Chapter 6. The Bond
On Friday evening, after following the address Nyx had given her, Meredith arrived in front of a lone mansion on the outskirts of Green Front. There wasn’t any building in sight, but rows and rows of trees and green foliage.
The large black gates opened for her automatically and she drove into the house for another several minutes. Such an opulent residence was something she would expect from Onyx Castle. Did Nyx live in such a massive mansion all alone?
Meredith gently knocked on the door once. The door opened, and there stood Nyx in nothing but a sports bra and a pair of shorts. Meredith froze for a moment, staring at the woman’s chiseled abs. Never had she seen Nyx dressed so casually, or wearing so little.
“Hey.” Nyx’s voice finally pulled Meredith out of her trance. The demon grinned, and her dimple deepened.
Someday, Meredith might just die from a heart attack simply by looking at this demon.
“Hey,” she managed to say back without sounding breathless.
Nyx opened the door wider and let Meredith in.
“You have a beautiful home.” She had expected the interior design to have a Victorian-era feel. However, it was more modern than she had expected.
“Thanks.” Nyx winked at her. “Have you eaten yet?”
“No.”
“Great. I just made dinner.” Nyx took Meredith’s hand, the warmth of her fingers tingling Meredith’s skin.
Meredith raised a brow. “You can cook?”
“I can do a lot of things, Meredith.” Nyx’s intense gaze pierced right through Meredith and the witch felt her heart skip a bit. Even more slowly, Nyx added, without taking her eyes off Meredith, “A lot of things.”
Heat rushed up Meredith’s face, then down into the nether regions of her body. Nyx grinned, and Meredith blushed. God, this woman was doing things to her.
A delicious aroma invaded Meredith’s senses as soon as they walked into the massive kitchen. Nyx pulled a chair from behind the kitchen countertop and helped Meredith sit. Then Nyx went back to stirring the stew. Meredith smiled at how seriously attentive Nyx was.
Nyx caught her staring, smirked then went right back to stirring., It was refreshingly odd seeing her so carefree, so human. But no... Nyx was neither human nor a witch. A pit opened in Meredith’s stomach as she remembered why she came to see the demon in the first place. She’d been dreading this conversation all day.
Ever since Nyx sent her that gift, Meredith’s parents had been curious about who she was. She told them it was Onyx Castle and that they were seeing each other. Other than being surprised how their daughter was dating one of the wealthiest people in Green Front, her parents didn’t mind at all. Meredith knew why; they thought Nyx was human. Just as most people did.
She hated that she was lying to her parents, but she just didn’t know how else to deal with this. Especially after what her parents had just told her. How should she even bring up this subject?
“Meredith. Are you alright?” She didn’t realize that Nyx was already serving her the food. Nyx stroked Meredith’s cheeks, and she stared into the demon’s hazel eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing”. But Nyx’s eyes weren’t convinced. The demon sat beside her, watching her silently as though waiting for her to tell her when she was ready. A single look at the demon and Meredith knew she couldn’t possibly lie to her. Meredith sighed. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
Nyx nodded but said nothing.
After hesitating for a while, Meredith continued, “So, I told my parents about you.”
Nyx’s expression didn’t waver for a second. “They know you’re dating a demon?”
“About that…” Meredith twirled her fork in the pasta. “They think Onyx Castle is a human.”
“Oh.” That was all Nyx had to say. Why did it feel like Nyx was disappointed by this? Had the demon expected Meredith to tell her witch parents she was falling for a demon?
Oh god, am I falling for a demon?
But how else could she explain the way this woman made her heart race and her breath quicken whenever she was close? They hadn’t made things official yet. But Nyx treated her like they were together and it had never even crossed Meredith’s mind to doubt it.
Was she overthinking this? No. Nyx just confirmed that they were dating, didn’t she?
“Eat your food before it gets cold.” Nyx interrupted her thoughts. She leaned in, kissed Meredith on the forehead, and then stood up to leave.
Meredith was too stunned to speak for a moment. When she recovered from her daze, she said, “Nyx, wait.”
Nyx instantly stopped.
“There’s something else.” And it was this very thing Meredith had been dreading all day. “My parents want to meet you.”
That got Nyx to smile one of those rare genuine smiles that reached her eyes. “Really?” But she narrowed her eyes in wary. “You’re okay with that?”
“I don’t know,” Meredith whispered. “I’d love for you to meet my parents. But… Nyx, I’m scared.”
The demon was instantly by her side.
“My dad’s a super powerful witch. If he senses you’re a demon-”
“He won’t.” Nyx smiled, so cocksure of herself. “My concealment skill is pretty powerful. Why do you think everyone thinks Onyx Castle is human?”
Meredith paused thoughtfully. The demon had a point. From what Meredith had read about demons, they had something called demonic skills. While it was considered magic by humans and witches, a demonic skill was in reality, not magic, unlike demoncraft. It was simply a demon’s natural ability depending on the hierarchy of the demon
Concealment skill was a low-level demonic skill found in every demon no matter their hierarchy. With this skill, demons could conceal their demon energy and their true demon self. The higher a demon’s hierarchy, the harder it was to see through their concealment.
“Meredith, you don’t have to worry, alright?” said Nyx. “Your parents will love me.”
That made Meredith laugh. Maybe she was worrying too much. Her father might be powerful, but it would still be rather difficult for him to see through the concealment skill of a greater demon.
Still, that didn’t mean everything would get right back to normal. “What about the other witches and demons?” asked Meredith.
“What about them?”
“I don’t know, Nyx. What if they attack us?”
Not missing a beat, Nyx said, “I fucking dare them.”
Was Nyx not even worried at all? Was she not terrified of what might happen if the Witch Council and Demon Circle heard about them?
Meredith sat on Nyx’s lap and lay her head on Nyx’s chest. Her muscles were so firm, yet the demon’s body was so soft and warm. The sweet scent of strawberries and mint intoxicated Meredith as she inhaled the woman’s scent. She traced her fingers along Nyx’s neck, and the demon tensed. Dark hazel eyes bore into Meredith’s, watching her hungrily.
The hunger in Nyx’s eyes sent shivers between Meredith’s legs. Meredith bit her lips, watching Nyx’s lips with hunger. How she wanted those beautiful brown lips all over her. She wondered what it will be like to have Nyx trace her tongue on her.
She didn’t have to wonder for long as Nyx captured her lips, deeply kissing her with heated passion. Meredith wrapped her arms around Nyx’s neck, running her hands through her thick curly hair.
Meredith gasped as Nyx suddenly stood up, lifting Meredith like she weighed nothing at all. She expected that the demon would take her to the bedroom and ravish her over and over again, but instead, Nyx put her back on the couch before walking away.
She balled her fist, her other hand pressing against the wall.
“Nyx, what’s wrong? Are you alright?”
Nyx ignored her. She leaned on the wall instead, her trembling intensifying.
Meredith ran to her but the demon raised her hand. “Don’t come closer,” said Nyx breathlessly. That stopped Meredith in her tracks.
She was now trembling so hard that her knees caved in.
“Oh, my god. Nyx.” This time Meredith didn’t care if Nyx didn’t want her coming closer. She just rushed to her side and took the woman in her arms.
And then, she saw the darkness in Nyx’s eyes. No, it wasn’t a metaphor. It was literal darkness. Nyx’s previously light hazel eyes had morphed into a deep black color, like midnight itself. Her coffee-brown skin was fast paling like milk.
Panic rose in Meredith’s chest as she hugged the demon tightly. “Nyx... Nyx, what’s wrong?”
Nyx trembled in her arms, holding on to Meredith for dear life. Meredith gently rubbed her back to soothe her. “It’s alright. I’m right here.”
Slowly, but surely, the trembling came to a halt. When she finally pulled herself out of Nyx’s embrace, the demon’s eyes were now the light hazel Meredith was used to and her pale skin had regained some color.
“Hey, what just happened?”
Nyx didn’t say anything for a while. And then when she finally did, she said, “It’s nothing.”
It took everything in Meredith to not scream at her in frustration. “How can you say that? I thought you were dying or something.”
Nyx rubbed her forehead. After saying nothing for a while, Nyx finally spoke. “It’s the fated bond.”
“Fated bond?” Meredith raised a brow. She’d never heard of that.
“You don’t have to worry about that, alright. It’s not that serious.”
“It’s serious to me, Nyx. And I’m already worried about you, okay? So please talk to me. Don’t you trust me?”
“That’s not it. I just…” Nyx avoided Meredith’s eyes. Never had she seen the demon look so small, so scared. It broke Meredith’s heart. “I don’t want to scare you away.”
“Hey.” Meredith gently touched Nyx’s face until they were gazing into each other’s eyes. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise. Tell me what’s wrong.”
After hesitating for a while, Nyx finally nodded. Then she stood up and led Meredith back to the couch, not letting go of her hand.
Once they sat, Nyx said, “What do you know about a demon’s mate?”
A demon’s mate? Meredith raised a brow. “All I know is that when a demon chooses a mate, they mark their mate to keep other demons away from them.”
She believed Nyx had marked her though she hadn’t asked her about it. Why was she bringing that up now? And more importantly, what did that have to do with Nyx almost convulsing to death?
“There are two levels to being a demon’s mate,” said Nyx. “What you just described is the most common... and the lowest level.” She paused. “The higher level and rarer level is the fated bond.”
The fated bond. Unfortunately, Meredith had never heard about that before. Then again, she didn’t know much about demons either.
“What is it?”
“Honestly, it’s hard to explain. Two demons fated to each other are like... soulmates. I’ve only ever seen it work between demons, you know. But with a witch…” She paused.
“Is the fated bond what’s making you tremble like that?” Meredith suddenly thought of something and it made her panic. “Nyx, is it weakening you?”
“It’s not weakening me per se. It’s just that…”
When Nyx didn’t say anything else, Meredith’s kissed Nyx on the cheek and whispered in her ear. “Please talk to me.”
She felt Nyx’s heavy breath on her neck. And the dark hunger and Nyx’s eyes sent tingles throughout her body.
“I triggered the bond when I saw you the first time,” Nyx said. “Until I complete the initiation, it’s going to weaken me and make me even more violent.”
Meredith nodded. “Okay, so how do we prevent that?”
After a momentary pause, Nyx said, “I need to have intercourse with my fated one.” The silence in the room was pretty damn loud. This time though, Nyx didn’t hide her gaze from Meredith, and Meredith bit her lips to keep herself from blushing.
She ran her fingers through her hair. “What happens if you don’t have sex with me?”
“I’ll probably die or go mad. I don’t know. The fated bond is pretty rare and those who have it usually complete it.”
Meredith nodded slowly. This was easily preventable. She would not stand back and watch Nyx suffer when she could easily help her. She stood up and began unzipping her dress.
“What are you doing?” Nyx was already beside her with wide eyes.
“Isn’t it obvious, Nyx?” Meredith’s dress dropped to the floor. And now she was in nothing but her underwear.
She wrapped her hands around Nyx’s neck. She tiptoed and kissed the woman sensually on the neck. Slowly, Nyx relaxed into her embrace, pulling Meredith in, then resting her powerful hands on Meredith’s ass.
Their kiss was slow and passionate, hardening Meredith’s nipples. But suddenly, she felt empty when Nyx pulled back.
“We don’t have to do this.”
“But I don’t want you suffering because of me.”
Nyx sighed. She kissed Meredith’s forehead. God, how she loved when Nyx did that. “I’m not suffering because of you, Meredith. This isn’t your fault, alright?”
“Okay, maybe not. But I still want to help.”
“I know. But not like this, alright? When we have sex, I want us both to be ready.”
She wanted to tell Nyx that she was ready. She’d been ready from the very first day they met. She probably wouldn’t have stopped Nyx had the demon tried to have her way with her back at the Union. And she definitely wouldn’t have stopped her had the fated bond not interrupted them.
But of course, this wasn’t just about her. She might be ready, but Nyx might not.
Meredith sighed. “Can I at least spend the night with you?” While the fated bond weakened Nyx, it seemed that being physically and emotionally intimate with the demon somehow helped reduce the pain. If she stayed the night, she could take care of Nyx.
Thankfully, Nyx agreed.
That night as they lay together, cuddling, Meredith got lost in Nyx’s peaceful breathing. Yet, she still couldn’t stop worrying about the demon. When did she start caring so much about Nyx? Was she too experiencing this fated bond? She doubted it. It only happened to demons, did it not?
Tightening her grip around the woman’s waist and her chin on Nyx’s back, their warm naked bodies rubbed against each other.
“Nyx.”
“Hmm.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. I feel much better with you around.”
Meredith smiled. While she was glad to hear that, this wasn’t what she was asking. “I meant our date.”
“Oh.” Nyx turned around, and now their faces were mere inches away from each other. “I can always arrange another date.”
Meredith laughed. But the intensity in Nyx’s eyes told her that the woman was serious. Meredith caressed Nyx’s cheeks. “That call you had on our first date… You seemed really angry at the time. I didn’t want to ask but-”
“It’s nothing,” said Nyx.
It’s nothing? She remembered how incredibly furious Nyx had been. She’d been so angry that she’d even broken her phone. Then again, Nyx was the type of person who would keep things to herself. What could Meredith do to make this woman trust her and confide in her? She was a witch after all. It would take time for a demon to trust her.
“Meredith, everything is fine. I promise. I admit, there had been a problem in the beginning. But I already took care of it. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Meredith nodded. “I just want you to know that you can always talk to me, alright?”
“I know.” She kissed Meredith on the lips and that was enough to stop the witch from worrying too much. When they pulled apart, Nyx asked, “So when am I meeting your parents?”
“Sunday afternoon. They want to have lunch with you.”
“Sounds nice. I can’t wait to meet them.”
Meredith sighed. She wished she could say the same.
Early the next morning, Meredith went to the kitchen to make Nyx breakfast when she froze at the sight of a woman rummaging through the fridge. The more Meredith looked at her, the more familiar she became.
She was tall and slender, with very long red hair and a gorgeous face to match. When she gave that stunning white smile, Meredith instantly remembered where she’d seen her from. The day she had gone to the Union to return Nyx’s gift, this was the same woman she had seen kissing Nyx like there was no tomorrow.
Meredith balled her fist, suddenly feeling angry. Why was she here?
“Well, hello there,” said the woman, still holding Meredith’s gaze with amusement. “Didn’t know Onyx had company.”
“Who are you?” Meredith asked, trying to keep the rage out of her tone. The woman ignored her and went back to looking for whatever she was looking for in the fridge.
What the fuck?
“Yessin?” It was Nyx’s voice from behind. “What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk,” said Yessin. She found a canned drink, opened it, and took a long swig. “It’s urgent.”
“I should go,” said Meredith. She didn’t wait for anyone to say anything and began to leave. But Nyx took her hand.
“Meredith.”
“You told me you were going to stay away from her. From all of them.”
“Yessin works for me. There’s nothing else between us... not anymore.”
“Right.” That stupid grin on Yessin’s perfectly sculpted face made Meredith even angrier. “Well, she wants to talk to you. So I have no business staying here.”
But Nyx didn’t let go of her hand. Instead, she pulled Meredith in and kissed her passionately on the lips. It left Meredith breathless, and all the anger she felt instantly disappeared. Nyx whispered into her ears, “It’s only you, Meredith. Always remember that.”
Nyx glared at Yessin once Meredith was gone. She’d hoped that Meredith would stay but the witch had insisted on leaving. Hopefully, Meredith would remember what she’d told her.
The amusement in Yessin’s eyes died immediately. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you, your highness. I didn’t know you had someone over.”
“She’s not just someone.”
Yessin paused. Then she smiled bitterly. “I was beginning to wonder why you wouldn’t sleep with me anymore. I guess I have my answer now.”
“From now on, call me first before showing up here.”
Yessin bowed curtly. “Of course. Forgive me, your highness.”
Had this been anyone, Nyx would have killed them without a second thought. But Yessin was one of her three most loyal subjects. It was also why the succubus could just show up at her house whenever she pleased.
“Why are you here? Did something happen?”
“The Demon Circle is meeting tomorrow.”
Nyx raised a brow. The activities of the Demon Circle were none of Nyx’s business. She didn’t get herself involved in the politics of Green Front. However, she still liked to know what was going on around her. This was the job of her chief spy, Yessin.
Yessin continued, “I think it’s about the Durug. The Circle found out about their recent killings of demons and witches.”
“I see.” Nyx went to the sink and poured herself a glass of water. She took a long sip while gauging the uncertainty in Yessin’s eyes. There was something else. Something that made Yessin uncomfortable. “What is it?”
“I don’t think they know you went after the Durug. But you should still be prepared for anything.”
“Prepared? What for?”
Yessin took a small envelope from her pocket, handed it to Nyx then took several steps back. The red envelope had the golden seal of the Demon Circle. Nyx raised a brow and exchanged glances with Yessin. The succubus’s heartbeat raced.
Yessin was being cautious around her. Something was wrong. Nyx opened the envelope and found a letter.
Dear Onyx Castle,
The Demon Circle of Green Front summons you.
Remember that your abomination of a nightclub, the Union, only operates because the Demon Circle allows it.
Report to the Herald Tower on June 11 at 3:00 pm.
Staslok,
First of the Lowdren Powers,
Demon Circle of Green Front.
Nyx crumpled the letter and laughed hysterically. Slowly, fury intoxicated her. “They dare summon me?” She thundered.
Who did they think they were talking to?
“Your highness.” Yessin was on her knees trembling uncontrollably.
Shit. Nyx clenched her jaws. She’d been so overcome with rage she’d almost oppressed her chief spy to death. She calmed herself down. She would reserve her fury for the bastard who dared summon her.
Who the hell did Staslok think he was? That fucking wretch will grovel at her feet once she was through with him. A demon circle as little and weak as Green Front’s had no business telling her what to do.
"I'm going to fucking kill them all," she whispered.