Page 22 of Jackal's Pride

This wasn’t blood-thirst. Once again, her powerful essence was reeled in and calm, serene, around her. Holding the tongue, she peered around the room like she wanted to gaze into the eyes of every demon here.

“What’s wrong? Reaper got your tongue?” Maureen pushed her opponent away. “Have anything else to say?” She was speaking at the crowd.

That was when I understood what she was doing. She was making an example out of him. By taking the tongue of the demon, she was showing them what she could do to any who spoke ill of the Reapers.

Again her eyes bounced around the room. The woman was so arrogant that I didn’t doubt that she frightened everyone in the building. That was how the rest of the match went. She didn’t kill him immediately. She let him bleed out from his mouth while she kicked his body on the ground every time he dozed while walking around the ring. Long before the one hundred and thirty-seven hearts came to reside in my chest, I watched animals when I was in wolf form. I recognized when animals killed for survival, but I also witnessed when they played with their food. If she had been a lioness, this would have been her toying with a meal. But she had a point to make, and she was tossing her authority around the room for every demon to witness.

I was on fire again. I didn’t think I was angry. I was indifferent. I didn’t care for her or her opponent. The demon taunted her, and she was ending him like they went in the ring to do. But I didn’t know how to explain the rush of adrenaline coursing through me. I should not watch her, I decided. But I did, anyway. More like, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Her ferocity drummed a hypnotizing spell on me.

The crowd had quietened down long before the feline finally bled out. Their distaste for the situation hung in the air, but she didn’t let it bother her as a murmur of hisses rippled from the demons. She flicked her ponytail off her shoulder and wiggled her hips back and forth as she stepped out of the cage. The same smoldering heat I’d felt before slithered its way over my neck and down into my stomach.

“Jackal,” the small demon in the ring said my name. His hand moved to his head to scratch it as he pinched his eyes together, peering down at the paper he held. “Jackal?” he said again. “The entity Jackal?” His eyes wandered around the building until he found me. “That explains the power in the room.”

The crowd roared with laughter. I caught a gleam in Maureen’s gaze as she made her way back to the counter where I stood. “Go on,” she said grabbing a cloth behind the bar and wiping the demon’s blood from her hands. “They’re waiting on you.”

Maureen’s voice was soft, catching me off guard. Killing the demon had taken the edge off of her. I turned on the stool but stopped when I felt a foreign object against the side of my leg. Glancing down I saw the outline of my engorged cock through the jeans the Reaper made me wear. Why was I aroused? I’d never experienced this before. Now that I was aware of it, I couldn’t focus on anything else. The scratchy material of the pants I wore rubbed against me when I moved slightly, a tantalizing friction I’d never encountered until now. The smell of sex never affected me before but the musky, aroma was only adding more pressure to my loins. My hearing was hypersensitive to the repetitive groans from the couples copulating in dark corners. It filled my ears and a sensation of warmth spread over my body making my flesh strangely hot and tingly.

“You’re being weird,” Maureen spoke, and I faced her.

My cock throbbed, and I groaned with the realization thatshewas responsible. Somehow, I already knew it was her. It made sense even when I didn’t know why it made sense yet.

This was lust. I growled as I hurried to get away from her. The desire was worse now that I knew. Something about her eyes appeared different before I left. Like I was really seeing her for the first time—as a creature that got emotional. The way she smelled… My nostrils flared. I hated the way I was suddenly in tune with my growing cock and why it continued to harden. I bumped into a demon, and his scent replaced Maureen’s, and for a second, I welcomed it. I breathed easier without the lavender flooding my senses. I pushed him away, losing myself within the crowd of demons. By the time I made it to the cage, my cock was back to normal, and the fire had died.

The rest was a blur. I stepped into the ring with the hearts pounding. I was still thinking about lavender when my opponent attacked. I wasn’t aware of what I was doing. Still processing my rapidly increasing desire, I was consumed byher. How strangely obsessive and maddening my sudden hunger was. It made me ravenous. The yearning turned into bloodlust and my hand went straight into my adversary’s chest, ending the fight immediately. The sickening crunch of bone and the pop of his heart brought me back out of thoughts.

I sought her face in the crowd. She watched me from the same spot I had watched her. Her eyes hardened, and once again, I was consumed with the mutual hatred we harbored for one another.

Getting rid of the collar became my primary objective. Being so close to the woman, along with the presence of the one hundred and thirty-seven hearts, made me into something I wasn’t.

Chapter 6

Maureen

Jackal was different.

He followed me home from The Den like I assumed, but he didn’t argue or glare like he’d been doing. He stepped into my living room and stayed there until I joined him. Then what did he do?

Heavoidedme.

Yet I could detect his overwhelming presence all through my home, even when I slept. He made no plan to leave, and every second that ticked by, the beast grew more and more agitated. His power clouded the entire house while rattling mine. Our powers were at odds and determined to clash. The more his irritation seeped out, my essence sought to attack.

I could end everything. It was simple—remove the collar and be done with Jackal. I could dodge his attacks, not that it wouldn’t get messy when he came after me. I’d never been an easy girl though. When someone wanted me to do something, I had to make it my life’s mission to do the opposite. I was never one to follow rules. The only rules I had ever been able to abide by was that of a Reaper. If I could listen to any man’s orders, it would be that of my father’s. No one was more fair or honorable than the Grim Reaper. I took on my father’s fate withpride,promising to do right by his name.

Getting Barron’s text regarding Dad made me feel bad. The last person I wanted to disappoint was my father, and he wasn’t happy with what I’d done to Jackal. Sadly, my remorse set off a vicious, never-ending cycle. First came remorse then pride jumped in and I got angry for being that way.

So what did I do? I often ignored it. I materialized clothes on since I slept naked, then re-read the text message.

Dad wants you to bring Jackal to the castle.

That was all it said. Taking a deep breath, I stood up and ventured into the living room where the beast was lying on the sofa. He wasn’t asleep. I didn’t think he’d slept since I awoke him two nights ago. But then again when you’ve slept thousands of years who needed anymore?

His eyes were on me the second I stepped out of my room like he was waiting. Placing a hand on my hip, I smirked. “Come on, my pet. It’s time to meet the family.”

His eyebrows flattened. “What are you up to?”

I held my hands up. “Not me. Grim.”

His power clouded the room. “I have no interest in whatever the Grim Reaper wants from me.” He stared at the ceiling as if the conversation was over.

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