Page 20 of Deranged Demons

With my free hand, I have one of my daggers out in an instant. Flicking my wrist, I send it flying across the room. As expected, Nate grabs the dagger out of the air, just as the second dagger I throw lodges between the stones near his head.

The red in Nate’s eyes deepens, and he gives me a feral grin.

I smile sweetly back at him. “Shade is asheand if you so much as touch a feather on her back, I’ll let her peck your eyes out.” I stare at him for a moment longer, then go back to eating my bread, because I need something in my mouth to distract me from the delicious-smelling shifter sitting across from me.

There’s movement through the doorway on my right, and I glimpse Prince Callan’s dark smirk before he disappears again. I’m glad he was eavesdropping, because that’s a warning I needed the prince to hear as well.

Nate puts down his bottle and smiles. “Don’t worry, gorgeous. I wouldn’t dream of eatin’ your friend,” he says, and this time his predatory gaze isn’t on Shade, but onme.

“Fuck it, tell him I am on the menu. He can have me,”Shade comments.

I squirm in my leathers, feeling the heat from his gaze.I’m tempted to just give in, but the moment I think about climbing onto Nate’s lap, I picture the demon I’d killed. I remember the way his face became pale, his eyes bulging as he gasped for air. I’ve killed my fair share of demons, but they always deserved it. But that night was different.It can’t happen to my mates…can it?I’m still lost in thought when Prince Callan calls out, “We’ve got company.”

Nate and I are both up in a heartbeat. Nate pulls over the leather flap, covering the provisions as Istalk outside to find Prince Callan standing with his sword out, watching four alphas who are striding down the narrow street toward us. From their stature and their leather clothing, I’m guessing they’re shifters, and they’re all swaying a little on their feet. One of them has blood on his brow, and another is limping, his ankle twisted at an odd angle.

At the sight of me, they grin broadly.

Nate steps up on my other side. “Well, they look…”

“Like shit,” Prince Callan finishes.

“Do you know them?” I ask Nate.

He shakes his head. “Can’t say I do. But I’m guessin’ by their sluggish movements they’re starting to feel the effects of this place.” He sniffs the air. “Looks like we have a couple wolf shifters, some kind of reptilian shifter, and…” he sniffs again, “a bear shifter.”

“Okay, well some can be affected by this place faster than others,” I say. “Though, no one knows why.”

As the alphas get closer, I assess each of them. Despite looking a little rough, they’re all reasonably attractive, but it’s hard to tell whether I have a connection with any of them.

“Demon princess,” the male on the far right says when they all stop a couple paces away from us. “We’ve finally found you.”

Unlike the other three shifters beside him, this guy is unusually hairy with thick bulging muscles, and I assume he’s the bear shifter. His brown gaze rovesover me appreciatively, and both Prince Callan and Nate tense at my sides.

“I’m glad to see you’re faring well so far,” I say, though it’s clear they didn’t find any of the king’s provisions.

“As well as can be expected in this place,” the shifter replies gruffly, a hint of irritation in his voice.

I don’t blame him for being annoyed. I’d be salty, too, if I were them.

“Cut the niceties,” Prince Callan drawls like the shifters are wasting our time. “You’re here because you want to know if you’re her mate. Let’s get this over with so you can be on your way.”

The shifters all glare at Prince Callan, and I do the same. He doesn’t even blink when I look his way.

The bear shifter clears his throat, and I pivot back in his direction.

“Princess, let us be your kings and we will treasure you forever,” the shifter says.

“Well, that’s romantic,”Shade comments, and I have to agree.

I circle around the alphas, then step close to the bear shifter who grins as I move toward him. He lifts his hand as if he intends to slide it behind my back, but I shake my head, a sympathetic smile on my face.

His jaw ticks, his grin falling, and a frown takes over his face. “What? You can’t know already; we haven’t even touched.”

But unfortunately for him, I do know. I’m still standing a foot away from him, and he doesn’t smellright. The scent of bleach and soap wafts from him, and it’s taking all my effort to stop from wrinkling my nose. The long-haired alphas beside him don’t smell any better, and instinctually, I just want to move away from all of them.

“We don’t need to touch,” I reply. “You’re not my kings.”

One of the other alphas protests, and he reaches out, grabbing my hand as I pass. Nothing sparks through me at the physical contact. No desire, only annoyance that the alpha has grabbed me when it’s obvious I don’t want him to.

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