Dev couldn't stop staring at his hand. It was so strange to see it there after all these centuries of wondering if and when it would happen. Even though it was a girly thought, he'd always expected his mating to be really special. Like there would be the sound of trumpets or fireworks or something. People cheering. His family fainting in disbelief. Remi's head exploding.
The reality...
It was remarkably anticlimactic.
Just another day.
Nothing had changed and yet everything was different. Closing his eyes, he summoned an image of Sam's face. Please don't leave me hanging, babe. She had to accept him.
What was there not to love?
He really didn't like the voice in his head that began cataloging the answer to that. Yeah, I'm a pig-bear. I leave my wet socks on the floor. I like to fight and I don't listen as much as I should...
I'm such a schmuck.
"Hey Dev?"
He sighed as he heard his brother Kyle's voice in the hallway. Rolling over on the bed, he landed his feet on the floor and went to see what Kyle wanted.
He opened the door.
It wasn't Kyle.
Stryker was on the other side, smiling snidely. "If Mohammad won't come to the mountain..."
He shot Dev in the chest.
Sam had her phone clutched in her palm. She was trying to tell herself why calling Dev would be a bad idea. Why she didn't want to be his mate.
But everything kept coming back to one thing.
How Dev made her feel. How much she loved to see that cocky grin of his even when it annoyed her.
I am so messed up.
She traced the image on her palm that marked her as a bear's mate. She should be horrified by what had happened, yet it somehow seemed right. In a weird way she felt like Ioel was happy about it too.
But if she went ahead with this, there would be a major problem. She didn't want to be human again. Ever. There was no need. To be human wouldn't get rid of her powers. They would remain, but she would be mortal.
She would die.
Yes, she could have children, but that was the only benefit. And having died while pregnant...
She never wanted to be that vulnerable again. And if she didn't have children, she'd be robbing Dev of that pleasure.
You could always adopt.
Could she? She would still be a Dark-Hunter who owed her service to Artemis. Would the goddess understand or would she demand Sam's head for this?
The entire thing was giving her a migraine as she tried to unscramble the mess.
She jumped in startled alarm as her phone started ringing. It was from Dev. Smiling, she opened the phone and answered it. "Yes?"
"In the heart and in the soul,
"Evil takes it's wicked toll.
"When moonlight shines like flowing blood,
"Over the earth the demons will flood."
Her blood ran cold as someone in a demonic voice whispered over her phone. "Who is this?" she demanded.
"Someone who misses you. Isn't that right, Bear?"
"Don't come near me, Sam. Don't--" Dev's words broke off into a sharp growl that sounded like he wanted to go for someone's throat.
"If you want to see your mate again, leave the house right now, tell no one, and go down the street to Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar and I'll be waiting for you outside."
"How will I know it's you?"
"You'll know, Dark-Hunter. And you better come alone. Dev's life depends on it." The demon hung up.
Fury and fear mixed inside Sam and it made her want to kill something. But worse, it brought out her nightmares and shredded her confidence.
How had they captured Dev? How had they known to go after him?
I jeopardize everyone I love...
Tears gathered in her eyes, but she blinked them away. She would not cry. She would not go down without a ferocious battle.
And right now, she wanted blood from Thorn and Nick. Had they known he'd be captured? Was that what they'd been trying to tell her?
Would Dev have been all right had she stayed with him instead of listening to them? They'd promised her that she was getting him out of the line of fire and instead, she'd handed him over to her enemies.
This isn't your fault.
Dev's a big boy.
Yeah and Ioel had been one too.
Right up to the moment they'd killed him.
Her heart hammering, she dressed in her warrior's garb and had to sneak out of the house without Nick seeing her. It was just after dark as she crept down Bourbon Street toward the corner where it intersected with St. Philip's. There was already a nice crowd there. Friends and couples drinking and laughing.
How she wished she could be so carefree.
Sam looked around for her contact, but all she saw were humans. Tons of humans which would make for a lot of collateral damage in a fight. And right now, all their residual emotions and thoughts were playing havoc in her mind.
She stopped on the corner, scanning the people at the tables while she debated what to do.
A dark shadow fell over her. "Keep walking, Huntress."
Her blood ran cold as she turned to see the lethal killing machine.