Page 38 of Deranged Demons

“Seeingas you’re the one who can fly, we figured this was the smartest option.” His gaze flicks to my mates with interest, and then back to me. “Though, now I’m starting to wonder whether I made a mistake. I’m not keen on the idea that you’ve been having fun without me.”

I roll my eyes. “The only ones having fun on this little adventure seems to be you demons. I’m glad you found yourself some provisions.” Scattered around the fire are a few wine bottles and other supplies, and now that I’m paying more attention, I can scent the alcohol on the demons even from here.

“The creatures put up a fight,” another alpha explains, “but they weren’t a match for us.” He lifts his fist into the air as he says the last part, and the others all cheer, their faces flushed as they shout obscenities at the hydra and at whatever other monster they’d slain across the park.

Dante doesn’t join them in celebration and watches me carefully. “So, I see you’ve already found two mates,” he comments when their cheering dies down again.

“Three actually,” I point out, “but it looks like Lady Fate isn’t done with me yet.”

His lips curve upward. “Then there’s still hope for us.”

The demons around him start grinning wider and leer at me.

“So, there is. I must say, I’m impressed you haven’t all killed each other yet.” Mostly, I’m surprised certaindemons didn’t use this as an opportunity to upset the power balance in Seral.

From the glint in Dante’s eyes, I can tell he gets what I’m hinting at. “We all agreed we have a common goal,” he explains. “There’s plenty of time for us to be at each other’s throats when we’re back in Seral. Besides, we realized you might be upset if any of us accidentally killed one of your mates.”

Smart.I have to give Dante credit for keeping the alphas in line.I swear the demon has a silver tongue.I smile. “Upset, is putting it mildly.”

Dante nods, and there’s a twinkle in his eye as he assesses Nate and Prince Callan. I can’t shake the feeling he’s judging me for all the times I broke up his orgies. Guess I can’t talk now that I’m creating my own damn harem.

“Well, if you’re done talking, I think it’s time I find out if any of you guys have made the cut,” I say.

Dante waves his hands graciously to the other alphas around him, and I ignore his arrogant smirk as I walk up to the first demon. Charzel, his name is. The stocky demon is the leader to one of the clans in the south-west of Seral City, and he has a reputation for being untrustworthy, probably because he’s a powerful shapeshifter. As I step close to him there’s the barest hint of fear in his charcoal eyes, like he thinks I might kill him if he doesn’t turn out to be my mate. Shade’s hard stare likely isn’t helping his situation, and he refuses to look at her like he thinks she’s about to crow and sentence him to death.

“Ooh, I love it when they can’t meet my eyes,”Shade says like she’s on some kind of power high.

“Really, because I remember not too long ago when you enjoyed the attention from Nate.”

“That’s because he’s delicious,”she defends.“This guy looks like he’s about to soil his pants.”

My top lip curls at the thought, and the alpha’s smile falls. He tenses like he thinks I’m about to strike, but I smooth my features. His weak floral scent isn’t terrible, but it does nothing for me. I take pity on him and move on to the next demon.

One by one I make the rounds, moving close and talking to the alphas, but none of them are my mates. I’m not too surprised. Many of them I’ve met in close quarters in the past, and it’s likely that we’d have discovered our fated connection before now. Still, I thought I’d be mated to at least one demon.Guess there are more demons still in the city.

Sighing, I stop a few feet from Dante and cross my arms in front of my chest.

“Is it my turn already?” he says with a wicked smile.

“Not even Lady Fate herself would try to match you with someone,” I comment, thinking about the many females he’s already been with, including humans. “You did your duty by attending this thing, but you’ve fulfilled the expectations put on you.”

Confusion crosses his face, and his smile wavers. “You think I’m here because of an obligation to attend?”

“Aren’t we all?” I point out as I recall the way Dad told me about the ball. It’s not like we volunteered for this. I mean, the alphas did, but not in the way that one volunteers for an activity like a pie eating competition. Without another word, I turn to go.

“Aren’t you going to see if he’s your mate?”Shade asks.“Lady Fate has proven that she’s a little crazy with her matches. I mean, you’re mated to one of the Drozac for goodness sake!”

“Princess,” Dante calls after me, and it’s the first time I’ve heard uncertainty in his usually confident voice.

I tilt my head to look back at him.

“My obligation isn’t fulfilled until you know for certain that I’m not your mate. I’d hate for you to keep searching only to discover I was right in front of you.”

When I don’t continue to move away, his lips quirk upward like he thinks he’s won, though truthfully, I never intended to leave without testing him. I just enjoy making him squirm.

“Fine,” I say exaggeratedly and stride toward him. As I walk, he watches me with appreciation, taking note of the sway of my hips, and I’m not nearly as offended as I know I should be.

I’m a couple steps away, and I’m about to stop because I want to continue messing with him, but he steps forward closing the distance between us. He doesn’t stop to scent me. His hand slides behind my back as he pulls me to him, and then his lips are onmine like he’s decided that even if we’re not mates, he’s going to make me remember this moment.

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