Page 111 of Bedeviled

“I’m fine,” I slur.

Kane makes a deep noise in his chest, then I hear him begin to curse again. “Fuck, fuck, fuck…” He says it like a mantra.

His hands slip from my body, and he lays me gently down. That’s all he has time for before he bows, his hands falling to the ground and gripping the earth tightly.

A single, intense ripple starts at the base of his spine and moves out. Muscles contort, bones shift, and fur sprouts from his back. His hands become paws, his nose becomes a snout, and a tail extends out from the end of his back.

It’s over in less than a minute. Where my high school crush once stood there is now an overgrown wolf.

Kane’s wolf comes up close to me, his wet nose nuzzling my neck. If I didn’t feel so goddess-damned ill right now, I’d be seriously concerned about how close his teeth are to my skin.

Instead, I slip a tired hand into his fur, idly petting the overgrown lycan while he sniffs my throat.

He makes a low whine, licking my skin softly before retreating.

“…’s okay,” I slur.

And then the world goes dark.

CHAPTER 23

I rouse to a burning sensation, like I’ve placed my hand on the stove, only the fire seems to be everywhere. I try to cry out, but I feel like I’m choking on air. Even prying my eyes open proves impossible, my eyelids are far too heavy. All the while, someone is making horrid moaning noises.

“… Est amage … The endearment seems to come from a long way off. “… are safe … please … return … me…”

“…happened to her?”

More murmuring. Then⁠—

Little witch.

The voice is impossibly close, whispering inside me, right alongside the pain.

I groan, then whimper.

“Hurts…” someone croaks. I realize a moment too late that the voice is mine. As are the pained sounds.

“I know, love.” I feel the press of a warm hand against my cheek. “Can you open those beautiful eyes for me?”

I don’t think I can, but I try anyway. Slowly, so agonizingly slowly, I force my eyelids up, though I can’t see anything beyond the large, vague shape looming over me.

“There you are,” Memnon says oh so softy. He’s using that coaxing tone on me, the one he saves for his most skittish horses. “There is demon venom in you.”

Demon venom? Is that a thing?

“It is.”

Vaguely I remember the dead bodies that had dark magic coating them. Had that been from a demon bite?

What, exactly, does demon venom do? Poison you? Steal your soul?

“You’re not going to ever find out because I’m going to heal you,” Memnon reassures me with the confidence of a man who feels victory is assured.

A fresh wave of pain rolls through me, darkening my vision. A scream rips free from my swollen vocal cords.

“Feel no pain.” The heavy notes of Memnon’s voice fall on me, and they blunt the sharp edge of the burning sensation coursing through me.

I take a shaky drag of air as my vision clears.