Page 25 of Demons In My Head: Exposing the Exiled
I froze, my heart thundering in my chest as I strained my ears to hear what had caught his attention. Snake suddenly set off an alarm through our shared link. Something was wrong.
His eyes met mine, and he slowly removed his hand from my mouth, pressing a finger to his own lips in a silent command to stay quiet. The playful lover from moments ago had vanished, replaced by a warrior's intensity that reminded me that, beneath his gentle demeanor, Jasper was still a demon.
The silence in the room felt oppressive, broken only by the sound of my shallow breathing. Jasper's gaze was fixed on something beyond my shoulder, toward the window. I wanted desperately to turn and look, but his subtle head shake kept me still.
A shadow passed across the wall—something that shouldn't have been possible, given we were several stories up. My fingers dug into Jasper's shoulders as fear crept up my spine. Whatever was out there, it wasn't human, and given everything we'd justdiscovered about Asrael, I had a sinking feeling our moment of peace was about to be shattered.
"We need to move," Jasper said, already pulling on his shirt. "Something isn't right."
I was still trying to wrap my head around everything that had just happened between us when the first alarm blared through the club. The sound pierced through my post-orgasmic haze like a bucket of ice water.
"Fuck." I scrambled off the bed, searching for my clothes. "How did he find us so fast?"
The mate bond pulsed between us, fresh and raw, making it hard to focus on anything else. But the steady wail of the security system demanded attention. The sound of scurrying little feet overhead was the only warning I got before Snake launched himself out of the vent in the ceiling, landing right on the bed. He was chittering up a storm as his tail actually pulsed with agitation.
“Thanks, Snake. We’re going to go check it out now. Stay close but out of sight, got it?” I pinned the little creature with a stern look, waiting for the responding chitters of disagreement; he loved to argue. So I allowed it and continued dressing while Snake squirrel-cussed at me. Ultimately, he’d follow orders like the dutiful little nut prince he was.
Jasper was suddenly there, helping me with my boots. "It's not just Scorpio's men out there." His voice was tight with concern. "I can sense... something's different."
"Different, how?"
Before he could answer, the alarms cut out. The silence that followed was somehow worse than the noise. My skin prickled with a warning.
"Palmer." Jasper's eyes met mine, glowing that ethereal green. "I need you to be prepared for what we might see out there." At my nod, he continued, "Scorpio's abilities far exceed mine."
"Great pep talk," I muttered, but my heart was racing.
Jasper grabbed my hand. "Ready?"
I squeezed his fingers, drawing strength from our connection. "Ready."
We moved to the door, and I couldn't help but think that whatever was waiting for us out there, at least we were facing it together. The mate bond thrummed between us, a reminder that everything had changed in the span of a few hours.
But nothing could have prepared me for what we found when we got down to the club level.
Chapter six
Misha
Inever thought I'd be back here. Back in this cursed castle…
Sure, I'd imagined it more times than I could count. Pictured all the ways I'd get justice for the atrocities that Jasper went through, for what all of us had been through. And now, here we were.
I could practically taste the blood I planned to spill, and my fingers danced softly against the hilts of my blades, which were tucked safely against my thighs.
I continued to move through the shadowy underbelly of the castle, my senses on high alert. The damp, musty air clung to my skin, a constant reminder of the years of neglect these tunnels had endured. My brothers and Elara followed close behind, our footsteps echoing softly against the stone walls.
As we navigated the labyrinthine passages, my mind wandered to Palmer. The weight of Rhodes' words hung heavy in the air between us, and I found myself stealing glances at my brother, searching for any sign of deception. The guilt that followed these thoughts was immediate and suffocating. How could I doubt Rhodes after all we'd been through together?
Yet, the seed of suspicion had been planted, and it refused to be ignored. The picture of her outside of the club that night with that rat, and then she just up and took off, like nothing we’d been through mattered. I clenched my jaw, frustrated by the internal conflict raging within me. Rhodes had always been the strategist, the one with the plan. But now, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to his story than he was letting on.
My gaze shifted to Elara, her presence a stark reminder of the oath that bound us together. If a stranger in another realm could cry out the words of the sacred oath so many years after we'd been banished, how could I doubt Rhodes? I couldn't, it was unacceptable! But then dark hair in a high ponytail flashed through my head, a set of deep blue eyes staring into my irredeemable soul, soft, small hands upon my skin… It was then that I realized I felt the same bond with Palmer.
The realization hit me like a physical blow. To doubt either of them made me feel sick to my stomach, and I hated every second. I didn't like anyone except my brothers. It had always been that way. So why did I feel this connection to Palmer? Why did her face keep appearing in my mind, even now, as we ventured deeper into enemy territory?
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. This wasn't the time for such distractions. We had a mission to complete, and I couldn't afford to let my guard down. But as we pressed on through the darkness, I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps I was changing. If maybe, just maybe, there was room in my heart for someone other than my brothers.
The tunnel began to widen, and I held up a hand, signaling the others to stop. Ahead, I could make out a doorway, and we heard faint voices. We had reached our destination. As I moved forward to investigate, I pushed aside my conflicting emotions. There would be time to sort through these feelings later. Fornow, we had a score to settle, and I intended to see it through to the bitter end.
