| |
––––––––
EMBER’S HEART RACED as she escaped from the catacombs. She hated to admit it, but not all of the adrenalin was due to fear. Some of it was because of how Raum had looked at her when he’d forced her to turn human. All kinds of hormones reacted to the devilishly handsome Guild Master. “Stupid, weak, pathetic human body,” she muttered as she flew towards the Shifter District.
Now that her lair had been compromised, she would have to find somewhere new to call her home. If Raum was telling the truth, then nowhere would be safe from him. He could find her no matter where she hid. He’d left his mark on her, but it was an invisible brand this time, unlike the scars he’d left on her flesh.
The demoness squinted against the bright light of dawn as she searched for somewhere to rest for the day. She chose one of the many empty buildings and entered an apartment on the top floor. It was devoid of furniture, but the lock worked when she closed the door.
Soft carpet cushioned her when she lay down in what was probably meant to be a living room. She tried to sleep, but her mind was whirling too fast. Raum knew about her plan to take down the Immortal Triumvirate on her own, which meant he’d been following her without her knowing about it. She didn’t like it that the tables had been turned and he was now stalking her. While she could usually sense him from a distance, his range was greater than hers. She’d been too distracted by thoughts of vengeance and hadn’t even felt him lurking in her cave. It had been a rude shock to hear his voice directly behind her.
She replayed their interaction again and again. Ember felt the same weird flush of desire each time she remembered how he’d looked at her naked human body. She wondered what it would be like to couple with someone when she was in that form. Would it be as painful and humiliating as it was in her demon form? Would he have wicked barbs on his manhood like all male demons possessed? Females had barbs inside their bodies. She’d only dared to use hers against Beleth once to shred his shaft. He’d beaten her so badly that she’d come close to dying. It had taken her a couple of nights to fully heal. He’d used his barbs against her every single time he’d used her body, so sex had always been excruciating.
“I doubt humans have barbs,” she murmured. If they did, they wouldn’t survive having their insides torn apart. They’d bleed to death long before they could have a chance to heal. As far as she knew, shifters didn’t have barbs either. It was just demons who could use their genitals as weapons against each other.
Curiosity had Ember shifting into her human form. She touched the opening between her legs and carefully inserted a finger into herself. Just as she’d thought, she didn’t feel any barbs. There was nothing growing inside her that she could trigger to shred the manhood of anyone who tried to use her against her will. Her eyes widened when she drew her finger out. It had felt strangely pleasurable. It seemed this body was a lot more sensitive to touch than her demon form was. Thoughts of what Raum could do to her made her throb between her legs. She had no idea what to do with these new feelings, so she changed into her true form and curled up to try to sleep.
Now that Raum knew she wasn’t going to join his cause, he was bound to rescind his protection order. All demons would hunt her on sight, so she couldn’t return to the catacombs. He could track her wherever she went, which meant her mission to take down the Immortal Triumvirate was going to be even more difficult now. It was lucky she was patient and knew how to bide her time. She’d waited thirty-five years to escape from being a slave. She could wait Raum out. He would eventually grow tired of chasing her and search for someone else to become bonded to. His cause seemed to be important to him and it would hopefully consume most of his time.
When Ember woke up just after nightfall, she felt groggy from getting too little sleep. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten for a while. A howl sounded in the shifter woods in the distance. Answering yips, yowls and screeches replied. The rogues were on the hunt and she decided to join them.
Ember left the apartment through a window and winged her way to the forest to the north of the suburbs. Joyful barks, meows and other forms of greeting met her ears even before she descended. The pack recognized her scent even when she was in her demon form. She changed into her werewolf body, then petted the heads that rubbed up against her as the shifters dropped to all fours. “Hey, gang,” she said. “Who’s hungry?” A cacophony erupted and she snickered. “Yeah, me, too,” she said. “Let’s go hunting!”
She took off at a sprint and the pack rushed after her. They scoured the woods for a couple of hours, then heard something big crashing through the trees. It was a buck that had gotten itself tangled up in a vine. It panicked when it saw the rogues closing in on it and tore itself free.
Ember reveled in the hunt as she chased after the fleeing animal. She was faster than the other rogues, but kept to a pace that they could keep up with. A weretiger leaped in front of the buck and it changed course. A werebear lumbered into its path, then a werewolf launched itself onto the beast’s back.
It should have been strange for so many different species of shifters to work together, but it felt natural to Ember. A werelion slit the beast’s throat to end its life, then they all fed on the carcass together. There was no fighting or unnecessary mauling of the buck. Their behavior was nearly civilized, which meant the rogues weren’t as uncontrollable as everyone believed.
“They just need a leader,” Ember said in her deep, guttural werewolf voice. She wiped her bloody muzzle on her hairy arm and a werecougar slunk over and began to lick her clean. Soon, she was surrounded by purring felines who licked away all traces of gore from her and the rest of the pack.
Feeling strangely content, Ember chose to stay with the pack when the sun rose. They filed into a cave where other rogues had made their home. The pack was far larger than she’d realized. They all welcomed her as their leader and she settled down among a pile of furry bodies to sleep.
