Chapter Ten
Richard
This wasn’t where we were supposed to come out. I’d specifically thought of Winterhaven when I’d created the shimmer. I hadn’t wanted to fight the demon with Noam there, let alone a diner full of human witnesses.
So how had I ended up standing in front of my childhood home? It was a place I never wanted to visit again.
The closest I’d ever come was visiting the graves of those I held dear to my heart. It was where I’d been the night Kyson had been killed, wallowing in the guilt that constantly threatened to consume me.
My hands shook as I reached out and pushed the heavy iron gates open, the creak like a warning to retreat. To return to Winterhaven instead of facing the ghosts of my past.
The carnage I’d wrought six years ago.
“Richard?”
I heard Noam, heard the fear in his voice, and took his hand in mine, but my thoughts were forced to return to the night everything had changed.
I’d known something was wrong the moment I stepped into the kitchen. The aromatic scents of Matilda’s cooking were absent, replaced by a metallic bitterness that made my nose wrinkle. Not a single child was running around, no dogs barking for attention.
The dogs always ran to me when I was banished to the kitchen. My father, King Stephan, thought sending me there was punishment, to work as a lowly commoner. But I adored Matilda, the head cook, as well as the children and animals. They’d brought joy to my life where all my father had brought was pain.
Here, among people I considered more like my family than my own, I didn’t have to put up false pretenses, act like the future king my father was trying to beat me into being.
Here, I could be myself, love who I chose, not get hauled off by guards and shackled in the dungeon then whipped for my attraction to men.
“Choice?” My father sneered, dripping in every word. “You have no choice. Your life has been carefully planned from the moment of birth. Do you even realize how many men would kill to be in your position?”
“Then give it to them,” I argued. “You call it an honor, but to me, it’s a death sentence.”
He was across the room, his hand around my throat, pinning my back against the cold scrape of the wall. In that moment, he wanted to crush my windpipe. I could feel the desire in the flex of his fingers, in the curl of his lip, see the temptation in eyes brimming with malice.
My breaths were steady, even, my gaze daring him to try. I was no longer the boy who’d helplessly taken his beatings, and he knew it.
He feared it.
Feared me.
T he sad thing was, despite his hatred, some fucked-up part of me had loved him deeply, that small boy who’d only wanted his father’s love. His acceptance of who I was, instead of punishing me for something I had no control over.
I slept with men, not women, and that infuriated him, my body baring the scars of his wrath.
“A king weds a queen, not another male. You will marry Margarette, or so help me, I will have you shackled permanently.”
“I will not become a miserable, self-loathing tyrant such as yourself,” I shot back, refusing to bow to his will. He had run my entire life from birth, trying—and failing—to mold me into an image I never wanted to become. “If I am to wear your blood-soaked crown, it will be on my terms.”
Stephan’s features smoothed, the side of his mouth curling upward. “You have defied me for the last time, boy.”
My nostrils flared at his petty taunt. I was no mere boy. I was a fully grown man, no longer cowering at his feet.
He released me, taking a step back. I didn’t rub my throat, though I’d wanted to, refusing to show weakness in front of him.
I should have killed him in that moment instead of walking away. If I had known what he had planned, I would have.
As I moved through the kitchen, an unnatural stillness clung to the air, thick and suffocating. Every step felt heavier, the weight in my gut turning to lead. The hearth, once the heart of this room, smoldered with dying embers, its warmth long abandoned. Flies buzzed lazily over untouched food, their droning hum the only sign of life in a place that should have been filled with laughter and voices.
I already knew. Some part of me had already accepted the horror waiting for me. But I kept walking, kept hoping, kept praying that I was wrong.
Then I reached the door to Matilda’s bedroom.
A tiny smudge of blood marred the handle—a stark, damning contrast against the worn wood. A chill licked up my spine, stealing the air from my lungs. My breaths came too shallow, my heartbeat too fast, the edges of my vision wavering as I forced myself forward.
The door creaked as it swung open.
My mouth parted, but no sound came.
The room was drowned in crimson. Blood soaked the walls, the floor, the very air thick with its metallic tang. And in the middle of it, sprawled in lifeless silence, lay every soul I had ever loved—throats ripped open, bodies motionless in a grotesque tableau of ruin.
The world tilted. The weight in my gut morphed into something far worse.
“We were ordered not to touch you, but your scent is so irresistible.”
I spun to find a stranger behind me. I had lost everything, my entire world, and the bastard had the nerve to smirk, like this was nothing more than a game to him.
“Are you saying my father was behind this?” I ground out, pain and anger flaring brightly inside of me. I had argued with Stephan earlier that morning, and then his words struck me.
“You have defied me for the last time, boy.”
Stephan must’ve found out how much joy the kitchen had brought me, how much I adored Matilda and the others.
“Oh, he was more than just behind this.” The vampire’s smile grew. “And I thought I had a dark heart.” He laughed. “He told us to make it as bloody as possible.”
My body erupted in flames, my jaw clenched, my need for revenge voracious. The vampire tried to get away, but I grabbed him by the back of his head, setting him on fire.
My mind was gone, drowning in loss and pain. By the time I reached the main part of the castle, I couldn’t distinguish who was the enemy and who wasn’t.
I tore through Wellington Castle, destroying everyone in my path, my soul crying out for the people I’d loved more than life itself. Their only sin? Caring about me. Treating me like one of their own, with dignity, with unapologetic love.
With the acceptance my father could never give me.
And Stephan had cruelly ripped that away from me. If he thought this would bring me to my knees, force me to comply, he was in for a rude awakening.
After annihilating the guards outside his bedroom door, I stepped into the room, my flames growing brighter. My mother rose to her feet, demanding to know what I was doing.
I faltered for a brief second as I gazed at her but then recalled how she’d stood by my father’s side, never once stopping Stephan from punishing me, from having me shackled to the dungeon walls to savagely whip me.
Neither lived through my wrath.
Then I turned to find myself surrounded by the very vampires he’d let into our home.
“I guess we don’t have to abide by our agreement any longer,” one said, baring his fangs at me. I was surrounded by at least a dozen of them, and knew I wasn’t going to make it out alive.
At that moment, I hadn’t cared. I’d lost everything that had ever mattered to me. I’d left a trail of bodies in my need for revenge, had killed my own family. By ending Stephan, I had not only become the king of corpses, but was now the last of my kind.
In my anger, I had wiped out our firebird legacy. My kind would become extinct the moment the vampires killed me. It was a death I deserved. Matilda had shown me love, and I repaid her kindness with unrelenting carnage.
I had been ready to accept my fate, until I heard a loud hum. A stranger, tall and broad, his face a mask of pure rage, stepped into the room. His black wings stretched outward, a sword with a dragon’s hilt clutched in his hands.
When he bared his fangs, I thought my executioner had arrived. I started to lower to my knees and drop my head, welcoming my fate. Only, he didn’t end my life but those around me, leaving only the two of us standing among the dead.
“I caught word of their plans and tracked them.” He glanced around the room then his gaze landed on my parents’ burned remains. “Has your thirst for revenge been quenched?”
“Yes.” That single word rang hollow. I had killed everyone in the castle, but their deaths hadn’t brought back Matilda or the others. This was my fault. Their love for me had sealed their fates.
“I am Prince Malachi.” He put away his sword and approached me. “Come with me to Winterhaven, where you may finally rest.”
“My identity must remain a secret.” If I was to go with him, I didn’t want anyone killed because I was in their home.
“You have my word your identity will remain a secret.”
Not in that moment or since then had he asked the reason behind any of it. He’d helped me bury Matilda and the others, then we left, leaving Wellington Castle behind.
And now I was back for some reason.
Noam gasped, pulling his hand away. Too late I realized I’d pulled him into my thoughts to relive what I’d done that night.
I waited for him to recoil, to call me a monster, to demand I send him back to Winterhaven. I didn’t deserve happiness.
I didn’t deserve someone as sweet and innocent as Noam.
But even knowing that, my heart sank at the horrified look on his face, making me feel no better than Martin in his eyes.
“How could he do that to you?” Noam’s voice was filled with pain. “He killed them because you cared about them, didn’t he?”
“Her name was Matilda.” I touched the pendant around my neck, my throat burning from unshed tears.
Noam threw his arms around me, hugging me close. Fuck. I really didn’t deserve him. “But I killed all those people. I’m… I’m a monster.”
Slowly, he pulled back, glancing up at me. “I don’t know how I saw into your past, but from what I gleaned, everyone knew what your father was doing and no one stopped him. That makes them just as guilty, Richard.”
I was rendered speechless. This sweet man, who had suffered horrifically at the hands of his own father, knew the pain, the heartache I had endured.
Because he had endured the same kind of heartache his entire life.
“You really are amazing.” I cupped his cheek, smiling down at him. “No wonder my magic allowed you entrance, mon c?ur . It knew you needed me as much as I needed you.” I brushed my thumb over his soft cheek. “ Je t'aime, petit chaton .”
“What does that mean?” he asked breathlessly.
I smiled and whispered into his ear. “I love you, little kitten.”
He inhaled a shaky breath. “I…” He swallowed, taking his time, and I waited patiently. “I love you too.”
“How sweet.”
My eyes narrowed at the sound of Martin’s voice. Demons had their own means of travel, but I was positive he’d been the one to send me here.
“You’re too knowledgeable about my past.” I straightened, placing Noam behind me as I faced him. “It makes a guy wonder how you know so much.”
His laugh curled around me like an acid hug. “I like playing the long game,” he replied with a twisted smile. “I know about Osiris and how he liked to play psychological games, but he grew tired after a few weeks. Me?” His grin widened. “I’ll take a lifetime of torture for one hundred, Alex.”
His confession knocked the air out of my lungs.
The demon twirled his finger idly, his head tilting to the side. “Go ahead and say it, Richard. You have no idea how long I’ve waited for you to discover the truth.”
My entire world tilted as rage boiled inside of me. “You’ve been inside my father my entire life.”
“Bingo!” He clapped his hands, his smile smug.
“You turned him into cruelty.”
“A wish you’re clinging to, because that would mean he was a decent person before I entered him.” The demon tsked. “Sadly, for you, not me, he was that way already. You see, dear Richard, I only find hosts who already possess dark hearts.” He smirked again. I wanted to rip that look off his face. “It makes our merger a lot smoother.” His gaze swung to a spot behind me. “The same with Noam’s father. Evil to his rotten core.”
“And now what, you’re going to kill us?” I would end the demon before I allowed him to harm Noam.
“Oh, no. For you, I’ll make an exception.” His eyes narrowed. “I’ll enter you and make Noam’s life a living hell. He’ll suffer at the hands of the man who just declared his love. I can’t think of anything sweeter.”
With a few spoken words, a shimmer appeared beside me.
“I don’t think so.” The demon thrust out his hand, and I heard a snap. “No entrance, sorry.”
The shimmer still rippled beside me, but I hadn’t created it to leave. I smiled at him, reaching behind me to place a hand on Noam’s hip. “You know, about a year ago, I saved someone’s life.”
“Your point?” Martin/Silo took a step toward me.
“Gratitude sometimes comes in all shapes and forms,” I replied. “Like, for instance, the pledge of someone’s weapons.”
“Get to your fucking point before I lose my patience,” the demon snarled.
“Malachi! Giovanni! Make good on your vows and bring forth your sword and daggers!”
“No!” Martin/Silo lunged toward me just as Malachi and Giovanni walked through the shimmer, their fangs bared. Malachi already had his sword drawn, and Giovanni’s daggers whistled as he spun them.
“I just need you to take Noam home,” I said to them. “Always keep him safe.” Because I wasn’t sure I would survive this fight. But if Noam ever stood a chance at peace, I had to kill both Martin and Silo.
“Full circle.” Malachi glanced around. “Where it all began.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Noam shouted, sidestepping the two. “I’m sticking by Richard’s side where I belong.”
My love for Noam grew deeper, but he couldn’t stay. I couldn't risk anything happening to the man who had changed my entire life. My little kitten, who had clawed his way out of hell to become the stubborn man standing before me.
“Do you know why we keep crossing paths?” Giovanni asked Noam.
“Because you like scaring me?”
I had no idea where this was going but prayed Giovanni wasn’t about to make things more difficult. He’d sworn his daggers to me, but I would kill him if he fucked with Noam.
“Because you remind me of myself at one point in my life,” Giovanni confessed. “Before my heart turned completely dark. I see myself in you, Noam.” He nodded toward the shimmer. “And Kyson likes you. If my petit oiseau has made you his friend, no harm will ever come to you by my hands.”
“You have one heck of a way of showing that,” Noam replied. “No offense, but you are one frightening man.”
Giovanni shrugged. “I won’t apologize for who I am.”
Before I could convince Noam to return to Winterhaven with the vampires, the demon attacked, shooting blue electrical currents at us.
The moment the first bolt of electricity crackled toward us, I shoved Noam aside, pivoting just as another streak of blue fire arced through the air. The force of it singed the ground where I had been standing, the scent of burned earth and ozone thick in the air.
Silo didn’t hesitate. He hurled another strike, faster this time, aiming straight for my chest.
I was faster.
With a sharp pivot, I dodged left, my body moving on instinct. My fingers twitched, power surging through me, but I didn’t call on the flames just yet. Not until I understood his rhythm.
Malachi lunged forward, his sword flashing in the dim light, but Silo twisted, his body shifting with unnatural speed. A clawed hand lashed out, aiming for Malachi’s throat. Giovanni intercepted, his daggers a blur as he blocked the strike, spinning low before driving a blade toward Silo’s ribs.
The demon disappeared—vanished like a shadow slipping through cracks. I had no idea they could do that.
He reappeared behind me.
A sharp jolt of electricity lanced through my body, sending pain screaming through my nerves. I staggered forward, gritting my teeth against the burn.
“Noam, get back!” I barked, forcing myself to move despite the lingering agony.
A flicker of movement in my peripheral vision… Silo was already raising his hands for another strike.
I moved before he could release it.
Summoning every ounce of heat within me, I threw my arms wide, and fire erupted. The entire battlefield was bathed in gold and crimson, the sudden flare of flames momentarily blinding. Silo stumbled back, snarling, his smug confidence flickering.
“You think fire scares me?” he spat.
I didn’t respond. Instead, I thrust both hands forward, sending a torrent of flames directly at him. He dodged but not fast enough. The edge of my fire licked across his side, searing flesh.
His screech echoed through the night.
I advanced.
Silo snarled and lashed out again, this time with tendrils of blue lightning snapping toward me like whips. I didn’t flinch. My flames surged higher, meeting his attack head-on. Sparks and fire collided, sending a shockwave rippling outward.
Malachi struck from the side, his sword slicing through the air, but Silo twisted at the last second, catching the blade in his bare hand. The steel sizzled against his palm, smoke curling, but he didn’t flinch. Instead, he grinned—a wicked, knowing thing.
“Pathetic,” he sneered then sent a blast of raw energy that sent Malachi flying backward.
Giovanni didn’t wait. He was already moving, a blur of shadow and steel, his daggers carving a path through the air. He was relentless, driving Silo back step by step, his movements too fluid, too precise to predict.
I took my opening.
A surge of fire shot through my limbs, and in a single instant, I shifted.
The force of my transformation sent the flames around me into a frenzy. The world tilted, the air bending around me as I spread my wings wide. The heat of my power pulsed, a living entity, hungry and unstoppable.
Silo’s confidence faltered.
I saw it in his eyes.
Good.
With one mighty sweep of my wings, I launched myself forward, talons slashing across his chest. He staggered, fury contorting his face as he tried to summon another strike—but I didn’t give him the chance. I raked my claws downward, slicing deep.
The ground shook.
Silo let out a choked sound, stumbling back, his hands trembling as he pressed them against his wounds.
I landed in front of him, towering over him, my golden feathers glowing with the heat of my fire.
“You made a mistake tonight.” I pushed the thought into the demon’s mind, my words crackling with embers.
Silo spat blood. “And what mistake was that?”
I curled my talons.
“You came for what’s mine,” I thought.
With a final, devastating sweep of my wings, I unleashed a wall of fire. It consumed the demon in an instant, swallowing his scream as the flames roared to life.
The night turned silent.
For a long moment, there was nothing but the crackle of dying embers and the sound of my own breath.
Then—
“Noam.”
I turned.
He stood there, staring at me with wide, disbelieving eyes. The firelight flickered across his face, highlighting every sharp angle, every expression.
Slowly, I took a step toward him, shifting back, my body aching from the battle.
His lips parted, but no words came.
And then—without hesitation—he closed the distance, his hands gripping my face as his mouth crashed against mine.
The world could burn for all I cared because I had already found my home.
* * * *
The remains of our dinner lay on the table across the room, our clothes a pile beside the bed. I threw my head back and moaned as Noam took my cock down his throat.
Sweet hell. I’d never felt anything more incredible, except the depth of Noam’s love. I slid my fingers through his hair, groaning as he lapped at my cock, his tongue teasing my shaft as it slid up and down the side of it then came back to the top to suckle the head. I moaned, loving the sensation that threatened to send me over the edge. I never wanted it to end.
Noam sucked my cock harder, the sensations stronger and more intense than before. I wanted to reach down and feel his jaw but was too afraid of breaking the trance. The pleasure was too much, each contracting muscle in his throat sending an electric current through my body.
Moving to the other side, Noam repeated the same motion, licking and suckling until I was moaning uncontrollably. It was as if he was trying to suck my brain out through my dick.
Noam wrapped one arm around my waist and used the other to grip my shaft as he continued to drive me wild.
The speed and pressure increased, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before I came. I buried my hands in the sheets as the pleasure rolled through me, every muscle in my body tensing as my orgasm hit like a wave crashing against the shore.
I shouted as my release finally exploded. Noam kept going, not stopping until I had completely exhausted myself and was left panting and gasping for air. He crawled up the bed and kissed the very breath from my lungs.
Then I spun him, spreading his legs before thrusting my cock inside his tight heat, uncaring my scars were on full display. I never hid from Noam, and he never shied away from me.
The raw pleasure that appeared on Noam’s face was mesmerizing. I became lost in the expression, fascinated that I was the one who was making him feel this way.
“ Tu es le battement de mon c?ur, chaton .” I kissed him, devouring his mouth as I thrust inside his body. “ Le feu même dans mes veines.”
“I have no idea what you’re saying, but it sounds hot as hell,” Noam moaned.
I chuckled softly against his skin then whispered the translation into his ear. “You are the very beat to my heart, kitten. The very fire in my veins.”
My hips rocked forward, Noam’s ass so tight and hot around my cock that I was barely holding on to my control. The muscles gripped me like a slick, velvety fist, Noam bowing his back, taking my cock deeper. Sweet mercy, he was so breathtaking in the throes of passion. I gave a little snarl, my body moving powerfully, driving my shaft into the mind-numbing heat.
“Oh, heck.” He tossed beneath me, his lips parting as he held on to me. “Don’t stop. God, this feels so dang good.”
I nipped his chin before my gaze rose, taking in the dazed look on his face. “I don’t plan on stopping, kitten. Not anytime soon.”
I slid nearly free of his body, my teeth clenching, the sweat growing thicker as I slid back into the tight sheath once again. Noam’s muscles clenched, milking my erection, my sanity, my control.
Normally I had unwavering control. But I’d discovered my Kryptonite. My plans had been to take Noam to the edge of madness, making him teeter there. But it seemed it was I who was looking down into the abyss. The man’s body nearly had me going out of my mind.
Noam tossed his head, his cries of pleasure electrified. His body was slick with sweat as I drove my cock harder, deeper, savoring every delicious groan that escaped his lips.
His cock bobbed freely between us, teasing me before I finally gave in, pulling a hand back to wrap around the heated flesh, stroking his shaft. His hips bucked, his ass clenching tightly around my cock in a viselike grip.
Not only was Noam close, but so was I. My balls were drawn tightly to my body, aching for release. He panted and whimpered, moving like a serpent as he tried to come. I doubled my efforts, my hand pumping quickly before he cried out, cum shooting from the tip of his cock. The combination of his ass pulsing and the scent of his release sent me falling forward, my climax erupting as I shouted once again.
My hips jerked against his as I buried my face in Noam’s neck.
He had come a long way since the day we met. He was filled with confidence now, speaking his mind without worry of retribution. But I couldn’t take all the credit. Kyson and Dane had helped, and shockingly, so had Giovanni.
He’d taken Noam under his wing, treating him like a little brother. The halls of Winterhaven had changed since the night Malachi had brought me here. The men in our lives had changed us, but they had also healed under this roof.
Dane was a menacing gremlin who spoke his mind, regardless of the situation. Kyson had blossomed, embracing the family that had always been there, just waiting for him to see us. He laughed more now, loved hanging out in the kitchen, despite what had happened to him.
And Noam.
My sweet Noam. He had flourished the most, no longer cowering at someone’s anger—which, when you lived with apex predators, was bound to happen. He openly laughed, ate freely anytime he was hungry, and had destroyed my kitchen not two days prior trying to make a grilled cheese sandwich.
I was still trying to figure out how he’d gotten flour everywhere when it wasn’t even required. He’d given me a single, “I can fix this,” then we’d cleaned up before I showed him the proper way to make one.
He was my salvation, my solace, my everything, shining more brightly than my phoenix ever could. Both of us had come to Winterhaven to escape, only to find the courage we had needed in each other.
Noam was mine, and I would love him until the end of time. I was grateful my magic had allowed him in, causing my heart to once again fill with love.
“What’re you thinking about?” Noam curled into my side.
“Hot fudge sundaes with the works.”
A devilish glint entered his eyes. “Race you to the kitchen.”
Throwing the covers back, I grinned. “You’re on.”
THE END