Page 23 of A Daemon’s Alliance (Daemons & Lumens)

Morax

T here was a guard standing at Darren’s door, and I quickly overpowered his human mind.

I ordered him to come into the room and draw his weapon.

He would die, but I couldn’t have him wandering the mansion and giving me up.

When I stepped into the room, the scene before me was something conjured in my very worst nightmares.

My mate was naked and locked into a pillory.

Her eyes were glazed, and Darren Radnor’s cock was in her mouth.

I completely lost my shit. My daemon form exploded out of me, wings, horns, and all.

My skin glowed red as my power grew, and I knew my eyes had turned solid gold with the force of it.

I had enough presence of mind to put a sound barrier around the room before I roared my fury and ripped the piece of shit from my mate.

I couldn’t think, didn’t stop to consider the consequences.

I slashed his puny cock from his body, and blood sprayed across the room.

He screamed, but I didn’t give him much time for that either.

My claws dug into his chest, and his mouth opened in another soundless scream of pain as I ripped his heart from his body.

Fire spilled from my fingertips, and his body turned to dust in seconds.

The entire gruesome affair ended in less than two minutes.

The guard stood in the corner, his eyes wide with shock. I sent a thought to his mind, and in the next second, he pressed his gun to his temple and pulled the trigger.

I turned back to Michaela. She wasn’t moving, and her eyes were still glazed over.

She clearly sent her mind away to save herself.

I ripped the lock from the pillory and opened it, gently pulling her into my arms. She was naked and had several burns from what was likely a taser.

Rage burned through me, and I wanted to murder that fucker all over again.

She was covered in his blood. The human piece of shit made a mess before he died.

My daemon form slowly retreated, not fully, but enough for me to move to the bathroom.

I held Michaela close as I started the water to fill the tub.

I stepped into it, cradling her against my chest as the warm water rose around us.

I kissed her gently and whispered her name.

She wasn’t moving or reacting to me, and my heart beat erratically.

“She’s gone, Morax.” A voice from the doorway startled me, and I snarled, horns and claws snapping out. Gremory .

“I will fucking rip you apart if you come any closer,” I snarled at him, my fangs on display.

He was at least smart enough not to challenge me and remained in his human form. Gremory’s hands rose in surrender. “I’m here to help, jackass. You need to go into her mind. She sent herself away.”

“I know what I need to do,” I growled at him. “I fucking know what my mate needs.”

He shrugged, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorway.

I turned back to my mate, pressing my lips to her forehead, and whispered, “I’m coming, little lumen. Let me in.”

My eyes closed, and I opened my own mind to find hers.

Her mind was full of darkness. But there was music.

It reminded me of the warehouse I found her in so many nights ago.

She was there again, dancing. Her eyes were closed as she lost herself to the music.

I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She didn’t speak, just pressed her warm body against mine and whimpered.

“I’m here, princess. I will always be here.” I licked her neck and held her tightly, swaying to the music in her mind.

“Morax,” she whispered, and the pain in her voice cut my heart to pieces. “Where are you?”

I turned her body around to face me and held her tight. Her eyes were full of pain when she looked up at me.

“I’m here, little lumen. Come back to me. Michaela. My mate.”

Her chest heaved against my own as I brought us out of her mind. Her eyes flitted, and she whimpered again. The sound was music to my ears in that moment. She was coming back to me. Her body jerked, and I held her tight.

“It’s me, little lumen. Just you and me,” I murmured softly, willing her to relax.

She turned, and her beautiful eyes captured mine. “You took too long.”

Her broken voice turned my insides to ash. “I am so fucking sorry. I will never leave you again. Never.”

She nodded and curled into me. “Good. Can you find me some soap? I need to wash my mouth out for a year.”

I know she wanted me to laugh, but I couldn’t. My skin glowed red and my eyes burned with rage at the vision of that filth fucking her mouth.

“I wouldn’t make jokes just yet, Michaela. Your mate is in a heightened state of violence,”

Gremory drawled from his position against the door.

Michaela’s head snapped in his direction, and I squeezed her tightly. He could not see any of her body while I had her cocooned against my chest.

“Why are you here?” she demanded, and the strength in her voice settled my rage a miniscule amount.

“I’m here to help.” Gremory pulled several towels from a closet and set them at the edge of the tub. “Despite our previous encounter, we are not enemies. Why don’t you get out of the bloody water and we can chat?”

I gathered Michaela in my arms and stepped out of the tub. Grem held out a towel, his face turned away. I took it from him and wrapped it around her body as best I could. I refused to let go of her. The mate bond raged, and even having Gremory so close to her was difficult for me.

I stalked out of the bathroom and Gremory followed. The bloody mess of Darren Radnor was gone, as was the guard.

Gremory noted my cocked eyebrow and smiled. “A piece offering. I cleaned up the mess. Can’t have the other Kings finding one of their own ripped to shreds in his bedroom.”

“I’m going to rip them all apart,” I growled. “ I don’t give a fuck about the plans. I’ll burn this whole fucking mansion to the ground right now.”

Grem rolled his eyes. “Let’s not. You do remember your non-evil brother, sweet Phenex, don’t you? He needs this ritual to happen. You know that.”

I snarled. Of course I fucking knew that. But right now, I was so fucking angry it didn’t matter.

“Her sister would die too, you know.”

Gremory’s words slithered through the rage clouding my head, and I took several deep breaths.

Michaela would be heartbroken if the only sister she had left was killed.

Satiating my bloodlust wasn’t worth hurting my mate or the people she loved most. I’d sooner cut my own heart out than cause her anymore harm.

My failure to save her from that piece of shit would haunt me for eternity.

I sat in an armchair, refusing to have my mate anywhere near that fucker’s bed.

I held her close with the towels wrapped around her petite frame.

She snuggled into me and closed her eyes.

Her heart beat at a regular pace, and I purred deep in my chest, an ounce of relief sinking in that she felt safe in my arms.

“Tell me your plan, Grem. And if it isn’t fucking foolproof, I will rip your heart out with the rest of them.” I stared at him, daring him to doubt my threat.

The daemon in him rumbled, preparing for a fight, and his human form flickered.

He settled quickly, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. He wore a guard uniform similar to my own.

It irritated me that he was working for them, and all these months, I was unable to track him down.

Part of me hoped he had died from the knife I stabbed into his chest when we fought at that warehouse.

Obviously, I did not get my wish. Perhaps it was divine intervention that my blade missed his heart.

“I won’t start from the beginning. You obviously know Belial is making moves to take over your father’s throne. We thought your father was a treat, but Belial is worse. He’s rounding up any of the Malefica he can find and—”

I cut him off. “Why is he rounding up the witches? And why do you care?”

Gremory’s mouth flattened, and a muscle ticked in his jaw. He was hiding information from me.

I snarled at him. “If we’re going to work together, I need to know. Everything.”

Gremory took several steps toward me. His skin began to glow a dark green, and his horns appeared. “What I share with you is my choice. And I will kill you if I find out you used it against me.”

I eyed him warily. He looked ready to murder me. And he was losing control of his daemon form. A scent wafted toward me I hadn’t caught before. Sulfur and seawater.

“Grem. Don’t tell me you’re fucking a witch.”

He snarled, his fangs dropping and his eyes glowing bright silver. I noticed a slim silver and hematite bracelet around his wrist and narrowed my eyes in understanding. He was stronger because this witch was aiding him.

I chuckled. “You mated with a witch.”

“Are we really going to talk shit on mate bonds when you hold a human hybrid in your arms?” Grem smirked, gaining control, and I growled at him.

This working relationship was going to get us both killed. “Fine. No more mate insults. What is my brother doing with the Malefica?”

The Malefica were akin to witches of the human world, but their power was far greater.

Daemons and lumens rarely crossed paths with them after we collectively wiped them out.

It was centuries ago, and only recently have they regained numbers.

Their royals were called The Mal-Regia. I suspected Grem’s mate was one of the royals.

He shook his head. “I don’t know. My mate is here.

She’s been here since Aurora cut off access between our world and the humans’.

She left for reasons I will not share just yet.

I fled Caligo under the guise of helping Belial recruit more of the hybrids to his cause.

That’s what he’s using this lame ass cult for. ”

I sighed. Belial was no idiot, and Grem was still hiding things. For now, we had no choice but to trust him. And I prayed whatever plan Phenex had would pan out. “Phen says he has the ritual under control. Whatever goes down come the full moon, it will be in our favor.”

Grem ran his fingers through his long, blond hair and sighed. “I fucking hope so. No offense, but Phen is one crazy fucker with the attention span of a goldfish.”

I raised one eyebrow. “And how short is the attention span of a goldfish?”

Grem smiled. “About seven seconds.”

I smirked. “Too long.”

He huffed a laugh. I loved my younger brother dearly.

But there was not a single instance in our lives where he followed through with a plan, and then said plan actually worked.

The only reason I trusted this particular plan was because of the girl in my arms. Phen couldn’t tell me how he knew, or who he met with, but the daughters of Aurora Valdis were the key to defeating my father and my brother.

“What do we do now? The other Kings will notice one of their number is missing.” I couldn’t bring myself to regret what I did, but we were now in a very dangerous situation.

Grem nodded. “And then there were two… I have a plan. You are going to be the new Darren Radnor.” He pulled out a small vial, and I could smell the rancid blood of that fucker from here.

I shook my head. “This is a horrible plan.”

Grem shrugged. “It’s the best one we’ve got. The Kings need to think Radnor is still alive, and you need to keep your mate close.”

I looked down at my sleeping mate. Her brows were furrowed, and she clung to me while she dreamt. I never wanted her to see that fucker again, but this was a solid plan. “Fine. I need to warn her first. Have some of her things brought to this room while I speak with her.”

Gremory left quickly, and I brushed my fingers against my beautiful mate’s cheek. She was going to hate this. But she was also stronger than even she realized. And I would make sure she knew it.