Beyond Beta's Rejection

Elias

“I’m going back, Drake.” I glanced over at Harper as she all but yelled into the phone. We were back in the car on our way back to Midnight Moon pack. This time Marcus was driving, with Katie sitting up front, and myself, Harper and a very wide eyed Brianna in the back. Harper had been on the phone to Drake for the last twenty minutes after ignoring several messages from him.

“It’s Louise,” she sighed, rubbing her eyes. “I’m not going to sit by and not try to help one of my best friends.” I saw Brianna turn from staring out the window to look at Harper. Our eyes met, and I threw her a reassuring smile.

The poor girl had pretty much had her life tipped upside down in less than twenty-four hours. She had already had to face something awful in the Neverplain, something that neither she nor Harper had spoken about, and then she was rushed to pack some clothes and dragged across the country. Harper paced her apartment impatiently while Brianna packed, and almost refused when she had said she needed to tell her boss that she wouldn’t be coming in to work. That was why Marcus was driving. Harper’s erratic speeding through the streets of the quaint seaside town had us all white knuckled. Marcus declared he was driving and when Harper had tried to argue he told her that dying in a car crash would help no one. Harper had mumbled something about being able to drive just fine, but had allowed Marcus to take the wheel.

“Yes, I’m sure it is a trap,” Harper said into the phone, “but right now, I just don’t care.” I rested my hand on Harper’s leg and she glanced at me and took my hand. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was exhausted and scared for her friend.

“She’s right you know,” I flinched slightly as the demon spoke in my mind.

“Right about what?” I asked and glanced around to make sure that I was keeping the conversation in my head.

“That it’s a trap. You should be stopping her.”

“And how do you think I can do that?” I scoffed. “Feel free to come up to the surface and tell Harper that she has to ignore her friend who is in danger.” The demon remained silent, which made me chuckle.

“Yeah I thought so,” I said. “You know as well as I do that Harper won’t be told. She knows it’s stupid and that we are probably playing into the hands of whoever the hell is behind this. But that doesn’t matter when loyalty is concerned.” My words reminded me of six months ago when Harper had put herself in danger for me. It had ended in the worst day of my life, as I watched the woman I loved burn up and die in front of my eyes. We had talked about it several times and Harper always maintained that she would do it again in a heartbeat.

“That’s not why,” the demon said, interrupting my thoughts.

“Huh?” I asked,

“I said, that’s not why I won’t tell her not to go,” he grunted, “If I thought I could sway her opinion even an ounce I would. Hell, if I could be sure I could strap her up and lock her away, and stop her from being so pigheaded, I would. I would let her friend perish, and she would hate me for it. But I would still do it because she is the only one that matters. She is the reason I am even here.”

“Okay, so why don’t you then?” I asked. This time it was the demon that chuckled.

“Because despite the fact that I could come to the surface, whether or not you wanted me to, I don’t possess the ability to go against her. If she gives a direct order, then I will follow.”

“What the hell,” I exclaimed. I knew the demo was powerful, and from our minimal experience with other demon bloods, I knew that they often took over the host body, pushing the human to the depths of the unconscious darkness. I never understood why my own demon didn’t seem to be as eager as his counterparts. But to hear that he had to do what Harper said was a new one on me.

“Is it the angel thing?” I asked, and he scoffed.

“No, it’s her. Maybe because of the mate bond,” he said. I glanced at Harper who was still arguing with Drake. “All I know is that if she commands it, I will lay down my life, and yours, to follow.” I could tell from his tone that he wasn’t too happy about this. It wasn’t a blind devotion of love, if demons could even love, to Harper. This was a compulsion.

“We can you know,” the demon said, dragging me back from my thoughts.

“Can what?”

“Love. Contrary to common belief, demons can love. He did.” He almost whispered the last part. I knew Satan had formed an attachment as an angel, but the way the story was told, it became an obsession after he fell.

“That wasn’t love,” I grumbled and Harper glanced at me with narrowed eyes. I realised I had spoken it out loud.

“Why wasn’t it love?” The demon asked, “What is the difference?”

“He abandoned his throne to find Rachel and exact revenge on her for rejecting him. It isn’t love, it’s something else entirely.” I made sure to keep my thoughts internal this time. I was surprised by the loud laughter in my ears. I thought for a moment the demon was beside me, not in me.

“Humans and their lack of understanding.” He continued to laugh.

“What?” I asked, confused, “I don’t get it.”

“The high Master didn’t abandon his throne,” he said after he had stopped laughing. “He left to find her, and bring her home. His only want was for his Queen to be on her throne.” My eyes widened. I looked over at Harper again. She saw me looking and forced a smile. Harper had said that she had seen a throne in her dream, or whatever it was. The demon in question had shown her it. The demon grunted again.

“I can’t disobey my Queen, any more than I can my Master,” the demon muttered.

“Harper isn’t your Queen,” I hissed.

“She is,” he replied, “I can feel it. He does too. His desire to bring chaos to the earth is built into him, and into me.” He paused before whispering again. “And into you.” I shook my head, feeling anger beginning to rise in me. I didn’t care what he was, I was still me. I wasn’t ruled by the demon b***d in my veins. The demon laughed again.

“Stupid fool,” he sneered. “Do you really think that you haven’t been a puppet your whole miserable life? Do you think that the blind rage that you feel is your own? That it is you who sought out the Circle all these years?”

“I did it to avenge my sister,” I said. “To find the bastards that killed her and take them down.”

“Then why do you still do it?” the demon asked, amusement clear in his voice. “You got Nathaniel, you got your revenge. Why are you not at peace in one of the many packs that you still hold on to, yet don’t rule? Why do you continue to wander the earth to fight?” I glanced at Harper again, and then out of the window. I recognised some of the surroundings, we were getting close to Midnight Moon.

“Because the Circle is bigger than I thought,” I said, “We have a duty to protect others from them. Harper has a duty, and she is my mate.” But the words sounded fake to me in my head as I said them. I knew this crusade we were on wasn’t just to make the world safe. I knew I had an underlying need to continue the fight. The idea of settling down felt way too tight on my skin. A growl slipped from my throat, and I felt, more than saw, Brianna glance at me from my other side. But I didn’t look her way. I was too busy trying to control the seed of anger that was growing in me. I didn’t want to admit what the demon was telling me was the truth.

“We will settle soon,” I said and winced at the defensive tone. The demon grunted.

“No, you won’t,” he said, “You will continue to fight and conquer and collect the spoils of war. Because that is all they are, these packs of yours, they are just trophies from the war that you rage, that we rage in his name.” I felt my stomach drop, an unknown fear crawling into its place.

“In whose name?” I asked before I could stop myself. I didn’t want to know, even though I already knew who he was talking about. I had probably always known deep down.

“In our master’s name,” the demon chuckled, “I believe your books call him the Horseman of War.” I shook my head again in fear. He wasn’t my master. But then was he? I had spent my whole life fighting for something. I left my pack so I could train to be a better warrior. I told myself it was a better Alpha, but the only time I really felt alive was when I was fighting, either by the tooth of my wolf or with a weapon in hand. I could feel the anger and excitement from it beginning to boil under my skin.

“Then why are you warning me against him?” I asked, the thought popping into my head. “Why are you trying to tell me to stay away? Why aren’t you welcoming your master with open arms?” The demon grunted again.

“Because demons love,” he said. I couldn’t have been more surprised by that answer. He snorted at my reaction.

“I feel your love for her,” he said, “And I feel it too. I could let him come to the surface. It is what I am created to do. My b***d, your b***d is the path for him to reach her. I could allow it to happen. I can feel him pulling on the connection, swaying not just you, but me to go to the seal and let him come for his Queen.”

“Then why don’t you?” Not that I wanted him to.

“Because of the plans that he has for her.” I didn’t like the sound of that.

“What plans?” I asked. The demon stayed silent. “Goddess dammit. I can’t protect her if you don’t help.” I saw a sign for [town name] fly past as Marcus turned onto the stretch of road for the pack.

“You can’t protect her at all,” the demon scoffed. “He intends to come to the surface. He will push us both to the darkness and then force her to submit on her knees, before taking her back to Hell to claim his throne. From there he will bring war on earth.”

“Again, why do you care, if it is what you are created for?” I was getting more and more frustrated. I could feel something like bugs or something coming to the edge of who I was. Pushing through me.

“Because I love her. Because I see the truth, the throne is not his to take. The throne belongs to-”

I took a deep breath. Suddenly I felt lighter. Like the pressure had popped. I looked up and saw the road leading up to the pack house. We were in Midnight Moon territory. I was looking at the familiar surroundings when I realised that the demon had gone quiet.

“Erm…” I felt in my head for his presence. “What were you saying?” At first there was nothing. No reply, no feeling of movement. I was actually starting to worry when I finally felt something in the back of my mind. The crawl of a dark shuffle.

“You disappeared there for a moment,” I said amused. “What were you saying?”

“Hmmm,” the demon’s voice echoed through my mind, almost like it was drugged or something.

“Hmm, nothing important,” he finally said. “I am just happy to be back.” I was about to prod further when Marcus glanced in the rearview mirror with a grin.

“Welcome home everyone.”