Page 26 of Taken By the Twins

That means, if I go back to Earth, he can always come after me. Because of the way both Damien and Lucian have my essence, Damien could take a trip to the human world—and, using my memories and the way I ‘imprinted’ on Jared, he could findhim.

Only one problem, and it’s a biggie.

I knew there had to be a reason why my demons felt the need to take me right to their realm. I’m right. Turns out, Sombra demons aren’t allowed on Earth. There’s this guy called Haures, the demon duke of Sombra, and he has a bunch of rules.

The first one? No one from my mortal world is to ever know that demons exist. There have been slip-ups over the years—which would explain why my fellow humans talk about demons, and we have legends of our owns about them—with all offenders earning a pair of enchanted golden chains clasped around their wrists, and a stint in a demon jail—and that’s if the duke is feeling merciful.

Otherwise it’s death by shadows.

Seriously. Lucian warned me against leaving the cabin and making a break for it in the shadowy woods that surround the twins’ cabin because, if I did, I was risking the demonic creatures that haunt those woods coming after me.

And while I might look like lunch to some of them, others might see a female and take me—and, unlike Lucian and Damien, they won’t wait until I consent to have their way with me.

He didn’t have to tell me twice. Between the two demons providing me everything I wanted while waiting for me to agree to be their mate and some crazy demon who would rip me in half, I knew I was better off sticking around here. Damien might be closed-off and more than a little scowly, but I would never want him to be tossed to the woods like that.

Especially if he gets in trouble because he has the wrong idea that I’m still in love with Jared Turner.

I can only imagine what he saw in my memories to believe that. Just goes to show that the essence exchange isn’t exactly foolproof, that it’s up to the individual to interpret what they see and sense about me, because Damien is about to throw his whole future away in order to make sure his brother has one.

Lucian doesn’t come out and say it, but maybe I’m getting better at reading him because I… Iknowthat’s what he’s thinking. And though he doesn’t regret what we just did, he’ll move past it because he needs to rescue his twin.

And I refuse to be left behind if I can help.

Like me, Jared is constantly traveling. That’s why, when the portal spits me out in an unfamiliar room with hotel standard art on the wall and the sterile scent of a rented space in the air, I don’t jump to the conclusion that we ended up in some random spot.

Especially when I hear a very familiar voice shouting nonsense and gibberish, fear coloring his voice all the way from another room.

Jared.

CHAPTER 10

MY DEMONS

TANDY

Ifollow the noise because it has to lead me to Jared.

Lucian is right at my side. He already informed me that, in the human realm, it’s expected to go in the faintest form of their shadows they have. Close to a mist, if you didn’t know he was there, you’d be hard-pressed to see him.

Me? I’m shit out of luck. If I had accepted his essence, he could’ve wrapped me up in his shadows, hiding me, too. But he’s a twin. That means Lucian can’t give me that essence unless Damien does at the same time. So though I’m completely visible and I’m pretty sure Lucian would prefer I hang back before we know what’s happening, I lead the charge and he’s smart enough not to try to stop me.

I mean, this isJared. I’m not afraid of him.

But one look at my ex-lover crouched down slightly, his back up against a corner, arms thrown over his perfectly-styled hair as a dark shadow—as Damien—whips around him, clearly terrorizing the human male… he’s definitely afraid of one of my mates.

Any hope that Damien was following the duke’s law by staying out of sight are completely dashed. Sure, he’s not in that solid, red-skinned demonic form they have, but with his mismatched eyes blazing out of his inky-black shadows, there’s no doubt that he’s here, and that Jared has already seen him.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

What now?

I don’t know, but when Jared’s head jerks up, I realize that I made a major boo-boo.

I kind of said that out loud, didn’t I?

Whoops.

Using his back, he pushes up off of the wall so that he’s standing. He’s still covering his head, though he shifts his arms so that he can find me standing on the other side of the room.

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