by G. Bailey
“And what do you want, Nikoli?” I breathlessly say. I know what I want, but I don’t dare say it out loud.
“You. I want you as fucking mine, Lex. I’ve always wanted that,” he tells me and leans in just as the door slams open, and we jump apart. I couldn’t be more disappointed as Lucifer shuts the door behind him, a self-satisfied smile on his stupid face.
“Honey, I’m home!” he happily says.
“Great, now leave,” I sarcastically reply, and he frowns. I know I’m being stupid, testing him, and I remind myself I need to play nice.
He holds the power to free my parents or sentence them to death.
“Good idea. Son, get out and find a suit. We have a celebration to attend tonight,” he tells Nikoli, who doesn’t seem on board with the idea as his eyes flicker between Lucifer and me.
“No—” Nikoli starts to say.
“Nick, it’s fine,” I stop him. “Go,” I gently say, and I see the anger burning in his gaze as he wordlessly gets up and walks past his dad before going out of the front door, slamming it hard behind him.
“Seems my son is still enamoured with you. It’s best you stay away from him,” Lucifer says as he walks to my side and sits down. I move away from him, pressing myself into the sofa arm as hard as I can. He only laughs. “I have a surprise for you.”
“I don’t want anything from you, Lucifer,” I snap.
“Call me Luc. I have told you many times, are you stupid?” he asks.
“Nicknames are for people who like one another. I don’t have any affection for you, so why would I call you a nickname?” I ask, and his jaw twitches in anger as he reaches to grab me, and my heart pounds in my chest as I fear what he is going to do to me. Just then, the door is knocked two times and Lucifer pauses, gritting his teeth loud enough for me to hear as he stands up.
“Come in!” he demands, and the door opens. I look back to see two women with curly brown hair, a little older than me, push in a clothing trolley with a dozen dresses hanging inside. “Good, get out.” The women don’t pause as they run out of the cabin, shutting the door.
“Try the dresses on. I want to choose which one,” Lucifer commands. “We have a celebration to attend tonight, remember?”
“I’m positively shaking with excitement,” I mutter as I walk around the sofa and look at the dresses. Three of them are red, but they only remind me of the dress I wore at the ball and the hundreds of wolves that lost their lives that night. It seems disrespectful to wear a red dress so soon, so I look at the two black dresses. One of them has no sleeves, so that’s out, even though it is beautiful. The other is made of black lace covering all my arms and falls to the ground. I pick the hanger with that dress off the rail and look back to Lucifer.
“I’m going to try this one on. I will be right back,” I say.
“No, try it on here,” he says, stopping me in my tracks. Fear and disgust crawl up my throat as I look back at Lucifer.
“Hell no!” I shout at him.
“Do you know how patient I am with you, Alexandria? I am your mate, and soon I will be enjoying your body under me as you will enjoy me inside you,” he tells me, and I nearly choke on the sickness that rises in my throat at the thought. I’d rather repeatedly stab myself.
“No,” I tell him.
“Fine, I have a deal,” he playfully says, clearly choosing to ignore my obvious disgust.
“I’ve heard the saying never make a deal with the devil before,” I sarcastically say.
“If you want to dress alone, then I want a token of affection. One kiss,” he suggests.
“Is there a third option?” I ask.
“No, and the offer is not going to last long. I have forcefully taken what I want before, and you are testing my good nature. Continue to test me, and I will drag you by your hair into hell and make you mine as you scream for me to stop. After you are mine, I will kill your parents in front of you and then find anyone you care about and kill them too. I will enjoy drinking their blood as you beg me, plead for me, to kill you,” he tells me.
“Seems you have it all planned out,” I whisper in pure fear. I don’t doubt him for a second as I look into his dead-of-emotion eyes. My hands shake as I grip the dress, and I swallow the disgust in my throat. “I will kiss you instead of undressing in front of you.”
“Modest, I do surprisingly like it,” he says, his personality snapping from psychotic to nice in a second. I’m sure they have a pill for that somewhere. Maybe I can find some and mix it in his drink. “I will accept your offer of a kiss. Now go and get dressed.”
“But—”
“Go,” he demands, and I don’t have to be told twice. My hands shake as I walk down the corridor and open the first door, finding a bathroom. I shut the door and lock it, like locking a door is going to help me escape the devil.
It won’t.
Chapter 14
Kiss me like nothing else in the world matters
“Do you think wolves like to live in wooden houses because they like trees? My home is surrounded by fire, which I do love. It’s strange that the pack have not invested in more materials than wood,” Lucifer comments, and his constant talking is getting on my nerves. Does he ever shut up?
“I don’t know,” I mutter, repeating myself for the fourth time. Who knew the devil likes to talk, like never-ending talking about random shit I don’t care about? I feel more and more uncomfortable the further we walk through the silent village, right towards the pack house. I feel Nikoli’s eyes burning into my back from behind us, though he doesn’t say a word to try and get his dad to shut up. I just feel nervous and am constantly biting my tongue so I don’t embarrass Lucifer and get beaten up, but it is starting to hurt my mouth.
“What do you know of wolf traditions, Alexandria?” he asks me.
“Not all that much,” I answer, slightly lying. I don’t want to explain to him how I know so much about wolves if I gave him a real answer.
“I find it fascinating that wolves can scent their true mate. They will make food for her, showing they can provide, and when the wolf scents they feel the same way, they will mark the female’s skin with a wolf marking. The marking is far more than a scratch, it is a bond between the two mates, and when they have sex, it makes an everlasting bond that is unbreakable. If one dies, so will the other,” he explains.
“Interesting,” I say with a dry mouth, and I gulp, knowing that is exactly what Javier did with me, and I missed it. I’m his mate…and for some reason, it makes me want to smile. That stubborn wolf has stolen my heart without me even realising.
I should be mad.
I’m not though.
“Do you know about demons and our mating traditions?” Lucifer asks as we get close to the building.
“Yes,” I tightly answer him, feeling his eyes on me, and it makes me feel like there are dozens of bugs crawling over my skin. “It’s all about sex, huh?” I regret it the moment I speak. I don’t want to talk about sex with the devil.
“For a virgin, that must be difficult to comprehend. I will help you understand soon,” he tells me, and I nearly cough on the rising sickness in my throat at that image. I somehow don’t think so. I’d rather jump off the nearest cliff, which can’t be too far away on this island. “Once we mate, it will mean one of us cannot die without the other also dying. It is a very interesting magical connection.”
“Welcome to the ceremony of choosing,” a woman in a silky red dress says as we get to the double doors of the alpha’s home. “These are for you. Everyone must wear a mask.” The woman hands us each a black eye mask with feathers going off the edges, and lace covering it. Lifting my long hair, I slide the eye mask on, and the woman clicks her fingers, and the doors open, letting us inside the corridor that has a black carpet liner leading to another pair of doors with servants in all black, wearing the same masks as we are, holding silver trays with drinks on them. Between each servant is a statue of a wolf, each in a different pose, each looking more imposing
than the next. I wonder which one squished the alpha Sera told me about. The doors at the end of the corridor lead into a big room full of small tables with candles on them. There is a long table at the front, and the whole design reminds me of a wedding reception. To the left is another room with big doors left open so I can see people dancing inside and hear the music that is coming from there.
Every table is filled with women all around my age, all in different coloured gowns, and all are sneaking glances at the long table at the front where I see Javier first. He wears a white mask, different from everyone in the room, and a white suit, which by god, makes the asshole look handsome.
I’m sure he knows it too. I’m sure he also is aware how jealous I am as I realise all these women are ogling him alongside me. At Javier’s side is Alpha Trnald, wearing a black suit, and his expression is frosty as he looks at us as we walk past the tables and towards them. At Trnald’s side is a woman I haven’t seen before, but judging from her hand resting on top of Trnald’s, this must be Javier’s mother, the alpha female or Omega as I’ve heard the wolves call her. She is really very beautiful with stormy gray eyes and long jet black hair that is so smooth, not a single hair out of place. She has deeply tanned brown skin, and the black dress she wears is tightly pressed to show her amazing body. She looks not much older than my mum, but there is a big difference.
My mum never looked as downright cold and still as this woman does. I guess I’m a little jaded because I know she killed Sera’s mum, who was an innocent, and then made Sera’s life hell. I don’t like Javier’s father for putting Sera’s mum in that spot in the first place.
As we approach the table, all three of them stand, and Lucifer grabs my elbow, forcing me to stop next to him. Nikoli walks around to stop at my side, and I sneak a glance at him to find he is looking at me as well.
“Welcome, much honoured guests. May I introduce my son, Javier, sole heir to be the next alpha of the pack,” Trnald says, not introducing his mate first, which I thought he would do. Javier doesn’t say a word as he stares at us, his whole demeanour shouting how tense and annoyed he is.
I could guess a few reasons why. One being the root of all evil at my side. “This is my mate and alpha female, Mizette.”
“It is but an honour to meet you, your highness,” Mizette says, sounding as sweet as a child.
“Finally, a woman who knows how to treat her guests. May I have this dance? The ballroom looks ever so delightful,” Lucifer says, his eyes fixed on Mizette, who all but giggles as she nods. Maybe she is younger and dumber than I first thought. Good luck to her. I roll my eyes as Nikoli holds a hand out for me to take.
“May I have this dance?” he asks me.
“Actually, as Lucifer has borrowed my mate, it would be suitable for me to steal his. For a dance, of course,” Trnald comments, standing up. Lucifer rapidly agrees before I can say a word, and I glance at Javier, wishing he could and would say something to get me out of this. “Javier, please find Nikoli a seat at our table while we are gone.”
“Of course, father,” Javier tightly replies, and I feel like I’m sweating from the pressure and my own nerves as Lucifer and Mizette walk off to the ballroom through the side door, and Trnald comes to my side, offering me his arm. I hook my arm through his, silence making this all the worse as we head into the ballroom and right into the middle of the dancing people, many of whom smile and bow at Trnald as we pass them. Trnald takes my hand and places a hand high on my back as we dance to the beautiful music played and sung by an orchestra on the other side of the room.
“The singer has a soulful voice,” I comment, wanting to say anything to fill in the awkward silence.
“Yes, she is very talented. As are you, I’ve heard, Miss Cameron,” he tells me.
“I wouldn’t say that, Alpha Trnald,” I reply.
“Your demon is at peace with you before your eighteenth birthday. I have heard that is very uncommon and takes a lot of strength?” he enquires. “I would not expect less from the soon to be Queen of Hell.”
“Thank you,” I reply.
“I get the suspicion you do not like your mate,” he whispers to me.
“He is not my mate, despite what he claims,” I tell him.
“But he is destined to be. He can walk where you walk, and only his mate allows that to happen,” he comments.
“No offense, but I wasn’t brought up in this world. I believe no magic in the world can make you love someone. It is there, or it is not,” I reply.
“If you were brought up in this world, Miss Cameron, you would know love has little to do with mating,” he warns me.
“Then isn’t that a sad world?” I ask.
“Perhaps it is. For a young soul, you seem to be aged beyond your time. I do now see why my daughter speaks so fondly of you. You might judge me for letting her go, but if I could have justified the lives of so many in a war for my daughter, I would have. It’s why I let my son sneak out of the pack and go see her. To see you as well, though he has no clue I am aware of such things,” he adds, surprising me, and I’m not sure what to say for a long second.
“I believe he underestimates you,” I say.
“Oh, my son does. He seems to think I don’t smell his desire for you every time you are near. He thinks I don’t know how to see true love in someone’s eyes,” he comments and laughs. “He thinks I do not know my son.”
“Alpha Trnald—”
“Stay away from my son, Miss Cameron. You will only get him killed, and if you love him, then you will want to see him find his true mate tonight,” he sternly tells me, still fake smiling as the song ends, and he lets me go, bowing his head low before standing straight. “May the soon to be Queen of Hell live long and true.”
“May I cut in?” Nikoli asks, looking between me and Trnald with clear suspicion.
“I was just commenting on how I don’t feel very well. Can I leave?” I ask Nikoli.
“Yes, of course. You will tell my father of how Alexandria isn’t well and I have taken her back to the cabin?” Nikoli asks.
Trnald inclines his head with a nod, and Nikoli rests his hand on my back as he leads me out of the room and around the side of the tables. I look over once and catch Javier still sat at the table, his eyes narrowing in on me and looking like a wolf that wants to catch his prey. But he doesn’t move. He doesn’t follow me.
And a part of me is happy he doesn’t, it means he is safe.
Another more selfish part of me wishes he followed me and kissed me for the world to see, screw the consequences.
Maybe Alpha Trnald was right. This world cares little for love after all.
Chapter 15
One more puzzle to add to the box
“Alexandria, do you want to tell me what the fuck was going on with Alpha Trnald? I was listening to every bit of that conversation, and please tell me you aren’t fucking the alpha’s son?” Nikoli almost cruelly asks me, his voice dripping anger and jealousy. I don’t even blame him. If Nikoli was with another girl, I don’t know what I would do. I could hardly cope with Maggie talking to Claus, and touching his shoulder made me lose control.
“I’m not fucking him,” I answer, not lying exactly as I walk through the cabin and into my bedroom, switching on the bedside lamp.
“Then it’s worse. You love him?” Nikoli asks, and I pause in the middle of the bedroom and cross my arms as I turn around, the bedroom door slamming shut. Nikoli’s arms are crossed against his suit, his emotions are threatening to swallow me whole with how he looks at me.
“What if I do?” I ask. “What if I’m wolf marked by him and I love him?”
“I don’t care,” he tells me, walking to me and placing his hands on my arms. “I don’t care if you are marked for the whole fucking world, and I don’t care if you need me to accept that you love him. I care if you love me as much as I fucking love you.”
“You love me?” I whisper, not expecting that answer from him at all.
“Is it that
shocking?” he asks, sliding his hands up my neck. “I think I loved you from the moment you called me on my shit in the gym and weren’t scared one bit when I reacted badly. I loved you a little more when I watched you have actual sympathy and mourning for a girl who tried to kill you, when we killed her. Everything from how shit you are at making voodoo dolls to the fact I think you have an imaginary cat as I’ve never seen her, just makes me love you more. It’s us, Lex. It’s always been us, and we both know it.”
“It’s always been us, and yes, I’ve known it. Even when I was scared you might kill me first,” I admit with a small chuckle.
“Sexual tension can be perceived in strange ways,” he says for a messed-up excuse.
“I’m not sure—” I start to talk, but he laughs, distracting me. I love to hear him laugh.
“Stop talking,” he suggests.
“Oh, okay,” I mutter, sinking into his arms as he pulls me tightly against him, kissing me hard and fast, never leaving me a second to think about anything other than Nikoli.
And it’s just what I wanted. What I didn’t know I needed. Kissing Nikoli makes me forget the world is a cruel place; it makes me forget everything. His lips leave my mouth, and he kisses down my jaw as he picks me up and carries me to the bed, laying me down, all while kissing my neck softly and teasingly.
“Do you like this dress?” he asks me in between kissing my neck.
“Your dad got me it, so what do you think?” I ask, and he nips my neck, making me gasp. He leans back, and I watch as his demon slowly appears.
“You really are beautiful, Nikoli,” I whisper.
“Show me your beauty, Lex,” he tells me. I close my eyes, feeling my body change ever so slightly so that when I open my eyes, I know I look like my demon now, even if she is leaving me in charge. “You are mine.”
“I know,” I whisper as he leans down and kisses me. His claws and mine make quick work of ripping our clothes to pieces, letting them fall onto the floor and the bed as Nikoli rolls me on top of him. Nikoli somehow makes his hands shift back, I imagine not to hurt me as he runs his hands up my back and to my neck, where he pulls me back down to his lips, kissing me and exploring my mouth with his tongue. He rolls me onto my back as his hand slides to my breast and to my nipple. I’ve never been touched like this, and I’ve never felt pleasure like Nikoli somehow manages to give me. His thumb rolls my nipple around, pinching and squeezing as he watches my every reaction before flattening his hand and sliding it down to my stomach.
