Page 97 of Hunted By Fear

“What the fuck do you want, Asta?” Talian’s hold on Aerilyn tightens, and I watch her relax into him, even if only just slightly.

That’s unusual. Just days ago, she was stuck to Bast for comfort, and while he’s still here with them, she’s very much comfortable in Talian’s arms.

My mind goes back to the first time they met, when he cornered her in the hall, naked and annoying. I’d told him to leave her alone after that; we didn’t need him to scare her off. At the time, she seemed grateful for my intervention, so what changed?

“You’ve bonded?”

It’s not really a question; it’s the only thing that explains the drastic shift, but still, it doesn’t seem possible.

Lucifer and Talian, and Bast swears she’s his mate as well.

Three powerful demons, one being the King of Hell.

“Lucifer has asked me to show Aerilyn something.” That gets her attention, and she peeks through her lashes to finally look at me.

The feel of her gaze on me makes me bristle, and I have to resist the urge to teleport away. One mortal shouldn’t have such power over me, and that only pisses me off further.

I feel Bast’s eyes attempting to burn a hole in the side of my head, but I don’t spare him a glance.

“Show me what?” Aerilyn asks, attempting to sit up, but Talian keeps her fixed to his side, and I have to bite back a sneer of disgust.

A mortal…

“You’ll see when I show you.” I turn and head for the door, needing to get out of there before I do or say something I’ll regret.

I wasn’t positive, but I was pretty sure she would follow, and after a moment, I hear her scurry off the bed, almost tripping over her own feet, and run to fall into step behind me.

“Is this time sensitive, or can you, like, wait a second?”

How is she already out of breath?

“Hello.” She runs forward to look up at me, but I keep my gaze forward. Even still, it’s impossible to miss the way her face scrunches up in obvious annoyance before she huffs. “I have to pee. Can you wait a damn second?”

I stop, catching her off guard enough that she continues forward for a few steps before she realizes.

“You have three minutes.” I step back into the shadows and teleport away, but I don’t go far. Just far enough away that she won’t notice me.

Aerilyn’s mouth falls open before her head whips left then right, looking down the hall, but she doesn’t see me. She throwsher head back and groans before turning toward her room and stomping back down the hall.

I hear Bast and Talian move off the bed and fuss over her, but her footsteps don’t stop, and a moment later I hear the bathroom door click closed.

“Where are you taking her?”I’m almost shocked it took Bast this long to reach out. I expected more pushback when I showed up in her room and saw them both.

“If you were meant to know, you would.”

I step out of the shadows as a scent I’m all too familiar with wafts through the air.

“I have no intention to harm her,”I tell both Bast and Talian, annoyed it has to be said. I’d been the one to seek asylum for her; just because I didn’t want to spend every waking moment glued to her like they did doesn’t mean I’m going to hand her to Rome or kill her.

Thankfully, Bast believes me, and his fear dissipates. The scent is enough to make my mouth water with his power level, but despite that, I don’t enjoy it. Talian and Kai I can handle, but Bast is different.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

I can hear Talian’s annoyance, feel it in the air, and I know he’s fighting against the bond. Typically, freshly bonded mates require contact, and I can only assume that it’s worse for demons. We’re already full of murderous intent; I’m sure the possessive need to keep our mate only to ourselves doesn’t help.

I’m so lost in my own thoughts that I don’t realize she’s coming toward me until she’s only a few steps away. Her cheeks are pink, and she can’t meet my gaze.

Three minutes was clearly too long.