Page 52 of Zodiac Demons

“Oh, I just called Marcus for a ride,” I said, unprompted, and in the most suspicious way possible.

Ceto’s brow furrowed. “Let me at least escort you out then.” He shut the door, locked it, and led me out the backdoor. Before I could ask what was going on, he cut me off in advance with an apology. “I’m sorry you had to witness that. Please don’t take anything he says to heart. We’re brothers, but we are not friends.” His genuine distress was overwhelming my psyche, and I could physically feel the slow dissipation as he forcibly dialed back our emotional link to spare me his own unhappiness.

“What did he mean about matchmaking?” I should have focused on what mattered and reassured him, but that word was stuck in my mind and impossible to forget. “Are you… in a relationship with someone else? Is that part of the problem?”

“No.” Ceto was fully taken aback, shocked I’d even think such a thing. “No, of course not. Absolutely not.” He shook his head, the genuine offense palpable. “I would never do that to you. I’ve been cancelling every session from under my parent’s noses from the moment we…” He swallowed and shook his head, though the implication of ‘the moment we slept together’ was very clear. “But that was part of what I wanted to talk to you about. I need to deal with him tonight, so I can’t say everything I need to say now, but it’s complicated when you’re part of a legacy family. You’re lucky yours came with an expectation of infertility, so you never had to experience the heir and legacy pressure that most of us endure, but this whole thing isn’t as simple as dating and happily ever afters.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry, Lila. Please just try to forget all of this. I’ll figure it out. And I’ll explain.”

The rumble of Marcus’ motorcycle could be heard in the nearing distance, and once he was in close enough proximity, I told him through our mental link to meet me in the alley.

Ceto waited until Marcus’ headlight lit up the alleyway, then as I started putting on my gear, he and Marcus held a silent glance between them without word or explanation.

“Good night. I’ll see you next week,” I promised as I climbed onto the back of Marcus’ bike.

Ceto just nodded, then headed back into the shop.

“Everything okay?” Marcus asked, our telepathic communication being much easier when we were both in helmets and speeding through the wind.

“Yeah, I just got caught up a little longer than intended.” I lied, and I think he could tell. But he didn’t press me on it. I wasn’t sure what I would tell him if he did. Nothing bad had happened. It all felt more strange than terrifying.

I was used to terror now. I was well versed in it. An expert even. But this was just uncomfortable, and only because my bond told me it should be. With how my life generally went, if there was reason to fear Omari Arya, I would definitely find that out the hard way.

Sigh.

I needed to learn to shift already, so I could be the scariest monster in the room. But for now, I’d just keep trying to keep my head above water.

Chapter 24

“What do you actually want?” I snapped as I entered the sales floor, where Omari was leaning against one of the displays, waiting patiently for me to return. I would have been just fine with it if he’d left, but I was never that fortunate.

“Honestly, I just came here to catch up, maybe torment you a little before I headed off on another assignment for the Counsel—being an actual Arya with actual responsibility is exhausting, by the way—but now that I’ve seen what you’ve been hiding, I think I’ll stay awhile.” Omari gripped the sleeve of a fine suit jacket propped on a manikin, and he rubbed the material between his thumb and forefinger appraisingly. “Now that she’s not here and listening in on our conversation…” he smirked, and I knew he was playing up the matchmaking point for a reason. Explaining all of that was going to be a headache and a hit to her confidence, when it was completely unnecessary information. “Let’s discuss this very interesting development.”

“She’s my coworker, and I had no idea she was somehow Lamia’s daughter when I hired her. It was a weird coincidence. That’s it. There’s nothing else to discuss.” Other than her being my permanent mate now. “Are you satisfied? Can you go?”

“So you’re seriously trying to tell me you’re not fucking her? I guess that makes sense. I figured you preferred men after that incident with the vampire.” He rolled his eyes. “Marcus Emery, right? Do you remember how heartbroken you were when you thought you’d killed him? And how desperate you were when you learned my blood was, ironically, the antidote to cancel out your fucked up hybrid blood?” I winced at the reminder. “So desperate to save his life that you, my sweet little brother, made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Do you remember that?”

That made my blood run colder than even a Basilisk’s should. “What’s your point?”

“I think I figured out what I want from you.” He glanced toward the back door with an eerie fondness. “I need to be married sooner than later, and we both know our father has never approved of anyone I’ve picked myself, while Madam Claudine’s picks are almost comically not to my taste. But the daughter of Lamia? I have a feeling she can handle a bit of darkness that I wouldn’t mind in my bedroom.”

“What does that have to do with me?” I played dumb, because I had to right now. “She’s not an object I can give away just because she works here. Not to mention, Lamia is infertile. They would never approve that.” This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t fucking happening. “You need to produce an heir, and you’re not going to do that with her. Neither of us can, so she’s off limits for both of us.”

“Well, clearly her mother figured out a way.” He waved a hand dismissively. “I’m sure the matchmaker can sort out something that would work for us, too.”

“You’ve seen her for all of five minutes. You don’t know anything about her. Why would you suddenly be hell bent on marrying her?” Bargain. Find the holes in his logic. Turn this around.

“Because it only took five minutes to see how blatantly and obviously you’re in love with her.” He smirked, before he approached me, and his gaze even sent shivers down my spine. He couldn’t paralyze me, but that wasn’t what made him scary. “You told me you’d owe me anything I wanted, when I wanted it, whatever it may be. And you sealed that pact in blood. So to be clear,” he placed a hand atop my head and ruffled my hair, his pleasant grin not matching the cruelty of his words, “I’m not asking you. I’m telling you that whatever you have going on between you, I’ll be taking over from here.”

“There’s nothing going on between us. You’re imagining something that isn’t there…” I was forcing myself to hold it together, while every word threatened to be the one to break. I dropped my tone, so I could better hold on to my dignity. “She’s not mine to give away. This isn’t part of our deal.” She is though. She is absolutely mine, and the fact that we’re mated makes her completely within the bounds of our blood promise. “That’s not how mating works, and no one would accept enslaving a legacy heir by force.”

“You think I’d need to use force to steal her from you? Come on now, you know better.” The way his lips curved could only be described as psychotic. “I just need to set up a family dinner.” He tapped me on the cheek, then stepped back.

I was still holding a breath like I might die the moment I let it go. I tapped into the boldness of my Gemini just enough to try and stand up for myself in front of him for once, needing any strength I could get. “She’s not just the daughter of Lamia, she’s a Zodiac shifter. And if you ever paid attention to anyone but yourself, you might notice that she’s scented with three mate bonds already. She’s not looking for a suitor to appease her family. She’s doing just find finding her own mates to the point she’s taken three times over.”

“Oh?” The gotcha grin struck me like a metal bar to the shoulder, and I knew I’d said too much. “Is one of those bonds yours, baby brother?” He asked the obvious question, that I’d been too brash and hasty in my anger to see coming. “Though I noticed she had one mark that was strikingly similar to the one you had last year. I promise I pay enough attention to the world outside myself that I know what a Leo symbol looks like. Same place too. Coincidence?”

I froze, and I immediately regretted everything I’d said.

When I didn’t speak, he continued for me. “I knew it. Was that your work around? You were afraid of what power I would have over you when you were bound to someone who had my blood implanted in them to create immunity to our blood born venom, so you found someone who could be your buffer?”