Page 48 of Savage Claim

I climbed to my feet and spun toward the dux demon who stabbed me.

“You can’t kill me so easily.”

His smirk vanished as the words poured out of my mouth. They weren’t in English but a demon tongue called Barathrum. “How do you?—”

“You are such an insignificant piece in this game.” I pressed my hand against the wound in my gut, my palm coming away with blood as more dripped down my leg, soaking my jeans. “This is nothing compared to what I’ll do to you.”

I lurched forward and jumped on Mykel, forcing him to the ground. As he struggled beneath me, I breached his mind and played a carousel of his fears. His screams had me howling with laughter.

“You shouldn’t have tried to kill me, ugly demon.” My fingers dug into his jaw as I leaned forward, latching onto his life force and inhaling.

The dark matter within him—like a soul in other creatures—filled my insides and made the amulet hum. He was so deliciously evil. I wanted to consume every last drop of him.

“What are you doing?” That annoying demon princess fluttered around us, the stench of her fear permeating the air. She was afraid if she got too close, I’d grasp her life and never let go.

I probably would.

Please, I don’t want to suck that evil bitch.

Oh, sweet Tate, you don’t have a choice.

The sane me wriggled inside, trying to find a way out, but this me, the wicked one, was having too much fun. Soon, my sensible side relaxed on a soft bed of velvet while I took over. The demon stopped shrieking and struggling as I drew the last bit of life from him.

I pulled back, licking my lips. You usually had to decapitate a demon to kill it, but this one was definitely dead. No more life existed in him because it was in me now. “He was yummy. Do you want to be next, princess?”

Venna’s screech nearly busted my eardrums, and as she sprinted toward me, I couldn’t help but chuckle. She’d be my dessert.

Chapter

Eighteen

I salivated for another life while the reasonable version of me could barely whisper her protests. Her wishes didn’t matter now. I was in control. And I wanted to drink that royal dry.

Before Venna came within reach, a man dressed in black darted from the left and impaled her with a sword.

“You’re not making it out of this alive, demon.” The raven, Hawk, twisted the blade, but the wound didn’t affect her as much as he’d hoped.

She shoved him off and ripped the sword out of her torso. “I am a royal demon, you child. Do you really think you can kill me?”

Instead of fear throbbing around the raven, he gave a twisted grin. “I bet he can do the job just fine.”

Maybe I was too distracted or too high to notice my beast’s arrival. He moved like an ominous shadow and crept behind an unsuspecting Venna. By the time she detected his presence, it was too late.

His talons were already ripping into her throat.

“I’m sure you and that oversized pet will enjoy hell together,” he snarled before tearing her head clean off.

I hummed at the violence pulsating around him. He dropped the demon’s body and tossed her head like she was nothing more than a piece of garbage. Fane marched toward me with the raven on his heels.

“She was stabbed, and then she just… I don’t know… changed.” Hawk wiped sweat from his forehead and brushed back damp strands of blonde hair. “That doesn’t even sound like Tate. And she was speaking a different language.”

My beast stopped, his boots touching the dux demon’s corpse. “He’s dead.”

“I sucked him dry.” A laugh burst out of my mouth as I slapped Mykel’s cheek, his dead gaze trained on the starry sky. “No more terrorizing for this one. He had his fill, and then I stole it. He tasted like hellfire and coal. And death.”

When Fane’s noticed the blood soaking my shirt and jeans, he released a string of curses. “Come here.” He reached his hand out for mine.

How could I deny my beautiful beast the chance to touch me?

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