Page 2 of Hooked on a Demon (Leeside Witches #3)

Declan

W hile being the brother of a demon lord and a beloved supernatural council member has benefits, living in the same town as his powerful brother hasn’t come without its troubles.

Everyone knows who he is. Which means everyone seems to know his business, whether Declan wants them to or not.

There are eyes everywhere, though Declan has to give his brother credit, as he does his best to stay out of Declan’s business.

Lachlan helped to raise him after everything with their dad went down, but no longer a trouble-making teen and a hefty thirty-two, Lachlan trusts Declan to make his own choices. For better or worse.

When he opened his auto shop, publicly backed by Lachlan’s support, the Leeside community latched on quickly. Business took off, and because the community generally trusted Lachlan, they trusted Declan by association. For a new business, Declan knew it wasn’t a bad place to be.

A few years later, the regulars have stuck and new customers are consistently coming in.

Hellbent Motors has been busy enough and he’s thought about expanding, but it’s a lot of time and money he doesn’t have at the moment.

As such, they remain where they are, and he hires staff as needed to help meet the demand.

And he’s grateful for every single one of his staff who has found their way to him.

They are clever, motivated, and make his days easier.

“Hey, Sebastian, can you watch the front desk for me. I gotta step out for a bit,” Declan says to one of his service techs. “And can you let Chloe know she needs to check the rotors in bay three?”

“Sure thing, boss,” Sebastian says before running into the shop to find Chloe. He returns a moment later, rag in hand, as he dries them off before sitting at the computer.

“Thanks, bud.” Declan claps him on the shoulder before walking around the desk and heading out the front to his motorcycle.

A little bit later, Declan’s flipping through a five-year-old magazine he found on the table, sitting in an uncomfortable chair at the doctor’s office.

Looking around, he’s not sure how they manage to stay in practice.

They are always running at least half an hour behind, the staff is miserable, and he’s definitely gone into an exam room before with another patient’s file still on the screen.

If he ran his shop like this doctor’s office, they would have closed after the first month.

Eventually, his name is called, and he follows the nurse back. What feels like ten minutes later, the doctor finally comes in.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Grace. How are you doing today?” she asks.

“Good, good. Thanks. And you?”

“The same,” she replies, taking a seat on the little rolling stool by the desk. “What can I help you with?”

“The usual,” he replies, rolling his sleeve up.

He doesn’t miss the stare she gives him as he does so, and while she’s certainly attractive, he does his best not to mix business with pleasure.

It took him a while to find a doctor who was comfortable dealing with demons and had knowledge of the differences in their bodies, so he definitely wasn’t going to sleep with her and leave him with having to find a new doctor.

Instead, he ignores the ogles and keeps his interactions as neutral as possible to avoid any confusion.

“Standard panel?”

“Yep.”

She nods and gathers the supplies before coming over to stand in front of him. She wraps the tourniquet around his arm and waits for the vein to appear. As she takes his blood sample, he senses her need to say something and her growing hesitation.

“Say what you want to say, doc,” he prompts.

“I mean no disrespect, Mr. Grace. But, as a doctor, I feel it is my role to note you come in here pretty regularly, getting tests done for sexually transmitted infections.”

“Yes.”

“While I appreciate your attention to your health, I do have to wonder if you would be better served, uh, reducing your activity.”

He breathes in slowly, trying to find an appropriate way to tell her to mind her own fucking business.

Fighting the angered demon within, he says, “Thank you for your concern. I will take it under advisement.” His voice comes out harder than he intended, but frankly, he’s tired of being judged for how he chooses to spend his time.

Every partner consents and, as fully-formed adults, he and whatever companion he’s with have the right to make their own choices.

She nods again, not pushing him any further. She finishes up a moment later and sends him on his way, letting him know the results will be forwarded in a couple of days.

* * *

After changing out of his grubby shop clothes, he grabs a cold beer from the fridge and flops down on the couch next to Buckley.

Wisps of smoke unravel from him, spreading around the room as they relax, releasing the tension he’s gathered throughout the day.

He loves being a demon and all the power that comes with it.

But he’d be lying if he said that it also wasn’t exhausting.

Holding his demon at bay all day, staying in his human form, keeping his smoke inside.

It’s a lot to manage. So when he gets home, he likes to let his power out, allowing it to stretch and relax as he does, which is why one of the wisps hovers over Buckley, petting him absent-mindedly.

Buckley, like the ridiculous dog he is, rolls over, exposing his stomach to the smoke to provide premium access for optimal belly rubs.

He drops his head back on the back of the couch, closing his eyes.

A loud thunk has him cracking an eye open, looking to the side of the room where a tendril of smoke has knocked over a plant stand, spreading dirt all over the floor.

“Hey. Dipshit. Knock it off,” he tells the tendril.

The point rises and turns toward him. If it had a face, he’s sure it would be giving him a mischievous grin.

Rather than argue with it, he draws it back in.

Calling the magic to return to its base.

It tries to resist the command, stretching and wriggling forward, but eventually relents at Declan’s insistence.

Placing his beer on a coaster on the coffee table, Declan gets a broom from the closet and cleans up the mess.

After his precious marble pothos has been righted and its dirt replaced, he settles back on the couch, picking up the remote to watch last night’s episode of Liars & Thieves , his favorite competition, following a group of selected liars attempting to deceive their way into winning a pot of money.

Declan’s phone vibrates next to him as the truth-seekers finally manage to eliminate a liar.

Pulling it out, he sees a message from his best friend, Everest Oaks.

Everest

Hey loser

Are you done moping?

Declan

I’m not moping

But you are a loser

Fuck off.

Never!!

You’d be lost without me.

That’s debatable

Anyway, what’s up?

Wanna go for a drive?

I’ve already had a beer. Starting my second.

I’ll come get ya

Declan pauses to think about it. He doesn’t really want to go out.

But he also knows that if he doesn’t, he’ll sit here for the rest of the night drinking and watching reality shows, which doesn’t exactly scream healthy and well-adjusted.

Though, there is probably a lot about him that doesn’t scream well-adjusted.

Sure.

Cool

Be there in 10

K.

He turns off the TV, puts the cap back on his beer, knowing full well it will be flat by the time he gets home, and puts it back in the fridge.

He charges upstairs, turns on the shower, and hops in to quickly wash off the day’s grime.

Everest is comfortable enough to let himself in if Declan isn’t ready right when he arrives, so he doesn’t worry about rushing through it too much.

When done, he rubs his hair with the towel, squeezes some gel on his hands, and runs it through the long strands that run down the center of his head before quickly braiding it.

Unsure where, if anywhere, Everest wants to go, Declan feels it can’t hurt to make sure his hair isn’t a complete poof ball when it finally dries.

He grabs a pair of dark wash jeans from the dresser drawer and a dark green Henley.

By the time he makes it downstairs, Everest is already sitting on a stool in the kitchen, scrolling through Declan’s phone with Buckley’s head resting in his lap. Traitor.

“Dude. Who is Charlie? And why is she blowing up your phone?”

“None of your business,” Declan says, trying to grab his phone from Everest’s hands, but he twists to keep it out of reach.

“Pah! She says, and I quote, ‘You were the best I’ve ever had, and I can’t wait to ride your’—” Declan tackles him, wrenching the device from Everest’s stupid hands as Buckley bounces behind them, grumbling playfully.

“You’re such a dick. Why do I stay friends with you?” Declan grumbles.

“Apparently, you’re the king of dicks, according to Charlie.” Everest laughs. “Besides, you know your life would be boring without me.”

After Declan’s father passed and Lachlan became the new demon lord, Declan found himself accompanying his brother on some of his travels.

Partly so Lachlan could keep an eye on him, and partly because Declan was curious what else there was out there.

Soon enough, Lachlan found himself settling in Leeside, and Declan decided to stay on this side of the world as well.

Hanging around Leeside so much led to joining clubs to keep busy.

As much as it pains him to admit it, Declan knows Everest is fucking right.

They’ve been friends for years, meeting when they both signed up for a recreational football team.

They were paired up for some warm-up drills and have stuck together ever since.

Growing up in the underworld, Declan never thought he would befriend a human, let alone become best friends with one.

Declan has never been one to have a large group of friends.

Instead, he prefers a small, tight-knit group of quality friends over quantity.

Granted, the idea of keeping a small group of trusted individuals around him may have been a by-product of his father and how he felt the need to keep a close group of confidants during his reign as ruler of the underworld.

But Declan has yet to unpack all the ways his father fucked him up, and he’s certainly not about to do it right now.

“You ready to go?” Everest asks, pushing away from the counter.

“Oh. Yeah.” Declan slides a pair of running shoes on, not bothering to untie them. He pats Buckley on the head, giving him a good scratch behind the ears and a kiss on the forehead before they exit the house. “Where are we going?”

Everest unlocks his truck and, as he climbs in, says, “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

Declan buckles his seatbelt and rolls his eyes at his friend. “Nothing illegal, alright. Bucks needs his daddy to come home.”

“Daddy, huh?”

“Fuck off.” Declan laughs.