CHAPTER 43: ONLY AFTER HER

"No," Luca growled without looking back, "it’s here for all of us."

"That’s a lie and you know it," Rafe bit out. "She’s the mark."

Cassian lunged at one of the circling demons, ripping its arm clean off. "While you two are arguing, they’re getting closer!"

The whip demon took another step towards them. Bella’s skin prickled where its eyes met hers.

Killian moved closer to her side, his voice low enough for her alone. "If it gets in range, you curl in and don’t move, no matter what you hear. Understand?"

She swallowed hard. "And if it hits you?"

He bared his teeth, not looking at her. "Then I hope Luca’s fast enough to drag you away before another strike."

Another crack of the whip came. It split the air just above Luca’s head, scattering sparks where it touched a branch.

"Decision time," Rafe growled. "We either stay and fight or we run."

Luca’s eyes flicked to Bella. "We fight. Or they come after us."

The whip demon didn’t wait. It charged forward, covering the distance in a handful of long strides, each step landing with a wet, heavy sound.

Luca met it halfway, his wolf form a streak of blue and silver through the haze. He lunged for its throat...

Only for the whip to snap across his flank.

Luca’s snarl became a sharp, strangled yelp, his body twisting as black scorch-marks bloomed in his fur.

"Luca!" Bella’s voice cracked.

Cassian slammed into the demon’s side, but it barely shifted. The whip lashed again, this time curling in midair to catch Luca’s hind leg. The moment it touched, his muscles seized like he’d been struck by lightning.

Rafe tore into one of the other demons trying to close in, roaring over the chaos, "Get her out—NOW!"

But Luca didn’t move. He pushed back to his feet, one leg trembling, eyes locked on the whip demon like nothing else existed.

The demon tilted its head again, almost in mockery.

Suddenly, it became very calm. It didn’t attack anymore.

It stood just beyond the haze, its pale eyes locked on Bella, the whip trailing along the ground in slow, lazy arcs.

Then, without warning, the air around it shifted.

The other demons also froze mid-lunge.

One by one, they turned toward it, heads bowing as if answering a silent call.

"What the hell is it doing?" Rafe barked, circling to shield Bella’s side.

"I don’t know," Cassian growled.

The first demon stepped into the whip demon’s reach and vanished. It just disappeared into its body.

Bella’s stomach turned. "It’s... swallowing them."

Another demon dissolved into its frame, then another. The whip demon’s chest expanded.

Killian snarled. "It’s feeding."

And it didn’t stop.

Every lesser demon melted into it, their shapes twisting the thing taller, broader, more scary. Its shoulders brushed the treetops now, the long whip thickening into a coil as long as a python.

The forest groaned under its weight.

Smoke rolled off it in choking waves, every breath a blast of rot and heat.

But the whip demon’s pale eyes flashed and the forest floor split as the first strike came down, roots splitting apart like they were struck by lightning. The sound alone made Bella flinch.

Luca lunged sideways, dragging her with him just as the whip lashed the spot where she’d been lying. The ground caved in with a violent thud, smoke curling from the impact.

"Move her back!" Rafe shouted.

"I’m not leaving!" Bella coughed, choking on the smoke.

"You have to go. Now!" Killian barked, planting himself between her and the demon.

The massive creature shifted, each step a deep tremor in the ground. Then it lifted the whip again, but this time its aim was wider, sweeping in a deadly arc meant to catch all of them.

"Down!" Cassian roared.

They hit the dirt as the whip blurred overhead, slicing through a thick pine and breaking it into two immediately.

Bella’s pulse was in her throat. "We can’t fight that—"

"Yes, we can," Luca said without turning.

The demon’s voice came then, low and guttural, layered like multiple beings speaking at once, each word grinding through the air.

"You... are... hers..."

The wolves stilled, hackles lifting.

"What does that mean?" Rafe asked under his breath.

"I don’t know and I don’t care," Killian growled.

He darted forward, his claws catching the demon’s calf. Smoke hissed from the wound, but the creature didn’t falter, instead, it swung the whip down so fast Bella barely saw it move.

Killian twisted, but the tip caught him across the shoulder. His snarl tore through the air.

"Killian!" Bella cried.

"Stay back!" he barked, staggering. "I’m fine."

Cassian was already circling, eyes fixed on the demon’s legs. "It’s big, but it’s slow. Take the joints."

"I’ll take high," Rafe said, darting toward a tree and launching himself from the trunk to land higher on the demon’s side. His claws raked across its neck, tearing a line that poured black smoke like blood.

The demon bellowed, the sound shaking the ground. It swung the whip wildly now, forcing the wolves to scatter.

Luca seized the gap and spun toward Bella. "Can you run?"

She hesitated. "Yes—"

"Then when I say move, you move. Don’t look back okay?."

"But—"

"Bella!" His voice cracked like a command, leaving no space for argument. "You run."

The demon’s whip cracked again, this time aimed at Luca. He ducked under it, claws flashing as he tore into the creature’s ankle, opening another gash of that foul smoke.

Cassian hit the other leg, Killian snapping at the back of its knee. The massive form shuddered, stumbling forward.

"Now!" Luca barked.

Bella pushed herself up, stumbling into a sprint, only for the demon’s pale eyes to lock on her instantly.

It didn’t care about the wolves.

It only cared about her.

The whip coiled like a snake, then shot toward her.

Rafe dropped from above, taking the hit mid-air. The crack split the silence, and he hit the ground hard, smoke hissing from a welt across his side.

Bella froze. "Rafe!"

"Go!" he snarled, forcing himself back up.

The demon’s voice came again, louder now, its words almost clear.

"You... will... burn..."

Bella’s breath caught, the memory of her vision flashing behind her eyes—the whip, the pain, the laughter.

She stumbled back toward the wolves.

The demon’s whip lashed again, striking between them.

"Cassian, aim left!" Luca ordered.

"Killian, on me!"

They moved like a unit, darting in and out, slashing at the demon’s legs, climbing its sides, tearing where they could. But every wound closed in seconds, the absorbed power of the other demons making it faster, stronger, harder to kill.

Bella’s eyes darted over the battlefield. "You can’t win like this!"

"We’re not trying to win," Rafe gritted out, forcing himself up the demon’s back.

"We’re trying to buy you time. Move Bella!" he roared through clenched teeth.

Bella hesitated one last time, then turned and ran.

"Where do you think you’re going?" Principal Maren suddenly stopped her.