Page 55 of Infernal Hearts

“Could be worse.” He motions to the ladder. “You first.”

Rung by rung, I make my way down to the ground and wipe my hands on my pants. As Jay gets to the last board, it snaps. I lunge forward to catch him.

My blood pressure jumps through the roof for a split second. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“N—No, I just…” He freezes, looking up at my face, breathless. “You caught me.”

For a split second, I want nothing more than to lean forward and take advantage of the moment. But more than anything, I’m relieved.

“Of course I caught you. I’ll always protect you whenever I’m around.” My arms squeeze him closer, almost as if they have minds of their own.

His sweat is intoxicating, and I know he wants it, too. I lean forward, lips barely apart, but something catches me off guard.

A growl.

I drop him to his feet before spinning around—about twenty feet away is a grizzly bear. A thick brown coat, the bear’s thick scent reaches me over here. Its hackles are up, baring its fangs, ready to charge at us any second. I can feel its rage—sense that it’s seeing red and dying to tear us to shreds.

For fuck’s sake, why did I bring him here? I should have known the woods were dangerous at night—look what happened to me when I got here. The thing staring us down may not be magical, but it’s still just as fatal.

“We need to back away slowly.” Jay’s voice is barely above a whisper, his muscles tense and his veins standing out in his neck.

“Stay behind me.” I told him I’d protect him, and I meant it.

The bear roars and comes at us. My temperature rises, and I have a thirst—for blood.

My magic pulses in my chest, and I use every bit of energy I have saved up to shake off my glamour and become a full demon. My skin ripples and my jacket rips, my golden horns erupting through my skull. Suddenly I’m standing ten feet tall, and a monstrous roar escapes my maw.

It doesn’t faze the bear at all. In fact, it rushes me.

The full force of its body hits me in my chest as its teeth and claws rip into my arms and shoulder, but I throw it back. A sharp heat radiates though my body where it drew blood, but I keep going. It rolls on the ground, immediately getting back to its feet and charges again—this time at Jay.

My eyes widen, and I desperately throw myself between the two. I swipe it out of the way, letting out a guttural snarl. Jay crumples in fear against the tree, chunks of my dark purple skin hanging in front of his face. Traces of black liquid splatter on the dead leaves at my feet.

I can’t think clearly when I’m like this. I operate completely off of animal instinct, consumed with bloodlust. I want to fight. I want to rip and shred and kill. The darkest parts of me are taking over, and I can’t control them. I lunge at the bear, pinning it to the ground, pummeling it with my fists and slashing it with my claws.

“Levi, stop!”

I roar again and look back at him, his eyes pleading. But something in me stops my rage. I just look back at him and let out another snarl of my own. Turning back to the bear, I lift it above my head and throw it as far as I can back into the woods. It rolls on the ground, whimpering, before it runs back off into the forest.

Breathing heavily, the heat in my body lowers. I howl, but it soon becomes a normal human scream as my body shrinks back into its glamoured form. My horns and claws are gone. The only things that remain are the scratches and bites from the attack.

I stand there for a moment, collecting myself. Purging the magic it took to transform. I’m shirtless from the sudden transformation, my shoes shredded in pieces all around, and my pantsripped at the seams. I’m barely wearing anything at this point, but the coolness of the forest is helping. The air is quiet—not a sound in the forest. I look back over my shoulder at Jay, terrified.

Because I’m a monster. That’s what I am. Terrifying.

“You…” He stumbles over his words. “Are you okay?”

I frown, looking down at the ground between us. “I’m sorry you had to see me like that. But I had to save you.”

“You did save me.” He makes his way to standing, voice open and bare and scared. “You were incredible.”

My lip curls, and my stomach curdles. “I was a monster, but I didn’t have a choice.” I never show anyone my real form, for this very reason. “I’m so sorry.”

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.” I take a few steps away to distance myself from him, but I stumble and fall. My palm rubs my bare skin on my back, and I look at my hand—black blood. “On second thought, yeah, I am. I’m bleeding. I should heal up in about an hour.”

“We should go. Healing or not, I’ll bandage you up when we get back to the clinic.”

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