Page 4 of Princess of Hell

As we surround our prey, I pick up a new scent, a whiff of something that confuses me. It smells sweet and bitter at the same time. Still, it’s not unpleasant. It makes my mouth water.

A girl is on the ground of the empty parking lot trying to fight off the Burlo Demon. I blink a few times to make sure I’m not mistaken.

Burlo Demons are horrible creatures that make grown men run. Now and then, one escapes the portals of Hell, and it’s my job to hunt it down, to make sure the damn thing is either returned to Hell or killed. Burlos are not smart but, once they latch onto a target, they are relentless in the pursuit of their prey.

My eyes lock on the Burlo’s opponent, a young woman. She’s the one emanating the sweet, bitter scent that confuses my senses. The girl has long, silver hair that glows in the light of the moon. Her skin looks like velvet. She’s so beautiful. Everything about her appears as if she’s a gorgeous porcelain doll. Her body doesn’t smell human, but she’s not a shifter either. My mind still can’t make sense of everything around me. Why is this gorgeous girl on the filthy ground of a biker bar parking lot covered in Burlo drool?

I issued a command to my pack, asking them to wait.

Drae caught my eyes and moved his head slightly in acknowledgment. But River, my wild, hot-headed brother, saw the gorgeous girl attacked by a Burlo, threw caution down the drain, and jumped into the fight. River landed a bite into the soft area of the Burlo’s flank just as it leaned with all his weight on the girl and cracked her ribs. River was all teeth and bravado. The Burlo Demon turned its head toward him and spat acidic drool in River’s direction.

Drae didn’t need a command to jump into action. He and I had hunted together for so long it felt like a well-oiled machine was going down. We both jumped as one, grabbed a flank of the Burlo Demon in our teeth, and started to rip it apart. The Demon cried in agony, trashing and pushing us away, but the advantage was on our side—three against one. I like my odds.

River recovered from the attack and jumped back on his feet, shaking away the pain. The Burlo was too busy fending off and Drae to notice that River went for the vulnerable spot on its throat. The Demon was done.

River’s fangs ripped into its flesh. Blood poured from the wound. It screamed in agony, a sound that made me shiver. This was not the first Burlo we had ever killed but, damn, it was the strongest.

My eyes were attracted by the young woman who lay there. Her long, silver hair was messed up, and blood stuck to the silky, moonlight-colored strands, blood that flowed from her body.

Drae, the strongest of us, pulled the Burlo away. That was one of the most significant inconveniences with killing Demons--you had to clean up after yourself. No one can leave the body of a colossal mutant behind at a biker bar. In this age, a video could easily land on the Internet and become viral.

Drae and River shifted back to human shape. I couldn’t. My eyes locked on the girl. It was sad that the Burlo had killed her. I wished we could have saved her. I whined softly. I stuck my nose against her skin. The silver shine around her zapped me. Her face was cooling off like the night, but there was something. I felt a faint heartbeat inside her chest. How was that possible? The Burlo was on top of her, crushing her organs badly, turning them to mush. Still, when my nose was close to her, I detected that smell, that sweet and thick scent that attracted me to her sooner.

Just as I was about to shift and try to give her CPR, she opened her eyes, focusing on me, and sending a deep thrill through my entire body. Deep, dark black eyes looked at me through a thick curtain of long lashes. This woman was so beautiful it was almost painful. Something inside me tugged toward her. I felt as if I wanted to protect her, clean the acid saliva off her, bring her a coffee. Whatever she needed would be fine. I was willing and eager to offer it to her.

Her dark eyes looked warm and soft for a second before turning to frozen pits of darkness. The way her look changed felt like a slap to my face.

“Don’t touch me!” She spat the words between clenched teeth. The scent of blood drifted from her mouth.

My head leaned from one side to the other.

River was already dressed. He ran over to us, ready to protect her from every threat, even from me.

“Hey, Jacks. She’s probably scared of you.” River kneeled next to her. “Are you okay? Can you speak? How can I help you?”

She scrambled into a sitting position and searched the parking lot.

“Don’t touch me!” She did not sound scared. Not a bit. She sounded more as if we should be scared of her, not the other way around.

This woman just fought a Burlo Demon, a full-grown Burlo male, and lived to tell the tale. Her scent was wrong, not the way a human female should smell.

River knelt next to her, leaning into her and trying his best to charm her. “I’m River. That’s my brother, Jacks. The big guy pulling the Burlo away is Drae. Do you have a name?”

River touched her pale skin and ungloved hand and jumped back. A soft, silver glow appeared for a split second on her skin.

“Motherfucker, what did you do?” River yelled at the young woman.

She sat there, wearing a leather jacket and pants, a pair of boots with heels so high I had no idea how she could fight with them, and a calm and collected expression on her face.

“I need my glove. Did you see it?”

Then it struck me. Her entire body was covered. Only her face and her hands were without protection. The first thing she told me was not to touch her. It was for my protection, not hers.

She had a slight smirk on her full, pouty lips. I’ll be damned. She was amused and not in the slightest way sorry.

“I told you not to touch me,” she addressed River, who looked down at his hand.

It healed fast, but the smell of charred flesh still floated in the air, making my stomach rumble with hunger. I’m a wolf shifter. I need to eat.

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