Panicked, I tried to bring my webs out to attack and save my mates, but nothing happened. There was no power at the answering end of my desperate call for protection. I could feel my spider, but it was like she was bound as much as I was, unable to come out from an invisible cage within myself. Whatever these demon circles were, they were keeping my spider locked up, and I couldn’t access her powers.
What the fuck was happening?
Squeezing more heavy exhaustion from my eyes, I looked around the room and saw supes sitting in chairs on the other side of Risk. They were dressed nicely and staring in rapt attention at Collector, but their features were shadowed by the harsh spotlight on Risk, making it impossible to recognize anyone. Was my father there? Had Stiles gotten out?
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have a wonderful opportunity for you all this evening,” Belvini began, addressing the onlooking crowd while looking totally cool and collected in his black suit and red tie. He would’ve been handsome if it weren’t for the sneering set of his mouth and greedy glitter in his eyes. “You’ve all signed up for a normal possession, but I wanted to show you another service that Spector offers.”
“Let us go!” I screamed as loud as I could. My hoarse voice scratched and clawed against my vocal cords as I struggled against the bindings. Tomb’s head tipped up, and his dark eyes locked on me, his own muscles bulging against his restraints. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t turn to stone, and he couldn’t break free.
“Someone silence her, please,” Collector said evenly, sounding bored at my outburst. “Sometimes you have to muzzle the dogs,” he joked to the audience, making several of the patrons chuckle.
A hooded man carrying a large gun stalked over to me. I struggled and screamed, waking Crow up in the process as leather was shoved between my teeth, and the strap was secured tightly at the back of my head. Crow started struggling too, but he couldn’t even call out a single bird to help us.
“As I was saying,” he went on, “we’ve taken your comments about our procedures seriously here at Spector. Many of you have expressed concerns about the randomness of our possessions, so our talented team of experts has perfected exorcisms so that we can transfer a demon from one supe to another.”
My eyes widened. Dread pooled in my gut. No. No. No.
I fought against my chains, shaking the metal with loud rage as I moaned against my gag. Drool collected in my mouth against the leather strap that my vampire fangs were trying to rip apart. Sweat made my red hair cling to my salty skin. People watched me with wary curiosity, like I was a feral beast they wanted to look at from a safe distance away.
“As a new service, Spector has started a catalogue of our current hybrids that will soon be made available to you. If you find a demon that you desire for yourself, we will hold an auction. The highest bidder will then be possessed by the demon of your choosing. No more risk. No random, unplanned demon to merge with. With this service, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting. You’ll have total control.”
Murmured whispers of excitement broke out through the crowd, but my own body trembled, and tears pricked my eyes. A totally new kind of fear struck me. Would they take my spider?
I pondered over the implications of Spector’s new program and then felt an immediate sense of guilt. In the beginning, I would’ve wanted an exorcism. When I first arrived at Spector, I’d hated my demon, resented her for what she turned me into and the people she made me kill. But things had changed. She brought me my mates, she defended me, and now, she was me. I’d accepted her fully, and there was no way in hell that I would let anyone take her away. And if they tried to exorcise our mates too, I’d kill them all.
But I needed help. I couldn’t reach my spider. Even my vampiric strength wasn’t working right. I couldn’t break free of the chains no matter what I did. I didn’t know how much time had passed since I’d gone unconscious either. Had Stiles gotten the hybrids out? Was this being broadcasted now?
Collector went on with his speech. “Many of you have expressed interest in Black Widow. Due to recent developments, Spector believes she would be far more valuable if she were in a more viable host, since the one she’s currently inhabiting is not...agreeable to Spector’s vision. As you can see, she’s a bit rabid.”
Everyone chuckled at my expense again, as if I was melodramatic and ridiculous. I bared my fangs at them as the last of the leather strap fell from my mouth in tatters, letting them see just how feral I was.
Of course Collector would want to capitalize on my spider’s strength and cunning. But she wasn’t just some sex-crazed killer. I didn’t want to imagine her being forced to possess someone else or being used to kill. Collector wanted to weaponize Black Widow, but she was so much more than that. She was a protector, a lover. She defended fiercely and loved her mates with everything she had. And my spider was an extension of me. If they took her from me now...it would be like severing my soul in half. I could feel her in every particle of my being. We’d merged in every sense of the word, and I needed her.
“We want to assure you that this ritual has the same success rate as our other model, and it is perfectly safe,” Collector was saying.
Safe? He was lying through his teeth. Nothing about this was safe.
“In fact, we’ve decided to perform yet another demonstration. Miss Cainson,
