Unfortunately, the heels I’d chosen to wear this morning weren’t exactly conducive to quick getaways. If I’d known I was going to be running on an icy, slippery floor, maybe I would have chosen flats. Or cleats. My foot skidded, and I had to scramble to keep upright. Donovan recovered a whole lot faster than I’d hoped from the sound of the ripping snarl that tore out of his throat. I heard the slap of his feet behind me, and I dove to the side, skidding around another shelving unit for cover.

  But there was no pursuit.

  I stayed there, crouched on the floor, the chilly damp soaking through the knee of my nylons. I was ready, waiting to hear Donovan coming around the end of the unit, but there was nothing. My breath sawed in my throat, and my pulse slammed against my ribs like it wanted out of its cage.

  When Donovan spoke up from across the room, I jumped.

  “You’re not what I expected, Fifi.” He laughed, and my cheeks burned. I wasn’t sure if it was embarrassment or fury.

  If only there were some way for me to feed—then I’d have the strength to march out there and kick his butt before handing what was left over to Taliyah. But I was a Succubus, for better or worse, and we only ate one thing—life essence. Yes, the idea of feeding from Donovan crossed my mind, but at the thought of even touching him, never mind anything more intimate, bile flooded the back of my mouth.

  Would you rather die or feed from him? I asked myself.

  Well… I actually had to think about that, which said a lot.

  “How do you think this is going to end?” Donovan’s voice echoed throughout the metal shelves. Whatever his ghoul form had done to his jaws and teeth made his voice come out slurred around the edges, almost garbled. It wasn’t a mouth meant for talking, not any longer, anyway.

  “There’s only one door left, Fifi,” he continued. “And I’m standing between you and it. That means you’re not getting out of here. So, why not just come out? Make it easier on yourself.”

  My hands curled into fists, so tightly my nails bit into the soft center of my palms. Was he seriously trying to sound reasonable? Like I should just admit defeat? Just walk out and get eaten? Did becoming a ghoul make you delusional? Of course, considering he was willing to kill to get cursed, he’d probably landed in the realm of ‘delusional’ way before the transformation had actually started.

  I risked a peek between the boxes, and sure enough, Donovan had camped himself right in front of the only door I could see, a door that led to the rest of the store and the sidewalk outside. He paced back and forth, taking short, jerky steps. The fact that his long, clawed fingers were set in tight fists proved that the calm, reasonable tone was a lie.

  His head swung back and forth, like a bloodhound searching for a scent. Could he smell me? Probably. But gaining powers didn’t mean you knew how to use them. Even werewolves had to work to translate what their wolf noses told their human brains, and they were born, not made.

  Even so, he was clearly tracking me, making sure I didn’t slip away. And, frankly, even if I could race past him, then what? The butcher’s shop probably had a counter to vault, and then a front door that I was pretty sure would be locked. Right—so if I budged from my hiding spot and tried to make a run for it, I’d probably end up dead.

  I eased backwards, walking awkwardly in my pencil skirt, which was the worst possible thing to wear when you were trying to outmaneuver a ghoul. What I would have given for a pair of jeans at the moment...

  Closer to the back of the store, I slipped among the hanging slabs of meat. The dim light glinted off the chains above, highlighting the white curve of bone on a side of beef. With any luck, the smell, even refrigerated as it was, would help to mask my scent. It sure was choking out everything else for me, to the point where I had to breathe shallowly through my mouth or risk gagging. I was never going to look at steak the same way again. Actually, I wouldn’t have been surprised if from here on out, I became a vegetarian.

  I had to shimmy sideways through the hanging slabs of meat, sucking it in to keep from brushing against them and risk making the chains above clink together.

  At least with a bit of space between Donovan and me, my breathing came a little easier. He wasn’t willing to come looking for me, and risk me slipping past him, especially when he was right: there was nowhere for me to go. But eventually, his patience would run out, and I needed to figure things out before that point.

  Think, Fifi.

  I wanted Roy with me. I wanted him here so badly, I felt like I should have been able to reach out and take his hand. And not just because there wasn’t much in the world that could stand toe to toe with a Sasquatch and hope to actually win. But because whenever I felt scared, or upset, or alone, Roy being around always made things better.

  Right now, more than anything, I hoped I’d get to see him again.

  Chapter Fourteen

  My pulse was thick in my throat, and I was having trouble swallowing around it.

  My mouth was bone dry, a faintly metallic taste lingering on my tongue. I had to close my eyes against the wave of longing that crashed over me. I would have given anything in the moment to feel the steady warmth of Roy’s big hand on my back or to hear the low rumble of his voice. I wanted it so badly, it almost hurt.

  My breath caught as the strangest feeling welled up inside my chest, like something small and delicate was unfurling into the space behind my ribs. The feeling resonated inside me, reacting to my fear, my anger, thrumming like a plucked harp string. With my eyes closed, I could almost see it. Something long, and slender, and bright, bright red.

  It felt so odd. Almost like when I fed, but in reverse. Instead of the energy flowing into me, it was draining away somewhere else.

  Was it Donovan? Was this some kind of ghoul power? It didn’t feel like an attack; I wasn’t drained or struck numb or anything. But there was something fading in me, all the same. At least with the terror siphoning off, it made my hands a little steadier, my mind a little sharper. Adrenaline is all well and good, but only if you’re in a fight that lasts less than a minute. After that, it just causes problems. The point was, I needed to get it together.

  What the heck were a ghoul’s weaknesses? I should have asked so many more questions when I had Wanda and Betanya’s attention. Why didn’t I ask how one beat a ghoul? Oh, right, because I never thought in a million years that someone would be willing and eager to turn into one.

  When I took a couple of steps to the side so I could peek out from between the hanging pieces of meat, I noticed Donovan was still standing by the door. His steps were more erratic, his shoulders were hunched, and his tongue, weirdly lengthened, was constantly moving over his lips and lower jaw. He was getting impatient, that much was clear. Maybe I could lure him into the shelves and make a break for it? If I could barricade the door, the butcher’s shop had to have a phone line.

  First things first. As cute as they were, and as much as I liked what they did for my butt, my heeled shoes had to go. I braced myself against a side of beef with a grimace, promising I’d scour my hands to the elbow once I was home and safe (if I was ever home safe), and reached down to slip my heels off. The icy floor bit into my stockinged feet, little bits of ice rough against my skin. My hand slipped down the beef, and the feeling under it went from smooth meat, to gooey, torn up meat.

  I flinched back, flapping my hand like I could shake the sensation away. Looking down, I felt bile rise up into the back of my throat, and only the decision that I refused to get caught and eaten kept me from throwing up right there on the floor.

  Something had been chewing on the carcass, right there on its hook. And those were not animal tooth marks. Those were very obviously human teeth. Which meant Donovan had probably been sneaking down here to nibble on the butcher’s merchandise even before he’d fully transformed. At least that explained the smell on his breath. I could only hope the butcher was still alright. I’d have to check in on that later... well, if there was a later.

  But back to Donovan: I figured he must have started the metamorphosis process the second the amulet was taken from Antoine’s grave, before I ever even met him. And here I’d thought he’d been uncomfortable living above the butcher’s shop because he’d been put off by meat. Ha, that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

  I scrubbed my hand against the floor, then, as quietly as I could, I started tiptoeing between the hanging slabs, making my way in the rough direction of the door.

  “Why draw this out? I can smell you, you know? You won’t get away.”

  I stumbled at the low, growling voice, and made a face. Things were bad enough. Did he have to keep talking, too? Once again, I blessed Poppy for her potion work. I didn’t even want to know Donovan’s reaction if he caught a whiff of my actual scent. Oh, God, that was definitely a sight I didn’t need in my head.

  Once I’d slunk about half way across the room, I grabbed a random package off one of the shelves, and threw it back towards the corner I’d been hiding in. Watching through the gaps in the boxes and shrink-wrapped bundles, I saw Donovan’s head snap around in the direction of the resulting clatter. His lips were pulled back from his teeth or they just weren’t able to close fully over his new dentistry nightmare. He took a few steps forward, then paused, back hunched and muscles tense.

  “Do you want me to come and find you? Is that it? You did always strike me as a tease.” A long, shining strand of drool slid down the side of his face to drip onto the floor.

  I gagged, but the fury that welled up at his comment at least kept me from focusing on the roiling inside my stomach. What a dismissive jerk. I had the idea, though, that Donovan wasn’t exactly a peach even before he went all Hannibal Lector on me.

  I tossed another lump of something, probably harder than I needed to. It went skittering across the frozen floor, and Donovan’s head tilted like he was tracking the sound.

  He laughed, low in his throat. “Alright, sweetheart. Ready or not, here I come.”

  I slid the third vacuum packed lump across the floor, into the aisle right next to the one I was hiding in. Then I kicked up, bringing my legs up onto a shelf, while bracing my arms on the unit behind me. Donovan dove forward, charging after the scuffing sound, and the second he skidded into the aisle next to mine, I dragged all of the strength left in my body, and shoved with everything I had.

  Steam wafted up around my hands and feet, the frost melting in a rush. Heat flared over my skin like a pair of worshipful hands, and with a shrieking groan, the metal industrial shelf tore free of its moorings and tipped over. Donovan went down with a guttural sound of rage and pain as several hundred pounds of metal and meat slammed on top of him. Boxes and vacuum packs rained down, and the next shelf that had taken the brunt of the first’s fall, broke in a wave of frost. It went crashing over, dropping more of the first shelf’s weight onto Donovan, and I heard his gurgling wheeze as the heap settled.

  I didn’t stick around to see how hurt he was. The second my feet touched the floor, I was running. I had to make it through the door and into the storefront. If I could barricade myself inside the shop, I could call for help and then wait for the calvary to arrive. Hopefully from down the block and behind another secured door.

  Normally, I would have felt bad about hurting someone. But screw that guy. I didn’t feel anything except satisfaction at the little breathless gurgles he was now making. Then the creak of metal and the crash of boxes hitting the ground drowned out everything else.

  My fingers were shaking so badly that my hand nearly slipped off the door handle. I yanked the door open, dove through it, and then pulled it closed again from the other side.

  Or, I tried to.

  Clawed fingers bit into the metal of the door and wrenched it out of my hands. The door slammed into the wall with a boom that made the walls shake. Behind Donovan’s looming form, I could see the shelves in the freezer tossed aside like a toddler’s blocks.

  Donovan glowered, his teeth barred. “You really are becoming a pain in the ass.”

  I’d show him a pain in the ass. I threw a glance around the room, looking for a weapon, something, anything. There were refrigerated glass cases with nice cuts on display, all covered in plastic for the night. A few shelves with condiments, barbeque sauces, mustards. There was a stool by the cash register. If I could get behind the counter, I could grab it.

  My heart pounded like a drumbeat, louder and louder, like it was sprinting towards me. The sensation made my head swim for a second, and I gave it a sharp shake.

  “First tell me this, Fifi: what are you?”

  “I’m not telling you a damned thing,” I yelled at him as I faked a lunge for the door, and then doubled back to dive for the counter.

  Donovan grabbed me, and his nails bit into my upper arm. It felt like getting pounced on by a freaking tiger, and I shrieked as both my blouse and skin tore, the scent of my blood welling in the air.

  Donovan growled. “Nice try.”

  No weapon. Fine. I was a Succubus, a demon. Fed or not, I was a weapon.

  I used the force of Donovan yanking my arm to swing back towards him, though my shoulder groaned at the strain. Once we were face to face, I hissed up at him, my own teeth on display. The sound came boiling up and out of my throat like the drone of a furious wasp.

  Donovan blinked, taken aback by the inhuman noise. “What...?”

  That was all I needed. He might have thought he was big and bad, but he wasn’t the only one with claws. I went for his face. My nails, so carefully buffed into little ovals and painted dusty rose to match my top, bit into his ashen skin.

  Donovan grunted, pulling his head back in his rage. His mouth opened, and I saw the jagged forest of teeth inside.

  Then the front door exploded.

  Both of us whipped our heads towards the front of the store, staring in shock.

  Roy stood in the doorway.

  I’d always known Roy was a big man, even in his human form. It would have been hard to miss him anywhere, and he didn’t exactly do anything to hide his overall massiveness. But I’d never really comprehended just how big he was until I saw him standing there, panting with anger as his eyes took in the scene before him.

  He barely fit in the door to the butcher’s shop. His shoulders brushed the sides of the metal frame, and he had to duck his head forward to clear it. Big, and dark, and menacing, he blocked out the meager glow of the street lights outside.

  With a slow, ponderous movement of his head, Roy looked at where Donovan was still clutching my arm. At where my shirt was stained with blood from the cuts his nails had left behind. His jaw was so tense, I could hear the creak of his teeth grinding together. Then Roy took one look at my pale, furious and no doubt frightened face.

  He leaned forward, his eyes narrowing as his jaw tightened.

  And he roared.

  I’d never heard him make that kind of sound before. I could feel the punch of it in my chest as it rattled through my bones. It scared the hell out of me, and it wasn’t even directed my way.

  Donovan took a step back, his transformation fuelled confidence guttering like a candle in a high wind. Too bad for him, he forgot to let go of me.

  Between one second and the next, Roy had thrown himself forward, crashing into Donovan and driving him back through the door and into the freezer so fast, it looked like he’d been run over by a small, furious truck. There was a bright sting of pain when Donovan’s grip was torn away from my arm, and I hissed as fresh blood welled up.

  The sound of the door closing was like a coffin slamming shut. Even through the reinforced metal, I could hear the fight raging in the freezer. Roy growled, and Donovan cried out, half in surprise, half in pain.

  I stood there, in the dark, trying to get my shaking under control. It wasn’t fear, not exactly. I mean, that was in there. I didn’t love getting into fights, even if I could hold my own. It was just like everything was catching up with me all at once. The amulet breaking, Donovan’s villain speech, Roy’s sudden appearance. All of it had my knees feeling like water and my fingers going numb.

  How was Roy here? I hadn’t been able to send the text to him and we hadn’t had plans to see each other tonight. In fact, last I’d heard, he was working at the Half-Moon, covering for an employee emergency. So, how had he known I was in trouble, never mind where I was?

  I shook my head and shoved my hair back out of my face. The hows and whys would have to wait for later. I had bigger things to worry about right now.

  The fight was still going on, which was a testament to just how tough ghouls were, since almost anyone else, when faced with a sasquatch’s rage, would have been pounded into the floor like a tent peg. But I wasn’t about to hide up front while Roy fought for me. He might be physically a lot stronger than I was, but that didn’t mean I was going to leave him on his own with a monster like Donovan.

  I grabbed up the stool I’d been eyeing and then staggered back when it was a lot lighter than I’d thought it would be. The thing was more decoration than furniture, and would break the first time it hit anything. I dropped it with a growl of frustration. There had to be something else.

  I glanced over at the store’s phone, which was located behind the counter, but decided not to bother. Unfortunately, owing to my cell phone, I’d stopped bothering to memorize phone numbers a long time ago. The few that I could still rattle off by heart were Roy’s, who was already here, my brother’s (and I would have rather been eaten by a ghoul than ask for his help), and my parents, who were too far away to help, even if they were inclined (and they most likely wouldn’t be inclined).

  I guess I could have called 9-1-1, but then mundane cops might show up instead of Taliyah, and that would be a whole other nightmare. No. I had the only backup that was going to show up. And frankly, Roy was all the backup I was ever going to need.