The smoke filled my sinuses, stung my eyes, and went down my throat. I coughed, but thanks to the dart Luna had shot into my neck, I didn’t seem to be affected by it. Griff grabbed me by the arm, and we ran to the back of the tiny shop, where Luna had already disappeared down the hatch in the floor.An almighty crash filled the room. Just as Griff shoved me down the hole, a bunch of armored enforcers burst through the door. I tumbled down into the interior of a van, landed in a crouch on its oak floor, and jumped back. Griff appeared seconds later, his chest heaving.“Shit.” He spun around to where Luna and Juniper were already firing up the engine and pulling out from wherever they’d parked. “That was close.”“You know the drill,” Luna yelled from over her shoulder. “Close the hatch.”I turned my head up to a ceiling made of wooden boards, where the green smoke was wafting down from the shop. None of the enforcers followed after us, I guessed because they’d been affected by whatever
A shudder ran down my spine, and no matter how much I tried to assure myself that our mission hadn’t yet failed, I couldn’t help but dread how the Norse god might react to this new development.I was about to ask Griff what he thought when bright lights filled the windows at the back and flooded the van’s interior. Then a vehicle much larger than ours rammed into our rear.Everyone jerked forward or to the side, depending on where they were sitting. My breath caught, and I turned back to the beds. The cushions and blankets had fallen to the ground, giving a better view of the outside threat. It was black, truck-shaped, and looked like it wanted to run us off the road or at least into the side of the tunnel.“This doesn’t seem like any kind of routine raid.” My voice trembled.“That’s because it isn’t,” Luna snapped. “Enforcers never send the plow for minor offenders. You two must be big-league.”Guilt wrapped around my guts like a cobra and squeezed. Maybe we should have told them tha
My lips tightened, and I tried not to flare my nostrils. Any time people compared me to Dad, it was always to point out that I wasn’t as feminine or as graceful as Mum.“Is that a compliment or an insult?” I asked, keeping my voice measured.“After all that time in isolation, you knew exactly what to do,” he said.Some of the tension around my muscles eased. “Dad taught me from a young age how to prepare for anything. When he died, Gerrison did his best.”“Lydia’s father?”I nodded. “Did you get to spend much time with Dad when you were in Hell?”“Once he stopped kicking the shit out of me, we managed to have a few conversations,” Griff said. “If my father had been anything like yours, he would never have lost his pack.”I raised a shoulder, not knowing whether this was Griff’s attempt at starting a conversation or making amends. This was one of the first civil things he’d said to me since discovering my true identity, and I wasn’t about to push my luck and bask in his grudging admira
Ophois pushed the door open, letting in a gust of cool, sea-scented air. Beyond the rectangular portal was the interior of a cave made up of hexagonal columns pushed together to form uneven walls. Seawater rushed through its interior, splashing against the rocky surfaces and covering everything with a layer of salt.I bit down on my bottom lip. Was this the Living World or another dimension?“Let’s go.” The Egyptian god offered me the crook of his arm.Beki gave me a questioning bark, asking if I was staying or going. I shook my head. What was wrong with my wolf? Couldn’t she see that the god standing before us consumed people?Griff pushed his way in front of me, his larger body blocking my view of the Egyptian god. “Nobody goes anywhere with my mate.”“I wasn’t asking you,” Ophois said with a snarl.“Too bad, because Cathwulf stays with me.”The muscles around my throat tightened, cutting off my air. I wanted to reach out and pull Griff away from the dangerous deity, but the fury ra
“A friend of a friend,” I shouted. “Where are you?”She didn’t reply for several heartbeats, but then a plume of fire blew out from several feet above us. I stepped back, my eyes wide, wondering what kind of magic user would dare to employ the element.“Griff,” I whispered. “Is Coral using fire?”“It’s legal now.”“Are you sure?” Back when I was alive, fire was a forbidden form of magic, punishable by death.“Something big happened between Yule and Candlemas, and Logris split into smaller villages. The Council even has a Fire Queen who is a phoenix shifter.”“Oh.” I squinted up toward the ceiling, where I swore I saw a green wing. “Is that a dragon?”A pointed head poked out from above us and glared down at us through red eyes.“Coral?” I asked.“Where are you?” she replied.“Inside the cave?” I licked my dry lips. “Are you looking for a green dragon?”“You’ve found him?”A column of flame appeared several feet in front of us, making us flinch. I clapped a hand over my mouth to suppre
Trevor gave Griff a nod, and the two of them walked further into the cave.Coral watched them leave. As soon as they disappeared around the corner, she turned to me and asked, “What did you say your name was?”“Cathwulf,” I murmured. “Cathwulf Aibek.”She gave me a blank look.“I came from Shifter City, looking for your help. We’re having a problem with Hades—”“Hades?” Her pretty features twisted, and sparks flew from her clenched fists.I gulped. Ophois hadn’t been exaggerating that she knew the Demon King. “Yes.” I stood straighter. “He’s holding my pack in Hell, and we need to rescue them.”“That bastard never changes. Let me guess, your pack contains at least one beautiful woman.”“Yes?” My brows drew together. “Why?”“He has a habit of abducting people. Last year, my siblings and I escaped a cult, and guess who was driving the bus that took us to freedom?”“Hades?”“He kept us in Hell for weeks and didn’t even tell us.”I rubbed the back of my neck. “Was anyone hurt?”“Not reall
I squeezed my eyes shut and rested my forehead on the door. The thought of spending the night with Griff as myself made my insides twist into agonizing knots.Beki’s sharp barks told me I was being pathetic. The worst part was that I couldn’t disagree. It turned out that I could withstand all that time in Hell—the torture, the pain, the humiliation—yet my insides quivered at the thought of being rejected once again by my mate.My wolf pushed against our bond, making my skin itch. This was her way of telling me that if I wasn’t woman enough to walk through that door and claim my mate, she would do it for me.“Give me a minute,” I murmured.The porter cleared his throat. “Miss,” he said with barely concealed impatience. “You have already contravened section twelve, subsection forty-two, article five of the Supernatural Secrecy Act, which states—”“Stop.” I cracked open an eye. “The door just got jammed.”He placed a gloved hand on the wooden surface and unlocked it with a pulse of magic
Griff’s gaze dropped to my breasts. “What are you doing?”“We didn’t get any sleep last night.” I shouldered off the garment and kicked off my boots.“Get naked if you want but you’re sleeping on the floor. I’m not getting into bed with you.”“My wolf and I already made arrangements to shift for the night,” I said, keeping my voice flat.Griff’s features tightened, but he didn’t turn his head as I slid my leggings down my hips and let them fall down my shins. I stepped out of the pool of fabric and tried to ignore the furious wolf.His breathing became faster, heavier, and the temperature rose several degrees, even though the cabin had air conditioning. As I slid my hands beneath the hem of my tank top, Griff leaned forward and panted.“Do you mind?” I snapped.“I didn’t complain when you were salivating over my body,” he said with a smirk and folded his arms across his chest. “Right now, I’m enjoying the sight of Cathwulf Aibek undressing. For me.”My nostrils flared. “Take a good lo