Page 19 of Orion: Galaxy Huntress

The demon continued to play it cool, clicking his teeth despite his hoarse, pained voice, “Sorry, Ace, the only way you’re getting out of this is if you reject her and break the soul bond.”

By the gods!Reject me. Let me go. Neither of us wanted to remain bonded.

Too bad my heart said otherwise. She screamed in horror at the thought of being severed from his soul.

“I can’t deal with this shit right now.” Stormy released the demon’s appendage as if he admitted defeat. “My pack’s under threat and you send a mate to distract me. You’re an asshole, you know that?"

Hearing that Stormy’s family were threatened did something to my insides. Half my life I’d devoted to defending people and towns from the monsters terrorizing them. Minotaurs stampeding across their property, trampling everything in sight, including people. Chimera setting fire to their dwellings or businesses, burning entire towns down. Griffin snatching people off the streets to carry them to their nests to feed their babies. The thought of Stormy and his pack being hurt filled me with a hollowness, like a dwarf star running out of fuel and slowly dying. Maybe I could help him in some way. If I fended off the threat, maybe he’d pay me or agree to reject me as his mate. I know I’d much rather work for him than a demon I didn’t trust.

“And you will.” Vice thumped a supportive palm on Stormy’s shoulder and the shifter’s body relaxed. “The back-up you requested is on its way. They should be ready to attack in three days.”

Back-up? Attack? Unease pricked at my hunter senses. My instincts were never wrong and had saved me from death countless times. Whatever these two planned sounded ominous for the town. Was it the reason Zeus made me fall here? Did he want me to protect the town as well as my sisters? I had to find out what the shifter and demon were up to.

The redness flushed from the shifter’s cheeks and the darkness leached from his eyes, turning hazy and distant. “Okay, that’s good news.” His voice came out mechanical and stiff, mimicking his body posture.

Hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Magick crackled in the air around me. Damn demon worked his powers on Stormy to sway him.

“Can I get you a drink? Calm the nerves?” Master manipulator. Not only did the demon employ soothing words to bring the shifter’s anger down, but he cheated with magical powers, distracting from his deception.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. Damn fraud tried to trick me out of the majority value of a cow. Why, I should have strangled him, cut off his balls and followed through on my threat. If only I didn’t need his help to acquire funds for my journey. Once the gold coin or whatever currency they used here was in my pocket, I was on my way. In fact, I should stop eavesdropping and mind my own business before my sympathy encouraged me to join the shifter’s cause.

Stormy glanced over his shoulder, darkness flashing in his gaze as if he broke the calming spell the demon had set on him. “Nah, can’t stay.” Then he scratched his head, blinked, scraped his stubbled jaw, his will slipping beneath the demon’s tight grasp. “Actually, I’d love a burger. Haven’t eaten all day. I’m a little lovesick after I lost my mate.”

By the gods, what he felt wasn’t real. It was just an illusion cast by the demon. When I left town, he’d never think of me again. Or would he? Why in Hades did I care? I smacked at the side of my head to rid it of these stupid thoughts.

“Wasn’t meant to say that.” The shifter smacked a hand over his mouth.

Vice grinned and clapped Ace on the shoulder. “Kev, get the man a burger with fries and run it through the garden, pronto!”

“Yes, boss.” The bartender, a minor demon, waddled into the kitchen. Big guy. Round, too. Had his fill of burgers, whatever they were.

Stormy’s eyes darkened again and his brows jammed together like two murderous swords clashing. “Fuck, Vice, you keep that demon mojo shit up and I’ll really kill you.”

Vice poured Ace a beer and slid it across the bar. “That’s the mate bond talking, my friend. It’ll turn you into a sappy bastard.” He hit the shifter’s chest. “But at least you won’t be a grumpy one, huh?”

“How long do I have to put up with this?” The shifter miserably guzzled half a beer and swiped at his mouth, making me wish I was the damn cold liquid caressing his sexy, gruff, vocal cords.

Damn demon. The mate bond hadn’t just affected the shifter. It caused me to act out of character and have lusty feelings toward Ace as well. I had to stay well away from the wolf. Complications from getting close to him, helping his pack, could get me killed if I wasn’t careful. I lived by a code that a hunter never got attached to the people she worked for or with. Stormy entered that equation by association with Vice. Best to keep it strictly business and hope the shifter stayed away from me.

“Just until your little problem is settled,” Vice replied. “Then our business will be concluded.”

Tired of prying,I left Vice to ply Stormy with drinks and went back to the cow, needing to work off the frustrated and lusty steam from my body. I hacked at it viciously, slicing up the various cuts, pretending it was the damn demon and getting in some practice.

Sometime later, Vice entered the kitchen, snatching a meal the cook prepared, and setting it down in front of me. “Hungry?”

Accommodating. Generous. Words never associated with a demon. This was another trick. Hell spawn never did anything out of the goodness of their heart … sorry, the burned, dark pit in their chest. Motivation always backed their gestures. He wanted something, just like every other man wanted something from me. Some to take me to bed, others to use me for my influence and reputation as a hunter, others to steal from me and abuse me. The meal was probably spelled or something. Best not to get fooled by him. Everything he did was designed to deceive, and I had to be careful around him if I wanted to leave town unmated, and with all my fingers and toes intact.

“No thank you.” I carefully cut the hindquarters and piled up the slices.

“Nothing sexier than a bloody woman.” Vice brushed a spot from my cheek with a cloth and licked it, making me shudder. The scariest part of it was that I couldn’t tell if I liked his touch or if he used it to penetrate my mental defenses.

Suspicious of his motives, I rounded on him with the knife, jabbing it at his throat. “I don’t like whatever game you’re playing with me and the shifter, demon.”

His finger pushed at the knife, dislodging it with ease, nicking his skin, but it didn’t seem to faze him. “It’s just a little harmless fun, kitten. Ace is strung too tight. I’m just helping him unwind.” He said it so casually as if he did the shifter a favor.

I flicked the knife back to his chin. “By using me?” He would die before he got the opportunity.

The knife blinked out of my hands and I heard it slam into meat. “I promise I’ll put him out of his misery in three days.”

“Excuse me if I don’t believe you.” I crossed my arms over my chest. Wait. Now was my chance to dig for answers. “What’s in three days?”

“Get back to work, kitten.” The slippery, smooth, conniving demon tapped the round, ticking device on his wrist. “Tick tock. I’m paying you by the cow not the hour.”

I grabbed his rock-hard chin and squeezed. “Try any more trickery on me and I will kill you, demon. I’ve killed a lot worse than you.”

“Promises, promises kitten.” He grinned, the shudder that rocked him echoing through me. “Tonight, you can slice me all you want until your sweet, little, kitty heart is content. Trust me, I’ll enjoy it.”

Disgusting creature. Why Hades let Hell spawn like him roam the Earth, I’d never know. I let him go and pushed away from him, shaking, because some part of me was awakened by intimidating him. A dark, hidden recess of me that only he could access and use for his advantage.

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