Free Skin of a Goddess (Goddess Ascension Book 1) by Victoria C. Johnson Page B

your distance.”
    “Were any scents zeroed in on?”
    “The lake is a well-visited area, and it appears some trysts had taken place there recently. That being said, there isn’t one scent that we can say belongs to a specific person related to the crime,” he says.
    There’s some confusion. “What about the body?”
    Harold clears his throat uncomfortably. “The body had been submerged in water long enough to wash away any trace of smell.”
    “Oh, God!” a wild dog wails.
    “Did she suffer?” another one asks.
    Harold once again looks simply miserable. I am a little proud of him when he doesn’t lie and says, “She died a very painful death and appears to have suffered before it. That’s, again, why I’d like to stress caution to all of you.”
    “To be fair, it was just a wild dog. They’re scrappy, but … nothing like taking on a wolf,” one of the wolves in front of us says.
    “What an ass,” Lyssa can’t help but say. “I love it. I hope they beat his face in.”
    “You fucker! How dare you say it’s her fault she died because she’s weak? She wasn’t! Jess could fight with the best of them and hold her own,” one of the wild dogs snarls angrily.
    “Knowing how to fight doesn’t make up for lack of strength,” the wolf-ass says.
    Another wild dog growls. “She was not weak!”
    “Right, well—” the wolf tries to continue.
    “You will cease your speaking!” Ana says, standing up with glowing gold eyes, her long, blood-red hair flying about her face in windless disarray. “Wolf, you speak lies. You know nothing of strength, whether it be inner or physical.”
    As she speaks, she stands and winds her way up to the wolf in question. Everyone is silent, watching Ana as they probably try to remember which daimon she is and if she’s inclined to rip his heart out and eat it. As it is, she looks freaky as hell with her glowing eyes and hair whipping about in a breeze only she can feel. We all have a certain look when we’re riled up.
    “I can feel it in you, the ruthlessness. You do not care whom you hurt, and you have no shame. Usually, I would not mind, but you use your considerable gifts to hurt. I do not condone hurting those who are already in pain for no good reason but simply for your own pleasure,” she says when she’s standing in front of him, her head level with his, even though he’s sitting.
    Ana trails a finger from the top of his cheek down, letting her sharp talon just flirt with the idea of piercing his skin. If he knew that they have deadly poison, he’d probably shake much less.
    Still caressing his face, she says, “You will tell everyone here you’re sorry for your outburst, rudeness, insensitivity, cruelty, and disrespect for the dead.”
    He says hoarsely, “I didn’t say anything wrong. They are weaker than the rest of us.”
    Ana looks at him intently, head tilted to the side in an alien manner. “Bad boy.” I see her mouth, then her eyes brighten even more as she lets out a fierce hiss, fangs flashing with menace. Suddenly, she’s a mere inch from his face, fingers holding him in place on either side of his head, eyes locked with his.
    “Jason Riley, you listen to me, and you listen closely. You will feel shame for what you have done to the people here and how you have hurt them. Jason, you will feel shame for hurting others just for the pleasure of hurting those you see as weaker than you. Shame for being disrespectful to the memory of the dead. Lastly, you will feel shame for making me get out of my seat and make you my bitch,” Ana says to him in a lulling voice before blinking and losing eye contact.
    When she removes her hands from his face, we all see him slump in his chair, shoulders shaking, and then we know it was only her hands holding him up in the first place. Ana nods cordially to Harold as she makes her way to her seat, saying to the wild dogs, “I’m sorry for your loss.”
    “Thank you for clearing that up,” Harold says, as if