Page 5 of Demon Demands

“She’s… more like a dragon sometimes, I guess. She’ll view you as hers, and she’s possessive of her treasures. It’s the only thing that she ever cares about. The only emotions that you’ll see from her are lust, rage, and a ravenous hunger that feeds off of fear the same way a succubus would feed off of lust. I only let her out when it’s a last resort, but with Hannibal taking Jack…” I trailed off, scrubbing furiously at my face with both hands.

Grim sighed, gracefully finishing my fumbling explanation. “Sloane won’t be able to keep her under control until Jack is back, and even then it’s a fifty-fifty chance in the Underworld. Her demon is already fighting her, and once we cross over to the Underworld, the control Sloane has over her will be practically nonexistent. Jack was the first possession Sloane’s demon claimed, and she won’t rest until she has what she believes is rightfully hers.”

Threading his fingers together behind his head, he pushed on with his own description of how my demon would act. “What she’s trying to say is that while her demon may feel like she owns all of us, Sloane in no way feels like we’re possessions. It’s not all bad, having Sloane’s demon lay her claim on you, but you have to understand that she’s territorial and vicious to those that she deems as a threat. With a war being waged in the Underworld, she’s going to be more unhinged and ready for bloodshed than usual. That’s her home, and she won’t take kindly to the demons who are trying to destroy it.”

Vaughn studied me intently, rubbing at the dark hair growing across his jawline. “So, you and your demon… it’s like split personalities?”

I shrugged in answer to his question. “Sometimes. Maybe. I can call forth my demon and still be in control, usually. But I might not be able to this time, not until she sees that Jack is safe. She may relinquish her control back to me if she gets bored while we prep, but she’s riding me hard right now, so I don’t really know what to expect from her. Once we cross over, I’ll take the backseat and she’ll be the one driving for… a bit.”

“How do we know when it’s you or her?” York furrowed his brows, watching every tick and twitch that erupted from my body. She was causing me so much physical discomfort. It was one of many things she would do to try to make me give in to her demand for control.

“My eyes are red in my demon form. I look like a giant lab rat with wings.” I tried to crack a smile, but it wasn’t successful. “They’re black when I’m pissed or borderline losing the fight with her. They’ll probably be black the entire time we’re in the Underworld. Hers are black with lightning in them. She likes the power play,” I muttered the last part, rolling my eyes at myself.

Palmer raised a questioning brow at me. “Lightning?”

“Yes. It’s her playing with our demonic magic, but yes. Literal lightning flashes in her eyes.”

Novak nodded like he expected nothing less. Just a regular day in the life of Sloane fucking King. “And what do we call her?”

Grim looked at me, and I shrugged my shoulders, telling him I didn’t mind him taking over the conversation again. Stone stood, answering before Grim could utter the words that I hated so much. “We call her the True Devil. A title she’s earned, over and over again, every time she steps foot in the Underworld.”

Sloane

Monday Early Afternoon

“Barbie?” Briggs bent down to peer at my face. “Why do you look like you’re in an excruciating amount of pain right now?”

“Because I am,” I answered honestly. Turning my back to him, I peeled my shirt up, securing it over the edges of my shoulders so that they could all see what was happening to my back.

I knew what it looked like. I could feel the blood drizzling down both sides of my spine, the bony spikes piercing my flesh as I held my wings in.

Between my spine and the insides of my shoulder blades, eight-inch gashes ripped and healed… and ripped and healed.

It hadn’t stopped since I’d shifted back from my wolf after Jack was taken. And it wouldn’t stop until my demon was finally able to burst forth, ready to dish out her vengeance on anyone who’d acted against her.

That was why I needed the portal straight to Dolyn. He and his family were more treasures that my demon had claimed. Dolyn was good at talking her down from the ledge, making her see that killing everyone was reckless and wasn’t going to help us.

His sister, Hyde, had been the only person who never showed an ounce of fear in the face of my demon’s ire. If anyone could help me get back my control, or at least calm my demon down, it was Hyde.

“What can I do to help?” Briggs questioned, his voice hoarse and gravelly.

Tugging my shirt down, I spun to face him. Forest green eyes stared back at me, looking to all the world like Cypress trees were embedded in his irises. I wanted to fall into them and get lost for days, wandering the forests with the cool packed earth beneath the paws of my wolf.

But I couldn’t. Not today, anyway. Soon, though. Soon I would lose myself in his mesmerizing gaze.

I gave him the best smile I could muster — I couldn’t be sure if it was a sad sight or a murderous one — before answering. “Distract me.”

He sucked in a breath, releasing it slowly as he asked, “Would you mind telling us what Grim was talking about earlier? When he said that he’d been on the receiving end of your demonic wrath…”

He trailed off with a grimace playing across his mouth. His bottom lip had teeth indents in the center from where he’d had them sunk into it while looking at my back. His top lip was a little thinner than his full lower lip, but maybe his facial hair hid the truth.

I winced as I perched on the edge of a patio chair. The pain in my lower back and ass felt like I’d recently broken my tailbone. Which might as well have been the case. Just a reoccurring break. For the last hour, possibly two. I was losing track of time, pushing everything out of my mind except what was to come.

Glancing at Grim, I raised a brow. “Do you mind helping me explain this too? Hopefully, I won’t sound like a psycho, but,” I drawled, shrugging my sore shoulders a fraction. “If the shoe fits and all that shit.”

“Well.” Grim scrunched his nose up as he thought. “Jack and I have been together for… awhile now. But the story takes place when we’d been together for maybe two months,” he skeptically recounted, looking at me for confirmation.

I tilted my head to the left, unsure of the timeframe. “Doesn’t really matter for the story. Let’s just say it was a new relationship. Grim and I hit it off on day one of meeting each other, and we became fast friends. Now, back to your part.” I flourished my hand, giving him the floor. Such a Jack thing to do. The motion made my heart clench.