The Demon Who Fed on a Shark

Mate or Meal 7

The Demon Who Fed on a Shark

Darling or dinner? For incubus Alexis, shark-shifter Morgan is

both, and so much more. But when Alexis is severely disfigured,

Morgan also becomes a dream beyond his reach. After all, Alexis is

a sex demon. The only thing he has to offer is his beauty, and

with that gone, so is Morgan’s incentive to stay by his side.

Morgan knows how hard it was for Alexis to surpass the trauma of

his scarring. His love for Alexis goes beyond appearances. Torn

between his natural instinct to claim his mate and the desire to

protect fragile Alexis, he refuses to leave the incubus.

But there are still those who don’t agree with the coupling

between a shifter and a magical creature, and Alexis still has

many secrets to reveal. Can Morgan convince Alexis of his own

worth, or will they be parted by their own fears and the

machinations of others?

Genre:
Alternative (M/M or F/F), Fantasy, Shape-shifter

Length:
38,832 words

THE DEMON WHO FED ON A

SHARK

Mate or Meal 7

Scarlet Hyacinth

EROTIC ROMANCE

MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove

THE DEMON WHO FED ON A SHARK

Copyright © 2012 by Scarlet Hyacinth

E-book ISBN: 1-61926-381-5

First E-book Publication: February 2012

Cover design by Jinger Heaston

All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED:
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PUBLISHER

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

Dear Readers,

If you have purchased this copy of
The Demon Who Fed on a

Shark
by Scarlet Hyacinth from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy

This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing

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respect Ms. Hyacinth’s right to earn a living from her work.

Amanda Hilton, Publisher

www.SirenPublishing.com

www.BookStrand.com

My dear readers,

Mate or Meal was originally supposed to be a strictly shape-

shifter series, but somehow, that changed while I wrote. When Alexis

appeared in the picture, I couldn’t resist. He just begged to be given his own love story.

So, I hope you enjoy the result and love Alexis as much as I do.

Scarlet

THE DEMON WHO FED ON A

SHARK

Mate or Meal 7

SCARLET HYACINTH

Copyright © 2012

Chapter One

The first thing Alexis saw when he opened his eyes was white. A

white ceiling. In Alexis’s mind, that always translated into hospital.

God, he hated hospitals. What had happened? He couldn’t remember.

He experimentally tried to get up, groaning when pain exploded

on the right side of his body. A gentle hand steadied him. “Shh. Don’t move. You’ll hurt yourself.”

It was Morgan’s voice, Morgan’s sweet, soft tone, the one that

awoke secret desires inside Alexis. Morgan was the only lover who

meant more than food to Alexis. The shark might not even realize it,

but Alexis had known from the very moment they’d met how

important Morgan would be for him.

He forced himself to turn toward Morgan, and for the first time,

Alexis realized he couldn’t see with his right eye. It seemed to be

covered with a bandage of sorts. On instinct, he reached for it, but

Morgan pushed his palm away. “I know you’re uncomfortable, but

the doctor will remove it once you’re better.”

Flashes of memories began to return to him. Alexis, his friend

Angel, and the principal of their school, Sara Huitzilin, had been

kidnapped by a skin-walker who’d intended to tear apart the incipient
The Demon Who Fed on a Shark

9

bond between shape-shifters and magical creatures. First, the skin-

walker tried to pin the murder of a cheetah shifter, Leiland Travers, on Alexis, and then he’d abducted him, Angel, and Sara. Alexis had

managed to knock out their kidnapper, but the skin-walker had

planted a powerful bomb.

The last thing Alexis remembered was the blast, then pain, so

much pain. He gasped as he realized what the bandages on his face

meant. “A mirror. Give me a mirror.”

Morgan squeezed his hand in a vain attempt for comfort. “Calm

down, baby. Breathe.”

But Alexis couldn’t breathe. He needed to see himself, to see his

own face, to confirm what, in his heart, he already knew was true.

“Give me a damn mirror,” he shouted at his lover.

Morgan didn’t move, so Alexis began to remove the wires that

monitored his vitals. Almost immediately, nurses burst into the room, alarmed by the flatline on the monitors.

Alexis ignored them, intent on his goal. He might have done

something stupid if his lover hadn’t suddenly said, “Alexis, stop. Stop right now.”

It was very rare for Morgan to use that voice on him outside the

bedroom. Alexis froze, his body responding to Morgan’s tone. “Look

at me,” Morgan ordered.

Alexis obeyed, breathing hard with the effort it took not to cower

in front of Morgan’s penetrating gaze. “I’ll show you, as long as you promise to be calm,” the shark said.

“I’m not sure if it’s wise,” a nurse piped up. It only increased

Alexis’s anxiety, and he trembled, now more than ever needing to

know.

“It’s better than the uncertainty,” he whispered.

Morgan helped him free himself from the wires and took him in

his arms. He carried Alexis to the adjoining bathroom. Finally, he

placed Alexis down in front of the mirror. For a few moments, Alexis

10

Scarlet Hyacinth

just stared. He couldn’t quite process what had happened to him. In

fact, he couldn’t even see much of the right side of his face.

A bandage completely covered it, going from his eye, over his

neck, and disappearing under his hospital robe. Alexis released a

small laugh. He hadn’t even needed to look at himself in the mirror.

He could tell how scarred he was simply by looking at his body.

With trembling hands, he reached for the bandage, deciding to

pull it off. Again, Morgan stopped him. “Don’t. You’re going to hurt

yourself.”

“I have to see. Please, Morgan,” Alexis begged.

“You will, but not now.” Morgan turned him away from the

mirror and kissed his uninjured cheek. “You’re beautiful, baby. You

always will be. I know it hurts, but we have the best doctors here, and what we don’t have, we’ll bring in. They’ll take care of you.”

Alexis wished he could believe that, but he knew it wasn’t true.

Incubi weren’t like other paranormal creatures. Their abilities to

seduce were the only ones that appeared from an early age. The others developed in time, if they developed at all, and were only as strong as the emotions the incubus fed from.

It was not common knowledge that incubi mated for life. They

lived a loose lifestyle up until they found the person meant for them, but after that, they would never, ever, betray their mate. Of course, actually locating the man or woman in question was troublesome, and

in fact, very few incubi had the luck to manage it. Alexis’s own

parents never did and contented themselves with a fake family life. Of course, it led to Alexis having a high number of siblings who were

more often than not very affectionate to Alexis. But Alexis had a

feeling that once they saw him now, they wouldn’t be so supportive.

Alexis had been convinced that, in Morgan, he’d found his mate.

But now, the hope for a future together was gone. Incubus healing

powers only appeared after they fully matured. Alexis had years

before that happened, and he couldn’t honestly expect Morgan to wait

for him. Even if Morgan did decide to do it, by then, his scars could

The Demon Who Fed on a Shark

11

very easily be branded into his flesh and unable to be removed, not

even by incubus magic.

“Okay,” he whispered. “Whatever you say, Morgan.”

Morgan took him into his arms and carried him back into the

room. The nurses were gone, thank goodness, so Alexis and Morgan

were alone. Morgan placed Alexis on the bed and caressed his