Read Online Claimed by Her Demon by Lili Detlev - Free Book Online

 
    Melinda loved being a Goth girl.
    She loved gaming and cosplay, movies and books, studying and learning.
    What she didn’t love was being grabbed from behind. Especially not after a late night at the university’s library. Most especially not when a cloth bag was thrown over her head and she was tossed roughly into the trunk of a vehicle.
    She had plenty of time to assess her situation. Her hands had been tied behind her back, and her feet were also bound. It looked grim on the surface. But the sound of the other voices in the car reassured her, at least a bit.
    They were all male, and they sounded young and cocky. Based on the bits of conversation she’d heard, they were members of a fraternity, and this was apparently a hazing ritual. So she wasn’t going to scream. Even if they decided to do things to her, she would give them no satisfaction.
    As it turned out, the men just dumped her onto a hard wooden floor. Most of them left immediately, but one stayed behind.
    “I just want to make sure we’ve got time to bail,” he said to the others.
    “Make it quick,” a voice answered.
    “Use a rubber,” another one said. “Unless you want babies with black eyeliner.”
    She listened to the sounds of footsteps retreating.
    The first voice whispered close to her ear. “I’m really sorry about all this. If I’d known they were going to kidnap someone, I never would have driven them out here.” She heard something “thunk” into the wooden floor. Then she felt the knots at her wrists loosen.
    “C’mon, dude! Finish up and let’s go.”
    “I’m sorry.” The voice said again. “I got the knots loose, and there’s an open pocket knife stuck into the wood by your feet. You’re only a few miles out of town. Good luck.”
    Then she heard the sound of footsteps rushing away, and a car engine start up. As the vehicle sped off and the sound of its engine faded away, Melinda sat up and scooted around until she found the pocketknife. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
    #
    Melinda was free from her bonds, but for the time being she was stuck in some kind of old country house. Heavy rain lashed down, driven by howling wind, punctuated by claps of thunder and flashes of lightning. She had no desire to explore her dark shelter, but leaks in the roof had water cascading into the room where she’d been dropped, so she scooted back further into the house. She used lightning to guide her steps, until she rested her back against the side of a stone fireplace. Here, at least, it was relatively dry. She sank to the floor, resigned to riding out the storm, curing the fact that the assholes who’d kidnapped her still had her backpack in their car. In addition to her books, phone and Student ID, there was an extra shawl in the bag, which would have come in handy at the time. She hoped she got her stuff back.
    The thunder receded, but the rain beat steadily down. And the next flash of lightning revealed a problem far more pressing than her missing items.
    Something was in the house with her.
    Melinda’s heart humped wildly. She’d never been one to be afraid of the dark. In fact, given her taste in music and clothes, she embraced it and felt comfortable there. But that was when she was alone or with people she knew. Whatever this thing was, it didn’t look like any human she’d ever met, even the ones in costume.
    Please let that be a statue.
    Another flicker of lightning revealed that it had moved closer.
    Her breath sped up, and she fished for the pocketknife she’d kept after cutting herself free. It suddenly seemed pathetically small.
    Whatever happens, I will not scream.
    She didn’t know if she could keep that promise though.
    Then there was a sudden blaze of light. She shielded her eyes, dropping her ad hoc weapon in the process. Before she could open her eyes and adjust to the brightness, she heard a low, rumbling growl. And then there was a voice.
    “What are you doing here?”
    #
    She blinked several times. It