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Diana started freaking out. It was pathetically easy to get a rise out of her. Bash had to physically restrain her from jumping out of his lap and lunging at me from across the table. Ares got up from his chair and raced behind me, roughly grabbing my arms and fixing them behind my back with one hand before slamming my face into the table with the other. He worked so quickly I didnt even see a flicker of his movement.
“Shut the fuck up!” he snarled. “No one wants to hear you pop off, asshole. She didn’t do anything to you. While she’s a guest in our home, you’re going to treat her with some respect.”
“Oh yeah?” she sniffled, trying her hardest to hold back tears, “Like you did when you chased me down, wrestled me to the ground, and forced me back to the house earlier? That was quite a way to treat a guest.”
Ares tightened his grip on me, pressing my face into the table so hard that the oak underneath me started to crack. “I like to chase… I getreallyinto it. You ran, and it triggered me,” he said in a softer voice. His Greek accent was thicker than normal, the vowels dragging in every word.
“I have nothing left now. I’ll never see my family and friends again. Or finish my degree. I take care of my cat, Oscar. Who will feed him?” She full-on sobbed, like she was vying for an Academy Award. Fat, wet tears rolled down her cheeks and nose, dripping onto her lips. She hiccuped and sounded like she couldn’t breathe.
Desmond walked over, putting his hand on the exposed skin at the back of her neck. He used his empathy to calm her down somewhat, until she could breathe normally again. She drew her gaze to each of us all, stopping with me. When she saw my face smashed into the table, she smirked. “Ares was right, you’re all fucking monsters.”
“Actually, three of us are different types of demons and Ares is, well,Ares. But he’s not wrong. We aren’t the worst monsters out there, though. Satan isbeyonddangerous,” Bash said.
“His hit on you was a death sentence. Someone else is after you too, because the reptilian shifters aren’t Satan’s. Had it been anyone else tasked to kill you, you’d be dead. At least this way, you can survive, get revenge. Live a life without constantly having to look over your shoulder.” Desmond was trying to make this girl see sense, but it seemed like a waste of time. She obviously wasn’t strong enough to hack this life.
She swallowed. “How did you fake my death? I at least need to know that.”
“You died in the fire at the nightclub. You were one of the few unlucky ones that didn’t make it out alive. We’re going to tell Satan that we were unable to provide proof-of-death because Ares got carried away and burnt your body to a crisp,” Desmond explained to her.
“Sounds like something he would do,” she snarked, glaring at Ares. I could feel his fingers digging into my back and his hand pressing me firmer into the table. It groaned under the force of his strength.
“You’re upset right now, and going through a lot, but you’re safe here. I’m going to take care of you.” Bash stroked his fingers through her hair, and stared at her with hearts in his eyes. As an immortal incubus, he should know better. He had seen and experienced how love causes problems, and he would sink in a quicksand of problems with this girl.
“Am I going to be wearing these long term? How am I supposed to sleep this way?” She held up her wrists, gesturing to the magical bindings.
"Let's make a deal. You avoid purposely using your magic against us and stay here for the night, willingly. Then after a good night's sleep we can fill you in further. Given Satan wants you dead, and we made it look like that to keep you safe, I'd say you owe us that. We’ll make a game plan and sort this all out. Whether you like it or not, you're a part of this. So put your big girl panties on, and chill the fuck out." Desmond looked at her expectantly.
“Is this like in the movies, when the Devil makes a deal with someone? Are you going totake my soul?” She sarcastically spat the last question.
“No, I’m not going to take your soul as payment or collateral. This is a binding deal, though. The consequence of breaking the deal is that you wear the cuffs permanently. What we’re doing now is deal-making. One of my demon powers is that I’m able to make binding contracts with people via magic. If you agree to this deal, I’ll take the cuffs off you.” Desmond extended his hand.
She swung her gaze from Desmond to Bash. Bash nodded at her, encouraging her to take the deal. She shook Desmond’s hand. Sparks released from their joining, and the red magical restraints disappeared.
“Diana, let me take you to your room. You can get a good night’s sleep and reflect on everything.” She nodded, and Bash stood up with her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself, leaning her head against his chest. He murmured something to her as they walked away, but I couldn’t hear it. If I did, I’m sure it would have made me sick.
“Ares, let me upnow,” I demanded. It was fucking embarassing to get pinned down in front of everyone for stating the truth.
Ares let me up, spun me around, and sucker punched me right in the face. I flew back from the sheer force of his hit, slamming against the wall. Ares was on me in a millisecond. He collared my throat, sliding my body up the wall so I was eye level with him. He tightened his grip and cut off my air supply. Little black dots danced around the edges of my vision.
“Don’t fuck with me. Don’t fuck with her. If you keep being a little shit, I’ll make you scream for mercy, and not in the way you like.” He dropped me onto the floor and stormed off.
“If I were you, I’d steer clear of him tonight. Give him and Bash a wide berth. If you could be decent to Diana, I would appreciate that, too.” Desmond stood, rounding the table to stand next to me.
“I don’t fucking want her here. She’s a huge risk, and this plan is going to get us all killed,if we’re lucky.”
“Do you trust my judgment?” Desmond asked me. I nodded, because I had always trusted Desmond. He possessed the ability to make things happen. That’s why he had gained the notoriety he had in the Underworld.
“I took a risk with you, and it paid off. I know what she’s capable of. I know what I’m doing.” He put his hand on my shoulder and leaned closer to my face. “Trust me.” He kissed my forehead, and left.
Iwanted to protest Sebastian carrying me to bed so badly but couldn’t bring myself to do it, no matter how angry I was with the four of them and this hopeless situation I found myself in. As soon as Desmond had locked the magical restraints around my wrists, all the energy slowly drained from my body. I felt like a zombie by the time he took them off, and I was relieved to not have to climb the giant, fancy-as-fuck grand staircase. This way, I could at least ogle the sparkling crystal chandeliers overhead while my head rested on Sebastian’s rock-hard chest.
While he weaved us through hallways, I studied his face. He had a dark, edgy beauty that caught my attention, but something about him drew me in, tying me to him with an invisible rope. I couldn’t put a finger on it. He wasintense, staring at me with laser precision. The way his arms had circled my waist at the table made it clear to me and everyone else in the room earlier that he thought I belonged to him. Surprisingly, I didn’t hate it. This energy thrummed between us, drawing me to him despite my common sense telling me to stay away. I basked in his closeness, in the feeling of our skin touching. It felt right, even though it was wrong. He was an accessory in my kidnapping, even if he believed he was doing it for the right reasons.
I was so tired and lost in my own thoughts about the events of the past day, I didn’t even notice when we stopped at a tall, cherry mahogany door with a carving of a crescent moon. Sebastian raised a hand to it, and a dim indigo glow flared beneath his hand. He then placed my hand between the carving and his own, and another glow flickered.
“What are you doing?” I asked. I couldn’t use magic, or else my deal with Desmond would be broken.
“I’m adding you to the wards on my suite. Wards are like magical locks or protection spells. The magic will recognize you, so you can come and go as you please,” he explained while walking us through his quarters.
