Page 115 of Wrongfully Magicked
I spy Cassius, Porter, and Soren a second later and snort when I see the three grown-ass men standing next to a door, their ears pressed against the panel like old biddies eavesdropping on some juicy gossip.
Another sweep of the room reveals no sign of Anita, and my fur stands on end.
Before I can demand answers, the door to the study is flung open. Anita stands on the threshold wearing just a shirt, and all the air whooshes out of me. Without waiting for the others to react, I sprint across the distance and gather her in my arms, only then noticing the ashen color of her skin.
When she doesn’t protest being in my arms, just snuggles closer with a weary sigh, my worry increases tenfold.
She’s sick.
I lean in closer, then the world just stops.
No, it’s much worse.
She’s dying.
My chest feels like it’s caving in on itself, and my beast gives a pathetic whimper. Tormented by the thought of losing my mate, I clutch her close. It’s only when she begins to fuss over me that I feel like a colossal ass. “What can I do?”
She winces, then looks up at me from under her lashes. When she speaks, her raspy voice is barely audible. “You’re not going to like it.”
I rub my cheek against the top of her head, needing the reassurance that she’s still alive, and bite back a hiss when I find her skin nearly too hot to touch. “As long as you live, I don’t care.”
Famous last words.
That’s when I notice the seven-foot fucking demon standing in the room behind her. Before I have a chance to freak the fuck out, Anita grabs my face. “The demon is my father, and he might be the only one who can save me.”
I blink down at her stupidly for a second before I finally comprehend her words. Maybe I should be repulsed by her demon heritage, but I’m not. I love everything about her and wouldn’t change a thing.
I don’t want her anywhere near demons, especially one claiming to be her father, but if there is a chance he can save her, then it’s a risk I’ll take. Ignoring the others, I enter the room, not stopping until I’m in front of the demon, then I glare up at the menacing fucker. “She dies, you die.”
Instead of laughing in my face, as he has every right to do, he grunts in acknowledgment.
Wasting no time, we all crowd into the office and get to work. We shove the furniture against the walls to make room, while her father pulls back the rug, revealing an intricate summoning circle etched underneath. To activate the circle, each of us donates fresh blood and sprinkles it over the symbols carved into the floor.
Anita willingly lies in the center of the circle, while her father gets down on his knees beside her. None of us like seeing her so vulnerable, and it’s all we can do not to cross the lines on the floor and go to her. The demon scowls at us in annoyance, briskly explaining the reason for the circle for the third time. “I’m going to be calling upon a lot of demonic power. The circle is just to keep it contained and prevent it from infecting the rest of you.”
With one last warning glare, he goes back to ignoring us. He removes his jacket, carefully folding it before setting it aside. Though tailored to fit, his white shirt barely keeps his massiveform contained. Resting back on his haunches, he pins each of us with a scowl. “Whatever happens, don’t break the circle.”
A beat of silence barely passes before he looks down. I follow his gaze, and my heart threatens to burst from my chest when I see Anita has finally passed out. I take a step to go to her when Porter grabs my arm to hold me back. Before anyone can react, the demon lifts his hands over her still form, then hellfire bursts into the air around them.
The circle does nothing to contain the heat. It blasts through the room, and I flinch away from the intensity. Tears leak from my eyes, and I lift my arm up to brace against the flames. When my vision finally adjusts and the room comes back into focus, I can’t process what I’m seeing.
Hellfire has completely engulfed Anita’s small form, and I can barely make out her shape in the sweltering flames. A roar of denial rips from my throat, and I lunge forward, ready to drag her away from the madman we stupidly trusted.
Before I can get to her, Porter tackles me to the ground. I try to crawl toward her, but the fucker has me pinned. I’m unable to do anything but watch as the flames consume her completely. After an hour, her body crumbles to ash, and my heart goes with it.
The flames slowly die until nothing remains but a glowing pile of cinders and ash.
Anita is gone.
Her father leans back with a weary sigh, his shoulders bowed in exhaustion, his once pristine shirt sweaty and stained with ash. Whatever ritual he performed cost him, and savage satisfaction fills me that she took her pound of flesh from him before dying. I glare at the fucker with every ounce of my hatred. My beast takes over completely, and I snarl my rage at the bastard.
Porter uses his shadows to keep me pinned, and I slash and snap my jaws at him to no avail. Darby looks completely gutted. Cassius is as still as a statue, a lost expression on his face. It’s Soren who captures my attention though.
He’s Anita’s mate.
He’ll do the right thing and help me avenge her death.
The big man tilts his head one way, then the other, like his hellhound is listening to something only he can hear, a look of concentration on his face. My ears twitch, my snow leopard straining to hear what caught his attention.
