Page 14 of Imbalance
Muttering under my breath, I put my hands over my eyes and peeked out of them, only to come face to chest with gorgeous, tan skin that was covered in blood. My head fell back as I stared into one of the most ruggedly handsome faces I'd ever seen. His jawline was covered in the same dark hair that sat messily on top of his head, the red undertones making him appear on fire, and his dark eyes seemed to be nearly black, making my skin break out in goosebumps.
My mouth opened to say something as his kicked up into a smirk, making a scar on the right side of his upper lip noticeable. That was the last thing I noticed, though...before he kissed me.
CHAPTER SIX
Jace
I'd expected a lot when meeting my mate...being punched in the face was not one of them.
An authentic laugh rumbled from my chest as I went from having her body pressed into mine while I kissed her soft, pouty lips to being pinned to the ground after someone punched me hard enough that I'd heard a crunch from my nose.
A sharp metal object was now resting against my throat, and when I looked up, despite the blood pooling on my face, I found a pure-blood Reaper staring down at me with disdain. Immediately, I found myself grinning at the blatant jealousy and anger on his face.
Fuck this guy.
"Drayven." An elegant, tanned hand with long fingers that were currently covered in mud tugged on his arm hard enough that he finally looked away from me. It was all I needed to roll over and stand up, taking the opportunity to shift through space and grab my mate.
When we reappeared, we were nearly ten feet away from the group, and her firm, curvy frame—namely, her ass—was pressed up against my cock. Damn it, I really had wanted to make a better impression than this, but my clothes were back in the forest, and I didn't trust these men to not try to take this glorious woman away from me.
I didn't know why they were all together, but nothing good could come from a hybrid woman being surrounded by pure-bloods, let alone when that woman was my mate. Possessiveness, lust, and affection all rippled through me, along with a sense of concern for her well-being as she shivered, her entire body drenched to the bone and covered in mud.
That was fine. I could find her a fresh change of clothes and a hot bath. Or just a hot bath and she could be naked. I would love that.
My eyes ran over her face, and I caught her peering up at me curiously, a blush invading her cheeks as her pink eyes turned darker in shade. Her magic was so unique, and she was even more powerful than most hybrids I knew, the mixture of her clear Succubus heritage paired with…? I examined her appearance, and while I was really good at telling which lines each hybrid was from, I wouldn't lie: she was throwing me for a loop.
"Can you let me go?" she asked, her voice somehow full of both strength and softness. She wasn't afraid of me like many were, but she did seem a bit confused. Did she not realize we were mates?
"No."
I never said I was good at compromising.
A Wraith appeared in front of us, his cold, blue eyes examining me with vague disinterest before inspecting my mate's jaw. Had he been worried she had been hit in the scuffle? I would never have let that happen.
A growl rose from my chest as I tugged my mate back into my arms and she stilled, a worried sound coming from her throat at the look the Wraith offered me.
"I highly suggest you don't pull Ama away from me. Ever." His words were threatening, but I wasn't scared of him. My nose pressed against my mate's neck. Ama. What a gorgeous name.
"Adrien," her voice was soft, "I suggest we talk this through before escalating..."
"You don't touch my mate," I responded sharply to this Adrien bastard.
"Fucking hell!" The brown-haired Incubus asshole threw up his hands and slouched on the ground. "I give up. Everyone is Ama's fucking mate."
Ama shrank down, flinching, and tried to blank the emotions from her face, making me suddenly furious at the asshole who had made her feel that way. The Fallen Angel offered the Incubus a disinterested look. "Nico, shut the fuck up."
"Oh," Ama mumbled in surprise at the man’s words.
There was a knife against my throat once again, and I stilled, the blade cold and hard against my skin, the person behind me clearly very confident in what they were doing. The voice almost sounded bored when it said, "Let her go. Now."
I looked down at my mate as she offered me a small, hesitant smile. I dropped my hands from her, and she was immediately pulled into a Hellhound's arms, his chest producing a rumble I tried to not echo. I was better than that...sort of. Not really. My primal side desperately wanted to claim her.
"Who the hell are you?" the Hellhound asked, his voice dark and angry.
Did I tell them? I wasn't in the business of informing pure-bloods of anything we fucking did. I glanced at Ama, who was staring at me with curiosity, her face bright pink, as she very purposefully kept her eyes up, reminding me I was naked.
"Let me get dressed first," I ground out. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable.
The person behind me, a Dark Elf, guessing from his runes, stepped away. I immediately strode towards the tree line, knowing they had nowhere to go other than off that cliff, and that wasn't happening.
