Darkyn's Mate (#3, Rhyn Eternal) (11 page)

Shaking her head, she pulled out a t-shirt
and jeans, tossing them on the bed. She reached for the band around
her neck securing the dress.

The sound of someone in the hallway made her
freeze. The footsteps were soft, but it sounded like more than one
person. Her thoughts went to Darkyn but her instincts warned her it
wasn’t him. She didn’t fully understand the demon senses that
Darkyn indicated were part of her now. But if they told her she was
in danger, she was going to listen.

She tiptoed to the closet and slid inside,
peeking through the slats of the door. Two large men entered. Red
tattoos flashed on their bodies, indicating they were Immortals.
They were dressed more like Gabriel than the Immortals she met at
Rhyn’s.

Death dealers.

The demon side of her recognized what they
were, even if the human side didn’t. The idea that Gabriel’s people
were there brought confusion. If he knew she was there, wouldn’t he
come himself? Her instincts were at full alarm, but she didn’t
understand what she had to fear from Gabriel’s death dealers.

Unless more than Harmony had betrayed
Gabriel. She recalled how his former right hand dealer had turned
traitor. Deidre sank back into the closet. She began to steady her
breathing and focus, so she could draw a portal when they were
gone.

One of them entered the bedroom, cold eyes
taking in the surroundings. He walked farther in, appearing to be
listening.

Deidre held her breath and hoped her
heartbeat wasn’t as loud to him as it was to her. He neared the
closet, and she pushed herself back into the clothing. He moved
faster than she was able to follow. The crack of the wooden door
registered a short second before his hand gripped her throat. She
was hauled out of the closet and tossed on the bed.

“Found her!” the death dealer called.

“Anyone else?”

The death dealer looked at her. “You
alone?”

She swallowed hard and nodded. His gaze
lingered then went over her body. The familiar light appeared.

“Kin, Anyone else?” the other dealer asked
again.

“No,” Kin answered.

“I’ll let Harmony know.”

Deidre’s hope sank. So they weren’t there on
Gabriel’s behalf but on Harmony’s. Deidre had no bad interactions
with the death dealer, but she suspected anyone who betrayed
Gabriel wouldn’t be interested in helping her.

“Up. Come on,” Kin said, motioning to the
hallway.

Deidre rose and crossed her arms, walking
ahead of him into the living area. A portal was open, and the
second death dealer was waiting. Deidre’s heart beat hard. She
could summon Darkyn, though she feared his reaction to her leaving
more than what these people would do to her.

Kin stood right behind her, way too close
for her comfort. One of his hands brushed her hip then
returned.

“Sexy little thing, isn’t she?” he murmured.
He walked around her, trailing his hand around her midsection.

Deidre tried to ignore him, afraid reacting
would only draw more attention to herself. He touched her hair and
the sensitive skin around her neck. She flinched away as his
fingers rested on the clasp of her dress.

“Fangs?” the other dealer asked, frowning.
He was older, in his mid-thirties, and the light took longer to
appear in his eyes than it had the younger man.

Kin’s hand rested against the bare skin at
the small of her back then continued south. Deidre stepped
away.

“Hey,” Harmony said, stepping through the
portal. “You got her.”

“You didn’t tell me she’s fucking hot,” Kin
said. He took Deidre’s arm and pulled her against him, rubbing his
hips against her backside.

Panic was beginning to set in. Darkyn gave
her the power to seduce without the knowledge on how to turn off
its effects, if it was even possible. The second dealer was moving
closer, and she couldn’t free herself from the thick arm wrapped
around her.

She strained against him. He snatched her
neck and squeezed until her ability to breathe was hindered. Deidre
went still.

“Stop it,” Harmony said. “Something’s not
right here.” She looked Deidre up and down with assessing green
eyes. “Turn her around.”

Without releasing her neck, Kin spun her and
locked the arm around her body again. Deidre felt Harmony’s light
touch as the death dealer brushed her hair aside.

“Shit,” the dealer murmured. “This isn’t the
right girl. You were supposed to grab Gabe’s mate, not
Darkyn’s.”

“Darkyn’s?” Kin asked, uneasiness replacing
the glow in his eyes.

“Get rid of her,” Harmony ordered. “Take her
soul and brain. Darkyn can read either to find out who grabbed her.
We’ll make it look like the Immortals did it.”

“Can I have a little fun first?”

“I don’t give a shit but make it fast.
Darkyn can track her. If she’s here, it’s because she’s allowed to
be here.”

“I’m due back in two minutes,” Deidre
voiced.

“Even has a sexy little purr,” Kin said,
lust crossing his features. “I only need one.”

He dragged her by the neck down the hallway.
Deidre choked. He threw her on the bed again. Her eyes watered, and
she coughed. The death dealer stripped off his shirt and weapons to
display a muscular body.

Deidre rolled off the bed, darting for the
hallway. He snatched her around the waist and laughed, dragging her
onto the bed with him. She struggled. The dealer slapped her hard
enough to daze her. He placed a knife at her neck. It bit into her
skin, and she gasped, afraid to move. Kin shoved her knees a part
and yanked up her dress. His face glowed with frenzied need while
he worked quickly to unzip his pants.

She whispered the first name that came to
mind.

“Darkyn.”

Deidre sucked in a deep breath, praying the
demon lord answered the summons.

“One of Harmony’s men.”

Kin froze at the inhuman growl. Deidre
squeezed her eyes closed, not wanting to see Darkyn response and
afraid his anger might be directed at her.

“Did he see your markings, love?” Darkyn
asked.

“No,” the dealer said, scrambling off her.
“My apologies, my lord.”

Deidre released her breath as the knife
left. She opened her eyes. Darkyn’s dark gaze was on her, not the
dealer. She didn’t feel him rifling through her thoughts, but she
sensed it was what he did. Her blood stirred at the sight of his
lean frame. Smaller than the dealer, he nonetheless radiated quiet
power. And the sweet scent of his blood made her gums itch.

The demon lord glanced at the dealer and
tilted his head to the side. The death dealer snatched his shirt
and left quickly.

Darkyn held out a hand to her. Deidre took
it, shaken by the experience. She met his gaze then looked away
quickly. His scent and warmth only made her panic increase. Deidre
braced herself for his violent reaction or words. The demon lord
released her hand, silent, with her standing before him. He lowered
his head and nudged hers aside, nipping at her neck. His growl
turned to a purr.

Surprised by the intimate motion that seemed
meant to comfort her, Deidre glanced up at him before nuzzling his
neck. The scent of his blood made her mouth water, and she breathed
him in.

“You’re not angry at me?” she whispered.

“If I didn’t want you leaving, I’d close the
portals,” he replied. “You summoning me shows you’ve begun to
accept your place, love. If anything, I am satisfied, or will be,
after I deal with the death dealers.”

“What will you do to them?” she asked.

“Do you want to know?”

“They didn’t hurt me,” she said, not wanting
to think about what he planned to do.

Darkyn touched her neck. She flinched. His
fingers came away with blood.

“Stay here.” He stepped away from her and
strode through the doorway. He closed the doorway behind him.

Deidre’s insides shook. She sat on the bed,
panicking silently. At any minute, she’d hear him tear them apart
and then, she’d freak out.

No sounds came from the living area. He had
almost been kind, or at least, as kind as he was capable of being.
She waited, wishing she’d never come. Wishing she’d gone somewhere
other than here.

She waited for Darkyn to return but was too
scared of what he was capable of doing to open the door and see the
damage.

Deidre.
The summons came.

She stood, terrified of what she’d find when
she went to the living room. Granted, she hadn’t heard anything,
but she knew Darkyn well enough to know he didn’t plan on leaving
anyone alive.

Deidre hugged herself and padded down the
hallway, her heart flipping in her chest. She was expecting to see
some gruesome scene like that in the second bedroom caused by
Darkyn’s demons a week ago or what he’d done to his own demons who
tried to drink her blood in Hell.

What she saw was worse.

“Gabriel,” she breathed.

Death was a dark, towering, muscular figure
in the living area of her apartment, clothed in black and wearing
an expression that mirrored what she felt. He was armed but hadn’t
yet replaced the trench coat she cost him soon after they met. His
dark eyes swept over her, lingering at her neck, where her wound
had healed with Darkyn’s power.

“Deidre?” he faced her fully. “You’re
alive.”

She nodded, unable to speak. Her heart was
breaking again or maybe, her hope crumbling. She wasn’t certain
what to feel: angry at Darkyn for setting her up or sorrow at
facing the mate she’d never have.

Gabriel was speechless for a long
moment.

“What the fuck is going on?” he
demanded.

She jumped at the harsh words. She glanced
at Darkyn, who was still. Silent. Watching. She fought the urge to
cross to him. This felt like another of his tests or maybe, his way
of closing another door.

Gabriel’s eyes were on her.

“I, um, made a deal with Darkyn. I went to
Hell and …” she drifted off. She crossed her arms, close to
panicking. First the death dealers attacking her, now Gabriel.

“…
had the tumor removed
which happened to be Past-Death’s soul. Darkyn brought Past-Death
back, fulfilling their mystery-deal, and you were at the mercy of
Darkyn,” Gabriel finished for her.

She nodded. “As his mate.”

“His
mate.
” His disbelief was
clear.

He started towards her. Deidre skirted away,
placing the recliner between them. Darkyn had tensed at Gabriel’s’
movement. Though the demon lord didn’t move from his spot, she was
afraid of causing any sort of confrontation between them.

“I just want to see the mating marks. That’s
it,” Gabriel said.

She hesitated and glanced at Darkyn. He
didn’t move.

She nodded at Gabriel.

“You okay?” Gabriel asked in a hushed
voice.

Another nod.

Gabriel stretched towards her slowly. Deidre
braced herself, hoping not to feel the warm energy of his magic.
She didn’t feel ready for it yet. It was hard enough for her to
stand before him, knowing they could’ve been together.

He took her arm with one of the hands that
had explored every part of her body not two weeks before. He tugged
her out from behind the chair then turned her gently. He pushed her
hair over one shoulder, and his hands dropped. No warm magic
drifted through her. Was she glad or upset?

“Gods, Darkyn,” he muttered, astonished.

Deidre looked at the demon lord. Darkyn’s
eyes were on Gabriel.

“I win this round,” Darkyn said, a faint
smile on his face.

She recalled how much he loved to conquer.
Right now, he was savoring a victory.

“Double bond. You weren’t about to take a
chance that you lose her,” Gabriel said, sounding baffled.

Gabriel turned her to face him again. Deidre
looked up at him, trembling. She couldn’t decipher what he had to
be feeling. He seemed mainly angry.

His attention fell again to the blood on her
neck, caused when one of his death dealers attacked her.

“Tell me Darkyn did that to you, and I’ll
fucking destroy him,” he said.

Deidre shook her head, a smile slipping
free. He cared. As much as he tried not to show her, he really did.
She wished she’d realized that a few days earlier, before it was
too late to matter.

She’d tried to hide her fangs from him, but
smiling brought his attention to them. She pressed her lips
together for a moment.

“One of your death dealers attacked me,” she
told him.

“What?”

“I came here to … visit,” she said with a
quick glance at Darkyn. “They found me.”

“Followed her,” Darkyn corrected. “Your
doing, Gabriel?”

“Of course not,” Gabriel snapped.

“Harmony was with them,” Deidre added.

“The bitch betrayed me
to
you,
Darkyn.
Which means this could be your doing,” Gabriel pointed
out.