Page 10

SEVEN

MAC

Drax wraps his arms around me, and in a blink we’re back at Auri’s compound in the underworld. I’ll never get used to traveling that way, but this time it’s not just the jarring sensation of inter-plane travel that has my stomach lurching.

The smell of that poor old witch’s decaying flesh is still in my nose. I snort out a huff of flames to try to clear it, but it doesn’t do a damn thing to help, and Drax’s cryptic remarks from earlier are only adding to the knots in my stomach.

Auri is never going to let me go? That can’t be right, can it?

I really need to see that contract sooner rather than later.

Are there demon lawyers who help sort out stuff like this?

There has to be a way to fix this mess I made.

I drag in a few shallow, ragged breaths before I realize I’m bent over and choking on the panic rising in my throat.

“It’s okay, mate. She’s not suffering anymore,” Drax says in a soothing voice, rubbing slow circles on my back.

“What the fuck?” I mutter, bracing my hand against the wall and forcing myself to take slower breaths. “Who would want that? Why would Auri want an amulet that does that ?”

He grunts in what sounds like agreement. “I don’t know why Auri wants most of the things he asks us for, and I think it’s usually better not to think about it.”

I shake my head and finally manage to stand up straight again. My chest is still tight, and that nightmarish odor is still burning the back of my throat, but the likelihood that I’ll hurl is lessening, so that’s a win.

“What the fuck, Drax?” I ask again. “What if he wants the amulet so he can do that to someone? I need to talk to him.”

He frowns, and I shake my head again. Auri and I clearly have a lot we need to talk about.

I look one way down the hallway and then the other, trying to orient myself.

Would it kill him to post maps in the hallways with helpful little You Are Here stickers on them?

Luckily, my dragon’s sense of direction is a hell of a lot better than mine, and he gives me a little nudge towards the left corridor.

I shrug Drax’s hand off of my back and straighten my shoulders.

I’m going to march down to Auri’s office and demand some answers.

Maybe his other mercenaries are happy to just shut up and do what he says, but he’s going to see that he picked a dragon without a compliant bone in his body.

Maybe if I’m enough of a hassle, he’ll decide to break the contract after all.

Or kill me , a little voice in the back of my head whispers. I shake off the thought and start down the hall. Drax reaches for me, grabbing my bicep gently.

“Mac, you can’t just march into Auri’s office.” His voice is full of worry.

“Watch me,” I huff.

His frown deepens and his grip on my arm tightens, sending little sparks of awareness skittering across my skin. I can feel the oppressive weight of his worry tugging at our bond, and I grit my teeth against the urge to crumple to the floor and hyperventilate all over again.

“At least let me come with you,” Drax says, but I can still feel the anxious tug in the center of my chest. He’d rather we not go at all. But I have to.

I’ve already made a huge fucking mess of things. This mating bond, my fuckup with this contract, it’s all too much. I jerk my arm, trying to get it out of Drax’s grasp, but he just holds on tighter.

“No,” I growl. “You’re not my mate, and even if you were, I would still need to do this alone.”

Drax’s expression goes slack with surprise, like I slapped him, and his hold on my arm loosens.

This time when I tug out of his grasp, he lets me go, his claws dragging gently over my skin before his hand falls away completely.

Guilt roils in my gut, but that’s just one more thing I can’t deal with right now.

I’m fucking drowning and my dumb ass keeps reaching for glasses of water.

I just need to get a handle on one thing before I lose it.

I spin away from the confusingly sweet demon and ignore the tugging of our bond as I hurry down the hallway, trusting the directions my dragon gives me along the way until I start to recognize the artwork on the walls. I march up to Auri’s office door and pound on it.

“Come in,” he calls out pleasantly.

He has to be a lot more reasonable than Drax is making him out to be. Right?

I open the door and step inside. It’s almost jarring how normal Auri seems, sitting at his desk, typing on his computer like he’s any average businessman and not a literal demon with a compound and a team of mercenaries in hell.

He laughs to himself as his clawed fingers fly over the keyboard.

“You’ll have to excuse me, I’ve just spent the morning amusing myself by giving absolutely horrible advice to strangers in online forums.” He cackles again then looks up from his computer screen.

His eyes flicker with surprise, dropping to my chest before returning to my face. He laughs again, but this time it’s less jovial.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, I knew I should have had all of my pets neutered to prevent accidental mating.” He sighs.

My balls clench at the threat and I put both hands in front of my crotch for a meager amount of protection.

“I really can’t even deal with this whole mate issue right now,” I mutter.

Auri makes another bored noise and gestures to the chair in front of his desk for me to have a seat.

“Fine, but you only get five minutes for whatever complaints you have, and I reserve the right to tear you open and use your intestines as a jump rope if you annoy me too much.”

“What? No, I’m definitely not agreeing to the jump rope thing.” I shake my head vehemently. That is one deal I’m not about to make accidentally.

His lips twitch in what almost looks like a smile. “What do you want, dragon? I’m a busy demon.”

My march down here took some of the wind out of my sails. Or maybe it was his comment about having me neutered. Either way, I don’t feel half as confident as I did two minutes ago when I was being an ass to Drax for no reason.

“I…” I swallow hard and shift in my seat. “Drax said you’ll never let me go. Is that true? Is that what I accidentally agreed to? To belong to you for the rest of my life?”

This time he actually does smile, showing off the gleaming row of sharp white teeth as he leans back in his chair.

“Shouldn’t you have asked that before you agreed, dragon?”

I nod and grip the arms of the chair. “I want to see the contract now.”

“Of course,” he says agreeably, snapping his fingers.

A stack of parchment appears in the air in front of me then drops onto the desk with a thunk .

I stare at it with my mouth open and dread settling into my gut.

This is at least several hundred pages and it’s written in a language I don’t know how to read.

I can tell by the smirk twisting on his face that he thinks he’s won. So, instead of pouting, I gather up the papers and tuck them under my arm. Will Drax read it for me and tell me what it says? Can I trust him to be honest?

My gut and my dragon both give me a resounding “yes” without hesitation. I don’t even know him, so I don’t know how I can be so sure, but in a world of uncertainty right now, I’ll cling to the one thing that seems solid as long as I can.

I clear my throat and set my face into the stoniest expression I can.

“Why do you want that cursed amulet? I went to Belinda’s house, and I saw what that thing did to her. It was horrifying.” I shake my head. “What are you going to do with it?”

“That’s not your concern,” Auri answers coolly. “I give you a job to do, and you do it. That’s the deal. You can read all about it in the fine print. Now, if you don’t have any more questions…” He turns his attention back to his computer without waiting for my answer.

I have a thousand more questions, but clearly none that Auri will give me an answer to, so I stand up and stride out of his office. At least I got my contract and I’m leaving with my balls. Small victories.

DRAX

Not mates. I growl under my breath at such an absurd idea, delicately prodding at the bond the way humans often tongue a sore tooth, unable to stop reassuring myself that it’s really there.

How can Mac say we’re not real mates? He wears my ring, and his dragon has accepted me, what more could he possibly want?

“Why the long face?” I startle at the sound of Roman’s voice. I was so absorbed in thoughts of Mac that I didn’t hear the wolf come in.

I reach up to feel my face. I let go of my glamour as soon as we returned home, so my face feels perfectly normal, just the right length.

Roman laughs.

“Why are you pouting?” he asks, seeming to forget about his first bizarre question.

“I’m not pouting,” I grumble, needlessly flipping through the book of mages I pulled off the shelf and haven’t actually started reading yet.

Roman heaves himself over the back of the couch and flops down, stretching out so he takes up all the space I’m not occupying. His feet nudge against me in a way that feels purposeful, but his face scrunches up in a grumpy look that dares me to mention it. He sniffs the air, then frowns.

“Does it have something to do with the fact that you smell like you fucked the dragon?” His nostrils flare and he breathes in a little deeper, the irritation in his eyes replaced by a warm, horny expression.

“Not the worst smell, if I’m honest. You work quick though.

How long has he been here? Twelve hours? ”

My tail swishes with annoyance and I glare at the wolf. I wish there was some way to block my scent from him. I don’t want him sniffing me and imagining my mate naked and sweaty.

“We didn’t fuck,” I growl. “We mated.”

His bushy eyebrows fly up and he barks out a laugh.

“You mated ? Jesus, that was fast.”

“Again, what does human religion have to do with this?” I grumble. “And fate doesn’t care about timelines. Don’t wolves have fated mates?”

He shrugs. “Fate, hormones, who can tell the difference? I can tell you that it’s not normal to mate when you don’t even know someone though.”

“Maybe not for you,” I mutter, trying to refocus on the dusty tome in my lap. His words echo in my head though. “Not normal for wolf shifters or not normal in your realm in general?”

“Not normal anywhere that I know of.” He sneaks his feet under the book and into my lap. They brush against my soft cock, but there’s nothing sexual about the touch or about Roman’s scent, so I don’t push him away.

I grunt in understanding. Is that why Mac was upset? He’s the one who initiated the mating bond, but perhaps he acted rashly and regrets it?

“How would you court someone you wanted to mate?” I ask.

Roman snorts with amusement. “I wouldn’t.”

“How is it done though? What are the rituals?”

“Dates. Doing nice things to show your interest.” Roman shrugs again. “It’s kind of individual.”

Maybe I could find a book about it to study. If I can perform the right rituals, perhaps Mac will be happier. I nod in thanks. At least he’s given me something to think about.

The library doors swing open, and my mate’s scent washes over me instantly.

I sit up, inadvertently dumping Roman’s feet out of my lap, and crane to see Mac entering.

He stops just inside the door with a large stack of parchment in his hands.

He blinks and looks around at the room like he’s not quite sure where he is or why he’s here.

His gaze lands on me, and I can feel the zing of relief in our bond, warming my insides and soothing the lingering sting of his earlier rejection.

“Where are we?” he asks.

“The library. Were you looking for me?”

He hesitates for a second and then nods, holding up the stack of parchment.

“Could you look at my contract and tell me what it says?”

“Of course, Mate. Anything.”

“We’re not—” He stops himself mid sentence and bites his lip. “Thanks, Drax.”

“Anything,” I repeat. Another flutter of warmth from his end of the bond soothes me, even though the uncertainty and distance remain.

I didn’t know I had to woo my dragon mate, but if it’s what he needs, I’ll do it. I’ll show him that he picked the right demon, even if he didn’t know why. I’ll make him sure that fate got this one right.