Page 19 of Releasing Darkness

Eleven

SASHA

Ididn’t know what happened. It was like one minute he hated me, and the next he was calling me mate, kissing me, and vowing that I would be safe from my father. I shook my head, feeling like I had whiplash from the change in attitude.

I pushed away from Varos and turned around to open my satchel. I began pulling out the clothing I had brought for him. As I shook out the shirt and then the pants, holding them up to judge the size now that I had seen him, my mind whirled.

I spun on my heel and glared at him. “What is this?” I demanded.

He crossed his arms and glared back at me. “What is what, princess?”

I threw my arms out wide, the legs of the pants smacking me against my ass. I thrust the clothes at him, not giving him the option other than to grab them before they fell to the stone floor. “This, Varos! You hated me yesterday. Why the sudden change in attitude? Why do you care if I live or die? Nothing has changed. I’m still the daughter of the High General. Remember him? The guy who tortured you for thousands of years?”

I knew I was playing with fire, but I had to remind him of why he hated me before he allowed my hopes to rise any higher. He didn’t want me as a mate, and I accepted that. Kissing me without any intention of claiming me was just cruel. But maybe that was his game. Perhaps it was some kind of twisted payback for my very existence.

It hurt to see the snarl return to his face and the look of loathing fill his features. But when he spoke, it wasnt the words I had expected to hear.

“You aren’t his daughter,” he bit out through clenched teeth. “You are nothing to him. Nothinglikehim. If I hadn’t been blinded by hate and fury when you stepped through those bars, I would have seen it then. Since you rescued me and brought me here at the risk of your own life, you’ve shown that you are nothing but kind and compassionate. So, no. You aren’t his daughter. What you are,” he said softly but with no less menace, “is my mate.”

I stood there gaping at him as my heart thundered away in my chest. I closed my mouth as his words swirled through my head like a tornado. “Don’t fuck with me, Varos,” I snapped.

He stepped back with a smirk playing across his beautiful, harsh features. “I’m not fucking with you, princess. Not yet. But soon.” Then he held up the jeans I’d shoved at him with a frown. “What the hell kind of trousers are these, and more importantly, who the hell do they belong to?”

I couldn’t help it. The giggle burst out of me, and soon, I was doubled over laughing as tears leaked from my eyes. The change in subjects was so incongruous and unexpected that it broke every last bit of tension I’d been holding onto. By the time I’d pulled myself together and straightened up while wiping my eyes, I was no longer scared of Varos or what I meant to him. We were mates. It might take a little more time to come to termswith that. But eventually, hopefully, we would have the future I’d only dreamt of.

“Those are jeans. They are made of denim. I stole them from a friend. He’s another guard who works for Varek. I snuck into his rather disgusting room and swiped them from his drawer. I’d like you to know that I almost died of mortification at what I found in his room, by the way.”

He looked at the pants in disgust. “What did you find?”

I grinned, then shuddered at the memory of touching his pocket pussy. “Just a disgusting sexual toy that men use when they don’t have a woman to be with.”

“You touched something his cock had touched?” he snarled. “I’ll kill him!”

“Eww. Don’t say that. I don’t need the images in my mind. And you can’t kill him. He’s one of your brother’s trusted guards.” I pointed a finger at Varos, hoping I looked stern enough to make him reconsider.

“Fine, I’ll just cut his cock off so he doesn’t have to worry about sticking it anywhere my mate might touch.”

I threw my hands in the air. “Varos! It was in his room. Did you miss the part where I said I snuck in there? His pocket pussy was right where it was supposed to be. Well, if he had any manners, he would have had it tucked away in his nightstand like any normal male would.” I shuddered again and shook my hands much the same way I had before.

“I’ll think about not cutting his cock off as long as you promise not to enter any other male’s room again for any reason.”

I crossed my arms and lifted an eyebrow. “Ever?”

He nodded once. “Ever.”

“That could be a difficult promise to keep. What if he were in there dying and needed help?”

“Then I will help him while you watch from the doorway.”

“You’re impossible.”

He grinned, showing off his sharp fangs. “That’s not the first time I’ve been accused of such.” He held up the jeans again and shook his head. “I’m not certain I will like your Earth realm.”

“Just wait until you taste chocolate cake,” I laughed as I turned around to rifle through my bag for my change of clothing. I didn’t pack much, but I knew I had at least a spare change of underwear. When I turned back around, I nearly swallowed my tongue.

A wave of heat hit me so hard in the gut that I gasped and clutched at my belly. I was suddenly on fire as I took in a fully naked Varos standing mere feet away from me. A vicious hunger roared to life inside me, and within one second to the next, I lost all control of my demon.

My eyes fixated on his cock that grew erect as I watched with a voracious hunger gnawing at my insides. When a bead of pre-come welled at the tip and then rolled over the side of the head, I pounced.

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