by Nora Ash
Something, which should have been part of her plan to make him believe she was giving in, but wasn’t, made her ask, “Marathín?”
“My sweet?” He seemed to have finished the examination and pulled his fingers from her, placing a kiss to her knee when she closed her legs again and let them flop down to dangle over the edge.
“What will our babies look like?”
The demon reached for her hands, and she let him pull her up into a sitting position, though her muscles protested weakly. The smile on his lips was soft and indulgent, and she got the clear impression that he approved of her thoughts heading in a nest-y direction.
“To you they will look like human children.”
She frowned. The thought of not knowing the true face of a child she gave birth to was disturbing. “Will I never see their demon form? Or will they look almost human naturally, because they’re only half-demons?” Something dawned on her. “Is that why you don’t have so many inhuman features? Was your mother also a... Breeder?”
His indulgent smile widened. “You sure do have an inquisitive mind. Yes, my mother is a Breeder too—only the oldest among us have a demon mother, but that does not affect our appearance. We are fully demons; you are not a regular human, sweetheart—your human origin will not pollute our offspring. They will be strong, and their appearance will be determined by their inborn powers.”
He didn’t seem to realize that his dismissive attitude towards her humanity was somewhat offensive, but she knew she wouldn’t gain anything from arguing with him. Besides, all she wanted right now was to rest with him, preferably while listening to his deep, soothing voice. Sighing, she leaned into him, resting against his chest while he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her protectively close.
“So... can I hear why you are at war with the female demons now?” she inquired, tilting her head so she could look into his eyes.
Marathín sighed softly and stroked a hand through her hair. “You’d be better served in letting me tend to you as a mate should after having consummated a breeding, but I suppose we are limited by time and our surroundings as it is. And I did promise, didn’t I?”
“You did.”
“Then I suppose I better. It is not a happy tale, though.” With another sigh he lifted her up like a child, shifting them both to the chair so that she was sprawled over his lap, her back and hamstrings resting against his arms. “We have been at war for centuries; few remember the time before. We used to be a patriarchal society, the males dominating in large thanks to our Lords. We are generally physically stronger than the females, but they are quick and not without strengths of their own. However, the Lords are far, far superior in every way, leaving the females with little choice but to accept their dominion. Until the queen betrayed us.
“She made a pact with a goddess of fertility who sympathized with their cause, and as a result all female demons would be able to decide on the gender of their offspring as it grew in their bellies. It did not take long before we realized just how devastating that was for our society; even with the Lords the females soon overran us in great enough numbers that they would be able to overthrow the male dominion and force us into subservience. Matings were banned. For years we were at a stand-still, and on both sides concern about our slowly dwindling population would leave us weakened—that the gods would take advantage and shift the balance in their favor when we were too few to fight them. Negotiations slowly started, though no one wished for them. It is not in our nature to share power with our females, and they had tasted freedom and did not wish to give even an ounce of it up. But before any agreements could be reached, something unprecedented happened.”
He smiled and stroked a hand over her belly. “We have always enjoyed human company, and especially that of the few gifted with the ability to see through our illusions; your scent has all days driven us mad with lust. Just as we were about to concede to the females’ demands, the King’s human lover fell pregnant. No one had ever heard of such a thing being possible, but 9 months later she gave birth to what was clearly his child. And it happened again; human women taken for their ability to give pleasure while we were barred from mounting our own females grew round with our seed. We soon learned that it was only the ones with the Sight that could bear our offspring.
“The female demons were furious that they had lost their bargaining power, especially when it became clear that the new Breeders only gave birth to males. And so, the war unfolded. They refuse to bend to us as their natural masters, and fight vehemently to rid the world of Breeders, so they can once again attempt to force us to negotiate. Something we will not stand for. And so there is the explanation you asked for, my sweet; the reason for the attack you had to endure is the result of centuries of hatred and envy for the life you are able to give.”
Selma gaped at him. They had fought for centuries for the right to treat their own females as breeding slaves? What hopes did she have of ever being seen as anything more than a sweetly scented uterus, if that was essentially all they wished for from their own species? Even if she ran away from Marathín—and right now, that idea was oddly unappealing—she would spend the rest of her life hiding the mark he’d given her to not either get killed or... be dragged back to perform her duty as a broodmare.
“Shh, don’t fear, my sweet.” He hugged her closer when her scent undoubtedly took on the note of her terror. “I will keep you safe and happy. You and our offspring.”
Selma stared down at his hand as it once again caressed her belly. She could definitely do a lot worse than staying here, with him. She felt safe with him, found him attractive, the sex wasn’t really painful—which being underneath the Lords he’d described for her was bound to be—and he would undoubtedly take good care of her. Heck, she probably wouldn’t even be allowed to work again... and how many times had she wished she had enough money so she didn’t have to get up early in the mornings and deal with idiotic managers and boring paperwork?
“Why are you giggling, sweetheart?”
Had she been? The pressure of the situation must have finally gotten to her. She shook her head and looked up at him. “I was just wondering if you’re planning to pamper me so much that I don’t have to work anymore.”
His dark eyebrows crept up at her. Yeah, she was definitely still giggling. The image of lying, Roman-style, on a divan while being fed grapes by him seemed impossible to suppress.
“Your job will be to grow my babies and nurse them when they are young. When you have energy for more I know that many Breeders spend their free time gardening, painting... that sort of thing. I am aware that human society has insisted on women taking up the slack for your weak males, forcing you to provide for yourselves and your children. That is not the way of my kind; you will not be partaking in activities outside of the home.”
She shook her head at him, mirth still dancing in her eyes for reasons unbeknownst to her. “Really, you have to trick women into this? A life of luxury?”
He frowned, clearly a bit unsure of her reaction. “Most find it very agreeable once they have settled in, but some take issue with the lack of freedom. You, yourself, were not overly keen, before I mated you yesterday.”
Selma sighed, leaning in against his warm body so she could rest her head against his shoulder. “Well, that was before you explained that I won’t have to go back to my boring job. And …” She glanced up at him, the borderline hysterical amusement finally subsiding. “Before I... understood what it’s like, belonging to you. I think, if things had gone a little differently, it would have been easier. If you had been able to get me accustomed to the idea like you say you do normally.”
At that moment she didn’t know if she was telling the truth; she didn’t know if she would have fought for her freedom if their normal trickery had been allowed to play out, or if he would have been able to ease her into a life as a Breeder with minimum struggle from her. The way her body and endorphin-subdued mind were mumbling about trust and submission just
from having slept with him it wasn’t hard to imagine that the demons knew how to lure unsuspecting women into their deviant net without them even realizing that they were giving over their very lives. Heck, she wasn’t even entirely sure she shouldn’t just give in to the instincts telling her to trust and submit to him now.
“Let us not worry about what could have happened.” He tipped her head back to kiss her, and she accepted it without pause, her body pressing closer to his on its own accord.
Maybe she should stay. At least for a little while.
Her forehead furrowed as she stared at the naked man she was cradled against. What was wrong with her? Not two hours ago she’d been terrified of him, willing to do absolutely anything to get away. What was this... this acceptance? His magic? Her hormones?
Logic?
Was it the logical thing to do? Her mind was fuzzy from the sex, fuzzy from the things he’d told her, and it was so hard to remember the sensation of fear. She closed her eyes to clear it.
The image of herself on a porch behind a white picket fence flickered into her thoughts. Two children playing on the lawn, her belly round with a third. Marathín by her side, embracing her protectively. He would protect her, of that she was sure. Take care of her.
She would have the two things she’d always been too afraid top hope for: peace and her own family.
The alternative was a life on the run, always hiding, always afraid, and for what? For the right to be free in a world that would never offer her anything but pain.
The choice was logical, when it came down to it.
Smiling, she pressed a kiss to the demon’s—the man’s—shoulder. “Thank you for finding me.”
His firm lips parted in a responding smile, but before he could voice an answer his entire body went rigid and he shot up from the chair, shoving her behind him with enough force to make her stumble and fall back into the seat he’d just left.
“Marathín, wha—?”
Her startled gasp was silenced when the door unlocked and clicked open, revealing a uniformed man holding a gun, and a smaller form half-hiding behind him.
“That’s his patient,” the person at the back said as she closed the door behind them, and Selma recognized Marie’s voice. The kind nurse.
Oh god, no!
“I heard him threaten her,” she continued hastily. “He told her he’d kill me and anyone else who might get in the way if she didn’t... play along.”
The armed man, the police officer, had taken in the scene while Marie talked, his eyes narrowing at the large, naked male standing in front of her—his patient. The demon was growling low and menacingly in his throat, eyes locked on the officer, who didn’t seem to realize just how much danger he was in.
Selma scrambled up from the chair, covering herself with both arms. “Please, you need to leave,” she pressed into Marathín’s back, desperately hoping to stop him from lashing out. “Right now! Marathín, don’t, please...”
“It’s all right, sweetheart,” the uniformed man said, not realizing the irony in his chosen endearment and not taking his eyes off the demon. “Step away from the girl, Doctor. No one needs to get hurt here, but you have three seconds to walk around the desk with your hands up, do you understand?”
It was like watching a slow-moving horror film play out in front of her eyes.
She saw the police officer raise his gun and point it at Marathín.
“Three.”
Felt, rather than saw, the demon’s back muscles flex, the growl rising as something dark swept through the room, dimming the lights.
“Two.”
Someone screamed. Selma wasn’t sure if it was her or Marie. Maybe both of them. She stared at the place the officer had stood less than a second ago, her eyes refusing to focus on what was there now for the first few moments.
Marathín, drenched in blood, stood in front of the small nurse, his hand outstretched and clenched around something round, and red. She could see his profile, see that his lips were curled up in a snarl and his eyes were locked on Marie, who stood trembling in front of him, a small noise leaving her petrified lips for every fast breath.
The officer... Selma’s eyes shifted to the ground between the demon and the nurse, and her blood froze in her veins. His chest cavity had been ripped open and blood oozed from the hole where his heart had been.
His heart.
The thing Marathín was clutching in his hand—the same hand that had been intimately caressing her not a moment ago.
Her mind went blank the second before she doubled over to throw up.
“No, no, no. Please, no!” The sound of Marie’s desperate voice. “Please, don’t kill me, please! Oh god, what are you? No! N—gh!”
“Don’t.” Selma gasped it out between heaves, supporting her trembling arms against the desk. “Don’t hurt her, please.”
When she looked up to plead with him, he’d already locked his bloodied fist around Marie’s slim neck, the heart tossed carelessly to the floor.
“Marathín!” Panic finally made its way through her disbelief and she stumbled around the desk to throw herself at the demon. “Please, no!”
He pushed her away with his free hand, her desperate attempts at wrestling his grip loose from the frantically struggling woman ignored as his black stare bore down on his victim. “Worthless human cunt.”
It was a cruel hiss.
Then he clenched his fist, and a sickening crunch snapped the neck of the young woman who’d tried to save her.
“What did you do?” Bile filled her throat again as she slid to the floor where he tossed the nurse’s still-warm body, next to the officer’s mutilated corpse.
“Oh god, no, no, no!” Her lungs felt too big for her body, pressing against her ribs, threatening to break them apart. How could he... how could they... they were dead. He’d killed them. The man she’d made love to had just killed two innocent people.
“Be calm.”
She looked up at the sound of his smooth voice, looked up through the tears she hadn’t been aware she was shedding, and saw his face smoothing into its normal lines, as if the savage snarl hadn’t spread across his features mere moments ago. As if he hadn’t just slaughtered someone in front of her.
Calm?
“You killed them,” she croaked. A shiver was making its way through her body until she was shaking on the floor in front of him.
“Of course I did.” He frowned down at her. “I will not tolerate human interference with our plans. And certainly not some human thinking he can tell me to step away from my mate.” Without waiting for her response he grabbed her underneath her armpits and lifted her up. “Come. You need to go back to your room and clean up while I get rid of their bodies.”
She didn’t move. Blood dripped from her thighs and legs to the floor where he’d placed her. She’d sat in the officer’s blood without realizing, and she stared at the deep red against her pale skin.
“Selma!” the demon snapped. She flinched when his large hand wrapped around her cheek to press her into his chest. It was splattered with blood that wiped over her face when he crushed her against him.
It smelled metallic.
“Humans,” he muttered against the top of her head, before pulling back so he could lift her up.
She was carried back to the chair where he sat her down, turning the back of it to the bodies. “Wait here. I will rinse my hands and get you something to help you relax.”
She sat silently, staring at his many books while he went into the examination room, leaving the door ajar. Moments later he was back, once again lifting her up by the armpits as if she didn’t weigh more than a small child.
He got her dressed and pressed a blue pill into the palm of her hand.
“Look at me.”
She did, and wondered how someone so handsome could be capable of such cruelty.
“You’re in shock, sweetheart.” His voice had once again lowered to the soft, kind tone he’d used to coax her to relax be
fore. “I apologize; I didn’t consider how a young Breeder would experience it. I should have taken you back to your room first so you didn’t have to see it. I will make it up to you, later. For now, I need you to go back to the room, take a shower and change your clothes. Then take this pill. It will help you sleep, and when you wake up all this will be taken care of.”
Was she in shock? There was an odd numbness in the pit of her stomach spreading through her entire body and leaving an unpleasant sensation of an echo in her mind, but she heard everything he said. Understood everything that had happened.
“Selma.” His hand stroked over her hair. “Can you do this for me, my sweet?”
She nodded, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Good girl. I will come for you in the morning.”
Selma moved across the floor, careful not to look down before she had closed the door to his office firmly behind her. Then she walked down empty corridors and stairwells until she got to the small room she’d been kept in for the past few days. There, she stripped off her clothes and walked into the shower to wash blood, tears and semen off her stiff body before climbing into bed. The blue pill she left on the night stand.
He wanted her to sleep until morning so he could take her away, but even though she felt nothing as she stared up at the ceiling, waiting for nighttime to come, she knew she would never again forget what he was.
A monster.
Whatever she had thought he could give her, she had been blinded by his dark magic and her own desperation. He brought death and destruction, like she had always known his kind did, but she had fallen for his twisted seduction anyway.
Never again.
When darkness fell over the hospital’s silent halls she got out of bed and limped on bare feet to the cupboard where her personal belonging had been stored upon her arrival.
Five minutes later she snuck out of the unlocked room and across the hall where a large, bar-less window let her escape into the night.