In another life second c.., p.13
In Another Life: Second Chances - Book One, page 13
“How do we dampen you?” I refuse to think about what it means to not feel anything but normal around them. “And why doesn’t anyone do that around me? Maybe this is all just a misunderstanding and I’m just an ordinary spirit witch.”
Zane and Evan step up on either side of me and shove Charles into a wall. “We’ll explain that all later. I’m starving… what’s for dinner?” He rubs his palms together and walks to the window and smiles as he stares at the moon.
London snaps to attention and jumps to the cabinets and begins preparing a meal and I walk away and head to my living room down the hall. I hope they give themselves some sort of tour, or Francis can handle it. I want to be alone.
Jeremy sits beside me and I stiffen. “Want to talk about it?” So much for being alone.
I sigh and shrug my shoulders. “I’m confused. Is my father dead? Was he human? Is this all just a mistake and Lucifer forgot what spirit witches feel like? Maybe this is just how it’s supposed to be and why I need to be bound to a demon. Maybe my power is still growing and if it gets out of control then I’ll have people cowering everywhere I walk.”
He pats my shoulder stiffly and chuckles. “I was here when Kimberly was the head of coven. She felt like your grandmother, just with a punch. Maybe demons are more sensitive and have extra senses, because I don’t see or feel what they do. You’re stronger than Kimberly or Alicia, her predecessor, ever were… Maybe you’ll feel differently to us average supernaturals after you’re bound to the demons and unlock this supposed angel blood.” He smirks at me and I close my eyes.
“Or it’s all bullshit for Lucifer to pawn his sons onto me and still get me to his realm for half of the year for the rest of my life.”
He hums and crosses his lean arms over his chest. “Perhaps. I would just take everything day by day. You have more of those contracts with your California associate, correct?” I nod and he smiles. “Just work on that, get to know your coven, and I’ll be here every night to educate you. Spend the rest of the time getting to know the four princes… I have to mention though, blood doesn’t lie… If Lucifer says you have angel blood, then it’s true.”
“How much of a coincidence is it that I marry a warlock that has been stripped of powers, an angel marries my mother, and that man might be Lucifer’s ‘brother’. This is just… insane. I’m too old for this shit. I just wanted a quiet life on the east coast. To have enough means to support my children and retire in a few decades and die on some white beach on some island.”
Jeremy sighs. “I don’t believe in coincidences. But if Lucifer knew nothing about it, then he will be quite busy. Everything will be taken care of, but possibly not in a way you may like… Angels and the Fallen aren’t permitted to procreate with supernaturals, and rarely are given permission to mate with humans. It creates too strong of a hybrid, for lack of a better term. This is why the demons stay in the Underworld, and spirit witches are bound to demons, but cannot procreate with each other.
“Lucifer would add that stipulation when it’s time, and if you wanted children, it would be with another warlock or human.”
I frown and think on that bit of information. “So what happens now, since I supposedly have angel blood? I’ll be allowed to fuck his sons and pop out more hybrid babies?”
“Maybe. But you would have to raise them in the Underworld… Hence the demand to go there for six months. He wants you to learn all of your powers in a controlled environment.”
I roll my eyes. “Then why did other spirit witches have to abide by that tenet, too?”
He snorts and sends me a droll look. “Lucifer cannot rule the entirety of the Underworld from Earth, and bound witches cannot go that length of time without being near their demon to calm or strengthen them, and vice versa. Think of it sort of like a conduit or symbiosis. If you need more power for some reason you can draw from your bond… Same goes the other way. Or if you’re dying, your bonded sends you strength and their own life force.
“As a spirit witch, our community as a whole… would collapse without you. You establish and enforce the laws for all covens. If the superiors in other covens have a disagreement or an issue they cannot handle, they come to you.”
I groan. “Why doesn’t anyone tell me anything?” I shake my head and walk away. Might as well shower and toss this dress in the trash since it’s covered in my blood. I ignore the demon princes as I stumble up the stairs and toss my clothes off on the way to my ensuite after I lock myself in my bedroom.
I sit down on the stone ledge at the back of the shower and allow the steaming water to cascade down my head and body. Cleanse me from this insane nightmare.
I’m a witch. My children are a witch and warlock and don’t have any idea. My ex-husband’s family are from a warlock line that had their powers stripped. My mother is basically a human. My grandmother was fucking devious. My father might be an angel. I’m some sort of leader for all witches… Not just my coven as I thought.
I have no friends. No man by my side. My children live in different states, and my ex-husband is still harassing me about where I live for who knows what.
It’s suspicious and daunting. I just want him to leave me alone.
Hell, I want everyone to leave me alone.
I shut off the water after scrubbing my scalp and body raw and absentmindedly use magic to glamour my hair and makeup to cover up my puffy, pale skin and throw on some pajamas.
What are they going to do? Berate me for not being perfect and formal? I’m past the point of caring. I slowly walk down to the dining room and sit in my seat and wait for this late-night dinner to be served. I hope there are some carbs that I can shove down my throat. Maybe a bottle of wine I can drown in. I deserve it. I also deserve to sleep for a month, hide from my problems, and cry a river.
I’m just so lost and confused… and that would be a better excuse to sleep for a week. ‘Sorry folks, still hungover and bloated from all those carbs. Come back again later.’
I don’t talk as everyone files in. I don’t acknowledge London, Wyatt, or Hayden as they set out platters of delicious smelling roasts, vegetables, salads, and sides. I don’t make a sound as I open up a bottle of red wine and drink straight from it. And I don’t look at anyone as I eat two servings and grab another bottle of wine.
By the time I’m tripping over myself as I walk back up to my bedroom, I finished the two bottles and didn’t have a single sip of water.
My hangover week is set to commence. At least I ate enough food for three adults… That might help. I also haven’t had that much to drink since I was in college…
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“Come on, Mauve.” A deep voice croons in my ear and I wince when I try to blink my eyes open. “Come down to dinner, you need to eat.”
I try to shake my head, and someone pokes me with a cold finger on my forehead. “Jeremy, my head is pounding. I just want to sleep for a week.”
“Either use your damn magic to heal yourself, or I will force you to drink some of my blood for the same effects.”
I gag and close my eyes and focus on pulling my magic through my body and healing my… hangover. I doubt magic will work that well. After a few minutes I can blink my eyes open. I still have a headache, but I don’t feel like I was hit by a train… and I feel hungry. “How long was I sleeping for?” I try not to breathe through my mouth… His scent or his cologne is like a damn Siren’s song… And after Hunter… I know Sirens. Achingly beautiful, too beautiful. They’ll pull you under when you least expect it and leave you to drown when the going gets rough.
“I left not long after you finished your meal… It’s eight at night now.” I try to do the math but my body is screaming for sustenance.
“Can I shower first?” He waves me off and leaves my bedroom and closes the door. I roll out of bed and take a cool shower before I drag a random dress over my head and pull on some underwear before heading straight to the dining room. Coffee. Please let there be coffee. And a gallon of ice water. And a burger. That’s still a thing for hangovers, right? Maybe I should call Davis and ask.
I ignore the demons sitting around the table conversing amongst themselves and sigh when I gather the grilled chicken and vegetable platters closer so I can shovel food on my plate and start to eat as I chug several glasses of water. It’s not greasy, but hopefully It’ll settle my stomach.
Slowly I start feeling better and I sigh with relief and lean back in my chair and look around. “Has anyone heard from Lucifer?”
Charles raises a light eyebrow at me and shakes his head. “He will come when he’s ready, Ms. Volkov, and not a moment sooner. Come.” He rises from the table and waits for me in the hall. I purse my lips as I scoot my chair back and stalk towards him with a frown.
“Where are we going?”
He sighs and turns towards the kitchen and walks out the back door towards the gardens. “Since we are essentially… stuck here on Earth with you, might as well get to know each other. I claimed the night tonight, and the others will figure it out.”
We walk in silence for a few minutes, and I spend that time clearing my mind and basking in the crisp Fall air. I stare up at the cloudy, moonless sky and breathe in the fresh scents from the flowers, plants, and trees. “Tell me about yourself.”
He hums and his dark blue eyes look black tonight as he glances at me and quickly looks forward again. “We grew up in an interesting family. I’m the oldest out of all of the sons. Lucifer has never sired a daughter, at least not to our knowledge. He and my mother were in love when he Fell. As Adam’s first wife, she was human until Lucifer dragged her to Hell with him and she turned into something... different.
“They didn’t have children for millennia, and I believe they shouldn’t have bothered… A story for another time, perhaps.
“We were raised by my father’s harem and grew up around sex, alcohol, fist fights, murder, torture, and screaming matches between mother and father. I was barely considered an adult in human terms when I demanded to either rule a territory on the other side of the realm, or for him to send me to Earth, anywhere but that cursed castle.”
I blink repeatedly as we keep walking. “Was it the same for the rest of your siblings?”
“Yes. So, he sends me off and I haven’t spoken much to him or mother since… Until he teleported us to his throne room and told us about Harriet’s situation. I was never up to date on Earth politics or supernaturals. Over the last twenty years that we’ve been here at the manor, we’ve been educated by Harriet, Jeremy, and Francis. The chef would leave baskets of offerings at the door and they would send down a handful of women every so often as entertainment.”
I clear my throat and look away. “Yes, that was mentioned. You never tried to keep any down there?”
He chuckles. “Ah, no. They were human so they couldn’t be in our presence for long. They had to be inebriated to even be able to hold a conversation without panicking and trying to run. I gave up on the weak little humans after a few months.” I lick my dry lips and try to imagine being a demon. So powerful, beautiful, and ruled a damn territory in Hell.
“Do you have any hobbies? Or what do you all do in the Underworld?”
He hums deep in his chest and tilts his head to the side. “Hobbies… I do enjoy reading and tinkering with these human electronics. As for my job down under? Mostly keeping my demons in line. Killing those who deserve it, and murdering others for entertainment. All of the territories are set up the same, just a different heir residing over it as boredom slowly kills us all.”
We stop at a large patch of grass and I silently sit down and cross my legs. “Murder?” I wince as the cool, sharp blades caress my legs and I lean back on my hands and wiggle my fingers around in the soil.
He chuckles and waves his hand in front of him. “They’re reborn in the Hellfire eventually.”
I frown. “So you can go on a murder spree and they’ll just come right back?”
He purses his lips and tilts his head back to face the sky. “Technically, yes. But doing that would come with having to answer to father and suffer the consequences. They’re not immediately brought back. It can take up to a couple centuries.”
I furrow my brows. Hell… The Underworld… is too damn confusing. I don’t even know, nor am I sure that I want to know, about how humans were created. Yet, we’re simple creatures. Live fast and die young, compared to supes. Procreate, grow old, retire… “Were all demons created?”
“No, most were. They can breed and that’s where the rest are from.”
I’m silent for a few beats and rub my temples. “How old are you?”
He smirks at me. “Just over five hundred years old. Evan is the youngest of the four here in our group at the ripe age of two-hundred and… twenty-three?”
I chuckle and close my eyes. “All of this is so new to me. Usually Jeremy is my go-to for information.”
He nods. “I don’t mind your questions, and I didn’t mean to offend you when I asked to go back home. It’s one thing being around lesser demons and my brothers… It’s too different here. Weak humans that die after tripping over their own feet… Witches and warlocks having as much magic to fill my pinky. Vampires and shifters are another league all on their own. They’re simpler, much easier to be around than the witches, no offense. I presume it helps that vampires are technically more demon than witches, warlocks, and shifters.” He sends me a lopsided grin and I chuckle.
“I understand, I just don’t want to go to the Underworld for half of the year. I have responsibilities. Children.”
He snaps his head towards me and chokes on his next words. “You have children?” I tighten my expression and nod sharply and he sucks his plump lips in between his teeth. “They will have to have their blood tested, too. Father might want them to train in the Underworld with you. Are their powers bound?”
“Yes… Harriet bound them at birth.”
We’re silent for a while, I stare straight ahead into the dark, gloomy groves of trees while he continues to stare at the side of my face. He sighs and stands up and holds out his hand to help me. I wipe my hands off on the dewy grass to clean the soil from my fingers and take his hand. “I have children, too. All of them are grown… The youngest is about a century older than you. The other three of my brothers here with me have never been mated nor have they had children, yet… So they won’t understand.”
I nod mutely and hold my tongue to not beg for information on his mate and children. “All boys like your dad?”
He chuckles and nods as we stroll back to the manor. “All boys. My mate ended up leaving me after we were together for almost four hundred years. Said I was getting ‘boring’ and moved closer to my father’s territory. I always felt like she was with me to get closer to him, to be a part of his illustrious harem. I detested watching him with so many women when I was young… I ingrained it into myself to stay loyal to my mate. Look where that got me.”
“So when your father offered you a chance to meet some lowly witch you jumped at the opportunity?”
He snorts. “No, when the King of the Underworld, even if he’s your father, commands you to go to Earth to deal with a spirit witch, you listen.”
I hum and slow down as we approach the steps. “One more question… Were the other spirit witches that were bound to him treated as one of his harem members?”
He licks his bottom lip and shakes his head. I stare up into his dark blue eyes and glance over his slicked back blonde hair and his sharp features. “No, they treated each other like… familiars.”
I laugh out loud and he scowls at me and I stop immediately. “Wait, familiars are real?”
“Yes. There’s a summoning spell, or you can choose any animal you’d prefer and complete a ritual. The witches before you have used the shifters as familiars in the past.”
I pull up short and slowly turn to him with horror lining my face. “Oh, hell no. Is that still happening?”
He places his hand against my lower back and leads me up the steps and back inside. “Not in this coven. Talk to Jeremy about it if you’d like more information… The Volkov coven is the only one that I know of on Earth that accepts different supes into their wards from my knowledge.” My mind is reeling as we stalk through the halls and I turn around and send him a small smile.
“Thank you for tonight. I’m sorry that you’d rather be back home. But I appreciate how much you’ve told me.” He nods and turns towards the other set of stairs and I stare at his backside as he confidently climbs two steps at a time. I thought that Hunter was one of the most handsome men I’ve ever been with or met, but holy shit – these demons give him a run for his money.
Tall, strong, powerful, built to seduce… Just not a woman like me, who has been burned. Has ‘been there and done that’ and is not going to fall for pretty faces, nor their pretty lies.
_________________
I was up until dawn and was able to finish the rest of the brochures and started on two of the websites. I’m on a time crunch to be done with all of the items before Davis and Ashlynn are here for winter break. I slept past lunch and have left both of them voicemails to call me back to check in with me. I still haven’t had a conversation with Davis about his girlfriend in California, and I want to make sure he’s okay.
He’s sensitive and cares so damn much, I just hope that she didn’t destroy him. He seemed fine over Thanksgiving.
I had a short meeting with Dean, London, and Francis earlier, after my late workout with Dean, about what other jobs we can offer around the coven estate and grounds if there are any families that are in need. I made it a point that the grounds are much too vast for one person to garden. Dean made sure to send me his signature scowl and grunts but eventually just shrugged then left to go work. I honestly have no idea how he does it… If there is enough land for an entire small fucking town to live here, then we need more help. Paid help.
