Chapter 20 - Selma
Selma
Selma blinked and looked over her shoulder as Kain whisked her down the street. In the shadows by a fruit stand, two men in honest-to-god trench coats and hats stood looking at them.
“Demons?”
“Yeah, and they're not acknowledging me. Come, little one. We need to get you out of here—now.”
“You think they're his employees? Lord Haris… something?”
“I'm not sure.” He didn’t elaborate, but they made it to the car without incident, where Kain opened the passenger side door and practically shoved her in.
“What do you mean, you're not sure?” she asked.
The second he'd slammed his own door, he started the engine and reversed so fast the tires squealed. He didn’t answer until they were out of the parking lot.
“I mean that they looked more professional than the average lackeys. They could be Lord Harisham's, or… they could be agents sent by your Procurer.”
An uncomfortable flutter made her stomach clench. “But it could just be the Lord's men?”
“Yes, but that's not much better. Not until we are well out of the city, at least.”
The drive was agonizing. Every time they had to slow down or stop for traffic, Selma’s pulse picked up speed, and every sound or movement outside the car made her jump.
Finally, Kain placed his hand on her knee and kept it there, only letting go to change gears. It allowed a little of her previous calm to return, her instincts whispering to her to trust that he could get her to safety.
When she’d woken up that morning, something had shifted between them.
Or perhaps more accurately, something had shifted within her.
He hadn’t touched her, despite her carelessness.
He’d only guarded her while she slept, and now she knew one thing with absolute certainty: she trusted Kain. Completely.
As the high-rises disappeared in the rearview mirror, Selma sank back in the passenger seat, breathing a sigh of relief as she smiled at her companion. Once again, he’d gotten her to safety.
“So… the whole 'selling your soul to a demon' is a thing, then?” she asked.
“Yes. You should know—you signed a contract handing over yours,” Kain answered dryly.
Selma ignored the jab. “Have you ever… taken someone's soul?”
“I'm not that kind of demon.”
Something eased inside of her. “Oh. So what do you do? Just fight the female demons?”
He snorted, returning her gaze for a short moment—long enough that she caught the sarcastic glimmer in his black eyes. “You mean am I the good kind of demon?”
A hot blush crept over her face. That’s exactly what she’d meant.
“There’s no such thing, little one, and anyone who tries to tell you differently is attempting to deceive you. I rule the underworld in my territory—I destroy lives on a regular basis.”
Oh. Right. She bit her lip and looked away again. He certainly looked the part of a devilish bad boy, though she wasn't keen on knowing the exact details of what he meant by ‘destroying lives.’
“Then why are you helping me? I know you said my scent makes you a bit crazy, but…” But he’d gone above and beyond. There was more to it than pheromones and instinct, that much was becoming obvious.
Kain didn't answer and she turned back to face him. His decadent lips were pinched as he stared at the road.
“You said you knew of Fred because of your mother's journal. Did she go to this place?” she prodded.
“My mother is dead,” he finally said. “She killed herself because she couldn't escape my father. Or me and my brother. When I was seventeen, I went to that shop because I wanted to see if she truly could have lived in safety—happiness—had she gotten away.”
Though his voice was detached, distant, the words hit her like a punch to the gut. Before she realized she'd moved, she had pressed her hand to his arm in an attempt at alleviating whatever pain festered inside of him.
“I'm... I'm so sorry. That's horrible. Why was she so unhappy? I thought… I thought most Breeders came to terms with it.”
“She had a family before she was captured. A human husband and daughter. She never stopped loving them—or resenting us for taking her away from them. Most Breeders do not have a violent entry into our society, but she did. As did you.”
That explained why a Lord Protector would try to save a stranger—he was trying to right the horrors of his past.
Tears stung her eyes and she closed them. “Kain…” There was nothing else to say. She didn't know him well enough to cross the barriers of indifference he had put up around himself, however much the part of her that couldn't bear to see someone suffer screamed for her to do just that.
Silently she placed her lips against the leather of his jacket just above where her hand rested, offering her sympathy and gratitude where words would not be welcome.
The big male grunted at the gesture, but didn't move away.
She left her hand in place when she lifted her head again, squeezing gently.
Maybe he wasn't a good person in the usual sense, but someone who could experience that sort of grief and come out with the resolve to not let history repeat itself could not be purely evil, either.
“Fuck!”
The sudden outburst made Selma jolt back in her seat just as Kain slammed on the brakes. The car screeched to a halt.
“What…?” The question died on her lips the second she looked out the windshield. Three black cars were parked across the road and seven men in dark trench coats were standing in front of them, arms folded. One of them she recognized.
“No… Kain—it’s him!”
Marathin. Her tormentor had found her.
“Stay calm.” Kain gritted his teeth and released the steering wheel. “There are too many for me to fight and ensure your safety at the same time, but the fact he’s not here alone means I can negotiate. He won’t want what he’s done to become public knowledge.”
Selma stared from the nightmare waiting for her on the road to the man by her side. “Please, Kain. Don’t let him take me. He’ll hurt me, he’ll punish me for leaving—”
“It’ll be okay.” Kain’s voice was unusually soft. “Come. I don’t want to leave you unguarded in the car.”
Giving her one last, lingering look he opened the door and slid out.
Selma took several deep breaths before she managed to shakily unclasp her seatbelt and stumble after him.
Kain waited for her by the hood of the car. He closed his large hand around hers when she reached his side, keeping her steady as he led her toward the man who’d tricked her.
It’d been more than a month since she’d last seen Marathin Hershey, the demon who’d abused her when she was at her most vulnerable. His eyes lit up at the sight of her, that cruel smile she recognized all too well pulling at the corners of his mouth.
Flashes of her time with him passed through her mind’s eye—of the humiliation when he snapped the ring around her clit; the fear rising in her throat when she read his intentions for her; the anguish when he forced her legs apart and seated himself inside of her; the horror as he tore apart the people trying to save her from his abuse.
She trembled and clutched harder at Kain’s hand. She wasn’t alone anymore. She wasn’t his victim.
“That’s her,” Marathin said to his six companions. “Selma, you’re safe! You made me very worried, young lady.”
Selma shuddered at the eagerness in his eyes as he raked them over her body, before focusing on Kain.
“My Lord,” Marathin continued, “I thank you for bringing me my charge. She’s been a very naughty girl, running from her procurement in Massachusetts.”
Kain made no motion to release his grip on her hand, his focus on one of the other demons. “I am uncertain what makes you think to stop a Lord Protector, Agent, but I suggest you state your business quickly.”
The demon—apparently the leader of the group—hesitated for a moment. “Sir, we’re here to bring the Breeder back to her Procurer.”
“The man who let her escape in the first place?” Kain arched an eyebrow. “And who failed to alert the proper channels? Since when does the Agency handle runaway Breeders?”
The leader narrowed his cold eyes ever so slightly. “The Agency’s business is confidential, my Lord.”
“Confidential or not, you are proposing a Procurer who has failed to keep a new Breeder safe—and who failed to follow protocol once she escaped—simply be handed over responsibility for her care once more. No. The girl is under my protection. I will bring her to her auction—and if she requires further preparations beforehand, I will oversee them.” The massive demon by her side seemed to grow even taller as he asserted his dominance.
“You are outside your jurisdiction, young Lord,” Marathin said, his voice barely managing to skirt insolence. “The Breeder is mine. She should be of no interest or consequence to a Lord—and I am sure you have a territory to run.”
“I’m not going with you!” Selma hissed, pressing closer to Kain as she clutched his hand. “You’re a rapist and a murderer, and I’d rather slit my throat than have you touch me ever again.”
“I’m sure you misspoke—a Breeder can never belong to her Procurer,” Kain said, spearing the doctor with a dark stare. “And this one is frightened of you. I think we can all agree it would be much better to let her be handled by someone she’s comfortable with.”
“I have been a Procurer far longer than you’ve been alive, young one,” Marathin said, the barest snarl penetrating his voice now.
“It’s no use coddling a runaway—she needs to learn her place, and I will teach her.
These Agents are here to ensure I’ll get what’s rightfully mine, and Lord or not… I suggest you don’t stand in my way.”
“Please, my Lord,” the leader of the Agents said, holding out his hand as if he expected him to hand her over like a dog on a leash.
“She is not a Pure Breeder—this girl is of no concern to you. I know your father—you’re of a strong bloodline, and I would rather not lose any men today. But I will if I must.”
They weren’t going to let her go.
Selma stared from Marathin’s barely contained snarl to the six Agents standing ready to spring into action at any moment. She knew that if she didn’t do something now, she would be back in her tormentor’s clutches before the day was over. For good this time.
“I am.” The words were out of her throat before she could pull them back. “I’m a Pure Breeder.”
She would have continued—would have begged them to let Kain take her, told them that Marathin had lied to them to keep her to himself in the hopes that their loyalty was with their kind over the doctor—but she never got the chance.
As if they were one and the same, five of the Agents lifted their right arms and pointed them at Kain. Dark energy swirled around their palms.
“Step away from the girl. Now!” The leader no longer sounded calm. His voice was hoarse with stress, though he didn't take his eyes off the bigger demon.
Kain's hand had frozen around hers, and when the Agent not aiming at him with magic moved closer to pull her away from him, he didn't move to stop it. He simply stood as if carved from marble.
“Kain!” Selma fought against the man who had a firm grip on her, but his strength far surpassed hers. “Help me!”
“Shh, it'll be okay,” the Agent murmured, obviously trying—and failing—to soothe her. “No one is going to hurt you, precious one.”
“Is it true?” the leader rasped, still not looking away from the Lord. “Is the Breeder Pure?”
“Certainly not,” Marathin hissed, taking a step toward her—but the Agent who held her took a step back, lifting his hand in warning. Her Procurer stopped, anger blazing in his eyes. “This is nonsense! You saw the contract—she belongs to me!”
“Gerriol,” the leader said, “confirm.”
The demon holding her gripped her body tighter, dark magic rising around them both like a nightmarish fog.
Selma gritted her teeth at the slimy touch of it against her skin, but it only lasted a few seconds before the man gasped and the energy disappeared once more.
“It… It’s true,” he whispered. “She has no reaction to my magic.”
“Please, just let me stay with Kain,” Selma begged, writhing against the Agent to free herself.
It was no use—he gripped her too tight, even if he was very careful not to hurt her.
“I won’t run away again, but please—let me stay with him!
H-He’s a Lord. You don’t need to take me to an auction. I’ll stay!”
“Have you forced a mating bond with her?” This time the leader snapped his question at Kain, completely ignoring her pleas.
Kain responded with a low, threatening growl. “I have not. She lied to me—I had no idea she was more than a normal Breeder. And neither did you, it would seem. Perhaps you might care to wonder why her Procurer didn't mention this when he sent you after her like a pack of obedient dogs.”
“Careful.”
“Sir, he's right,” one of the other Agents whispered from behind her. “Contract or not, we can’t give him a Pure Breeder.”
“I'm aware.” The leader gave Marathin a long look before he returned his attention to Kain. “We will bring her to the Governor instead, on the condition that you do not try to stop us from leaving with her. If you wish to see her again, you will be invited to her auction as tradition dictates.”
Kain’s black eyes burned into hers, the anger in them knocking the breath from her lungs. “I have no such desires. Take her.”
“No! Kain, I’m sorry! Don’t leave me! Kain!”
Selma struggled against the demon holding her, desperation flaring in her gut as the only protector she’d had turned his back on her and strode toward his car, leaving her to the very fate she’d signed her life away to escape.