Page 67 of Hunted By Her Demon Wolves

Chapter Eleven

Grit burned Phoenix’seyes as she and Damon trudged across the sands, following Cadmus as he tracked the giant spider. She did her best to project her celaris magic toward Cadmus as he moved further ahead. When she felt her magic stretch too taut, like a rubber band about to snap, she mentally called him back, pleased when he listened.

Her mates were in their wolf forms, both as huge as bears with red, gleaming eyes. She was in her demon form for different reasons. First, her wolf form didn’t have pockets to hold the crystal shard and claw. Second, she was a more powerful witch than wolf and she needed to keep her celaris magic going to conceal them from Gorgo’s watchful eye. Third, and most important, though her mates didn’t care who saw their monster cocks when they shifted into naked demons, she didn’t want to be forced to shift into her demon form and let all of hell see her private parts, especially not creepy Gorgo. Though her clothes were shredded from those demon-eating plants or fish, or whatever they were, at least the rips provided air conditioning.

Sweat dripped down her back, between her breasts, and had plastered her hair to her forehead. Her underwear was damp from either sweat, lake water, Cadmus’s seed, or all of the above, and her jeans had stiffened when they’d dried, sticking to her legs like masking tape. Her physical fatigue was compounded by having to constantly recite the celaris spell, which was draining not just her energy, but her magic, too. Still, she didn’t complain. The state they were in was still paradise compared to what Gorgo probably had planned for them.

How much longer? she asked Cadmus, doing her best not to sound impatient as he raced across the sand, his nose to the ground.

Almost there,he answered.

She perked at that, magic tickling her palms, knowing she had to be ready for anything. Jorogumos were tricky creatures, and one bite could infect them and turn them into spiders, too.

They trudged up a steep incline. Her feet sank into the sand with each step, slowing her movement and making her calves ache from the strain. After reaching the top, she struggled to catch her breath as she rested her hands on her knees. Her mates let out vicious growls that shook the marrow of her bones. At the bottom of the hill was a spider the size of a small car, its legs curled into itself, its giant red abdomen sliced in half as green goo pooled around it.

Someone or something had gotten to the spider first, no doubt to retrieve the crystal for themself. Cadmus sniffed the air.I smell the demon cat.

Phoenix repressed a curse. Hopefully, Tigress planned on giving the crystal shard back to her.

They walked a slow circle around the spider, the smell of rot would’ve been overpowering if it hadn’t been for the minty scent of Phoenix’s celaris magic.

Stay here, Cadmus said to her as he shifted into his demon form and cautiously approached it. Pulling back his hands, he hit the spider with a powerful gust of wind.

Phoenix didn’t know why she was expecting the spider to blow across the sands like a tumbleweed. What she wasn’t expecting was for it to disintegrate in a cloud of dust, leaving behind nothing but that pool of green goo.

She clutched her throat. “What happened?”

Cadmus turned to her with a smirk. “The demon cat probably killed the spider, knocking it into the third dimension. That shell that disintegrated was its outer skin.”

She made a face as she approached. “Gross.” The smell was even worse, like rotten fish guts.

Damon ran off with a whimper, his tail waiving like a rudder. He returned with a thin branch and dropped it at Cadmus’s feet.

Plugging her nose against the strong smell, she watched as Cadmus moved the stick through the goo. There were lots of bones, a locket, and several crude weapons, but no crystal shard.

Cadmus gritted his teeth. “I’m going to wring that cat’s neck.”

Phoenix wrapped her arms around herself as a dry wind blew her hair into her face. “She’ll give it back to us.”

Cadmus scented the air. “Not if someone gets it from her first.”

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