Her voice grew distant, as if she was holding the device away from her as she shouted, “Take that, you piece of shit incubus. Kiss my ass!”
A male voice replied. “Fuck knows what disease I’d get if I did that, you defective bitch. You put the suck in succubus!”
Tegan’s blood boiled.
The male dared to insult his female?
His heart bled in his chest as he waited for her retort and none left her lips, and he could almost see how she would look, how deep those words would have struck her. She doubted herself, thought herself a failure, and this vicious bastard was playing on that to wound her.
“Teleport,” he snarled into the phone as his horns flared, twisting around on themselves and his muscles ached, his rage snaring command of him and pushing him to transform into his other form, one where an incubus would be little more than an inconvenience to him.
“Can’t,” she panted. “They hit me with a spell. Can’t teleport till it wears off. Bastards were waiting for me.”
Plural.
He growled low as his body began to grow, bones lengthening and muscles expanding, and every instinct in him roared to go to her, because she meant everything to him. He would drop everything for her. If she ever needed him, he would be there for her. If she was ever in danger, he would run to save her.
“I am coming, Suki,” he bit out and stoked the rage inside him, giving it free reign over him, even when he knew it was dangerous to do such a thing. Instinct would be at the helm and anyone who so much as looked at Suki would be labelled as an enemy, one he needed to kill, but holding back now was impossible. He snarled through his fangs. “I will tear the incubi to shreds with my claws.”
The black abyss opened beneath him and he dropped into it, pinning his wings back as he emerged on the other side, dropping out of the teleport above the fae town, close to the ceiling of the cavern.
He twisted and plummeted, swooping down towards the buildings, his gaze sharp and scanning everywhere for her. He had heard clay shattering. The witches’ district.
He banked in that direction and spread his wings, beat them hard and shot towards that area of the town. Undulating green-blue roofs zoomed towards him and he twisted hard to his left as he neared them, skimmed along the glazed tiles and beat his wings again, gaining elevation.
And a lot of stares from the street below.
His eyes scanned it, spotting the broken pottery and furious witches as they looked north. Towards the square.
His gaze leaped there.
His heart lodged in his throat.
Suki.
She was running towards the witches’ district again, wild sea-coloured hair bouncing with each long stride as her bare legs pumped, sending her short crimson plaid skirt flapping around her hips. Her open white shirt fluttered behind her, breasts bobbing in the tiny black top she wore beneath.
She glanced over her shoulder and then ahead again, and something crossed her face, her expression going slack for a moment before her eyes darted up, locking straight on him as he shot towards her. He pinned his wings back to gain momentum as he fixed his gaze on the cobbles just beyond her.
Between her and the three blond black-leather-clad males pursuing her.
On a vicious roar, he slammed into the cobbles, sending several of them flying as a shockwave rushed out in all directions from his point of impact.
The three incubi skidded to a halt, their bright blue and gold eyes enormous as they reared back. One fell on his backside with a grunt. That one wisely scrambled away from him, placing the other two between them.
The scent of fear that laced the air was strongest on him.
Had he been the one to hurt Suki with those vicious barbs?
Tegan bared his fangs at the despicable male. He would die first.
He spread his leathery black wings, forming a barrier between the incubi and Suki as she stopped running. Her eyes drifted down his spine, the heat she ignited in him whenever she looked at him stoking his rage rather than his desire this time.
He drew down a deep breath and straightened as he continued to transform, as the three males dropped away from him, looking smaller by the second as he reached his full ten-foot height.
His horns curled again, twisting around into deadly points that matched his claws as they extended to resemble black talons. His lower canines sharpened as his transformation completed and he leaned forwards and roared at the three males, tearing a gasp from the few people who had gathered to watch.
And Suki.
She stood behind him, her shock flowing over him.
Did the sight of him as he was now frighten her?
Gods, he hoped it didn’t.
It was the last reasonable thought he had as his mind darkened, his instinct to protect her rising to the fore. His gaze darted from one incubus to the other, assessing them. They were not a threat to him.
Puny males.
On a low snarl, he held his right hand out before him.
The most fearful of the males tensed, as if he was about to be struck. Not yet. Soon. Tegan was going to take great satisfaction from making that male pay.
He twisted his hand palm down and focused, haziness running through his body and his mind as he connected with the earth and power rippled through him, twining with his own. His eyelids drooped as that power spread and his strength rose.
The violet pommel stone of his sword emerged from the fracture cobbles in front of him.
All eyes left him, their focus shifting to the weapon rising from the ground before him. A weapon he hadn’t used in combat in a thousand years.
His lips pulled back in a harsh grin that flashed his fangs as the black leather grip emerged and then the gold guard. The broad silver blade breached the earth and he stared at it, at the words inscribed on it in the demon tongue, an oath to keep all those who were dear to him safe with this mighty weapon the earth had given to him.
He ached to reach down and grip the hilt, to pull it from the earth and feel the weight of it in his palm once more as he upheld that vow, but he forced himself to be patient, to receive this gift of nature in a manner fitting of a king.
Plus, he enjoyed watching the incubi quake in fear and their eyes grow ever larger as they watched the sword continuing to rise, the blade three feet long and then four, and then five.
It tapered to a point at last and he twisted his hand and slid it down the hilt, curled his fingers around it and didn’t hesitate.
The moment it was in his grip, he launched at the stunned incubi on a vicious roar, the need to protect Suki and destroy her enemies pounding in his veins, drumming in his heart, a beat that filled his head and commanded him.
The first male was swift to teleport and snagged the one who had remained on the floor. The remaining male roused himself at the last second and hurled himself to the left, hitting the cobbles in an ungainly sprawl. He scrambled away.
Tegan turned to track him and swung again, aiming his blade at the male’s back, just above his hips. A blow that would sever his spine if it connected. He snarled as the male teleported just as his sword reached him, the fury burning in his veins blazing hotter.
His quarry were wily.
Infuriating.
He grunted as one of the males slammed into his back, a heavy boot hitting his lower spine and shoving him forwards. On a feral snarl, he pivoted, bringing his sword around at the same time. His wings battered the male, forcing him back, and he grinned, flashing fangs as he kicked off, launching after the incubus as he attempted to gain some space. His senses blared a warning and he raised his right arm, blocking the attack of the second incubus, a punch that barely registered on his forearm.
He swung his left fist, slamming it into the male’s face. Blood spurted from his nose, the sound of bone shattering a pleasing sound as Tegan rounded on him. It wasn’t the one who had insulted Suki, but it was a victory, one that had the hunger for bloodshed burning brighter, stealing more control from him.
He snarled when the remaining two incubi swarmed him and he tried to counter them, blocking their blows as they appeared and disappeared. Their comrade slunk away, clutching his bloodied nose with one hand.
Tegan opened his portal, dropping into it and out of the air just in front of the bleeding male, swinging his sword as he emerged from the teleport. The tip of it slashed across the male’s chest, cutting through his leather jacket, ripping a satisfying bellow from his lips.
The one who had insulted Suki suddenly appeared before him, catching him off guard. His fist smashed into Tegan’s jaw, knocking his head to his right. Tegan snarled as he shook off the blow and his blade was a silver arc as it cut through the air. The male teleported as it reached him and Tegan twisted on his heel, coming to face the male as he appeared behind him, unwilling to fall for that again.
The other incubus kicked him in the back, knocking him off balance as he swung his sword. He flared his wings and beat them, battering the bastard and lifting off the ground, stopping himself from falling towards his primary target as the male produced a dagger.
He slashed at Tegan with it and Tegan dodged, sweeping right and coming around behind the male as he swung his blade again, aiming it at the incubus’s throat.
The male with the bloody nose grabbed him before Tegan’s blade could reach him, teleporting him away.
Tegan was ready for them this time, his senses sharpened and attuned to their scent. He spun in the air as those senses flared, the smell of blood appearing behind him, and swung his sword, a roar peeling from his lips as it cut towards nothing but air.
And then cut down the back of the incubus.
He yelled and arched forwards, blood swiftly tracking down his back as he staggered, knocking the other injured male to the ground.
“This is your fault.” The third male, the only one he had yet to wound, spat from behind him.
“Fuck you,” Suki snapped.
Tegan teleported, his vicious growl echoing in the brief flash of darkness before he emerged in the fae town again, directly between her and the incubus.
His eyes widened as he saw her standing before him, facing the male, not safely tucked behind him. The world slowed as the male lunged forwards, the dagger he gripped flashing silver in the lamps around the square.
Tegan’s heart seized.
He reached for Suki, desperate to pull her from the path of the blade as she merely stared at it, her eyes slowly widening as horror filled them.
His fingers closed over her shoulder.
The blade pierced an inch below them.
Suki screamed, the harrowing sound turning his blood to icy sludge in his veins for a moment before it burst into flames and he roared, unleashing every drop of his rage in it.
His error in calculating his teleport had cost his female greatly.
Anger surged through him, fury aimed at both himself and the incubus who had wounded her as Tegan pulled her to him, tugging her free of the blade, and shoved her behind him. His mouth opened on another roar as he spread his wings and lunged towards the stunned male as he stared at his dagger and the blood rolling down it.
Suki’s blood.
The sweet honey and spice scent of it flooded the air, stoking Tegan’s rage, and he gripped his broadsword in both hands and shoved it forwards.
Deep into the side of the bastard incubus.
He twisted the blade in his grip, determined the cut the male in two for his part in what had happened.
The other two incubi grabbed him and teleported before he could make that happen.
He roared again, frustration coursing through him, darkening his mood and giving his rage a firmer hold on him. He swept his hand through the blood that coated his blade and licked his palm, tasting the copper as his senses sparked, one of his demonic gifts triggering in response to the blood.
Allowing him to pinpoint the male’s exact location.
He teleported and appeared outside what looked like an elegant Georgian country house in the corner of the cavern, near to the entrance and the demon district.
The three males froze and looked back at him, their faces ashen and fear colouring their blue and gold eyes.
They would pay for what had happened to Suki.
He wouldn’t stop until death had come for them all.
The heavy doors of the mansion opened and more incubi poured out, several of them stronger than the males standing before him. They came to face him now, the fear ebbing as they sensed the same shift in tides as he did. He glanced at the demon district to his right, where several males had already gathered, some of them looking as if they might aid him in a fight.
It was a struggle when he wanted to rip apart every incubi with his bare hands, but he managed to calm his mind enough to calculate his odds of winning as his gaze skimmed over the gathered incubi, close to thirty of them in total. The three he had fought had proven wily adversaries, using their ability to swiftly teleport to their advantage, and the two-dozen-plus lining the front of the elegant sandstone mansion were armed with swords.
Awareness shot down his spine, ripping a growl from him, and he looked over his shoulder, beyond his black leathery wings.
To Suki.
She hurried towards him, her face stricken, fear shining in her dazzling eyes.
Together with pain.
His gaze fell to her right hand where it pressed against her shoulder, her clenched fingers lined with blood that tracked down the front of her white shirt and stained her skin.
A wound he felt partly responsible for. He should have been the one bleeding, not her. His delicate little female.
She halted, breathing hard, and her eyes strayed from his to take in the incubi. She slowly shook her head, her eyebrows furrowing as her gaze darted back to him.
“Stop. They learned their lesson,” she said with another shake of her head.
One of the incubi was quick to speak. “We won’t bother her again.”
That didn’t appease Tegan.
His blood screamed at him to slay the entire incubi clan, but his heart roared at him to take care of his mate.
It won.
He stabbed his broadsword into the cobbles, waiting for it to start sinking into the earth again before he turned and stomped towards her. His gaze flickered over her shoulder and his rage gave way under the weight of fear that flooded him. His female was hurt. Bleeding. The thought that he might lose her, even when he knew she was strong enough to survive the flesh wound, seized him in icy talons and squeezed the air from his lungs.
He gathered her to him, tucking her close, his hand on the back of her head as he guided it to his chest. She nestled against him, trembling in his arms, her fear flowing into him as he lowered his head and breathed in her scent, a vain attempt to calm himself.
Tegan wrapped his wings around her and roared at the incubi.
Suki winced, tensing against him, and the scent of her blood grew stronger, choking him and pulling at his heart.
He needed to take his female somewhere safe.
A black abyss opened beneath them.
He would take her to the safest place he knew.
CHAPTER 18
Suki’s entire body went rigid against him as the darkness devoured them. Cold swept over Tegan’s wings as he tucked them more tightly around her and held her closer. She was safe. She didn’t need to fear now.
He had her.
“Calm,” he grumbled and wanted to growl when it came out in the demon tongue rather than English.
He wasn’t sure she knew his language.
His face twisted with the frustration that mounted inside him again as he wrestled with his rage, the anger keeping his body transformed, fury that refused to abate while the delicate scent of her blood laced his senses.
They landed gently, rising out of the black earth in the garden of his mansion, a building that resembled the Tudor country houses of England only instead of sandstone, it had been constructed from the onyx stone of his ki
ngdom.
The mansion formed an angular C when he viewed it from the air and stood three storeys tall, the left and right thirds of the building set forwards from the others, allowing windows on the inner sides of their walls that faced each other across an open sort of courtyard.
The entryway was his most recent addition, with a broad flattened pointed arched doorway that housed the imposing dark double doors. On each floor, windows made of between nine and fifteen smaller rectangular panes of glass set into dark wooden frames allowed what little light there was in his kingdom to flood into the rooms, brightening them.
He had spent decades building this home for himself, remodelling it over the ages based on information brought to him by his aides and his brother, but had lost interest in renovating it around four centuries ago, when the weight of his crown and the captivity he endured had begun to take its toll on him.
He rarely visited now, but the servants who lived in the house kept it in order for him and his brother used it frequently.
Because Tegan wasn’t the only one who preferred life away from the castle.
The hold his rage had on him began to ebb, fading as he looked at it, growing aware that Suki was safe now. No one would hurt her here, and incubi, like succubi, were born of fae origin, meaning they couldn’t teleport into Hell using the portal pathways without assistance from one who could use them or a spell.
Even if the incubi could enter Hell, they would never find her.
They would never reach her.
He would make sure of that.
Suki moved in his arms, attempting to twist her head to look over her shoulder, no doubt curious about where he had taken her. She winced.
“Bugger,” she muttered and the scent of her blood grew stronger.
“Be more careful, little female,” he murmured softly in the demon tongue. “It kills me whenever I sense your pain.”
She tilted her head back. “I don’t speak demon. At least not well. I only know a few words I’m afraid. I don’t know what you’re saying.”
He knew. His face crumpled again as he looked down into her green-to-blue eyes and he smoothed his thumb across her ashen cheek, his fingertips resting against her jaw.
Seduced by a Demon King Page 20