“What makes me so special?” He demanded. “I’m just a nothing human. I have no ties to anyone. I work at shitty jobs and live in crappy motels. Why are you so willing to help me?”
* * * * *
Bel
He stared at his mate, unable to form the words that he needed to say. Bel should have expected the question from Atlas. His mate had proven to have a quick mind along with a depth of curiosity that Bel appreciated.
“Help me understand,” Atlas pleaded. “I want to trust you.”
“I want you to trust me too,” Bel confirmed. They were mates. It should be easy to say. Atlas didn’t know about Bel’s world though. Wouldn’t get the significance of what being mates meant.
“You’re sitting here telling me that demons are good when my entire life I’ve been told the opposite,” Atlas pointed out. “Can you see where I’m coming from?”
“I do.” And Bel could. He was a demon and to humans that meant he must be evil. “I am one of the seven princes of hell. We all have our specialty.”
“To corrupt humans?”
“No. To help punish the evil souls and help the innocent. Who else to better punish an evildoer than an expert in the field?” Bel offered.
“You…” Atlas sat back in his chair with his coffee in his hand.
Noticing that the mug was nearly empty, Bel used his magic to refill it.
Atlas grinned down at his coffee. “Was that you?”
Bel shrugged. He wanted to take care of his tiny mate. Atlas was missing that healthy glow that Bel had seen in some of the mated humans. He could use a few more meals. Luckily that was right up Bel’s alley.
“Thank you.” He sipped as he watched Bel.
“Each demon prince is in charge of a piece of making hell run smoothly,” Bel explained.
“What’s your piece?” Atlas asked.
“It is my department that keeps track of the evil souls. That they are receiving the rightful punishment.”
“Because of your team, the evildoers are getting what they deserve,” Atlas commented as he stared at Bel over the rim of his mug.
Bel tried his best to avoid squirming under those intense blue eyes. Atlas thinking about the words Bel had spoken pleased him. At least his mate was considering Bel’s side of things.
Slowly Atlas nodded. “Okay.”
“Okay?” Bel had to ask.
“I’m willing to adjust my way of thinking,” Atlas told him. “You’ve proven that you do want to help me. I ‘ worried about saying or doing something that might offend you. It won’t be easy to just change my thinking overnight.”
Bel released the tension in his shoulders. “You won’t offend me. Us. Like I said, you won’t be the first human here.” They would have help. And no one was ever going to rock the hell realm like Adam had done. That had taken some getting used to even by Bel, who approved of the changes that Adam had put in place.
“Just how does that work?” Atlas asked.
Bel waved to his plate. “Would you like more?”
Atlas looked down like he was just now realizing he’d finished the fruit. “More fruit, please. I’m saving the croissant for last.”
Waving his hand, Bel had more of the delicious fruit salad materializing.
“Thank you.” Atlas didn’t waste time shoving a forkful into his mouth.
“You are very welcome. To answer your question, it all started with mates being found again.”
