amethyst gun. I will try it on Katarina. She has already shown she can shift into a wolf.”
She set the glass on the concrete and struggled to her feet. Her ankle was still sore, but it didn’t feel broken. She leaned against a cabinet that housed stacks of industrial toilet paper. “I saw the wolf in her when she took that body. It is not something in their bodies that makes them shift but their spirits.”
His lips flattened into a grim line. “Yes.”
“I tried to steal a shifter body,” she said. “She was my prisoner, but I couldn’t claim her skin.”
A deep wrinkle formed on his brow, splitting one of the liver spots. “Their spirits are strong, but we will find a way in.”
“Even if we do,” she said, “I don’t think we’ll gain their powers.” She wanted to beg him to give up on the wolves. He now had the body of a powerful drug lord. They could start a new life in Russia and build a drug empire. Why waste precious time on earth, hunting wolves?
“I don’t care to shift anymore,” he said.
Liar. He’d wanted a wolf body since they’d encountered their first shifter, hundreds of years ago. Once Sitri latched onto an obsession, there was no dissuading him—unless he’d set his sights on a bigger prize.
“What do you care about?” she demanded.
The demon lurking beneath his human form pulsed, making his eyes flash red. “The witch wolf who closed the portal and banished Katarina to hell.”
Balban repressed a shiver. She had no wish to go up against the wolves again, especially not one who was also capable of powerful sorcery. “What will you do with her?”
He rubbed his hands together, licking his lips as if he was about to go down on a virgin. “She knows powerful spells, ancient spells I thought were long lost. Once I have access to her memories, I will banish the shadow wolves to hell.”
He’d gone mad. “You think she can take down her own gods?”
An ominous rumble rose from his chest. “How many times must I tell you, they are not gods?”
She bowed her head. “I’m sorry, Master.”
“The shadow wolves are long dead Amaroki,” he continued, the red gleam in his eyes shining like lanterns illuminating a foggy shore. “They shall regret their decision to gift their descendants with so much magic.”
Balban nearly choked on a knot of apprehension. They were taking great risk in antagonizing the shifters again when they could easily prey off the non-magical humans, living in their skins while enjoying centuries of sex and drugs. Perhaps she should break free of Sitri and venture off on her own. She’d lived on earth a century without him. She didn’t need him to survive, but she had a feeling he’d kill her if she tried to leave. She’d never have the courage to kill him first, which meant her fate would be decided by one mad demon.
Chapter Two
(Three months later)
TATIANA’S BREATH HITCHED when the plane took off. She hated flying. She was a wolf, not a bird.
Her gamma father, Arvid, placed a hand on hers, the wrinkles around his eyes tightening his tanned, leathery skin. His smile looked pained. “Not too late to turn back.”
She forced a smile, too. He didn’t want her to go any more than she did. “I can’t keep putting it off,” she said reluctantly. “They want to complete the bond, though I don’t know why.” Her fated mates had been waiting for five long years, and she could tell by the strain in their voices whenever they called that they were growing despondent.
Her alpha father, Tor, set down the book he’d been reading, his bronzed brow drawn so tight, his eyes nearly crossed. “They’re lucky to have you.” Tor had aged a lot over the past five years. Though he’d jokingly said her stubbornness had caused his long black hair to turn completely gray, she never saw the humor in his joke. She wished she hadn’t caused her parents so much heartache.
Her mother grabbed Tor’s hand, pity in her eyes. “He’s right, my beautiful daughter.”
Tatiana blew out a frustrated breath. She appreciated her parents’ faith in her, but their praise only compounded her guilt.
“Look at me, daughter.” Arvid turned her toward him. “You can’t expect them to love you if you don’t love yourself first.”
She hung her head. “Then I guess they’ll never love me.”
Cupping her chin, he forced her to look at him. “I wish you saw the Tatiana I see.”
She struggled to