Chapter Two

Gage

Gage squeaked as the Lucifer spoke. This was bad. Very bad. Gage knew he and Cary shouldn’t have been playing around with that old book they’d found but they’d been desperate. Now they were going to be dead. Or worse. There were things worse than death.

Beside him, Cary still hadn’t realized they’d transported as he flipped through the pages of that stupid book and mumbled.

“Cary!” Gage nudged his boyfriend.

“What? I’m trying to figure out what I did wrong.” Cary finally looked up.

Lucifer gave them a little finger wave. Gage swallowed hard. He was too young to die! There was so much that he hadn’t gotten to do. He was never going to claim his mate, which was the entire purpose of this exercise.

“Who are you? Where are we?” Cary demanded.

Shit! For being a human, Cary really needed to learn that there were real things to fear. “Cary!” Gage grabbed his boyfriend’s arm as he forced them back several steps. Distance. They needed to put distance between them and…and the freaking devil!

“What?” Cary scowled at him as he yanked his arm from Gage’s grasp. “This isn’t hell. We were supposed to be transported to hell! Or bring hell to us. I never did figure out that paragraph.”

“Uh,” Gage managed. Did Cary totally miss the seven-foot demon king in front of them?

“Actually,” Lucifer said, “this is my own personal hell.”

“That!” The human pointed to the window behind Lucifer. “Is snow!”

Huh, Cary was right. There was a huge snowstorm happening behind the glass. Maybe it was a hallucination? Could the devil make them hallucinate?

“I like snow!” Lucifer told them. That little smirk was still on his face. His very handsome face. How had Gage not known that the Lucifer was hot? Like tongue-licking hot! That should have been in the story books.

“It doesn’t snow in hell!” Cary argued.

Why was Cary arguing anyway? He had to realize that they were in real trouble. Not the kind they were used to either.

Lucifer grinned. He had fangs. Fangs and horns. And was tall. So tall. His skin was a pale white, his hair black as ink, and he had muscles.

“It does if I want it to.”

Cary huffed. “This stupid book!” He flung the book onto the sofa. “I knew I should have learned more Latin before trying summoning.”

Gage had made that argument. Cary had said that he could handle one little summoning. And now they were screwed.

“You were trying to summon…a demon?” Lucifer questioned. And he did not look happy about what Cary had confessed. Was it against the paranormal laws to summon a demon? Maybe Gage should have done his own research. Of course, Gage wasn’t the smart one. That was Cary. And research was boring. He’d been playing video games as Cary had been learning the summoning.

Cary rolled his eyes. “What’s it to you?”

Gage gasped. Cary was being rude. And Lucifer would lose patience with him soon. Everyone always did. Usually, Gage would fight to protect his best friend, his boyfriend, his future mate, but he couldn’t win against the Lucifer! Gage tugged on the sleeve of Cary’s shirt hoping to distract him.

“It matters to me since every demon in existence belongs to me,” Lucifer told the little human.

“Belongs…” Cary turned to Gage. “What is wrong with you?”

Gage purposely widened his eyes and shook his head.

“What?” Cary snapped.

“That…that…is Lucifer,” Gage told him.

Cary jerked his head around to stare back at Lucifer. At least he took a step away from the demon king or whatever his title was. Right into Gage. Gage wrapped his arms around Cary’s waist, holding him close. If this was their last moment that they had together, Gage wanted to hug Cary.

“The Lucifer?”

Lucifer chuckled. “The one and only.”

“Great!” Cary clapped his hands together. “You can help us. This is even better than summoning a demon!”

What? Had Cary lost his mind? “No!” Gage tightened his hold. “We’re very sorry to bother you Mister…uh…Lucifer…”

“Would you like some cocoa?” Lucifer waved a hand to his own mug sitting on the edge of the big wood desk.

“Yes!” Cary answered quickly. “I love cocoa. I can’t believe that it’s snowing in hell. I had this whole picture in my head, and this doesn’t look anything like what I had imagined.” Cary slipped from Gage’s grasp to wander around the office. Gage couldn’t tear his gaze from the Lucifer.

There was something in the back of his mind trying to spark some kind of message. Gage’s instincts were battling. He should be in more fear. Not wanting to climb the Lucifer and beg him to fuck Gage. And Cary. They totally needed a top.

Lucifer wiggled his fingers, and two new mugs of cocoa appeared on the coffee table in front of Gage. He strode forward, closing the distance between him and Gage. Gage’s senses were tingling. Excitement coursed through him. There was something there. A familiarity that didn’t make sense but was right.

Breathing deep, Gage could see the Lucifer doing the same. Realization hit them at the same moment. Lucifer stumbled. Gage cried out, clutching his chest. It couldn’t be, could it? Had the spell worked? Were they saved?

“What?” Cary ran to his side.

Gage clutched at Cary’s hand, squeezing tight. Gage clung to Cary, but his gaze never left Lucifer’s. This meant everything to them. Changed everything.

“Mine,” Lucifer declared loudly as his wings burst open on his back, tearing the red silk robe he wore. The word seemed to echo around the room. Through Gage’s body, where he could feel the claim in his soul.

“Mate,” Gage said in awe. And his new mate had wings too. Was the fucking king of hell!

“We can have two mates?” Cary asked with near panic in his voice. “Are you sure? This seems too good to be true. Maybe we’re really in hell, and this is a trick.”

“This is no trick,” Lucifer assured him. He smiled again. “And you are in my personal plane inside the hell realm. Not actually hell.”

“I really have two mates?” Cary asked. “You and Gage?”

“Yes, we have been truly blessed by the fates.”

“I’m not sure you’re going to think that when we tell you why we’re here.” Cary fidgeted with his fingers.

“Ah yes, summoning a demon. Not the smartest thing to do, little human,” Lucifer admonished. Not that he sounded too upset with them. There was nothing but pleasure and happiness on his face.

“We were desperate,” Cary claimed.

They were. And just because they found a third mate didn’t mean that all their problems were going to disappear. His parents were going to be even more pissed off. If they refused to allow him to mate with Cary since Cary was human, Gage didn’t want to think about what they would say about his second mate being the Lucifer. All those early morning Sunday school lessons were hard to forget.

Unwilling to get too excited, knowing that there were real problems ahead, Gage sat on the couch as he thought about everything that had just happened.

Cary sat next to Gage. “It’s got to be okay now, right?”

Gage shook his head. How could it? They’d transported to the personal plane of the Lucifer. Magic. Gage could smell the abundance of magic.

“Gage, is it?” Lucifer knelt in front of him.

Gage nodded. “Ye…yeah.”

“Shifter?” Lucifer inquired.

“Feline,” Gage shared. There was so much more that he needed to say. Gage was just finding it hard to get his thoughts in order. He never would have imagined this happening. Cary had been a gift. Gage knew finding Cary was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. Having another mate. He was afraid to believe this was real.

“That’s amazing,” Lucifer said. He placed his hand on Gage’s knee. “I’ve always been partial to cats. Don’t tell my hounds though. They like to think they are my favorites.”

Cary gasped. “Like hellhounds?”

“Yes, they are cute little buggers.”

“I can’t believe this is happening!” Cary clapped his hands.

“I’m glad one of you is happy.” Lucifer patted Gage’s knee.

“I’m happy too,” Gage told him. He just… Lucifer was his mate too?

“Then what’s the matter? Am I not the mate you were hoping for?”

“Of course not!” Gage covered Lucifer’s hand with his own. “This is more than I could have ever hoped for. We just needed help getting away from my parents! We found that old book in Cary’s grandparents’ attic and thought we could summon a demon into scaring my parents into leaving us alone!”

“I think I’m going to need the whole story,” Lucifer said.

Gage sighed. “It’s kind of long.”

“I have cocoa and snacks,” Lucifer offered.

Gage found himself smiling. “Cary likes cocoa. I’m hungry though.” He was always hungry. Being a shifter, even though he didn’t get to transform often, meant he ate more than humans and other paranormals.

Lucifer winked before hovering his hand above the coffee table. A small but gorgeous array of plates piled high with food appeared. Food! So much food. Gage would never go hungry again!

“That is so cool!” Cary bounced on the couch.

Gage looked over at his boyfriend. They had been together their entire lives. Met in the first grade when Cary decided they would be best friends. Since Cary knew about shifters and the paranormal world, he was the one classmate that Gage didn’t have to hide from.

Through the years they’d become closer until one day Gage realized that Cary’s scent had changed. Gage cupped the back of Cary’s head and pulled him forward until their foreheads touched.

They had each other but something had always been missing. Gage hadn’t liked to think about it. Now he didn’t have to.

“It’s going to be okay now,” Cary said.

Gage could only hope.

“You eat and I’ll fill our new mate in,” Cary told him.

That sounded perfect to him. Gage was all talked out. Cary loved to talk. About everything and anything. He could also make sense of the book and what they’d hoped would happen. Yes, it was better to let Cary take the lead here. Gage was happy being the muscle. He kissed Cary gently before backing away. Turning to Lucifer, Gage nodded. “Can I have some food?”

“You can have anything you want,” Lucifer vowed. He started to load up a plate piling it high with food. This man knew how to take care of a shifter. Gage giggled while sharing a smile with Cary.

Gage felt that promise to his bones.

He’d put all his trust in his boyfriend and the summoning he swore he could complete. Gage peered at Lucifer under his lashes as he accepted the food offering. Their fingers brushed and Gage shuddered.

Two mates. Gage had two mates.

Thank the fates.

* * * * *

Cary

Cary watched as Gage started to devour what looked like some kind of creamy soup that smelt divine. Cary was still full of the burger and fries they’d eaten at the diner before they’d attempted the summoning. The cocoa was wonderful though. And Lucifer hadn’t skimped on the marshmallows either.

He took another sip of chocolaty goodness before setting the thick mug down. Lucifer had his own mug, and they smiled at each other as Gage made very happy sounds as he ate more food than Cary had ever seen.

“I’m not sure where to start,” he admitted. Cary was a little out of his depth here. While he knew the bible stories of Lucifer, he hadn’t been raised like Gage. His grandma had always told him that the bible was full of many stories that humans had manipulated for their own benefit.

Cary had never understood what she had meant but looking at the very good-looking and smiling Lucifer, Cary couldn’t see him as evil.

There was no way that the fates, the ones Gage told him about, would put him and Gage with someone evil. Cary was a good boy!

“Start wherever you want. We have plenty of time,” Lucifer said.

“We really don’t,” Cary confessed. And that was what had made them desperate enough to try summoning a demon. What would they have even done with a demon. They were crazy.

Gage’s gaze was on his bowl, but Cary knew he was paying attention. Gage just didn’t like to think about what was happening.

“What do you mean?” Lucifer asked. He sat forward, frowning and appearing worried.

Good, Cary was tired of being the only one willing to fight for Gage. “Gage is being married off to an alpha’s daughter in two days. He’s supposed to be at a tux fitting right now.” He didn’t even try to keep the bitterness out of his tone.

The fire in the hearth flamed higher as Lucifer growled. “The two of you are mates!”

Cary shrugged. “His clowder doesn’t allow matings with humans or any other paranormals.”

“But you are true mates,” Lucifer said. He looked like he was having a tough time understanding. Good, so did Cary. How could Gage’s parents deny them? It wasn’t right and forcing Gage to marry a woman didn’t make sense. Even if Cary wasn’t in the picture, Gage was gay.

Gage swallowed audibly. He’d gotten a large sandwich somewhere. Was there more food on the table? Wow! “They don’t believe in true mates either.”

Lucifer rose. He really was tall. Cary had to look up and up that slim gorgeous body. Since the wings had folded back up, Lucifer hadn’t bothered to put on another robe. “True mates are real. I have witnessed this for myself.”

“I can feel it,” Gage said. “I tried to explain that to my parents.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Cary smiled at his boyfriend. This was a conversation they had often. Cary had had to fight Gage after his parents had nearly convinced him that what he felt for Cary was only in their heads. Cary had never given up, but it was getting closer to the moment he would lose Gage forever. “We’re mates. We know that.”

Gage’s smile was sad. “Yeah.”

“Why don’t you claim Cary?” Lucifer asked. “Your parents wouldn’t be able to do anything about it once the deed is done.”

“Can’t,” Gage said as he put his empty plate to the side with a pile of others. How much had his boyfriend eaten? “Has to be witnessed by the elders or it won’t be blessed by the fates.”

“Who told you that?” Lucifer demanded.

Cary exchanged a look with Gage. They’d been told that their entire lives. Even as a human Cary knew that.

“You can claim your mate at any time. Anywhere. You were blessed by the fates already,” Lucifer said.

“No,” Gage said quietly as he rose. “That can’t be true.”

Cary bit his lip. If that was true, then everything they had been through... it hadn’t been necessary.

“It is,” Lucifer said gently. “Paranormals have been mating for centuries. No rituals or witnessing needed.”

“But—” Gage looked at Cary.

Cary knew how his boyfriend felt. They’d been lied to. Kept apart. They could have been mated for years. He stood and reached for Gage.

Gage backed away from him. “It can’t be true. My parents…the elders…”

“They lied,” Cary said. He walked over to Lucifer who welcomed him with a smile and open arms. Cary leaned against his new mate. He didn’t blame Gage for being upset but it still hurt his feelings. “Our mate doesn’t have any reason to lie to us.”

“I don’t,” Lucifer agreed. “I can introduce you to mated couples that you can talk to.”

“I’d like to meet them,” Cary said. “Not to see if you’re telling the truth but we’ve never talked to anyone who met their true mate other than each other.”

“I’ll make it happen,” Lucifer vowed. “First we need to decide what to do about your families.”

“Just Gage’s family. My grandparents raised me. Papa past three years ago. Grammy about a year now. Gage is all the family I have.”

“Not anymore.” Lucifer bent to kiss the top of Cary’s head. “Not anymore.”

* * * * *

Lucifer

He was trying not to allow his anger to be seen by his mates. It was harder hiding his emotions than Lucifer was used to. Gage and Cary. His mates. He had two mates. Lucifer wanted to shout the news so everyone knew.

Calling his father and brothers, letting his friends know, claiming his mates. There was so much he wanted to do but his mates also came with a real problem. Not that Lucifer was concerned about that.

No one would deny Lucifer his mates.

His mates had been hurting for a long time. Each carried worries and concerns but on different levels. Lucifer could see the strain in their auras and wanted nothing more than to snap his fingers and fix everything.

It would take a little bit more than just wishing his mates’ problems away though. Lucifer hated how tired their very souls were.

He was already fixing that. Now that his shifter mate had eaten his weight in food and Cary was full of cocoa and marshmallows, they were both calm and sleepy. Both their auras had brightened. Gage’s anger dimmed. Cary’s helplessness turned to hope. Lucifer wanted to wrap them up and keep them safe forever.

Gage yawned and his eyes drifted closed while Cary continued to share more about their town and ask questions about the different realms. Cary was full of so many questions, rapid-firing them at Lucifer. His little human was inquisitive and hungry for knowledge. He’d make great friends with Seb, Atom, and some of the other boys. Gage had stretched out and let Cary talk with an indulgent look on his face.

Even without Lucifer’s magic, he would have been able to see the love between them. The years they’d spent together showed in the ways that they interacted. Cary finished Gage’s stories. He handed Gage more food without Gage asking. They touched often and intimately without needing to look. It was both wonderful and concerning. Lucifer wanted the connection that he witnessed but didn’t know if he could make up the years they had together without him. Except this peaceful moment wasn’t one that Lucifer would have foreseen for himself.

His old couch had seen many parties, some more naked than others. He had never been more thankful that he’d had it reupholstered, the dark gray fabric replacing the ugly red velvet. Now the softness cushioned his two mates as they sleepily talked.

Gage’s phone dinged for the fifth time in ten minutes.

Gage grunted without looking at the screen. “How is there such good reception here?”

“Most of my family lives in other realms. They also have a hard time believing that I don’t need them to constantly check on me.”

“Are you very close to your family?” Cary questioned.

“Yes. My family visits often. My brothers have offered to take my place here.”

“Wait!” Gage sat up. His feet were still in Lucifer’s lap but he was awake now. “Take your place? Weren’t you sent to hell because…” Gage looked around uncomfortably. “You were bad?”

Lucifer chuckled. “No. I was tasked with making sure that evil souls are punished and the good souls get justice when their mortal life is ended before it should have been. It was only supposed to be for a short time, but I bonded with the demons that my father created for me, and I didn’t want to leave them behind.”

“That’s…” Gage shook his head. “Nothing like the stories I’ve been told.”

“You bonded with your demons?” Cary asked. “That’s so sweet!”

Lucifer laughed. His two very different but adorable mates. Gage was serious, cautious, struggling with the lies that he’d been told his whole life. Cary, on the other hand was inquisitive, happy, and believed love would conquer all. “I’m sure you have heard many things about me that just aren’t true.”

“So, you didn’t betray God and the angels and get sent to hell?” Gage questioned.

“I certainty did not,” Lucifer huffed. That was one of the most ridiculous stories of him. Nearly every religion had something horrible to say about him. “My father hated that one of his children needed to be given this task. He knew though that with free will, humans wouldn’t always make the best decisions. My father trusted me with this enormous task.”

“People made up bad stories about you?” Cary asked.

“I have had time to deal with it,” Lucifer assured his young mate. He ignored the fact that he was still bothered by those stories.

“It’s not fair!” Cary climbed into his lap, shocking Lucifer.

Lucifer wrapped his arms around his little human. His. His two mates. Lucifer wanted to cry with happiness.

“It isn’t,” Gage agreed as he pressed in close to Lucifer’s side.

It wasn’t new, having support, Michael and Gabriel especially found the stories about Lucifer anger-inducing. This was the first time that someone not of the same blood offered him comfort. And Lucifer would never complain about having his two mates up close and personal.

“I don’t have much contact with the evil souls any longer. Or at all. I haven’t had to get my hands dirty in a very long time. Not since I put the demons that I trust the most in place.”

“Is that why you live here? In your own realm?” Cary asked.

“Technically this is just a plane in the hell realm.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Cary admitted.

“I created this plane to put distance between myself and my demons. I noticed that the more I was around, the less they would be themselves. The demons rely on protocols and the system way too much. That’s changing now and I don’t want to be in the way.”

“It couldn’t be easy to always be around royalty,” Gage said. “If I’m doing something in the church, I hate when one of the elders is watching. I feel like I’m always doing something wrong.”

“Exactly,” Lucifer said.

“You love your demons so much that you left your home so they could grow and be comfortable,” Cary stated.

His smart little mate had nailed Lucifer’s motivation. Not even his closest friends understood that much about Lucifer.

“You are amazing,” Cary said.

“You really are.” Gage twined his fingers with Lucifer’s. “Not that I know what I’m going to tell my parents. Who won’t stop messaging me.”

“Can’t we just stay here?” Cary asked. “We have our other mate. Why do we have to go back home?”

That was a very good question. Or Lucifer could go deal with Gage’s parents and clowder himself. Maybe take a couple of his dukes who hadn’t gotten out in a while. They’d probably love to set some religious-crazy shifters straight.

“We have to go home, Cary,” Gage said.

“But why?” Cary whined. He batted his eyes up at Lucifer.

Lucifer tightened the arm around Cary’s waist. The little human fitting perfectly. He had another leg. Could he talk Gage into a similar position? “I am perfectly happy to have you stay here with me.”

“See!” Cary lifted his chin while glaring at Gage. “We don’t have to go back. And it’s snowing here! We never get snow. I want a white Christmas for once!”

Gage sighed. Like he was already tired from this argument. Lucifer wrapped his free arm around Gage’s shoulder. Gage frowned up at him.

Lucifer smiled.

Gage narrowed his eyes.

He was starting to feel like he’d done something wrong, so he smiled wider.

Gage shook his head, but his lip twitched like he was fighting a smile of his own. “Don’t you want to meet the hellhounds?” he offered. Cary had seemed very interested in the dogs.

Gage rolled his eyes. “Sure, let’s introduce the kitty cat to the big bad dogs.”

Oh, Lucifer hadn’t thought about that. “Or you can meet the demons?”

“You don’t have to convince me to want to stay. I want to stay already.”

There. That had been easy.

“But we have to go home,” Gage stated.

“Why?” Cary whined. “They’ll try to make you marry that…that…woman!”

“I’m not going to marry anyone other than you.” Gage grinned. “And Lucifer. My true mates.”

Lucifer froze. Marriage. They were talking about marriage? That had to be a good sign. Mating didn’t always mean marriage. Marriage was more of a human ritual but if it was what his mates wanted.

“But—”

“They’ve been lying to us. To all of us. What about all the other shifters that are getting married or will be married that might have true mates out there? What about the ones that are already married? We can’t let this stand.”

Cary deflated against Lucifer. “I know.”

Running his fingers through Cary’s hair, Lucifer was proud of both his mates. Even though it wouldn’t be easy to fight against their family, they wanted to help others. The fates had honored Lucifer with two mates that cared more about others than themselves. His decision was easy to make. “I’ll go with you.”

“You can come too?” Cary perked up.

Like Lucifer would let his two mates out of his sight for one second.