“I can hear you, Chasen.” Hunter smiled lazily as he shifted into a sitting position. He reached over and grabbed Freja’s arm, pulling her into his lap. Just thinking that Kali would kill her had his protective instincts raging. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his head in her neck to soothe himself.
“What happened?” Levi asked, looking at Hunter for a moment.
“My head feels heavy,” Xander said as he rubbed it. He looked at Lee holding Reiya. “Oh I see … there’s no one to hold me. Well, don’t be asking to hold me later then.” Xander sat up and looked at Reiya’s closed eyes. Her body shifted into Lee’s embrace as she pressed her face into his chest.
Suddenly, Reiya launched herself up and was now sitting on Lee’s lap. She looked around rapidly and relaxed as she found both Xander and Hunter. The tension in her shoulders released and she exhaled slowly.
She leaned her head back and groaned. “I am so over this chapter in my life. Someone just tell me when it’s over?” Reiya pouted and buried her head in Lee’s arm.
Brody was inching closer to Reiya now. It put him on edge when he felt like he couldn’t protect her. He wanted to hold her close, but that wasn’t happening with Levi around. He was practically snarling if anyone got too close.
“Everything is going to be okay, Reiya.” Xander looked at Hunter then. “Everything is going to be just fine.” He was saying this to Hunter as well.
“Someone please explain things for the rest of us?” Lee tightened his arms around Reiya and pulled her deeper into his chest. His eyes were now pinned on Xander, looking for answers.
“Looks like another demon is after our sister again,” Hunter said, looking up at Chasen and Brody. Hunter squeezed his arms tighter around Freja. “The original demon Mephisto has decided to claim Reiya for himself now.”
Lee let out a low, deadly snarl hearing that. Mephisto was a real threat. Not like Abaas, who he could have killed just by looking at him. He looked down at Reiya to see her eyes open with a small frown on her face. “Are you okay? I’m not going to let him touch you,” he cooed to her gently.
“He said he was going to kill you.” Reiya looked up at Lee. “But if he does that, he can’t have me anyway. I never felt more relieved to know that I’ll go when you go.” Reiya smiled up at Lee, who frowned at her.
“What do you mean by that?” Chasen asked quietly while Brody looked into his brother’s brown eyes.
“Reiya and Levi’s lives are linked together. If one of them dies, then they both will die.” Brody could see the immediate agitation in Chasen’s eyes, but a look from Hunter calmed him down. It was a look that said they would talk more about it later.
Lee smiled as he looked down at Reiya. “You’re writing me off as dead already, are you now? You really think I’ll let that sloppy demon get the best of me?”
Reiya smiled into his light blue eyes.
“Were you afraid? I know his appearance is terrifying.” Freja looked over to Reiya who turned around to look at her.
“He came to me in his human form.” Reiya tilted her head, not knowing what his true form was.
“That is disgusting.” Freja shook her head, scowling. “He wanted you to envision him in his human form because …”
“Yeah … he made it quite clear what he wanted me for,” Reiya said, and Lee held her tighter.
“I’ll be the one ripping him apart.” Lee’s eyes darkened and he growled lowly. She was his. His possession. His mate. He would protect what was his.
“So Mephisto pulled Reiya into a mental realm? Why?” Jin asked quietly.
“I think he was sizing me up. He was curious as to what type of person I was … I guess he liked what he saw.” Reiya frowned again. If only she had acted meeker.
“Why were you two taken there?” Chasen asked, his gaze flicking between Hunter and Xander.
“Selene and Kali brought us there to protect Reiya’s mental presence, since we’re both connected to her.” Xander shrugged.
“I’m connected to her, too. So why wasn’t I taken there?” Brody said in agitation. He was her guardian. He should have been there with her.
Xander shrugged again. He couldn’t exactly say the real reason. But Levi was studying him hard out of the corner of his eye.Damn. He was already suspicious.
Xander cleared his throat. “Anyway, I think we should all be on high alert. I have a feeling that we’re going to see trouble soon.”
“I think so too.” Hunter frowned. He hated keeping this secret from Freja. But if she knew he was risking his life just to protect hers, she would be livid. It wasn’t just that reason, though. Reiya had decided on her own that she would help out the Moon Goddess. He would go just to protect Reiya. In either case, he didn’t want Freja worrying about it. There was nothing that could change what had to happen. For now, they just needed to concentrate on winning the demon war. That would be difficult enough.
“We get rid of one psycho and end up with another. Sounds about right.” Brody chuckled as he shook his head. He wrapped his arm around Chelsie, who had been standing there quietly. “I’m not sure if this needs to be said, but I’m going to say it anyway. You’re not fighting. There isn’t a discussion to be had here.” Brody felt Chelsie’s muscles tense as she turned to look at him with a frown. He had a feeling that was what was going through her mind.
“I can’t not be there,” Chelsie said desperately.
