Page 13 of How to Accidentally get Trapped in Hell

“You say that like it's so fucking easy,” he scoffs. “You know damn well growing horns isn't easy and neither is getting over the painyour mate'smother has caused me. And you know what? ItisMaddy's fault,” he sneers her name and I'm seconds away from jumping across the table and laying him out. “If it weren't for your precious Maddy breaking the amulet I gave her mother, Zofina would have never returned to Hell and Lucifer wouldn't have tortured me for years.”

“Luc didwhat?!”

“Mymission? Yeah, it wasn’t so much a mission as it was Luc punishing me for helping his daughter get out of Hell undetected. She was right, when her necklace broke, her beacon went online. I saw immediately where she was. But the good friend that I was, I turned the damn thing off before anyone else could see. If she would have stayed gone, Luc would have never questioned me. Almost thirty years ago I made the mistake of choosing Zofina’s side over Luc’s. It’s a mistake I won’t ever make again. My loyalty lies with Lucifer. No one else. I got that message beaten into me so hard I’ll never forget it. So forgive me if I’m not ready toget overyears of torture. I think I’ve earned the right to hold a grudge over Zofina and anyone connected to her.”

Fuck. How could I not have known? A fuckingmission? We seriously believed he just dropped off the face of Hell for a mission? And all that time he was locked up in a cell being tortured by the devil himself? It’s no wonder he’s been different since he came back. Now I understand why he’s so pissed at Zo and wants nothing to do with Maddy.

“I’m sorry, Zar. I had no idea.”

“Of course you didn’t. I didn’t want you to. And if it weren’t for Maddy, you still wouldn’t know. Just my fucking luck that this would come back and bite me in the ass again, huh?”

It’s going to take a lot more time than I thought to get Zar to be okay with Maddy. And if he really is her mate, like I suspect… I don’t know what to do. I’m certain Maddy has so many mates because of her destiny… What the prophecy says is her destiny at least. She’s going to need all of us. I just hope we have enough time for Zar to work through his issues before then.

As if my thoughts summoned her, my gorgeous mate appears in my lap. I feel her weight settle on me before the smoke clears. I'm only a little surprised by her sudden appearance. She's coming into her powers quickly and can instinctively do things I wouldn't think possible. Zar, on the other hand, does not look happy about her arrival.

“Belz!" she squeals and throws her arms around my neck. "I can't believe it worked! I mean I can… but at the same time I can't. Oh my God, you won't believe the day I had! First, Luc took me to the soul-sorting room. I still can't believe that's how it works down here. It looked like a boring office job with all the cubicles," she rambles with her face lit up. "Then we followed a book to the sin office and that was so weird. If I never have to look at another soul's book again it would be too soon.”

Devil, I love how expressive her face is when she talks.

“Then we went to the torture hall and I literally ran into Oz. He was a bit of an ass but I think he respects me more after what happened with Joshua."

"What happened withwhom?" I interrupt.

"Oh. Just this vile soul. I read his book in the sin office and Luc wanted Oz to make sure he was properly punished. We ended up taking him to a different room… Room sixty-six," she says with a roll of her eyes. “I think he… Oz, that is… was hoping to scare me with the whole torturing a soul thing, but it totally backfired. I’m not stupid. I know he deserved everything he got and more. I think it really surprised Oz when I joined him and Luc in torturing him though.”

She laughs. My sweet, innocent matelaughsat the thought of torturing a soul with the fucking devil. How did I get so lucky?

“Anyway, after Luc taught me to use my powers to torture, we decided to take a break and now here I am. Can you believe how strong my powers are? My dad always said I could do anything I set my mind to. If only he knew how right he was.”

“How did you get here? How did you know where we were? What do you mean you used your powers to torture a soul?” Zarreth demands, hitting her with question after question.

Maddy jumps in my lap, obviously not having realized we weren’t alone. “Ooops.” She looks at me with wide panicked eyes and I can feel her nervousness through the bond.

“It’s okay,Amica Mea.It was an accident. You didn’t know he was here.” I glare at Zar as I tighten my hold around Maddy, reassuring her with my touch.

“But no one’s supposed to know. Luc’s gonna be pissed,” she murmurs, biting her lip.

“No, he won’t. It’s just Zar, no one else saw or overheard. And Zar’s not going to say anything,” I assure her.

Her shoulders slump and she sighs. “I don’t wanna keep secrets from my grandfather. That’s not the way to start a relationship with anyone. I’ll tell him what happened and accept any backlash that may come. I know it was an accident, but I should have been paying more attention.” She looks around the room, surveying her surroundings for the first time. “Where are we? Are we in the city? Oh my god. This could have been so much worse if we were in public surrounded by demons.”

“Baby. It’s okay. Luc won’t be mad, and even if he is, I promise he won’t lash out at you.” I rub up and down her back, pleased when she relaxes at my touch.

“What the hell is going on? Why would Luc be mad at her for me hearing this?” Zar demands.

Maddy bites her lip as if she’s unsure how to answer him. “I’m sorry… You’re not my mate. I’m not allowed to tell anyone but my mates,” she tells him softly with a grimace.

“Are you kidding me? I’m part of Luc’s inner circle. There’s nothing that goes on in Hell that I don’t know about.”

I smirk at my cocky lover. “Sorry, babe. This information is classified. You have to be in Maddy’s inner circle to know.”

Zar glares at me. “You know my feelings about that. Keep your stupidclassifiedinformation. I don’t fucking care. If it has to do withherI don’t want to know.” He stands, shoving his chair so hard it crashes to the floor, then storms off.

“What was that about? Why’s he so hostile toward me? I thought Oz was the asshole of the bunch but he’s friendly compared to Zarreth,” Maddy grumbles glaring at the spot Zar had been occupying.

"Don't worry about him. He has some issues he needs to work out. It has nothing to do with you, I promise."

"Okay… I guess. I just wish I knew what I did to make him hate me so much," she pouts.

---