Page 63 of The Demon's Pet

“And you think he actually would have killed you if you refused?” Griffin asked. “Because it doesn’t seem like you did anything wrong, in my opinion. Executing you would have made him a monster.”

“Celestials can’t be monsters,” I muttered, glancing over at Sam, who, as always, was too sharp not to notice someone looking. “They’re always right.”

Sparks moved over my skin instantly as his eyes met mine. Then he quickly turned his attention back to Os, though I still got the sense that somehow he was watching me.

“Yeah, well, there’s something not right about that celestial if you ask me.” Griffin’s eyes tensed and jaw hardened as he watched Sam scoot in slightly closer to Os to show him something on the palm of his hand. Like he was outlining a route on a map.

“I don’t like having him next to my master,” Griffin said with a snarl. If he’d been in cat form, I’d swear his hackles were rising.

Sam looked over at us and grinned slightly as he moved a lock of Os’s hair back over his shoulder.

He then winked at Griffin.

Os looked up at Sam with an odd, confused smile, then went back to discussing whatever the topic at hand was.

I grabbed Griffin’s arm and jerked him back onto the log. “Let them finish. I’m sure it’s fine. That sadist is just trying to get a rise out of you.”

“He is a sadist, isn’t he?” Griffin muttered. “That’s what I don’t like about this. It’s fine to kill if you have to, but you shouldn’t like it.” He shook his head, and quiet footsteps approached as Sam’s smooth, deep voice flowed over us.

“So it would be better to be forced to do something I hated?” Sam cocked his head at Griffin, and a lock of wavy gold fell over his forehead. He looked absolutely pissed.

“You done talking to Os?” I asked, standing up and brushing my jeans off, hoping to head off a confrontation.

Sam’s perfect lips lifted in a sneer as he looked me over. “What about you, pet? Offended by my enjoyment of killing?”

I thought for a moment. “No. Intrigued by it.” Then I walked past him, trying to act more confident than I felt.

I’d escaped my village. There was a demon inside me. I was making friends and seeing more of the world than I’d ever been able to access from my cage.

It was starting to embolden me.

I moved over to sit by Os and then leaned back, soaking up the sunlight. If Griffin and Sam wanted to argue, I wasn’t going to get involved.

But instead, I noticed Sam still watching me as if he didn’t know what to make of the fact that I wasn’t disgusted by him on principle.

He almost looked disappointed.

I shook my head, leaning back to stare at the sky again. The sun was blinding, so I shaded my eyes, and the bright-white clouds looked fluffy enough to sit on.

The whole world felt so much bigger now.

Sam walked over to me and put out a hand to help me off the log. I took it because, despite him never calling himself my alpha, there was an instinct in me to simply follow him.

Even if he was probably the last person I should trust.

But all I knew was that while I was by his side, nothing terrible had happened. And a whole new life was opening up because of the chance he’d given me.

Despite all of his rough edges, just due to the chemistry between us, I got the wild thought that it actually might be possible to fall for this angel.

Not that I would.

“Come walk with me for a moment. We have to talk,” he said, releasing my hand the moment I stood. My hand almost missed the tingle of his electric touch.

We walked through the stream, the cool water soaking my shoes, though I didn’t mind it, and into a grove of trees near where I’d seen the minotaur.

Hopefully there weren’t any more in the vicinity.

Sam put his hands on his hips and faced me. He’d put on a new white tee shirt and jeans that weren’t splattered with blood, and his skin was clean from the stream.

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