Ever Marked (Mystics of Mercy Ridge #1)

12. Ledger

Chapter 12

Ledger

M y hand flies up on instinct to wrap around a wrist, waking up from a dead sleep to see the point of a knife hovering a few millimeters above my right eye. The intruder huffs. “Decent reflexes, I suppose.”

An animalistic snarl rips from my throat. “You must have a death wish. What the fuck are you doing in my house?”

Cloaked in black, he blends into the shadows of the room like a wraith, his hand slipping through my grip and leaving me suddenly clutching thin air. “You made my girl cry. You’re lucky I have a use for you, or I would have slit your throat in your sleep.”

Realization dawns on me as I throw the blanket off and sit on the edge of the bed, every muscle coiled tight and prepared to shift. “You’re the rogue.”

Bright blue eyes stare back at me in the darkness, a slow smirk pulling at the gruesome scars on his cheek. “I’ve been called worse.” Casually, he tucks the knife away and crosses his arms, leaning against the wall. “We need to talk.”

Slowly, I get to my feet. “About Ever.” No point mincing words and feigning civility; he’s already stabbed me once for going near her. He wouldn’t come here in the middle of the night to take another swing at me unless it was to warn me off.

“Obviously. She’s the only thing worth talking about,” he says earnestly, and I hate that it makes me respect the guy a little bit more. At least he has his priorities straight and appreciates how lucky he is to have her by his side.

“I’m not backing off just because you're a jealous bastard. Ever’s mine.” I flash him my mate mark as proof, ignoring the murder his narrowed gaze promises. “But I know she’s yours, too. If you need to have this out between us so you can get over yourself and accept that having an ally to protect her better is a good thing , then fine. Hit me.”

He tilts his head back and groans dramatically. “Way to suck all the fun out of it.” Sighing, he meets my gaze. “I came to offer a truce.” Clearly, the word tastes bitter on his tongue, but he forges on, introducing himself and bringing me up to speed on Ever’s meltdown and the revelations it brought to light. My gut twists with every additional word out of his mouth until dread is coiled so tightly in my stomach, I drop back onto my ass on the edge of the bed, hanging my head.

“I thought she just didn’t realize this was a sanctuary city, or was used to keeping her abilities secret because she couldn’t tell the difference between mysts and humans,” I whisper, scouring his face for any signs of a lie. “But she doesn’t even know what she is?”

Arson shakes his head. “I haven’t noticed her using any powers either, though she can sense whenever I’m around despite being in the shadow realm.”

Well, shit. I didn’t even catch his scent until he partially revealed himself at lunch. If it wasn’t for him fucking with me, and me already knowing he existed, I wouldn’t have known he was there.

“What kind of myst has abilities like that? She’s stunning, I wouldn’t be surprised if she had some fae blood. Or siren, maybe?”

“Of course our mate’s gorgeous, that’s the problem!” Arson throws his hands up with a scoff, wearing a groove in the floor from all his pacing. “She’s pretty, and perfect, and every bastard in this damn town is going to realize it. She’s never seen magic before, so even a damn troll could impress her. Her standards are ‘don’t cheat on me.’ Can you believe that shit? It’s that fucking low, man, yet she was single .”

Agitated, he runs a hand through his messy dark hair. “Nobody else has put me in the hospital before. She’s amazing, and anyone that can’t appreciate her knocking them out doesn’t deserve to be one of her mates.” He snaps his fingers, whirling around to point at me with a manic grin. “That’s it! We’ll have her take a swing at your head with a bat, and if you wake up and are proud of her, you can date her. If you’re mad, I’ll slit your throat. It’s the perfect way to weed out potential mates.”

No wonder shadow demons are on the outskirts of supernatural society; they’re unhinged.

“You’re looking a little… on edge. When’s the last time you slept?”

He blinks at me, utterly confused. “I just woke up from a nap, why?”

Ooooookay then. So this is just his personality. That’ll be fun to live with and not exhausting at all.

“I’m not a potential mate, I’m her fated mate.”

He snorts derisively. “That doesn’t entitle you to shit. Ever decides who she lets into her inner circle. Even if you’re lucky enough to make the cut now, you’re never truly safe. Ten years down the road, you break her heart? I’ll mount your head above the fireplace as a warning to the rest and take her shopping for a replacement. You stop putting in the effort, you don’t deserve to stand by her side.”

I really want to hate the psychotic demon, but he’s growing on me. How can I hate someone that loves my mate so fiercely, he’d kill anyone that didn’t treat her the way she deserves?

“Noted. So we give her a crash course on mystics and see if we can figure out what she is,” I decide, nodding to myself as I mentally pick out several books I’ll swap her stack out with at work. “For now, how about I watch over her while you go feast on some poor bastard’s soul, or whatever the hell demon’s eat?

He flips me off, but the corner of his mouth twitching ruins the effect. “Take care of my girl, mutt. If she has so much as a scratch on her when I get back, I’ll take great pleasure in skinning you alive. Give me something new to add to my collection.” From his pocket, he pulls out a necklace made of fangs and bones, spinning it around his finger and whistling as he takes a step back, disappearing into thin air as a reminder of how easily he could slit my throat if he truly wanted to.

A shiver of disgust rolls down my spine. “Fucking demons,” I mutter with a shake of my head, not bothering to get dressed as I head outside. They’d just get destroyed during my shift anyway, and after this conversation?

No way in hell my wolf will quiet down until Ever’s place is drowning in my scent.