Page 65 of Hunted By Fear

And Ruin thinks they're dangerous.

“Let’s go torture some souls. I have someone I want you to meet later.” I can’t see my face, but I feel like the smile on my face must look strange because my hounds seem confused.

You and me both, guys.

Punishing the damned.

It’s always been something I enjoy, but even that doesn’t seem to be enough today.

Not when my mate is back in the castle, still at the mercy of Rome, an angel at that.

High and mighty, intended to protect and help mankind, he’s twisted his powers and used them to terrorize a mortal woman who did nothing but be born to the wrong family.

And they say we’re disgusting.

My shadows jump, rolling over my skin of their own accord as my power continues to surge. I’d intended to use some of it to try and calm myself, but instead it seems as though all I’ve done is made my thirst for blood even greater.

My hounds run and play, yipping and playfully snapping at each other, full and happy as they fly past me back down to the dungeons that they guard below the castle.

At the moment it’s empty, but even still, they prefer it to the rest of the castle, except for the occasional times they find their way to my room to sleep in my bed.

My wings are covered in gore, blood, and possible pieces of lesser demons who needed to be handled.

Not only do I torture the souls of those who deserve it, but I must also keep my own kingdom in check.

Meaning any who tries to escape must be reminded who they answer to.

Me.

I’m so lost in thought, I don’t even know where I am or what I’m doing until the tiniest gasp of air frees me from myself.

I blink past my rage to find Aerilyn in front of me as she moves through the dining hall from the kitchen. A glass of something falls from her hand, shattering on the hard stone floor, but she doesn’t even flinch. Even though I’m positive the glass must have hit her, she doesn’t seem to care, and as her eyes roam over me. I can’t find it to make myself look away.

What does she see when she looks at me?

A monster.

A voice that sounds a lot like my father’s whispers in my ear, and I grind my teeth against the urge to tell it to fuck off. First of all, because it’s not real, and second, because it’s probably right.

My mouth is moving before I can think it through as the silence threatens to suffocate me.

“I’m sorry.” Her eyes snap up to meet mine, and I see them narrow in question. “That you’re mated to me, to a monster.”

“Wait!” Glass crunches beneath my feet as I move to stop him. I hiss from the bite of pain but keep moving. Something tells me that letting him leave right now would be bad, but even beyond that, I don’t want him to leave.

Lucifer is there the next second, scooping me up into his arms, his eyes wide as he curses under his breath. One second we’re in the dining room, the next the world is spinning and we’re in a bedroom.

One guess says it’s his, and just the thought has me flushed.

He moves to the bed, setting me down gently as if I’m fragile, before he stretches out a hand toward the empty fireplace and starts a fire without even looking.

The room warms almost instantly, and I didn’t even realize I was shivering until it stops.

“I didn’t think it was possible to be cold in Hell,” I say with a chuckle as I rub my hands over my arms to soothe out the goosebumps.

“There’s a lot of misinformation about the realm. The castle sits just past the border, near the river. The fire and magma ofthe Earth are on the lower levels. If you were ever to visit Bast’s level, you’d not only be warm, but I’m pretty certain your flesh would melt from your bones.” His lips pull down into a frown before he shakes his head. “Mortals are fragile, but you won’t be going down there, so it doesn’t matter.”

He rests a hand on my knee before letting his fingers ghost down my leg to wrap around my ankle. Any thought of Bast, his level of Hell, or being cold goes out the fucking window as my body heats as if he just lit me on fire as well.