by R. Scarlett
He didn’t acknowledge that, but it was true. Only a few days from his dolcezza and his body yearned for her.
But he would wait a thousand ages to touch her if it kept both of them safe.
“My king!”
His eyes shot to the man heavily breathing in front of their high table. The man swallowed thickly.
“What is it?” Tensley asked, narrowing his eyes at the man’s disheveled appearance.
The man straightened, but he still couldn’t even out his breathing. “My lord, Ares has attacked Scorpios again.”
That iron heart inside of him dropped into his stomach, but he steeled his features, his mouth becoming a thin line of indifference.
Even though his men, his family, his wife—were at risk of being ripped away from him, he couldn’t show it to the court.
Couldn’t show the emotions raging within him.
“And?” Lilith spoke, her voice ringing with annoyance. This news didn’t interest the court unless they got to engage in the bloodshed.
The man swallowed again and Tensley growled lowly. He was beginning to believe it was all the man was capable of doing until he lifted his hand.
A white letter was slotted in his shaking hand and Tensley reached out, taking it. He tore it open, unrushed, but his heart was thumping as if he was dying inside.
His eyes skimmed the words.
It was short. It was to the fucking point, but its impact on him was brutal nonetheless.
His crunched up the letter and stood. At his sudden movement, the court hushed and turned, watching their king move from his table.
“My king?” Lilith called and he heard her heels click after him. “Where are you going? You cannot leave so hastily when the court is celebrating for you.”
He didn’t stop and continued marching into the darkened halls. “You have the court celebrate every fucking night, Lilith. Find yourself a pet to fucking play with, you’re bored. I’m sure none of the court will care if I leave.”
A hand clasped his bicep and he spun, barring his teeth.
“Oh. No. No, no, young beast,” Lilith hissed, her features sharpened to the point she appeared as something purely sinister. “You do not get to decide when you go and when you don’t. You will answer me. Now.”
Tensley shook her hand off with one roll of his shoulders and glared down at her. “I’m going to New York.”
Lilith’s lips peeled up in pleasure. “I forbid it.”
Tensley felt the wave of fury hit him.
“And if I find out that you’ve gone against my will,” Lilith said, with the smile of a snake. “I will tell the court of your curse.”
Tensley stood still, the options weighing heavily down onto him.
But it only took one moment to decide.
“Then damn me,” he snapped back, his anger hitting her in violent waves and she stumbled back, caught off guard.
He turned away, feeling her own wrath battle his and she kept shouting after him. She screamed about him being a dead man.
She laughed about him being a weak man.
She raged about him being a foolish man.
But he didn’t care in that moment.
Let them rip his heart out.
Let them have their bloodshed over a king of beasts.
Let her shout until her throat was raw.
Because all he could hear was that he was a loved man. And he needed to get to his family. To his men. To his wife.
The beast and the man both agreed that their wife and mate was above all else.
His chest burned at thought of Molly.
All that the letter held were three simple words.
Molly needs you.
But it was his undoing.
TENSLEY MARCHED INTO the familiar entrance of the townhouse shadowed in darkness, and each soldier that stood in the hallway stilled.
He continued forward, watching as each man stepped back, bowed their head. He drank in their fear—their anxiety as the king of High Court, king of demons, walked past them.
The beast had returned to his people, but he had returned a changed man.
As he turned the corner, he grabbed one soldier’s sleeve and yanked him close. “Where is my wife?”
The soldier paused, his eyes widening in fear. He opened and closed his mouth, gawking at Tensley as if he had seen a ghost.
He wasn’t a fucking ghost; he was far worse.
“Tensley,” a voice called to him and he glanced over his shoulder to see Beau there.
Slowly, he released the soldier and turned to face his older brother. Dressed in all black, black hair unkempt, and laced with bruises on his cheeks and forearms, his brother had been at war.
“Take me to her,” Tensley demanded, walking toward his brother.
Beau’s expression pinched, no doubt displeased to be made his brother’s bitch, but he didn’t say a word.
He moved, like a dark shadow in the hallway and up the stairs.
Beau stopped at a bedroom door and glanced back at him. “Mother was harmed in the attack,” he said, his voice low, holding little tenderness, but Tensley saw the glint of fury in his eyes. “They managed to heal her, but she’s still recovering. She refused to leave Molly’s side.”
Tensley swallowed. Both his mother and his wife had been attacked and he hadn’t been there to protect them.
To protect Scorpios.
Tensley opened the door and stepped inside the room, darkened by the heavy curtains, pulled tight so no light would shine through.
It looked like a fucking dungeon in there.
His eyes went straight to the bed.
Molly laid, underneath covers, her legs moving frantically and her breathing heavy and irregular.
“Tensley,” his mother’s voice rang out and he saw her seated in a chair beside the bed, stroking Molly’s hair.
A few women gathered around Molly’s side, trying to speak to her, trying to soothe her. Lex was one of them he noted. She didn’t look worried though; she held a fierce scowl as if she was ready for war.
One of Scorpios’ doctors stood on her other side, feeling her stomach with a monitor.
Tensley didn’t waste time. He marched to the bed and sat on the edge. He examined her quickly—sweat pooled on her brow, her eyes fluttering open, her mouth parted as she panted, and her nightgown held a bright stain of blood on it’s side.
His cursed iron heart squeezed in raw pain.
“The baby,” she chanted, over and over, and Tensley’s heart beat to her panicked voice.
“Molly,” he whispered, making his own chant, overriding her’s, his fingertips touching her wet cheeks. “Dolcezza.”
She opened her vivid eyes and when she found him, she calmed for a moment. “Tensley?”
Her hands spread up his biceps and squeezed.
“I’m here, dolcezza,” he said and kissed the inside of her wrist.
“She was stabbed,” the doctor spoke. “The wound is not healing properly and we don’t know why.”
Molly wheezed and shut her eyes, rolling her head back.
Tensley scowled, bringing his hands to her stomach, feeling the wound on her right side.
“I’ll heal her,” he hissed.
He wasn’t letting her go. He would protect her and their son. “Is the baby okay? Is my son okay?” he asked, eyes hard on the doctor.
“We just managed to find his heart beat, everything seems normal for now. It doesn’t look like he’s in any distress,” the doctor told him.
Tensley nodded, then bent, lowering his mouth and peppering soft kisses on her stomach, on her side, feeling her tense and go limp, feeling the flutter of movement inside her belly.
His kisses mended the wound, mended her bruised heart, and he would take on her pain, he would take all of it away.
He straightened, his hands never parting from the sides of her swollen belly and gazed up at her.
Her cheeks had gained their rosiness back and her breathing became even.
He leaned forward, not caring about all the eyes watching him and her, and pressed his lips to hers gently, for a moment.
“She’s stable,” the doctor said and pulled Tensley aside. “But she’s started having contractions not long after the attack. She’s been having them for several hours now. We needed to heal her before going any further. It may be best for you to wait outside.”
Tensley took a deep breath and looked at Molly. She was going to have the baby soon.
“Tensley,” his mother said and touched his shoulder. He turned to face his mother. She looked pale, but she still smiled back at him. Tears glistened in her brown doe eyes. “Someone needs to speak to Scorpios. She will be fine. Lex will stay with her.”
He nodded, stealing one last glance at Molly.
His mother and brother both followed him into the hallway.
“She killed him,” his mother spoke after a stretched moment.
Beau folded his arms. “He could have killed you both. He almost killed Lex.”
His mother just looked back at both of her sons. “Your father would be proud of you.”
Tensley stiffened and stared at his mother. He could see it clearly, the way they stared at him. His mother, his brother, all of Scorpios. They stared at him like they were searching for the man and the beast within him.
“I should have been here,” he said, shaking his head.
“You’re the king now,” his mother said, touching his shoulder. “You have other duties.”
He felt the anger tighten around his heart. “My duty is to her. To protect my family. To protect Scorpios. A crown means nothing.” He paused, taking a deep, shaking breath into his lungs, as realization hit him.
When he had lost his heart, he had lost his focus. His reason.
He had lost sight of what was truly important. Of what truly mattered to him. His thirst and lust for power had eaten at him. He had been no better than the snakes that called themselves a High Court.
He had been just like them.
But no longer.
He knew what truly mattered.
Not the stupid crown, not the stupid court, but Molly.
. “She’s my crown, my court, my queen. Nothing matters without her.”
His mother stared up at him, her eyes wide with shock.
“She truly did curse you,” Beau muttered, regarding him closely. His dolcezza was stable. His baby’s heart was still strong. Now, it was time to be the Dux.
He clenched his jaw and turned away from them. “I need to speak to my soldiers.”
He continued to walk down the stairs, hearing their own footsteps follow him.
The soldiers gathered in the meeting room, faces drawn in exhaustion and anger, their stances stiffening as soon as he walked into the room.
Each man bowed, dropping low and he stood, watching them.
“Rise,” he commanded, his voice like whiplash.
The men rose, silence spreading over the crowd.
He stood in front of them, studying each man slowly. These men fought for Scorpios and many not with them had died for Scorpios.
“I stand before you,” he began, his voice clear and even. “Not as your king, but as your Dux.”
At that, the men straightened further.
Tensley fisted his hands. “Ares has been defeated. By the hand of my wife and Scorpios.” He paused, collecting his anger. “Scorpios has survived this hell and will prosper. We are made from ashes and acid and thorns. We do not beg. We do not give up. We fight, we conquer, we destroy. We are savages that cannot be tamed and will not be tamed. Scorpios—will forever stay in our society. They will speak of this dark time as a time of rebirth. A time of beasts conquering. I will bleed for each and every one of you until I have nothing more inside of me.”
At his last words, the men roared in celebration, in agreement.
Tensley, in the chaos, left the room, feeling that iron heart heavily inside of him pounding.
He leaned against the wall and breathed through his nose.
“Tensley,” a voice called to him.
He turned his head to see Illya Black walking toward him.
His best friend. His only friend. His brother. The man who had been taking care of his wife and unborn child when he couldn’t.
“Illya,” Tensley said, straightening and moving from the wall.
Illya regarded him, slowly taking him in and patted his shoulder. “The bastard returns at last. I was beginning to think I would have to play husband until the day I die,” he said with a playful wink.
Tensley felt the corner of his mouth twitch. He didn’t have the right words to say to Illya. “Thank you for taking care of her when I couldn’t. When I wasn’t the man she needed.”
Illya’s brow furrowed and he tightened his grip on Tensley’s shoulder. “You are the only man she needs.”
Tensley went to open his mouth, but Lex appeared in the hallway, out of breath.
“Tensley,” she hollered. “It’s Molly.”
THE PAIN THUNDERED in every part of Molly’s body, her bones aching, her muscles constricting until she cried out.
Dizziness came and went, blacking out her vision, the pain overwhelming her.
“It’s too early,” she heard someone whisper.
It’s too early. Too soon.
She wanted to call for Tensley, but it was like her voice was trapped within her throat.
When her lips parted, all that came out were pained moans, and louder shouts when her womb seemed to twist from within. She couldn’t speak, only to chant Tensley’s name.
They tried to soothe her by combing her wet hair from her forehead, but it just made her angry.
It’s too early.
She tried to tell her body to stop. To stop pushing, to stop the labor, but it was useless.
She knew the baby was big, she knew he carried his father’s strength and her own, but would he survive this?
Would he be able to breathe in this world?
“Tensley,” she managed to gasp out between contractions.
Her hands dug into the sheets, anchoring herself. The doctor spread her legs and examined her.
“She’s eight centimeters dilated,” he said to the other women around him.
Everyone moved fast, the noises around her seemed to be never-ending but all she wanted was silence.
All she wanted was Tensley.
TENSLEY SLAMMED OPENED the door and his lungs seized. Molly groaned in pain as she dug her nails into the bed sheets.
Women, including Lex and his mother, moved around the room, gathering more sheets and cold water.
Molly’s eyes were squeezed shut and her entire face was bright red, her bottom lip wedged between her teeth in a death grip.
“Tensley,” his mother said, walking toward him. She touched his arm. “It might be best if you wait outside.”
Tensley gritted his teeth, unable to look away from Molly’s painful expression.
When she cried out, a cry so raw, it burned his insides and his heart cracked.
“No,” he bit out. “I’m not leaving.”
“There’s too many people in here now. You’d just be in the way,” one of the women snapped, placing more pillows behind Molly’s head and wetting her forehead with a cold washcloth.
His entire body shook. Shook from the rage inside of him, the anger at being denied, the fear of what he saw in front of him. His dolcezza was in pain, she was in distress, and he wasn’t leaving her side.
“You’ll have to kill me if you think I’m leaving her,” he hissed and stepped around the women.
His mother grabbed his arm. “Tensley, think of her. Think of her and the baby.”
Tensley glared down at his mother and steadied his breathing. He took a deep breath and pushed forward.
“Tell me what you want,” he said, his voice low and deep, his power completely in the hands of his dolcezza.
If she didn’t want him there, he’d go, even if it pained him.<
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Molly rolled her head across the feather pillows and fluttered her eyes open, weakly.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly, the pain visible on each part of her.
“Tell me,” he bit out between his clenched teeth, baring himself to her once again.
Not as the beast.
Not as a man.
But as her husband.
As her heart.
“Tell me what you want and I’ll do it,” he whispered, aching to touch her, to steal away any pain he could.
Molly weakly parted her lips and her eyes drifted upward until those vicious eyes settled on his own.
“I want you,” she breathed out, even that alone a painful thing to do.
She seized, bending forward, and that was all it took.
He moved fast, his hands going to her sides and he climbed in behind her, his large frame cradling her against him.
His hands found her belly and he stroked, back and forth, back and forth.
“Give me your pain,” he whispered into her sweaty neck. “Give it all to me, dolcezza.”
She bit out a distressed cry and dug her nails into his biceps, so deep it drew blood, but he didn’t flinch.
“I’m right here,” he said, peppering delicate kisses against her neck, against her cheek, against her shoulders. Anyway he could reach, he drowned her in kisses, in his power and rage and love, to take away the pain.
To soothe the ache in the only way a demon bastard could.
“Tensley,” she gasped when he nipped at her jugular, her pulse fast and rushed. “Tensley.”
She chanted his name back to him. It was the only word she spoke, but it was enough.
“I can’t,” she breathed out, falling back against him, her breathing ragged, shaking her head weakly across his chest. “It’s too soon.”
He shushed her and kissed her jaw line, tasting sweat and salty tears. “He’ll be okay, he’s strong. Just like you. My dolcezza is not weak. She’s a thunderstorm. She makes powerful men bend to her will. I’ll be your strength, your shield. I’ll be your everything.”
She sobbed into the air, her head tilted back against his shoulder and he gazed at her rosy cheeks, at her thick lashes resting there, at her bloody lips.
“You’re the most beautiful, most powerful woman I’ve ever seen,” he hissed and those vivid eyes caught his in a deathtrap. “I’m defenseless against you. Don’t you feel it?” He pressed his chest into her back, letting her feel the throb of something so forbidden the gods would rival him. His heart.