Chapter Nine

“My gods. You finally got a Fae to suck your dick?”

Locryn’s eyes flew open - his body aching in that delicious fashion that indicated a night spent having fun – but there was pandemonium in his bedroom. There was the rude yell – totally uncalled for, in Locryn’s opinion. But that was followed by Zac’s growl and a lurch of the mattress as the man bounded out of bed. More yelling and the crash of ceramics on the wooden floor, followed by the sweet smell of coffee. Not the scene Locryn was used to waking up to.

“Don’t kill the coffee bringer,” he said with a yawn, sitting up, flicking his hair off his face and stretching. “You must be Rat. Zac don’t wreck the walls with his head, babe. And why are you mushing his face into your pecs?”

“So he can see.” Zac shook Rat hard before dropping him. “No more bare spot.” He slapped his own chest. “This Fae is my Fated Mate. One more rude comment and I’ll banish you, so help me, I will.”

“The Fae with the peach butt is your mate? Oh, no.” Rat scuttled around, waving his hands, probably cleaning the mess left on the floor.

“It’s not an oh, no, it’s a fucking hell yes. Get used to it.” Zac stomped back to the bed, climbing under the covers, dropping his arm over Locryn’s shoulder. “Good morning, my mate. Did you sleep well?”

“Deliciously so.” Locryn waggled his eyebrows as Zac brushed a kiss on his cheek. “Oh, coffee. Thank you.” Taking the fresh mug of coffee Zac handed him, Locryn nodded in Rat’s direction. The man was loitering at the foot of the bed, shifting from one foot to the other. “Is this going to be a thing now? Demons popping into our space whenever they feel like it?”

“He won’t do it again.” Zac glowered at Rat. “He’ll knock on the door like someone with manners next time. And why aren’t you happy with my mating, Rat? I’m the first one of the brothers, so you can run back down there and spend the day gossiping about it if you like. It’s the weekend here and I’m spending that time with my new mate.”

“That reminds me,” Locryn said, taking a quick sip of his coffee. “We have to make an appearance at the markets this morning. I’ve got to pick up my vegetable order, and it will be nice wandering around looking at the local stalls if you haven’t done that before.”

“You can’t go shopping,” Rat yelled, and then he dropped his tone as Zac glared again. “This is why I said, oh, no, when you said the Fae with the peach butt is your mate. The Fae’s dad has got a hunt on for him…”

“I know that. Taric had the contract. You were there yesterday when he zapped into my shop.” Zac hit the bed, clearly frustrated. “Taric said he’d leave Locryn alone if I told Locryn about his dad, which I did, and that’s when we found out we’re mates, so tell Taric I owe him a drink because he did me a solid.”

“I was drinking with them last night.” Rat twisted his fingers together. “Taric told the snotty Fae dude that Locryn was under protection, so Taric couldn’t take him without causing a paranormal incident, and the Fae fucker, Locryn’s dad, just turned around and summoned another demon, right there on the spot, before Taric had even finished talking. Said if Taric couldn’t do the job, he’d get a demon who could. It’s like he’s got demons on speed dial or something.”

“It won’t make any difference who has the contract,” Locryn said calmly, although, inside he was seething. It was freaking typical his father would ruin his first day claimed. “You and me are Fated Mates, Zac. I can’t be forced into bond mating with anyone else, especially not to produce the grandkids my father seems to think he wants, so… it’s a good morning to go to the market, don’t you think?”

Clearly, Zac didn’t think so, he was still glaring at Rat. “Who took the contract?”

“Asher.” Rat winced as Zac roared at the ceiling.

“Is Asher another brother, by chance?” Locryn asked Rat while Zac was going through some kind of a meltdown. It involved a lot of cursing and yelling at the ceiling.

“The eldest.” Rat nodded. “The way Asher saw it, first Zac gets humiliated by the Fae, you,” he added helpfully, “and then Asher still gets the payday for taking you back to your father. Double win by demon standards.”

“Well, if anyone is going to get any payout for this, it’s going to be my mate.” Locryn thought up clothes with a blink and jumped out of bed. “Come along, Zac. I assume demons can go to the Fae realm?”

“They can.” Zac’s teeth were showing. “It’s just most of us can’t be bothered because Fae are…”

Locryn held up his hand. “You mated one, remember? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about our deliciously sexy night already?”

Apparently, demons could blush if the situation was right. “We can go to the Fae realm,” Zac said, suddenly dressed in a tight T-shirt and very well-fitted jeans. “We can go to any realm except the elven lands. We’re just not allowed to create a ruckus, or the Fae complain about us to Lord Hades.”

“You’re going to cause a ruckus just by wearing those pants. Very nice.” Locryn chuckled as he held out his hand. “Rat, you go find this Asher person and tell him the contract’s been canceled. You can tell them Zac’s taken me to my father, so if anyone is getting paid, it will be him. We just have to be quick about it, or I’ll miss out on my vegetable order, and I don’t want to do that if I’m cooking for two now.”

Holding tight to Zac’s hand, Locryn transported them both to his father’s office. His father wasn’t likely to be anywhere else, especially if he was scheming. Sure enough, Locryn’s father was sitting behind his desk, tapping on it as he was glaring at a piece of paper.

“Father.” Locryn smirked as the man jumped out of his seat. “I can’t believe it. You wanted to see me so badly after disowning me, you sent demon bounty hunters after me? You couldn’t have just sent me a message?”

“It’s the only way I could get you to understand how serious this matter is. You there,” his father waved at Zac. “You can go. You’ll get your payment when my son has done his duty.”

Zac, to his credit, didn’t immediately say anything about the mating, which Locryn was pleased about. He still wanted to know what the heck his father was playing at. Instead, Zac stood firm, arms folded across his chest, looking for all the world like a warrior in denim pants. “That’s not how a demon deal works, Fae. Gold on delivery for a bounty. Pay up now, or I’ll take the bounty and keep him until you cough up the trade.”

“Gods, you just can’t get good help these days.” Locryn’s father slammed his fist on the desk, causing a large bag to appear. “Here,” he said, picking it up and throwing it at Zac, who caught it one handed and then caused it to disappear.

“Hang on a minute.” His father took another look at Zac’s face. “You’re not the demon I made the deal with. What the hell is going on? First, one demon says yes, and then says no. I get someone else who has the balls to do the deal, and then you turn up, and you’re someone different again.”

“The men you contracted were my brothers. I just happened to be the one closest to the Fae when Asher took the deal.” Zac shrugged. “Happens all the time.”

Locryn’s father sneered. “Can’t say I can see any family resemblance, but fine. You’re paid. The deal is done. Now get out. My son and I have business.”

“Zac will be staying until we conclude this business you think you have with me.” Locryn put his hand on Zac’s arm. “What’s this all about? You’ve been spreading tales about me running out of an arranged marriage? I’m not promised to anyone. I never have been.”

“You are now.” Locryn’s father tapped the papers on his desk. “You need to sign this, and then get your lazy butt over to your house to make it ready for your bride. All your mucking about has cut things really fine. The bond ceremony is scheduled for tomorrow.”

A rumble sounded from deep in Zac’s chest, and Locryn patted his arm. Not now. Not yet.

“Who is this intended bride?” Locryn reached over the table and picked up the papers with his free hand. “Angelica Downey? Why on earth would I bond with her? She’s not even old enough to have received her mating mark yet.” He tossed the papers back on the desk.

“She got her mark,” his father hissed. “Three weeks ago, which is why I demanded you attend my last event. You were meant to meet her then, before you got rude and stormed off.”

Typical Father, rewriting history. Locryn nodded.

“Her mark is very similar to yours. When it appeared her father came to me frantic, not knowing what the mark symbolizes. I remembered yours looked very similar, just a different color, so you see it’s a perfect match and her father agrees. People will assume you two are fated and who knows, maybe you are. Not that it matters, but it’ll help cover the fact the wedding is so quick. It’ll be perfect.”

“You’re a lousy liar.” Locryn shook his head, feeling Zac’s demon bristle. Still getting used to how their bond impacted them both, Locryn loved that he could feel his mate’s demon side, as well as Zac’s barely controlled anger. It was empowering, knowing Zac already cared about him enough to be protective. “I remember years ago, centuries even, when my mark came in, and you told me to cover it. In fact, you told me never to show it to anyone, probably because you were worried that when my mate was near, it would glow…” he held up his wrist and tugged back his sleeve. The mark was glowing a bright orange. “A bit like this.”

“See.” His father actually looked pleased and more than a little relieved. “Oh, thank goodness. Just the mention of Angelica’s name and your mark glows, and I’m sure hers will, too. Perfect. Perfect.”

“You knew what my mark indicated when it first came in. You know it doesn’t relate to Angelica.” Locryn couldn’t believe the depth of his father’s delusion.

“I didn’t know. I genuinely didn’t. But I’d never seen one like it before. What if you’d ended up mated to someone like this hulking monster of a demon? You should’ve thanked me for making you cover it up. But no. It’s all good. I had a hunch, and I was right. Angelica must be your mate. There’s just something twisted in the marks – maybe it means you’ll have twins. The Fates have been smiling on us, for sure.”

“Monster demon? Right. That didn’t stop you from paying him a shit ton in gold just to get me to appear in your office when you could’ve just called or sent me a note. Well, I don’t know about the Fates smiling on you,” Locryn said, covering the mark on his wrist again. “But they definitely smiled on me. My mark is glowing because my mate is near, but it has nothing to do with Angelica.”

He flicked back his hair, tapping the bite scar on the side of his neck. “Father, meet your new son-in-law, Zac. Brother to the monster demon you sent to track me down – which makes Zac a monster demon, too.”

Locryn laughed as his father’s face went white. “You had a hunch, all right. It turns out Zac and I are Fated Mates, and we had an amazing evening fully claiming each other last night. I have you to thank for it, Father, sending the demons after me. It could have been months before I’d met him without your interference. But hey, at least now you can tell Angelica’s father what to expect in his future son-in-law.”

“Noooooo.” Locryn’s father fell back into his chair. “But you…” he pointed an accusing finger at Zac. “You took money off of me, and you had your filthy hands all over my son.”

“Demon deals are not negotiable.” Zac sighed. “And there’s nothing in the contract that says a demon can’t have fun while they’re doing your dirty work. But we’d better go, babe. We’ve got your vegetable order to pick up.”

“See, you were right about that, too, Father. Zac really is perfect for me, and I have you to thank for meeting him when I did.” Locryn was still laughing as he translocated them both back to his house.