Page 65 of The Monster's Desire

My hands rise, as does my panic. Yeah, I could definitely use some help right now. Fun fact that I’m apparently just learning about myself: I guess I freeze under pressure, because my magic sure doesn’t do a single thing to save my damn life.

A feral growl breaks the air to my right and Ridge comes out of nowhere. He tosses himself in front of me in full human form. Which seems dangerous. Wolves have teeth that can rip human skin to shreds.

“Shift,” I hiss, slapping the giant alpha in the back.

Drake hits Ridge, but the alpha wolf doesn’t even stumble a step. The wolf’s claws do rake down Ridge’s arm. I step aside to see what’s happening because I’d really rather Ridge not get hurt trying to protect me.

Ridge has his hand wrapped around Drake’s throat, but I gasp when I notice time has stalledagain.Thank goodness, because Drake’s teeth are only inches from Ridge’s face. My alpha wolf definitely saved my life just now.

I spin around, trying to figure out what the hell is happening.

“Hello, love.” The reaper bows his hooded head. “Is there a specific reason why you always wait until it’s a life-or-death emergency to call for us?”

“Yeah, doll. Talk about trusting us with clutch timing.” The man at the reaper’s side feels familiar, but my brain throbs when I try to remember why. My hands fly up, a groan escaping as I grip my aching skull. “Oh shit, I forgot about that. Feel free to remember us.”

The heavy pressure immediately subsides, and I glare at the demons. I vaguely remember the reaper is Wraith and the sin eater is Knight.

Knight has blond, straight hair to his shoulders. He’s slender, with a lithely muscled frame and he’s tall. He has a bit of stubble covering his jaw.

I glance at Wraith, and he pulls the hood back, giving me a timid smile. He’s got a wide, strong jaw and no facial hair. His hair is short, and it may be spiky because of the hood, but it currently sticks up in a million directions. His eyes had two settings at Milania’s house. They were either dark voids or glowing white orbs, like an alien in a sci-fi movie.

Wraith still gives that same timid smile. It’s ridiculously adorable, considering he’s a soul devouring machine. I’m also super freaking embarrassed that I didn’t recognize him at Milania’s. I’m guessing Knight had to release me from his command for the memories to come back.

“I can’t believe you made me forget how you lied to me,” I snap, spinning to face Knight. “Yeah, Sam, my ass.”

“It was a better answer on the fly than Dean.” Knight chuckles. His lithe chest flexes as he saunters over to appraise the Drake-and-Ridge situation. “Or both, which was that guy’s bright idea. And, yes, while we were in one vessel. Two names, can you imagine?”

“I’ve seen limited television in Hell,” Wraith says indignantly. “It was the first thing that came to mind.”

“You lied to me.” I seem really stuck on that fact. “You were going to blame me for Kash’s death,” I huff.

It’s also really difficult to be angry, because they’re Sam.

My Sam. The Sam I spent three years getting to know. Every single week, I spent time with him. There’s a whole lot of emotion there that I’m not sure I’m ready to unpack, but what I can’t manage to be is afraid of them. I kind of feel a little guilty that I didn’t initially command them to stay, but I was in shock.

“Nah, we just hoped you’d see how convenient it is to have demons ready to murder for you,” Knight says, meandering closer to Drake. He scratches at his jaw. “This asshole smells like a delicious meal.”

“How’s the new mother?” Wraith tilts his head, studying me as he comes closer.

I don’t retreat. Now that I know he’s Sam, I don’t think I could truly fear him if I tried.

Half of Sam.

Whatever, it’s clearly complicated.

“I haven’t had a chance to check in on her.” I gesture to the frozen, snarling wolf. “My magic has been acting strangely lately. Do you two have anything to do with that?”

“We don’t,” Wraith says.

It’s absurd, but I believe him.

“Do you think it would be uncalled for if I ate this asshole?” Knight bounces on his toes. “Seriously, he smells like I wouldn’t be hungry for weeks. I assure you. His soul is tainted to the point where I’d be doing the world a great service.” He flashes a panty-melting smile my way.

My knees get all wobbly just from that grin on his stupidly handsome face. I blow out a breath and say, “I was trying to dispose of him, but at the risk of sounding redundant, my magic isn’t cooperating lately. I don’t understand what’s going on.”

My shoulders slump.

I came to North Falls and somehow devolved into the witch who constantly needs saving. That’s not a great feeling. I’ve always been extremely self-reliant. I’ve had to be because people who get too close are a risk to my secret.

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