Page 63 of Demonic Division

The walls vibrate with another explosion, and I grip the bars for balance. “We can talk about that later. Something’s happening, M. Someone is attacking the castle! I think Kaebl said it was Slaine—the same Slaine you mentioned before!” As if to prove my statement, another piece of stone breaks off from the ceiling, slamming into the spot just shy of my bars.

Instead of shock, a lazy smile creeps over M's face, and his eyes trail sensually down my frame. “Hmm… so it seems.”

“There’s nothingfunnyabout this!” I snap, grabbing onto the bars as the floor tilts. “We’re going to fucking die down here.”

M blinks slowly, his smug, carefree expression is transfixed on my face. “Perhaps.”

“Don’t youcare?Can’t youdosomething?” My chest rises and falls rapidly, the sounds of the explosions drowned out by the shrill ringing in my ears. “Please…I don’t want to die down here, M.”

Instead of answering, he rakes his claws down the length of the iron bars, filling the air with a horrible screeching noise. “I imagine being buried beneath ten thousand tons of rubble is not a pleasant way to go.”

A choked laugh is squeezed from my throat, but there’s no joy in it. “Iimagine not.”

His smile widens, canines lengthening and piercing hislower lip. “As it so happens, there may be one way in which you can avoid your fate…”

Before he can continue, Nya’s high-pitched mewl echoes along the walls. The little black cat seems to materialize from the shadows themselves, formless and see-through, a transparent swirl of dancing smoke, then all at once solid. She pads across the stone floor, effortlessly dodging falling rubble and debris.

I’m frozen in place, stuck in the single moment in time as Nya slips through the bars of my cell, the runes on her chest and forearms glowing bright enough to match the hue of her eyes. She brushes against my calf, a deep purr vibrating in her chest, echoing into the air.

A bolt of electricity shocks my heart, breathing life to that thread tying me to M. His heated gaze pierces me from across the room, warming my skin and sending shudders down my spine. “Bond with me, Wildfire. Set me free, as only you can.”

My lips part, my breath caught somewhere down my throat. “Would that really work?” I whisper.

He nods. “Once we bond, I will have enough power to get us both out of here. Enough to save Kaebl, Cyprien, all of them. Even if they don’t want me to.” He pushes his face against the bars, his voice lowering to a sinful whisper. “I could finally touch you…”

My mouth dries, and as much as I try, I can’t pull my eyes away. Can’t find a reason to disagree. After all, wasn’t I the one who brought up bonding with him not too long ago? The same desire I have for Cyprien, Roark, and Lir is the same one burning for M. The only difference is, the fire with M is somehow more intense. More dangerous.

If you can fear, you can also be brave.

“What do I have to do?” I whisper, my voice barely audible.

A low chuckle falls from M’s lips. “Nothing. All you have to do isgive in.”

“To what?”

His eyes glow molten as he shifts them toward Nya. I follow his line of sight, surprised to find Nya sitting between my feet, a paw reaching up to me. Pulled by that cord in my chest, I reach down, hooking my finger around the tiny paw. Nya mewls, wide red eyes blinking harmlessly.

But then her lips peel back, revealing a lengthening set of razor-sharp canines. Before I have time to react, Nya lunges forward, sinking her teeth deep into the flesh of my hand. I rear back with a cry as a blinding heat builds behind my eyes, matching the fire searing the center of my chest, encasing my heart in a violent flaming cage. When the pain begins to fade, I glance down, unsurprised to find a glowing rune the same color as M's eyes sitting square in the center of my chest. Marking me as his.

“So remarkable…”

The growling voice draws my attention back to M, and I blink rapidly against the haze coating my vision, not exactly sure what I’m witnessing. M's entire body shakes with the weight of his transformation. His skin shudders, stretching and bulging unnaturally over his growing bone and muscle. The glowing runes coating his skin pulse with a blinding red light, casting eerie shadows along the panes of his face, highlighting the curves of two powerful wings materializing behind his shoulders.

With a deep groan, M stretches his wings out, brushing the walls of his cell with the sheer span of them. His head tipsback in ecstasy as another explosion shakes the ceiling, the sound clashing with the manic laugh roaring into the air. He lowers his head, features sharpening to unnatural angles as he homes in on my form. I’m frozen to the spot by the ravenous hunger shining in his eyes, unable to do anything but watch as he rears back, sending a powerful blow to the door of his cell. The iron rods bend to his will, ripped from the stone frame and falling to the ground with a mighty crash.

M's wings flare out behind him as he steps out, his movements eerily fluid as he stalks toward my cell. Clawed hands wrap around the bars of my cage, using enough force to leave knuckle-shaped divots in the iron.

“I’ve been waiting so long.” His voice exits in a primal growl, his tone matching the wild glint in his eye. “So, so long…”

I blink, and M has ripped the bars from the walls. He tosses them to the floor, keeping his gaze on me, rooting me to the spot. Slowly, he steps into my cell, heat rolling off his skin and outlining his silhouette in smoke.

“M… what are you doing?” I whisper, bracing against the wall as another explosion shakes the floor. “We have to get out of here!”

“Do we?” he murmurs, his eyes glossing over as he steps farther into my cell. For each step he takes, I move one back until, eventually, I’m pinned against the back wall of the room.

He presses a palm to either side of my head, caging me in as he lowers his face to my neck. Breathing in deep through his nose, he lets it out in a groan, pressing his body flush against mine. Something long and hard thrusts between my thighs, and my body responds with a rush of heat to my core.

“M…” I push weakly against his chest, trying to remember why I’m fighting this. “What’s happening?”

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