Taking a breath to collect himself, his trademark plastic smile reemerges. “I got you something as not only an apology gift, but a show of good faith to assure you that I have no intention of killing the humans in order to free the demons. Regardless of what Aurelia may lead you to believe, I genuinely care not only for her, but you as well. We may have gotten off on the wrong foot, but I do understand you, Sabrina. You don’t want to give up your life for people you’ve never met, and I’d like to prove that I’m not asking you to. On the contrary; I want to give you everything.”
Passing the envelope off to Slade, it makes its way down the line to Hunter and Reid, where he hesitates like he’s debating opening it for inspection first. Reluctantly, he hands it off to her while I crane my neck to shamelessly get the first look as she slides the packet of papers free.
On an incredulous breath, I murmur, “What the fuck?”
Bo crowds my personal space to investigate, but the moment he sees it, he has a wildly different reaction. Unperturbed, he returns to his seat and his meal. With a heavy exhale, I follow his lead, even if my stomach is a mess of knots.
Sabrina isn’t impressed by expensive gifts. My unease stems from the fact that he managed to pull this off in only a few days as a result of Kaige’s goading, and realizing how far his reach actually extends.
“I don’t,” Sabrina trails off with a shake of her head.
Unable to form a coherent sentence, she tilts it Reid’s way, and his eyes widen before whipping his attention to Ash. “You bought Byte-Ware?”
Acheron soaks up her loss of words with smug satisfaction, taking it as a sign of victory. “I did, but as you’ll note, Sabrina’s co-owner, and I intend to leave it in her very capable hands.” When she finally looks at him, he emphasizes, “Once we set things straight, I’m happy to never set foot on that mountain again. I can give you everything you could ever want, Sabrina. All I ask is that you help me make things right, and give me the shot that Aurelia was too scared to take a chance on.”
What I wouldn’t give to be able to hear her thoughts right now.
“Aurelia is probably screaming at Sabrina to burn his nuts off for that comment.”
Taking a bite of my dinner, I study her expression, but all I find is stunned silence and a glazed look in her eye as she’s caught in her own discussion with her inner wolf demon.
Face, maybe. Neither of them want to be anywhere near that manipulative bastard’s junk. He’s spinning it as a present, but it’s just a way to keep her busy and happy while he’s off waging his war against the world, financially tied to him. He’s trying to pull her deeper and deeper into his web so that he’ll be able to control her since even he admitted that she’s more powerful than he is.
“And if we see that, so does she, don’t worry.”
Clearing her throat, Sabrina sits up straighter in her chair. Taking another sip of her wine, she grabs her fork and knife, concentrating her attention on her meal. “The demons. How do I free them exactly?”
Grinning ear to ear, Ash languidly drags his gaze over her before returning to his steak. “I’m going to need you to tell me exactly what Aurelia was thinking of when she did it originally to be sure, but it should be as straightforward as desiring to open a path from them to us and releasing a surge of power, if you will.”
After a few more bites, I still can’t let go of the question nagging at me and decide to go for broke and interject. “That’ll free the ones under the mountain, but what about shifters like us?”
“That’s where the drug comes in. You all did me the favor of perfecting it, so it’ll simply be a matter of distributing it. Wolves will be able to shift without the need of a mate, and their demons will be free to share the body they’re confined in. Not a perfect solution, but a good start. In this day and age, having an influx of demons roaming around won’t be received well.”
He didn’t comment on the fact that they’ll be immune to manipulation outside of Sabrina and there’s no way he didn’t catch that fact if he left our first test subject’s corpse on our doorstep to make a point.
“The shifters aren’t the goal; it’s the demons in the mountain. Or maybe he isn’t worried about having to physically force them into compliance and thinks his other avenues of controlling people will be sufficient?”
Bolder than I’ve ever seen him, Slade calls him out to his face. “Until the regular human population is dealt with, you mean. Once they’re culled down to a more manageable number, shifters can take their place as the dominant species and the demons won’t have to hide.Thenwe can revisit the idea of separating the two entities and experimenting on how to pull it off without killing either one, is that about right?”
A slow smirk rises on Ash’s face before he nonchalantly takes another bite. Drawing the moment out, he swallows and refills his glass before deigning to respond. “As wonderful as it would be to solve every problem in one fell swoop, the world rarely works that way. One step at a time.”
Kaige’s fork bends under the force of his grip. “So you’re stringing her along and hoping that if she’s forced to be around you long enough with you showering her in gifts, she’ll finally take you as a mate?”
“Aww, I liked that guy. I’m going to miss him.”
Everyone tenses as they await Ash’s reaction. Still riding the high of his perceived victory, he takes the question in stride, but shuts down the topic. “I’m hoping to create a world where shifters and demons aren’t killed simply for existing.”
Several minutes pass as we all get lost in our thoughts, picking at our food. The waitress returns to check on us, taking away a few empty plates and bottles, promptly returning with additional bottles and various desserts without even being asked if they were wanted. Clearly, Ash worked out plenty of the semantics before we arrived, namely; make the evening last as long as humanly possible by whatever means necessary.
Annoyed, I snag one of the pieces of strawberry cheesecake. As the first bite melts in my mouth and I don’t drop dead from poison, I run my fork through it again and offer it to Sabrina. “I hate to admit it, but this is fucking delicious and you have to try it.”
Lip twitching, she takes the distraction, leaning in to steal it off of my fork. “Damn it, it really is.” Rising out of her chair in order to reach the last slice before Bo gets his hands on it, she settles back in her seat with her prize. Treating it like casual dinner conversation, she asks, “So what are you going to do with the demons in the meantime? You know, since they’d be killed for being different, and you’re happy to move away from the mountain of depression.”
Weighing his answer, Ash buys himself a few seconds by taking a long drink. “Ideally, I’d like to use the time to bring them up to speed on the modern world and give them a chance to gradually acclimate so it isn’t such a culture shock. I’m not sure what sort of conditions they’ve spent the past several centuries in, so we’re officially entering a grey area where an official plan will need to be developed once I have more facts to work with.”
“You’ve spent all of this time not only trying to resurrect Aurelia, but free these people. You must havesomesort of reason.”
When he turns to me, the amusement drains from his eyes in favor of warning. “You’re here because you serve a purpose; keeping Sabrina safe and happy. Nothing beyond that is your concern. Obviously I have my reasons, and I’m happy to share them with her, but you? You’re tolerated as a courtesy, so mind your tone, because you’re easily replaceable.”
