“You’ll stay here with Cora. Hold the fort for me.”
“You’d leave usss behind.”
“It would be for the best.”
He studied me for a long beat, then curled up and tucked his head away. I guess the conversation was over. Crap, I’d hurt his feelings. I reached for him and then curled my fingers into my palm. Best to leave it like this. I wasn’t changing my mind, because if they went on the run with me, then they’d be in danger too. I couldn’t do that to them.
“I’ll see you later, Cyril.”
I left him curled on the bed and headed out. Nox would be waiting for me. I pulled the door open and froze at the sight of Kiara.
She smiled warmly. “Did you miss me?”
“Course I did.” I pulled her into a hug and gave her a squeeze before releasing her. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be prepping for your big day? Bathing in milk and all that stuff?”
She blushed, warm eyes twinkling with excitement. “Nothing like that. Although I am exhausted with all the preparation. This is a joyous occasion for Karazik and Infernum. This wedding will finally put an end to the threat of war and bring peace to the Underealm.” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and leaned in conspiratorially. “They’re calling it the wedding of the century.”
Yes, the alliance. The treaty. Conah and Kiara were instrumental to it. “Karazik? Is that your kingdom?”
“It’s my father’s Region. Mammon is the ambassador of Karazik, which consists of several towns and villages on the east side of the River Torment. Infernum is the capital in central Underealm where the queen’s Keep is.”
“So what are you doing here? Have you come to fetch Conah?”
She blushed again. “No, actually, I came to see you. I wanted to ask a favor. I wanted you to be my Companion.”
She said it expectantly, almost reverently, which told me this Companion thing was some kind of honor. “I don’t know what that is.”
“Underealm tradition dictates that the bride take a Companion with her to her new home on the wedding night. The marriage is consummated on the second day, but the first night the Companion keeps vigil so the groom can’t sneak into the bridal suite.” She shrugged one shoulder, looking decidedly nervous. “I was wondering if you’d be my Companion.”
“I…Why me?”
Her smile was self-deprecating. “Princesses don’t make friends easily, Fee. Everyone is either there to serve or to gain some kind of favor. Even my sisters are jealous of me. I have five, but I realized yesterday when my mother asked me who I’d like to take as my Companion, that the only real friend I have, aside from Conah, is you.”
Fuck. My eyes pricked. Damn it with the emotions today. “I’d fucking be honored.”
She hugged me tightly. “Thank you. Thank you so much. You’ll be with the Dominus in Infernum, but I’ll get a carriage sent for you the night before the wedding.”
“I look forward to it.”
She left with a skip in her step, and it was only after she rounded the corridor and was out of view that it hit me…What if I didn’t make it to the Underealm? Who’d be her Companion then?
Nox and I landed outside the gates to Royal Park. The place was massive, over 270 acres of land with several exits that linked to another park, because Royal Park had once been shared by several boroughs.
Sariah, Nix, and a reaper I hadn’t met yet waited for us.
Freya, no doubt.
The new reaper was stocky with dark hair pulled off her broad face and huge brown eyes. She didn’t have any horns or obvious daemon traits, which meant she had more demon blood in her than daemon blood. The races were intermixed now with very few pure demon bloods as far as I was aware. Lilith’s descendants’ genes were dominant, so they always squashed any daemon genes that might have made their way into the family trees. The rest of the demon lords’ bloodlines, not so much.
“Nice to meet you, Freya.” I gave her a warm smile.
“Likewise,” she said.
I glanced at the gates. “Nox said we had a vamp nest to clear?”
Sariah gave him a tight look. “Did he tell you anything else?”
“No. Should he have?”
Sariah sighed. “I don’t think you’ve noticed, but we’re in Rising Pack territory.”
I stared at her. Wait…West London…This far west? “This is still their territory?”
Sariah nodded.
“But…What are we doing here? I thought they dealt with their own issues.”
“They do,” Nix said with a frown.
“But for some reason, they requested backup on this one,” Sariah said, shooting me a meaningful look.
Hunter. It had to be.
My suspicions were confirmed a moment later when a flashy car drew up to the curb and parked smoothly. Hunter got out of the driver’s seat, and four Loup from his pack joined him on the pavement.
Gone was the suit and in its place were denim, cotton, and running shoes. His hair was tousled, making him look younger, more approachable, but his eyes were hard, determined chips of obsidian in his tanned face.
He gave me half a smile as if to say gotcha.
Annoyance swelled inside me in a wave. “What are you playing at, Hunter? You don’t need us. Stop wasting our time.”
“Hello to you too, Miss Dawn,” he said.
So it was Miss Dawn now, was it? “Hunter…”
There was warning in my tone. Warning that he ignored, walking right into my personal space until I had no choice but to back up or raise my chin to look up at him. I chose to do the latter. He might be an alpha to his pack, but I was an alpha to my reapers.
“Why the attitude, Miss Dawn?” he said with a smirk. “You’re reapers. It’s your job to patrol.” He shrugged. “It just so happens that the Rising Pack could do with the backup.”
Backup? Urgh, I wanted to nut him. “We don’t play backup, Hunter. We bring the pain. Your Loup can play backup.”
“Or, we could just work together?” Sariah said, looking between us. “Let’s just clear the nest.”
She gave me a pointed look, like, don’t rise to the bait. Or maybe I was projecting my subconscious advice onto myself using her as a conduit. She was right. I was a professional. A Dominus.
Time to take charge.
“Do we have a rough location of the nest?” I looked to Sariah for information.
Hunter leaned in so his cheek brushed mine, sending tingles racing over my skin and urging my heart into an erratic rhythm. “They’re in the park.”
Dickhead. I shoved him away, lips pinched in annoyance. “Sariah?”
“Somewhere on the east side of the lake.”
I speared Hunter with a look. “East of the lake. My reapers and I will scout from above, and you can take the ground. Sariah, you got a spare comm you can give Hunter so he can keep in touch with us?”
“No need,” Hunter said. “I’ll take you.”
Not take yours but take you. Like hell! “I’m not staying on the ground with you.”
“My territory, my rules,” he said.
“Fine, then you can work alone.”
It was Hunter’s turn to look at Sariah. He raised both brows as a prompt, and she gave a world-weary sigh.
“We have a contract, Fee. If we’re called on for assistance, we have to give it, and we have to adhere to the territory rules.”
Yep, it was official. I despised him.
And yep, he definitely looked smug as shit. Fucker. “Fine, but touch me and die.”
I stalked off toward the gates, anger staining my cheeks with heat. The sooner we got this over with, the better.
I hoped Cora was having a more enjoyable night than me.
Chapter Seven
Cora
Masterton Manor is a Redstone building in the heart of Necro. It looks like a typical townhouse from the outside: wrought iron gates, imposing doorknocker, and tall sash windows. But once I step inside, it’s like the fucking tardis—huge.
The bloody witches have money. You can tell by the chandeliers and the gilt-framed mirrors and fancy flooring. Everything is spotless, and I can probably eat off the floor if I want.
Instead, I’m eating off a plate. Neatly cut salmon sandwiches with a pot of tea; not the whole pot, mind you, just a dainty cup. Damn, I feel like I’ve been dropped into a regency romance, except there’s no bodice-ripping allowed because that would be in bad taste.
Vi smiles at me and picks up her cup, pinky out. Her back is stiff and straight. Talk about posture control.
I arch my brow. “Vi, there’s no one about. You can relax.”
She blinks sharply and then lets out a bark of laughter. “This is why I prefer to be at the house. The pack doesn’t care about posture and etiquette.” Her face clouds. “I will miss that.”
I can’t help but feel sorry for her. We both know that once Grayson mates with Fee, he’ll have eyes only for her. I mean those two are dynamite together, anyone can see the chemistry between them. Vi’s no fool, which is why I’m here. I like the witch, a lot, but I love Fee, and I’m not taking the risk of her getting fucked over.
I’m making sure Vi follows through on her promise to help. The calls have been made, and now we wait for a reply.
Vi sips her tea, her gaze fixed on me speculatively. “You don’t trust me, do you?”
There’s disappointment in her eyes, and that should make me feel guilty, but it doesn’t. “I’m sorry, Vi. Love can make people do nasty shit. I can’t take the risk that your green-eyed monster decides to come out to play.”
She sighs. “Of course I’m jealous. I’d be inhuman not to be, but I’m not stupid. I know how mating bonds and attractions work. I’m in love with Grayson, but I have enough self-respect to not want to be the second choice. I deserve a man who will adore me.”
And it’s obvious Grayson cares about Vi, but he wants Fee with every fiber of his being.