Chapter 225

Heather

I turned back to the menu. Was I supposed to order something? I hadn’t seen any waitstaff, so I was assuming not, but who the hell knew? What was the point of this? Was this some insane, stalker witch who wanted a date? I understood what it was trying to do with the mental hospital, but I was having trouble figuring what the diner had to do with anything.

But maybe that was the point. Maybe it was just supposed to frustrate me. I looked at the menu again. And gross me out.

I closed my eyes and tried to reach for Brent again. Brent. Brent. Brent. I put my magic behind his name as I reached along our bond, but he was too far away.

I growled as I picked up the napkin dispenser and hurled it across the stupid fucking diner.

My breath heaved in and out of me, but no one had even flinched at the sound of the dispenser crashing through the window.

Shit. This was so dumb. “Come on. Show your face.”

“Y’all have a nice day,” the hostess told the family behind me.

The dad murmured something, and the door chimed as it opened and closed.

The family was gone, but I still felt like someone was staring at me. I glanced a little to the side, but the hostess was wiping down menus. So, it wasn’t her.

To the right of me, a clock hung on the wall. I watched the seconds tick by. My knee bounced under the table as I glanced out the windows. In the distance, I could see a city. I knew it wasn’t actually there, but I couldn’t just keep sitting here waiting for whoever—whatever—this was to show up.

Nope.

I started to get up, but froze.

The tingling was back. Stronger this time. An evil twinge of magic was stronger, making my skin crawl.

I didn’t want to look. I didn’t want to turn around. It was here.

But I had to look. I geared myself up for it.

Three.

Two.

One.

I spun, but no one was behind me except the little boy. He didn’t look too concerned that his family had left. He just stood there and stared at me. The mom, dad, and little girl were walking through the parking lot outside.

I glanced back to the menu to buy myself some time. Something wasn’t right with this boy. My gut was screaming demon. It lined up with the greasy magic and ability to sneakily take over my mind and the creepy child. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen a demon take the shape of a kid, but seeing something so evil shoved into an innocent body was more than unsettling.

Was that it? The demon wanted to creep me out? Was this whole diner thing just for that?

I turned around, and for the first time, really looked at the boy.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about him. His shoes were dirty and one lace untied. His jacket had a few stains but looked warm enough.

Why was I thinking about his jacket when I should’ve been meeting his gaze? Confronting him? But no matter how I tried to look at his face, I couldn’t seem to meet his eyes.

I stopped breathing as my thought processed.

This was a problem. An Alpha werewolf could meet any gaze. Unless this thing was more—

I swallowed down the lump in my throat.

The demon was more dominant—more powerful—than me.

My heart hammered in my chest. Other Weres had talked about not being able to meet Mr. Langdon’s or Donovan’s gazes, but I’d never experienced that. Not until now.

What was I going to do?

I could try to fight it, but if I couldn’t even meet its gaze, I was screwed. And I was alone.

rested my forehead on the damp, sticky table. Think, Heather. Think.

A wave of reassurance came through the bond, and I sat back up. It was faint, but it was there.

I wasn’t alone. I had help.

I didn’t know what he’d done to get through to me and I didn’t care. I grabbed Brent’s power, pulling as much as I could and hoping I didn’t damage the barely-there rope.

A surge of Brent’s power hit me, like I’d just downed a million Diet Cokes, and with it came a buttload of confidence.

I twisted in my seat, finally able to meet the little boy’s gaze.

His eyes were a normal brown—not red like other demons—but they were vacant. As sick as it was to think about since he—it—was in the shape of a little boy, looking into its eyes was almost like staring at the glass eyes of a taxidermied animal. They glinted a little too much in the light and were devoid of any emotion.

Then it grinned and a chill went down my spine.

Its mouth opened, lips thinning until they were just lines. The mouth was too big and too wide for its face. More like a jack-o’-lantern than anything human. As it smiled, the black hole of its mouth grew bigger as if it was going to suck me in.

Its laugh boomed in the small diner. Power pressed against my skin, making it feel like I’d been rolled in a layer of its black slime.

I started to slide out of the booth, but I hadn’t consciously moved.

I gripped the table, and my fingers squeaked as they slipped down the linoleum.

No. No. No. This was bad. This was really bad. It was drawing me toward it. The demon was done messing with me, and I had zero illusions that I could fight it and win.

My gut screamed that I couldn’t let it reach me. If I touched the demon, then it would have me. Forever. There was no coming back from that black pit. I knew what was on the other side. I’d seen it that day in the chapel in Santa Fe.

Inside the pit a giant demon clawed its way to the top. It looked like it was made of molten lava, scarring the rock with fire as it climbed. It spotted me and roared, moving faster.

“You’re mine.” The words sent terror through my soul. The same words he’d said in Santa Fe.

“No! Never!”

It was like gravity changed. I was sucked out of the booth, falling horizontally toward the boy—the demon.

My fingers were slowly slipping down the table, no matter how hard I tried to hold on. I needed a better grip.

In a split-second, my wolf rose to the surface, my fingers stretched and nails lengthened, turning into claws. I punched them through the table. It shook and cracks formed around my hands, spreading toward the edges.

This wouldn’t last. The table would break in half before long, and I’d be sucked toward the demon.

I needed a way out.

I hung parallel to the floor. The demon was still in the same spot, waiting for me. He was enjoying my panic. I was sure it could smell the sickly-sweet stench of it as well as I could.

He was waiting for me. He didn’t need to move. I was trapped.

As I hung there, floating in the air, trying not to be sucked into his evil vortex, I looked back. I stared him in the eyes. And I knew. All I had to do was look at him and I knew.

I’d felt his evil magic before.

It was his power that had allowed Luciana to strip me of my magic and shove it into two jars.

As the realization hit me, he laughed.

That’s why. That’s why I was here in this stupid place. In this diner. Waiting. Because he wanted me to know who he was. He wanted me to feel how strong he was. How he could own me again, because he’d never let me go. Not since that day in Luciana’s craft room.

There was only one thing left I could do.