Page 48 of Laid Bare

“We’ll figure it out, brother.” Bane pats my shoulder, his expression earnest, even if he is a demon.

“I hate this,” I pout, acting nothing like the thousands-year-old demon prince I am. I sound more like a toddler who got their favorite toy taken away.

“I know. But it is what it is right now. The best we can do is create opportunities to spend more time with her. Let her get to know you. Then, when she’s finally comfortable and open to it, you can tell her and see where it leads you.”

My back slides down the wall, the scratch across my wings annoying, but it pulls my focus from the lust continually swirling around me, calling to me like a beacon to mate her. I drop my head in my hands, my fingers curling around the bases of my horns. My unkempt black and red locks fall over my face, shielding my turmoil from the outside world.

This isn’t the first time her pheromones have hit me—that was a few days ago—but it didn’t affect me near as badly as now. Maybe it’s because there’s two of them pleasuring her, or maybe it’s because this is actual sex, while before, it wasn’t.

As an incubus, we can tell the difference between an oral release essence and a sexual one. And this… this is sex.

“Come on. Let’s restart the game, maybe it’ll help take your mind off what’s happening inside.”

Fat fucking chance. Only ruthlessly destroying our enemies and bathing in their blood could possibly have the chance of taking my mind off Pinky’s sexual desire.

I pick up the cards Bane deals—this time a game of Crazy 8’s—and pray to Hel, the goddess of the underworld, that I’ll make it through this weekend without storming in there and claiming my mate against her will.

Horns crossed.

It’sfour in the morning, and I haven’t been able to sleep a wink. The guys thoroughly exhausted me, but the second I closed my eyes, all tiredness vanished, leaving me to stare at the inside of my eyelids while the guys sleep peacefully on either side of me.

The room the guys and I claimed to sleep in for the weekend is on the second floor, a floor away from where my birth parents’ bedroom is. Or well, was. I haven’t been able to stomach going up there, my heart not ready to open that door. Maybe one day I’ll be ready, but this weekend definitely isn’t it.

Eventually, if I decide fully to keep the house, I may want to claim the third floor as my own and I’ll need to go in there then. But that’s an idea far off. I’m not ready to make those kinds of decisions now. I’m more than happy here in this room.

The walls are a soothing pale green, framed by white trim, and a large picture window overlooks the backyard of the house. The bed itself is larger than anything I’ve ever seen in the human sector, with room to add at least four more mates if I had them. Or well, three mates and a snoring Aero. He’s currently stretched out across the foot of the bed, his wings hanging off the end, not that it seems to bother him.

A door off to the left leads into a bathroom fit for a king. Or should I say a queen? Multiple sinks rest upon a vanity, and the shower has the same theme with multiple shower heads. At the back, there’s a massive walk-in closet, something I’d never dream of being able to fill in my lifetime. Hell, I don’t even know how someone can own so many pieces of clothing. Feels like a waste if you ask me.

All in all, it feels like this room, or guest room as I’m thinking it is, was designed to host someone with multiple mates. It would make sense for the larger-than-normal size everything seems to be.

My thoughts drift from the room back to the book long forgotten in the living room. It’s already been deduced that Aero is not my transmutation form. So something went awry when I was attempting to shift in class. There has to be an answer, and I know, deep down, that it’s written somewhere in the tome my birth dad left for me.

Carefully, so as not to disturb my sleeping mates and my passed out Pegasus, I climb out of bed, tiptoeing across the floor to the door. Luckily, everyone stays asleep as I venture out into the hallway and make my way downstairs, my mind focused solely on getting the answer I’m looking for. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep until I do.

The lamp above the tome flares to life as I click it on, illuminating the space. Grabbing the discarded blanket from the couch, I curl up in the chair, placing the book on my lap. Inside the front cover, I pull out the letter written in my birth father’s script, running my eyes over the words once again.

Every written line hits me just as hard as it did the first time, but the tears don’t fall. Not like they did. They cling to my lashes, but I blink them back, refusing to let me flood my face. If I fall into that hole again, I won’t be able to climb out and find the answers I so desperately need.

One line stands out amongst the rest, drawing question marks in my head.

Keep your soul spirit close and know that we love you with all our hearts.

Soul spirit. It could be just about anything, but for some unexplained reason, the words resound deep in my heart.

Could this be what I’m looking for? It seems far-fetched given I have no clue what it is, but there’s only one way to find out.

After checking the contents, I thumb through the pages until I come to the part about soul spirits. Shockingly, it’s practically at the beginning of the book, so it has to be important. Right?

Again, Soul Spirit heads the page in bold lettering, and I take a deep breath, diving into the following text.

Soul spirits are a tricky, tricky thing, for they differ for every curiomancer. But know this, every curiomancer has one. Even you, my dear daughter.

As you’re reading this, you may not have yours yet, or maybe you do, and you just don’t know it.

It’s only a matter of time before your soul spirit emerges, if you’ve found your mate.

My mate? What do they have to do with my soul spirit?

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