Chapter 121: Chapter Twenty-Seven

Alex.

Absolute bullshit, that’s what this was. I hated tracking demons. It made my skin crawl like bugs were scurrying all over me, biting me, sucking me.

Every look sent my way made me want to punch teeth out.

I understood ~why.~

And typically, it didn’t faze me.

But damn they all wanted to feed off of me— I promised them something they’d never had in their entire miserable existence. Peace.

I promised to sate their lust.

If they only knew that once I did that— they’d just crave more and die from want once I walked away— they wouldn’t be so eager to send their inappropriate thoughts my way.

Hell, if they knew what I was capable of— if I knew— the power would destroy everything in its path.

“Octavian.” I clinked my beer bottle with his. “I need to talk to Timber.”

“He’s out.” Octavian chugged his beer and slammed it down onto the bar. His blond hair fell in waves over his forehead. “Said he had shit to do.”

“And I don’t?”

He snorted. “Please, like you do anything but screw.”

I itched to snap his neck like a twig. Would have done it if it wouldn’t have pissed Cassius off. Power surged through me after being with Hope.

And what was even better—having Mason in the room only enhanced the overall charge of what had taken place.

So I was basically on the highest high of my life.

Sitting next to a demon who wanted to eat me so he could have all the warm, sexy feelings to himself.

Great.

“And Bannik?”

Octavian froze, his gaze lingering on the beer bottle in his hand. “Still… trying.”

“Fine.” I stood. “Tell Timber I need to see him as soon as possible, and keep an eye on Bannik.”

Octavian snaked out and grabbed my wrist, his eyes filled with lust. “You should stay.”

“I’d rather not get snacked on, thanks for the offer, though.” I winked.

He didn’t release his hold.

Sighing, I jerked my hand away, nearly causing him to slam his body against the ground before he caught himself with his free hand. “I don’t have time for games. I actually have a life.”

“Not for long.” He snorted.

“What was that?”

“Sirens. So stupid.” He swore and then crooked his finger. I had no choice but to lean in. “Bannik cannot drain the One’s Who Watch.”

“Yeah. Caught that.”

“He will stop at nothing to suck in their power. Even now he mixes the blood of immortals to find the right way to infuse.”

“So?”

“He has tried all of them but one.” Octavian looked behind his shoulder and then shoved away from the bar. “I’ve said enough.”

“Wait.” I grabbed him by the shirt. “What hasn’t he tried?”

I had no time to react before he bit into my neck and came back with a piece of flesh. “Siren.”

I somehow made it home.

My neck burned like hell, even now the wound was festering with rot from the bastard’s dirty mouth.

Well either the world was going to end because he had my blood.

Or it wouldn’t.

Not the best odds, but what else could I say?

When I stumbled into the door, it was to find Cassius embracing Hope with Mason and Ethan surrounding her as well.

“The hell is this?” I roared.

“Shh.” Genesis slapped me on the chest. “They’re searching for something.”

“They’re touching!”

“Apparently, you and Mason did a lot more than touch today.” Stephanie piped up with a smirk.

“Don’t test me.” I fought to gain control of my emotions as more blood seeped through my fingers.

Stephanie gasped and ran toward me. “What happened?”

“Oh you know, a poisonous demon bite, but please tell me more about the living room orgy and how it’s missing the most important person in order to start the fun!”

“Wow.” Stephanie smirked and tugged at a piece of my black hair. Damn it, I was losing control more and more. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen you get that jealous.”

“Please. I’m always jealous. I can’t help it. I want all the attention, narcissist and all that.” I tried to play it off— but I was starting to get worried. The demon bite shouldn’t hurt this bad, the power should be out of my system after trying to heal the bite, and instead, my hair was turning a jealous black, my eyes burned— and I thirsted.

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll wake him, just give them all a minute, it’s been a taxing few hours.”

“No shit.” I said through clenched teeth as pain exploded in my neck.

Stephanie moved behind Cassius and gripped his purple feathers. They went ramrod straight toward her and shivered as she whispered something to them in the angelic tongue.

One that even she wasn’t supposed to know.

Look at that. Breaking rules all over the place since Cassius had turned angelic on all our asses.

A ruffle ran through his feathers before they made a little rustle and Cassius opened his eyes.

“He got bit?”

“Yes,” I said through clenched teeth. “He did. Care to kiss it better?”

Cassius shrugged a shoulder and completely ignored my jab. “Did you find Timber?”

“No, Octavian, however, has chosen his side.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Mason’s eyebrows rose as Hope suddenly came out of the vision and collapsed against him.

I growled.

I normally didn’t make such animalistic noises.

Mason’s lips twitched.

“Laugh and I kill you.”

“He’s really become so much more violent lately,” Genesis mused. “And he’s getting laid more often. How does that happen?”

“Hilarious,” I gritted my teeth as panic swept through me.

“Not without help, though,” Stephanie teased.

“PLEASE! Like you all aren’t jealous of the fact that Mason had the best hour of his life!”

“It was more like thirty minutes,” Mason sputtered defensively. “And I barely remember it.” The bastard had the freaking audacity to blush.

“Remember, Cassius can taste your lies,” I sang in a sarcastic voice. Anything to get the focus away from my growing problem—hell, maybe it would be better if I died, better if they didn’t have to deal with whatever was growing within me.

“It is wrong to lie, Mason,” Cassius scolded in that fatherly voice that had me choking out a laugh and then gritting my teeth as a fresh swell of pain shook me from head to toe. Damn it, I hated demon bites.

Mason stiffened and narrowed his eyes at me. “Remember.” He matched my voice. “You need me in order to live.”

Ethan whistled. “Checkmate.”

“Like you even KNOW what it feels like to win at chess,” Genesis pointed out before grasping his hand in hers.

“Why is everyone fighting?” Hope’s blurry-eyed look was like a punch to the gut. She was absolutely beautiful, every last curve of her. And she was mine. Mine to mate. Mine to protect. Mine to save. A surge of lust hit me before pain exploded in my chest. “And what’s that on your neck.”

“Demon hickey,” I said in a deadpan voice. My body felt like it weighed five thousand tons. I tried to lean against the couch and missed, sailing to the floor with a thump.

“Alex!” Hope was at my side immediately but I jerked away from her. With her expression full of hurt, she tried touching me again.

“Don’t.” I shook my head, but it just made the pain worse. “It will hurt you, and I don’t want to hurt you right now.”

“You are hurting her.” Cassius said in that scary as hell angelic voice. “When you reject the one who cares for you.”

“Can we talk about this when I’m not dying?” I wobbled to my feet. “I need sex.”

Mason bit out a curse while I gave him a hopeful look.

“Count me out.” Ethan held up his hands while Genesis rolled her eyes and shoved Mason toward me.

“I’m a prostitute,” Mason mumbled. “That’s what this has come to.”

“Don’t be silly,” I used him to stand. “Women are prostitutes, men are—”

“Gigolos,” Cassius said, shocking the hell out of everyone in the room, Stephanie included.

“The hell have you been letting him read, Steph?” I grumbled as Mason half carried me up the stairs. “And can someone please do something about this bite? It’s spreading.”

“It spreads because you let it,” Cassius said, following us closely, his thoughts blocked completely from my nosey access.

“Bullshit. It spreads because it’s poison!”

Hope was close on my heels, and soon the entire gang was in my bedroom. The timer on my clock had been reset, just another reminder that what I needed wasn’t gonna happen.

Ethan let out a curse as I was tossed across the soft bed.

I saw two of Mason, and Cassius’s face was blurring in and out of my line of vision like someone was messing with a TV screen and kept adjusting the brightness. “Wow, my wildest dreams are coming true, an immortal orgy. Be honest, am I shaking a bit right now? I feel like I’m shaking. And to think all I had to be was at death’s door!” Yeah, I was delirious alright.

“You’re not dying,” Cassius said, yet again.

“I’m going to have to disagree. I feel cells dying, but sure, angel, I’m not dying, I’m simply… ceasing to exist. Is that a better way to explain things?”

Cassius rolled his eyes—or at least he looked like he was rolling his eyes; it was impossible to tell.

“I’ll find Timber,” I thought I heard him say.

“Tell me you didn’t just say something about finding Timber. Another demon. I have one bite, don’t need two!”

“Good idea.” Ethan would agree with him. “He needs to reverse the protective tattoo on Hope, otherwise he really will die.”

“Would his death be so horrible?” Mason just had to say.

“I’m right here. Like an inch away from you.”

Mason growled.

I smirked in his general direction. “You’re just pissed because I’ve seen all of your little wolf fantasies.” And, because I was delirious, I added, “Tell me, is this whole Little Red Riding Hood thing new? Or have you always been obsessed with girls who carry baskets through the woods?”

“Let me kill him,” Mason begged the room.

And nobody answered!

“Thanks, guys!” A piercing pain shook my right shoulder. Great, it was spreading.

Hope was suddenly at my side.

Touching me.

I inhaled her scent, leaned toward her.

I knew she was probably touching Mason, and I didn’t want to see it. I couldn’t see it; it made me too angry, and any sort of intense emotional response would just drain me more.

I’d joked about sex, but that wouldn’t save me either.

I needed the bite to be gone.

It was parasitic by nature. And lucky me, sirens were the only race of immortals who didn’t just ~magically~ heal after a few days.

We had too much emotional essence, meaning the demon bite, once given, was in freaking heaven.

When demons bit vampires, it was like biting into acid, and I’d seen scars to prove it.

When they bit angels, they simply turned to dust.

And when they bit a Dark One, well, nothing really happened to either party other than severe pain since dark can’t really harm dark in that way.

I let out a yell of frustration as the stinging spread down my arm.

“I’ll return.” In a loud, annoying flutter of wings, Cassius was gone.

A soft hand pushed back my hair. “What can I do?” Why did she have to smell so good? The temptation to devour her was so strong I had to clench my teeth. See? Even at death’s door, all I really wanted was sex.

“That,” I whispered hoarsely. “As much as possible.”

Her scent wrapped around my body. “All I’m doing is caressing your face.”

Dare I admit that nobody had ever done that?

That my entire existence had revolved around sex? That the simple gesture of caressing my face or holding my hand held me captive in a way that brought me to my knees?

Dare I tell her, in my weakness, that love was something that eluded me, that my own parents didn’t love me?

That my life had started as one big pawn.

That I never truly knew who sired me.

Only that I was the most powerful siren in existence.

Being brought down by a lame-ass bite.

Why?

And how?

I groaned again when her hand moved to my right cheek, her fingers dancing across my skin. “You’re burning up.”

“Always hot.” I tried to smile. It hurt. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

Mason grunted.

“Ah, Wolf, you know it’s true.”

“I know that you’re a self-absorbed pain in my ass who thinks I have a Little Red Riding Hood fantasy.”

“And cookies.” I added just to piss him off. “She brings you cookies in bed.”

Hope snorted.

“It’s not funny,” Mason grumbled.

“Oh, right. There,” I teased. “Shove that cookie in right—”

“One day I shall kill you,” Mason said in a cheerful voice.

“This bite may beat you to it.” I tried to get more comfortable, tried and failed. Already I was burning up with a fever.

“Alex?” Hope said my name, or at least I think she did. “Alex?”

I opened my mouth.

Nothing came out.

A painful black mist overtook me, and all I saw was darkness.