Page 8 of Hell Bound

I’d seen arousal when I touched her, when I’d gripped her throat.

And anger—a raging wave of fury she hadn’t been able to muster even when her bastard husband abused her for all the court to witness.

There’d been one brief instant where I wondered if she recognized me. Embers of the fire that always burned between us seemed to spark in those eyes I knew so well.

But the hope welling in my chest had been swiftly shattered when Deasley spoke and ruined the connection forming between us.

I hated that I’d touched her with the blood of the bastard who she’d let put a hand up her dress still coating my hand.

Hot rage lingered in my veins at the memory; how could some weak, pathetic human dare to put his hands on her? The worm had gotten what he deserved.

There was some small consolation in that.

I’d longed to remind her of who she really belonged to, heart and soul. Instead, I was met with confusion and fear, as if she believed she’d be next.

The beast inside me growled at that. She was never safer than with us, and she’d soon remember that.

I stood behind her, my hands clasped behind my back as I watched King Asmodeus stride closer, his robes billowing behind him like enormous bat wings.

My pack spread out, blocking the exit if she decided to make a break for it. Their growls echoed off the high ceilings and bounced back, making it sound like a hundred Hell wolves were pacing the Infernal Court.

Odragir, my nemesis, drew in close as though to snap at her heels and terrify her even more. The position I’d usurped when I became one of Asmodeus’s cursed wolves twenty years ago had been his, and he’d never let it go.

I raised a brow, and he backed up, but the growl emanating from his chest didn’t completely die out.

Guilt weighed on me to see her in this room again. She was supposed to be free, but I’d failed to keep it that way, despite my best efforts.

The bitter truth was that my best just wasn’t good enough.

Deasley had tracked her on the king’s orders her entire mortal life—he’d tracked her soul in the human world, but he’d managed to create roadblocks the entire way.

Any time he got close, he’d found an excuse for why he couldn’t get to her, why he’d somehow lost track of her.

But Asmodeus had finally tired of excuses. The queen’s absence threatened his power, and when the command had been issued to the pack, we had no choice.

All of my efforts, all the pain, all my painstaking plans… shredded to pieces with a single perfectly worded order.

A triumphant smirk cut across Asmodeus’s face, his immaculate, even teeth belying the rabid beast he truly was.

“Don’t tell me that you’ve forgotten your beloved husband after a mere two decades away. Am I so easy to forget, Lilith?” He frowned mockingly. “I’m disappointed that you appear to be just as pathetic as you ever were.”

I clenched my jaw as he stepped closer, inspecting her like livestock. My fingers twitched behind my back where he couldn’t see them.

Not for the first time, I envisioned what rippinghishead off would feel like.

Tensing, I waited to see what she would do. In the past, she’d have hung her head in silence, not wanting to tempt Asmodeus’s wrath. But the way she’d fought me earlier…

She shook her head, dark hair catching the light and gleaming with strands of deep red like coals—the same shade that had earned her nickname.

My Fire Lily.

When she said nothing, Odragir decided to urge her on by snapping at her again. A growl ripped from my throat, my wolf clamoring for release.

Recognizing his leader, Odragir’s own wolf retreated, and stepped around Lilith so that he’d no longer have access to her. My heart dropped when I saw her face.

She’d gone from bewildered to utterly furious, her lips thinning to a flat line as she glared up at him.

With the drying blood of the groping bastard painted across her throat and face, she almost looked like a true demon again, feral and violent.

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