Page 3 of The Demon's Pet

She had that part right.

I wanted nothing to do with any alphas. Not the alpha of school, the family alphas, the alpha of the entire village, or even his son.

I’d be an old maid omega if I had any choice.

“What’s so wrong with me?” Zane hissed, using his shirt to wipe away the rest of his blood as he lunged for me again, this time catching me around the waist and pulling me in against him. “I’m school alpha. The only one above me is the alpha of the entire village. You want to catch him?”

I shook my head, though I didn’t owe him an answer. Any chance to reject an alpha was a good one.

He lifted a tangled lock of my hair, keeping me locked against him with his other arm and his alpha strength. “If you don’t do something about this mess, you won’t even catch a family alpha.” He grinned, his leering eyes gleaming orange like a fall moon. “Then, after the mating ceremony, you’d be free game for anyone. Anyone’s little bitch—”

I brought my knee up into his groin, but he jerked back, lifting his leg to guard against it while still keeping his hold on my hair.

He pulled me in against him again, and I yelped. I couldn’t help it. I tried to never give these animals the satisfaction of seeing me bleed, but I had thick hair, and he jerked so hard he almost tore it out.

Something snapped in me, and I started fighting him in earnest then, scratching at his face, kicking out at him, not caring if he pulled out my hair as long as I didn’t have to stand his touch for another moment. I let out a feral screech as I went straight for his eyes, wanting to tear them out.

I just wanted all this bullying to stop. To escape this stupid world that wasn’t made for me.

“What’s going on here?” A deep voice interrupted as a shadow fell over us from behind.

I thought at first it was simply the sun going behind clouds as it set.

But as I turned, I saw a radiant sunset blazing across the sky with burning oranges and pinks, cutting through mellow retro blues and hazy purple.

Something was blocking my view of the sun, casting the shadows, and I had to raise my hand to shade my eyes to see what it was.

“Shit, I’d forgotten archangels were coming for the ordination before the mating ceremony,” Chris muttered to Brittany as they both stepped back.

Zane let go of me, dropping me to the ground on my butt, and stepped back also. My eyes went wide and my heart dropped what felt like hundreds of feet in a second as I looked up at the most powerful being I’d ever seen.

His wings were huge, black, and extended from both sides of him in a threatening posture as he approached, the feathers on the end so long that the tips dragged on the ground, making an ominous swishing noise.

I’d heard angels put their wings out to demonstrate their authority, but I’d never thought I’d see it.

And those wings. Pure, abyssal black. What did that mean?

Somehow I tore my eyes away from the wings to look at the actual man. There wasn’t anything too outlandish about the rest of him.

He wore a white tee, which skimmed a perfectly muscled but lean build with wide shoulders and powerful arms, slim hips, and long, toned but muscular legs encased in dark jeans. He also wore work boots.

He looked to be in his mid-twenties, though looks could be deceiving.

Oddly enough, his arms were covered in tattoos, like humans sometimes had. I hadn’t expected an angel to have them.

Shifters considered their human forms temples to house the animal god inside them. They didn’t defile them with piercings or tats.

But looking at this guy, with his wings and tats and power, I just felt the sudden desire to be everything he was. To have everything he had.

His eyes fell on me, and I took the moment to study his face.

Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. Sheer masculine perfection hit me like a wall as I noted his strong brow ridge, thick brows, and piercing dark eyes with long lashes. His nose was long and straight. Not a small nose, but a beautiful one.

It complemented his hard, masculine jawline and stubborn chin and contrasted his soft, full mouth that turned down at the corners in a permanent frown.

A frown that deepened as he appraised all of us. His wings drew in to a semi-tucked position as he walked forward, and I saw that his hair was a golden brown, falling in rough, tousled curls over his forehead. He had the kind of highlights that came from days in the sun, rather than a salon.

The idea of this harsh-looking person in a salon made me giggle despite the gravity of the situation and the fact that I was in the presence of an actual angel.

---