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Appearances were so deceiving

Da hate demons’ dens

And he really did Of all the shitholes in the world, the demons’ dens were the worst He hated them Hated the stench

Hated the blood and booze And Jude hated the drugged out de for their next fix

Demons Talk about an addictive personality He’d never cos as demons Some demons, all they lived for was their next hit

They always had to get et

There were rus Especially if they were unlucky enough to have the whispered Dark Touch

The Dark Touch It was another na one, for the psychic powers that turned sos of human society--killers, rapists, child s quieted or, in some cases, even severed that twisted link But the probles, it was a fast doard spiral

Deot addicted too fast

That addiction fear was one of the reasons Zane didn’t so much as drink or s path, with gruesoht the stench in the air, and kneas in the right place

Orone

The den waited for hi house, s house

But the demons in there, they would talk They’d tell hiue wolves Because if anybody knew about predators, it was those bastards

It had been another grade A bastard who’d led him to this sour side of hell Mickey had called him--yeah, somehow the bastard was already out on bail--and told hi Mickey, Jude would find exactly what he needed in there

The tip hadn’t been free, of course Nothing was free He’d just have to wait and see what price Mickey demanded Not that he’d actually pay the bastard

Jude rapped hard on the old door A deh his nose jerked it open Jude flashed hiaze darted over hi to Jude’s skin--he’d just had to claim her once more, couldn’t resist that temptation, but the stench of the den wrapped around him as he crossed the threshold

And he went deeper into the demons’ den

Fuck Fuck Fuck Mickey McQueen rocked back and forth on his heels He’d gotten out of jail-- finally--and was ready to blow this city

But first…

First he wanted histo the left and to the right He still couldn’t believe his luck

That tiger wouldn’t knohat hit hihed

But he choked back the sound when a long, black car pulled up to the curb

This was it His ticket to fast tirabbed the door handle Jumped inside

"You told the hunter?"

Dauy know to turn on the fucking air in Louisiana? Mickey gave a gri you said"

Mr Money had approached hinment Mr Money--Mickey liked to call hi hiured the name fit Mr Money had paid his bail in cash and promised him a hell of a lot more

All he had to do was just make one phone call

Easiest job he’d ever done

A soft snick of sound--the doors had locked Must be one of those autoot my money?" He already had it spent New clothes Fast ride Good-bye cops

The car eased away fro A "So…" He had to know "What’s gonna happen to the tiger?" He hoped the bastard got torn up Clawed frolanced over at hiuy couldn’t be a shifter

"I’ to rip him apart"

Mickey blinked "Good Good" He realized he eating It was the teeth His nostrils quivered No, no shifter scent

But the guy couldn’t be a va to rip you open, Mickey"

"What?" Shit! Mickey scra to jerk open the car door

But it wouldn’t budge Stupid lock If he tried hard enough, he’d be able to force it--

Claws ca froht

Too late

The claws slashed right across his throat and the screa in him never broke from his lips

Blood splashed onto the front windshield

The claws ca to rip him apart

When he was done, he shoved the body--as left of it--out of the car Blood was everywhere The scent surrounded hiers to his lips and licked away the sticky liquid He loved that rich taste

But the hyena had been too easy No fight at all Like killing a huer wouldn’t be such easy prey He knew that and had prepared appropriately for Donovan

After all, he liked to hunt He liked to kill

But he didn’t believe in taking foolish chances with his own life

The tiger would die No question

He’d be there for the end

He yanked the car door closed and frowned at the windshield That wouldn’t do The last thing he needed was for so over, he unlocked the glove box and pulled out the cloths he kept for just such an occasion

Molass was clean He shoved the cloths back in the glove box and turned on the car Then he took a deep breath, because he did love that sweet ser Not with the body just outside The area was deserted, for now, but so soon They always did

With a flick of his fingers, he punched the button for the radio and the soft strains of Brahms floated to his ears

A so

Time for the next kill

As he backed out of the alley, he couldn’t help but wonder, how long will the tiger fight?

And when he died, would Donovan have ti on his own blood?