“Your Majesty, the high king requests your presence, and he isn’t a very patient man. I would suggest we start back towards the castle. He has been anxious to meet you ever since sensing your magic.” His voice was filled with pride in regard to the king, making me frown because there wasn’t an ounce of humor in his gaze. Nothing to pad from the possibility of what he was saying.
“The high king? He sensed my magic…” What was I not understanding here?
You know, Narc. You know what he is saying.
I could almost see the frustration growing in the dead man. “Yes. Your father, the high king, recognized your magical signature because it’s partly his, of course.”
Oh. Of course.
Now, I would like to state for the record that I’m not a little bitch. I can handle most shit. But this? No. Not tonight. Not without coffee or more sleep. I blinked several times and ran a hand over my face, letting out a small laugh. I could feel my men shifting in concern as the space around me wavered.
It was that exact moment when several things hit me. Exhaustion. Anger at my mother. My excitement and orgasm from being with Dorian. My adrenaline from being down here.
All of it hit me. All at once.
I passed out. The space around me went black, and someone caught me right before my head hit the ground. Wonderful. Fucking wonderful.
3
Raphael
Motherfucker.
A dangerous growl left my throat as I stared at the space that Dorian had just disappeared from without warning. Well, I suppose his warning was something about ‘splitting up,’ but I knew he'd gone to the goddamn cemetery. It was the last confirmed place they’d been. I was tempted to follow after him, but something told me I would end up stuck, just looking around like an idiot. She wasn't on this realm anymore. A very real, cold fact that had me feeling absolutely furious.
What the hell was I supposed to do with myself? Seriously. If Zachariah’s prediction was accurate about her being in the Demonic realm, then how the fuck was I supposed to help? My wolf vibrated with angry energy in my chest as my eyes moved back towards the porch of Narc’s house.
Her grandmother walked out as I stood on the sidewalk considering if I should go get Zachariah or try to figure some other shit out. I hated feeling useless, and while shifters had all the brute strength in the world, that didn’t do jack shit for me at the moment.
I should probably avoid Nero’s house right now. I didn’t trust my wolf to not pull some shit with all the dominant magic flying around. I needed to keep focused, and if I shifted, I couldn’t guarantee I wouldn’t do something completely idiotic.
More so, even I could admit that the silence radiating over there was scarier than anything else. I wasn’t concerned for Zachariah, because the strong magical signature coming off the house was one hundred percent Voodoo. He could handle himself.
So, as I was saying—what the hell did I do with myself now?
“Fucking bastard,” I mumbled out my annoyance with Dorian, frustrated as hell at how useless I felt more than anything.
“You know you can’t go down to the Demonic realm,” Narcissa’s grandmother’s voice rang out across the lawn. Only moments ago she’d been furious, but upon returning inside, she seemed to have gathered herself.
Although... her magic was far more active than normal, something that made my wolf extremely uncomfortable. I was used to Narc’s magic surrounding me in its familiar minty scent. Her grandmother’s had a similar texture, but it wasn’t my baby’s magic, so it instantly repulsed me. I nearly let out a growl at missing my mate.
It was nice to hear her confirm where we’d all assumed Narc had disappeared to. Although I was still confused and absolutely fucking furious on how that happened in the first place. My fists clenched as I seriously considered walking across the street, consequences be damned.
She continued when I didn’t respond. “Neither can Zachariah. He knows that. Both of your magics are far too connected to this realm. If it takes torturing some demon so he can forget about his inability to directly interact, then so be it. But don’t you worry, Raphi, she will be just fine.”
The surety in her voice annoyed me. I had no goddamn doubt that she would be ”fine.” I didn't want her fine. I wanted her fucking amazing and in my arms. She was right, though. Frustratingly right. I just had to deal with it and make myself useful. A plan formed in my head as I stood there, thunder cracking in the sky as rain began to fall.
I would focus on continuing Narc’s plan of keeping the demons from fucking shit up more than they already had.
A pained scream sounded from Nero’s house, causing me to look over. It had originated from the back yard, a large garden shed standing seemingly innocent despite being the home to Zachariah’s interrogation. Mind you, it was clear he had managed to cast some type of shield so you couldn’t hear his full cry, but thanks to my supernatural hearing I was still able to hear parts of it.
Good. They should suffer. We couldn’t kill them yet because we were still looking for the missing supes, but a little pain may help jog their memory. Narc’s grandmother laughed at the scream, turning and walking back into the house, leaving me to my thoughts.
The night sky turned angry, no doubt due to Zachariah’s hold on nature.
Running a hand through my damp hair, I immediately shifted, giving over control to my wolf for a bit, not overthinking my plan. I also didn’t really care if humans saw me or not. I was past the point of giving a fuck. Once shifted, I began sprinting through yards, shifting through the darkness of the night and hoping that I would appear like a large fucking dog instead of a massive wolf. At least, that was the goal.
As I neared Bourbon Street, I considered the best way of pulling together the supernatural community—or at least those left that were still willing—to look for the missing supes. I knew I wasn’t their alpha—in fact, I was no one’s fucking alpha, and I took pride in that—but I was hoping my natural pull on dominance would be enough to convince them to do the right thing, the only thing that mattered right now. Well, to them at least.
Besides, I had to think like that or I would end up hyper-focused on why Narcissa wasn’t here, and the small amount of control I had on my wolf would be gone. I promised him we would have the chance to tear Nero and Asmodeus apart, bit by bit, just not yet. I didn’t want him to do anything rash to get to her either, like forcing our way down into the Demonic realm somehow... After all, I wasn’t any help to Narc if I was dead. I just had to wait a bit longer and then everything would be fine. It was what I kept telling myself.
There was an angry energy boiling through New Orleans, and my wolf let out a snarl in response, making my magic feel chaotic and tense. I could sense the fear vibrating through the supernatural community, and every dominant alpha instinct I had demanded that I find a way to fix it. Find a way to calm down the people that my wolf considered ‘ours.’
I didn’t blame them in the least for their fear. There was the fear of the future for many of them, but also the more timely fear for those that were missing. I wouldn't have normally given a fuck about their concerns, but this time I did because I knew there was a chance the supernatural community could easily become united in the fight against the demonic princes, provided the right push. After all, no one wanted to lose someone they loved.