How? How could any of them make that promise to me after what we heard? I’d never wanted anything more than a baby. I was willing to stay with a psycho monster that had abused me for ten years just to have a child. And when he knew I was pregnant he almost killed me and ruined my chances of ever having a baby again. I’d given up my humanity to be with my beasts and heal so I could get another chance at having children. Now, after all I’d been through, after all I’d sacrificed… My sobs grew louder.
My body was carried up, and I was seated on the broken couch, the three of them surrounding me, embracing me and wiping under my eyes and cheeks.
Kayden knelt, his palms on my thighs. “Listen to me, sweetheart. We will have our family. Nothing is gonna stop us. Not even Heaven itself.”
“Yes, Belle. We found a way out of a two-hundred-fifty-year-old deal with the devil himself. Even if the angel’s words are true, we’ll find a way to beat that fucked up shit, too,” Alec said.
My teary eyes lifted to them. “We’re never gonna beat anything. We never did. I’ve always been cursed, and it’ll never be over.”
“No, Isabella. You can’t think like that. There’s no curse,” Joshua said. “There must be something we can do. There’s always something we can do. We just need to gather all the facts, find Damien, and—”
“And what?” I shook my head, sniffling. “I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but we all heard the angel. This is Heaven we’re talking about. How couldwe,a bunch of beasts and the epitome of evil, possibly have a chance against Heaven’s will?”
“I’m sure there’s a way out. A loophole of sorts. But even if there isn’t, then we’ll just bend to the big guy’s will,” Alec said.
I stared at him. “You mean break up with Damien?”
His shoulder lifted with a shrug. “It’d be our last resort.”
“I can’t believe you said that.” I dragged my stare to the others. “I know all of you hate Damien, but like it or not, we all owe him something. You get to shift on demand and walk in the sun unharmed because of him, and I get to live forever, with all of you, again because of Damien.” My eyes returned to Alec. “What if it was you Heaven wanted me to break up with? Would you’ve said the same thing?”
He mumbled something incoherent, rubbing the back of his head.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so. And I don’t think you understand what it means to break up with Damien either.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the deal, Alec. Damien only agreed to our arrangement because he got to be a part of it. If I broke up with him, our agreement would be void.” I looked from him to Kayden and Joshua. “Breaking up with Damien means I die again after fifty years, and when I return, it’ll be all over again. The fight, the choice, having only one of you for some time before I die again and again and again. That is if I make the right choice and not send my cursed ass into hell forever. That is if Damien allows me to return in the first place after I betray him like that.”
They all stared back at me, their eyes dark, their mouths shut.
Bile filled my throat. “Breaking up with Damien doesn’t mean the four of us live happily ever after, having the family we’ve been dreaming about for so long. Breaking up with Damien means breaking up with you, too, losing all of you, and this time, it can be forever.”
Chapter 10
Belle
Damien. Damien, please! Where are you? I need you.
A wave of heat came crushing down on me, so strong as if it was coming from Hell itself. But by the total blackness surrounding me, I knew I wasn’t there.
And he wasn’t here with me.
“Damien,” I moaned as the heat turned scalding, melting yet soothing me. What was happening? Where was I? “Damien, what are you doing to me?”
“Wrong husband, babe.”
The gruff voice and the wet warmth teasing my skin, fluttering inside me, set my brain in a haze. Slowly, I blinked. Rays of light hit me in the face, tormenting my eyes for a second or two. I groaned, my head a thousand pounds as I slid up a little. Fur tickled my skin as I stretched an arm. That soothing heat between my thighs…
Wait, what?
I bolted upright too quickly. A pressure crushed my head and another gathered in my lower belly. Then Alec’s head popped up from between my naked legs, his shit-eating grin glistening. “Good morning, babe.”
My abdomen clenched with a chortle. Then I dropped my head back on the pillow, realizing all this time I’d been sleeping in my bedroom. Golden eyes stared at my naked body. I stroked the silver fur above them, a moan seeping out of me as Alec resumed eating me. “Why are you all wolfed up?”
Kayden turned, his human body as gorgeous as his wolf. “It helps you sleep better.”
I smiled against my will. Their beautiful attention was calming my pain and sadness like a balm. It was hard to stay sad or angry when they were doing everything they could to make me feel better. “God, I love you.” I licked my lips, wetness trickling down my inner thighs. “I love all of you.”
