“He’s not!” I yanked my foot out of his grip and stood in the middle of the tub. “Damien isn’t whispering to me, all right? He doesn’t need to.”
The three of them looked at each other in surprise at my outburst. Then Joshua rose to his feet, too. “What are you talking about, love?”
I stared into his silver eyes, certain mine were gold and silver and red at once.I’m saying what you already know but don’t want to say out loud.Your beloved mate is as fucked up as the devil himself. She doesn’t need him to whisper to be evil. She is evil, and fuck she’s tired of fighting it.
I keep telling everyone I don’t want to go to Hell because I hate it there. But that’s a big fat lie. I don’t wanna go back because when I was there, I fucking loved it so much.
That was what Inferno was telling me. Once he saw my darkness, he knew why I needed his help.
And Damien knows it. That’s why he wouldn’t come to me. He wouldn’t even speak to me. He knows I need to see him to find the answers I seek, and he won’t give them unless I go to his—our—kingdom, where he has ultimate reign over it and over me.
Where he knows if I visited again, it’d appeal to me so much I might never come back.
But I wouldn’t tell Joshua or the twins any of it. I wouldn’t burden them anymore. “Nothing. I just need a moment to myself.”
“We’re not leaving you when you’re like this,” Kayden said.
“Fine.” I stepped out of the tub and grabbed a towel. “ThenI’mleaving you like this.”
Chapter 17
Belle
I didn’t see that coming.
“You’re not going anywhere!” Joshua swooped down on me like an angry hawk and pinned me to the floor, stomach down, with his weight.
“What the fuck, leech?” one of the twins exclaimed, and more weight tumbled down on me. They were probably trying to take him off me.
Joshua tightened his hold on my waist, and I could barely breathe. “Stop it, you fools, and help me instead. She wants to go to Damien in Hell. If she goes there, she won’t come back.”
“What?!” Kayden and Alec yelled at the same time.
Fuck. How did he know? I rolled my eyes at my idiocy. The stupid sire bond. I must have been too devastated and lost control over who I’d allowed to hear my thoughts.
I jerked in his grip. “Get off me, Joshua. You’re suffocating me.”
“You don’t need to breathe. Your vampire side will keep you alive.” He pressed down on me, his fanged mouth at my neck. “And you like it when I choke you.”
“Fuck you.” Swiftly, I lifted my back with all my strength, hitting him hard in the stomach, loosening his hold. Then I slid my arms and stretched them in front of me so I could crawl away.
“Grab her wrists,” Joshua huffed.
Before I blinked, Kayden was holding my wrists and Alec my ankles as Joshua rose and blurred away. I didn’t have time to wonder where he went as I kicked Alec in the chin with my heel and tried to headbutt Kayden.
Alpha dodged it, not letting go of my wrists. “Stop it, Belle.”
I squirmed, kicking and screaming. “I have to see Damien. The devil is the only one who can fix this.”
“Weare fixing this.”
“You can’t do shit. Our beef is now with Heaven. If there’s anyone who can win against them, it’s Damien. He is as ancient as that angel ass, and he’s always at war with them, finding a way to win. He will tell me what this is all about and know how to give me a baby. You can’t even translate the stupid prophecy.”
Kayden’s face paled, and his grip gave a little.
Not letting the chance go away, I rolled over and tugged my arms free while kicking my foot under Alec’s chin and then at his throat. Alec stumbled back, almost falling in the tub.
“What? You think I didn’t hear you?” I ran for the door before they recovered and caught me again, but an invisible wall hit me as I tried to get out of the bathroom. “What the fuck?” I clashed against the unseen barrier again, my hair ruffling as Joshua reappeared.
