Chapter 51
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Leona
When my sister died, I vowed never to care enough for anyone ever again for it to hurt me if I lost them.
And I hadn’t. No men in my bed, no friends, nothing.
Except Nuri. At first, we were just two broken souls working together against a common enemy, but eventually, and against my will, we became more than that.
She was the only true friend I had. Someone I felt I could trust completely.
I needed her; she was a crutch, a block against everything else I was too afraid to face alone. With her, the monsters stayed away.
And now she was gone, leaving me to walk this miserable world alone once more. Tears blurred my vision for the first time since my sister’s death. The brilliant light that appeared with Nuri’s final act began to fade, and her lifeless body rested on the floor, surrounded by dozens of dead soldiers.
The mark she carved into my wrist had healed, surprisingly fast. And something strange hummed in my veins.
It crawled under my flesh, as if seeking something, or testing its new owner.
I didn’t know how I knew it, but this entity was Nuri’s power.
Her final act in this world was to gift me what made her a lumen.
I closed my eyes and tried to wield it, but nothing happened. Her power didn’t answer to me, not yet.
It was eerily quiet in the castle now. Sighing, I turned back to the king, still lying on the stone bed, but now he looked more alive and less like a statue.
Moving carefully, I climbed on top of him again and noted his features.
He might have been the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen.
And damn, he was massive. My legs could barely straddle his waist. This daemon king had to be seven feet tall.
His thighs were the size of tree trunks, and his arms were nearly as thick as my waist. He had similar facial features to his sons.
They all had olive-toned skin, sharp jawlines, and jet-black hair.
The king’s was longer and wild, even more so than Phenex’s.
His lips were full, and I licked my own, staring at him.
With her final breaths, Nuri told me to kiss him.
Pretending the idea wasn’t something I fantasized about after his filthy promises in my head was futile at this point.
Voices called out in the castle, far away, but not far enough.
The battle was raging again, and if I was caught in here, no one would be saving me.
And since the power in my veins was resisting me, waking Corson was my only option.
I just hoped he was mine, like he professed, and not an evil psycho like Belial. Leaning down slowly, I caressed his cheek, the sharp stubble tickling my palm, and pressed my lips to his.
Wake up, daemon king. I sent the thought out, and within seconds, the monster beneath me stirred.
A deep growl built in his chest. His eyes snapped open, and I gasped at the stunning colors swirling in his irises, greens and golden browns, like a wolf. His clawed hands snatched my hips, squeezing tight, the sharp points digging into my flesh, but not enough to draw blood.
I held my breath, staring down at the beast, and waited to see what would happen next. He inhaled deeply, and my thighs itched to squeeze together. His nostrils flared, and a dark grin touched his lips, the glint of fangs displayed in a show of dominance.
“Hello, little one,” he purred. “I knew you’d find me.”
Words escaped me in that moment, and I licked my parched lips. His eyes tracked the movement predatorily. His large hands squeezed my waist. Corson rolled his hips beneath me, and I could feel the hard length of his dick pressing against his pants.
The soft leggings I wore were about to be soaked with my arousal if he kept doing that.
Corson groaned. “Your scent is intoxicating, nearly as breathtaking as your beauty.” He lifted my shirt and traced the tattoo-covered scars down my left side.
He snarled. “Every inch of you is perfect, little one, never forget that. But I will make the ones who did this to you writhe in pain before they die.”
His hand against my bare skin made me shiver, and my mind barely registered the fact that I was letting someone touch me without losing my shit. I still hadn’t spoken a word, and Corson didn’t seem troubled by my reactions.
He cocked his head, rolling his hips again so I could feel him. “My son is still draining my power with the perverted bond he forced on me. It can only be undone by my mate. We need to consummate our bond, my beauty.”
My brain finally caught up with my mouth, only to blurt out the first thought I had. “You mean we have to fuck right now?”
Corson’s dark chuckle turned into a seductive purr as his hands roamed over my thighs.
“So crass. So slender in my arms, but I can see you are fierce. Yes, mate. We need to fuck for our bond to break the dark magic my son used to bind my soul to his. Only you can do this, by becoming my mate, or killing me. The choice is yours.”
A ridiculous laugh escaped my lips. For over a decade, I had sworn off sex and anything intimate with anyone.
And I’d killed often. You’d think the choice would be simple.
Kill the king, save everyone. And yet, this beast, who could easily overpower me and take whatever he wanted, was giving me a choice.
His life was in my hands. I could sense the hint of a bond between us, and maybe it was the power hiding in my blood or I actually had gone insane, but I didn’t want to kill him.
Actually fucking him, though, still seemed terrifying. And I was incredibly inexperienced. He likely had hundreds of partners over the years. What could I even offer?
He seemed to read my inner turmoil as if my feelings were written plainly on my face. “I will not force you, little one. But know, you were made to be mine, and there is nothing within your dark and broken soul that will scare me away.”
Fucking hell. He was really good with words. Fuck it.
“I don’t want to kill you.” I spoke slowly, my face flushing with embarrassment at what I needed him to do.
His wolf-like eyes filled with lust and pulsed with tempered power. Corson rolled his hips again, his dick feeling even thicker between my legs. My leggings were absolutely soaked.
“It’s going to sound fucked up, but I need you to do it.” I whispered the words, barely able to say them out loud. It was shameful, but after the way I was introduced to sex against my will, it’s what I needed. Wanted. Desired.
“Do not hide your desires from me, mate. Give me your most depraved thoughts, and I will bring them to life for you,” he purred, a devil smirking up at me.
I leaned forward, slowly gliding my hand up his chest until I wrapped it around his neck. Well, not really. His neck was thick and muscular, just like the rest of him. “I need you to force me.”
Power hummed around us at my admission, and before I could blink, Corson had switched our positions, my back now flat against the stone bed he’d previously been trapped on.
He continued to purr and growl, the deadly sounds doing things to my insides as he ripped my clothes from my body until I was naked and on display for him.
I squirmed under his gaze, but Corson gave me not an inch of space to move. His arm snapped out and easily wrapped around my throat, holding me in place but still allowing me to breathe.
With his other hand, he undressed. His chest had a smattering of black hair, covering chiseled abs and the most delicious hips with that V-shape you only saw on models in porn magazines. He oozed raw power and masculine energy. And his fucking dick.
“Oh god. Oh fuck,” I whimpered as he pressed the head of his huge dick against my bare pussy.
Corson grinned, his dark horns spiraling out of his long hair, and looked over every bit the daemon king he was. “No god. Only me.”
He didn’t give me time to change my mind, to resist, to move. Corson sheathed himself fully within me, and I screamed at the intrusion. He was so fucking huge, I thought he’d tear me in half. Corson roared, pounding into me over and over like a wild animal.
“Mine,” he snarled, his eyes glowing as his power returned to him. “You are fucking mine. And the world will burn for keeping me from finding you sooner.”
I moaned, my back arching as he took and took from me.
The pain subsided as pleasure unlike anything I’d ever experienced flooded my system.
His hand squeezed my throat, and the lack of oxygen brought the pleasure to new heights.
My senses exploded as the mate bond tying me to this beast grew stronger.
Corson loomed over me, his hand letting up slightly so I could suck in a breath, the relentless thrusts of his hips continuing. “Open your eyes. They’re glowing like emeralds, filled with a dark lust that matches my own.”
Staring up at this beast, I knew I’d made the right decision. The bond between us hummed with power the closer I got to pure bliss. My blood sang with Nuri’s gifted power, seeking out the daemon king’s soul that was slowly tethering to my own. I could feel him within me now.
“Leona. My Leona,” Corson purred, my name a prayer on his lips. “Come for me, mate of mine.”
And then he was on me, his sharpened canines biting into the soft flesh at my throat, latching on to suck the lifeforce right out of me.
This new combination of pain and pleasure sent me over the edge, and I screamed as my first real orgasm that didn’t come from my own hand sailed through my body with the force of a hurricane.
My pussy clamped down on his cock, and Corson groaned, his own desire peaking with mine as he filled me with his seed.
The moment he bit me, the mate bond burst to life and Corson’s mind opened to me. Every feeling he had I could now feel. The bond pulsed with energy and was overwhelming my senses.
Corson pulled away, lapping at the wound he made on my neck. “Now take my blood, my lifeforce, and let our bond be sealed for eternity.”
My daemon mate pressed one of his sharp claws to his bare chest, just over his heart, and blood welled over the cut.
He leaned down, his cock still inside me, half hard and throbbing.
He rolled his hips, groaning as I lifted up on my elbows and licked the blood from his chest. Corson grabbed the back of my head and forced my mouth onto the wound.
“Bite me,” he commanded. “Mark me with your teeth and claim my soul for yourself.”
His words filled me with a heady power. I could feel my teeth sharpening as I bit into his flesh and drank from him. It was absolutely insane, and felt right all at once.
Mine for eternity. As I am yours.
His words boomed in my mind, and his possessive need filled my soul.