Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
PAISLEY
He loves me!
Laithog .
Loves .
Me .
It took all of my mental capabilities to focus on the conversation floating back and forth between Laithog and my parents during lunch. Which went far better than I expected it to. For a creature that’s been asleep for hundreds, if not thousands of years, he adapts exceptionally well. There were only one or two faux pas that I had to quickly cover, but other than that I consider lunch to be a resounding success.
Standing on the sidewalk, I wave to my parents as they back out of the parking lot in their silver Ford Explorer to head back home. Turning to face Laithog , I look up and relay my mental musings to him, “ That went much better than I expected it to. You must have been listening intently to me for the last six months to know so much about this modern world you awoke to.”
Chuckling , he wraps his tail around my waist and pulls me to him. “ I am from a time when it was adapt or die. That is no different than what I am doing now. If I don’t blend in, I call attention to myself. If I die, you die, and I will not put you in danger because of my actions,” he says solemnly.
His words are low, just in case there’s anyone close enough to hear our private conversation. Squeezing me one more time, we start to head to my pick-up when a soft breeze gust past us. Laithog stiffens and emits a sound I haven’t heard before. It’s a snarling growl so low it vibrates my entire body. Jerking me behind him, he whirls to face the direction we just came from.
“ Demon .”
I freeze at his word. What the fuck does he mean “demon?!”
Peeking out from behind his back, what I see causes terror to slide down my spine. It’s Bradley … but Laithog said there was a demon.
The implication makes me freeze in place.
“ Well , well. I guess the cat is out of the bag now. Naughty , Garagyre , telling my future mate about my true nature before I could.” He takes a step closer, ignoring Laithog’s warning snarl, and just what the fuck does he mean ‘future mate,’ I would rather die than marry Bradley !
“ Paisley , you are looking rather well. Interfering Garagyre figured out how to heal you, did he? It’s of no matter; I’m sure a week of suffering taught you a valuable lesson, but maybe not. Since instead of coming to heel, like you should have, you went and found the only Garagyre male left on this plane. Hmm . And not just any Garagyre , if my nose is telling me the truth… Hello , Laithog . Tell me, how is Ilayahan doing…oh wait, that’s right. I killed her, didn’t I ?” he chortles with sadistic glee.
I can feel the rage simmering in Laithog as well as determination. At Brad’s last words, however, disbelief and astonishment filter to me through our bond.
That …cannot be true.
Laithog told me that he killed Rulzik in a battle long ago…
Bradley pauses, his nose twitching as if he smells something that catches him by surprise. I watch as he takes another deep breath and flinch at his exhaled rage filled shriek. At his apparent loss of control, I’m given a brief glimpse of what’s hiding beneath Bradley’s handsome exterior.
It’s horrifying… and colossal.
Pitch black skin.
Blood -red eyes.
Massive horns.
Sharp teeth.
Curiously , smoke immediately starts rising from the nonhuman image, and I recall what Laithog said about demons being bound to the darkness.
So , how is he out in the sun?
Just as suddenly as the ghastly image appears, Bradley regains a modicum of control, and he hides the visage once again behind his handsome countenance. “ You mated her! How dare you! It’s taken me centuries to find a soul as pure as hers, one so divine that it would be nirvana to corrupt, and contaminate it with my darkness until I created the perfect mate to replace the one you took from me!!” Bradley grinds out between clinched teeth, no that isn’t right. This is Rulzik disguised as a human, and he’s seething with rage at the perceived slight that Laithog took what was ‘his.’
“ Your mate was a blight upon this planet as well as all the races of Light , she earned her ending…and more. Furthermore , Rulzik , you are supposed to be dead as well. Banished back to the pit of hell whence you came. You must not care for your mate that much, since you chose not to join her there for all eternity,” Laithog taunts, an echo of pain reverberating through our bond at the reminder of what he, too, lost.
Rulzik …
Why does that sound familiar? Then it hits me. This is the demon that killed Ilayahan ! Dread pools in my belly as the reality of my situation becomes apparent. I’ve garnered the attention of something far worse than a narcissistic man. A demon wants to possess and corrupt me. The only thing standing between me and that horrible fate is my secondhand Garagyre .
The male that chose me to fill the void in his soul after the demon before us killed his mate of fate.