Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
I didn’t understand why, but it felt like he’d knocked the wind out of me by admitting that last little bit.
“So, I didn’t know what the fuck was going on when I felt the need to protect you, then take care of you. That’s not in my nature. That’s not how my brain works.”
“I can understand that,” I said, nodding.
“I didn’t see the signs of it then.”
“The signs of what?” I asked.
“The Claiming.”
“Claiming? What does that mean?” I asked, but he seemed lost in his own thoughts.
“That was why it happened when I fucked you. It sort of… made it all complete, I guess.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You didn’t see it the first time,” he went on.
“Bael,” I snapped, making his head whip over at my sharp tone. “Talk to me, not yourself,” I invited.
“The way I Changed when I fucked you. The talons, the horns, the wings. It happened the first time too, but you weren’t looking at me. But it was an even stronger Change the second time. That was what you saw. The Change, my true form. Coming out because I’d Claimed you.”
“Claimed me as what?” I asked.
“As mine.”
“As… yours?” I asked, brows scrunching, trying to mask the fact that something inside me thrilled a bit at the very idea.
“It just… happens. I don’t have any explanation for it. I don’t think any of us does. I think Ace likened it to the beast inside of us recognizing the right person.”
“Bael…” I said, waiting for his gaze to slide in my direction. “I don’t understand.”
“That’s probably because his ass doesn’t understand it either,” a woman’s voice said, making both of us look over.
It was the same woman from outside. The pretty blonde. Except she didn’t have her sword with her anymore, just a cup of coffee.
“Dale,” Bael said, giving her a chin jerk.
“He’s fucking the explanation all up, isn’t he?” she asked.
“Kind of,” I admitted, sharing a small smile with the woman.
“I guess we have to give him a little grace since he and his brother are the newest demons to arrive on this plane,” she said. “And the fact that he is a complete grumpy asshole who has done everything in his power to avoid humans until Ace sent him on the mission to talk to you.”
“Seriously?” Bael grumbled.
“Tell me what part of that is untrue, and I’ll take it back,” Dale challenged him, her brow raising. “Exactly,” she said when Bael stayed silent. “Okay. So. Demons don’t fall in love the way humans do,” Dale explained. “For humans, love is a choice. No matter what all those sappy ass shows, movies, poems, and songs say. It is always a choice. But for demons, it isn’t. Something inside of them recognizes something in one of us, and that part of them Claims us.
“It isn’t something they have any control over. It never goes away. And when they are rejected, or their mate dies, or they are separated from them, they experience excruciating pain. The kind of pain that would probably kill a human.
“So when he says he Claimed you, that is what he means. Whether you want him or not, you are the one for him. The only one there will ever be for him. So, now the ball is in your court to decide. But don’t let the pain sway you. I didn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“Minos Claimed me a long time ago. But I am a demonslayer. It went against everything I believed in to be with a demon. But the fact of the matter was, he was the only man I could be intimate with, without damn near killing them, since I have more strength than humans, so I can fight demons. So I… used Minos,” she admitted, wincing a little at that.
“You knew it hurt him?”
“Yes. Maybe not how much it hurt him, but I knew. And it didn’t sway me. Until, eventually, things happened between us, and I realized that I loved him. So, yeah, if he needs to suffer, he needs to suffer.”
“Thanks a lot,” Bael grumbled.
“You’re a big boy. You can take it. Does that help?” Dale asked.
“I, ah, yes,” I decided.
But also… no. Not at all.
He’d Claimed me.
Which was the demon version of true love. Like soulmate love. Except I was pretty sure demons didn’t have souls.
But it was as similar as you could get with a comparison. He didn’t have a choice in it. It would last until the end of time, since he couldn’t die.
“Here,” Dale said, and I felt a glass pushing into my hands. “I think you need this,” she told me as I looked down at the amber liquid. “Bael here drank all the good shit, trying to ease the pain, but this will do the trick.”
“I, ah, thanks,” I said, bringing the cool glass to my lips.