Chapter 10

LUCIFER

“Why is she still asleep?” A roar left him as he slammed his fist into the drywall.

My lips pursed at the action and the massive hole he’d left. Why did they insist on destroying my home?

My eyes jumped to the sleeping figure on the bed. She’d been passed out since that morning.

Even I had to admit I was starting to miss her sassy mouth. Why wasn’t she waking up?

The doctor had checked her and assured us both she and the baby were fine.

But still, she lay there, still as a statue, with only the rise and fall of her chest letting us know she was still breathing.

“Have you tried mind-linking the other mates?” I asked.

Dragging a hand through his hair, he gripped the strands tightly. I’d never seen him so stressed before.

He was usually being annoying with his jokes that weren’t funny. “Yes, no one answered. But Jayden texted me.”

“And where is he?”

“On his way to be just as helpful as you are.” He glared in my direction.

“You know she was perfectly fine until you showed up.”

I smirked. “You think blaming me is going to help you feel better?” I spread my arms wide.

“Have at it then.”

“Don’t think your cockiness is going to save you from my fist or words,” he said, his eyes turning completely black.

Being the first made demon, he was the strongest out of them all. Sometimes his powers even equaled mine.

But right now, he clearly needed a reminder of who was in charge.

“Be sure you want to do this, demon. Because once I start, I won’t stop,” I warned, my eyes turning blood red.

“Enough—we have a problem.” Jayden stormed into the room, his eyes going to the bed.

I still couldn’t get a read on him. Did he want to be Catalina’s mate? Or did he have ulterior motives?

He’d made it obvious he didn’t want the kid. Not knowing made me not trust him.

Which meant I didn’t want him anywhere near Catalina in this state while she was vulnerable.

Plus, there was the whole ordeal about the tattoo. We still weren’t sure if he had one or not.

I stepped closer to the bed. “And what’s the problem?” I asked.

“I checked the whole academy grounds to be sure they’re actually missing. No one has seen or heard anything since the arrival of Athena.”

My eyes shifted to Catalina. Could that be the reason she wasn’t waking up?

Had something bad happened to her other mates with their disappearance, and she sensed it?

“Kol, do you feel anything amiss?” I asked. He glared at me, clearly not over our little spat.

“Out of the three of us, you’re the closest to her other mates.”

“I don’t feel shit.”

“Do you usually feel something?” Jayden followed up with his own question.

He must have caught on like I had.

Kol frowned at the question, his hand going to his chest. “Actually, yes, there’s usually a feeling of awareness. Now there’s nothing.”

His eyes snapped to mine. “Shit, they’re dead.”

Rolling my eyes, I stepped away from the bed. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

Making my way out of the room, I didn’t bother telling them to follow me. It was time I paid my doctor a little visit.

“Where are you going?” I heard the heavy footfalls of him following me.

“I put tracking devices in all of you. I’m going to activate the ones in the others.”

“The hell did you just say?” I could feel the rage in his words.

Demons didn’t like the unknown. And the thought of knowing I put something in him without his permission was no doubt rubbing him the wrong way.

“The first night you all stayed here, I implanted small chips into you while you were sleeping.” I smirked, watching him out of the corner of my eye.

It wasn’t easy sneaking up on the supernatural. Lucky for me, they had just finished a fuck-fest and were dead to the world.

Before he could say more, I barged into my hospital room. Doc was sitting at his desk eating a sandwich.

“I need you to activate chip T49.” That belonged to the dragon. He nodded without question, dropping his sandwich and going to the computer.

Minutes later, he was printing out coordinates. I took them, scanning the area.

How the hell did they end up in Australia?

“Are you sure these are the right coordinates?” I asked.

Nervously, he fixed his glasses. “I’m sure, boss.”

Nodding, I tucked the paper away. “Thank you for your help.”

Kol watched me as I left the room, waiting for me to disclose their location.

I knew that demon better than anyone. The moment I told him, he was sure to do his disappearing act.

“Tracker says they’re in Australia. Considering they’re not answering the mate bond, I’m sure they’re not there by choice. My guess is Athena has them.”

“Fuck! Are you sure that’s right?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “To doubt my workers is to doubt me, demon.”

His eyes blackened. “And what makes you think I won’t doubt you too?”

A snarl ripped from my mouth. “I’m sick of your disobedience.”

“You think I give a fuck about your rank ladder right now? The only thing that matters to me is currently lying in a bed upstairs.”

Taking a step toward me, black shadows rolled off his skin. “And if you or anyone else thinks they’re going to be in my way of helping her because of some fucking rank, just know I’ll gladly go through you.”

A wave of malice hit me, catching me by surprise. Being a first-made demon, he was the strongest one, but this was different. He was different.

“We need to travel there together. If Athena has them, we’ll need strength in numbers to defend ourselves,” Jayden said, appearing out of the dark.

The tension left Kol as quickly as it appeared. He nodded at Jayden. “I can shadow jump us all there when we’re ready.”

It was funny to think that just a couple of days ago he was asking permission to kill him.

“We’ll need weapons first, and someone needs to leave Catalina a note in case she wakes up while we’re gone.” I’d already decided which dagger I’d take with me. “Meet me in the kitchen in thirty.”

Not bothering to wait for their reply, I made my way to the weapons room—one I purposely kept hidden from my unwanted guests and mate.

***

Kol was ten minutes late. I had a strong feeling he was keeping us waiting on purpose—more specifically, me.

The door slid open and he walked in, dressed in all black with a large black backpack on his back. “Sorry I’m late. Was writing my girl a note. Also, I was debating on leaving you both, but lucky for you I realized I don’t have the location.” He grinned. “Let’s get this show on the road, ladies.”

Jayden and I gathered around him. I didn’t show him the coordinates until the shadows were covering us.

The moment I felt myself entering the shadow plane, I slipped my dagger from its pouch. I needed to be prepared for anything.