Page 25 of Dark Captivation

Love sparked behind his eyes when he looked at me, but hiding behind that was the murky haze of deception. More than kindness lurked behind his shiny white smile. There was something nestled beneath the surface, something he wasn’t saying.

All alphas acted according to the same philosophy. They believed the rules simply didn’t apply to them.

For weeks, the demi-god alphas, Payton, Blake and Chasten smiled at my face, all while knowing they were the ones who killed my parents. They hid their secrets well, all so they could gain my trust and manipulate me.

Malek was an alpha too, which meant he couldn’t be completely trusted. Just like all alphas, he would go to any length to get what he wanted. That left only three questions. Exactly how far would he go? How many would he destroy just to have me and what would it really take to stop him?

CHAPTER EIGHT

LIVY

“Hurry up Sunny. We’ve got a training party waiting for us at the town hall.” Ferina’s voice rang out from behind my door, heavy fisted knocks came after.

“I’m almost ready.” I fastened the clasp at the back of my bra, pulling on my long sleeve blouse, buckling my blue jeans and finally, sliding on my sneakers.

Running over to the mirror, I combed my hair and paused, my eyes glued to my reflection.

This was supposed to be a day of training with Ferina. This was to make sure I knew how to fight alongside demons in case there was another attack. But that was Malek’s idea. I had different motives.

I still hadn’t uncovered any useful intel about him. I needed to make nice with his sister, gain her trust and somewhere in the small talk she was bound to give me something I could use to put a wrench in Malek’s war machine.

“Su----nnyyyy,” Ferina bleated like a goat.

I moved for the door, pulling it open. A camouflage jumpsuit hugged Ferina’s tall, shapely figure, her eyes narrowed as they cantered down to what I was wearing.

“Private Sunny reporting for duty,” I gave her a salute.

“Not in jeans you aren’t.” She chuckled, smiling warmly. “Luckily, you’re not in the army and aren’t on duty so you can train in whatever’s comfortable. But are you sure you’ll be loose enough in jeans?”

“They’re super stretchy.” I kicked high, showing off my impressive dexterity.

She nodded, puckering her lips, appearing satisfied.

We went out to the garage at the back of the castle. Hopping into Ferina’s red Audi, we cruised through the sunny streets of Demon City.

“So, Sunny. Big brother wants me to teach you about what it’s like to live in our great city. This means a crash course in our culture, history and team fighting strategy and all that boring shit.” She switched gears, taking a sharp turn onto a minor road, avoiding traffic. “Buttttt I’m not the boring shit kinda gal. So, what do you say we cut to the need-to-know stuff and go for donuts and drinks instead?” She peaked at me, gauging my reaction.

I was caught off guard. Ferina was princess to an entire race of beings and she was so casual, down to earth and well, more ‘normal’ than I’d expected.

“Just don’t tell Mally okay?” she whispered conspiratorially.

“He’d have to pry the truth right out of my mouth before I tell him a word.” I made a mouth zip gesture.

“I knew I liked you.” She pumped the brakes as traffic stalled at the end of the minor road.

“It’s hard keeping Mally out of the loop on anything. He’s got eyes and ears everywhere in the castle.” She rolled her eyes. “I love him to death but he’s a bit of a control freak.”

She maneuvered in her seat to face me, her palms slapped her lap. “He wouldn’t get it. This is way more important than training! We’re about to be like sisters.” She exclaimed. “We should get to know each other as much as possible. We can’t exactly do that while trying to kick each other in the face, can we?”

The traffic nudged along, and she faced forward and continued driving.

“Um, sisters?” I asked, my voice going shaky.

“Well, yes?” She looked at me questioningly. “You need to learn our ways and norms so that once the war is won, you will be accepted as queen by the horde.”

“So, about that.” I paused, considering just how to put it.

Talk about this so-called betrothal came up briefly at the picnic and I didn’t address it then. I was so caught up in how surreal it was that I was having a meal with demon royalty that I did way more listening than talking. But now that we were in private, I wanted to give her the courtesy of the truth.

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