Mated to Three Demon Brothers

Chapter 4

Before I could ask questions, the door opened and their father walked in with a dramatic sigh. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and he handed Seth a book.

"Next time why don't you just wait?"

"Our mate was under an impression that made her upset. You may not understand how that feels, father, but you should still respect it," Seth said in a calm but threatening voice. Their father smirked softly in pride at his son.

"You have gotten better at maintaining your anger. Your mother is a good teacher." Seth ignored his comment and flipped through the book.

"Don't need me." Their father said as he turned and left just as suddenly as he had arrived. Seth passed the book to me and I took it in confusion.

The page it was open to spoke of demon bonds. I read it over quickly. It danced around the topic a lot with overly flowery words and I scowled at that. Levi chuckled at my expression.

"Right? I'm glad you have some sense." He said with a smile. I shook my head and tried to make sense of the words on the page.

"So a demon bond happens when demons are compatible for mating?" I frowned deeply and Seth scowled softly.

"I didn't think it would be so hard to understand." He took the book from me and handed it to Bel. "Translate for her." I tilted my head softly in confusion at that. "Belinos has a sister who is a charisma demon. Same mother, different father." Belinos shrugged softly.

"It just takes practice." He looked down at the book and read it over. "It's not much more than we were taught honestly." He said as he looked back up at Seth.

"Then I can explain," Seth said as he turned back to me. "A bond between demons is quite rare. It's sort of like what humans call love at first sight. When our eyes connected, a bond was formed. Usually, it's one demon but each of us felt that bond form with you."

"So what does that mean? You fell in love with me?"

"Basically," Levi said, and I sat back in shock. What? "It's not usually a one-sided thing. Though I have never heard of a demon bonding with a half-demon before either."

"Never?"

"I doubt they would admit to it," Seth said with a soft growl. "It's never happened like this though. It's certainly the first time more than one demon was bonded to one mate." I frowned deeply at that.

"You mean one female mate," Belinos said, and Seth scrunched his nose. "Father has many bonds. With each of our mothers for one." Seth clicked his teeth in annoyance.

"It's unusual for a woman to have more than one bond?" That didn't seem right. Did it? Then it hit me. "The bond isn't about love, is it?"

"It is about love," Levi said and then sighed harshly. "But yes, it's not just about that. It's also about offspring." I jumped up from my seat and the boys all jumped up as well.

"Wait," Bel said as Levi blocked me from leaving the room on one side and Seth on the other.

"That's what this is about then, isn't it? All demons ever care about is making more demons. You don't care about love."

"That's not true," Seth growled as he grabbed my arm. "You don't know anything about demons, and you just assume." I flinched slightly. "Despite his ways, my mother loves my father. I am her only child as well. We are not so one-minded. Every demon is different."

"If it's so rare, why does your father have more than one?"

"Because he sleeps around," Levi said with a scowl. "Most demons have a small circle, but he has been alive long enough that he has gone through many women. It's rare, not because it's hard to find, but because most demons don't want to find it."

"Why?" They all frowned deeply at that.

"Because it's seen as a weakness," Belinos said as he stepped forward. He reached out to brush a hand over my cheek. He scrunched his nose. "It's also why a female demon has never had more than one bond." Because demons were the possessive type with their mates. He didn't need to say it out loud. I had never heard of a demon with multiple women before their father even.

"So what do you even want from me?" I pulled my face away from Bel's hand and yanked my arm away from Seth. "To keep me locked up like my mother did?" They both cringed away as if I had hit them.

"We want you to want to stay with us, Athena. We will take care of you. Give you anything you want." Seth said, and I frowned.

"The one thing I want is to be free to make my own choices. To have the freedom to go where I want whenever I like. Can you give me that?" They all cringed and I scoffed. "I knew it. Leave me alone." I pushed past them. While they could stop me, they let me leave the room this time. My stomach protested the fact that I was leaving without eating anything, but I ignored it. I didn't want to spend another second with them.

I wasn't some trophy or pet. I wouldn't let them keep me like I didn't have a mind of my own. I don't have much choice for now. I couldn't exactly run away. I reached up to brush my finger over one of the symbols. They would track me down. I had to figure out how to break free of them. When I got lost, I didn't even care. I sighed and slumped against the wall. How had things gotten to this point? I slid to the ground with a heavy sigh.

"Athena." I looked up into shocked red eyes. Seth furrowed his brows deeply. "Why are you by my room?"

"I got lost. I am not here on purpose." He gave a short, harsh sigh.

"Come on." He held out his hand to me, but I didn't take it.

"No one comes down here. Let me help you get somewhere else at least."

"Why does no one come down here?" I asked and he frowned.

"Rage demon, remember? I am used to people being afraid of me. That's why I picked a room so far from everything else." I had only seen small examples of his temper though. Why were people afraid of him? He was more controlled than some humans I had known. I frowned softly and took his hand. He helped me stand and then pulled his hand back. "Do you want to go back to your room or are you hungry?" My stomach growled loudly and I blushed. "I'll take you to the dining room then. They can make you something."

He led me back to the dining room and had them bring me something to eat. He leaned up against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. When he saw his stares made me uncomfortable he shut his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. He waited in silence for me to eat. When I finally stood, he looked back at me. Without a word, he turned and led me back through the huge place. He stopped in front of a door that looked like all the other ones.

"This one is your room. Try not to get lost." He turned to leave, and I was a little stunned.

"Is that it?" He stopped and turned back to me with a raised eyebrow.

"Were you expecting something else?"

"You don't talk much, do you?"

"Normally, no. Is that an issue?"

"I just thought you would try to talk with me."

"You wanted to be left alone, mate. I was respecting that." My mouth dropped open slightly in shock and he gave a small smirk. He turned and took my chin in his fingers. "Unless you have changed your mind?" I had changed my mind a little. They didn't seem like bad guys. Just selfish and impulsive. Which seemed to be the norm for demons. They didn't seem to know any better. I didn't hate them. It didn't mean I wanted to stay here, but I could at least acknowledge that I was wrong in this case.

"I was wrong about you three. I don't hate you or dislike you. You didn't act out of malice. Just impulsive selfishness." Seth flinched at my words. "That doesn't mean I like you though. I was just wrong to think you were cruel."

"How sensible," he said with a soft grin. "I accept that." As his fingers started to release me I felt a spark of heat bloom through me. I gasped softly as it spread through me faster than it ever had before. His eyes went wide. "Your heat." He glanced down the hall and then took my hand. He pulled me into the bedroom and led me over to the bed. "Stay in here. You don't want your pheromones to attract unwanted attention." He pushed me down gently to sit on the bed. As he turned to leave, I reached out and grabbed his wrist.