Page 12 of Martyr

“She also didn’t like you guys very much.”

Yejun grunted. “Weren’t you just screaming about how much you hate us? Lots of people dislike us, some because, as mentioned, we hurt people, and others because they’re jealous we have power. You can’t please everyone, Firebird. Focus on making those that matter like you instead of worrying about the rest.”

“Matter?” Nix gave him a droll stare. “Don’t tell me you mean you?”

He rested back on his hands and hummed. “Wouldn’t it be easier for you if you at least tried to like us?” His gaze trailed down pointedly, landing in Nix’s lap. “There are certainly parts of us you…enjoy.”

“That’s different.”

“How so?”

“You’re all going to have sex with me whether I want it or not.”

“We’re going to keep you with us whether you want it or not as well,” he said, some of his playfulness draining away.“Especially now that Lake has claimed you. It may seem like he made a spur-of-the-moment mistake, but I’ve known him all our lives, Nix. He doesn’t lose his head like that. Even if he’d made the decision quickly, he would have weighed the pros and cons before sinking his teeth into your neck. You’re his. Which means,” he leaned in and pressed a light kiss to Nix’s cheek, “you’re also mine.”

He couldn’t go there. If he even started to think about that, he would spiral. Nix was barely holding it together as it was. There was no one here he could trust. No one who would put him first. The Demons had each other and Grady…He’d need to get to the bottom of that later.

But not now. Right now…He was tired and confused. Somehow, he’d ended the day with more questions than when he’d started it, and he hated that.

“Can you promise that you’ll never hurt me?” Nix was making himself far too vulnerable, but he was afraid. If what Yejun was saying was true, that meant Lake had considered all the ways he could protect Nix from his best friend's wrath, and marking him had been the best solution.

That was a shitty, desperate solution.

And if even Lake was desperate…

Yejun thought it over. “I can promise not to physically harm you—outside of the bedroom, in any case. But that’s it. Is that good enough?”

“If I say it isn’t?”

“It’s more than I’ve willingly given anyone else,” he said. “Anyone other than West and Lake, at least. I know you’re not ready to face the fact you’ve gone from being with us for a few weeks to with us forever—”

“No, I’m not.”

“—but that’s your reality now, Firebird. And that means you and I are going to be together through thick and thin. Iwould prefer it if we trusted one another, so if my promise not to physically hurt you can help there, I’ll give it. But don’t ask too much of me too soon. I may seem cool about all of this, but I’m actually just as upset as you are.”

“Stop making it sound like you understand how I feel,” he demanded. “You still have your freedom.”

“That’s true.” He nodded and then stood. “Let’s talk about this again later, after you’ve had some rest and I’ve come to terms myself. Okay?”

There was no other option but to agree.

“I’ll go get that tea,” he offered. “West should be done with it by now.”

Chapter 4:

Computers were easy. Simple. Dependable.

Numbers didn’t lie, and so long as he hit the nifty little save button, West could feel confident in knowing the second he turned his machine back on, everything he expected to be there would be. There was no guesswork.

West barely bothered with the clock to his left as he worked well into the night, like he did every night. The clacking of his keyboard keys and the notes of classical beiska music filled his room with comforting sounds. It was almost like white noise to him at this point, background audio to keep him focused and on task.

And there many, many tasks to get through.

Yejun and Lake had no clue all the work that went into hunting down their hacker. He was in forums, running deep searches, and even scouring the dark web for any sign of their enemy. So far, no one knew anything about this person or their signature. It was almost as if they didn’t exist.

“I’ll find you,” he promised under his breath, eyes scanning one of the five large holo-screens that took up the length of his desk. It took up the center of the room, with his bed behind him and the doors to both the bathroom and the hallway across from him, where he could keep it in sight in case anyone ever walked in on him.

Lake had that nasty habit, mostly because he didn’t respect anyone. Yejun did it on occasion because he was always too caught up in his own thoughts to remember common courtesy was a thing.

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