by Nora Ash
Her laughter echoed off the stone walls, its pitch modulated for seduction. The only impact it had on Kain was further fueling his rage.
“I bet your offspring will be as fierce as their daddy. Would that be so bad? To make strong children who will bring honor to your name?”
Children. His chest gave an achy spasm, and he gritted his teeth against the onslaught of emotion that word brought. He had a child—or at least, he had had a child. He didn’t know if Selma had managed to escape, and he would likely never find out. All he could do was hope that she’d made it to Kesh, and that his brother would treat her and their child well. If a mated demon died, it was customary that the Breeder went to a sexually mature family member, at least if she still had young children. It was the only way to ensure her new mate didn’t kill the offspring not related to him in a fit of possessive jealousy.
To Selma and his family he was dead. No one knew where he’d been taken or that he was even alive, and Kesh was smart enough to know not to bring attention to Naharan’s betrayal. An all out war with the royal family would risk destroying them all—including his mate and unborn child.
“I have sent you willing female after willing female, and you have denied them all. And of course you killed poor Freidha. She was in heat, which is why she was silly enough to get too close, but I really did expect you to at least sniff her a bit before breaking her neck. Yet nothing has tempted that lovely cock of yours, which—let’s be honest—is pretty out of character for your kind. I’ve been told you Lords enjoy raping those of us you capture, so why not take it when it’s freely given?”
Kain spat at the ground and showed his teeth in disgust. He knew what they wanted from him—his seed, to strengthen their offspring. Maybe before he’d mated his little one his body would have given in to the alluring scent of a female in heat, but now all he felt was repulsion. Nothing and no one would ever make him yearn like Selma did, and mounting another would only sully her memory. He was fully aware that the memory of her pretty face and the way she made him feel things he hadn’t even known were possible was the only pleasant thing he would ever know again.
“You know,” the female said, the purr in her voice changing ever so slightly to a somewhat more threatening sound. “You will give me what I want eventually. I am your Queen, and sooner or later you will yield to me. You produce stronger sperm when at full health and vitality, but I will starve and torture you to get what I need if I have to.”
Kain’s only response was a threatening growl. Let her try to break him—he would rather die than give her what belonged to his mate.
Selma.
If only she had made it to safety, nothing they did to him would matter.
The Queen sighed and uncoiled the whip hanging by her hip. “I see you’ve made your choice. Very well.”
* * *
His body still trembled ever so slightly long after the Queen had left the dungeon. He wasn’t exactly unfamiliar with pain, but even his exceedingly high level of endurance had started to crack after hours of being whipped and beaten.
Kain breathed in deeply to calm his system, and the scent of his own blood filled his nostrils. He leaned his head back against the cool stone wall he was slouched against. Closing his eyes, he groaned softly at the ache in his marred shoulders when they pressed more firmly against the surface. He’d heal quickly enough, but he had no delusions that the bitch Queen wasn’t going to draw more blood the next time she came.
And the time after that, and the time after that.
Hopefully, one day soon, she would let her guard down for just a second. When she did, he would strike, and maybe—just maybe—he would escape and find his mate again.
He smiled wryly at himself. Succumbing to romantic fantasies … what a little torture and emotional turmoil could do to a man—even a demon. During the beating he’d indulged himself and let his mind escape to those moments in the car when he’d been driving Selma back. While looking at her sleeping form all curled up on the passenger seat next to him he had finally realized what that sore thing constricting in his chest every time he thought about her was.
Love.
How ridiculous that such a folly had his insides twisting and his very being yearning with need. Yet he’d felt nothing but warmth flood his body as he’d watched her sleep, knowing that what he felt was love.
She had chosen him. She’d chosen him and his child, had assured him that she would never leave their son, and in her scent and beautiful eyes he had seen the truth to her words.
For nearly an hour of his life, while the sound of Selma’s deep breaths and her beautiful scent filled the car he was bringing her home in, he had known true happiness. It was enough—it was more than he’d ever hoped for. More than he’d known to hope for.
No matter if he escaped or not, they could never take that away from him.
Rattling at the dungeon door made his jaw clench and his thoughts slam back into the present. He’d hoped to get some sleep to gather a bit of strength before the next session, but the Queen was undoubtedly determined to make him break sooner rather than later. He still had the marks to prove as much.
The sharp fluorescent lights flickered on, and he could now make out two sets of individual footsteps. With a low growl he got to his feet, though he remained crouched and prepared to attack if given the opportunity.
“Kain?”
The soft voice made his breath catch in his throat, choking off the growl.
No…?
He hadn’t finished the denial before the owner of the voice came into view. She paused for a second, her soft mouth dropping open in shock, and then she ran to the bars.
“Kain!”
Panic, desperation and overwhelming joy blended into a knot of emotion in his stomach as he saw the dark haired woman pull uselessly at the door to his cell, rattling it in her attempt at getting to him.
“You can’t be here,” he gasped, the panic taking over as he envisioned his beloved mate in the hands of the ruthless Queen. “You have to get out!”
“We’re not planning on hanging around, if that’s what you mean.” Another figure came into view, gently prying Selma’s fingers off the bars so he could get to the lock.
Kesh.
Dark light flickered around his hand as he pressed his black energy into the lock, melting it off.
The moment the door was open Selma rushed through it as if she was going to jump at him, but she stopped in front of him, looking his bruised and bleeding body up and down with horror in her eyes. “Oh, Kain.”
Her scent of anguish pulled the rumbling purr from his chest before he closed his arms around her, shackles and all, and pulled her soft body against his. His lashes hurt when she pressed against them, but the soothing comfort of her already familiar weight far overshadowed any discomfort. Lost in the feel of her he buried his face in her long hair to inhale her intoxicating aroma, never pausing the deep rumble.
His mate. His beloved.
“Could you guys maybe wait with the reunion shit until we’re out of here? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re in a fucking dungeon underneath one of the Queen’s residences. If we want any chance at getting out it needs to happen now, before they manage to call more people.”
Selma pulled away at his brother’s snide comment, those brown eyes filling with worry instead of joy. “He’s right,” she said, her voice tight with tension. “Kirigan is trying to contain the guards upstairs. We have to hurry.”
His father was there? Kesh had taken her to their father?
With sheer force of will he pushed the worry tensing his stomach away. He could have words with his brother about putting his entrusted mate into danger—which damn well included bringing her here—later. He glared at Kesh over the top of Selma’s head, but the other demon was too preoccupied with examining his chains to care.
“Resistant to our magic,” he muttered as he gave the lock a testing prod with the tip of his knife. “It’ll take forever to p
ick this. They sure didn’t want you getting loose, eh? Selma, give it a try.”
Kain frowned in confusion when his mate grabbed the shackles around his wrists and stared intently at them. His unasked question was soon answered when pure white light burst from her palms and into the metal, cracking the lock open as efficiently as a rock to a walnut.
“What the fuck was that?”
Kesh quirked a sardonic eyebrow at him. “Oh, that? Yeah, turns out your Breeder is capable of killing even the strongest among us. And may I take this opportunity to congratulate you on your choice of mate? Well picked. She sure is worth the shit-ton of trouble your claiming has caused.”
A defensive growl rumbled out of his chest, even as he eyed Selma with some hesitation. Had she always been capable of this? Had she somehow manipulated him into believing she was defenseless?
Her face contorted under his scrutiny, giving way to lines of anxiety and exhaustion.
“I didn’t know, Kain,” she whispered, as if the questions were plain is his eyes.
No, she wasn’t pretending to be weak—he’d smelled her terror when she was cornered and abused the first time he saw her, and now … she looked so frail, tired. Whatever was going on with her unexpected power, she obviously wasn’t in control.
His protective instincts drowned any lingering doubt, and without care to his many welts and cuts he lifted her up into his arms. They could talk later—right now, he needed to get his mate to safety.
Instead of objecting to being carried she sank further into his grip, like a child seeking comfort, and buried her head by his shoulder.
“I was so afraid I’d lost you,” she mumbled, her voice soft and intimate. His heart throbbed oddly in response, but just as he went to nuzzle against the crown of her head he caught Kesh’s exasperated eye roll out of the corner of his eye.
Right. Reinforcement of their bond had to wait until they were in safer, and more private, quarters.
Kain followed his younger brother out through the dungeon, silently promising himself to also have a chat with Kesh about the exact reasons he’d thought it wise to bring his mate along into enemy territory at the first given opportunity.
On the other side of the dungeon door he saw the body of a female demon crumpled against the wall, her skull bearing the undeniable marks of having been crushed with a great amount of power. A similar sight met them at the top of the stairs leading out of the dungeon, and in the adjoining hallway they found three more bodies. Clearly, the operation hadn’t gone seamlessly.
Kesh paused at the end of the long, marble-tiled hallway, his hand hovering over the door knob.
“I can’t hear anything.”
His hoarse whisper made Kain freeze, his senses straining to push past the limits of his fatigued body. Complete silence met him.
There should have been noise—the sounds of fighting.
“We have to go,” Kesh hissed. “We can’t attempt to save him without endangering her.”
‘Him’ being their father.
Kain shook his head, determined not to let any lingering loyalties to the man who’d brought him up risk his mate. There was no choice to make—she was his only priority.
They shared a short look before Kesh kicked open the door, ready to cover their escape.
Yet they didn’t manage more than two steps before dark magic wrapped around Kesh’s throat and brought him to his knees with a gurgle.
Kain cursed and let Selma slide to the floor so his hands were free and his body between her and their attackers. His powers enveloped them both just in time to block a crushing blow of magic seemingly appearing out of nowhere.
He growled in anger at the cowardice behind the invisible attacks. Filthy traps placed by weak enemies!
“I see I didn’t tire you nearly enough.”
The Queen stepped out of thin air. She yanked on the chain in her hand, pulling his father out in the open too.
Kirigan stared straight ahead without any hint of emotion flickering in his dark gaze, despite the blood trickling from the barbs on the thick metal collar around his neck.
Kain pushed the odd pang in his gut away and bared his teeth at the Queen.
“You will not stop us from leaving,” he snarled in return. “Without your little tricks even a Queen has no hope against a Lord.”
The Queen’s painted lips quirked. “Perhaps not under normal circumstances. But as you might be able to spot, I’ve already incapacitated two Lords without breaking a sweat, and despite all your bravado, you are not even at your full strength. Are you, my Lord?”
She had a point. How had she managed to trap both Kesh and Kirigan this easily? His eyes narrowed with concentration as he focused his powers. She was right—he was not at his best, and it was more challenging than it should have been to keep the protection raised around himself and his mate while pushing his magic outward.
A faint shimmer in the air filled the room, outlining the forms of several dozen crouched figures. Hidden females, ready to attack, no doubt. Yet that didn’t explain how the magic constricting around Kesh’s neck kept him kneeling and immobile, nor how his father, one of the most powerful demons he knew of, had been captured.
“A parting gift, from His Highness,” the Queen purred. “For a son of one of those empty headed cunts you all fawn over like sheep, he is quite crafty.” She held out the wrist on the hand not around Kirigan’s chain, letting the jewel mounted on her silver bracelet sparkle at him.
Kain gasped, almost losing the grasp on his magic from shock. One of the Stones of Power.
“Now, don’t look so surprised. You didn’t think I’d offer to help my sworn enemy just for a stud? Even one as handsome as you. Lucky for me, your Prince thought you a great enough threat that he was willing to bargain it for our help in taking you out of the equation. Not that I doubt the little bitch hiding behind you had something to do with his compliance. I do wish I understood what you saw in the pathetic little cretins. But I suppose maybe I will have the chance to test her for myself before Naharan picks her up.”
Blinding rage roared through his veins, partly at the threat to Selma and partly at the depth of the Prince’s betrayal. The three Stones of Power were as ancient as their race, and had been safeguarded by their rulers for millennia to ensure the gods never got within breathing distance of them. Giving one to a sworn enemy who had already proved she would cooperate with the gods was unthinkable treason.
If he had to give his own life to stop her, he would.
Kain grabbed at the very root of his essence, forcing his magic to burst out through his marred hands in a sudden blast, covering his leap toward the Queen.
The room exploded in movement and shrieks as the hidden females sprang to aid their Queen, but they were too late to stop him.
Warm flesh met his fingers as he grabbed her shoulder, the bones snapping beneath with a satisfying crunch when he closed his fist. The chain holding his father captive fell from her limp grip.
The Queen shrieked and twisted, throwing him over her hip and to the ground faster than he could anticipate.
He rolled to get back on his feet, but it was too late. Black power closed around his windpipe, and when he looked up he saw the Queen bent over him, her features pulled into a fierce snarl. The Stone of Power shone at him, keeping him down.
“For that, I will kill you,” she hissed. “I have two other Lords I can breed now.”
Kain tensed, trying his best to free even an ounce of his power, but the magic from the Stone kept him completely pacified. He had failed.
“Kain! No!”
Selma’s scream, shrill with anguish and fear, cut through to his very soul.
His mate. He would leave her behind to endure unspeakable horrors and a future as a breeding slave for a demon who would never treat her with the respect she deserved, and there was nothing he could do to change it.
Nothing he could do but die.
“Now, child!”
Faster than his e
yes could follow a dark chain wrapped around the Queen’s throat and pulled her back. Kirigan’s head appeared above her shoulder, his face pulled into a grimace from the strain of holding her back with his own chain. With a grunt he spun her around before she could use the Stone of Power, as if using her body as a shield for both himself and Kain.
Bright, white light exploded through the room.
Kain gasped and tried to roll over to escape its destructive power, but there was no need. Before he could move it was gone, leaving stunned silence in its wake. Silence, and ashes.
It took him a moment to realize that the fine, white powder drizzling down over him like snowflakes on a quiet December night was what was left of the Queen.
“Such beauty.”
The reverent mumble came from his father. Kirigan smiled uncharacteristically softly in the direction the light had come blasting from before turning his attention to Kain.
“Get up, Son. Your Breeder is about to pass out, and I’m not entirely sure the females will honor her claim to the title once they come out of their shock.”
Selma!
Kain’s head snapped in her direction. She was swaying on her feet, and her face was ashen. He was on his feet and by her side in a second, lifting her up into his arms just as her knees buckled and her conscience left her still eerily glowing chocolate eyes.
The light had come from her.
* * *
The burning need from her mark being activated pushed through the black nothingness with muted force.
Selma groaned sluggishly, but her body refused to obey her attempts to spread her thighs wide or lift her hips for easier penetration.
“Is she responding?” The deep voice sounded like it came through water, from somewhere far away.
“Yes. Be quiet so I can concentrate.”
Though the growl was distorted by her fuzzy brain, something at the very core of her being recognized its sound. It seemed like he was hovering over her, far closer than the other voice.
“Kain.”
“Yes, I’m here.”
Relief nestled in her heart, even as her pussy contracted pathetically. Kain was here. He would make everything all right.
