Mag-log inLila 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 “Levi.”Levi’s shadow hangs over me as I obey his command and slam my fists into the gut of the rubber dummy. The burn from my muscles aches in my arms all the way to my stomach. I don’t know how long I punch the damn thing until Levi places his hand on my shoulder, signalling for me to stop.Breathlessly, I turn around. “What… what’s next on your torture list?”“An assault course,” he replies, and my stomach drops.Levi walks away and curls his hand, another signal, this time for me to follow.I ask, once I’ve jogged to his side. “Nope.”Damn, this dude is on a serious mission to break my body. I’m just worried he has no intention of putting me back together.We head through the courtyard, past two pillars, and then down a stone path. We pass the Crescent Mother statue, and I naturally look her way. Two candles are held in her hands, both of them lit with a red flame. The Crescent Mother is always a woman in a cloak, her face hidden, but I imagine she is beautiful.“I remem
Lila POV Slowly, I turn the door handle and enter the dimly lit room. Forest music plays softly in the background. Candles flicker around a massage bed covered in a white blanket, and right by the front of it there’s a sign that reads in Japanese, then English: Please remove all clothing and lie under the blanket. Ring the bell once you are ready for your masseuse.I do as instructed and remove my robe and slippers. Once I’ve draped the robe over a wooden chair, I ring the bell and quickly lie face down on the bed underneath the soft blanket. I wait for the masseuse.It occurs to me that for the past hour or so, I haven’t thought about the demon market or my parents or anything that’s weighed me down lately. It’s as if from the moment Adrian dragged me from my apartment, I could see the sun again, feel its warmth on my skin.I can’t keep hiding from reality. My parents are dead, my species are being hunted and trafficked illegally, and the Stormfire alpha is after my head. These are
Lila POV Slowly, I turn the door handle and enter the dimly lit room. Forest music plays softly in the background. Candles flicker around a massage bed covered in a white blanket, and right by the front of it there’s a sign that reads in Japanese, then English: Please remove all clothing and lie under the blanket. Ring the bell once you are ready for your masseuse.I do as instructed and remove my robe and slippers. Once I’ve draped the robe over a wooden chair, I ring the bell and quickly lie face down on the bed underneath the soft blanket.I wait for the masseuse. It occurs to me that for the past hour or so, I haven’t thought about the demon market or my parents or anything that’s weighed me down lately. It’s as if from the moment Adrian dragged me from my apartment, I could see the sun again, feel its warmth on my skin.I can’t keep hiding from reality. My parents are dead, my species is being hunted and trafficked illegally, and the Stormfire alpha is after my head. These are t
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







