Page 69 of Hellish Fae
Zaviar arches a brow at the demon but doesn’t say anything.
Maverick nods to himself, then squeezes past Zaviar as he exits the room without another word.
“What doesOhmean?” I ask sourly.
The door clicks closed, drawing my attention back to the silhouette of the fallen angel before me.
“Ohmeans you smell like seventy-six different kinds of sex, and none of them smell particularly good to a man who isn’t your mate.”
My mouth drops open as I glare unseen daggers at him.
“I . . . do . . . not . . . smell like that . . .” Do I?
I can’t see Zaviar’s features, but I’m just going to assume he’s giving me that annoyed stare right now. The one that distorts how handsome he could be if he calmed the unending violence inside himself.
“Did you fuck Ryke, too?” he asks slowly.
What the fuck, man! Since when is everyone in my life so fucking rude?
My arms fold, my back stiffening so hard that my wings flash fully out like I’m protecting myself from a predator.
And Zaviar, he truly is a predator.
“You are such an asshole,” I finally whisper.
I cannot believe I felt anything other than frustration for this man.
“I’m asking because,” a heavy sigh exits his lips, but it seems to force him to say it, “I’m asking because Damien thinks you’re his mate. All that psychotic shit he said about killing your brother just to keep you safe, he meant it. And you know it. He’s your mate. So fucking treat him like it. Don’t treat my brother the fucked-up way you treat Krave,” he says with spitting anger.
“You don’t know anything about me and Krave!” I whisper-scream at him, trying to muffle my rage to not wake up the entire house but also trying to get my anger across to the man standing three feet from me.
In a flash of movement, he eats up that safe space between us. He bears down on me with the force of his blazing gaze and rippling muscle.
“I know enough to know that you hurt him the way you’re going to hurt Damien.”
“Krave hurt me first!” I scream. “He fucking—” I swallow hard against the breaking sound of my voice but keep going. “The only reason he met me was to make me love him. He made me fall in love with him because my father instructed him to. My father owns Krave. And therefore, he owns me, in a way.” I blow out the trembling breath caught in my throat, and my chest presses against his with every hard breath I take. “Our relationship is fucked up because our lives are fucked up. Damien isn’t Krave. He . . . he’s sweet. He’s . . . too sweet for his own good.”
My heart hurts as I think about all that.
A warm hand slides around my wrist, and it slowly drifts down to my fingers, toying with them but never sliding through them to reassure me completely.
“You guys should leave. You should keep him away from me,” I whisper with tears threatening my eyes.
“Damien will never fucking allow that, and you know it. And I—” I hang on his words. I don’t know why I want to hear him say he’ll never leave me. It’s irrational of me. “I can’t leave until you change my wings back. I can’t keep walking around like my wings just got their period, Crow.”
A small bubbling laugh builds in my chest and comes out as a shaking gasp.
My fingers lift and slide through the soft feathers along his shoulders. They’re perfect and beautiful even in the darkness.
They’re more flawless than any fae’s I’ve ever touched.
They’re completely godlike.
Even after a year of being a fallen . . .
Which is impossible, even with my sister’s powerful high fae magic.
That can only mean one thing.
