The Demon of Angels (Bk. 2)

LAID AGAINST HIS side, I trailed my finger down the center of his chest and abdomen. My leg was draped over his hips while his hand rested gently on my hitched thigh, drawing small and soothing circles.

The blanket slipped lower on my back, resting just above my rear end. Zeke let out a small gasp as if tracing something there.

I shot up, my eyes wide with concern. “What? What is it?”

Zeke’s eyes were as wide as mine, but his focus remained elsewhere. “Turn around, baby,” he murmured, his fingers softly grazing my back.

Reluctantly, I obeyed and slowly gave my back to him. His fingers returned to tracing a circle, what felt like a star-shaped, and something else along the skin. “What is it?” I repeated.

“It looks like a tattoo,” he breathed. The hitch in his voice told me he was in awe.

I whipped my head around so fast that I almost gave myself whiplash. “A tattoo?” I squeaked, horrified. “I don’t have a tattoo,” I argued with furrowed brows.

Zeke snorted. “Well, you do now.”

I rolled my eyes, swatting at him playfully. He chuckled, and I let out a small sigh, knowing if Michael caught eyes off it, I’d be done for. “What does it look like?”

“Mmm,” he hummed. “A circle, an upside star, and a strange swirly symbol in the center of both.”

My mouth popped open. “There’s a satanic symbol on my back?!”

Another chuckle. “I don’t think that’s what this is, Celeste,” he whispered. His fingers never ceased their trail, earning a hard shiver coaxed from my body.

“What do you think it means? When did this happen?” I rattled off questions like my sanity depended on it– which in all fairness, I feel as though it did. No one randomly gets a tattoo in the middle of the night and not freak out about it.

Zeke’s fingers momentarily stopped their path along my back, the distinct sound of his phone camera going off a second later. I turned, laying my body at his side as he used a quick Google Search to figure out what the symbol could possibly mean.

As my eyes lay upon the picture, a gasp parted my lips. It was exactly how Zeke described it; a circle with an upside-down star and an oddly swirled symbol in the center. Laid just above one of the arms of it were three black dots.

Sooner than expected, Zeke found the symbol and muttered the word. “Unity” under his breath.

I narrowed my eyes, eyeing the picture and its description below intently. The circle and upside-down were clearly demonic, but the unity symbol was purely angelic. My face went slack as I put two and two together and pieced it together like a damn puzzle.

“Hybrid Unity,” I murmured, giving Zeke my full attention as I stared at him with wide eyes. Slowly, Zeke nodded. It was the only reasonable explanation and, frankly, the only one that made sense.

Remembering the moments from last night, I flushed, but something stuck out to me. “Do you remember, uhm,” my cheeks burned. “After we finished, that burning we felt?”

Zeke smirked at my shyness. I swatted at him again, earning a chuckle from deep within his chest, but he nodded. “Yeah, do you think it had to do with the tattoo?”

I bobbed my head and further explained my thought process. “I think it was the tattoo,” I paused. “But I mainly felt mine in my chest and thought it was just the bone strengthening.”

Zeke agreed, telling me as much. “I thought so too, and I know it did because I could feel it, but I felt that burning in my back– right about where your tattoo currently sits.”

My forehead creased, our eyes shooting down to Zeke’s chest, where my hand currently laid comfortably. Removing my palm, I gasped at the exact same tattoo, inked straight over Zeke’s heart. “No way,” I breathed, then chuckled at the craziness of it all.

Truth be told, as I began tracing the markings with the tips of my fingers, I was infatuated with the new ink. “Ya know,” I mumbled, staring at the marking across Zeke’s heart. “Michael never mentioned anything about getting a tattoo.”

Zeke chuckled. “I’m not sure he knew, but I kind of like it,” he admitted.

I gave him a modest smile. “I do too,” admitting it more to myself than him. Then I snorted, scrunching my nose. “Oh gross, we’re that couple.” My mate laughed, and my heart fluttered at the sound. I would never get sick of hearing it.

“What, the ones with matching tattoos?”

I nodded, flickering my eyes to meet his gaze. He was smiling down at me, and I could have sworn my stomach did a somersault.

Zeke shrugged, a smirk twitching along his lips. “It makes it more obvious that you’re mine.” I mentally groaned. His possessiveness would never not be annoying, but still sexy as sin.

Biting my lip, I started to mock him. “Yes, Alpha.” When the words had left my lips, I never expected his response to be arousal.

Growling, his hand on my thigh tightened as he pulled me over the rest of his body. I was now straddling him with a raised eyebrow, unable to hide my smile. “Was that a turn-on, Alpha?” I whispered the words low, licking my lips. Zeke said nothing, but I knew I had gotten my answer as his eyes started to halo gold, shimmering with the Hybrid beneath his skin.

Laughing, I shook my head and patted his chest. “C’mon, big boy. Let’s go eat; I’m hungry.”

“Tease,” he grumbled as I climbed off of him. Shrugging my shoulders, I slowly stood from the bed and started to stretch out my bare limbs. It gave Zeke a pretty nice view of, well, everything. “You’re mean,” he whined from behind me. I felt his hot gaze burning into my back, and it shot an exciting thrill through me.

Biting my lip, I turned and faced my mate with a devilish gleam in my eyes. “You started it.”

Zeke’s golden eyes blazed up at me. The only thing covering his manhood was a very thin sheet. “Did not.”

I placed my hands on my hips. “Did too.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Did not,” he snapped, his playful eyes full of desire.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I huffed. “Did to-”

The door behind me banged open. “Well, well, well,” an all too familiar voice started. I yelped, jumping forward, and quickly covered myself with the sheet. “What do we have here?”

Flipping around, I faced the smug redhead with a glare. “Noah,” I growled. He stepped inside the room with a mischievous grin on his face. Evan followed close behind, rubbing the back of his neck, refusing to meet my glare.

Zeke wrapped his arm around my waist, tucking me into his side. “The fuck are you doing, dude?”

Noah’s smile broadened, winking at us. Evan sighed. “Ignore us. We’re just stopping by to see if you need anything. We’re heading to the market in town before we start getting settled.”

My mate’s body was still tensed to hell, but mine started to relax at Evan’s voice. “Getting settled?” I questioned. “What do you mean?” I knew they were going to stay with us, even though they weren’t supposed to be here until later in the afternoon, but I guess I was still confused about the situation. In all fairness, Zeke and I had started playing tongue tag way before he could elaborate.

Noah turned his gaze to Zeke, glaring. “Did you not tell her?”

“No,” Zeke snapped. “I was a little preoccupied,” the last word left his lips in a throaty growl.

My cheeks burned, and I dropped my face to the pillow. “Can we not?” I grumbled, my voice muffled as I spoke through the pillow.

“Too late now, Cupcake,” Noah chuckled. Zeke growled while I just groaned into the pillow, hoping they couldn’t see how red my face was.

Evan, God bless his soul, ignored our irrelevant banter. “How long did you rent this place out for?”

A soft sigh was released from behind me. “I didn’t, ending up buying it instead.”

Holding the sheet to my chest, I shot from the pillow as a random ass thought occurred to me. “Shit, homework.”

“Screw it,” they all said at once.

“Damn. Maybe I should get kidnapped more often. No homework.”

“NO!” All three snapped venomously. I jumped, ramming back into Zeke’s chest as their voices echoed throughout the master bedroom. His arm was still snaked around my waist, but he tightened his grip. My eyes widened, glancing around the room.

“That’s not funny, Cupcake. You scared the shit out of us,” Noah grumbled.

“You were stabbed in the chest,” Zeke added, eyes haunted.

“It looked like he killed you,” Evan added, paling as he shook his head as if to get the image out of his mind.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, gnawing on my bottom lip as curiosity got the better of me. “Who freaked out the most?” I asked, genuinely curious.

Noah and Evan both lifted their hands, pointing at the guy behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, a frown was pinching at his lips as his eyes narrowed. “I did not,” he hissed, glaring daggers at his brothers.

The boys burst out laughing, and Zeke scowled at them both. My lips twitched, watching and waiting for their explanation. “You,” Zeke pointed at Noah. “Started crying like a toddler, and you,” he turned his finger to Evan. “Was distraught and needed anger management classes.”

Warmth filled my chest as I smirked at them, wiggling my eyebrows deviously. “So, you all freaked out?”

Evan spared a glare over at his brother, then turned to me with a simple shrug. “You’ll never know,” Evan told me.

I couldn’t stop smiling, they were all acting evasive with their sensitivities, and I adored it. “Aw, you all do care,” I teased with a light laugh.

Noah picked up a pillow that had fallen on the floor and threw it at me. “Stop it, Cupcake. You’re screwing with our egos.”

I snorted. “Fragile egos,” I muttered, then squealed and ducked as Noah found something else to throw at me. I burst out laughing, full and throaty from deep within my chest once I felt the object fly past me. But my laughter was cut short as silence met my burst of humor. Glancing at each of them, they were all staring at me with varying expressions of awe and adoration. “What?” I mumbled with a frown, wary of their full attention.

Evan shook his head, turning to leave the room. “You should laugh like that more often.”

I smiled, my cheeks flaming red. I lowered my eyes, then raised them. “Thank you— I think.”

Zeke pulled me closer to his side. “Will you two leave now? We’re not even dressed.”

Evan saluted, not hesitating to walk out of the room. Bless him. Meanwhile, Noah stuck around with his eyebrows pinched together. I sighed. “What do you want, Noah?”

After a moment, his eyes finally met mine. “I feel… funky,” he said, scrunching his nose.

My eyebrow ticked. “Elaborate,” I demanded.

The Hellhound sighed, then explained. “I don’t know how to explain it exactly. It feels like the bond, but I feel it deeper whenever something happens to you.” My eyes widened, assuming the worst, but Noah’s expression matched mine when he realized what I was thinking. “No, no, not like that,” he stammered, smacking a hand to his forehead. “Pain, Celeste. I feel your pain or when you’re hurt. Physical injuries.”

I formed an ‘O’ with my mouth, slowly piecing his words together. “Does Evan feel it too?” I cocked my head to the side, considering his words.

My stomach dropped when Noah shook his head. “I asked him, and he said no.”

“Weird,” I mumbled at the same time Zeke said: “He’s your protector.” I whipped around to face my mate as Noah’s eyes seemed to narrow.

“What?” Noah and I said in unison.

“Think about it,” Zeke stated, then turned to Noah. “Do you have a heightened awareness of her?” My eyebrow raised at my mate surprised that he was onto something.

Thank God he can’t read minds.

Noah visibly gulped but nodded. “Yeah.”

“That’s how he can feel when you’re hurting,” Zeke pointed out, glancing between Noah and me but then focusing solely on his Beta. “Why did you guys come early?” He asked. Noah shrugged, suddenly unsure of himself. “Did you feel like you needed to be by her?” Zeke asked.

Noah parted his lips to respond but couldn’t seem to find the words. He nodded instead, his focus solely on his Alpha.

“The need to protect Celeste overrides everything, doesn’t it?” Zeke asked, eyeing his Beta.

“Yes,” he admittedly whispered, scratching the back of his neck as he locked his gaze with mine. “It does.”

“When did this start?” I asked.

“Before you gained your immortality,” Zeke answered. “The bond.”

My head whipped back around to face him, and my eyebrows furrowed. “How do you know?”

“Because I felt an extra presence there in our bond, but I had no idea what - or rather who - it was until I looked further into the prophecy.”

“But why doesn’t Evan feel it?”

Zeke frowned. “I’m assuming because Noah is your protector, not Evan.”

“That explains a lot,” Noah mumbled to himself, then he clarified as he locked our gazes. “I didn’t realize it until you were– taken,” he chocked. “But being separated from you, not knowing where you were or if you were okay, was starting to drive me crazy. Plus, Zeke’s right. Protecting you and making sure you’re alright overrides every other urge in my body.”

My eyebrow arched. “Why does that sound so intimate?”

Zeke shook his head from behind me. “It could be, but he’s not your mate. I am. You feel a connection with Noah, just as he does you, but it’s more family-like, an urge to protect and care for each other. That’s probably one of the reasons the two of you had hit it off as you did but never really saw it as anything more.”

Noah smirked. “Sorry, Cupcake. I’m more into blondes.” He winked at me playfully, and I stuck my tongue out at him, feigning hurt. He chuckled and shook his head.

Lifting an arm, Zeke pointed toward the door where Evan had left moments ago. “Leave, please, Noah,” he urged.

The redhead placed a hand on his chest. “But, but,” he stuttered, then a playful smirk toyed with his lips. “What if I wanted to join?” He wiggled his eyebrows as my jaw dropped.

Zeke took a pillow from the bed and flung it full force at the redhead. Noah dogged it, a smug grin eating at his face. Holding his hands up in surrender, Noah slowly started to back out. “I’ll take that as a no then,” he chuckled. Once his body was halfway out the door, he started muttering under his breath. “I just wanted to make sure she was being properly taken care of.”

Zeke growled and shot from the bed, slamming the bedroom door shut and locking it. Although I highly doubted that would stop a Hellhound from getting in, I knew it was more just for Zeke to set his mind at ease. Noah would find a way in if he really wanted to.

I face-planted my pillow, screaming into it, and started laughing wholeheartedly and uncontrollably. “What the fuck,” I muttered, not intending for it to sound like a question.

In a quick motion, I was flung from the bed and over a broad shoulder. I yelped, laughing as Zeke held onto my legs and smacked my bare ass. “Zeke,” I shrieked, slapping against his back and loving the way his muscles rippled under my touch. “Put me down,” I whined.

Zeke scoffed. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to,” he said, walking us over to the bathroom to our left. I rolled my eyes, knowing it wasn’t a fight I was going to win. The interior was similar to the rest of the cabin, or at least of what I had managed to see in our mad dash to the bed. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all wood paneling, while the sink countertop was white marble. The wooden cupboards were painted black, matching the metal shelving that held the towels above the toilet, all of which were against the right wall.

Zeke set me down on the sink, and I shivered against the cold countertop. He pointed a finger at me. “Stay,” he commanded.

I stuck my tongue out at him, and he chuckled with a grin as he turned toward the bathtub. The shower curtain had several deer printed along the material. Greens, reds, and whites all painted the curtain, decorating it with trees, leaves, and a couple of grizzly bears. Zeke pushed back the curtain while I dangled my feet over the edge of the counter. I watched as he turned the knob, cool water sputtering, then flowing from the faucet.

As steam slowly started to fill the room, Zeke turned back to me, that look of desire taking over his features once more. I could feel it within me, a need that matched my own. Licking my lips, my eyes glued to my mate as he stood before me. He placed his hands on either side of me, encasing my body so I had nowhere to go, preventing me from moving.

Wasting no time, I wrapped my hand around his neck and pulled him close, devouring his mouth in a hungry kiss that I felt all the way through to my toes. Zeke groaned against my lips as he pulled me against his bare chest. I wrapped my legs around his waist. Encircling his arms securely around me, he lifted me from the counter and walked us toward the shower, stepping in. As the steam consumed our bodies, the hot water poured from the showerhead and soaked us within seconds. The shower was soon forgotten as we lost ourselves in the heated blanket of a passionate round two.

Once our heated session was over, Zeke proceeded to take the bar of soap and bathed every inch of me. His movements were gentle, the brush of his hands soft against my skin yet still firm enough with the lavender scented bar to do the job. When he finished, I thanked him with my lips, and after taking the bar from him, I also rubbed his body down. I felt his eyes on me as I bathed him, his heated gaze following my every movement.

We rinsed off, and Zeke kissed my forehead before he reached around me and turned the knob. The flow of hot water ceased from the showerhead, and we stepped out. Zeke grabbed a towel from the rack above the toilet and then dried me off. Snatching the towel from him with a grin, I did the same, unable to help biting at my lip.

He hooked a finger under my chin after I finished drying his legs, pulling me into a standing position. I met his gaze as I stood, and Zeke pulled me against his bare body and kissed me. I sunk into his embrace, breathing him in as I deepened the kiss.

All too soon, Zeke pulled away. “I want to do that every day,” he murmured against my lips.

Still fuzzy from the kiss, I mumbled back a quick reply, not thinking anything of it. “Me too.”

Zeke chuckled and pulled back. I whined, sticking out my bottom lip and pouting, knowing just how much it affected him. On cue, when he saw my pout, he growled and attacked my lips. I responded immediately, wrapping my arms around him once again.

It went on like that for several minutes. Zeke would start to pull back, and I would do something to drive him crazy, only for him to come back for more. It was a game of cat and mouse.

Zeke growled against my neck, nipping at the skin. “You’re going to drive me mad, woman.”

I bit my lip, swallowing the moan that threatened to escape. “Oops,” I giggled. Pulling away, Zeke pressed a kiss to my forehead, then sped out of the bathroom. I rolled my eyes as he left me naked and alone. I snickered to myself, finding it far too funny he felt the need to speed out of the room before I could tease him some more.

After composing myself, I walked back into the bedroom, unable to help the frown that tugged at my lips. Zeke was fully dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a white t-shirt. Sighing, I quickly got dressed into the clothing that was set out for me while Zeke started picking up the pillows and sheets from the floor.

After a moment, I was fully clothed, wearing a white tank and a matching sports bra. My black sweatpants sat low on my hips, the black lace underwear playing peek-a-boo with the waistband.

Wasting no time, Zeke laced our hands together and pulled me out of the bedroom, leading me downstairs. I smirked, loving the view of his perky ass as he walked down the steps.

Similar to the bathroom, the walls were accented with wood paneling. The rustic ceiling came to a point above me, towering over the light grey carpeted living room. A tan, dark brown polyurethane base was fabricating the corner sectional couch, bordering the living room and facing the fireplace.

Noah was lying face down on the couch, passed out. Behind the living room was the kitchen, and Evan stood there, messing around with some of the pots and pans. Zeke’s gaze flickered to Noah, then glanced back at me with a silent plead in his eyes.

It took me a moment to realize what he was asking. “Absolutely not,” I grumbled, pulling my hand from his grasp and strutting toward the kitchen. Evan chuckled, pulling out the milk from the stainless steel refrigerator.

“Hey, E,” I chirped, rubbing my eyes. Yawning, I glanced over Evan’s shoulder at the clock on the stove. Groaning, I let my head fall to the grey granite island table top. “Is it already seriously two in the afternoon?”

“Yup,” he replied, sliding a glass of milk across the counter.

I took the glass gratefully, thanking Evan with a small smile. He eyed me with a sympathetic curve of his lips. “Are you going to be training later today?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said at the same time Zeke snapped a firm, “No.”

I swiveled in my seat, raising an eyebrow at my mate. He had successfully woken Noah without getting soccer punched. “I’m training,” I told him sternly. This was not up for debate. There weren’t any ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Zeke scowled. “Celeste, you just had your heart stabbed into, and you were kidnapped by the literal Demon of Death himself,” he argued. “You don’t need training. You need to rest.”

“Yes, Ezekiel, I am. You know better than anyone I need to. Plus, I hate just sitting around.” I stood from my seat at the island countertop, crossing my arms over my chest. “My father shouldn’t be able to get to manipulate the situation, me, or any of you so easily,” I hissed, then gestured around the room. “I need to be prepared.”

“Celeste…” he trailed off, fighting with himself. Part of him knew I needed to train, and the other didn’t want me pushing it to where I harmed myself. Our bond was stronger now; it was as if were one. Our understanding was on a deeper level, and he could feel how I felt about the situation and vice versa.

“I hate to say it,” a voice interrupted. Noah stood from the couch, glancing between his Alpha and the girl he’s supposed to protect with his life. “But I agree with Celeste.”

Ha, score!

Zeke groaned, tilted his head back, and squeezed his eyes shut. With an exaggerated sigh, Zeke’s head fell forward. His grey eyes were haloed in gold as he fought with his demon. “You’re scaring me, Princess,” he whispered. His voice was deeper than usual as his demon slowly slipped out.

Swallowing, I took a tentative step forward. “I wish I were just a normal teenager, but I’m not.” Silence followed my statement as the boys contemplated my words. I took it as an invitation to continue. “Look, anything could happen to me-”

“Nothing will happen to you,” Zeke growled, interrupting me at the same time Noah snapped, “Like hell.”

I ignored them and continued. “--And I’m learning to accept that, but I refuse to let anything happen to you three. I need to train, not for myself, but for you.”

“I’m not going to lose you!” Zeke yelled, taking a few steps forward. “Not again,” he shook his head, his arms limply at his sides in defeat. “Not again.”

Frowning, I wanted to yell back at him from his outburst, but I held my tongue. I kept my voice low as I spoke again, knowing the words needed to be no matter how much they may hurt. “And what if you do? You can’t act out.” I then averted my eyes to Noah. “You either.”

Noah’s nose flared as he leaned back against the couch, shaking his head. “I can’t you promise that,” he murmured.

“Yes, you can,” I growled, choking back the tears. “If something happened to any of you, would you want me to lose my shit?” I paused and let the statement sink in, fully aware of Evan’s silence. I breathed in a shaky breath of air. “Please, just promise me.” I pleaded with them.

Zeke shook his head and ran a hand through his dark and messy strands of hair. His gaze flickered from me to the other side of the room, and the wall above my head, looking anywhere but me. A dark shadow fell over my heart as Zeke’s eyes glazed over. I could feel his overwhelming emotions through our bond; none of them were positive.

Closing the gap, I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed the underside of his jaw. Sighing loudly, his chin tipped downward until his pure grey eyes met my gaze. “The best I can do is say that I’ll try.”

Noah nodded. “You have to promise us the same,” he added sternly.

I nodded, giving my protector a small smile. “I promise to try.” Turning to my mate, I raised my eyebrow and waited expectantly.

Zeke shifted uncomfortably. “What?”

“Training.”

He scowled. “No.” Zeke lifted his arm, pointing upstairs and where I assumed was the master bedroom. “Bed.”

I matched his expression. “No.” I then lifted my arm and pointed over Noah’s shoulder. “Xbox.” I knew training wasn’t smart until I had some rest, but I could have really gone for a round of Team Deathmatch at that moment.

Noah snickered, moving from behind the couch to around toward the T.V. He knew I would win this argument. Evan came up from behind and patted Zeke’s shoulder as he passed, joining Noah.

Zeke watched them with a bewildered expression, trying to figure out why they were taking my side. Again. He dropped his arm to his side while I smirked and followed the boys, shouldering my mate playfully as I passed.

“That was cold, Celeste,” he grumbled. “Real cold.”

I shrugged my shoulders, avoiding his gaze. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The boys next to me chuckled as we busied ourselves with the cords, trying to figure out how to turn the damn thing on. Although, my mind was too wrapped up in the man behind me. I felt his gaze all over.

Strong arms encircled my waist. I squealed as Zeke pulled me back away from the consul. He lifted me from the ground and pulled me on his lap as we fell back onto the couch.

“Zeke!” I shrieked, giggling as he started wiggling his fingers across my rib cage. I started to squirm in his lap, my stomach cramping from my fit of laughter. My air supply quickly ran out, so I patted Zeke’s thigh in surrender. “Stop, stop. I give in!” The words came out in giggled heaps.

Zeke was laughing with me, his fingers ceasing movement as he kissed the top of my hair. “I win,” he chuckled.

I rolled my eyes, jabbing my elbow into his side playfully. “You’re a dick,” I mumbled, pouting.

Noah chuckled while Evan shook his head, his lip twitching. They seemed to have figured out all the cords, which go where and to what, because Noah tossed me a controller. I snatched it greedily, suddenly very eager to play and focus my attention elsewhere.

Evan handed Noah the other controller, then popped up from his position on the floor, only to sit back down on it in front of me. I pushed Zeke out from under me, forcing him to scooch over. Noah took the other end of the couch, sitting next to Zeke.

Noah, the sneaky little shit, managed to snag first player controls and set up the game. Within minutes, the two of us were going at it in a round of Team Deathmatch. I’d hunt for Noah and make him my personal target each time. It pissed him off because he’d never last long before he was killed off again.

“Damn it, woman,” Noah cursed. “Your kill-death ratio is better than mine again.”

“What can I say? You play like a little bitch.”

Noah groaned, letting his head fall back against the couch. “Asshole,” he mumbled.

Standing from his seated position on the floor, Evan dusted off his jeans. “You guys hungry?”

Noah and I nodded in unison with our eyes glued to the television. Zeke gave him a firm yes, stretching his arm across the back of the couch behind me. Pots and pans clanged together behind us, wholeheartedly ignored as I managed to shoot Noah in his head.

I shot from the couch with a shit-eating grin on my face, pointing at the redhead. “HA!” I shouted teasingly.

Noah tossed the controller to the side with a flick of his wrist. “I give up,” he mumbled. “I can’t play COD with that demon.”

I burst into a fit of giggles, clutching my stomach from the cramps as tears started to pool in my eyes. Zeke caught me falling back into the couch as I slowly managed to calm down. Noah’s loss was sweet, but his reaction was even sweeter.

Taking candy from a baby.

Each one of us froze as an unexpected knock sounded at the front door. Zeke tensed underneath me. His anger and a slight twinge of fear could be felt through the bond. I reciprocated his emotions, watching as Noah crept in front of Zeke and I, while Evan slowly made his way to the door.

In one swift movement, Evan swung the door open, revealing a smug-looking demon prince. Against my mate’s wishes, I rose from my seat on the couch.

“Asmodeus?”