Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
~ Alaric ~
I cannot enter the house. The moment we arrived in Seral, the anger I’ve been keeping trapped since meeting the demon king in Toralyn, became too much.
I didn’t follow Princess Blake as she led the way inside a house located deep in the forest. And she didn’t notice as I slunk away, keeping to the trees.
Now I stand at the edge of the forest, overlooking the demon city—Seral City. It’s a strange place, alive with activity now that the night sky is overhead, the buildings lit up with light, and vehicles traveling the tarred streets. The city reminds me of the human realm. Much of their technology has been borrowed from the unsuspecting humans, who know little of our realms besides the occasional embellished story, usually twisted from a human’s brief encounter with someone from the other realms. Humans create stories of monsters and angels, with little understanding of who any of us truly are.
My gaze lifts, and I pinpoint the black stone structure that stands like an imposing landmark in the middle of the city. Several stone towers stretch into the sky, and a large stone wall stands strong around the structure, no doubt patrolled by a small army of guards. The royal castle.
I’ve only visited it once. The night when the king put on the ball for Princess Blake to find her mates. Or, I guess I should say, for the king to gas us all and leave us in Perstalia in his twisted competition.
That night I’d gone to the ball with one mission. One target—the demon princess. To kill her in front of the king, and make him suffer for what he’d done to my brother, West.
And now I stand here, watching over the peaceful city. Anger twisting in my soul. Seeing Queen Vespera had only made it worse. As Blake’s birds turned to ash, and I heard her scream, I wanted to make the queen hurt. To make that wicked bitch suffer for what she’d done. But then that power had come from Blake—something unnatural and dark. Enchantress. The demon princess might be my mate, but that doesn’t mean Lady Fate was right to match us.
And now that I’m here in the demon realm, I can’t escape everything that’s happened. And everything I’ve been working toward since my twin brother was taken from me. I couldn’t kill the demon king’s daughter, nor could I kill the demon king when we were in Toralyn, but I could kill him here. I could finally avenge West.
…And lose my mate in the process. I shake my head. My enchantress. Even now, I doubt myself.
Like I’ve summoned her, Blake’s scent fills my nose, warm honey and cinnamon instantly working to disarm me, but I don’t let it consume me. No, when the little demon tries to sneak up on me, I pivot, my blade in my hand. She curses, dodging my attack as I knew she would. My blade swipes at the air above her head, and I lunge at her again. She’s quick, ducking out of reach, and it’s only then that I realize why she’s not deflecting me using her own weapon.
She’s in a different outfit, an oversized t-shirt, and she doesn’t have her weapons belt. Her hair is soaked to the tips, and the scents of her other mates are all over her. Instantly, my cock hardens at the thought, but this all just makes me more irritated. I can tell she’s toying with me, taking it easy like she’s playing some kind of game.
Growling, I don’t hold back as I attack her, no longer completely myself but a mess of emotions, fury flooding my veins.
“Fuck, Alaric,” she curses as she darts around a tree, and my blade sinks deep into the trunk with a loud thwack . I wrench the weapon out, snarling, and toss a spare blade at her feet.
“Pick it up,” I rumble, and I run at her again.
She leaps to the side, making no move to grab the weapon. “I’m not going to fight you, asshole! I thought we were past this.”
Past it? When we were in The Haven, I could almost let myself pretend she wasn’t his daughter. The demon king’s. But now I’m faced with reality, torn and broken.
“Pick it up, Enchantress, ” I say again through gritted teeth, and she lets out an exasperated sigh.
“Look, I get that as a Drozac assassin you were ordered to kill me, but we’re mates, you dick. I thought you’d realized that.”
“I have,” I admit quietly, because it’s true. We’ve been through too much for me not to realize it. “But Lady Fate chose wrong.”
She flicks a loose strand of hair away from her eyes. “Yeah, that’s what I thought at first, too.”
This shocks me a little. “At first?” She twists, missing my sword that was aimed to puncture her stomach.
“Yes, at first ,” she says between breaths. “But clearly, Lady Fate knows us better than even we do.”
“What are you saying?” I bite out.
“I guess, I’m saying,” she pants, still dodging my attacks. “That despite the fact you’re the grumpiest asshole I’ve ever met, I can see how Lady Fate wasn’t all that crazy placing us together.”
I get over my surprise quickly, moving again, spinning, slicing the air. “Even if that’s true, it changes nothing. Because you can’t bring him back.”
“What?” Confusion fills her face. “Who?”
“One of the Drozac,” I say. “He came here, and King Dalton murdered him.”
Frustration shows on her face, and her mind ticks. “Is that what this is about?” She blows out a breath. “And killing me is what? Some fucked up revenge because I’m King Dalton’s daughter? Let me guess, this is how you think you’ll make the demon king suffer?” She stops moving, and I halt my attacks, my gaze pinned on her. On the female who keeps making me question everything. Except now.
She lifts a single finger into the air. “Firstly, given the pain dear old dad has put me through, I’m not sure torturing me in front of him would have the desired effect,” she says. “And secondly,” she looks me straight in the eyes, lifting another finger, “your Drozac friend must have known what would happen if he came here. If I’d been the one to find him…” she pauses before finishing, “I would have killed him myself.”
My head lowers, and I breathe heavily, pain going through me. “He was my brother, ” I snarl. This time when I lunge forward, Blake doesn’t dodge me. I slam her against a tree, pinning her there, my blade pressed tightly to her throat.
Understanding shows on her face as she peers at me. My hand trembles, and I struggle to hold the blade there, conflicted because it feels so wrong to have a blade to her throat. To have a blade at my mate’s throat.
“Look, I’m sorry about your brother,” she says softly. “But if it’s the guy I’m thinking of, the king found him as he was about to assassinate the leader of one of the high clans in Seral. What do you expect? That the king would just let him walk?”
I hesitate, and my hand trembles more. “It doesn’t matter why he was here. All that matters is that he was murdered.”
“He was an assassin,” she says. “You can’t blame the king for protecting one of his subjects. Any Drozac must know the risks of coming here. Just like the demons know the risks if they break any laws in the other realms. I never met your brother, but I’d be willing to bet that he wouldn’t have wanted this for you.”
My nostrils flare, her words cutting into me. The last time I’d seen West, he’d talked about finding a way out of the order of the Drozac. He’d said he only needed to take care of one last target, and then he could be free. When I’d discovered he was killed by King Dalton while on the job, I’d been so focused on getting revenge for my brother, that I hadn’t thought about anything else. And when the order offered me West’s place, and a chance to get my revenge, I’d accepted.
My stomach hardens. But no, it isn’t what he would have wanted for me. West had always been telling me that I should find a female to warm my cabin in the mountains. That I should have the big family I always wanted, and when he was out of the order, he’d build a cabin not far from mine where he could start his own family. But the moment he was taken, I’d forgotten all of that. And as much as I hated the demon king for taking my brother from me, Princess Blake was right. West would have known the risks of trying to assassinate a demon leader.
I stare at the demon princess before me. My mate. Because she’d always been mine, even when I struggled to accept it. Honey and cinnamon swirls around me, and her golden eyes watch me. We’re a mess—Princess Blake and her mates. And I realize why I’ve been so afraid. Because finally, I’ve found my mate, and that’s something West will never get to have. For so long I’ve seen demons as the enemy, but it wasn’t their kind that I hated. I hated that West was taken from me. And I hated the Order of the Drozac for sending West to Seral. I wonder now, if the order would have even kept to their agreement and let my brother go if he had succeeded.
Blake’s throat bobs against the blade as she swallows, and there’s not a trace of fear in her eyes. Reaching up with my free hand, I run my fingers through her dark locks, tucking her hair behind her ear. “West would have loved you,” I rasp, and the truth of the statement vibrates through me. I’ve always like fiery females, but none of them have been as headstrong and stubborn as Blake. West would have loved having Blake in our family. In fact, I’m pretty sure West would have liked Mason and the others as well.
For the first time, the pain that’s been in my chest since my brother’s death shifts. It’s still there, but it’s not as noticeable. And that desire for revenge I’d held on to for so long—the hate, the anger—it starts to fade. I’d thought I was dishonoring my brother by not being able to kill the demon king and his daughter and get revenge, but I finally realize, that to honor West, I have to live. I have to finally give in to my fate and let myself have the family West and I had both dreamed of. Dropping my blade, I claim Blake’s mouth, my tongue stroking against hers, as I finally let go.
Blake claws at me as I push her hard against the tree, my thigh pressing between her legs. A moan hums from her, and I groan as she rubs against me. I’d been so worried I couldn’t have her. That I would have to kill her, and relief washes through me as I finally let myself give in to the she-demon.
“So, I’m guessing this means you don’t want to kill me again?” she murmurs, an edge of humor in her voice as my lips tingle against hers.
I growl at the thought of her being taken from me, even by my own hand. “I’ve known I wouldn’t be able to kill you from that first time you fought me,” I rasp.
Her lips curve. “Yeah, because I kicked your ass.”
My hand closes around her neck, and she gasps.
Leaning closer, I brush my lips against the side of her head. “I knew because when I was close to you, instead of desiring vengeance, all I wanted…was you. And it was torture.”
My thigh presses harder between her legs, and her mouth falls open even wider.
“You always were the sweetest with words,” she teases.
“But it was only torture because I was afraid I could never have you,” I growl under my breath.
“Alaric,” she says softly, and I reach down, freeing my aching cock. Gripping her ass, I lift her higher. She’s not wearing anything beneath the shirt, and when the fabric bunches at her waist, I growl at the sight of her.
“Like I’ve said before,” she pants, “You’re mine. Just as I am yours.”
I tease her with the head of my cock, and the next time she says my name, it’s a plea from my enchantress, and I’m helpless to resist. I thrust my cock into her, one hand still on her throat, and her mouth falls open in a silent scream.
“Fuck,” she gasps, and her lips twist. “Guess you’re a grower then, huh?” Before I can respond, she snorts with amusement. “Then again, I guess it makes sense considering you’re a giant.”
Of course, my cock when I’m in my actual giant form is way bigger than now, but I don’t mention that. “Don’t tell the shifter,” I rumble at her. “He seems sensitive about these things.”
She laughs outright at that, but her laughter dies off when I squeeze her throat tighter and start pumping into her. Her body stretches to accommodate me, and I let out a tortured sound.
Her bottom lip trembles as I hold her firmly. “See? Isn’t this better than fighting it?” she pants.
I snarl, fucking her harder until she’s screaming, her mind only focused on the pleasure I can give her. Fuck, I never want to stop hearing that sound.
When I pull my cock completely out and thrust it in again, she falls over the edge, screaming my name as her golden tattoos light up on her skin. I slam my lips to hers, swallowing the sound, and my balls tighten before I spill into her, my own release crashing through me.
My enchantress.
Mine.
Despite all my doubts, the she-demon fits perfectly against me, and we shudder through the aftershocks together. When she stops jerking, I gently move my hand from her throat and set her on her feet.
“Alaric, you’ve been holding ou—” Princess Blake pants, but her words abruptly stop when we both hear it at once. The sound of a cracking twig comes from close by, and I shield my mate, grabbing a smaller blade from my boot and sending it into the darkness.
The blade connects with flesh, and there’s a grunt as someone stumbles forward and comes into view.
Princess Blake peers around me. “Dante?”
The demon grins, his tail flicking as he watches us. “What?” he says, giving Blake an innocent look. “We voted that someone should keep an eye on you in case this prick was up to no good. It’s not my fault I was the lucky one chosen.” He smirks. “Of course, that may have also had something to do with my abilities.”
The demon has a raging hard on, and I think about snapping it off, but going from Blake’s grin she’s happy to see him, so I settle with glowering at the male for his intrusion.
“Which, I must say, I’m glad to see you two have sorted things out,” Dante drawls, his eyes crinkling with amusement.
Blake pats me on the back. “Better late than never, huh, big guy?”
She starts toward the house, and I lift her into my arms. My release drips down her legs, and I’m not going to leave her like that.
“Why do you all insist on carrying me?” she protests, squirming in my hold. “I have legs and wings, if you haven’t noticed.”
“Of course, I’ve noticed,” I point out bluntly.
“Then why—” She lets out an exasperated sigh, and shares a look with Dante who’s busy smirking. When it’s clear she’ll have to fight me to get me to release her, she relaxes in my hold.
Dante directs me to the washroom and insists on helping me bathe our mate. She grumbles about being treated like a babe, but she lets us fuss over her, cleaning her and then exiting the pool. When we’re all dry, our hair still a damp mess, Dante gestures with his head to the hallway.
“The others have sorted out our sleeping arrangements,” the demon says with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Blake stares at him suspiciously. “Oh, they have, have they?”
The demon doesn’t say any more as he leads us down the hall to one of the rooms.
When we enter, Blake laughs. Squeezed against the far wall, multiple beds have been pushed together, filling the space from one side of the room to the other.
“You grabbed the beds from the other rooms,” she says in surprise.
Mason, Prince Callan, and Nate grin at us, the three of them stretched out on the mattresses.
“This way, there’ll be no arguments,” Prince Callan explains simply, and it’s strange seeing the archangel there, lounging so casually. Obviously, he’s accepted his fate just as I have.
I set Blake on her feet, and she walks over, crawling on to the mattress and flopping into the space they’ve left for her in the middle. Dante stalks over, easing onto the bed behind Mason, and I stand there with my arms crossed.
Blake shakes her head at me. “Not this time, buddy. Get your ass over here.” She pats the space to her left and Nate grumbles, shuffling back to give me room.
“You heard her,” the shifter says, and despite myself, I stride over taking my place beside my mate. My enchantress.