Page 2 of A Demon’s Resolve (Demonic Tales and Adventures #3)

CHAPTER 2

When they arrived at the Council’s chambers, Kian had managed to appear calm and serene. Alec wasn’t fooled. Not only could he read the emotions his mate was trying to hide, he could feel them. Kian was ready to explode. If the Council members were smart, they would thank Kian for the sacrifice he’d made and wish them well. Otherwise, they might end up wishing for a quick death.

He had been a little surprised when his mate had worn one of Alec’s shirts, even if it was way too big for him. Still, he had to admit seeing his mate wearing it was a turn on for Alec.

It wasn’t easy but Alec forced his desire for Kian down when he opened the door to the Council’s chambers. This was not the time to be distracted. The set of Kian’s jaw and the determination he saw in those blue eyes meant trouble. Alec needed to be alert if he had any hope of stopping their governing body from ordering his mate’s death.

A huge part of him was terrified of what Kian would say, but Alec was equally proud of him for not cowering. Knots might have formed in his stomach over the possibility of what was about to happen, but he loved Kian’s courage. He was amazing.

That didn’t mean Alec was just going to stand by and not try to reason with his mate. He leaned down until his lips were barely an inch from Kian’s ear. Keeping his voice low enough for only him to hear him, Alec said, “I appreciate what you are planning to do but I beg you to be careful.”

Kian’s gasp of surprise made him smile. They’d always had a connection that was stronger than either of them understood. But the moment his blood entered Kian’s body, that bond only grew. It didn’t hurt that his mate was so damn easy to read.

Cerulean blue eyes glanced his way. “How?”

His hand brushed a stray strand of hair away from Kian’s cheek. Pleasure filled him as he leaned into the touch. The desire to kiss him was overwhelming. Only the knowledge that it wouldn’t help their case stopped Alec.

“Because I love you.” The softness that entered Kian’s gaze at his words broke Alec’s resolve not to kiss him. Their lips briefly touched as he poured all of his love for his mate in that single touch before he straightened to await the Council.

“I love you, too,” Kian whispered. The slight squeeze of Kian’s hand on his reassured him that his mate had a plan instead of going off half-cocked. He’d hoped. As usual, he was wrong. “But don’t think you telling me that is going to stop me from giving these idiots a piece of my mind.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at Kian’s unbreakable strength. Alec should have known better than believe he would do anything else but what he felt was right. “Not to worry, Kian. I wouldn’t dare think for even a moment that anything I said would deter you from doing exactly as you see fit.”

Just as he had to do the same by trying to protect his mate. He brought Kian’s delicate hand up to his mouth, letting his lips linger against his palm for several seconds. It wasn’t until his mate leaned into him, that Alec said, “Just try to remember you can catch more flies with honey.”

Kian gave a scoff along with a roll of his eyes. “Who the hell wants to catch flies?” Then, he sobered just enough to let Alec know he’d heard him. “But I will try to be nice.”

If Kian had stopped there, Alec would have felt better, but Kian being Kian couldn’t let his promise stand.

“Until it’s time not to be nice,” he muttered under his breath, sending a shiver of fear down Alec’s spine.

No way this meeting wasn’t going to come to blows. If Alec was lucky, it would be Kyden who shot off his mouth first. He might be their oldest member, but he deserved, more than any other demon Alec knew, to be taken down a peg or two. That it would be Kian doing it, a human recently turned demon, would serve to add to Kyden’s humiliation.

Unfortunately, there was no way Alec could ask Kian to be any less than who he was. All he could do was protect Kian with his life.

Leaning in, Alec kissed those soft lips once more. “I will be right here by your side, the whole time,” he assured.

“Thank you,” Kian whispered back.

“They are on their way in,” Tarak told them as he took position right behind them along with four other Sentinels.

A glance around the room showed the Sentinels were in defensive positions all around the room. It was their silent way of letting Alec know if Kian’s life was threatened, they would open a path to get him out of there quickly.

That his fellow Sentinels were still willing to protect Kian, let Alec breathe a little easier. He just hoped it didn’t come to that.

Kian hadn’t known what to expect walking into the Council’s Chambers. The gothic décor that reminded him of a medieval nightmare wasn’t exactly a surprise, but it also didn’t help to calm the nerves that were running amok throughout his body.

It was hard enough to cope with the changes he could feel within him now that he was a demon, but to have to face the Council too? It put his system on overload, leaving him somewhere between the need to shake apart as fear took hold and wanting to strangle anyone who dared to challenge his right to be the demon he now was.

That in and of itself scared the crap out of him. It wasn’t that he hadn’t felt anger before, but to know he now had the urge to punch anyone who got in his way was unnerving.

It helped that Alec was there. But it was more than that. It sounded weird but Kian could feel Alec’s need to protect him. For the first time, he could sense the way Alec felt about him. It warmed him from the inside out.

His strength and love helped Kian to block out the more intimidating décor he was sure the Council had installed to ingrain fear into those that stood before them. It was effective. Gruesome stone gargoyles stood as if poised to attack at each of the doorways. The Council table, if it could be called that, was a mammoth stone structure that rose out of the ground at least seven feet high, so that no matter how tall you were you would have to stare up at the Council members.

Large swords and axes were displayed on the walls. Every inch of the place screamed this room was meant to intimidate. It worked.

A door behind the high table opened. Kian watched as seven men and women filed in and took their seats. Just as he thought, the impact of the colossal stone slab gave the appearance of them peering down upon any group from up high. It was as if they were trying to make themselves gods.

Aticus sat in the center. Kian’s anxiety rose at the pinched expression on his face. If he had to guess, Aticus was pissed. Not a good sign since he was the one person Kian assumed was on his side.

The sound of the gavel slamming down upon the table echoed through the room. Silence descended.

Alec’s hand squeezed Kian’s a little tighter. That small gesture helped to calm down the tumultuous emotions coursing through Kian. The butterflies that flapped wildly within his stomach lessened as did the rage that was causing his blood to boil. The dual sensations were wreaking havoc on Kian’s ability to remain calm.

Alec leaned down to brush his ear with his lips before whispering, “Please do me a favor and think before you speak. Remember, we are all behind you.”

Squeezing his hand back, Kian hoped it was enough to convey his appreciation. From the moment they’d met, Alec had been with him every step of the way. Kian needed to keep that in mind when the Council pissed him off, which he had little doubt they would do.

Kian smiled up at him. He could do this if for no other reason than to ease the stark terror in those green eyes. If only the proceedings hadn’t started with their most vindictive member opening his mouth, Kian might have been able to hold back.

Hearing a small groan from Alec alerted Kian that the man who’d started talking wasn’t a good sign. That he had been close to death caused Kian to debate whether or not he should respond to his rude rhetoric. He was so much paler than the other demons, his hair completely white, what hair there was anyway. “I hate to say I told you so but I feel in this case it is warranted.”

His thin, pale, papery skin gave his face a hollowed look. One of his thin arms lifted up to point a finger at Kian. Kian had to admit to being surprised at the strength behind his next words.

“Again this…“ He paused as if trying to find the right insult. Kian was fairly certain it was staged for he seemed to take glee in spitting out, “Human.” It was as if the man actually thought that would in some way offend him, despite the fact that Kian was technically a demon now. This idiot had a lot to learn if he thought Kian would consider being called human as some sort of weakness.

“He has shown a total disregard of our ways putting us in danger once again.” A triumphant looked appeared on his features. What Kian didn’t understand was why?

Kian had saved their sorry asses, not put them in danger. The fury he’d been doing his best to control for Alec’s sake started to surface. Alec’s grip tightened around his hand. For his sake, Kian did his best to keep his mouth shut - for now.

“Now I know it is not what we hoped for but I think it is time to consider the possibility that he is too much of a danger to our kind.” The deranged Councilman had the nerve to appear distraught that he’d had to speak the condemning words.

Like anyone would believe such a blatant performance. Kian didn’t even know the guy, but he was pretty sure the man would sell his own grandchildren if it helped him. Jerk.

Only the feel of Alec’s hand on his stopped Kian from yelling at the idiot. But he wasn’t sure how much longer that would last before he let loose. Turning to Alec to tell him just that, Kian saw the fury burning in those green eyes.

Mollified slightly that he wasn’t the only one having a difficult time allowing this farce to continue, Kian took a deep breath and tried to once more listen to the proceedings without interrupting. It helped that the woman who spoke next had enough manners to introduce herself.

When the old man finished, a woman with skin the color of midnight argued for Kian. Instantly liking her, Kian glanced over at the other man, seeing he wasn’t even paying any attention to the woman.

“First of all,” the woman said. “For the sake of Kian, my name is Safara.”

Kian instantly liked the woman. She was truly beautiful. Her curly hair cascaded down her back and was held away from her face with a large silver clip in the shape of a bird.

Safara pointed to the old man who was intent on getting Kian killed. “That is Kyden. I think since this session involves Kian, we need to introduce ourselves when we speak.”

The others nodded in agreement. Kyden was the only one who didn’t respond. He didn’t even seem to be listening to anything Safara had to say.

“The reason we called you before the Council is we are concerned about your actions regarding the sharing of blood with Alec.” Safara’s tone was pleasant, yet uneasy at the same time.

When Kian open his mouth to explain, Safara raised her hand to stop him. “We are not saying what you did was wrong, but we have concerns.”

This time, Kyden couldn’t act like he didn’t hear what was being said. For as frail as the man appeared, he still managed to jump up from his seat and slam his fist on the hard stone surface. “Not only were his actions wrong, he committed a crime. The human had no right to interfere with demon ways without our approval.”

This time, Kian wasn’t about to keep quiet. Not even when Alec tried to give him another warning squeeze. “No right?” he yelled in disbelief. “If you didn’t want me to have any rights in your world, you should have left me in mine.” Kian’s body hummed with rage as he faced the men and women who thought it perfectly acceptable to play God. “What gave you the right to force me here? You act as if you are God but you are no better than I am.”

Kyden’s face was a mask of righteous indignation. “See?” Turning to the other Council members to make sure they’d heard his every word. “I told you we should have killed him from the start.”

Kian stood there rooted to the spot at hearing the words spoken out loud. Even as disbelief descended to his very core, Kian could feel the rage rolling off Alec. The Sentinels that surrounded them went instantly on high alert with their hands going to the hilt of their swords.

Kyden was oblivious to all of this as he kept up his ranting. “It is not too late. I vote we kill this human.” He’d curled his lips with disgust as he said the word human.

It was as if Mt. Vesuvius blew next to him. Alec roared his outrage. “Over my dead body,” he told the Council in no uncertain terms.

Kian wasn’t sure how he knew, but he could feel Alec was about to attack Kyden for suggesting killing his mate. Was this their connection at work? If so, he could understand why Alec had no trouble reading him. It was as if his thoughts were there, inside Kian’s head.

But there was no time to understand it. If he didn’t act, Alec would end up killing Kyden. Not good if they hoped to make it out of there alive.

Twisting, Kian stood before Alec with both hands holding onto him. The tick along his jaw pulsed with rage. There was no doubt Kian had to do something quickly. So he did the only thing he could. Kian rose up on his tiptoes and kissed Alec.

Around them, all hell was breaking loose as the Sentinels moved to protect Kyden, not because they didn’t want the old bastard to die but because they knew if Alec succeeded, they would be forced to execute one of their own for his crime.

Kyden started ranting about this all being Kian’s fault. “See? Look how out of control Alec is because of this human. As I see it, they both need to be killed.”

Ignoring it all, Kian’s entire focus was on Alec. Their lips melted against each other the moment they touched. There was nothing but Alec for him in that moment. The rest of the world faded as his arms went around Kian as Alec pulled him tight against his hard body.

“Sentinels,” Kyden yelled. “I order you to kill them both.

A growl erupted from Kian, low, deep, fierce. He hadn’t known how he’d made the noise but when he turned to face Kyden, Kian felt satisfied as the old demon’s eyes widened in fear. He was finally beginning to realize the danger Kian presented.

When Kyden abruptly sat back down without another word, Kian hadn’t held back the grin of gratification that arced through him. But, as much as he approved of winning the battles of wills, Kian knew the war was far from over. The Council could still decide to vote with Kyden.

For several moments, silence descended throughout the room. It seemed they had reached some sort of stalemate. Until he heard Aticus chuckle. Kian scowled at him for making light of Kyden wanting to kill him.

Aticus didn’t seem to care as he folded his hands in front of him and smiled. “Hello, Kian. It is good to see you again.” The rest of the council turned questioning glances at him. “As I’ve already mentioned previously, I am what you might call the President of the demons.”

Kyden gave his own scowl and looked as if he wanted to argue that point but held his tongue. The other Council members nodded in agreement, although Kian noticed one or two others as unhappy about that fact as Kyden was.

“As such,” Aticus said as he glanced up and down the line of fellow members, daring them to argue. “I declare Kian not a threat. In fact, based on what I have seen, I would say Alec’s demon blood is starting to take hold.” Before any of the Council could disagree, Aticus added, “I declare you a demon.”

The moment Aticus slammed the gavel down, ending the ridiculous session, relief washed through Kian. His knees buckled, but as always, Alec’s arms were already around him holding Kian up. Even though Alec held him so tight he could hardly breathe, Kian didn’t care. It was over.