Page 21 of Escaping Monsters

“Teagan?” Kane roared from directly above me. “Teagan! What have you done?”

Blood soaked through the mattress, dripping onto my face and mingling with the tears of terror clinging to my cheeks. A metallic tang clung to my tongue, but I hadn’t known if the blood was dripping into my mouth or if it was the taste of my fear. A howl of agony ripped through the air, and the mattress flew away. I screamed, looking up into the face of my husband.

Green eyes found mine. Kane dove down to the ground and gathered me against his naked body. “I thought I killed you,” he said, his voice shaking. “I’m so sorry. The demon tricked me. I would have never touched her. Tell me you forgive me.”

The order pressed down on me, forcing me to say, “I forgive you, Kane.”

He squeezed me tighter to his chest, and the demon’s blood was slick between us. My stomach churned, and I was sure that I would be sick all over Kane.

“That fucking succubus stole your essence and stuffed you under my bed!” He raged.

It was a lie, and I was guessing that he already knew that. Kane knew I wanted him dead. I turned to look up into Kane’s green eyes and opened my mouth to tell him that I had planned the whole thing with the succubus. I’d given her my essence so she could use it to kill him. And I would do it again, and again, until Kane killed me.

“Never mention what happened here again,” Kane snapped, and the order pressed down on me, making the confession stick in my throat. Kane’s green eyes blazed into mine. “We’re never going to talk about what happened here again, Teagan. That is an order. We will forget this ever happened.”

Kane could force me to stay silent, but no order he could give me could make me forget. I remembered everything.

“Wake up, Teagan.” Fingers touched the back of my hand, and a burst of static electricity zapped my skin, shocking me from the memory.

I pulled my hand away and looked into the orange eyes of the succubus who failed to slit my husband’s throat. “What did you just do?”

“She helped you,” the demon with tattoos said. “Your past has such a strong hold on you.” Her cat eyes came into focus as she leaned closer. “It clings to you like shadows.”

“You need permission to touch me,” I told the orange-eyed succubus.

“I’m guessing Jasper asked you to leave.” Declan pulled me further into his side. “And, now I’m telling you.”

All three of the women were watching me with rapt attention now. It didn’t seem like sexual attraction or female-competition energy, instead, their attention felt more voracious, like predators scenting a wounded animal.

“Teagan is such a pretty name,” Pink and Fuzzy said as she reached a finger out toward my lips.

The succubus in the pantsuit grabbed her friend’s wrist before Pink and Fuzzy even got close. “Teagan said not to touch her. And that memory is not for you,” she hissed before turning back to me. “Teagan, I know a solution to help you truly shed your shadows… the process will be the payment, and you won’t be asked for anything more.” With a flourish, she produced a card and held it out. When I didn’t take it, she said, “The card isn’t a commitment. It’s just a way to call The Memory Eater so you’ll always have the option.”

I considered the succubus. This orange-eyed demon had tried to kill Kane once, but I’d got the distinct feeling that she was hired to do it. At the time, someone had told her that I’d help her, and she’d refused to tell me who. My guess was that she’d just as easily work for Kane for the right price, and if she wouldn’t, her friends would likely turn me over. The fact that I was recognized meant that it was only a matter of time before Kane would track me here. Even something so simple as a business card could end up leading Kane to my location. I shook my head. “Thank you, but I’m not touching that.”

The clock had always been ticking on when I’d have to leave, but now there was no way that I could wait for my hand to heal.

Jasper threw the door open, and it banged into the brick. “I told you demons you weren’t welcome on pack grounds. Get the fuck out of here.”

The demons rushed down the stoop. As the orange-eyed demon passed, she raised the business card in front of my face. The words, “The Memory Eater,” burned into my mind, and then the card vanished.

“If you call The Memory Eater, he’ll find you,” the succubus said.

The words rattled around in my mind, and a sudden, visceral terror filled me that one day, I’d willingly walk into the probable trap the succubus just laid out for me, like a lamb to the slaughter.