9. Huntyr
Chapter 9
Huntyr
F or the dark, colorless castle that Asmodeus lived in, he knew how to make a party look grand. There was still a massive lack of color, but large, pointed black pieces of art lined the perimeter of the ballroom, creating a terrifying yet beautiful wall around the crowd.
“There you are,” Jessiah called, stepping forward out of the crowd. “I was starting to think you two bolted.”
Wolf’s bicep tensed under my grasp. “And miss a great party?”
Jessiah and him both smiled, but I was starting to pick up on the slight differences in their behavior when they were in public, as if they spent their entire lives creating a second personality that would secure their survival in front of their father.
My stomach tightened, lurching. Nerves, I told myself, not the constant hunger I had been fighting on and off.
Jessiah turned to me and held out his hand. I slid my palm into his but was surprised when he pulled my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles gently. “Happy birthday, Huntyr,” he whispered through thick lashes.
I could have sworn I heard Wolf growl, but Jessiah only laughed at my blush and dropped my hand. Charming bastard.
“Father is waiting for you both,” he warned. He dropped his voice so only the two of us could hear as he added, “And he’s been drinking plenty. Don’t let her out of your sight.”
Wolf nodded, guiding me further into the room. Twinkling lights lit up the ceiling at least two floors above us, creating a subtle glow of light among the crowd. I glanced around, taking in the slight glittering of everyone’s marvelous attire.
It was a show indeed.
“Who are all these people?” I whispered to Wolf.
“Mostly angels, some fae. These are the people who support my father, either because he gives them money, or because he lets them continue their crimes and bad behaviors here in The Golden City. You can’t trust anyone here, Huntyr, not a single person.”
“You included?”
He chuckled lightly but bent over and whispered against my ear, “Careful, Huntress.”
The crowd separated as we parted, but not because of me. Nobody even bothered looking at me. Everyone’s eyes were glued on Wolf as we passed. Even without his wings, he was a force. A predator. A leader.
And these people envied him. I could see it in their eyes—the greed, the hunger for power.
It was no wonder they were ready to do whatever Asmodeus ordered.
We waltzed slowly through the crowd, past a group of musicians who filled the room with a pleasant melody.
Did these people all know Asmodeus was the evil bastard he was? Or were they living their lives in ignorance, pretending everything was okay? Pretending darkness wasn’t swarming the entire world because of him?
That made me even more nauseous than the thought of swallowing mouthfuls of blood.
“Remember what we talked about,” Wolf whispered. I shivered as his breath hit my cheek. “You’re playing their game now. You can’t win if you don't play by their rules.”
“How could I forget? It’s my damn life on the line.”
I felt him stifle one of his arrogant laughs as we made our way to the front of the crowd. A massive wooden table was set up, spanning nearly the entire length of the ballroom. Black glasses of wine and black and gold plates of food lined the entire thing. It was grand; I couldn’t believe that these luxuries even existed.
Was this what the entire city looked like before Asmodeus corrupted it all?
“Ah, there you are.” Asmodeus pulled himself away from a female angel and walked over to us. Wolf rolled his shoulders back and lifted his chin. I did the same but held on tighter to his bicep. “Enjoying your party so far?”
I forced myself to meet his cold, uneasy gaze. “It is indescribable.” My smile took all the energy I had left.
“It is, isn’t it?” When he smiled, his teeth reflected the red wine he had clearly been drinking. I held onto Wolf even tighter to stop myself from backing away. “Sit, sit. Now that you are here, we will begin the feast!”
He turned to the crowd of people filling the ballroom. “Everyone sit!” Spit flew from his mouth along with the words. “Our guest of honor is here! The party may finally begin!”
Asmodeus turned and ushered us to the head of the table. We walked around to the backside, Wolf pulled out the chair beside Jessiah. “For you, Huntress,” he whispered. I blushed at his sultry voice but nodded, taking the seat. At least it was Jessiah sitting next to me and not a total stranger.
Wolf took the seat to my right, putting a barrier between me and the head of the table where Asmodeus sat. Luseyar and another angel I had seen before sat across from us, not even bothering to glance in our direction.
I sat in silence as the rest of the guests funneled to the massive table. I couldn’t have seen them all if I tried, the table far too grand to accommodate actual conversation.
“Attention everyone!” Asmodeus pushed himself to his feet as everyone else sat. “I would like to thank everyone for coming to celebrate our special guests. You see, Huntyr is not simply a fae who survived Moira.”
Starting with a big speech about me. Great. Both brothers shifted uncomfortably beside me.
“No, Huntyr here is someone special.” His snake eyes landed on me as the room of people fell eerily silent. “Huntyr is only half-fae. Isn’t that right? Half fae and half something else. Half something powerful.”
This could not be happening. I rubbed my palms on my thighs and tried to stay calm. Why would he announce this here? Why now? I still had no strengthened powers, nothing to prove I really was the blood queen.
“Hyntyraina Fullmall Gawerula, Queen of Scarlata Empire.”
Silence fell.
Then, the room erupted in chaos. Men further down the table began shouting, asking Asmodeus if it was really true and what I was doing here.
“Scarlata has fallen!” someone yelled. “What are you going to do with her? Kill the blood queen! Kill the blood queen!”
A wave of nausea hit me again, and I feared this time, it had nothing to do with my hunger pains.
“Enough!” Asmodeus said. “There is no need to kill the blood queen! Not when she is here in our kingdom, ready to give us her power.”
Another wave of men shouting questions. I tried to tune it all out, tried to focus on my breathing, on picking up the chalice of wine in front of me and taking one small sip.
My hand shook. I nearly dropped the glass.
Wolf’s hand slipped over to my knee, squeezing gently and not moving.
“How do I plan on securing this power?” Asmodeus continued with his speech, pausing to take more drinks of his wine and nearly falling over as he stood. “Well, that part is easy. I am not blind. I know she is a risk to us on her own, which is why I plan on changing that. Huntyraina here will be marrying one of my sons, and our bloodlines will forever be merged as one!”
What. The. Fuck.
I replayed the words in my head over and over again, making sure I hadn’t missed something. Surely, I heard him wrong. Surely, he wasn’t being serious.
“Right, boys?” Asmodeus asked. Wine sloshed over the edge of his cup and splattered on the table.
I turned my attention to Wolf, then to Jessiah. They both sat there with guilt dripping from their features.
“You knew about this?” I hissed to Wolf. “You knew he was going to force me to marry?”
Wolf tried to reach for my hand, but I pulled away. “Don’t touch me,” I snapped. “Tell me the fucking truth for once, Wolf. How long have you known?”
He couldn't meet my gaze. “Not long.”
This was unbelievable. All of that before about helping me? About playing the game? All of that was so he could marry me for himself, take all the power I had to offer, and deliver it straight to his father.
Betraying me once a-fucking-gain.
I pushed myself up from the table, desperately trying to put space from myself and, well, everyone in this damn castle. I scrambled away from the tightly packed dining table but tripped over the long dress, crashing down on my hands and knees. Asmodeus laughed. Wolf and Jessiah both moved in an instant, coming to either side of me and lifting me by the elbows. “Leave me alone!” I hissed.
Laughter only increased, not just from Asmodeus, but from everyone in the ballroom. Taunting me. Enjoying the fucking mess that was my life.
Asmodeus tsked behind me. “You hadn’t told the blood queen of her future wedding day?” he said through a fit of laughter. “Well, well, let me be the first to congratulate our beautiful blood bride.”
He walked over to me, both brothers still flanking my sides. The amused smile faded from his lips as he announced, “You will marry one of my sons. I care not which you choose, but come the equinox, you will marry. My family will rule the blood kingdom, and I will rebuild Scarlata to be my kingdom of loyal, deadly warriors.”
I grimaced at the words. Play the game by their rules, Wolf had said. Meanwhile, he knew all about this. He knew, and he didn’t even think to warn me.
Heat flushed my cheeks—humiliation, hatred, all of it. I couldn’t control it anymore, couldn’t hold back the wave of brutal demise that fueled every single one of my senses.
Nausea threatened me. I had been suppressing my hunger for some time now, but all this emotion, all this heat in my body, only added to it. I sucked in a hiccupped breath, smoothing down my now-wrinkled dress. I needed…I needed…
“Come with me,” Wolf whispered.
“Like hells! I’m not going anywhere with you.” I heaved another breath.
“I’ll take her.” Jessiah stepped in, holding his hand out.
I slid my hand into his. He was part of this too, but at least he wasn’t Wolf. At least he hadn’t been lying directly to my face. Again.
“Over my dead fucking body,” Wolf growled, his eyes lighting up. He wrapped an arm around my bicep and yanked me away from his brother before I could protest.
Then, we were moving, though I could only comprehend some of what was happening as Wolf dragged me through the room now filled with chants and laughter and taunting.
How could this be happening? And why did I care so much?
A sob crashed through my body as Wolf pushed open the doors to the hallway. He dragged me a few more steps, my feet barely hitting the ground as he navigated us to a more private area of the castle, an area where I could no longer hear the sick angels and fae in the other room.
Tears were already falling down my cheeks by the time Wolf stopped walking and released me. “Let me explain, Huntress.”
“Explain?” I hiccupped another pathetic breath. “Explain what, exactly? How you’ve been promising me an escape when, this whole time, you knew I would have to marry one of you?”
He came closer, reaching out almost as if he were about to touch me. I flinched away, watching the hurt slide over his eyes. “It’s not like that, and you know it. He just recently told us his plans to marry you off. I swear to you, I’ve only known for a few days.”
“I should have been the first fucking person to know!” I was crying hysterically now, unable to keep everything suppressed. I pressed myself against the wall, running my hands across my wet face and through my mess of hair. “I can’t do this. I can’t fucking do this.”
“You can. You can because you have to, do you understand me? You have to do this.”
“I don’t want to talk to you right now. I don’t even want to look at you.”
“I swear to you, I am going to get us out of this.”
“What do you think he’ll do once we are wed?” I blinked through the tears to glare at him. He stood with his hands on his hips now, his chest rising and falling with each rapid breath. “What do you think his plan is once that is done? He’s going to control me for the rest of my life, Wolf. And you and Jessiah are helping him!”
He lowered his voice as he said, “We are not helping him.”
“But you’d gladly marry me to please him? You’ll gladly follow his orders when it suits you, is that right?”
“Is that so fucking terrible, Huntyr?” he pushed. “Of everything that has happened to you, of everything you’ve been through, that is what disgusts you the most? Is it so bad that you’d have to marry me to survive? Because that’s what it’s between, Huntyr. It’s marrying me or death. But I can see how much that decision makes you sick.”
“I will never marry you. You—” My throat stung through shaking breaths. “You have betrayed me again and again and again. Every time I think I can trust you, you—” I couldn’t even finish the words. My tears took over, a mixture of crying and hysterics. “If I must marry, I choose him.”
Electricity buzzed around us, and I became very aware of my own heart beating, of the sound of my broken breaths filling the air.
Wolf dipped his chin and laughed beneath his breath.
He moved too fast. He stormed forward and gripped my arm, yanking me toward the door. I tried to pull myself free, but it was no use. Wolf moved with a power mixed with anger and lust, and I felt every frivolous emotion through that damn bond as he continued dragging me down the depths of the hallway.
"Let go of me," I demanded.
He only laughed again, with even less humor than the last time. His fingers dug into me until I was sure they would bruise, and then he spun me around and shoved me against the wall.
"You think I will let you marry my brother? Is this a game to you, Huntress? Is this one of your tricks?"
His eyes flickered with lightning as he snarled. I tried to flinch away, even further back into that wall, but there was nowhere to go. He released his tight grip on my arm and boxed me in with his body.
"I don't care what you think," I muttered, voice wavering. "I'm not marrying you."
"So you'd rather share a bed with him? You hate me that much?"
The air thickened between us, almost crackling. My breath hitched as I stared into his eyes, searching for my answer. Yes, I hated him. I hated him for betraying me.
I would not sit back and play into his plans without a fight.
"Yes, I do. I'd marry a complete stranger before I trusted you again."
Something dark flashed across his features before he bent down and picked me up with my waist flung across his shoulder.
"Wolf!'' I yelled. "Put me down!" He didn't hesitate before storming in the direction of our bedrooms. His footsteps were fierce and aggressive, his strong hand clinging to the back of my thighs. A few seconds later, he was kicking open his bedroom door and carrying me inside. The smell of him hit me instantly, enveloping us both in pine and smoke.
"Hells, Wolf! What are you doing?"
He dropped me then, flinging me against the back of the door with hardly any effort.
"You forget, Huntress." He paced the room, running his hands through his unruly hair with tense movements.
"Forget what?"
He stopped to look at me, chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. "You forget that you are mine. Nobody else can have you, even if you hate me."
Was he serious? Could he truly not see that he didn’t get a say? “If your father is forcing me to marry, it won’t be you. You don’t get to control me like this. Not anymore.”
He crept forward and put both hands on the wall behind my head. “He will not fucking touch you, Huntyr. You can hate me all you want, but I’m not going to watch you marry my own brother.”
“Why not?” I tilted my head to the side, tears still streaming down my face. “Is it because you care so much about me?”
He answered through gritted teeth, “Yes.”
I laughed then, and Wolf flinched slightly at the sound of it. “You’re a fucking liar, Wolf.”
“You will marry me.”
“I absolutely will not .”
“I’m not above forcing your hand, Huntress. You haven’t seen me possessive yet.” The intensity in his voice sent a shiver down my body.
“You can force me to the altar all you want, Wolf, but it will be your brother I swear my life to.”
Without warning, both of his hands landed on my neck, lifting my mouth to his as he pressed a fierce, rushed kiss onto my lips. It was hard, aggressive, filled with anger and envy and lust and violence. His entire body pressed against me, pinning me to the wall.
I wasn’t sure what the fuck got into me, but I kissed him back just as angrily. I pulled his lower lip into my mouth and bit, but he only growled and kissed me harder, squeezing my neck lightly as I threw my arms around his waist.
The thin fabric of my dress did nothing to hide my own body’s betrayal to him. With one hand applying pressure to my neck and holding me still against the door, the other slid up the slit of my dress to the aching apex of my thighs. “Does my brother touch you like this, Huntress?” His fingers teased me over the fabric of my panties before he slid a finger beneath the hem and ripped them off completely.
I gasped as the cool air hit my wetness, but Wolf only growled in approval as he felt how much I needed him.
He took his time kissing me deeply as one finger dipped inside. Fuck, I needed him. I needed him now.
I fought the urge to grind my hips against his hand, but fighting it became damn near impossible. My legs trembled as he moved his thumb in circles against my sensitive peak.
“Answer me,” he demanded against my mouth. “Does my brother touch you this way?” He added another finger, pumping deeper inside me until I crumbled in his grasp.
“No.” My eyes fluttered closed. “No, he doesn’t.”
“Good girl.”
Before I could fall apart entirely in his hands, he dropped to his knees before me, forcing one of my legs over his shoulder and breathing against my exposed core. But he didn’t stop there. He held me up against the door with his hands while he flicked his tongue against me, feasting on my body and pulling his name from my lips before I had a chance to fight it.
He only moaned in satisfaction, lapping his tongue harder and faster until I was trembling, shaking.
I would have said anything to chase the release that only he could provide me. Goddess fucking help me. Wolf didn’t stop until my climax wrecked my body, and even then, he held me against that door until he was satisfied with himself, until he tasted enough of me.
Slowly, he let my leg slide off his shoulder. Slowly, he stood back up to face me.
“Nobody else gets to touch you, Huntyr. Get that through your thick fucking head, because if you have to marry anyone to stay alive before I can get us out of this mess, it will be me.”
And then he stormed off, leaving me crumbling in the shadows of the bedroom, lips swollen and face wet, wondering what the fuck just happened.