Chapter 3 #2
He nodded. “They’re at the end of this hall in the reception room.” He pointed down a corridor on the left, not one I would have guessed on my own. “They’re waiting for you.”
I said my goodbyes and ventured on alone.
A part of me regretted not taking up Olivia’s offer for a companion. Still, this was my burden to bear. She deserved happiness, not more of my baggage.
The hall was wide enough to accommodate my wings even when I stretched them to their full length. The immense space of the building only made me feel more lonely instead of comfortable.
My nerves were still there, the ones that wondered how my mates would react to my new appearance. I boasted one of Cole’s demon wings and at first glance, it might look like I had changed more than I really had.
Sure, Cole was my mate and we were close to bonding, but it didn’t mean I was a different person. I was the same Lily that my mates had fallen in love with.
I just hoped that they would see it that way.
When I reached the door, goosebumps spread across my skin.
Because I heard male voices.
I closed my eyes and listened to the quiet murmur for a moment.
Orion’s low, dulcet tones were unmistakable and I’d missed them so much.
“That won’t work,” he was saying. “Lilith won’t fall for it.”
“Then we do this my way,” Hendrik snapped.
His harsh commanding tones made my toes curl. I had missed the Dark Mage more than I cared to admit.
“Your way will kill her,” Dante said as if sounding irritated with the Dark Mage I knew he liked to toy with. His voice hit my ears with a familiar brutish quality, one full of torment and pain. “Lucifer wants her alive.”
My eyes flashed open.
What the ever-living fuck were they talking about?
“She’s listening, you idiots,” Logan added as if sounding bored. “I can smell her on the other side of the door.”
Well, there went my cover, so there was no point in waiting now.
Except, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to open the door after overhearing their conversation.
I didn’t get a chance to decide if I was going to turn around or not, because the door opened and the sight of my mates made every doubt fling out of my mind.
Logan greeted me first, his wolfish grin so familiar that all of my dread seeped out of me.
“Logan!” I cried, throwing my arms around his neck as I sank into his embrace.
He laughed as he held me, the sweet sound making shame curl in my stomach for doubting my mates.
They were all here.
Alive.
And very happy to see me.
The last bit of information I surmised based on the hard erection that Logan’s arousal pressed against my abdomen.
“My mate,” he replied with a rumbling growl, one that invited me to play.
The sound made Uni jump from my feathers. She was just as excited to see Logan as I was. They hadn’t gotten along at first, something about wolves and cute flesh-eating bunnies not being super compatible. But now Uni squeaked her greeting.
When I moved to kiss him, he wrapped his fingers around my throat, shifting my mood from elated to confused.
He backed me against the wall, flattening my wings behind me as Uni protested, chittering from behind my wolf.
“I say we do this my way,” he suggested, his touch running down my chest as his gaze hungrily took me in. Sharp teeth formed in his mouth as his wolf came out, as if ready to devour me. “I am the Alpha here. In the way of the pack, the Alpha’s mate will simply obey.”
“Obey… what?” I asked, bewildered at what the fuck he was going on about.
Logan hated being an Alpha. He preferred to be a lone wolf and he’d displayed to me what it truly meant to be an Alpha. He’d sacrificed his own happiness and delayed his gratification because it was what had been best for me at the time.
That’s what mates meant to Logan.
The darkness dulling his normally bright blue eyes didn’t match my memory of them.
His soul seemed so distant.
His heart somehow… removed.
Logan? I tested in his mind, seeking our mate-bond.
No answer.
He simply growled as he wrapped his fingers around my arm. His nails had turned into claws and the sharp prick of danger pressed against my skin.
Uni whined, then growled and snapped at his ankle.
She could take down a lion, but she didn’t want to really hurt Logan. I could tell she was conflicted.
He ignored her.
“As I said,” Orion said with a sigh, “you underestimate her.” He leaned against the wall looking bored, not at all how I expected my glorious Demigod to behave.
His freckles still glowed with golden power, but his inner light seemed to have dimmed.
Even he held darkness in his gaze that reminded me of an eclipse, hiding the sun.
What the ever-living-fuck is going on?
Hendrik drew his blade, his ebony eyes just as dark as I remembered them, but his aura was different.
He hid his emotions well, but he cared deeply about me. His actions typically were harsh for a reason and always came with a lesson.
Now, he simply jerked his chin at my wolf. “If you think it’ll work, command her to hold still while I cut one off.”
My eyes went wide. “Cut what off? What’s going on, guys?”
This was supposed to be a joyous occasion. I’d fantasized a thousand different scenarios of reuniting with my lost mates.
None of them involved cutting off anything.
Logan did something he’d never done to me before.
He used the power of his Alpha on me, his chosen mate, forcing me to obey.
“Lilith,” he said with his voice lined in a powerful growl, one that hit me straight to my soul, making my knees buckle. “Be a good girl and don’t. Move. A muscle.”