Page 29 of Unholy

God, guide me, Luke prayed as he trudged back into the admin building and up the curving staircase to the second floor. He berated himself the whole way. He should’ve known better than to think he could have anything of substance with a halfling. It was absolute madness to even entertain that he could have Malachiandbe a paladin.

Sloan’s office door was open like a maw waiting to swallow him up. Luke eased up to it and knocked, schooling his face. Hunched over a stack of paperwork, Sloan looked up and waved Luke in.

“Paladin Morgan, please come in. Have a seat. I’d like a word.” He seemed genial enough, sitting back in his chairthe way he always did when Luke came in for something. They weren’t friends—he wasn’t sure Sloan was friends with anyone, really—but he’d always respected the commander, and they had a good working relationship. He hoped that would grant him some credibility now, because he was about to lie right to the man’s face.

“So I hear. What can I do for you?” he asked, sitting as casually as he had during their last meeting. He had nothing to hide, he coached himself. He had nothing to fear.

“Word has it you made a new friend.” Sloan’s gaze was cold as ice, calculating.

“A new friend, sir?” Luke asked.

“A halfling. Long hair. Sleazy-looking.”

Sleazy? Luke bristled internally.

“Ah, that one,” Luke said. They’d already been spotted together. He just didn’t know how much Sloan knew. “I told you about him, sir. He’s the one who told me about the sagdrannon.”

“And I believe I told you to kill it on sight if you saw it again, didn’t I?”

It. Like Malachi was subhuman.

Sloan went on. “So maybe you can enlighten me as to why someone spotted you having dinner with this halfling at a diner in the thirty-third sector three nights ago?”

“Because he showed up,” Luke said readily, maintaining eye contact. He shook his head, as though bitter at the memory. “I hadn’t seen him again until that night, sir. I stopped at the diner after a hunt. He sat down in the booth across from me and interrupted my dinner. Wanted to be paid for his trouble, can you believe that?” Luke scoffed. “I told him to get lost and left. I couldn’t risk attacking himnear the diner. We were the only ones there, and the employees would’ve seen us. Haven’t seen him since.”

“He wanted to be paid for what? Telling you about the sagdrannon?”

“Yep. Guess he thought maybe he could cash in after the fact, become some kind of supernatural confidential informant.”

“Disgusting,” Sloan said, his gaze falling slightly from Luke’s own. It took him a moment to realize he was looking at Luke’s neck. Looking for bite marks? Hickeys? He was glad he’d had the foresight not to let Malachi leave visible marks on him. “I’m glad you told it no. It would be wise to avoid the halflings, I think. I don’t know what their game is, but I doubt it’s a coincidence that one of them tempted Hawk away and now another is repeatedly approaching you. If this is some new tactic they’re using to weaken our ranks, we can’t afford to fall for it.”

“No, sir, of course not.” His gut twisted. That wasn’t what Malachi was doing. Was it? He hadn’t done anything that might compromise Luke’s standing with the guild—not intentionally, anyway. He couldn’t help that someone saw them at the diner. In fact, he’d agreed that they shouldn’t be seen in public together. He’d made a point not to leave marks on Luke’s neck. He seemed perfectly content with what they’d had so far, as though being in Luke’s presence was truly all he wanted.

“Stay away from the halfling, Paladin Morgan. If you see it again, give it no quarter. We have to stand firm in these tumultuous times, and if we must, we’ll make an example out of the next one that tries anything.”

Luke nodded, pushing himself to his feet. “Yes, sir.”

Sloan dismissed him, and Luke walked in a daze out to the training yard.

Being with Malachi felt soright. Was that the real temptation? Was he being manipulated into feeling things that couldn’t be possible? For one shining moment, he’d been happy with Malachi. Whole. But what life could a paladin have with a demon? They could never go out in public together. Luke’s own people would condemn them if they were discovered. They would think Luke a traitor—or a victim. He wasn’t sure which was worse. Whether Malachi was genuine or playing Luke for a fool—which he couldn’t truly bring himself to believe—they couldn’t continue their tryst. It was too dangerous. His stomach twisted at the thought of giving up the way Malachi had made him feel yesterday, but he didn’t have a choice. A paladin and a demon couldn’t have a future. Better to make a clean break now, no matter how painful.

He barely remembered training. He put four hours in on the yard, running laps and doing drills and sparring with Nathan and Nicolas and then Isaac. His muscles ached as he trudged to his car and drove home. There was a pit in his stomach the whole time.

As much as he wanted to keep Malachi for himself, he couldn’t risk it. It wasn’t safe for either of them. Sloan would have Malachi killed and Luke banished for what they’d done in his apartment. It didn’t matter how good Malachi made him feel, how complete and loved—if a demoncouldlove. It wasn’t meant to be. He couldn’t be with a demon. It was wrong.

He had to end things.

Chapter 12

Malachi

Being trusted alonein Luke’s apartment was a gift. He locked the door behind him when he left. His own apartment seemed cavernous and cold without any evidence of Luke’s existence. It felt too much like the last couple of days didn’t happen. He showered slowly, taking himself in hand as he remembered the weight of Luke’s cock on his tongue, and when he collapsed into bed, it was with a smile on his face. With nothing else to do until Luke finished his work at the guild, he slept, hoping he’d wake to a text message inviting him back over. He spent most of the day dreaming about the taste of his cock, the sound of his wanton moans. Now that he knew how good they were together, he longed for more.

He did wake to a text from Luke, but it wasn’t an invitation to come over.

I can’t see you again. I’m blocking your number. Stay away.

His heart plummeted. He stared at it, uncomprehending.Their time together had been downright perfect. What could’ve gone wrong between then and now?

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