What I did know was that I’d kill for her. I’d killed for lesser men, and there’d be no hesitation when it came to her protection. She was a delicate and precious treasure, one that I planned to cherish for as long as she’d let me, which hopefully, would be forever. I was already falling into a serious downward spiral headed straight towards obsession and total admiration.
“If any of you hurt her, I will chop off your cocks and give them to Randy Roger to hang in his wind chime garden in his backyard. You get one warning. She’s been through enough and is still the most resilient witch I’ve ever known. Affairs of the heart are the ones that break people, and I won’t stand for it.”
“All due respect, Bette, it’d be more likely that she’d be the one to break their hearts if we’re being honest here,” Sloane murmured, running a hand through his dark hair. His ice blue eyes were frosty as ice chips, and a hint of sadness flashed before it was lost forever. What was that all about?
“Then let’s just plan on nobody getting their hearts broken, yeah?” I said, suddenly feeling done with this conversation. My woman was laying in bed, lost to us, and I couldn’t process the thought of ever being separated from her.
“Let’s pick up some food and head back. We can bring the pendant with us so the moment the glow stops, we can put it on our girl. We need to eat, even if we don’t feel like it,” I suggested, tired of sitting here doing fuck all. “I’ll probably need to go for a run after lunch. Bagheera is in a downright shitty mood and if I don’t let him have a proper feline freak out, who knows what we’ll be in store for later.”
“Sounds like a plan. Order from the Chinese place. I could eat there every day!” Bette exclaimed, clapping her hands before putting the pendent into her bag. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. See you suckers at home!”
And with that, she flounced out of the shop without so much as looking back. Sloane and I just looked at each other before shaking our heads and chuckling over her antics.
“I’ll call Wok n’ Roll. Go make sure the backdoor is locked and warded. That douche-mage was lurking around here last week and I don’t want him trying to pull any kind of fuckery,” I told Sloane, pulling out my phone and looking up the number to call in the food.
“On it.”
I placed an order with enough food to feed a fucking army, and after Sloane and I made sure everything was good to go, we headed over to the restaurant to pick up our deliciousness. My stomach rumbled so loud, I nearly mistook it for Bagheera getting bitchy again.
“Last one to the house has a micropenis!” I hollered at Sloane, attempting to lighten the mood and laughing as he cursed me, both of us running to our bikes with backpacks stuffed with Chinese food. It was fun when we did these races since I always beat him. My bike was faster, and he would be such a pouty bitch over it.
The laughter felt forced from my lips as the shadows from massive clouds drifted over the sun, matching my emotions. The excitement I would’ve normally felt over beating him in any competition no longer felt as good as it usually did.
The sun was sinking in the sky, casting hues of pinks, oranges, and purples in its farewell.
Bette had given Cam and Fischer the rundown on the tether once we returned. With nothing left to do but wait and worry, we’d all stuffed ourselves at lunch and afterward, everyone decided to take a nap, exhaustion setting in after the huge surge of adrenaline we’d all felt. But I had to run. We stood on a large rock, staring at the sky, just lost in thought. This whole situation was beyond fucked up, and after Bette’s questioning earlier about our timeline, there was so much weighing on my mind and conscience, I was having a hard time dealing with it.
What kind of a mage lies to their mate? A scum bag. An unworthy one. And on the other hand, one that is keeping his woman safe, one who has a secretive job, one that could put her in further danger. For every positive, a negative was right there waiting, and I’d ruminated on this line of thinking all gods damned day.
My usual cheery attitude was nowhere in sight, and a flare of concern came through the bond multiple times today, my panther checking in to make sure that I was okay, that the depression I struggled with off and on was still in check.
And it was, for now.
It had been years since I’d had a really scary low time, but it happens. There was no trigger, no event that set it off, it was just how my brain was wired. A chemical imbalance, that’s what the healers told my parents when I was first diagnosed at age seventeen with MDD — major depressive disorder. It was so much easier to just say MDD, especially when I would be so fucking depressed. The less words needed to use to give a history, the better.
Learning coping skills and utilizing therapy services had been monumental in taking my life back from the darkness, the suffocating sadness that seemed to hit like a ton of bricks without any justification or warning. I refused to let it happen right now, though. Saige would be fine, this tether would work, we would all figure out what the next step would be in our relationship, and perhaps a transfer was possible if we convinced Larson to buy this fucking building after all. We’d spearhead the project and oversee the development of Radical Inc. Kingstown Branch.
Maybe he’d be more interested if we played it up as a recruitment and training center. Sloane and Fischer had said the space was there for it; that could be a great change of pace for us. Train the next generation and all that shit. Like Karate Kid. My stomach twisted uncomfortably though at the conversation we’d have to have sooner rather than later about our real careers and why we were here.
The dead sprint back to the cottage passed in a blur, and our muscles were screaming, but the anxiety was ebbing away, so it was fucking worth it. Shifting fluidly back into my body, I entered through the back patio and snagged the pair of shorts I’d left, quickly slipping them on. There was no sound coming from upstairs, so the others must have still been snoozing. Good, they needed their rest.
Grabbing a cup and filling it with water from the tap, I slammed three of them before taking some deep breaths. There, that’s much better. Stretching out a bit, I felt like myself again. I can do this. This is my gods damn mate and I’ll be a son of a bitch if some demon fucks think they’re going to take her from me. I’d die before I ever allowed that to happen.
Taking the stairs two at a time, I turned the corner and my heart melted at the scene before me. Our beautiful woman was lying in the middle of her bed, Cam’s arm underneath her head, his face buried in her hair. Fischer took up the other side of her, his arm thrown across her waist, his body pressed as closely as possible. Sloane was sprawled across the bottom of the bed on his stomach, but his grip was firm around her ankle. My pack. My family.
Figuring I should shower before staking a claim in the puppy pile that was happening, I intended to do just that, but as I walked past the dresser, I saw the pentagram tether, and it wasn’t glowing.
It. Wasn’t. Glowing.
“WAKE THE FUCK UP, ASSHOLES!” I shouted, and the guys all leapt from the bed, jostling poor Sprout as they landed in pure attack mode. Should I have felt guilty? Maybe? But I felt fucking proud as hell, my team was still as quick as ever and ready for any trouble that should come our way.
Their wild eyes scanned the room and when they landed on me, all three of them wore matching scowls and began to stalk my way.
“Now, now, boys,” I held my hands up in surrender, “let’s not do anything hasty. It’s time to get our girl back!” I scooted backwards when they didn’t stop advancing on me. “What? Would you rather I left you sleeping and took the role of the sole hero when she comes to?”
They froze. Ha.
“As I thought. I believe the words you’re searching for are ‘Thank you, Kai. You’re the best friend a mage could ever ask for, I’ll never stride towards you in anger ever again, and you have the nicest looking cock—’” I’m not even going to lie, a girly ass scream left my throat as Sloane barreled into me, tackling me to the ground.
“Stop. Tal
king. Feline,” he growled, pushing his weight down on top of me.
I smirked up at him. “Is that the world’s largest magic wand or are you just happy to see me, Sloaney?”
“You wish, K.” He chuckled, hopping up and giving me a hand.
“What do you mean it’s time?” Fischer asked as his curiosity got the best of him and he joined Cam in eyeballing the necklace.
“Well, you heard Gran. When it stops glowing, that means it’s party time, right? Someone go get her, I’m going to take a lightning fast shower, and then we’re gonna get our woman back where she belongs.”
“I’ll do it. Hurry in the shower, K. I want her back as soon as possible.” Cam’s no nonsense bark to his voice had me spinning on my heel and speed walking to the shower.
We were going to get her back. My Sprout, my mate.
Something cold and smooth pressed against my cheek as my eyes fluttered open. Voices drifted into my ears, but they sounded distorted and I couldn’t figure out what the words meant. My head was pounding, like the lingering effects of a bad hangover, and I felt groggy, like my brain had been reduced to nothing but a pile of rubble. Where am I?
Willing myself to open my eyes was a task in itself; my eyelids felt like lead weights. Once my eyes focused, I realized that I was laying on a stone floor, wearing the purple velvet robe from before. At least I’m not naked this time. I’m back in Besmet, and I came here this time while I was fully awake. Good, that’s not terrifying at all. And the voices... definitely angry voices now, angry demonic voices. Get up, get up, get up! Attempting to push myself up on wobbly arms, I crashed back down to the floor almost immediately, my body was just too weak to respond the way I needed right now.
“Who are you and what are you doing in His Royal Highness, King Thane Carlisle’s throne room?” an incredibly deep voice questioned. I glanced over, seeing it was one of the royal guards, judging by the uniform. Trying to think of something to say, I rolled over onto my back to buy myself some precious time, and my eyes widened when I took in the sight before me.
At least thirty demons stood around me, some men, some women, all with an assortment of different looking horns on their heads. They looked human aside from the horns, but more importantly, they all looked like soldiers. Like the kinds of demons you don’t want to fuck with. I might have to bullshit my way out of this and fast.
Looking over to the man I recognized, I scrambled to come up with something to say. “I–” my voice cracked, throat dry and scratchy, “I’m here to visit your son.”
Well, that certainly drew some less than desirable looks from the audience, and the king’s eyes narrowed as he studied me, his eyes traveling over my entire body— not in a lewd way, but like I was undergoing some kind of assessment I knew nothing about.
Rubbing his knuckles under his chin, he sneered, “Bram’s taken a whore? Well, it’s about bloody time! Let’s get the boy here to collect her, shall we?” He was staring at me, but his eyes had a sort of glazed look to them, like he wasn’t really seeing what was before him. Just as my mouth opened to inform the bastard that I was not a whore, my skin started to tingle and the air before me rippled in the outline of a man. What the hell?
Fascinated and terrified, I stared up as Bram —I guess that was his real name— materialized before my very eyes. Holy shit. Demons can teleport? He stared down at me, his eyes widening when he realized the situation he just walked in on.
“I found your whore laying here like street trash, son. She claims she’s here to see you. Next time, make sure you keep your toys from wandering the halls,” the king grumbled, but I couldn’t tear my gaze from Bram. His honey eyes were practically glowing, his jaw ticking in response to his father’s words. I silently plead with him with my eyes to not ask questions, needing him just to play along. I didn’t want this demon king to know anything about me.
Bending down towards me, he extended his hand in invitation, one I gladly accepted because without his assistance I’d probably be ‘whorish street trash’ for the remainder of the day with how exhausted I felt. When our hands connected, that same jolt of electricity zapped through my body and the magnetic pull I’d felt before was almost buzzing as I fought the urge to plaster myself against his body and breathe in his scent.
Leaning down, his mouth hidden by my hair, he whispered, “Don’t speak.”
“Bram, I’m glad to see you finally breaking your celibacy. You know damn well we’re having a crisis here. Now, get that commoner out of my fucking throne room and into your bed. With a little luck, you’ll impregnate the whore,” his father barked, and my eyebrows lifted to my hairline. Impregnate? Celibacy? What the actual fuck is going on here? Bram squeezed my hand in warning, reminding me to keep my mouth shut.
“Sire, I apologize. The woman is a wild one and after we’d mated earlier, she must’ve slipped out of my room while I was coming down from the knot. Won’t happen again, will it?” His grip tightened as he pulled me against him, his other hand cupping my ass, earning cheers and laughter from the crowd. The loudest laughter was, of course, coming from the king of this castle. Creepy ass demon fucker.
“No. I’m sorry,” I mumbled.
“You’re sorry, what?” Bram bit out, playing the part well.
What the hell does he mean... Okay, right. He’s royalty.
“I’m sorry, my prince,” I amended, squeezing his hand to express my disgust. A smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth.
“Well, my boy! Don’t let us deter you. I’ll see you tomorrow morning for breakfast,” he reminded Bram, then turned on his heel and began to stride across the room. Just as our shoulders sagged in relief, he spun back around, his gaze flicking between the two of us. “And just to be clear, if I find you sneaking around my castle again, I will slit your throat, whore to the prince or not.” With that, he left the room, and without having to say a thing to his guards, they followed him like lemmings.
“Holy. Shit,” I breathed. “That was fucking crazy! What the hell was he talking about, impreg—” my words were cut off as I was pulled into Bram’s hard chest, his mouth dipping to my ear.
“There are spies everywhere, tiny warrior. Hold onto me, we’re getting out of here before anything else fucking happens,” he whispered, his breath igniting a shiver that ran down my spine. My hands lifted of their own free will, wrapping around his waist. Wonder where we’re going...
“Oh! Oh, Bram, no, don’t you dare—”
I screamed like a total asshole, at the top of my lungs, nothing held back as my soul left my body. It felt like someone had a giant vacuum and sucked us through it with no resistance. It was pitch black... oh wait, my eyes were closed. Derp. Whatever, I was too fucking scared to peek at what was going on out there.
We landed with a bounce on something soft, and my eyes flew open. The room was spinning so I squeezed them shut again. “Ugh, why the fuck did you do that?” I groaned.
He looked down at me like I was a few cards short of a tarot deck before shaking his head. “We just jumped back to my living quarters, it’s still within the castle, but this is mine. You handled that well; most non-demons get sick,” he informed me, and I felt the surface I was laying on shift. Inhaling and exhaling slowly, my bearings returned, and I felt brave enough to crack a lid.
“You thought landing us on your bed with a chance I was going to barf was a good idea?” I questioned, both eyes now open wide and taking in the expanse of the huge bedroom I was in. A black silky comforter was spread across the huge mattress, the stone walls towering high above us. Gargoyles were carved into different places along the perimeter of the ceiling, silently watching every move. They looked scary as hell. Fitting, I guess, for a demon prince’s bedroom.
Bram had walked over to the sitting area where a fully stocked mini-bar stood in against the wall. “The blanket is replaceable. I was mostly concerned with you being so weak from whatever had you laying on the floor in a psychopath’s castle, and that your legs would give out when we l
anded and you’d crack your head on the floor. Now, tell me, what the hell were you doing there? I explicitly warned you last time not to get caught snooping around.”
“For the last time, I wasn’t snooping. I don’t know how I ended up there! After our last meeting, or whatever you want to call it, I woke up in my room and it wasn’t five minutes later, my head felt like it was going to explode. By the stars, I’d never felt anything so painful in my entire life. It was awful! Have you ever thought you were dying? Because that’s what I thought was happening. Next thing I know, I’m here. Again,” I fired back at him, sitting up and crossing my arms over my chest.
Turning to face me, two glasses in hand, he walked over and handed me one as I studied his face for a moment. He really was unique. Easily over six feet tall, in fact, he was probably close to Cam’s height, but narrower in his build. His hair was a dark auburn, shaved close on the sides and longer on the top to where it was constantly falling into his eyes. I’d never seen someone with the amount of freckles he had, and I was positive there were more hiding under his short beard. The most noticeable trait though, were his eyes. Amber yellow with specks of brown and his black rimmed glasses just amplified their beauty.
Taking the glass from him, the dark liquid swirled, and I didn’t hesitate as I lifted it to my mouth and threw back half of it in seconds. A burn ignited in my mouth and throat unlike any liquor I’d ever encountered before I gasped and choked out, “What the fuck is that? Poison?”
Bram threw his head back and laughed as my throat died a fiery death. Flipping him double birds just made him laugh louder. “Hahahahaha,” I mockingly laughed. Dick.
“You are captivating. It’s called Dragon Fireball. It’s whiskey made with actual fire from the beasts. Obviously, it’s most enjoyed when sipped, not slammed. But street trash always take things too far, don’t they?” He lifted an eyebrow, a grin causing his features to light up, somehow him repeating his father’s words caused me to see the ridiculousness of them, and I grinned in response as his joke pulled me from my grumpy mood.
The Magic Of Betrayal Page 2
