AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Aidan tossed me a cheeky grin. “Your pain doesn’t last long, even after a head bash. You’ll be fine by tonight. Before that, you can go with me to do a little shopping.”
I gagged loudly. “I hate shopping and you know it. Unless it’s for weapons. Is it for weapons?” I couldn’t keep the eagerness from my expression when I pivoted to look at him.
“Not weapons, but you’ll like this, promise. Although, I should punish you for running off yesterday.” His sparkling gaze found mine, and I rolled my eyes. Chuckling to himself, the Shadow Stalker leaned against the doorframe. “We’re going to borrow some stuff from headquarters. We’re running low, and I can’t risk not having enough for tonight.”
That perked me right up.
“We’re going to steal from the bastards responsible for making you the lethal little thing you are today?”
Shaking his head with a smile that gave him away, Aidan pointed at me, indicating he thought I was being a lot right now—well, right back at you, asshole—and then left.
AFTER STEALING A YEAR’S WORTH of supplies, my mood was boosted and there was a little skip in my step. Whacking around self-righteous assholes always put a smile on my face, and a few of them had been so confident they’d win. Those were my favorites to smash and bash. Ty and Aidan shared a few looks, but they hadn’t said anything. Probably figured it wouldn’t do them any good. And they were right. My middle finger and smirk were all they’d get out of me.
I needed this.
I’d settled a few scores with some of the shoddy, overconfident bastards who had ruined Aidan’s childhood by the end of our little excursion into enemy territory, and I made sure as hell each asshole knew me by name and hair color.
When did I dye my hair pink, though?
My memories seemed fuzzy all day, and something was definitely off. I didn’t recognize the person I was every time I caught my reflection. My hair color was changed from its original dark color and my eyes seemed to beam blue moonlight with specks of red. Any memory of the change was either bashed away like Aidan suggested it had been, or something else was up. But what, I hadn’t figured out just yet.
More suspicious than the change in appearance, my body was different. Sure, I fought the same, but it was like operating with more horsepower with every swing. My blows hit harder, and my strength was out of control. Not that I was complaining, just took a little adjustment to avoid friendly fire when the bloodlust went straight to my head.
I feared mentioning any of it to Aidan because he’d make a bigger deal out of it than I was. And for some odd reason, it felt like a bad idea to trust him or anyone around me. My gut was rarely wrong, and the hesitation to trust what I was seeing made me second-guess every move I made.
I couldn’t explain the gut-wrenching sadness twisting up my insides anytime I looked or talked to Aidan, but the nagging sensation of something forgotten was always at its most powerful around the kind demon slayer. Anytime he smiled, anytime his hand touched mine, any soft word of encouragement or chastisement was bile in my throat. For whatever reason, I was always seconds away from crying when Aidan paid me any amount of attention.
And while I couldn’t say the reason for the sudden inside-twisting sensation around the always sunny boss of our misfit crew, I knew better than anyone to ignore it. It meant something, and I’d get to the bottom of it even if it meant passing a skeptical eye over everything I saw, heard, felt, and smelled.
Until then, I’d do me.
Usually, Aidan picked up on any minute change in my attitude—he was an annoying mother hen like that—so it’d be business as usual to avoid suspicion and try to figure out what the hell was causing the debilitating feeling of loss around the cheery asshole.
Before I knew it, we were on our way to the club Serena had mentioned a strong demon was at earlier. I’d convinced Aidan to let me work solo to use my sexy girl charms. It was how I got into all the places only pretty girls got to go. It was the only time I chose my wits over my bat. I’d never admit it out loud, but scary pretty girls had all the fun.
Serena and I knew better than anyone else.
Unfortunately, intel gathering was vital for overcoming a strong demon. I much preferred the smash-and-find-out methodology, but my usual guns-blazing style wouldn’t cut it this time. Understanding a foe like the one we hunted was necessary to beat them, and conquering a strong one always took a little extra seduction. So despite the off sensation all day, it was demon hunting as usual, and that was ultimately all this chick cared about.
Serena chose something sultry and darkly mysterious, and I’d gone in a similar direction. I selected a top that showed off my chest and exposed the length of my tattooed stomach, then paired it with a mini skirt that left nothing to the imagination over my favorite fishnets. Instead of my usual kick-ass Converse, I’d opted for stripper heels. They served as a resourceful weapon when I was feeling creative.
With dark mauve lipstick and enough eyeliner to make the blues in my eyes pop, I’d aimed for goth pretty because it fit my vibe and no one thought it looked weird with a spiked bat. They always assumed I was just very dedicated to my killer vibe.
They’d never know how true that was.
Honestly, I wasn’t against looking two shades of sex worker to get the job done, and deadly goth girl was ironically very popular with demon bros. Guess it reminded them of home.
After the looks Aidan, Ty, and the rest of the assholes in the crew gave us when we emerged from our bedrooms, it was clear we’d done a good job. Bastards took several minutes to retrieve their jaws from the floor.
Serena huffed a little laugh before cutting her amused eyes over to me. “First one to get to the rich boy section buys the other dinner tomorrow…”
My lips twitched into a devilish grin. “Deal.”
“I can’t believe you’re letting her go off on her own after last night,” Ty complained to Aidan loudly, as was his uptight bro way. “I know you’re tired of hearing it, but she’s a fucking wild card. She’ll get herself killed if it’s a strong demon.”
I put a hand over my chest, feigning gratitude. “Aww, Ty. You’re so sweet to worry about me.”
Ty ignored me with a click of his tongue. “Which is fine. Good riddance to the reckless bitch. But it’ll get the rest of us killed as a result. Make her stay here. Serena can get it done by herself. We don’t need the demon lady for this.”
