Chapter 18

RYKER

For the first time, Lyra lays awake beside me, her fingers tracing small circles on my bare chest. It seems to be something she does when she's trying to relax, and it's something I welcome wholeheartedly. Anything to have her skin on mine, to feel her taking what she needs from me again.

"How is this going to work, Ryks?" she asks, barely a whisper. If it weren't for my heightened senses, it's unlikely I would've heard her at all. Her uncertainty hurts, but it's to be expected. Although she has had a basic rundown, she doesn't have the finer details. She doesn't know just how linked my life is with hers already.

Leaning in close, I inhale her scent, the vanilla mixed with her release. Fucking hell. The truth is, I have absolutely no idea. The plan was not to bond with her until her time was up, and by that time, she would be down in the depths with me if her soul had been tainted enough for the trip down. I didn't mean to do it in her human form, fragile and breakable like this, but there's no going back now.

"I would rather die than be without you again," she mutters, the sleep starting to take over. Her heartbeat is the most relaxed it has ever been as she cuddles into my side, enveloped in my arms.

Pulling the comforter over her, I settle into the pillow a little more, getting comfortable. Within mere minutes of her soft snores filling the silence, Void stalks into the room, the black feline looking pissed as hell. She has kept her distance since we got back to the apartment, surprisingly. Her white teeth glint in the moonlight as she hisses at me before heading back through the small hole linking the apartments.

Carefully unwrapping Lyra's arms from my body, I replace myself with the pillow I was leaning against, watching her cuddle into it further. A small smile tips the corners of her lips, a sigh escaping them. As soon as I'm a few steps away from her, I feel his presence, an intense anger radiating through the walls. Fuck.

Leaving her apartment, I walk into mine and shut the door behind me, taking in the scene in front of me. Void is sitting there in her pajamas, her arms folded across her chest with a scowl directed solely at me. Beside her is the cloaked figure of my reaper, his fists clenched beside him. The air is so thick in here, it's near impossible to breathe.

"What the fuck did you do?" he snarls, rising to his feet. I may be tall, but this demon is at least a head taller than me in my human form. Looking down from beneath his hood, those familiar green eyes bore through me with an intensity that would have a human pissing his pants.

"You know I sensed you out there, taking the soul of my father as well as her pathetic excuse for a mother," I snap back, feeling the pain tugging at my chest. Being physically away from her has always hurt, an ache in my chest that nothing could fix. Now, though? It's goddamn unbearable, and she is literally sleeping a few steps away, separated by some plaster and wood.

"Watch your tone, hound. You have been granted leniency because of who you are, who she is. More than others of your kind, but there were fucking rules for a reason."

His demeanor snaps, white teeth bared at me as the words continued to be hurled in my direction.

"Multiple fucking times, you have been reprimanded for getting too close, and now you decide to show her your demon side as well as bond with her? She's a human, Ryker. You know what that means for her?"

A strained laugh escapes from my chest, intensifying the ache within me. It feels as though my body is being physically pulled, drawing me closer toward her, longing to be back with its mate.

The reaper begins to shift, his anger getting the better of him. Dark circles come through around his eyes, hollowing out the sockets. His chest heaves as the darkness swirls beneath his skin, turning him into the being plucked from the deepest of nightmares. Bones force their way through the skin, blood trickling from the tears.

"Grimm will be required to deal with this, and he has not left Hell in decades, Ryker. Decades. We have both failed her, you and me. I thought I could fucking trust you with her safety," he roars, his body shaking with anger. He steps closer, now towering over me with a snarl. Cherry-red eyes stare back at me with every ounce of anger he can muster without combusting.

My demon side hums under the surface, willing to break through at any moment. Fire licks through every vein, adding another layer of pain. I welcome it, needing the distraction so I don't do something really stupid and end up dead at his hands. Reapers are much more powerful than a hellhound, able to issue permanent death with a mere touch and the right intentions—true dealers of death.

"You knew from the moment my toes crossed into Hell that she was always going to be mine. You weaponized my obsession, using it to your advantage for years. We both knew it would end up here, with the two of us bonded. It just happened sooner than we planned," I snap, not faltering, showing no weakness. "So go get Grimm. Bring the big man up to the land of the living. I can guarantee you the outcome he will order is not one she will shy away from."

His jaw tightens at my words, but he stays silent, creating a black haze off to the side. The entire room darkens before he steps through it, disappearing back to Hell, leaving Void and me in a tense silence.

"Don't you fucking start. It's not the time."

She stands, sauntering over with her nostrils flared, her pointed finger aimed at my chest.

"It hurts being away from her, doesn't it? Unbearable pain ripping through your body? Serves you right for being a twat and bonding with the girl. It's not her time, Ryker. She deserves more life than this. You have single-handedly sentenced her to death by thinking with your fucking cock above your head. I can't believe you."

The words she spits hurt, but it's the truth.