Page 40 of Hunted By Her Demon Wolves

She had no comeback to that. As a wolf who’d been raised by humans, she didn’t always trust her instincts. “You blame me for helping Tigress,” she blurted. Might as well clear the air now.

His top lip pulled back in a snarl, revealing sharp canines. “She is a liar and a thief, and I know she wouldn’t do the same for you.”

She gave him a cool look, flames of rage racing across her spine and zinging across her arm, pooling as hot magic in her palms. “If it wasn’t for her, I would’ve been caught by the jorogumo.”

“Well, now your debt is paid.” Folding his arms, he faced her full on, not even embarrassed at that long appendage dangling between his legs. “From now on, it’s just you and me.”

“Until we can free your brothers,” she reminded him. She wasn’t giving up on her other mates, and no way was she letting Cadmus, either.

When he stalked up to her like a wolf cornering a hare, his eyes flashing demon red, her knees weakened, and her spine turned to lava. “Right now, the only thing I care about is getting you to safety. Don’t fight me on this, Bennu,” he said on a growl. “I’m in no mood. Besides, it’s what my brothers would want.”

She snorted at that but decided not to press him when he snarled like a rabid wolf. Holding up her hands in surrender, she backed up a step, nearly tripping over her own feet. “Fine. We’ll get to safety, but after that we’re coming up with a plan.”

Cadmus looked over his shoulder as if the wind blowing brine across her face was somehow listening. “Their keeper will know every move we make before it happens.”

She gritted her teeth while squeezing Amarok’s claw. “Not if I can help it.”

Chapter Six

They climbed up therocks, occasionally stopping to catch their breath. Phoenix was so grateful to Cadmus who kept offering her a hand up or else assisted with his wind power. He made no complaints about the climb, even when he cut his bare feet on the jagged edges of the rocks, blood leaching into the porous crystal. She knew it had to sting, too. After traveling for several hours, he started conserving his wind power, only using it to catapult them over difficult passes, which meant he was losing strength from using so much magic. They would have to find a place to rest soon.

He stopped to catch his breath, bending over and resting his hands on his knees. “Huh,” he said while looking across the desert landscape below.

She got a good look at the hostile wasteland she’d fallen into. The desert sands went on forever in undulating, bleak waves, heat rising from the earth like steam wafting off a scalding cup of coffee. How had they survived walking through that? Odd how the sunset had looked the same all day, just like in hell’s first dimension before Hecate had changed it. She wondered if there was a lake of fire beyond the sands that put off the illusion of an eternal sunset.

“What is it?” she asked.

He nodded down at the claw she clutched in her hand. “My wind power was stronger when I was holding the claw.”

She unclenched her fist, hardly realizing she’d been holding the claw so tight. It had left deep indentations in her hand. “Try it,” she said.

He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her to him without any warning, causing the breath to whoosh from her lungs. She tried to ignore the heat of his bare skin on hers, the way his sweat-drenched muscles glistened in the glow of the waning sunset, but it was no use. His raw maleness made her heartrate speed up like a runaway train. Good thing he smelled like the inside of a troll’s unclean ass crack, or she would’ve had a hard time keeping her lust under control.

She sucked in a scream when he catapulted them over several sharp ridges, straight toward the top of the mountain peak.

“Was that easier?” she asked after he released her.

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