symbol of my winning the Demon Hunting Trials.“Because I haven’t won the Trials yet,” I reply, petting Dragon again. He’s curled up on his back with his tail wagging betwe
Lila POV The burning Tree of Ignis is no longer on fire.When we emerge from the portal in the tree’s hollow, the leaves that usually flutter to an ash grave cease to fall. Shifters and demons scurry around the Inner City, and the sky, normally a vivid red, is now pitch-black. It’s like all the color has been sucked out of Hell.I hurry in Caleb’s wake. “What do you think is going on?”The only light visible comes from the buildings, but everything else is draped in darkness, and there’s a coldness in the air that turns my breath into smoke.“The city is getting shut down,” Caleb answers, a crease forming between his brows.He pivots on his heel and, grabbing my hand, leads the way through the portal again. I don’t bother asking who’s the one behind all of this. A cold, icy dread shivers through me, carving the name victor into my flesh. Has he found me? My stomach twists at the prospect.When we step out of the portal, the doors to the DHT are closed. They’ve always been open from
Lila POV “I can’t believe you went on a mission on your own and you clearly got yourself knocked out! You could have been killed, you complete idiot! This is why demon hunters have partners! I don’t want to see you die!”“You seemed like you were busy,” he answers coldly to my rant like I’m insane and have no reason to be mad. “And I was fine until you came here and told all the demons where I hid.”“That’s bullshit and you know it!” I snap.The walls around us shake, and more demon energy leaks in, likely from the steam that is making the cavern warm. The steam demon things will be here soon, and he is still being an ass.“Why did you come here? What are they?” I ask, needing to put our personal problems aside for a moment before we both get killed.“Fine,” he snaps with a sour tone. “Late last night I heard about this mission that qualified demon hunters had turned down because these demons had killed an entire village nearby. These are called Lullaby Demons because they use steam
Lila POV I pat my arm a few times, putting out the flames that the dragon spit up on me moments ago. My coat is burnt, but it’s not as bad as the couch. I enter the living room where it sits with a massive burnt patch on it, and Dragon has dug himself a bed in the gap overnight. Caleb is going to be mad if he comes back.No—when he’s back.I leave the apartment after feeding Knight and Dragon, heading upstairs. I lift my hand and knock on Dove’s door a few times before it swings open. Standing in the doorway is Dove herself, wrapped in a white towel, her hair dripping water onto the floor.“Hey, bestie! What’s up?”My stomach gives a twist again when she calls me her bestie. “Have you seen Caleb this morning or last night?”She shakes her head. “No, why?”“He’s been missing since I got back from training with the Prince and he was out all night,” I explain, but I smile so she doesn’t see how much I’m freaking out. “I’m sure he just got drunk at a bar, but I can’t help but be worried.
Lila POV I’ve seen the same markings on the medallion around the Stormfire Alpha’s neck. Oh my goddess! He branded his own son with it. Just when I thought I couldn’t hate victor anymore than I already do.Levi doesn’t look back, but he must know I’ve seen it. I try to blank my expression just in case he does glance over at me. Any sorrow I feel for Levi would just embarrass him, I know it. He’s a proud wolf of royal descent.His father’s cruelty may have branded his flesh, but it doesn’t mark his soul.A whistle goes off somewhere, and I watch Levi run towards the first rock wall and jump halfway up it in one single leap. Damn, son. The Prince has got some moves. He grabs the hinges carved into the rocks and throws himself up each one like a damn monkey before climbing over the top. He hurdles effortlessly off the top of the rock tower onto the next one, not pausing. He climbs the rest of the way to the top of that one next. My mouth pops open as he makes quick and sexy work of the
Lila POV “That’s better. You look perfect now,” Dove says, clapping her hands in a way that reminds me of Aurelia.Even though it’s painful to think about her, I briefly wonder what my best friend has been told about me back in Caeli. I doubt she knows I’m alive, let alone on the run. The Caeli pa
Lila POV I sit quietly, sipping on the tasty wine, but then Caleb drops down at the table opposite me, his features pulled into a scowl. I feign ignorance to his anger and continue scanning the menu.“Can’t sense him anywhere,” Caleb snaps after a moment. When I don’t acknowledge him, he mutters,
This was a really bad idea.They’re both looking at her like she’s the answer to their prayers, the very air to their lungs, while their mating scent invades my own lungs so much that I nearly gag. They never stop staring at Aurelia even as they finally come to a stop, and I know why. Everyone know
There’s never enough liquor in the entire shifter world to drown out an alpha egos, and tonight proves it again.I tilt the stolen bottle of red wine lifted straight from the teachers’ lounge at Caeli Pack Academy and take a long, burning swallow before handing it over to Aurelia. She’s the only so







