"Looking around." It was at least halfway true. She cleared her throat, still feeling his hand there. "Everyone knows this Haven is the best. I was curious." Yeah. Leave it at that.
"You know, I have a real problem with liars, Ms. Thomas." Leo's face was hard, his eyes, warm days ago, now chipped ice.
Liliana felt a punch of guilt but shoved it aside. She did what she had to do. She raised her chin, meeting his eyes. "I didn't come to cause trouble."
"The first truth you've told today. Who are you really?" Anger smoldered in Xavier's eyes.
"You have my ID, you know who I am." Liliana pushed a hand through her hair, she’d paid a good chunk of money for that ID, and it had better pass a routine check. This situation was entirely out of control. She would just have to find some other way to get the information.
"You're hiding something," Leo declared.
"You don't know me well enough to say that." Liliana protested.
"Honey, I have been all up in your head, your body-"
"Leo," Fallon barked.
Leo shrugged. "There's not much you can hide from me."
Liliana scoffed, anger and panic drowning out restraint. "Anything you saw in my head, I put there for you to find."
She regretted the words the instant they left her lips. She'd blame it on her exhaustion. She would've never made such a slip otherwise. The running was finally catching up with her. Every occupant of the room had grown still. Power saturated the room, nearly stealing her breath.
"Explain yourself, now." Xavier's tone sliced through the air. His voice did not rise, but Liliana felt the order, the power in his tone.
"You're not human?" Leo asked.
"I’m Demi…Eshu." Liliana announced.
"Ah hell, Trouble, now you done gone and done it." Fallon shook his head and sighed.
Her stomach dropped and fear dried her mouth. Yeah, she'd done it now. It was only a matter of time before they sent her home.
Chapter 3
LEO BACKED AWAY AS THOUGH STRUCK. She was not human, she was Demi. Not just Demi, but Eshu. Messengers for all realms, the Eshu were one of the most trusted races among the Demis. And the one race he vowed he'd have nothing to do with.
He'd locked himself in his room for nearly a week brooding, alternating between disgust and anger. Anger, because after only three hundred and fifty years of existence he'd been marked. The disgust came with the fact that the female who marked him, wanted nothing to do with him.
Last night anger won out, and he'd spent the night in the club pounding on other Demis there for fight night, venting his anger. Today, he came to tell his brothers he'd been marked, mated, a fate worse than death, at least as far as he was concerned. He barely trusted the women he considered friends, now he was tied to one he knew nothing about, and to top it all off she was Eshu.
His past crowded him, threatened to swamp him. He hated her for that. Leo saw the looks his brothers gave him from the corner of his eye. He refused to meet their eyes. The last thing he wanted was to see the pity in their gazes.
He should've been more careful.
"How long have you been on Adro?" Xavier asked sharply.
Leo took an involuntarily step forward, the mating bond urging him to shield Liliana's body from the anger in Xavier's voice.
"I don't have to answer to you. I've broken no council rules."
"No, you've only broken our most sacred and important rule." Leo snapped.
Damn her for the emotions threatening to drown him. The memories he'd worked hard to bury clawed through the barriers he'd put up around his heart and mind and nearly undid him.
"You entered Earth's realm without registering at Haven. Only someone with something to hide bypasses Haven." Fallon's voice was soft, curious.
Liliana remained silent, refusing to answer their question or even meet Leo's eyes. She hid something. Her defensive posture said it all.
"I registered at a Haven up north."
Xavier growled. Fear leapt into her eyes and Leo dug his nails into his palm to keep from her pulling her into his arms, hating that he couldn't deny the need to do so.
"Tell me another lie, female, and it will be your last," Xavier warned.
Leo growled low in his throat, not liking his brother's tone.
Xavier pointed at Leo, his face tight with anger. “Don't growl at me, especially since you saw fit to hide the fact you were mated." He turned his icy eyes to Liliana. "Show us your true form."
Leo backed up from her again, not wanting to be near her when it happened. To take her true form in front of him would snap his control like nothing else. Jealousy rose already, sharp, stabbing into his chest as he thought of his brothers gazing onto her body in her true form, especially since he’d not had the pleasure himself.
"You can bite it." Her tone was angry, panic and fear rose off her like steam, tangling with the lust pouring from her body.
"Nice talk for the sainted Eshu." Leo couldn't keep the bitterness from his voice.
Her angry eyes bore into his.
"How were you able to mask yourself from me the other night or Leo for that matter?" Fallon asked.
Liliana scoffed. "The Amanda are so arrogant, you think you're the only ones able to wield magic easily."
Xavier's hand slammed against his desk, his control snapped. "Enough! Why are you here, instead of on Legba where you belong?"
"Why do you care?" she asked stubbornly.
Xavier's hazel eyes turned copper, encompassing his pupils, and his voice lowered to a growl. "It is my responsibility to know who's roaming around Adro, especially an unprotected female posing as human."
Liliana swallowed, and sweat beaded her forehead. She took a cautious step towards the door. Her need to escape raked at him, and he wrestled the beast in him fighting to get out and help her. Xavier's temper was legendary, and moments from raining down on her, he took a deep breath to calm himself.
"Reveal your true form, Liliana." Leo ordered. He kept his voice quiet in an effort to keep his magic at bay.
"I'm leaving." She turned to the door.
Leo ordered her again, this time in the ancient language, putting as much power in his voice as he dared. Words said in the ancient language became a spell. It was the way most Eshu kept their mates obedient. A practice he found barbaric, but very useful to him in this moment.
Her skin rippled as a wave of magic engulfed her body, shedding the human skin, or rather the small changes she'd made to her true form. The Eshu were the most human of all races. Only their hair and eyes set them apart from the humans who inhabited the Earth realm they referred to as Adro. They were often confused for the human legend of fairies.
She kept her back to them, still, the air left his lungs as he took in her true form. Her hair was a waterfall reaching the bottom of her hips, almost to her knees in a riot of red, yellow and orange hues, silky and straight. The brilliant shades of color made his fingers itch to feel its silky strands. So much of her was covered under the heavy mass of hair. Leo was grateful for the length. Naked as the day she was born her toffee colored skin glowed under his command.
His skin tingled as she used magic to cover her body in the Eshu traditional gown. The dress was yellow, tied around the neck. It covered her breasts, wrapped around to cover her bottom and hung to the floor. It left her back bare, had she been in Legba her hair would’ve been held up in intricate braids tied so her back would be displayed proudly. Leo ached to see the markings on her back. His teeth lengthened, the need to taste her, a throbbing pain.
"Move your hair," he ordered in the ancient language, his voice husky, filled with the burning need moving through his body. He moved closer to shield her from his brothers' eyes.
Her hands shook as she grabbed the curtain of hair and moved it to the side. Leo moaned, she was beautiful, more than he could've ever expected to have in a mate. On her back were orange, red and blue lines forming a beautiful outline of wings from her shoulders to the top of her hips. Eve
ry Eshu had them, proclaiming them the winged messengers of the gods. Liliana's wings were still light, placing her age only past one or two hundred years. The older she was the darker the lines would become. Even as he was turned on, Leo felt betrayed, though she had no idea his family history. She turned to face him, her narrow face was defiant, her pointed chin lifted, the fine and dainty eyebrows arched in challenge. The glowing green of her exotic eyes called to him. Leo stomped to her, grabbed her and pulled her into a branding kiss.
Liliana's arms wrapped around his neck, and she opened her mouth. Leo deepened their kiss, his tongue driving into her mouth as passion engulfed them, threatening to burn them to cinder.
She moaned as he cupped her ass, dragging her closer to him. Gods, the heat moving through him drove all thought from his mind, until there was nothing but her. He pushed her back into the door and hissed in satisfaction. It had been five days since they were separated, and though they hadn’t completed the mating, his body craved hers. The mating frenzy had started and wouldn’t abate until their souls were sealed.
"Back off, Leo." Fallon's irritated voice penetrated the fog over his mind. "Bro, you got an audience."
Leo jerked back from Liliana's mouth.
"Oh gods," she whispered, covering her mouth.
Leo's stiffened, the anger returning twofold, yet he couldn’t pry his body from hers.
"What family do you belong to?" Xavier sounded weary.
"Ours." Leo declared.
Her previous family didn't matter. She was his and he would not give her up. Directly below her palm, in dark ink, was her family's name, and below that was Leo's, the dark symbols glowing, signaling the mating ritual had not yet been completed. The glow and the mark would fade if they didn’t complete the ceremony by the new moon. Of course the punishment for not completing the mating would last for much, much longer.
"Welcome to the effing family." Fallon's voice was thick with sarcasm, "But that's not what he's asking and you know it Leo. We need to contact her family formally."
Liliana raised her head. Leo gave her props for her strength. She stood up to he and his brothers in a way few would dare. He and his brothers were a part of the Amanda, a military like force, charged with protecting the Demis, and policing them. They had a reputation for being no-nonsense and ruthless, it'd been a long time since someone dared speak to them the way she had. That this delicate woman did, set fire to his already throbbing erection and made him want her with an all-consuming madness.
"I still can't believe you didn't tell us you were mated," Xavier accused Leo. "She's already marked?"
"I thought she was human, Xavier. It's not like I could go out and claim her. I was in my room, trying to figure out how to even find her." His gaze traveled her body while he fought his own.
His chest rose with his harsh breaths, he leaned into her neck, inhaling her scent. The hard pebbles of her nipples pressed into his chest and Leo knew if he didn't back up, he would take her here, in his brother's office, with them watching. With a growl of frustration he moved away.
She was not happy, but neither of them could stop their bodies from reacting. Even now, when he wanted to feel hatred, the urge to rub his body along hers nearly overwhelmed him.
"I hate liars," he growled.
"I never lied to you."
"Did you intentionally target me or was I the only available body to fuck that night?" Anger rode him as hard as the passion did.
"Where did you learn to talk to women?" She sputtered, offended.
"From my mother," Leo spit out. "She was what some would impolitely call, a ho."
Liliana flinched "I'm sorry."
"Don't be, I never liked her." The acrid taste of hate turned his stomach as did the thought of his mother.
"Filter, bro. She could be a noble, show some respect." Fallon barked.
"She's the one slumming. She can't call foul when one of the peasants says something she doesn't like." Lashing out at her was unfair, but anger was the only outlet he had. That, or take her against the wall. Somehow he thought that was out of the question.
"Enough!" Xavier's tone cut through the room, silencing them. "Liliana sit."
"You can't hold me here, I haven't done anything," she protested.
"The Amanda can't hold you here, but as your mate, you can't go anywhere without my consent."
Realization dawned in her eyes and fear clouded her face. Leo crossed his arms over his chest. Oh yeah, his little mate was screwed, just as soon as he could get her alone.
Chapter 4
LILIANA FOUGHT TO KEEP PANIC AT BAY. They couldn't hold her here, despite what Leo thought. Her eyes narrowed. "We're not in Legba, and I've been too long among the women here in Adro to take any crap from you."
His sinister growl traveled along her spine and her body tightened in anticipation. She swallowed to ease her dry throat. There was no way she would win against him if it came down to it. Between her body's demands and the power he held, resistance was a joke. She would just have to find another way out of this mess. She sighed and sat in the chair facing Xavier's desk.
"I want to know why you've been skulking around my club, but first my question still stands, what family do you belong to?" Xavier stared at her intently, his eyes broking no argument.
Her heart slammed against her chest. "Marcolev." She flinched at the ripe curses that came from their mouths.
"Not the Marcolev daughter the queen has been screaming down my ass for us to find?" Xavier's face went harder if possible. "The very same Marcolev chick that I've had my hunters looking for, for nearly four years?"
Liliana looked to Leo but his face was inscrutable. No help from that quarter.
"Please tell me you're not that Marcolev." Xavier leaned forward, his eyes changing, his voice deepened to a growl. "You don't want to be that girl."
Oh Gods, she'd heard about Xavier, the leader of the Amanda, but nothing prepared her for the sight of his anger. It was well known among the Demis that he didn't suffer fools lightly. It was said gaining his attention ended in pain, or banishment. It was the reason she'd saved this Haven for last. Fear and sharp panic stabbed through her.
"There is only one Marcolev daughter left, and she wouldn't be allowed to roam Adro without an escort." Fallon raised an eyebrow. "You didn't strike me as dumb enough to defy Queen Kaylin, Trouble." Unlike his brothers, Fallon was calm, his gaze steady as he waited on her answer.
She shuddered as she thought of the hunters she'd barely escaped throughout the years she'd searched for her sister. Her eyes burned, a lump forming in her throat as she thought of Kita. "I came to the Earth realm not long after my sister went missing. My father refused to do anything about her disappearance, I decided to try and find her on my own."
"Kita went missing over four years ago," Fallon said incredulously. "The Queen has been hunting for you for at least three of those years. You've been on Adro this whole time?"
"Do you know my sister?" She restrained the urge to jump in excitement. She knew sneaking in here would give her a lead.
"Shorty, you're swimming in waters way too deep for you." Fallon said in answer.
"If you know my sister, you can help me." A spurt of hope rose.
"What we know, is that you’re supposed to be promised to Kedric of the Eshu royal family." Leo's speculative look made her nervous. "You, little Eshu, are in a whole heap of trouble."
Liliana lowered her head. She refused to feel guilty. Damn it, but she felt so guilty. "Kedric was promised Kita, if I can just find her..."
"It doesn't work like that." Xavier leaned back in his chair. "Do you have any idea the little shit storm you've just tossed into my lap?"
Obviously, she was in over her head, but really she'd not been given a choice. Mating was never up to the individual, it was always up to Fate. Or rather the Eminzu. The ancestors had the final say on who mated whom. It’s not as though either she or Kedric wanted the mating. Couple that with the fact the prince was…<
br />
No. She wasn’t going there.
Nope, not letting those thoughts escape her iron control.
"Liliana, why come to Adro yourself, why not go the Eminzu with your grievance? That's the purpose of the council of ancestors, to settle family grievances." Fallon eyes were compassionate.
Her skin warmed and started to glow in her anger. She pushed down on her power, praying for patience. It was harder than normal to control her magic since she’d fed a few days ago, but she wrestled it down. "It's your job as the Amanda to protect the Demis. This isn't just some family grievance. My sister is missing! She could be..." She couldn’t say it, couldn't put that into the atmosphere.
"It's our job as the Amanda to protect the world. Not individual families. No one individual is put above the fate of the world." Xavier corrected.
"Don't talk to me like I'm some dumb girl. I survived this fucking realm for four years by myself, I’m not going to go away because someone pat me on my head."
"And how far did that get you?” Xavier sat up and braced his forearms on his heavy desk, taunting her.
"I tried to go to the Eminzu they refused my query. Wouldn’t even see me. What the hell was I supposed to do?" Liliana dashed tears from her eyes, pissed at the injustice. No one would help her, her parents included.
"I'm sorry for that, Liliana." Fallon placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Leo snarled and moved closer to her, shooting his brother a deadly look. Fallon lifted his hand.
"Come on now with the tears, shorty. I don't wanna deal with that." Xavier growled, but compassion tempered his tone.
“Why come here Liliana? Why this Haven specifically?" Fallon handed her a tissue from the desk.
“I was given information that Kita was last seen at a haven. I checked all of them. This was my last one. My last chance to find her.” She shook her head, pushing aside her exhaustion. She wouldn’t give up searching for Kita. Not while the alternative hung over her head.
Xavier sighed. "And once you broke in to my Haven, what exactly was your plan?”
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