Bear's Baby (Bear Heat Book 4) by Natalie Kristen

flew to the hilt of the
silver dagger.
    “Demon,” he
hissed.
    The sulfuric stench was
unmistakable. The demon hadn't bothered to mask his scent here.
    Baxter's blood chilled.
    The demon had Lindy.
    His mate was in the hands of
a bloodthirsty, vicious demon.

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

    Lindy opened her eyes and
recognized Ross's apartment immediately. He had invited her to
dinner once at his place. She felt a sharp, throbbing pain on her
forehead and lifted her hand to feel the dried blood on her head.
    She was lying on the sofa in
Ross's living room. At the corner of the room, she thought she saw a
raw, reddish lump lying on the floor. Her vision was still blurry
and when she tried to sit up, the whole room tilted and spun in front
of her.
    Lindy pushed herself up and
blinked repeatedly until her eyes could focus again. She stared at
that lump on the floor until she could make out the exact shape and
size. She stuffed her fist in her mouth to stopper her scream.
    It was a human body.
    The skin had been stripped
from the body, exposing raw muscle and bone. The face was gone and
the eye sockets were hollow.
    Lindy took a deep breath and
forced herself not to retch. She closed her eyes then forced them
open again. She would not show fear and revulsion. That was Ross's
body. There was nothing repulsive about Ross. She would not be
sickened by her friend's body. The demon had left the body there so
that she would see it once she opened her eyes.
    The demon wanted fear. She
would not give it to him.
    “Oh, Ross,” she
whispered. “How long...”
    She turned away. She didn't
want to think about how her friend died and how long he suffered
before he died.
    She heard a cough and saw a
blond, young man leaning against the kitchen doorway. He was wearing
only a pair of track pants and his upper body was bare. He had the
physique of a surfer, toned and tanned. He smiled easily at her as
he strolled towards her.
    But Lindy saw the uneven
texture of his skin and the cruel twist of his lips. She could see
the ripple on his face, as though there was something slithering
slowly just under his skin. “Palli,” she said without
inflection.
    “Clever girl,”
Palli smiled. “But it's not so hard to see through this
disguise. Nothing beats real human skin. It's uncomfortable, but it
keeps me hidden longer.” Palli bent and picked something
hanging off the back of a chair.
    Lindy realized with a shudder
that it was Ross's skin. Palli began to put on Dr. Manolo's skin,
shrugging carelessly into it as though he were pulling on an outer
coat.
    The demon spread out his arms
and turned around. “There. Much better.”
    Lindy forced her face to
remain impassive as Ross walked towards her. The demon was very
convincing. He managed to imitate Ross's gait and manner of speech
perfectly.
    “Miss your friend?”
Palli said, pushing his face in front of her. Lindy stared into
Ross's kind face and scowled.
    Palli laughed. “You'll
join him soon enough. He was a good man. They were all good, so
full of goodness and courage and strength. But their strength has
become my strength. And when I kill you,” he curled a finger
under her chin. “I will become even more powerful.”
    He chuckled and began ripping
off Ross's skin violently, viciously. The demon used his claws to
rip and shred the human skin off him, making Lindy watch him tear
Ross's face into ribbons.
    He kicked away the shredded
skin with his clawed foot. Lindy kept her eyes on him, staring at
the boils on his red skin and the pus running down his bald,
misshapen head. He walked on two legs, adopting human posture, but
his features were beastly and his mouth were filled with gnashing,
pointed teeth.
    Those black eyes were like
the darkest pits of hell. Lindy saw nothing in them, no light, no
spark, not even her own reflection.
    Palli turned to her, and
something that looked like amusement flickered across his hideous
face. “I think I'll enjoy walking around in your skin for a
while,” he