CHAPTER 24
Alec waited as he watched Kian sleep. He didn’t know who would show up, but he figured it would be his father again since he was the only one who had a chance of defeating Alec if the Council decided to kill him. It felt so good to have his mate curled up against him, gripping his hand tightly as if – even in sleep – Kian feared he’d leave. His love looked so peaceful, something Alec knew he’d had precious little of since he’d left.
There was little to no chance of the Council allowing Alec to return to school, even less of them agreeing to let them live. The risks of humans discovering the existence of demons were too great.
As a Sentinel, Alec knew how to hide. It wouldn’t be a great way to live but he also wasn’t about to let them kill the love of his life. He’d out demons himself, if that was their plan.
His father materialized just as dawn broke. “I’m not leaving,” he whispered so as not to wake Kian.
A sigh escaped his father’s lips. “I know, son. But the Council is not ready to accept the risk of your relationship with the boy.”
Reflexively, Alec’s arm tightened around his mate. So trusting, Kian curled deeper against his body. “So you were sent to kill me.” It was a statement, not a question. Alec understood better than most the risks of a demon in a relationship with a human.
“No, I refused. As Captain of the Sentinels, the others followed me.” Tarak’s refusal surprised Alec somewhat. Going against the Council wasn’t something their kind could do without repercussions.
Still, it heartened him that all the Sentinels aligned with Tarak and by extension, Alec. A flicker of hope ignited inside him. “What does that mean for Kian and me?”
“You have been given a choice.” Tarak’s stare was grave, telling Alec there was really no choice in the matter. “Both of you can come back to live in our world.” Letting his son contemplate his words, Tarak didn’t continue.
“Or?” Alec asked, fearing just how bad it would be.
“Or they will find others to do the job the Sentinels have refused.” Tarak gave it to him straight, not sugarcoating his options.
The thought of Kian’s execution being ordered had Alec furious. Unable to control that anger, he spoke louder than he’d planned. “What?”
Kian drug from his deep sleep, instantly jerked upright - eyes wide at his shout. “Alec, what’s wrong?”
Giving his father a warning look, he pulled his mate back down onto the bed. “Nothing. Go back to sleep.” He waited several minutes for him to drift off.
Reluctantly, extracting himself from his sleeping form, Alec left the room indicating for his father to follow. They ended up in the kitchen. “How is this supposed to work? There is no way he can live with us – he is human.”
“We will have to make it work. There is no other option.” Even though the condemnation wasn’t there in Tarak’s voice, Alec could feel it just the same.
“He has to pay the price because of me,” Alec whispered.
The confirmation clearly showed in his father’s eyes, though to his credit he didn’t say it. “It does not matter what led to this decision. The fact remains that unless you wish a death sentence, there is only one option.”
Nodding reluctantly, Alec agreed. “I need time to tell him.” He would have run with Kian if there had been no other option, but his mate wasn’t built for that kind of life. They only would have been able to hide for so long before someone found them.
“The Council has given you until midnight tonight.” It was early morning, which gave Alec some time to convince Kian this was their only option.
If he thought the Council reasonable, Alec would have asked for more time, but he knew he was lucky to have been given any time at all. “Fine, we will be there.”
Sorrow radiated from his father. “It was the best I could do. I am so sorry.”
Not trusting himself to speak, Alec just nodded. A moment later, Alec was left alone to figure out how to tell Kian.
Alec went back to Kian’s room and sat in a chair, watching him, hoping he wouldn’t hate him by the time the day was over. Alec had really screwed things up.
After another hour of sleep, Kian started to waken. It wasn’t until he jerked upright, his hand searching the sheets behind him for any sign of Alec, that he silently berated himself for letting his mate think for even an instant he’d left again. “I’m right here,” he assured.
Blue eyes met his for several heartbeats before Kian found his voice. “I was afraid you’d left.” There was such profound relief in his words that Alec hoped it meant there was a chance Kian would be able to accept his fate.
He went over to sit on the edge of the bed, gathering him in his arms. Happiness permeated his senses as he held the one person in the world who had wormed into his heart. “I told you I would not leave you.”
Clinging to him, Kian started to relax. “I know.”
He pulled back just enough to look into those gorgeous cerulean eyes. “Kian, we need to talk.” He placed a finger to those lush lips when his mate opened his mouth to say something. “No, I am not leaving you, but we still have to talk.”
Sitting with his legs crossed, Kian sat facing him. “I’m all ears.”
Where to start? Knowing this would be difficult, Alec decided to just get it out there. “The Council has voted and deemed us both a threat. We were given a choice. Move to Tuklati, our home in the mountains.” Alec sighed, wishing to hell he didn’t have to tell him the rest. “Or an order will be given for both our deaths.”
Kian blinked at him but didn’t say anything for a full minute. When he did speak, Alec thought he’d either accept the situation and tell him he would move to Tuklati or scream at him about the unfairness of the situation. Never in a million years had he expected him to actually say what he did.
“I’m staying here.” Alec was sure he hadn’t heard Kian correctly. There was no way he would ever allow that to happen as that would mean certain death.
“I don’t think you understand…” he started but Kian cut him off.
“I understand perfectly. My whole life someone has made decisions for me. Decisions that were never in my best interest, just convenient for them to get rid of me. I was placed in foster home after foster home, with families whose only concern was the money the state gave them for giving me a place to sleep.” Kian slid off the bed and went to the window.
There was no way to know if Kian even saw the snowy landscape on the other side of the glass.
“For the first time in my life, I’m in charge. I get to make the decisions.” Kian gave a mirthless laugh. “I’m starting to realize that I haven’t been doing that. For some reason, the moment I met you, I let other factors control what I did. How I reacted.”
Then he turned to Alec. There was a kind of sadness etched in those usually clear blue eyes that broke his heart. “But I’m taking that control back. This is my life and I’m not about to let demons tell me what I can and cannot do. If that means I die,” Kian gave a shrug, “then at least I’ll do it on my terms.”
Stupid? Definitely. But when Alec was giving Kian their options, which let’s face it, weren’t a choice at all, something deep within him snapped into place. He had promised when he’d left for college he would be in charge. From that moment on, no one would tell him what to do with his life.
Yet, since arriving, that had been all he’d done. From his friends’ well intentioned demands that he attend every function on campus to spending money on clothes that he couldn’t afford. Don’t even get him started on the merry-go-round since meeting Alec.
“Are you out of your mind?” Alec yelled.
Maybe, but it was his decision to make.
“In case you missed it,” Alec said as he began to pace in quick jerky steps. “The Council will kill you, us.” Alec got right in Kian’s face. “You will be dead. What kind of decisions will you make once you’re dead, huh?”
Admittedly, that was a good point, but Kian refused to back down.
“You do realize it isn’t just you they will kill, don’t you?” Alec brushed a strand of his hair back with his hand. “I’m part of this death sentence you seem so willing to accept.”
That wasn’t something Kian would ever let happen. He might be stubborn enough to die, but there was no way he could do that to Alec. “Go back home. Tell them you won’t have anything more to do with me and I’m sure they’ll let you live.”
Alec leaned in until their foreheads touched. “Don’t you realize by now that isn’t possible? I could no more stay away from you than not breathe. And there is no way I could live in a world without you in it.”
Tears sprang to Kian’s eyes, causing Alec to become blurry as he whispered, “That’s the way I feel about you.”
“Then please come back with me. Please don’t make me watch you die.” His voice broke on the last word.
Kian wanted to do as he asked, he just didn’t know if he could. “Why this? Why are they demanding I give up everything?”
Alec sighed and started to pace again. He stopped when he was a foot from the far wall. “Demons are rigorously trained to control these emotions, not allowed to move freely amongst humans until they are at least sixty years old. But some demons are never able to control themselves.”
His voice sounded flat as if he were detaching himself from what he was saying. “My biological father was one of those demons. He had a taste for humans that he could not control. My mother was one of the many human females he had sex with.” The thought that he was like his father crossed his mind many times since meeting Kian. It sickened him to think he could hurt him, that he already had hurt him by not walking away.
“The man was what you might call evil.” A sarcastic smile on his otherwise emotionless expression told Kian he found it ironic that he was in the exact same position as his biological father. “He was the epitome of what humans consider a demon. The evil in him wanted to hurt humans. Those that were unfortunate, like my mother, survived the initial encounter.”
Understanding dawned in his eyes as horror gripped him. Surprise crossed that otherwise stoic expression when Kian went to him cradling his face in his delicate hands. “But I did survive, Alec. You never hurt me. Just like I know you never would.”
Gently, Alec’s hands pulled Kian away from him. “You were lucky, unlike the others. The fortunate ones die quickly because when a demon joins with a human and the human survives, it always results in pregnancy. A human cannot survive the birth of demon offspring. Most of the time they won’t be able to carry the child full term.”
Alec gripped his hands tighter. “It is why the laws are there. We are not allowed to get involved with a human - to do so will result in the human’s death.” Anguish filled his eyes. “It is the reason I tried so hard to stay away from you.”
Kian smirked. “As we already discussed before, good thing I can’t get pregnant. Next problem.”
Alec shook his head as he huffed out a frustrated sigh. “It’s not that easy, Kian. The Council has made its decision. Either you move to Tuklati or we both die. There are no other options as far as they’re concerned.”
Kian’s heart dropped into his stomach. Alec was right. There wasn’t any other option but to move to his home. Anger was boiling near the surface but he couldn’t find it in his heart to blame Alec, not really. Kian was just as much at fault. He hadn’t been able to stay away from Alec any more than Alec had been able to keep his distance.
It was time for him to own up to his part in this. Cupping his face tenderly, Kian stared into those emerald eyes that fascinated him. “Alec, I love you. As much as I hate not being given a choice, I will move to Tuklati with you.”
Alec pulled him into a tight embrace. “Thank you.”
“I still don’t think it’s a good idea and I’m doing so under protest, so your Council better stay away from me if they know what’s good for them.” Kian’s statement had Alec holding him even tighter.
“Please don’t say that. Our laws are harsh but they have to be. Our abilities make us dangerous if we are out of control.” Alec pulled back until he was staring at him with a sobering expression. “It’s why there are Sentinels. Humans can’t control us even if they knew what we were. It takes demons like me to go hunt them down and kill them.”
Ominous? Yep.
Alec’s warning wasn’t helping Kian accept his fate. The last thing he wanted was to be in a place where even a child could easily kill him without even trying. “Will I be safe?”
There was a flash of uncertainty in Alec’s gaze. “I will do everything in my power to keep you from being harmed, but I won’t lie to you.” Alec seemed to be considering his words for a moment. “Most likely there will be people who think you should be killed. Me too, for that matter. As a Sentinel, they won’t try anything with me, but you are weak in their eyes. You’ll make an easy target. It’s important you stay as inconspicuous as possible.”
That wasn’t what Kian wanted to hear. Nor was he about to go into another situation where he had to keep himself hidden away like in foster care.
“When do we have to go?” He asked, hoping to have some time to get used to the idea.
“Midnight,” Alec told him.
Kian felt his jaw drop. “Tonight?” They couldn’t possibly mean for him to give up an entire life in less than a day. Could they?
“I know it’s short notice but they don’t want to give us time to make a run for it.” Alec made sense even if Kian thought the Council was being unreasonable.
Kian might have been half joking about giving them a piece of his mind, but after what they were putting him through, Kian wouldn’t hesitate to tell them what insensitive assholes they were.
Not that he would admit that to Alec. No sense giving him a heart attack for no reason. For all he knew, he’d never meet any of the uptight Council.
In a way, he couldn’t deny hoping he would get the chance. Kian was done jumping through hoops. If he was going to do this, which apparently he was, Kian would do it his way.
He just hoped he had the guts to stand up to anyone who got in his way.
Kian really hoped he didn’t regret this decision one day. Not that he would so long as it meant Alec would be by his side, but that didn’t mean Kian wouldn’t give every single demon in Tuklati who thought they could push him around a piece of his mind.
“Let’s get me packed, then.” Kian said as he pulled out one of his suitcases.
He really should have known his entire life would turn upside down.
COMING SOON: MY DEMON HEART, BOOK 2 IN DEMONIC TALES AND ADVENTURES! TURN THE PAGE FOR A SNEAK PEEK!