Page 27 of Wickedly Yours

Was I being a terrible person by keeping her in the dark about what was going on in my life? If it wasn’t going anywhere, I didn’t want to tell her I was seeing someone. She would be so supportive, and it would break my heart to see her disappointment when it ended.

Sighing, I dumped the trash in the back dumpster, turning back to go inside the bakery. The sun hadn’t gone down yet, but the lights were already coming on, an orange glow leaking into the alleyway behind Main Street.

“What’s this?” A grating voice instantly had the hair on the back of my arms sticking up.

“Found ourselves a sweet treat, didn’t we?”

I turned, finding two of them staring at me like they’d found their next meal.

At first, I’d thought they were just playing a prank on me. Some Halloween costumes gone wrong. But… it was becoming increasingly obvious to me they weren’t human.

A sickly gray pallor covered their skin that stretched acrossa gangly, unnatural-looking frame. Claws sat in the place of fingernails. But it was their horns that told me everything I needed to know. I’d never seen one before, but there had been stories in our books about the wicked creatures that lived in the shadows.

Demons.

Willow’s words echoed in my mind.He’s a demon.

Maybe I was right not to trust him. Had he led them here, too? Unwittingly or not, I hoped Damien hadn’t brought them here. It would absolutely crush my sister. Especially if they ate me.

They were close enough to rip me apart. I didn’t think demons liked toeathumans, but my education on other species had never been that great, anyway. They were supposed to be myths. Legends. Just like vampires and wolf shifters and mermaids and the rest of them.

What were they doing here? The magical barrier of Pleasant Grove should have kept thingsout. That’s what I’d always been taught, but I was second-guessing a lot of things about this town.

“Please don’t hurt me,” I begged, holding my hands in front of my face. All I could do was will my magic to the surface—the power that lived inside my veins.

Why hadn’t I learned to defend myself when I had the chance? Even if I was terrified of it—knowing the depth. My coven didn’t even know how deep my insecurities ran. I kept them all bottled up inside.

“She’s the one, isn’t she?” The second demon said to the first. “Our golden ticket.”

“Smells like it,” the first agreed. “His scent is all over her. This must be the one.”

My cheeks warmed.His scent all over me?The thought made me dizzy.

They had to have been talking about Zain, right? Only, I hadn’t seen him in days, and I’d definitely showered since then. There was no way there would be any lingeringanything.

“I don’t know who you are, but I’m no one special,” I said, backing up slowly. Like if I didn’t spook them, I could make it out alive.Why had I left my phone inside?“I’m just a baker.”

“Just a baker.Ha!” The laugh that the creature emitted was like nails on a chalkboard. “I can see the magic that runs through your veins, witch.” He spat out the word. “Your kind seek to eliminate us, to wipe us off the map.”

“I’m not—” I knew nothing about that. We weren’t demon hunters. A demon hadn’t been seen in Pleasant Grove in decades, as far as I knew. Unless the barriers were weakened, they shouldn’t have been here now.

My palms heated, the magic that sparked through my veins sizzling on my skin. Would it be effective against them? I only had one shot—maybe, if I was lucky—before they’d be on me.

I felt a presence at my back, and I inhaled sharply. Because his body heat flooded my veins like he was sayingI’m here. I’ve got you.Little zaps shot through my skin where he touched my arm.

“Luna, get behind me.” Zain shoved his body in front of mine, his voice practically a snarl as he turned to the creatures. “You will not touch her.”

“Just let us have one taste, huh? You can share, and we’ll give her back unharmed.” The second creature’s lips curled, exposing long canines, sharpened to points.“Mostly.”

I couldn’t move because I was frozen. For once in my life, I knew complete fear. Nothing had terrified me before.

Perhaps I should have been more like Willow, reading our family grimoire instead of romance and fantasy books, and then I’d know what to do in this kind of situation. Maybe it was my parents’ fault for not teaching me how to control thismagic of mine. I knew I had power—dangerous, if wielded properly—but I didn’t knowhow.

Useless. I was useless. My knees buckled, falling into Zain’s back.

“No.” He spoke roughly as I clutched onto him. “Don’t even look at her, you worthlesstrash.”

“Zain…” I curled my hands into the back of his jacket, holding onto his body as mine trembled.

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