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Jagger was always in control, contained.Right now, his long, dark hair was loose, hanging around his shoulders in a wild mess.Goddess, he looked as feral as I’d ever seen him.All animal.How could he deny what we were to each other after this?

Still panting, he lowered his head, looking at the ground.

I stood frozen, not sure what he was going to do.Would he leave?Or was he about to charge and try to force his way back into my house?

Finally, he lifted his head, and all that I saw in his eyes now was horror.“Sutton…I…” He shook his head again, as if he were trying to regain control over whatever was going on in his mind.“Fuck, I’m so sorry.I don’t know what just happened.I would never…” He cursed again, viciously.“I never meant to scare you.”

Something blazed in his eyes, something I refused to name.He didn’t move, and I knew I had to be the one to finish this, whatever this was now.

I shook my head.“It’s better this way.At least now I know who you are.You’re not the male I thought you were,” I choked out.“Goodbye, Jagger.”

Then I shut the door, locked it, and even though I knew he could break through it if he really wanted to, that he could use his powers and his strength and eventually bust through the wards—because he and his brothers had done it before—he wouldn’t.

I headed back upstairs and climbed into bed.

This time he wouldn’t.

ChapterSeven

Sutton

I joltedawake when my phone started ringing.

Crap.I’d been trying to stay awake because of the concussion.I quickly snatched the phone off my bedside table when I saw Luke’s name on the screen.

Thank the goddess.“Luke?”

“I don’t have much time.Please, Sutton, just listen to me.I’m in trouble.”

I shoved myself up, wincing when my head pounded and my ribs throbbed.“What the hell’s going on?Where have you been?Why haven’t you been answering my calls?”

His gulp was audible.“I…I’ve pissed off the wrong people, Sut, I’m in serious trouble, and I don’t know what to do.”

The fear in his voice reached me through the phone so strongly that my own skyrocketed.I’d never heard him sound that scared before.

“Okay, Lukey, I’m listening.Whatever this is, whatever’s happening, we can fix it.Just tell me what’s going on.”

“You’re gonna be so pissed at me.I didn’t mean for it to get this tangled up.It was just supposed to be a way to make some quick money.No one was ever meant to get hurt.”

Oh gods.I shoved back the covers and climbed out of bed, gritting my teeth when my bruised and stiff body throbbed.“You can tell me anything, you know you can.”

His breath shook.“Some guys at work, shifters, they were talking about the fights, about how they wanted something to give them an edge, you know?I said I could do it, because easy, right?I promised it was safe, that no one would get hurt, that I knew what I was doing… I thought I did, but?—”

“You made performance-enhancing drugs?”Yes, I’d already worked that out, but still, I wanted to reach through the phone and wring his freaking neck.

“I thought it’d be harmless, and it would have been if they’d followed my instructions, if they hadn’t overdone it.”He sniffed.“If they’d just stuck to the dose I gave them, then none of this would have happened.No one would listen to me though.They thought more would make them stronger…” He sobbed, and it broke my heart.“People got sick, they overdosed…peopledied, Sutton.”He sobbed harder.

No, we weren’t biologically related, but this kid was my brother.The family I was born with wouldn’t stop to pick me up if I was dying in the street.Luke, the other people in this coven, they’d do anything for me.Luke had done something seriously stupid, something that would mess him up for the rest of his life, but still, I’d do whatever I could to help him.

“Where are you?Just tell me where you are and I’ll come and get you.We’ll figure this out together.”

Silence fell between us.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

He made a choking sound.“The first batch I made, the guys who took it, they did really good, they won their fights.Then this demon took notice.He made an order, a really big order.Not just performance-enhancing but party drugs as well.”

Fuck.There were some powerful demons in this city, but they didn’t mess with humans, which meant so far they’d managed to maintain their sanctuary status.The Knights of Hell didn’t relieve them of their heads, and the hounds didn’t drag them back to Hell.They also didn’t do anything that drew Rune’s attention, the demon Lucifer had appointed as his eyes and ears when it came to the demons above ground, which meant they had free rein and were seriously dangerous.