Eighteen

Lux

"Did we miss anything?"

I jumped at the sound of a new voice, so focused on trying to track down the dark soul that I'd forgotten my surroundings.

Blinking hard, I turned around, grinning when I spotted Star and Ryk.

As always, Star was dressed in comfortable clothes, his brown hair falling into his dark eyes, while Ryk's clothes were splattered in paint, his blue eyes bright and red curls bouncing all over as he rushed to me.

"Lux! We just met your mate. He's a hottie!"

"You met Archer?"

"Yeah. Dakota and Nico are with him now," Star said, then made a face. "And the little thing."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Watch it."

Shrugging, Star turned to Maximus. "What are we doing here?"

"We were tracking the dark soul you sensed a few months ago, and according to Lux, they passed through here, but he can't tell how long ago or if Mammon was here too," Maximus explained. While he was an inch or so shorter than Star, he was much bulkier, and in an honest no-magical-assistance fight between the two, I wasn't sure who would win. Not that they had any reason to fight each other.

"Want me to give it a shot?" Star asked, his dark eyes flicking to me, and I nodded.

Out of the twenty-four demons who currently existed, three of them were older—and a lot more powerful—than the rest of us. Star, Kor, and Mammon. They'd been created at the same time, and I truly believed that having Nico and Ryk in his life was the only reason Star hadn't lost his way like Mammon or turned into a recluse like Kor.

We were currently in an abandoned building at the edge of town that I'd tracked the dark soul to, and Star glanced around the place, then took a few steps away from us.

"Stay back," he warned, then exhaled deeply.

Between one moment and the next, Star...exploded. Instead of the 6'3" man, there now stood an eight-foot-tall demon made out of dark stone, with bright white fire seeping out of the cracks. His eyes were red like molten lava, and I imagined he was the kind of demon humans wrote about, at least physically.

All three of the older demons had forms like this, but I imagined Mammon had lost his connection to the Chasm's fire that seemed to burn inside Star, or he never would've turned dark.

Star took a few steps forward, and the ground under our feet seemed to tremble with each step. Fuck, he was powerful.

"Mammon was here," Star said, glancing around and seeing something the rest of us couldn't. "Around twenty hours ago. They're long gone now."

Maximus swore under his breath, and I agreed with his sentiment. We always seemed to be a step behind those guys, and it was starting to get old.

Star shifted back, and then stumbled a step as Ryk rushed to his side, grabbing him around the waist.

Glancing between them, I frowned. "Is he okay?"

Ryk made a face, and I realized he was supporting most of Star's weight. "Not really. The older demons are more powerful, and it's harder for them to keep their true form locked inside their human one, so when they do shift into it, turning back to and then staying in their human form takes a lot of effort. He'll be okay after a long nap."

I nodded, and Ryk bit his lip, glancing from Maximus to me. "If you don't need us..."

"Of course, take him home."

"I'll text Nico," I promised him, and he smiled before they both disappeared.

"Fuck!" Maximus looked ready to blow something up—probably the building—and I searched for something to say to keep him from doing just that.

"We should look around. Maybe we'll find out why they were here," I said, and Maximus nodded, not looking very enthused by the idea.

We scanned the building floor by floor, finding nothing but a few abandoned blankets where people must've been squatting.

Passing a closed door, I almost ignored it before I caught the scent of blood. Warily, I jerked the door open, and then swore loudly.

"What is it?" Maximus appeared at my side. He took one look at the massacre inside and let out a string of swear words even I was stunned by.

"Why would they kill so many vampires?"

"I had my doubts when I saw the shifter pack they slaughtered in the last town they passed through, but now I'm sure. They're trying to recreate a dark magic potion. A witch tried to use it before, but we saved the infected people before they could be possessed."

"Possessed?" I asked, making a face, and Maximus nodded, a grim look on his face.

"The dark souls are trying to acquire physical bodies for themselves."

That wasn't good. Without bodies, the dark souls were limited in the havoc they could cause, even with Mammon's assistance. But if they got physical forms... yeah, it would be bad.

"We can't let them reach their goal."

Maximus nodded, agreeing with my declaration, then sighed, rubbing his palm over his face. "I'll need to get this taken care of," he said, waving at the bodies stacked on top of each other inside the small storage room. "You should head on home."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Just stay alert and let me know if you sense anything."

"I will," I promised, my eyes sliding back to the dead vampires.

Vampires were fast, had quick reflexes, and were undead. They were survivors, and yet Mammon and the dark soul had slaughtered them all. The thought of either of them getting anywhere close to Archer or Gunner scared the shit out of me. Just the thought that they'd been in town at the same time was enough to make me want to rush home and wrap my arms around them both.

Giving one last nod to Maximus, I left, eager to get home and hold the two people who meant more to me than this whole world.

Archer

I learned a lot from Dakota, like how the demon realm was a beautiful place, and I should ask Lux to take me sometimes. How the demons loved discovering new human things, things that seem common and everyday to us but can be a revelation to them.

Dakota and Nico stayed for a while, and Gunner managed to win over another demon with his antics. Nico seemed completely besotted by him, and I wondered what it was about Gunner that he liked so much. Was it just the fact that he was a baby?

Nico's phone pinged with a text just after I'd fed Gunner his last meal of the night, and whatever it was had them rushing to get home, though they assured me Lux was fine and he'd be home soon.

Just a moment after they disappeared, I got a text as well.

Lux : Almost done. I'll be home soon.

With a sigh of relief, I picked Gunner up, then headed to his nursery when I realized the little man needed changing. Once he was changed, he started getting sleepy now that the guests were gone, so I got him ready for bed and put him back in his crib in the nursery, sitting in the rocking chair. I hadn't had dinner yet, couldn't bring myself to eat until Lux was home.

Glancing over at Gunner's crib, I thought back to a time not too long ago when I'd thought he was all I needed in this world.

How had it gone from 'just him' to 'just them' so quickly? Lux had become such an integral part of my life in such a short time, and it was crazy how much he meant to me now.

Dakota had assured me that strange as it felt, my feelings for Lux were real. The mate bond we shared might've sped up our relationship a little, but it couldn't create feelings out of thin air. Everything I felt for Lux was a hundred percent true.

"What do you think, Gunner? Do you want to call Lux Dada?"

Gunner was already asleep, so I didn't get an answer from him, but I still imagined a future where Lux and I raised Gunner together, where he came to me when he was hungry or needed help with homework, and went to Lux when he needed fashion or love advice, or when he needed something a tad more magical.

It wasn't hard to picture a future like that at all, and I wondered just how Lux had weaseled his way into my heart so quickly.

"Hey." My head shot upright at the voice I'd been waiting to hear, and I smiled as Lux peeked into the room, his eyes flicking from me to Gunner. Holding my finger up to my lips, I grabbed the monitor and left the room, closing the door behind me.

"Hey. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, more or less." Eyes falling shut, he leaned his weight into me, and I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug.

Lux returned the hug, then sighed happily. "This is exactly what I needed."

"Happy to help." I turned my head and pressed a kiss into his hair, holding him to me as he slowly relaxed. I was sure he'd tell me what'd happened when he was ready, and for now I was just happy to hold him. After all, I'd promised Lux a cuddle.

We stayed like that for quite a few minutes before Lux spoke. "We didn't get the dark soul"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Were you unable to track them?"

Lux shook his head, then pulled back so he could look at me better. "I did track them down, but the trail was old. The dark soul and Mammon were here yesterday."

"Did they hurt someone?"

Lux sighed, running his fingers through his hair and pushing the strands away from his face. "Yeah. A vampire coven."

Even though I now knew vampires and other supernatural beings existed, hearing about them was still a little strange.

"They killed a whole coven? Do you know why?"

"Unfortunately, yeah. They're trying to make a potion that will let them possess someone. It's black magic."

I shuddered at the thought of some evil soul controlling someone I knew or me . Yeah, that wasn't good. Not at all.

"Don't worry, Archer. All of Otherworld is looking for them, so we'll find them."

Nodding, I glanced at him, then remembered the sudden visitors I'd had today.

"Oh, your demon friends dropped by."

"You mean Nico and the others? Yeah, Star and Ryk helped us out," Lux said, then tilted his head to look at me better. "What did you think of them?"

"They seemed nice. Talking with Dakota was interesting." He'd given me his number too, in case I had any questions or demon-related worries.

"I was going to introduce you two at some point. I thought it might help to have a human friend who knows the truth about everything," Lux said, and I nodded. I wished I could tell Jerry and Kat about all of this, but I understood why I couldn't.

I could tell Lux was exhausted, if not physically, then mentally. "How about we go to our bedroom and I give you that cuddle I promised you?"

"Hmm…did you eat?"

My stomach answered with a growl before I could speak, and Lux chuckled softly.

"Dinner first, and then cuddles," he declared, making me smile.

"Whatever you say, sweetheart."