The hellhound turned to them, jaw hard. “No. There’s not even a hint of one that doesn’t fit the people already in the room.”
Harper’s lips parted. “How can she not have a scent?”
Tanner shrugged. “There’s no scent of death either.”
Harper swore. “Not only is she still alive, you can’t track her.” Groaning, she rubbed a hand down her face. “None of this makes sense. All I can be sure of is that she’s pretty powerful. Most people are so overwhelmed by the soul-deep pain that they can’t think through it, let alone find the will to defend themselves or try to escape. They just turn into a ball of misery. The pain distracted and weakened her, but it didn’t disable her.” And that was frightening, because Harper relied on that power to protect her.
Keenan held out her stiletto blade. “This is yours, right? Found it on the floor.”
“Thanks. I must have dropped it.” Harper frowned. “There’s no blood on it. I stabbed her with this right in the heart, but there’s no blood.”
A baffled silence met that statement.
“It was probably an ice demon,” said Drew, glancing around.
“No,” said Knox. “None of it was real ice.”
Drew jutted out his chin. “So, what was it?”
“Glacial energy that immobilized whatever it touched,” Knox said simply. “If it had been molten energy, it would have presented itself as fire. But it wouldn’t have been real fire, just like that wasn’t real ice.”
Drew stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Does that help work out what she is?”
“No,” replied Knox.
“Then I don’t see that it matters.”
“It matters. Every piece of the puzzle matters.”
Harper nodded. “She’s able to shapeshift, leave no trace of herself behind, transform into vapor, and emit glacial energy to form ice or wind. Knowing these things may not lead us to her, but they do help us know how to combat her if she makes a reappearance. Asher was sitting over there,” she added, pointing to the center of the room. “He’d popped up his shield. She didn’t seem able to get past it. He didn’t even cry.”
“Of course he didn’t,” said Jolene. “He’s a Wallis.”
Knox’s jaw clenched. “He’s a Thorne.”
Jolene waved that away. “You know what I mean.”
Drew folded his arms across his chest. “Do you think one of the Primes could be behind it?”
Harper’s nose wrinkled. “I doubt it.”
Drew frowned. “You’re the only mated Primes in the world. You’re both powerful, and so is your kid—I could sense it. That has to make the other Primes nervous.”
“It probably does, but you haven’t seen them with Asher. I really don’t think they’d hurt him.” Before Asher was born, Harper wouldn’t have thought she’d ever say those words. Demonkind had feared that the baby would be the same breed as Knox—they might not know what Knox was, but they sure didn’t want another hanging around.
The Primes had been especially nervous so, when Asher was five months old, Harper and Knox had done the unexpected: They’d taken him into a meeting with the other US Primes. All of them had fallen head over heels for the little guy.
The move had not only demonstrated that Knox and Harper believed in their ability to protect him, it had forced the Primes to view Asher as a person, not an abstract potentially soulless baby who might be too powerful to exist. They’d seen how playful, inquisitive, and happy he was. Seen that he was just like any other baby. Sensed that he had the air of a sphinx, like Harper, which they seemed to have found particularly comforting. The only gift Asher used during the meeting was his shield. It had impressed people but, as a defensive ability, hadn’t made the Primes in the least bit nervous. They’d found it cute.
Honestly, Harper often wondered if there was something preternatural about Asher’s ability to win people over. Like maybe he’d been gifted with strong charisma or something. She was sure he would even have won over Knox’s bitchy ex-bed buddy, Alethea … if the she-demon wasn’t missing. No one had seen Alethea since just after Asher was born. Her brother, Jonas, was worried, despite that he could still feel her psychically and, as such, knew she was alive.
“I agree that the Primes wouldn’t hurt him—Asher has them wrapped around his little finger,” said Jolene. “But that’s not to say they wouldn’t hire someone to kidnap him so that they could use him for one reason or another.”
“I’m more inclined to think it was the fourth Horseman,” said Raini. “I actually thought he or she might abandon the group’s goal, since the other three are dead. But maybe not.”
Knox would put his money on the fourth Horseman being behind the attack, but he wasn’t so sure that the demon who tried to snatch Asher was in fact the Horseman. Striking while Asher was at the home of a strong Prime like Jolene Wallis was extremely bold. The fourth Horseman had never appeared on the scene to help defend Isla, Roan, or Nora when they were up against Knox and Harper. That suggested the remaining Horseman was happy to sit back and let others not only take the risks but deal with any consequences alone.
Turning to Ciaran, Knox said, “I’d be grateful if you could return us to our home.”
Tanner gestured outside with his thumb. “I’ll drive the car back.”
“I’ll come with you,” Keenan said to the other sentinel.
Knox turned to Jolene. “I doubt that the she-demon will return here, but if she does, call me.” The female Prime didn’t respond. He arched a brow. “I know you’re angry, Jolene, but this she-demon made my mate bleed and tried to take our son. It happened in your house, true, but Harper and Asher are my family and part of my lair. As Primes, Harper and I deal with anyone who threatens it.”
“I can’t promise I won’t kill her if she returns here,” said Jolene. “I don’t have that kind of restraint. Won’t it be enough for you to know she’s dead?”
“I don’t want her dead. I intend to find out who she is. I will seize and detain her, but I won’t kill her. I will mentally destroy her. Completely. Utterly. I will break her. Crush her spirit. Torture her until there’s no fight left in her. And she will live in fear that I’ll return to her prison to do it again and again. And I will.”
Jolene looked at him for a few moments. “I can get behind that.”
With an amused snort, Devon squeezed Harper’s hand. “Take care.”
“And give Asher a kiss for us,” added Khloë.
Knox curled his arm around Harper’s shoulders, who leaned into him and slipped an arm around his waist. Just like that, more of Clarke’s thoughts split the air like gunshots. No one else heard them, of course. Only Knox. This time, it wasn’t just thoughts that leaked through Clarke’s shields. It was memories. Memories of Harper. Her taste spiced with mojitos. The softness of her skin. The weight of her breasts. The feel of her pussy, hot and tight, around his fingers. The raspy sigh she let out when she came.
Knox’s rage mingled with that of his demon, who lunged for the surface, making the room temperature plummet. It spoke to the hellcat mind-to-mind, effectively crashing into the male’s thoughts. I could steal those memories from you so very, very easily.
Drew’s eyes widened.
Perhaps I should share some of my own with you. The demon thrust past Drew’s weak shields, forcing its own memories to replay in the hellcat’s brain. Harper screaming as she came. Her telling Knox she loved him. His flesh burning as her demon branded him. Her face all soft and warm as she slid his rings on her finger. Her laughing as they both played with Asher, happy and relaxed.
Clenching his fists, Drew scowled. “Get out of my head.”
Harper belongs to me. Belongs with me. If you wish to challenge my claim on her, do so now. I will enjoy watching you die. When Drew remained quiet instead of disputing its claim to Harper, the demon retreated.