Page 63 of When Death Whispers

It’s a low, dark sound, amused and cruel.

Hudson doesn’t hesitate. He swings again, his knuckles catching Rad’s cheek. It doeslessthan nothing.

Rad’s head barely moves this time, his grin widening.

Oh,fuck.

Hudson doesn’t realize what he’s done.

Rad isn’t human. He isn’t playing by human rules. And Hudson, my sweet, golden, stupidhuman, just declared himself a threat.

Rad moves like lightning. One second he’s standing there, smug and amused, and the next?—

His claws wrap around Hudson’s throat.

Hudson chokes, his hands flying up to grip Rad’s wrist, but he might as well be trying to pry off a steel vice. Radliftshim, feet dangling above the ground, tail snapping behind him in a pleased flick.

“You dare challengemefor her?” Rad growls, his voice no longer the smooth, taunting purr I’m used to. No, this is something deeper. Darker. Moredemonic. And I swear his eyes are glowing brighter and his horns now taller and sharper than before.

Hudson gasps for air, legs kicking. His fingers dig into Rad’s grip, veins bulging in his arms from the strain.

“Rad,stop!” I scramble to them, reaching for him, but he doesn’t let go.

Hewon’t let go.

“You think you cantakeher from me?” Rad hisses, yanking Hudson closer until they’re nearly nose-to-nose. His lips peel back, exposing his wickedly sharp fangs.

And then?—

Hebites.

Hudson’s strangled yell rips through the air.

Rad’s fangs sink deep into the curve of his neck, just above his shoulder. His claws tighten, holding Hudson in place as his mouth latches onto soft flesh.

Fuck. Making a bargain with a demon was such a stupid mistake. I thought I was saving Hudson and instead I made him the target of not one buttwomonsters.

I don’t think. Imove.

I grab Rad’s furred arm and yank, slamming my fist into his ribs, into his side, anything to make him stop.

“Rad, let himgo!” I shriek, hitting him again, nails raking against his skin.

For a moment, he doesn’t respond. His tail lashes violently behind him, claws flexing, body taut as a bowstring. Then with a snarl, Rad releases Hudson, shoving him back so hard he flies. Hudson crashes into the dirt, a hand clamping over his bleeding neck, his entire body trembling.

Rad’s chest heaves, nostrils flaring, eyes blazing with somethingprimal. A dark smear of blood stains his lips, his tongue flicking out to taste it.

He shudders.

“Rad,” I whisper, stepping closer, my heart still hammering.

His gaze snaps to me, and my breathcatches. Because for the first time since I’ve met him—Rad doesn’t look cocky. Doesn’t look smug or satisfied.

No, for the first time, I seethe demon beneath the beast.

His frost-blue eyes darken to something more primal, something ancient—a swirling abyss of hunger and fury, of instincts honed over lifetimes. His lips curl, stained with Hudson’s blood, and his chest rises and falls in heaving pants. But it’s not exhaustion.

It’s somethingworse.

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