Chapter Nineteen
Alec
The vanilla-haired temptress did everything she could to cause me distress and annoy the fuck out of me.
Like a useless youngling, I let her get under my skin every damn time.
It was so obvious what she was doing that I could almost laugh if I wasn’t feeling so murderous every time she fucked somebody else.
She was mine.
Darkness boiled me from the inside out, hungry for something to tear apart, and tried to reach for the idiots that dared to touch what didn’t belong to them.
The only solace I found in this fucked-up situation was the fact both encounters seemingly disappointed her.
She looked displeased both times the guys brought her back.
Next time I saw them I might just show them the consequences of their actions.
The only bed the halfling belonged in was mine, and she would learn that soon enough. With me, she wouldn’t grimace in dissatisfaction; she would be too tired and spent.
She would moan my name like I carved it into her soul.
Jumping back to the estate, I landed in the dining room craving a shot of whisky. It was pitch-black outside, and since no light was on, so was the room. I never noticed father sitting at the table before he huffed in a greeting.
‘You okay?’ I asked, walking to the bar in the corner.
No whisky. My latest frustrations cost me in liquor. Brandy had to do.
Father glowered with his brows excessively pinched and downed his drink in one go. ‘When is the witch leaving?’
Oh, oh. ‘What now?’
‘Did you know that she tried to seduce me the other day?’ he accused, looking disgusted and smug.
The fuck? She went after my father? That was a low blow even for her. ‘Really?’
‘Seriously. But apparently she doesn’t discriminate since she is currently fucking the girl I brought home an hour ago. 'I left for a bottle of wine and like a fucking vulture, she snatched her from right in front of me.’
The situation was so absurd I couldn’t help but laugh, lightly first and then raucously enough to make him seethe at me. ‘Willow stole your girl?’
That was a new level of chaos, even for her.
Hand tightening around his empty glass, he asked, visibly appalled, ‘Is that girl a sex addict? Because I really fucking think so.’
How his pride would take such a hit, I didn’t know. ‘I don’t think so. She’s trying to get under our skin so we kick her out.’
‘The only reason I haven’t already is because of you,’ he raged, pointing a finger at me.
‘Obviously,’ I sighed, sitting in front of him. The conversation was getting nowhere, but I had nothing better to do. ‘So you’re just waiting for your turn or what?’
If looks could kill.
‘A girl stole my conquest, Alexander. It’s a new type of low for me, so I am enjoying a drink and considering my current situation.’
My chair croaked as I swayed back and forth, watching his already foul mood darken. ‘So it’s not the fact that she chose somebody else, but the fact she chose a girl over you that stings?’
‘Precisely,’ his quiet words were drowned out by the smoky shadows forming around his fingertips.
‘That’s weird logic, but whatever, pops.’
The darkness increased, drowning out the stray light from the foyer. ‘Talk to me when a girl steals your lay.’
‘My lay is upstairs screwing yours.' I chuckled, unable to stop myself.
A cruel smile twisted his lips. ‘Does she realise she’s your lay?’
This bothered him a lot; he wasn’t usually this mean. How entertaining. ‘All in due time.’
‘Why?’ he continued with a note of interest.
‘It’s a delicate situation,’ I explained to a man who never quite learnt to understand the better sex. ‘There is a fine line between hate and desire; I’m waiting for her to cross it.’
A bottle of vodka appeared on the table; he must have jumped it to him. ‘Looks to me like you might wait a while.’
Explaining my predisposition felt pointless, especially in his drunken state. ‘Patience is a virtue.’
‘Where were you anyway?’ he asked, relishing in his stinky liquor.
This could piss him off even more, but it needed to be done. ‘Portal shopping.’
‘Erm…’ He took a shot, a drop falling down his chin. ‘Isn’t that the one thing you shouldn’t get if you want your witch to stay here?’
‘It will be locked for her, I snatched some hairs from her brush to make sure.’
‘So then why get it?’ he asked, downing another one.
‘Um, hello?’ I knocked on the table to make some noise and prompt his brain to work more efficiently. ‘You have a daughter that can’t jump and needs someone to travel with everywhere she goes?’
‘It’s not a problem.’ Father’s gaze went distant for a second. ‘I can send her places.’
Fuck’s sake. I couldn’t cope with him. ‘Use your head, old man. She’s an adult woman who might not want to ask her daddy and brother every time she wants to go somewhere.’
‘I planned for her to leave freely once she controlled her shadows,’ he admitted begrudgingly.
I let the disbelief show on my face. He was always a tad delusional, or hopeful, as he liked to call it. But keeping Ava sheltered wouldn’t serve any greater purpose apart from controlling her.
That would only turn her against us, and I already angered her by keeping Willow here.
It wasn’t like I had a choice, but I understood where she was coming from.
If my vanilla-haired mate focused nearly as much on tormenting her younger sister as she had on me, it made sense that they hated each other.
‘Well, she’s neither your hostage nor a teenager to gatekeep from the world.' I didn’t hold back. ‘Besides the realm literally depends on her finding the hiding weirdos so let it go.’
Head tilting, he looked confused. ‘Hiding weirdos?’
My shoulder slackened. Was there even a point to this conversation? ‘The Crones. Keep up.’
‘She’s searching for them now, isn’t she? With that Fogoyan King,’ he barked his title like it brought distaste to his mouth.
I nodded and stopped swaying while my clingy frog appeared out of nowhere and attempted to jump on me. ‘As far as I know.’
‘Do you trust him with her?’
Did I like River? No. Did I think he was a danger to her? ‘He wouldn’t hurt his mate.’
‘Yet he traded her,’ his tone was grave as he winced before downing another shot.
‘Before he knew who she was,’ I found myself defending the dumbass. He was a fucking idiot, that didn’t mean he was a lost cause.
The way he looked at her… Now, I could relate.
‘I find that hard to believe,’ dad argued. ‘Males usually know instantly.’
Stubborn ass. ‘Usually. Not always.’
A groan slipped from him. ‘You knew instantly with the blonde succubus, didn’t you?’
Before I could respond, both of our heads snapped toward the sound of doors closing and an eager exchange between the girls. ‘Time to get your turn, it seems.’
‘Fuck off, son.’
Chuckling, I rushed to catch Willow before she retreated to her room.
‘Seriously? My father’s fling?’ I asked, appearing before her at the top of the staircase and startling her. Backing away, she nearly fell and didn’t appreciate how tightly my shadows kept her in place. On the edge of the stair she nearly slipped from.
I could have my fun, just like she had.
With how stubborn she was, she probably preferred to break her neck anyway.
‘What’s it to you?’ she challenged, jutting her chin provocatively.
The defiance irritated me as much as it made me hard. It would be fun to make her quiver. ‘Just asking. Are you planning to continue fucking your way through our lands?’
Her piercing eyes shot to mine, the brightest of blues in her irises making my cock jerk, before her devious tongue darted to wet her lips, and I’d nearly come undone. Fucking hot. And her smell, sweat mixed with arousal—I couldn’t get enough.
‘Maybe I’m planning to conquer the realm one dick at a time,’ she seethed.
Shit. ‘Then land on mine next. You won’t want any more.’
I released her from my binds, hoping she would try to seduce me like she had my father.
She laughed in my face and walked away, swaying her hips. Before she slammed her bedroom door in my face, she moaned, ‘Are you going to ruin the experience that badly for me?’
The click of the lock echoed between us.
My shadows surged forward on instinct, eager to tear the door off its hinges.
I let them.
They closed in on her door like a promise, searching for a way in.
She slipped through my grasp again.
Not tonight.
But soon, she wouldn’t.