Deal with the Devil

My world seemed to stop when she unlocked the door. The sounds in the room seemed to stop existing, the quiet descending on us like a deluge of water that muffled anything that wasn’t frozen in that moment of time. The loud clamor at the door had ceased, much like my own breath, as we waited for what happened next.

My hands still held the handle of the door tightly in their grasp, the knuckles long since turned white in their effort and strangled hold. A vase full of what appeared to be artificial flowers was within arms reach, and I silently prayed I wouldn’t have to use it. Glass shards on the floor would certainly not win me any favors with Jensen or Kallen, but if I needed to, I would not hesitate to use it or any other means of escape.

Seconds ticked by, and I felt my hands start to relax under their strain. The woman continued to watch me with her hazel eyes burning through me. Her expression was of that of someone waiting for the curtain to fall, as though she knew something was about to happen that I didn’t.

There was something soft about her, her dark hair styled in a pixie hair cut covered any harsh lines about her face. Her features in her face and body were quite unlike the hard features and muscles of the lycan that lived here. She was not someone that lived among the other human women or else I would have noticed, at least I thought I had seen all the human women that lived amongst the lycans here in their little city of beasts. But, she had mentioned her king.

The green-eyed beast that hunted me was no one I knew, or I would have recognized those eyes. They were hard to miss, and now that I have seen them, I would never forget them. Those eyes would haunt my dreams…my nightmares.

The knob turned slowly, and the woman’s expression softened with a glint of merriment that flitted through her eyes. Several demeaning words filtered through my head regarding this woman and her sources of amusement, but I didn’t waste much time sharing them.

Instead, I reached for the vase with its artificial flowers and smashed it against the windowed center of the door that led out to the balcony. The commotion of glass showering down in the room must have been the beast's cue as he shoved himself through the door open. No longer was he in his lycan form, but stood before me as a completely naked man.

The woman clapped her hands as she bounced on the balls of her feet, finding enjoyment in the show that I simply could not fathom. She watched my expression as the man trained his eyes on me and stepped forward. Her appraising eyes slid over him appreciatively before she beamed at me once more. It was a possessive look, one that claimed that what she saw was all hers to partake in.

Of course, he was like them all: gorgeous and glorious. Though there was no mistaking his heightened arousal as he moved towards me, and it was nearly as frightening as his beast.

Stooping to snatch a shard of glass, I wielded it fiercely between us. There was no way I was allowing him to get close to me. “Stay away from me! Do you hear me?” I sliced the shard through the air before me in a wide arc to impress my meaning on him.

When he paused in his movements and watched my vehement display, I believed maybe he heard me loud and clear and would actually heed my warning. That was until he started laughing at my pitiful attempt at authority over the matter.

“My child, do you think you could actually harm me? With that?” His laughter rolled into the room and I sneered at him.

My soled shoes crunched against the splinters of glass beneath my feet as I took a careful step backward. I was careful to step over the wooden frame of the now ruined door, inching my way out into the freedom of the balcony. “First, I am not your anything.” The man’s eyes glinted, a smile smoothing his features to make him look much younger and less aggressive, but I knew better. “Second, if you dare come close with…that,” I waved my shard of glass towards his nether regions, indicating that I had no desire to confront that part of his anatomy. “I swear I will cut it off and-”

The man barked his laughter into the room, the woman no longer looking as gleeful as she once was. Instead, she watched the scene as though she was now the one that was missing something, and I nearly wanted to laugh at the turn of events. Whatever she thought was going to happen by opening that door was not panning out for her. At least maybe she will think twice next time. However, that didn’t help me now.

“And what,” he taunted, stepping closer. He let his gaze sweep over me before flashing me a grin I supposed was meant to be charming but came across more as arrogant. “It is quite the prize to be chosen by me, my child,” he said, emphasizing his last words as a show of dominance.

Losing my footing, my hand flew to the frame of the door in order to catch myself. A shard of glass sliced through my skin, and I snatched it back seething at the deep cut through the tender part of my hand.

The man was only too aware of every move I made, and when to take advantage of a situation. Within milliseconds of slicing my hand on the frame, he had half-shifted into his beast and sprung forward.

I screamed, my scream piercing the night and plunging into its depths. My foot caught on the door and my body crashed hard against the balcony floor just beyond. The heavy thud of my backside meeting the ground jolted through my entire body as it reverberated up my spine on impact. The splinters of glass that were scattered over the area pierced through the jeans I wore, feeling them cut into me causing scrapes and cuts as my skin made contact.

“Hunt!” I heard the woman scream, though it sounded more like outrage than concern.

The fall, even though it hurt like hell, allowed me to elude the beast for only that much longer. He hit the ground somewhere behind me, but I was in no shape to continue to run. Trying my best to roll away from any remaining shards of glass that had not buried themselves in my jeans, I stood on shaking legs.

My jeans were glinting in the moonlight with little shards that poked out from the fabric. The cut in my hand was starting to make my ears ring, the thought of my wound and losing blood making me nauseous. Turning my attention away from it, I had to focus on him, even if my shirt was coated in the thick red liquid.

He spun on his heels, his green eyes mocking me as they squinted with a glee that made me even sicker to my stomach. The man, or beast, was enjoying this way too much. “You should have listened to that little alpha, my child. The chase…hmm,” he taunted me in his half-shifted form. The feral animalistic quality of his voice prevailed over the smooth tone that his human had, the sound grating against my nerves.

I swiped an arm through the air again as he took a step towards me once more, his back towards the railing of the balcony. “Don’t come near me,” I screeched at him, wobbling as I slid against the wall of the manor.

My legs wanted to buckle under me, sweat from all exertion making its way into each scrape and scratch I had endured. I could feel the burning sensation all over my legs, my hand throbbing against my chest as I kept the sight of it just out of my peripheral. If I was going to make it out of this, I had to stay conscious.

The beast made a noise between a growl and a laugh. He launched himself at me once more and I closed my eyes and ducked, my legs finally giving beneath me.

“Hunt,” the voice boomed over my head.

A thud sounded as the balcony floor beneath me vibrated. The beast known as Hunt stood over me, his body caging mine against the wall barring any escape. His head cocked to the side to note the newcomer, but I could only feel relief. I knew who it was.

“Kallan,” Hunt acknowledged, his body shifting ever so gently back into his human form leaving his nudity in plain view of my sensibilities. “What brings you to my chambers?”

I could not see past the man as I sat hunched where I landed, keeping my eyes low to the ground. All I could do was work on my breathing, to slow it down enough that I could think about my next move without panicking. But he was here, wasn’t he? Just like the night of the priest.

A shadow fell on the ground just behind Hunt, and I held my breath. “Step aside, Hunt.” He was not asking. It was a command, and one that wouldn’t take no for an answer.

The man covering me from all present chuckled. “Or what, Kallan? Would you start a war with me when you invited me here? Is she worth it?”

The shadow grew and I saw every muscle in Hunt tense. “Kallan,” I whispered. Even though he didn’t look at me, I knew the man above me heard me. He appeared only to be ready to pounce, and I worried for Kallan’s safety.

“I said to step aside, Hunt. I won’t ask again!” The threat hung in the air.

For a moment, I thought Hunt would refuse, but I was wrong. When he stepped away from me, I saw Kallan standing on the balcony with a fierce-looking Jensen behind him. Just off to their sides, Drake stood with cuts and bruising on his face and body.

“All humans on my property are under my protection,” Kallan continued. “You know this, Hunt. Why have you chosen to defy me?”

Jensen moved to my side and scooped me up in his arms, trying to be gentle given my abrasions and cuts. “Let’s get you back to your room, Sedona.” For once, I was relieved to be going back to that dreaded room. “Later, you will need to explain to me why you were out of your room,” he admonished me. Even though he was gentle with me, there was a tension that concerned me. This was my fault.

The man with the green eyes watched me carefully as I was being carried away, his mind working behind that piercing gaze. “She is pure, brother,” he stated, almost admiringly.

“I am not your brother, Hunt!” Kallan’s face was full of rage, his eyes dark. “You are forbidden from touching her or any other human without explicit consent, and you know that.”

Hunt shrugged, then turned to face Kallan. As Jensen moved through the broken glass, I heard the final words of Hunt that made my blood turn cold. “Then you shall give me consent,” he mused.

“Like hell I will,” Kallan spat back.

Hunt stood straight, letting his height square up to Kallan’s. The men seemed fairly equal in height and strength, but this man seemed without scruples. “You called me here to ask for my help…to join forces against those that are taking your packs out one by one. You asked me my price,” he smirked and I felt his eyes move over me. I shuddered. “If you want my help, I get the girl. That is my price!”

“The hell you will,” Kallan exclaimed through clenched teeth.

Jensen looked down at me, a frown covering his brow. “Don’t listen to him, Sedona.” He moved faster towards the door trying to get me out of hearing distance, but he wasn’t fast enough.

“Then you have chosen to let your packs die!”