2. Two

The Under Cloud was a secret world of sorts. Only it wasn”t as secretive as its members would”ve liked to think.

Anyone with a twisted mind and askew moral compass quickly found themselves diving headfirst into the Under Cloud”s pleasures, among other things. All one needed to do to enter that scandalous place was to walk through the door. I”m not being metaphorical. There was an actual door.

A magical door.

Insert twinkling swirls of glitter and lollipops. Glowing mushrooms and pixies. Whatever you need to picture.

You had to have magic to go through the damn thing. And even though I”d never considered anything other than my cock and fashion sense to be magical–I suppose being immortal did count in that department.

The door was meant to be inconspicuous. However, drunks stumbled through it—pissing along the brick foundation and wailing about Nymph potions and Ogre bondage. That tended to gain attention. Within a decade, humans manufactured tinctures that gave them magic for a few hours so they, too, could partake.

They didn”t last long.

They were lucky bastards. Who wouldn”t want to have the time of their lives and then die with a smile on their faces?

But I digress. Mr. Darcy was in the magic trade. He was elusive as to what whimsical creature he was, but I suspected he was one of those Fairy pricks. And now that I was thinking about it, I was sure of it.

Fairies either smelled terrific or awful. Darcy was the latter. He must have had some illusion or glamor to hide his wings.

It didn”t surprise me that Mr. Darcy”s brother found himself in the penitentiary—the jail for the unruly or otherwise hellbent on their own demise, which was why I was privy to the ins and outs of the place. It was like returning home after a vacation to the Isles of Dawn. Lovely beaches and excellent drinks. I absolutely would recommend it.

Mr. Darcy must have sent his brother into the Under Cloud for something deemed illegal. And that was just another Monday, as far as I was concerned.

When you can”t fucking die, you try everything and anything. But somehow, despite all that sampling, nothing tasted quite like it should. Everything was just…sour.

”What are you doing back here?” Ariel said, eyeballing the blood splatter on my jacket collar and shoulders.

”The usual.”

”So, money, sex, and murder?” Her thin black eyebrow hitched as her painted red lips curled into a smile.

”You know me too well.” I patted her cheek, and she gestured upstairs.

Right.

Once you went through the door into the Under Cloud, you ended up on a road that floated in some clouds, hence its clever name.

I”ve seen many people walk right off it and plummet to hell. Not a fun way to die.

Anyway, once you reached the end, the light broke, and you ended up in Fallen City. Brownstones were for the residents who decided to give up their lives in the real world. If you went further, you”d find all sorts of districts catering to your every desire.

This wasn”t my brownstone but Ariel and Chris”s—my associates. We weren”t exactly friends, at least I didn”t think so, but regardless, I had a room in the home. Chris was Ariel”s elusive boyfriend or other. The one that rarely was in the same room as me, and there were times I suspected that he thought she and I were fucking. Even though I would have likely accepted the offer, Ariel was uninterested—her loss.

”Word must”ve gone ”round that you”re back because you”ve got company waiting.” She shook her head and took a drag from her cigarette.

”If you tell me it”s fucking Derek again, I swear—”

”It is. You need to cut that one loose.”

Grimacing, I eyed the stairs. ”I don”t have time for love-struck pups tonight.” Raking a hand through my hair, Ariel noted the dread and handed me her smoke.

”Weren”t you supposed to be in Veros for another few weeks?”

Nodding, I took a drag. ”It got a little too cozy. Besides, I”m visiting the penitentiary tomorrow.”

”None of Aryn”s people have been taken in—”

”It”s not about that.” My neck suddenly felt tight. I rolled it to relieve some tension as my jaw followed suit. Damn thing wound so damn shut, my molars practically ground into nothing.

”Uh-huh,” she said, dragging out the syllables.

”If he comes down crying, don”t let him back in.” Then I put out the half-smoked cigarette in her tray, and she protested.

Whoops.I guess she still wanted that.

Derek was, in fact, a lovesick pup. He was not only a werewolf, but the man had imprinted on me, which wasn”t quite the same as mates. More so, it was a title given out in hopes that the powers that be would grant their wish.

I”d have to tell him that it wouldn”t ever happen.

Again.

We had the discussion a few months ago after he got piss drunk and expressed his undying love for me. Why did they always do that? I didn”t love people. I didn”t save people. And I sure as hell didn”t pretend that I did.

”Atreyis,” he breathed. As if he”d held it the entire time he was sitting on my bed.

Not bothering to close the door, I slung off my jacket, which needed to be stain-treated and washed, and then headed to the washroom. Flipping on the tub tap, I stuck my hand under the faucet to check the temperature. I”d be done with this conversation before it even had a chance to fill.

Short and to the point. I”d tell him—yet again—that we were having an occasional rustle. We would never be mates or anything else. Yes, he had a beautiful body, and the sex was good enough, but that was it. He needed to let that dream die.

But when I returned to the room, he had removed his shirt. Now, I was the one holding my breath. By all the divine and cosmic beings of the universe, that man”s chest was to die for. He had thick, corded muscles, abs for days, and just the right amount of fur.

”Come to seduce me, have you?” His pants were low on his hips, and he pushed back his hair in the way I liked. His blue eyes all but fisting my cock in them.

”You know how hard it is for me to stay away.” Another horrid thing about imprinting. The damn wolves believed it created some otherworldly tether to the imprinted. His claims of being unable to stay away just meant he was horny and insane.

But who was I to deny it?

”May as well.” I shrugged and stalked forward.

Not that I didn”t enjoy describing my encounters in full, explicit detail–but–my cock wasn”t even out of my pants before Ariel burst into my room.

Her olive skin had paled over like she”d seen a ghost. My fingers were still in Derek”s hair, and his hand was actively palming my cock.

Leave it to Ariel.

”I thought you were dumping him?”

That startled us because I said, ”We aren”t dating.”

And he said, ”You”re dumping me?”

Then Derek removed his hand, and I may have whimpered. ”You were going to tell me to go?” His face twisted, and I grunted, trying to shift my erection anywhere but forward.

”We”ve had this talk,” I ground out.

Ariel wasn”t in the mood for the lovers” quarrel, which we were, in fact, not having. The exact opposite. ”It”s Chris.”

Narrowing my eyes into slits, I said, ”You”re joking.”

”I can”t believe you,” Derek barked, throwing on his shirt.

Goodbye, beautiful abs.

”Aryn got him. Chris” finger ported right into my ashtray.” She was shaking like a leaf on a branch. That wasn”t good, but not necessarily my problem.

Derek brushed past her and stopped in the doorway to glare at me before disappearing out of view.

”Missing a finger isn”t the worst thing that could happen. There could”ve been other important bits.” I headed toward the washroom, as I was sure my tub was overfilling by that point.

”Are you serious? Aryn took Chris, and you”re going to take a bath!”

”I”m dirty.” I pointed at the bloodstains on my neck.

She growled at me. Oh–Ariel was an Ursid—bear shifter.

”How long have you bitched and moaned about getting back at Aryn? That all you needed was to be alone in a room with him? Now is your chance, and I need you.” She closed the distance between us, looking up at me with her yellow eyes and puffy lips.

”Are we finally going to fuck?”

She shoved my chest, and her canines grew significantly. But I still wasn”t convinced that wasn”t what was happening. ”Why are you avoiding this? Chris has done so much for you! For us!”

No to the fucking. I silently told my cock to get over it. He wasn”t thrilled.

”Where was Chris before the finger incident?” I sighed.

”At the Diamond Den.”

”Can I at least turn off the tap before it floods the house?”

She glared, but I took that as a yes.

So that was two people in a few hours that I was tasked with saving. Someone was ending up dead. There was no way around it.

If it weren”t Chris, it would be Vastian. I can count on a single hand how many times I”ve helped someone on my own accord. Let”s say that I didn”t do the whole hero thing well.

Now that the tub wasn”t seconds from overfilling, I dug around in my closet for suitable save-the-day clothes. Nothing too flashy. I went black on black with a leather jacket complete with spikes I”d added on.

”You seriously have to change?” Ariel watched with scrutiny as I dressed.

”Not only was I minutes from delicious oral pleasures, but I was in the process of scrubbing away the grime from Mr. Darcy”s office. You were the one who decided Chris needed help this very instant.”

She did not like that.

Shifters didn”t have some dramatic, bone-crunching, spine-twisting transformation that delayed the process.

Oh, no.

Ariel gave me one look, and then a massive black bear landed on me—more like mauled. She bit down on my head and shook me like a rag doll. Folding my arms across my chest, I waited for her to get out her frustrations because this wasn”t the first time she tried to kill me in this way. After about thirty seconds of relentless bear shenanigans, she released me.

I stood up, swiping at some residual blood from where her jaws punctured my cheek, and said, ”And now I have to change.”

Then she roared.