Page 103 of The Tracker's Dawn: Sunderverse
“Good,” Damien said. “Now, let it in slowly.”
Jake’s wound had healed halfway, but as Lucia allowed the demon to reach his arm, Velthgrek had no trouble seeping under his skin.
At the sight of the evil essence slithering with such relish into the man I loved, I almost screamed. My heart rattled my ribcage, and cold sweat traced a line down my back. Just like the day Damien had lain dying on the floor of the agency, I felt useless. That day, I’d wished for Dani’s healing abilities, and today, I wanted nothing more than to be a telekinetic like Lucia. But I was none of those things, and all I could do was stand here and watch while the demon wormed itself inside of Jake like a parasite.
“A little more,” Damien instructed. “All of it needs to go in. Good, good. Now, keep it there. Keep it there. Don’t let it go any further.”
Lucia gave one nod and continued exerting her power on the hellish creature.
The skin in Jake’s biceps stretched and contracted. The area changed shapes as the demon writhed inside. The bastard was struggling against Lucia’s staying force, doing its best to break free and go straight for Jake’s heart.
My eyes were glued to his arm. My heart slowly turned to ice as Jake’s legs began twitching and his face contorted in pain.
Images of a dim future flashed before my eyes.
Without him, there would be no real joy. Whatever life I made for myself would be filled with the phantom of happiness, a see-through façade that would not hide my awful reality. I knew deep in my heart that time would not heal his loss, that nothing and no one would ever replace him. My friends and family would be there, and their presence would help ease the pain, but not even their love and support would give my life the meaning it now had. Perhaps if Jake had never come back, I might’ve been able to fool myself into believing I had all I needed. But now, with the knowledge that he loved me unconditionally and I was his true mate, there was no amount of lies I could tell myself to believe the trudge of life was worth anything without him.
Please, Jake, be strong!
Lucia, hold on. Fight. Win.
An eternity ticked by, or maybe it was only a minute.
Lucia started panting, her chest visibly rising and falling. Her fingers slowly curled inward as her arms trembled with the effort of keeping the demon in place.
Just a little longer.
Suddenly, a heart-stopping screech echoed all around us.
For a second, I thought the world was ending, that we had messed with the other realm one-too-many times, and Lucifer himself had decided to pay us a visit.
My frozen heart came back to life, pounding out of control as I glanced behind us toward the garage doors. A huge hybrid was tearing through one of the doors, its large head half in as it roared. My heart froze again.
No, not here! Not now!
How were they able to get through all the protection spells and the Stale security system? But I figured that was a stupid question. Mekare was here. She’d deactivated them.
Frantically, my attention returned to Jake and Lucia. The right side of Jake’s torso was now writhing with the demon’s essence.
God, No!
No. No. No.
Shifting in a heartbeat, Eric jumped in front of the hybrid. He attacked, swatting at its face with razor-sharp claws. Rosalina ran toward the gun cabinet and pulled out a couple of handguns. I rushed to Jake’s side, determined to protect him while he lay helpless on the table.
Up close, the sight was even more gruesome. Jake’s skin was squirming as if he had a den of snakes under it. His eyes circled and circled behind reddened lids, as tears slid down his face.
Oh, Jake!
“Steady, Lucia!” Damien said in a commanding tone.
My sister clenched her teeth and let out a hiss as she pulled back. Velthgrek retreated back into Jake’s arm.
“Now, take it out,” Damien ordered.
It was too soon. The blood curse wasn’t out of his system, but what else could we do? We were under attack.
Despite Eric’s effort to keep the beast back, the hybrid broke through the hole while daylight and a second beast followed on its heels.
