I’d never felt so possessive in my life. But that female was mine.
Yet, just like in my past, I was being forced to watch her suffer whilefrozen.
A flicker of memory appeared behind my eyes, showing me Emelyn’s face frigid with terror on a stage surrounded by chanting Midnight Fae.
It was so similar to this, only the fae here were panting, and Cami wore a goddess-like expression, marking herself as untouchable and above the crowd.
If she was afraid, she wasn’t showing it.
Instead, she gazed out at the room with a vacant expression, ignoring all the crude statements and salacious offers being flung her way.
When the trials started, she shifted her focus to the screens and simply watched as though bored.
The only inclination I had of her discomfort was her rigid stance. She acted as though she couldn’t move. However, her cage was the size of a small room. There wasn’t anywhere to sit other than on the floor, but she had space to pace around.
However, she remained in the corner, her eyes glued to the screen.
I kept testing Az’s binds, trying to find a way to break free. He’d yanked me to the side of the stage, essentially positioning me as a fancy guard off to the side. Which allowed me to see Cami but also placed me near all the hungry Hell Fae.
Several of them had approached me with angry comments regarding the rules, saying I wasn’t worthy of her and how dare I taint her for the rest of them.
Some asked me how she tasted.
And a few others actually admitted that they couldn’t blame me for taking advantage of the situation, their comments crude as they evaluated her flawless form.
I suspected that last group would be going on one of Lucifer’s famed lists. He would want to know who thought my behavior was admirable, just to keep a closer eye on them with their sponsored brides.
Az approached in my periphery, his power lashing out at my senses as he seemed to release me from a few of the binds. “Don’t make a scene,” he said under his breath.
“By doing what?” I met his gaze. “Biting you?” Because he’d only freed my head.
His lips twitched. “Now, we both know I might enjoy that.”
“Except it would mate us,” I countered. “And I absolutely do not want to be mated to you.”
His eyebrows lifted. “Oh? Would I make such a terrible mate?”
I glanced at Cami and back at him. “Yes. You would.”
His gaze narrowed. “You think I like this?”
“You put her in that damn cage, Az. So you clearly don’t dislike it.”
He grunted. “She’s fine and she’s safe. That’s all I care about.”
“She’s not fine,” I gritted out, looking at her again. “She’s stiff and uncomfortable.”
“So I’ll give her a massage later and worship her with my tongue. She’ll forgive me then.”
I highly doubted that. Something had shifted in her the moment Lucifer had removed her coat. Some sort of fire igniting, a subtle resolution fueling her current state.
She wouldn’t be forgiving any of us easily. Including me.
“How does your Phoenix feel about all this?” I asked him, purposely goading him. “Does he like having all these other men staring athisCami?”
Az’s lips flattened, his gaze perusing the room. “My Phoenix understands loyalty,” he said vaguely.
“To whom?” I wondered aloud. “Because it’s clearly not to me or to Cami.”
