Page 90 of Wickedly Yours

He’d taken her power and left her to rot.

I’d do everything in my power to be nothing like him.

“You learned about different demons, right?” I’d seen the pile of books left on the desk one night and had looked over the titles.

“Yeah. I never knew how many types there were.” She shifted her gaze away from mine. “In the modern world, witches aren’t taught much about demons. It’s not really a problem anymore, I guess. That’s why I thought you were all tricksters, trying to steal our souls.” Luna’s cheeks flamed. “But you’re not.”

I laughed. “Well, there are still some who make deals, trying to swindle humans, but I do my best to provide forthem, too.” Luna’s eyes shut as I ran my hand up and down her spine soothingly. “It’s what my mom would have wanted. My father…” I struggled to find the right words, thinking about the last time I’d spoken with him. “The title of Demon King has a bloody history, and it’s safe to say he didn’t gain the crown by waiting for his father to give it to him. He took it.” My teeth ground together. “And he took her.”

“Your mother.” Luna’s voice was soft. Soothing. Grounding.

“Yes. She was too good for this place.” I massaged the spot between my eyebrows. “She was never supposed to be here at all, actually.”

“She wasn’t a demon?” Luna’s voice caught.

I chuckled. “No. The opposite, really.” My wings unfurled behind me, and she ran her fingers over the feathers. I normally kept them hidden with my magic, but when she’d asked to see all of me, something had healed inside of me. “Have you not wondered? Why no other demons are like me?”

“Damien’s acat.” Her face worked into an adorable little squint. “I suspended my disbelief in reality alongtime ago.”

“Shapeshifter,” I corrected. “His mother could also shift into cat form. He inherited that from her.”

“Right. They mentioned that. And yours was…”

“An angel. A rarity, especially for here. No demon had ever dared to take one for their queen before.”

Luna’s eyes widened. “She wasforced?”

“Taken,” I amended, though I wasn’t sure my wife was wrong, either. “Though I believed she cared for my father in her own way.”

“That’s awful.”

But had I not planned to do the same thing with her? To force her to my side, bind her to me as my queen, watch her swell with my child so she couldn’t leave? It might have beenthe way things were done in the past, but I would make sure it wasn’t how it continued in the future.

“They were mates.” I shook my head. “But he didn’t deserve her. He’s not a good person, Luna.” That was the understatement of the millennium.

“Then why is he still the Demon King?” She asked, her gaze meeting mine. “Has no one challenged him?”

“No.” A rough sound emitted from my throat. “Because they can’t.”

“Why? You said it was a bloody history…”

A knot formed in my throat. “It’s complicated.” Because it was my crown to take. Because they weren’t strong enough, just like I wasn’t. Or… hadn’t been.

“So help me understand. If I’m going to be by your side, I can’t be left in the dark, Zain.”

“What if I’m not a good person, either? Will you still stand by me?”

“I don’t believe that’s true.”

Shaking my head, forced the words out. “It’s my birthright. No one else can take it from me. I’ve given up everything for this kingdom. My father is the worst sort of demon, but the only person who can see the life drain from his eyes is me.” I rubbed a spot on my forehead. “He knows that I’m the only one who can end his sorry existence. So he fights me at every opportunity, with every decision. Knowing that I won’t back down. That I care too much.”

“What did he do to you, Zain?” The softness in her voice startled me, and Luna cupped my cheeks, bringing our eyes together.

Those beautiful eyes shone into mine. Like shebelievedin me. Like I hadn’t just told her I wanted to gut my father.

“You don’t want to know.” Flashes of my childhood flew through my mind. Abuse. Neglect. Memories I neverwanted to relive. Memories I didn’t want to give her because I knew the pain in her eyes was for me. “I had to beperfect.”

I tried to explain it to her then. How Damien didn’t get the brunt of it because he wasn’t our father’s heir. Because he always treated him like a bastard, as if it was Damien’s fault that he’d gotten his mother pregnant. That the affair had resulted in a child.

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