the demon who’d stolen her body. “I have heard of you. Eilea banished you to hell once.” She narrowed her eyes on the demon in the old man’s skin. “And now I know your demon name is Sitri.”
“We should kill her.” Balban snarled. “She knows too much about us.”
Tatiana hated Balban more and more as she watched her manipulate her stolen body.
“She is no witch.” Sitri chuckled. “She can’t harm us.” He knelt beside her again and twirled a lock of her short hair. “She smells so pure, so innocent.”
He let out a menacing sound that made her stomach churn.
Tatiana slapped him away, snarling and snapping when he grabbed her free wrist and chained it to the wall.
“That body has fucked every guard here.” Balban stomped a foot. “I’m a virgin now, Sitri. Don’t you want to fuck me?” She walked over to Sitri and ran a hand down his broad chest, reached between his legs, and grabbed his cock.
Tatiana swallowed bile. No! Please, Ancients, save us! She had been saving herself for her mates, and now this creepy demon was going to use her body as a sex toy!
Sitri laughed, pushing Balban off him. “A smattering of blood in a new body doesn’t make you any less of a whore. Go and complete your mission.”
Balban spun on her heel and stormed away. Tatiana watched her old body leave, her long, dark hair moving across her back like a silky curtain. She wondered if she’d ever see her body again, or if she was stuck in this new one forever. The thought was like a cleaver to her chest.
“Where is she going?” Tatiana asked, though she already knew the answer. Balban was going to try to infiltrate her pack, but it would never work. They would recognize her demon scent.
“Back to the wolves, of course,” Sitri answered plainly, as if their plan was guaranteed to succeed.
“They will know it’s not me.”
“Probably.” Sitri’s predatory gaze lingered on her chest. Tatiana realized her buttons had popped open, revealing generous cleavage.
If that fuck tried to rape her, Ancients save him from her wrath. She would bite off his pecker before she let him assault her.
“You send her on a suicide mission.” She smelled lavender and realized it was the signature scent of the demons.
“They won’t hurt your body.” Sitri shrugged. “They will imprison her and demand we return you.”
A seed of hope sprung in her chest. “Will you?” Even as she asked, she knew it was foolish to hope. These demons weren’t interested in making deals. They wanted to destroy the shifter race.
“If they give me the witch,” Sitri said.
Her shoulders caved inward as if Sitri had added a fifty-pound bag of bricks to her back. “They won’t let you have her.” Even if they would have, Tatiana didn’t want Eilea anywhere near these monsters.
Eyes flashing red, he let out a grating laugh that burrowed under her skin, racing through her veins like a rush of venom. “Then I guess you will die.”
Chapter Eight
THE MORNING SUN HAD peeked over the horizon when Dimitri knelt behind a strand of shrubbery, his gaze sweeping the outer perimeter of the castle walls. Light snow was falling, and the temperature continued to drop. Despite wearing warm gloves, Dimitri could no longer feel his fingers, and his face and lips stung from the bitter wind.
The forest was devoid of sound, as if the animals had sensed the impending threat. Marius had been by to warn them he’d seen activity at the castle, but there were still no signs of Tatiana. Dimitri was beyond frustrated. His brothers were not far away, scoping out the castle for weaknesses. He noticed his brothers stayed close to each other but ignored him as if he was the outcast wolf of the family. Maybe he was. He pretended he wasn’t bothered, but he was. Tatiana’s fathers and his fathers were on the other side of the castle. Between the three packs, Dimitri prayed they’d find a way inside.
What was once a run-down old building shrouded by overgrown greenery was now a high-tech edifice surrounded by an electrified fence and patrolled by guards with automatic weapons and bloodhounds. So much for the Russians claiming they were turning the castle into a hotel. This fortress was obviously built for more nefarious reasons.
And their mate was somewhere inside, all because of Dimitri’s foolishness. If he hadn’t gone on that drunken rant, she would’ve been safe with them inside the bar. She had to have heard him.