6. Gray
I’d misted awayto protect her. My every instinct had been to claim her fully. Coming on her barely sufficed after seeing her caressing that damned Minotaur’s horn. The dark demon wanted her like no one else before. It was for this reason I’d agreed to not returning her for the foreseeable future. I couldn’t part from her. Not now. It was too late. Her scent was ingrained in me. I’d realized earlier while lifting and thinking how I was going to get out of this, that even if I brought her back to her pack, to her sister at Polaris, or tried to ghost her somewhere else, the monster within me would just force me to hunt her down again. That was if it even let me leave her again in the first place.
She had such raw hunger in her eyes as she sucked my cum off her finger . . . multiple times.
Fuck.
It was an image that was now burned into my mind.
I’d tried to intimidate her by showing her my demonic forked tongue. Unfortunately, all it did was further excite her, and I was bombarded by more of the heavenly sweet scent of her arousal.
I nearly lost it.
I couldn’t seem to control myself or my body’s reaction when it came to her, and it frightened me. I hadn’t struggled this hard with my shift since falling.
I paced around the gym furiously, too agitated to even work out. My heart raced, and I struggled to return my breathing back to normal. I was heaving as if I had just run a marathon, but in fact, all I had done was haul Mébh’s bratty ass home and forcefully jerked off on her tits to mark my territory.
My body was beginning to return to normal. My fangs, claws, and horns were shrinking back to their usual size. I had rushed to mark her before my shift finished.
What would she think of my full demonic form?
Would she be fearful or excited by how tall I grew, while my cock thickened that much more?
And what about my piercings? She’d likely seen at least some of them while I was jerking off on her. She wasn’t put off in the least. She’d stared with a hunger that excited me more. The image of drilling my cock into her from behind filled my mind, and the damn thing began hardening once again.
I shook my head, trying to clear it.
It didn’t matter what she thought, I couldn’t get involved with her.
Mébh had snuck away from me in the bar while I was talking with Felix. I’d let her go so she could experience the bar like she’d wanted to. It was all she’d yelled at me when I gave her my rules. She was so feisty, and I’d hoped she would at least stay out of trouble.
I followed her path by spying into minds, keeping an eye on her and making sure nobody meant her any harm. The succubus bartender definitely wanted to do some nasty things with my mate, and I nearly cracked. It was only Mébh’s innocent confusion that saved the bartender’s life.
While watching over Mébh, I listened to Felix’s news. He was doing me a favor in sharing information about Nicodemus’s movements and trying to help me get my memories back. He could only do so much though while still doing Lucifer’s bidding—he was his prince and employer, after all.
He reported that Nicodemus was currently busy watching the forest near Polaris headquarters, thinking I would return there again. This meant my current apartment in Portland was safe for the moment. The apartment had been my home base ever since I dropped Cassius and Jenny off there a few months back. Shoal was not exactly the ideal place for me right now with the demon army after me and misting easily trackable in the Hell dimensions.
Felix also advised me to go get a tarot reading from a witch named Ophelia at the New Renaissance Bookshop off 23rd avenue. He said it may give me insight into how I could get my memories back. I was fairly certain he was fucking her—the explicit visuals in his mind informed me of much. I’d planned to grab Mébh and mist to 23rd straight away, but that’s when I’d caught what was in that Minotaur’s mind. By the time I’d reached them, Mébh was giving that male a fucking horn job, and I’d completely lost it.
Yet now I couldn’t bring myself to be sorry about coming on her. Nothing brought me and the dark demon within more pleasure than seeing her breasts painted with my cum.
The first few weeks after freeing myself of the demoness bitch who stole my life, I just searched out new tail every night. My first goal had basically been to get pussy until the memories returned. Well, weeks later and the memories still hadn’t returned, so I focused heavily on that instead. Sure, sex was pleasurable and the most in the moment and free one could be. But the fucking had seemed less and less of an escape from reality with my memories still missing. It had been several months now, and I was into one of the longest dry spells I could ever remember—not that it stood for much with most of my memories gone.
Maybe that was why my body was reacting so violently to Mébh? She was my fated mate, but I was extra horny right now, simply because I hadn’t gotten laid in weeks. I could resist her, I just had to try harder, and not let her get under my skin with crap like feeling up another being’s horns.
I was never leaving her alone again.
Mébh was a brat, and she was quickly learning how to push my buttons to get a reaction. Arguing with her was obnoxiously fun. I would need to watch myself and not allow her to mess with me.
Somewhat calmed and with my resolve hardened, I wrenched open the door, nearly tearing it off its hinges, and paused in the kitchen. A shower was running in the master suite.
I had painted her damned chest with my spunk—which she had to be washing off—and still I wasn’t sorry about it. The possessive monster within wanted her marked and claimed. It wanted to make sure all other males knew better than to lay a hand on her.
No.
I couldn’t allow myself to sink to that level of thinking.
I didn’t do monogamy.
I didn’t do possession.
I was a “one and done” kinda guy.
No strings attached.
It was simpler that way.
But then I scented her sweet arousal. It hit my senses, and I practically growled in response, my hard cock kicking in my pants.
Unable to resist, I slunk toward my bedroom in search of my prey.
Mébh was in the en-suite bathroom and had left the damned door open a crack. The little vixen was playing with me. I was about to spin on my heel and make an escape, but the sound of my name stopped me.
“Graaaay,” she purred my name, but she wasn’t calling me. She was fucking moaning it as she masturbated.
Fuck me.
Through the crack, I could just see the shower glass fogged over from the heat. She leaned against the far wall with the detachable shower head hovering between her legs. She flicked her own nipples and her head had fallen back against the wall in bliss. Her mind was impenetrable like usual, so I could only imagine what she was thinking.
I ached to rush in there, kneel between her legs, and feast on her until she screamed. The image of her gripping that sleazeball Minotaur’s horn returned to mind. I wanted to feel her fingers grip my horns. She was never allowed to touch another supernatural’s horns again. Only mine. And preferably while I ate her out.
My cock bucked again in my jeans. I ran my hand down it with a quiet hiss.
Mébh was moaning profusely now—she had to be close to orgasm. I wanted to see and hear her come so badly. I couldn’t permit myself a front-row seat in there with her, but I ached to hear it from the nosebleeds where I stood outside the bathroom door.
“Yes, Gray, yes—” She groaned and hit her peak. She had to clutch the wall for support as she writhed through her orgasm.
Devil take me. She was magnificent.
My name on her lips in that groaning plea nearly undid me. It took every ounce of my careful control to keep from going in there. Only the knowledge that I wasn’t worthy in my current state kept me rooted.
I watched, riveted to her as she came back down, breathing hard. As the afterglow faded, she slowly returned the shower head to its holder. Then she turned to look right at me with a mischievous grin and winked.
I hastily misted back to the gym, but the damage had already been done. She’d known I had been watching, unable to resist the show she was putting on. I growled low and stalked to the punching bag in the corner. I gave it a wallop and then another. Putting all my rage into it, I punched the damned bag so hard it broke off its metal chain and lodged itself in the drywall behind. I seethed, needing another outlet, and rounded on the dumbbells, preparing to lift aggressively.
My mate was young, but she was turning out to be a conniving fiend ... and a royal pain in my ass!
An hour later,I had worked most of my anger and frustration out in the gym, or enough of it so I felt slightly more in control of myself. When I left the gym, I immediately saw Mébh watching TV in the living room. She had been waiting for me. I pretended like nothing had happened, like I hadn’t watched her get herself off in the shower.
”We are going out again,” I declared. “Put on the other black dress,” I instructed her. She wore my V-neck again and the dark demon growled with satisfaction.
“Yes, sir,” she said mockingly.
Her tone didn’t sit well with me. “Don’t call me that.”
“Would you prefer ‘Daddy’?”
“No,” I snarled, as my body tightened with need against my will. I was a Dominant, yes, a Daddy, no.
She smiled knowingly but thankfully dropped it.
“So where are we going now?” she asked, curiosity burning brightly in her multicolored orbs.
“To see a witch about returning my memories.”
A shadow fell across Mébh’s face. “I don’t think the witch is going to be able to do anything.” The little thing looked crestfallen, as if she actually cared about this, about returning my memories. “Madelyn wasn’t able to help Jenny with her missing memories. She told me it was a different kind of magic she couldn’t manipulate.”
“I am well aware. Do you not think I’ve already been to see a witch about this? It’s the first thing I did. The witch we are going to see is going to do a tarot reading for me to give insight on returning my memories.”
Mébh perked up. “Oh. A tarot reading? Cool!”
She bounded off the couch and went running down the hall. I followed in her wake, enjoying the trail of her scent the entire way.
I showered quickly and redressed in the bathroom in my usual jeans, V-neck, a blue hoodie, a blue-and-green flannel, and last but not least, my black boots.
When I opened the door, Mébh was dressed and ready to go. This little black dress was a strappy thing, similar to the first one, but this one had lace making up the majority of the bodice. It was too short for her own good, but I was admittedly getting more and more obsessed with seeing her athletic legs. I kept imagining them wrapped around my waist as I sunk into her wet heat.
She donned the leather jacket I picked out for her. The black with red fit the fire within her perfectly, and from the moment I saw it on the rack in the store, she had to have it. She looked badass. The black leather and dress combined with her black hair only made her multicolored eyes stand out more. So breathtakingly beautiful.
Damn it.
I was getting completely distracted by her.
This simply would not do.
“Let’s go, princess.” I held out my arm for her to take.
She smiled, her full lips curving upward as she took my arm.
I misted us down the street from the bookstore. It was a clear night and the lights down 23rd street were all covered in white Christmas lights. The street was quaint. The old craftsman homes from the early twentieth century along this road had all been converted to restaurants, offices, and little shops, most of which were closed at this late hour of the night.
Mébh still clutched my arm after misting as we walked toward the bookshop. Her touch and sweet scent were distracting as fuck, but I couldn’t bring myself to brush her off. She was a bit of a basket case sometimes, not to mention very argumentative at every turn and a little spitfire, but I was discovering that I enjoyed going toe to toe with her. She was passionate, and she made things exciting.
“So where are we going exactly?” Mébh asked, but her eyes were alight as she looked up and down the picturesque human street.
“We are going to this bookstore.” I pointed to the next home that was actually two 1920s craftsman houses, painted white with green trim. The houses were joined together to form a large double storefront. It was a metaphysical, new-age type bookshop for humans. A perfect place for a coven of witches to hide in plain sight within the human world.
“It looks closed.” Mébh squinted at the obviously dark building.
“The human bookstore is, but there’s a door only supernaturals can see—it’s hidden around back.”
She nodded in understanding while looking the storefront over. We passed the second house and turned the corner.
“No running off this time,” I instructed her.
“I won’t,” she replied with a scowl.
There was a gap in the fence behind the building that we entered through. A light was on by a whitewashed basement access door—the witch was open for business.
I knocked, not quite sure what to expect.
The door opened of its own accord.
I ducked to pass through the doorway, and Mébh followed me in. We found a very witchy reception area. It was decorated in a bright bohemian style, each wall painted a different color, and the whole room smelled so strongly of sage I nearly gagged. Mébh even sneezed, her werewolf senses likely even more affected. She also had a look of trepidation on her face, like she didn’t quite trust the situation, and I recalled werewolves’ general distaste for witches and their magic. There were supernatural musician posters on the walls and witchy magazines to peruse on a side table.
The basement door had closed itself behind us, and not moments later, a stocky woman with blond ringlets appeared through the beaded doorway across the room. She wore a bright floral caftan and had so many clanking gold bracelets and rings that every movement was a tinkling chorus of sound.
She brushed her hair off her shoulders, making all the bracelets clink together again. “Ah, you must be Gray and Mébh. I’ve been expecting you.” Her smile showed off her buckteeth as she looked me up and down. “Felix mentioned you might be stopping by for a reading.”
I had never told Felix who Mébh was or even introduced them... Witches always knew more than they should.
From spying into her mind, I caught, “Damn, that’s one huge demon.”
Typical. Most supernaturals were shocked by my height and horns.
“I am the witch, Ophelia,” she introduced herself, placing a hand in the middle of her chest as her bracelets tinkled away. “I am happy to help with any problem you have, but I warn you, it will not be for free.”
Another reason I loathed working with witches, money was really all they cared about. But this was a lead for insight I hoped would be worth paying for.
I tuned into her mind again, checking for sincerity and that this wasn’t a set-up of some kind. You never knew who was secretly working for an enemy.
“He’s going to agree. He needs the insight the cards can offer. I hope I can help both of them, though. The little werewolf’s got her own troubles.”
From this quick listen, I gathered no ill will, simply a curiosity to help. I was still hesitant to trust her, but I doubted I would ever trust anyone after what Lethe did to me. Conveniently, I could spy into minds and see people’s true intentions like now. The witch checked out enough to continue the conversation, but I would be spying continually.
Mébh still looked hesitant as she stood next to me. She took a deep breath and her sour expression somewhat smoothed. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like she was in danger of losing her cool.
“Nice to meet you, Ophelia. Name your price. Money is no issue.” I was being honest. Money wasn’t an issue. I couldn’t remember how old I was, or when I fell from heaven, but I’d amassed a lot of money in the human realm over the years through investments and property ownership. I’d found paperwork on it at the apartment, but I had no idea why or how I’d gotten involved in the mortal world like this. The money certainly came in handy while on the run from Shoal.
The witch took the wad of cash I offered her, not even bothering to count it. She reached beneath the neck of the ridiculous caftan and stashed it somewhere under there. She then waved for us to follow her into the next room, breaking the silence with metallic tinkling as she turned on her heel. “Please follow me this way, both of you.”
With Mébh directly behind me, we passed through the rainbow-beaded door hanging and entered Ophelia’s inner sanctum—her tarot reading space. The small room was richly decorated, a different brightly colored mandala tapestry on every wall. Plants hung in planters from the ceiling in the corners with green vines hanging down to create a jungle-like effect. Ophelia settled herself on a large throw cushion on one side of a small table in the middle of the room. The table was low to the ground, covered in a purple tablecloth, and had a tarot deck stacked on top, ready to go.
I felt slightly claustrophobic in the small space already. Pointing to the further cushion on the opposite side of the table from the witch, I then gave Mébh a little push. She took the hint, breezing past me and enveloping me in her scent despite all the sage. After she sat where I’d indicated, I settled on the large pillow closest to the beaded doorway. The space was so small my thigh still brushed against Mébh’s. I was hyperaware of her, and it was distracting as shit. She seemed equally flustered about the seating arrangement, but she also could be uncomfortable due to the witch. It was hard to tell.
Unphased by our awkwardness, Ophelia grabbed the tarot deck and began to shuffle it to the now familiar chorus of clinking jewelry. She looked between the two of us. “I have a little information from Felix. I am under the impression you are looking for something you have lost?” She turned her brown eyes on me.
“Lost implies misplaced. My memories were stolen from me,” I rumbled, an edge to my voice.
She tilted her head to the side curiously, her brow heavy. “And the being responsible won’t return them?”
“The being responsible is dead. I killed her,” I stated unabashedly.
“Witch?” she asked, pausing her shuffling and giving me her full attention, a serious expression on her face.
“No. Demoness.”
From the witch’s mind, I caught a flash of relief that I hadn’t killed one of her kind.
She began shuffling the cards again, watching the deck as she did. “I see why you’re here. Witch magic fades with death, other kinds, not so much, but let’s see what the cards have to say.”
She stopped shuffling and set the deck in front of me. “In order to answer your questions, I need you to cut the deck. This will infuse your energy into the cards for a more accurate reading.”
Anxious to get this going, I reached forward and grabbed a chunk off the top of the tarot deck. Then I set that stack to the side. Ophelia stacked the bottom section on the top chunk I had separated and took the deck in hand.
“Now let me see here . . .”
There was a pause as she fanned out the cards, but one was somehow randomly facing upright and then it flipped itself right out of her hand. We all three stared at the card as it landed face up, pointing toward me.
The Devil.
Ophelia chuckled.
“What does this card mean?” Mébh asked, looking between the card and the witch. Her thigh brushed against mine, distracting me as she leaned forward to study the image more closely.
“It means the cards have a sense of humor,” Ophelia said with a sigh.
I glanced skyward in exasperation.
I wasn’t the devil. Lucifer had been given the job of ruling Hell and had requested the name change shortly after his fall. But I was a fallen angel, just like him. I had been cast out for having my own opinions. The Lord wasn’t a fan of being challenged when he gave orders.
“Sometimes the deck is ready to speak even before cards are pulled,” Ophelia offered with a little shrug.
Mébh nodded eagerly in understanding.
Ophelia placed The Devil in the middle of the table. “I think this card jumped out to be ironic. It signifies an addiction to the dangerous—you are held captive by your passions.”
Well, that sounded about right.
“Let’s see if the cards have anything else to say before we do a spread.” She flipped the top card off the deck and set it next to The Devil. She covered her mouth on a gasp, making all her bracelets clang around dramatically.
It was: The Tower.
“What does it mean?” I demanded, placing my balled fists tensely on the edge of the table. Her reaction warranted something bad.
“Well, The Tower card indicates major change and an emotional upheaval in your life.” I barely kept myself from glancing at Mébh—my guess who the emotional upheaval was about—as Ophelia continued explaining. “The good will remain when the dust settles, but life isn’t going to be easy right now.”
Of course life wasn’t going to be easy when it came to Mébh. She was my spitfire of a mate. She fought me at nearly every turn. There was no hope of the dust settling in my life until I figured out what to do about her.
“Hmm,” the witch mused, deep in thought as she stroked her chin and tapped the tarot deck. “Let’s try a three-card past, present, and future spread to see if we can get a better idea of what’s happened to you and how the future can lead you in retrieving your lost memories.”
She fanned the cards out in her hand and presented them to me. “Pick one at a time and place them here.” She indicated the space next to the other two cards.
I pulled the three cards at random and set them down on the table.
Ophelia flipped the first card.
The Star.
“Interesting,” she exclaimed, looking happier. “This card represents hope in times of trouble and offers signs in directing your path ahead. Its one caveat is to stop focusing on the past and look to the future instead. Very interesting in this past position, as it indicates that you need not look at the past at all—you just need to move forward.”
“That makes no sense whatsoever.” I growled in frustration. “My memories are a part of my past and I need them to function in my future. So where does that leave me?”
“Maybe moving forward into your future means finding them?” Mébh supplied.
“So I am just supposed to crash forward without a plan? How the fuck do I do that?” I said, throwing my hands up.
The witch sat there, silent and contemplative. “Perhaps reading the rest of the spread will help clear things up.”
She reached forward with a chorus of clinks and flipped over the second card.
The Moon.
“What a beautiful card.” Mébh sighed, jaw hung open as she studied the image.
Of course the werewolf loved the card with the moon on it.
Ophelia rushed to explain. “So this card represents dreams, instinct, intuition, and fear. It encourages you to separate your fear from intuition. You can be both frightened and simultaneously inspired in the present moment.”
I stared at her and quirked an eyebrow. “Come on. Separate fear and intuition? And how can I possibly be both frightened and inspired at the same time?”
This tarot reading was starting to piss me off more than anything with its cryptic-as-fuck answers. It didn’t help that Mébh’s proximity continued to distract me, especially the more she fidgeted and rubbed against me. At least she seemed more comfortable with the witch now.
Ophelia flipped over the third card without addressing my questions from the previous card.
This one was: The World.
“That’s great!” The witch exclaimed, clapping her hands. “The World indicates a wonderful conclusion to your long-term goals or projects! In this future position, it tells me you will succeed in returning your lost memories. But it can also signify extensive travel sometimes as well.”
“Does he need to travel extensively to get his memories back?” Mébh asked with excitement. “I’ve always wanted to see more of the world.”
Traveling was not in my plans; staying hidden in Portland and not drawing attention to myself was goal number one. She would not be traveling with me.
“Not necessarily. It’s usually just another interpretation of the card,” Ophelia replied.
“So how do I get my memories back? So far, you’ve told me absolutely nothing in terms of directions or steps.” My frustration was growing.
Ophelia fanned the cards out once again. “Pull another card and you flip it over this time.”
All I could think was, not another damned cryptic card to interpret the last cryptic card. I picked one at random, having no faith that this would give me any more information than the previous five cards. I slapped it on the table in my anger and then flipped it over face up in front of Ophelia.
The Magician.
“Hmm...” The witch sighed. “This card advises you to focus on your goal and you will get there. You already have everything you need to succeed.”
“What?” I thundered. “That makes zero sense. How do I already have what I need? I came here to find out what it would take to get my memories back and you’re informing me I already have what I need? What was the point of this reading?”
“I am just telling you what the cards are saying. It’s up to you to put it into practice,” Ophelia explained. “Look to your future, not your past, and keep focusing on your goal. Have faith and you will get there.” She finished with what I am sure she thought was a reassuring nod.
“Forgive me if my faith is a little shaken... being cast out of heaven will do that,” I retorted bitterly, ready to be done with this pointless reading and throttle Felix for suggesting this. I was apparently just lining his fuck toy’s pocket, and it was a waste of my time.
Far from being deterred by my negative attitude, the witch turned to Mébh. “Would you like to pull a card, Mébh?”
She nodded excitedly, but I was suddenly wary of the outcome. Ophelia fanned out the remaining cards so Mébh could choose one. She pulled one and flipped it over on the table for all to see.
The Lovers.
Hell’s bells.
Fuck no.
“Is that a good card?” Mébh asked, her eyes bright and hopeful as she looked to Ophelia for an explanation.
I spied into the witch’s mind. “Could it not be more obvious they are fated? If only he would stop fighting it—”
I immediately pulled out of her mind with a slight snarl, furious that she knew so much and had opinions. Hearing it directly from another being’s mind made it much harder to convince myself the bond between us didn’t exist.
Ophelia smiled softly at Mébh. “In a way, yes, it’s a good card. The Lovers card indicates a choice. Choose with both your mind and heart in balance.” She met my eyes while saying that last bit.
I growled low.
I’d had enough.
The cryptic witchery wasn’t doing it for me, and I needed out of the tiny sage-filled space before the walls collapsed in on me.
Standing up abruptly, I prowled from the room through the beaded doorway with a snarl as my horns abruptly tangled with the damned beading. I threw the beads off and stomped through the lobby. Back outside in the fresh night air, I could breathe again. But fate still hung like a chain around my neck.
I had no plan from here and basically no idea where to go or what to do next. The cards indicated I had what I needed somehow, but I couldn’t believe that. Why would the memories randomly return now? Nothing had changed.
And then I watched for Mébh to exit.
She was the only thing that had changed in my life.
Was my mate the key?
I had expected Mébh to follow me outside, but it was a few minutes before she appeared at the door. She had obviously stayed to chat further with the witch. The little werewolf had a giant smile on her face now, and an intensity about her that didn’t bode well for me.
“Can we go to the Incubus concert?” she asked in a pleading tone. “I’ve never been to a real concert before!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Ophelia was telling me. She has one of their original nineties tour posters. They are playing in the old subway tunnels tonight. Can we go? Please, Gray? Can we?”
“No,” I immediately snapped.
A concert was out of the question. Too many beings in an unpredictable situation. Plus, the likelihood of being recognized was high and someone might nark to Nicodemus. I didn’t relish the idea of babysitting Mébh in a mosh pit. There would be no mosh pit for her at all if I had anything to say about it. I had no new leads on getting my memories back other than to fucking “keep calm and carry on” because I supposedly had everything I needed.
“Pleeeease?” She looked up at me with those desperate multicolored puppy-dog eyes.
I found myself needing to make her happy. The dark demon insisted, and the best way was to take her and protect her myself.
I weakened.
At my nod of agreement, she let out a whoop of glee and danced around excitedly. I realized then I would do anything in my power to make her happy, and that was a dangerous place for a soulless demon with amnesia to be.