Unlocked (Hell's Throne Book 1)

by M. L. Gabrielle

  “I needed to hear that. It’s been weighing on my mind,” I admitted. Locke kissed me on the forehead. “What other beings think is irrelevant. They weren’t there, and it wasn’t their family being threatened. Don’t waste another second worrying about it. Okay, little hellion?”

  I nodded. “You’re right. Other beings’ opinions shouldn’t matter. We know the truth.” I just needed to keep reminding myself of that. I tried to push those thoughts from my mind and focused on getting ready for dinner.

  I changed into a casual black t-shirt dress and grabbed a pair of leopard slip-on shoes from my closet. My hair was a lost cause, so I pulled it into a high ponytail. Locke came up behind me and tugged at my hair.

  “Leave your hair like this tonight. I have plans.” Turning around, I reached on my tiptoes and nipped his bottom lip. “I guess we should go so that we can hurry back.”

  We met the guys outside and walked over to the dining hall together. The place was mobbed, and my nerves were kicking into high gear. Sensing my anxiety, Locke wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Just say the word, and we’re out of here.” I nodded and tried to ignore the stares.

  After filling our trays, we sat down at our usual table with the guys and Penny. She gave me a sympathetic smile. “Don’t stress, Eve. I haven’t heard one bad thing about you today. There’s plenty of buzz about your boyfriend, though.” That caught the attention of our entire table.

  “From what I’ve heard, beings were intimidated by Locke before. Now, they’re scared shitless of him. They’re saying that he must be insanely powerful if he could take down a king as old as Leviathan,” Penny explained.

  I inwardly groaned. I didn’t think of that. “They should be scared,” Emmett muttered under his breath. I was about to tell him to zip it when I spotted Talia strutting her way through the throngs of beings.

  Emmett must have noticed too. He jumped out of his seat and approached a girl who was sitting by herself. I watched as Emmett whispered something into her ear.

  As soon as she looked up, his mouth was on hers. It started as an innocent kiss, but it heated up super fast. Locke tried putting his hand over my eyes. “Emmett! What the Hell are you doing?” Talia screeched.

  Emmett pulled his head back but didn’t take his eyes off of the girl. Carrying her tray, he led her to our table. There weren’t any open seats, so he pulled her onto his lap. Emmett must know her from somewhere. Everything about their interaction seems so familiar.

  Although, she’s far from his usual type. Don’t get me wrong. She’s a beautiful girl. She just seems a bit shy and reserved. Emmett usually goes for brazen girls, who are only looking for a good time. This girl is the kind of girl a guy would bring home to meet his parents.

  “Don’t do this to us, Emmy. I transferred here just to be with you. Let’s go talk,” Talia pleaded. Emmett narrowed his eyes at Talia as he wrapped his arms protectively around the mystery girl’s waist. It’s so strange to see him act this way.

  “There is no ‘us,’ Talia. We broke up years ago, and there is zero chance of us ever getting back together. You need to leave. You’re causing a scene and making my girlfriend uncomfortable.” Say what now?

  “Girlfriend? You’re a King of Hell, Emmett. You can’t have any type of future with an angel,” Talia sneered. She then focused her glare on the mystery girl. Surprisingly, the girl held Talia’s stare. Good for her.

  “Don’t fool yourself into thinking this is real, sweetheart. Emmett’s only with you to hurt me. I’m the one he loves, and I’m getting him back.” Emmett slammed his hand down on the table. It was a total Emmett move.

  “Enough! Get the Hell out of here!” Talia wasn’t even phased. She smiled and blew him a kiss before sauntering away. That stressed me out, and I wasn’t even involved.

  Emmett was raging. I was about to suggest that one of the guys take him outside to cool off when the mystery girl put her small hand on his shoulder. She whispered something to him, and he visibly relaxed.

  “I can’t stop watching,” I whispered to Jacob. “Fuck, I know. Who is this girl?” That is an excellent question.

  I cleared my throat to get the mystery girl’s attention. “Hi, I’m sorry we haven’t met yet. I’m Eve.” I went on to introduce everyone sitting at the table, even though she probably knows who we are.

  She gave me a shy smile. “I’m Gemma. Um, I’ll let you guys get back to your dinner. It was nice meeting you all.” Emmett whispered something in her ear, and she shook her head.

  “Why don’t you join us, Gemma? I’ll grab you a seat, so you don’t have to sit on Emmett’s lap,” Miles suggested. Emmett tensed and locked his arms around her. Who is this guy, and what has he done with Emmett?

  Jacob and I looked at each other with wide eyes. “Oh, this is rich,” Cade snickered. I was about to ask Gemma a question when I heard an all too familiar voice.

  “Oh look, another home-wrecker. Talia is going to have a field day with you, mortal. That’s right. I make it a point to find out everyone’s secrets. Just ask that heartless bitch over there with my boyfriend.”

  My stomach sank. How can she be alive? I could feel Locke’s body vibrating with anger. “Hannah,” he clipped. She let out a laugh and leaned toward me.

  “Mark my words, princess. I’m going to destroy you. Leviathan may not have finished you off, but I most definitely will. You should never have gone after what is rightfully mine,” she sneered.

  Rage washed through me. I was about to rip into bitchy Barbie when guards suddenly surrounded us. Hannah paled. I caught a glimpse of the Archangels as my dad stepped forward. What the hellfire is going on?

  “By order of the Divine Council, I hereby charge you with impersonating Hell’s princess, drugging and holding the princess and heirs hostage, conspiring to overthrow Hell and for just threatening my daughter’s life. Hannah, you will be imprisoned for a minimum of seventy-five years in Tartarus. Once the seventy-five years are complete, the council will decide your fate. Guards!” Dad boomed.

  Hannah was struggling against guards, who just handcuffed her. “No! Help me, Locke! Don’t let them take me away from you!” Hannah screamed. Suddenly, she was gone.

  Holy hellfire, did that just happen? The guys didn’t look surprised at all, which was a little suspicious. Jumping out of my seat, I ran over to my dad. He wrapped me in his arms.

  “Locke will explain later, my love. I need to go but will talk to you in the morning. Locke, take care of her,” my dad ordered before vanishing with the guys. Locke wrapped his arm around my shoulders and led me out of the dining hall.

  51

  Eve

  Locke remained silent until we were in the privacy of our room. It still feels strange to think of this as our room. I kicked off my shoes and sat on the bed. Then he began to speak.

  “The world faded the moment I thought I lost you. I couldn’t focus on anything except for you in my arms.” I gave Locke a sad smile.

  “I went over the events of that day with your dad and Abaddon countless times. Every part is ingrained in my mind, except for one detail. I couldn’t remember if Hannah survived or not.”

  She knew Locke’s true nature. I can see how that would be a huge problem. He ran his hands through his hair. “I’m used to getting a lot of texts from girls.”

  I narrowed my eyes and held up a hand to make him pause. “I don’t know where you’re going with this, but choose your next words wisely,” I warned. Locke smirked. He’s such a jerk.

  “I don’t bother opening the texts. I just hit delete. I started getting daily texts from the same number, which struck me as odd. Then the daily texts turned into multiple texts per day. After reading them with your dad and Abaddon, there was no doubt in my mind that they were from Hannah.”

  I shook my head. “That girl’s obsession with you is scary. Side note, you’re getting a new number.” He nodded in agreement and continued speaking.

  “I thought that we should kill her, but your dad al
ready talked to the council about arresting her. We needed to act quickly before she started running her mouth,” he said. I nodded, wanting to hear more.

  “The guys and I confirmed that Hannah was Leviathan’s accomplice and showed the council her texts. Your dad’s guards presented a ton of evidence that was found in Leviathan’s palace. No matter what, she was getting arrested. Cade heard that she was on campus today, so we gave your dad a heads up,” Locke explained.

  Honestly, I’m glad that I was kept in the dark. I don’t think I could handle the stress of knowing that Hannah was on the loose. At the end of the day, all that matters is that she’s officially out of our lives.

  “So we traded one bitchy ex for another?” Locke ran his hands over his face. “Talia is bad news. I want you to keep your distance from her,” he warned.

  I rolled my eyes. “Locke, I can handle myself just fine. I’m worried about Emmett, though. From what I’ve heard from you and the guys, he really loved her.”

  He sat next to me on the bed. “I think Talia is the furthest thing from his mind right now. Enough about him, are you okay after what happened with happened tonight?” Locke asked.

  “I can deal with a few more stares if it means that I don’t have to suffer through daily run-ins with bitchy Barbie. I have a question, though,” I said. Locke tilted his head.

  “Do you think that Emmett will want a big or small wedding? I mean, why settle for being a princess when I can be a queen?”

  Locke pounced and started tickling me. “Silly girl, you don’t need to be a queen when you’re already a goddess.” I laughed. “Watch out, everyone! My boyfriend may wield thunderbolts, but I can hit you with some serious sex vibes.”

  He stopped tickling me and kissed my forehead. “Actually, I have some theories about that specific gift of yours.” I lifted an eyebrow. “You know how children are so rare among angels and demons?” Locke asked. I nodded.

  “Now that your gift has been unlocked, I wouldn’t be surprised if we started to see an increase in pregnancies.” That made me smile. “I like that theory.” There are so many beings that would love to have a baby of their own.

  “I thought you would like that. My other theory is that you may help beings find their other half,” he said. I gave him a megawatt smile. “Like cupid?” Locke rolled his eyes. “Sure, just like Cupid.” That made me giggle.

  Locke smiled at me. “This is just our beginning, little hellion. We’ll figure all of this out in time.” I wrapped my arms around his neck as he kissed me softly.

  I’ll never get enough of this man. How did I get so lucky? “I think I may keep you forever,” I whispered.

  He pulled his head back and looked at me through hooded eyes. “As if you have a choice. Now, let this god of yours worship his goddess.”

  Cheers!

  Thank you for taking a chance on Unlocked! I hope that you enjoyed reading this story as much as I loved writing it. This is just the beginning of Eve and Locke’s forever. I can’t wait to see where their journey takes them. First, I think the other heirs deserve to have their stories heard. King Emmett is up on deck. Stay tuned!

  XO,

  MLG

  About the Author

  M. L. Gabrielle is an emerging author of paranormal romances. She lives in the Northeast with her family. When not writing, MLG can usually be found with her nose in a book or chasing after her kids.