by R. Scarlett
My parents had warned me about the addictive nature of certain environments for souleaters. How one thriving, chaotic place could sing to my soul and make me impulsive, dangerously living on the edge of life and death. And as soon as I tasted the heavy emotions of anger and lust and violence in the air, I knew I’d be coming back. After months without feeding, I needed the pain, the feeling of danger and risk.
When I volunteered to fight, people had sneered at me. But I needed an excuse to stay longer. To find more information that could lead me to Dolores.
I let Beau’s words sink in slowly, letting the ripple of anger settle before I risked losing it in front of him completely.
“Your soul’s too tainted for me, Beau Knight,” I said, waiting, hoping for the reaction I craved. The anger that thrilled me. “I don’t fuck guys who will feed me shit.”
His fingers curled deeper into the sink bowl, the squeak of his skin rubbing against dirty porcelain.
“I wouldn’t let a lowlife like you taste me anyway,” he said, just as lowly, just as bitterly and I couldn’t hide the blow. I clasped my mouth shut but cringed when the raw flesh collided. I could feel his eyes scan me once again, judging me like every other male here had.
Too thin, too pale, too damaged.
I barely restrained an eye-roll.
“Can’t say you’re much of a prize either, Knight. Heartless. Shameful. A sinner. You’re not above a lowlife like me,” I said, my lips turning up at the corners mockingly. “How does it feel to see your brother be the Dux you were destined to be? Oh wait, don’t say, I can taste it on my tongue.” I pretended to be tasting something, my brows furrowing. “Yeah, it tastes pretty foul and desperate.”
Beau growled lowly, the sound vicious and dark, arms shaking with restraint. He was about to say something when his eyes fell to my ribs where I’d been holding my middle subconsciously. With his eyes there, it reminded me of just how much they actually hurt. I winced softly.
“Tensley’s going to be mad his little friend was hanging out in the Pit,” he said, his gaze on my face again, glaring at my bruised lips.
I shoved at his hard chest, the action no doubt hurting me more than it hurt him. “He won’t know,” I said through gritted teeth.
He shoved me right back with enough force that my back hit the filthy mirror behind us. “Unless he’s fucking blind—” He gestured to my face and paused, again scowling—disgusted by my appearance, by my existence. “Stay still.”
My brows pinched. “What?”
His fingers pressed into my side, a pinch to my ribcage and he moved closer.
I leaned as far back as I could, but there was nowhere else to go, nowhere else to run and my heart, my mind was screaming at me to escape.
“Stay fucking still,” he growled and before I could snap back at him, his head had dipped and his hot mouth was touching my throat.
I gasped—out of shock as a sudden heat seemed to expand across my chest and into my stomach.
Beau Knight was touching me—his fingers moving along each bone of my ribcage, his sinful mouth, so soft compared to all his hard edges, caressing each bruise along my throat, my jaw. A shiver ran through me, and when he chuckled darkly, I knew he’d felt it. I frowned, trying to push him away, but his grip on me only tightened.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing,” I said, my traitorous voice coming out as more of a soft whisper than a true menace.
“Healing you,” he grunted, voice low, as it resonated through my body, making my blood sing. Incubi had the ability to heal with a touch, with their lips and their bodies. His lips reached the sensitive skin just behind my ear and with the lack of distance between us, I could taste his emotions fully. It was no longer the simple tinge I’d been able to detect earlier.
There was a lot of anger inside him. And loneliness. But most importantly, desire. Burning, restless desire.
I blinked, my breaths coming out in a short, erratic beat.
One of his hands, callused and warm, suddenly wrapped around my throat roughly and I moaned aloud, the sound breaking through my parted lips before I could swallow it down.
He growled again, but didn’t stop, didn’t let up as he mapped my body, his incubi strength healing each bruise like a makeshift Band-Aid.
I hadn’t been touched for so long—by a man with such callused, hard hands.
There was nothing smooth about his healing, nothing romantic, nothing soft, and my body responded instantly to his roughness.
And I hadn’t fed on a soul in so long, yet here he was, so close, close enough that I could—
It was when my shaky fingers dared rest on his chest that he snarled aggressively, shoving me back, one of his hands trapping mine in his grasp.
“Don’t touch me,” he warned, and I heaved, breathlessly at his harsh tone.
His other hand still gripped my throat, keeping me anchored, keeping me exactly where he wanted as his mouth did all the work.
Then his lips stopped moving and he strengthened up, leaving his hold on my neck as he gazed down at me. For a moment, I saw it in the two black pools that were his eyes, the danger and bitterness and arousal.
He pushed back, letting go of my neck but gripping my forearm.
“That’ll be good enough to keep my brother calm,” he said gruffly. He guided me out the back entrance, after his hand slid from the front to the back of my neck in one smooth yet hard stroke. Gripping it tightly with purpose and command.
It made me feel like a fucking misbehaving child.
I huffed, but kept up pace with him, not given much of a choice.
“What part of ‘he won’t know’ didn’t you understand, Beau?” I said, my irritation clear in the tone.
“I healed you so he wouldn’t freak the fuck out,” he said, voice rough. “I never said anything about getting you out of trouble, kid. I’m taking you to Tensley, and you’ll be dealt with.”
“Don’t you think you already did enough of that yourself? You humiliated me when you pulled me out of that fight like a fucking stray kitten amongst wolves,” I bit out.
He laughed, but the sound held no joy. His body stopping short, head lowering so that our eyes were level. “Let’s make one thing very clear here. That, in there, was not me dealing with you. That was me merely collecting my brother’s reckless little friend,” he said, and even in the night, I could see his eyes growing darker. Then his voice got considerably lower, making goosebumps rise on my skin. “If you were my fucking problem, Alexandra, if you were my trouble, this is not how I’d be dealing with you for pulling shit like what you did.”
Breathless, I whispered, “how… would you be dealing with me?” before I could stop the words from coming out.
“That’s not something I’m going to fucking discuss with you. Move,” he said as he started walking again, pulling me along.
I still felt hot, my stomach in tight knots of something I didn’t want to acknowledge. There was a warning in my head telling me to stay away, to not get burned by his anger, by his fire, by him, but his emotions were like poison to me.
They were so powerful, so potent, so raw, no doubt enhanced by his lack of heart, by the control of the beast within him. I knew I shouldn’t drink his poison, but I was still wondering what it would do to me if I did.
The flutter I felt in my stomach at the thought was pure danger. I wanted to touch his flames, to play with them.
Just once.
I wanted to taste Beau Knight’s soul. Just a little, innocent sip.
“Pick up your feet,” he snapped at me, ripping me out of my needy thoughts.
When I realized where my mind had been going, I groaned inwardly.
I needed to fucking feed on someone, anyone, and fast.
Beau Knight was definitely not the type of man who should’ve been inciting such thoughts from me.
It had been too fucking long. That was the only reason why I’d had those thoughts.
As we moved past the crowd ou
tside the Pit, two men exited after us, carrying a large, black bag. It looked heavy, and I realized, with dread, that it contained a dead body.
Oh my—
I swallowed with difficulty.
I had heard horror stories about the Pit, how lethal and dreadful it was, but seeing it all with my very eyes, the chaos, the pain and death it caused… it made my stomach drop. They weren’t just rumors, legends told to make sure demons stayed far away.
No, they were truths. I knew this now. People died here, every night. And the saddest realization was, knowing the kind of crowd the Pit attracted, I doubted many of them were missed and grieved.
Once we were outside of the Pit, located in an old abandoned parking lot in Brooklyn, he let go, but didn’t move too far from me.
I could feel the anger radiate off of him and I knew I had ruined his night. But since he’d ruined mine too, I didn’t feel too bad about it.
“Do you fight here every night?” I asked as we moved down an empty street, the heat of the pavement still steaming from the sunshine even after hours of darkness.
He didn’t turn to look back at me. I studied the side of his face, his long hair tied back in a low ponytail and saw glimpses of tattoos and scars lining the back and side of his thick neck.
His mouth was set in a straight, pissed-off line. Eyes dark and focused ahead. Nose straight. Brows furrowed.
He still worked for Scorpios, but I knew he took care of a different, dirty area of the business. I’d heard he was the one policing the low-class demons in Brooklyn, making sure they knew where they stood and what happened when they tried to walk beyond the lines they were supposed to stay within.
Strange how a man whose job was to inforce the laws that the Pit’s scum craved to rebel against, was just as desperate for the sense of freedom the place offered. A lawless retreat.
“Do you win every night?” I asked when he didn’t answer my first question.
His shoulders stiffened farther than they already were, but his face still didn’t turn toward mine.
Yellow taxies blurred down the avenue, a cacophony of klaxons and motor sounds following their trail. Beau stretched his arm out and one of them stopped in front of us shortly after.
He opened the door and stepped back, his dark brows lowered in annoyance. I wanted to bolt, I wanted to turn the other way, but I doubted I’d be able to outrun him. I raised my chin defiantly and walked to the door, stepping in the car and scooting over to the other side.
He got in behind me, slamming the door shut with more force than needed. He mumbled the address to the driver and as the car started its journey, Beau seemed satisfied with the tense silence reigning in the small space. When shared with a man his size, the backseat was more than cramped, leaving our bodies far too close to one another.
His anger and displeasure teased my taste buds again and I swallowed thickly.
This was going to be a long ride.
I didn’t look at him. I didn’t pay him any attention, but my fingers wandered up my throat, to my jaw bone. The pain had lessened, and I knew I had his toxic mouth and fingers to thank for it.
Fingers I wanted to break.
He was a heartless bastard. I had to remind myself of that.
Ten years ago, he had committed the ultimate disgrace for a demon. He had fallen in love with a human and he had impregnated her out of wedlock.
Fallen, king of demons, killed both the human woman and the unborn child.
Along with the old Beau, Tensley had once said, when his older brother’s heart had been ripped out still pulsing with life and warm with love.
Falling in love was highly forbidden for demons and punished harshly. But falling in love with a human? That was the worst sin our kind could commit. It was a wonder Fallen hadn’t killed Beau as well.
Bringing shame to their family name, Beau was stripped of his right to become Dux, as first born son of Salvatore Knight.
He’d become a heartless monster. One with violent outbursts. Demons could, in fact, live without a heart. That the heart was simply what tethers them to sanity and controlled the beast.
Over the years since Fallen’s punishment, he’d probably gained back a sliver of his old heart. There was a chance he had improved, but he was still that unpredictable wild animal, one no one could tame.
He probably growled or snapped at anyone who dared to approach him, I thought with a sour laugh.
His beast was no doubt still holding the upper hand on his control, what had happened in the bathroom had been proof of that. His emotions had been so raw, so strong. Much stronger than a normal demon who had a tight leash on his beast.
Beau… there was no leash on him.
And he’d had his strong hand wrapped around my neck mere moments ago.
I knew he probably hadn’t meant it as the display of dominance and control over another being that it represented. Or as the show of possession that had sent shivers rocking through my body, and straight to my core.
No… knowing what Tensley had told me about him, it had likely been nothing more than his way of making sure he could break my neck at any second if I annoyed him too much.
I shook my head, thinking back to my body’s reaction to his soft, yet firm lips gliding over my skin.
The car stopped abruptly, and I jolted forward. Beau sneered at me and got out of the car, paying the fee.
I followed after and my shoulders dropped at the sight of the Scorpios townhouse.
This was where the Dux resided with his family, where the Knights had lived all their lives.
It was also where Scorpios held all their meetings. The place they took their prisoners and those who caused trouble to be dealt with accordingly, I realized, my blood turning slightly colder at the thought.
Thankfully, the current Dux, Tensley Knight, was a friend of mine.
But that was also the reason why he would be livid when learning I’d gone and fought at the Pit.
He had enough on his plate with becoming the new Dux. It was a fairly recent change as their father had been poisoned just over a week ago and was currently in a coma. On top of that, I knew Fallen, the king of High Court, had been dropping by every once in awhile to meet with him, which always seemed to put Tensley in a dark mood.
He didn’t need my fucking drama.
Not that I’d wanted to lay it all out in front of him to begin with, but Beau had other plans.
“Move,” Beau said, annoyance clear in his tone, and I sneered back at him.
“A man of few words, are you?” I said with a mocking smile as I walked passed him and entered the grand townhouse. The black and white tiled floors gleamed with the fresh scent of oranges and rich perfumes.
The life of the rich and damned.
I almost felt bad for tainting those squeaky-clean floors with the filth that had stuck to the bottom of my shoes when I’d been in the Pit.
Almost.
Beau was like a shadow behind me, his body heat sliding up my back, the air surrounding him tasted like annoyance and anger.
Beau didn’t bother knocking once we were in front of Tensley’s new office. He gripped my forearm and we both walked inside.
Tensley glanced up from his desk, a phone to his ear. His eyes darkened at the sight of me and his brother, and I dropped my gaze to the floor. Standing next to Beau, I felt so tiny, so fragile compared to the giant bloodthirsty demon. He was made to be a warrior. Strong, standing tall and confident, the look on his face nothing short of menacing. The muscles in his arms seem to bulge under his inked skin. Ink my fingers itched to trace all the way under his t-shirt sleeves.
Fucking great.
Tensley sighed. “I’ll call you back.” He hung up and sat back in his chair, watching me, angled away from him.
“What are you doing here? Together?”
“Tell him,” Beau rasped out, pulling at my sweaty t-shirt.
I raised my head slowly because I knew my appearance wouldn’t sit well with Tensley.
Tensley had always been protective of me, but after what had happened with the hunters, when I’d been kidnapped and beaten within an inch of my life, he’d been breathing down my neck even more.
I called him a friend, but really, he’d always been more of a big brother. Watching over me, worrying, making sure I was okay.
Tensley, dressed in a custom suit, black hair combed back neatly while Beau, dressed in ripped black jeans and a black t-shirt, and wild, untamed long hair. They couldn’t be more opposite.
His fingers curled into fists on his desk and his jaw ticked as he took me in. After a silent moment, he slammed his fist on the desk and swore under his breath. “What happened?”
I could feel Beau’s hand tighten its grip on my t-shirt and I glanced up at his face. His lips twitched slightly at the corner, no doubt due to his anger.
Tensley stood and walked toward me and gently, unlike his brother, grabbed my chin, his eyes scanning the damage. Beau had been right. He had healed most of the damage and I hated to fucking say it, but I was thankful for that.
Had there been one more bruise on my skin, Tensley would have lost it.
He growled. “What the hell happened?” he repeated, annoyed when neither of us answered.
“Found her at the Pit,” Beau bit out, and I glared at his hand still gripping me, tightening his hold on my t-shirt.
Tensley’s eyes swung to his older brother. “What?”
I wanted to punch Beau right then and there.
Instead, I pushed Tensley’s hand away and rolled my eyes, hoping to convince him I was fine. He believed my little lies most of the time anyway. “I’m fine.”
“Fine?” both brothers snapped and I paused at the strength and power of their voices combined. Two different, but powerful forces that no one wanted to get on the bad side of.
“Bruises will heal,” I said and wrapped an arm around my middle, glancing up at Beau, his dark eyes boring into me. “Turns out, I’ve lived through far worse,” I added bitterly, the painful memories swirling in my mind.
Tensley’s mouth clasped shut and wavered, his anger brimming. He wanted to yell, he wanted to lecture me and I braced myself for the impact. “It’s a fucking fighting ring for demons. Why the hell would a souleater go there, huh? Are you fucking trying to get yourself killed? Is that what you want, Lex?” he snapped, his anger flaring.