Page 43 of Dark Souls

Run, Angel.

“E verything.”

Be still my fucked up heart.

Hang on. Everything… as in everything ? As bloody adorable as that was, what the hell did it really mean? Did she know? Or was she just finally confessing her undying love for me? Which was about fucking time, I might add. Veles, I should have been born a saint, not a demon, for the amount of restraint I have had to use around this woman. Since she told me Luka was her soulmate, I have been living a torturous existence, conflicted between feeling on cloud nine and extremely furious that she didn’t know who I was. That the stupid control The Devil had on my soul kept her from realising that if Luka was her soulmate… I was too. Because I was Luka. Luka was me. In a roundabout way.

After enduring over a century alone with no communication with my better half, Luka, it’s been a pretty lonely reality. Yes, we may share a body, but we don’t share a mind. Not anymore. When I am present, he is blocked. And vice versa. I know he’s lost himself. He’s been through more than me. Suffered more than I have. In a way, he has always protected me. He is so fucking strong. Stronger than anyone I know because he took every beating, every torture, every brutality to save us. To keep us alive. I was who they wanted. Not him.

Before all this happened, before our family was hunted like animals and our father and brother murdered mercilessly before our eyes, he was a good kid. He loved his family. Treated people with respect. His outlook on the world was one of wonder and optimism. He believed that one day the world would change. He trusted that by showing them we were different, we would be accepted for who we really were. I remained unconvinced. Being a true demon from the ancient bloodline, I struggled to empathise with his emotions and thoughts. When we killed to feed, he’d feel guilt, whereas I’d feel satisfied. He had a consciousness that I lacked. But we were the same, living life the best way we could under the heavy axe that was always hanging over our head because society deemed our species as monstrous. Why? Because I needed to eat organs to survive? I had no choice. Yet witches, wolves, vampires chose the evil they put out in the world. They didn’t need to kill to survive. They wanted to. Yet, I was the monster?

And then he met Belladonna Bitchface. And we were under her bewitching spell. Literally. She seduced us into believing she cared for us. That she loved us. She wasn’t our soulmate, but I didn’t mind having a little fun with the witch. But Luka fell harder for her shit. She was the first person he became close to who wasn’t family, and he was completely blind to her evil agenda. We both were.

When she betrayed us, it changed him. He lost all hope and faith he had in the world. And every sadistic torture they put him through just broke him that bit more. In trying to save me, he lost himself. And it’s been so fucking long since I’ve felt him, spoken to him, shared experiences with him because of that goddamn sigil, that I fear I no longer knew him at all. Or who he’s become. Had he given up and accepted our doomed fate?

But there’s always light in the darkness. Our angel. I knew Ilaria was different the second I met her. Not only because I fell in love with her the moment I heard her voice, the moment I looked into those eyes, but because I knew in my gut she belonged to us. I didn’t know she was our soulmate, but I knew she was the one we’d been waiting for all these years. And now I know Luka has accepted her as ours, wants her just as much as I do. It’s given me the confirmation I needed to know he’s still in there somewhere. He was still fighting.

I didn’t dare open my mouth to speak because a part of me feared what her answer would be. Honestly, my patience and self-control were as fragile as a spider’s web, and I wasn’t sure I could take it if she still hadn’t figured out we were the same person. There was no holding myself back from doing what I’d wanted to do the moment I laid eyes on my Snow Angel, and knowing Luka already has made me jealous beyond comparison. She’s mine too. If she didn’t know the truth by now, she soon would.

She whipped the mask off her head and then yanked off the black wig. I let out a deep grunt at how gorgeous she was. I hated that I went days, sometimes weeks, without seeing her. In her vampire form, her red eyes, like burning coals under the starlight, threatened to incinerate me with their intense heat. She smiled a little as she reached up and pulled my balaclava off my head. I wasn’t in my true form but had taken the identity of Harry Gould. I’d grown rather attached to my preppy human disguise.

“Let me see you,” she commanded. I’d give her anything she wanted. I transformed right before her eyes, my skin rippling like a snake shedding its scales as my body expanded, growing in size and muscle, and my black vines protruded on the surface. The black t-shirt Luka had been wearing tore to shreds, falling like confetti to the floor. My horns curled out from the top of my head and I rolled my shoulders as my wings spread behind my back.

Her lips parted with arousal as hunger swirled in her eyes. Just seeing how much she wanted me in my true form called to my predatory nature.

“I should have known. I should have listened to the pull that always drew me to you instead of questioning it. Tell me I’m right.” She placed her hand on my chest and leaned into me. I groaned at her soft touch, weaving my talons into her hair and tugging gently so her face tilted up to mine.

“You have to say it, Snow,” I growled, fighting to control myself so I wouldn’t claim her before getting confirmation.

Her eyes glistened as her little tongue darted between those tempting lips and her nerves increased. “Luka is a Demonski Upir. And I think you are his demon side. Which would make you… my soulmate, too.”

Fucking yessssssssss! She knew. She’d finally figured it out. I had to fight the urge to throw my hands in the air and do a little jig on the spot; I was so elated. But no matter how happy it made me, the predator I was at my core demanded I celebrate differently.

I inhaled deeply, the smell of damp earth rising to meet me, and closed my eyes, my head thrown back against the sky as I felt her desperate fingernails scrape against my chest.

“Tell me it’s true, Heath. Tell me I’m not going crazy.”

I peered down at her, allowing the most devilish, wicked smile to curve my lips. Her heart beat out of sync as she held my gaze. As much as I wanted to confirm it verbally, I couldn’t. The fucking chokehold the sigil had on me would not allow me to voice what I now knew.

“You are not crazy. Do you remember what I said to you when I last saw you, Snow?” I husked, leaning closer to her face and causing her breathing to hitch and her eyes to widen.

“You said you’d be taking what’s yours. And no one can stop you,” she whispered, her voice full of sultry need as her tits brushed against my chest in her black top with every rise and fall of her erratic breathing. She knew I was about to make every one of her dark fantasies come true.

I pursed my lips with amusement as another cry of agony rippled through the air from the maze behind me and made her heart race faster. This was my event. The one I always planned and looked forward to. As sadistic as it was to make members pay to kill each other, I saw it as a twisted way to rid the world of a few more sick fucks and give them a taste of the medicine I’d received all my life.

Narrowing my eyes at my dark angel, I watched as the excitement and adrenaline took over. I always knew she had a dark side. A side that she suppressed because the world told her she shouldn’t be who she really was. It was about time that side of her came out to play.

Using my gift of sexual manipulation, I ran my phantom touch all over her body and she gasped loudly as she stared up at me. A lust-filled haze cast over her eyes, and it made me want to devour her until there was nothing left. The primal need to possess her, to claim her as mine, swelled within me. I took a step back, my nostrils flaring as they filled with the scent of her sweetness, and she frowned at the sudden distance in confusion.

“You know who I am. You know what I am… And now, you know you are mine,” I spoke slowly, every word with an edge of warning. I knew I would rather cut my heart out with a blunt knife than ever hurt her, but I still wanted to ravage her completely. Tear her little body in half with pleasure and pain. Make her need me so damn much that she couldn’t ever imagine living without me. Absorb her into my bloodstream and own her entirely. I was still a demon. And I wanted her soul.

A look of understanding flashed over her features as she realised I was the predator in this scenario. And she was my prey. She took a single step back, her heart pounding violently in her chest but her arousal only heightened at the danger and pleasure I was offering.

“Heathen–” she breathed. It came out as a moan. I slammed my eyes closed and inhaled a sharp breath as she froze.

“Run, Angel.”

When she didn’t move, I opened my onyx eyes, staring into her soul with a terrifying thirst. Her lips parted. Her pupils dilated.

“I’m about to lose control, Snow. So fucking run.” The icy calmness in my tone was warning enough, but once the words registered, she barrelled past me at the speed of light into the maze.

I rolled my shoulders and beat my wings once. Twice. As I counted to five, just like she’d taught me, a twisted, mischievous smile transformed my face. But this time, I wasn’t counting to maintain control. I was counting down to the moment I’d lose it, and I’d finally make her mine.

I raced through the heated gasps of breath I left behind as I used my full speed to disappear around the first bend of twisted spiked hedges and high stone walls. The brambles reached out as if they were alive, attempting to trap me in their thorny embrace. They caught my shoulder and arm, tearing my shirt, but I broke free, refusing to let the pain from the cuts slow me down. My heart thumped violently, but not from the effort of trying to get the best head start I could, but from the intoxicating excitement Heathen’s words provoked in me. Yes, I could use my transportation ability to remove myself from the deadly game I’d just thrown myself into, but I wasn’t a quitter and if I was being one hundred percent honest with myself, I wanted this. The maze. The fight. The chase. The threat and promise of Heathen as a reward. I wanted it all so badly.

Damn. He’d only gone and unlocked another kink for me. Being a powerful predator myself, I’ve never felt the fear that being chased could instil. I’ve never run from a fight or from an opponent before because I’m a competitive and cocky bitch that loves to win. But with Heathen… it’s different. He was the only one that could truly dominate me. He could terrify me in the most delicious way and, I had to admit, running from him, knowing exactly what he had in mind if he caught me, was a thrill like no other; a dangerous blend of primal fear and all-consuming desire.

My feet barely touched the ground as I moved with the grace of a wild panther but with the desperation of a sacrificial lamb. I skidded to a stop before my body collided with a stone wall covered with sharp wooden spikes. It reminded me of the one Luka had been tied to by the Knowltons. Shit. A dead end. I turned quickly, my red eyes adjusting to the blanket of darkness and thick fog that only added to the maze’s difficulty of trying to find another route.

Suddenly, a tall figure crashed around the corner, coming face to face with me down the narrow passage. Although he wore a black balaclava, concealing his face, he was way too slim to be Heathen. My eyes widened when I realised in a moment of sheer panic that I had forgotten my disguise and was now pretty recognisable to anyone who got too close.

We were in a stand-off as we glared at each other through the heavy mist and I braced myself into a fighting stance when I noticed his unsheathed nails, sharp and vicious. He was one of my kind and, from the look in his scarlet eyes, only one of us was continuing through the maze.

He lunged first, his clawed hand swiping through the air towards my face and I spun on my heel, a hiss escaping my lips as I summoned my vampiric strength and agility, darting beneath his arms and slashing a gash across his back with my own fingers. He was fast to counteract it by wiping me out from under my legs and throwing himself on top of me, wrapping his hand around my throat to rip it out. Even though he was double my size, he was no competition for my royal sangura blood as I punched him in the throat, causing his grip to loosen. I managed to get one of my boots between our bodies and kicked him as hard as I could in the stomach, which sent him flying. An agonising scream left his open mouth as his body landed on the spiked wall, impaling him completely. His masked head drooped a moment later, showing he was well and truly dead.

A chilling roar echoed in the distance and I knew in my bones who it belonged to. Heathen . A small smirk played on my lips, knowing he was in hot pursuit and giving me the only warning he’d allow that he was coming for me. I scrambled to my feet, not giving that vampire a second glance and racing back the way I came until I found an alternative route. That fae was right. In here, it was kill or be killed. And it was fucking addictive.

My skin glistened with a sheen of anxious sweat as I weaved and spun in different directions down the winding labyrinth, feeling like it was leading to nowhere. I leapt over the traps, pitfalls and open ditches with ease but soon came face to face with another member. A shifted wolf. It stood firm, snarling with feral rage before charging at me head-on. I stood my ground, waiting for the very last second to bolt into the air and land on its back, locking my arms around its furry neck. The grey beast thrashed aggressively from side to side to throw me off. I squeezed its neck with all my strength, waiting to hear the lethal crack, but it slammed itself against the stone wall, trapping one of my legs between its enormous body and the thorny brambles. I let out a cry at the pain as hundreds of thorns lodged in my thigh, causing it to burn my flesh. In one swift move, I reached down into my other boot, grabbed my knife and slit the wolf’s throat. The wolf fell to the ground, half on top of me, and I kicked it off with my good leg.

Gritting through my fangs, I ripped the brambles out of my thigh and pulled myself back to my feet.

‘Motherfuckingchrist. This is so much fun!’ my devilish sidekick chuckled in my mind.

A bubble of demented laughter inflated my chest as I stepped over the wolf’s corpse and walked forward with a slight limp, my mind still completely fixated on the demon hunting me. My hand gripped the wall to keep my balance as I checked over my shoulder. She was right. As wrong as this was, it was most definitely fun.

Another earth-shattering roar shook the maze, causing my heart to leap in my chest when I realised how much closer he was. Sensing my demon soulmate was closing in, his presence a dark caress on my skin, my flight instinct kicked into gear once again as I blurred through the maze to get ahead.

I could see the chapel roof a short distance away, and I felt a wave of hope wash over me that I must be closer to the finish line, but it was short-lived when my foot disappeared into a thick tar substance I hadn’t noticed pooling on the ground. When I attempted to lift my foot out of it, it only spread higher up my boot, causing me to sink further into the sludge. I swore loudly, bending down to free my boots, but the slime was now thigh high. Reaching up, I grabbed some of the ivy to haul myself out. I froze when another body came hurtling round the corner.

Ah, fuck.

The man skidded to a halt, his purple eyes narrowing as he took me in, clocking that I couldn’t move or defend myself right now. He lifted his hand, sending a ball of electrical current my way, zapping me in the chest as I screamed in pain. I felt like I was being burned alive when the sparks spread through my veins as he twisted his hand in the air as though he was ramping up the intensity of his magic. Way to hit a chick when she was already down.

His magic abruptly stopped before I could rip a stone from the wall and catapult it at his head. I panted hard, opening my eyes to see his own purple irises dilated with horror. My gaze travelled down to the hole in his chest. His body fell forwards a moment later and there, standing behind him, was the shirtless, bloodied body of my demon mate, holding the warlock’s heart in his clawed fist. He was wearing his balaclava again, but by his sheer size, black vines exposed and soulless eyes, I knew it was him. And my god, he was the sexiest and most petrifying thing I’d ever seen.

He clicked his neck to the side in that Heathen/Luka way before lifting half his balaclava up his face to reveal his powerful jaw and those razor-sharp fangs. He casually took a large bite out of the bloody heart. My arousal heightened at the heinous act. He was so fucking feral and I loved it. But I still wouldn’t give in. No matter how much I wanted to be caught by him, I also wanted to make him proud. To give him the chase he craved.

My hand brushed against something metal on the stone wall and my head whipped around to see it was a strangely placed handle. I pulled the lever quickly and two stones moved away from the wall, just big enough for my body to squeeze through, providing me with an escape. My feet were still stuck in the slime, but they started to come loose as I used all my strength and the vines to help tug the top half of my body through.

And then I felt it; the sharp pinch of his talons on my waist as he gripped the top of my leather trousers and attempted to pull me back. I thrashed and kicked with all my might to wiggle myself through and escape him, but when I felt the leather tear down my legs, I froze. What the fuck was he…

OH MY GOD.

‘Yes, that tongue is back!’

My eyes rolled to the back of my head the moment I felt his forked tongue between my legs, wetting my underwear to my skin. I moaned uncontrollably as his claws dug into my ass cheeks, spreading me wider so he could bury his half-exposed face into my pussy. My fingernails raked through the dirt as I tried to crawl through the secret passage, but he held on tighter, going to town with that fucking demon tongue against my clit. Even with the barrier of my underwear, every swipe was so powerful, the orgasm in me built with rapid speed as I looked over my shoulder to see only the stone wall around my waist. The fact I couldn’t see him or what he was doing to me only made it hotter.

“This pussy is mine,” he growled from behind the wall, his words muffled against my skin and I let out a pathetic whimper as I struggled to pull myself away, fighting my desire to stay exactly where I was so he could keep doing the most sinful, delicious things to me. “You can run from me all you like, Snow. But my cock will still end up in here tonight.”

I gasped as his tongue entered me and started fucking with the promise of what his cock would do very soon. The orgasm exploded out of me without my permission as I cried into the darkness of the maze. When his tongue flicked over my clit, it prolonged the ecstasy that little bit more.

“I could claim you right here, right now, and there’s not a thing you could do about it,” he growled and unknowingly ignited my competitive nature. As soon as I felt him sit back, his hands exploring my ass, I kicked out violently, hitting him in the stomach with force and giving me the small window of opportunity I needed to fit the rest of my body through the wall. I squealed with delight when his arm snapped through the hole, attempting to grab my foot, but missed by just an inch as I hauled myself to my bare feet. I laughed loudly, feeling completely unhinged when his frustrated roar echoed over the wall.

“Come and get me, you crazy demon!” I shouted, turning on my feet and zooming away in only my thong and torn top. Holy fuck, I’d never felt so alive.

The path led to a moonlit clearing where a life-sized statue of a naked woman dominated a small courtyard, its smooth stone cool to the touch. I slammed my back against it when I heard rapid footsteps coming this way. With my chest heaving, eyes scanning the multiple openings in the maze that led there, I waited with bated breath and my blade still in one hand. My body was trembling with equal parts terror and desire. The pounding of feet slowed as they approached, sensing there was no need to run anymore. They’d found their prey. I knew it was him. His dark energy pulsed through the maze, a palpable hum resonating deep in my bones, drawing me toward him like a magnet.

Emerging from the shadows with his towering form and menacing eyes like pits of black fire through the slits of his mask made my knees nearly give way at the sight. A traitorous longing spread through my body and straight to my pussy, pulsing and throbbing with anticipation at the promise of pleasure and pain.

When his eyes met mine, he paused. His chest was rising and falling and every muscle in his defined torso rippled beneath the black vines and magical, demonic tattoos.

“Mine now,” he husked, victory in his tone.

“I’m not yours. Not until you make me yours. And I won’t give up without a fight.” I smirked, raising my blade between us in warning. Gods, I loved being a brat. And there was no way in hell I’d let him win so easily. By the look of pride and excitement in his shimmering eyes, he knew it too.

He tugged off his balaclava, revealing his true form, and released his wings, spreading them wide like a fucking peacock. He was so beautiful. Worried he’d be seen, I instantly looked around for other members.

“Don’t worry, Snow. We are all alone.” He took a step forwards, and I raised my knife higher, narrowing my eyes. “I killed them all so that I could fuck you in the dirt without any interruptions. I told you no one would stop me.”

He chuckled deeply, the sound rumbling so sexily from his chest.

“You killed all the members?”

He cocked his head to the side with a cheeky smile. “Well, technically, no. A few killed each other. And you killed two. My little badass.”

He stopped only a few feet away. We stared as the desire for each other intensified to a crippling need that crackled in the air around us. My muscles tensed, wanting to bolt, yet my spirit burned with a desire to fight, all while a wave of submission threatened to overwhelm me. When it became too much to bear, he dived forwards at the same time as I tried to flee. He tackled me to the floor effortlessly. My strength was no match for his, but to hell if he thought I’d make this easy for him. This game between us was sick and twisted but I loved it. I didn’t hold back as I clawed at him, kicked and thrashed my body as we wrestled against each other in the dirt. In a matter of seconds, he’d ripped my top in half and then my bra, throwing the material away from us as he pinned me below him with his weight.

I’d dropped my blade on the ground in our struggle and when my hand reached across to claim it, he noticed and suddenly the knife flew a few more metres away.

My head snapped up to meet his mischievous eyes as my mouth dropped open, and I paused my fight against him. He was telekinetic as well?

“Impressed?” he teased, grabbing my hands and slamming them down above my head, holding them in place. His face was inches from mine, hovering over me and our panted breaths mixed in the cold air.

“Not yet,” I groaned and wiggled my hips a little beneath him, giving in to the insane horniness that was raging between my legs when I felt the long, thick steel erection in his jeans.

“Keep wiggling those fucking little hips, Snow, and see where it gets you,” he groaned, pressing himself against my clit and making me moan shamelessly. “I could tear you apart. Devour you completely. Do you know how close I am to losing control? How much I want to fucking ruin your little cunt, angel?”

I moaned and wiggled my hips again in answer, which caused his lips to pull back over his fangs as he hissed menacingly. Yeah, I wanted it. But I was still enjoying our game. Especially now.

“You really think you can? I’m not so sure, demon,” I sneered. “I think you’re all talk.”

He leaned back on his legs in a kneeling position and tugged open his jeans, pulling them down his thighs. I tried to hide my surprise at the sight of what he was packing but failed miserably. I had presumed he and Luka had the same dick, seeing as they were the same person, but just like the rest of Luka’s body had swelled and grew in size when he shifted, so had his dick. And instead of piercings, there were ridges. Huge grooves wrapped around his entire length and gave him almost a spiral effect. Jesus fucking Christ. Someone should mould demon dicks into dildos. They’d be bestsellers.

“How’s this for all talk?” He laughed, wrapping his talon around his girth and pumping slowly. I watched with hunger as pre-cum leaked from the bulbous head. “I’m a monster, Snow. In more ways than one. And you’re going to take all of me. You’re going to claim every inch of this cock with that tight little pussy.”

Holy crap . I was scared. And ridiculously aroused. My eyes darted up to his and all I saw was a true predator about to go in for the kill. With fight or flight once again activated, I allowed my dark desires to become a reality as I lifted my leg and kicked him in the chest, causing him to fall back while I turned and attempted to scramble away. When his claw grabbed my ankle and hoisted me back, flipping me over and pinning me down with his body once more, I shrieked with both fear and desire.

With one claw holding my hands above my head, he used his other to rub the head of his cock up and down the length of my pussy, lubricating it with his pre-cum and sending me blind with pleasure. My body wrestled and thrashed against his, which only made the action more intense as I moaned and gasped as he continued to rub himself against my clit and through my folds. My legs shook with the unbearable desire to have him inside me, to finally succumb to the fantasy of being claimed by this demon and his massive cock, but he continued the torturous teasing.

He lowered his head to my neck, licking my skin with his powerful tongue as he groaned with his own need and pleasure. “I want to hear you beg, Snow. Beg for me to ruin this pretty little cunt. Beg for me to claim it and make you mine for all eternity.”

I moaned as he shifted his hips faster, rubbing and masturbating himself against my clit. Words became jumbled in the ecstasy. I couldn’t speak. My mouth was open but all that was leaving it were loud whimpers and gasps as I became paralysed with pleasure.

He lifted his head to look down at me, his demonic face hovering over mine before he extended his tongue into my mouth and I sucked on it hard. Both of us groaned as I felt the strange texture of his against my own. I was so fucking close. I was teetering on the edge of a mind-blowing orgasm, but I needed more. Suddenly, he stilled. His hips stopped moving completely, and he tightened his grip on my hands.

“Heathen–” I cried out in frustration.

“Beg me,” he growled.

“Please!” I caved, throwing my head back in the dirt and pressing my body into his huge form that completely swamped me. “Please, Heath. Fuck me. Make me yours. I need–”

My words were cut short by the overwhelming feeling of his massive cock entering me, leaving me breathless. He growled through his fangs as he was met with resistance and closed his eyes before shoving himself in fully in one fucking go. I screamed, crying out into the night as the pain sliced me open and ripped out my soul, only for his hips to start moving as he put me back together again.

With not a hint of gentleness in sight, he pounded into me over and over as my nails tore at the flesh of his back and I screamed for him to go harder, faster, because I wanted it all. I wanted my demon for who he was, and I didn’t want him to hold back for a single second. His mouth covered my cries as our tongues fought a battle of passion. My walls were quivering and pulsing from the effect of his ribbed dick sliding in and out with perfection that had me falling apart.

He kneeled back, gripping my hips in his claws, causing the next few pumps to come at such insane speed and even harder than I ever thought possible. The urgency with which he was fucking me resembled obsessed madness and all I could do was let enjoy one hell of a ride. My tits bounced with every slam of his hips and my back grazed against the dirt and stones on the ground, but I couldn’t feel a thing except for the insane pleasure he was causing.

“I knew you were mine the moment I saw you,” he panted as I forced my eyes open to stare at his taut, muscular body glistening with sweat under the moonlight. “I will never let you go.”

I knew he meant every word, and they sent me spiralling into another orgasm as I screamed out his name. Suddenly, he lifted my body, so I was straddling his hips, wrapping his arms around me tightly as I grabbed his horns to hold on while he pumped into my pussy with ferocity.

Without warning, his fangs sank into my neck, and black dots danced across my vision as the intensity became too much. He drank like he was crazed, unable to stop. I felt lightheaded as he bounced me on his cock and another orgasm shook me to my core. One of his hands weaved into my hair to support my lolling head and guided me towards his own neck. My eyes fluttered as I zeroed in on the pulsing vein and sank my fangs into the smooth flesh between the black vines. As soon as his rich, dark blood hit my tongue, I felt it all. The bond clicked into place. The overwhelming knowledge that he was my soulmate and I would give my life for him, just as he would for me. His cock thickened inside me and I groaned into his neck as he released his bite on mine and roared when he exploded inside my pussy. My body fell completely limp as I took a few more slow mouthfuls of his blood to keep me conscious and then released him. With his arms locked around me and his dick still throbbing cum into me, I lifted my head to look into his eyes. I didn’t know how entirely black demonic eyes could show love, but they did. I smiled, feeling my chest radiating with warmth.

He brushed his lips against mine in a feather-soft kiss before he whispered, “Give me your soul, Snow. Be mine forever.”

My breathing hitched, and my body tensed when I remembered what Luka had made me promise. No matter what, never give him my soul. The warmth in my chest turned into a painful ache as I slowly shook my head. I wanted to give him my soul, but I had no idea what it meant. Or even how? Or why Luka was so against it now that I knew it meant I would give my soul to him as well.

“I can’t,” I whispered.

His eyes narrowed and hurt flashed across his features. “You can’t? Or you won’t?”

“Luka told me not to.”

His jaw tensed, and his whole body turned rigid beneath me. He moved his gaze past my shoulder and stared out into the maze. In a swift move that made me wince, he pulled out of me and lifted me to my feet, holding my arms to make sure I was stable.

“Someone is coming. Get to the chapel,” he ordered. I looked over my shoulder to see a figure approaching from one passageway out of the maze and fire burning at the tips of his fingers. I grabbed Heathen’s face in my hands and forced him to look at me.

“Don’t kill him. It will look suspicious if I am the only member who made it out alive.”

Heathen contemplated that and nodded curtly. He grabbed my face in his huge hands and kissed me briefly before pulling back. “Go. Now. There are spare clothes in the chapel. Take my mask to hide your hair.”

I blurred past him towards the half-demolished church, only to glance back when I reached the door to see Heathen was completely gone. I exhaled slowly, my body still trembling with the aftershocks of that sex, and pushed open the wooden door. Candles flickered in every corner, lighting the abandoned room with a warm glow. I raced towards the piles of clothing on one pew and pulled on a large hoodie that stopped around my thighs. I kept the hooded mask on to cover my hair but pulled the slit down to show my face so he wouldn’t expect me to take it off.

The door opened behind me and I turned to face the masked balaclava member. He lifted his hand and tugged off his mask, revealing a broad, cheeky grin.

“Well, I’ll be damned. Congratulations, Shorty, so we will be going halfsies on the winnings after all. Looks like I underestimated you,” the fae man admitted as he folded his arms over his chest. He had a torn shirt, cuts all up his arm, and a bleeding wolf bite on one calf muscle, but he didn’t seem fazed in the slightest.

I turned to meet his gaze with a smirk as I replied, “People always do.”