by R. Scarlett
She stood up and pulled her robe on, catching a glimpse of her messy hair in the mirror. Love bites spanned her neck and traveled all the way across her collarbone.
She touched the invisible collar and at first it was cool, then quickly grew hot beneath her fingertip.
Marked. Claimed. His.
She made her way to the kitchen and listened to the sound of rushing water comforting and soothing where Tensley stood underneath the spray.
She turned the kettle on just as someone knocked at the front door.
September? But no—September would’ve known their lock was broken and knocking wasn’t necessary. Molly cautiously opened the door and froze: there stood her mother, clad in a white Chanel suit.
“Good morning, Molly,” said Mrs. Darling, brushing past to enter the small apartment.
Molly remained speechless as her mother hesitantly sat down on the couch, perched at the edge like she thought any dirt in the place would find its way onto her clothes. “I’ve tried calling you, but you never pick up,” she gave as an explanation.
Molly tightened her robe. “I’ve been busy.”
“With him?”
Molly froze at the disgust in her mother’s voice and side-eyed the bathroom door. “Mom, why are you here? Is Dad okay?”
Mrs. Darling waved a manicured hand. “He’s perfectly fine. It’s you I’m worried about. You’re working so much I never hear from you. Do you have enough money?”
Molly shook her head and thumbed her forehead. “I’m fine, Mom.”
“Michael’s transferring to Columbia in the fall,” her mother announced, inspecting the closest pillow’s fraying edges.
Molly frowned. “Okay…”
“He’s persistent in asking how you are at our charity events, completely smitten with you, it seems.”
Molly shifted on her feet. “Well, that’s nice. I hope he’s doing well, too.”
Mrs. Darling scowled at Molly’s blasé response. “You are not well, Molly. You’re fraternizing with that beast.”
Molly laughed bitterly. “Fraternizing? He saved me. Remember when Stella came to you, freaked out? He protected me from the other demons who wanted to hurt me.”
“He’s made you think that. He’s manipulating you and you’re falling for his glittery charm. He’s dug his teeth in so deep you can’t escape.”
“Maybe I don’t want to escape,” she snapped. Maybe I like his teeth deep.
Mrs. Darling’s eyes widened. “He’s a monster.”
“What do you want, Mom? Our ancestors made this contract without my control, and I’ve accepted it to protect our family. Plus, I know him much better than you, and he’s not a monster. He’s complicated, but he’s not evil.”
Her mother’s mouth pinched. “How can you not see it? He’s a beast.”
“And I’ll devour her,” Tensley’s voice suddenly boomed in the bathroom’s doorway. His hair was still slick with water, and his dress shirt was unbuttoned to show his chiseled abs. He glided over and kissed Molly on the cheek, then faced Mrs. Darling. “Good morning. Pleasure to see you again.”
Mrs. Darling held her shaking hands together, glaring at the demon.
Tensley kissed Molly’s temple, buttoning his shirt with nimble fingers. “See you for lunch, sweetheart.”
After he’d finished dressing, he left, leaving Molly alone with her mom.
“You’ve been intimate with him?” The horror in Mrs. Darling’s voice made Molly bristle with anger.
“I like him,” she said, throwing her hands down. “He’s not bad. It’s his society that’s messed up, but he’s—” She struggled for the right word, taking a deep breath. “I don’t expect you to understand my choice or my feelings, but I like him and I trust him.”
Her mother stood and shook her head. “He’s made you his pawn, and now he’s going to play you like one. I’m just worried about you.”
Molly glared. Yes, it had started out as an obligation, but it had evolved into something much deeper. This was her choice. “I’ll call you, Mom.” She didn’t know what else to say. Couldn’t her mother be happy for her? She’d chipped at Tensley’s walls and tainted armor for so long, and finally he was beginning to allow her inside.
He wanted control. He protected his heart like a dangerous weapon, didn’t want someone else’s hand holding it, in case they turned it against him.
She wanted his heart, but not to destroy him. No, just to love him.
To heal him. To strengthen him.
To be with him.
And she wanted to unravel him. To have his heart.
TENSLEY’S FINGERS BIT into his leather armchair as he stared across the room at Gabel Eastwood’s parents.
“You’re telling us you haven’t found our son?” Mr. Eastwood seethed. His cheeks were hollowed out and his eyes were dim and shadowed—he looked exactly the way a father who’d lost their only son would.
His wife was worse. She didn’t speak, she didn’t cry, but her red, swollen eyes searched Tensley’s face, analyzing every inch of him. Gabel looked like his mother the most—soft, fuller features and a welcoming smile. Now Mrs. Eastwood looked like a husk, a body whose soul had left long ago.
“We’re still searching for him,” Tensley said. Mr. Knight stood to the side, not speaking as the Eastwoods grew more distressed.
Mr. Eastwood pressed his shaking knuckles to his mouth. “He’s been missing too long. We need to tell people the truth. The hunters are out of control and they need to be dealt with now.”
Tensley knew his father’s answer to that: not until Ares had agreed to the merger.
Mr. Knight shook his head, rising to his full, imposing height behind Tensley. “We need to keep this quiet. If anyone else finds out, we’ll be dealing with a panic amongst our kind.”
“What would you do?” Mrs. Eastwood said to Tensley, startling him with her desperation. “What would you do if it was your son?”
Tensley swallowed down the lump in his throat, gathering himself to respond.
“We will update you if we find any new information,” Mr. Knight cut in, his tone clearly conveying that the matter was not to be discussed any further.
The Eastwoods obeyed, though their expressions still screamed of despair.
As soon as they left, Tensley stood and also left the room. He saw them down the hallway, Mr. Eastwood holding his wife to prevent her from collapsing.
“I’ll find him,” Tensley said, his voice much stronger than he felt inside. Both of Gabel’s parents turned slowly to regard him. “And I’ll bring him back.”
Mr. Eastwood’s eyes grew wet and Tensley stiffened at the display of emotion he rarely ever saw in fellow demons. “Thank you, Tensley. Thank you.”
THE DEMON HUNTER in front of Tensley twisted his tied hands, whimpering as he struggled to free himself. He was in terrible shape, Tensley noted. Pearce hadn’t gone easy on him, and now the human was a shriveling mess of blood and crushed bones.
The hunter panted, a few sobs managing to escape before he quelled his cries.
“I couldn’t find Cree,” Pearce said from behind the hunter, edging out of the basement’s shadows. “So I found the next best thing, his third-in-command.”
The hunter shifted in his binds and the naked bulb illuminated his features: his face was black and blue, right eye swollen shut, nose bent at the bridge where Pearce had broken it. A trail of blood glugged from one nostril and ran down his chin.
“Name,” Tensley demanded, examining the hunter’s erratic movements.
The hunter glanced up at Tensley and muttered something, his breaths quickening.
“His name is Ryan,” Pearce answered. “Found him in Queens, selling our belladonna. Bought it off Adams.”
Tensley moved toward Ryan, his steps slow and steady. “And where’s Cree?”
Ryan gagged and spit a wad of snot and blood onto the cement. After a moment, he lifted his head. “Hiding.”
Tensley shook his head. “You
must care very little whether you live or die right now.”
“It’s the truth. I’m not protecting him! I don’t care what happens to the bastard. He’s going to get us all murdered.”
Tensley glanced at Pearce then back at the distraught hunter. “And why is that?”
“He’s gone off the deep end,” the hunter spat. “He wants the daemon. He sees her as the holy grail, the answer to everything that’s gone wrong since she walked into his bar. He wants to drink her blood and wear her bones as a fucking crown. He’s fucking crazy.”
Pearce cocked his head . “Daemon? Who…” Realization dawned on his face. “Wait, Molly’s a daemon?”
“Pearce,” Tensley scolded, “now is not the time.”
Pearce listened, but appeared more furious than before.
At the mere thought of Molly, Tensley’s chest pounded. He’d marked her. He’d woken to find her nuzzled into his side, and he never wanted to wake up without her. He hadn’t been able to stop staring at her neck, at the shadow of the invisible collar, couldn’t stop touching it to feel the cool surface.
Two emotions warred inside him: a need for control, and a need for her.
One need was surpassing the other fast and it terrified him, but he was so addicted to her kindness and bravery that he swallowed the bitter taste and reveled in it instead.
Tensley stared at the hunter, not wanting to get sidetracked. “And the demon girl named Lex? What about her?”
The hunter licked his chapped lips, bloody and sore-looking. “Still alive. Barely. They’re keeping her around just to toy with you.”
Tensley balled his hands and spun, marching to the stairs. “Pearce, get me a location.”
Pearce chuckled, advancing toward the hunter and cracking his knuckles. “With pleasure.”
Tensley made his way to his office, the hunter’s wails a sick sort of soundtrack in the background, and brought out each missing Scorpios member’s folder.
He studied Gabel’s photo, the strawberry blond hair women had fussed over, his dimpled smile. Tensley thought of the Eastwoods’ faces, the exhaustion and terror as they came closer and closer to accepting that their son was gone forever.
Then Tensley opened Lex’s file. The scared, tough fighter who had snuck inside his chest was all alone, tortured at the hands of a psychotic killer.
He’d find Lex and Gabel alive, and then he’d bring down a wrath upon the hunters the likes of which no one had seen in centuries.
He’d have no mercy.
He’d have no regrets.
Tensley stood and grabbed his things, set on getting back to Molly before one of the hunters found her.
He’d protect her with his life.
MOLLY STOOD IN the entrance of the museum and let her arms drop. She had finished the paperwork for Paris, and now could only wait to see if they would accept her. If she was awarded the spot, she’d miss attending the first three weeks of classes at Columbia, but Molly just kept telling herself the experience would be worth so much more than face time in the classroom.
“Molly!” a voice called from behind her, making her jump.
She turned to see Michael, a wide smile on his tanned face.
“Michael, what are you doing here?” Molly glanced at his navy blue khakis and simple t-shirt; she rarely ever saw him dressed so casually.
“Your mom mentioned what time your break was, and I thought it’d be a good time to get some food and catch up,” he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
She groaned inwardly. Her mother was just playing matchmaker. “I heard you’ve been accepted to Columbia?”
His blue eyes twinkled. “Yeah,” he said, shrugging. “I wanted to be closer to my family and friends.”
“Ah,” she said, heading outside. “Well, that will be nice for your mom. I’m sure she missed you a lot last year.”
Just as they exited, Molly saw Tensley standing on the front steps, a bag of takeout in one hand.
Tensley turned his head and his forehead wrinkled when he saw Michael next to her. He approached them like a lion on the hunt. Circling, examining, afraid to spook her, he moved with a graceful power.
“Dolcezza,” he said in that smooth voice that lilted with the faintest Italian accent.
Molly swallowed and looked back at Michael, whose smile had faltered. “Tensley, this is Michael.”
Tensley simply nodded at him, but she saw the uncertainty in his features.
“And Michael, this is Tensley,” Molly said, peering up at the tall demon. “My boyfriend.”
“Fiancé, actually,” Tensley added, his mouth warping into a soft smile. “I got you that pizza you love from Vincent’s,” he said, motioning to the box he held.
She couldn’t handle how warm she felt in Tensley’s presence, how many butterflies appeared the moment he met her gaze. “You remembered that? From our first date?”
He slotted his hand in hers and brought it to his mouth. “I remember everything about you, dolcezza. Even your wickedness.”
Michael cleared his throat, going pale. “Well, it was nice to meet you,” he said in Tensley’s general direction, then turned to Molly. “I’ll meet up with you later, Mol. Let me know if you get selected for the Louvre trip, and we can go celebrate.”
Molly nodded as Tensley pulled her down the steps.
“The Louvre?” he said, his voice suddenly icy.
Molly blinked out of her giddiness and looked up at him, a frown etched on his features. “I applied to go to Paris for three weeks in September. I don’t know if I’ll get it with how the summer began, but I’d love the opportunity.”
“It’s not safe,” he said. “Not when the hunters are running around.”
She shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I’ve been handling things with them on my own for months now.”
An awkward silence spread between them before Tensley finally spoke. “You weren’t going to tell me.”
Molly sighed, curling into his side. “I didn’t tell anyone in case I didn’t get it. Didn’t want to get my hopes up for nothing.”
Tensley was quiet, staring ahead. “You’ll get it, Molly. You’re too driven and intelligent and talented not to.”
Molly blushed at his words, but still noticed his distance. “You could come visit me.”
He tsked. “It’d be impossible to leave Scorpios for more than a few days.”
“Oh—right.” She had to remember he literally ran an entire organization, a whole business. Molly stared down at her red high heels beside his brown oxfords.
“But I’d much rather go,” he added softly.
She pressed her cheek against his arm and kissed his bicep. “Let’s not worry about it just yet. Who knows whether I’ll even be selected.”
Molly’s phone buzzed and she looked at the ID, her lungs deflating when she read it.
“Molly?” Tensley asked, immediately sensing her terror.
Molly slid a shaky finger across the screen. “What do you want, Cree?”
Tensley stiffened at the name and a growl left his clenched teeth.
“I may or may not have something you want,” Cree purred, the sound making Molly want to vomit.
She swallowed hard. “What is it?”
“I have that little demon your fiancé is looking for.”
Molly’s breath caught. Lex.
At Molly’s hesitation, Tensley gestured for her to hand over the phone.
“Really?” Molly said, disbelieving and cold, dragging out the word. “You know what Cree? I learned a few things during my time with you—mainly, not to trust anything you said. So,” she continued, her eyes briefly finding Tensley’s as she spoke. He seemed equal parts livid and concerned. “Prove it, asshole. Prove to me that you have her, because your word alone doesn’t rank much higher than the dirt under my feet.”
“I see our naïve little daemon is much wiser than she used to be,” Cree responded with a laugh. “Fine.”
Shuffles filled the speaker and Mol
ly heard shouting, followed by a strangled sob.
“Molly?” Lex whimpered through the line. “Tell Tensley to stop looking for me. It’s too late…it’s too…”
If Lex is in such bad condition, that has to mean…Molly stopped herself. She didn’t want to think about what the hunters could have done to her.
“Hand me the phone,” Tensley demanded, positively fuming.
Molly squeezed her eyes shut. “Lex, we’re coming to get you, okay? We’re—”
“Got your proof?” Cree’s deep voice boomed.
Molly clenched the phone tighter, imagining it was his throat. “Why now? Why are you doing this now?”
“Because,” he hissed, “it’s time for you to see what she’s become. It’s time for you to see what you caused when you betrayed me.”
Molly took a few cleansing breaths to keep from screaming at him. “Where is she?”
“Not so fast, little Molly. This is a transaction we’re talking about; I give, but only if I receive something in return,” Cree said, speaking to her as if she were a child. If he were in front of her right then, she might have shown him just how childish she could be…by scraping off the untouched side of his face with her claws.
She paused, glancing up at Tensley’s stern expression, and she quickly realized he looked ready to do the just about the same, only ten times worst. A beast ready to destroy.
“What do you want then?” Molly snapped, her patience disintegrating.
Molly waited, her gaze never leaving Tensley’s. She could see so many emotions etched there, deep into his soul—fury, worry, violence, determination—and she knew her eyes said the same words.
And then the demon hunter named his price.
During the seconds in which Molly’s heart stopped beating entirely, she wondered if she was strong enough to give the hunter the price he had asked for.
Molly thought of Lex’s frail body, beaten black and blue somewhere, barely hanging on as she endured whatever torture the hunters had come up with that day.
She had to try to save her. Hopefully she’d find a way out of Cree’s requested payment, but if not, then so be it.