Maybe it was.
What the hell had happened? He needed to get back to Reed and Hannah. To apologize. To do something, anything, to get out of this new hell.
His head ached again at the thought of his mates, and he clenched his jaw.
Caym clucked his tongue. “Silly human. Stop thinking of them. That part of your life is over. You’re not their mate, or whatever you thought you were, anymore. You’re just like me. Something glorious. Every time you think of them, it will hurt. So stop.”
Josh let out a hollow sound. Like it could be that easy. Like he could drop everything he wanted—no, needed—because a demon told him to.
Wait. What was it he wanted? His vision blurred and his memories grew hazy, like he couldn’t quite reach that thought of happiness.
He knelt on the grassy ground and stared into the abyss. The demon brushed his fingertip along Josh’s forehead, and he gasped. Ice cold skin left a fiery trail. He closed his eyes and let the demon’s deep words resonate over his body. A sense of eerie peace settled over his rage and he calmed. Blackness swept over him and he slept.
****
“Wake up,” a voice whispered at Josh.
He blinked. Dark eyes set in a tanned face stared at him.
He shot up and jumped away from her with a growl.
Dark hair in a tangle surrounded her face. she looked like she had curves, but was dressed in such baggy clothing he couldn’t tell.
Who was this woman?
Anger crawled up his body and raged within him. Should he kill her?
“Stop fighting,” she scolded, her hands on her hips. “My name is Ellie. I’ll get you out of here.”
He scrunched his brows. “But I don’t want to leave.”
A pained look passed over her face. “It’s too late then.”
“I don’t understand. What’s too late? I’m healed. I’m reborn.”
She shook her head. “I’m so sorry. I was happy when you came and rescued your mates. At least someone should have their fairy tale ending. I thought it’d be over and you’d all move on. But I should have known. It’s never over. Not with my family.”
“Your family?” Now he was really confused. Why was she rambling about mates? He didn’t have a mate. He only had Caym.
“I’m the daughter of the Alpha.” She shrugged.
This seemed like it should be important, but he couldn’t tell why. Bored with her, he turned away. He stood up, patiently waiting for his master to come and tell him what to do. Yes, that would be a good thing. He acted like a good soldier.
He’d prove his worth.
He hoped his task would be to kill the dark-eyed girl in front of him. He didn’t like what she spoke of, because he’d never saved two people without the master telling him to. He didn’t have mates. No, he had only himself and the demon who was his master. Pure satisfaction rolled over him.
The metal door to the room creaked open, and a man walked through, his master following. Josh stood at attention and waited for his orders.
The other man clapped his hands and leered. “Oh, this is wonderful. I love it. You’ve done well, Caym.”
His master nodded regally. “Thank you, Hector,” he purred.
Hector looked past Josh and scowled. “Ellie? What are you doing here? Leave. Go see Corbin. He wanted you earlier. And if I hear you disobeyed me and didn’t go to him directly, I’ll let him have you for two days straight.”
Josh turned his head and watched Ellie shudder.
“Ah,” Hector said with a sneer. “I see you remember the last time. Don’t disappoint me more than you already do, child.”
She ran out of the room, but she held her head high.
A strong soul in such a weak body.
“Well, Josh,” he said. “I’m your Alpha. You will obey me.”
Confusion swept through him. He thought Caym was his master. What was an Alpha?
Hector smacked him across the face with the back of his hand. Blood trickled from his lip, but he didn’t move.
“Ah, Hector,” Caym drawled, “he’s a partial demon. He thinks he only answers to a demon. But if you punish him hard enough, he’ll listen to you. It’s part of his training.”
Hector growled. Behind the Alpha, Caym gave a small nod.
Ah, his master wanted him to follow the Alpha. Okay.
Josh nodded toward Hector and didn’t shout when the man’s fist connected with his face. Nor did he when the man punched him in the ribs, the stomach, or any other part of his body. He took it. It was his due because that’s what his master wanted. And he always did what his master wanted. No matter what.
Chapter 26
Reed clenched his fists and scowled. He didn’t want to be in this room, doing nothing but waiting. Josh had left. He’d walked out the door then vanished like a demon. Icy fear wrapped around his stomach and leveled him. Without a trail, they couldn’t go after him. Couldn’t find him. His mate, the other third of his heart. Gone. And turning into something Reed might not be strong enough to pull him out of.
Instead of running toward a goal that they didn’t have a clear path to, he sat in his parents’ home, talking about what they could do. Talk about futile. Hannah sat by his side, a broken expression on her face. She’d quit crying, almost like she’d given up. Utter failure washed through him. He’d let Josh walk away, now he let Hannah feel like there was no hope.
Reed glanced over at her and blinked. He was wrong. She sat like a stone, but not cold. Energy radiated off of her, like she was ready to pounce on any scrap of information that might lead to their mate.
He pulled her closer, her body melting into his. He’d mated a hidden warrior, a woman who’d find their mate by his side and kick ass while doing it. He couldn’t ask for anything more. When Josh had spoken those venomous words, his heart had shattered. It took every ounce of strength not to hit back and demand the other man take them back, to pound on him until he was once again the man he’d fallen in love with. Not the monster lurking behind a red glow. But Reed had seen through the vicious words thrown at him to the man beneath struggling for control.
He sighed. He’d grown too complacent and fallen into a routine, practically sweeping their problems under the rug. The fault lay on his shoulders, a heavy burden if there ever was one.
“Hey.” Hannah rubbed her palm on his knee, bringing him out of his thoughts. “Stop thinking that.”
Reed lifted the side of his mouth. “How did you know what I was thinking?”
“It’s all over your face.” She frowned then bit her lip. “We did everything we could, but no one has seen this before. Josh is a first. There was nothing we could do. But that doesn’t mean we can’t do something now.”
He nodded but didn’t believe a word of it. There had to have been something he could have done to save him.
His arms tingled, adrenaline rising through him. He’d save Josh. There wasn’t another option. He couldn’t let his family lose another mate. Not like Anna.
The broken, dejected look on Adam’s face filled his mind. The unfathomable anger his brother still carried after all this time had a tangible life of its own. Reed shuddered. He couldn’t end up like that, and he refused to bring Hannah down too.
“We’ll find him, son.” His father gripped his shoulder, the familiar soothing of his Alpha’s bond ebbed through him.
Reed shook it off. He didn’t want to be fucking soothed.
“Really? And what then?” he shouted. “How can we save him? You didn’t see him, Dad. You don’t know. He’s a fucking demon.”
Reed panted and froze. Oh shit. Had he just yelled at his father? His Alpha? What the fuck was he thinking?
His father raised a brow. “You may be in pain, but I am your Alpha. You best remember that, son. But I’ll let it slide this once.”
He swallowed hard but didn’t lower his gaze.
Hannah held on to his hand and squeezed. Calmness rippled through their bond, and he settled, finally showing proper respect.
His dad growled then shook his head. “I’ve never heard of what happened to Josh occuring before. But there may be a way to overcome it.”
Alert, Reed slid to the edge of the couch. “What?”
Hannah tightened her grip.
His dad held up a hand, forcing Reed to calm. Dammit, he didn’t want calm.
“Your bond,” his father stated.
“What about our bond?” he gritted out.
Come on, speak faster. Josh might not have that much time.
“The trinity bond is powerful.”
“I remember you saying something about a trinity bond when we first mated, but I thought you meant because there were three of us in a bond.”
His dad shook his head. “It’s a powerful bond that has certain powers. The elders think it will bind a demon’s power to this plane so he can’t open another portal. Meaning that your bond can make the demon weaker and may give us an advantage in this war.”
Reed stood up, anger pulsing in his veins. “Are you fucking kidding me? You’ve known about this the whole time? We could have done something before this. Why didn’t you fucking tell us?”
“I didn’t know until you called, Reed. I promise you that. The elders went into a deep trance and contacted the moon goddess.”
“They can do that?”
“Apparently.” His dad sighed. “It takes a lot of energy, but these are dark times.”
“Okay, then let’s use our bond to at least stop the demon.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“Why?” His pulse pounded in his ears. The fact that they could bind the demon didn’t help Josh, at least not directly. But it was something. Something worth moving toward and something that made him feel less helpless.
“We can’t do it because I don’t know if you actually have the bond.”
“Huh? I don’t get it. I thought you said we had the trinity bond.” The vein on the side of his head began to beat harder. Reed rubbed it, trying not to attack his father for more information.
“Your bond whispers something different to me.”
“What? I don’t get it.”
“It’s not a normal bond. That’s why I think it’s the trinity bond. But it’s not a full bond yet, so I don’t know its truth or its strength.” His father raised a brow and gave him a pointed look.
Reed cursed and paced around the room. “We aren’t marked.”
Fuck. Why did they wait? Oh yeah, because they didn’t feel comfortable with the bite, because they wanted to wait until after the mating ceremony. They could’ve save Josh by marking each other. He was sure of it.
His body shook with rage and his arm shot out, his fist crashing through the plaster and dry wall. Pain ricocheted up his arm, but he welcomed it. It was a small price to pay for his stupidity.
“Reed!” His mother shouted. “That is not how you handle this. Go outside and punch something, fight your brothers, but do not attack our home. You don’t know what marking would have done to Josh beforehand. He isn’t a normal human anymore. We just didn’t know. You took a risk either way, but at least this way you didn’t potentially kill him. And it’s not over. You can fix this. But not by breaking our home in the process.”