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“They can wait.” He nipped at my own claiming mark. “They’ve had centuries of my service. They can fucking wait.”
“We’ll be fast.” I tried to sound reasonable while I pressed my hips forward, feeling the bulge of his erection against me.
Cole laughed a throaty chuckle. “As if I’d rush a single moment with you.”
Any further protests were cut off with a kiss. Cole was inside me a second later, his hands supporting my hips as he lifted me against a wall. The bed that sat a few feet away was too far.
“It was that smile,” he hissed. “Seeing you happy turns me on like nothing else.”
“So what you’re saying is if we’re going to get through today’s meetings, I need to stop smiling?” I laughed.
“Fuck no,” Cole snarled. “I’m saying we’re going to take a lot of breaks.”
He moved in and out at a steady pace. His hands slipped away from my backside, replaced by those shadows, and instead found my nipples, tweaking them. “Understood?”
I gasped. “Yes,sir.”
There was no mistaking the sudden thrust coming a little harder, off-kilter. I grinned, liking that I had found another way to tease Cole. I wanted to learn all the little ways, to have a thousand years to play with him like this.
“Technically, it’sYour Majesty,” he corrected, as if stern words couldhide his reaction.
“Whatever you say,sir.”
His eyes narrowed. “Oh, you’ll pay for that, little wolf.”
He did make me pay, and I enjoyed every moment.
But unfortunately, everything had an end. As soon as I magicked on fresh clothing—an off-shoulder outfit that showed my own bite—we were back in the council room, where no one seemed to want to look us in the eyes except Hecate, who winked at me.
Despite the bit of levity, we were no closer to having an effective plan. Xander had rallied the Wind-Blood pack, and Daphne had been with him every step, educating the pack and then leaving to gain support with the Fangs. Whatever she’d said, she’d gotten the Fangs to agree to side against Jett’s Moon-Ghosts. Then again, my old pack had made plenty of enemies, so even if they didn’t believe us on the evil-Moon-Goddess thing, Jett-is-a-dick was easy enough to cash in on.
Even if our living allies, who could kill without getting a one-way ticket to the pits, did defeat the Moon-Ghosts, it would be bloody. And every soul lost would join the Moon Goddess’s astral army.
The days grew long. It wasn’t just meetings. It was scouring the library for any clue of how to fix this mess and hours of working out my frustrations with Cole. And not in a fun way—we were back in the ring every evening. He may have been happy to hear how I’d crushed the asshole’s arm, but he hated the thought of me being vulnerable. Even if I faced the Moon Goddess in her realm and she took away my magic, she couldn’t take away my innate shifter strength. We practiced fisticuffs, blades, in fur and with magic. Now that the memories of my previous incarnation had come back, I could actually face off against Cole as an equal. Without those memories, it would have takendecades, centuries, to match Cole’s experience.
The Moon Goddess was older than both of us. In her realm, she was supreme, and she never left her realm.
I wasn’t just angry anymore. I was frustrated.
I wanted a target to unleash myself on.
Twelve days after my abrupt return from the Moon Goddess’s realm, a certain demon provided just that opportunity.
It was late, late enough that I should have been completely fatigued from the day I’d had, but instead, an expectant energy hummed beneath my skin as I wandered the castle halls. Although I—or rather, Persephone, whose memories I had—had lived in the castle for countless years, there were still new corridors to explore. Magic things hated being stagnant, after all. The deserted hallways were lined with massive paintings. The ceiling towered. My attention, however, was fixed on the one at the end. It was a massive portrait of a stunning woman with red hair. At first, I figured it was obviously Persephone. Then, as I drew closer, I realized it wasme. Unlike my perfect “Goddess of Life” counterpart, I had some scars and a crooked nose even shifter healing couldn’t salvage. Not me as I was currently dressed—all the crowns in the world couldn’t deprive me of my sweatpants and tank tops. Instead, I wore the same gown I’d had at the ball, bright red hair tumbling down my back with a crown atop, twin to the necklace he'd gifted me which was also depicted.
I’d never sat for such a picture, but it was me. Something in my chest warmed. The kingdom may have longed for its once-forgotten queen, but Cole treasuredme. I stared for a long moment, quietly contemplating the challenges we had ahead. And then, as Phaidros approached, I pretended to remain focused on it while I prepared theperfect gift for unwelcome visitors.
I didn’t need the scent of cloves to warn me of his presence. Seconds before his portal opened, I felt his soul cross into Hell and gathered my magic at the spot he’d chosen.
“If you attack me, I can portal away before you even—”
His latest attempt to startle me with some patronizing warning was cut off with a flare of my power. Green sparks filled the hallway, and the demon was pulled from the portal and pinned to the floor. I threw myself on him, gripping his chest with both hands. My magic alerted Cole there was an intruder. I didn’t bother to turn around and confirm he’d appeared behind me. Instead, I sharpened my human fingers into claws and stuck them into the demon’s star-skinned chest. His fanciful clothes were shredded, and while that was the least important part of the situation, I enjoyed seeing the unflappable demon ruined.
“Before I can what?” I snarled. “I’m the Queen of Hell, Phaidros. You come into my territory with such impunity, after how you set me up. You really think you’ll walk away from this conversation alive?”
I twisted my nails in his chest. He choked out a gasp.
If I wanted, I could’ve used my magic to rot him from the inside out. It was partly my gift, partly Cole’s. The darkest part of my magic, taking away life, unlocked from him.
