31. Succubus Unleashed
Silas
I can't tear my eyes away—stunned and captivated—as Aleiraah morphs right before my eyes.
Amber horns emerge from her temples, curving backwards beautifully, nails elongate into sharp claws. Her eyes turn the color of hell flames—a brilliant orangish black with vertical aquamarine slits for pupils.
I notice a swishing motion beneath her dress. A tail too? It makes me want to whoop in joy. But in her current state she might flay me alive.
She'd never lived hell-side. My best guess is the time she spent down here might have altered her physiology. And her hidden traits broke free.
Audible gasps rise around me, my own breath hitches at the sight of my fierce mate. She is stunning. Gloriously feral.
And I'll do whatever it takes to earn her forgiveness. To make her mine again.
“Aleiraah––” I plead for a chance to apologize.
"You all knew exactly what you were getting into when you pursued me!" Her voice cuts like glass, shaking with fury.
"We may have been chosen mates instead of fated—but I saw you as mine." She thumps her chest and I feel a twin ache inside mine.
"Every single one of you." She fixes us with a stare that could freeze fire.
“You are ours too, Moon.” Archie whispers brokenly.
"Yours?” Her voice drops, calm and merciless. “You pissed all over our bond like it was disposable. You all tainted what I gave freely.”
It’s true. We didn’t cherish her like we vowed.
"Don't come crawling now, acting wounded. You made your choice. Fucking own it!"
The pure anguish on her face steals the air from my lungs.
“Even if I could look past Silas’s panther mauling me—and that's an impossible if—I could never forgive the rest of you.” Her gaze cuts through the rest of them like a blade.
“You watched. Silent. Complicit.”She glances at me briefly.
"I knew you weren’t in control, Silas. I could feel it.
And the panther was moon-mad.”Her eyes blaze with fury as she yells at others, “But the rest of you pathetic lot? Did you lose your conscience? Basic decency?”I have no words to offer. She knew.
The truth hangs heavy between us, impossible to deny. No one can meet her eyes. Gazes lowered, jaws clenched, their silence is steeped in shame and raw remorse.
“Don’t mistake my understanding for absolution, Silas. Your panther is not alone to blame.” She sneers at me venomously.
I rear back––her mood changes giving me whiplash.
“How does that viper always manage to wrap herself around you? Still bragging she’ll bear you heirs to ‘secure the Nightgleam legacy’?
Last I visited your packlands, she gloated within earshot how much she’s looking forward to being your number one.
Panthers are polygamous by nature, so tell me––is your panther planning to breed that cunt? ”
My mouth parts but still no words come out.
“Oh, wait! You lost your beast! So I bet it’s just you and your greedy dick making the decisions now.” Her unhinged laughter hits me like an anvil and I can only blink, my mind completely blank.
"Fucking speak, Silas!" She screeches, her claws growing even longer. Helplessly, I keep staring, unsure how to make her calm. I never knew Sierra had been goading her, spreading lies.
Visibly fed up, she dashes right at me, grabbing my throat.
Her hostile touch soothes something inside me.
Before I can relish the contact, she squeezes hard, her pointed claws digging into my skin.
My Kitten bares her newly formed fangs and I’m mesmerized.
The notch in my throat brushes her palm as I swallow.
Her grip tightens, almost cutting off my air.
Aleiraah looks startled for a moment, looking at her elongated claws in fascination. Belatedly realizing she's unleashed dormant demonic traits. A slow self-satisfied smile curls her lips, eyes sparkling with glee. My breath hitches at the adorable sight.
But others misread her actions as unchecked violence and instinctively move in—until she whips her head toward them with a sharp hiss. They halt, petrified.
"Answer me, Silas." She purrs, leaning in, whispering in my ear. "Or I'm going to rip out your fucking throat. How will you breed that sneaky little bitch then, hmm?"
Maybe Aleiraah's new found powers are making her this bloodthirsty, but I'm painfully, uncomfortably hard. My body, even while battered, will always react to her nearness. I shift slightly, trying to breathe in the same air as her.
Her gaze drops, finding my erect cock outlined by the breeches, almost strangling it, and recoils. "Don't I fuck you enough, husband? Are you that desperate for community cunts? The thought of fucking that whore excites you so much?"
I deflate. Unsurprised as she spits my crass words back in my face.
Her misreading my arousal however immediately triggers a panic, propelling me to finally speak.
"I wasn't thinking of her just now. Believe me, I wasn't!" I desperately try to explain. "I won’t lie. I di–did consider coupling with her. A few times. During pack visits. But I couldn't do it. I didn't like her touch. And nothing happened beyond what you always saw. I promise, Kitten!”
The orange in her eyes burns hotter and I know my time to explain is running out.
“F-father...always wanted me to lead the Nightgleam pack and continue his legacy. He wanted worthy heirs. Panthers. I only considered it because Sierra—"
Her claws sink deeper into my throat, cutting me off. Flinching, I feel a sharp sting followed by a slash against my skin.
Kitten just sliced at my neck––the same spot my panther bit her. She watches the slow trickle of blood sliding down my chest in morbid fascination.
Ifrinn steps dangerously close, likely to plead for my release, but she whips his face with her tail.
He makes a wounded noise but Aleiraah threatens on a snarl.
"Touch me, fuckwit, and I'll tear off your fingers then shove them down your throat!
And if you ever get your tentacles back, I'll chop those off too—and you can imagine where I'll shove them. "
Ifrinn goes pale as milk as a red welt blooms across his face. He slowly backs away, hands raised in surrender.
She focuses her eerily beautiful eyes back at me, piercing through whatever defenses I’ve left. Her voice is ice—sharp, steady, and unforgiving.
"You thought about fucking her a few times?
Even once is too many." She doesn't blink.
"You kept indulging her. Claiming you don't like her touch?
But I've seen her draped over your arms, dangling from your neck, like fucking seaweed. Clinging like she belongs by your side.” She slowly scrapes a claw along my bleeding wound and I grit my teeth against the stinging pain.
“Hiding behind pack camaraderie. Even at the mermaid ballet. Oh, Alpha Silas!" She mocks breathily.
I feel lower than scum for making allowances for Sierra. Especially after that ominous vision with the cub.
Aleiraah exhales in my face, her words venom-laced. "Should I trust your empty words, or my own eyes? Because hearing her name from your lips makes me want to rip out your tongue."
She leans in slightly, her voice almost a sibilant whisper, and all the more terrifying for it.
"Will she still fawn over you, if you can’t lick her cunt?
Go ahead. Finish your deviant little confession, husband.
I want to hear how you can even consider fucking someone behind my back—just because she's a pantheress—and then have the audacity to question my morals. "
Her words impale me, but I manage to speak past the bile crawling up my throat.
“Aleiraah…please. I don’t want her—never truly did.
I was confused, trying to live up to what the pack expected, to what my father would’ve done.
Yes, I let her cling to me. I should’ve stopped it.
I didn’t—” I falter, swallowing the bitterness of my own failure.
“—because I didn’t know how to choose between duty and what was right.
But I never touched her, sexually. Never crossed that line. I swear.”
I cover her hand gripping my throat with both my palms and rub her soft skin gently, trying to soothe her.
"I only ever want to be with you. I was a coward, and I failed you. I was an asshole. But please, don't look at me like you hate me. I can’t bear it."
She flinches like I’ve stung her, abruptly shoving me away. I end up sprawled on the floor.
"Don't touch me, you fucking filth!" She roars, wiping away my touch on her dress.
My throat turns dry at her obvious revulsion. Oh Gods! What have I done?
She visibly collects herself, inhaling and exhaling deeply, eyes scrunched shut.
When she opens those flaming orbs, a chill runs down my spine. In a voice stripped of emotion she says, "All of you can go to the darkest bowels of hell, breed whoever you want, claim as many concubines you can. I don't care anymore."
"No, my Love, please! I misunderstood...
I should've believed you...so, so sorry Starling...
please give me another chance...I love you so much...
never meant to punish you...could't bear to see you hurt...
we healed you the best we could...please come back...
" Everyone talks over one another, begging for her forgiveness.
She ignores us like we’re buzzing gnats.
“A wraith once told me a story, where a villain breaks the hero over and over—body, mind, soul—just to sharpen his magic on living flesh. Then heals every wound so he can do it again the next day.” Her smile is thin.
“So tell me, husbands,”––she spits the word like she’s tasted something foul––“does healing someone absolve the torture?”
The hall grows silent as a tomb. Bottomless dread threatens to swallow me whole.
Yes, Azael healed her injuries––and she survived the horrific nightmare we dragged her into. But that of course doesn't wipe the slate clean.
"It'd be almost poetic you seven were to experience the same pain I did, don't you think?" She remarks in a chilling tone.
My heart lurches. Around me, the others stand frozen, struck dumb by the menace behind her words.
But even as fear coils in my gut, something else rises—acceptance. If this is what she needs to truly heal, then so be it. I'd endure anything. A thousand times over.
Surprisingly, it's Ifrinn who steps forward first. He stares at her with quiet resolve, "Anything that'll make you feel better, Aleiraah. I'm willing to do anything."
"So am I." A chorus of solemn promises ripples through the chamber. Aleiraah's only response is an eye roll.
"Ah! The picture of sacrifice!" Osiris sneers, clapping once. I had forgotten that we had an audience, witnessing our downfall.
Clenching my jaw at his amused tone, I stop myself from saying something I’ll regret.
Fucker is enjoying this!
Aleiraah ignores his jab and gets that faraway look in her eyes when she's contemplating something.
A beat later she continues introspectively, "At first I thought it's just the fallen-prick over there who had daddy issues.
Now that I think about it, almost all of you do.
I married males drowning in filial piety who want to make their fathers happy, but not their wife.
Hell's bells, Anubis!"—she turns to the jackal god in disbelief—"What does that say about me? "
"That you were brave enough to love undeserving nitwits who obviously need therapy." Anubis drawls, arching an eyebrow.
The two female goddesses behind him scoff, adding insult to injury. But it’s strangely reassuring that Kitten has friends in her corner.
Her words strike deep. I’ve spent my life trying to be the perfect heir––following Father’s footsteps, putting the pack first. The only time I thought of my own desires was when I chose Aleiraah.
Mother was one of Father’s many partners, so polygamy never felt unusual.
But I didn't take Aleiraah's feelings into consideration.
Could I be any more selfish?
“Aleiraah, we know we don’t deserve you," Rhazien says, eyes swimming with regret.
"We hid things, hurt you…acted like wild animals.
" He pauses, voice softening, painfully honest. "But you never shared your past with us either. I’m not blaming you—please don’t misunderstand.
We believe you. But we were blindsided." Then his expression shifts, rage threading through regret. "That human scum is to blame."
Aleiraah cants her head, then sashays over to him. Wariness mixed with hope blooms across his face. But it's short-lived as Aleiraah slashes her claws against his torso leaving behind five perfect gashes as he doubles over in pain.
"Listen well, tick!" She leans closer, hissing.
"Before you start lobbing accusations about some imagined betrayal from my past, let's be honest for once.
" Her voice is ice and iron. "That pathetic worm might've been the catalyst, but this marriage?
It was already crumbling under the weight of your lies—and things you all did behind my back. "
She straightens, a bitter smile tugging at her lips. "At this point I honestly don't know why I loved any of you. The bad outweighs the good, vampire."
The desolation in her tone is unmistakable, as she flicks away Zien’s blood from her claws. Unruffled. I feel the silent ache of breaking your loved one’s trust.
"Jadeth. Who's he really to you, Aleiraah?
" Azael questions evenly, yet his voice carries through the hall like a gong.
Aleiraah turns rigid. With a sinking feeling I realize we just lost whatever ground we'd gained with Aleiraah.
The fire in her eyes dims as the surrounding temperature plummets.
Her fists clench, claws digging into her palms.
Fucking Azael! With murderous intent we turn on him—several growls following a loud, exasperated shout from Baz, "Damn it all, Azael!" Apart from the tightening of his expression, the fallen angel remains stoic, his gaze fixated on Aleiraah.
Aleiraah stays chillingly silent for a few moments then pivots toward Anubis.
In a deceptively calm voice, she says, "Anubis, I ask for a boon.
As one who has been betrayed by the living—please petition Duat on my behalf.
Let them feel what they so carelessly inflicted.
Strip them of their pride, their power, their peace.
May they feel every ounce of the pain I felt at their hands. "
Time stands still as it dawns on everyone that we’ve pushed her too far. Pure dread has me paralyzed as Anubis ponders her request. As I will myself to move, he glances at us, then nods his head once. "So be it."
In the blink of an eye, shadows surge from the polished floor beneath—silent and swift—twisting upward like living tendrils.
Before I can react, they coil around my entire body, only leaving the eyes open. The shackles pin us in place, mercilessly. Binding us with absolute, unyielding force.