“You mean I’m his only daughter.” Reiya giggled.
“Have you seen Adam and Susan? They were supposed to come over for dinner, but I haven’t heard from them. I guess I can understand why now.” Kristen smiled.
“They’re both at the pack house. Brody is here, too. You should go say hi to him. Also, my Lee is here. He’s in the middle of being interrogated.” Reiya bit her bottom lip and smiled.
“Oh! And you just left him there to be eaten alive? Don’t worry, I’ll save him.” Kristen looked toward the pack house and stomped off determinedly before Reiya could say anything.
“Well, I guess my cover is about to be blown.” Reiya stuck her tongue out and winked at Xander.
“You have a nice family here, Reiya. This looks like it was a great place to grow up.” Xander looked around and breathed in the refreshing air. It wasn’t as pure as his mountain air, but it was still nice.
“It was a great place to grow up. But now, it’s WE have a nice family here. You’re part of my family now, Xander. You know that, right? We aren’t just being nice. We really feel that way.” Reiya watched as Xander stared off in the distance, nodding his head, a small smile on his face. “Besides, we’re rocking the dragon kingdom now.”
Freja suddenly tensed up. She scanned over everyone, looking for the one person she was concerned about. She wasn’t here. She watched as Kristen walked up to Hunter, who was talking with Levi. An intense feeling of dread spread over her, her senses tingling with a familiar presence, one that had her on full alert. She closed her eyes and focused quickly, needing to concentrate. Something was about to happen. She breathed in the scent shewas looking for and began to hunt. This time, she was hunting for Reiya.
Reiya dropped to her knees as a heavy existence pushed itself into her mind. Xander’s arms were around her immediately. He kept calling out to her, but her eyes went dark. She was deep in her subconscious.
In a swift blur, another presence was at Reiya’s side. Xander looked up to see Freja kneeling in front of her, panting heavily.
“Damn it, he’s already gotten to her.” Freja clenched her teeth. She looked at Xander. “You have to reach her.”
“What’s going on?” Xander listened as more mad scrambles made it to them. Levi sat behind Reiya, pulling her into his chest, and Hunter knelt down next to Freja. Brody and Chasen were also there, all of them focused on Reiya.
“It’s Mephisto. I felt his presence for a moment, but it’s cloaked again.” Freja looked at Hunter, worried. “Maybe Xander can reach her? She must be communicating with him.”
Lee snarled loudly. “Mephisto? One of the original demons? Well, that’s just perfect.” He knew Mephisto would be a strong opponent. Things were not going to be easy if he was involved.
“I can try to pull her out,” Xander said, intently focused on their connection and how he could bring her back.
Meanwhile …
Reiya scanned the darkness. A thick presence hung in the air, making it hard to breathe. She looked out defiantly into the blackness. “What do you want?”
“Where is your fear?” a deep voice hissed.
His voice resounded with power, and there was an evil air that shot chills down her spine. Still, this jerk had invaded her mind. “No place you can find it,” she spat back angrily.
A dark, sinister chuckle crept through the air. “Maybe my son did have the right idea. You aren’t what I expected you to be.”
“Your son?” Reiya’s breath caught in her chest as she heard those glass-shattering words.
“Yes, well, the one you killed. I can see now he had the right idea. Just not enough ambition. Pity.”
“What do you mean, the right idea? You mean with this war?” Reiya was hoping that was what he was talking about.
A deep cackle echoed in Reiya’s mind as a presence walked forward. It was a man with bulging muscles, black beady eyes, and raven-black hair. He smiled at Reiya. “Well, that too.” His eyes looked over her form, and a creepy smile rose over his face. “You are a very strong fairy princess. Such a waste to only belong to the fairy realm. Too much of a waste, in fact.”
“Who are you?” Reiya looked at the man in defiance.
“I am Mephisto. An original demon. And you … you are going to be my toy. It’s the least you can do for killing my son.”
Reiya scoffed and folded her arms over her chest. “How revolting.”
“Abaas was right. Mixing our blood with yours will create powerful offspring. An opportunity I can’t let go to waste.”
“Sorry, I’m already taken. I have a mate.”
“You might be already taken, but your womb is not. And that’s what I’m interested in.” Mephisto took a few steps closer to Reiya, who held her ground. She locked her gaze on him with unrelenting determination. “And that mate of yours? Yes, Leviathan. Mm-hmm, I know. Don’t worry. I’ll be taking care of him soon. We can’t have a nuisance like him around, ruining our love affair.”
