A shrill scream echoes outside the room, dragging our attention away from each other. Another scream follows, then another, each one more harrowing than the last. My wolf bristles inside, preparing for an attack.
“What was that?” I whisper, disentangling myself from Alaric’s body.
He follows me out of the pool, and we tug on our robes. I slide past him towards the door, but he stays me with a hand on the shoulder.
“Wait here,” he says in a deep, commanding voice. “I’ll check it out.”
“And let you have all the fun? Yeah, right.”
I shrug his hand off and open the door. I like that he’s looking out for me, but I’m skilled enough to defend myself. I don’t need a man to protect me.
Reluctantly, Alaric walks with me into the hallway. The ceiling lights and the lamps on the floor switch on and off repeatedly. The hairs on the back of my neck rise statically.
There’s a dark, demonic presence in the onsen now.
“Thank the Crescent Mother we came prepared,” I whisper, reaching into my robe for my gun.
Alaric has already got his gun. “Yeah. Now stay behind me.”
I open my mouth to protest but think better of it.
Covered by Alaric’s shadow, I continue down the hallway under the flickering lights. Both sides of the wall have been slashed with enormous claw marks. I brush my fingers over one of the prints as we pass by. The claws are four times longer than my fingers. They lead all the way to reception where a few bodies litter the floor. Dead bodies. My stomach churns at the sight of them.
“Over there at the desk,” Alaric mutters, jutting his chin.
I follow his gaze to where a shadowy figure hovers over the reception desk. The Rivermare host who’s been so kind to us stands motionless at the other side while his soul is literally sucked from his body.
“It’s a Feeder,” Alaric hisses. “Fuck. We need to move quickly before it kills Yuri.”
A cold chill sweeps over me. From all the late-night studying I’ve been doing, I’ve learned about this particular creature. It’s a level-four demon who feeds on the souls of the living, hence the name.
“How do we take care of it?” I ask quietly, tightening my grip on the gun. “We don’t have anything silver to lock it inside.”
Alaric scans the area along with me.
“The bell!” I point to the call bell on the edge of the reception desk, then look at Alaric. “You distract the Feeder, I’ll grab the bell.”
His mouth curls in a smirk. “All right. Just be careful.”
“Pssht, I always am.”
I press my back to the wall and wait for Alaric to cause a distraction. What I don’t expect to see is him shapeshifting into a ginormous wolf triple the size of my own. Silver streaks glimmer through his dark, midnight-blue fur, and his tail, made of water, swishes and cracks like a bullwhip when he lunges.
The Feeder lets go of Yuri and turns its attention to Alaric.
A loud, deafening shriek emits from its lips, and then it swoops down.
Alaric growls and meets the demon in the air. Their bodies collide; snarls and hisses echo around me. The adrenaline from hunting another demon courses through my body again, and I jump into action.
First, I run to the desk and grab the bell. Only a silver object can trap a level-four demon. My hands tremble as I hold it between my fingers. Think, think, think. The demonology book said it needs to be enchanted with magic. Or rather, cursed. But I don’t have any magic. If in doubt, do what the movies teach.
Or at least that’s the advice I remember my mum telling me once. I rub the lamp a few times and slowly it starts to glow, coming alive. I doubt a genie is popping out here though. I drop the lamp onto the floor as the light from it blasts around the room.
The demon shrieks as it’s sucked into the bell. Trapped until another demon releases it, the creature can no longer suck the souls out from other people’s bodies. Those it did feast upon return to their hosts the instant the demon is captured. All around me there’s gasps of life, as if the bodies on the floor were drowning at sea and now they’ve washed ashore.
A sense of relief fills me at the sight of them breathing again.
“Well done,” Alaric says, transformed back into his male form. He tightens his robe and winks at me. “We make a good team.”
I hold up the bell. “That we do.”
Slippery little thing almost falls from my hand.
Alaric chuckles. “I didn’t plan on us working tonight.”
“But we kicked so much ass!” I lift my free hand for a high five. “Hey, maybe demon hunting in bath robes will be the new thing.”
His palm meets mine, but he takes hold of my fingers and pulls me to him. “I much prefer you in your sexy little swimsuit,” he whispers.
“Pervert,” I mutter, my cheeks burning from his compliment. “But seriously, I want to thank you for today. I never realised how much I needed a break from Hell until you brought me here. Even catching this demon together was a breath of fresh air. Thanks, Alaric.”
A smile softens his rugged features. “It’s me who should be thanking you, lass.”
Ever so gently, he runs a knuckle down my cheek while gazing intently into my eyes. The caress sends a shiver down my spine, and I push onto my tiptoes to kiss him. Alaric’s lips claim mine first, the kiss gentle, a sweet caress of the mouth, but then it turns more demanding. His lips possess my own, battling against me as a low growl vibrates from his chest. I shiver, wanting more until he breaks away from me.
“You don’t even know my name,” he warns me as his eyes glow.
“Tell me then,” I breathlessly reply.
He smiles and holds his hand out to
