Bound To The Demon

by C. J. Brookes

  Grief and guilt from what she had done with the demon. She reminded herself again that it was just a short-lived affair. Many, many unmated Dardaptoans had occasional affairs. Hundreds of years were a long time to be alone, to go without physical touch and companionship.

  Iavius would have understood. She hadn’t gone to him a virgin, after all.

  He hadn’t come to her one either.

  She missed her male. Had he still been alive, he’d have torn this demon and the wolf to pieces to rescue her. But he wasn’t, and it was up to her to get her and Jierra home safely.

  Kindara was beyond exhausted at the moment. The demon’s fault, but it didn’t matter. She dropped her head to his shoulder and just breathed.

  His scent surrounded her. Her fangs erupted.

  She didn’t truly want the demon harmed. He hadn’t harmed her that much, and he was angry on behalf of females she cared about, too.

  Or he had been.

  Now, she wasn’t sure what he was thinking. Something was in his eyes, a sly scheming that had her on edge, and told her he was up to no good. Whatever it was, it involved her.

  As for the wolf—he was Jierra’s male. If anything happened to him, her daughter would be lost.

  That terrified her.

  She knew nothing about the wolf except that he was a Taniss. Jierra was terrified of him. But they were bound together for eternity now.

  Jierra bound to a Taniss wolf. She shivered at what that would mean for her babe.

  Kindara didn’t know how to make this better. At all.

  Her arms tightened around the demon’s neck. He, at least, was warm and strong and could protect her from the worlds right now.

  She was just weak enough she admitted she needed that at the moment.

  “You are Dardaptoan and...”

  “And what?”

  “Female. Weak. It is my responsibility to ensure your safety until you are returned to the proper male kin.” One hot demon hand slipped to her ass and cupped her there. Kindara fought the memories of the night before.

  The Incubi king knew how to use his hands.

  “I didn’t know demons were such chauvinists. I’m not an object and I’m not a child to be taken home to daddy.” She pulled back to look into his demon-dark eyes. She kicked her legs once just to unbalance him, then froze when she felt how aroused he was. His hand tightened, and he pulled her closer. “The only reason I’m cooperating with you at all is because we had a deal. Not because of any antiquated ideas you have about ‘me male, you female.’”

  “I’m over eleven thousand years old, pet. I’m allowed to be antiquated. You are very female, and I am very male. What is between us is both ancient—and unending.”

  He pushed against her, pulling her into him. Her thin denim pants were little barrier between their bodies. Warmth filled her stomach. He knew how to arouse, and she knew he was doing it to her deliberately. Apparently, he had an insatiable appetite.

  Of course, he did. He was an Incubi. He needed sex to live. She was just one of a probably very long number. “So? I’m your hostage. Hos-tage. That’s a temporary position, as far as I’m concerned.”

  His face tightened, a look of evasion entering his eyes. Her own eyes narrowed. The demon was plotting something. Demons were known manipulators, schemers, yet he had made her an oath.

  A squeal from Jierra diverted their attention. Kindara jerked toward her daughter as Jierra fell—had it not been for the demon’s grip on her, she would have followed Jierra to the ground. Her daughter was on her knees—and not getting up. “Ji!”

  “I’m ok, Mother.” Jierra struggled to her feet, wiping mud from the palms of her hands. Jierra gave a small growl so quiet Kindara almost missed it. “I just slipped. These are not great hiking shoes.”

  “Rand!” The demon barked the word, then followed up in another language. It was obvious he was angry with the wolf. Kindara squirmed for him to let her go. She’d go to Jierra herself. “No. The wolf will tend his own female.”

  The demon refused to let her go. Kindara hissed. Rathan tightened his hold on her even more.

  Yes, he was by far the strongest male of any Kind she had ever encountered. That had her stomach tightening. Anyone tried to fight him and it would be bloody, and dangerous. She didn’t think Cormac could defeat him. Not without great injury.

  And…she didn’t want the demon hurt.

  Jierra stumbled again, struggling in the mix of mud and snow. Her daughter was only wearing tennis shoes. Her feet had to be freezing.

  The wolf cursed, long and low, before jerking Jierra into his arms. Kindara wanted to stop him, to get between them and protect her baby forever.

  The demon tightened his hold around her. “No. Stay out of it.”

  Theoretically, she understood. No Lupoiux tolerated interference between him and his mate. But this wasn’t just any Lupoiux mate. It was her daughter.

  Her babe.

  Jierra didn’t struggle, just wrapped one arm behind his neck and rested her head against the wolf’s shoulder. Jierra gave a visible sigh as she snuggled closer to the large male. The wolf’s face was stormy, but his hands were gentle on her daughter. Kindara released some of the tension holding her body and relaxed against the demon once more.

  The one reassurance she had was that the wolf would slaughter anyone who ever sought to hurt her daughter.

  Jierra would be protected. At least for now.

  “She’s too frail for this. We should have planned differently. I’m sorry, pet. We’ll get her to the estate and get her settled soon, I promise.”

  “My daughter is not frail, any more than I am. It is the pregnancy making her weak. Dardaptoans do not carry twins easily. Especially younger females such as my daughter. Her trials are just starting. And she is nowhere near prepared.” Absolute terror filled her when she thought about what Jierra was going to face.

  Her daughter…Kindara would do everything to keep her daughter alive through the birth. Anything.

  She was not going to lose Jierra because of the wolf. She wasn’t.

  “I promise she will be safe. You both will. Nothing will harm your daughter. I give you my oath.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that.”

  28

  Rathan made good on that promise; they reached the Taniss vacation home just minutes after sunset.

  He was ready to scream his frustration. She’d been stubbornly silent for the last two hours, since he’d refused to put her down so that she could walk and have some dignity. He’d told that as his hostage, she had to do what he said.

  She hadn’t liked that. She’d made that known to them all.

  And had proceeded to resist everything he’d commanded.

  She was not going to be a biddable consort, by any stretch of his imagining.

  He looked forward to the flames between them. All of them. After eleven thousand years upon the earth, very few had ever challenged him. Rarely a female.

  No. Never had a female challenged him as easily as this one.

  He sat her on her feet as they hiked up the long driveway to the six-story private lodge that housed the Taniss family during their holidays and vacations. It was rather ostentatious by human standards.

  A few lights were on in the house. That had him pausing.

  No one was supposed to be there tonight. Rathan hoped it was Jason, Rand’s uncle who’d also become a Lupoiux twenty years earlier when he and Rand had been bitten. That would make explanations far simpler.

  Rand entered first, calling out to see who was present. Rathan stood back with the females, using one hand to hold the daughter close and the other to restrain his own female. Just in case.

  He didn’t trust her not to bolt at any moment.

  That was another reason he held on to the younger female.

  Kindara would not leave without her daughter.

  Feminine footsteps clattered on the fourth-floor landing. A blond head peeked over the railing, and the girl rushed down
the stairs. “Rand, Rathan, I thought I was the only one up here.”

  “Dammit, Jade! You shouldn’t be up here alone. Where’s your father?” Rand grabbed his younger cousin by the arm and pulled her to face him. “Don’t you know how dangerous it is right now?”

  “Who are they? Why are they so filthy? Did their car break down?” Jade studied the two Dardaptoan females curiously. There was a calculating look in the bright green eyes. Jade was an exceptionally perceptive young female. “And I just couldn’t stay in Denver. I kept expecting my sister to walk through the door or Freedom to bark.”

  “Within a week, hopefully, everything will be resolved.” Rand’s tone had softened. No one stayed angry at Jade for long, and Rand was no exception. She was one of Rathan’s favorite females in the Gaian world as well.

  “You’ve found them? Rathan promised you would.” Jade stared at Rand and Rathan. Rathan had promised her that he would find the answers about what had happened to her sister. He’d made her an oath to do just that, as he’d held her while she wept from fear for her sister and cousins. She had been almost inconsolable. She had trusted him to find the answers. He did not take that faith lightly. “Where? What happened to them? Can I talk to her, them?”

  “Slow down. We’re not ready to get into that.” Rand hugged his cousin again, tender with her in a way Rathan was used to seeing from the wolf. But Kindara and her daughter stared, obvious shock on their own beautiful faces.

  Had the wolf treated Kindara’s daughter with no kindness at all?

  “Rand, they are asleep standing. Can this wait until they’ve had a chance to rest?” Rathan’s tone was firm. They had much they needed to discuss. Outside of the females’ presences. He was going to have to educate the damned wolf on how a political prisoner needed to be treated, apparently.

  “They need baths, too.” Jade took Kindara’s hand and pulled her away from Rathan, a curious look on her face. Kindara didn’t object, and that told him more than anything how exhausted she was. She’d been objecting to every command out of his mouth for hours. “I’ll show you to the guest suites. They share a bathroom, but there is a walk-in shower and a separate bath area. It’s nice.”

  Rathan started to protest, but stopped. He couldn’t tell sweet, innocent Jade that Kindara was to be put in his rooms. What would his female say to that? It was better not to risk it; he had no doubt Kindara would say things in front of Jade just to make things difficult for him.

  He’d just wait until the house was quiet for the night, then carry her to where she belonged. Perhaps she would be more manageable in her sleep. His lips quirked at that idea as he looked at her. Exhaustion was more than apparent. “Kindara...”

  “Yes?”

  Rathan stepped closer, bending down to whisper so Jade could not hear. “She is Joselyn’s sister and very young. Don’t do or say anything that may upset her.”

  “Provided you keep your bargain.” She shot him a narrow-eyed look of her own. As if she did not trust him. He tried not to be insulted at the mere idea.

  His word was golden—mostly.

  “I am a demon of honor, pet. Take your bath; I’ll bring food to you. You’ll sleep in a bed this evening, with actual silk sheets and blankets.” His sheets, his bed, his body keeping her warm through the night.

  He wasn’t about to tell her that yet, though.

  She’d just have to figure it out herself when she woke in his arms later.

  29

  Kindara followed the blonde through the ornate cabin that was unlike any home she’d ever been in. Of course, she hadn’t been in too many wealthy humans’ homes through the years.

  The young human woman was utterly adorable, a blend of maturity and youth, and confidence. And something more.

  Jade kept up a running conversation with Jierra, though Kindara’s daughter answered in monosyllables. Kindara got the feeling Jade was trying to put Jierra at ease. She appreciated that.

  Jade led Jierra into the bedroom suite first, obviously sensing that Jierra was closer to exhaustion than Kindara.

  Jierra thanked her and slipped into attached bath after Kindara promised to bring her in something to sleep in.

  That left Kindara with her sister-in-law’s younger sister. In Dardaptoan culture, that meant this was her brother’s new sister. Cormac’s family.

  She studied the young human quietly. Jade favored Joselyn, though the blond hair was several shades lighter, longer, and curled in a mass of waves down her back. There were faint hints of blue streaks near the ends.

  She was a beautiful girl. Almost fae-like.

  Much like her older sister.

  Jade studied Kindara for a moment. “You’re different, aren’t you?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You’re not human. Either of you. But you’re not like my cousin or like Rathan either.” Jade pulled two pairs of pajamas out of a drawer and handed them to Kindara. “These are Mickey’s. She’s close to your sizes; she’s always leaving things here when we visit. I don’t think she’ll mind if you and your friend borrow them. So what exactly are you?”

  “And just what do you think your cousin and Rathan are?” The one thing that all beings in the Kind agreed on was that humans should not know about them, if at all possible. The human numbers were astronomical compared to those of the other Kinds. If they were known about, it could prove dangerous. Very, very dangerous. Whole tribes of Kinds had been wiped off the earth in the Dark Ages when they’d been discovered by humans.

  “I’ve given it a lot of thought. Rand is a werewolf, just like my dad is. It’s rather obvious. I don’t know what Rathan is, but sometimes when he gets mad, you can almost smell sulfur, and sometimes, his eyes turn red. So I’m leaning toward demon or something.” Jade sank onto a plush white loveseat and stared at Kindara. “But I don’t know what you are. You look human—but you don’t feel it. Something else. Something almost warm when you get close.”

  The healing gift.

  This was the first time a human had ever been able to feel it in her presence. Come to think of it—it was probably the first time a human had ever been able to feel it at all. Even with the sheer strength of Kindara’s gift.

  “And how do you know your cousin and father are werewolves? And how do you know I am different?”

  “Because I sense these things, I always have. I don’t see what the point in lying about it would be. Some people are just different. I have a friend at Colorado State who claims to be a witch. Not a Wiccan, but an actual witch.”

  “Is she?”

  “Hmmm. I’ve watched her do a few rituals, I guess you’d call them. She’s different, too. You can almost feel the power thrumming through her. But we’ve never discussed it. Kind of our deal, you know?” Jade’s eyes narrowed. “You’re definitely different.”

  “Honey, do your dad or your cousin know what you think?”

  “No. I think it would bother them if I told them that I know. Or they’d think I am crazy. Well, they already do, but they humor me.” She smiled, but Kindara saw the truth. She knew things she shouldn’t. Things she was too young and far too human to comprehend.

  Someone would have to do something about her eventually.

  It would probably have to be Cormac, now that he had a responsibility to Joselyn’s sister. Or Kindara, herself. This girl was now her family, too.

  That mattered.

  “I think you should talk to your cousin soon.” Kindara frowned. With the girl’s sister being Dardaptoan and her cousin Lupoiux, Jade would have to be told eventually.

  That would be very, very dangerous for her.

  Kindara made a vow—she’d do whatever she had to do to protect this babe from the world that was about to surround her. Even if that meant she took her under her own wing, and protected her herself.

  “I’m right, aren’t I?” Jade practically vibrated with excitement. “You are different. I’ve been waiting forever for someone to tell me the truth.”

  “Jade,” Kindar
a sighed. This was so not her place, but she sensed the girl wouldn’t give up. And the last thing Kindara wanted was her grilling Jierra. Her daughter wouldn’t know how to answer and would be too exhausted and mentally drained to resist the questions for long. “Some people, some races or species, I guess you can call them, are different. We call them Kinds. They’re more than human. Your friend sounds like she may be one of them, though she should have kept that information to herself. There are several types of witches out there. Your cousin is one of the Kinds, somehow. Rathan, too. But it’s not my place to tell you more. That’s something you need to hear from family.”

  Jade studied her closely. “Just how old are you? You talk like a parent, yet you don’t look any older than thirty.”

  “I am a parent.” Kindara nodded in Jierra’s direction. “That’s my daughter in there. And I’m over four hundred years old. Now, I really need a shower and sleep.”

  “Why are you with Rand and Rathan, then? She doesn’t feel happy. She feels hurt, and sad and confused.”

  The questions with this girl never ended, and Kindara felt a rush of humorous sympathy for the girl’s father. She didn’t have a mother. She knew Joselyn’s family history well, having asked the questions for her sister-in-law’s medical file while Joselyn was healing.

  A mother was out there somewhere. She’d just abandoned Jade and Joselyn and never looked back. Joselyn had made that very clear.

  No child should grow up that way, no matter what Kind they were.

  Yes. Kindara was going to see this girl was well cared for and protected. Even if she had to ride Cormac’s ass to see it was done.

  “That’s something else you’ll have to ask your cousin. I promised I wouldn’t discuss it.”

  “Darn it, now I’ll never get any answers.”

  “Have you tried just asking them?”

  “No. I’ve always tried to work up to it, or work around it. But I keep chickening out. I mean, what if I am wrong and they think I am crazy? Crazier than usual anyway.” Jade hopped to her feet just as Jierra returned, clean and wrapped in a towel. Kindara handed her daughter a pair of the strange human pajamas. “I’ll do that now. While you’re in the shower. I’ll just ask them flat out if they’re werewolves.”