Shadows (Dark in You 5)

The mental state of Tanner’s own demon was going to take a downfall when they were forced to watch their hellcat mate with another. Honestly, it would even sting that her feline had formed an attachment to another male. He was finding that he was possessive of both woman and entity.

He stroked his hand down her spine. “I want you to do something for me.”

“What?”

“I want you to let out your feline.”

She did a slow blink. “What’s that now?”

“I’ve never met it in its true form. I want to see it.” He’d seen hellcats before; they were beautiful creatures. Each time he’d encountered one, every instinct he’d possessed had urged him to growl, chase, take it down. He was certain that wouldn’t happen with her demon.

Devon snickered. “Uh, no.”

“Why not?”

“Is that a trick question?”

“It won’t hurt me.” Well, probably not. “It considers me an ally, remember. Come on, I want to see it.”

She bit her lip. “I don’t know, Tanner.”

“Does it want out?”

“Well, now that you’ve put the idea in its head, yes.”

“Then let it out,” he coaxed.

She sighed. “This could be a real bad idea.”

“I’ll be fine, it won’t hurt me.” He sat up as she reluctantly edged out of bed and closed the bedroom door.

“You sure about this?” she asked when he’d pulled on his jeans.

“I’m sure,” he said, sitting on the floor in the center of the room.

She gave him a look that called him crazy. “All right.” And then it was like she got hit with a smoke bomb. The air misted with something thick and gray.

He’d never seen a hellcat shift before, but he’d known it happened differently with them than it did with hellhounds. There was no popping and reshaping of bones. The change was instant. Fast. Mostly painless.

The mist cleared, and now a hellcat stood a few feet away. He sucked in a breath. It was, in a word, magnificent. Red, amber, and yellow shimmered like flames in its eyes. And those eyes locked on him like nothing else existed. Having that laser-focus on him lifted the hairs on his nape.

In terms of animals, hellcats were close to black panthers. They had a broad head, sleek muscular body, and short soot-black fur patterned with charcoal rosettes so faint you’d only see them if you were looking for them. Its paws were shrouded in faint, dim flames … as if someone had set them alight.

Whereas hellhounds were born to guard the gates of hell, hellcats were born to defend those that dwelled within it—which was easy to see in the regal, predatory, dauntless air they possessed. This feline had that in spades.

They were also moody, territorial creatures that would attack in the blink of an eye so, yeah, he could see why Devon thought him insane for wanting to meet her demon.

Lithe and sure-footed, it padded toward him, its flaming paws leaving a trail of scorch marks behind them. It didn’t move, it flowed. All power and grace and spirit.

He thought it would come to him. It didn’t. It began to circle him. Didn’t snarl or hiss. Just eyed him. Not wary or distrustful. It was just being a typical feline—doling out attention on its own terms in its own time. That made his lips twitch.

His hound moved close to the surface, watched the feline. Tanner braced himself to fight the demon’s instinct to chase and subdue. But it didn’t demand that of him. It was just content to watch the she-demon, admiring how fluidly it moved. Admiring its grace. Its power. Its air of danger.

“Hey,” Tanner said simply.

It chuffed, whatever that meant. Then it gave him its back. Ho, ho, ho, this cat had guts. His hound made a rumbly sound of approval.

The hellcat took a turn about the room sniffing and chuffing and rubbing its body against things, scent-marking the space. But he knew it was aware of him. He also knew it was making him wait.

Yeah, he liked this feline.

He dug his phone out of his jeans’ pocket and skimmed through his messages and emails, feigning disinterest in the demon, knowing it wouldn’t like it. So, it wasn’t long before he sensed it padding his way. He didn’t look up, though. Just kept on staring at his phone.

A tail lightly flicked his head as the hellcat skirted around him and then settled on the floor nearby.

He pocketed his phone. “Hello, beautiful.”

It just stared at him, tail twitching.

“She thinks you’re going to try to hurt me. But you won’t, will you? Because you know I’ll kill for her.”

His hound wanted the freedom to officially meet the feline, but Tanner held tight to his control. He didn’t trust that the two demons wouldn’t end up fighting. The feline trusted him to have Devon’s back, but that didn’t mean it trusted his hound as well, despite the mark on her palm.