Page 22 of Wreaking Havoc (Demon Bound #1)

21

Kai

K ai was slow to rise.

After he’d bathed Sascha, cleansing him of any lingering evidence of their consummation, the new bond had taken it out of them both. Kai had slept more than he was used to needing, wrapped tightly around his mate.

Now his mate was wrapped around him, with his lovely face pressed into Kai’s chest.

Which was all well and good, but Kai had a horrid crick in his neck. He tried to stretch it out but got caught halfway through the motion.

He tried once more before realizing what the issue was.

His horn point was lodged into the wall.

Cursed human bedrooms with their cursed human-sized furniture .

Kai tugged himself free with effort and scooted lower on the bed, until his feet were dangling off the end. It wasn’t ideal, but it was better than having a horn trapped in plaster.

The movement had Sascha turning in his hold with a sigh, his back now to Kai’s chest. He grabbed Kai’s arm and wrapped it tightly around his middle, forcing Kai onto his side. “Wull haff one custom-made,” he slurred before closing his eyes again.

Kai tucked his face against Sascha’s hair, smiling into it. His sweet, perfect mate. Kai could feel him, secure within his chest.

What he’d been able to feel before had been just a piece. A mere morsel. Now Kai was filled with Sascha, the weight of him settling Kai’s own restless soul for the first time in…perhaps ever. It was like he’d spent his long life only partially tethered to his own existence, and now here he was, fully secured. He’d never known anything like it.

Even after having found Sascha, after knowing he wanted to bond with the human, Kai had still been…antsy. Anxious for the bonding ceremony to take place, haunted by that one last incomplete step. What if they didn’t bond in time? What if he was forced away?

But now it was done. Their souls were linked, inextricably. Now Kai could just…be.

The thought was almost overwhelming, the freedom of it too much to bear. No Book to bind him, no human’s commands to tend to.

But Kai didn’t need those things, not anymore. He had the sweet warmth of Sascha in his arms to anchor him. His human had long been under a different yolk—the vicious father and controlling brother. They would explore their newfound freedom together.

Kai pressed a kiss to Sascha’s shoulder. The rest of Sascha’s bare upper arm was peeking out from under the cover, revealing the spot where his stab wound had once been. The spot that was now unbroken, unblemished skin.

A reminder that there was indeed one more step, beyond their bonding. Kai needed to do as he’d promised—he needed to vanquish Sascha’s enemies. To make sure they could never harm him again.

Not that they had a chance of killing him anymore, not with Kai’s demon strength and healing simmering in Sascha’s veins, waiting to be unleashed in case of illness or injury. But the Carusos could still cause him immense displeasure. Could upset his tender stomach with their threats. And Sascha had been most distressed at the mention of human trafficking.

As his mate, it was Kai’s responsibility to rectify that.

The leaders of the Caruso family had to go.

And the meeting tonight would be the perfect opportunity. Which left the rest of the day for…other pursuits.

Kai unwrapped his arm from Sascha’s middle and leaned back a bit to admire his sleeping form, fingering the soft silken shorts Sascha slept in. He’d changed into a different pair after their bath—these were not pink but a dark royal blue. A perfect match for Kai’s skin markings.

They were fascinating—the slightest movement from Sascha and the silken material would shift, revealing glimpses of his pale, tender flesh.

Like now. When Sascha had turned, he’d sprawled his leg over to the side, and one globe of his bottom was almost completely bare. Kai’s cock began filling at the tempting sight. There was hardly a barrier between them at all, since Kai slept in the nude himself. He would only have to nudge forward the slightest bit, and his cockhead would be pressed against him. He could slide himself back and forth, caught between smooth skin and smooth silk. Perhaps Sascha wouldn’t even wake. Perhaps…

A loud rumbling filled the room, startling Kai out of his musings.

Sascha’s eyes were open now, his cheeks pink.

Kai laughed in disbelief. “Did that come from…your stomach, zaychik?”

“I’m hungry,” Sascha muttered with a frown, embarrassment still coloring his cheeks. “We didn’t have dinner last night. So you’ll have to stow your pervy thoughts.”

“What do you know of my thoughts?” Kai asked, running a finger along the bare skin of Sascha’s upper thigh.

“You think them very loudly,” Sascha told him snippily, rising from his reclined position and dislodging Kai’s hand.

“Mm. What if I told you—”

The rumbling sound rang out again.

Right. What was Kai thinking? His mate was hungry. Starved, even, by the sound of it. They were newly bonded, and he’d allowed such a thing to happen.

He was a disgraceful excuse for a demon.

He leaped from the bed, summoning his trousers to his body as he strode to the kitchen ahead of his mate. Once there, he took stock.

It was an unmitigated disaster.

He turned to Sascha, who was blinking blearily at the edge of the kitchen. “You have nothing to eat in here,” Kai complained.

“Riiight,” Sascha said slowly, as if Kai were being foolish. “Because I’ve been living in Maine? Not that I would have had anything anyway. You can have literally anything delivered here, you know. I’ll order us some bagels.”

“No!” Kai closed the distance between them, grabbing Sascha’s phone from his hand before he could press any buttons. “ I will do it.”

He would feed his mate, lack of resources be damned.

He stared down at the little device, unsure where to begin. Should he just goggle it? He tried painstakingly typing out “need bagels for mate,” but nothing useful came up.

A strangled sound came from his left. Sascha was peering over Kai’s arm at the phone screen.

Was he laughing at Kai?

Kai huffed. “It’s not amusing. How am I to be a mate to you if I can’t feed you?”

Sascha grabbed the phone back, rolling his eyes. “Then let me show you, you loon.”

He walked Kai through the many buttons—the “apps,” he called them—and had soon ordered bagels and coffee to be delivered to them.

But not even the thought of imminent coffee could lessen Kai’s despair. He muttered to himself the many failings of this realm, “No hot rivers. No fine oils. No fresh kills…”

He was halted by Sascha grabbing his face with both hands, tugging Kai’s head down to bring them eye to eye. “Look, I know you’ve got a lot of feelings about how your mate should be treated,” Sascha said. “But we don’t need hot demonic rivers—we have bathtubs. And if you want to anoint me with oils or whatever, we can order some to be delivered by tomorrow. And fresh kills frankly sounds….disgusting. I’ll teach you about human food.”

“How?” Kai frowned at him. “You seem to know less about preparing human food than I do.”

Sascha shrugged, his hands still keeping Kai’s head in place. “Then we’ll watch the Food Network. We’ll learn together.”

“The TV can teach us how to cook?”

Sascha sighed before pressing a kiss to Kai’s lips. “Never underestimate the power of television, Kai. Never.”

That was strangely reassuring. Kai gave him a smug smile, his despair forgotten. “See how sweet you are to me?” he crooned. “My perfect mate.”

“Ugh.” Sascha released his face with a groan. “It’s too early in the day to be calling me sweet.”

“It’s almost midday,” Kai pointed out.

“Exactly. Way too early. So here’s the plan.” Sascha started pacing through the kitchen, his bare feet smacking the tile. “We’re going to eat our bagels. You’re going to tell me all about those pervy thoughts of yours. If they please me, you may perform them. And then…” He let out a harsh breath, stopping in his tracks. “Then we’ll get ready for tonight.”

Kai cocked his head. “You’re nervous.”

“I know they can’t kill me, now that we’re bonded,” Sascha told him, resuming his pacing. “But men like that still scare me.” His shoulders shook in a shudder. “They’ve always scared me.”

“You don’t have to come with me, if you don’t wish to,” Kai reminded him. “I can take care of them on my own.”

“No.” Sascha shook his head decisively. “I need to be there. I need to see it through.”

“Then I’ll be at your side.” Kai snagged Sascha by the waist, halting his pointless marching and tugging him in close. “You won’t be facing them alone, zaychik. You won’t be left alone ever again.”

Sascha collapsed against him, all his restless energy leaving him in an instant. “I think my codependent heart just skipped a beat,” he murmured.

Kai frowned down at him. “It shouldn’t be doing that. You should be fully healthy after the ceremony.”

Sascha only laughed at him.

The dirty warehouse they arrived at was a far cry from the sleek chrome fortress Sascha’s older brother did his business in.

Sascha sniffed the air as they approached. “Mm. Smells like my childhood.”

Kai wrinkled his nose. “It smells of mold, zaychik.”

“Exactly,” Sascha told him with a bitter laugh. “Mafia life’s not always glamorous, especially when your father is still building his empire.”

They stopped at the entrance to the warehouse, not yet announcing their arrival. Sascha looked formidable, dressed in an elegant, formfitting suit, with his pretty hair slicked back out of his face. His hand drifting to his stomach now and then—as if it pained him, but he didn’t want to say—was the only tell his nerves were strained.

Kai rumbled his displeasure at his mate’s fear. “You’re certain you want to do it this way?” he asked.

“Yes,” Sascha said firmly, bringing his arm to his side. “I need to be sure.”

Kai already was. He could smell the fetid stench of the souls inside. The intention to buy and sell humans as property was without a doubt one of the acts that could taint a soul beyond repair, could rot someone from the inside out.

The souls inside the warehouse were ones Kai—or any of his kind, if they knew what was good for them—would refuse a bargain with. Souls that would provide him no sustenance or power, that would only serve as a constant source of ache and itch within his chest.

He would be happy to take them off this realm.

But if Sascha wanted his turn at the helm first, to air some of that rage he kept bottled up so tightly inside, Kai would oblige.

“I’ll be right here,” he promised, planting a swift kiss to Sascha’s lips and winking at the camera monitoring the door before slipping into the shadows.

It was a bit of an uncomfortable fit. Shadow work didn’t come naturally to Kai—he wasn’t like Nightmare, slipping in and out with ease. But with a concentrated effort of power, he could hide in them well enough. It wasn’t true invisibility; if someone knew where to look, they would see him. But the average human’s gaze would skirt around him, only registering a vague sense of unease.

Sascha knocked on the door. A large man with dark hair shorn close to his skull opened the door. He glanced behind Sascha pointedly. “What happened to the bodyguard?”

“He went back to the car,” Sascha said easily. “Ivan was told to come alone.”

“And he sent you instead,” the henchman said, looking Sascha up and down with a sneer.

Kai would be happy to rip those eyes out of his skull.

In time.

The henchman led Sascha inside, and Kai followed, passing from shadow to shadow. There were nine men in the warehouse, with nine rotten souls. Hardly the entirety of the Caruso operation, but Ivan had assured them the head of the family and a few key right-hand men would be there, enough to strike a crippling blow to their dealings.

And seated in a chair in the middle of the room, surrounded by three men on each side with conspicuous guns, his legs crossed casually as he watched Sascha approach, was Luca Caruso, presumably. The acting head of the family. He was the only man in the room with his dark strands grown out—all the rest had it shaved down, like it was part of their uniform.

Kai was pleased that Sascha’s spine stayed straight, his steps even. The mate bond between them didn’t allow Kai to feel every little emotion—only the extremes would break through—but Kai could scent Sascha’s fear and unease on the air as they grew in strength.

But none of it showed on his face. Nothing these enemies could latch onto.

Kai was so proud of his mate.

“Sascha Kozlov,” Luca Caruso announced, a faint Italian accent softening his vowels. “So I see you are alive still.”

Sascha smiled sweetly at him. “Oh, I think you knew that already, Luca. I saw one of your men recently, all the way in Maine.”

“Did you? How odd.” Luca smirked. “He must have been on vacation.”

Sascha tucked his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels, the picture of ease. “Ivan says there’s a way to end this. He authorized me to make the deal.”

Luca cocked a brow. “Straight to business, hm? It’s very simple. A blind eye at the docks for some ongoing special shipments.”

“You have them ready to go?” Sascha asked, his tone light, as if it didn’t matter much either way. But this was the reason Sascha had insisted on showing his face—they needed to know whether the Caruso family already had people ready for shipment. If they did, it complicated their immediate future immensely. They would need to find out where, need to figure out how to free them.

But Luca shook his head. “It’s an expensive business. We needed to be sure your brother would play ball before investing. You know how it is.” He gave a tight smile. “Ivan has been a thorn in our side for a very long time.”

“I do know how it is,” Sascha agreed, his shoulders slumping briefly in relief before he straightened again. “And I just want you to know it’s nothing personal.”

Luca’s brow furrowed in confusion, and his bodyguards shifted in place.

“You wanted to get at my brother, so you came at me.” Sascha smiled again, the look full of tender understanding. Kai had no idea his mate was such an excellent actor. “I get it. I’m not even that mad, not at you. And maybe grasping at power is just one of those innate human traits. I can’t be mad about that either. But when you use that power to hurt innocents?” The smile dropped from Sascha’s face. “When you want to ‘invest,’ as you say, in pure evil? Well, I just don’t think that can be excused.”

In the shadows behind him, Kai licked his lips. The rage Sascha held so deep in his chest—rage at his father, at the brutality he’d always been surrounded by and never been strong enough to stop—was spilling into the air, a steady stream of glorious anger. Kai drank it in.

It was as delicious as he’d known it would be.

Luca uncrossed his legs, motioning to his men with two fingers. “I hope you realize how outnumbered you are, Sascha. I know you haven’t been very active in the business, but I’d hoped you were capable of simple mathematics. Ivan is going to be so put out when I send him back your corpse.”

Sascha shrugged. “I’m outnumbered, sure. And if it were just me, that would be an issue. But, unfortunately for you, I’m not alone anymore.”

That was Kai’s cue.

He pressed a kiss against the back of Sascha’s neck, whispering, “Close your eyes, zaychik.”

And then he stepped into the light.

There was the clamoring of voices, guns being taken out of their holsters. Kai let his wings burst out, spreading them wide to shield his mate. Sascha couldn’t be killed so easily—not by pests like these—but neither would Kai let him be inconvenienced by stray bullets.

There was more yelling. Shots fired. Everything was chaos. Mayhem.

Havoc.

Kai grinned, baring his sharp teeth.

And then he got to work.

It was so easy, slicing through the bodyguards. It almost made Kai nostalgic for the old battlefields, when swords and daggers had been the norm, rather than these silly toy guns.

He was careful not to let any of the blood spray hit Sascha, even as he took the head off Luca Caruso, who wasn’t looking nearly so casual as he met his end, his eyes wide with horror, his fingers grasping his gun with shaking fingers.

It was disappointingly quick work—in mere moments, there was silence all around. Silence but for a few harsh, panting breaths.

But neither Sascha nor Kai were panting.

“Can I open my eyes yet?” Sascha asked, the faintest tremble in his words.

Kai pressed a hand to his arm. “Not yet, zaychik.”

There was one more soul here in the warehouse, so timid and fearful Kai had missed it among the others’ rot. He stalked over to one of the cement pillars and ducked behind it, snatching at a collar.

He brought forward his prize, ignoring its startled squeak.

“What do we have here, then?”