Sin: The Mate Games (Apocalypse #1)

Chapter 1

Chapter

One

GRIM

I hadn’t been to a sex club in over fifty years. Not exactly my scene, not even one as posh as Iniquity . Then again, it’s not like I exactly had a choice in the matter. I’d been summoned, or rather, we’d been summoned by Lilith, the first demon.

Without conscious thought, I fingered the edges of the smooth black card in my pocket, recalling the words on the back with perfect clarity.

I’m calling in that favor you owe me, Grim darling.

Iniquity. Midnight.

Don’t be late.

L

One by one, my brothers popped into existence behind me until the four of us stood shoulder-to-shoulder staring up at the tasteful neon sign emblazoned with the establishment’s moniker. I said stood, but what I really meant was swayed.

It had only been a handful of hours since we escaped the clutches of my counterpart and former paramour, Hel. She was more commonly known as Death herself, and now, the architect of the end times.

Damn her.

If anyone deserved the honor of that title, it was me. I was the oldest of our kind. The original, you might say. When the horsewomen were created centuries later, we’d thought they were made to help us in our task of bringing about the apocalypse. One for each of us.

They had other ideas, or perhaps ambitions is more accurate. Whatever the word, those four had no intention of playing second fiddle to anyone, let alone us. So instead of allies, we became competitors, all working toward the same endgame.

Hel was the first to ever reach the finish line.

At our expense, no less.

A low growl escaped, my fury at not only being bested but humiliated making me lose my grip on my ironclad self-control.

The wave of discomfort that washed over me had me gritting my teeth and taking a steadying breath. I had never before felt this way. Weak. Damaged. Mortal. Hel had nearly drained us dry of our power, and she’d done it so easily. If I was being honest, I don’t think we ever stood a chance. The second she sprung her trap, it was over. Inevitable.

Death always was.

“Did we come all this way just to stare up at some pretty lights, Grimsby? Or are we actually going inside the place?” Malice’s droll voice dragged me from my spiraling thoughts.

“No one gets inside without a membership,” the mountain of a man standing guard at the door grumbled.

Sin huffed out an incredulous laugh. “We’re the horsemen of the apocalypse. Lilith grandfathered us in. I can guarantee it.”

The doorman checked his list and shook his head. “No, mate. No horsemen on the list. Better luck next time.”

Chaos bristled beside me, his body seeming to swell in size as he took a step forward and demanded, “Check again.”

He crossed his arms over the wide expanse of his chest. The move appeared threatening due to the way it made his muscles bunch and flex, but I clocked it for what it truly was. A way to hide the trembling in his fingers. It was taking everything he had to appear outwardly unaffected. Same as me.

Still using the same bitten-off growl, he slowly and purposefully gave the doorman our names. “Grimsby, Chaos, Malice, and Sinclair. Or perhaps you’d prefer our aliases. Death, War, Pestilence, and Famine.”

The cocky Australian raised one brow. “Get in line. There’s always someone who thinks they’re the most important creature in the world trying to get in. You’re not on the list, and that’s final.”

Pulling the notecard from my pocket, I stepped forward and presented it. The stupid fucker clearly didn’t believe in or understand the power we wielded because as he took the note, his bare fingertip brushed mine. The light left his eyes instantly, his soul absorbed by my power. A chill covered my body as it happened, almost like his energy blanketed me before becoming part of my being.

The doorman crumpled to the ground in an ungraceful heap just as the door behind him swung open, revealing the woman we were here to see.

“Did you really have to kill him? I liked that one. Such a delicious accent.”

Lilith Duval stood in the doorway, dressed head to toe in shiny red vinyl. All she needed was a pair of devil horns and she’d look the part of a university girl playing sexpot for Halloween.

“At least you know I’ve still got it,” I muttered.

“You’re lucky that happened outside the actual walls of the club, or you’d find yourself on the receiving end of one of my punishments, if not outright banishment.”

I rolled my eyes, not remotely in the mood for all this posturing. “Let us in, would you? We’re dead on our feet, and your doorman was a real tosser.”

“What’s with inviting us to your place and not making sure our names were on the list?” Sin asked, using the wall to keep himself propped up. He looked marginally better than he had in my penthouse, the sweat merely beading his hairline and no longer dripping down his face. Maybe it was the proximity to all the lust pouring out of Iniquity’s door. I certainly felt a bit perkier after draining that nuisance.

“Forgive me for assuming the four of you could manage to simply transport yourselves to my office. You’re the horsemen, after all. If a bloody angel can do it, I thought surely you could as well.”

Chaos coughed. “We’ve been weakened by Helene. Her ritual took almost everything we had.”

Lilith’s gaze traversed his form slowly, soaking in every detail. “Mmm, yes, you are looking a tad peaky.” She shot a sly glance at Malice, lips quirking as she took him in. “If it isn’t the deadbeat to end all deadbeats.”

Mal’s upper lip curled in what could only be labeled as loathing. “I am not one of your puppets, Lilith. Do not confuse me with one. You will not like how it ends.”

“It’s shocking how alike you and your son sound. Have you ever met him? He’s much changed now that he saved the world.”

Mal, the only one of us to successfully sire a child, stiffened. He rarely spoke of Pan and his tryst with the horsewoman Pestilence, Odette. I’d gotten him outrageously pissed once, and he’d spent the night spilling his secrets, but we never spoke of it again. I very well might be the only creature in existence who knew just how deep her betrayal where their progeny was concerned cut him. Or that the wound never fully healed.

“I haven’t had the pleasure,” Mal said through gritted teeth.

I forced myself not to flick my gaze his way. I knew that was a bald-faced lie. Mal practically had a tracker on his son; he’d been watching every move Pan made for decades as soon as technology allowed. Before then, he had his spies. Lilith could accuse Malice of being an absent father all she wanted, but that didn’t make it the truth. If given the chance, Mal never would have let that child out of his sight.

“Well, perhaps I’ll arrange a little introduction soon. He has become like a son to me. Such an asset to my... lifestyle.” Lilith crooked her finger and smirked. “Come along, boys. We have much to discuss, but this is a conversation best held behind closed doors.”

Exchanging glances with each of my brothers, a wordless warning to be on guard passed between us. Outwardly, no one would guess that unease coursed through each of us. It was only the centuries of familiarity that allowed me to sense what they were really feeling. What was harder to say was whether that unease resulted from Hel’s ritual or just the rather ironic position we’d found ourselves in. For while we were arguably the four most powerful creatures in the room, Lilith currently had us by the metaphorical balls.

Once in the hallway, we were met with a dashing fae man who leaned against the wall, impatience written all over his face.

“Finally, Lilypad. I know you expect me to be at your beck and call, but waiting on you to bring back four men is a bit much.”

“Who’s this idiot?” Sin asked before the rest of us could.

As Lilith opened her mouth to respond, a current raced along my arms and I would have sworn I heard an echo of thunder in the distance.

“I’m hers. That’s all you need to know.”

Lilith pulled on the thin chain connecting her wrist to the collar around his throat. The golden strand between them was so thin I nearly missed it, save the slight glint when the links hit light. She tugged harder, pulling him toward her before leaning in as if she would kiss him. Then, when he closed his eyes, ready to accept, she licked his lips and a faint giggle escaped her.

“He is mine. Crombie, meet the horsemen. Boys, this is my pet, Drystan Abercrombie Nightshade. My captive fae prince. Isn’t he delightful?”

This time it was Chaos who spoke. “Nightshade... If memory serves, that would make you the heir to the Night Court, would it not? So how did you find yourself here, chained to this one?” He tilted his head to indicate he was speaking about Lilith.

“That’s a long story, and frankly, none of your fucking business,” Crombie replied silkily. There was another ripple in the air, as if a storm was just about to break, and I realized it was coming from him.

As one of the fae royals, he was power personified, same as we were. That much was obvious. But it had nothing to do with why the word dangerous danced through my mind as I studied him. No, that was thanks to the slightly unhinged look in his quicksilver eyes. The look that didn’t quite abate until Lilith’s fingers caressed the length of his chest.

“Now, now, poppet. You’re making my hair frizz with all this bluster, and that just won’t do.” Lilith began walking, her prince trailing behind her as we followed.

“What the fuck does this succubus want with us, Grim?” Chaos asked in a low voice. “I’d much rather be recovering and then plotting our revenge than wasting time at a sex club.”

“I love it here. I don’t know about you guys, but I feel ten times better than I did earlier. This place is feeding me by just existing.” Sin took a deep breath. “Mmm, lust in every corner.”

“Careful,” Lilith warned. “No one likes a thief, and you’re poaching my evening meal, incubus.”

“Aw, come on, Lil. Sharing is caring.”

“I’m going to remind you that you said that, Sinclair. Sooner than you think.”

I was able to ignore the impulse to roll my eyes yet again, but only just. The constant bickering and one-upping were just a few of the many reasons I despised interacting with demonkind. Everything was a fucking competition. I wasn’t any better, far from. I’d just long ago learned that Death always won in the end, and that took most of the fun out of it.

The deeper we went down the darkened hallway, the louder the pulse of house music became. Sin stopped at the side-by-side doorways, each one with staircases going in opposing directions.

“Mmm, you’ve created quite a smorgasbord for yourself here, Lilith. The energy coming from either of these could feed me for a week.”

Lilith stopped and cast a glare over her shoulder. “It will feed me . Don’t get any ideas, Sinclair. I’ve already told you.” Her gaze flitted to me. “It’s a little different than it was the last time you were here, isn’t it, Daddy Death?”

I bristled and offered her a grunt in response.

Those shrewd eyes trailed my body, stopping at my bare hands. “Where are your gloves? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the rules. It’s not like you to miss such an important detail.”

The rule she referred to she’d set in place the first time I’d been invited to a, let’s call it a business meeting, at her sanctuary. Fair enough, I supposed. Sitting around a table with Death could hardly inspire comfort. The only way she could get the others to agree to attend was if I promised to wear gloves. The fact that they believed that would stop me from reaping their souls if I so chose was laughable, but it made them feel safe. The important detail to note was the gloves would prevent me from accidentally killing someone who might be stupid enough to brush up against me.

“I’ll be on my best behavior.” My hands wouldn’t leave my pockets the rest of this visit.

“What’s downstairs?” Chaos asked, peering into the stairwell, its red-hued ambience making it clear exactly what we’d find.

“Sex,” I muttered. “More than you’d know what to do with.”

“And my special rooms.”

“Special rooms?” Malice asked. “Like torture chambers?”

Lilith’s blood-red lips quirked into a wicked grin. “If required by the user, yes. My rooms give their occupants every fantasy they can dream up.”

“I’m in the wrong line of work,” Sin said, closing the distance between himself and the staircase. “You guys can handle this without me, right? I just want to see?—”

“No,” I barked. “Keep going. We need to get this meeting over with.”

Lilith’s throaty laugh carried through the hall as she continued forward, stopping when she reached a nondescript door. Turning to Crombie, she said, “Now, you wait out here while I tend to business. We are not to be disturbed, pet. Not even by you.”

“Aren’t you going to give me a kiss before you abandon me yet again?”

“Aw, is my poor prince feeling neglected?”

“Regularly.”

Lilith’s laugh was like the tinkle of a bell. Instead of giving him the kiss he’d asked for, she brushed her knuckles down the side of his cheek. “Need looks good on you, pet.” Then she sashayed into her office, leaving him pouting in her wake.

“I feel like I should be taking notes,” Sin murmured as we filed into the room after her, the door whispering closed without anyone touching it.

“Of course you should, darling. Everything I do is noteworthy.”

Lilith fell gracefully into the chair behind her desk, kicking her stiletto-clad feet up onto the polished wood top. The golden chain connecting her to the man outside glittered in the light, and I wondered about the magic binding them.

Apparently Malice did as well because he asked, “Why is it you have a chain instead of a regular demon mark to represent your deal?”

“What makes you think we made a deal at all?” she countered with a lift of one perfectly sculpted brow.

“Because I know you. Deals are your forte.”

She lifted one shoulder in an elegant shrug. “I can only assume it has something to do with his fae nature.”

“You didn’t think to press the issue?” Chaos asked.

“Why bother?” Lilith replied. “What’s done is done, and I have much bigger fish to fry.”

“Speaking of,” I chimed in, my body one never-ending ache and my patience long past waning, “Why did you summon us?”

“Because the end is here.”

Chaos let out a disbelieving snort. “Do you think we don’t know that?”

“And I need you to help me stop it.”

“There it is... the other shoe.” Malice plopped heavily onto a nearby velvet chair, looking a little worse for wear. “We don’t stop the apocalypse, Lilith. We herald it.”

“Not this time, I’m afraid. As I told Grim, I’m calling in my favor. You don’t get a choice.”

Three sets of eyes swung my way, but my gaze was locked on Lilith and her smirk. “Regardless of our interference on your behalf, it might be too late.”

“You know as well as I that it’s not. The Princes are currently still locked away, and there’s that other matter.”

My skin crawled at the thought of the final piece required to crown Lucifer the king of Earth and hell. “How are we supposed to stop the antichrist from being born? We don’t even know who its mother will be.”

“Yes we do.”

“We do?” Sin asked, leaning forward from his perch on the arm of Malice’s chair. “Mmm, the plot thickens.”

Lilith trailed a finger over her desk, her sharp black nail causing a deep scratch. “Lucifer won’t be successful if he can’t find her. That’s where the four of you come in. Who better to protect her than the horsemen?”

“Let me get this straight,” Chaos said, ever the stickler for details. “You want us to directly oppose Lucifer by standing between him and the one woman in existence that can?—”

“Say what she really means, War. She wants us to cockblock him.”

Chaos shot Sin an annoyed glare and kept speaking. “Give him what he wants.”

“Yes,” Lilith said simply, though it was unclear which of the horsemen she was agreeing with.

“It won’t stop him,” I said.

“It will if you beat him to the punch,” Lilith announced, looking like the cat who ate the fucking canary.

So that’s what she was really after.

“Knock her up?” Sin asked, perking up considerably. “Really?”

“If he can’t impregnate her, this little apocalypse of his will fizzle out. The antichrist is the key to clinching the deal. The oh- so-important cherry on top of the sundae. The countdown began the moment Hel released him from his prison. It must be his vessel, and it must be her firstborn.”

“So he can do this any time he likes if we don’t get to her first?” Malice asked, almost conversationally.

“Why not let him breed her and then we take care of it ? Wouldn’t that be the easier course of action?” Chaos asked.

Lilith sprang to her feet, eyes blazing with power. “You will not harm a hair on her head. If you do, all hopes of future procreation or even practicing it will be gone because I’ll have your cocks strung up like garland on my mantel.”

Sin winced and protectively cupped his crotch. “No thank you. I’m much more interested in the plan that allows for all the fucking.”

As usual, we ignored Sin and carried on as if he hadn’t spoken.

“Friend of yours, is she?” I asked, sensing what Lilith hadn’t said.

“Not a friend. Merri is more of a daughter, not by blood, of course, but she might as well be.”

“You have her here?”

“I’ve been keeping her safe. She’s working in her room as we speak.”

Turning her computer around to face us, she pointed to the video feed where a breathtaking redhead sat on the edge of a bed clad in nothing but a soft pink babydoll nightgown. The way she leaned forward and pressed her hands between shapely thighs as she focused on the laptop positioned on her desk was so sexual I had to suck in a tight breath.

“We’ll take her,” Sin breathed, clearly enamored.

“What is she doing?” Chaos asked, his voice tight.

“Working.” Lilith turned the monitor around and broke the spell. “And feeding.”

“She’s a succubus?” Malice’s question was filled with suspicion. “Doing cam work?”

“Not just any succubus. An extremely powerful one with a dangerous appetite. Exactly why it won’t be a hardship for any of you to impregnate her before Lucifer gets a chance.”

I stiffened, knowing exactly what would happen if I attempted to even graze her with the tip of my finger, let alone my dick.

“Count me out,” Malice said. “I refuse to father another child that will be used for someone else’s gain. Once was more than enough.”

“Your loss,” Lilith said breezily before turning her gaze to Chaos and Sin. “Surely you two don’t have any complaints.”

Chaos remained silent, his expression impossible to read. Sin, however, was like a child in a candy store. “I couldn’t be more in. This is more gift than favor.”

“You say that now,” I warned. “What if the girl isn’t interested in being bred by you?”

“You’re joking, right? Have you seen me? I’m the walking epitome of seduction. If it was possible to impregnate women with a glance, I would have at least a million kids by now.”

Malice shoved him off the couch. “Oops. Sorry. My arm slipped.”

Sin grumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like “corpse fucker” as he stood and straightened his clothes.

“You’re forgetting something vital by assigning us this task, Lilith,” Chaos said.

“Oh?”

“By design, we are unlikely to breed.”

Lilith tutted. “False. Each of the four horsewomen has birthed a child. Twice over for Odette.” Under her breath, she added, “How appropriate for Pestilence. Replicating just like a virus.”

“Death is not supposed to create life,” I said, the depth of my conflicted feelings about the matter completely absent from my tone.

“And yet Helene did just that. Gives me hope for the rest of you. Especially you, dear Grim. If your counterpart found a way to bear a child, surely you must be able to participate in the process as well.”

In theory, that was true, but I’d yet to discover a way to touch any mortal without them immediately dropping dead at my feet. Sort of put a damper on one having a love life.

“I can’t make any promises.”

Chaos grunted, nodding in assent. “Then it’s settled. We have to try. Lucifer can’t be allowed to take over this world. He’d lock us away if given half the chance.”

“Lock us up? What need does he have to keep the horsemen around once his apocalypse is complete and he gains all that power? We’ll be lucky if he doesn’t kill us outright,” Malice said.

Sin’s lips spread in a wide smile as he clapped his hands together. “Right. So when do we start?”