It hurt. It hurt so much, like her heart had broken. He wasn’t sure how she withstood it, how she managed to stand there with tears flowing down her too pale face. With a pain that deep, you expected blood.
He’d done it. He’d gone too far. Deep guilt washed over him mixing with the ache of her pain. His demon vanished, then he released her elbow, and drew away, wondering why he continued to hurt her, the precious gift he was fated.
The demon who once had so much control was out of his mind. Unable to control his rage, he turned demon twice in a matter of minutes, near his fated, and in the process put her in danger. He couldn’t help it. His need to protect her, to keep her safe, overruled every action, every word, riling his demon.
“That’s never mattered to me, and you know it,” she said. “I’ve given you everything I have, my heart, my body and my soul—”
After what she said, nothing could have prevented him from pulling her body against his. Gripping the back of her neck, he crushed his lips against hers. If she’d planned to say anything more, she couldn’t now as his tongue delved into her mouth, parting her lips. His anger still lingered, subdued with desire and every ounce of love he felt for her.
He freely explored her with his hands and materialized them in his room at the demon compound. Without sparing a glance around, he tore her clothes off, needing to feel her skin against his. When she was bare, he pulled away to admire her. Her eyes dazed with passion.
Embracing her once again, his lips slammed hers with the full force of his craving. He guided her toward his bed where they lay and made passionate love.
Hours later, soothed by her flesh, his anger had melted away, and he gained enough composure to speak.
Lying on his side, facing her, he caressed the side of her face. “I’m sorry, darling. I hurt you, again.”
“Next time, you should make love to me before you speak,” she smirked. “It seems to cool your temper.”
She’d forgiven him, that quick, that easy. She hadn’t rubbed it in or held a grudge, instead she’d made light of his faults, a stark reminder that he didn’t deserve her. And yet, he knew he’d never let her go because regardless she had been given to him and that meant he’d keep her.
****
Cain slept peacefully and soundlessly as he had for the past week. He woke content because Olivia lay in his arms. Her head rested on his shoulder, her arm slung over his stomach, one leg tangled with his. Drawing her closer, he smiled, then buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled her exquisite scent.
Then he begrudgingly spared a glance at his alarm clock, and realized it was six a.m. Past time he took her home, before her brother realized she wasn’t in her bed.
Groaning inwardly, he kissed her cheek and whispered, “Darling, we have to get you home.”
She mumbled incoherently and shifted, tugging him closer.
“Liv, it’s morning. We have to get you home,” he whispered, kissing her lips this time.
Her eyes snapped open. “What time?”
“Six,” he responded.
Shaking her head, she mumbled drowsily, “One more hour.”
He couldn’t deny her. They would stay in bed, but they wouldn’t sleep.
****
“Cain,” Lucas called from his office.
Cain walked the short distance, standing in front of his king, surprised to find him alone.
“Congratulations are in order, I presume,” Lucas said.
After retrieving their luggage from Santorini, Cain materialized in Olivia’s bedroom at the estate, kissed her one last time, then materialized on his king’s floor. He’d been gone a while, and needed to check in. He also needed some advice.
“Thanks,” he replied. “We’re holding off until we talk to her brother,” he added, noticing Lucas’s gaze lingering on his neck as if searching for Olivia’s mark.
“Five months you’ve waited to tell her. When you finally do, you hold off marking her for more than a week?” His eyes wide then he smiled. “I’m impressed.”
Cain knew Lucas enough to accept the praise for what it was. The demon king didn’t often compliment, then again, he’d changed since he found his mate, Jenna. He was content, even happy.
Lucas had marked her within a short period. It had been accidental, so to speak, and Lucas had been wracked with guilt over it—not that he’d admitted it, but Cain sensed it. Still, why Lucas would be impressed was still beyond him. Lucas may have marked his mate, Jenna, within a short period of time, but he’d been burdened with dreams of her for centuries before he found her. The dreams had never given him the knowledge of where to find her, so the king lived with glimpses of a woman just out of his reach. Centuries of dreams compared to Cain’s five months of waiting were nothing.
“There isn’t much to be proud of. I’ve barely held myself together.” Clenching his jaw to battle the anger that surfaced with just the thought, he continued, “I’ve nicked her several times, and I’ve lost my temper and lost control more than I’d like to admit. I don’t even know how or why she’s put up with me.”
Quirking a brow, Lucas asked, “Losing control? You hurt her?”
He glared. “I would never—”
“You proved my point then.”
“There’s nothing to prove. I’ve been…rough,” he admitted on an exhale.
“You deny your need to mark what fate destined as yours. The reason you lose your temper, and you’ll be rough, even after you mark her.”
He couldn’t believe he heard Lucas correctly. He’d hoped after he marked her he’d have more control. Eyes widening he asked, “What?”
“Desire is an overwhelming emotion, but what we feel isn’t just that. It’s an instant connection, love, even if we can’t understand why until much later. It’s maddening, desperate and uncontrollable, and sometimes that leads to being a little rough,” Lucas advised. “I am proud of you. I’ve carried guilt long enough because of the past. Finding Jenna has helped me. I think it’s time you leave your past in the past.”
Cain sensed where this conversation was headed. Right now, he couldn’t hide his emotions any more than he could stop himself from loving Olivia, and he knew Lucas read him like a book. Hating the thought of being read so easily, he shoved his hands in his pockets in frustration.
Lucas opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out two velvet jewelry boxes, a small one and a larger one.
“I’ve always considered you part of my family, but I don’t think you’ve ever truly considered me part of yours. I adopted you, brought you into my home. Had it been out of pity, as you assume, I wouldn’t have given you my name.” He sighed, then meeting his gaze dead on, he said, “Then again, it’s not completely your fault. I haven’t been the best at expressing myself. I should have made this clear years ago, I never told you, so in essence it’s my fault.” He paused then said, “I had you instated as prince.”
Cain tensed, disbelief coursing through him. Prince? He was a prince?
“In my defense, I figured you assumed—”
“That I would take over if, God forbid, anything happened to you?” He paused, shoving his hand through his hair. “No, I didn’t. I was too busy being thankful I had someone to teach me, someone to look up to.”
“I adopted you. You are second in command—”
“Our rules state—”
“As king, I know what they state. In case the king is killed and there is no family left behind, our kind votes for a successor, but I adopted you, and I know you. I raised you, trained you and most importantly, I trust you. I know the boy you were, and the man you’ve become. At twenty, you had more control during your first shift than a demon two centuries old and you have a good heart. I knew then if anything should happen to me, you should reign. On your fiftieth birthday, I went to the council and expressed my will. There was a vote, everyone agreed. You are a prince. You were promoted as second in command immediately as well,” Lucas said then paused momentarily.
; Cain didn’t say anything because he didn’t know what to say. He was overwhelmed, shocked and touched.
“As is customary, since I married and mated Jenna, if anything should happen to me, she would reign. When Jenna and I have children, our first will be the successor. His or her siblings will be princes and princesses. If Jenna and I should die before we have children, you would become king. The bottom line is you are a prince, not an orphan. With that in mind, I wanted you to have these,” Lucas said, pushing the boxes toward him.
He hesitated, still reeling from Lucas’s words, then he took the smaller box, and opened it to find a large blue diamond ring. Olivia’s face flashed before his eyes, the diamond reminding him of her, the same blue color of her eyes. Imagining the look on her face if he ever gave it to her, his love for her rushed him.
“It was my mother’s. My father loved indulging her.” Lucas shrugged then chuckled. “What can I say? I’m not much better.”
“Jenna should have this,” he said, though he still held the box firmly in his hand. He couldn’t force himself to look his king and brother in the eye, in fear Lucas would see how much he would love to give Olivia the ring he whole-heartedly believed didn’t belong to him.
“You know Jenna. She considers you a brother as do I. We both insist the family heirlooms should be divided. Jenna’s engagement ring belonged to my mother. She loves it along with the black diamond necklace I gave her from my mother’s collection. There’s plenty more, but I figured there’s time to surprise our mates with jewelry in the years to come. Anyway, I thought this was perfect for Olivia. It’s a blue diamond, five carats.” Lucas hesitated. “There are others if you want to pick a different one, and you can always buy another if you don’t like any of them, but I figured becoming princess of demonkind, she deserved a couple of family heirlooms immediately.”
He stood still, speechless for several moments then, finally dredged up enough strength to peel his gaze away from the diamond, close the box, place it on the desk, and grab the second. Opening it, he discovered a yellow diamond necklace, the same incandescent color that laced with the blue in Olivia’s eyes every time he kissed, touched or caressed her.
“Lucas, I…” He coughed hoping to disguise the emotion welling inside him. “I can’t—”
“You can, and you will. They belong to you and Olivia as much as they belong to me and Jenna.” Lucas smirked mischievously. “Unless you want your queen to—”
He shook his head, chuckling with just the thought. His queen was stubborn and always got her way. Jenna would nag him relentlessly until he accepted the heirlooms. Besides, she was his queen, he couldn’t say no to her. “Thank you, but I still—”
“Cain,” Jenna called from behind him. “You’re back!” She walked toward him and hugged him tightly then pulled away.
“We are.”
Her gaze drifted to the box he still held in his hand. “I see Lucas gave you the jewelry. Do you like them?” she asked with a wide smile.
“Yes, but I still think these should belong to you, Jenna. I have no blood relation—”
“Blood means nothing, Cain. You have been more of a brother to Lucas than his own twin,” she said evenly.
Months prior, they’d discovered Lucas’s twin brother, David, was responsible for the deaths of their parents and younger sister in Treconomia centuries before, responsible for the rise of the Malums in the mortal plane, and responsible for abducting Jocelyn months before.
“They’re beautiful, but—”
Her eyes glimmering roguishly, she said, “Why don’t you spare me the trouble of nagging you until you agree, huh?”
He nodded, bowing slightly then said, “Thank you.”
She smiled wide then asked, “How was the trip?”
He grinned. “Amazing. Liv is…” His words trailed off because there wasn’t just one word to describe her.
“She’s wonderful,” Jenna finished for him. “She’s sweet, kind and beautiful, but she doesn’t know it.” Pausing, she sighed then said, “She’s insecure, too, but I’m sure you’ll help her with that, won’t you?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve been trying.”
“Don’t worry about that too much,” she said then walked toward Lucas, who immediately snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her toward him until she sat on his lap.
“Something is troubling you, Cain,” Lucas stated.
“I needed some advice.” He released a breath then continued, “Olivia wants to hunt with the Guardians. She mentioned it yesterday when we arrived at the estate. I don’t want her hunting. Landon doesn’t either. She gave us an ultimatum: she goes with us or she goes alone.” Fisting his palm, fighting anger, he said, “So I caved, but I want her to change her mind. I was hoping you—” He stopped mid-sentence as the sound of Lucas’s laughter rang out.
“Ah, well I’m sorry to be the one to tell you. There is no way I know of to change a woman’s mind especially a stubborn one,” Lucas replied, nodding in Jenna’s direction.
Jenna chuckled. “A woman after my own heart.”
Fuck. No advice? None at all? So he was supposed to sit back and do nothing while his mate risked her life night after night? Fear rising, he pointed out, “But what if—”
“Olivia is well-trained, better trained than Jenna,” Lucas reminded him.
“Yeah, but Jenna can set someone on fire on a whim. Olivia can’t,” he countered.
“Olivia’s a werewolf and has trained for close to a century. She can defend herself. You need to believe in her,” Jenna pointed out.
“I do, but I’ll be distracted trying to keep her safe—”
“You’ll be distracted either way. If you take her, you’ll be worried about her. If you don’t, you’ll be worried she’s out on her own,” Lucas said.
Hating the thought, hating he had no choice, he released a breath.
“It never gets easier,” Lucas warned. “You’ll worry about her constantly just as she’ll worry about you. It’s a dangerous time. While you were away, the Malums blew up a night club.”
Cain’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Several vampire Guardians were inside, following a lead. The night before, four women were found in a nearby alley. When Jacob and Benjamin arrived one of the women was still alive but barely. Before she took her last breath, she said two words: the name of the nightclub and ‘vampire.’”
“They left her alive?” He asked because it was so unusual, Malums didn’t take prisoners. They killed.
“The three others were drained completely. Their limbs removed from their bodies, the usual Malum MO. The last one wasn’t, so it’s either they were interrupted or she was left alive to tell us about the nightclub, which was bombed the following night. Fifty mortals died.”
Fifty mortals dead in one night? Further proof the war between good and evil was escalating. No doubt it would all come to a head soon. Ignoring the guilt that surfaced for being away, for not being able to save those lives, he asked, “Were any Guardians injured? Do we have any leads as to where David is?”
“Injured, yes but not killed. No leads yet. The Guardian leaders agree we need more man power. Within the next month, the new demon trainees should be ready to hunt. The vampire king has three new recruits. The elf king has two. Landon mentioned the weretigers’ leader will join us during the next Guardian meeting,” Lucas advised.
“Landon mentioned someone from his pack discovered another pack in Texas. He’s meeting with their alpha soon.”
Nodding, Lucas said, “Good.”
“Don’t you think someone should reach out to Julian?” Cain asked, referring to the king of fairies.
Julian and his sister, Aleta, once queen of their kind, had been Guardians until it was discovered Aleta had allied with the Malums. She wanted Lucas for a mate and David had promised him to her. David’s intention had been for Aleta to lure Lucas to him to finish the job he’d started centuries before, killing his family, so he could reign. Lucas c
ouldn’t be lured; he’d no interest in Aleta and had already found Jenna, his mate. Aleta then attempted to abduct Jocelyn, to use her as bait.
“I’ve gone back and forth on the issue,” Lucas said. “His sister’s death rests in our hands. Some people aren’t forgiving, whether or not she fought for the wrong side. And, I’m not sure we can trust him. We have no idea if he’s involved with the Malums. We trusted Aleta, and she turned out to be a spy. If he holds any ill will toward us because of his sister’s death, he could use it against us.”
“I thought Kellen reached out to him?” Cain asked.
“He did. Before Aleta’s death though, and Julian hadn’t been receptive to coming back. He didn’t explain why.”
“It’s a damn shame. We need all the help we can get and their abilities would be useful.”
“I agree,” Lucas nodded. “You ready to hunt tonight?”
“Always,” he said, taking the jewelry. “Thanks, again.” He then turned to walk out the door.
“Don’t forget to tell Olivia,” Lucas warned. “She’ll be upset if you don’t. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and all that…”
She would be upset, and it was the last thing he needed.
Cain turned to face Lucas and Jenna again. “She would, but you’d be surprised. Over the last week, I’ve given her plenty reasons to throw me out on my ass. She’s forgiving.”
Smiling, Jenna said, “Because she loves you.”
Yes, she did.
He knew it.
He felt it.
He loved it.
Chapter 25
Cain left her room hours before, but Olivia had little energy to do anything but mope.
Her room once had been a retreat with its soft colors and whimsical décor. Now, it did nothing to relax her. It wasn’t just her room; it was the estate. It no longer felt like home. It felt like home in Santorini. It felt like home at the demon compound. She knew why.
Home was with Cain.
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