Page 95 of The Night Hunting

“I have the feeling you want to spend the night right here, dancing to no music until the sun comes up again?” she teased.

“Not the entire night. I was planning on taking you back home and making love to you at some point.” She smiled. My heart squeezed. “You’re so beautiful.”

Her cheeks reddened. It was so freaking cute how she still blushed when I complimented her. It was endearing.

I cupped the nape of her neck, bent over her, and pressed my mouth to hers. She parted her lips and I ravished her mouth, taking it slow, but deep. I wanted to imprint her in my mind, heart, and soul. Hell, she already was.

I slipped my hand inside my pocket, picked up the—

My phone rang.

I frowned. Who could it be at this damn hour? As I pulled my phone from my back pocket, I only thought of Minsi and Tyren.

I looked at the phone. “It’s Kaz.” He didn’t seem the type to call for pleasantries. “Hello?”

“Shane,” he rasped from the other side. “I need your help.”

29

RAIKA

Though Shane wason the phone with Kaz, I could listen to their conversation thanks to my wolf hearing.

“What happened?” Shane asked, his voice full of concern.

“It’s the dragon,” Kaz replied. “Paimon found her.”

Oh no.

Shane frowned. “Where are you?”

“Northern New York.”

“Wait, I heard the demon hunters were following Paimon into central Canada. That the dragon had been spotted there.”

“That was a diversion. Somehow, Paimon fooled everyone. Even Evelyn, Ash, and me. At least for a while. Evelyn and I can sense the dragon’s magic and we knew something was wrong. We told the demon hunters, but they said they couldn’t send an entire team after a hunch. Only Doreen and Thierry joined us while we separated from the group and followed our senses.” He paused, took a deep, croaky breath. “But Paimon did something. He made our connection to the dragon hazy, so we decided to separate again. I lost contact with the others over ten hours ago.”

I was shocked. I hadn’t spent much time with Kaz, but this was the most he had ever spoken in one go. And he didn’t sound all right.

“What happened?” Shane asked.

“I found Paimon an hour ago,” Kaz continued. “Right when he was closing in on the dragon.”

I pressed a hand over my mouth. “Did he get the dragon?”

“Not yet,” Kaz said. “I tried stopping him, but I was one against three dozen demons and Paimon. I was sorely outnumbered.” He groaned and I could only imagine he was hurt. “I retreated to call for help. You need to get here before Paimon can pin down the dragon and get her powers.”

Shane looked at me. I nodded at him. “Give me your coordinates. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

We didn’t waste time. Once Shane got off the call, we ran to our house, changed into more tactical clothes and packed a bag, while calling everyone we knew.

Rue would come to stay with the kids, Dom and Lucille were still up and getting ready, Evelyn’s phone was off or without reception, and Killian hadn’t picked up right away.

After, Shane stopped and turned to me. “We’re going after Paimon, your father. And Ivy. Are you sure you want to come with us?”

I frowned, my feelings swirling. “I know Paimon needs to pay. Ivy … I’m still on the fence about her, but if she’s helping him, then we need to stop her too.” Though I seriously hoped no one hurt her. “I’ll be fine.”

Shane didn’t look like he believed me. “Are you sure?”