Lyonis’ heart thumped painfully in his chest. He would not have this. He will make her happy and she will mate with him. They will love each other and run the pack together.
“Willow,” he said softly. The furrow between her eyes deepened and he laughed. “Time to wake up, tawicue.”
She grumbled something inaudible.
“What was that, my Willow?” He combed his fingers through her soft hair. Her hand came up and slapped his hand away.
“I said I’m not your wife.” Not yet, he added silently.
As her eyes fluttered open, he said, “I have some news that you might be excited about.” Her eyes shot wide with hope.
“You’re letting me go!” Surprisingly it hurt more than he’d thought it would to hear that.
“No, but your sisters are here.” Excitement instantly lit up her face. The impact of it hit him hard and fast. He couldn’t ignore the urge and quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She wiggled and squirmed to get away.
“Let me go. I need to see them.” He did but not before he held her head still for a kiss. The sound of her breath catching soothed his nerves infinitely. Pulling away from her soft heat, he watched a flush stain her cheeks. She might not like it but she liked his touch. Hope filled his chest. He could fix this. He could make her happy. She was meant to be his.
“Alright, let’s go see your family. I’m excited to meet them.”
She paused at the front door and turned back to him slowly. “Why? You aren’t coming with me. I need to talk to them alone.”
Lyonis prided himself on his ability to control his anger and frustration, but she seemed to push his buttons at every turn. He closed in on her, loving the way she backed into the door to get away from him.
He’d rather have her meeting him halfway with a kiss and a touch, but her instincts were right. They told her to be weary of him, because it knew the effect his touch had on her. In fact, in his time chasing her, he learned just how well she responded to his touch.
He cupped her throat gently; the feel of her pulse racing under his fingertips threatened to send his desire out of control. He traced her jaw with only the soft press of his fingertips. Her eyelids fluttered shut and only then did he slowly remove his hand and step away from her.
She watched him suspiciously before turning around and opening the door. “Where are they?”
“I’ll show you.” Lyonis contained his laughter as she mumbled about stupid alphas under her breath. “It’ll be quicker if we drive.” She nodded and Lyonis couldn’t help but feel as though he’d just taken a small step with her.
They arrived at his office on the other side of his town. A flurry of talk was already spreading through his pack at the new arrivals. Lyonis led Willow through his main office where he conducted most of his work with the pack. She would try to escape with her sisters that much he knew. She wouldn’t be successful though, he’d make sure of it.
The sight of her sisters sent Willow into the most feminine frenzy he’d ever seen in her. She squealed and ran to them, hugging them close as they started chattering over each other.
Lyonis grinned at his mate and met up with the men.
“Tyrian, Telal,” he nodded.
Tyrian spoke first. “Alpha Lyonis, thank you for seeing us on such short notice.”
“It’s not as if you gave him much choice,” Telal said with a frown. His eyes skirted over to the sisters and the frown around his mouth became even deeper.
“True enough but Willow’s family is always welcome here.”
“We need to talk business,” Tyrian said, his eyes cold and serious.
“Of course, I have a free office down the hall. We can talk there.” Lyonis looked back at the sisters and realized he might as well not even be in the same room. None of them seemed to notice they were leaving.
Entering the office, Lyonis turned to Telal. “Are you looking forward to your own Bellum sister, Telal?” The demon took a seat; he looked like he’d just tasted something awful.
“I don’t see why either of you have bought into their nonsense. They are nothing but trouble. First they summoned Karr and now another demon is stalking across the earthen realm.”
“You looked into what I saw in Germany?” Lyonis asked Tyrian.
“Yes, I did. We sent out some scouts and they found exactly what you said—the stench of ancient demon. I think that whatever the sisters did in that spell has set something in motion. The first demon is dead—”
Telal scoffed. “How is it dead? I told you; it cannot be defeated. Even the demons who first bound the demon into the rift couldn’t kill it. It was far too strong.”
Tyrian shrugged. “All I know is that it’s dead. It was bound by the spell that the sisters made and then decapitated with an axe. I assure you, it’s dead. We burned the body and spread the ashes into the ocean.”
Telal, if anything, looked even unhappier at this news. His blue hair fell in waves over his shoulders and his skin was like gold. Lyonis knew the demon had the power to cover up his unusual appearance, but he refused to. Lyonis understood that and would do the same.
“We have no idea what Karr did while he was awake. He could have amassed other ancient demons, maybe even brought one of them back to life.”
“How and why?” asked Tyrian.
“Perhaps so that if he died, he’d have a way to resurrect himself.”
“How?” Lyonis asked.
Telal steepled his golden fingers, drumming them together. “Have you ever heard of a demonic pact? We demons refer to it as a revargen. It’s a magical pact done in blood. The terms of the pact must be completed within the specified time frame or you die.”
“You think the demon Chloe killed might have had the time to make one of these demonic pacts?” Lyonis’ instincts were on high alert. The safety of his pack and his mate may be in jeopardy.
Telal nodded. “The succubus sisters messed with something far greater than them. They are fools who have endangered not only themselves but countless innocents as well.”
Both Lyonis and Tyrian stood at the same time, growls forming from their throats. Telal shook his head at both of them.
“What is wrong with you? Surely you're not so addled from these women that you can’t see the truth. Listen, the facts are that we have no idea what Karr did. Some of my sources say they saw him below the rift recruiting demons, other say they saw him above the rift deep in the forests of Europe, nowhere near Chloe or her sisters at the time.”
“Okay we have no idea what he did, so what do we know?” said Tyrian.
Just then the door flew open and in poured the Bellum sisters. Chloe, the eldest, went to stand behind her new mate Tyrian. She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, which the Commander reached up to touch for a moment. The youngest sister, Lily, flounced to the demon Telal and sat in his lap. The demon looked so shocked that Lyonis burst out laughing.
The sister managed to whisper something into the demon’s ear before his jaw dropped and he literally pushed her off his lap. She dropped to the floor and winked at him before sitting crossed legged in front of him. The demon stood and marched to the corner of the room.
Lyonis frowned when his mate—fine, his future mate—didn’t come near him but sat between her sisters.
“We know that something unusual happened in the forest in Germany,” Lyonis said. He watched his mate as her eyes lit up with...fear.
“Willow, do you know something about this?” She nodded and bit her lip.