Beneath Her Darkness: The Alpha's Little Demon by Cassandra M novel Chapter 155

Book 2

Chapter 3 – Let Me Stay

PATREA.

“Let me stay with you and be a part of your daily routine for three weeks – which means I will live in your house and stay in your bedroom.”

My eyes widened before a soft chuckle escaped my lips. “Is this some kind of joke?”

“I don’t joke, Patrea.”

The seriousness on his face immediately wiped the smile off my face. “You’re serious.”

“I don’t make deals as some kind of joke.” He looked annoyed.

“I’m not sure why you think this will work. I just got off from the underworld. For the last six months, I’ve been trying my best not to think of that part of my life, but I wasn’t succeeding.

Everywhere I turn, it reminds me of that place. Even plants remind me of that place. I always compare.” I couldn’t stop blabbing. “There are no plants as green as these in the underworld. And it’s colder here, the sounds are from cars, and not fireballs being thrown at each other… and the creatures here appear to be less frightening. I can’t stop seeing the difference.”

“Enough…” Lucius held both my forearms before his gaze locked with mine, and I knew I shouldn’t be seeing anything in those black eyes of his, but I saw the disappointment in them.

Why was he disappointed? Because I didn’t agree with his terms. Or because I talked too much.

“Regardless if you see me or not, everything still reminds you of the underworld. So what difference does it make if I stay with you?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I want to fuck you.” He said almost immediately. “Wow! That’s…” I swallowed before I tugged my arms away from his hold and continued speaking. “… a little too blunt.”

“Do you expect a demon to sugarcoat his words?”

“No. But the last aggressive proposal I got was somehow similar to that. And it didn’t end well.”

So, he told you he wanted to fuck you?”

I should be pissed off with this. He was opening a wound, but instead, I kept answering him. “No. He said he would abuse my body in a way that no other man…”

“Ssshh… You don’t need to…”

“I want to talk about it!” I snapped at him. “I want to complain to someone about it. I want to get angry and scream. I have had all these pent-up emotions for the last three decades, and I can’t tell Althea or Lucy. I don’t want their pity…”

“And we will talk about it. You can tell me everything. I’m sure you can never get pity from me.”

I was sure he would laugh off my miseries, but maybe it would be better that way – someone seeing it as a fun experience that took pity on me.

“So, three weeks?” He added.

“What? Wait, I didn’t agree yet.”

“Imagine the days that you can lash out your rage at me. You can throw some spells at me too, just don’t fry my brain as you did with Guillermo.” He chuckled, but I saw his eyes glinting under the moonlight. He looked genuinely happy with what he was saying.

He’s weird. How could a demon be this laid-back? “You don’t need to decide on it now. Just think about it.”

“Until when can I think about it?”

“Three days should be enough.”

I couldn’t help the smile that slipped from my lips. This demon was being too generous with me.

“Are you up to something?” I anchored my hands on my hips as I scrutinized his expression.

“Hades, Patrea! If I’m up to something, I have done it already. Instead, I’m here in front of you, negotiating as if I don’t hold any power in me to do whatever I want. We both know I can do whatever I want at whatever pace I choose.”

“Just that, you’re acting weird.” I shrugged my shoulders and began walking with him catching up on me.

He laughed out loud, making some passersby look at us, and I immediately pulled him back as we were crossing a big window, and it would not show his reflection. Although I could see him in mirrors and through glasses, the rest of Lucy’s household, including Althea, couldn’t see his reflection.

I ended up pulling him so hard that my back slammed on the wall, tagging him along with me. He almost slammed his body onto mine, but he was able to press his palm on the wall just above my head, creating a small distance between us.

“Fuck, Patrea. If you want to get physical with me. Just ask. There’s no need to be this aggressive.” He spoke in a hoarse voice and began licking his lips.

I should be offended or annoyed, but instead, soft laughter escaped my throat as I slid past him and began walking when I saw that no one else was around. “I just saved you from the store window as they might see you don’t have a reflection.”

“Hmmm… Are you not aware that the Luna of this pack is a half-demon? I’m sure they are aware she has a family.”

“Well, Lucy has a reflection. We don’t want to scare them, don’t we?”

“Perhaps.” He replied curtly as we began walking.

The rest of the walk went smoothly. This time, we talked about him and how he was doing as the new king of Kalmerus. It was weird that the very place I was trying to avoid was the same place he was telling me about, giving me a glimpse of the changes that took place and making it sound like it was a piece of heaven now and not hell.

Or was he sugarcoating it?

Demons never sugarcoat, but they can lie. Right. He probably wanted to lure me to that place and trap me there.

But a part of me wanted to believe he was far from his father. Maybe having Lucy gave him a bit of humanity.

Impossible. Whatever.

“Everything is fine, except at night.” I let out a sigh as we crossed a pedestrian lane. He asked me how I was coping with human life, and I was so lost in the memory of the nightmares that I didn’t even check if a car was passing by, and it was too late when the sound of a honking car woke me up from my trance.

I shook my head as my eyes rolled. “You’re not made for mates. You’re just a one-night stand kind of guy, in human lingo. Like a bachelor who doesn’t want to be tied up.”

“Maybe. It’s working well. No complaints here. Can we stop talking about me and carry on from where that car cut us off? You were talking about your nightmares.”

I nodded my head and stopped walking, and he did too. I then moved in front of him, tilting my head up to meet his gaze. “Will you be honest with me if I ask you something?”

I had this on my mind for a long time, but I wasn’t sure. A part of me didn’t want to believe he would do this to me, but I needed an answer.

His forehead creased, but he remained silent as he nodded his head.

“Have you used your incubus form lately?”

His face darkened, his jaw tightened, and at the same time, his eyes blazed red. This would terrify me if I hadn’t been around Lucien for so long, but I suppose I trusted that Lucius wouldn’t harm me as severely as his father did.

“I had never gone to you in my incubus form. I haven’t used it for many decades now. Like I told Lucija, I never took pleasure in pounding a stiff body, although fear exhilarates my soul.”

I swallowed at his answer. But I believed him.

“Does an incubus visit you in your sleep?” His chest was still heaving, and his eyes were still red as if he were mad.

“No. I don’t know. I honestly have no idea. I don’t remember my nightmares some nights, but my body feels like…” I palmed my face and stopped talking, this was getting harder to explain when I couldn’t even identify the exact things I felt after every nightmare.

“Let’s talk somewhere private,” Lucius stated and held my forearm.

I hadn’t agreed yet, but I don’t think he was asking for permission, so I just remained quiet as our bodies were transported, and we ended up in my bedroom at the Mystic Pack’s packhouse.

“Why here?” I asked the moment he let go of my arm.

“If they see us outside, they will probably chat with us, and I don’t have time for that. I want to know more about your nightmare.” He answered as he leaned his body on the wall beside the window, his eyes following my movement as I took off the coat he gave me and hung it on the hook by the wall.

I remained silent and sat on the couch where I could see him completely.

“Talk, Patrea.”

“I don’t know if an incubus visited me or not. I was thinking it could be, but I am not sure. Lucien had visited me several times in his incubus form, so I should be aware if I am being visited now. But then I don’t know. I just want the nightmares to stop.” “Would you like me to stay tonight? I want to delve into your mind if you get one. If a demon caused that, then I would feel it.”

“Do you think Lucien did something to me before he let me go?”

“Could be.”

“Or it could just be trauma…” “Let me stay for tonight.” His voice was firm but not commanding.

“I don’t think I can fall asleep if I know you’re here. I!

“I’ll be quiet, I won’t even breath.” A smile slowly crept onto his face — this time it was a simple smile, not a smirk or evil grin, and it made him look more human.