Page 38 of Accidentally Summoned an Incubus

I managed to catch the slight nod of acceptance Billy issued at the gesture, before Lex continued, “I know I don’t. But I want to.” She settled back in her chair, careful not to move her hand from under mine. “So, a month ago, I needed to satiate my succubus side and met Chad in a bar. I never thought I’d see him again, but the next day when I started my new job, it turned out he was my boss. Billy had just started the week before me, and she quickly sniffed out why Iwas a bit uncomfortable with him being my boss. Anyway, Billy and I quickly realized that the company was definitely not for us. I thought I could handle Chad while we looked for a new job, but his advances became progressively worse. The day I quit, he pulled out his dick and told me to suck it—”

Shadows filled the room, swirling protectively around my mate as I fought to remain still, to keep my hand motionless over Lex’s. Billy’s ember eyes glowed through the shadows, but it was Lex’s soothing voice that brought me to my senses. “It’s okay, Lochran. Really, I’m okay.”

The shadows slowly crept back to the corners of the room before Lex continued, “I hexed his dick off, which is why I had to come back to my coven for the trial. But Billy sent me a video the other day. One of the comments was from a previous employee that said he was a predator, alluding that he had done this to other women. I didn’t tell you because I needed to get it all written down. I was going to give the notebook to the mortal police in the hopes that they could use it to arrest him.”

Overwhelming relief surged through me at my mate’s admission. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust me, but rather she needed to focus her energy on writing it all down. She selflessly wanted a record to give to the mortal police for justice for the other women he’d attacked. Pride swelled in my chest for my brave mate, and my fingers tightened around hers.

Lex’s lashes fluttered as a blush raised up her neck. “And we’ve been a little distracted since I finished the journal.”

Billy snorted. “I bet you have—I’ll need details later, Lex. But I should probably tell you what I’ve been up to.” Billy thrust her hand unceremoniouslyinto her bag and, after some animated rifling, produced a violent pink folder and set it on the table in front of her. The folder was scrawled with hand-drawn love hearts of varying sizes. The love hearts encased a variety of short messages ranging from a simpleJN+CCandMrs. Jasper Neukdaeto a blush-worthyCass wants Jasper’s knot.

I glanced at Billy, who glared at me in challenge. “Cool it, demon,” she hissed. “It’s my sister’s old school folder. It’s all we had. Anyway,” she slammed the folder open, hiding the profanities from view. “My sister, Cass, after some persuasion, did some digging into dear old Chad. It wasn’t hard as he’s becoming increasingly unhinged. This is the most recent one from just last night.” Billy pulled a piece of paper out of a plastic wallet before handing it to Lex, who tilted it so I could see.

It was an online newspaper article from the notorious paranormal journalism site Who Do the Voodoo? I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. There weren’t many news outlets that catered exclusively to supernatural beings, but this one had to be the worst to source facts from. It was barely better than a gossip column, and I’d be surprised if even half of what was reported was true.

Regardless, I scanned the two photos. The first was of a beautiful red-haired woman with striking green eyes, while the second was of a blonde-haired man and looked as if it had been pulled off a business website. I ground my teeth at the sight of the man who had sexually assaulted my mate. I decided then and there that when the trial was over, I would fall to my knees and beg my mate to allow me to exact vengeance on him.

But for now, I’d hold her hand and help her through her trial.

HUMAN MALE, CHAD BRUNSWICK, AGGRESSIVELY ANNOUNCES TO BANSHEE, MALORY BRÓNACH, THAT HE HAS A TINY PENIS.

Chaos erupted on the streets of Seattle today as a mortal man, Chad Brunswick, attempted to attack local New Orleans resident and banshee, Malory Brónach.

Malory states: “I don’t know what the feck he was talking about. There I am, on holiday, minding my own business, when this drunk human man came out of nowhere screaming, ‘I’ll kill you, you fucking witch! Give it back!’ I told him that I didn’t know what the feck he was talking about, but he just kept screaming at me. He said something like, ‘I’m going to kill you if you don’t give it back!’ I told him I had no idea what he was talking about, but he just kept saying, ‘My dick! Make my dick grow back! I’ll fucking kill you, you redhead witch-bitch!’”

When asked how she responded, Malory shrugged and said: “I did nothing, of course. I calmly turned away and left the situation.”

An eyewitness, Drasco Raxhus, says, “The banshee showed him her true form. It was terrifying, even for me, and I’m a Reaper! The human pissed himself and cried. By the time his friend found him, he was a blubbering mess. It was hilarious. I’m just upset I never caught the banshee’s name. Do you have it? Could you pass on my number? Anyway, whoever this witch is who hexed his dick off, I can’t blame her. He deserved it.”

This isn’t the first time ChadBrunswick has attempted to find his missing appendage. He recently went viral on TikTok when he screamed at a pair of mortal women for laughing at his tiny penis.

Billy closed the folder and laid her hand gently on top of it. “You can’t use the Who Do the Voodoo? article, but since it surfaced, along with the video, my sister managed to cross-reference the women who commented that likely knew Chad personally. She hacked into the HR database and found dozens of HR reports, as well as some police reports and some suspicious NDAs that looked forced. There was also a hospital report of a woman who refused to cooperate and keep her allegations quiet. He literally used the company records to find out where she lived and put her in intensive care.” Billy pushed the folder toward Lex. “Don’t read it yet. Let’s get the trial over with, and then we can come up with a plan.”

Hell’s Gate or not, I had to take my hat off to the wolf. She was going to make a great alpha.

Chapter 19. Lex

We spent the rest of the day relaxing, refusing to give Chad Brunswick—curse his name—another thought until the trial.

Lochran and Billy settled into an oddly endearing, if not slightly strained, friendship. It was strange having not one but two volatile creatures under my roof who could switch between murderous rage and cooing concern in the blink of an eye.

Lochran’s shadows ebbed and flowed throughout the day as he digested the brief version of what Chad had done, as did Billy’s shifting. But when one spotted the other about to tip over the edge, they pulled them back with a distracting comment.

And it helped that the house absolutely adored Billy. The moment she mentioned getting ready, the house magicked a frothing bubble bath for her in the main bathroom. It readied the third bedroom, complete with the best home comforts it could offer, and I had a sneaking suspicion that the house was trying to convince Billy to stay longer than the three nights she was supposed to. Its planwas apparently working, as Billy exclaimed with glee that she would doanythingto have such an awesome house looking after her. The house creaked so merrily that I was surprised the walls didn’t crumble around us.

After a shower and a session of meditation to calm my nerves, I dressed in the outfit the house had left out for me. It had chosen a pair of black suede loafers, black pants, a loose white blouse, and a heavy black cardigan with a pattern of golden suns and moons knitted into it. The outfit was more formal than I was used to wearing—though I guessed most outfits were formal in comparison to house clothes—but still had an odd comfort to them. I pinned my hair into a neat bun before carefully curling the loose strands.

As I stood in front of the mirror for a final check over, I hardly recognized myself. I still looked like me, of course, but something about my aura had changed. I no longer felt the crushing anxiety of blaming myself for what had happened, or the pressure of punishing my succubus. And I looked well for it. I took a deep breath as I touched my reflection in the mirror. It would be a rocky road ahead of me, starting with the trial, but the healing had begun.

And I had my patient mate, fierce friend, and cunning house to thank for it.

“Lex! If you don’t get your ass in gear, you’ll be late!” Billy bellowed from below, breaking my rather poignant moment of reflection.

With a sigh, I made my way down the stairs. The house had illuminated every surface with flickering candles in a fruitless bid to keep Lochran’s shadows at bay. They swirled worriedly around where he sat on the sofa, engulfing Billy, who cougheddramatically and said, “Secondhand smoke kills, y’know!”

But the moment his eyes met mine, the shadows dropped once more. I couldn’t help but smile at my mate. I could sense that he wanted nothing more than to hunt down Chad and tear him limb from limb for what he did. But he knew that I needed him by my side more. The thought of standing trial without Lochran beside me was inconceivable, and the fact that he put my needs above his meant the world to me.

Lochran stood and offered me his arm. I took it, pressing my head against his shoulder, and whispered, “Thank you.”

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