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Chapter One

She glared at ue traced the plump lines of her lips, ready to sink into a piece of un aimed at her heart Inside the cha ed

“Corowled “I dare you”

With a snarl, the de the air with her wicked talons She swung to the left in a whirl of long dark hair, narrowly ut The wound hissed and steae of the distraction and backhanded her angelic face with the butt of the gun, sending her spiraling to the ground

In a flash of inhuht arer out of its sheath from my boot This would be my fourth demon kill this month A feral demon—the lowliest demon on the food chain, but still lethal

I was beginning to relish these trips into the Black Hills National Forest Every day, I grew stronger The fibers of th and confidence that I had never felt before It was intoxicating I wanted more

With a flick of ed it into the de at her throat I rolled off and crouched at a short distance to watch

This was my favorite part

Her thin frarate into a dark shadowy cloud It held her body’s shape, but only for a moment As if sucked down by a black hole, the cloud sank into the earth until every wisp disappeared All that reer It lay firmly embedded in the soft soil beneath the ponderosa pines, ready to find a new demon heart to shred

“Not bad, not bad” Gabe appeared behind a cluster of trees only feet away

In his right hand he held a long thin sith a wickedly sharp edge He wore his dark brown hair cut short, just long enough for it to occasionally fall into his eyes—vivid green eyes that could sear right through me A shadow of a beard darkened his shapely jaw and hid the few battle scars thatover most hu muscular arms, and well-defined abs

By all accounts, he was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen in my life

A proud smile lifted at the corners of his usually sternfast Couldn’t have done that better myself”

I grinned and retrieved the dagger, sheathing it in my boot “I’m four for four One more, and I’ll beat Ashley thisfor another four weeks”

He rolled his eyes and shook his head, but the sreen eyes flashed in the twilight of the woods, capturing the last of the sun’s rays eht in an to pound Gabe Cael and I had been partners for months, in more than one way But I still felt shaky every ti

“I think we’re done hunting for the day,” he said, sliding his sword into the sheath strapped across his back

I groaned The hunt was far froe pulled at my sternum in the direction of the Hell Gate, nestled in these woods, in the hopes of finding another dee that had flared to life upon the discovery of ates of Hell with my felloarriors

I’d never had such a purpose before I eoal to become worthy of the Nephilier was I the weak young woman nearly sacrificed to a demon on a pyre

Now, I had purpose Now, I had strength

I opened ue with him, but before I could make a sound, he sped to er over my mouth

“There are other things I’d like to do tonight” A wicked grin passed over his s that require amore private location”

An intense warer overat the way I treers worked their way downbroavy hair With his free hand, he pulled ainst mine

Staring at his full mouth, I let out a heavy breath “I suppose I could call it a night” I grinned and looked up into his sht angels weren’t supposed to corrupt the innocent”

“I’rip on ht, I’m not so sure you’re very innocent after all”