Page 6

CHAPTER SIX

“ F ood?”

As soon as the word leaves my mouth, I realise it’s hardly the right time for eating. Not for me anyway, considering my presence was apparently enough to instigate random insanity in one of them. The newest addition to our bizarre standoff obviously brought the food for himself, Daion, and sadly, probably for the walking ballsack too.

Hmm.

No, walking ballsack isn’t right. Those at least can be fun to fondle, and they serve a purpose. Rio’s more of a used-up, crusty cumsock. I smirk to myself, trying to hold in my amusement at the thought of tossing him into the trash. Goddess, I must be losing it. Obviously, I’m becoming delirious from hunger. It’s the only explanation. That and the vitav drain hitting me worse after fighting him off likely isn’t helping either. Stupid fucking Rio. I’ll have to keep working on his irritating nickname. He deserves a truly shitty moniker to go with that stellar personality of his.

“It’s his fault,” I grumble, mostly to myself. I’m still eyeing the bag of food and contemplating whether or not I can talk them into sharing, considering their friend is to blame for my sudden increase in hunger.

“What did I miss?” the new guy asks again. This time he directs the question to me, seeing as his friends appear to still be locked in a silent argument, both staring intensely at each other.

Well, there’s no real point in trying to be mysterious or vague…

“I’m a pregnant witch ,” I begin, stressing the witch part hard as I flick my eyes over to glare at my accuser. “The father of the baby is apparently a demon, and for some reason that made the asshole over there mistake me for a succubus. He attacked me, but Daion thankfully showed up just in time to save me.” I pause to take a few deep breaths, trying to find the words to put this as simply and directly as possible without sounding like a raging bitch. It’s surprisingly challenging to do.

“Uhh…” Food Guy attempts to say something in the moment of silence but is apparently at a loss for words, not that I can really blame him. It’s a shitshow of a situation, and speechless is still a better response than the one his friend had. Less murdery, at least.

“Look, I didn’t come here to get wrongly accused and then attacked, just to leave without answers because of some moron who can’t tell the difference between a succubus and a witch.”

Perhaps the hormones are making me snarkier?

Or maybe it’s the smell of food combining with my empty stomach, choosing this exact awful moment to growl loudly enough for everyone to hear. Whatever it is, I give up on my poor attempt at being calm.

“Fuck it. I am so damn hungry. My magical energy is being drained to the point where I might suddenly drop dead. I’m persona non grata to witchkind now, and I have to pee constantly! Constantly. You’re demon hunters, aren’t you? Well, I need help hunting down the demon who put me in this fucking mess.” I prop my hand on my hip, my gaze flicking from one man to another and then back to the food.

Goddess. What I would give for some of that delicious-smelling food right now.

“Yeah…” the food carrier says, dragging the word out and looking away from me to lift a brow at the other two questioningly. He’s giving off what’s unmistakably ‘what the hell are we all doing here’ vibes. I almost feel sorry for him, but I have bigger problems to deal with.

“We’re not helping the demon fucker, Torrin,” Rio snarls adamantly, finally breaking from the silent argument he was having with the other hunter. “She and that thing inside her stomach need to leave before I make them.”

The threat is the final straw.

I’m so angry that furious tears start filling my eyes before I can stop them. It only makes me more annoyed, given how I absolutely loathe crying in front of others. Hands clenched, I stomp out from behind Daion and stalk directly towards Rio before anyone can stop me. I ignore the way he towers above me, glaring down like I’m the problem here when he’s the one who acted like a trigger-happy assbutt. All I wanted was some freaking help.

“Listen here, buddy. I am in no mood for your shit. I didn’t know I was fucking a demon. Unlike you, I don’t have some weird, ever-present demon-detection radar, and he wasn’t exactly advertising it! I didn’t ask for this to happen. Hell, I even drank a contraceptive potion to try and prevent it!” I stab my pointer finger in the direction of his face, holding back a few inches, unwilling to actually touch the psycho. “Despite that, I woke up twelve days later feeling like ass. I had to learn not only was I pregnant, but the father is literally the only species who could put my life in danger for making me so.” I take another threatening step towards him, feeling a protective instinct rise up. “But make no mistake, I will protect this child until my dying breath. And if it comes to that, and I die? I’ll come back as a fucking poltergeist to haunt the shit out of anyone who threatens this baby. Do you understand me?”

“Woah. Settle down there, feisty,” Torrin—the dude with the food—says as he rushes up behind me, gripping my shoulders in a firm but gentle hold. I immediately notice he’s not holding the food anymore. “Why don’t you take a seat over here and help your pregnant self to something to eat?”

The offer of food tempts me into allowing him to redirect me over to the coffee table at the centre of the room. He releases my shoulders so he can use his magic to flip the couch back over and into its rightful place, gesturing for me to sit. I’m still fuming as I watch him retrieve the takeout, then pull several food boxes from the bag as well as utensils. He spreads them on the table in front of me like a peace offering.

“Torrin,” Rio says tensely. He’s clearly about to say more, most likely intending to object to my staying for dinner, but Daion chooses then to snap out of whatever daze he’s been in. He moves quickly, grabbing his irritating friend by the arm and dragging him off around the back corner to another room without a word.

“You can relax and help yourself to…” Torrin trails off as if realising what he’s said and then clears his throat awkwardly. “Okay, that sounded dumb. How about I promise to return with pie if you promise not to leave? I know this was a terrible first impression for us all, but Rio’s a good man.”

“Sure,” I scoff. “He’s a good guy, and I’m a damn succubus.”

“He’s clearly also a man capable of making stupid mistakes,” he concedes. “I’m sorry if he frightened you.”

“He didn’t scare me; he pissed me off,” I reply, correcting him quite snappily, but for whatever reason, it only makes him grin.

“Fair. He can have that effect on some people, but I wouldn’t lie to you, firecracker. He is a good man. Rio’s just…not a fan of succubi. He got confused, made a mistake, and now he doesn’t know how to handle all his feelings about it, so he’s being stubborn instead.”

I give Torrin what I hope is an unimpressed look, and he holds up both of his hands in mock surrender. Between his animated actions, the smile, and the general feeling of warmth he has about him, it’s honestly all a little bit charming. How irritating. My eyes narrow even more at the thought.

“I get it. You don’t have to believe me about him, but I swear to you that you won’t be harmed. You said you needed help, and maybe we can help you. Hunting demons and helping people with their demon-related issues is our job, after all. And again, there’s pie on offer if you stay. It’s really good pie.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me as he says the last part. It’s so damned warm and goofy it cracks right through the tension and makes me laugh despite everything.

“Fine,” I mutter. Feeling ridiculous, I swipe away the remnants of angry tears from my cheeks and find my attention drawn to the food again. It does look good. He offered, and I am really hungry. I also don’t feel insanely nauseous for once, so maybe I’ll even keep some of it down. The smell actually making me want to eat instead of vomit is encouraging in itself. “I’ll stay, but if he comes at me aggressively again, I’m removing his dick from his body and then beating him to death with it.” I smile sweetly at Torrin, in sharp contrast with the threat made, then turn back to the table.

He chuckles as he heads off to find the other two, and I waste no time digging in. I open every single box to do a sniff test and identify what it all is before grabbing a fork from the packet of cutlery. Goddess, I love Chinese takeout. The beef lo mein looks divine, so I shovel several bites into my mouth before switching to the egg drop soup for a few mouthfuls. I don’t particularly like spicy food, so I push aside the strong-smelling Sichuan dish, leaving it for whatever fool who wants to burn their tongue off. Then I slather some fried rice with sweet and sour sauce, shovelling nearly half the box down my throat in a few huge bites.

The frankly obscene noises I’m making as I eat my feast are drowning out the whispered voices coming from the other room. I’d probably be embarrassed if I weren’t so blissed out at finally being able to eat. Honestly, I can’t hear exactly what Rio’s saying, but I can hear him snapping angrily every other word. Someone’s not happy, and for once in recent days it’s not me because I’ve found my way to food heaven.

“Fuck,” I groan like I’m getting railed from behind as I take another bite of lo mein. “So damn good.”

“Seriously!?” Rio snarls like an angry bear, sounding too close for comfort.

I snap my head around to glare his way, seeing him stalking into the room. Torrin and Daion are right behind him, and the two of them quickly slip past and join me. They sit across from me on the floor, snagging cushions out from under the coffee table to rest on. I squint as I assess them. Why wouldn’t they just sit next to me…? I shrug, brushing it off. Maybe they just like the floor.

I also notice the lack of pie. Torrin promised pie.

“Chill, Rio. She’s pregnant. Let her eat,” Daion mumbles, but I oddly get the sense he’s no more pleased to have me still here than Rio is. Though he’s obviously less hostile and apparently strongly against the attacking of innocent pregnant witches, which I decide is enough for me to work with for now.

“That's my lo mein!” Rio points at the box accusingly while shooting daggers my way. Well, if the fucker didn’t want to share his food, then he shouldn’t have tried to murder me.

What I do next is a level of petty I typically avoid, but I feel has been fairly earned in his case. I make a show of piling my fork full of the glassy brown noodles of deliciousness, then shoving them right in my mouth. I moan around the mouthful of food like a porn star trying to earn her pay cheque, closing my eyes and chewing dramatically. If the noises were obscene before, now they’re enough to make a devil blush.

“Oh, I forgot the pie!” Torrin suddenly announces, jumping up and rushing past a sour-faced Rio who’s still standing, looking absolutely furious.

I decide right then that Torrin’s definitely trustworthy. Maybe I really am delusional. All it took was pie? Then again, I have offered to sell my soul for another slice of one before, so I guess at least my weaknesses are consistent. I take my time savouring several more bites of lo mein, feeling envious eyes on me the entire time, when he returns with the entire pie and a single, lone fork.

This Torrin guy is a very smart man.

“Come sit down,” Torrin calls over to Rio as he places the pie next to my mountain of food. I think I even hear a hint of a chuckle in his voice. I turn, finding his bright hazel eyes meeting mine and shining with obvious amusement. Someone’s enjoying my company at least.

Blatantly ignoring Torrin’s call, Rio folds his arms and moves further away until his back is pressed against the wall, stubbornly remaining standing. He glares at me like I killed his beloved kitten while I continue gorging myself on what were supposed to be his noodles.

Who knew petty could taste so damn good?

“We’d like to hear what you have to say, what it is you think we could help with, then we’ll make a decision,” Torrin says gently, closely watching the way I eat with some concern. Maybe he’s worried I’ll shovel down all of his dinner next?

“Then we’re taking a vote,” Rio adds with a little too much snark for my liking. Though I manage to resist sticking my tongue out at him as I place the mostly-empty container down for a moment.

“Okay. I need to find the man—the demon—who impregnated me. I’ve already tried tracking him down by myself. I went back to the hotel where we created this little problem, but they refused to give me any information, so I went to the club where we met. Weirdly, a lot of people I spoke to there had met someone called Ash, only apparently not the one I’m looking for. Not that they knew how to find the other Ash, anyway,” I explain, feeling all three of the guys’ attention fully on me and trying not to let it be distracting. Why is this suddenly so hard to put into sensical words?

“Basically,” I say slowly, forcing myself to continue despite my reservations. “I have no way to find or reach him; I barely know anything about the guy. Honestly, I don’t even know if he’ll want to help, but I don’t have anywhere else to turn in order to prevent this pregnancy from killing me. I can’t go to my coven for obvious reasons, and I can't exactly make too much noise searching for him myself because that’s more than a little suspicious. So, here I am risking my life to beg for your help in finding him. Please help me. I really don’t want to die at twenty-six.”

I swallow thickly after I finish speaking, finding it hard to look any of them in the eyes. I’m not even sure what it is I’m suddenly so afraid of. My possible imminent demise? Their judgement? Potential scorn? Or the three of them thinking I’m a complete fucking moron for not even knowing the species of the man I got down and dirty with?

“Definitely an incubus,” Rio grunts out from between tightly clenched teeth, almost like it pains him to offer the simple information.

“Rio’s right. Based on what you’ve said and the energy you’re giving off, the father is most likely an incubus,” Daion agrees after a few seconds, as if to allow the information to sink in. “It would explain why you didn’t realise he was a demon. Their subspecies has the power to be seen as whatever it is the person seeing them desires. You wouldn’t have even thought to try and actively check what he is either, thanks to their charm effect. It puts people at ease, makes them not want to search too deeply.”

It’s really starting to feel like there’s a lot more about demons I should have been taught, other than my mother’s solid advice of, ‘You should stay away from demons, Eden.’ Though I was only ten at the time when she said it, so I’ll have to give her a pass for not warning me about the dangerous allure of sex demons. Hell, I’m not sure I’d want to have that conversation with her at twenty-six, either.

“They can really do that?” I ask, wondering if I should be concerned.

“Yes. It’s actually a fairly default state for their kind, and I doubt it was purposefully done to trick you. However, there would be obvious signs of mental trauma if he’d attempted to use his abilities to coerce you. The effect of that type of control is very short-lived.” Daion frowns for a moment before nodding to himself, apparently coming to a quick decision. “I vote that we help her find him. She’s right. He’s her best bet for survival, and it would be less suspicious for the three of us to be out searching for a demon.”

“Fuck no!” Rio smacks his hand against the wall twice, accentuating his words. “How could you?—”

“I thought we all agreed to a fair vote on this?” Torrin points out, and the blond man quite literally huffs at the interruption.

“Well, if we’re already voting, then I vote we throw her out of the door right now and never speak about this again,” he snaps, before turning the full force of his irritation back on Daion. “Why would you agree so quickly? She could be lying about everything!”

“She’s not,” Daion replies bluntly, sounding almost tired as he turns to Torrin. “You get the tie-breaker.”

At his words, almost all of the attention in the room falls to Torrin, including mine. Only his attention is directed elsewhere, as his focus is entirely on me instead. He’s staring, so I stare right back. Despite how rugged he looks between his clothes, his messed-up hair, and rough stubble, there’s an undeniable softness in his hazel eyes. There was kindness in how he treated me when he arrived and also in the way he chose to be warm and jovial as he offered up their food to a stranger. I hold my breath, trying not to get too hopeful as I wait for him to vote over my fate.

The seconds tick by, and I have to fight off the urge to fill the silence. Thankfully, he gives his answer before I break.

“My vote is to help her.”

“Oh, thank fuck.” I sigh, sagging in my seat as relief washes over me. With that settled, I reach for the pie and the fork, digging right in.

“That’s not…nevermind,” Torrin says with an amused chuckle, changing his mind about whatever he was going to say.

Goddess, this apple pie is fucking perfect. After the amount of takeout I’ve eaten, I really shouldn’t have room for more food, but there’s always room for pie. Especially when it’s this damn good.

“This is fucking bullshit,” Rio hisses after a prolonged moment of silence.

I think he must have been counting on Torrin siding with him over Daion. Though, I don’t know why he thought such an obviously lovely guy would do that. Torrin’s already my favourite because of the pie, and offering up the rest of their food didn’t hurt his case, either.

Daion’s currently in my neutral zone, I think. He doesn’t seem to be super jazzed about my being here, but at least he’s willing to help despite whatever weird feelings he seems to have about my situation. He’s doing this because he’s simply a good person, good enough to ignore his personal issues, whatever they are.

Unlike Rio, who's lucky to still be alive after the shit he pulled. Watching as he storms out of the room, I consider all the different poisons or curses I could use on him but quickly shake the thought off. If I kill or otherwise harm their friend, the other two will probably change their minds about helping me. Once he’s out of sight, I settle for sticking my tongue out in his general direction. If bodily harm is off the table, I can at least match his childish attitude to make myself feel better.

“I saw that!” Rio’s voice snaps from down the hall, and my eyebrows shoot up.

How the fuck did he…

“We have cameras,” Daion says, answering my silent question as he gestures around the room.

“ Oh,” I grumble, not seeing the so-called cameras, but returning to my pie with a shrug. “Is he going to be a problem?” I ask. Despite the fact they’ve already agreed to help me, I get the sense that Rio isn’t entirely on board after the vote he lost. “Maybe I can just hire you two?”

“Nah, he’ll get over it. Besides, we’re a team, so after he pouts for a while, he’ll step up. He’d never leave us hanging, and he’s far too paranoid to sit a case out,” Torrin reassures me while eyeing the pie I’m devouring a little longingly.

Maybe he did want some of it? Oops. Well, he shouldn’t have only stuck one fork in it. What was a witch supposed to think?

“Okay, so what now?” I ask, only feeling a bit guilty. I’d offer him some of the pie now, but at this point my saliva is probably all over it. Though, I guess he could eat the edges? Seeing as I started in the centre.

“You could tell us your name, seeing as you skipped right past introductions,” Torrin answers, smirking at me. I blush, completely having forgotten, seeing as I’d managed to pick up all of their names from their interactions with each other.

“In my defence, none of you introduced yourselves properly either,” I point out. I was also a little distracted from getting attacked, and then there was food. The first food I’ve been able to stomach in days. Who could possibly blame me for forgetting about dumb introductions then?

“I suppose we didn’t, did we?”

“Well, you’re Torrin, that’s Daion, and the jackass is Rio, right?” I confirm, gesturing at each of them, and then off in the general direction that said jackass had left in.

“That’s right,” he confirms, still smirking. “And you are?”

“Eden Cross, and you can save all of the name jokes I know you’re thinking of. I promise I’ve heard them already.”