Forced into a glittering black and red nightmare of a dress that was as tacky as it was ridiculous, Lily walked down the hall in front of Seth, otherwise known as Leading Asshole, her hands tied again, this time behind her back.

“Tell me,” she said, flicking a glance over her shoulder and indicating the hideous dress, “did you ask Madonna’s permission before you raided her 80s wardrobe?”

He shoved her, making her stumble and crash down face-first on the carpeted floor. It still hurt like hell, since she couldn’t break her fall with her hands, and the recent wound from when he’d slashed her with his dagger started stinging again. Motherfucker. She should have kept her mouth shut, but when it came to sadistic bastards like him, she couldn’t resist the compulsion to poke at him.

“How’s your side?” he asked with a saccharine smile while she struggled to her feet again, the process clumsy and humiliating with her hands still bound behind her back.

“Peachy,” she said when she faced him again. “How’s your lip?”

His glacier-colored eyes narrowed on her as he licked the bloody cut on his lower lip where her knee had connected while she fought against putting on this pathetic excuse for a dress. She’d lost, but so had his lip. She grinned with grim satisfaction.

“Move it,” he snapped, and pushed her forward.

He led her down a sweeping staircase into a foyer and the lofty living room next to it. High windows covered with heavy dark blue drapes dominated two walls, and elegant black leather furniture filled the room—as well as a veritable horde of pranagrahas who mingled on said furniture. There had to be at least a dozen demons in here, and their eyes followed her every move with the unnerving hunger of starved animals.

Fear pricked her rage-hardened composure, and she had to struggle to keep it from showing in her aura. Merle and the others would be here any minute. All she had to do was stall as long as possible. And fight like a lunatic if they tried to force her into a mating.

I can do this. Deep breath in, long breath out. From what she’d pieced together, females had to actually agree to a mating, and she’d rather bleed to death than hand her freedom over to one of these Neanderthals.

Seth-with-the-busted-lip hauled her to a stop in front of the crowd of demons, his grip on her arm tight enough to make her clench her teeth to keep from whimpering.

“Gentlemen,” he intoned, “without further ado, I present to you our newest addition, the lovely Lily. A bit prickly, no doubt, but all the more enticing a challenge for the right male. Hours of fun bringing her to heel. Bids start at five hundred thousand dollars.”

She whipped her head around to glare at Leading Asshole. They were auctioning her? Just when she’d thought they couldn’t sink any lower…

Males shouted their bids, the room heating with rising testosterone and bitter competition. Where the fuck did they even get the amounts of money they were bidding? Did they use their mind tricks to embezzle those funds from humans? Locking her knees so she wouldn’t fidget and shift her weight under the force of the pranagrahas’ stares, she watched while more and more demons dropped out of the auction, leaving only two, both with hints of cruelty in their eyes that soured her insides.

“Five million,” Seth-with-a-death-wish called out. “Do you want to up to six, Jaxton?”

The male in question nodded, gray eyes fixed on her. He looked close to drooling. Ew.

“Six million. Greg?”

Jaw clenched hard, Greg shook his head, his nostrils flaring.

“Sold for six million dollars to Jaxton.” Seth-on-the-highway-to-hell clapped his hands, a radiant smile on his face that she wanted to wipe off. With sandpaper. “Jaxton, my man, come claim your prize.”

Lily’s lip curled when the burly male stepped up to her, already stripping her with his roaming eyes. She barely heard Leading Asshole’s pep talk to the rest of the desperately underfucked males, yammering on about how they’d soon get their turn with the next batch of witches, most of her attention on the nauseating demon who’d bought her.

Bought her, like a piece of flesh. Which was all she was to him and the others, of course.

Jaxton grabbed her face and squeezed, leaning in until his acrid breath fanned against her mouth and nose. “Submit to me now, and I’ll go easy on you.”

She gritted her teeth so hard, her body tensed all the way down to her toes. “Let me go now, and I won’t bite off your fingers,” she ground out.

He sneered but didn’t release her. “Feisty.”

“Stupid,” she shot back—and wrenched her head to the side so fast she broke his hold and snapped back to his hand before he could withdraw. Her teeth clamped down on his knuckles with all the force of her demon power, cutting through tendon, sinew, muscle and joints.

Howling, he punched her in the side of her head. The blow knocked her back and—to her glowing delight—helped her rip off his phalanges. Blood sprayed on her face as she stumbled to keep her balance. Jaxton clasped his ruined right hand with his left, his teeth bared at her. She spit the two digits she’d bitten off onto the floor and grinned, savoring the taste of his blood in her mouth.

Seth-with-an-ego-problem grabbed her around her neck, his claws slicing out to prick her skin. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“Snacking,” she choked out, her hands reflexively struggling against the ties. “I get bitey when I’m not fed.”

Jaxton growled at her, his eyes promising a lifetime of torture.

A muscle ticked in Seth-suffering-from-halitosis’s jaw. “Let’s cut this short.”

He dragged her down the hall into a bedroom at the back of the house, and threw her on the floor. The laceration in her side screamed bloody murder as she crashed down, and she gingerly rolled to a sitting position. Jaxton strode into the room, bandaging his wounded hand.

“Aveline!” Seth bellowed.

Oh, no. Dread icing her blood in chilly foreboding, Lily stared at the door. A minute later, the wispy witch-turned-demon appeared, chewing on her nails, green eyes wide. She dropped her hand the second Leading Asshole focused on her.

“Close the door,” he said in voice that was all the more horrifying for how calm it was.

Aveline hurried to comply, her aura betraying her terror. Seth struck her the moment she turned back. Crying out, she slammed against the closed door.

“No!” Lily struggled against her bonds, staggered to her feet.

Jaxton clamped his good hand around her neck and squeezed, holding her back when she wanted to launch herself at Leading Asshole.

Seth-will-soon-burn-in-hell hit Aveline again, so hard the door rattled. Sobbing, she raised her arms to shield her head and curled into herself. Fury burned through Lily with the force of a razing firestorm. Baring her teeth, she snarled at him, her powerlessness corrosive acid in her veins.

Seth unsheathed his dagger with a whisper of sound that made her heart stutter. Grabbing a fistful of Aveline’s hair, he made as if to slice her back open.

“Stop!” Lily writhed in Jaxton’s grip. “Please.”

A cold look from Seth, not a hint of compunction or mercy on his face, in his aura. “Are you willing to comply?”

Lily glanced at the trembling form of Aveline, and her heart lurched to her feet. If she’d wondered before how anyone could be forced into a mating, she had her answer now. If it had been only her, she’d have fought and endured and suffered rather than agree. She could take pain.

But Aveline…she swallowed hard, her throat dry as desert sand. Hot tears pricked at the back of her eyes. She couldn’t watch Aveline be tortured in front of her.

“Please don’t hurt her,” she whispered.

He twirled the dagger in his hand, the sharp blade catching the light. “I won’t if you’re cooperative. Will you be a good girl and accept Jaxton as your mate?”

She slumped in Jaxton’s hold. “Yes.”

* * *

Alek paced the length of the alley, back and forth, back and forth. Anxiety skittered across his nerves, his skin taut with the pressure of time ticking away. Time Lily didn’t have much more of. He punched the dumpster, the material bending with a metallic groan under the force of his blow.

“Keep it down, will you?”

At the slurred male voice—not Basil’s—Alek whipped around.

Rhun was heaving himself into a more upright position, his face a mask of pain. “Some people have a headache the size of Africa, and would appreciate it if you didn’t demon-handle the dumpsters.”

“Rhun!” Merle practically jumped him.

“The same goes for squealing, little witch,” he choked out around her tight hug. But his arms closed around her, and he turned his face into her hair, inhaling deeply. Some of the pain left his face, his aura. He looked at peace.

A pang of longing in Alek’s chest, his thoughts returning to the raven-haired female with indigo eyes who’d stolen his heart, his soul. To the bitter fact that, even when they freed her from the pranagraha bastards who held her, he’d never have with her what Rhun had with Merle. Lily would never look at him in quite that way.

The nymphenstern lay heavy in his jeans pocket. He’d give her that, at least. If she couldn’t find her happiness with him, he’d help her achieve it without him.

“Can you track her?” he asked Rhun, who was getting to his feet.

The other demon closed his eyes, his aura turning inward. “Yes,” he said after a moment, opening his eyes again, which were now a glowing a pale green. He jerked his head toward the other end of the alley. “That way.”

Merle, Hazel, and Rhun got into Merle’s car, while Basil opted to ride with Alek in his truck. They’d been on the road for a few minutes, Alek making sure he followed the other vehicle closely, when Basil spoke up.

“So you’re with my sister.” Tension twined into his words.

“I was wondering when you’d ask me about that.”

Basil gave him a silent glance heavy with meaning.

Taking a deep breath, Alek said, “If by with her, you mean love her until I’d give my own hide to save her, then yes. If by with her, you mean involved in a committed relationship, then no. I’d love to, but your sister is very clear on her boundaries, and being with me is not what will make her happy.” He took out the nymphenstern from his pocket. “So I got her this.”

Basil sucked in a breath then exhaled through his teeth. “How did you get that?”

He pocketed it again. “Doesn’t matter. What matters is that she’ll be able to turn back, and then I won’t be any of your—or her—concern anymore.”

“So you’ll just give her the stone and leave?”

His jaw locked. “Yes.”

Silence stretched between them. Then, “Are you sure that’s what she wants?”

He shot a look at Basil. The other male stared out of the side window, his face half-hidden and unreadable. His aura—hard to decipher for a human energy pattern—didn’t give much more away either.

“I’m positive,” Alek said. “I watched her fall apart when Merle told her she wouldn’t be able to turn back.”

“Doesn’t mean turning back is more important to her than staying with you.” Eyes of rich brown met his. “Just a tip—if you still want her, don’t just drop off the stone and leave. Give her the choice, but let her know how much you still want her. She’ll need that reassurance.”

Considering the tight bond between the twin siblings, Alek didn’t doubt the accuracy of Basil’s assessment. But— “Why are you helping me? Shouldn’t you want your sister to turn back into a witch?”

“If I only cared about our bloodline’s continuity, yeah.” He shrugged. “But that’s not the only factor here. And I don’t think it’s the most important. We’ve talked on the phone a lot, Lily and I.” A sideways glance from those eyes that almost…almost carried a hint at something more than human. Did he inherit some witch magic, after all? “The way she talks about you… I’ve never heard her sound like that about any other guy she’s been with.”

The biting jealousy at the thought of Lily in the arms of any other male didn’t care that it lay in the past. Alek fought the feeling down, his hands squeezing the steering wheel as a sad substitute for the necks of the males who came before him.

“I think,” Basil slowly said, as if coming to terms with voicing an unpopular truth, “you would be good for her.”

“If she’ll let me,” he murmured.

“What do you know about our parents’ relationship?”

He frowned at the change of subject. “Not much. Your father died a few years back.”

Basil snorted. “He didn’t just die. Aunt Isabel killed him.”

“What?” He whipped his head around to stare at Lily’s twin.

“Well, it was never proven, and she didn’t admit it, but everybody knew. Just like everybody knows why she did it.”

Everybody in the witch community, it seemed. None of this had leaked outside. “Tell me.”

“He was an insecure, controlling ass, insanely jealous, and he verbally abused our mom for years.” His bitter tone left no doubt Basil had little love for his late father, and didn’t mourn his death. “He never lifted a finger to hurt her physically, but he smothered her in every other way he could. He controlled every step she took, to the point that she couldn’t leave the house or make a phone call without his permission.”

“But your mother—”

“Given her powers as a witch, she could have easily put a stop to his taunting and control issues. But for whatever reason, she never stood up to him. Aunt Isabel said…” A heavy sigh. “They argued sometimes, Isabel and Mom, when our father wasn’t home. Always, Isabel would lambaste our mom for letting him treat her like that. And always, Mom would tell her to stand down, making excuses for his behavior. When Isabel threatened to put an end to it herself, Mom would get uncharacteristically furious. Isabel accused her of having become docile with foolish love.” His fingers drummed on the passenger side door. “Our mom never challenged that accusation.”

Pieces clicked together in Alek’s head, and he exhaled on a sigh of understanding. “That’s what Lily fears. She thinks that’s what love will do to her.” His voice turned hoarse. “I thought she was just afraid of getting stuck in a lifelong relationship. But she’s scared that if she allows herself to love fully, she’ll become so enamored and submissive that she won’t want to fight back against abuse.”

Basil’s mouth was a grim line. “It’s all she’s ever known of romantic love.”

He rubbed a hand over his face. “Well, fuck me.”

“No, thanks,” Basil shot back drily.

He couldn’t help snorting a laugh but sobered quickly. “How do I make her lose that twisted idea of love?”

“I’m not sure it’s something you can do. But at least you can point her to it.” Basil looked at him again. “I don’t think she’s even aware of all of this. Took me some time to piece it together, too.”

Alek’s deep breath didn’t help ease the ache in his chest. “Thanks.”

“Least I can do,” Basil said, not looking at him, flicking some invisible lint off his pants. “Since you saved my life and all.”

“No need to mention it again,” he said, and gave him a curt nod.

Merle’s car in front of them slowed and pulled over to park on the side of the street. Alek followed suit, his pulse a wild tick in the grip he had on the steering wheel. They’d entered a well-kept, expensive-as-shit-looking neighborhood with sprawling houses on huge properties. If they started a bloody fight here, the place would be swarming with human cops in no time.

He told Merle as much when they all exited the vehicles.

“Don’t worry about that,” the petite, ginger-haired witch said while Alek loaded himself up with the knives he stored in his truck, and strapped a short sword to his back. At his raised brows, she explained, “I’ll throw a fogging charm around the area. Won’t make us invisible, but it’ll discombobulate any human minds in the vicinity so they won’t react to us.” She bounced a little on her feet, grinned at Rhun, and added in a low voice, “I’ve been wanting to use discombobulate in a sentence for so long.”

“Of course you have,” the bluotezzer demon said with an indulgent smile.

“I’ll help you with the charm.” Hazel stepped forward. “What’s the perimeter?”

Rhun inclined his head at a house a few yards down. “From what I can tell, she’s in there.”

Dark eyes hard, Hazel nodded. She and Merle conferred about how far to cast the circle of the charm, and then went to work. Magic shimmered in the night like a desert mirage, only to disappear as soon as the charm snapped into place.

“Let’s hope the jerks in there didn’t see that,” Merle said, residual power glowing around her.

Rhun shrugged. “They’ll know soon enough that we’re here.”

Merle turned to Basil. “Set up your vantage point on the other side of the street. Kill every demon who runs outside.”

Both Rhun and Alek cleared their throats.

Merle rolled her eyes. “Present company excepted, of course.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Basil said, giving Rhun the side-eye as he stroked the arrow he was nocking.

“Enough.” Hazel nodded at Merle. “We split up, you and Rhun take the front, and Alek and I are going in from the back.”

Merle’s sky-blue eyes glittered. “Let’s go.”