Divine Awakening Read online

  Passion heated her from the inside out as she took in his creamed-coffee-colored skin tone. Reaching out again, she traced a finger down his chest to the top of his jeans. When she fingered the button, he grabbed her hand and jerked her arm behind her back. His clasp was firm but not painful. It did, however, keep her from touching him.

  Suddenly, they were in her bed. Teleported by the Death Demon. Her mate.

  She smiled at the latter.

  Lex was the last person she’d imagined herself with, but here they were. Mated, and she was falling for him. With everything going on, she wasn’t sure when it had happened.

  He lowered his body onto hers, pinning her in place.

  His hard length pressed into her through their jeans. She moaned out a plea. The ache to have him inside her grew stronger.

  Warm breath glided over her skin as he trailed light kisses down her throat, over her shoulder blades, and further. In the next moment, her clothes vanished. She gasped when he took a nipple into his mouth. Hot need shot straight to her core, causing the walls of her sex to pulse.

  Oh, gods.

  When his tongue flicked the hardened bud, she fisted the sheet and rubbed her throbbing pussy against his erection, still encased in denim. Damn it. Unclenching the sheet, she slid one hand between them to unbutton his jeans.

  Lex raised his head and seized her wrist. Her heart skipped a beat at the fierce desire showing in his gaze. “I want to fuck you slow and hard. Yet, I will not last.” His tone was low and graveled.

  She’d take it either way. If she didn’t get the release her body screamed for, she wouldn’t be held responsible for her actions. “Fast at first. Then round two can be as slow as you want.”

  The wicked grin on her demon’s face was her answer.

  She didn’t have time to respond with a sassy comeback before his mouth was on hers, his tongue thrusting inside, searching for hers. Her moan changed to a gasp as the rest of his clothes disappeared, and his cock slid inside her.

  He stopped halfway in and broke the kiss. Their eyes locked on one another’s. A tic formed in his jaw as if he were trying to fight for control. After a brief silence, he thrust in the rest of the way, filling her. She was lost. Lost in the sensation of being consumed and taken by Lex, again.

  She wrapped her legs around his waist and moved in sync with his gentle thrusting. With her tongue, she drew his earlobe into her mouth and gently bit down. A growl rumbled from his chest, and he quickened his pace.

  Pleasure built from within the depths of her being until her climax threw her over the edge, ripping a scream of pleasure from her. Lex followed her with his own release.

  She was boneless as Lex rolled them to the side without pulling out. He hugged her close and fell silent. Her heart stuttered a few beats. Dread ate at her nerves, and the fear of rejection hung close by.

  After several long moments, he said, “You make me feel things I don’t understand. But I do know I can’t let you go.”

  Relief flooded her, and she snuggled into him. It was close enough to telling her that he was falling for her. She’d take it. At least for now.

  She’d take him any way she could.

  “I’m addicted to you. There’s no getting rid of me now.”

  He pushed deeper inside her, and she moaned, moving her hips. “Good.”

  Chapter Ten

  Mathew burst through the front door of Samoan’s downtown apartment and flopped down on her sofa. She was there. He could sense her moving around in her bedroom.

  Lying to her wasn’t a problem. Trying to hide his emotions would be. Samoan’s keen senses were better than anyone Matt knew. Plus, the demoness was smart. However, she would make a mistake. He was going to try and make sure she did tonight.

  “How did your visit with your mommy go?”

  He held in a growl and clenched his jaw. Breathe. Don’t show her emotion. “I came here to give you a heads up that they are planning a trap for you.”

  She raised a brow as she advanced into the living room. “I’m listening.”

  “I’m supposed to get you to Friendship Fountain, where they will be waiting for you with the Sinew.” Mathew yawned as if bored. Actually, he was scared to death.

  “Hmm.” She sat in the chair across from him, crossed her legs, and bounced one of them vigorously. “Why should I believe you?”

  He shrugged. “Don’t. I could care less. Desiree isn’t the loving mother I hoped she was.” On that statement, he allowed some of his emotions loose. “But you can head them off by catching them at the Divinity House. But I’d hurry. They’re getting ready to head to the fountain.”

  She tapped her fingers on the chair arms and studied him for what seemed like ten minutes, maybe longer. Suddenly, she stood and left without a word.

  Once he’d felt Samoan leave the building, he sent Desiree a telepathic message. “She bought it and is on her way.”

  “Thank you,” Desiree replied. Her voice was sad and anxious at the same time. He closed his eyes. Spending the day and night with his new family had confused him. How was he supposed to act? Just accept them? He wasn’t sure who to trust. Even though he’d place his life in Desiree’s hands before Samoan’s any day.

  The longing for a mother to hug him, love him, outweighed any common sense he may have. So he’d stick around Desiree for the time being.

  He hoped she didn’t turn out to be another disappointment in his short life.

  Desiree steeled her spine and met Lex’s gaze. “She’s coming.”

  Khloe stormed by them with Jagger, Zach, and Lydia on her heels—all heading for the front door. “She’s here.”

  Confused, Desiree glanced back to Lex. He gave a jerky nod. “The wards are linked to the Divinities, as well as Jag and me.”

  He exited the house, and Desiree inhaled slowly, calling her power to the surface. On the exhale, she centered herself. A moment passed before she followed the others outside.

  Dark energy flowed all around them. The hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end as Samoan materialized a few yards from the house. The demoness laughed, the sound raking across Desiree’s skin. “I see the boy has chosen his side.”

  Hot fear sliced across Desiree’s gut. Where was Mathew? As soon as the question formed in her mind, Mathew materialized beside her. Relief made her tense muscles relax, but only a little.

  Movement from Samoan caught her full attention. The demoness raised her hand and tugged at a black cord around her neck. Once the stone was out from behind Samoan’s shirt, she yanked the cord free from her neck. Instantly, demons and Dark Divine appeared. There must have been several dozen—outnumbering the Divinities.

  “Lex, I have a bad feeling.” Desiree fell into a defensive stance, waiting.

  The wind whirled around them, stirring up the leaves. Black-and-blue-colored energy flowed from the stone Samoan held over her head.

  “She’s calling a storm,” Lex yelled.

  Zach grabbed Lydia’s hand and added, “It’s now or never.”

  Combining their powers, Zach and Lydia shot a stream of bright white power straight at Samoan. The demon bitch screamed and fell to her knees. Beside Desiree, Mathew charged at the demoness.

  “Matty!” Desiree shouted, but it was no use. Her son was already at Samoan’s side, his hand on her shoulder.

  Samoan’s soul separated from her body, and once it was a few feet above her, Mathew blasted it, killing the demoness.

  The stone she’d held disappeared as if called away. Fuck. “The stone. It must have been spelled to return to Kahn.”

  Lex acknowledged the telepathic thought with a grunt. She didn’t have time to glance his way because a wall of demons rushed forward. She conjured a sword and fought with everything she had.

  Suddenly, the ground shook, throwing everyone off balance. The Dark Divine all froze as if commanded to do so. The demons seemed confused, even though many of them continued t
o fight.

  Desiree called to the spirits of each demon and sent them one lethal demand. A moment later, they all dropped, death by their own hands.

  A cyclone of dark gray smoke swirled in the center of the yard. When the smoke cleared, Kahn stood there, chest rising and falling as he fumed in his rage. Samoan was his mate. And they’d killed her.

  The demon lord held up the Dark Sinew, then let out a scream of pain and rage. Dark magic blasted out from around him, sending a wave of lethal power out across the yard. Desiree screamed as the bolt touched Lex. Their bond snapped, severing their connection. Tears streamed down her face.

  Then Mathew yelled her name, flashed in front of her, and wrapped his arms around her. A moment later, she was standing outside the Maxville Coven gatehouse.

  She stared at Mathew. “What happened?”

  “I couldn’t save them all.” Tears rolled down his cheeks, and she hugged him close. Everyone was gone. The Divinities were dead.

  A pull of magic had her whirling around to come face-to face with Noah. The tears in his eyes told her that he already knew. He took her hands. “You have to go back. Kill Kahn before he is able to break through the barrier.”

  Desiree nodded. “Plan B.”

  Her heart was breaking. Lex. Oh, gods. “We’ll fix it, bring them back.”

  Noah pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I have faith that you will.”

  Mathew took her hand, linking their fingers together. She glanced at him. “Do you know where to go?”

  He nodded. “Yes, but we will only have minutes to kill him. Once Samoan dies, he will feel it.”

  Yes, Desiree knew that firsthand. The moment Lex died, it had felt like her soul was being ripped in two. Her chest ached. She’d just found him. They were supposed to have a lifetime together. Determination fueled the fury brewing deep within.

  Meeting her son’s stare, she said, “Then we have to make sure to kill him at the as soon as that bitch dies.”

  He took her hand and nodded. “Let’s do it.”

  So young, yet so old. Her heart broke again for the son she’d handed over to Samoan. He’d seen too much, knew too much for a ten-year-old.

  Noah touched her shoulder, drawing her attention. “Changing a decision you made years ago won’t stop the war. Choices are made that take us on difficult paths, but in the end, we all end up where we need to be.”

  Warmth bloomed in her heart. That was something her mother would say. Not those exact words, but the meaning would be the same. “Thank you for the reminder. We’ll end it now, and our loved ones will be safe.”

  Taking a deep breath, she nodded to Mathew. The hum of his power vibrated from his hand to hers. Then it stopped. He glanced behind them just as Teddy-Bear appeared in a flash of soft white light.

  The hounds smiled, and at the same time said, “Oh, good, we’re not too late. Hecate said you’d need some help. The Sinew will give us the boost we need to find and end Kahn.”

  Around their necks hung the quarter-sized crystal sphere. Ribbons of multi-colored magic threads swirled inside it. The Sinew seemed to glow more than it had the last time Desiree had seen it.

  Mathew waved his free hand in front of them. Shimmering to life, a portal appeared. “Here we go.”

  Desiree was ready, even though she hadn’t a clue how they would kill Khan. I guess we’ll make it up as we go along.

  Chapter Eleven

  Coming out on the other side of the portal, Desiree scanned their surroundings. The Underworld appeared quiet and on lockdown, meaning the portals were closed. They were back in time. “How far back did we go?”

  “A few seconds after Samoan dies, it’ll take a bit for the energy to reach Kahn down here.” Mathew raced ahead toward the large, dark castle looming over the Underworld landscape. It was a lot larger than the one she and the others had rescued Teddy-Bear from. The one that had blown up.

  “So Khan has two castles?”

  “The one he held the hounds in was his home until Samoan wanted a bigger one, away from the center of demonland.” Mathew glanced at Desiree from over his shoulder. A smirk lifted one side of his mouth. “Khan is here. I can sense him.”

  Great. It was time the demon lord faced his destiny. “Then let’s do this.”

  The hounds shook, and a blast of soft white and blue light expanded around them, leaving two huge hellhounds. They growled, and Teddy said, “Bear and I will distract the Regal guards while you two get inside.”

  Desiree nodded and followed Mathew through a side entrance. It didn’t take them long to find Khan. He was in the throne room with his back to them. “I’ve been waiting for you two.”

  Shit. Cold dread froze her soul and placed a death grip on her heart. He’d known they were coming to kill him. Which meant he was ready, and most likely planned to kill them first.

  Not if Desiree had anything to say about it.

  He’d taken her mate. She wanted him back!

  She charged at the demon, catching him off guard. Khan recovered from his surprise quickly and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground. Kicking her feet, she grabbed his wrist. “You’ll never stop them from killing Samoan.”

  Khan’s eyes turned pitch-black, and his nostrils flared. Ah, he didn’t know that little bit of info from the future yet. Interesting. That meant he’d lied about knowing that they were coming.

  Desiree opened her Porter gift and allowed it to flow through her hands. The power wrapped around Khan’s arm and moved to his shoulder then chest until it reached the center of his breastbone. A darker version of her power traveled up the demon’s legs and met hers.

  Khan roared. His grip on her slipped, and she was able to grab his hand before falling to the ground. She needed to touch him to strip his soul. Apparently, Mathew didn’t.

  “We can’t kill him until the Dark Sinew appears.” They needed the stone so no one else could use it against them.

  Mathew gave a short nod while fixing his gaze on Khan.

  Just then, Teddy and Bear plowed into the throne room, the double doors flying off their hinges and making the entrance wider. Stone crumbled and rolled to the middle of the room. Bear spoke first. “We need to move. Demons are going insane out there.”

  Without glanced back at them out of risk losing focus on Khan, Desiree asked, “Can’t you hold them off?”

  Teddy shook his large head. “Not much longer.”

  Through the connection she had with Khan’s soul, she felt the moment he became aware that Samoan was dead. Much like her link to Lex had cut off, so did Khan’s to Samoan. The demon lord roared his pain and loss. However, the instant he called on his power to blast out of the Underworld, Mathew jerked his soul from his body and blew it up.

  A black, dust-like cloud hung in the air for a brief moment before falling to the ground. Khan’s body dissolved into the stone floor of the castle’s throne room. In its place was the Dark Sinew. Desiree picked it up and slid it into her pocket.

  Mathew stumbled to her. She caught him and fell to her knees, hugging him close. His power was depleted. She glanced to the hounds, who had merged together once more and shrunk to the size of a large Rottweiler with two heads.

  As one, they said, “Let’s go home.”

  She was about to ask how, but a portal opened. Glancing at the hounds, she noticed that the Sinew glowed brighter than before. They’d used the power within the stone to open a gate back home. Thank you, goddess.

  Relief, joy, and a dark power that only a Death Demon possessed rushed through her as she stepped through the portal and into the front yard of the Divinity House. Her gaze met Lex’s, and she wanted to cry in joy.

  Lex glanced to Mathew and frowned. He was there in a flash, taking Matt from her arms. “What happened?”

  “He used up a lot of power killing Khan.”

  Her mate snapped his gaze back to hers. “What? How? And where the hell were you guys? One moment you were here,
and the next, you weren’t.”

  “I’ll explain inside.” She leaned against Lex, her own exhaustion seeping into her.

  Zach, Lydia, Khloe, and Jagger moved closer to them. Khloe motioned to the house. “You can put him in the spare room next to Lydia’s. I’ll set up the video feed.”

  She jogged up the steps.

  Desiree and the others followed. Once inside, Desiree sat on the sofa and the hounds curled up on the floor at her feet. Lydia moved to the stairs. “I’m going to check on Mathew.”

  Even though Desiree could sense that her son wasn’t hurt physically, she was grateful for the healer’s concern. “Thank you.”

  A few minutes later, everyone assembled around the TV where they were video-conferencing with Noah and a red-eyed Kalissa clinging to Ayden, a tissue in one hand. Before they’d started the feed, Desiree told them what had happened.

  They had died.

  Desiree shuddered, unable to shake the sadness the vision of all of her new friends and family falling at the hands of Kahn and his demons had caused.

  Ayden had teleported to be with his pregnant mate right after hearing the news. Most likely, he had felt her distress, or at least realized that Kalissa believed he and her sister were dead.

  Oh, man, what a fucking mess.

  Reaching inside her jeans pocket, Desiree pulled out the Dark Sinew. “What do we do with this?”

  Before Noah could answer, Hecate materialized in the center of the living room. Teddy-Bear stood at attention, their heads held high. The goddess held out her hand. “I’ll take it.”

  Desiree handed the stone to her. Instead of taking it right away, Hecate cupped Desiree’s hand. “What you and your son did for the Divinities can never be repaid. I thank you for your part in ending this war.”

  The inside of Desiree’s wrist burned, but she forced herself not to jerk her arm away. She knew what was happening even before the link to the other Divinities formed. Hecate had inducted her into her small army of kick-ass demi-gods.

  “This war may be over, but I’ll still need you all to protect magickin and humans. And to keep the Earthside demons in line.” Hecate took the dark stone and faced Teddy-Bear.