Page 48 of Hell Gate

The possessive growl against my neck comes as a blaze spirals through me, sending me over the edge once more from the heat building between us. With a ragged groan, his cock throbs inside me as he comes.

Something expands in my chest, bright and hot, the light touching every part of me and engulfing him. He covers my heart with his hand and kisses me.

I feel him everywhere as I’m shattered and remade, no longer a broken, unloveable girl. Inside me. In my heart where the bond connecting us thrums. Holding me. Marking me as his forever in every way.

“You belong to me, petal,” he breathes against my lips, fingers tightening in my hair. “I’ve claimed you as mine. You’ll always be mine, mate.”

Those words burn into my very soul with the promise I’ll never be alone again.

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

LILY

We take our time getting back, lingering in the moment while we giggle about feeding each other slightly squashed pie. When we finally get dressed and return, Valerian waits outside the motel room with a surly expression. I steel myself for his anger, not in the least bit sorry for enjoying the afternoon with Matthias instead of training. I can still feel him between my legs, inside me, the glowing warmth in my chest at his claiming vow emanating from within me like a beacon.

The anger doesn’t come.

Valerian stares at me for a long beat, something unreadable shifting across his chiseled features. He inclines his head, his black tousled hair falling in his face. “Get back in the car. We have to go south.”

Alder comes out of the room with my bag and heads for the car. He pauses halfway there, spine rigid as his head jerks in my direction. There’s no way he or Vale can tell that we had sex, right? I hope they can’t smell it on us like Matthias said he could smell when I was aroused. I avert my eyes from Alder, heart pounding.

“Did you find the witches?” Matthias steers us around, rubbing my back in soothing circles.

“Yes, but they couldn’t do what I want without calling on other covens to join them at their sabbath. We can’t wait that long. They suggested another coven and contacted them on my behalf. It’s a long drive.”

So much for showering. Not that I’m in a rush to wash away what happened.

Once we’re on the road, my mind has free rein to roam. I curl against the door in the back, watching the scenery speed by. Alder and Valerian mutter to each other up front while Matthias dozes, arm outstretched across the seat so his fingers brush against my hip.

An hour into the drive as we’re leaving the state, my stomach tightens at the thought of what awaits me when we find a witch powerful enough to undo the binding trapping me as a human.

What will happen if it’s broken?

The guys think I’m a changeling, my true demon form locked away. But what if that demon is different? What if the person I am now disappears, erased once the memories of my demon life are free?

A harsh breath blows past my lips as I wring the hem of my loose skull hands crop top.

If I’m not me, will I still be Matthias’ fated mate? I bite the inside of my cheek to stave off the panicky beat of my heart. No. I felt it earlier by the lake—his words touched me to the core of my being.

Yet the niggle of worry only grows, as it always does once the thought enters my head, the ugly whisper that I’ll be alone.

I don’t even know what it means to be a changeling. There’s a chance that breaking the magical seal might destroy this body to reveal my demon. It occurs to me again as my thoughts turn in circles that I might not be the age I think I am depending on what my life was before I was brought to the mortal realm from the underworld. My head jerks with a bitter snort. All the years I’ve spent dreading and hoping for my eighteenth birthday to escape the system that never helped me, yet I might have aged out ten times over.

She’ll never be queen. The hellhound’s vicious snarl surfaces in my head along with Rainer’s report about the council labeling Valerian as a traitor for the treasonous rebellion he’s plotting.

They can’t mean me. I’m no queen.

“Come here.” Matthias moves to the middle of the seat and pulls me into his lap. “I can hear those gears turning in your head. Steam’s about to blow out of your ears from thinking so hard. What’s bothering you?”

The panicky internal crisis slows down once I’m in his embrace. I focus on the calm beat of his heart against my back.

“I’m fine. Just nervous I guess.” I twist my fingers in my lap. He covers my hands, squeezing them comfortingly. “We don’t know what will happen if the witches can break the seal.”

“Let me take your mind off it.” His tone lowers and he shifts against my ass so I feel his erection. “You still smell like me.”

My cheeks flush and I dart my eyes to the front. Can they smell it?

“It’s making me want you again,” he whispers against my ear. “Can you be quiet?”

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