Page 53 of The Demon of the Wood

She slapped the reins against Apple again, and the mare picked up her pace. The men were right beside her now, crying out for her to stop. They really thought they were helping her.

They maneuvered their horses closer, making Apple grunt and huff angrily. She tried to spur her on, but Apple slowed, her eyes whipping to the surrounding horses. The man on her right grabbed the reins from her, making Apple come to a halt, rearing, and Melina grasped onto her neck, clamping her legs around the saddle to hold on. Apple settled down and the other man grabbed her arm. She felt her eyes smart, even as she glared at him.

“He’s brainwashed her,” he said to the other man, his eyes taking her in with a sympathy that felt like a slap across the face.

“He didn’t brainwash me, you brute,” she gritted out, trying, and failing, to yank her arm free.

“Shh, shh. You’ll be fine. Once you have time away from his thrall, you will get back to normal. I promise.” His voice was so soothing and kind, and it filled her with a special kind of rage.

He hated Kaemon, and he didn’t even know him. He wouldn’t believe a word Melina said. Her stomach dropped. These men would assume Kaemon had used magic to seduce and brainwash her.

She yanked her arm free roughly, leaning away from the man. “Don’t shush me like I’m a child. I know him, and he is not a beast to be hunted. The real beast are those men with you. My uncle and cousins. Gregory. They are beasts.”

The Hunters exchanged a look. The one on her right cleared his throat awkwardly. “They said you might say that. Demons have a special magic to them, Melina… it is Melina, right?”

She didn’t respond, only scowled warily.

He continued. “If you allow them to… well, I don’t want to be indelicate, but I think we both know what you two have been up to.” He put his hands up in a surrendering motion. “No one blames you, Melina. You’re not at fault. That beast is. They’ve done this for years, using their magic to seduce our women. They did it in the war, and they do it now.”

“He has done nothing but save me. Did my uncle tell you how he used to beat me? Did Gregory tell you how he assaulted me…” She swallowed, the memory flooding her. “Did he tell you how he tried to force himself on me? Huh? Kaemon saved me from them. He is the gentlest male I have ever met. Don’t tell me he used some sort of magic when it was only kindness.”

The men exchanged another look and a nod, then the man on her left grabbed her suddenly and roughly, yanking her off Apple and tugging her to his own horse. She yanked and thrashed against him, but he held her tightly, his brawny arms wrapping so she couldn’t move.

“This is for your own good,” he said, taking her back to the group.

Their arrows were aimed at Kaemon, who still laid limply on the beach, panting, his veins discoloring from the poison.

“Don’t hurt him!” she cried out.

Kaemon looked at her, saw the man holding her down, and his nostrils flared. He propped himself up with a growl, trying to move, but his eyes unfocused and he slipped, his head slamming against the sand. Her throat tightened. Would they kill him here? Right now?

“Please,” she begged. “Let him go. He has done nothing wrong.”

Her uncle walked up to them, his face as stern as always, his features an echo of her own, but his countenance so foreign. Gregory trotted behind him, a gloating, predatory gleam in his eyes. She recoiled and the man grasping her looked shrewdly between her and the men.

“Hush now, Melina,” Uncle George said. “Don’t cause a fuss. You should be thankful Gregory convinced us to save you. After I heard what you’d been up to, how you threw yourself at him, I was ashamed and wanted to leave you to your own resources. But he convinced me it was better to save your soul.”

“Threw myself at him?” she said, her voice low and dangerous. “He assaulted me, Uncle.”

George tsked. “You snuck out to be at a tavern unchaperoned at night. You are a liar, Melina. You always have been. A liar and a whore like your mother.”

A roar from Kaemon ripped through the air, and the men startled, looking back at the demon. He tried to stand again but swayed, falling to his knees, his face pained, his eyes distant.

“It seems the beast is quite fond of you, niece,” George said. “The Convent of the Holy Mother will correct that in you.”

Her heart sank. The women of the convent were kept in a room all day, locked away from society, monitored. She could never escape to find Kaemon.

“What is going to happen to Kaemon?”

“Who?”

Melina nodded to her mate.

George laughed. “The beast has a name. Adorable. Like a pet. I do not know. They will kill him, I suppose.”

The blood drained from her face, and Gregory smirked.

The man holding her said, “We will take him in for questioning, miss Melina. We believe he is the son of the old Lord of the House of Shadows. He has many crimes to answer for.”

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