Page 1 of Their Demon

Chapter 1

Lillian

I always pictured Satan as a giant red man with two horns, a tail, and a pitchfork—maybe even wings or something. I wasnotexpecting the handsome, normal-looking man waiting for us in our living room.

When he’d crashed into the flat with a yell, the twins and I scrambled to get dressed and rushed down the hallway after Keir.

Their father’s hair was the same shade of brown as the twins’, his facial features sharp and inhuman like theirs too. I fucking swear, his jawline could have cut a diamond. I could see where the twins got their good looks; they were copies of him.

His eyes were red, but unlike Aiden’s fire-filled ones, they wereblood-red. They were the shade of red you didn’t want to see glowing in the dark when you looked outside your window before bed, the shade of red that meant their owner was waiting for the chance to sink their teeth into you.

He wore black dress pants and a black button-up, cuffs rolled up to his elbows—clearly where Keir got his sense of fashion. The top three buttons were left undone, exposing his ink-covered chest. The shirt was tight enough that I could see the bars of his nipple piercings.

He was kind of hot, in the ‘he’s my boyfriends’ dad’ sort of way.

Was it okay to call them my boyfriends? Oh well. Too late.

He exuded power, and not just because he held himself in an overly cocky way or because his face remained smug as we filed in one after the other. It was everywhere, floating in the air around him so thick, it made my blood run cold.

I peeled my eyes away from their father to examine the destruction he’d caused.

It appeared he’d become impatient with the speed at which the doors opened, so he took matters into his own hands—literally. The elevator doors were caved in at just under shoulder height, unable to close due to being so warped.

The bar along the wall had been swiped clean—glasses, bottles, and alcohol now covering the sleek black floor and a nearby wall. One of the couches looked like it had been smashed in two, and the coffee table that used to sit between the couches was splintered on the floor.

“So this is the human.” His voice was slow and odious, sending chills down my spine. I dragged my eyes up to meet the pair of red ones burning holes into me. “Interesting.”

I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling like I couldn’t breathe. My heartbeat was too loud in my ears. The way he watched me made me feel so little standing before him.

Look at me, Lillian, Keir’s voice rang in my head, but I couldn’t tear myself away from my staring contest with his father.He’s just trying to intimidate you. He can’t hurt you here. We won’t let him. I promise.

His support brought me a bit of comfort, and I stood a little straighter.

“Veryinteresting.” Their father chuckled, and his eyes flicked to his sons.

I exhaled and looked at Keir, who was staring at me. I nodded at him to let him know I was okay, but he didn’t give any reaction as he turned to face his father.

“I was very disappointed to hear your mother got to meet her first.” He picked an invisible piece of lint off his shirt and flicked it away.

“She told you?” Keir looked ready to throw down.

He’d been weary of his mother knowing about me, afraid of what could come from her having such important information. Clearly, he’d been right not to trust her.

Their father laughed, and my body was instantly covered in goosebumps. The laugh of Satan was not a pleasant, joyous sound. It was beautiful, in a deadly way, but it made me cringe, like I was listening to nails on a chalkboard instead.

“Your mother can’t hide anything from me. She knows better than that.” The corner of his mouth twitched. “She learned that lesson a long time ago.”

“If you hurt her—”

“Your mother is fine, Keir. It’s yourpetyou should be worried about.” His attention returned to me, a lethal smile on his face.

The twins stepped in front of me, forming a blockade, but it only made him laugh again. I shuddered, my sanity silently pleading for him to stop laughing. It took everything to keep my hands at my sides when they just wanted to be over my ears.

“Don’t touch her,” Aiden spat, venom in his voice.

“Leave her out of this,” Nicholas hissed.

I should’ve been happy they were coming to my defense—but against their own father? He was terrifying. My mind wasalready racing with thoughts of all the gruesome things he was capable of.

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