Page 56 of Fallen Demon

I scooted closer to him. “Levi.”

He groaned again—what was it with him and groaning and grunting?—and he turned around, giving me his back.

I gaped at his back, my mouth open. The prick!

“Levi!” I called, this time louder and harsher. “You can’t ignore me, not while there’s only the two of us here. You might not want to talk about?—”

He spun around so fast and leaned over me, his lips peeled and his fangs showing. “You’re getting on my nerves.”

I stood my ground. “Good! Then maybe you’ll pay attention to me.”

“Pay attention to you?” he barked, his voice deep. “All I do is think about you! I can’t get you out of my head, no matter what I do!”

My heart squeezed. He had said something similar to me not long ago. I reached up and laid my hand on his hard chest. “It’s because we’re connected, you and I.”

He snarled. “We have nothin?—”

His head jerked to the side and his eyes scanned the line of trees. I was about to yell at him when I heard it too.

The snap of a twig and the ruffle of leaves.

Slowly, Levi stood and unfurled his huge wings behind him. He snarled at the trees.

A moment later, five figures walked past the trees and into our direct line of sight.

I gasped.

The men I had almost run into when exiting the bakery.

“What?” I muttered.

Gold-Tooth smiled at me, though it was a nervous one. “Surprised to see us, doll? We recognized you. You’re the angel everyone is after.”

The scarred one frowned at Levi. “Though, we thought you were alone.”

Levi snarled at them. “Two lion shifters, and three half-demons. This should be easy.”

In a flash, he pushed from the ground, flap his wings once, and landed on top of Gold-Tooth. The others jumped on Levi, except for the scarred one, who dodged Levi’s wingspan and came directly for me.

I called my sword. It appeared in my hand and I swung it wide. He jumped back, snarling. His arms shifted into lion claws and his teeth elongated into fangs. He came at me again with his claws and teeth, but I parried his attack.

A darkfire bolt zipped past my head.

One of the half-demons who had snuck around Levi threw it, and I almost didn’t dodge it in time. In doing so, I lost my balance and stumbled back.

The lion shifter lunged at me.

But he stopped midair, his eyes wide.

His body fell at my feet and behind him I could see Levi, the shifter’s heart in his blood-soaked hand.

I did a quick glance around and saw all of them were dead—and not just killed but butchered, with blood and body parts everywhere.

Puffing and grunting, Levi dropped the heart and came at me.

With murderous eyes, he grabbed my neck, drove me to the ground, pushing the air out of my lungs and snapped his fangs an inch from my face.

“Levi,” I croaked. “It’s me.”

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