Page 137 of A Drop of Anguish
The demon continues forward until my back slams against the stone at the edge of the open cavern. I whimper, and he clicks his tongue in response.
This time, his hands press against the stone on either side of my head, and he leans in. My chest rises and falls dramatically, but I remain still otherwise.
I don’t know what to do, but I glance up and find the wall empty. My friends made it out. That’s good. That’s very good. At least they made it out alive. Now… now, it’s my turn to roll the dice.
I’ve been awkwardly dancing with the beast form of Jarron for a good two minutes and I’m still alive, so that’s a good sign, right? He hasn’t shown any recognition, but he doesn’t seem to see me as a threat.
His clicking rumbling begins again as he leans his face down toward my neck. I gasp but again don’t dare move. I close my eyes.
He breathes in my hair, long and slow.Well then.
What in the world is he doing? He nuzzles into the crook of my neck, and an off-sensation drifts down into my stomach. I jerk slightly, and he reprimands me with a small growl.
My bite. He’s examining his bite mark on me.
I release a breath.
So, he recognizes me as his because of the mark? I swallow and ignore the stupid hope that Thompson put in my heart. I didn’t want to let it affect me, but obviously it has.
I wanted Jarron to protect me in this form because it would mean—well, might mean—that we were wrong. All of us.
Liz, Mr. Vandozer, Bea, Trevor. Everyone believed Liz was his chosen. What are the chances they’d all be wrong? They know so much more about how it works. What demons are like during that time.
Thompson is still an outsider, with very limited information about a culture he doesn’t understand. Why would I rely on his information, over those from his actual culture?
They could still be wrong.
There are many clues that he could be right.
I want you. Not her.
This doesn’t change how I feel about you.
All the information I’ve learned about demons’ chosen mates.
I bite the inside of my lip. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m pretty sure Jarron’s demon is not going to kill me right now, and we have to get out of here before another demon shows up who will.
“Jarron?” I try again, this time with a tad more confidence.
He murmurs against me.
I learned his demon was capable of speech and deep thought the last two times I interacted with him, but right now, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
“Jarron, we need to get out of here.”
His murmur turns rumblier. When I try to move, he growls, low and menacing. He pushes his chest against mine.
“You,” he breathes, forcing the words out. “Will not.” He huffs. The words are clipped. “Escape me this time.”
My heart begins to pound again. Okay, yeah not good.
“If you get me back to the school—”
He clenches his teeth over my neck. I suck in a breath. Heart pounding rapidly. Darkness presses in on my vision, but a new feeling settles in my stomach. A fear that is not entirely bad.
“There are people here who want to hurt me.”
He releases me and stand up straight. He looks around the empty cavern, and then his gaze lands back on me. His lips purse, as if saying,where are all the people?
