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

“I’d fucking kill him first, Spyder. I’d decimate him and Hell to keep her with me,” I declared.

“You know Erie has Asmodeus. If you are smart, you will handle him before he figures out the furies are back. If he finds out and runs to Luc, shit will go sideways fast. Luc likes Lena, and that is the only thing keeping him from turning his little visits into a horror show.”

“If Erie cannot control Asmodeus until I’ve finished what I started, I will end him,” I admitted, exhaling past the worry that thought created. I trailed a finger over the condensation on my glass, remembering Lena’s tears, and my stomach coiled at the reminder.

I hated her tears, but the idea of Lucifer knowing our son lived would be a fucking disaster. The sadistic prick had already offered a womb to Lena, aware that any child she birthed would be attached to my seal. It wasn’t that I hadn’t wanted a child with Lena. But until everything came together, it wasn’t a possibility. We’d created a monster, and while I wouldn’t care if we did it again, she would. I’d enjoy making one with her or an army of them.

I sat at my desk, snorting as the memory of Lena first entering my office, angry at being punished, replayed inside my head. Fuck if I hadn’t wanted to bend her pretty ass over my desk and show her exactly who the fuck she was messing with. Magdalena had been a fire that burned so hot it had scalded me. And hell if I hadn’t needed to feel her against me. That witch left her mark on me, burrowing deep beneath my skin.

Lena wasn’t that girl anymore, though; she’d changed. I carried that guilt and pride, which was a strange combination to feel. She had grown bolder, unafraid to take or demand what she wanted from me—from the world. She was chaos and beauty, combined with a purity that I didn’t deserve. I knew she was too good for me, too innocent. If anyone from my world figured out that she still housed human emotions, they would tear her apart. Emotions were a weakness, and weakness would be used against you.

Pouring more whiskey, I reached into the drawer, pulling out another glass. I detested that Spyder had fucked Lena, but I hadn’t hated watching her get off. The only good thing that came out of the ordeal was that he was no longer thinking about her sexually. So what the fuck was he doing caring about her emotional state?

“Fuck you,” he rumbled, lifting black eyes to hold mine. All human exterior melted away, and we relaxed into our chairs, swallowed by the shadows. “I fucked your girl, asshole. Get over it. You enjoyed breaking her and watching that pussy get fucked. I know you. You pushed it to go further than it needed to go. You wanted her to ache and never crave that shit again. If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been allowed to enjoy all that her body had to give.”

“Are we done talking about her pussy?” I snapped, staring at the glass as it spider-webbed from the pressure of my hold. “Keep my girl’s pussy out of your mouth, Spyder.”

“It was a delicious pussy, though,” he teased, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, staring at me. “I don’t crave Lena like that anymore, Lucian. In fact, I could take her or leave her. I do, however, care about her emotions because if you unleash those furies, they’re coming for me, brother. You and I both know that. They want revenge for what I did, and it’s fucking justified.”

“That’s your problem, and you know I’m right fucking here if or when you need me. I’ve always been beside you, asshole. That much is a given. The only way those bitches escape Lena is if she’s dead. That isn’t fucking happening again. The only weapon that can kill her was tossed into the Unseelie Prison, inside Faery,” I admitted, running my finger over the rim of the glass.

“She asked if you loved her, and she didn’t understand your reply.”

“She will get it when she’s ready to recognize the gravity of it,” I grunted, hating that she expected words. Fuck words, they’d never done shit.

Humans wanted pretty words. Hollow words whispered as the sweat cooled from their bodies after a hard fuck. They were just that, words. I wouldn’t ever say them again. I’d heard people say that shit in a moment of passion and then ask me to take the person’s life in the same breath while perspiration still bathed their brow. Words held little meaning, but actions were undeniable and spoke louder than anything else.

I knew she loved me. I hadn’t needed her to say it for me to know how she felt. She’d proven it to me. Lena had taken her life to prevent my suffering, which spoke of something much deeper than love. She was a selfless creature. One that was too fucking pure to hold the monsters inside of her. Fuck, Lena was too pure to have fallen in love with me, the fucking monster that had others trembling at the mere mention of my name.

Me? I’d destroy this entire universe to protect Lena, and I’d told her that much. I’d stood aside as her lineage was snuffed out. I couldn’t intervene on their behalf because magic had consequences. Lena had come back, and in doing so, dominos had tipped over.

One life from a bloodline coming back could be ignored. Three lives weren’t allowed. There was a steep price, and I wasn’t allowing Death to take Lena or Harbinger from me again. So, I’d agreed to let her bloodline pay the cost because not even I could stop it from happening. Not that I would have, anyway. Her line would have died, eventually, and she’d have hurt because of it.