Darkyn's Mate

Her eyes grew misty, and she rubbed them to keep tears from coming.

A door along the hallway ahead of her opened, startling her. Several demons exited, and the stone door closed silently. She ceased walking to wait for them to move down the hallway.

One caught sight of her and stopped. Unlike the others whose paths she'd crossed earlier, he didn't ignore her. This one nudged the demon beside him. Within seconds, all four of them were watching her like lions a wounded gazelle.

Darkyn warned her about running. Demons loved a challenge and a fight. She held her breath and stayed still, praying their interest was passing, and they'd move on.

They didn't. One smiled coldly, revealing its sharpened teeth, while another was the first to take a step towards her. Deidre clenched her fists as the four surrounded her in the middle of the hallway.

"Darkyn's blood monkey," one demon said, eyes on the band around her neck.

She hadn't thought to put her hair up; it blocked the name of her mate on her back. Or maybe they didn't care. Maybe he didn't care what happened to his mate.

"You know she'll taste good," another agreed. "He takes the best ones."

"He shouldn't let you off the blood monkey floor."

"Human?"

She nodded, heart racing. All four growled, hunger in their eyes.

"We'll give you a head start," the one in front of her said. He stepped out of her path. "I'll count to three."

Deidre shook her head.

"I'll count to five?"

"No," she replied. "He won't want you touching me." I hope.

Two of them laughed.

"You must be new."

"As long as we leave some for him. Blood monkeys are afforded no protections here, and he always shares with us. Whatever deal you lost, you'll suffer demon mercy for as long as we keep you alive."

Demon mercy. She had a feeling it was a horrible inside joke.

"I'll count to ten."

"I'm not running," she managed.

"Very well. This is less fun, but we still get to eat." The demon on one side snatched her arm and dragged her to him. His canines lengthened. She shoved at him unsuccessfully. He grinned at the attempt and grabbed her hair, yanking her head back to expose her neck.

Suddenly, he looked up, an uneasy expression crossing his features. Unable to see what he saw, Deidre prayed it was Darkyn, and the demon lord wasn't going to join them in passing her around for dinner. The sound of bodies hitting the stone floor behind her preceded Darkyn grabbing her by a few seconds. Deidre was yanked away from the demon holding her then released. Something jarred her, a flash of magic, one that made her more nauseous than what she saw happen next.