Blood oozes down my back, sending rapid shocks through my nervous system. My eyesight dims and my head turns woozy, causing my hands and feet to tingle in an almost deliriously funny way. It’s the adrenaline kicking in.
I roll onto my side, my back against the tree, and look up into the sneering face of a witch hunting wolf. He’s pus-plug ugly and if I had my power, I’d toast him here and now. Instead, I have to try to ward off his attack with my dagger.
It’s not enough.
He comes close and two of his buddies drop down out of the tree to give him backup. I slash the first guy, catching him in the throat and he falls with a gratifying gurgle.
“There’s more where that came from,” I growl at them, pointing my dagger at the other hunters. My trembling hand makes the blade shake; they grin at me, knowing that I’m injured and afraid despite my damndest to hide it.
I never intended to find the wolves tonight and I certainly never planned on killing them by myself. I just wanted to find their hideout so Broin and I could return and slit their throats while they slept.
Why didn’t I wait for Broin?
Because you’re stupid and impulsive, a stronger voice snarls at me.
The hunters don’t even bother replying. They just prowl toward me, their eyes flashing with a feral hunger that Witch Hunters have mastered over the years. I thought I was smart to put my back against the tree. Now it’s preventing me from getting up.
In a series of blurs, the hunters kick me violently in the stomach and chest, driving the air from my lungs. All I can do is curl up into a ball to lessen the damage until I can breathe again. A rock digs into the kidney that hasn’t been perforated yet, just to compound the suffering.
One of them has a gold dagger and he plunges it into my ribs.
I scream out, blood spurting between my teeth, and he pulls his blade free to stab me again. Before he strikes, I return the favor, burying my dagger in his stomach as much as I can. I twist and shove the blade through his intestines, gutting him like a worthless piece of meat.
A black form streaks in from the forest.
With two effortless swoops, it lands straight on his face. I see feathers and talons, then my attacker is reeling away. Broin helps himself to the hunter’s eyeballs and the wolf lets out a shrill scream. He’s rolling on the ground next to his dead friend, but another wolf remains on his feet. He looks like he doesn’t know if he should go after the raven that’s attacking his buddy or if he should finish me off. He looks at me, then turns to attack Broin.
I manage to struggle to my knees. There’s not much at the base of the tree that I can use as a weapon, but the rock that was bruising my kidney is there. It’s big, and I need to use both hands to pick it up, especially since I’m bleeding out and in a world of pain.
With my arms and legs violently trembling, I just manage to heft the rock to about shoulder height, which is as high as it has to go to hit the skull of the wolf who’s trying to hurt my raven. His head makes a sound like a watermelon being cut down the middle and he falls to the ground, listless and pathetic.
Broin turns back into his human form, covered in blood. It’s dawn, so I know he won’t be able to maintain it much longer. The curse will force him back into his raven form as soon as the sun rises completely.
He grabs my hand and holds me steady. “Damn it, Little Red,” he fusses quietly, but the alarm on his face tells me he’s afraid. We both are. “I can’t heal you.”
“I know…” Talking is an effort, and I wonder if I have a collapsed lung. “I know… what I need… to do.”
Broin is too busy examining my injuries. I squeeze his hand and when he glances up, I’m surprised to find tears rolling down his cheeks. Before this happened, I’d never seen him cry properly. Curse, punch, spit, bellow from the top of his lungs, yes. Even a few tears. But cry like this? Never. He’s in so much distress I’m not sure he’s hearing me. If he doesn’t pay attention, I’m going to die here.
“Broin!” He snaps out of it and looks at me. “Take me to the altar.”
I never give Broin credit for being as incredibly strong as he is. He runs through the forest carrying me in his arms as if I weigh nothing. I know he has to hurry. Sunrise is nearly upon us; he won’t be able to maintain his human shape for much longer. Already he’s starting to tremble. I’m afraid that the transformation will overtake him and I’ll fall on top of him, breaking a wing or something. That would be a terrible legacy to leave him with.
Strike that. I’m not leaving.
It occurs to me that I could be dying, probably am dying; that even if Broin gets me to the altar before he becomes a bird again, my request still might be denied. I can’t let that happen. I can’t die before my family’s killers are destroyed. I pray—actually pray—that Lucifer will give Broin the strength to get me there and that he will give me the strength to survive.
I don’t even know if he hears me.
Broin bursts into the clearing and dumps me roughly on the altar just before sunlight pierces through the trees. He starts to speak, but his voice vanishes into a raven’s caw, and then he’s standing on the altar at my head, his black feathers gleaming in the morning light.
“Go,” I tell him. “Go on.”
—No,— he says, his mental voice firm. —I’m not leaving you.—
“You have to. He won’t come… if you’re here,” I whisper, on the verge of passing out again. “And if he doesn’t…”
I don’t need to say the rest. If Lucifer doesn’t come, I’m going to die. Broin knows this…… and he hates it. With a squawk of defeat and anguish, he flies away.
I lie back on the stone, the coldness soothing my back. I wonder if my blood is now filling the tiny crevices that our sacrifices always filled before. My eyes drift shut and I fight to stay awake. I feel so weak.
A hot wind blows over my face and I know that he’s here. He speaks; even though I can’t open my eyes, I can imagine what he looks like, standing there in his golden robe with his mouth in that little smirk.
“Well, well. What have we here? Looks like someone had a rough morning.”
A warm hand rests on my side, right above the stab wound. The skin prickles like it’s going numb. Am I dying? Is this how it feels?
He answers my unspoken question. “Yes. You are dying.”
“Help… me…” The words barely come out, a mere whisper that nearly dies on my lips.
I don’t want to die. I want to avenge Grandma… Redera… want to help them… seek forgiveness.
I manage to push my eyelids open and Lucifer has never looked so beautiful. His scriptures do him little justice. He’s surrounded by a halo of black light and it shimmers over his hair like magic. The annoying smirk on his face changes into a gentle smile. I’m surprised by how genuine and warm the expression looks. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking. Maybe it’s just another lie.
He bends over me and puts his hand on the crown of my head. Lucifer brushes his lips against mine. Instead of the overpowering sexual response that I had to him before, I feel warm and safe inside. I can feel energy like hot honey rolling through my body and it’s comforting in a way nothing has ever been before. It starts in my head and spreads down, moving over my face and through my body all the way to my toes. By the time that feeling of warmth reaches the soles of my feet, all of the pain has faded away like a distant dream.
“Rise, Ravyn Hemlock of Clan She’ol, Mandrake Coven,” he says. “Rise and live.”
I sit up slowly and find even the tears in my clothing have been repaired.
I look at him, and he nods. I sigh and say, “Thank you, my lord.”
My lord? He’s my lord again… after what he did?
He offers me his hand and I accept it. It’s all so civilized and genteel, like I’m a princess and he’s helping me out of my coach. I put my feet on the ground and stand firmly, all dizziness and weakness gone. I pull my hand back from his as my old anger surges up in me again.
Lu
cifer strolls in a slow circle around the clearing, walking the perimeter with one hand out, brushing the bushes and grass that have penetrated through the stone circle from the forest that surrounds us. I turn in place, watching him as he makes his progress. His touch withers the plants. He could have done that to me, and he’s showing me this to make his point. He can harm as easily as he can heal.
Don’t I know it.
He finishes his circle and now he’s standing in front of me. His robe has fallen open, revealing his perfect body in all of its sinful allure. He stands still and lets me get an eyeful, displaying his muscles, his thick cock, his heavy balls… He’s everything I could have wanted in a man. If he weren’t a liar.
A villainous smile curves his lips. “Do you like what you see, child?”
I shake my head violently, though we both know that I very much appreciate the view. But I still have so much to ask him. So much to blame him for. So much to hate him for before I can learn to accept again.
“Why did you do that to me? Why do you want me to suffer?”
His smile fades as quickly as it emerged. “I don’t want any of my children to suffer.”
“You took them from me. My family.” The words come out broken again, my voice cracked with pain. “My family were all I had left.”
“I warned you of what chaos your decision would bring. You did not listen.”
“I didn’t know,” I cry back at him, tears leaking from my eyes.
He is unmoved by my emotional display, as I knew he would be.
“You knew that your family were under my protection. What did you think would happen when you asked me to release you?”
I wipe my eyes, pissed off that I’m weeping in front of him. “I thought you’d remove your protection just from me, not from them.”
He looks at me in disappointment. “Don’t you remember how magic works?”
“Of course I remember!”
“Then you should remember that the magic that protected your family was put in place to protect your whole family, excluding none. I couldn’t exclude you and still protect your family, could I? It’s right in the pact.”
Deals with the devil depend greatly upon the wording that’s used. That’s why so many incautious humans have been caught up in loopholes they didn’t recognize, or didn’t understand. Just like I didn’t.
This was a giant loophole that left my family out in the cold.
I don’t know what to say, so I decide that I can play spell lawyer too. “Is that pact in writing?”
Lucifer laughs. “How else could Esmeralda have signed it in blood?” He makes a gesture with his hands and a glowing scroll appears between them. It unrolls of its own accord and the words of the pact are displayed before me, along with my three-times great-grandmother’s signature. The blood she used is still wet.
I read the pact. It’s exactly what he says, and I see that he followed the letter of the law precisely. I look away and the scroll snaps back, rolling up like a window shade.
He dismisses it with a wave of his hand. “Now, then… What else did you want to discuss with me?”
I know what I need to do. He allowed my family to be killed, but technically he had no choice because of how our agreement was written. As much as it kills me, I really can’t hold him responsible for that. It was my fault for not knowing exactly what would happen if I left.
There’s only one way forward for me now. One future, one fate. I swallow down every bit of pride and honor I have and I kneel down before him, my head bent low.
“I beg your forgiveness, my lord. I offer you my allegiance once again.”
His voice is hard, his reply instant. “No.”
The word cuts through me like a cracked whip. I look up at him in desperation. “Please. I beg of you. I need you to forgive me so that you’ll give me my powers back. I need them to hunt down the wolves who killed my family.”
“You need,” he sneered. “It’s all about what you can gain.”
“Yes,” I agree, “in accordance with your teachings. Indulgence. Envy. Greed. I want them all.”
He stares down at me and a slow smile starts to spread over his face. “So you want your powers back. What do you offer me in return?”
“I already said. I’m offering my allegiance.”
He bends down and takes my face in his hand, holding my jaw firmly. He’s not hurting me—yet. This close up, his eyes shimmer like liquefied gold. They’re beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Hypnotic and insidious.
“I don’t just want your allegiance. I want your soul. Every morsel of it.”
“M-my soul? Why?”
His answer is to kiss me.
Despite everything in my being telling me that it’s wrong, I could really get used to being kissed by Lucifer. Every touch of his lips fills me with fiendish desire and the sort of internal fireworks that only a really good orgasm can give.
Everything about him is sexual and it always has been.
Our magic is activated in sex. Our agreements are sealed in sex. Lucifer loves to fuck with our minds and our bodies, and so do all of his followers, myself included. I confess that I’m getting wet between my legs already and he knows that.
He pulls away, and I swear to Satan himself, his own eyes are filled with lust.
For me.
Underneath all that power and control, all that cruelty and divinity, there’s also just a man.
The realization takes my breath away, even more than his kiss does.
“I will return your powers to you, Ravyn. I will even encourage you to avenge your family. In return, once you graduate Everafter Academy, you will live with me in Hell as my personal slave and entertainment.”
He releases his grip on my jaw and crouches in front of me. His long cock almost brushes the ground and his thigh muscles are a wonder to behold. He could crush my skull between them if he so desired. He brings his face level with my pussy and I struggle not to squirm. I want to feel his mouth on me. I want to know if the Inferno’s Kiss is real. It’s not just your soul he can suck out. He can suck out the best orgasm of your whole fucking life. I hold my breath and look into his eyes.
“You will obey me—every whim, every breath, every order. You will worship and obey me absolutely and without question until the end of time.”
None of these are conditions. They’re orders… and it’s driving me wild.
He reaches down and gathers up my skirt in his hand, his other one darting up underneath the garment to trace the wetness of my lips. He pulls his hand back and licks the fingertips, cleaning away the trace of me while his eyes are locked with mine. I shiver, filled with an innate, inexplicable lust for him.
“Do you agree?”
Lucifer’s cock is getting harder and it stands as I look down at it, moving before my eyes. If a cock can be perfect, this one fucking is. Now I see why we worship him. I want to feel it fill every hole that I possess. I know what we’re about to do. We’re about to seal the deal the Satanic way.
The only way that I know.
I meet his gaze again. “I agree, My Lord.”
He stands and pulls my skirt up to my waist with one hand while the other grabs me around the small of my back and pulls me close. The hot tip of his cock presses against my inner thigh and I spread my legs for him. He picks me up and impales me on his length, and I throw my head back in instant—fucking—ecstasy.
I’m no virgin. I’ve been around the block enough times to wear a path in the sidewalk. But Lucifer fills me like I’ve never been filled before. He’s thick and long, hot and firm. He gives a sharp thrust and he’s in me deeper than anything or anyone else has ever been and it feels as if he’s growing.
I push his robe off his muscular shoulders and dig my nails into his skin, drawing blood. He hisses with approval, encouraging me to claw harder, deeper, which I’m all for.
He puts me on the altar and climbs on with me, bracing himself against the stone with his knees. Sweet unholy fu
ck. I’m being fucked by the Dark Lord himself. It’s like a sinister dream wrapped up in a beautiful nightmare. All I can do is focus on him, his face, his eyes, his cock stretching and filling me.
Lucifer jerks his hips once. It’s painful, and sweet Lilith, I love it. He starts to fuck me, really fuck me, and all I hear is the rush of my pulse and the slapping of his body colliding with mine. He pounds into me, thrust after thrust, and I’m delirious with pleasure.
Just before I cum, he pulls out, leaving me whimpering and mewling for more. He turns me over onto my stomach and drives himself into my ass. The pain makes me gasp and then I explode, squirming and spasming in the biggest climax of my life. He fucks my hole ruthlessly, driving me into orgasm after orgasm, and I feel him getting harder and thicker inside me. My ass is sore and raw, unprepared for his entrance and brutal fucking, and I love it. I love pain, like all of my clan do. I learned in Lucifer’s name that pain and pleasure are much the same.
Now I’m getting that lesson repeated at His own hands; I’ve never been fucking happier.
I fall still for a moment, my arms and legs brushing the cold granite. But I’m not left like this for long. He plunges into me once more, this time so painfully I see stars—glorious, toe-curling stars. His thrusts are so hard that I can feel the soft tissues of my buttocks rippling with the power of his movement. It seems like my own flesh is vibrating against my clit. I’ve never felt anything like it. I’ve also never fucked a god before. I hear screaming; I realize that it’s me as another dizzying orgasm builds up inside, forcing me to arch my back and dig my nails into the stone.
He stops moving, his cock buried to the hilt in my ass, his balls heavy against my pussy, which is dripping for him. He grabs my dagger from its sheath on my thigh.
“I claim you,” Lucifer pants in my ear, bending to cover me with his body.
Then he straightens, still deep within me, and he cuts my cloak and dress away. With one huge hand, he strokes my now-bare back. His cock grows again and I feel like my ass can hardly stretch enough to take him. He moves so that he’s crouching over me. He’s transformed himself and his feet are cloven hooves. I reach down and caress the fur over his fetlocks as he begins to fuck me again. Moaning, I raise my hips up into the onslaught, begging silently for him to destroy me, to claim every inch of my body.
Once Upon A Wolf: A Dark Academy Reverse Harem Bully Romance (Everafter Academy Book 1) Page 4
