Her weary sigh cut through him. “She said I was a little monster, but she wanted me to learn to be a good monster, not a bad one. Every time she left me here, she asked me one question.”
“And that was?”
“‘You need to be a good girl, Harley. Can you do that? Be a good girl?’” Her voice cracked on a sob. “And every single time, I answered, ‘I’ll try.’”
He turned her in his arms. She gripped his shirt and buried her face against his chest.
“She knew what I was. She knew. Why didn’t she tell me?”
He pressed his lips to her hair. “I don’t know, but I’m sorry for the loneliness you experienced and the confusion. It must’ve been difficult growing up the way you did, knowing you were different but not why.”
“She protected me and made sure I lived long enough to meet you. I just hate knowing they died because of my ignorance. If Ian hadn’t been away at college, he would’ve been killed too, and then I would’ve been all alone. I hate to think of what my life would’ve been like without him.”
“Let’s just be grateful that you never found out.” And hearing her confession made his choice to join Ian to the Hunt simpler. Tied to Arawn through the power of the Hunt, Ian would be immortal. He wouldn’t heal as easily as the Huntsmen did, but he would recover from any wound eventually, even if he lost his head.
Calan tipped up her chin. “I will make sure you never lose—”
The phone’s shrill ringing stopped his words.
“Ian.” She shoved out of his arms and ran for the stairs.
He reached for Riesa’s mind. She shared an image of Ian pacing, phone at his ear and Trevor scowling in the background. They were safe. Physically, at least.
He chased after Harley, using his powers to bypass her, and grabbed the phone. If there was any bad news, he wanted to hear it first. “Hello?”
“Calan?” Ian’s questioning voice filled the line. He didn’t give Calan the chance to answer. In the next breath, Ian demanded, “Get your ass down here.”
“We can’t hunt until nightfall.”
“Don’t care. We need to act. Raul walked into the police station and left with Cynthia’s little sister, Allie.” Ian cursed. “She went willingly, crying on his fucking shoulder, according to the cops. They thought he was her boyfriend or something.”
Harley’s eyes widened. Calan turned away from the panic in them. “The female that walked away last night? She looks like Harley, doesn’t she?”
“Yeah.” Ian muttered more vivid expletives. “Pale blonde, not platinum, but she has the same deep blue eyes.”
“Come to the estate. I’ll send my hounds to the storage building in case Raul decides to lure her into the ring. They’ll keep watch over it.” He glanced out the window at the darkening sky. “Have your decision made before you arrive. We don’t have much time.”
“It’s made. I’m in.”
“Good.” Calan was grateful too. He’d need a Huntsman to guard his mate. The sluaghs’ souls he collected tonight would need to be transported to their resting place in Hell. It was his duty to give them peace. “When you arrive, we’ll ride.”
Calan ended the call and faced Harley. It was time to show her his darker side. “Are you ready to meet your Huntsman?”
“I’ve already seen your other form.”
He frowned.
She offered him a small smile. “I saw it in your memories.”
“That’s impossible.” He’d been so careful to block them whenever he’d touched her mind.
“You shared them with me when you slept.” Harley took his hand. “But I’d like to see that side of you in person.”
He rubbed her knuckles. “And you’re not afraid? I look like a monster.”
“And I am one.” Her grin drooped. “Show me, please. Then, you’ll see for yourself that I’m not afraid.”
He led her outside and opened himself, body and soul, to the Hunt. Power rushed into him. He slowed the transformation to his Huntsman’s form for Harley’s benefit. He wanted her to see each step.
His nails grew into sharpened talons. The ridges of his spine extended. Deadly teeth slipped into place, and the bones in his face rearranged to allow his muzzle to take shape. Not ready for her reaction to his other form, he squeezed his eyes shut before he caught Harley’s gaze. Blood oozed from the corner of his eyelids. He didn’t wipe it away. He stood there, utterly exposed, and let his mate see with her own eyes what loving him entailed.
The monstrous body that labeled him as a beast from Hell had terrified all the humans who’d seen him the last time he’d walked the earth, but he couldn’t hide it from his mate. It belonged to her as much as his human side did. He wanted her to accept both.
Minutes passed in silence. Unable to bear the suspense any longer, he opened his eyes and surveyed the woods to seek out her angelic face. She stood several feet away, devilish black hounds encircling her. Saliva dripped from their mouths, bloody pools had replaced their eyes, and three-inch nails tipped their paws. Their bulky bodies brought them to her chest. Next to the animals bred to rip the fairies and their creatures apart, she appeared tiny. Delicate. Beautiful.
A flower in the midst of death.
Unfazed by his growling hounds and his Huntsman form, she approached in a slow glide, proving her statement correct. She wasn’t afraid of him.
She stopped a hairbreadth away. On her tiptoes, she slid her fingers into his hair and dragged his head to hers. She rained kisses over his ghastly features, licked the blood away and moaned.
Lust surged. The pointy teeth he couldn’t retain if he meant to part her legs and feast retreated. His nails dulled into the blunt tips he’d need to dip into her core and his snout shortened to kiss her lips. The last of his beastly side
