by Emma Dean
Piper quietly slipped out of her bed and then tip-toed to her door. She peered out and saw the three of them sleeping on the couch. After a long day she’d fallen asleep watching TV with them, and she guessed they’d put her to bed at some point. Knowing them they probably didn’t want to disturb her so had watched something else…only to fall asleep together.
It was so adorable. The four of them had really bonded over the last two days. Niko was leaning into Caleb and Xavier had his feet on Niko’s lap. It made her smile.
Then she turned and grabbed her boots and jacket. Piper went out to the balcony through the door from her bedroom feeling a little bad about not telling them, but…she needed to do this on her own. She was the only one who could bargain.
If she didn’t know she’d be one hundred percent safe Piper would have told them. She stepped into her boots and didn’t even close the door to her balcony, making sure the noise was at a minimum for sensitive cat ears. Thankfully the TV was still on, playing some animal documentary loud enough to cover up the small sounds.
Piper took out the piece of chalk from her back pocket and angled her phone so it reflected the moonlight on the surface like a mirror. She drew the pentagram and whispered Eisheth’s true name. In less than a second he stood before her in a gorgeous linen suit, hands in his pockets and a shit-eating grin on his face.
“I knew you’d call me.”
She put a finger to her lips and wiped her phone off before tucking it into her back pocket. Then she held out her hand for Eisheth and took off the talisman, slipping that into her pocket too. After all her reading she knew it had to be touching her skin to work. Eisheth’s face grew serious and he nodded.
Then her lungs compressed and she couldn’t breathe and everything hurt and then…there was light and sound and air. Piper let go of the demon and breathed deep. “Dang, I’m never going to get used to that.”
Eisheth chuckled and put his hands back in his pockets. “There’s this lovely little coffee shop around the corner that’s open all night. Would you like to get a drink and tell me why you summoned me?”
Piper nodded and followed him down the dark alley towards the bright street. “Thanks for not killing me.”
“I gave you my summoning name. The rules are a bit different,” Eisheth said as he opened the door for her. “Start calling me for every little thing though and we might have issues.”
She smiled and walked into the cozy little café. “If you just gave me your cell number we could chat like normal people.”
Eisheth chuckled and followed her into the café that had a surprising number of people in it. The atmosphere was quiet though, the chatter a low murmur against chill music. Then a blonde waved from one of the booths and Piper recognized Jess instantly.
“I didn’t realize we’d have company,” she said as Eisheth directed her to the counter to order.
“Darling, I didn’t invite her. Jess is a demon witch, remember? She does what she wants when she wants, and has the power, magic, and strength to back it up.” Eisheth ordered three drinks, but Piper didn’t really pay attention.
She was too busy staring at Jess and realizing just how very powerful this woman was for a demon to call her one of his own – a demon witch. There weren’t very many of them, but when they did happen, it usually didn’t bode well for the rest of the world. The universe was prepping for something big – at least that’s what all the demon texts she’d read so far had said.
Eisheth picked up the drinks and brought them over to the booth Jess was sitting at, her boots were up on the bench across from her as she sketched something on a piece of paper. The demon handed the hunter her beverage and then kicked her feet off the bench.
Piper’s eyes widened when Jess said nothing and Eisheth sat down, pulling Piper with him. She knew they were friends, but she didn’t realize just how close until the hunter didn’t even seem bothered by that.
“Did Morgan make it home okay?” Piper asked, trying to see what the hunter was drawing.
“Yeah, I dropped her off at the train station.” Jess moved the paper so Piper couldn’t see what was on it.
“The train station?”
“She doesn’t like planes. Now, what do you think?” Jess slid the paper across the table to Piper and then picked up her coffee cup with a nod of thanks to Eisheth.
Piper studied the scribbles and then realized it was a drawing of her as a stick figure with three stick figure cats climbing all over her. Jess snickered and then flipped the paper over. The other side had an extremely detailed pentagram with specific runes and instructions on it.
Piper rolled her eyes and looked at the symbols used to see what the spell was even for. “It’s rather accurate despite the juvenile implications.”
Eisheth and Jess chuckled together and the demon hunter and the demon did some complicated handshake Piper pretended to ignore. “Now that you’ve had them all, what do you think of your mates?” Eisheth asked, resting his elbows on the table, and his chin into his hands like they were schoolgirls dishing gossip.
Piper felt herself blush and cleared her throat, sipping on her coffee. It was delicious. “What is this?” she asked, directing the conversation away from her personal life.
“A raspberry mocha, decaf for you,” Eisheth said, sipping his own. “Now if you aren’t going to spill the deets on your lover boys, tell me why you summoned me?”
“Well,” Piper said, realizing what she held was an unbinding spell tailored for a demon contract. “If I were to make a deal with you for your protection right now, would that negate your deal with the crocs?”
Eisheth shook his head. “No. I’m not hurting you by delivering you.”
Piper sighed through her nose, annoyed. She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. “Thanks for trying to kill that witch by the way.”
The demon grinned as he took the top off his cup. He dipped his pinky into the whipped cream and sensually licked it off. “It was my pleasure. Too bad she knows her shit and invoked a protection clause. After the contract is complete though – she’s fair game.”
The violent promise in those words made Piper shudder, but Jess grinned.
“The Council has allowed me to fight for you Piper, thanks to Morgan’s predictions. But I can’t do shit until the day of. I even talked to Lucifer who said the rules prevent him from stepping in as Eisheth isn’t his.” Jess shrugged and then turned. She rested her back against the wall. She stretched her legs out on her bench and then looked at Piper with a rueful smile. “Samael won’t step in either, especially not for an unaligned, previously Orthodox Catholic. Eisheth isn’t hurting you and won’t be, so it’s not breaking any rules.”
The demon sighed and scooped up more whipped cream with his pinky. “Samael can be such a petty bitch sometimes. He won’t even take my calls until all this shit is over.”
“I don’t think that unbinding spell for Eisheth’s contract will work either,” Jess said, tapping the paper in Piper’s hands. “You won’t know for sure until the end of the week though. So you need a backup plan.”
Piper folded the spell up and tucked it into her back pocket. “And what if I’m a shifter; could my blood still be used to curse the pride?”
Jess and Eisheth shared a look. “Turning into a cat shifter doesn’t change your heritage. It’s more about the pharaoh’s blood – which is diluted already, but it holds a lot of power. A bit more dilution won’t change anything,” Eisheth told her, patting her hand in sympathy.
“But it would make you stronger,” Jess said. “It’s not a bad idea. At the very least you’ll be able to bite someone’s fucking face off.” The mental image made Piper shudder.
Why was nothing ever easy?
“There is one other thing,” Piper said slowly.
Jess grinned like she knew what she was about to say, and maybe she did.
“What if I was to create a contract with you Eisheth that started the moment you delivered me to the crocs and you
r contract with them was done with?” Piper had been thinking about this for a few days now.
The talisman would make it difficult for Eisheth to pop her out and deliver her to Florida unless he ripped the necklace off her. Driving would take too long to meet the deadline, so the only reasonable answer would be boarding a flight. It would only take them a few hours to get to Florida, but there was nothing keeping her mates from coming along. Then all they had to do was take out the crocs.
But Morgan had said if she was delivered…hopefully she didn’t mean that literally and was just talking about the spell with her blood.
Eisheth sipped his coffee and Piper picked up her own, wrapping both hands around it for the warmth. “That could work. I assume the contract would be for protection?”
She took a sip and hated herself for what she was about to suggest. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just have you kill whoever is there including the witch?”
Eisheth laughed hard at that. “Oh my little queen, how you’ve grown up.” He tugged on her ponytail with affection. “I would love to, but their contract states I cannot murder them until after the spell is over.”
Piper slammed her cup down on the table in annoyance, ignoring the drops that splashed onto the surface. “Why is this so fracking difficult? All I want is to go to Crescent City without having to worry about becoming a sacrifice for a spell.”
Jess tapped the table with her surprisingly long nails and stared out the window as she sipped her coffee. “I will be there and I will do what I can to keep that from happening, but crocs are really strong and wicked fast. We don’t know how many will be there, and there’s the dark witch to consider. Eisheth might be able to handle her, but as he said – he can’t kill anyone until after the spell is complete which probably means they have something planned for that. I’m assuming it has something to do with your blood.”
Piper checked her phone and felt relieved no one had noticed she’d disappeared yet. But she wasn’t sure how long this good luck would last.
“The contract states they can’t summon me again,” Eisheth chimed in. “But that doesn’t mean they won’t summon someone else. Although…if the witch is dead I doubt they’ll survive a second summoning.”
Jess waved her hand. “I’ll take care of the witch then. I’ll need your mates to help fend off the other crocs – they don’t have rules against killing them. Eisheth will protect your blood.” Jess straightened and leaned onto the table to stare at Piper. “You can have him protect your blood, or you. It will be difficult to do both. The payment will be too high otherwise and you don’t want that. Which do you choose?”
Piper glanced at Eisheth who just shrugged. “Balance and rules, darling. If you want both it would cost what you wouldn’t want to give up.”
“What did the crocs give up?”
He inspected his perfectly manicured nails. “A simple transportation contract wasn’t pricey. They gave me any souls in their pack that were released from their mortal coil before the contract was up. If no one died I got one willing soul to deliver to Samael. But thanks to your lovers I have four now.”
Piper didn’t know what to think about that. “What’s the price to protect my blood?”
Eisheth grinned at her and downed the rest of his coffee. “Oh for you my little queen? Just a drop of that blood.”
Jess narrowed her eyes at that request but didn’t say anything.
“And for both?”
Eisheth looked uncomfortable. “Nothing you want to give.”
“What is it?” she demanded. Desperate times called for desperate measures and for the life of the pride and their future? There was a lot she was willing to give up.
“Something you can’t live without,” he murmured. “That was Samael’s price. Now that could mean anything. It could be your ability to walk so you never dance again. It could be your fertility, your leopard form, your father…you don’t want to go down that road, love.”
Fucking demons. “Samael’s price or yours?” Piper asked softly.
“This shit is on everyone’s radar thanks to the consequences, the fucking crocs involving demons, and the witches having to step in,” Jess snapped. “The Council approved this job and assigned it to me…not just any hunter. If it was any normal day…Eisheth could ask for a secret as payment, but Samael wants everything he can get out of it.”
“Petty bitch,” Eisheth murmured, wrapping an arm around Piper’s shoulders.
She suddenly felt cold and just wanted to go home, wake up her mates and have them join her in bed so she would be surrounded by them. “I want the contract to be for my blood. Without it the crocs can’t curse the Klamath Mountain Pride.”
Both Jess and Eisheth looked torn at that. “Are you sure, love?” Eisheth asked gently. “The pride will fall if you are lost regardless. Your mates wouldn’t survive it and the remaining leopards would be decimated by the crocs or on the run, looking for a new pride.”
Piper sipped her coffee, and then set it down. It was too sweet and she thought she may puke. “I’m sure. No one gets their hands on my blood. You and Samael aren’t allowed to use the one drop for anything, and you will protect it with your immortal lives.”
Jess’s face was serious which made Piper more nervous, but the hunter nodded. “I’ll draw up the contract so there’s no funny business. It will be exactly what Samael demanded, but within your parameters.”
Piper agreed.
“As soon as we get this contract sorted out I’ll take care of the blood at the hospital and make sure there’s not more anywhere else. Did you ever donate blood?” Eisheth asked.
Piper shook her head. She’d fainted the last time the blood drive came to the university. Needles made her nervous. Eisheth patted her hand sympathetically and turned to Jess.
She watched as Jess and Eisheth haggled over a piece of paper that appeared out of thin air.
This was the right choice. Piper would be able to save the pride. Piper didn’t know how many crocs would be there at the ritual thing, but she did know they wouldn’t expect her to be a shifter when she got there.
She trusted Caleb, Niko, and Xavier. They would get there in time, and so would Jess and Eisheth. They could do this together and then she would be able to live her life in peace with them in Crescent City. This would all work out.
But no matter how many times she told herself it would be fine…there was a tiny bit of doubt and Piper was terrified one small thing would go wrong and they’d all be royally screwed.
She pricked her finger when it was time and let a drop fall into a tube for Eisheth, and then she signed the contract. Piper had just successfully completed her first deal with a demon and no one had died.
Chapter Eighteen
Piper
Somehow no one had noticed when she’d gotten home or that she was gone. Piper went straight to the shower to wash off the scents of coffee, Jess, and Eisheth. Her mates had cat noses and would know instantly she’d left the apartment.
Piper had planned on this outing for a few days now and she had everything ready. Her clothes went into the bottom of the dirty clothes hamper, and her boots and jacket went deep into her closet. Once the water was running she used her tea tree oil shampoo and conditioner.
Great for her hair and great for covering up pretty much any scent imaginable. Piper even swished mouthwash around while she scrubbed and then spat it out. Someone would hear the shower soon.
“Piper?” Niko asked, peeking his head in.
He was always the most sensitive to her moods and Piper was still freaking out about what she’d just done.
“Another nightmare?” Niko asked, slipping into the shower naked with her.
His arms around her felt delicious and she closed her eyes, leaning back against him. “Something like that,” she murmured.
Niko took over washing her hair. He made sure the conditioner covered every strand and then washed it out gently. Piper just wanted to forget everything she’d learned, eve
rything Eisheth and Jess had told her.
Piper turned around and wrapped her arms around Niko’s neck and kissed him hard. She shoved her tongue into his mouth and nibbled on his bottom lip, silently begging him to take her offer.
He groaned and gripped her hips tight. His erection pressed against her and Piper wanted him bad. She bent down and licked his cock before turning around and placing her hands on the wall. “I don’t want it to be soft,” she told him, glancing over her shoulder.
Niko growled at that and pressed against her like they’d done this a thousand times before. He thrust into her hard and fast. It hurt just enough and Piper pushed her ass against him, moaning as he pounded into her.
“Faster Niko, I want you to come so hard you wake everyone else up.”
“Christ,” he muttered, gripping her hips so hard she knew there would be a perfect impression of his fingers the next morning. “I don’t want to come before you,” he protested.
“Do as I fucking tell you, Niko. Isn’t that why there are three of you?” Piper wanted it rough and hard, she wanted to be in control. There was little else she could control at the moment, but she could make them feel good – she could do that.
Those words made him lose all sense and any control he may have had. Niko yelled her name as he slammed into her one last time and it left her throbbing and aching and needy, but his climax felt so good she instantly relaxed as most of the stress disappeared from her body.
“Piper,” Niko murmured, pressing kisses against her back as the water sprayed over the both of them. “Piper, is everything all right?”
He slid out of her and she turned to wrap her arms around him once more. “It is now, thank you.” She kissed him gently this time, running her fingers through his hair and just enjoying the sweet taste of him. “I love you, Niko.”
He pulled back and searched her eyes as though the words scared him. But when she smiled he hugged her tight. “I love you too, Piper – my mate.”
“Could you get Xavier for me?” she asked, hoping this wouldn’t be weird for them. “Just Xavier? And then wait for us in the bed?”
