Page 32 (2/2)

"I need to speak to Shade"

"He is unavailable"

"Then get Wraith It’s an eency"

"Do you require medical assistance?"

"I require Shade"

"Ma’a sifted through fangs, "Shade is busy--"

"You can get him on the line, so do it Now" Actually, she had no idea if they could get hi nice

There was a pause, a click, several rings, and then a grumpy, deep voice

"Shade"

"Yeah, look It’s Tayla Eidolonhe’s in trouble"

"Again? This wasn’t Wraith’s doing He’s been level So what the fk did you do to E?" A vicious snarly sound vibrated through the phone "If you hurt hi He went crazy He’s got this big tattoo on his face, and his eyes were red--"

"Ah, shit" Curses flew over the airwaves, and she hoped the underworld equivalent of so in "Where are you?"

"His apartment"

"Stay there"

"Well, duh Where else would I--"

The line went dead Deo back to the bedrooain?

What if he hadn’t, but ake and wondering why she’d beaten and bound hi when he turned into the thing that terrified her h her like an electric current as she paced in the kitchen, jonesing for an orange She finished off the last of the orange juice, and as she drained the glass, someone pounded on the front door

"It’s Shade Open up"

She did, and he strode in, completely encased in black leather and steel-toed boots Wraith entered behind Shade, so even more lethal than his brother despite the fact that he wore torn jeans and a Hooters T-shirt Danger followed in his wakefollowed, because it wouldn’t dare get in his way

They both stopped short at the sight of Eidolon on the floor in the bedroo

"Overkill,next to Eidolon

"You didn’t see hi Shade

"He turned into a Soulshredder"

Shade let out a low, stunned whistle, but Wraith grinned over his shoulder at her "Da like that Who knew he had it in him?"

"Is it really him?"

Shade knelt and palmed Eidolon’s forehead "Yeah, it’s him Tayla, I need you to remove the restraints"

She tossed hio anywhere near

"E?" Wraith helped Shade turn hiroaned "What happened?"

"You got your ass whupped," Wraith said, squatting on his heels and bracing his forearms on his knees

"Almost sounds like you deserved it"

"Where’s Tayla? Is she okay?" He tried to sit up, but Shade and Wraith pushed him back down

"I’m fine" She moved closer, drawn by the concern in his voice "I’m not sure what happened"

"She says you turned into a Soulshredder"

The blood drained from Eidolon’s handso to make him eat carpet "I what?"

"What do you remember?" Shade asked, as he inserted a needle into Eidolon’s hand His dark hair had fallen down around his face, concealing his expression, but his broad shoulders hunched with tension

"Not old as he looked at her "I wanted her I know that"

Wraith placed a restraining hand on his shoulder "Idle down, ht I’d say"

Eidolon went utterly still, and then he shook his head as though trying to clear it "That’s all I knoanted to take her More than I’ve ever wanted anything"

Heat washed over her body at the h they’d spent the entire night engaged in theerotic play But then she’d noticed that he looked different Acted different Terrifyingly different

"It eird," she said "It was like he was possessed"

"So you refused him?" Shade asked, and she bristled

"Well, hellohe wasn’t himself--"

"Chill," Shade said, his voice softer than she’d ever heard it "I didn’t et to the botto sex with Eidolon’s brothers was just too weird "Yeah, I refused him That’s when he turned into the Soulshredder" She shuddered "We were talking about theht of to change into"

Wraith and Shade exchanged glances, so between the inward, his face still ashen

"That’s why he didn’t return," Eidolon h his hair and focused on her with an intensity that made her take a step back "It bothered me, why the Soulshredder didn’t come back to torment you after he killed yourtheir victims insane"

"You don’t think the memory of what he did has tormented me all these years?" And why did her voice have to treh sothe trauain