Revealing the Monster (Playing with Monsters #4) by Amelia Hutchins

Lucian knew how much my family meant to me, so if he’d done this, it could destroy us. I didn’t think he would do this to me. Not after everything I’d already sacrificed for him. Right? My life had been altered; my world changed because of Katarina and Lucian and the game they’d enjoyed playing. Everything about me and my life was burned to the ground, and I had no one but Lucian now.

I entered the club’s main level and scanned the people seated around the bar, searching for Lucian. He sat beside Spyder, who turned, studying me through narrowing ice-blue eyes. A blush heated my cheeks as his lips twisted into a wicked smirk, slowly turning back to say something to Lucian. Lucian turned, speaking to Spyder as I made my way toward them.

My body tensed, still sore as shit from the things they’d done to me. Not that I regretted it one iota. I’d enjoyed all the dirty, twisted shit immensely. I wasn’t ashamed of being a sexual creature or bothered by anyone knowing.

The furies inside me drove that desire and created a never-ending desire to be fucked, hard. They may have believed they were judge, jury, and executioner, but they were also sex, need, and lust. Their needs slithered through me, making me feel like I was perpetually in heat.

I shoved that thought away from my mind, focusing on what was important. Walking to the bar, I clenched my fists tightly and squared my shoulders. I prayed Lucian would tell me Luc was lying and that he hadn’t done what the Devil had said. If Lucian had, he’d admit it because he didn’t care about keeping secrets other than who he was, which I now knew. Pausing behind him, he spoke without turning to look at me.

“You’re needed below. The staff is waiting for you to decide what sort of show they’ll be performing tonight.” Lucian pulled out a piece of paper to hand it to Bane, who gave me a curious glance.

“Lucian,” I whispered through trembling lips, and he turned, taking me in.

“You’re not dressed to entertain,” he grumbled, peering down at my clenched fists, narrowing his eyes before dragging them back to mine.

“Did you barter my family’s souls for mine?” I asked, unable to prevent my fear from entering my voice. He didn’t flinch or even blink at the question. Lucian didn’t move, holding my gaze in silence. “Why aren’t you saying no?”

“You should leave it alone for now, Magdalena,” he warned.

“Tell me you didn’t do it.” I all but begged him to lie to me. My words came out thick as tears pricked my eyes, burning them. “Tell me you didn’t barter my family and my coven. Why don’t you deny it, Lucian?”

My stomach clenched as my heart dropped to the floor. I felt sick, physically sick, as Lucian held my stare, not even bothering to look upset at my accusation. Tears ran down my cheeks, and I shook my head slowly. My words got stuck on the lump at the back of my throat, coming out brokenly.

Why didn’t he deny that he’d done anything to them? My family and my coven had been turned into demons, and Lucian had put down my grandmother himself, removing her head because he wouldn’t have been able to remove the demon possessing her. My bloodline was wiped out—only Makenna remained.

I stared at him, struggling to get words out past the swelling in my throat. His jaw ticked, and he held my eyes without looking away. My head continued to turn one way and then slowly moved the other as it shook, needing him to deny it.

I’d never even considered how it would have been possible for them to be possessed because I had placed the devil trap marking on them. That meant someone had to have intervened to remove the marks, and whoever had done that would have had to have been very powerful to do so without the coven realizing it.

“Please say something,” I whispered, despising the pain that was ripping me apart from inside.

“Go to your room.”

“Gods dammit, Lucian! Say you didn’t do this! Tell me you didn’t allow those monsters to slaughter my family,” I snarled, hating the tremor of agony that filled my words.

“I can’t tell you what you want to hear,” he stated, watching me through unfeeling eyes. “I see you and Luc spoke this morning.”

“No. You don’t get to turn this on Lucifer,” I whispered as a sob escaped my chest. “What did you do? Tell me, Lucian. Make me understand what the fuck could have been worth sacrificing the souls of my entire line. Tell me it wasn’t to spare me from having to relive the death echo or from you forced to watch it. Tell me why.”

“Bane, Layton, take Lena back to our room and lock her inside. She’s not to leave until I say otherwise,” he said, studying me as I backed up.

“I’m leaving,” I announced, barely above a whisper, only for Lucian to laugh coldly at my words. He carefully undid the cuffs of his dress shirt, rolling up the sleeves. Dismissing him, I started for the doors.

I didn’t care if the Devil himself was waiting outside for me. I needed to get away from here, away from him. Lucian hadn’t even cared enough to tell me why he’d done it. They were my family. The coven hadn’t needed to die to protect him or me. Innocent lives were lost so that we wouldn’t be inconvenienced? Fuck that!

The moment Layton pushed me forward, the doors opened, and Lucian grabbed me and tossed me over his shoulder. I screamed, gasping as the air was sucked from the room. Power rushed through me, forcing my hands to slide together by my wrists behind my back. I struggled as a throbbing started in my chest, burning my lungs. Shadows slid against my lips, and then air slowly filled my lungs while Lucian continued walking to the hallway with me awkwardly flung over his shoulder, my hands still locked behind me as if held in chains.