Xander chose the seat beside him, and Lucy slipped into the space left, the rest of the chairs yet to be unpacked.
“What did I miss?” Jax strolled in with his usual scowl, flicking his eyes between everyone.
“Nothing, Titus was just about to update us about his little issue,” Lucy said, clicking his tongue.
Kace frowned. “You mean the woman?”
“Ti’s been a naughty boy, haven’t you?” He rubbed his hands together like an excited child.
Titus shot him the middle finger, only for Lucy to burst into laughter.
“Touchy, touchy.”
Jax shook his head, moving to lean against the wall beside the table, arms crossed. “Be careful with her Ti, she’s hiding something.”
“She’s fine.” Titus’s growl erupted from his chest, a full vibration pushed from the beast. “She’s a means to an end, and that’s it.”
“Have you seen her necklace?” Jax said. “Because it’s –”
“When the fuck did you see it?” Titus stilled, power uncoiling in his gut so suddenly he held his breath. Rae wore a necklace, but it was usually hidden beneath her t-shirt, and the unsolicited image of her stripped bare for another man flashed across his mind.
Jax blinked, taken back by the hostility. “Fucking hell Ti.”
“Answer the fucking question.” He knew the idea was ridiculous, but he couldn’t seem to drop it, the intrusive thoughts a violent hurricane in his mind.
“The necklace’s an old relic that can only be worn by the blood of a celestrial,” Jax said carefully. “When I approached her, it reacted. There’s more to your human than she’s letting on, brother.”
“Stay the fuck away –” A dark essence bristled against his skin. He could feel it, the black magic growing the angrier he felt, like a glass bottle cracking from inside, ready to burst.
Lucifer’s smile slipped, the chair screeching as he stood. “Ease down, Ti.”
Titus clenched his fists, trying to control the pulsating surge along his arms. He’d gone from calm to an intense craze in seconds. He hadn’t lost himself in years, and there he was, about to shift into his beast, or combust into flames. At that point, he wasn’t sure which would be worse.
Arcane burned his fingertips, growing fast until his entire hands and forearms were encased, and there was no way to stop it.Fuck.
Lucifer appeared in front of him, smoke teasing his legs as he drifted the short space. With a loud rip, wings erupted from his back, taking up almost the entire span of the office, and blocking the view from his brothers.
“Concentrate on me,” he said, voice low enough to only reach Titus. “You need to ease down, or it’s going to consume you.”
Titus’s hearing was a vicious hiss, the oxygen in his lungs nothing but flames. Lightning burned through his veins, pulsating with a power so dark he could taste it.
“You’re losing,” Lucifer said, his tone like a whip. “Is that what you want everyone to remember you by? A loser who accepted death?”
Titus clenched his fists, concentrating on every breath going in, and out.
Breathe.
Memories of pain struck, so vivid he swore he was experiencing it again. Except he knew he wasn’t. He’d survived that pain. He’d survived the bastardised version of the Rite. He’d survive this.
“Accept the change, Titus,” Lucifer said, face etched in panic and anger. “Accept the summoning name and balance the fucking power. Trust me.”
The strange heat inside his chest spread until it touched the arcane, settling the power enough that Titus could smother it. The arcane disappeared, but the intense warmth stayed, a welcome diversion.
Lurching to the side, he found the paper bin, dropping to his knees just as puke erupted like a violent volcano.
“Ti?”
“Fuck man, what happened?”
