Chapter 1
“I was beginning to think you’d never wake up. There’s avoiding your responsibilities, and then whatever the hell you just did.” Lucifer’s voice made her want to pretend to still be sleeping but his hand on her face made her flinch and pull back from his touch.
That simple movement made her groan as her eyes struggled to open. A wet cloth over her face made her jump but his hand held her in place while he wiped her eyes. “Do you have any idea what it is like to have to manage erratic angelic energy in an unconscious person? Not to mention the Grigori were sniffing around here like a pack of wolves,” he muttered. “I hope the last six months were worth it.”
She groaned as she lifted her arm, weakly pushing his hand away as she pried her eyes open. “Being on the run and dealing with psychotic angels, demonic creatures and–” She paused as her hand dropped onto her stomach–her very round and swollen stomach. “What the fuck?!” she croaked.
“Like I said, I hope the last six months were worth it,” he said, holding her eyes open to peer into them. “Also, congratulations, it’s twins.”
She pushed at his hand, trying to shove it away. “There is no way…this has to be a joke….I couldn’t have…wait..what?” She looked up at him in a daze.
His hand slid down to her shoulder, pushing aside the fabric to look at the bite there before moving to the other side to check the second bite mark. “Two….not one,” he said, taking her hands and pulling her up to sit.
“Would you fucking stop?!” she shouted, swatting his hands away. She blinked as he was shoved several feet back from her. “Wh-what the hell was that?”
Lucifer pursed his lips as he stepped forward, lifting her shirt to look at the markings on her stomach. He saw that they seemed to be fading. Grabbing her arm, he pushed up her sleeve. The silver bands around disappeared, but the silver runes were now etched up her skin.
He furrowed his brow, pulling her to her feet. With a quick twist, he ripped away her shirt, followed by her pants, leaving her standing naked.
She yelped, shoving at him and sending him back into the wall. “What the hell is wrong with you? I’m not some demonic Barbie doll you can manhandle!” she snapped at him, her eyes glowing a bright purple, the band around her pupils thicker and now a bright bluish white.
He grunted, wings flaring as he strode back to her. Grabbing the back of her head, he tilted it back as he studied her face. “After everything I’ve done to protect you from those horny, corrupted bastards, you will stand there like a good little girl while I see just what happened to you, or do you not notice that your body looks very different from before?” he said coldly.
She grunted, being called a good little girl by him feeling wrong. She gritted her teeth when he turned her head side to side, then tilted her head forward while he brushed the hair from her neck. She stumbled when he spun her about, bracing herself on the bed while his hands traced down her back. “Do you treat all pregnant demons like this, or am I just the lucky one?”
“You’re only part demon and I’ve barely done anything, so stop with the whining,” he said, crouching down to study her legs.
“If you stick your hand anywhere inappropriate, I will–”
“Moan like a bitch in heat? You might have been unconscious, but that didn’t stop the noises,” Lucifer grumbled, creating a small beam of light and slicing it along the back of her thigh to leave a small nick.
She bit her lower lip as a blush spread up her face. “Fuck you,” she grumbled, then let out a hiss of pain, pulling away from him as she felt the blood run down her leg. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Swiping a finger over the wound, he rubbed the blood between his fingers. It sparked and flared before dulling to a deep purple hue. Licking it from his digits, he straightened and pressed his hips into her, shoving her down into the bed. “I could spread your legs and fuck you right now and you could do little to stop me. In fact, I bet you’d like it, but I’m not the Grigori, who needs to fuck everything in sight, half breed. So stop fighting me and being generally unpleasant to the one person who has kept those fucks from just taking you back and ripping those things from your womb,” he growled against her ear as he leaned over her.
She shuddered, grabbing at the sheets as she felt her body tense. Her breathing became erratic before she clenched her jaw, reminding herself she’d managed to shove him away from her without even thinking about it. “Not get enough demon pussy down here?” she asked through gritted teeth.
He grabbed her hands, extracting the sheets from her fingers before pinning them above her head. “Look at yourself. Look at what has changed, half breed,” he spat.
She stared up at him before lifting her head and turning it to look at her arms. Without the fabric, she could see the dark silver runes that ran up her arms to her shoulders. “They continue across your collarbone,” he murmured.
Weaved in between the runes were thick threads that ranged from bright white to darkest black. The threads splayed out on the back of her hands, down her fingers to the darkened, clawed tips. Within the threads, she saw what looked like small silver feathers and crescent moons. Her skin had darkened and shifted color, taking on an almost metallic violet hue.
“Your legs look the same, and you even have markings along the side of your face. Your horns are more pronounced. Not sure how, but you managed to finish the transformation. Those things inside are also growing stronger. My mark is no longer holding. You would be wise to leave before they find you,” Lucifer murmured. “Go back to where you belong before I decide to take payment for putting up with you for so long.”
“They can find me anywhere, or did you forget that they managed to leash me to them and they’re tied to these things growing in me?” she muttered, tugging against his hold. “Get off me already. If you’re not going to help me anymore then you also don’t get to manhandle me.”
“You’re right in that they’re tied to the offspring, but not so in that they’ve leashed you. I only feel two connections and neither are down here,” Lucifer said, sliding his hands down to rest on the sides of her stomach. “These two also share their power with you. It’s why your eyes glow white.”
“Huh, since when? I’ve never seen them glow anything but purple or blue,” she said, pushing back against him to get him completely off her. It felt more like trying to unbeach a whale thanks to her stomach.
“There is a lot you don’t know, isn’t there?” he taunted, helping to lift her up before resting his hands on her stomach. They began to glow, illuminating under her skin. A similar glow began inside and her eyes widened at the outline of two tiny figures inside.
“Somehow, you’re going to give birth to demonic archangels. That is the only thing that explains why your eyes glow white instead of gold,” he said, stepping back. The glow on her skin dissipated, leaving her staring at the fading carving on her skin. “Right now, you are untouchable, if you so wish it. Once they are born, that’s when the real trouble will start.”
“So, that’s why you’re interested in me. You want to be able to control these things inside me, train them. Who wouldn’t want something like that?” she muttered sarcastically. “Baby angels, who know nothing and can be molded as anyone sees fit. Add in the human and demon parts and they can go anywhere.”
Lucifer pursed his lips as he shook his head. “If I cared about that, I wouldn’t have told you to go. I’d have chained you down and likely done exactly what the Grigori did to you. I have no need of baby angels or half breeds with foul mouths,” he said. “You seem to forget I have a realm of demons at my disposal. And, despite what was written in the books, I have no issues with my father.”
She called her magic forth, wrapping herself in it to create a comfortable top and pants for herself as she turned to face him. “Oh, really, and he’s just fine with you sending demons up to torment humans?”
“Don’t your prisons not release people, even ones known to complete horrible crimes? Explain how that is different?” he asked.
“They don’t possess magic they can use on people, or latch on to someone’s soul like a leech,” she pointed out.
“I’m going to say something here, but magic isn’t required for another to harm a human. Also, they are attached to the soul, they do nothing to it, at least they’re not supposed to. Rogue elements do happen,” he stated logically. “You people blame demons for far more than they are capable of. You treat one of the lesser demons like a pet. You gave yourself to one, how is that not you saying demons aren’t all bad?”
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out except a soft, strangled sound. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she furrowed her brow.
“How many demons do you think you’ve sent back here?” he asked, continuing to press his point. “Rough number.”
“Umm.. I guess…umm… like several hundred,” she said, shrugging.
“And likely some of those were the same ones you’ve seen before. But, there are thousands up there that you probably wouldn’t even know about without your gift,” he said, grabbing her chin. “Most demons are just there because they would rather not be in this wasteland. It’s the people who request the evil deeds of them, half breed, Judge by deed, not by breed.”
She sighed, leaning back on her hands as she looked up at him. She worried her lower lip between her teeth as she studied him. “So, you’re okay with everyone thinking you’re some human-hating, maniacal bastard?”
“Oh, I am a bastard, but that’s because I need to keep shit in line, half breed. I’d also rather deal with demons, they’re at least straightforward. You humans love to blame everyone else for everything. Most of the evil in the world is just you all being dicks to each other. The truly evil get sent here and spend hundreds or thousands of years learning just how evil the world can be and possibly earning a chance to atone,” he said, plucking her lip from between her teeth. “The story told about me means nothing because it’s not really me.”
She opened her mouth, pausing when she felt a rumble beneath her feet. Lucifer straightened, looking to the door as he frowned. “I am guessing that is not supposed to happen, or be considered normal?” she asked.
“No, it is not,” he stated, a sword appearing in his hand when another reverberation shook the floor.
She pushed herself up with a groan, her staff moving towards her from where it was laid out on a nearby table. “I can’t even get a chance to enjoy being awake for more than an hour?” she grumbled.
“What the hell are you doing? You are not going to fight! You’re the size of that barghast,” Lucifer reprimanded, pushing on her shoulders to make her sit down. “Just go.”
She used the staff to shove his arm away and stepped around him. “I can fight just fine, and likely whoever it is won’t want to harm me. Now, shut up and get moving. You can make sure we are in the best position to fight,” she stated, walking for the door to make him follow.
Lucifer arched a brow as he watched her waddling forward. “You are the biggest, most idiotic example of your kind. Only a damn hunter fights when they’re on the verge of giving birth,” he muttered, running a hand down his face.
