Chapter 62
BENEATH HER DARKNESS: The Alpha's Little Demon
062 â Demon Lesson 101 Note: ***Any conversation with [ ] is in a demonâs tongue/language, so Adan will have no idea what the conversation is all about***
LUCY.
I didnât mean to kill the dungeon keeper, but the moment I saw Adan chained up to the wall, rage surged within my body. I wanted to crush everyone around us, and the keeper was the closest thing in my grasp.
âThen Iâll keep killing anyone that touches him,â I answered nonchalantly as I moved in front of where Adan was seated.
Adan wasnât making any noise while I was dealing with the keepers except when he tried to growl at the other prisoners who were gawking and whistling at me earlier.
He was quiet â either he was scared or my mate was fascinated. I was assuming it was the latter. Adan was not the type of man who was easily frightened.
âIâm warning you, Lucija. You will face my wrath if...â
I didnât hear the rest of Lucienâs words as sparks ignited from my ankle to every part of my body, centering on my core. Adanâs fingers were skimming against my skin in such a sensual way that if he didnât stop soon, everyone would smell my arousal.
âRemove his chain, and I promise you there will be no more casualties from your keepers.
âLucija, you donât have any right to negotiate.â
âI surely do. Look at this.â I stepped forward, and although I missed Adanâs touch on my skin, I needed to take action.
I turned my body around and gripped Adanâs forearm before tugging it hard, away from the wall. The chain clattered. Adan didnât even flinch when the shackle tightened on his skin and the chain pulled his wrist back, but I faked a gasp before I showed Lucien my wrist. A bruise formed on it. âThis is cruelty toward a royal princess. punishable by death or revocation of the royal title. And besides, scars and bruises acquired in this realm never fade from our skin. Would you like everyone to see how cruel you are to your own daughter?â
â[You are trying to outsmart me.]â He spoke to me in our demon tongue, and I assumed he didnât want Adan to hear us.
â[Iâm not. What are you scared of, Father?
Alpha Stone will never be able to leave this realm without your approval. Like all supernatural beings that you held hostage in the underworld. He cannot shift into his wolf. Heâll be useless in an uprising. So why are you threatened?â]
â[Heâs useless, and yet you still want him.]â
â[I do. For now. I donât know if I will still like him tomorrow. Thereâs nothing we can do about him at the moment. You hurt him, you hurt me. You kill him, you kill me. So at least, let me have my fill of him, Father.]â
â[And when youâre tired of him?]â
I shrugged my shoulders at the same time Adan yawned, and I had to keep myself from bursting into laughter. I was bargaining with his life, and he was getting bored to death. â[
I had no idea. We can feed him to the orms, but then I will also die a terrible death.]â
â[Youâre stupid to bind your life to him.]â
â[Thatâs what love can do, Father.]â I mocked him.
He scoffed and laughed loudly. â[Love? Youâre referring to lust. I needed to find the witch that did this to you. Give me her name.]
11 â[I donât know her name. But she has wild, curly hair and a pointed nose.]â Everything was the exact opposite of Althea.
âMove...â Lucien spoke in human language, and I didnât question him. I was hoping he would not force an answer from Adan.
âStone, did you like my kingdom?â He asked as he crouched in front of him.
âYes...â Adan answered in a calm tone as if he were not naked and sweating.
âI didnât expect that.â Lucien scoffed.
âLucy is here, enough reason to like this place.â
My heart fluttered at his words, but I couldnât shriek with giddiness. I needed Adan out of this filthy place before I jumped on him.
âAre you trying to win my daughter over?â
âDoes it matter to you?â
âNo. Give me the witchâs name and tell me where I can find her.â
âIâm not sure what you need the witch for?â
Shit! Adan had no idea our lives were already bonded.
âDoes Lucy know the witchâs name?â
âI assume not.â
My father didnât ask another question but instead pressed his pointer finger into Adanâs forehead, and my breathing stopped. Adan was lying, and if he could read his lies, this meant trouble for everyone.
âWhy the fuck canât I reach your mind?â He snapped at him, his eyes glowing red. 1 My eyes widened before I smirked at him. â Maybe he never lies.â
âWhat have you done, Lucija?â
I shrugged my shoulders, but I already had an inkling that the link between us, had let me share some of my abilities with Adan.
My father could read lies from ordinary demons and humans, and from anyone with a soul except his own blood and those who had royal blood.
âI told you maybe he didnât have a lying bone in his body.â I chuckled.
âI need to find the fucking witch who did this to you!â He roared as he stormed off without any warning.
I threw a glance at Adan, who had his forehead creased. Confusion was written on his face, but I didnât have time to explain to him as I followed after Lucien.
âFather!â I doubled my steps until I was walking beside him. âLet him out of the chain. I promise he will behave.â
âNo! If you think Iâm stupid. Iâm not! Spend time with him in the dungeons if you want to be with him!â He snapped at me, and rage filled my body. I wanted to curse him, but instead, I stopped in my tracks and watched him walk away while formulating my next steps.
The moment he disappeared from my sight, I prepared to turn around to go back to Adan, only for Lucius to appear out of nowhere and block me.
âWhat do you want?â I snapped at him.
âWhere are you going?â He asked back instead of answering.
I rolled my eyes at him and slid to his side, but his hand grabbed my wrist so that I had no choice but to stop walking.
âWhat now?â I asked, shrugging his hand from my wrist.
âListen,â he said in a hushed tone as he inched closer. âNo one around here knew of your connection with the wolf at the dungeon. So if I were you, back off and donât show anyone that heâs important to you.â
âWhat ploy are you trying to play? Did Father ask you to talk to me?â
âYou should know better. When did I let Father control my ways?â
âSo why are you helping me?â
Instead of answering, he smirked at me and held my arm, dragging me away from the dungeons and heading for the flight of stairs that will lead us to the main tower, where we reside. âYou will find out in time, but itâs enough that you know I want Stone out of here.â
âCan I trust you?â I asked him.
âTrust?â He snorted before letting go of my arm as we walked side by side up the staircase. âLesson number one on being a demon: never trust anyone, not even your own blood. Lesson number two: always watch your back. Your brother today might be the one to stab you tomorrow. Lesson number three: no matter how scared these demons are around you, their loyalty will always be to their king, and thatâs not you. Number four: if you want them to follow your order without any questions or doubt, act as if you were always on the kingâs side.â
He stopped walking midway, and it made me halt as well. âThat is why never, ever visit Stone. Do it when Father is not here. Tell them to unchain him and let them bring him to your chamber for punishment. They knew how violent she-demons are when it comes to punishment, so play along.â 1 âBut when does Father leave?â
âSoon. He was determined to find the witch.â
I almost gasped, but I took hold of myself never trust anyone, not even the one who taught me this.
âWhy doesnât he ask someone to look for her?â
âFather takes pride in his own endeavors. Heâll do it himself, especially if itâs something as important as this. So he gets to decide on the spot what to do when he finds her.â
Althea would be in danger.
âJust be calm, and donât bother checking on Stone until Father leaves.â
âBut what if they do something to him?â
âYou will feel it. However, Father forbade anyone from touching him.â
That should be good enough.
âHow about food, and water?â
âOh, Lucija! The wolves made you soft! Heâs a fucking Alpha male! He can survive days without them!â He answered in an annoyed voice as he brushed his hand over his wavy locks.
âAre you sure Father is leaving Kalmerus soon?â
âHeâs not going to wait that long. If he doesnât go tonight, heâll probably leave tomorrow.â He didnât wait for any reply from me.
Lucius gave me a mocking salute and flashed me his usual smug smirk before he disappeared, leaving me in the middle of the stair tower.
I closed my eyes and leaned my back against the wall, contemplating whether I should believe him or not. But every lesson he told me rings through. Everyone would do my bidding more if they knew I was on my fatherâs side. So I had better keep up with that facade.
I let out a deep sigh and continued walking up the stairs even though Angel was whimpering in my head. She wanted to see Adan, but I couldnât risk anything more after I just killed one keeper because of him.
I needed to occupy myself so I would stop thinking about our mate.
Patrea!
I needed to find her. Perhaps she could help Adan get out of here. And I needed to tell her about Althea.
I thought of the place where I would usually see Patrea when I was here two years ago and willed for my body to disappear from here and appear at the location in my head. I blinked, and soon my surroundings changed.