seeing an advertisement for the bounty hunting trials in big bold letters.
Someone there might know where Caspian is, and it isn’t a place the alpha would look for me, I don’t think. At the bottom of the advertisement is a small map of Hell with a star over where the bounty hunting trials are. I rip it off and take a deep breath before setting off to find the only wolf in Hell who can help me.
Chapter 5
Lilith Thornblood
“Derek, if that’s you back without my fucking demon—” Caspian pauses mid-sentence, slowly dropping his deep caramel eyes down onto me.
I didn’t think the tip I got from a man outside the large fenced-off area for the demon-hunting trials was right when he said Caspian lived here. Mostly because the man appeared drunk, and it was too lucky that the first person I asked actually knew Caspian at all.
Turns out the long shot was bang on.
Caspian’s six-foot, built-as-hell frame towers over me. I forgot how intimidating his stare is.
“Who the fuck are you and what do you want?”
I’m speechless for a second too long. With unseeable speed, he whips a silver dagger out from his back and places the tip under my chin. Fury burns in his eyes, and two black marks that run down from his forehead and around his eyes to his cheeks glow a vibrant red. “You might be fucking drop-dead beautiful but you won’t trick me into whatever you’re selling. Get the fuck out of here before you regret it.”
He lowers the dagger and walks back into his house.
“I’m Leo’s sister!” I shout seconds before the door shuts in my face.
But then it swiftly swings open again, and Caspian rests his shoulder against the doorframe. This time, he pauses to look at me from head to toe, and I do the same to him.
Caspian Hardling has changed since he was eighteen.
He’s still as breathtakingly handsome as he was then but he is more now. So much more.
Beefy shoulders fill out his white button-down shirt, which is tucked into black leather trousers with laces at the front of his narrow but toned waist. The trousers showcase his thick thighs and other areas. His soft, silky blond hair is tipped white and falls to just below his ears. His ears are spiked at the top, a reminder of his demon blood, and I’ve always thought they suit him. All demons have tipped ears in human form, but it’s more complicated for half-demon, half-wolves like Caspian.
He is rare. Few half-borns survive childhood.
“You grew up, songbird.”
I narrow my eyes at his stupid nickname for me. The memory of it comes back like a hammer. How did I have a crush on this guy? Oh, right. Wine, teenage hormones, and one sexy-ass half-wolf.
Apparently, I sing as well as demon songbirds, which for the record, screech all night and can make human men go deaf. They are popular for torture.
“Clearly you haven’t,” I say, crossing my arms.
“Did you come all the way to Hell to insult me? Or did you miss my pretty face?”
Swallowing my pride, what is left of it, I tell him the truth. “Neither. I need your help because I’m in danger.”
Something changes in his eyes, the playfulness disappearing as he straightens. “I can’t help you. You need to go.”
“Wait!” I stop his door closing in my face this time.
He sighs.
“My brother said you owed him. A life debt, if I’m not mistaken.”
He arches a pierced brow. “And?”
“This will make you even. Help me, for my brother, for the debt if nothing else,” I reply, hoping this will work. I’m sure Leo will go along with the plan if I had any way to safely get in touch with him.
Caspian stares down at me once more, and slowly he steps back, waving me into his house. “Get the fuck in, songbird.”
“My name is Lilith, in case you’ve forgotten,” I respond. I walk into the spacious yet empty room. There is a generic kitchen with four counters, a fridge, and a small bathroom behind a screen on the other side. A double bed is in the middle, with a couch at the end and a big orange rug in front of it. A wardrobe is near the bed, with two hooks on either side and countless weapons hanging off the large hook.
Other than that, there is nothing else here. Nothing personal to be seen.
Caspian slams the door shut behind me and walks around me to the fridge. “Do you drink yet? How