Diana
1442 Words
Chapter 11
Diana
(Diana’s POV)
I stared at Seraphine lying in the pool of Jeremy’s blood. White hair strewn around her, tears and plasma marring her gentle features; she looked like a wounded Goddess and I hated her all the more for it.
What made me hate her beyond redemption though, was the way Valefar looked at her. I had never seen such an expression on his face. The realm had shaken when Seraphine raised her voice and sparks of light crackled around her. Valefar was scared of Sera, but there was something else in those intense, amethyst eyes of his.
Delight.
Arousal.
That was new. My master had never looked at Seraphine as though she was anything more than a fancy gun with his finger hovering over the trigger. Ever since she turned eighteen, it was like she was reborn anew in the eyes of everyone. It disgusted me.
“Diana,” Valefar’s voice stole my attention. “Bring Sera back to her room. I’ll select a mate without her.”
“Of course, Master,” I bowed my head to him and started to help Seraphine up.
“Oh, and Diana?”
“Yes, Master?”
His tongue slipped past his lips to wet them. “I need to speak with you later. My room.”
“Of course, Master.”
His words worried me. If Valefar was in a bad mood, I didn’t want to be the next chew toy he smacked around like poor Jeremy was. On the other hand, he smiled. That smile melted me. He was the only thing left in my life that I could cling onto. I had no fated mate or family. The only future I could forge for myself relied on being useful to Valefar - and I wanted to be useful to him.
He was the only man who’d caress my cheek and show me kindness. Amber warned me it was all manipulation, but I didn’t care anymore. Even if it wasn’t real, I needed something to keep me going. So I submitted my mind, body and soul to my demonic Duke. Whatever Valefar wanted, I’d give him.
~*~*~
I walked Seraphine back into the manor. She seemed to have cooled off but I wasn’t going to start a conversation. I had questions, like what those flashy lights were, but I didn’t want to rock the boat. Our friendship wasn’t really a friendship anymore. We were colleagues at best.
However, Seraphine surprised me. While studying the remnants of Jeremy on her arms, she spoke.
“Did you know him?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. “Not really.”
“Did you know anything about him? Family name? Pack?”
“I don’t know what his family’s name was.” I paused as I recalled what Jeremy looked like. There were distinctive black marks on his throat. Thin lines pointing down like a row of arrows. Humans would have called them tattoos, but it was more of a birthmark. Only one pack had a motif like that on their necks. “The Banshee’s Guard. That was the pack he was from.”
“Let me guess, their blessing was something to do with their voices?”
“Empowered howls, yeah. There are a few other Hellhounds from that pack here-”
“Wolves. We’re wolves, Diana.”
I stopped walking and watched the back of her head as she continued without me. Cocky brat. She was barely an adult and all of a sudden she thought she owned the words out of my mouth.
“While we wear these,” I held up my wrists, showing off my chainless shackles to her back. “We’re Hellhounds. It doesn’t matter what pack we were from once upon a time, we’re part of this pack now. We’re Hellhounds and Valefar is our Alpha.”
“Is that how you justify all this to yourself? You play make-believe and pretend we’re all a happy family? Pretend that Valefar is one of us, when he’s not and never will be? He’s a demon, a monster, a nightmare. I can call him all sorts of names but never, ever, will Valefar be an Alpha.”
The disrespect made me lose it. I ran forward, sank my nails into her shoulder and span her to face me. I rammed her against the wall and pinned her there with my arm across her neck. She stared at me with those huge, f*****g golden eyes and she didn’t even look angry with me.
Just disappointed.
Ha. “Hahahah,” my arm fell away and I gave her space. “Are you turning into some little rebel? Gonna lead a revolution? Newsflash, b***h. You keep sticking your paw out of line and who do you think is going to get hurt? You? No. It’ll be everyone else down here who is made examples of, because of you. Go scrub Jeremy’s blood off your hands and get ready for your new mate. Keep your head down, Sera. For our sakes.”
I left her alone in the hall, but there were already imps coming who would take care of her. As far as I was concerned, I had obeyed Valefar’s command.
~*~*~
Later, an imp summoned me to my Master’s chambers. I did what I could with my looks. Reapplied makeup, brushed my hair, wore some flattering but practical clothes. I didn’t know what Valefar wanted me for, but I prepared for either being f****d or f*****g up others.
When I arrived at Valefar’s room, the door was open and he was sitting in an armchair by the fire, glass of whiskey in hand. I cleared my throat, hovering on the threshold of his room.
“Master Valefar?”
He looked up at me, violet eyes twinkling. “Diana,” lips twitched into a smirk. “Come in. Close the door behind you.”
I obeyed him. Closed the door, locked it. Taking a breath, I asked “Did you select a mate for Sera?”
“Mm, I did,” he set the tumbler onto a side table and stood up. “Are you a virgin, Diana?”
“I-” my mouth opened and closed. I was about to ask him who he had chosen, but the conversation had taken a strange turn. My cheeks must have been ruby red. “Yes,” I admitted, the word slow and shameful.
“Why do you sound disappointed about that?” Valefar’s hands were in his pockets as he started to approach me. He was a classy demon. White dress shirt unbuttoned at the collar, sleeves rolled up to expose his forearms.
My throat tightened and I clasped my hands behind my back. “I’m not disappointed, I’m just - well… I’m…” a werewolf, but I had argued with Seraphine earlier about how we were Hellhounds now. I couldn’t exactly claim to be a wolf when it suited me. “It’s the wolf inside me. I expected to have mated at least once by now. I feel… unwanted.” I was older than Sera. Older than Amber, even. To still be a virgin felt like an insult.
“Why haven’t you taken a mate here?”
“Nothing worked out. My loyalty is to you. Men don’t like coming second to anyone,” euphemism intended and Valefar caught it. His smirk extended.
“You are perhaps my most loyal Hellhound,” Valefar stood right in front of me. All my instincts told me to run from this terrifyingly powerful demon, but I stood my ground. His shadow swallowed me up, but I didn’t move an inch. Even when the back of his fingers stroked my face. “What if I were to be your mate?”
“What?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself,” Valefar growled into my ear, breath scorching my skin.
A similar heat was flowering between my legs. My knees felt weak. Valefar was undeniably handsome; sinfully so. I would be lying if I said I hadn’t imagined running my fingers through his thick locks of gold hair. If I hadn’t thought about his chest pressing against mine while his hands swept over every curve of my body.
If I was doomed to be mate-less, then having the attention of Hell’s ‘Alpha’ was the best replacement to fill my empty heart.
“I would be honored, Master…” I whispered.
“Then let me do you the honor,” Valefar purred, and the next thing I knew, his lips were on mine.
Oh Goddess, my Master was going to f**k me…
- Writer
