His sight blurred from the blood loss, dizziness swamping him, and the ground swayed—
Fuck! Inhaling pained lungfuls of air, refusing to show any weakness, he strode toward the arena’s exit. The huge demon guards moved aside, clearing a path.
A familiar strain of prickles slid down his bruised and bloodied skin. He knew who it was but looked up to the VIP box anyway.
Azgoreth, the Archdemon of Voracity and ruler of Ys, in his human form, rose from his seat and inclined his head. The demon was as old as dirt and master of these goddamned fights, and he looked as happy as an emptying bladder.
Yeah, job well-fucking-done!
A demoness glided up to him in her transparent black pleasure den gown worn to entice. “Let me aid you,Sicari.” She caressed his blood-drenched shirt, giving him a sultry smile, sucking her gore-smeared fingers suggestively. “I’ll lick every bit of you clean.”
He grasped her arm and stalked out of the pit, then flashed them to the busy town of Ys. Gloomy buildings with dim lights lined the town’s circle where an obelisk loomed in the center, stained black with eons of blood from those Azgor nailed there and flayed in punishment until death.
Adrenaline finally flatlining, Nate lowered his head. And struggled to find a way back into himself, to lock down his blood rage as the beast within battered his mental shield, seeking a weakness to break free. Always seeking.
“I know what you need,” a low voice breathed, dragging his agonized mind back, and he became aware of the demoness hanging onto him.
Smiling at getting his attention, she reached up and kissed his clenched mouth, licking his fangs still piercing his lower lip.
“Leave,” he growled, pushing her away.
“ButSicari…” She frowned.
Yeah, they all wanted to fuck the dangerous beast, and usually, he indulged for days. But rutting wasn’t on his mind, even if its energy would heal him faster.
“Go!” he snarled, too close to the edge. If the beast within reared up, he would kill again.
Her eyes widened, and she scurried off.
His chest constricted, the heat, the sulfur, the immense pain, all of it suffocating him. Hades! He had to get out of this place. With his ribs hurting like a hail of blades ripping through his chest, he flashed to the outskirts where he could open a portal in private.
Moments later, he stepped through the swirling gateway into the human world. The smell of grease and oil in the workshop abraded his nose in welcome relief. A place he always came back to—his sire’s home.
Nate shut the portal with his mind, his gaze settling on his black talons. His mouth compressed. His fangs sank deeper into his lower lip, and a spasm of pain lit through his jaw and head—
Fuck! After another agonized inhale, he managed to calm down enough to retract his extended canines and horns.
Now he was just a bloodied, beat-up-looking human, and every inch of him hurt.
Nate wiped his hurting face on the sleeve of his tee, the only spot not drenched with blood, and shuffled between the vehicles to the open door, each step an excruciating feat. He trudged into the living room and up the side stairs, taking in his wounded status. Yeah, he’d likely torn ligaments everywhere and busted a rib or two, and then there was the damn burn mark on his chest where the demon had tried to yank out his heart.
“Nate?”
Unable to avoid this, he stopped on the landing and waited. Footfalls echoed on the worn, tiled stairs as his sire ran up behind him. “What happened?”
“Nothing.” Hell, maybe he fractured his jaw, too. It fucking hurt to speak.
“Don’t tell me it’s nothing. You’re torn, bleeding all over.” Aba’s tone was hard, yet Nate knew he couldn’t feel, and had no emotions. How could Aba, when he didn’t possess a soul?
“You’ve been fighting again.”
“It’s the Dark Realm. There are always assholes after ahalf-breed. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Nate shuffled to his bedroom, shut the door, and sagged against the wood. Why burden Aba further with the truth about the death fight?
A moment later, his sire’s low voice drifted to him. “He’s badly hurt.”
By the dark gods! Who was he calling?
Nate didn’t bother tuning in with pain gutting him, but his heightened hearing didn’t spare him, and Aba’s part of the convo bled through. “I don’t know. You need to come.”
