Bel’s Bewildering Assistant (Underworld Mates #2)

Chapter One

Bel

Scowling at his phone, Bel was over this entire venture. How he’d gotten roped into this absolutely ridiculous task was beyond him. Okay, that wasn’t true. Cary had turned those big, pleading green eyes on him and Bel was a sucker to do the sweet boy’s bidding.

Lucifer’s two mates knew just how to drag Bel and everyone in their orbit into making their every wish and need come true.

Add in the demon Asmos and his constant whining and Bel knew it was easier to give in.

Gage was a little better as he was still suspicious of anyone who was too close to Lucifer or Cary.

Cary was surrounded by bad influences, in Bel’s opinion.

“Do I have to?” Bel whined into the phone when his video call was answered. He’d already made three other stops. This last text message was really pushing things.

“Please!” Cary drew the one word out into at least three syllables.

“Yes please!” Asmos pressed his cheek against Cary’s where they were both in view.

“You have magic!” Bel reminded the other demon. “And Cary’s learned enough by now that I shouldn’t be popping up all around the human realm like this.”

“It’s not the same,” Cary claimed for the tenth time.

“It is too,” Bel argued. “You can’t even tell the difference.”

“No, no,” Asmos said, shaking his head. “I thought the same thing. Cary had Luci pick some up the last time he was in the human realm. There is something special about that place.”

Lifting his head, Bel scowled at the building in front of him. “It’s loud. And crowded. And…there are children. Human children. What if they…touch me?”

“You’ll be fine.” Asmos had no sympathy in his tone. “Just frown at all the little humans. They’ll run from you, screaming.”

“Why don’t you come get it?” Bel asked. He was not going inside. No. He was putting his foot down.

“But Daddy and Gage went to visit the pack,” Cary said. “Asmos is keeping me company.”

And that was why Bel had even stopped by the house in the first place.

He’d found out that Cary hadn’t been feeling good and just wanted to check on the little human.

If Axel hadn’t called Luci about a potential threat against his paranormal family, Lucifer would never have left his human mate behind. Bel sighed.

“Yes!” Cary hissed. “Thank you, Bel! You’re the best ever.”

“Fine. One movie theater popcorn with extra butter,” Bel said.

“A large one,” Cary reminded him.

“And two cherry Slurpees,” Asmos added.

“Right.” As he’d collected everything that had been requested, Bel had magically sent the items back to the house.

He just needed to complete this one last task.

Then he was going back to his office and hiding for at least a week.

Maybe longer if one of those human children actually touched him.

He shuddered. Why were human children’s hands always sticky?

“I’m going in now. Don’t need anything else.

I’m turning off my phone.” It was an empty threat.

“Thank you!” Cary squealed.

“I’m going to start the movie,” Asmos said.

He didn’t want to know. He didn’t… “What are you watching?”

Asmos blinked at him with a duh expression.

“Of course.” There was only one movie franchise that Asmos would ever pick.

For a demon older than most paranormal creatures in existence, there were moments it was easy to forget.

A lot of their kind had given in to their dark natures.

Centuries of being trapped in hell took its toll.

Although the stories that humans believed about their kind couldn’t be further from the truth, they were still demonic.

Had the roles that they’d been tasked with.

And yet Asmos had kept an innocence about himself.

“Have fun,” Bel said sincerely. “And don’t call me!

” He had to add in that last part just to ensure he didn’t get a summons to a midnight ice-cream party.

Yes, that had happened a week ago. And yes, Bel had answered the summoning and ended up eating ice cream in front of a fire with Lucifer, Cary, Gage, and Asmos.

He too easily gave in. Every time. Disconnecting the call, Bel faced the large building in front of him again.

With magic prevalent in their lives, it really was silly that Bel was popping around the human realm.

A trip to a bakery that had the best cinnamon rolls ever.

Or so Asmos had claimed. Then Cary had declared that only the pizza from his and Gage’s hometown would do.

Next was some kind of iced coffee that Asmos swore was the best he’d ever tasted when he’d been visiting the human realm a few years ago.

Bel had just sent the coffee drinks when the final text had come in. For movie theater popcorn and Slurpees.

Lucifer was going to owe Bel for this.

Although Bel had to wonder just how sick Cary truly was if he was asking for all this junk.

That was not his business. Lucifer was quite aware that no one could say no to Cary, especially when he batted those long lashes.

Okay. In and out. Bel could do this.

With determined steps, Bel stomped to the entrance. He’d almost reached one of the doors when it opened and a gaggle of children, no older than that, teenagers was Bel’s guess, nearly walked into him.

They stopped and froze before one at a time moving to the side to let him pass.

Bel’s human glamour wasn’t that scary. He was still tall by human standards and with the straight black hair and dark eyes, he didn’t invite interactions.

Mostly it was the aura that came through.

He was a powerful demon and no matter how much magic Bel had at his disposal, he couldn’t hide his true self.

Humans didn’t know why they had the desire to get away from him.

Bel was just pleased they felt that way.

Entering what humans called an Entertainment Center, Bel winced. It was just so loud.

There were signs for movies that were currently playing and coming soon. Next to those signs there were more for the bowling alley, laser tag, and arcade games.

Small humans ran in front of him with harried and frustrated adults yelling or following behind.

It was pure chaos.

As a demon, Bel appreciated chaos. Controlled chaos like he could afflict on the world. This…this was different. Weird. Something that Bel didn’t truly understand.

The scents in the place were also strange. Too strong. Burnt food, body odor, bathrooms, and more. It was overpowering and nearly had Bel turning tail and running away.

That just meant he needed to hurry and get out of there. Bel did not appreciate human and food odors. They were even worse mixed together.

Using a little magic, Bel made it so he couldn’t smell anything at all. There. That was better. Striding forward, Bel followed the signs toward the concession stand. Luckily Bel had timed his visit just right. There were only a few couples in front of him.

He waited patiently until he was waved forward by a small human male.

The young man hadn’t been looking at him. Looking down at the register as he waved Bel forward. Bel placed his palms on the counter as he checked the menu board quickly before glancing at the human.

“How may I help you?” The human looked up and his eyes widened.

“Large popcorn. Extra butter. Please add extra extra butter. I will pay for it if I have to. It’s important.”

The human male made a weird sound.

Huh, Bel wondered what was wrong with him.

He was an attractive human. Short, but most humans were compared to Bel in this form.

He’d be downright tiny in Bel’s other. His brown hair was highlighted with thick blond strands styled to a point on top and shaved on the sides.

He blinked pretty blue eyes slowly. The human had the longest lashes Bel had ever seen on a male.

Attractive. Not that Bel made it a habit of checking out humans.

Too delicate for Bel’s taste. Still, Bel could appreciate an attractive person.

“Are you okay?” Bel asked. The human was just staring at him.

Bel didn’t think he was that out of place.

And no human should be that fixated on him unless Bel’s horns, tail, or wings were visible.

And Bel was one hundred percent certain the humans around him would be running and screaming if Bel’s glamour failed.

The human jerked back immediately, avoiding looking at Bel. “Sorry. Large popcorn heavy butter.”

“Very heavy,” Bel requested. He wouldn’t put it past Cary and Asmos to call him back if they didn’t get exactly what they wanted.

“Anything else?”

“Two large cherry Slurpees,” Bel added. “Please.” Manners. Humans were often hostile when they felt slighted. “And thank you.”

The human was still avoiding looking at him. “That will be nineteen-seventeen.”

Bel mentally shrugged. He’d been polite but the human was obviously bothered by him. That was fine. It wasn’t like he’d ever see the male again. He just needed to grab Cary and Asmos’s junk food and he could finally go home.

He pulled out the wallet that held the card to use in the human realm.

Tapping the card against the machine, the payment went through.

Thank Satan that the master of punishment’s mate, Adam, had schooled them in how to interact in the human realm better.

This was much easier than taking what he wanted and having to erase human minds.

“Thanks.” The human turned and started to complete Bel’s order.

Since he had nothing better to do, Bel watched the male.

If given the choice, Bel would spend all his time in his home realm.

Humans confused him. Shifters and the paranormal communities had always lived in this realm side by side with humans and yet humans had not figured it out.

That just didn’t make sense to Bel. How did they not suspect something?