Page 115 of Alastair

It had been after his lover Marcus was killed by demons in the days of Ancient Rome, and he’d lost control over Wrath. Not only had he slaughtered the demons responsible, as well as any others he’d come across, but he had also harmed humans during his rampage. The cell had been the only thing strong enough at the time to contain him. That blinding rage had nearly resulted in his death.

As we walked down the corridor toward Asa’s cell, Galen stared straight ahead, jaw tight and eyes hard. Was he remembering too? Gray latched onto his arm, and he relaxed a little. Simon hadn’t come with us—none of the mates had—but Gray had a way of soothing all the brothers.

“What if he tells us to fuck off?” Castor asked.

“We could torture him,” Bellamy suggested. “The bastard deserves it.”

Alastair walked beside me, close enough that our arms brushed. “Asa is clever. He knows if he doesn’t help us, he’ll rot in that cell forever. But he’s petty enough to make us work for it.”

“What do you propose we do?” Michael asked. “The few times I’ve visited him, he didn’t say a word. He only smirked at me.”

“Sounds like him, the smug bastard,” Bellamy muttered. “What I wouldn’t give to slice that smirk right off his face. It’d be an improvement.”

“He has each of our sins inside him,” Alastair said to Michael. “That’s the angle we’ll work with. Stroke his ego. But not too much, or he’ll think we’re desperate and say no just because it amuses him.”

“I’m not stroking anything of his,” Gray said. “He’s a butthead who killed Dino-Pete.”

“Dino-Pete?” Michael looked at the smaller male. “A friend of yours?”

Gray’s wild blond hair bounced a little as he nodded. “I adopted him from Simon’s antique shop. He was the best dick-o-saurus who ever lived. He burned up in the fire when Asa attacked our mansion. I have Dino-Steve now. I love him, but you never forget your first, ya know?”

Michael’s confusion only grew. “What is a dick-o-saurus?”

“I’ll show ya when we get back to the island.” Gray patted his arm. “If you’re nice, I might even let you have one of your very own since it’s Christmas. I have a whole army of them.”

“Speaking of the holiday,” Raiden said, “when we’re done here, maybe we can have a small Christmas feast. Smoked ham, sage dressing, and green bean casserole. Oreo balls and a chocolate pecan pie for dessert.”

“That sounds delicious,” Michael said.

“Getting back on track…” Alastair glanced at his gluttonous brother before returning his gaze to Michael. “Asa’s Pride, Wrath, and Envy will be the most vulnerable right now. We’ll use his anger and bitterness toward Lucifer to our advantage.”

Michael gave an impressed nod. “You sound as if you really know how he thinks.”

“Reading people is what I was trained for.” Alastair moved a bit closer to me. “I had a damn good teacher.”

I fought a smile.

Sconces with eternal flames flickered along the walls. It was the only light apart from the half-moon-shaped window at the end of the corridor that allowed sunlight to filter in, though not enough to make the prison any less dreary.

We passed a set of stone steps that led to the section of cells underground. The dungeon cellblock was intended for only the most powerful prisoners. That didn’t include Asa. Since his resurrection, he had lost all his powers. The Morningstar’s blood still ran through his veins, but he had no magic or any of the abilities that had given me and the boys a headache during his very short reign as king of the underworld.

“Here we are,” Michael said as we reached the cell at the end.

The cells in the dungeon had heavy doors to cage the prisoners, but the ones on this level only had bars. The bars were made of celestial steel and had warding wrapped around them that prevented the prisoner from breaking or slipping past them.

Asa sat against the wall in the corner with his eyes closed and one arm resting on his raised knee. His long black hair was tangled and a bit greasy. Grime stained his cheeks. “Oh joy,” he said as he opened his eyes. The crimson shade of them dimly glowed from the shadows. “How lucky am I to see all your lovely faces again. That was sarcasm, by the way.”

“You’ve seen better days,” Castor said. “Definitely not as pretty.”

“I’d say this look suits him,” Bellamy said. “It’s a better reflection of who he is on the inside. Filthy. Vile.”

“You always had a way with words, Lust.” Asa’s lips curved into a half-smile. “Tell me. How is our demon Phoenix doing these days? Still feisty?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“It was my business for a while,” Asa responded. “I miss the sensation of pushing my cock into his tight ass. Total bliss, am I right? And his raspy moans when I angled my hipsjustright. Gods. I’m getting hard just thinking about it.”

“You motherfucker!” Bellamy slammed his hands against the bars. “Get the fuck over here! I’m going to tear you—”