Demon shy resurrection c.., p.1
Demon Shy (Resurrection Chronicles), page 1
DEMON SHY
M.J. HAAG
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead, are coincidental and not intended by the author.
Demon Shy. Copyright © 2024 by Melissa Haag. All rights reserved.
Published by Shattered Glass Publishing.
Print Cover design by Shattered Glass Publishing
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Editing by The Proof Posse (Jackie, Dawn, Heather, Mirjam, and Roxanne)
ISBN 978-1-63869-053-5 (eBook Edition)
ISBN 978-1-63869-059-7 (Paperback Edition)
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Version 2024.10.21
CONTENTS
Months ago…
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
Author’s Note
More books by MJ Haag
More books by Melissa Haag
MONTHS AGO…
Earthquakes shook cities around the globe and unleashed a deadly virus. Those bitten died but didn’t stay dead. They roamed, infected and growing smarter as they hunted for the remaining humans.
Something else emerged from the depths of the earth as well. An ancient race once connected with the land. Men with pointed ears, grey skin, and eyes that aren’t quite human. Men without any memory of women.
Fey.
Abandoned. Cursed. Immune.
They are willing to help the remaining humans in exchange for a chance to change their fate. They want to live with the humans and find women and families of their own.
The fey only need a few brave females to say yes.
CHAPTER ONE
MAY
The road of life wasn’t a straight, paved lane that traveled in one direction. It had twists and turns and was filled with potholes and boulders. Dead ends happened at regular intervals just as frequently as forks.
And, months after being rescued from an abusive hell, that was where I found myself.
At a fork.
“No one’s saying you have to do this, May,” Eden said, watching me with concern.
“I know, sweetheart.” I offered the woman a small smile.
She and I had a shared past, a rough one. For weeks after the world fell, I’d protected her when I could, using my body as a distraction for the men who’d held us captive. And in return, she’d given me and several others in that hellish prison of an underground bunker a way to save ourselves.
All we’d needed to do was accept living with the fey. Easier said than done, though. Not because of the fey but because of my inner demons. It was time to end that.
“Since coming here, I haven’t exactly been living,” I said.
Eden took my hand in hers. Her nails were no longer caked with dirt that wouldn’t wash off. They were clean and trimmed. Her palm was softer and not laced with callouses. She no longer had to fight to survive. At least, not like she had. She had a decent life now with her fey, Ghua. I saw them around often. Looking at each other with those lovey-dovey gazes and kissing. The nice kind, not the kind I’d endured back in the bunker. I pushed that thought aside.
“It’s time for me to move on,” I said. “And I think this is my chance to let go of the past.”
“Are you sure?”
I lightly squeezed her hand. “I’m sure.”
Doubt filled her gaze, and I smiled again.
“I’m thirty-five years old, hun. My face is starting to get too many lines I don’t want, and none of the ones I do. I want to find a reason to genuinely smile again, Eden, and that’s not going to happen just sitting here.
“I’ve seen you with your man. I see how he treats you, and I've been thinking about hooking up with one of them for a while now. This is just the nudge I needed to take those thoughts more seriously.”
She nodded slowly and released my hand. “Okay then. I can start introducing you to some fey you might—”
“No need. I’ll approach him on my own,” I said, standing.
“Him? You already have one in mind?” she asked, joining me.
“I do.”
“What’s his name?”
“I haven’t asked yet. In my head, I’ve just been calling him Bob.”
“Bob?” she repeated with a growing smile as I walked her to the door.
“Yep. It’s a nice name. Solid. And I’ve never met a Bob who was an asshole. Plus, whenever he sees me, he dips his head like he’s nodding to me, but it never comes back up. That partial head bob is what caught my attention. I think I make him nervous, and after everything I’ve seen and done, that’s just refreshing.”
She paused in the doorway.
“You could just ask him to have dinner with you, you know. You don’t have to be part of the doctor’s science experiment.”
Molev, the leader of the fey, had only returned a short while ago, and the survivor encampments were already a beehive of gossip about the medical team that had come with him. Everyone wanted them to figure out why the women sleeping with the fey were immune to the virus and create a vaccine. I was no different. Yet, the betterment of humanity wasn’t why I wanted to join in.
“I’m no one’s fool, Eden,” I said. “Asking one of the fey to dinner is like putting an engagement ring on their cock. There’s no taking it back then. Being a part of an experiment is my safety net if things don’t go the way I hope. At the end of the experiment, I’ll still have a choice to leave if the fey I pick isn’t right for me.”
“All right. Then I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you that you pick a keeper that makes you crazy happy.” She gave me a big hug, which I needed more than I let on, and left.
I shut the door and stared at my reflection in the entry hall mirror. My dull brown eyes stared back at me. I tried smiling, but it didn’t reach them.
The number of wrong turns I’d taken in life had left their toll. The virus that had killed half my neighbors and then being kidnapped by people who I’d thought would help me had drained me of my last bit of hope…in people and in life. I looked like an empty shell of a woman—one who had nothing left to give.
It was hard to want to try to find happiness with everything happening outside of Tenacity’s protective walls. Death waited for us all. According to Molev and Andie, we had days until the first wave of infected hit us.
And that was why I’d decided to try. I had nothing left to lose and didn’t want my last days spent alone and in fear.
The women who’d risked everything and embraced life with a fey at their side were happy. I wanted that. I dreamt of it at night. Being held by someone. Loved. Cherished.
All I needed to do was put aside my fear that I was taking another wrong turn and try. If it didn’t work, at least I could tell myself I’d tried to find some happiness.
Smoothing back my dark blonde hair, I tugged a knit cap on and zipped myself into a worn canvas jacket. After looping my bright pink scarf around my neck, I went outside to try my luck at finding a happier ending.
CHAPTER TWO
HEJUN (A.K.A. BOB)
She was walking outside again. The woman who filled my thoughts every waking moment.
May.
She wore the bright pink scarf that made her yellow hair look so vibrant, but her pretty gaze once again saw nothing except the road in front of her. I took in her slow steps and the unchanged slouch in her shoulders and felt sad and hopeless.
My brothers and I all knew why we should never approach May. She had suffered at the hands of men. Humans who had kept her in an underground bunker and forced her to do things for food. Sex things. Things she did not truly wish to do.
I growled and fisted my hands, unable to look away from her. My frustration and need to help May grew with each passing day.
Angel had told Merdon that, when women were hurt, they needed time and understanding to recover. But it had been many months since my brothers and I had rescued everyone from the bunker, and May did not look like she was recovering. She seemed just as sad and resigned as the first time I saw her.
She turned her head suddenly and looked right at me. I quickly averted my gaze so she wouldn’t know I’d been watching her. While I had no wish to mislead May, I also did not wish to cause her more fear or distress.
If she knew how often I watched her and thought of her, she would feel more fear. That was something I did not want. Yet, I couldn’t stop myself from seeking her out day after day. I worried. Did she have enough to eat? Was she warm enough? Were any human men trying to take advantage of her like those in the bunker? My hands fisted at the thought.
I was still looking down at my feet when she veered in my direction. My che
“Good morning,” she said without a hint of censure in her tone. “I’ve been meaning to stop and introduce myself. I’m May.”
She held out her small hand, offering it to me in a human greeting that my brothers and I seldom received.
I stared at her delicate, waiting fingers in surprise. She wanted me to touch her? Anticipation overruled common sense, and my fingers trembled as I very carefully took her hand into mine and held it.
“Um, what’s your name?” she asked.
“Hejun.”
“Hey-junn?”
I nodded, still staring at her tiny hand in mine. She felt so soft.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Hejun.” She moved our hands up and down twice then indicated she wanted to be released. I quickly let go and glanced at her face.
Her smile hinted at sadness.
“I was wondering if you’ve heard the latest news about the volunteers the doctor is looking for?”
“Yes,” I said, wondering if that was why Eden had gone to May this morning. Had Eden warned May? Were they worried a female would be forced?
“Good,” May said. “That makes this easier, then. I want to volunteer. Would you be interested in being my partner?”
Her softly worded question had the same effect as Brenna shooting one of her arrows accurately at the human dick likenesses. My insides twisted, and my brow began to sweat from nerves.
I’d thought of little else but May since she arrived. Yet, I’d never imagined her approaching me to be my partner. I wanted that more than anything, but what if I made a mistake?
The cold sweat spread to the back of my neck.
“There is no need for you to volunteer,” I assured her.
“Why not me? Am I not good enough to save?” she asked.
I glanced at her face again, searching for signs that I’d upset her. But she didn’t look afraid or angry. Only curious.
“Save?” I asked. “How does forcing you to have sex with any of us save you? We will keep you safe without sex.”
She smiled again, and this time, it held a spark of humor. It was the first time I ever witnessed anything but sadness in her expression.
She set her hand on my chest and patted me…just above my heart. My pulse thundered under her palm at the touch.
“You’re a sweetheart; you know that? The doctor’s tests show that the women who are sleeping with the fey—I mean, the ones having sexual intercourse—are immune from turning infected. That’s what I want. And if sex gets me there, I’m willing to do it. No force is necessary. But if you aren’t interested, that’s okay. I’ll ask around.”
I frowned down at her hand. “Ask around?”
“Yeah, I’ll ask a different fey if he would be interested in being my sperm donor.”
My traitorous cock twitched in my pants. It wanted to donate, no matter how much I told it that May had been used enough. She deserved peace and respect, not the thoughts I had while gripping myself in the shower each night.
“I will keep you safe, May,” I said, trying again to reassure her. “You do not need to ask anyone for donations.”
“Really?” she said happily. “Do you mean it?”
“I do.” Did she think I was like the humans? That I would only protect her and provide for her in return for her touch? I dreamed of the day she would touch me. But of her own free will, not because she had no other choice.
“Thank you. Would you mind giving me a lift to Eitri’s so we can let everyone know we came to an agreement?” she asked.
I glanced at her face once more to make sure I had heard right. She wanted me to hold her in my arms?
She gave me another smile, brighter than the last one, and I nodded.
“I will carry you,” I said.
“Great.”
She held out her arms, and I carefully picked her up. She barely weighed anything but had a softness the other women I’d been lucky enough to carry the prior day hadn’t. I liked May’s softness better.
My cock twitched again, and I tried to focus on something other than how right she felt in my arms as I took a running start at Tenacity’s walls.
CHAPTER THREE
MAY
I glanced up at Hejun’s face. Even after sprinting with me in his arms, he wasn’t remotely winded. His uniquely handsome face, with his grey skin and piercing yellow eyes, didn’t carry a hint of tension or anger or revulsion. If anything, he looked worried as his gaze swept over the houses as he walked.
For me. About what we were doing.
Hejun was winning points without even trying. He promised safety without payment. He didn’t grab me at all while running with me. And as soon as we were inside Tolerance, he’d slowed to ask if I would prefer to walk or if he could carry me to Eitri’s front door.
Since being carried around like a princess was a novelty I enjoyed, I went with that option and let my head rest against his chest. His heart hammered steadily beneath my ear. I found the sound comforting.
The same as I found his strength. On any other man, it would have terrified me. But Hejun and the other fey never used their bulky muscles to hurt women or children. I knew that because I’d watched. For months.
The fey were kind and courteous to women and children. Always. Regardless of the circumstances. I’d watched one woman spit at a fey. He had smiled and nodded at her like it had been nothing.
Their calm in the face of anger and prejudice had proven to me that they were the real thing. Good men. That’s when I’d first had thoughts of trying again. That was when Hejun had first caught my eye. It had taken me weeks to build up my courage. Weeks and the medical team’s arrival.
“The house is ahead,” Hejun said.
I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t; I was too nervous. Despite the time I’d taken to observe, I was still struggling with my doubts. What if I was wrong? What if being with a fey wasn’t as great as everyone made it seem?
We were only halfway up the walk when Eitri opened the door. A fey walked out with a blushing woman, and a woman in a lab coat followed them out a step.
“Make sure to return first thing in the morning,” the woman said.
“We will,” the fey said, looking down at the woman. His expression reminded me of someone who just found out they won the lottery and didn’t have to pay taxes.
The lab coat woman’s gaze shifted to us as we passed the couple.
“Come in,” she said.
Hejun eased me to my feet and set a steadying hand on my arm as I shook out my legs. The woman started tapping on her data pad.
“May I have your first and last name?”
“May Woods,” I said, unzipping my jacket. Hejun helped me take it off. It was the first time in my life a man had ever done something like that for me, and boy, did I like it.
“Perfect,” the woman said. “I have you entered. This will be a fairly simple process from my standpoint that will require a few samples. I’ll explain as I take the first one to establish your baseline, all right?”
“Sure,” I said. I took a seat on the folding chair she had set up by the door and rolled up my sleeve.
“The premise is simple,” she said, wiping my inner elbow. “I’m taking blood samples at intervals to see how immunity progresses in couples having sexual relations.”
Hejun dropped my jacket and cleared his throat as he quickly picked it up again.
“Don’t worry,” the doctor said with a glance between him and me. “I won’t be present for those relations. I’ll send you on your way for that piece. I’m only interested in the blood samples and the notes regarding the type of relations and frequency. We’re trying to understand what is triggering the immunity.
“I’m looking for four test groups. The first group will have vaginal intercourse only once a day and return each twenty-four hours for bloodwork. The second group will have vaginal intercourse as many times a day as they are able and return each twelve hours for blood work. The third group will share reciprocated oral once a day with twenty-four-hour draws, and the fourth group will be for reciprocated oral as often as possible with twelve-hour draws.
