Page 132 of Stalked By Seduction and Shadows

I took the deepest pleasure in robbing them of that.

Just as I would find great pleasure in raiding Evangeline’s home and saving Isabella and Helia knows how many other slaves she’s holding. It was nothing short of a miracle that we stumbled upon a needle in a never-ending haystack, but I was getting used to the beautiful magick Scarlett pulled toward her.

We’d have to act with the utmost caution. Another fruitless raid could prove catastrophic. I had no idea what the ramifications would be, even if successful. The born would be caught red-handed breaking the treaty and my most basic of laws, but it might not matter. Something wasn’t right about all of this, the escalating tensions and Durian’s arrogance, the silence from the kingdom despite their dignitaries set to arrive only days from now. That was why Sadie, my inner circle, and I were drafting several models for handling potential conflicts, from the mild to the disastrous.

A dark cloud loomed. I hugged Scarlett tighter, wrapping her in a warm towel as I answered her ridiculous questions about edible dishware and cutlery.

“How much sugar are you eating?” I asked, shaking my head.

She spun around. “I really do not appreciate the tone you used to ask that question.”

I laughed at her scrunched face and fiery eyes. “My apologies, baby. I’ll make sure my chefs prepare you all the dessert you could ever desire. And I will enjoy the sweetness secondhand.” I trailed a finger over one of my bite marks, and Scarlett’s halfhearted anger fell away.

“What’s the plan?” she asked.

I watched her carefully, the way that devious little mind spun around in circles, adjusting to her new reality.

“We’re going to sleep. I take care of what’s mine, and you need good rest in order to heal,” I said, waiting for her to nod before continuing. “Tomorrow, you will gather your belongings. I need to make my own preparations and attend to clan matters. In the meantime, I will give you the space away from me to make sure this is what you truly want. If it is, I will come for you. And I will ensure the whole world knows you belong to me.”

She nodded. “I’m not going to change my mind,” she said dreamily, still flooded with aphrodisiac chemicals from my magick in her blood. “I’ve already tried. It’s impossible.”

I brushed the back of my hand across her flushed cheek. The familiar stab of guilt arose, reminding me I had stolen Scarlett’s freedom when I became the jailer of her heart and soul. But it was a hard feeling to hold on to when she was close. I’d given her a chance to run from me, but fate had thrown her at my feet instead.

We were inevitable, our lives forever intertwined. She was my Little Flame, and I was her darkness, the beast that would always stalk her from the shadows.

I was in the room of music when Mason found me the next evening. After a long, tiresome day with the clan and without Scarlett, I busied myself rearranging my collection and finding all the albums I wanted Scarlett to listen to immediately.

Every once in a while, I tugged on that invisible leash, making sure she was in that dingy apartment in Lumina. Exactly where she was supposed to be.

“Rune,” Mason said.

I didn’t so much as glance over my shoulder. “I patiently await my apology.”

Again, maybe if I hadn’t watched Scarlett grow up, born to very human parents with a very human sister, I might’ve harbored some concern.

Mason was silent, likely debating whether she could escape this without the devastating blow to her pride.

I took zero pity on her and turned, prepared to only let her off the hook after she’d been thoroughly berated and teased. After the headaches she’d caused me the past weeks, she deserved one of her own and worse.

But she didn’t at all wear the face I thought she would after confirming Scarlett’s mortality.

My stomach dropped, unable to make sense of her deep frown, her unsteady features. Mason was not a woman who faltered, who showed this level of emotion. This level of uncertainty.

“What is it?” I asked.

The stars above flickered and dimmed, the magick of the room responding to our energetic influence.

Mason blinked once before straightening. “I’m sorry, Rune.”

More celestial light began to die, color shifting to inky onyx.

“Scarlett is a succubus. A powerful one. The glamour was stronger than anything the blood witch had ever seen before.”

Scarlett is a succubus.

Those were the only words I heard, the only words I was capable of processing. But even they didn’t make any sense. I nearly laughed, shadows leaking uncontrollably from my skin.

“No, she isn’t.”

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