Chapter Twenty-Nine
Michaela
Morax walked at my side, his big hand wrapped around my own, as we made our way to the underground party.
They called the tunnels winding beneath the mountainside city The Catacombs, and Morax said they resembled Paris, but apparently the daemons gave the French humans the idea.
From the way the daemons and lumens tell it, almost nothing on Earth was an original idea.
Creatures from all kinds of worlds had been leaving their mark there since the beginning of human existence.
It was wild to think, and way too much to wrap my mind around.
Especially with so many other more pressing things coming, like my sister preparing to leave with her mates on some magical quest to restore their bonds.
“Your inner thoughts are loud, little lumen.” Morax chuckled. “Is that irritation I sense?”
“No,” I huffed at him. “Not exactly. Maybe. It just doesn’t seem all that important to repair mate bonds when we are literally about to go into battle. We need them here.”
Mor squeezed my hand, bringing us to a stop in the dark tunnel. My eyesight was three times as clear, and I could see his perfectly chiseled face, even with the low-lit sconces on the walls casting shadows.
He pressed my back to the wall, leaned down, and pressed his lips softly to my forehead. His golden eyes glowed in the shadows, and he looked every bit the daemon prince. “Do you feel the connection between us? Not just the power, but the essence of your soul woven with mine?”
Of course, I could feel it. From the second our mate bond clicked into place, it was as if we were always meant to be linked. “You know I can.”
Morax smirked down at me. “Now can you imagine the agony of losing that? I know if my connection to you broke, I would become a shell, an empty vessel never to be filled again.”
His words brought ugly guilt to the surface.
I was being insensitive to my sister and her princes.
And if I was being extra honest, it wasn’t just that.
“You’re right. I’m just scared. I’m scared of losing you and failing our friends because I’m not as strong as she is.
She’s a damn daemon and lumen hybrid. I’m barely a lumen. ”
My mate growled, his claws snapping out as he snatched my chin and forced me to look into his eyes.
“You are not strong because you are half lumen, you are powerful because your soul is filled with light. You, my love, are the strongest creature because of what you endured and still came out of that darkness with love in your heart. And I will spend the rest of my days professing this until you believe it.”
I smiled up at him, brushing my fingers over his sharp jawline. “You are such a sappy monster. Always saying such pretty things to me.”
He growled, revealing sharp canines, and pinched my side with his other hand. “I’ll whisper filthy things to you later, little doe.”
Desire raced through my veins, and our bond pulsed with need. I bit my lip, and he ripped it from my teeth, capturing my mouth with his own. His massive body pressed into mine, blocking anyone from seeing me. My possessive and protective mate. I loved him so damn much.
Mor pulled away first, and a whine slipped from my lips. He chuckled. “Let’s go to the party and enjoy our friends’ company for an hour or two. Then I’m stealing you away for the night.”
I smiled brightly up at him. “Deal.”
The party was wilder than any rave I’d ever attended, and I’d been to my fair share of underground events.
The iridescent bodycon dress I wore shimmered in the lights blinking in time to the beat of the song.
My sister and I danced until my feet went numb and the worries of our tomorrows faded into the background.
We were surrounded by friends who were becoming family, and hundreds of others loyal to our cause.
The energy was infectious, building to a crescendo of epic proportions.
Muscular arms curled around my middle, pulling me close until I could feel the outline of my mate’s hard cock against my backside.
“Do you know how difficult it is to watch your body move like that and not bend you over and fill you up right now? The need to claim you in front of everyone is eating me alive.”
I whipped around in his arms and reached up on my tiptoes to kiss him. “Everyone here knows exactly who owns my heart, my body, and my soul.”
The music around us suddenly faded to the background, and I realized Morax created a bubble for us to hear each other. His expression changed, and his eyes stared into mine, ripping away any barriers I might have had left between myself and this creature of mine. Endless love filled my soul.
Morax slowly dropped to his knees, as if he were begging me for something. He was so much taller than me; even on his knees we were at eye level.
“I was lost in my own darkness before you summoned me. I wished for something to pull me back to the light. In the deepest corners of my soul, I wished for you.” The world faded away as Morax spoke, until it was only him and I left in the room.
A tear trickled down my cheek, and he brushed it away.
“Our souls are entwined for eternity, but I’d tie my flesh to yours in every way as well.
Michaela Valdis. Until we join the stars, will you be my wife? ”
Tears fell from my eyes, and emotions welled within me at his beautiful words. I nodded, unable to speak, and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him in for a searing kiss. He kissed me back with every fiber of his soul. I mumbled I love you’s between each kiss.
A shock of raw energy thudded against the cocoon Morax had created for us, and I sensed my sister’s power on the other side.
I grinned like a kid on Christmas morning, pulling away from my betrothed. Mor barked a laugh when he noticed Phen licking the invisible barrier around us while my sister punched at it with her fist coated in ice.
“Okay, gods!” I shouted just as Morax dropped our barrier, and she ran at me, pulling me into a full body hug.
“Kaela, oh my fucking god, did you just get engaged?” She squealed and squeezed me until I nearly choked.
“Stop throttling my future wife, Seraphina,” Mor grumbled but didn’t pull her off.
The Princes surrounded us, clapping Morax on the back and offering congratulations. The word spread quickly through the crowd, and soon dozens were coming to congratulate us. And through it all, my future husband held my hand, refusing to let me go.