Chapter Ten
Atlas
They used every second of that hour that Atlas had made Adam promise to give him.
“Someone’s here,” Bel told him as he waved his hand to dress them both.
Atlas grinned down at the jeans and T-shirt that had materialized. Even the thick black boots that were on his feet. Yep! Magic was awesome.
“Let them in,” Atlas responded.
“Already did. They’re in the office.” Bel stopped to kiss Atlas’s lips before striding toward the door.
“How many?” Atlas asked, a little afraid of the answer.
“Lucifer and his mates, Adam and Mal, with a few of his minions, Ari, Atom, Seb, Ash, Dean, Logan, and Noah.” He hummed. “And Asmos, Mammon, and Beelz.”
Atlas swallowed hard. That was a lot of names and some that Atlas didn’t recognize. Plus minions? How many minions were they talking about exactly? It seemed Adam collected minions like Bel collected everything else. Maybe they were related. He didn’t have time to ask.
Bel turned to offer Atlas his hand. “Coming?”
“I don’t think so,” Atlas responded and shook his head. “I changed my mind. Send them away.”
“Mate.” Bel returned to his side. “It will be fine.”
“Fine? How is it going to be fine? That’s a lot of people!” Too many. He shouldn’t have trusted Adam. Lesson learned.
“Friends,” Bel told him. “They are our friends and want to congratulate us.”
“Yeah.” Atlas swiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. Friends. Both of theirs.
“Just let me know if it gets too much,” Bel told him. “Several of them are shifters. I’m not sure what Adam was thinking, inviting them.”
“He was already with them and asked me if it would be okay,” Atlas told him. “I said yes. I do want to meet them. Maybe it would be easier in smaller groups.”
“Are you sure? It’s already been kind of a big day.”
That was an understatement if Atlas had ever heard one. “Just for a little bit. If it gets too much, Adam promised to have them shift or they can go.”
“Let’s go meet all your new friends and get our congratulations.”
“Fine.” Atlas captured Bel’s hand and the wall opened. They passed through the wall and into pure chaos.
The office had been transformed into a party room.
Music blared from somewhere. A long table was loaded down with food and a fruit punch bowl.
People were everywhere and shifters. A large lion paced in front of the fire with two cats on his back.
Adam was dancing in the middle of the room with his mate.
Cary sat on Lucifer’s lap as they watched from a chair in the corner.
It was the demons that caught Atlas’s attention first.
Amazed by the colors, body styles, and differences, Atlas knew he was staring. Asmos and Mammon Atlas knew. The others—and there had to be at least eight unknown demons—were unexpected. Wow. Just wow.
“They’re here!” Adam announced loudly and the music stopped.
All attention turned toward them. With the hand not gripping Bel’s tightly, he gave a small finger wave.
“Congratulations!” everyone yelled.
Bel chuckled. The smile on his face was so big and proud that Atlas couldn’t resist kissing his mouth. He pulled Bel down to plant a kiss on his lips, to the crowd’s absolute delight.
Atlas rolled his eyes before turning toward Adam. “This is a small party?” he accused.
“Yep!” Adam bounced all the way over. “I have a big family! They all wanted to be here but Mal wouldn’t let me invite them all. The big meanie!”
“You promised a small party,” Mal said, joining them. “Someone had to make you behave.”
Adam giggled. “Yes, Daddy!”
That was when Atlas realized that something was different. Strange. He grabbed Adam and shook him.
“Woah!” Adam said with wide eyes.
“Atlas?” Bel questioned.
“Everything okay?” Lucifer appeared beside them.
“Shh,” Atlas hissed as he pulled Adam closer.
“What’s happening?” Adam whispered to him. Their faces were only an inch apart.
Atlas blinked. Then he forced his eyes closed and counted to ten before opening them again.
Huh, it was still there.
Adam…Adam glowed.
“What’s wrong with you?” Atlas asked him.
Adam’s smile wavered. “Uh, pretty sure I’m the same awesome guy as always. You’re the one acting strange.”Atlas shook his head. “You’re glowing.”
“Glowing?” Adam asked. “What does that mean?”
He didn’t even know. Instead of the flickers that Atlas normally saw, there was a green shimmer around Adam. “You…I…”
“What do you see, Atlas?” The question came from Lucifer. His voice calm and quiet.
Atlas took a deep breath. “Adam’s not flickering,” Atlas told him. “At all. Instead, there’s a green shimmer that kind of makes him glow.”
“His aura,” Mal stated. “Are you seeing his aura?”
Atlas had no clue.
“No flickers at all?” Bel questioned.
“None.” Atlas didn’t understand what was happening.
“Hold on,” Lucifer suggested. “Gage, can you shift and come over here please.”
Oh! Yeah, that was smart. Gage was a shifter. If something was happening with Atlas’s flickers, they needed another shifter.
“What’s going on?” Gage’s voice was soft.
Atlas released Adam and turned to look at Gage. Holy shit! Gold. Gage had a gold hue around him that shimmered.
Bel stepped up behind Atlas, pulling him back against Bel’s wide chest. Having his mate’s hands on him allowed Atlas to catch his breath. To think. To analyze what was happening.
“What do you see?” Lucifer asked.
“Gold,” Atlas said. “Very gold, beautiful.”
“His aura,” Lucifer said. “You’re seeing his aura.”
“Why?” Atlas asked. What had changed? He’d been seeing flickers his entire life.
“May I?” Lucifer stepped in front of him.
Atlas stiffened and Bel’s arms circled his waist. “May you what?”
“I would like to use my magic to see what changed,” Lucifer responded.
“Okay.” Atlas licked his lips nervously. The last time Lucifer had done this, Atlas found out that he was a quarter demon.
“It will be fine. Perfectly safe,” Lucifer assured him. He gently cupped Atlas’s face.
“I know.” Atlas wasn’t worried about Lucifer hurting him. The king of hell was the gentlest person that Atlas had ever met except for his mate. Atlas was terrified of what new change was happening now.
He watched as Lucifer closed his eyes.
Warmth flooded him. Peace.
Slowly, Lucifer started to smile. He opened his eyes and released Atlas’s cheeks.
“What?” Atlas asked. “What’s happening?”
“Did you take some of Bel’s blood in when you mated and bit him?” Lucifer asked.
“Uh, yeah.” Had he done it wrong?
“You did?” Bel asked, tightening his arms.
“Did I do it wrong?” Atlas’s voice rose with his panic. “Are we not mated?”
“Shh, calm,” Lucifer soothed. “You are mated. Very mated. I just noticed Bel’s blood flowing inside you now.”
“You took my blood?” Bel asked again.
Atlas shrugged. “I told the magic I wanted to mate you the same way that you mated me. That we would be equal in every way.”
Lucifer nodded. “I think, I believe, that by taking in more demon blood, that your flickers settled and now you can see auras instead of the flickers.”
“Oh!” Atlas hadn’t thought about that. “Will they come back?”
“That I don’t know. If they do, then you can always take more of Bel’s blood to see the auras again,” Lucifer told him.
Bel turned Atlas to face him. “This is a good thing, don’t you think? You didn’t want to be vulnerable to shifters by not being able to identify them. If you can see auras, then you will still be able to protect yourself.”
“And you,” Atlas told him. “I can protect you too.”
“To protect me too,” Bel agreed.
“But now I’m a bloodsucker?” Atlas asked.
Adam cleared his throat. “Just reminding you that I do have a vampire in my family.”
That was right. Atlas nodded. Maybe this was the best-case scenario. “Okay.” And he had promised Bel to make sure that Bel’s mark never went away. If he needed a little blood, then that mark would be guaranteed to never go away.
“Okay,” Bel said.
“Awesome-sauce!” Adam clapped his hands. “Now come meet everyone! And we’ll figure out a time to take you to meet the rest of the family now that you don’t have to worry about the flickers.”
Don’t have to worry about the flickers. Atlas was still reeling from that. Seeing auras was such a soothing change. No pain. The auras that surrounded his new friends were pretty.
“Introduce me and I want some food,” Atlas ordered.
A pretty young man dressed in jeans and a fitted pink T-shirt stepped in front of him. He had gorgeous blond hair and a sweet smile. “There are cupcakes.” He bounced a little as he spoke. “My mate made them and they’re tasty and so pretty.”
“You’re pretty,” Atlas blurted out. Oops! But seriously this man had the most gorgeous mane of hair that Atlas had ever seen.
The pretty man laughed. “Thank you! I’m Logan, by the way. It’s so nice to meet you. And I’m proud to represent my family into welcoming you into our family.”
Family, huh?
“And this is my mate, Dean, and our familiar, Noah.” Logan waved his hand behind him.
Wow. He was really going to like this guy. Atlas grinned. Let the fun begin.
* * * * *
Bel
“Harder!” Bel shouted. “Please, mate! Please.”
Gripping Bel’s hips firmer, Atlas grunted as he hammered at Bel’s prostate until Bel was screaming and his come painted the shower wall in front of him.
“Fuck!” Atlas yelled. Slowing his frantic thrusts before heat filled Bel’s insides.
With his palms flat against the slick shower wall, Bel pressed his forehead against the hot tiles.
Atlas kissed up Bel’s spine, avoiding his wings, and gently pulled out.
Bel groaned. Even that small movement made Bel’s aching cock twitch. For the past week, Bel couldn’t seem to get enough of his mate’s cock. He’d turned into the neediest bottom. Wanted Atlas to fuck him at least four times a day. It was getting ridiculous.
“Fuck!” Atlas whispered. “I love watching my come leak from your ass.”
Bel pushed his ass back, swallowing Atlas’s fingers into his deep hole.
Atlas gave a few quick plunges of his fingers. “Need more, mate?”
“No,” Bel admitted. He was famished. And his hole ached.