Page 91 of Beauty's Monstrous Demons

“I can’t tell,” I mutter, angry with myself. My large hooves trip over each other as I walk over to Lorelei, my brow furrowing with confusion. “Goddamit, please don’t be dead. Please.”

Tears flow down her cheeks as she stares up at me, except I can see blood also streaking her skin.

“Fuck,” I groan, cupping her face gently.

“Careful there,” a voice rumbles behind me. I can’t tell who it is. It’s not Samael or Phenex.

Alecto? I think that’s his name. Lifting Lorelei into my arms as my knees buckle, I hear the room gasp but she just gazes at me.

“I’m right here,” she whispers.

God, if only I could believe that.

SAMAEL

Bast Dalca is lost to a nightmare of his own making. If Lorelei dies, the possibility that we would too is high, but I truthfully don’t want to be part of a world where she’s not in it.

Her smile brightens my life, her beauty lies within the fire in her heart. Bast hasn’t experienced all of this, yet just the hint of what he’s been exposed to is leaving him a mess.

“He won’t hurt her, right?” Alecto breathes, his gaze on Bast and Lorelei.

She’s crying at how much of a mess he is right now, her sobs soft as she leans against his chest.

“No, but he’s definitely lost touch with his sanity,” I mutter. “That was fast.”

“You’re an asshole,” Phenex says with a chuckle. “If you made any of us see what he is probably seeing, we’d be a wreck. You’re lucky he didn’t jump out of his window.”

“Eh, he did think about that,” I admit. I’m able to monitor the thoughts of those that I implant fear responses inside of. Adares managed to block me from doing that, though I’m unsure as to how. “He talked himself out of it so it was fine.”

“I don’t know if I should cancel the rest of my day or not,” Alecto mutters. “I don’t think she should work tonight.”

“Cancel her shift,” Phenex agrees. “Are we really going to make him suffer for the next… fourteen-ish hours?”

“Maybe ten,” I reply. “I want him to believe she’s dead, sit with that, and realize what he’d be losing. She can still eat and everything, he’ll simply see something else.”

“Remind me never to get on your bad side,” Alecto sighs. “Lorelei.”

She glances over at him, her eyes wide with sadness.

“He needs to go through this, Baby Girl, okay?” he says. “Bast will never forget what it’s like to live through a day without you in it.”

“He’ll be more careful with you,” Phenex growls under his breath.

“He’s losing his mind,” Lorelei sniffles. “This feels cruel.”

“You’re too good,” Alecto reminds her, moving over to kiss her forehead. Bast doesn’t even see him, locked in the hell in his mind. “Please make sure to eat something. I’m going to let Hailee know to find coverage for your shift.”

“I’m going to get fired,” she grumbles.

“You’re fucking your boss, Baby Girl,” he says. “You aren’t getting fired. There are also bruises on your face, particularly your chin. They may be purple and green instead of black and blue because of your rapid healing, but you still will scare the clients.”

“Fine,” she says with a pout. “Thanks, boss.”

“If you’re not careful, I’ll decide we need to act that out,” he says, smirking as she shivers and perfumes.

The three of us grin as Alecto adjusts his erection in his pants and leaves, while Lorelei puts her hand on Bast’s chest and rubs it slowly, trying to help him see that she’s alive and there.

“I’m going to start breakfast,” Phenex sighs. “I think this is the beginning of a long fucking day.”

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