Lord of Chaos (The Dragon Demigods Book 7)

by Charlene Hartnady

  I nod. “I guess you’re right.”

  “I know I’m right. The sex, the multiple partners, the jokes…it’s his wall. You’re a grumpy asshole who prefers to speak in one-word sentences. That’s when you’re not running away or not even turning up in the first place. You keep your head down and your ‘stay away I’m an asshole’ walls a mile high.”

  I grunt. I can’t argue.

  We hear heels clicking on tiles and turn towards the person approaching. Her hair is a mess. Her lipstick is smeared all around her lips. Her mascara has run a mile. Her top is not only on back-to-front but inside-out as well. “Hi!” She waves and nearly falls on her ass. Tri grabs her under her elbow. “I’m Taryn.” Her voice is hoarse, just as expected. Her grin is even bigger than Tri’s. She reminds me of a female version of the Joker.

  “Hi,” Nia says. “I’m Mochyn. It’s Welsh for beautiful.”

  I start to laugh but mask it with a cough or two. I have no idea what the word means, but Nia called me that in the heat of an argument. It can’t be anything good.

  Tri looks at me funny, cocking his head. The coughing fit must have sounded more like a laugh than I’d intended.

  Taryn clasps a hand over her mouth for a moment; she still has a goofy smile plastered on her face. “You have an amazing accent. Can you speak…” Her eyes lift in thought. “What’s the Welsh language again? Can you speak it?”

  “Celtic, and I can.” Nia smiles. She rattles something off.

  I frown because I think I heard my name in among all that. I can’t be sure, though.

  “Wow!” Taryn gasps. “That sounded so…so amazing. You must have said something lovely.”

  Tri’s phone beeps.

  “Must be your Uber,” I say to Taryn. I know how Tri operates. It’s the middle of the afternoon. I wonder where Tri picked this woman up. She has a suit jacket over her arm and is wearing a skirt and stockings. I’d bet heavily that she left work to come here. I hope she still has a job when she gets back. I hope she looks in a mirror before she walks back into the office.

  Tri lets Taryn go, and she nearly falls on her face. He grips her waist. “Let me help you.” Then he hoists her into his arms.

  Taryn squeals with delight. We listen as they walk outside. Taryn is thanking Tri for a wonderful time. She’s offering to give him her number. I don’t have to keep listening in to know that he won’t take it. He’ll remind her that it was a one-time thing.

  I look at Nia. “Mochyn?” I say.

  “Mochyn.” She smiles.

  “You’re going to have to tell me what that means,” I nudge her.

  She gives me this smile. I’ll be fucked if it doesn’t have my cock hardening back up. “Well…” she licks her lips, “I’m not sure I should tell you.”

  “Oh, you definitely should.”

  She looks me in the eyes. “It means swine.”

  My lip twitches. “Swine. You called me a swine.”

  “You deserved it.”

  “I guess I did,” I concede.

  “Anyway, you knew it wasn’t a very nice thing to call someone. That’s why you told Gretchen you were calling me Mochyn.” She lifts her brows, giving me a look that is both sexy and annoying.

  I nod. “That’s exactly why.”

  “I thought you had named me Satan’s Spawn.” Her eyes are glinting with mischief.

  The edges of my mouth are wanting to pull up. This woman! She makes me want to laugh. She makes me want to experience emotions I have no place feeling. “I needed to shut Gretchen up. She was going on and on and on—”

  “Well, it worked.”

  “Okay,” Tri says as he walks inside. “What’s going on? It’s really nice to meet you, Mochyn.” He winks at Nia.

  We both laugh. I cut my laugh short, clearing my throat.

  Tri looks at me like I just grew an extra head. I ignore him, turning serious in an instant.

  “Call me Nia,” she says, still smiling.

  “Nia? I thought your name was Mochyn,” Tri says.

  She shakes her head. “Sorry for the confusion. It isn’t Mochyn. It’s Nia.”

  “Why did you give the wrong name?”

  “It’s a long story,” she says, and we look at each other. Nia is smiling. Her eyes are twinkling.

  Tri is frowning heavily when I look back at him. “What’s going on between you two?” He looks from Nia to me and back.

  “Nothing,” I snap.

  “Doesn’t look like nothing.” Tri grins.

  “Nia is my dog,” I say.

  “That’s not very nice,” Trident growls. “Don’t listen to him,” he says to Nia.

  “Actually, I kind of am his dog.” Nia smiles and cocks her head. “Although I’m not his his. I already have a master.” She looks down at her feet. “That’s my whole problem.”

  “A master?” Trident shakes his head, looking confused. “You guys have lost me here.”

  “I signed the papers. According to the pound…you’re my dog,” I say. There is a hint of humor coming through in my voice. I need to stop this shit!

  “Okay, you guys are going to have to explain this to me.” Tri puts his hands up.

  “Nia is the dog that was following me around,” I explain.

  Tri’s mouth falls open. “Say what?”

  “I’m a hellhound shifter,” Nia tells Trident. “My dog form is a Doberman. In my hellhound form, I’m bigger and have bright red eyes.”

  “Wow! Oh…okay.” Tri nods his head a few times. “I get it now. This whole thing is making some sort of sense. I’m guessing there’s more.”

  We nod. Between Nia and me, we fill Trident in on the events thus far. She explains some of the things she mentioned to me earlier in the car.

  “This Gaire guy sounds like a real piece of work.” Tri doesn’t look happy. “That’s not how you treat a woman.”

  “Says the biggest slut on the planet,” I deadpan. I can’t help it. The words rushed out before I could stop them. Then again, maybe I’m jealous. Yep. That’s probably it. When women leave his place, it’s with goofy smiles and jelly legs. Their tears are tears of joy. I can’t allow myself to feel pleasure unless there’s a whole lot of pain attached.

  11

  Nia

  Tri runs a hand through his still-damp hair. “The biggest slut on the planet? I don’t know about that. What can I say? I love women, and they love me. It’s not my fault I’m this good-looking and great in bed.” He winks at me.

  I see Rage glower at Trident. His jaw tightens.

  “I might be a bit of a manwhore, but I’m not an asshole,” Tri goes on. “I always treat women with respect. I’m always honest about the fact that I’m not interested in any kind of relationship. I always deliver. I’m polite and friendly…I know how to treat a lady.”

  “Okay, fine…whatever…can we move on?” Rage says, then turns to me. “You were going to tell me what power Gaire has over you. We know that he can track you more easily. And then you need to tell me what we can do about that particular problem. It sounded like there was a way to hide these signals you’re giving off.”

  I nod, feeling nervous. “I accidentally let my guard down and fell in love with Gaire.” I grind my teeth, feeling angry with myself all over again. “He took advantage very quickly after that. I won’t bore you with the details. Let’s just say I wasn’t game, and he wasn’t happy. He can compel me to follow his commands. I can resist, however it hurts like I’ve never felt anything hurt before. Blinding, mind-numbing pain. I don’t want Gaire anywhere near me because he will try to compel me again. He’ll want me to do awful things, and…” I shake my head, forcing myself to breathe. I don’t want to feel vulnerable like that. The pain is one thing. It’s awful to feel like you might spin out of control and do something against your grain. Your very makeup. “The worst thing is that I can’t hurt him. I can’t lift even a finger against him.” My eyes narrow. “I hate him so much, and yet I can’t kill him.” Everything in me tightens.
“I want to end him so badly.”

  “I think this is the perfect woman for you, Rage…beautiful and incredibly violent.”

  “I’m not violent…unless you try to harm me or those I love. Then yes, you’ll die.” My voice lowers.

  Tri laughs. “See, she’s perfect.”

  “Stop!” Rage growls. Then in a quieter voice. “What do we need to do to stop him? How do we break this bond that the two of you have?”

  “I told you, the bond can only be truly broken if I fall in love with someone else.” I feel myself harden. “That’s not going to happen,” I almost whisper the words, even though I mean them with every fiber of my being. “It would mean giving someone else control over me. It would be better if I found a way to finish Gaire. That way, I wouldn’t be bound to anyone ever again. No master for me.”

  “See,” Tri says. “Perfect.” He hits Rage on the arm. “A gorgeous, violent woman who’s not looking for love.”

  “Stop your shit!” Rage snaps. “Okay, how do we weaken the bond between you and Gaire?”

  “So, you’re going to help me, then?” I hold my breath, too scared to even move. “You didn’t sound too sure in the car.”

  I struggle to read his expression. He looks…irritated. “It’s not like I have much choice.”

  Not exactly what I wanted to hear. I hold onto our banter from earlier. I think Rage wants to help me more than he’s willing to admit. I hope that’s the case.

  “Out with it!” Rage looks bored now. “It can’t be that bad.”

  I realize that my hands are clenched tightly in my lap and that my shoulders are rigid. “I need to have sex with someone other than Gaire.”

  It’s humorous how both men’s jaws drop. They look stunned. I go on, “The last person…” I roll my eyes, “make that the only person I’ve slept with is Gaire. That gives him more power over me. If I have sex with someone else,” I shrug, “it will lessen the bond and therefore the power he has over me. It should make it more difficult for him to track me as well. It’s simple. I wish I knew more, but I don’t know anyone this has ever happened to. I only know of the old wives’ tales. The stories my mam told me. The warnings.” Why didn’t l listen?

  It doesn’t take long for Trident to pull himself together. He grins. “Can it be anyone?”

  I nod. “I guess.” I don’t want it to be anyone. Otherwise, I could have had sex a whole lot of times by now. I cringe at the thought.

  “In that case,” Tri goes on, “I’d like to apply.” He puts up his hand.

  Rage isn’t saying anything. His eyes are blazing. He’s gone back to looking angry.

  “I mean, you know what I can do with my…” Tri looks between his legs at the bulge there. “I would be happy to—”

  “Shut up, already!” Rage turns blazing eyes on Tri, “Nia doesn’t want to have sex with you after what just went down. Are you crazy?”

  I would prefer Rage to anyone else. I’m not sure why that is. Maybe because I know there is no chance of us developing feelings for each other. I know him after spending so much time with him. I was his shadow for nearly a week. Rage is closed. He’s angry. He’s the strongest of the bunch. Stronger than most. He’s perfect.

  “Having sex with someone else won’t break the bond?” Rage asks.

  I shake my head. “No, but it would make it more difficult for him to find me. It would make it more difficult for him to compel me. I’m hoping I’d be able to kill him if the tie between us was diminished.”

  Rage looks murderous.

  Tri’s trying to get my attention. He’s pointing at himself and grinning.

  “I think I would prefer it if it was you,” I tell Rage. “But it doesn’t really matter, as long as it happens soon,” I try to play it down. “It would buy us some time to plan. I wouldn’t be completely useless if he found us.” I don’t love the idea of having sex with any of them…even Rage. I’m well aware that I offered him sex before, but that’s because I’m desperate. What choice do I have?

  Rage just sits there, scowling.

  “I would pick me if I were you.” Tri rubs his chin. “I’m nicer and more experienced.”

  Rage pushes out a breath through his nose and rakes a hand through his hair.

  “I thought men liked sex,” I say. “I’ve had countless men, both human and non-human, who tried to have sex with me. Many of them tried to force themselves on me.” I shudder.

  “What?” Rage snarls. “Where have you been? Where do you come from?”

  “I’m from a small coastal town in Wales called Llangrannog, and to answer your question, the men where I come from are just fine.” I sniff. “I never had an issue growing up.” I pull in a breath, “It all started with Gaire. I can’t believe I didn’t see him for what he is.”

  “How long were you with him?” Trident asks.

  “About a year,” I say. “My mam warned me that love is blind, and boy was she right. Gaire did a one-eighty as soon as he realized that I had fallen in love with him. He immediately started trying to control me. When he realized he couldn’t compel me to do what he wanted me to do, he shackled me to one of the entrances deep in the Underworld. I was given the order not to let anyone in or out. You can imagine the kinds of lowlifes I encountered.”

  “They tried to…force you?” Rage asks, his voice soft.

  I nod. “Many of them tried. All of them failed.” My voice deepens. My hackles rise.

  “You should have stayed in your dog form.” Tri folds his arms, looking serious for once.

  “It didn’t matter whether I was in my hellhound skin or my human skin. They tried anyway.”

  “That’s fucking sick!” Rage gets up and paces to the other side of the room. He pinches the bridge of his nose.

  “I can take care of myself,” I say. “It took me nearly a year to break through the shackle on my arm.” I touch my wrist. “Towards the end of my stay, the pile of rotting bodies was quite high, and I didn’t have to fight all that much anymore.”

  He walks back and takes a seat again. “And yet, there are scars.” Rage’s eyes are narrowed in thought. He turns them on me. They’re as black as night. “You don’t want me, Nia. You need to pick someone else. I know that now more than ever.”

  I feel disappointed. More than I thought I would. I guess I like Rage. I respect him. Even though it doesn’t really matter who it is. I wanted it to be him.

  Tri puts his hand up. “Me…me…pick me!”

  “Not you, asshole! Anyone but you.”

  I wince. “What happened with Taryn sounded pretty…I don’t know…wild.” I shake my head. “I’m not sure that’s what I would want.” I have no idea what I would want. I don’t want sex. It’s a necessary evil. If I’ve got to do it, then rather with someone I trust. Someone I respect, even if he is the grumpiest person I know.

  Tri looks at me like I’m crazy. “Too wild. Sheesh, okay…I get that. It would be your loss, but I get it. I could tone it down, though, Nia. One orgasm instead of three, and it could be more…subdued.”

  “No!” Rage growls through clenched teeth. “Not a fuck!” He looks my way. “We’ll find someone else…maybe Jarrod or Samuel. You can’t expect a woman to have sex with you after she just heard you fuck someone else. Don’t be an ass!”

  “Why not?” Tri looks bewildered. “Samuel wouldn’t know your ass from your elbow. And Jarrod might just get a vision, even though he doesn’t get them much from non-humans.”

  “My worry is if Gaire shows up, neither of those men would be much help,” I say. “They’re too weak. Gaire will destroy them.”

  “There’s also Maddox, Zale, and Garrett, but we don’t know them very well yet,” Rage mutters.

  “I pick you,” I tell Rage.

  He shakes his head. “No, not me!”

  “Why not? You find me attractive, don’t you? I know you do. You wanted sex the other night.”

  “Not with you.” He narrows his eyes.

  “Really?” I lift my bro
ws.

  “Okay, fine!” He pulls in a breath. “I wanted to fuck you, but that was then, and this is now. Things change.”

  “I’m still me. You’re attracted to me. Don’t even try to deny it.”

  “I’m not your guy,” he pushes out, eyes firmly on me.

  “You are!” I insist, feeling frustrated. Rage is attracted to me, but he won’t sleep with me.

  “I need popcorn,” Trident grins. “I say do it, man!”

  “I say, mind your own business. I need to speak to you,” Rage says to me, “in private.” He glares at Tri.

  “Use any of the spare rooms.” Tri’s grin widens. “Take as long as you need.” He winks at Rage, who grinds his teeth.

  He waits for me to start walking towards the hallway, then follows me. “It’s the first door to the right,” he says.

  I can still smell sex coming from the first room to the left. The sheets are a crumpled mess on the large bed.

  “Don’t look too hard,” Rage says. “You might see something you can’t unsee.”

  A few steps later, and we walk into what looks like one of the spare bedrooms. Rage closes the door. He turns, and it suddenly feels cramped in here, even though the room is plenty spacious. “As much as I want to help you, I can’t.” His eyes are filled with concern. “You need to trust me on that.”

  “Why not? It’s not that big of a deal. It’s just sex. It’ll be anything from mildly uncomfortable to somewhat painful, but I can take it. It doesn’t usually last too long.” I give a one-shouldered shrug. “It’s really not that big of a deal,” I repeat, even though it is a big deal. A huge deal.

  Rage is looking at me strangely.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Mildly uncomfortable to somewhat painful, but you can take it?” He rubs his eyes.

  I nod. “Yes. No problem. It’s something men enjoy. Something women need to do for them, so that—”

  “Stop there.” Rage looks angry. “Something men enjoy?” He roughs up his hair.

  “Look, I know it can be pleasurable for both parties. I’m not daft,” I say that, but I feel daft right now. Why am I saying all this to him? I feel small and stupid and naïve. Rage will never look at me the same way, and I can’t blame him.