Page 19 of King's Obsession

“I didn’t need it to go anywhere else. The first time I used it, I found you. I never needed anyone or anything else.”

“Careful, my dear. You’re getting sweet in your old age.” Dougal patted his mate’s knee, letting him know he was teasing. “So, it was a combination of the purity of your family bloodlines, and your great-great-grandfather’s strength at the time, that led to you being king. And over the years, other families who might have been in the running back then, who were knocked out, so to speak, have still kept their bloodlines pure, and they keep conspiring to knock you off the throne?”

“Something like that. It’s annoying, only because those people who oppose me think I’m stupid. No one ever challenges me to my face. My family line has always been feared, and for good reason.” Asmodeus’s demon seemed to bristle under his human skin.

“Yes, well, we can discuss the merits of ruling through inspired respect or causing people to fear you another day. Whatever happened to the concept of blissful ones?”

Asmodeus peered at him over the rim of his mug. “I’m not sure I understand the question.”

Chuckling, Dougal shook his head. “Let me just paint a bit of a picture here—one created from an outsider's perspective, because I’m not a demon.”

“All right.”

Dougal was being humored, he could tell. “Way back in the mists of time, demon families fought among themselves, never had any formal leadership, were killing each other over minor disagreements, and yet some of them met and claimed blissful ones. Those incidents were recorded. Rote showed you that.”

Asmodeus nodded slowly. “That was a hugely long time ago.”

“I know. I know.” Dougal knew he was onto something. It had been bugging his brain when he saw how the demons he’d met that day had viewed him, and then in the followup talk with Asmodeus and Rote. In the quiet of the forest, all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. “Tell me, in all the time your family has been ruling the demon realm, has anyone found their blissful one, until Dakata met Silas?”

Asmodeus’s frown was intense. “No. But no one in my family line ever ruled against any demon having one.”

“I’m not suggesting you or your family did anything like that at all. It was just something that happened. Face it, you’ve spent centuries staying away from me because you weren’t sure the blissful one concept even existed in truth. You believed they were a myth. Rote can testify to that. So, the issue with not finding a blissful one was going on for demons well before you became king.”

“You think you know why, don’t you?” Asmodeus shoved a finger in Dougal’s face. “I can tell. You’ve got that ‘I’ve got a secret, and you don’t know about it smile’ that makes your dimples pop out.”

“Dimples, I don’t think I even have dimples, but never mind.” Dougal laughed, rubbing at his chin. “And yes, all right. The right to rule the demon realm came from being the product of a pure bloodline and having amazing strength—would you agree to that?”

A furrow appeared between his brows. “We’ve already discussed that. Yes. Get on with it.”

“Okay, you tell me, in the anecdotal evidence of blissful ones Rote found in ancient scrolls, and in the blissful ones a few of your demons have today, how many of those blissful ones are also demons?”

Asmodeus’s eyes moved from looking to his left, to his right, and then to his left again, almost as if he was scanning the information in his mind. “None of them,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Every account of a blissful one involved a demon claiming a different type of being.”

“I think that’s why the only demons in recent times to find their blissful ones are the demons who live their lives predominantly on Earth. You have Dakata, who has lived here for decades building his business—he found Silas and ended up in this forest. Are you seeing the connection?”

“Merihem is the Controller. He didn’t live on Earth.”

“He’s Controller of both realms, also he does now, and why? Because you sent him to Earth, in punishment for siding with and assisting Dakata when Wanda was taken… from this forest. And then he finds his blissful one. Scott—the one demon who would never be seen dead in a forest. His family shunned him for being different—for not being pure enough because of his demon’s skin color, so he lived his life on Earth. He ended up in this forest chasing after his newly found blissful one…”

“So, this forest is the connection?” The confusion was evident in Asmodeus’s dark eyes.

“No… well, yes and no, but mostly no. The connection is that the only demons who found their blissful ones were the ones who went against the demon’s way. Dakata with his business here. Christa is his sister, and she lives on Earth, too. Scott was rebelling against his family’s cruelty. Merihem was helping his friend instead of coming to you, his king. They all found their blissful ones when no one else in your realm has, and the reason no one else will is because of the insistence among your kind on keeping your bloodlines pure. Because in your realm, that is the only way you can become king.”

Asmodeus was shaking his head. “That can’t be right. I found you back when I first became king. That doesn’t fit with what you’re saying.”

“It actually does.” Putting down his mug, Dougal swung his leg over his mate’s, settling on his thighs. In human forms, much like their shifted ones, Dougal and Asmodeus were a good match. “Think about it, my mate,” he said softly, wrapping his arms around Asmodeus’s neck. “That night so long ago, when the first time we came together, leaving our seed, which still lies in the dirt below my floorboards, you cried out that I was yours. You claimed me even then, but you refused to acknowledge that claim because you feared what would happen to me in your realm. I understand that,” he added as Asmodeus went to object. “We’ve gone past that now. Do you know what I saw when I was in your realm today?”

Slowly, Asmodeus shook his head. “What did you see?”

“Weak demons. Demons who strutted around in human form, hiding their demon side to avoid the ridicule. Stuffy, snobby demons who didn’t dare challenge you to your face. For fuck’s sake,” Dougal laughed. “George, in his bear form, chased two of your demons down a flight of stairs, and no one in Scott’s family shifted into their demon forms to fight the one they perceived to be a threat. And do you know why? Because the bear would’ve still beaten them.”

Understanding started to flare in Asmodeus’s eyes, and Dougal grinned.

“You have always been the strongest demon because you claimed your blissful one, even before you knew it was possible.” Dougal lowered his tone. “You fought to keep your place because you wanted to protect the portal, the one way you could still see me, and keep me hidden from others. That urge to protect me, as your blissful one, is what has made you stronger over all this time, don’t you see?”

“Whereas the other demon families have bonded with each other in a bid to form family alliances, to try and strengthen their position within my realm.” Asmodeus nodded. “That makes sense.”

“You can see, just from the reactions I got today, those demons never thought to move beyond the demon realm to find their blissful ones, and they’re weak because of it. Like the first one I met.” Dougal started laughing all over again. “He couldn’t get his hand out of my grip to save himself and I was in my human form.”

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