Page 80 of Hell Bound

Then he stepped forward and touched the gate, unwinding the spell that would have blown us back if we’d tried to force our way in. A moment later, he stepped over the threshold to join us, and the gate swung shut once again.

Thalen took another step, and another… then reached for the knife at his belt.

Pypentha lunged at him, knocking him to the ground and snatching the knife away. She tossed her head, throwing it out of his reach.

Thalen’s fingers dripped blue blood where her teeth had nicked him.

Bring him back alive.

The chains of the curse chafed at me, digging into my chest and throat and demanding my obedience.

My wolves surrounded the demon, herding him towards the long road that led back to the palace. They snapped at Thalen, but there was no menace behind it.

The same chains bound us all, and they’d be just as compelled to turn the man over to his torture and execution.

But I struggled against the bonds, feeling my throat close off as the chains cinched tighter.

All of his work, for nothing. One demon willing to stand up to the king, and he would suffer an eternity of agony as his reward.

“Thalen,” I tried to say, but the chains jerked tight, cutting off my air.

He turned, his face etched with despair, and I fell to my knees in the dirt. Something glinted beside my palm, and my decision was solidified.

My lungs locked up, the chains squeezing my chest tight enough that dark violet bruises bloomed across my flesh, but I inched my hand forward…

And grabbed the knife by my fingertips.

Time slowed.

I saw his despair give way to determination. Thalen took a step, stumbled past Pypentha—

I threw the knife.

The demon lord caught it, ignoring Deasley’s yelp as the young wolf tried to catch his leg and draw him back.

He drew it across his own throat without hesitation.

The wolves watched in horror as Thalen smiled, and the cobalt blood spilled in a hot torrent over his chest. The color leached from his face, but that smile remained even when he sank to his knees.

His secrets would die with him.

Fuck you, Asmodeus.

I had a feeling the same thought echoed through both our minds.

My ears were ringing, the agony of my shriveled lungs and bruised torso unbearable. I thought I heard screaming, a woman’s voice, but the wolves surrounded me.

Thalen shuddered and went still, his eyes empty now.

Jovran was snarling, his fiery teeth digging into my arm as he dragged me away. Pypentha was there, teeth in my shoulder. Rocks tore at my back, scraping away the scar tissue where my wings had once been.

I let the darkness claim me.

It was past midnight when I opened my eyes again. My body felt like it’d been through a grinder, prickles of sharp nerve pain zipping from head to toe.

But I was alive.

As soon as I shifted, the pack was on me.

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