Page 102 of Demon Kissed
All I know with vivid clarity is that I won’t be able to live with myself if anything happens to these guys. Call me dramatic or young or whatever you want to, but in the short time I have known them, they have imprinted themselves on my very soul. Embedded themselves into my genetic makeup.
And seeing Kastros covered in a myriad of hideous bruises? It only solidifies the fact that I can’t lose them. I refuse to. It’s completely selfish—probably the most selfish thing I’ve ever done in my life—but I’ll do whatever it takes to keep these demons alive and well.
Mydemons.
“Are you seriously suggesting what I think you are?” Zolroth’s voice is rife with heady disbelief.
“M-Maybe you guys should leave,” I stammer out. “Go back to Hell, or whatever. It’s obviously not safe for you here. We don’t know where the she-demon is, and—”
“Katrina,” Raz all but growls, sitting up straighter in his chair and leveling me with an unreadable look.
“—I need you guys to be safe. I can’t stand to see you hurt.” Tears emerge in my eyes as I stroke Kastros’s cheek—the one part that’s not covered in bruises or scratches.
“Katrina!” This time, Raz’s voice reminds me of thunder disrupting the night’s tranquility. I whip my head around to face him, and I can’t help but note how tired he suddenly looks. How broken. Vulnerability peeks back at me before he shoves the emotion away, expression turning impassive. “Katrina, there’s something you need to know.”
“What?” I demand, scrambling to my feet. I feel like this is a “stand and glare” type of conversation instead of “kneel and weep.” “Seriously, what?”
None of the guys will even look at me. Van glares at the far wall, lips tense, and Akor shoves a hand through his pink mohawk, causing the strands to become wildly disheveled. Zolroth looks physically pained as he stares intently at my face, almost as if he wishes to memorize it.
“You’reour Center,” Raz confesses at last, and I swear you could hear a pin drop in the silence that follows. My heart judders wildly before bottoming out, hitting the deepest pit of my stomach. Time stops as I stare into Raz’s dark eyes, waiting for him to laugh and tell me it’s a joke. Waiting for him to roll his eyes at me for believing him in the first place.
Waiting, waiting, waiting.
It’s not true; I know it’s not.
I’m a human, for fuck’s sake, and they’re demons from Hell! I’m not their mythological soulmate or whatever the fuck it is.
I can’t be the one who did this to them.
“Wh-what?” I stutter out at last, willing him to tell the truth.
He sighs heavily, sliding a hand down his face before scratching at the stubble on his chin.
“You, Katrina, are our Center. Our fated mate,” he confesses after a long, long moment where I thought I was gonna combust.
“I can’t be!” I manage to say at last, shaking my head vehemently in denial. “I’m just…”
“You don’thaveto be a demon,” Zolroth breaks in, sounding unbearably tired. “Though most Centers are the same species as their mates. I knew at the bowling alley, when I accidentally hurt myself. But I think a part of me suspected it was you from the start. I’ve never been as drawn to anyone in my life.”
“I’ve known since I got injured,” Akor pipes up, and Van nods in agreement.
“I suspected then as well,” he admits.
Slowly, all of the demons turn to look at Raz, who appears pained.
“And Razzy, here, knew from the get-go.” Akor’s voice is as dark as a moonless night, not a star in sight to break up the monotony. “Didn’t you? A murder’s leader always knows when they run into their Center. They can feel the connection.”
“Is that true?” I tremble wildly as I stare into Raz’s heartbreakingly beautiful eyes. “Did you know from the beginning?”
Raz heaves out another sigh before nodding stiffly, clenching and then unclenching his jaw. “Yes,” he grits out. “I knew.”
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell us?” Van hisses, and never in my life have I seen the lust demon so angry. Velvety black wings expand from his back as he glares at Raz, eyes shining red. “Why did you keep us guessing? If we would’ve known for sure—”
“You would’ve what? Killed her?” Raz snaps back, jumping to his feet and charging forward until he’s in Van’s face.
“Killed me?” I whisper in a small voice, and both demons immediately whip their heads in my direction. Panic starts to wrap around my heart like string, squeezing it tighter and tighter.
“No!” Van protests adamantly, shaking his head from side to side. “No, Kat. We would never hurt you.”
