Demonic Desire (Becoming Lust Book 2)

by Destiny Diess

  His ring clutched down harder on my finger—refusing to be moved. I took another step forward. “My father was not weak, and neither am I.”

  “You’re an angel,” someone else shouted from the crowd, which earned him an uproar of nods and comments aimed at me from only some demons this time.

  I tried hard to control my wrath, but with every moment that passed, I could feel it building inside of me, almost as strong as my lust. “Yes, I am half-angel and I am half-demon. I’m good. I’m bad.” I’m hungry. “But I will defend my kingdom and my birthright, my father and my mother, from anyone who wants to step in my way. I will be the strongest queen to ever lead our kingdom.”

  Chapter 36

  A look of fear crossed Maeve’s face when most of the crowd didn’t oppose me this time. They believed in me… at least, most of them did. And the ones who didn’t were hesitant to speak. She stepped forward, pointing a sharp claw at me. “How can we trust an angel to rule Hell?”

  I stared at her, finally calming myself down enough to think straight. Maeve had raised an army of my people and fixed them against me. She betrayed me, just like Kasey said she would. And I was a damn fool to believe that an Envy could ever want to be my loyal friend without wanting something more.

  Eros stayed beside me, unmoving, yet he kept his eye on Dr. U who sat on her hands and knees in a puddle of her own blood. I clenched my hands into fists and glanced down at her in sorrow. Courting Pit, my ass… this turned out to be a riot to overthrow me.

  “Get her off the throne,” one of Maeve’s louder accomplices said to stir up trouble.

  “She doesn’t deserve it.”

  “Mother sent her here to weaken Hell.”

  My heart pounded at the sea of people who were angrily turning on me. Out of the thousands of people here, there were only about a hundred demons who still didn’t think I was fit to rule… but it was a hundred Lust demons. A hundred of my own kind.

  Lucifer stepped closer to me.

  “They think you’re weak, Dani,” Lucifer whispered into my ear. “They want to take the throne from you. Don’t think you’re fit to rule the kingdom. They want to watch you burn in the pits of Wrath.”

  My jaw twitched, watching Maeve—my friend—continue to rile up her followers. Javier’s wrath became my own. Lust and wrath filled me, snapping me into the queen I truly was, and overtaking me with such viciousness that even the Javier in me paused.

  “If you don’t prove yourself now, this will happen in the coming years,” Lucifer said.

  And when the devil talked in my ear, I listened because he told the truth. Maeve and her minions needed to be eliminated. Eliminated today. By me.

  “Show them who you are,” Lucifer said. “Make them fear you.”

  Maeve looked me right in the eye with a grand smirk on her face, thinking she’d get out of this alive. “You will burn in Tartarus, Commander…” She walked toward Dr. U. “But before you do, you will watch your closest family die right before your eyes. And even your heavenly Mother won’t be able to save her.”

  She lifted her arm into the air, pointing her claws right toward Dr. U’s neck, and thrust them toward her. My body seemed to move without direction, grand wings spurting from my back. I collapsed over Dr. U’s body and shielded her from Maeve’s claws.

  Her talons dug deep into my back, ripping my flesh, and I took the pain. I held Dr. U to my chest. “Nothing will happen to you,” I whispered. “Eros will protect you.” And, then, I thrust my wings back—sending Maeve flying across the stadium—and shoved Dr. U into Eros’s arms.

  A collective gasp echoed through the air. Maeve hit the concrete walls, the pure force of the impact making some stone crumble over her when she landed on the ground. She rolled onto her hands and knees and shrieked. “She’ll protect anyone from our scorn!” she yelled. “Kill her!”

  Her followers ran down the stairs, hopped over the first row’s warriors, and sprinted at me, howling through razor-sharp teeth and running with talons that could try to rip me to shreds. Maeve stumbled to her feet and ran toward the throne room, her green eyes fixed on my crown.

  “Take their souls,” Javier said inside of me. “Suck them out. Feel their power through your veins. Make them suffer.”

  And, for once in my entire life, I wasn’t terrified of his voice… because it wasn’t Javier’s voice. It was mine. I was the monster and I revelled in it.

  I sprinted toward Maeve, and my wings lifted me off the ground. She staggered into the throne room and up the velvet carpet. A power built within me, a hunger crawling up the back of my throat, wanting to be filled with her soul. Just as she reached for my crown, I flew into the room and grasped her by the throat to pull her into the air with me.

  She let out a shrill cry, and I couldn’t hold back my lust anymore. I pressed my lips to hers, the carnal need to feel her gasping for air overwhelmingly strong. My hand tightened around her pretty little throat. And I sucked.

  All I could hear were her whimpers and the sound of demons approaching me from behind. All I could feel were her claws digging into my chest to push me away. All I could taste was lavender.

  The pressure rose inside of me, the intoxicating pleasure pumping through my body. Her eyes widened, and she made one last attempt to escape my grasp. And, then, I heard the crack. Could feel her fragile neck snap in my palm. I sucked her soul right from her body and inhaled it—wanting to savor the moment. Her envy, her jealousy, her life flowed through my veins, and I groaned softly.

  It almost felt better than when Eros stroked my horns.

  When her arms fell limply at her sides, I dropped her from my grasp and watched her fall onto the floor of the throne room. Her head bounced off the stone floors, blood seeping out of her wound. I floated to the ground and smirked at her, a hazy film blurring my vision.

  My tongue slid across my fangs. I needed more.

  Maeve’s minions leapt at me from behind, sinking their fangs into my neck, digging their claws into my flesh, wrapping their tails around my legs to try to hold me in place. And, so, I grasped the closest traitor, curled my hand around his neck, and tasted just how sweet his life was on my lips.

  I inhaled his soul, feeling that strength of life, that will to live, that fear of death. A surge of power swelled inside of me, and I let his body fall to the ground. “More.” I reached behind me and yanked one over my shoulder, pressing my lips to hers.

  One demon here, two there, five out in the court. God, I needed more.

  Bodies fell into piles around me. Commanders stared at me with wide eyes. Demons in the stadium hurried to leave in a panic. My eyes locked onto Sathanus and his tasty-looking lips, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to get close enough now. I needed to feed. I had been starved.

  Someone grabbed my hand from behind and turned me around. I licked my fangs, ready to taste the man’s lips, but then I saw Eros. Eyes a wide green, a touch so gentle, lips so damn tempting. My claws dug into his forearms, and I pulled him closer. I growled in hunger for him, for his soul, for it to bind with mine.

  He brushed his fingers against my cheek, and for a moment, I leaned into his touch and tilted my head into his hand. That’s when I saw him. Biast. Standing a few feet away. Dark, dangerous eyes on me. A sinful, monstrous look on his face. I grabbed Eros’s chin, smiled sweetly at him, and placed a kiss on his lips. “I love you.” And then I pushed him out of the way and hurried toward Biast, the need building inside of me more than anything ever had.

  When I grabbed Biast by the throat, he wrapped his tail around my ankle—holding me close. There wasn’t a single ounce of fear in his eyes, but an unusual sort of… pride. I didn’t waste time overthinking it. Instead, I pressed my lips to his—wanting to just kill him right then and there.

  Biast didn’t struggle. He didn’t claw or scream or yell. He rested his hands almost softly on my hips and kissed me back, his tongue tangling with mine as if he was enjoying this. And… I wasn’t going to lie… I enjoyed it too.
More than I should have.

  After a few moments, I pulled away from him, absolutely breathless. Something was wrong. Why couldn’t I take his soul? He licked his lips and unwrapped his tail. “Can’t kill me either, Commander, can you?”

  Without wasting another breath on him, I pushed him out of the way and decided to feed on someone else. There were plenty of traitors, plenty of men and women who wanted to witness my fall.

  Unable to control myself, I grabbed whoever I could. I needed more. More life. More lust. More of everything. The intoxicating scents of my people—whether they were trying to flee from me or running toward me to try to ruin me—smelt too good. And when I inhaled the familiar scent of chocolate, I grabbed a woman by her waist and pressed my lips to hers.

  She struggled in my hold, pressing her hands into my chest. Someone pulled me off her and stepped between us. “Dani…” Though my vision was blurry, I could sense Eros. “Dani, you don’t want to hurt Jasmine.”

  My heart stopped at the sound of her name, my vision returning for only a second to see Jasmine’s wide eyes at me. With red fingerprints on her neck, she was gasping for air in Eros’s arms. I muttered an apology, but couldn’t stop myself from licking my lips again at the mere sight of her. “Protect her, Eros. Protect her from me because I can’t control this.”

  And I didn’t want to.

  When I turned back around, the crowd had started to diminish. One person at a time.

  I grabbed onto the nearest man—Axel, Maeve’s lover—and pressed my lips to his. My wings lifted me into the air, my lust becoming stronger by the moment. It took only a second to kill him, to snap his neck, and to inhale his life essence.

  He slipped from my hands, and a sense of satiety washed over me. I gazed down at the sea of perished demons below me, who had been vying for my crown. A horrific chuckle escaped my lips, and I floated back to the ground.

  Lucifer stood around the litter of bodies, lips curled into a smirk. Biast sat on one of the Throne Room couches with Maeve in his arms, fangs sunk deep into her flesh, feasting on her blood. The souls of my victims bound to mine, becoming one with me.

  I walked to my throne, picked up my crown, and sat. Half-angel, half-demon, all me. The good, the bad, the ugly. Through all the doubts, all the traitors, everything, I crowned my damn self because I was…

  Dani Asmodeus.

  Queen of Lust.

  Commander in Hell.

  The most powerful being to step foot into the depths of the Underworld.

  And nobody would stop me.

  To be continued…

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  About the Author

  Destiny Diess is a paranormal romance author who lives in Pittsburgh, PA. With over 28 million reads online as of June 2020, Destiny enjoys writing books about werewolves, demons, and gods. She's currently writing the Becoming Lust Trilogy.