Demon Huntress

"ming jie . . ."

"You don't have to decide now. You have five days, and then the markings will fade." Once they disappeared, the window of opportunity would close, but by then, he might have completed the s'genesis and wouldn't care, anyway.

"But you said your species doesn't mate with humans because the offspring are half-breeds."

"We can mate with half-breeds. The young will be full-blooded balberith demons."

shu lan was silent for a long moment. "Is that what the blood was about?" She shot upright and her face, already pale, grew even whiter. "Oh, gag. I drank your blood. Why did I do that? And why do you keep a scalpel in your drawer?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Most guys keep c.o.n.d.o.ms there."

He bit back a smile. "I don't need c.o.n.d.o.ms, since I can't i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e anyone yet." Though he vaguely remembered wanting to plant his seed in shu lan when he'd shapeshifted, so maybe he could now. The idea that she could right now be swelling with his offspring filled him with a sense of wholeness he'd been missing all his life. He could ask chen to feel for a pregnancy—

"So what's up with the scalpel?"

Heat flooded his face, probably making him as red as she was white. "I—" he felt so stupid admitting this

"—I've always wanted to be prepared in the event that I found a mate."

"Are all balberith demons so sappy?"

This time, he couldn't contain the smile. "I doubt it."

"I really, really do not understand demons." She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "I heard yuan say something. Something ren fu said, too. About being desperate to stop the s'genesis by taking a mate."

"We'll talk about it later. You need your rest." He pulled the sheets up over her, but she stopped him with a firm grasp on his wrist.

"Tell me about it."

Oh, hell. He swore and looked up at the ceiling. "Taking a lifemate is the only way to stop the worst of the s'genesis changes. We still become fertile and gain the ability to shapeshift, but the insane need to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e everything in sight will disappear."

"And you've been looking? Your brother said 'desperate.'"

"Yes, but—"

"So am I like, your last resort?"

"No, shu lan." He climbed into bed beside her and tucked her into his body, her back to his c.h.e.s.t. "It's nothing like that."

There was a long pause, and then she said in a small voice, "How close are you to no-return?"

Reaching around her, he tipped her face up to his and sealed his mouth over hers. Her lips were warm, firm, tasted mildly of the salt from her tears. For a moment, she melted, opening to him, shifting toward him.

But she wouldn't be deterred, and she murmured against his lips, "How close?"

"Close," he admitted, running his palm down her hard belly, spanning the narrow distance between her hipbones where her w.o.m.b might be quickening. "The next time I shapeshift, I might not come back as myself. I'll look the same, but I won't be running the show."

She pulled away from him. "And you say that bonding with me now has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you're on the verge of no-return?"

As much as he wanted to answer that, he couldn't. Had he met her a year ago, he didn't know if she'd have set fever to his blood the way she did now.

"That's answer enough," she said, lurching to the other side of the bed. "And my answer is no. I won't be anyone's last resort."

Shit. This could've gone better.

"Just listen for a minute, okay?"

"I said, no."

He sat up and stretched across the bed for her hand, which she yanked away. "Dammit, shu lan, I don't care if my instincts are responsible or not. I want you."

"Oh, that's one hell of a proposal," she snapped, tugging her robe tight around her. "Excuse me if I don't run out and reserve a caterer and a church. Oh, wait. You probably can't set foot in a church."

"So I need to work on my delivery . . ."

"You need to work on finding someone who doesn't mind being the 3:00 a.m. wallflower. I might not have anything to my name or any place to go, but that doesn't mean you can take advantage of me just so you can hold on to your precious medical degree." She glared at him, daggers of fury that pinned him in place when he would have grabbed her and held her to him. "How dare you lie to get me to fall for your shit? You don't want me. You can't. You don't even know me."

"I'm not lying. I do want you, and I know all I need to."

"You know nothing. Nothing. How am I supposed to believe what I am isn't a problem for you, when it was before? I'm an berus hunter remember?"

"I was wrong, shu lan. My brothers are wrong."

She shook her head. "See, that's where you are wrong. I am a hunter. Want proof? Proof that you know nothing about me?" When a tremor entered her voice, she cleared it ruthlessly. "Let's talk about your brother Hong—"

"Don't say it." He searched her eyes, seeing an ugly truth in their murky depths. "Don't. Even. Say. It."

But she pressed on, leaning forward on fists pressed into the mattress. "I was there. At Brimstone. I was there and I killed anything that moved. When yat sen set the place on fire, the sound of demons screaming didn't bother me at all."

Oh, shit. hong. "It might not have been you . . ." The desperation in his voice was pathetic, and he hated himself for it.

"Or it might have been. I don't remember seeing a demon like you, but—"

"He could have shapeshifted."

ming jie felt his world collapse in on him, felt his c.h.e.s.t crack wide open. It hurt. Gods, his heart hurt.

The female he wanted as a mate had killed his brother. Had been involved, at the very least.

"Do you see, Hellboy? Do you see why we can't be together? Can you really see beyond what I was? Can I ever see beyond what you are?"

But he was no longer listening. "You killed my brother."

He pushed backward, off the bed, feeling the anger rise in him, feeling something even more horrible churning inside. He could feel The Change pulsing, clawing to the surface.

With a roar, he tore out of the bedroom, out of the apartment, away from shu lan before he did something he'd regret. Because he was pissed, hurt, and he was also out of time.