Page 107 of His Atonement
It's bad enough knowing that I have to pretend things are totally normal, pretend that my mate and I are simply moving through another day at the compound, spending time with our family, enjoying each moment before we sit down to dinner, where we have to continue the charade only to return to our cabin and make love for the last time before my mate gives me her soul, then leaves me to rot on this mortal plane without her for the rest of my days.
I do not need the lone wolf trying to have a goddamnheart to heartwhile I'm so close to unraveling I can fucking taste it.
If he continues to pry I may just snap and there is no telling how horrible that will be.
"It's Frankie, isn't it?"
I light my last joint, look out into the yard and act as though the perceptive fuck didn't just hit the nail right on the head.
"I'm right, aren't I? Something is up between you and Frankie, something neither of you are doing a very good job of hiding, at least from me.” Colt hits his cigarette again then nods. "It has to be. You're acting like a male who knows his mate but can't have her for some reason."
"Fuck off."
"That's it, isn't it? Something is off between you two, I can feel it."
My eyes dart to his, then narrow to slits. "Drop it, wolf."
"Jesus, it's really bad, isn't it?"
"Would you stop with all the fucking questions? Frankie and I are fine, nothing is up. Our bond is strong, completely unshakable, as is our love for each other. There is nothing going on between us, so you need to drop the interrogation and go back to grunting your words just as the dragon does."
Colt turns to face me and leans against the house as he exhales through his nose. "This have anything to do with your visitor the other night?"
"What visitor?" I grit through clenched teeth. Fucking wolf roaming the woods at night must have caught a glimpse ofhe who shall not be namedwhen he crashed my wedding night. Fuck. Fuck, that is not good. Then a thought occurs to me but I wait to see what Colt says next.
"That big fucker with the horns. Saw him take shape right in your backyard, saw you come out and have a rather intense conversation with him."
"You actually saw me speaking to someone?"
He nods. "Couldn't hear him but I saw him. Nasty looking fuck."
Shit.
No one is supposed to be able to see demons likehe who shall not be named. He is an Ancient, one older than time itself and cannot be seen by anyone unless he wishes them to see him. The only kind other than demons that can see Ancients are fae because they see beyond, see all, and a demon's mate probably because of the bond, or someone touched by...
"He is an Ancient,” I say quietly while I meet Colt’s eyes. "An Ancient thousands of years older than I, one more dangerous than all."
He nods as if what I said is nothing different from telling him I hate his plaid shirt. "I take it he's like your boss or something?"
"Yes…" I study him closely, eyes locked and searching. ”He could almost be considered the closest thing I have to a biological father since he is the one who created me." There. I see it, see what I am looking for just before Colt blinks. The refracted image I have no idea how I have missed for so many months. Yes, the afternoon sun amplified that symbol tenfold now that I know it’s there and it is the only reason the wolf was able to see the abomination of a creature when he visited. "You saw all of him?"
"Every disgusting inch. That's not how you're going to look when you're his age, is it?"
I snort despite my revelation and inner turmoil. "No. I will be this beautiful forever. He and I are entirely different kinds of demons."
"There are different kinds?" Colt asks almost hesitantly, and I find this originally unwelcome conversation is turning into one that has me rather intrigued.
"Yes." I really wish I had another joint but I don't, so I hold out my hand for a cigarette, which he provides. "As you know, I am a deal maker, a collector of souls in exchange for one’s darkest desires. I have the ability to drain vitality, to conjure illusions, to possess other living things for a short time, but all of that is merely tools of the trade, if you will." I light the non-filtered Camel and breathe it deep. "He is part of The Caster of Shadows’ closest circle, therefore specializes in mass destruction. He cannot collect souls but he can drain vitality, does it better than I ever could, but he also brings about plagues, disease, war, conflict… curses."
Colt’s skin prickles with goosebumps the second the word leaves my lips, and a visible shiver races down his spine. "I see.” His eyes shift to the yard. "So he's a pretty bad guy, I take it?"
"The worst." Exactly as I thought. It seems as though my wolf brother harbors a dark secret of his own. "He is the voice whispered in the ears of tyrannical leaders, the one who wipes out entire races with the wave of his hand, one who can destroy anything he touches if he is instructed to do so and he can bring a curse so heavy upon one’s head that it lasts for generations with minimal effort."
"Definitely the worst.” He clears his throat then stabs his cigarette out on the heel of his boot. "Why'd he come here?"
"He has been coming to me periodically since my gem has held me prisoner to simply remind me that I am a disgrace to our species, a disappointment to him as well as The Destroyer. He is most thoughtful like that."
"Did he cause the issue between you and Frankie?"
