12. Madelyne

twelve

Madelyne

T his fucker.

Oz may think he needs to put him in his place, but I think it’s past time we have it out. I’ve had it with his attitude towards me. I know he’s been through some serious shit. I felt it . But his lashing out has gone on long enough. It’s time for him to move past it. And as his mate, I’m not going to rest until he does.

My magic reaches out like second nature and wraps around me and Zarreth as my other mates yell. We pop into what’s clearly a bedroom. Sandstone walls dimly lit by hellfire lanterns hanging at various heights around the room. The bed is rumpled, as if someone has been sleeping fitfully in it and the desk in the corner is covered in a chaotic mess of books, papers, and various office supplies. What strikes me most is the odd combination of locks, deadbolts, and runes on the door that seemingly leads out of the room.

“What the hell?” he snaps as he takes in our location. “How the fuck do you know where my room is?”

“I don’t, idiot. I just told my magic to take us where you feel most comfortable. I don’t need to know where it is or how to get there.” I roll my eyes.

“Oh, right. You just tell your magic . Silly me. If that’s all it takes, why can’t you just tell your magic to fucking fix Lucifer?”

“Why are you such a fucking asshole ? God. You’d think you’d be fucking grateful I helped you. How have you been living with that much hatred in your heart? It’s not fucking healthy to hold onto shit like that you know?”

“ Not healthy ?” he growls as he stalks toward me. “You don’t have the first fucking clue what I’ve been through. And if you did, you wouldn’t want to be anywhere near me.” My back hits the wall behind me and he cages me in with his hands on either side of my head.

“And why’s that?” I lift my chin, challenging him with my eyes.

“Your soul’s too pure to be marred by the likes of me. My sins earned me a one way ticket to Lucifer’s torture chambers. There’s no coming back from that. No matter what you did to me back in that hallway.”

Grandpa tortured him?! Fuuuck. No wonder he’s turned into this… asshole.

“You may always remember what happened, and those scars will always be there. But you can choose to let it go and move on with the second chance you have been given or you can continue to hold onto it. I don’t think holding onto all that self-loathing and hatred I took from you was doing you any good. Maybe you could try the other way for a change.”

“Like it’s that fucking easy.” His chest heaves as he glares at me.

“Easy? No. But things worth fighting for seldom are.”

“You’re so… Ugh! You’re infuriating!”

Try as I might to fight the smile, I know by his darkened eyes, my lip twitches. In the next instant, he slams his mouth to mine. One of his hands drops to my hip as the other grips the back of my neck as he angrily kisses me. It’s unlike any kiss I’ve experienced before. It’s raw and his unfiltered feelings consume me.

Lust .

Rage .

Longing .

They meld with my own undeniable desire and I clutch his head as I eagerly return the passionate kiss. His hands move to my ass and I wrap my legs around his waist as he picks me up. Things go from zero to a hundred in the blink of an eye and I’ve never felt so desperate for someone in my entire life. Don’t tell the others.

I need to feel him inside me.

Now .

My magic does its thing and we’re both naked. He squeezes my bare ass with enough force I know I’ll have his handprints on me for days and I relish the thought. His hard cock slips through my slick folds and he groans.

“You’re so fucking wet for me. You want me, dirty girl? You wanna fuck the demon Lucifer tortured for years?”

“Shut up. I don’t want to talk about my grandfather while I fuck that attitude out of you.”

“Oh. While you fuck me?” He chuckles darkly before thrusting into me to the hilt. No prep, no getting me ready for him, nothing. Just slams his thick cock into me.

“ Fuuuck! ” I scream.

“Who’s fucking who, Sweetheart? ” He smirks as he pulls out almost all the way before driving back into me again and again.

“Oh, God. You are! You’re fucking me,” I gasp, unable to do anything but take the brutal fucking. My nails dig into his shoulders as he pounds me into the wall over and over until I convulse around him in the most powerful orgasm of my life.

He thrusts once, twice more before stilling inside of me, his head thrown back as he comes with a roar. It’s not until I come back to my body that I notice the blood dripping down his back, covering my hands.

“ Holy fuck, ” I pant.

“There was nothing holy about that fuck, Sweetheart.” He huffs a laugh. “You made sure to sink your claws in deep, didn’t you?” He glances at the blood running down his shoulder.

“Hey, I was just holding on for the ride.”

“Not the claws I was talking about, Sweetheart.”

Biting my lip I risk a glance at him. “You feel the mate bond?”

What’s going to happen? He can’t reject me now that the bond’s sealed, right? But Luc had a mate that made his life hell. Having a mate bond doesn’t mean everything’s rainbows and roses.

But his asshole mask slips and I see the tender, loving demon that was buried beneath the veneer.

“I’ve felt it since the moment I saw you back on Earth. I fought it. Denied what it was all this time. But there’s no denying it now. No denying you. I tried to save you from a life tied to me. But there’s no escaping it now, Sweetheart. You’re mine. Just as much as you’re theirs.” My heart has never felt so full.

He’s not rejecting me .

I feel the tears filling my eyes but I ignore them as I smile at my new and final mate. He may look just like my goofy, fun loving mate, but even with the asshole mask finally gone, I know they’re nothing alike. Zar has this intensity that Zeph doesn’t have.

I kiss him with his cock still buried inside me. This kiss is just as passionate as the first, but the feelings behind it are completely different. We’re both happier… lighter than before. He twitches inside me and I feel him harden as I savor the sweet kiss.

My magic wraps around us and the next thing I know, I’m pinning Zar to the bed. I break the kiss with a wicked grin. “Who’s fucking who now ?”

“Let’s see what you’ve got.” He smirks at me.

Never one to back down from a challenge, I sit up and roll my hips. His tip bumps against my g-spot and I moan as I do it again and again, chasing my orgasm.

“Fuck, baby,” he groans.

Oh, fuck. I don’t know how much longer I’ll last.

My hands drop to his chest as I grind on him faster and faster until I explode. When I look down, my hands are glowing.

“What the fuck?” I gasp as the blood dries up and the puncture wounds I unintentionally left close.

Zar looks down to see what I’m gaping at before blinding me with his smile.

“You gave me back my powers,” he breathes in awe.

“I what?”

Just then the door flings open and my other mates rush into the room. They freeze when they take in the scene before them.

“Uhhh. Hi guys.” I wave awkwardly.

Zeph’s smirk morphs into a blinding smile. “Called it!” he whoops.

A giant black hound comes running into the room and jumps on the bed next to me. Yelping, I conjure a shirt to cover myself. One should never meet new deadly animals naked. I’m sure he’s a sweet hellhound, but my delicate skin feels too exposed.

“Fireball! Down!” Belz orders.

The hound whimpers, his ears pinning to the back of his head.

“Awww. Don’t be sad, puppers.” I croon from my perch.

Can you call a hound a pup? Oh well.

His head snaps up and he looks at me with his tongue hanging out as his tail swings a mile a second behind him.

“Well, someone’s happy,” I chuckle. “I’m Maddy.” I introduce myself with a smile.

The hound, Fireball, gives me a warm greeting of his tongue licking all over my face. Oz and Belz yell while my twins laugh. Of course, I join my twins in laughing at the over-excited hound’s reaction to meeting me. I wonder if he’s like this with everyone.

“No, Princess. He’s definitely not like that with everyone. He pretty much only likes the people in this room,” Oz answers my unspoken thoughts.

“How’d you? I didn’t say that out loud.” I gasp as I coax Fireball away from my face.

“Mating with Zar completed the bond. Looks like we got another new perk.” He shrugs.

“No. Do not tell me you can read my fucking mind now. I’ll take it back. Undo this fucking bond. Absolutely not.”

Quicker than I could anticipate, Zar flips us, pinning me to the bed.

“ What did you say?” he snarls. “I know I did not just hear you threaten to undo our bond.”

Did I do that? Oops.

“Ummm. I mean… No?” I squeak.

His eyes go black and if I was a lesser demon, I might fear for my life. But thanks to the bond that I did seal, I know he would never hurt me. In fact, I hurt him with that thoughtless comment.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just… Some things should be private, ya know? I don’t want y’all having access to all of my thoughts. Just like I’m sure you don’t want me hearing your thoughts.”

“You’re ours now, Sweetheart. Now that I wear your mark there’s no take backs. We’ll deal with whatever fate throws at us together. But you can’t get rid of us now,” he vows and my heart fucking melts. This from my mate that hated me not two hours ago.

“No take backs,” I agree. Even if I had never actually meant what I said. I opened my stupid impulsive mouth and hurt him when he’s just begun healing. I’ll do whatever it takes for him to believe me. “I’m not going anywhere… Except maybe the bathroom. UTIs are a serious matter, you know.”

He chuckles before sitting up and pointing to a door on the other side of the room. “Come straight back. No lollygagging,” he says, narrowing his eyes at me.

“Yes, sir.” I wink before rolling off the bed. Chuckles echo around me as I walk across the room. I shut the door, closing myself off from the animated discussion about sleeping arrangements.

They'll figure it out .

Stepping back into the room, I see the decision has been made… sort of. All four of my demon mates and their rather large pup are piled in Zar’s bed, with the owner himself laying on the outside closest to me. Belz is next to him, followed by Oz, then Zeph, while Fireball lays across their feet.

Smiling like a loon, I walk over to my mates. “Is there room for one more?”

“There’s always room for you, Sweetheart,” Zar murmurs, climbing out of the bed and wrapping his arms around me. He kisses me and I melt in his arms. Sadly, the kiss ends too soon, and he pulls away before lifting me and placing me in his spot.

I scoot over to make room for him, expecting him to climb in after me, but he starts walking to the door instead.

Where’s he going?

He stops at the door with his hand raised and he looks back at me. The indecision in his eyes almost has me jumping out of bed to see what’s wrong.

I wasn't going anywhere… I just… I was going to lock the door. Zar thinks before an image of Lucifer towering over him while he’s chained to a cross flickers through his mind.

The image was there one second and gone the next, but I saw it. And I am livid .

I pop over to him and cup his cheek. I know now why he has all those locks and runes. It’s to keep his tormentor out. Not that they’d do any good if the devil wanted in this room, but my mate will never have to use them for his peace of mind again.

“Luc wouldn't dare ever touch you again. He may be my grandfather, but I would end him,” I declare vehemently.

A wave of power washes over both of us as the demon vow settles into place. His wide eyes tell me he knows what that means better than I did when Belz made his first vow to me. I can feel his fear of my grandfather leaving him now that he knows without a doubt he will never touch him again.

“Thank you,” he whispers, laying a sweet kiss on my forehead. “Let’s go to sleep, Sweetheart. It’s been a busy day.”

That’s an understatement.

I poof us onto the bed, disturbing all of its occupants when we land in the center.

Belz. Our man needs some cuddles. Help me out? I direct my thoughts to my first mate.

I would love to. He responds, wrapping his arm around Zar, manhandling him into position.

Once we’re all situated, it doesn’t take long for me to fall asleep surrounded by my mates. I thought I was happy cuddling up with three mates after I bonded Oz, but now ? I know it may sound stupid, but I feel complete. Even with everything going on with Luc and not knowing how to fix him, I feel… at peace. Like now that I have all four of my fated mates, everything will be okay.

And now I know how all the main characters in my books felt.