Page 10 of Zodiac Demons

“Oh,” was all she said, punctuated by a nervous laugh. I kept thinking that at some point she wouldn’t be so tense speaking to me, but she’d actually become more closed off since becoming my mate officially. For a matter of fact, she still hadn’t told me exactly what happened between her and Ceto, but I knew very well that she couldn’t have taken on a mark if she hadn’t taken in his… essence first. While there were a million interesting ways that could have happened, it was noticeable that she wasn’t giving me any details. The magic wards had blocked me from feeling her through our bond, so I could only guess at how it played out.

Did slutty, shifted Lila get on her knees and suck him off? Did he take her on the sewing table? Was it polite missionary in bed after some intensely awkward, nerdy flirting that shouldn’t have worked on any even mildly well-adjusted person?

Maybe he also had a somno kink and filled her in her sleep like I’d done? Mmmm, probably not that one. But maybe? I could only imagine what hidden deviance might surface if he ever exposed himself to shift on a full moon night. I bet Omegas had breeding kinks. I hoped he did. I would have fun with that.

“So I wanted to ask you out for a date night. I think we have a lot to catch up on.” I nudged her toward a truth I was waiting for her to readily admit. And yet, she continued to dodge me with protests.

“My Mom’s in town, so I’m a bit busy for the next week or so. Maybe rain check for after she goes home?” Not even inviting me to meet her? Maybe her parents were as annoying as mine were.

“That’s fine. But afterwards, I’m going to need some attention. You did spend the last full moon without your mate, after all, and I’m still recovering from that.” I was being dramatic, admittedly, but I would also admit that mate separation sickness had been a new level of hell I wasn’t prepared for. I thought feeling Adrian-induced orgasms and waking up face-to-face with him while our dicks were in the same girl was nauseating, but it was NOTHING compared to simply being more than a mile from her on a full moon night. “I’d prefer if we never did that again, by the way. I was doing my best to be supportive of your choices, but I’m going to have to go to a blood bank to recover if I have to spend that much time apart from you on a full moon again.” While that was an honest statement, I also wanted it to be very clear that I wouldn’t be conceding to her other mate. He could join us though.

“So you legitimately got sick?” She asked ever so naively. “Was it that bad?”

“My head was splitting, I was getting dangerous levels of heart palpitations, and I was puking out my nose for something like nine hours straight, so yes. That bad.” I shuddered just recalling it. “It’s a normal part of a mate bond, but being my first time being without you while mutually mated, it was more intense than I thought it might be. Before, when it was one-sided, I could just feel your pleasure through the bond, but a lot changed after sealing the pact.”

“I’m sorry,” she sounded so empathetic through the line, and it was silly that such a thing made my heart flutter.

“No need to apologize. I hardly understood how it would work either. We’ll just have to be mindful of it going forward.” I waved her off. But also… “I take it you didn’t have any of those problems?” In hindsight, why hadn’t she experienced bond separation sickness?

“No, I felt… um…” She was so flustered it was almost funny. I was going to wager a guess she’d intended to finish that sentence with ‘I felt intense orgasms, Ceto’s cock, and endless satisfaction,’ which was as comical as it was mildly annoying. “I felt fine.” She settled on the less objectionable option, and it was a pity I wasn’t speaking to her in person so I could dip into her mind.

“Interesting. Maybe the wards kept out the harmful magic.” To be honest, that was the only explanation I could think of. So much of her existence was unprecedented, that it was hard to know which minute uniqueness in her bloodline was enough to protect her from the curses the rest of us suffered. But thus was the always enchanting mystery that was Lila. It was a good thing she didn’t melt down like I had anyway. She might not have picked up that extra mate if she had.

I grinned to myself, before I added. “Well, let me know as soon as you’re free. I’ll take you somewhere nice, and we can get back to your shifting lessons.”

“Can’t wait.” Lila said with chipper enthusiasm before she hung up.

I shoved the phone back in my pocket with a frown. Somehow, even when she was mine, it still felt like she could slip away at any moment, like there was always some pull to others, and I would never quite occupy more than passing space in her mind. Maybe I was just too convenient. I was the only one among her current marks who actively and eagerly chose her, and sometimes I worried that that made me somehow lesser in her eyes. Like my willingness to be with her was boring compared to the frightened mouse that was Ceto and the grumpy bullfrog that was Adrian.

I suppose, to her credit, this was likely the first time she’d ever had to juggle three very different people all at once. It wasn’t like she was allowed to give up any one of her marks, and that had to mess with a person. I needed to have some sympathy for her very complicated sexual awakening.

Sympathy would be so much easier if I wasn’t a born psychopath.

Oh well, what can you do?

I pulled back on my helmet, and mounted my bike. This may be the time where we’d all have to start learning to play nice together. For Lila to accept and figure out how to be a princess for three devils, the three devils were going to have to figure out how to coexist first. Adrian and Ceto might actually hit it off okay, but I guess I was the problem on both ends.

What fun this is going to be.

Chapter 5

Eighteen Months Ago

“He’s cute. I wouldn’t mind using him.” A female Beta shifter of some insignificant breed cooed, while the ogre of a Sobek Alpha held me against the lockers, pinned with his hand on my neck. They’d both ambushed me as I’d attempted to sneak out of the party while my brother was distracted, and now we were in an empty hallway where no one would be coming to my aid. But then again, that also meant there would be no one coming to their aid, and they were much more likely to be the ones in need of saving if they didn’t back off soon. “Is it really okay to take an Arya heir without getting permission from the family though?” She asked with a nervous shake to her voice.

They hadn’t asked my opinion, of course, but as an Omega, they so rarely did.

“Omari said he’s fair game, and that’s enough permission for me. The Sobeks and the Aryas go way back anyway. Once he’s marked, no one will argue.” Beau was looking me up and down like I was fresh meat on a sacrificial alter, prepared and seasoned to feed the ancient alligator in his blood. But this pair wasn’t anywhere near as terrifying when Omari wasn’t with them. They were just ordinary shifters with mundane animal forms, no matter how far back their bloodlines ran.

“I’m not giving you permission.” I stated, raising my chin to get some air of authority. Omari probably should have warned them that I wasn’t half puppy. Or maybe they should have been smart enough to come to that conclusion all their own. I’d say that the soon to be fatal consequences of their actions weren’t my problem, but it was definitely going to be a pain if I had to escalate this situation to that point.

“You’re an Omega. Last I checked, we don’t need your—”

I shifted my eyes, cutting off his asinine statement with my paralysis gaze. He was lucky I was wearing my glasses, lest I turn his heart fully to stone, but my filtered magic would get the point across. It was more than enough to turn this around.

“I’m a Basilisk, actually.” I corrected him with steady, unwavering resolve. Beau remained frozen, his hand still on my throat, and I started slowly removing his grip while holding him in unblinking stillness. “You should know that much, being one of Omari’s followers. Did he not warn you? Or was he intentionally feeding you to my beast?” I moistened my lips with my partially shifted forked tongue. I was more than happy to take the power back now. I’d let this go on long enough. “You claim to be a descendant of Sobek, but you’re really just a lowly alligator shifter, aren’t you? Not a god at all. Just a small, insignificant reptile, hiding in the body of an even more insignificant man. Half-breed or not, I still have the blood of the King.”

“What are you doing to him?” His daft Beta whined. She lunged at me, and as much as I wanted to paralyze her too, I couldn’t without freeing him first, and that was inconvenient when he was the much larger threat.