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PROLOGUE

Marna awoke to pain Her eyelids flew open as a white-hot fire sent bolts of agony throbbing through her whole body The fire burned the hottest near her shoulder blades Burned

She screaet away froony—only to find that she couldn’t move

They’d strapped her onto so facedown, held almost completely immobile by the bonds

“Easy” Avoice came from beside her She saw faded jeans Tanned hands Then he bent and brushed back her hair “You’re gonna be all right”

Marna stared into his face—strong, fierce, dangerous—and kneas lying A tear leaked from the corner of her eye She knew his face Knew him—and knew that he wasn’t a man at all Not really

Monster

A beast lived beneath his skin One that was just dying to break out

Another stab of pain hit her back, and she flinched at the fresh burn The htened, and he said, “Don’t worry He’s al your wounds closed”

Sewing you

She sed back the screa flesh that had been sliced open

Nausea hit her Fear and fury had her shaking “Mywings” She barely et the words out because her throat was so dry Parched Probably fros They were the only things that mattered

Marna was an angel, and an angel without wings

Hello, hell

An angel without wings could never return to heaven

Mes hours before She’d been doing her duty Just following orders, until another ht froetation of a Louisiana swamp

The man before her—no, remember, he’s a monster, too, you’ve seen the panther beneath his skin—brushed his fingers over her cheek and wiped away her tears “I’ we could do”

She bit her lip to hold back any more cries

Athe hard line of his jaw “He—he sliced them all the way off Fuck, he cut into your bones”

There would be no going home for her

Her eyes closed as hope died She didn’t speak Couldn’t

Another poke in her back More fiery pain She knehat that pain was now A needle Thread Going in and out of her body Sewing up the gaping holes that had been left behind

My wings are gone

For centuries, she’d been an angel Her job had been to ferry the souls of humans from this world to the next

She’d never known fear Anger Pain

Those were all huels were far from human She’d never known—

Not until her wings had been cut away by a panther shifter who feared no one and nothing

Without the wings, the one Wiped away The e into her with the force of a speeding train

Fear

Rage

“All done” Another uy with the needle She opened her eyes, but didn’t look his way She didn’t want to see hi his hands Marna had turned her head so that her eyes reen stare

Such a pity A monster shouldn’t have a face like his He shouldn’t have such deep eyes, eyes that made it look as if he actually cared what happened to her