20. Hunter

20

HUNTER

I ’d woken up about an hour ago, but I couldn’t bring myself to get up yet. Propping up on my side, my eyes were glued to my fated mate.

She was beautiful , scars and all, just like I’d told her as I worshiped her last night. My fingers twitched as I remembered entwining them in her silky black strands. Her swollen lips I’d kissed so passionately were curved into a serene smile as she slept.

The way her rosy cheeks glowed with pleasure had driven me wild, but her red eyes brimming with ecstasy as I pleased her would be branded in my mind forever.

She was mine, and I’d never let her go.

Our completed matebond thrummed between us with affection and love. I felt all of her emotions, and it made my heart swell with absolute fucking happiness. I’d never have to guess what she was feeling again.

My hand instinctively rubbed over her mate mark burnt in the shape of her heart on my chest, a permanent reminder of our bond and the way she marked me while I was inside of her.

I grinned. My mate had a side of her I hadn’t expected. I was so glad she was comfortable being intimate with me.

My tablet buzzed on the nightstand, and I moved carefully so as not to wake her up as I grabbed it and checked the notifications.

Reed had texted me a few times.

Reed Nyx

I can’t get ahold of Pandora, and she’s not in her bedroom. Are you with her?

I ran into Shadowheart, and he says you’re with her. He seemed really off. What happened?

Let me know she’s okay when you can. I’m kind of freaking out.

I typed back my reply.

Hunter Darkmore

Pandora’s sleeping peacefully next to me. We completed the bond last night. Shadowheart brought her to me last night after an encounter with some nobles in the bathroom. I’ll have her call you when she wakes up.

Reed Nyx

Thank the Fates she’s okay. Sounds like a little more than okay. No wonder you didn’t reply… When you say completed the bond, do you mean marking or also being intimate?

Hunter Darkmore

We were intimate as well.

A call came through from Joel before I could read Reed’s reply.

“Shit,” I mumbled, getting out of bed quietly before going into the bathroom and shutting the door with a soft click behind me before answering. “Where the Fates have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you for over a week.”

“Worried about me?” Joel teased as my gaze snagged on the shower.

Walking in here yesterday and seeing the extent of Pandora’s scars slammed into me. The raised, pale scars from the shadow lashes were crisscrossed into her flesh. Some were worse than others, but there was a large, circular scar in the center of her back that was more severe than the rest. It was the size of my fist with rough, uneven edges that proved it was done by forceful shadow tendrils. It was a darker color and depressed, indicating exactly where the tendrils burrowed into my mate’s flesh.

She’d withstood so much in her short life—so much she shouldn’t have had to withstand. I’d never let anyone hurt her again.

“Yeah,” I rasped to Joel, squeezing my eyes tight. “I was worried sick, man. Where have you been?”

“I’m pretty sure we have a mole in the council,” he stated, none of his usual humor in his tone.

“Fuck.” I ran a hand through my hair and pushed out a breath. “What makes you think that?”

“I’ve infiltrated Dark Veil. I’m undercover, so don’t worry. I had a witch enchant me with a disguise, and your dad helped secure me a spot before he dipped out.” He paused. “Dark Veil considers themselves a secret society, and it was founded at the academy that you council at.”

“Seriously?” My brows shot up in surprise. The cult was founded here? “This problem is all over the Demon Capital, and you’re telling me the cult that started it did so at Demon Reform Academy?”

“It gets worse.” I could almost visualize him wincing. “Their goal is to take out the Demon Council.”

“Of course it is.” I paced the bathroom.

“They see the Demon Council as over-policing demons rather than maintaining balance, and the council is officially their target. Dark Veil is wanting to seize control and impose their vision of a new demonic order over the Demon Capital,” he explained further. “They’re looking for a dark magic beacon. It’s a magical artifact that calls dark magic around it and absorbs it. It looks like they’re close to finding it.”

“How do they even have so much access to dark magic? It’s not like it’s fucking common,” I spat out the words.

Dark magic was potent, deadly , for any supernatural. We’d seen far too much of it for the past year.

“They gain it from botched witch spells and shadow rituals, surprisingly,” he muttered. “Their whole belief is that they can reshape the demon race based on their whims of wielding dark magic. Hunter, they know way more about the council than they should. They know where we are and what cases we’re working on. They know the council is investigating the Shadowheart family.

“Shit.” I ran my hand over my face. “Do you think the mole’s higher up in the cult?”

“They have to be, but I don’t know who they are.” He paused and took a deep, shaky breath. “They have their eyes on a new soul eater who has been…absorbing dark magic. I think it’s Gravesend. That’s actually why I called. You need to tell Death. They’re planning on recruiting her. They have big plans for her potential.”

“What?” Rage surged through me, and my vision dimmed at the edges. “They’re planning to recruit my mate ?”

“Mate?” His voice rose an octave. “What did I miss?”

“Bond snapped in place a couple of weeks ago, Joel. I tried to get ahold of you. We…” I cleared my throat. “We completed the matebond last night.”

A weird squeal came through the tablet. “Fuck yes! Congratulations, Hunter! So fucking happy for you, man.”

“Thank you, but let’s focus. What’s going on with them setting their sights on her?” My body trembled with rage and anxiety.

I already wanted to keep an eye on her, but this? Maybe I needed to encourage Shadowheart to stalk her instead of scolding him for it.

“I don’t know much more than that,” he said. “But keep an eye on your dad, yeah? He’s on the radar, too. Leaving Dark Veil isn’t an option once you’re in. He hadn’t been fully initiated, but just keep an eye on him.”

“Noted.” My chest clenched at the thought of something happening to my dad. “I’ll let him know to be cautious.”

“He already knows. I called him.”

I let out a breath of relief. “Thank you, Joel.”

“Listen…” His breath caught before he pushed it out slowly. “If you don’t hear from me for the next few months, everything’s fine. I’m just deep undercover…but, if everything isn’t fine, I want you to know how much I love and appreciate you, man. You’re the reason I’m still alive, and you’re my best friend. I know you and your mate will live a long life of happiness, and I need you to know that.”

“Joel…” A lump formed in my throat. “I love you, too, okay? You’re my best friend, but you’re going to be fine. You hear me? I need you to be okay.”

“And I need to go,” he said solemnly. “I’ll update you when I can, but Death is the only council member I know we can trust right now. Call him and tell him about your mate. Remember what I said.”

The call ended.

I swallowed the near-suffocating worry and dialed Death before letting myself spiral thinking about Joel.

“Is Pandora okay?” Death picked up.

“She’s good right now.” My heart pounded, picking up speed.

“Right now?” Death questioned. “What happened? Why do you sound weird.”

“We completed the matebond last night, Death. She’s good. I promise,” I mumbled, face heating up.

“When you say you completed it, do you mean like you marked each other, or…” Death rambled off.

“We marked each other and ? —”

“Okay, that’s great.” A crash of something sounded on his end. “So, that’s not…is she okay? Protection in place? She’s not hurt or anything, right?”

“She’s not hurt, and I’ve done ceremonial magic to prevent pregnancy on my end,” I assured him. “Everything was perfect, Death. I promise, but that’s not why I’m calling.”

“Thank Fates for that,” he grumbled. “I know we’ve gotten closer since you started being interested in my daughter and all, but I do not want to hear about your love life?—”

“Joel called me, and he’s infiltrated Dark Veil,” I blurted, cutting off his rambling. “He thinks we have a mole in the council, but he’s cleared you and I, obviously.”

“Obviously,” he grunted. “A mole, huh?”

“Joel said that Dark Veil has their eyes on Pandora for some reason. He doesn’t know why, but it seems like they want to recruit her,” I told him.

“Why didn’t you start off with that?” he roared, and another crash sounded through the tablet. “Keep fucking tabs on my daughter. Do not let her get hurt. I’ll do my own investigation.”

“She’s my mate, Death,” I reminded him. “I’d kill and die for her.”

“Pay close fucking attention to your matebond. Keep her safe.” He hung up.

No shit, Death.

I gripped the tablet in one hand and opened the bathroom door.

Pandora was up already, drinking water from the enchanted bottle I’d gotten her. I froze as my gaze greedily seared this image into my brain. The blankets were bunched around her waist, and her perfect breasts were on display with almost-healed love bites on them.

She moved the bottle down, and her red eyes met mine. Our bond surged with love. “Is everything okay? I heard you on the tablet.”

“Everything will be fine,” I assured her, blinking a few times to gain my bearings. “Dark Veil hasn’t come directly at us yet.”

“I don’t even understand what’s going on with my powers and how it consumes dark magic. If I absorbed it, does that mean it’s still in me? Or does it mean it’s destroyed?”

“I don’t know, starlight. But we do know that you have no dark magic inside you that a magical artifact can pull out. I’d say that’s a good sign.” Walking back to the bed, I gathered her in my arms and ran my hands over her soft skin before resting them on her stomach, where more scars covered the flesh. She was so fucking strong. “How are you feeling?”

“Sore, actually,” she hummed, looking up at me and resting her chin on my chest. “I feel amazing, though. My soul even aches from the mating—in a good way.”

“Have you fed?”

A tinge of rose covered her face as she nodded. “Last night, when Voidfire stood in my way, I fed on her soul.”

“Good job, starlight.” I cupped her face and pulled her close to kiss her nose. “She deserved the totality of her soul to be eaten.”

“Maybe I should’ve,” she mumbled, but anger flashed in her gaze. “I hate the way they came at me, and I hate that they saw my scars.”

I slid my hand down her body and moved the cover from her thigh. “I love your scars, and I love my mark on you.”

Her lips curved into a blissful smile, and the bond pulsed with joy. “I love that, too.”

My mark covered her entire thigh, wrapping around it to the point where her scars just added to the beauty of it. The raised scars were still present, and I loved the feel of them under my fingers because they were part of her. “You won’t be wearing your wrap anymore.”

“I won’t,” she murmured with a smile.

“Good.” I grabbed her by her thighs and flipped her onto her back before trailing kisses down her body.

I would never get enough of her.