Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
~ Princess Blake ~
I t’s not long until daybreak when we step outside the house and the forest air greets me. We’re all wearing clothes suitable for the club, and Mason passes me his portal ring.
“Why not take Noah’s car?” Luna asks.
“Hey!” Noah protests. “No one’s taking Jesebel anywhere.”
Mason frowns. “Jesebel?”
“While it would make sense for our pretend Noah to be driving his car,” I say. “I doubt the six of us are going to fit. Besides, we’re running out of time.”
Noah breathes a sigh of relief. “Well thank fuck for that.”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I concentrate hard, feeling the build up of energy in front of me. Thankfully, creating a portal uses the magic of the ring, and all I have to do is focus that power. When I open my eyes, a ring of fire flickers before me.
“You know, I’m never goin’ to be able to look at a portal the same. Every time we go through one, we end up in trouble,” Nate comments, staring warily at the gateway. “I still vote for the car.”
“Relax. This portal leads to a club that’s been abandoned for years,” I explain. “It’s walking distance from the Bleeding Hearts club.”
“And when was the last time you visited this building?” Prince Callan asks, just as wary.
I shrug. “I don’t know, a year, maybe? But no one goes there. They say it’s haunted.”
“Haunted?” Nate groans. “This just keeps gettin’ better.”
Prince Callan tilts his head. “By haunted, do you mean there’s a gateway there to the shadow realm?”
“No, I checked for that a while back,” I reply. “I think it’s more that the demons believe the place brings bad luck.”
“So why not take us somewhere else, my mate?” Mason asks.
“Because this is the only known abandoned building in the area. Now, let’s go,” Dante explains. He winks at me before walking into the circle of fire.
“You know, maybe Nate has a point,” Shade says in my head. “You know how I feel about spooky things.”
“There’s nothing spooky about this empty building,” I assure her and follow my demon mate. Shade squawks as we enter the portal, but within seconds we’re on the other side, stepping into a dark room that has a stack of broken chairs on one side. Dust plumes in the air, and neon paint glows on the walls.
“It’s weird to think this used to be one of the most exclusive clubs in Seral City,” Dante muses. “And now it’s simply a dustbowl. You know, I considered buying this place once. If it weren’t for the fact that the demons are too afraid to come here, I could have made this great again.”
I smile. “I would have come.”
“Likely to check you weren’t breaking any more of the king’s laws,” Shade mumbles.
Dante presses a kiss to my hair and chuckles. “And I would have lured you in for a dance.”
“And Blake would have ended up stabbing you as part of your weird foreplay,” Shade adds.
“It wasn’t foreplay,” I defend.
“Oh phuleez, anyone could see the sexual tension between you two,” Shade snickers.
“Why are we talkin’ about foreplay?” Nate asks a little too eagerly as he steps up behind me.
Heat rushes through my body, but I force myself not to get carried away with my mates. Pulling back from Dante, I turn to the others as they all step through the portal. “There’s no foreplay happening right now. The meeting starts in thirty minutes. Let’s go through our stories again before we leave here. Dante is covering as Noah so he should be set, but the rest of us will pretend to be demons from the Warsky Clan. It’s one of the clans that’s the least involved with higher clans, and so the members are lesser known. We’ll find a back entrance to the meeting while Dante goes through the front door. Shade, you stay outside and scout the area. Let us know if anyone suspicious turns up.”
“But what if this ends in an orgy like the last meeting we busted? You can’t let me miss that,” Shade protests.
“An orgy?” Alaric growls.
I wave my hand in the air dismissively. “We had to break up a gathering between two clan leaders a while back. They were discussing illegal weapons. One of the members is an incubus, and when I arrived, he sent out his power hoping to influence me so I’d go easy on them.”
Dante’s brows rise.
“But his power didn’t do anything to Blake, and it just worked on all the clan members. They all stopped fighting and ended up fucking instead,” Shade finishes. “It was hilarious. And sweaty. Hmm… actually maybe a little too sweaty.”
“That’s not going to happen this time,” I say. “And Shade, you can’t come or that will give me away. Just try not to be seen.”
She grumbles at that but doesn’t complain again.
“Time’s not on our side,” Dante urges. “Any longer and we’ll miss the meeting.”
“Okay, remember we’re all demons,” I say as a final reminder. “No reaching for your power unless it’s absolutely necessary.” On that note, we make our way up a flight of creaky wooden stairs and pass through another door before we enter the upstairs space that looks just as dusty. The windows have been boarded up, and we make our way to the back door.
“Stay safe,” Shade tells us.
We stop opposite the Bleeding Hearts club, keeping out of view as the first rays of sunlight peek over the buildings. There’s no line at the front entrance to the club, and two burly demons dressed in black suits stand sentry before the doors.
“Wish me luck,” Dante says with a mischievous smile, and he presses a kiss to my cheek before crossing the street.
“We’ll find a back entrance into the club,” I tell him through our mind link. “Make sure you keep us informed.”
“Of course, princess,” Dante replies.
He reaches the front of the club, and after a small conversation with the bouncers, they let him inside.
The moment he’s gone, the rest of us backtrack, crossing the street further down before maneuvering around buildings until we reach the back of the club. Two more bouncers guard the exit.
I turn my head to Nate. “Any ideas on getting in?”
Before he can answer, a large group of intoxicated demons stream out of the club, ushered by two more guards.
“Don’ see why we ’ave to leave,” a scruffy looking demon slurs as he sways on his feet. “We was just havin’ some fun.”
“Go sleep it off,” one of the bouncer’s growls, as all four bouncers lead them away from the door. A bouncer places his hand on the demon’s shoulder, and the drunk demon snarls, shrugging him off. “Why you puttin’ your hands on me?”
“That’s our chance,” I say to my mates, pointing to the door that’s no longer guarded.
We move quickly, crossing the distance in a few strides, and then we’re slipping into the back of the club.
Dance music pounds in my ears the moment we enter a darkened hallway, and we move quickly, making our way down a series of passageways until we reach the main room of the club. Spread before us, a horde of demons are still on the dance floor, grinding and dancing with one another like they intend to have fun long into the day.
“Now this is a party,” Nate says with a wide grin.
Lifting my gaze, I look up to where three cages are suspended high above the crowd. The two smaller cages on the sides hold she-demons who are almost completely naked. They dance in time to the music, moving fluidly with one another in a mesmerizing display. In the larger cage in the center, a she-demon is busy enjoying the company of a male. They’re both completely naked, and he grips the back of her neck as he fucks her from behind. She arches her back, her cries of pleasure drowned out by the thudding tempo.
Smoke drifts through the air that’s thick with the scent of sweat and brimstone, and I’m pretty sure there’s at least one incubus in here. The demon’s magic isn’t affecting me heavily, but I can still feel the drag of magic against me as someone in the crowd feeds on the sexual energy.
“Better than the bunny burrows?” I ask Nate, remembering what he’d said about the pleasure house back in the beast realm.
My shifter wraps his arms around me, pulling me close and nuzzling his nose into my neck. “Anywhere with you is better than that place, my queen.”
I grin. “Good to see you’re learning, shifter.”
His lips find my neck, but the sound of animated voices comes from the passageway behind us, and I pull him into the crowd. Prince Callan, Mason, and Alaric follow, the five of us moving further into the throng of demons.
“Dante, where are you?” Prince Callan asks my demon mate.
There’s silence and then Dante replies, “Upstairs. Near the balcony. The meeting hasn’t started yet.”
I look up again and this time I see the long balcony to the left side of the room, not far from the cages.
I’m about to ask Dante a question when I’m distracted by the sound of grumbling behind me. Twisting my head, I see that back near the passageway, two of the bouncers from outside look irritably at the crowd of demons. Blood is splattered on one of the male’s faces, and I get the feeling he’s just looking for a reason to kick someone else out.
“We need to blend in,” I say to the others. “And then we find a way to watch the meeting.”
“Blend in?” Nate says, looking way too eager. “Thought you’d never ask.” He grabs my hand, pulling me further into the crowd, and he spins me until my back is pressed to him. Swaying his hips, he grinds against me in time to the music. The others follow, and Mason and Prince Callan start dancing around us, though Alaric simply stands there scowling.
“Shade, how is it outside? All quiet?” I frown when I realize I can’t connect with the crow. “Something must be blocking us from talking to her.”
“The bird will be fine,” Nate tells me reassuringly.
I hope he’s right. I’m sure she’s perched on a roof somewhere out of sight.
Nate moves behind me, and slowly my body loosens. My tail flicks in the air, and I laugh at it. It’s such a strange sensation having it there, and while I always wondered what it would be like to have one, now it just feels…odd. I miss my wings and their constant weight on my back. It was like they helped ground me, and yet, also gave me the means to escape when I needed it. To soar high above all my problems.
Reaching up, I grab onto Prince Callan’s shirt, pulling him closer to me. “Do you miss them?” I ask him.
His eyes sparkle in the light as he stares at me. “Them?”
“Your wings,” I say. “It’s weird, right? Being like this.” As if to punctuate my point, my tail flicks around, tightening on one of his legs possessively.
Prince Callan’s lips quirk up. “From the moment I met you, life has been…unexpected, my Ahalian Touizda.” His eyes soften, his expression becoming serious. “But you accepted me even after I proved myself to be unworthy, and life is much sweeter now that I can have you. I trust you, even when it comes to my wings.” His tail wraps around my leg mimicking the way my tail acted.
“Oh, don’t start soundin’ like Mason,” Nate groans. “It’s hard enough keepin’ up with that guy.”
Prince Callan grins. “Don’t worry, there’s plenty of our mate to go around. I doubt she has favorites.”
Nate chuckles, and he leans down, gently biting my earlobe. “Is he right, gorgeous? No favorites?” His hand snakes around my hip, sliding to the front of my short dress, and between my thighs. My breathing quickens as he pushes my panties to the side and runs his fingers up and down my center. My mates crowd around me, and my body tightens as the music pounds in my ears like it’s keeping time with my rapid heartbeat.
“Nate,” I rasp as he teases me with his fingers, the hard press of his body behind me.
“Yes, my queen?” he purrs in my ear.
“We don’t have time for this. We’re supposed to be finding a way to watch the meeting.” I attempt to wiggle free, but I don’t try too hard. Nate’s hold on me feels too good, and I can’t stop thinking about his fingers between my legs.
“Relax. I’ve already got it sorted,” the shifter tells me. “We just need to stay here for a little while longer.”
“Why? What have you figured out?”
My shifter ignores my questions, his fingers relentlessly torturing my clit. I lean back against him and Prince Callan presses in closer to my front, his hands sliding up my arms as he kisses my neck.
“Not helping,” I chastise the archangel.
Prince Callan shares a look with Nate, and then he turns his head like he’s checking something in the crowd.
“The meeting’s about to start,” Dante’s voice sounds in our heads. “Are you in position?”
“Time to go,” Nate says with a shit-eating grin. He pushes two fingers deep inside me, making me gasp before pulling them out, and taking a step back from me.
I glare at him, entirely sexually frustrated. “So what’s your great plan?”
Nate’s grin becomes feral, and he licks his fingers clean while staring at me intently.
I bite my lip, desire making my core clench, but then he looks up, and I follow his gaze. Slowly, the three cages descend toward the ground, and I realize what Nate had been getting at.
“Wait. You want us to get in one of those?” I ask.
“It would give us a nice view,” Alaric admits.
I think of when we’d been in Toralyn. “But…are you sure you want to get in there?”
Whether the idea of being in a cage again bothers Nate, he doesn’t let it show. “Gorgeous, I’d go anywhere with you. Now, are we claimin’ one or not?”
The cages reach the ground and the gates open. The demons inside them start piling out, and other demons start to gather around them.
“Come on then,” I say, darting between the mass of demons and heading toward the cages. I dodge past a couple who were headed for the middle cage and step inside, watching as my mates follow. Fuck, I hope I’m not going to regret this.