The Angel Hunt

by Michelle Madow

  If I called the rougarou alpha and asked to make a deal with her in exchange for the rougarou getting Sage back to LA, she’d laugh in my face. Then she’d likely search down Sage, do what the coyotes couldn’t, and mail my sister’s head to me in a box.

  To keep Sage alive, the rougarou couldn’t know that a member of the Montgomery pack was on their territory.

  In the meantime, I needed to figure out what to tell Azazel. Last I’d spoken to him, I’d assured him that Sage would be back home in no time. Once she was back, the Montgomery pack would bind ourselves to the greater demon. By binding ourselves to him, we’d be demonstrating our loyalty to the side that would inevitably win this war—the demons. And I’d finally be able to mate with Mara, the perfect, beautiful demon I’d imprinted upon.

  After I’d sung Sage’s praises to Azazel, he’d agreed to postpone the binding ceremony until her return. Showing him her picture hadn’t hurt, either. I wasn’t an idiot—I knew men found my sister attractive. And apparently, despite being a greater demon, Azazel was also a typical man.

  But he wouldn’t wait forever.

  Sage was stubborn—she wouldn’t abandon Noah on his hunt. So I needed to get her back to LA as quickly as possible.

  Then, once she was back, the blood binding ceremony could begin.

  Raven

  The rusted pickup truck we’d stolen from the coyotes hardly belonged on the road, yet alone on the rounded drive of the luxurious Ritz-Carlton hotel in New Orleans. Yet here we were, surrounded by a slew of expensive cars and limos, looking as out of place as ever.

  We stood out like a mountain lion in a pack of coyotes.

  A woman in a fitted dress suit stepped out of the limo in front of us, walking gracefully in red-bottomed heels toward the grand entrance. With her perfectly coiffed hair, she looked like she belonged on a Hollywood movie set in the forties.

  I glanced down at my jeans and tried to rub off the splotch of blood that had landed above my knee when I’d stabbed the coyote’s neck. The blood was hard now. A bit of it flaked off, but the stain remained.

  Maybe it could pass at the latest fashion statement? After all, purposefully ripped jeans were a thing. Who was to say that splotches of blood wouldn’t be the next hot trend?

  Fake blood, of course. Not blood from the coyote shifter I’d callously murdered to save my friends from having their heads ripped off by a mountain lion.

  It was technically self-defense, but still. I’d never killed anything before. Especially not something human. Well, half human. Sage and Noah had assured me multiple times on the drive here that I shouldn’t feel bad about it, but it didn’t change the fact that I’d ended a life.

  If we hadn’t been on this dangerous mission to hunt demons to save my mom, I probably would have broken down about it by now. But we were on this mission. And if I wanted to save my mom, I needed to get my act together.

  Maybe this was what Rosella had meant when she’d said I would need the experience from the demon hunt if I wanted a chance of surviving the Angel Trials on Avalon.

  I still had no idea what the Angel Trials actually were, of course. But that was a question for another day.

  It was a question I’d ask the Earth Angel herself once we reached Avalon.

  In the meantime, I needed to focus on the present—where white-gloved men working the valet stand watched us with wide eyes as we pulled to a stop in front of the hotel. Two of them looked at each other, and the older of them walked around to the driver side of our vehicle.

  I expected him to open the door for Sage. Instead, he motioned for her to lower the window.

  She reached down for the crank handle—yes, the truck was so old that it lacked automatic windows—and forced the window down. The glass was covered in dirt and grime, and the valet man coughed as some of it blew up into his face.

  He straightened once he’d collected himself. “The service entrance is around back,” he told us through pursed lips. “Pull out of the drive, make the first right down the alley, and then turn right again. You won’t miss it.”

  “We’re not delivering anything to the hotel.” Sage shot him a winning smile, her teeth glistening in the light. “We’re going to be staying here.”

  The man peered into the truck. His eyes first went to me, and then to Noah. We hadn’t stopped to change after the fight with the coyotes—we couldn’t risk stopping in case whoever was tracking us was still on our tail—so our clothes were dirty and torn.

  We probably looked like three homeless people who were living out of this ancient truck.

  He studied us for a few seconds and then gently cleared his throat, returning his focus to Sage. “Have you stayed at the Ritz-Carlton before, ma’am?” he asked, a hint of pity in his eyes.

  “I have.” She reached for her wallet and pulled out a black credit card—one with “The Ritz-Carlton Rewards” written on the front—and flashed it to the valet. “So often, in fact, that I’m a rewards member. And I really hope there’s a suite available on club level. I love the daily food presentations there. The cheese platters are absolutely divine, don’t you think?”

  The valet looked shocked as he saw the card and listened to Sage’s knowledge of the hotel chain. “Apologies for the confusion Ms…” He paused as he looked at the name on the card. “Ms. Montgomery. Welcome to the Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans.” He opened the door for her, making a slight face as his gloved hand touched the dirty handle, and motioned for his colleagues to get the doors for Noah and me. They did. “I’ll retrieve a cart for your luggage.”

  “A luggage cart would be great, but we’ll handle our bags ourselves,” Sage said as she got out of the truck, shaking out her long hair in a display that caught the eyes of every man within viewing distance.

  Well, every man except for Noah, since he was looking straight at me.

  My cheeks heated, and I looked away, fidgeting with discomfort as I looked up at the glamorous entrance of the hotel.

  “Are you sure?” the valet asked. “It won’t be any trouble for the bellman to get your bags.”

  “We have some precious cargo that I don’t trust with anyone but ourselves.” Sage reached into the back of the truck and easily lifted the largest of the bags out and up over her head, leaving no room for debate. The bellman rushed a cart over to her, and she lowered it down easily.

  Noah reached into the backseat for the bag full of potions, handling it with extra care. He waited until all the other bags were on the cart before placing it on top.

  “Oh, and please forgive our appearances.” Sage motioned to her clothes before handing the key to the valet. “You see, we stopped by for a bit of paintball on the way here. There’s this great place for it just outside the city… what’s it called?” She tapped her foot on the ground and looked up out of the corner of her eye, as if trying to remember the name.

  “I’m afraid I don’t know.” The man sounded much warmer now that Sage had provided an explanation for our messy state—and that he could now rationalize that the red stains on our clothing were paint and not blood.

  Ignorance was bliss, right?

  “No worries,” Sage said. “But it was quite a bit of fun. My friends here won’t admit it, but I totally beat both of them.” She looked over at me and stuck her tongue out, as if giving me a hard time for being a sore loser.

  I rolled my eyes at the ridiculousness of all of this, which I thought was as good of a response as any.

  “I’ll take your word on that,” he said. “Anyway, I’m sure you’re eager to get to your suite and clean up.”

  “Yes.” Sage led the way through the entrance of the hotel, holding herself like she was a princess entering a ball instead of a wolf shifter who’d just fought a pack of coyotes. “We certainly do.”

  Raven

  Sage hadn’t been kidding about wanting a suite.

  Actually, calling this hotel room a “suite” was doing it a disservice. It was more like a glamorous penthouse apartment designed f
or the Queen of England herself. There was a marble foyer entry, a dining room, a living room with a grand fireplace and billiards table, and a private rooftop terrace that looked out toward the water.

  I’d say I couldn’t imagine how much it cost, but that wasn’t true. Because I’d heard the lady at the front desk when Sage made the reservation.

  The suite cost five thousand dollars a night.

  And despite all the space in the suite, there was only one bedroom.

  “The hotel doesn’t have any two bedroom suites.” Sage joined me in the doorway, apparently noticing my worried expression. “You and I can share the bed. Noah will take the sofa bed in the living room, as always.” She grinned as he set his bag next to the couch.

  “Do you two always share a room while hunting?” I asked.

  Sage had told me her relationship with Noah was more like siblings than anything else. So with all the money she had, I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t get two separate rooms.

  “Another rule of demon hunting,” Noah spoke up from the living room, where he was pacing around examining every corner as if checking to see if the suite was bugged. “Stick with your pack—or partner—as much as possible. There are times on a hunt when it’s wise to split up, but sleeping isn’t one of them. It’s always safer together than apart. Especially for those who don’t know how to fight.”

  It didn’t take a genius to figure out that he was referring to me.

  “Got it.” I looked around, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of letting him know that he was irritating me again. “No sleeping alone. But it’s safe to go in the bathroom by myself to shower. Right?”

  He clenched his fists—I couldn’t imagine what I’d said to anger him so much—and his gaze flared with heat. “Of course it’s safe,” he said tightly. “In fact, that’s the first good idea you’ve had all day.” The fire in his eyes disappeared, replaced with disgust as he lifted his upper lip in a small snarl. “Especially since you stink of coyote.”

  “At least it’s better than smelling like dog.” I flung my hair over my shoulder and sauntered to the bathroom, relieved to finally get a moment to myself once I shut the door behind me.

  Raven

  Every inch of the huge bathroom was lined with marble, and in the center there was a Jacuzzi tub begging to be filled up for a long, relaxing bath.

  I was tempted to do just that. But as I was reaching for the handle, I stopped myself. Because we were on a hunt for demons, which meant despite staying at a luxury hotel, we didn’t have time to relax and pamper ourselves. Sage and Noah needed to shower after me. Then we could get started on the reason why we were here—to find and hunt down another demon so Noah could add its tooth to his collection.

  I settled for the shower, which in its defense, was incredibly soothing itself. With the water running over my hair, it was easy to close my eyes and pretend I was home, getting ready for class instead of being in a fancy hotel room with two wolf shifters getting ready to hunt a demon.

  But the illusion didn’t last long. As much as I wanted to stand under the water forever, I had to face what was next. So I turned off the shower and dried off, wrapping myself in a soft, warm towel.

  As I was rubbing the fog off the mirror, I realized I hadn’t brought any clothes into the bathroom to change into. I’d been so focused on getting some space from Noah that I hadn’t thought that far ahead.

  Now I was going to have to walk out there in nothing but a towel—albeit, an incredibly cozy, fluffy towel. But it was still a towel, and one that left less to the imagination than any dress I owned.

  My face flushed with the thought of it.

  I had no intention of prancing in front of Noah in a towel. I didn’t want to risk him possibly checking me out. Not that I minded the thought of him checking me out—who minded an incredibly hot guy checking them out? But because nothing could ever come of it, since Noah could never imprint or mate with a human.

  There was no point in hoping for something that could never be. Especially since it seemed clear that while Noah had flirted with me back at the pool house, he’d never been truly interested in me. He’d been attracted to me and had been trying to see how far he could push it—that was all. Flirting with me had just been a game to him.

  It must have been a game, since from the way he talked to me, he clearly didn’t like humans in general. He certainly wouldn’t ever be romantically interested in one.

  He was just as unavailable to me as a guy with a girlfriend. So that was how I’d think of him.

  As a guy with a girlfriend.

  So there was no chance I was going to walk in front of him in this towel.

  I took a deep breath and stared at myself in the mirror. You’ve got this, I told myself. Be cool.

  I’d never been stereotypically “cool,” but hey, no time to start like the present.

  I opened the bathroom door a smidge and peeked out, glad to see that neither Sage nor Noah were in the bedroom section of the suite. Unfortunately, my bag full of clothes that Sage had loaned me wasn’t there, either.

  “Hey Sage?” I called out, pretty sure she’d be able to hear me. Yes, the suite was big, but wolves had enhanced hearing.

  “Yeah?” Her voice echoed out from the living room.

  I released the breath I’d been holding. Crisis averted. “Can you bring my bag to the bedroom so I can change?” I asked.

  “Of course.” She was through the door in record speed, holding my bag like it was as light as a pillow and placing it on the luggage rack. “Once you’re changed, come into the living room,” she said. “Because while you were showering, I got in contact with the most powerful witch circle in New Orleans.”

  Raven

  I threw on a tank top and a pair of yoga pants and hurried back into the living room. Both Noah and Sage were waiting for me, sitting in chairs around the unlit fireplace.

  Noah’s eyes went to mine, and I couldn’t help it—I froze under his gaze.

  Why did he have such a strong effect on me? It made no sense, since he wasn’t even nice to me. I felt so stupid for liking him. I was like a grade school girl with a crush on the boy who pulled her hair each time she walked by his desk. And the more time I spent around him, the more that crush seemed to grow.

  I needed to put a lid on these emotions—quickly. If I didn’t, they were going to get me into serious trouble.

  “Leave enough hot water for the rest of us?” he asked, eyeing me up from head to toe.

  It was a good thing I was wearing pajamas. Because if he’d looked at me like that while I was in that towel, my face would have turned as red as a tomato.

  “Be grateful I took a shower and not a bath,” I shot back as I walked over to the couch and made myself comfortable. “Because that Jacuzzi was mighty tempting.”

  Sage huffed and glared at both of us. “Are you two going to be like this for the entire trip?” she asked.

  “No,” Noah and I said in unison.

  I crossed my arms and looked away from him.

  “If only I believed you,” she muttered.

  “Anyway.” I sat straighter, eager to change the subject. “What’s the story on the witch circle here?”

  “As you know, witches can only track something to an exact location if they’re close enough to what they’re tracking,” Sage said, seeming as eager to get to the point as I. “When Amber did the demon tracking spell in LA, she located a demon in New Orleans, but she couldn’t pinpoint where that demon was. To do that, she’d have to be in New Orleans herself. That clearly isn’t an option, so she gave us the number of a witch contact nearby.”

  “Did Amber used to come with you on your hunts?” I asked.

  “You mean before Azazel murdered Amber’s sister so he could force her to track your mom’s location for him to kidnap her?” Noah asked.

  “Yeah,” I said, my voice clipped. I hated the reminder of Azazel and what he’d done. “That’s exactly what I mean.”

 
; “No.” He clenched his fist, as if holding an imaginary blade. “Sage and I hunt alone. At least, before you came along—”

  “And ruined everything for you,” I continued before he had a chance, rolling my eyes to show how tiring these constant reminders were getting. “I know, I know.”

  “That wasn’t what I was going to say,” he said.

  “Really?” I eyed him up, not believing him for a second. “Then what were you going to say?”

  He smirked, looking way too self satisfied for his own good. “You’ll never know now, will you?”

  It took all of my self-control not to stand up and storm back to the bedroom. Luckily, I was able to rein it in. Saving my mom was worth putting up with Noah’s instigating.

  “Oh my God.” Sage pulled at her hair and leaned back into the sofa, flopping her arms down beside her. “Do you want to hear about the witch or not?”

  “Yes,” Noah and I said together again.

  I glared at him out of the side of my eye. The way we were saying things at the same time was getting seriously annoying.

  If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was a sign we were on the same wavelength or whatever.

  Good thing I knew better.

  “All right.” Sage looked back and forth between Noah and me like we’d both grown second heads. I couldn’t blame her, since that was what—the third time we’d said something at the same time in the past day? But she cleared her throat and continued without mentioning it. “The most powerful witch in New Orleans goes by the name ‘The Voodoo Queen,’” she said. “Amber wouldn’t tell me her real name—just that we’re to address her with her official title.”

  “Seriously?” I raised an eyebrow. I couldn’t picture myself addressing anyone like that without laughing.

  “Seriously,” Sage said. “Some supernaturals can be a bit… eccentric. Especially the witches.”