Page 8 of King's Obsession

Just as it was for their demon.

A sobering and yet painful reality.

Kneeling on the floor, the troll rubbed his massive hands over the planks that now covered the spot where the demon had left his first “deposit”, sending calming vibes through the earth below to the roots of the trees and beyond, even as his heart shattered.

It’s all right. We are fine. It will be okay. You are safe.

The forest sighed in relief, but as the troll slowly got up, and Dougal’s human side emerged once more, they knew there was one last thing that had to be done. Even then, there was no guarantee they would ever be fine again, but they still had to do it.

The demon came at night like he always did, strutting through the deep shadows formed by the trees that were considerably bigger than when he’d first walked the same path. Leading with his erect cock, arrogant and cocky, eager and horny, hunting the fuck he was confident would be waiting for him.

Hidden by the deepest shadows, Dougal watched and appreciated the form, even though he figured it would be for the last time. The demon had always been a physical match for them in size and strength. It was tempting to take what the demon was offering, and Dougal knew he probably would’ve done, except there were words burning the back of his throat that had to be said, and the demon never stuck around afterward for conversation.

Which meant the words had to come first—the words that would sever it all. Dougal rolled the demon stone in the pocket of his huge overcoat and then stepped into the dim light of the moon.

“Your hunt is over, Asmodeus.” Dougal could see the use of his name shocked the demon king. In his bid to be the mate his demon deserved, Dougal never used it, preserving Asmodeus’s need for secrecy. “I want you to shift.”

“Why?” Asmodeus looked around as if worried others might see him. “We’ve never done anything in that way before. I haven’t got a lot of time—”

“Shift!” Dougal hardened his voice even as the confusion on Asmodeus’s human face tugged at his heart. “Shift and face me in your true form. I have words your demon needs to hear.”

Asmodeus held up his hands. “If this is a bad time, I can come back—”

“Shift, damn you, and face me, demon!”

The shift came, the demon form towering over Dougal’s human one, fully embodying the king he’d grown to be. There was an aside, a part of Dougal’s brain that could glory in how powerful their mate had become, but Dougal quickly squashed it.

“We have no need for words between us, troll.” Asmodeus came closer, reaching for him.

“This time there will be words.” Dougal scowled as he held up his hand, the demon stone glowing against his fingers. “This tree,” he patted the bark of the tree shielding them, “this one was a mere seed when you first hunted me out. Do you remember?”

The demon took a step back, his head tilted slightly to one side. “It’s a tree. A tree like many others here. Big. Strong. Healthy. Capable of taking the weight of our bodies when we smash them together.”

Dougal snorted. “You have a one-track mind, Asmodeus. It’s on me that I failed to see that. Listen carefully to my words because they will not be repeated. I will not join with you again in the shadows. Our bodies will never find pleasure together again if you do not acknowledge what is between us.”

Asmodeus’s glower was likely menacing to others. “You seek to give me an ultimatum? You, of all people. Don’t you know who I am?”

“I’ve always known who you are, even before you knew it yourself,” Dougal snapped back. “You are the king of the demons, ruler of the demon realm… andmy mate. Acknowledge that—give me that, at least.”

The demon was shaking his head before he’d even opened his mouth. “You don’t… you can’t… the scholars haven’t found the… you can’t say that yet!”

“I can and I will.” Dougal took a step closer. “I’ve always known you are my mate, the same way as I know you are king, the same way I know now, in this moment, how little I mean to you. See this face?” He waved his hand in a circular motion in front of his face. “Look long and hard. See the pain in my eyes? See what your rejection of me and who I am to you has done.”

“I have never rejected you.”

“You have never acknowledged our bond. Not once to others, not once to me.”

“The others…” The demon looked around again even though Dougal knew their only witnesses were the trees. “I can never stay long. They will miss me. Surely you understand this. I have a realm to rule,” he begged.

“And so do I.” Dougal held up his hand—the one with the stone. “Will you acknowledge, under these trees, that you are my mate, as I am your blissful one? Will you acknowledge that, at least between us, that we have a bond with each other that we’ll never find with another because we are always meant to be?”

The demon stood like a statue, his eyes boring into Dougal’s, the dark orbs black and filled with an emotion Dougal couldn’t decipher. Or maybe there was nothing there at all. The moment stretched out, hanging heavily between them.

“I guess your silence is answer enough,” Dougal said at last, fighting to make sure his voice didn’t break. “There will be no more trysts between us. I will no longer be your dirty secret, your casual fuck, your stress release on those days you can’t handle the realm you rule. Should you ever wish to be with me again, then you will come to me, and you will finally say the words my heart has waited a hundred lifetimes to hear. You will acknowledge the fated bonds we share that you’ve disregarded so callously thus far.”

“Dougal…”

Dougal’s heart leaped at hearing his name for the first time on his demon’s lips. He waited—was this finally it—but the demon’s jaw snapped shut, and if anything it tightened.

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