Page 53 of Demon Rejected

The guy that I auditioned for the stripper job was here. He wore an expensive Italian suit and had an amused expression painted on his face.

“I watched you," he said, grinning. There was something wrong and alien about him. He was handsome in a Wall Street shark kind of way, but also cold.

“Little Flame, is it? Your buddy Matt called out for you again and again. I was sure that you would show up to save his furry ass."

“You can’t call me that."

Sparky was flashing her teeth next to me.

“You’re too late. I saved them all."

He laughed, a deep, comic book, evil genius kind of laugh.

“Who said I wanted those kids or your mate? No, dear. I wanted you all along. The last Fire Wolf is in my power."

“Hm, I don’t think so." I grinned and allowed Sparky to attack him.

Sparky lunged in the air, aiming for his throat, and she would have ripped him to pieces if the force field around him hadn’t pushed her back.

“Ha, ha, ha. I didn’t expect you to submit to me without a fight."

“I don’t submit to anyone!" I flashed my teeth, too. Whatever it was that was around him, Sparky couldn’t not get through. She stood close to me, ready to protect me at the slightest sign of danger.

The man I knew as Grayson walked around. “Your mother stole you from me."

I cocked my head at that information. “My mother was a drunk woman who abandoned me into foster care."

“Oh, Gina? No, Gina was not your mother. Gina was the woman who should have kept you hidden away from the world. You don’t know anything, do you?"

I refused to give him the satisfaction of admitting that he was right. I don’t know shit about my life. But the thought that that woman who beat me and tormented me was not my mother made me happy for just a second.

“I can see it. I can smell the change. You’re curious, Little Flame. I don’t condemn you. They all fear you. They fear your powers.”

“What are you?" He clearly was not human. His body smelled like rotten meat, and something was off in the way he moved.

“That is a legitimate question. I am first and foremost a businessman."

“Just cut the crap. Tell me what you want so that I can tell you no, we fight, you die, I get to eat some pizza."

He smiled again. “I like you, Scarlett. You’re funny."

“I don’t like you, not at all."

“Oh, well. I assumed opposites attract. I want you to work for me. Not for free. Not only would you be well compensated, but you’d also become a queen."

“I wouldn’t work for you, not even for lots of money. You stink like something died and it crawled inside you."

“My interests are not that boring. But I have to look at the big picture, okay?"

My mind was churning, trying to find a way out of here. This Grayson gave me the creeps. Sparky had a weird vibe, too. She was scared, and my Fire Wolf was never scared of anything or anyone. I wanted to run, but this guy knew who I was and, more importantly, what I was.

A deep roar left my throat. This was probably a stupid move. But I never said I was smart. The SN said a werewolf is one part human and one part beast. Sparky was magic, but what if his magic was built only to shield magic?

In a fast move, I shifted into my red and white wolf. My beast roared to life. My wolf jumped through the magic fence made to keep magic at bay. Did he believe I wasn’t capable of shifting? What was he thinking? No one shifts as fast I do, not even the Alpha of SN. A second barely passed before my jaws locked on Grayson’s neck. I pressed hard.

Thick, dark blood was running inside my mouth, poisoning my gums whit whatever he was. I wanted to spit, but I pushed harder, ignoring his strong hands that fought back. I called Sparky, and she set him on fire, making the annoying hand moves stop. I released his throat only after I was certain he was dead. Or not functioning. Whatever. His body burned. My instinct was to leave. Still, I couldn’t leave the man who lay on the operating table.

I allowed my body to shift back into human form. It wasn’t hard. For me, shifts are more about magic and less about breaking bones and pain.