Chapter Eight

Wren

We've only had a half dozen revenant attacks in the tortuously long weeks since I promised to woo my mate. When I arrived, they swarmed a half dozen times a day. These latest assaults have been smaller with fewer beasts to rend. I'm hoping that means I've found and destroyed most of them.

I return from wrecking what should be the last necromancer lair to find my mate sitting with her ghost friend in matching lawn chairs on top of the camper van, her feet propped on a cooler with cotton balls between her toes.

Maximus blinks from my side to her lap. Smart dog.

"Happy hunting?" she asks him.

He bounces on his hind paws, trying to lick her face. Okay, not terribly smart since he could leap a few inches when he just magicked his way across the drive and atop a van, but he's got the right idea.

"What's this?" She slips the delicate chain from around his neck, holding up the iridescent black crystal attached to it.

"Your next gift," I tell her. "A charm from my home."

"In the Shadow Realm?" she asks, twisting the polished stone to inspect it in the moonlight. Happiness and curiosity fill her voice, and I'm pleased that, once again, I've picked a perfect gift for my mate.

Her friend floats through the table between them for a closer look. "How's that work? I mean, if it's from a realm of shadows, how come it's solid?"

Hayden smiles. "I know this one. Because it's a realm inhabited by shadow beings like Wren, not literally made up of shadows. Although the legendary shadow monsters who terrorized the hell dimensions for centuries aren't allowed to live there, which seems understandable if they're that scary."

She remembers everything I've told her about my home world. Yet another sign we're meant to be together.

"Thank you for my gift," she says to me. "Glenda has kept me company while I redid my polish." She wiggles her toes. "Purple passion."

"It sparkles," Glenda adds.

"We've been moon bathing." Hayden makes it sound fun, light-hearted. Not as though she grieves her inability to enjoy sunlight like other humans.

Or as if she blames me for her light sensitivity along with her headaches.

I haven't been able to ask her. I've tried. I can discuss anything else, except my fear of her not choosing me.

Can I really walk away from her if she decides she doesn't want to be mated to a monster?

No.

Absolutely not. I'm still the same reaper who couldn't let her go ten years ago.

I need her to love me. To accept or even forgive the choice I took away from her then by giving her one now.

If she says no and the demon's matching contract runs out, then I'll be relegated back to her dream world. That can't happen. Which is why I've used these weeks to keep her safe, bring her gifts, answer her endless questions, and give her multiple orgasms every day.

Also, I've made an effort not to protest her weird ghosts wandering the property except when they interrupt my attempts at wooing.

"You have plans for the rest of the night?" I ask her. "If not, I thought you might want to continue your exploration of the house." Where I'll have her to myself. Thank the gods the ghosts don't come inside the house so I'm not distracted while looking out for my mate.

"The cavern?" she asks.

Why didn't I put limits on her exploration? "As long as it's safe enough."

She jumps from her chair, pulling away the cotton balls and shoving her feet into sandals. "You okay with me abandoning you until tomorrow, Glenda?"

"Sure," the ghosts says, waving her off. "Have fun. Maybe toss out the three-week rule and have some real fun." She disappears before I can say anything.

Frustrating, free-loving phantom.

"Here, can you take Maximus?" Hayden leans over the side of the camper van, handing the tiny dog to me even though it's obvious he could get down by himself. He blinks pitiful eyes at me, and I take him rather than remind her he's a ghost.

Then I reach for her instead of letting her take the ladder.

"Oh." Her sweet sound of surprise makes my move worth it.

I run a shadow below the curve of her generous ass, using the excuse of holding her close while I lower her to the ground. Three weeks, and we have only a few days left to go. Yet my control frays with each passing hour. "We could stay here instead," I suggest, thinking of new ways to make her come. The advantage of having a shadow form means there are endless variations to try and pleasure my woman.

"Cavern," she says. "Now. Wait, no. First, help me put on my new bracelet you brought me, then we go exploring." She holds up her hand with the chain and crystal.

Creating the tiniest tendrils of shadow, I fasten the clasp and spin it so the charm is on top. "Do you like it?"

"It's my favorite of the treasures you've brought me."

"You say that every time."

"Because I love them all, from the pixie-sized door to the nymph-crafted sketching reeds, but this is special because it's from your home." She reaches toward me, and I pull her into my side.

The fact that she loves my realm's artwork best delights me. If only I could take her there one day. But for now, I'm content to simply accompany her into the house for her research.

Maximus trails behind us.

"You say it's always dark in your home realm?" she asks as we head through the front door.

"There is some light, but only enough to let us travel from shadow to shadow. We don't require more."

"How would someone like me get there?"

"You mean a mate?" I ask. If I had a heart, it would skip a beat at the thought of her wanting to live in the Shadow Realm.

"I meant human," she says, her hazel eyes teasing. "But sure. Is there a way to travel there if you're not a shadow being?"

"You'd need a royal demon to either teleport you or open a portal for you."

"Like the portal you said you felt in the basement here? By the way, that basement makes no sense from a structural viewpoint. Why build a staircase to nothing?"

"Because it leads somewhere when a portal is open. The fact it's below ground suggests a connection to the underground realms. Maybe the minotaur king's labyrinth or one of the dwarves' jewel mines. No, I've not been to either, but I've heard stories."

To my surprise, she doesn't question me on those realms. Instead, she simply snuggles into my shadows. "Hmm. Nothing about this house adds up. Mismatched wings, doors to nowhere, a window that opens to a wall."

"Does it match what your ghosts tell you?" I ask.

"None of them remembers even a rumor about when it was built or for what family. The exterior appearance has changed versions from a ceremonial temple to Rancho Adobe to whatever bastardization of Victorian this is." She gestures at the narrow hallway we're in with its high ceilings and hidden nooks. "Apparently, it has burned multiple times, but the house simply comes back. They say it's cursed."

I consider the several species other than human who could've crafted such a place to protect the ley lines, but only one stands out given the portal access and fire resistance. "More likely it's demon built."

"Like the one who led us both here."

"Exactly." We reach the end of the hall where a steep drop off leads to a cavern carved into the cliffside. At the bottom of what looks to be rickety stairs, a grotto of bottomless water sparkles. I hold tight to Hayden.

"Sit, Maximus," she says. "It's not safe."

To my surprise, the dog drops onto his butt, shaking anxiously as he awaits her praise.

"He can't be hurt," I remind her. "You should be more worried about your safety."

"Why?" She glances up at me without a trace of fear in her eyes. "You wouldn't let me fall."

Her trust in me? It means everything.

Peering over the side, she asks, "What would a demon want with a pool of water in their house?"

"Access to the ocean is my best guess."

She frowns. "For something like a smuggling operation?"

"To make it easier for sea monsters to come inside." I don't fight her when she takes a large step back from the edge of the drop off.

"Wouldn't they have a problem with the stairs?"

"Not necessarily. Some can walk on land. Others could find a way. You've seen what I can do with shadow tentacles." To my immense satisfaction, she licks her lips as if she remembers exactly how I've pleasured her with them.

She clears her throat. "Any other hypotheses for the cavern's uses?"

"In the Valley of the Gods, there are demigods who can cross worlds by riding sea horses that don't need a portal. I can think of several reasons the demons would have wanted this cavern. I can think of even more why you shouldn't go down there."

Rather than argue immediately, she hesitates. "What am I supposed to tell the demon who brought us here when he expects me to give him a history of the house?"

"Ask him who in his family built the damn thing. Or who he pissed off enough to have revenants sent here." I hate Theodopolis for dragging her into this and using her career against her. He used our being fated mates and the matching contract as a trap to make sure I wouldn't let her leave, no matter the danger.

"You gonna beat him up for me if he doesn't like those answers?" Her voice turns coy, teasing.

"Worse, we can send your friend Glenda to haunt him."

She laughs. "You'll never forgive her for popping up in the van that day, will you?"

"For interrupting us when you were about to come on my shadows? No. It's why she's banned from inside the van. Why all of them are banned from it. The last thing I need is to rend Bertie the Idiot Bard's soul into pieces because I caught the creeper watching you in the little shower you have in there."

She traces her hand through my shadows. "I would let you watch me in the shower."

I scoop her up and move through the house toward the van like a monster possessed. "Excellent idea."