Page 50 of The Alpha's Forced Rejected Mate
“My turn.” The demon lunged, moving across the room faster than Luna could follow, its hand closing around her throat, lifting her until her toes barely touched the floor, and she clawed at its wrist as her airway constricted. She grabbed the bedside lamp, yanking it off the wall and throwing it at the demon’s head. It caught the lamp with inhuman speed, crushing the ceramic base in its grip.
Focus. Use your power.
Luna used her free hand to place her palm directly over the demon’s heart on its chest. She pictured light, clean, pure light, pouring into the thing from her. The monster let out a blood-curdling scream and let her go.
Luna collapsed to her knees, gasping for breath. She looked up at the creature’s skin, which was now red.
“You bitch,” the demon’s eyes flashed with demonic fury. “This is going to be fun.”
The demon bounced back fast, and caught Luna by the hair, jerked her head back before she could get away, and pulled her across the floor with it.
Pain shot up her scalp, but that wasn’t all. The demon flung her against the wall, and her head struck the wooden paneling, stars bursting behind her eyes. Dazed, she sagged to the ground.
Get up. Get up NOW.
Luna opened her eyes groggily to see the demon moving toward her, now holding her knife. The blade shone strangely in the cabin’s low light. With all the strength she could muster, she raised her hand once again. This time, the magic struck in a violent, erratic outburst.
The desk chair toppled, and a nearby glass of water shattered—but the demon merely sidestepped the wave of energy. She had been getting better with her magic, but panicking now, she felt useless.
“A witch without training,” it mocked. “What can you do with all that power?”
The demon squatted down and traced her face with the knife. Warm blood dripped down Luna’s skin. The demon muttered, its breath hot against her ear, “I wonder if your mate will still want you when I’m done carving up this pretty face.”
Luna spat in its face.
The devil twisted his face in anger. It lifted the knife, and as it arced toward her throat, the walls of the hut shookwith a bone-chilling roar. A huge dark figure sped through the shattered doorway as the monster turned.
It was Dominic in his wolf form. He struck the demon so hard that they both went through the wall on the other side.
Luna’s palm flew to her throat, where the knife had almost struck its mark, and she gasped. She could see Dominic’s wolf form tearing into the demon with fierce rage through the ragged hole in the wall. The demon retaliated by slicing Dominic’s flank with its knife.
Luna cried out as she saw blood darken his midnight-black fur, but the wolf didn’t slow. If anything, the wound seemed to fuel his rage.
She pushed herself to her feet, leaning against the wall. She could see through foggy vision that the demon had successfully knocked Dominic back and was now standing, displaying erratic movements. Its fingertips crackled with dark electricity.
“Dominic!” Luna shouted.
Her voice caused the wolf’s ears to perk up, but he continued to stare at the demon. Slowly, he walked around it, muscles hunched beneath the silver marks on his back, poised to attack.
Luna knew she had to help. Gathering her magic once more, the power built within her, less chaotic this time, more focused, now that her mate was close. She directed it toward the knife in the demon’s hand.
In a moment, the blade was red-hot. As its palm burnt, the demon let out a howl and dropped the sword. Dominic launched his attack without hesitation.
He clamped his enormous jaws around the demon’s throat. The body of the demon became limp, and there was a painful crunch. It sank and sizzled to a black mold on the ground.
In the faint light, Dominic’s naked body gleamed with blood and perspiration as he transformed back into a human. With fatigue sweeping over her, Luna slumped against the wall. She was exhausted from using so much magic in such a short period of time.
In a flash, Dominic was behind her, his big hands cupping her face in an unexpectedly tender way. He looked her over for injuries and said, “Are you hurt?” He stared at the gash on her cheek, and she could see barely contained fury in his eyes.
Even though her voice rasped horribly from her wounded throat, she managed to say, “I’m okay. You’re bleeding.”
He shook his head, dismissing his own injuries. “It isn’t anything. I heal fast. We must leave. Right now.”
“What’s going on out there?” Luna asked, putting on a pair of sweatpants from a drawer.
“Xavier knows. He sent demons straight for you while he kept me and the others occupied,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone as he shoved supplies and clothing into a duffel bag.
Luna’s blood ran cold. “He knows about us? About what we saw during the ritual?”
