Chapter 22
Twenty-Two
Pythor
It'd been a week since I told Codie I loved him, and while he hadn't said it back, he also didn't seem to mind how I felt about him. I'd been floating around on cloud nine, especially after our dinner last night with Vanessa and Alia.
Vanessa seemed to have finally accepted me into their little family unit, and I couldn't be happier. I'd had fun hanging out with the two ladies, especially the younger one. Alia was a sweet kid, and she had a lot of fire.
While her mom and Codie had been busy chatting, she'd asked me to teach her some moves because a bully in her class kept bothering a friend of hers, and the teachers had done nothing despite her many complaints.
I expected to hear about the results of my teachings within a few days, but for today, I had to focus on my other students.
Vanessa and Alia had left about the same time I had, and Codie planned to go on a walk to the park with Hella before spending the day painting. I was looking forward to seeing his next creation.
"Hey, Pythor!" A woman in my class greeted me as she came into the room, and I put my phone away—where I'd been doing what Codie called 'doomscrolling'—as more people started filtering in.
"Hello," I replied with a nod, having learned from my mistakes. For some reason, a lot of the adults took anything more than simple politeness—and sometimes even that—to mean I was flirting. It was why I much preferred my smaller students.
As the students rolled in, they started doing some stretches to loosen up for the class, and I waited until everyone had arrived before starting.
I was barely ten minutes into the lesson when a familiar bark had me jerking to attention.
"Excuse me," I murmured before racing out of the room. What was Hella doing here? She wasn't supposed to leave Codie's side.
As I passed by a room, I spotted Jonah.
"Hey, Jonah. Can you take over my class please? I have an emergency."
He nodded, and I took off before he could ask anything. I found Hella in the stairwell, and since there was no one around, I grabbed her flank and teleported, letting her pick the destination since she knew where to go.
It took me only a second to realize we were at the park near our house, and Codie was here too, but he wasn't alone.
Relief filled his face as he saw me, and I stepped forward as the man holding him tightened his grip around Codie's neck. Codie had tucked his chin in like I'd taught him to, but the bastard was clearly stronger than him, and Codie was terrified of him.
The one time Codie decided not to wear his coat. I should've put protective wards on all his clothes. Or better yet, I should've just put an impenetrable bubble around him.
"Hold back your mutt or I'll break this bitch's neck," the bastard from my mate's nightmares growled, and I flicked my hand, putting an illusion around the park so anyone looking over would think the place was empty.
I took a step forward as Hella growled loudly, her dark eyes flaming with the red she kept hidden when around humans. "Let him go."
"Fuck you," the human said, about as eloquent as I'd expect someone like him to be.
Ignoring him, I met Codie's eyes, and he bit his lip as the fear slowly withdrew from his face. He seemed to gather himself, and then...
He punched back, slamming his fist right in the bastard's nuts, before twisting free and running over to me.
The asshole tried to come after him, and I shifted, stopping him in his tracks as Codie slid behind me, Hella rushing to his side as I stalked over to the bastard staring at me with wide eyes.
"What the fuck?" he mumbled as I grabbed him by the neck, picking him off the floor like he weighed nothing.
He was probably a few inches taller than my human form, and quite bulky.
But he was nothing against me in my true form, and he seemed to realize it as he flailed about uselessly.
Now that Codie wasn't between us, I could see his soul properly, and it was as dark as I'd expected it to be.
He would be going straight to the Burning Chasm as soon as I was done with him.
"Let me go," he gasped out, and I squeezed tighter. Had my mate screamed those words that night? Had he listened?
"Pythor," Codie murmured, pressing his hand on my arm, the same arm the asshole hung from. I wanted to keep squeezing until his head popped clean off, but I relaxed my hold a little, turning to Codie.
"You don't want him dead?"
Codie's eyes flashed with a rare mix of anger and disgust, and his voice was sharp when he spoke. "I want nothing more than to see him dead, Pythor. Trust me. But I... I want him to suffer," he said, his voice lowering as if he was ashamed of his admission. "Does that make me a bad guy?"
Leaning down, I pressed a kiss on his forehead, and his shoulders loosened a little. "It doesn't, Codie. It just makes you a demon's mate," I said with a quirk of my lips, and he smiled.
Turning my attention back to the worthless piece of shit, I dropped him to the ground as he gasped for breath, then used my magic to make sure he couldn't move.
"Is there anything you want to say to him?" I asked Codie, and he glanced up at me, eyes troubled. I gave him a nod, and he turned his gaze to the man who'd hurt him in the worst possible way, who'd haunted his nightmares and his every waking moment for months.
Codie stepped away from me, and while he was trying to be brave, I could see the tremble in his fingers.
Hella must have seen it too because she pressed into his side, sticking close as he stopped a foot away from the man.
Codie
I stared down at the face that had tormented me for what felt like eons. He looked so... pathetic now, crumpled on the floor and unable to move because I had a strong fucking mate.
I couldn't describe the fear I'd felt when I'd heard the footsteps and looked up to find him in my safe space. I'd felt dizzy, nauseous, and terrified all at the same time.
He'd been so at ease as he strolled closer, as if he hadn't ruined my life, as if this was just another day for him, a casual visit to the park.
Hella had jumped between us instantly, barking up a storm as she warned him away, but I'd stopped her, sending her off to find Pythor because I knew I couldn't deal with this man on my own.
I hadn't even tried to run, because I'd known Pythor would get there in time, and he would make him pay. He'd promised, after all.
And now, here the bastard lay, completely at my mate's mercy, at my mercy. Because Pythor would do whatever I asked him to.
I stared down at the man who ruined my life so damned easily, and I felt too many things to name. I hated him for what he'd done, hated him more than I'd ever hated anyone or anything. I was also still so damned afraid of him, and I hated that more.
Releasing a shout that was more fear than anger, I brought up my foot and kicked him right in the stomach. I didn't have a knife to stab him with, but I hoped he felt a little of the pain I had that night.
He groaned, Pythor's magic not allowing him to curl to protect his stomach, and I kicked him again, and again until my leg hurt and my throat was hoarse from shouting.
"Please, stop," he begged, blood trailing down the corner of his lips in a thin line, and my eyes narrowed.
I leaned down, meeting those cold blue eyes of his. "Did you? Did you stop when I begged and pleaded with you to let me go?"
His face scrunched up in frustration, apparently the only part of his body he could still move. "I can pay you. You won't want for anything."
A hysterical laugh slipped from my lips as I stumbled back, pressing against a warm chest that instantly soothed me. God, I'd never be able to do this without Pythor.
The audacity of this bastard to think he could just pay me off... like everything he'd done to me would be made okay with some money.
People like him... they always thought money could fix everything. Well, today he was going to find out how wrong he was.
I turned into Pythor's chest, breathing in his smoke and leather scent to steady myself before glancing up at him.
"I'm done with him, but I still want him to suffer before he dies."
Pythor gazed into my eyes for a moment, then nodded.
His eyes turned to the man still crumpled on the ground, and every bit of softness disappeared from his face.
For the first time ever, I got a good look at the demon he must've been when he was still working in Underworld.
Yet he didn't scare me. I felt safer than ever pressed up against him.
"I'm going to make you suffer and die the slowest, most painful death possible. You know what it is? The worst way to die?"
"Burning alive?" I suggested, since he didn't seem interested in answering, and Pythor shot me an amused look.
"That'll hurt for sure, but it's far too quick for the likes of him, Codie. My personal favorite is starvation," he said, and my eyes widened. "Of course, he'll die of thirst far before starvation gets him. What do you think?"
I glanced back at the bastard, and realized even now, so close to death, he hadn't once apologized. He still didn't think he'd done anything wrong.
"Do it," I said, then hesitated. "Wait."
Hurrying over to the man, I steeled myself, then dug through his pockets for his phone and wallet, using his face to unlock the phone.
"So we can find the others," I explained to Pythor once I was back at his side, and he nodded. "Do it."
He grinned, a sharp, demon grin that was less joy and more dark delight. He stalked over to the bastard—I could find out his name from his wallet, but a human name wouldn't suit this monster—his large wings magnificent in the sunlight, even folded up.
"You should've never thought you had the right to hurt others for your pleasure, and especially that you could get away with hurting my Codie."
A shiver washed through me at the possessive, protective way he called me his, and I wondered if maybe I was a little fucked up for enjoying this. If I was, I didn't care because Pythor didn't seem to mind it.
As I watched, Pythor snapped his fingers, and the bastard turned translucent.
He could move again, though, and he shot to his feet, then took off toward the exit—probably the first smart decision he made—only to slam into an invisible wall.
He tried again and again, while Pythor laughed like it was the most delightful thing he'd ever seen.
I couldn't stop myself from smiling either, but I was still a little confused. "What did you do?"
"I turned him incorporeal. You can only see him because I made it so, but he'll be invisible to anyone else. He can't leave the park either, or touch anything."
"So he won't be able to eat or drink," I realized, and Pythor nodded slowly.
"Still okay with this?"
"Yeah. Will I be able to see him the whole time?" I asked, not sure if I wanted to actually watch him slowly starve to death. Or thirst to death. Why wasn't that a thing people said?
"Not if you don't want to. Do you want to stop?"
After a second of thought, I nodded. "Once we're at home, though. I want to know where he is when I'm around him," I said as a shiver washed through me, and Pythor nodded.
The bastard rushed back over to us, screaming something at us, but there was no sound to his words. He reached for me, but his hand passed right through.
Pythor grabbed him by the neck again, clearly able to touch him, and threw him to the ground. "Don't touch him."
The man lay there, apparently done trying to fight what he couldn't touch, and I turned to Pythor. "Can we go home now?"
Pythor gave me a warm look as he pulled me close, and I snuggled into his chest as he wrapped his wings around me. "Of course, sweetheart. Let's go home."
I didn't spare the man who'd haunted me for almost a year a second glance as I felt Pythor's magic stir around me.
As soon as we arrived in my living room, the bravado I'd been clinging to disappeared, and I crumpled to the floor.