Mate to the Demon Kings by Lacey Carter Andersen

17

Sharen woke earlythe next morning and discovered Alec and Ryder were missing from their bed. Immediately, she felt agitated. Where would they have gone without telling her?

She shook Kade awake. He grumbled something and pulled the covers more tightly over his shoulders.

“Alec and Ryder are gone.”

Slowly, he sat up, his eyes instantly open. His hair was a mess, his stubble bordering on a beard, and lines creased his face from his pillow.

“Gone?” He sounded confused.

Her worry grew. “They didn’t tell you anything?”

He shook his head.

Frowning, she grabbed her phone and called Alec, but his phone rang and rang before going to voicemail. When she called Ryder, the same thing happened. “What the hell is wrong with you guys that you can’t send a text before you take off to God only knows where?” She smacked her phone down on the table and sprang out of bed.

“They probably went to get donuts,” he muttered.

She watched him climb out of bed and briefly forgot to breathe. Geez, as annoying as Kade was, she never got tired of seeing him naked. Who could possibly get tired of seeing a sea of beautiful muscles and a gorgeous cock?

“You don’t seem too worried.”

Her gaze traveled up to see his smug expression. Damn, I hate when he sees me checking him out.

She forced herself to focus. “I know it’s probably nothing…but what if something’s wrong?”

He shrugged. “Those two can take care of themselves.”

Suddenly, her phone rang. Springing into action, she grabbed it. The number was restricted, but she answered it anyway.

“Mrs. Bran?”

She stiffened. “This is her.”

Instantly, her gaze went to her dark wedding band. Why was her heart suddenly racing?

“This is Officer Smith. It seems that a vehicle registered in your name was involved in a car accident last night.”

Ice ran through her veins. “A car accident? Was anyone hurt?”

It took him a long time to answer. “A semi-truck barreled into the side of your vehicle. Your car is in pretty bad shape. And the interior is covered in blood.”

No. No. This can’t be happening.

“The thing is, we didn’t find any bodies inside, either in your car or the truck. It’s as if everyone simply vanished.”

Her legs folded beneath her, and she collapsed onto the floor.

Kade was by her side in an instant, wrapping his large arms around her.

“Where was the last place you saw your car, Mrs. Bran?”

She swallowed around the lump in her throat. “In my parking garage. It must have been stolen.”

“If you're sure about that, we will open an investigation and get back to you as soon as we have some answers.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Hanging up the phone, she looked to Kade. “Our car was covered in blood. But there weren’t any bodies.”

“Sharen—“

“The only way there wouldn’t be bodies is if the accident killed them. If they—“

“No.” The word came out a growl. “It’d take a lot more than a car accident to kill those two idiots. There’s got to be another answer. We just haven’t found it yet.”

Her stomach turned. “Maybe.”

He rose, looking agitated. “Let’s get dressed. We’ll figure out what to do from there.” She took the hand he offered and they moved toward their closets. Autopilot took over and Sharen dressed without thinking. She couldn't feel her fingers but numbness was beginning to creep through her. God did she want her demons to be okay. Even though all logic said they weren’t.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, she put on her boots. When she looked up, Kade was dressed in a tight, dark shirt and jeans, his expression thunderous.

They took their SUV’s keys off the chain and headed for the door. But when she opened it, the most shocking thing greeted her. Two massive angels were carrying her very beat-up-looking demons.

Kade growled and sprang forward, but Sharen caught his arm.

Time seemed to stand still as they stared at each other.

“We weren’t responsible for this.” The angel who spoke had short blond hair and dark eyes. He was older than most of the angels she’d seen, and he carried a gun strapped to his side.

“Come in,” she said.

“What are you doing?” Kade asked, his voice rising. “You can’t possibly believe them!”

She looked between Ryder’s face, which was covered in deep gashes, and Alec’s swollen face. “If the angels wanted to hurt them, they would have.”

Stepping out of the way, she waited.

Slowly, the angels moved into the apartment, their dark wings folded tightly on their backs. They walked across the room and gently laid her demons onto the couches in their living room, then turned to face her.

“What happened?” she asked.

The older angel studied her for a moment. “We’ve been watching your demons for some time.”

“Why?” Kade barked the question.

His dark gaze moved to Kade. “Because we wanted to see if they could truly exist in this world without trying to destroy it. There was an angel we knew…Surcy. She said some things that have disturbed us. And so, we watched without acting, to see if there were truly demons who were good.”

“And?”

“And, they did nothing terrible.” He shrugged. “We still hadn’t decided exactly what that means, but last night we witnessed something strange. An angel possessed a truck driver and barreled into these demons’ car.”

The other angel, a man with black hair and stunning olive skin, cut in. “Which made no sense. An angel’s job is to kill demons. This one knew he wasn’t going to kill your demons, so why injure them so terribly? It made no sense. And then what was stranger…he just left. Again, why? So, we got involved.”

She stared between the two angels. “Why when you could have just left them?”

The two exchanged a look, but the older angel spoke first. “Because we think Surcy might be right. We think we might be fighting on the wrong side.”

Her mouth dropped open.

“Liar!” Kade shouted. “This is just Caine’s latest plan.”

The older angel’s brows rose. “Say what you wish, but we’re done following your demons. We plan to seek out Surcy and ask our questions. So the next time these two are injured, we won’t be there to save them. Might I advise being more careful?”

The angels started toward the door.

Sharen’s brain seemed to unfreeze in a rush. “Wait. I don’t even know your names.”

“I am Steven, and that is Gene,” the younger angel answered her.

“Well, thank you,” she said, meaning it in her very soul.

Steven's expression grew thoughtful. “May I ask you something?”

Gene waited by the door, radiating annoyance.

“Of course.”

“Why would Caine wish your demons injured when he could have killed them?”

She stiffened. Good question. “I don’t know.”

“I’ve heard it whispered that no one is to kill you or your husbands. Why?”

Her heart raced. “I don’t know.”

The younger angel shook his head and headed for the door, but when he reached his friend, he looked back. “If I were you, I’d try to find the answers to some of these questions, because there’s nothing more dangerous than ignorance.”

She nodded. “I will.”

The angels left as quickly as they came, closing the door softly behind them.

Instantly, she ran to Ryder’s side. He had two black eyes, a terrible cut on his forehead that was mostly healed, and several more red gashes on his neck and cheeks. Placing her hand on his chest, she listened intently to the gentle rise and fall of his chest. He looked like hell, but he was alive and breathing, which meant he was healing. Thank God!

That left Alec. He had severe burns on his arms, probably from the airbags. His face was swollen and his nose looked broken. Despite the terrible bruises beneath his eyes, his breathing was steady and even.

That’s something. More than something.

She glanced up. Kade stood across the room, watching his brothers from afar, his arms folded across his chest.

“Will they be okay?” she asked, unable to stop the question.

Kade crossed the room and put his hands on her shoulders. “They’ll be fine. When we get injured this badly, we sleep so that our bodies can heal us faster. They’ll wake up soon, probably feeling like hell, but they’ll be okay.”

She wiped away a tear she hadn’t even realized trailed down her cheek. Reaching out, she took one of each of their hands and held them in her clammy ones. It was heart-wrenching to see them like this, but she was thankful beyond words that they were okay.

“Do you really trust those angels?” Kade asked.

She took an unsteady breath. “Yes.”

He shook his head and began pacing the length of the room. “I don’t understand you.”

Oh no, he’s pacing. That’s never good.

She frowned at his reaction. “What do you mean?”

“Sharen, you forget that we’re in the middle of a war. Caine, his angels, and the hunters—they all want us dead. You know that, but every chance you have to trust one of them, you do. It makes no sense.”

Sharen stared at Kade, willing him to understand. She couldn’t look away if she tried. “From the moment I met you three, everything changed for me. A power greater than myself took over. I have spent my life fighting demons, training hunters, and being betrayed by everyone I loved. But when I met you, I realized I was wrong about demons. I was wrong about hunters and angels. And…well, I was wrong to believe I’d always be betrayed by everyone I loved. You and your brothers showed me that. So now, instead of always expecting everyone to hurt me…I guess I just hope for the best. It's that hope that helps me go on.”

Staring at Kade, her demon with such a hard outer shell, she was prepared for many things. For starters, he would tell her she was crazy and foolish.

But instead, he knelt down and placed his hands on top of hers. Leaning closer, he planted a soft kiss against her lips. “Logic says that trusting our enemies is a mistake, so why can’t I find one thing wrong with what you just said?”

She smiled. “I'm rubbing off on you.”

He returned her smile with one of his rare ones. “And somehow that doesn’t feel like a bad thing.”

Alec suddenly groaned and her interest immediately snapped to him. His swollen eyes popped open and she could see bloody streaks through his white pupils. He struggled to talk. “Ryder—“

“Is safe,” she reassured him.

The tension faded from his face, and then he sat up, groaning in pain. “The angels.”

She put her hands on his shoulders, trying to push him back down. “They brought you safely to us.”

He frowned and looked at Kade.

“She isn’t crazy. They actually brought you here…and might just be on our side.”

Alec lay back down, pressing his palms to his forehead. “I must have hit my head harder than I thought,” he panted. “It sounds like you two are saying the angels helped us.”

Kade chuckled. “We are.”

Alec dropped his hands and looked at them. “Someone ran into our car. On purpose. And something weird is going on at the refuge. That David guy apparently doesn’t exist, and the little girl apparently doesn’t kill animals.”

Sharen felt something tighten in her chest. “I don’t understand.”

Alec sighed loudly, his eyes closing once more. “That makes two of us.”

She looked to Kade, feeling panic building in her chest.

“We need to figure out what’s going on. And we only have another day to do it.”

How the hell do we do that?